Event Log: Fourth Wall, Part One

[hadrielmods]

Who: Everyone in the city + Fourth Wall visitors!
What: Part one of the fourth wall event, hosted by Fear, Confusion, and Delight!
Where: All around the city
When: October 24th-November 1st
Warnings: Visitors from other worlds!

If you're not from around here, you may be wondering what's going on. You've woken up out of the blue in the colosseum, or near a temple, or in one of the numerous other locations in the city. You're somewhere underground and it's dark, cold, and maybe a little unnerving.

Luckily, shortly after your arrival, the road below your feet begins to light up in a gentle, warm glow. The light points you in a set direction and, if you choose to travel that way, will lead you toward the center of the city, where there is a large gathering of others who are lost here like you, people who might know their way around a bit more, and even some of the gods who rule this place.

There are lights strung up on poles throughout the large clearing, casting a comforting glow onto the tables beneath them. The tables are abundant with lots of food that looks simply delicious- though, none of it tastes quite like it should. The tarts taste like green beans, the mashed potatoes like cheesecake, and the chocolate seems oddly reminiscent of steak. In addition, there are decorations artfully placed around the meeting point. If you see them moving, don't worry- that's probably just your imagination.

Also distributed along the tables are shot glasses, filled with a sludgy, yellow substance. If you're brave enough to consume them, they taste strongly of mint and will give you a much needed energy boost, circumventing the need to eat or sleep for a full 24 hours! After that, however, everything hits you all at once, so use them wisely. Some of you may remember these shots from our How Delightful event earlier this year!

In addition to all of the above, there are also party poppers strewn around the area. Each popper can jet out some strange objects- glitter bombs, seashells, plastic dinosaurs, maybe a live lizard or two- so be careful! Feel free to use your discretion on these, but remember to keep it small!
_

Of course, you can always not travel that way. The rest of the city has plenty of places to explore- maybe you'd like to stumble in our Silent Hill zone, have a quick look around the alien orchard, or check out any of the god temples that can inspire their chosen emotion. Be careful not to get lost in the tunnels leading away from the cave- none of them can actually move you above ground, but you may run into a few monsters on the way.

For those of you who have been with us awhile, please bear with the gods while they try to adjust around these new folks! Join in on the festivities if you like, or try to orient as many of the others as you can. Start a community outreach program, start a fight club, introduce your parents to your weird cave girlfriend- nobody's judging!

Well. Some of us might be.
_

Enjoy the fourth wall event at Hadriel! Once you're settled in feel free to explore the rest of the city! Find a house, find a new monster, or simply scavenge for supplies.

Fourth wall characters do not enter with phones so they cannot reach the network- however, if you'd like to handwave that they somehow got ahold of Mello's Newcomer guide to avoid the 'where am I/what is this' sort of questions, then feel free!

Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers October 24th-November 1st.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well! Fourth wall characters will not have posting access, so grab an in-game friend if you wanted to do anything separate from the main log.
► Fourth wall characters will be in the city for at least one week, though they can stay for longer. The party will go on throughout the entire week, thanks to Delight's boundless energy!
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

Comments

[cter]

[Well. This is certainly...outside the realm of the expected. There's not a lot of humans who can rock that particular look, but they don't remember their mirror being quite so tall.]

Yes? [The word is drawn out past its conclusion, the inquisitive lift to their tone tacked on almost posthumously.

They're still smiling. As best as they can.]

I don't think the moniker of "mirror" works when you are taller than me.

[increasesweater]

No...I don't think it does.

[They lower themself...very slowly, to sit on the ground. Not that their legs are feeling weak or anything, but...you know.]

And I don't remember ever...seeing you before.

[cter]

[They pull their hands from their pockets, and yet another difference crops up - they are wearing red mittens, a dark color to match their winter boots. Undeniably dressed warmly, as one would have to while living in Snowdin.

The human drops into a sitting position, slowly. Getting on their level, maybe, in the way many adults do.

They're an adult. It's such a strange, unnatural thought, and their brain has difficulty winding itself around it.]

You never met me Underground?

[increasesweater]

No, I met you. But it's a little hard to see someone if they're in your head.

[Their hands are folded in their lap--in clear view, careful to not hide anything. It's obvious some things are different, but...well, best to be considerate. Frisk's words are slow and even, but slightly distracted--they're having to split their attention between two Charas at the moment.]

You didn't go through with that plan, did you?

[cter]

[A faint frown depresses their features. Someone in their head? Chara draws nearer, their hands thrust in back in their pockets. A security blanket.

The "plan" isn't what gives them pause. They shared that with the human, they know. Talked about going to that door, waiting outside with a knife, trying to muster the courage to...

It's a good thing the voice on the other side was there to stop them.]

What do you mean, in your head?

[increasesweater]

[Frisk frowns, brows furrowing, and for a moment they're silent. How exactly do you gently break the news to a child that they are dead where you're from?]

...when I fell, I landed on a bed of golden flowers. From the surface. They were...

[* No!]
[* ...no.]
[* Let me.]

[They close their eyes, and it's Chara that opens them. From blue to red; colors likely unfamiliar to the child in front of them, but meaningful all the same.] ...they marked my grave.

[cter]

[Red eyes. Isn't that - doesn't that hurt? It's not healthy to let their magic flare up for long. There's a reason Chara's eyes are brown, when they're not ignited with a red spark of magic.

But - details. Details.

Chara smiles, a rueful lift to the corners of their mouth.]

Ah. So you followed through with it, did you?

