hadriel_logs | Event Log: Fourth Wall, Part One

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Event Log: Fourth Wall, Part One

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!

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[ Definitely a pop culture thing. ]

I'm sorry, I don't watch much television. Or, well...any. The news on occasion, but it isn't really very new by that point, is it?

[ He made a soft humming noise to himself, paying attention as much to Matt's feet as his own. They've found a lit path now, and the path ahead to the party is clear, if only to Castiel. If the gods had had any foresight at all, they would have made the steps chime as they led the way. That would have solved this little problem, at least.

But what can you expect from lesser gods of emotions, anyway? It isn't as though they're all seeing. ]

It would be nice if that were the case, wouldn't it? But then the dream would continue, and you'd still be here.

[ He bit his lip, suddenly catching onto a thought. ]

Do you dream? Would you like to see it?

[ Damn, you'd have to really damn far not to hear about the alien attack in New York... but Matt will accept that answer, it's a fair enough excuse from someone who hasn't even heard of the Avengers. Maybe he fell through a hole and dropped into a different dimension like this man said, but why him? Because he's Daredevil?

Matt's a bit lost in thought, letting himself be led while he runs through the possibilities in his head. Still, Castiel's question is strange enough to catch his attention. ]

See what? A dream?

[ Is he dreaming or not? ]

[ Yes, a really long way away in another dimension. But if he'd asked around, maybe he'd have come upon the story anyway. It's just unfortunate that he hasn't spoken to the right people. Yet.

But when it comes to odd questions, the suggestion isn't that he's dreaming, but that he could be. There's a world of high definition technicolor waiting, and it's just a touch away. ]

The cave. Hadriel. If you're asleep, I can show it to you. Um...like a dream.

[ Well, he's okay with superheroes. Angels are basically just the same thing, right? ]

[ Matt slows down. Everything Castiel has said so far has been true, or at least he seems to think so. That's fine. Matt knows there are people with powers, but he's going to need some context before he lets some guy into his head. ]

How, exactly?

[ Castiel slows as well. He's prepared to stop, even, should Matt do so. It's going to be quite a lot to swallow. So he's calm, and keeps his tone gentle and level. ]

I'm an angel. I can walk in your dreams, even manipulate them.

[ Yep, Matt stops. ]

You're an angel?

[ The dream stuff can wait, this is the kind of thing Matt wouldn't take seriously if... he wasn't stuck in some trans-dimensional cave. ]

Like. A real angel?

A seraphim, in fact, yes. A real angel.

[ He hummed, ever so lightly, wondering how he could continue to explain it. He could, perhaps, even return Matt's sight, but perhaps that wouldn't be fondly received--Cas tended to avoid interfering with such intensely personal things. He didn't heal people just because he could. ]

My name is Castiel.

[ That would definitely not win him points, no. ]

I... Uh.

[ Matt goes completely stiff. He brings hand to his temples, his mouth now extremely dry. This shouldn't make sense, this man could be lying, could have some way of stilling his pulse when he lies, but Matt wants to believe too. God doesn't make sense. This isn't possible. But also. ]

Not that, I... [ You're not supposed to ask for proof, right? ] I... I'm Matt.

[ He didn't really ask, Matt. ]

I know it doesn't seem...um. It's hard for humans to accept, which is probably for the best. I think it would be foolish to believe everything you're told. There are some people who would take advantage of that.

[ Sure, talk him out of believing in you, Cas, that's great. Super. What's your next trick? ]

But you don't have to believe me for me to show you. You just have to trust me. It wouldn't take more than a moment.

[ An angel walks up to a Very Catholic dude and tells him he has angel powers and says doubt is good and-- yeah, sorry, there's no way Matt is turning this down.

Matt turns towards Castiel, doing his best to look him in the eyes. ]

Show me.

[ Just one of many reasons they call him the Man Without Fear. ]

[ Castiel doesn't nod, or mention that he's about to do anything. He just steps into the space between them, lifts his hand, and lays two fingers against Matt's temple. The rest of him tips forward to catch him, as the gesture is intended to put him to sleep, and it's a long way to the ground.

