[EVENT | FOURTH WALL] THE DREAMING'S FLATULENCE | APRIL 15-30

[ironwood]

Characters: ALL and plus ones. (Yes, fourth-wall characters, that means you.)
Date: April 15-30 2016 (2017 in-game)
Location: Mod-posted comment starters are for the immediate aftermath of the odd explosion which starts the event, but this log can also be used for anywhere in the setting anytime between April 15-30.
Situation: The College went BOOM. Weird people began appearing randomly in the city. After that, other buildings went BOOM even though nothing actually exploded besides the College. After that, scattered buildings developed spontaneous structural damage overnight. Could these events be related? You be the judge.
Warnings/Rating: Add warnings in subject headers as needed.

The morning of April 15th dawns cold, but clear. There isn't a cloud in the sky, the sun's barely risen, and in general the kedan are going about their daily lives - opening shops, heading to work, leading kirin through the city streets. In particular, there's a small but steady stream of people moving in and out of the College.

Then, without warning, a section of the College implodes.

During the following few days, an influx of strange Foreigners appear, seemingly dropped randomly by the Dreaming throughout Keeliai. Someone might end up in a canal, or on a rooftop. Someone else might find themselves flying through the air to land heavily in a disused alley. Someone might wake up in the corner of a kirin stable. A few might even land in Hatal on the mainland, and feel a curious draw leading them back towards the turtle. They arrive in the same unexpected manner as normal Foreigners; the only differences are the sheer amount of people arriving at once, and that none of the newcomers seem to possess any soul gems.

Also during the next few days, kedan and Foreigner alike might be startled by an exact replica of that thunderous boom from the College explosion echoing around Keeliai. This only occurs for about a week, but it occurs regularly, and the source of these strange echoes is impossible to trace.

Once the explosion echoes stop, investigators might notice that specific and exact sections of structural damage from the College appear on other buildings in Keeliai without any obvious cause. These cases of spontaneous long-term damage continue all the way through until April 30th.

Apart from those disruptions, life on the turtle is generally normal for the next two weeks - or as normal as it's possible for life to be when one lives on the back of a turtle where the most powerful gang makes the rules. No one can say for sure exactly when the strange Foreigners vanish again. Some will swear they all vanished at once; others will be equally sure they disappeared one by one over several days. One thing's for sure, however -- by the time April 30th draws to a close, not one of the strange Foreigners is left in Keeliai.

---

LINKS
The College | The Echoes | The Structural Damage | OOC Information post | Fourth-Wall Character Check-In

OOC
The top-level comments are for the explosion and its aftermath, but fourth-wall characters should feel free to use the rest of the post for anything within the setting! Just remember to label the top-level comment for location and date. You can also add more fourth-wall characters throughout the event at the character check-in, linked above. Please direct any questions to the OOC post.

Fourth-wall characters are also free to tag into player-posted logs and console/radio posts dated between April 15th and 30th! A quick reminder that fourth-wall characters will not have soul jewelry, and will not be able to create their own network posts or logs.

Comments

[ninjainviolet]

"Say goodbye? To Iselia? Or to those here?" Sheena knew there was always a chance of going back home from Atia, but she had no clue about this place on a turtle. She gave her friend a reassuring smile. "Knowing you, Raine, you would have kept your mind occupied with whatever you could." Ruins, her love of ruins, the ruins she had been in...

The erasers she had thrown...

"So people weren't being used to their fullest potential or were in the wrong area to begin with?" She nodded. She could understand that, since the network Mizuho used relied on certain skills of each member of the village to gather and pass the information along. Seeing that smile, the ninja looked at her calmly--even as a small smile began to form. "Don't know what you're smiling about; I will drag you out of there, you know."

For a moment, Sheena feared she overstepped her bounds when the mage didn't return the hug. She had momentarily forgotten that things were a bit different with this Raine, but when her friend returned the hug, Sheena relaxed, chuckling softly. "Sorry, didn't mean to surprise you. I've learned a few things over the years." Pulling back, she held her friend by the shoulders and studied her. "You really are fortunate, Raine," she said without elaboration. But with total honesty.

