hugtopia_logs | ♥ 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[With their powers combined, they can search both high and low! And as they look, Shinji does his best to keep an eye on Ken, just to keep a watch for any other signs of distress, spiraling, anything like that. Surely this search is important, but making sure the person who is absolutely here right now is doing okay is much, much more so.

Shinji will take the lead on going out of his way to ask any passing robots if they have seen a small, green, ten-legged friend, but not a single one of those lines of questioning leads to anywhere at all. That's. Hm. Not encouraging. He doesn't want to give up the search if Ken's willing to keep looking, though, but perhaps constantly throwing oneself at a pursuit with what feels like shrinking prospects is an endeavor best broken up a bit.]

No luck here, [they could move on to the next spot, but he does want to toss out an offer first - ] Let me know if you want to take a break for a little bit, okay?

[ Ken shakes his head. ] I can keep going.

[ And he does seem - sharper, now, if in a grimmer way. He's made sense of the world, as much as he can in the moment, and knowing where his feet are planted helps him walk forward. ]

Let's move on.

[Hmm....]

All right.

[He'll oblige for now, falling into step next to Ken, but he does want to offer the extra bit of push on his own end,] I know you're probably worried about your friend, but if you need to take a few moments to yourself, he'd probably understand, right?

[Not that he really... has any solid basis for this guess, but maybe the reminder that he should be looking out for himself as well isn't an unwelcome one? He's Trying.]

So, please do keep it in mind.

[ Ken nods, and for a while it looks like he's too preoccupied with the search to respond any further. But in the back of his head, the gears are turning.

He's not ungrateful, but....Shinji has been mentioning that a lot. Is he that obviously falling apart? Or--? ]

.....Why would you be so concerned about me?

[ He honestly sounds confused. ]

[Is that really so surprising...? Or is he just being a little too pushy about it? Ken doesn't exactly sound upset about it, but Shinji can't exactly stop that thought from bubbling to the surface. Still, he doesn't really want to back off completely from his point.]

Sorry, [he offers it with sincerity, though largely as a matter of politeness after what he thinks may have been a slight boundary overstep,] you just seemed like you were in pretty rough shape before, and I don't want you to think that it would be... bad for you to take a little time to yourself, if that makes sense.

--Thanks. [ Ken blinks, nearly coloring at that. ] But that's not quite it. You're doing all this for a stranger.

[ His gaze wanders, as if he'll spot the right question to ask in the air. What meaning....What significance? The words seem heavy when he considers voicing them.

So he goes blunter. ]

Why would I matter to you?

[Ah. So it's a more personal 'why'. Got it.

And to that personal question, there is a pretty personal answer - he wants to be the kind of person who can reach out to others. If he can offer Ken some kind of solace in such a trying time, then he'll feel like he's going in the right direction with that goal. That... might be a little heavy to be dropping unexpectedly, though, so he opts for something that's a bit lighter, but just as sincere.]

I mean... we're all in the same boat here, more or less. Nobody really asked to be here, so we should try and help each other out if we can. [And, more to the point,] Almost everyone here starts off as strangers, and if a stranger hadn't helped me out when I first got here, I probably still wouldn't be doing very well.

[Maybe he's projecting (he's definitely projecting), but he's kind of worried about letting someone so young fall into similar kinds of habits he had near the beginning of his stay.]

Even if we don't know each other well now, that doesn't mean you don't deserve the help.

I can deserve help just by being here.

[ Not because of special significance? Because he's someone in need? And everyone starts out in the same situation, so he's not alone in his experiences....

This is a big, new thought for Ken. He has to mull it over. ]

That's right.

[A totally wild concept, huh?]

There are a lot of kind people here, so hopefully you can come to count on some of them to help you out when you need it.

Mm.

[ He's not alone. He'd had that thought process, before, but the idea that this is a place where people do that for others lends it extra weight.

Were his experiences in his world less unique than he'd thought? No less precious, but, is it possible that he can learn to belong here, too? And that people will want that?

He's not alone....!

Ken smiles. ] Being a part of something really is warm, isn't it.

[A smile! How reassuring - Shinji can already tell that Ken will very likely have a much easier time coping with everything than he did if something like that can be coaxed out of him.

The comment resonates with him, too. He's far from shaken himself completely of the innate uncertainty and apprehension that being part of something, specifically something so closely involving other people, brings with it, but... yeah. Yeah, he gets it.] Mhm, [he nods slightly, a smile of his own creeping into his expression,] it can be really warm.

You're a warm person, as well, Shinji-san.

[ Ken smiles. If he directed this same smile at a growing plant, it might blossom. ]

Thank you.

[Goodness, how gentle... There's a moment where the unmistakable feeling of not deserving either that smile or the praise that it brought with it rears up, like he somehow tricked Ken into thinking it, and that hint of a smile on his own face seems to slip away for a second.]

I'm just trying my best to be helpful.

[He doesn't want to dismiss the comment entirely, though. The thought that, even if it's some kind of mistake, that perception of warmth could also be helping right now is a little more compelling than his own lack of self-worth. That small smile eases itself back into view.]

But, you're welcome.

Let's keep looking.

[ Together. We're an us, in this moment.

Ken will even move a few paces ahead, feeling a lot better about his chances, Wormmon or no Wormmon. Yes, he'd prefer his partner would be here - he knows Wormmon would prefer it, too. But if he's not, Ken has to behave in a way that Wormmon doesn't have to worry about him.

Ken will reach out when he needs it. For Wormmon.

Probably. ]

♥ October (Lasohm) Fourth Wall Log

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i keep typing "shinki" instead of "shinji", from muscle memory

it took /forever/ to get my phone to stop autocorrecting it that way

f

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is ken gonna get....congratulated.

おめでとう!

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