After that, it's a simple case of crouching beside him, still using the physical contact to focus his own mental abilities, reaching into Matt's unconscious world to find him. Where does his mind go when he sleeps? Where does a small man in a tan trench coat find a blind Catholic lawyer with ninja skills? That is the question. ]

[ Matt crumples to the ground, unconscious. He can see in his dreams, that isn't all together strange. He remembers enough, picks up enough with his senses that his mind builds a world not too different from his modern day New York. The difference is of course, the colors are faded. Like an old memory, Matt can't remember more complex shades of anything besides red. So enjoy that, Castiel.

And Matt himself? Well, he hasn't seen himself in a mirror for twenty or so years. There's a blurred quality to him. He's young; eleven? Twelve, maybe? Wearing the same thing he was wearing when he fell asleep. He knows it's wrong, but it's the last time he knew what he looked like. He's had plenty of dreams where he's older, where Elektra asks him to kill a man (and he does,) where Wilson Fisk kills his friends (and he can't save them,) but this isn't one of those dreams. This is a good one.

In this particular dream, Matt's sitting on a pew in a church, the smell of candlewax and incense coming from seemingly everywhere. The walls are bare, forgotten in favor of more important things. Outside, there's no doubt they're in New York City but the bustle of the city is muted by the thick, solid walls around them. Light pours in from stained glass windows. Red, of course. ]

Um. [ Matt's not sure what he expected, but it wasn't this. Stick would say he's gone soft, letting someone knock him out, but Stick isn't here. There's only a man in the body of a boy with a very real fear that Castiel was lying to him. Or perhaps worse, that he wasn't. ] Castiel? Are you there?

[ Castiel let the dream begin, let it form itself--and then he stepped into it. It might have seemed like a little too long, perhaps, but there was no harm to it. He took shape, tilting his face upward, looking toward the light as it shined in through the glass. It's beautiful. The entire church, in fact, and the sound of the city beyond it. The scent seems stronger than usual, a sense memory that Castiel can't quite empathize with. Scent doesn't work that way for him, after all.

But inside dreams... Inside dreams he can smell and taste the same way as the people dreaming. He enjoys that about them.

Still, he's not here to linger. He's here to find Matt, to show him Hadriel. It takes him a moment to turn, and when he does, he's surprised by what he sees. The youth of him. The way he remembers himself.

He tips his head quietly, then comes closer, an angel in a trenchcoat, nothing more or less, no truly divine quality to him. ]

I'm here.

Oh.

[ Matt stands and looks up at Castiel. Visuals have always been something nostalgic for him. Seeing Castiel now, something new is strange enough as it is. He recognizes his shape, the sound of his coat and his smell, just as he would anyone else. The fact that he is something new... it's enough to at least tell Matt he wasn't lying. Is he really an angel? God is supposed to be more minimailistic than anything, he supposes.

Matt takes off his glasses, though the light of the church still paints everything in shades of red. Still, when he looks at Castiel he tries to focus on the colors. Castiel has blue eyes. He'll try to remember that when he wakes up. ]

Hi. Uh... [ Matt looks down at himself. He's so young. He flusters a bit. ] I, ah-- I lost my sight when I was about this age, so it's... it was the, uh, the last time I could see my own reflection. [ Poor Matt really loses his eloquence when it comes to actually talking about himself. ] I don't really know what I look like, now.

[ Cas feels that he understands it. Perhaps it's like taking a human shape, after watching for so long without one. It's one thing to see the world in one way, and quite another to experience it. The disorientation, moving between one and another, is unsettling. It's hard to quantify, and harder still to come to terms with, even if inherently nothing has changed: certainly not the world itself.

Castiel steps slowly closer. His smile is soft and sad, but he knows from the feeling around him that he is welcome here. Matt has made him welcome with his choice of destination if nothing else. This beautiful church, lovingly rendered by his memory.

But Castiel has a memory as well. He looked on Matt mere moments ago, and when he steps well into range of him, he offers his hand in front of him. That is entirely what it is: an offer. Not insisting, not forcing anything upon him that he isn't willing to take for himself. There is no demand here. ]

I can show you.