As Raine explained about the Hotel, Sheena paused, trying to sense the same thing her friend did. Was there...? She wasn't sure, and if she was only going to be here a short time, she had other things to do. "So wait, it's like the Tower?" Existing in more than one place, not moving.

"And who is Anton?"

[ruinsprofessor]

Raine hesitated over this answer, but gave it anyway. "After we had defeated the threat we were brought here to fight, we were given the choice to return home. Some of my friends took it. Some were called back later; some weren't." She didn't explicitly say that she had chosen to stay, but the implication was, she thought, relatively obvious.

"I don't doubt that you will," Raine said, perhaps a little hastily, holding up one hand. "And I'll endeavor to make sure it doesn't become necessary. I was simply thinking that you'll fit in well here." Sheena certainly could overpower her if it came down to it, and she would rather spare herself the indignity.

She was only startled, in truth: the hug was a good thing, and a welcome one. "It's all right," she said, shaking her head. There wasn't much else to do but agree with Sheena: she was exceptionally fortunate to be where she was, with the freedoms she had, even if it wasn't her home world. "The only thing more I could ask for is to see friends from home again."

And here she has that, for however long it is.

"That's an apt analogy, yes," Raine said of the Hotel, considering. "One place that exists in many places. It has a significantly better atmosphere, however. Anton Shudder is the proprietor -- he built it, and it came here with him. He's a good friend, as well. He takes the rules of the Hotel very seriously, however. No violence, at all."

[ninjainviolet]

Sheena tilted her head and gave her friend a soft, understanding smile. "I think I know why you chose to stay, Raine. It's nice to be accepted without question, isn't it?" She had discovered that herself. On Atia, she was just like everyone else. But is was much more than that for her friend; this place probably let her be herself without having to lie about her heritage.

"Good," the ninja said with a definitive nod. If she could keep her powers here, she'd most certainly be able to drag Raine away. "And you had better keep that promise, Raine." It was a friendly threat, and would have been followed by more if she just hadn't confused her. "I'd fit in? Why's that?" She hadn't fit in anywhere, really, her entire life--until she met Lloyd and Colette.

"Okay. I just wanted to make sure." But if she really knew why Sheena said she was fortunate... Nope. That little bit of information was going to be safely tucked away and buried. "Well, it looked like someone was listening when you asked," she said with a chuckle. "Just not too fond of the delivery service."

Oh, Raine, you get a beaming Sheena for that. The ninja still hadn't figured out that she was smarter than she thought, so she was always surprised when she got something right. Shaking her head, she looked skyward for a moment, envisioning the Tower. "I honestly think anywhere would have a better atmosphere than that place."

"The proprietor? And builder? Impressive. You mentioned sigils. Did he make those, too?" She leaned back and gave her friend an innocent look. "Now why would you want to tell me the 'no violence' rule, Raine?"

Not like she tried to punch a hole in a stone wall or anything four years ago on Atia.

[ruinsprofessor]

"If people look at me differently, it's because I'm a Foreigner, that's all. Human, half-elf... it barely means anything, here." It had contributed to her choice, yes. Race was an absurd thing to get hung up on when the vast majority of the populace could shift their appearance at will.

"Hm... how do I put it. The people here, I find, are often good people who flourish outside of otherwise inescapable environmental factors," Raine explained, her tone slipping unconsciously closer to lecturing. "Further, a number of them have seen fit to comment on the fact that I apparently need a hobby. Which is ridiculous, since I research because it's enjoyable, not always for any specific end." And it was useful, as well. She was at this point resolutely ignoring Skulduggery's assertion that a hobby shouldn't necessarily be useful.

Perhaps someone had been listening. Raine's smile was wry. "If I can discover who's responsible for the spell's current state, I'll discuss the matter with them," she promised seriously.

