October Event: Feeling Like a Ghost (Part III)

[lifeaftr_mods]

OCTOBER EVENT: FEELING LIKE A GHOST (III)

Who: Anyone and everyone
What: A glimpse into your future
When: October 21st and onward
Where: All over!
Warnings: Please mark as you go!

Tired of Giving Up the Ghost

You can find most of the information you need in the OOC info post! In the meantime, feel free to use this log as a catch-all for the future portion of the event. As always, you can also make your own logs if that's your preference!

An excerpt from our event post, for ease of reference:

The polar opposite of those now returned to the past, these are far more placid echoes of your possible future. Though they cannot be seen by the person from whom they've originated, they can serve as a reflection of one of the many types of people that person may become. The eventual hero of a long war, one who's long settled into LifeAftr, and infinitely endless other possibilities. As uplifting as it may be to see someone you love happy and healthy, others may be less inspiring in the directions their lives could take.

This future version of your character should either originate from a future canon point, or a potential future you feel is likely within LifeAftr - though do keep in mind that these future characters will be unable to share any answers about LifeAftr's mysteries than what has already been discovered. Also bear in mind that, just like the case with the specters of the past, only one projection of a possible future will be possible. What kind of projection that is - happy, sad, bittersweet, or anything else - is up to you!

As of the 25th, these strange, future echoes will also fade, finally leaving the islanders at peace. Well, at whatever passes for "at peace" around here. We do hope your trauma is at relatively manageable levels.

Remember to let us know if your character ending up dying during this event, or if their future is so debilitating that they end up perishing anyway! Bear in mind, however: death penalties will NOT be reduced for this event.

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] October 20th: The warped Storytelling occurs, the Storyteller returns, and those who have died are revived.
[ ♆ ] October 21st: Future echoes replace the ghosts of the past.
[ ♆ ] October 25th: With equilibrium restored, all visions vanish, and life returns to how it was.

---

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

Gladiolus Amicitia | OTA

[piercetheheart]

((Gonna do 2 here for real!Gladdy reactions vs future!Gladdy interactions))

The kings and queens shuffle by (future)

[piercetheheart]

[The first glimpse of Gladio comes on the farming island, a wry smile on his face, shaking his head. The biggest tell that this is not the Gladio you're familiar with is just how long his hair is. Not brushing his shoulders anymore but, even twisted up in a series of braids the tails reach mid back. Wisps escape here and there, framing his face, twisting around flowers woven into the braids though it looks like he might have slept on them at some point.

His beard is still as neatly groomed as ever, so at least he hasn't gone full mountain man on them.

People that know where to find Gladio usually will not be surprised to see him near the chococottage, singing softly to the birds, cooing and laughing at the chicks' antics. Quietly telling Coco how devastatingly handsome he'll be in a few more months.]

These girls can't get enough of you, don't you worry.

[Soft and conspiratorial as though he doesn't want the girls to hear. ]

Neither can 'Merie... all the colors we've got and you're still her favorite. Can't figure that one out.

[want_to_belong]

[Who else would you find with the birds but Prompto? Of course, when he saw Gladio he saw something was off right away. That looked like Gladio, but not quite. Fear ran through him. Had Gladio disappeared? Been replaced by a new version of Gladio like Noct had? What had happened to him?

If that had happened it wouldn't be this new Gladio's fault, of course, but he didn't want to lose another friend that way. It almost made him hope he was mistaken somehow and that this was just Gladio's unspoken of twin older brother, Notspokenofio.]

...Gladio?

[shatteredlenses]

Gladio?

[There is surprise in Ignis' tone as he follows the sound of his lover's voice to him. Gladio had left not that long ago to check on the Storyteller and Ignis wasn't expecting him back so soon.]

Is everything all right, love?

Playground for restless souls (present)

[piercetheheart]

[The aftermath of his first death on the island is driving him crazy already. He can't do anything. Maintaining the water filters, filling the showers, brushing his own godsdamned hair.

He feels so useless and helpless and at the same time he knows Tory is busting his ass trying to get things normalized again.

Gladio ends up spending a lot of his time lounging on one of the benches out in front of the cottage, letting Leo bask beside him. There's something else wrong, something going on and he knows it, Tory had pretty much told him as much. So he's a little on edge, a little jumpy, but eager to talk to anyone that walks by to see if they've noticed anything different.]

ren | ota

[catpiper]

[There's a new goblin in town and by new, it's really the same terrible person, but taller. Whatever task she had been in the middle of doing, it's clear she became distracted halfway through with the braids in her hair. They came undone? That's dumb. Not that it takes more than a second for her to fix the twists, place the pretty flowers where she likes them and readjust the flower barrette on the side of her head.

Preening is important, even if that's not the reason she came out.

