{ event 7 } A▒ E█SI▓Y ░▒▓25░9.▒░█

[expiationmods]

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY

March 11. The sun is shining, streaming in perfect sunbeams through uncovered windows. Birds and animals twitter outside, basking in trees that are verdant green and full of life. Outside, the town begins to wake, stirring to life with the sounds of ordinary everyday happenings. Footsteps, carts rolling down the road, the distant sound of friendly neighbors greeting each other.

And you–you have lived here your whole life. Or maybe you’re a visitor to this fine town. Either way, you’re a neighbor here, too.

Aldrip is having another beautiful day.

i. OUR TOWN

The town square is a bustling place to be for locals, and this week is no exception. Aldrip is a vibrant swell of activity: stores, stalls, and stands all open their doors precisely on time, welcoming the new day. Things are quiet, theoretically, while the local school is in session, but anyone playing hooky won’t get a second glance. Everything is fine! It’s too nice a day to be inside, anyway.

(Just like all the other days before, all too nice to waste.)

That being said, Aldrip is not without its own brand of nuisance. Fairies are rarely seen in town, these days, but this week, they seem to be in fine form. They can be found playing harmless tricks on people: taking things from them and moving them somewhere else, rolling carts when no one is holding onto them, mostly-unscrewing screws that hold together mechanical parts… They avoid magical pranks, for now, but these mundane tricks are such a nuisance! They even pull all of the wares out of a local vendor’s stall: dozens and dozens of colorful, patterned scarves. They had been on “deep discount,” leftovers from some “Day of Devotion” event, but the discount is about to get even deeper, on account of how dirty they are.

ii. TEMPTING FATE

A recent expedition to the Lorentia Caves uncovered a hidden gem–literally. Enterprising rock enthusiasts have brought back wheelbarrows full of round geodes, and have made a game out of cracking them open. Geodes that are green inside will get a lavish prize: a stay at a local spa or a gift card to a fancy restaurant. Purple or red inside will get a free drink at the local coffee shop, or a small gift card to use at a local shop. Brown or clear gems get nothing special–but you get to keep the rocks! They hold no special properties, but can be nice to look at and make great paper weights, and some of them almost seem to

g̵l̶o̶w̷

i̵̗̐n̷̯̉ ̶̞̒t̷̝̃h̵͙̆e̸̩̍ ̸̢̌d̷͕̀a̷̬̕ŗ̵̐k̷̼͝n̴̨̍ȅ̶͎ş̵̈s̷̟̽

…

ERROR: MULTIPLE REDUNDANCIES DETECTED
RECALIBRATING
LOADING UPDATES...
PLEASE WAIT

Occasionally, very occasionally, breaking open one of these rocks causes it to crumble, becoming little more than gray ash. Static pops across the surface before it disintegrates.

ERROR: DATA CORRUPTED
PURGING CONTENT

Those who have found these ashen geodes will find that memories of them disappear just as soon as they turn away from what they’ve just seen.

.̸.̷.̵.̴.̷.̸.̸.̶.̴.̴.̸.̷.̵.̵.̷

…

Anyway.

No one quite knows where the pop-up casino came from, but it’s doing a bustling business at night. Now, this establishment is small, nowhere near the size of the one in the past, and is not nearly as expansive. Nonetheless, it helps create a thriving nightlife in town: there’s games, drinking, dancing, and all sorts of fun. Locals are encouraged to participate either by attending or working, or even performing in some way!

It’s a beautiful day in Aldrip. Just like yesterday. Just like tomorrow. Just like every day s̴h̵o̸u̶l̵d̸ ̶b̸e̵.

iii. LOST AND FOUND

You wake in a maze surrounded by fog. You have no memory of entering the maze. You have no idea which direction you might have come from. You are simply here, and there seems to be no exit above. So. The only way is forward.

You may be alone, or have company. Either way, aside from you and any other characters you may find, the maze seems empty. Without end. Without purpose.

Whatever twists and turns you take, all will eventually find themselves in the center, in their own time. There is nothing here, either, except for an overwhelming sense of aloneness. There is nothing here. There is nothing there.

There is nothing–

ERROR: REDUNDANT PROCESS FOUND
PURGING CONTENT

...

You wake up.

It’s another beautiful day in Aldrip.

