August Event: The City is at War

[lifeaftr_mods]

AUGUST EVENT: THE CITY IS AT WAR

Who: Everyone!
What: You pick a side, or you pick up the pieces
When: August 16th to August 23rd
Where: Primarily Nastrandir, though also Ensō
Warnings: Violence, injury, forcibly altered mindsets via magical influence, possible character death. Potential (and fully optional) dissociation and identity crises. Potential (and fully optional) spontaneous combustion. Otherwise, tag as you go!

We All Lose in the End
On cue, the recently uncovered...and decidedly faulty merotome shatters on the morning of August 16th. Those close enough may recall an odd popping noise, like a lightbulb exploding, or find a shard of some odd, rubbery substance caught in their hair. The wave that shoots out across both islands barely seems to stir the air, but the aftershocks of its passing are to be felt for the week to come.

Whether or not you noticed the sweeping burst of light as it roared over just about everything, you're bound to hear the loud, wailing sound that starts to emit from all over Nastrandir. It sounds like the world's worst kind of alarm, and it just keeps on going. That's to say nothing of the automatons rising steadily from the murk, or the fact that you might find that some of your fellow explorers are suddenly seeming a lot more trustworthy...and some of them are seeming a lot less. Maybe you latch onto personal terrors and preexisting grudges to justify the new onset of violence that starts to divide you from some of your fellows...or maybe it just feels right in some unquantifiable sense.

Regardless, those impacted by the merotome will find themselves gravitating towards Nastrindar sooner rather than later. Members of the Red Team are likely to initially head towards the ruins on C4 and D4. The swampy water flooding the island will eventually drive you to seek out more mountainous areas; the need to keep dry will vary from a strong desire to an absolute necessity, depending on the individual. As territorial instincts rear their head, this group will find that the war automatons no longer view them as hostiles. Now, these mechanical killers may even take basic orders, such as watching a certain location, fetching some basic materials, and, of course, upon whom they should aim their primary fire.

Meanwhile, the Blue Team will congregate along the shorelines, striking out inland through any route that keeps them close to a body of water - or in it. More likely to travel and fight in a pair or group, it's unlikely that members of this group will stay from the main party for too long, as their power is largely in numbers. While no automatons accompany them into battle, the waters surrounding and soaking into Nastrandir are their greatest ally, as they are capable of replenishing strength and healing minor wounds. Members of the Blue Team will be capable of continuing the fight for much longer than their Red counterparts, and their affinity with the waters will make them difficult to locate or pursue unless they wish it.

You Don't Get Another Shot
For those more resistant to the effects of this sudden shift will find that they're now unfortunately adrift between two warring factions, potentially with friends on either side. There is hope, however - those previously silent sirens are now blaring constantly, and it's very possible that their destruction could turn the tide against this needless bloodshed. The more of those you break, the looser the grip of this altered mindset will become, and the less hostile the automatons will be. Keep in mind, however, that while you may feel unaffected, the possibility stands that you've been marked for one side without your knowledge. And though this may prove advantageous to getting through to those that identify you as their own, those that do not may take your attempts to shake their morale badly.

Even violently.

Stick Around and See How It Ends
Thus far, the teams are as follows. If you see any problems, inconsistencies, or wish to change teams, please don't hesitate to contact us! While we're no longer accepting sign-ups to be RNG'd into a team, you can still decide retroactively which side you'd like your character to be situated on, if at all!

RED TEAM	BLUE TEAM
Alexei Dinoia Amaterasu Anthony J. Crowley Asgore Dreemurr Connor Murphy Edward Elric Erika Fisher Jules Dagger Samari Leonard Church Muffet Tim Wright Yukio Okumura Zidane Tribal	2B Alisaie Leveilleur Agent Washington Ben Hargreeves The Drifter Epsilon Héctor Rivera Herbert West Horatio Nullbuilt Kravitz Legion Mollymauk Tealeaf Ren Rin Okumura Steve Rogers

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In the meantime, the following links may prove handy:

[ ♆ ] OOC Event Info and Plotting Post
[ ♆ ] Nastrandir's Intro
[ ♆ ] Nastrandir's Locations Page