No, the reason is Bludroc eggs and she wants some. The flock is staring her down and she's returning the look with an unflinching determination. Because she has a great plan-an incredible one-]

I'll only take one-

[She's going to beg them. Because that works.]

Or two-

[It's totally gonna work. She's counting on her fingers, raising them high in the air to get their attention. Wiggle wiggle, little birds. Don't peck her. She's walking so damn slow.]

-Or three? It's okay. I'll bring you stuff for your nests next time.

[HELP HER Y/N]

B

[Egg collecting had been a harrowing adventure, judging by the feathers that aren't as neatly placed in her hair and on her outfit like the flowers are, but she came out on top and it's fine. The egg war is far from over, and she has many future battles with these wild beasts-good thing she's confident enough to meet the challenge. She looks proud of the trio of eggs in her hands, holding them close like they're delicate treasures, quietly singing to them all the way through the woods.]

I found you little eggs

We're gonna go home

I'll cook you up and make you spicy and-

That's what's for lunch today

[Fucking fantastic. She'll never get tired of this and happily ambles through the jungle, singing her nonsense the whole dang way. If she happens to spot someone, anyone, she'll excitedly ask-]

Do you want to come eat with me? I have extra eggs.

[savedbyasong]

Eggs sound nice, Ren...

[Shion trails off. Since when was Ren this tall? It was a small difference but one that Shion noticed. A detail out of place and with everything that has happened this month...] Ren?

[catpiper]

[Shion's sure looking at her weird, not that she can understand why. It's been like this for awhile, hasn't it? Sharing meals together when they pass each other in the woods.]

Okay, we can go back to my home and I'll make them for us.

[Then she pauses and realizes-]

And cocoa! I think we have some chocolate left over.

the knight | ota

[lightlessfuture]

a. all who sail off the coast ever more [future]

[ If you're up at night and near the beach, you might see a dark spectre with eight glowing eyeslits in the water, silhouetted by the moon. It stays close to the shore, but it wanders to and fro, looking out into the distance.

It's entirely docile, but it might be startling at best and downright frightening at worst - it's very big, after all. It towers even over the tallest inhabitant of Enso. But rather than being intimidating (though it does radiate a certain power), it just seems to be...sad. Tired, almost.

Now who could this be? ]

b. will remember the sight of the ghost on the shore [future]

[ Or maybe sometimes - rarely - you'll encounter a slightly more recognisable shadow with the horns and spiky embellishments of that much larger creature, with two round and glowing eyes. They, too, drift quietly in the surf; seemingly unwilling to be away from it, like they belong there.

Whether they're standing in the shallows or floating just above the water's surface, letting their shadowy tendrils trail in the tide, they're just as silent and just as sad as their much larger counterpart. ]

c. ARE YOU SICK OF GHOSTS? SO ARE THEY [present]

[ The Knight is mercifully oblivious to any of these weird specters of the future wandering around, though they're spending some time in the water and the beach and are therefore in the vicinity.

They're comfortably settled on a particularly big piece of driftwood they've apparently whittled down a bit to serve as a makeshift boat. Today, their chosen activity appears to be...going fishing. A long stick and an inexpertly attached spool of fishing line serves them for a rod, which they're only half paying attention to.

Whether they're going to catch anything is a mystery, but they appear to be doing just fine. ]

A

[forwearemany]

(Legion is not particularly keen to approach the strange, massive creature that they spot in the surf. It seems docile however, and they are definitely curious.

They watch it silently from the beach, flashlight eye bright and obvious against the dark.

Given that most are asleep at this hour, there is not much else for them to do.)

[lightlessfuture]

( It takes them a while to notice they're being watched; they seem soothed by the motion of the tides going in and out.

But eventually, they do notice; they turn to stare silently at the...visitor? A bug? A device of some kind...? No. No, that's not quite right...

Some spark of familiarity kicks in eventually. A possible future they might be, but they still have vague recollections of who the Knight cares about. So they blink all eight of their eyes, slowly, and lean down.

They tilt their head in silent curiosity, in a way that may be...strangely reminiscent of someone else Legion knows. )

a.

[hyperlit]

[Give the Drifter credit for this much: they don't attack on sight. Because they have learned, as time has gone on, that certain things are not what they seem. But this thing, this hulking mass of shadow with its many tendrils and strange shapelessness, it looks eerily similar to the Immortal Cell when it loomed from its chambers in the heart of the world.]

[Gone is the blazing neon, the pinkish poisonous light that crept from every crack in its edifice. But the eerie similarity of the thing is enough to prompt the Drifter to draw their blade with an electric hum of hard light.]

Chara Memurr | OTA

[achievementhunter]

[There's a gremlin on the beach.