It had wrought no small amount of destruction when it crashed down; but all the same, Raine couldn't bring herself to miss the Tower, either. "It's an existing language, which he learned over time," she said, opting to bypass bringing up the Tower again. She met Sheena's innocent look with near-perfect blank-faced neutrality, perhaps a shade too innocent on her own. The number of times she'd seen Sheena and Zelos interact spoke for itself. "And as I said, Anton takes his rules very seriously, and while he's a kind man, he's also a dangerous one. There's a reason he can enforce the Hotel as neutral ground, despite the politics of the city."

[ninjainviolet]

For a moment, Sheena was at a loss for words. Raine had found something here that she hadn't had back home, and it left the ninja happily stunned. Finally, she found her voice. "That sounds wonderful, Raine." And appearance shifting? Just what every ninja needed.

Oh Martel, not lecture-mode, Raine. Fortunately, it really didn't last long, and Sheena was able to concentrate on what was being said. The topic she chose to reply to, however, might not really surprise her friend. "They're right. You do need a hobby other than research. Something that doesn't require thinking, so you're that much sharper when you go back to it." So there.

The ninja returned the smile with a wry one of her own--although her eyes were sincere. "Tell them I really appreciate it when you do, okay?"

That Tower and the havoc that came with it would forever be in their memories--no amount of destruction could change that. And the elves... It had been four years; had they even recovered from that yet? Taking her cue from Raine, the ninja skipped mentioning that place again and focused on the Anton. "When you say 'exisiting', do you mean old? Like the Old Language of Mizuho. Or the language Volt spoke? Or a completely different language?" She had met a few people on Atia that spoke in a foreign language.

Sheena still held her innocent look in the face of Raine's neutrality. The ninja knew how she could be--with or without Zelos around. After a moment, she shook her head. Didn't Raine trust her? "Oh come on, Raine! You don't need to say it again!" Sheesh. Then a change in demeanor.

"He has to stay neutral though, doesn't he? I mean, if the hotel is in every sector, he really has no choice, right?" She hated politics.

[ruinsprofessor]

Sometimes -- very rarely -- Raine wore her hair up, showing ears too pointed to be human and too small to be elven. Mostly, though, she simply carried herself as though she belonged, and didn't fear.

"Something that doesn't require thinking," Raine repeated, sounding equal measures dubious and incredulous. She was willing to make the attempt, but how was she supposed to do that? She was always thinking. "Like what, I wonder."

Naturally, she progressed right to something that did require thinking. "Yes-- according to Anton, the language has been around as long as sorcerers in their world remember. It's symbolic, and there doesn't seem to be a spoken form; or, if there is, it's one lost so long ago that no one remembers it. Magic-users in that world can live several hundred years, so that seems somewhat unlikely." Still, it was possible.

She supposed she didn't have to say it again, no, but Raine did worry. "Not necessarily," she answered. "He could favor Foreigners, or he could refuse service to, for instance, the Snakes, or other gang members. Instead, Anton is steadfastly neutral. Even those he calls his brothers are as subject to his rules as anyone else. Fortunately, they're also more likely to listen."

[ninjainviolet]

Of course, it never was the outside appearance that mattered, but what emanted from the inside. She didn't have to live in fear of being caught and hated or executed here. And it showed. The ninja could see it in the way she carried herself.

"Right! Like collecting. Cats, foxes, wolves. Or drawing, or even painting. Something that makes you feel good that doesn't have anything to do with science or thinking." Ask Sheena. She knew what to do when it came to not thinking.

Leave it to Raine to not stop there, though. She just had to keep thinking. Well, old habits die hard, Sheena guessed. "Oh, it's a language of magic? Or...wait. A language of pictures?" Which seemed so much better than words that could be mistranslated. "And he spent how long learning it?" She paused again. "Raine, what if it had been spoken once--but not with the person's mouth? Maybe it was a telepathic language."

Okay, so she had been exposed to a few things on Atia.

Shaking her head, Sheena looked at her friend in bemusement. She could hear that capital "F". "So, even though people accept those who come here from wherever, they're still labeled, huh? Do they ever reach a point when they're not?" she'll get back to the other topic in a minute.