Like all the days before and all the days after, your morning proceeds apace. You start your morning, you say hello to friends and neighbors. You…

… you find something unusual in an area you frequent. An item. It’s small, and somehow, it’s something you think you should know. Some will feel compelled to pick these items up. Some will feel a deep sense of unease when looking at them, and refuse to interact. Turning your back on these items will cause them to disappear. You won’t have to worry about that anymore. Not on this beautiful day.

Picking up the items causes a rush of information to flood your mind. Something like a memory plays in your head: the person in this memory looks and sounds like you. But…you don’t remember living that life, or doing those things. So how does it feel so real?

Throughout the rest of the event, these items will continue appearing. Characters are free to interact with them or ignore them as you see fit. Regaining more memories means they may regain their powers, as well, though whether they remember how to control them is another story.

These memories will feature prominently in the event poll that goes up after this, and your choice of how many memories they regain (or don’t) may have a lasting effect on your character. Not filling it out will also have an impact on them. So please make sure to fill out the poll!

iv. MISSING LINKS

As this strange memory phenomenon takes over Aldrip, other odd things begin to happen. It’s small, at first, and barely notable except that it renders Aldrip slightly less idyllic than usual. There are a few clouds in the sky. You may get caught in a passing rain shower, or maybe sleep through your alarm…

It gets worse.

The end of the month crawls ever closer, slow and steady. As it does, things begin to go missing. Small things, at first: personal possessions, the lunch left in the break room, flyers that look like maybe they were torn down in the town square. Is someone thieving? Here? In Aldrip?? You’ve never known Aldrip to have a problem with crime. Everything is so…

…

Pleasant.

Everyone becomes a suspect. It could have been your neighbor who took your wallet, or a coworker. Maybe your friend took that bracelet from the counter while you weren’t looking. But close to the end of the month, this starts getting bigger. What happened to that tree along the path you walk every day? Wasn’t there a butcher shop on the corner there? Where have all the birds gone?

ERROR: DATA LOST

Things go missing.

They keep going missing.

Why have they disappeared?

And…where have they gone?

v. THE COUNTDOWN

Sunday, March 31.

It’s raining.

It never rains like this in Aldrip.

Characters wake in the morning to anxiety twisting in the pit of their stomach, inexplicable and impossible to trace. As the day wears on, this sense of foreboding ramps up. Characters may even see significant numbers throughout the day that seem to count…down.

Twelve. Morning. How funny, to see these recurrences. Odd.

Eight. Seven. Around noon. This must be a coincidence, and yet, you cannot help but wonder if it is meaningful.

Four. Late afternoon. Wonder and curiosity are replaced by dread. Whatever is at the end of this countdown–it feels like a finality. Terrifying and unknown.

Two. Night. Those going to bed will find their sleep restless and filled with bad dreams.

UPDATES INSTALLED
RESTARTING…

One. Midnight. The clock strikes twelve, and whatever your character is doing–sleeping, waking, etc–the whole of existence seems to blink out.

(Info about what happens after this will be forthcoming in the event poll results and April’s SOTG.)

vi. WILDCARD

Go wild! We know that you all have plotted extensively for this event, so go ahead and do what you'd like with it!

♡

Comments

sha-ming | gnosia

[bonobos]

fairy fun

[ the sunlight creeps over the town, stretching out to its outermost edges: a usual sight. somehow, he always feels as if he's one step away from it all going to shit.

the market is teeming with life -- stores and stands welcome all with open airs.. vibrant bursts of color pockmark the town square, but that's hardly noteworthy. sha-ming's attention is affixed on something more important...

the faeries, flitting around him, chattering endlessly. his mouth cants into a long line, curling at its edges, feline-like and lackadaisical. one fairy sits on his shoulder; another is yanking at tufts of his black hair. ]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell me more about you, babe. What kinda environments do your peeps thrive in? Whaddya chow on? You guys pacifists? What are your mating rituals like...do you guys br--

[ another fairy swings a leg right into the back of his head, whoops. ]

Just tryin' to learn! [ and then there's you, and sha-ming's head pivots to greet you wordlessly, a hand raising. ] Hey, you. I'm taking notes on these little bastards, think you can tell me anything? They're cagey as hell...