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] August 16th: The merotome breaks, issuing a mind-altering wave; the sirens go off, and definitive sides in a conflict start to form
[ ♆ ] August 23rd: The conflict ends when those who have not been freed from the mind-altering influence either break free or burn to death
[ ♆ ] August 24th: The monthly Storytelling occurs late; characters who have died are revived in time to participate
[ ♆ ] September 4th: Extra time is allotted to those participating in the monthly Storytelling to compensate for the later date, and the Storytelling closes

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[demonicmiracle]

[It's not an exact sense of familiarity there; Crowley doesn't know Michael well enough for true familiarity, but it's close, like catching a glimpse of someone you think you recognize, before realizing it's a stranger.

Unlike Michael lowering the hammer, Crowley's grip on his partizan tightens. Sometimes he wonders why it isn't glowing the way it should. Sometimes he wonders why it doesn't burn him the way it should.]

I really don't see how that's any of your business. [He hasn't. He won't.] None of this has to be your business. Go home, leave us be.

[That's all he really wants.]

[eudaimonikos]

No.

[It's about as fair an argument as he's heard from one of these people, really. So Michael's tone is at least still calm when he refuses.]

People are getting hurt out here. If I can help stop it, then I have a moral obligation - it is my business. [Mankind is my business, et cetera et cetera, that was a really water-based metaphor anyway] I'm just here for the siren. I don't see how it's doing you any good anyway, they've been going nonstop for days.

[demonicmiracle]

A moral obligation?

[There's almost weight in the way he says the words, practically hissing them back at Michael.]

They're invading us, they've destroyed our homes, left children to drown. Was it your business then? [None of these things happened, personally, to Crowley, but the memories feel fresh in his mind, easy enough to tap into when anger is simpler than questioning.] We're protecting ourselves, is that so wrong?

[eudaimonikos]

What children? What homes?

[Michael waves his free hand at the expanse behind him, rocky and clearly free of any recent structures. There's ruins on this island, but they're crumbling husks, half-reclaimed by the forest. How can anyone look at them at think the destruction is recent?

There's false memories in there somewhere, he figures. And he knows, he knows there's probably not any point in arguing. They're not going to listen. But what's he gonna do? He can't just go back to Enso and wait for some god to fix it.]

Look at this place, nobody's lived here for centuries! If this siren is so important to you all, why haven't you maintained it at all? It's practically rusted out!

[demonicmiracle]

[Crowley frowns, glancing at the siren before his gaze snaps back to Michael, as if he's afraid what might happen if he looks away for too long. It's hard to hold onto anger when confusion keeps scratching at the back of his thoughts.]

There's — [There's a reason, he knows there's a reason, it doesn't make sense otherwise. And if it doesn't make sense, where does that leave him?

Why can't he think of the reason?] I don't know what you think you're playing at, but if you won't leave, I can make you leave.

[He's got a decent range on the spear, he could have it in Michael's chest before he's close enough to attack with that hammer, or at least Crowley thinks so. He'd really prefer not to, though.]

[eudaimonikos]

What are you gonna do, stab me?

[Michael lets the hammer rest on the ground, raises both hands, and scoffs like someone who knows for a fact that stabbing will not kill him.

But stabbing definitely still hurts. And he likes his vessel. Sure, that god resurrects people here or whatever, but he doesn't know how that whole thing would interact with a demon. He's not racing to find out.]

Okay, Crowley. I know you and I didn't get off to a great start. But if you, for whatever reason, suddenly wake up not so attached to this historical LARP session, please let me know. It'd be very useful. Do call Aziraphale first, though.

[That's a thing he's going to regret saying very soon, if this doesn't work! Michael snaps his fingers, reaches for the old human shutdown button, and hopes. The full memory reboot might work better, given the nature of the thing, but he doesn't feel like he can edit memories anymore, and he's frankly anxious about what the dregs of that power would even do.]

[demonicmiracle]

[eudaimonikos]

[Tickety-boo.

When Crowley wakes up, he'll find that the siren is in pieces and Michael is nowhere in sight. Apparently he was very determined; it looks like he even just took a big chunk of the wiring out, so no one could even try fixing it.]