#event; mistified

[isolaradiale]

This is an event rerun. For more information on how to participate, please check our EVENT RERUN GUIDE! If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask!

Anticipation falls over the laboratory, blinding lights reflecting in the glasses that a finger taps gently upon the rim of, lips pursing as she takes in the details which rest upon the screen before her. Another moment passes before a nigh pleased hum escapes her, and she settles herself into the wheeled seat not so far from the myriad of machines. Several data files read across a few monitors, all while the cursor resting behind the final calculation blinks in solemn silence.

“So you’re finally ready to begin? The stress test, as the kids would call it these days.”

"Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose. Everything's all in order, mmhm."

“Well, I suppose that’s better than some recruits in my time,” the blonde muses, fingers lifting to adjust her glasses before leaning back into her chair. “I look forward to seeing how this all pans out, mm? Oh, in regards to your lovely project in this all. And come to think of it… would you care to do the honors, Caelum?”

Swiveling her chair partway, her lips turn into a scarce smile at her fellow Star, all before green eyes turn to the keyboard with the last modifications placed in. One in particular glows an eerie red, the words sprawling across the screen reading plain as day: DISABLE Respawn_System.

"Aha, this isn't my first rodeo, not to worry!"

Although his words were strained, as if he had to lift them to sound lighter. Contrary to the grin on his companion's face, the corners of his mouth were in a tight line, and the hands that gripped his cane bore white knuckles. His greying hair almost reflects pink in the sanguine light of that one line.

Less to Pleiades, and more to the subjects beyond the veil, he murmurs.

"We're counting on you all out there. I pray you overcome this, too."

Pleiades watches as the screen flickers to life in silent agreeance, a few blips processing forth from the machine. One she has come to know well enough — the consciousness of Janus drawn in, sent away to the personal computer tucked to the wayside of Caelum’s space. The other is the sign that the machines would find the briefest respite, the final murmurs of fans as they come to a slow decline, all before the screen bleeps those final, lonely words:

REVIVAL MODE GONE. NIGHTY NIGHT... (ᴗ˳ᴗ)

"Good luck, and godspeed."

Silence, too, reaches through the streets of Spirale, with none so aware of what was to come. Those who slumber would find naught to stir them, lest it was another or the happening of coincidence. Those who take to the evenings would carry on their night as they would any other. Perhaps it was the trick of one’s eye that causes them to turn their gaze toward the perimeter of the city, where mists have long since lingered as a reminder of where they remain, only shifting whenever newfound areas were unveiled. Before long, a tendril of fog would unfurl in, breaking the barrier of the very city which most have come to find safety in.

And then another, snaking its way through the edges, creeping along the streets as it begins to pour in, as if finally freed from the confinements that kept it from finding its way to those inhabiting the city at long last. It begins to flood the streets, blanketing the buildings in a whitened haze.

Should you run?

But... where would one run where it cannot follow?

Only a few paths remain, a promise of sanctuary where all paths lead from Spirale toward where the murky white walls once loomed. And for those who found themselves washed over by the creeping mists, they would also be greeted with the haunting view of a never-ending eclipse stained crimson amidst the obscured skies; as if it were looming in wait, watching their every move...

welcome to the next event renewal: MISTIFIED! this event will run until MARCH 17TH, 11:59PM and will count toward your rankings. the event is a bit of a read due to its nature, but we hope that once you get through it, you'll be able to have fun with it in a lot of ways you can take this information. and if you have any questions that aren't answered in the following, the inbox is open for you!

SO WHAT’S GOING ON?

we’re glad you asked! the short of it is that the two stars, pleiades and caelum, are implementing a project of sorts. this project, or “stress test” as pleiades has called it, involves activating something within the mysterious mists that's usually meant as a proximity to keep people from venturing too far out. as seen in the event premise above, this takes the form of the mists beginning to slowly flood into the city, blanketing it all to cover everything up.

while it’s overrunning the city itself, the outskirts of the city seem to have several branching areas that aren’t filled with mist, allowing people to escape out of spirale and into radial island. these paths are more focused and narrow, with some leading into dead ends, while others carry on endlessly the further along you go. one thing that should be noted is that people will find that, oddly, the locals don’t seem to be phased at all at what’s happening as they carry on with their lives, as if there’s nothing to be concerned of at all.

whether people decide to take these open paths or instead venture into the mists is entirely up to them, as there’s really no wrong way to go about it.

WILL WE FIND ANYTHING ON THE PATHS?

you will, yes! those who’ve chosen to wander the paths provided to them at various points of the city outskirts will note that the scenery is similar to most land they’d find on the island thus far. however, on their travels, some might be surprised to find that they’ll stumble upon various things from their worlds. things such as general vegetation, specific flowers, or other natural scenes might pop up and can be plucked or touched as if they were actually native to the island itself, as well as some harmless wildlife that are native to their worlds.