[ the fae burst into a chorus of laughter. ]

Laugh it up, cause I ain't giving in -- even if you play hard to get.

welcome home

[ tucked away in the joint minato + sha-ming household is a so called "office". books strewn everywhere, papers scattered across the floor, writing on the wall...

and animals. live animals. there are a handful of chickens, plump and merry as they waddle aimlessly. a sheep, standing atop a worn mattress, baaing eagerly at the sight of you, dogs vigorously ringing around one another, cats sprawling their legs across his desk... it's a wreckage, and yet somehow, everything here is--

healthy. happy. safe. pawing at his legs, nuzzling at his ankles, crawling up his arms. sha-ming sits on a stool, and then pulls up another, wood screeching against the floor. ]

Siddown. This shouldn't take long. [ he pens at some parchment. suddenly, his head jerks up-- ] Cedric, hey, don't shit on the bed. C'mon, get it together, you know you're s'pposed to go outside.

[ the sheep baas forlornly. ]

I'm not mad 'atcha. We got a guest, so like, maybe have some manners, m'kay? [ a beat. ] Anyways-- before we get started, I'm gonna ask you a question.

What do you think separates humanity from all of the other species out there? And don't say some bullshit like "oh, it's love!" cause that's not even true. You and me-- what makes us human?

casino

[ it's unlike anything he's ever seen before. glittering golds, silver coruscating in the dark, treillage lining everything and everywhere. sha-ming hadn't even known that this much money could accumulate in one place; there's a wrongness about it, a peculiarity to it all that sits in his gut.

it doesn't stop him from having a good time. he's dressed in a stark white suit, shirt cut down to reveal the v of his chest, hair slicked back as he sits at the bar -- only to shoot you a cat-eyed grin. ]

Yeah, this whole thing's fishy as hell -- but we might as well live it up anyways, right? Don't get to see things like this often around these parts.

[ his eyes rove over your face. ]

Sometimes I wish I could leave it all behind. Just say fuck it and go. But-- I just... I just can't.

charm/network

this is a mass text

any1 kno where my fuckass little brother is

minato if ur reading this ur literally dead meat btw

anyways if u help me out i'll pay u back

not with money i'm fcking broke but like

if ur a kid i'll give u a piggyback ride idk

if ur not we got options dw

wildcard

[ sha-ming's event plotting post is here if you want any further details/want to do something specific! i am literally game for anything. if you'd like to talk privately feel free to hit me on moontrip as well. ]

network

[opheliac]

tempt him with food. they say a way to a boy's heart is through their stomach! 🍨🍰🧁🥧

[bonobos]

prob is he eats anything i gotta narrow it down idk

u make it sound like i gotta set up a trap

[opheliac]

u want him to come home, don't u?

[bonobos]

yeah but fucking off = his thing. bastard's been doing it 4 yrs now

what kinda food do u think an emo 17 y/o wld want

welcome home

[everblooms]

[ a familiar sight for sore eyes. aerith is kneeling to the ground, busying herself with the chickens, trying to catch one. each dodge her expertly, no doubt having adjusted to her behavior by now. this, too, is probably normal, an everyday occurence and once that's plagued them since childhood. rambunctiously, she ducks to try and grab one, almost succeeding. ]

Oh, come on. One of you has to want a hug!

[ all the while, sha-ming is speaking, unrolling a spiel that means as much to aerith as the clouds mean to the grass. ]

Do we have to do this every time I show up here? My answer won't change. [ finally, her hands touch the soft downy feathers of a small chicken, its plumage a bright enough yellow that it's feathers glimmer green when the animal turns it's head just so. ] Gotcha!

[ hm. ]

Animals don't know the future. For example, it can't say what it'll see at a watering hole or something... But, I can say, let's go on a date, and I already know exactly what I'll see. [ but before he can get a word in edgewise, aerith is showing him the chicken. ]

Doesn't he look just like you? But cuter!

[bonobos]

[ he looks to her, surprise coloring his face, if only because it’s taken… a long ass time for the chickens to warm up enough to endure this level of tactile contact. it’s impressive, but… that’s aerith for you. she had that effect on everything and anything around her. ]

Bullshit. [ he responds with a canine-like grin. ] First of all, humans can’t see the future either… that shit they teach you at Sunday school is getting to you. Second, you’re just makin’ up an excuse to not go on a date with me. And finally, I wouldn’t be a chicken. They’re too damn docile.

[ he rests his head into the palm of his hand. ]

Gimme another answer, princess. And make it good.

[everblooms]

I'm not a princess! [ immediate, unbridled agitation flits across her face, half-turning from him as she presses the squawking chicken to her chest as if to protect it from sha-ming's burns. docile? how dare you. look how hard she had to work to get one in her arms! why, it's almost like an insult towards aerith. ]

I can see the future. It's me walking out of here because you won't admit that you love it when I hug you or hold your hand, since you're just so not docile.

