{ 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

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…

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

[bonobos]

Yeah, that too. But yanno, you’re a real piece of work yourself, if I do say so myself….

How’s the phrase go? Like knows like?

[ he’s teasing, but there’s something genuine there too — aerith was… the kindest, most compassionate selfish brat of a woman there was.

and he likes that, really.

the poor chicken is liberated from the iron vise of her arms shortly thereafter and practically bolts into the hallway. sha-ming brings his leg up, sitting loosely on the stool as he rests his face in his palm. ]

Play, huhhh? Sounds like a date to me. Didn’t you say you already know how’d that go…

[ a wave of the hand. ]

But sure, let’s do it. Not like I can say no to you, princess.

[everblooms]

Takes one to know one, you jerk.

[ sliding off the desk with a hop, aerith plants both her feet solidly on the ground. when she turns to look back at sha-ming, her braid is swaying quickly with the motion, and her smile has turned mischievous. he could see right through her, she muses silently, but aerith likes to think it's only because she lifts the veil to let him peer in.

of course, they grew up together; she would be foolish to think she can hide anything from him. so without another thought, she leaps forward to capture his arm in both of her's, smiling still as if it's no more than a tease. ]

And where did you hear the word "date", hm? You must be awful lucky to go out with a cute girl, though. [ a beat. ] Not a princess. Really! Let's mosey.

[ without another word, she's tugging him out with her, leading the way brightly and cheerfully as she always has. ]

[bonobos]

Oh, but look who started it-- if y'can't take the heat, get outta the kitchen.

[ it's all play, all fun -- that's just how they were. it's been that way since they were children. made everyday an adventure, even in the sleepy, faraway corner of the world.

and then suddenly, her hands are on him, and his mouth is agape in this dumbfounded kind of way -- like she's totally caught him off guard (she has). sha-ming stumbles onto his feet, letting her have her way, feet dragging against the floorboards. the door flies open and the sunshine washes over them in swathes. ]

Didn't give me a choice, did ya? You really do want me bad... [ he flashes a lopsided, teethy grin, the sharpness of his canines poking out. ] Alright, I'll let you have lil 'ol me. Tell me, Yer Highness, where are we headed first?

[everblooms]

You're not little anymore.

[ there's a fond roll of her eyes anyway, her free palm flipped over skyward as if to gesture to the heavens themselves in disbelief. this guy. ] Like I saaaaid, there's some new stalls at the shopping district. But you can always come with me anywhere else after that. I need to take a trip to the seamstress to check on my dress for tonight!

[ she looks back at him with a scandalous smile, positively radiant in the sunlight. ]

Oh, Sha-Ming! Are you getting dressed up tonight, actually? It's going to be a real show, you know.

[bonobos]

And neither are you, Aer. Yet here you are, draggin' me around by the hand.

[ his teeth flash white, that trademark smile of his materializing. ]

Oh? You need me to help you put it on?

[ he's joking. surely. before smoothing it out with a-- ] You look good in anything you wear. Ya know that, right?

[ and then she asks that and-- sha-ming raises a wrist, head cocking. ]

'Course I am. I'm not gonna come to one of your shows lookin' like a damned dud. What kinda guy do you take me for?

[everblooms]

Put it on me? Sure, if you can handle it.

[ if anyone's around to hear this conversation, they probably wish they weren't. ]

Hmm... what kind of guy...? [ "a crybaby," is pirouetting about on her tongue as she snaps her jaw shut. that might be a little too mean, she reasons, but there's a taunting raise of one of her thin brows when she looks at sha-ming. ] What about one that wants to match clothes with me tonight, then?

[bonobos]

'Course I can handle it. Been handling it my entire life.

[ ugh, miss thickness. there's some deliberation at what she says next, a brow raising, the chatter of the village buzzing around them as the sun graces them with its warmth. ]

Our styles are pretty different, aren't they? [ a beat. ] I'll make it work. You just gotta show me what yer wearin'.

[everblooms]

[ she's not indulging that.

but she does watch him expectantly, knowing he'll buckle for her if she keeps her ground. as soon as he agrees, there's a little pep in aerith's step— ribbon in her hair bouncing, she turns to look at him, hands laced behind her back and bent at the waist. ]

That's why I'm bringing you with me. If you're lucky, the seamstress will even let you bring something to sew onto before the show. But, you gotta really impress her to get that kind of treatment. It's pretty special, you know?