hugtopia_logs | ♥ October (Lasohm) Fourth Wall Log

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♥ October (Lasohm) Fourth Wall Log

kool aid man crashing through a wall then nervously stepping out again

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.

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.

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"... I am grateful that you are willing to see me, and not see her reflected in me."

The High Priestess had little to do with The Crown Prince until she'd had him summoned back to the Empire, the one person she thought viable to rule until Zarkon's recovery could be secured, and the Emperor in turn had scolded her for that decision. At such a point in time, she could not grasp the intentions or reasons as to why Lotor would turn against them; he'd remained an enigma to her for so long.

Her slow reemergence had made the truth of it all too clear. He was bright, gifted, and made his own path, with or without what he was provided. He had lived every one of those years far more than she had, being unable to appreciate so much around her, only able to appraise others for their roles or their use, much as her own existence was the same. Hardly a way to live, and so much of that entrenched mindset had needed undoing.

And he'd... hated her, perhaps for how deeply devoted she was to not question her orders or his father's rule. She thought he always would hate her, that her only memories of him might only be of rejection. But as cautious as they both were being, she didn't sense that venom from him either. She takes a breath, and speaks again, softly.

"What has... helped me the most was being able to meet my companions. They helped me accept... a lot of ugly truths, and we have learned to support one another. There is much I struggle with still, but we... get through those times, as we can."

"I fear that I cannot unsee the reflection entirely, but perhaps there is enough difference to be a starting point. I have long been held accountable for Zarkon's actions - surely you remember that, as Haggar?"

He smirked, a tad bitterly, but it wasn't meant to be hostile.

"It has been largely the same for me. The reality I have been residing in is a sort of nightmare, but the Paladins are present. Some from a future timeline, and they have told me of...many things. I feel that if I am dead it serves no purpose to carry resentment or hate. I cannot forgive what I endured, but...you were not the one to do it, and you did not understand what it was you were doing as the witch. It would be foolish of me to blame you for it."

Honerva nods to his words, though her expression can't help but fall at the context of it all. Residing in some sort of nightmare, having the paladins for company, resigned to the supposed fate of that future even if he had not yet experienced it.

It had been hard enough for her to endure the visions of it without context, as it was to hear him fill in those gaps. She hadn't ever wanted to accept his death as reality, but what could she do when he confirmed it all himself? And then to say that he did not blame her for what he had endured, as much as she continued to do so?

It was... his... choice, what he was facing now.

"This world... is different. It is not a nightmare, but... the sort of place where we can't be certain how long we may remain, while it recovers. In this moment you have accepted all that may befall you but in this moment you are still alive. You... are still a person, with needs, and cares... so please, do not forget that."

He'd been contemplating the choice he'd made since he'd arrived in Deerington, when Allura had accused him of simply siphoning quintessence from the Alteans he'd built a colony for. She herself had not lived their confrontation, and from his last memories of that place they'd been working on it, but it had hurt. To know that without consulting him at all, she and the other Paladins had believed him to be a monster intent on using the entire population of the Altean refugees as nothing more than a fuel source, that he'd simply kept the bodies on display...

No. It was not worth thinking about, and he'd been able to explain to Allura. To show her some of it. It wasn't enough, and it couldn't take those accusations and the knowledge of what had happened away, but. It was something. It had to be.

"It is because I am alive now that I choose not to harbor fruitless resentment toward future events I have not seen. Should they come to pass I cannot change them, though I will make the attempt."

"... What this future may or may not be in another timeline... what matters is that we are here now. And I... would learn more of you, not of those events. They will not be our future if I can help it."

There is little they can do to change the course of potential events from here, to get caught up in the frailty of it, aside from making all efforts not to return. Or to hope that the ramifications of several timelines would not affect them all. Who could say? Such things were so varied, and direct knowledge of it was... limited, without the knowledge of Oriande's blessings. But the universe, the other realities... such things were so much wider than what they had known or been exposed to, or they would not have an opportunity in this place to simply be.

"We have lost so much time, Lotor. What... is it that makes you smile? Do you have any... meals you prefer? If those are too personal for you to feel comfortable answering, then... if there is anything you would ask of me, what might it be?"

"I...am curious what my name might mean. I know of Kaltor as he is mentioned in a great deal of Galra literature, but Zarkon had all knowledge of Altea and Alteans destroyed after his return from the rift. I...have always had a curiosity regarding it."

