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

"Very little, truth be told. That she is here, but naught more."

Which may be a factor of him not having thought to ask, yes. But in all fairness it hadn't occurred to him that he might need to. Which in itself is no doubt telling, or would be, perhaps, if he'd thought to actually mention it, rather than simply leave it unspoken.

"Why? Ought it have been otherwise?"

One the bright side, he's at least not asking who Era is, which is... something of a start?

He is glad Emet at least knows who she is. What he doesn't know is a gaping hole. One that has to be filled.

"I'll put it simple." Which means it's not, his posture tightening. "You and her were together. Era and I loved each other, too, and you were okay with that."

Ardbert glances at his left hand and at his ring. "She meant to marry you first and foremost, but you disappeared. And it nearly killed her will to live."

It's best Emet-Selch finds this out from him instead of piecemeal as time goes.

Even the brief explanation Ardbert offers is enough to sketch out a situation that is anything but simple. That she should have come to love him is, perhaps, not as much as a surprise as it could have been, nor that he would have found it in himself to return such a thing. After all, he had loved Hemera, all those lifetimes ago, though it taken the world being split into pieces for him to genuinely realize it as such, and has had his suspicions about whether or not those feelings had been reciprocated.

(And all the more so, now, when he's so recently met Hemera again.)

He doesn't apologize for leaving. In many ways, he cannot, given that he doubts it had been his intention in the first place and does not recall having done so besides. And even if he could bring himself to do so without it sounding false, it's not to Ardbert he'd need to do so. Still, it does take him a moment to find the right words and that's no mean feat.

"Who would I have been to stand in the way of love?"

There's a shrug with the words - he knows that the inhabitants of the shards can be, and often are, more concerned about such things than his own people had been.

"Although I see I may have a great deal to make up for."

If she asks it of him, or blames him for what he can no longer remember. But at least he knows, now, and can keep it in mind going forward.

The fact Emet-Selch's being brought to think so deeply about his words means that he's taking Ardbert seriously, and for that, Ardbert's grateful.

"I know you well enough to know you wouldn't have. And you have nothing to make up for—both of us know it's not your fault you left. People don't leave here because they want to; we're brought here and taken away from here against our wills." Ardbert very clearly hates that fact. "The gods here are fickle and give no warning when we leave. We're at least more likely to show up every couple of months, this time aside."

Edited 2020-11-14 20:57 (UTC)

"I had noticed at least that first part. Given that I had very little warning prior to finding myself here."

Indeed, he had had none whatsoever. And that is something he still finds worrying. Not least of all for what it means about the distance that these so-called gods are capable of reaching. More so, if when they might leave is likewise out of their control.

(Which, in fairness, is likely not helped by the fact that he doesn't much care for feeling like he doesn't have some control over a given situation, but he's not about to spend any time addressing that even to himself.)

Ardbert nods slowly. "Haven't ever heard otherwise." He frowns a bit. "They're even capable of recreating bodies and throwing our souls into them... or altering our abilities, making us weaker. Never stronger, conveniently for them."

"Yyyyes, I did feel something of the sort, upon arriving here."

He hasn't had time to do any significant probing of the oddity he's felt around the edges of his aether, mind. But he's aware that it's there, like a weight he's been asked to carry without entirely knowing why.

"And it does make sense. The weaker someone is made to be, the more difficult it is to for them to overthrow those who would rule over them."

It's perhaps not comforting to be on this side of the equation for once in his long life, but it does make sense.

"Good to know Era and I aren't the only ones to be rightfully paranoid." He entirely means it, too. "Even some of my strength has been sapped away. I expect they took far more of yours with you having more to take in the first place."

There's no harm in mentioning that, because it's obvious that everyone's at a disadvantage.

"So my advice is to try to make the gods happy by touching people enough that they don't immediately get rid of you. The ones that aren't bonded well, that don't have many friends—they're always the ones that go first."

"It would certainly not come as a great surprise, if they had."

Not that he likes the idea, and between his expression and the tone of his voice his opinion on it is more than clear. He has enough, he suspects, to still outstrip most of the others present - or those he is immediately aware of - but nothing near what he should have. And no lifestream to draw on either, thus denying him one of the more reliable methods of boosting his already not-inconsiderable strength. But that is a concern he doesn't mean to bother Ardbert with.

"...Touching people."

There's an almost incredulous look on his face, at that. He is no stranger to the whims of gods - or those beings who are near enough to gods to make little difference - but the idea that these might require physical contact all but strains belief.

"I'd be more surprised if they didn't."

Ardbert doesn't like the idea of having his strength sapped away, either, but the look on Emet's face brings a wide, shit-eating grin to his face. It shouldn't be funny. It is funny. Emet finally has to deal with someone else's bullshite at long last. Gods, it's perfect. Hilarious.

"Aye, the longer, the better, if you want to make any money here. Luckily for me, I'm the cuddly sort, so it hasn't been a problem."

♥ October (Lasohm) Fourth Wall Log

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