Decidedly not the gremlin most are used to, but a gremlin all the same. A little older. A little taller. The rolled up sleeves of a shirt that's three sizes too big for them is doing nothing to hinder their already disheveled appearance, flyaway hair left to its own devices as they carefully move across the beach, dragging one foot through the sand. Is it an S.O.S? MAYDAY? DOWN HERE, FUCKOS? No.

It's art. It's a masterpiece. It is...

Well. It sure is.]

[tuskenlancer]

[ It's..definitely something.

The problem is, CT just can't seem to figure out just what that something is. She stops in front of it, studies it, walks around it to try to view it from another angle. Finally, she gives up, glancing up at the apparent artist and giving her best guess. ]

I like your...chicken.

Troupe Master Grimm | OTA

[fireindreams]

[A - Future

[The ghosts have quickly become an annoyance or an amusement (or both) depending on the person. Grimm was grateful that his has apparently vanished in thin air. He desired to see Brumm again yes, but not as a ghost that was barely able to keep up appearances before demanding the Troupe Master's time and life. So the specter's disappearance comes with a tired thankfulness.

Or perhaps not. Grimm naturally is under the impression his ghost is gone, completely unaware of who has appeared in "Brumm's" place.

The crack-bang of the Troupe Master's teleportation may have become familiar to some but when the smoke clears it appears his form has...changed. Standing taller then even Grimm's impressive height, the black of his cloak and horns have bee replaced with a vivid red. His eyes burn with a dancing flame as they sweep across the land, observing that which can apparently bare his weight.

These changes are not that radical so it is undeniably Grimm when one looks at him. But his aura has changed to something deadly, the air oddly warm when he is around. And for those with the ability to sense Gods or other such higher beings...it is quite obvious what Grimm is.

The God of Nightmares has arrived on Enso.]


[B - Present and Future

The Chamber of Glyphs is normally silent but if one approaches they will hear the sound of Grimm speaking. Entering will reveal him seated along with the Grimmchild, looking up at all the stories that line the walls. The Grimmchild has been given a piece of chalk to doodle with and they have taken it up with enthusiasm. Even if they are not quite good at it they can still scribble the people the Grimmchild knew.

Grimm meanwhile is reading the stories left upon the walls. He has to interpenetrate from a mixture of pictures and words but continues to do so because he wished to know them personally and pass them onto his child. He has been witness to history passing on Hallownest so it is a first to find history that has long since passed the Troupe Master rather then the other way around.

The Nightmare King has followed the the pair inside but instead of sitting, he was walking around the Chamber in silence. Rather then being engrossed in drawings or telling stories the God of Nightmares was watching the Grimmchild and his physical vessel. He can sense the changes that have taken place.

It is....]

B

[lightlessfuture]

[ At first, they think they're dreaming again.

The chamber exists for stories to be told, and is just as accessible in their dreams as it is in waking hours. It's a fair assumption to make, even if it is the wrong assumption to make.

So, at first, they're not sure the Nightmare King is really there. Grimm himself doesn't acknowledge his presence, and surely he'd know? They're irreversibly linked to one another.

But that heat, that presence, doesn't go away. It continues to make the air shimmer, continues to distract the Knight from their current activity of sitting there and listening placidly to Grimm's voice and watching the Grimmchild draw with every sign of fondness.

So, eventually...they stand up to greet him. They make a small, polite bow, because they have the opportunity to do so without being immediately set on fire, which is...much better than the last time they met. ]

a.

[hyperlit]

[The charge that surrounds Grimm now is impossible to ignore, buzzing in the air like a fistful of live coals. They'd not assumed him to be any sort of god, not with what they knew of him, little as that was.]

[Were they wrong?]

[Deep crimson, a powerful stature, a looming silhouette.]

[The Drifter sinks slowly to one knee, genuflecting in the face of perceived divinity.]

A

[forwearemany]

(The crack startles them, but they relax when they turn to see ... Grimm?

Legion cannot sense auras or gods, but he is clearly different.

Headtilt.)

Grimm?

future!tim | ota | will match!

[postictal]

[From a distance, his silhouette is unmistakable, even with a heavy hatchet strapped to his back. There's no mistaking Tim's fashion sense, skewing toward the tropical equivalent to a lumberjack: a winter jacket layered over a tan hoodie, with a golden heart locket swinging freely around his neck.]

[He's not taller, of course. But he is, as it happens, older - no longer a man in his mid-twenties, but someone in their late thirties. His beard has gone from "disheveled five o' clock shadow gone horribly maintained for weeks on end" to something a little more deliberate. It's still roughly trimmed, but it suits him. Gone is his perpetual hunch, gone is the world-weary exhaustion that forever shadows Timothy Wright like a pall. His eyes are less heavy, less creased by sleepless nights; the spaces beneath his eyes are no longer bruised purple as a testament to his insomnia. That restive uncertainty that always plagued him is absent - he no longer wrenches about, glancing over his shoulder, indulging sporadic fits of paranoia.]

