♥ October (Lasohm) Fourth Wall Log

[hugtopiamods]

October (Lasohm) Fourth Wall Log

❥ Speaking of Wall Breaking...

The ghosts in town sure are weird, huh? But they're settling down, as the month draws to a close. They're becoming less anxious and random, their behaviour growing sort of… focused. As time passes some of them begin to develop features. They can interact with the world more consistently. You can… hear their voice.

And then suddenly they are people, real and physical and just as confused to be here as you are. They could be anyone, from your world, someone else's world, a place you've never heard of… some of them could even be you, from a different universe, a different timeline, an unknown reality. What does all this mean?

IT'S FOURTH WALL, Y'ALL. Tell your friends, people interested in apping or just playing around in the setting, anybody! Time to break the wall down and have some fun.

This post serves as a replacement for the usual Test Drive Meme, in order to consolidate the chaos a bit. Though it is being posted now, timeline-wise, this shift will occur ONLY during the weekend prior to applications opening: October 30th to November 2nd, after which point characters will either disappear or become permanent residents via the application process. This also means that the rest of the event effects will have worn off, and characters will be their normal selves through the duration of this prompt.

Some ground rules for the 4th Wall event:

For characters/accounts not in-game:

• a character does not have to meet application qualifications to post to the 4th Wall Event, except in cases where there is an intent to apply when applications open. Duplicates, CRAU, AU, etc. are permitted for the event.
  
• we do ask that crack shenanigans are reasonably limited, game rules are followed, and that the event involve characters only, not players or real people.
  
• anyone can toplevel! It'll be a free for all. Go wild, have fun.
  
• characters will be given a temporary, low-tech communicator for the duration of the event with limited network access, due to limited availability of the real deal.
  
• you will not arrive with any items/companions beyond the clothes that you wear
  
• check out the Setting or FAQ pages for location details! Also, have a look at the October event log, to see what else is going on these days.

For characters/accounts currently in-game:

• players can decide for themselves at the event's conclusion whether or not memories of certain visitors remain, and to what extent; memories could become fuzzy, faces or communication obscured, they could disappear entirely, or they can remain fully intact whether the person apps into the game or not.
  
• network communications with 4th Wall visitors that don't (or can't) app in will be wiped, with the locals citing a data error related to the older communicators being used. Technology can be unpredictable, huh!
  
• any communication exchanges that you WANT to keep can remain with some discretion; for example, if a spouse visits and you happen to take a selfie with them, and they do not (or cannot) app but having that photo of them would give you comfort, feel free to keep it.
  
• Similar to the TDM, 4th wall threads cannot be used for AC or AC Reward purposes unless it is between characters already in-game.
  

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Click the above prompt to expand for details. Timeline-wise, this occurs October 30th to November 2nd. For players currently in-game, if you have any questions, please direct them to the FAQ or to the Mod Question thread on the original plotting post.

On this post, we've created both another Questions Thread and a Toplevel thread (see below) for visiting players, the latter so that anyone can track and see who's posted! When you've made a toplevel, feel free to comment HERE to let everyone know.

Comments

[firstbump]

Ardbert watches as Seto khrrs at her and soaks up the affection. This must be how Era feels when looking up at me, he muses. Gods, it feels like Amarout all over again, except she's shorter.

There's something about her he can't place until she focuses on him. He almost guesses at what she says before she says it. But still it takes a moment to absorb the words. Ardbert has trouble finding breath himself.

"Hemera..." Ardbert stares up at her in awe, taking a step closer even if it makes it that much harder to look up at her. "I'm..." His voice breaks. "My soul came from a piece of yours. A fourteenth."

[ancestor]

Hemera reaches out to touch his face, fingers brushing against his brow and trailing down before she cups his cheek in her hand. She is warm, soft, and tender in all the ways that Era is, yet the love she exudes is wholly different—not just nurturing, but motherly. He is solid and warm against her skin. If she listens close she can hear all the ways he is not her and she revels in it. Soaks in the faint, beautiful notes and commits them to memory.