[ Matt doesn't need his sight, that's what he tells himself. And he doesn't, not with his abilities, though he isn't about to explain that. But this is a dream and he's traded his heightened senses for sight. The reds and blues in muted shades won't suddenly sharpen. The walls won't become whatever color they were twenty years ago. He can't go back and experience every sight he's ever missed, that's a dangerous road. But knowing what he looks like... that wouldn't be so bad, would it? ]

I... [ Still, Matt hesitates. He looks up at Castiel, then down at his hands. They're small. Like they'd been when his dad died. When he was weak and powerless. He could do with not remembering that. ]

Show me.

[ There's that conviction again. He's still Jack Murdock's boy. Fear can't stop him. ]

[ Castiel stepped forward the rest of the way, and he laid his hand gently on Matt's forearm. He sounds sure. He feels certain as well, for all the doubtful elements underneath. When he touches him, he places a leading thought in place, an imagine that Matt has to coalesce for himself, in the shape of his hands, in the weight of his body.

When he moves away, he makes room between himself and a window, off to the left of the church. This has crystallized, with Castiel's intent, so as to reflect like a mirror, and he indicates it with a gesture of his hand. ]

Look for yourself.

[ The feelings and shape make enough sense. He knows fire, in the way he 'sees' without his vision, the movement of shapes and heat people make. It's his physical appearance, the details like skin color, hair, the features on his face-- these are all things he can't guess. Things he can feel Castiel provide.

Matt closes his eyes and does his best to paint a picture, bringing together feelings and memories with what he can read off of Castiel. He's not sure what to expect when he opens his eyes, but sure enough, his reflection stares back at him. It's not quite the same as seeing, Matt isn't sure he'd like to just see, but in a dream... well, it's what dreams are made of, isn't it? ]

Wow. [ Matt can only stare at his reflection in awe. He's made educated guesses about his appearance, (like, Foggy was right, he's pretty attractive,) but seeing it for himself is entirely new. He touches his face, runs his hand through his hair-- he looks so much like his dad. But he can't focus on that or he'll probably start to cry. ]

My hair's darker than I expected.

[ Yeah, that's much easier than addressing the real issues. ]

[ Castiel, for a moment, lets Matt take his time entirely. It seems like it would be wrong to intervene, to take away from the experience of seeing himself for the first time, and since the angel is inherently patient, he is content to stand back and watch, to stay largely quiet as Matt explores his face with his fingertips as much as with his eyes.

He knows that when he turns and faces the real issues at hand, the angel standing just a few steps away from him, proof of his capabilities laid out, there will be discussion to be had. And then Hadriel--he still wants to show him the cave, so that he can base his future experiences inside it on a mind's eye image of seeing it himself. That would be a gift; a benefit he can extend. ]

You haven't been able to see in a long time. New places, faces, the aging of your friends. I have lost my senses before, briefly, but this loss seems almost incomprehensible; a loss of sight, blinding you to the beauty of the world that is rightfully yours.

Is it difficult?

[ Matt takes his time to get a good look at himself. His eyes-- well, they look more gold than before but they've never looked strange, as far as he knows, but he can't really know what they look like normally. He's told he doesn't track and can't focus his vision. Obviously, that's not the case here, where he can see. It's strange in its own way, to think about himself the way people see him. He can tell himself he doesn't care all he wants, but now that he knows, will that change anything?

Definitely thoughts for another day. Castiel's words are a welcome interruption. Maybe he's trying not be insensitive, but then again he's a, angel, it's fair to assume he wouldn't understand. (Angels are real: definitely another thing to worry about later.) He grins, a little wry. Do angels get surprised? ]

Just because I can't see doesn't mean I can't know those things.

[ Matt closes his eyes. He'd keep his powers a secret from anyone else, but God? Angels? Hell, even Father Lantom knew, or suspected. This is his dream, he can show Castiel just as well. Around them, the shades of red grow stronger, though the lights dim to darkness, until their surroundings seem bathed in flame instead. It's Matt's so-called World on Fire, the way he perceives heat, smells, air pressure, and sounds, all blending together to form the world as he sees it. It's sharper like this than his older memories. I mean he has super senses, that's the takeaway here.