He'd wanted to ask the refugees on the Colony many times, but had always felt an overwhelming aversion to doing so when the opportunity presented itself. It had been a question he'd been wanting to ask his parents, and...well.

After a moment of thought, he sighed. "I love to explore, and to learn of other cultures," he confessed quietly. "I am also very fond of research into new topics. I have always had an affinity for the written word. The study of the stars and planets and how they are able to form such beautiful visages fascinates me. Knowledge makes me smile."

Sorry, Honerva, your son is an unrepentant nerd.

"Hmmm. Foods are more difficult - Zarkon outlawed the preparation of foods in the Empire when I was quite young and insisted on sustenance goo being the primary means of satiation. But after my exile I found many planets on the outskirts of the Empire where traditional foods were still prominent. I found that I am quite fond of stews with a blend of flavors, and dishes with a great deal of spice."

He looked away, embarrassed.

"May I ask the same questions of you?"

What can she do but listen, filled with gratitude that she may yet hear these words from him? This is what makes her smile, makes her emotions soar. There is so much... so much she had not known about him. How similar he must have been to her in a previous lifetime, even as much as she was different now.

"... I am afraid much of that knowledge yet remains shrouded to me, my son."

It is her turn to feel ashamed, at all she could not yet untangle about the mysteries of her own past, her own history, memories involving Altean tradition that he yearned for, and her ears lowered.

"Yet... the recollection of the meaning behind your name had returned to me. You were named after Lotarious... a name that comes from deep Altean history. An explorer and a brilliant engineer, he had... built most of the engineering that structured planet Altea, for the world it had become. At the time... your father was quite curious as well, even if he had his own ideas. So we compromised. It had seemed... right, in that moment. A name that would become unique to you alone."

She was a nerd, too.

"As to your question... given how long the sustenance of the empire was all I had known for so long, food was not something I had much knowledge of, or any particular recollection toward. It's ironic in a way, for that was how I became introduced to Taako and Lup in the first place. Taako was appalled by my lack of interest in the meals he would prepare for our ship. I was unable to taste or appreciate it for a while, but they were... committed, to opening me to that experience, and... much more. I tend to fare best with soups or salads, although we have discovered that I quite appreciate fruits most of all, with sweet and crisp flavors, or the earthiness of berries. We've--"

Her ears wiggle, a little excitedly at this. "We have juniberries here, Lotor. There are some blossoms yet remaining that you can see, and enough remain from our small harvesting that you may yet taste them as well."

"It is no matter. Your mind was completely corrupted; I do not expect that you remember the entirety of your life before that point."

The way her ears lowered bothered him because it was so similar to the way his own did. He'd never been able to control that particular physical reaction, and when his emotions were high his ears could be very telling. Both the fact that hers seemed to function in the same manner and that she was obviously quite emotional about it affected him more than he'd been expecting.

"...Lotarious. Thank you. I had been searching for so long I had never expected to learn it. I have no wish to be a conqueror, but I do appreciate the concept you tried to achieve."

He listened to her answer to the question about food with a smile, especially interested when her ears wiggled.

"I would be honored to try a juniberry. Allura speaks of them fondly. She has managed to germinate some in the nightmare world I have been residing in, for the flower shop in which she is employed.

I am glad to know that you have had people to befriend and help you."

"No matter what our intentions may have been, you are yourself."

They had been excited parents, with dreams far beyond them. But that was neither here nor there, where they now stood so far from those times. Her ears lower slightly at mention of Allura, but not much could be done for those complicated feelings.

"Then we shall have them, when it pleases you. I did not expect to see them appear in this world, either. It was difficult for me to even look upon them for some time, and so a friend looked after them. They were able to thrive in her garden due to changes in this world... there was a cleansing that encouraged the spread of botanical life."

The appearance of the juniberry flowers had been unfortunately tied with reliving deeply negative experiences, and she'd denied accepting them herself, feeling unworthy. It took time, to work past that, and to feel that she could look upon them and have that right to her own past culture. Being able to share them with him would help ease the uncertainty a bit further. A new memory, for all the ones she lacked. A hopeful one, too.

"I am grateful for those bonds... and the person I can be now because of them. Lup... always pulls me back."

"Evidently I am myself quite more than is advisable."

But it was light-hearted and he was glad to realize that he was genuinely enjoying this conversation with her.

"I am happy you have people who can keep you grounded. My generals were that for me, until I had to cut Narti down."

He looked away, voice a bit less jovial. While she had been Haggar when she'd turned Narti's mind, the loss still hurt.