[ EYE ROLL ]

[bonobos]

Woah, woah, woah, I didn’t say all that…

[ what a firecracker of a woman — she’s always been like this. so prone to her own whims, whirlwind of emotion. sha-ming sighs before rubbing at his face. ]

I meaaaan, I’m never gonna say no to you touching me… [ this is kind of a half truth, because as we all know, he gets weirdly flustered over it despite the shit he talks. ] But that’s just how animals work. We want connection even if we’re hard pressed to admit it.

No need to get so riled up, Aer. I just wanted to talk to ya.

[invinciblemikey]

what options

[bonobos]

anything that doesnt get me killed

fairy fun

[geass]

[Lelouch is still living the lie at least, fully immersed in this reality. he's at the market shopping for his and his little brother's meals when he overhears Sha-ming talking to the faeries. he's minding his own business...

that is, until he talks about mating habits.

???

by the time he looks up at the other boy, Sha-ming has drawn him into the conversation.]

I'm not sure about them, really. [a beat.] Why're you asking about their mating habits?

[bonobos]

[ the fairies watch expectantly, one giggling as lelouch speaks. the short answer is that he sucks. the scientific answer? ]

The way an animal reproduces reveals lots about their lifestyle. After all, that's the endgame for most species -- it'll affect your diet, socialization, predation instincts... tells you how much of something there might be, too.

[ and then a shrug of the shoulders. ]

Plus... nah, I'll keep my other reason a secret. [ a cant of the head, smile canine-like and unbothered. ] I throw you off guard?

[geass]

Ah, well of course there's all that...

[he raises an eyebrow. what a weird kid...]

But in public? You know there's kids around, right?

[> there's not actually that many kids around, but he thinks there are.]

[bonobos]

[ great point, lelouch! this brings sha-ming to an wonderful conclusion. ]

Yep, but I mean, they gotta learn about the birds and bees at some point, don't they? And maybe today's their lucky day!

[ a raise of the hand. ]

How 'bout we get you to explain it to 'em? You seem like you're good at explainin' things! Like you make big 'ol speeches allll the time.

closed / local man gets fed up

[bonobos]

[ it’s 12 in the morning, and sha-ming is seated at the dinner table, slathering a slice of bread in butter. there’s an arrangement of foods — fresh cooked greens, supple mounds of meat (for these two; he’s the vegetarian of the three), a heap of golden mashed potatoes whipped up to a point.

he’s dressed in casualwear; his glasses are off for a change, hair matted down around the frame of his face as he yanks at the collar of his tank top. the door creaks open and… he’s silent.

at first. ]

Well, well, well… who’ve we got here? Asshole number one and asshole number two.

[ slow applause! ]

Y’should be glad I’m not ripping off yer heads right now… especially you, kid. Been lookin’ for you all night. [ he eyes minato mercilessly!! ] Now siddown and eat before the food goes cold.

[everblooms]

[ before they walk in, aerith whispers to minato, "let me talk him down." because she knows showing up like this, well past dinner time, with minato in tow, clearly straight from performing at the casino...

is not what he needs to fill in the blanks, but rather, a sight that might ignite the firecracker of agitation instead. so when the door opens up and they're accosted by the sight of sha-ming playing the part of a disappointed father well, aerith only whispers, "shhh!" to the boy at her side. i'v got this, she tries to communicate with her fierce green stare. ]

That's no way to talk to my date. [ she's teasing. ] You really waited up for us? Sorry for making you so lonely, Sha-ming. But honestly, this looks delicious.

[ still enrobed in a nearly floor length white dress, she settles in next to him. did she handle? who knows. ] And I'm starved stupid!

[memori3s]

[ They make quite the pair: Aerith in her graceful dress and Minato still clad in his school uniform. He didn't have the chance to stop by home to change, not when heading home meant crossing paths with Sha-Ming. It's impossible to hide things from his brother. If he'd bumped into Sha-Ming, there's no way Minato would've been able to wiggle out of telling him his evening plans.

Which also meant it was incredibly obvious Minato's entry into the casino was an inside job. There's no way security would have let him through. Given his uniform, he wouldn't have been able to try and lie about his age.