How he came to be is irrelevant in the face of all that he is. He is hers. He is perfect.

"I would have given all but the barest sliver of my soul to make you, my sweet son," she whispers fervently, lifting her other hand to touch his face. "You are my Masterwork."

Oh hey spoilers for his Tales from the Shadows too

[firstbump]

Ardbert has never known the touch of a mother. His own died when he was young. While his father had been loving and kind, he had still felt her absence keenly.

Hemera isn't her. But he's so small compared to her that he feels like a child looking up. The vastness of her soul is almost overwhelming. It's complete. Unsundered.

His vision blurs; she'd give up so much for him and loves him so deeply, so immediately, when they've only met? "I—"

Seto lets out a low sound, moving close near Ardbert's side but not interrupting the moment.

Ardbert wants to say he's not her Masterwork, that he's nothing like that. Yet Hemera means it so strongly that he can't refute it. All he can do is stare at her, raw and yearning, as tears start trailing down his face.

[ancestor]

She brushes away the tears as best she can with her thumbs, but it isn't enough to satisfy the feeling that fills her chest fit to bursting. Carefully, she pulls Ardbert close, wrapping an arm around his back while the other remains against the back of his head, fingers stroking through his hair in soothing motions.

Head bowed, Hemera hums a quiet melody against his brow that he may find somewhat familiar.

"Hush, my dear little one. There's no need to cry."

[firstbump]

Well, this is embarrassing. His head is tucked against her bosom and she's cuddling him like a child. In public.

The embarrassment cures anymore tears, at least. It's been a while since emotions overwhelmed him; he's had his body back for over a half-year now. Seeing Hemera like this, combined with her kindness, got the best of him for a moment.

He clears his throat after several moments and tries to disengage. "I'm, ah. Good now. Y-You caught me off guard. I never knew my mother."

[ancestor]

I never knew my mother.

She was the mother of his soul, but not the mother he's been raised to think of. He is one-fourteenth of her soul, not half. He doesn't speak the language of Amaurot.

Hades' soul was filled with grief.

When it's all put together it's more than enough for Hemera to realize that something went horribly, horribly wrong. But such matters are hardly to be discussed with a child—especially not her child.

Because regardless of circumstances, Ardbert will always be her son.

Hemera rubs circles against his back, noting how broad and muscular it is. The body of an adult, yet to all her other senses he is so very young.

"I you wish it, I would gladly be your mother for however long I'm able."

[firstbump]

Ardbert clears his throat again, a bit louder. He hugs her briefly and reassuringly before trying to disengage. Getting cuddled by the woman whose soul gave birth to his and his wife's souls is going to raise questions if it continues in public.

"I'd appreciate the chance... but I am an adult."

[ancestor]

Hemera is reluctant to let him go, yearning to keep him close. He is her deepest wish given form and she knows in her heart of hearts that she will never live to see it.

"Just a moment longer. It—" Her voice cracks, catching on a damp breath. "It's all I ask."

Ardbert tries to pull away and her arms tighten around him in a way that does not smother, but cradles. There is so much she does not know. So much pain. But someday a child with be born of her soul, and this fills her with a strength she cannot put to words.

"Just let me have this," she whispers; a desperate prayer to whatever powers may be listening. "Please."

[firstbump]

Oh.

Ardbert stills. He steps forward and wraps his arms around her in a proper hug.

[ancestor]

He acquiesces, giving her free rein to hold him as close as she can. She does, quickly wrapping him up in the safety of her arms and the warmth of her soul.

[firstbump]

She's like Era yet different. Older, vaster. Taller.

Ardbert lets her have the time she needs. It's the least he can do for the woman whose soul gave birth to his. She lost her entire being, as did everyone else in Amaurot. He can't take this from her, too.

[ancestor]

Eventually, after what feels like both an eternity and an instant, Hemera withdraws. She wipes away the wetness in her eyes and offers a faint smile.

"My apologies, little one."

[firstbump]

Ardbert smiles up at her softly. "It's all right. Sometimes you just need to hug someone."