[increasesweater]

For all the good it did. [They have, to their credit, managed to outgrow the habit of pasting a smile over every emotion they encounter. Instead their face is a stony mask, but the corners of their mouth betray the regret and hurt.] ...Asriel couldn't go through with it, in the end. He didn't even try to fight back.

1/2

[cter]

[...what?]

[cter]

[They seem to...lose their careful composure for a moment. Their smile slips, something cracks inside them, their smile grows ever so slightly...unhinged in its desperation.]

Asriel. We did not...I never told him about what I was planning. He had no idea. What are you...

[What are you talking about?]

[increasesweater]

[Chara stops, frowns. Stares hard at their younger self. How could Asriel not know the plan, it couldn't have been done without him!] ...one of us is missing something, here. [That much is immediately obvious.] What did your plan entail? Precisely.

[cter]

You know what it -

[They force themselves to stop, frustrated. No. No, they don't. Very plainly, they don't. So they pause, take a breath, and start again.]

Knife. Headed out to the door by the RUINs. Planning to make sure my SOUL was the only thing left of me.

[increasesweater]

And then what? [That can't be it. Don't tell them you didn't think this through, mini-me.] Who was going to take it? Who was going to go out and get the last six?

[cter]

That didn't matter. I wasn't - I wasn't gonna make it be anyone's problem but mine.

[As if little Mx. "I Know Let's Eat A Bunch Of Buttercups For The Vine" thought their plan out to a tee either, gosh. Their expression looks pained, for a moment.]

We were scared, and we didn't deserve them, not any of them! What more do you want?

[increasesweater]

[Hey, fuck you, me, at least they knew they wouldn't just float off into nothing!] [Chara opens their mouth, starts to snap out something--but they stop, hearing something int he back of their mind. They close their mouth, breathe in deeply through their nose.] [Take a moment to breathe.] ...I don't know how you thought the child of the monarchs would have been able to sneak off like that, let alone all the way back to the Ruins. And I couldn't really keep poisoning myself while sick in bed. [Their words might be hard and cold, but the shameful way they can't meet their younger self's eyes says plenty of how they feel about involving Asriel at all.]

[cter]

[Had to get him involved. And this, this is why - hah, they turn around for a moment, unable to keep looking their older self in the face. Their older self who is just...hiding in their mirror's head. Like a malignant tumor.

Sure shows what kind of human they were, huh?

They kick the ground with one foot, smiling so hard their face hurts.

Then something they say strikes them as odd, and Chara whirls back around to face them, frowning.]

Monarchs? Mom and Dad weren't -

[...that just makes all of this so much worse.]

[increasesweater]

[Hah, as if they don't already know the kind of being they are. Willing to dupe poor Asriel into their plan, put the blood on his hands and drag him down to their own level. The kind of being willing to ERASE all of existence just to be rid of themself--] [The kind that would kill a happy family over and over just to ᴘ̨͇̔͊͢͝͠ʀ̲̞᷃᷈᷁̏̿ᴏ̵̤̮̩̪ͬ̓ᴠ̪̟̟ͣ̄ͬ̃ᴇ̧̲͙͉ͮ᷅͑ ᴀ̣̹̫᷿̩᷀ͨ ᴘ̷̳͈͕ͫ͆̆ᴏ̡̫͋͡͏᷆́ɪ̯̖̪᷅̋̇͢ɴ᷿̞̲͇̄᷇ͅᴛ̧̻̱̦̹̣͑--] [Their younger self snaps around, and asks--possibly the most ridiculous question.] Of course they were, who else but Boss Monsters could... [Wait. Is that where the divergence lies?] Who leads your Underground?

[cter]

King Sans.

[The answer is crisp and blunt, and utterly sincere.]

Mom and Dad - they rule the Underground?

1/3

[increasesweater]

[increasesweater]

[* Is this some kind of joke?] [* Are you braindead?]

done

[increasesweater]

...you're actually serious, aren't you. [Holy shit.] What the hell kind of state is your Underground in?

[cter]

It's...fine.

[Why is this so hard for everyone to process. Chara looks faintly disgruntled at the apparent confusion that response elicits, hunching their shoulders in a slightly grumpy shrug.]

He does his best. No one really sees him around.

[Unless you're me, ha ha. But they'd been exceptionally lucky, hadn't they.]

[increasesweater]

[If you knew the kind of Sans they know, Chara, you'd understand. But they frown and glance downward for a moment, fingertips rubbing together thoughtfully.] [...no, a King wouldn't have time to worry himself about worrying scientific anomalies, would he? Perhaps it does make sense.] ...Asgore does as well. Toriel did most of the work, really, before...before I died. She started again on the surface, mostly as a diplomat to keep things running smoothly. [Here they chuckle softly, feeling their partner's affection and amusement bleeding through.] Frisk might be the new hope of humans and monsters, but they were still a child when the Barrier was destroyed.

[cter]

So Dad...isn't the Royal Scientist. And Mom isn't the captain of your guard?

[What bizarro world is this? Dad...king. And Mom - are they still...together, they can't help but wonder, tentatively? They'd have to be. They'd, they'd have to be.

They're not sure they understand it, but -

Wait. Hold up.]

Who's Frisk?

[Yeah, they definitely aren't at the point in the human's journey where they've actually learned the human's name for real.

[increasesweater]

[Royal Scientist? Captain? Why would they be--] [...ah. So that's how this one goes. Chara's smile is thin, but their tone remains even.] No, that would be Alphys and Undyne. Or the Undying, when the stakes are high enough. [The second question earns a longer pause, before Chara lifts a finger to tap their head.] That's right, you wouldn't know their name before the happy ending, would you? No one ever bothered to ask; not as though they would be here for long, right?