{ 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

iv

[coordinatroll]

[ She's late. Her little sister is late. Which, by itself, wouldn't be that big of a deal; it's not like she has any sort of strict curfew, and she trusts Sandry is a smart girl and wouldn't get into any trouble... but at the same time, the sun has set already and Mitama is getting more and more worried by the minute. Finally, she can't stand just waiting at home anymore, and leaves home to walk around the neighbourhood to try and see if she can find her. Maybe she can stop by the places she usually hangs out at and ask if she's around. Yeah, that sounds like a plan.

It isn't long into her venture that the problem solves itself, however, and she lets out a small squeak when the very person she's been looking for almost runs into her. ]

There you are, young lady!

[ There's a scowl on Mitama's face, which isn't a common occurrence ─ she's usually more of a cheery person, but right now, she's clearly not happy. ]

You know I don't like it when you're out after dark without giving me a heads-up... You could've messaged me to let me know where you are, at least!

[ People often laugh at her and call her overprotective when they hear about that particular trait of hers. What is there to worry about? This is Aldrip, probably the safest place in the world. Still, Mitama can't help the way she feels... ]

[threadmage]

[ Oh, this is a very safe person to almost run into. Sandry is very relieved to see her sister, even with the scolding and being in the dark. She's very patient with Mitama's protectiveness. ]

I'm sorry, Mitama. I didn't mean to be out so late. I wasn't paying attention and then it got dark...

[ Sandry gives a small shudder at that last bit. ]

[coordinatroll]

[ Oh, who is she joking? She couldn't possibly stay mad at her, even if she tried. Mitama lets out a sigh of relief, knowing that the most important thing is that nothing bad has happened to her sister. ]

Well, as long as you understand... Just, be careful next time, okay?

[ She gives the other girl a warm smile and wraps her arms around her shoulders to give her a reassuring hug. ]

Let's go home, okay? I've picked up some dinner for us on the way home!

[threadmage]

[ Sandry gives a very emphatic nod. ]

I... don't like being out in the dark. I'll be more careful next time.

[ She's never minded it before, if only she hadn't had that... bad dream. Or whatever it was. But she gives her sister a weak smile in return. Being with Mitama isn't fixing her fear of the dark, but it makes it easier. ]

That sounds great. What's for dinner?

[coordinatroll]

[ Mitama claps her hands together, letting out a smile chuckle. Just that promise is enough to make her forget all about how worried and mad she was a moment ago. ]

That's all Big Sis needed to hear ♥ But if you ever find yourself in the dark, you can always give me a call, okay? I'll come running before you even know it!

[ A part of her wonders if Sandry's dislike of the dark is some kind of recent development... but she doesn't give it much thought, figuring out she'll confide in her if she feels the need to. Besides, if it helps keep her out of the harm's way, then it's all for the best.

(What sort of harm would that be? Even Mitama herself couldn't tell.) ]

Today is pizza day! I figured we deserve a treat once in a while, don't you think~?

[ Which may sound like a perfectly good reason, sure... but knowing Mitama, there's also a very good chance she tried to cook something herself and it went horribly bad, so she was forced to go get something that won't poison her family instead. ]

now i want pizza

[threadmage]

[ Oh, pizza sounds so good! Sandry brightens some. ]

That sounds great! What kind did you get?

[ As they set off again towards home Sandry holds out her hand. ]

I know I'm too old for this but... would you hold my hand?

[ It would help a bit. ]

that is my secret... I always want pizza

[coordinatroll]

[ There, that seems to have helped... Seeing the girl relax some more is a relief to be sure. ]

Hawaiian!

[ Of course she'd make the most controversial culinary pick... of course.

Mitama doesn't hesitate for even a moment, happily taking Sandry's hand and squeezing it tightly. As if she would ever refuse a request like that... in fact, she might have offered it herself if the other girl hadn't brought it up. ]

What are you talking about? We're sisters! You'll never be too old for family affection~

i actually LOVE hawaiian so now sandry does too

[threadmage]

[ Sandry swings their hands back and forth playfully as they walk. ]

You know I love Hawaiian! Thanks for getting that. How was your day?