Seto, seeing they're done, immediately moves up to get close to both of them for pets. Ardbert laughs, hand reaching up to scratch under his chin. The amaro knew how to ease the awkwardness of what just happened.

"And sometimes you just have to scratch an amaro under his chin."

[ancestor]

"I suppose that's true enough, but apologies all the same."

Hemera reaches out to stroke the amaro atop his head as Ardbert scratches the underside of Seto's chin.

"'Amaro'... Is that what he decided to call them?"

[firstbump]

Ardbert's brow furrows, not understanding. "... He?"

Seto could care less about the conversation now that both of them are calm and petting him.

[ancestor]

"My dearest friend, Hades," she answers easily, continuing to stroke the bird. "After I took my seat Hythlodaeus decided I would need a traveling companion—something capable of carrying me quickly through plains and woodlands, but also defend me from attack. He came up with what he called a 'chocobo'."

The smile on her face is unbearably fond. Clearly Hythlodaeus meant a great deal to her, even if she doesn't refer to him as her dearest friend.

"Hades was unimpressed. He believed I needed a companion that could fly me across long distances—creature built for endurance. He only just finished the concept before I left, but I didn't want to risk losing sweet Epimetheus."

[firstbump]

All of those names mean something to Ardbert from the way he stares at her. The information sinks in suddenly, and he chuckles, moving to stroke Seto's neck. It's funny, honestly.

"Hades made amaro? ... somehow, that surprises me as much as it doesn't. The man can be surprisingly gentle."

[ancestor]

Her hand falters. She looks down at Ardbert in surprise.

"...You know Hades?"

She had assumed he wouldn't, given that he doesn't speak the language of their homeland. Perhaps Ardbert was unable to learn it? Hemera can hardly imagine her child being incapable, but she cannot deny that having such a small fraction of her soul would limit him greatly...

Hades had always held such a fondness for children. If she was unable to raise him herself, it isn't difficult for her to imagine her dearest friend raising her Masterwork into such a sweet boy. He would have been a wonderful father.

The thought brings an odd flutter to her heart, and a blush to her cheeks.

[firstbump]

Ardbert blinks back to her in surprise for a moment with one of those little oh, shite looks as he does some quick thinking. Okay. Definitely not mentioning the whole threesome thing. Ever.

"I do, although not well." Ardbert's hand rests on Seto's neck. "But he was kind to me when I first came here. Or... well the other Hades that was here. This place can pull people from different times, and sometimes when it pulls them in a second time, they seem to have no memories of this place."

[ancestor]

"...What?"

Hemera understands, in theory, what it is he's saying, but it's all a bit much for her right now. Or, more accurately, it's nothing she can accept as the truth just yet.

"Surely... You aren't saying that I will forget you, once I leave?"

[firstbump]

Ardbert's eyes sadden. "I... honestly don't know. Timelines exist in our world, too, so I don't know... how all of that works. Maybe you will? Maybe you won't? Maybe he was another Hades from another timeline? I can't say."

Forgetting is one of Era's fears, too....

[ancestor]

"So there is hope yet..."

She would gladly forget every other marvelous thing she discovers about this world if it meant she could hold Ardbert in her memory forever.

[firstbump]

Ardbert nods, glad he was able to pull some hope straight out of his ass. Once, he was really good at that.

"There is. Which is why we should focus on what we have now rather than on what we may or may not lose. I know at least I have been here for a while. The longer you are here, the longer you seem to remain."

[ancestor]

Hemera reaches out to touch Ardbert's face again, still unbearably loving and awed. She feels a burst of pride and only just resists the urge to pull him into her arms again.

"I cannot stay here for long. The path I tread will not allow for it," she tells him, gently. "But my deepest wish has always been to have a child... However impossible it may seem, I cannot imagine any greater masterwork. To know that you exist... It fills me with such joy."

[firstbump]

Ardbert wants to say that they can't control how long they stay, but being called a masterwork leaves him speechless and happily embarrassed again. It's adorable. He's happy that his soul came from someone kind.

"It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside hearing something like that coming from you. But I'm not the only one. There's another that has inherited your soul here."