When he opens his eyes again, his sight is gone, but the world is already how he 'sees' it anyway. ]

When I lost my sight, my other senses became enhanced, too. I don't miss out on much.

[ Castiel tilts his head at the words, and a moment later the red seems to bleed around them, everything turning much more into darkness. He shifts to look, watches as the world changes into something entirely different, and yet jarringly similar to his own perception. Castiel, of course, a wavelength of light himself, interacts with the world in all of its own wavelengths, but taking a vessel he has eyes, is grounded to the same immersion and beauty around him.

This...it's surreal. Maybe in some ways it would be frightening, but Castiel sees beauty in the way it forms, the heat and texture of the world around him. It's not so far away as the human experience is from the way that Castiel sees the world, in his own form. So to him, it's beautiful. Of course it is.

He turned his head to look around them, taking care to admire it all. ]

Thank you for showing this to me.

[ He exhaled, and looked back. ]

It really is beautiful.

Thank you.

[ Matt smiles. He can't help but feel that it's some kind of victory. His powers are something to be proud of, or so Father Lantom insisted. Despite Stick and everything he taught him, Matt knows his powers are their own kind of gift from God. They're what allow him to fight criminals and help people in need. They may often be a curse, but he was put on this earth to do good. He wouldn't trade them for anything, even his sight.

He has dreams for things like sight and colors. Memories. This world of darkness and the fire is his world now. It's where he can do the most good. Even if it means hearing sirens and suffering for the rest of his life. ]

I might not know what... sunsets look like anymore, but I wouldn't trade this.

[ Castiel smiled, in quiet agreement. It was a gift from God; he could sense that. It felt clear enough in the world around him, a passion for a talent that had been unexpected, and was useful, servicing the forces of good. Waiting, just for a moment, Cas then impressed upon Matt's short term memory, bringing together the world around him, as it was shown, all in flame, and the cave. Hadriel, as Matt saw it, all in flame.

He gave it a moment, so that Matt might find it familiar, and then Castiel brought color back into the world, first in the ground beneath their fit, lit as the gods had illuminated it, and then the buildings, the party venue not far off, lit and filled with people, food. Up above, the cave, the ceiling of it so far off--and yet all of it in stunning, immense clarity. It had been seen through angel's eyes, after all, and there was a faint light to all the white points, darkness black to the point of intensity. ]

This is Hadriel as I know it. It has an orchard, a garden, a library, spires and temples. You can make your home wherever you please.

I live in that spire, with my friends. [ He indicated it. ] I like the height. It makes it feel more...more like home.

[ This is all very new to Matt, the cave and what being in Hadriel truly means. For a while he'd almost forgotten where he really was; memories and dreams are good like that. But he can't run from reality and he knows what Castiel's showing him is real. He knows it's coming but it's still surprising, seeing his world fade away into color like he can see again. ]

Wow. [ I mean, there isn't much else to say when he doesn't have much of a frame of reference. Matt looks around, the clarity stunning for all that it is new and sharper than he's ever been used to. The buildings felt strange in his sight before, but seeing them in color paints a picture unlike anything he would've come up with. ]

So I'm really stuck here now?

[ If even an angel can have friends and a place to live, it seems unlikely that someone like him will be getting out any time soon. ]

[ Castiel waits, quietly. It's reasonable to suspect that Matt just wants the chance to take it all in, and so he waits until he speaks again before he coughs, shifting his position slightly and looking back toward him. ]

There are a number of gods who control this place. They represent, and enact in the populous, the emotions for which they are named. It gives them power--but not enough power to send us home. I wonder if even my Father would have had the power necessary to command it.

[ A pause. ]

It isn't so bad, although our fellow residents have been reluctant to resurrect the gods of Love and Tranquility, favoring Sorrow and Confusion.

I truly can't imagine why.

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Event Log: Fourth Wall, Part One

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I assumed this was okay based on the tag, but if it isn't let me know!

totally fine!! I love excuses for this stuff

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WOOPS

god works in mysterious ways

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