"I would like to try a juniberry with you, if you would have me. Perhaps we may experience a bit of Altea together as we should have."

He did not ask if she knew of the colony, fearing the answer and still not trusting her quite enough for that. Yet.

"Your general...?"

She tilts her head, ears giving a confused flick to his words as she watches him glance away. That particular subject had not come up between them before, and she had been drawn away from their universe from before her turning of Narti, to not realize the significance.

She can tell it upsets him, though she's not certain if it is safe to pry, given how he'd changed the subject back.

"Perhaps we can... take a walk to where we may partake of them. It may help you familiarize yourself more with these surroundings as well."

His eyes narrowed a bit suspiciously. But she'd said her last memory of her own reality was a fairly significant amount of time before...

"Yes. She was...a good friend."

It was all he would say, turning instead to the offer of juniberries. It was a much safer topic and one he was far less likely to allow his memories of the witch's tricks to impose upon.

"Familiarization would be a benefit, as would seeing true specimens."

"I see..."

Honerva can tell he's trying not to let the subject linger, though not the reason. Yet another loss that he's had, and likely an impossibly difficult one to add, if they had been that close. While something of it bothers her, feeling strongly that she should be offering him something more for how little of it she understood, for the moment, she keeps to his wishes and focuses on the present instead.

"Most of them have been moved to the home we have here."

Lotor simply looked away, not wanting to dwell. If this version of Honerva had not lived the experience it would be cruel to blame her for it, though he still seethed with rage at the idea of it. Better not to think of it.

"Ah. That would be the most sensible thing."

"If... heading to such a location is too forward given our circumstances, I understand. It is for you to decide."

He has offered her a lot, with his patience, to even allow their conversation to come so far. Especially for him to refrain from blame, as valid that his anger is; she can tell something is off but that he will not say. Even so, she is wary of crossing any lines with him that she can't yet see.

He took a moment to simply look at her. She did not appear to be attempting to reassure him out of anything other than genuine care, but he'd been led astray by such tactics before...well. Nothing for it.

"I thank you for the consideration, but I have learned that I am seldom better served by allowing myself to ruminate on circumstances. I am happy to join you, should you be comfortable with the idea."

Her ears flicker slightly at that, but she nods. She had already all but made the offer for him to look upon them; if he was willing there was no reason not to follow through.

"Then... we can make our way in that direction from here. I am less aware of how long it may take to arrive there by walking, but I can think of no better opportunity to learn. The... scenic route, or so they call it. This city is not too large of a place, overall."

"You make regular use of other modes of transport, then?"

It made sense - this world, for what appeared to be a dependence on gods, did seem rather advanced technologically.

"I am happy to walk - familiarizing myself with the surroundings would be a benefit, if you would not mind pointing out places of interest and importance as we go."

"It is more that my reliance upon... certain abilities for travel can sometimes have an effect on... my having an accurate perception of time."

She does not know why it feels uncomfortable to reveal even this, but nonetheless she continues to move the conversation along, indicating that he may join her so she can lead them properly out of the temple.

"We could easily pass through a few other districts on our way there, so you can get a better sense of the city. What would you consider a priority interest?"

"Abilities bestow by this place, or inherent to you?"

It wasn't unkind; he was simply curious as to how that might work. But he did sense her reluctance and did not pry further, though he very much wanted to ask about the effect on her perception of time.

"Any place deemed important by those here, both native and those who have arrived as we did. Should there be any cultural areas I would be interested in those as well, but for purely selfish reasons."

"It is... inherent. I am able to teleport myself to various locations. Others here also are able to do so, granted by different means."

Perhaps he can understand the reason it gives her pause to explain; as Haggar she would not have had any reason to utilize such abilities in front of him, as there wasn't a need. Here it was more practical, though she tried not to make so much of a habit of it. It was no secret, only the discomfort that he might equate any ability at all that she might possess to that identity.

"Importance varies, of course. Most of their culture tends to be cultivated the most within these temples, found at the cardinal points. There are research towers, though we have limited access to their floors, but they have museums, zoos and gardens dedicated to preserving the past, though they seem to not have anything in regard to what they may have looked like previously."

Which was perhaps the most unusual thing about the society; their commitment to their robotic forms and no implications of what they may have been like before.

"There were older records discovered in the great archives building, though access to that has been sealed away from us for about a deca-phoeb. We have kept details of our discoveries, at least."

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♥ October (Lasohm) Fourth Wall Log

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