In any event, Minato's content to let Aerith "handle" Sha-Ming. She's got a knack for Matrix dodging all his needling. At the very least, Minato thinks she's way better at it than him. And it's not like he can hear anything Sha-Ming's saying. His headphones sit on top of his ears, music drowning out everything his older brother says. He does see the merciless gaze, but instead of apologizing, Minato raises a hand in a lukewarm wave. He steps in after Aerith, taking one of the seats at the table.

He's home now. Isn't that what matters? ]

[bonobos]

[ he’s a pretty chill guy, but something about these two makes his blood pressure spike.

sha-ming shoots an incredulous raise if the brow at aerith. ]

You don’t wanna date my brother. Rumor has it he’s one hell of a heartbreaker. Can’t say that surprises me, I see a new girl hanging off his arm every month…

[ he got all the rizz in this family, it’s fine. until sha-ming lobs a roll of bread at him. ]

Hey, asshole. I’m talkin’ to you. The hell were you doing at the casino? You could’ve… I dunno, gotten kidnapped or some shit… you’ve got the survival instincts of a goldfish and that place was seedy as hell.

[ he breathes out through his nose. ]

Well, stuff yourselves. Both of you. [ a beat. ] The… performance was good, Aer. Really good.

Casino

[ae10d1f]

[ Earlier that day, members of Aldrip's police force began conducting a secret operation to investigate rumors of illicit drug trafficking in the vicinity.

Which is to say... despite the pretense of today being an off day, by the time his sleazy friend bumped into him, Ryuki was still technically on duty. Fast-forward to after having given in to an unholy invitation to talk over some drinks, and that fact still hasn't changed.

Cue his largely untouched glass of brandy sitting in front of him. ]

It's unusual for you to be this gloomy. Did something bad happen?

[ Usually, he doesn't stay sober for long enough to actually hear the other talk about his woes, so there's also that. ]

[bonobos]

Yeah, well... yer usually too wasted to tell.

[ said bluntly, in that characteristic cadence of his. he brings his glass to his lips, taking in a heady drink of beer. in all honesty, he'd never expected to see himself on good terms with a cop -- but life was a constant flux of the unknown, wasn't it?

there's a pause, and the lambent grey of his eyes is affixed on the wall. ]

...You really don't feel it? How... weird everything's been lately.

[ a beat. ]

Truth it, it's always... been weird. But these days it's like-- like it ain't real. Like we're stuck here forever. I dunno. Maybe I'm just tripping, but... I can't shake it.

[ae10d1f]

[ Ryuki opens his mouth to retort defensively, but ultimately it settles in a pout as he finds he can't a way to prove his innocence (but he's not admitting that snide comeback is the truth, either).

And the truth doesn't just end there; it would be a lie to say he doesn't resonate with the sensation the other is describing. But he's found the more he mulls over the subject, the more frequently he finds himself plagued by flashes of distant memories, none of which are supposedly his own. Both in his dreams and while awake.

His eyes fall to the forsaken drink for a brooding moment as he tries to work out a way to change the subject. ]

The only weird thing I see here are the things you're saying. Really, what's gotten into you? Don't tell me you got rejected again...

[ That last accusation might just be a byproduct of one of those times he was too wasted to remember anything concrete about their conversation. ]

Fairies

[killjoyprince]

[She was just trying to get home. It'd been a long day with the fairies knocking books off of shelves and trying to steal her tools.

At first, she'd just been walking by. Paying the guy no mind, then she overheard what he was saying. Gross, how vulgar. Slowly she turned, just staring at him. Her brow furrowed and shifted to the most judging lineface.

Oh blast, he noticed her. For a second she was silent.]

I don't think they're playing hard to get.

[bonobos]

[ then comes a thoughtful hum. ]

You defending their honor? What are ya, their knight in shining armor?

[ one of the fairies flicks at his ear -- before erupting into a fit of giggles. ]

We're just havin' fun, no need to worry. Although, I wonder if they're capable of aggression anyways -- they're a looot more defensive than they are offensive, probably cause you could quash 'em like bugs if you wanted t--

[ and then another fairy yanks at tuft of his hair. again. ]

Hey, it's just an observation. Not my fault you guys are as big as ants.

[killjoyprince]

[A dismissive snort.]

Hardly. But upsetting them would be an issue... [The faires hadn't done anything particularly dangerous. But they were dropping items, it'd be very easy for them to get dangerous.

She was still pulling a face at him. Ignoring the fairy that decided her hat was a trampoline.]