[Perhaps most alarming of all is the fact that he smiles so much easier than his present day counterpart. His eyes are creased with crow's feet, and the corners of his mouth lift often enough for it to seem like more of a reflex than anything - whether it's for show or because the feeling there is genuine, now, that's anyone's guess.]

[You might find him on the beach, whittling some many-pieced thing out of different blocks of wood. The knife in his hand is heavier duty than anything one might have seen him carrying before, actually suited to carving designs and patterns into the timber. You might find him in the jungle, hard at work plaiting strips of some sort of leather or animal hide into something. His brow is almost always furrowed in concentration, but he glances up quickly when he sees someone drawing near.]

Hey. [There it is again - that barely-smile, that vague twitch at the corner of his mouth, the way his expression eases so very slightly, opening him up.] You okay?

[savedbyasong]

[Shion has been gathering driftwood on the beach when he saw him. The clothes were the only familiar thing about him but the way he walked, the way he held himself, all of that was strange and Shion had drawn nearer in his task, not expecting to know the man sitting and whittling.

Except as he drew closer he did. Tim. Except not. An older Tim. A Tim who smiled

Shion stared at him with wide eyes, how... Who was this? A Tim from a different world? New people hadn't arrived yet had they? It was too early... He would have noticed during Story Telling...

But it was not the Tim he knew, that much he knew.]

beach

[catpiper]

[You okay? isn't something she can answer right away because she doesn't know yet. She had been steadily sneaking closer from her perch near the woods, ambling towards the increasingly familiar person, unsure of how to take it. The weird spirits from earlier had started off friendly, acting like lost friends and family, before turning on their companions.

But this feels different. It's Tim, not Seto. A scruffier, relaxed version of him that's impossible to mistake, but it feels off all the same.

Which is why she does a little semi-circle around his area, trying to see him from all angles, trying to feel his heart, even though she can't do that with him. It saved her from that fake Seto, so she gives it the old college try, despite the predictable failure. It'll be safer to keep her distance until she's sure this is borderline safe. Nani the heck.]

I'm okay.

[The problem isn't her, in any case. She hesitates, looks to the blocks of wood, some already carved up and others still untouched, before asking-]

Are you okay? Did you have another birthday?

I'm not late fuck you

[achievementhunter]

[From a distance, his silhouette is unmistakable; even with a heavy hatchet strapped to his back. There's no mistaking Tim's fashion sense, skewing toward the tropical equivalent of a lumberjack. He's even wearing the locket, glimmering in the sun from its place around his neck.

A genuinely welcoming sight from a distance- but as they get closer, Chara halts, reservations clearly on display.

The relatively fresh bruise on their cheekbone has more to do with that than they'll readily admit.]

...Peachy.

You're not the Timothy I know.

(future) agent washington | ota | rvb16 spoilers incoming

[counterblows]

[Externally, the only difference is the look of his armor config - sleeker, newer, less battered by wear and tear and the island elements. And, physically, Washington looks...fine. As fine as you can look in full body armor, anyway.]

[It's just that anyone who watches him for too long might notice that he's slightly...off. Just slightly. Sometimes he stops dead, as though he's entered a room and forgotten why he did so, drifting for minutes on end before he shakes his head abruptly in an attempt to clear it. He doesn't seem confused why he's here, per se. He just...]

[Sometimes he just loses the thread of how things are supposed to be.]

[He might approach you, seemingly at random, his tone politely neutral, even friendly:]

Hi. Sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for someone. Haven't seen anyone else in armor like mine, have you?

future!Aster (Xion) | Kingdom Hearts I have been trying to get this up for a WEEK...

[attheclocktower]

[ She can be found on one of the safer beaches - on Enso or one of the islets. She's not that much taller, never would be, really. Skin tanned from so much time spent in the sun. Hair is longer, though she's gathered it up away from her face and tied it there. Overall, she looks like someone who's adapted fully and completely to island life. And why shouldn't she, given her origins?

She's also got what looks like some kind of fine mesh sack with her, and is gazing out at the sea, hopeful and eager. ]

So what do you think? Think they turned up this year?

[savedbyasong]

Who? [Shion had spotted her in the distance and come over to see what she was doing. Now he was close though... Right away he could see the differences. In so many ways she looked closer to how he knew her, more like how she had looked in the Tower. When the glamour was on, at least. Taller, her hair longer.

He had already seen Tim, knew that something was going on. People were had extra memories, or he had lost some. But he had seen his sister only that morning and she had seemed alright then... The change had been quick.]