WHAT HAPPENS IF WE ENTER THE MIST?

wandering into, or being engulfed, by the mists will lead to a lot more complicated reactions than the trails provide, much like if someone were to do so when the mists hadn’t invaded the city. only this time it varies compared to the usual consequences you’d feel the further you venture out from the center point of spirale.

to start, there’s still the risk of the usual pain and transparency that comes with going into it the further you go, to the point that you might entirely disappear as you normally would. while that’s the case, some might come to experience something else entirely in other areas of the mist, such as their weapons manifesting at their sides, or even the entirety of their powers being returned to them despite not having been fully unlocked. likewise, people who have some, or all, of their powers returned already might find that they’re now stripped of them either fully or in various degrees. their weapons may also disappear or flicker out at a moment's notice, too.

these are all fairly alarming alongside the ominous eclipse that looms overhead in the foggy sky, but even more so are the data imprints that people may come across.

DATA IMPRINTS?

traces of “data” which can be either residual or even sometimes sentient.

RESIDUAL DATA IMPRINTS will manifest in ways such as scenes of the past being played out that others can see. these particular scenes can come from the character’s time in spirale itself or even from something that happened to them back from their own world. and just as scenes of the past can be played and seen, ones from the future are also fully possible to encounter! scenes like these can also be ones from future plots you might have that will come to pass in spirale or even characters witnessing what they’ll experience in the future of their own worlds. it’s also possible that if the series your character comes from has branching paths, they could even catch glimpses of scenes that have happened in those branching timelines that may differ from your character's own experiences and routes.

SENTIENT DATA IMPRINTS are a lot more dangerous, plainly put. rather than scenes playing out as if it were to be watched, it will manifest in the way of creatures or people your characters may know, as well as behave eerily as if they were really here and brought to the island. whether it’s a pet you haven’t seen in ages, someone you want (or don’t?) want to see, monsters you’d find roaming in your world, or even yourself, anything is possible to manifest in this state! remember that they’re just as physical as you or anyone else here, so it’s possible that they can even harm you.

WHAT CAN WE DO WITH THEM?

honestly? the sky’s the limit with this one! you can take these concepts and apply them to your muses as you see fit. if you want a sentient data imprint of your past self to show up so you can duke it out with them, go for it! want them to see a future situation they haven’t encountered yet within canon without updating your canon point just yet? absolutely fine! just be mindful of fellow writers and make sure you get permission from them if it involves a character already on the masterlist if it goes beyond just witnessing canon events.

SO UHH… THE RESPAWN SYSTEM?

gone. kaput. no longer something your character can rely on.

with the respawn system being intentionally taken down, your character will actually die without returning back to their beds like usual. the characters themselves won’t know this is in effect until they experience it or witness someone else die. needless to say, they won’t be waking up in the spirale they currently know for a long while...

THEN WHERE DO WE GO WHEN WE DIE?

anyone who dies during the event will find themselves in a new place until the end of the event, actually! don’t be fooled, though. while you’ll wake up with some pain at first, it's obvious that you're actually "dead" and you can't leave this zone. consider it like purgatory! you’re able to move around and walk just fine, but the scenery itself is very hazy and ethereal for right now. you might see distant shapes of buildings or other structures and maybe even bump into others who suffered the same fate while the respawn system is down. you can also find screens across this zone that actually relay what's going on in radial island in real time, allowing your character to see what's going on in some places while in this zone if they choose to watch! otherwise, you won't be able to contact anyone on the outside of this area nor can they make contact with you.

[blankticket]

It's further out into the Mists, but strangely they don't sting as much here, where familiar strains of piano have lured two Plants deeper in.

"—said, don't go any further," insists Vash, helplessly having to dart after the calmer-paced Knives. "Stop. Stop. Stop!"

After the last time the two met, he's inclined to keep his hands off of Knives ( @plantfell ). Unsurprisingly, it isn't much comfort for a pacifist to only have a physical advantage over someone who knew exactly where to cut. It's a nightmare to think of him coming across this Vash's twin.

❝ Would you mind... Keeping it down? ❞

The pianist they've abruptly happened upon looks over his little shoulder; he pauses for a half-rest, before returning his attention back to the keys. Rehearsal continues. How annoying, trying to practice with all this racket from whoever-it-was. Couldn't they take a seat?

The culprit in question goes pale, standing at a dead stop. Naï would probably laugh at the dumb look on his face, if he'd cared to turn back to see it.

[amoirsetpacis]

@baddestdangerboy, mistified.

★ --;; It's chillier here than in the rest of the ship- s-surely he's still on the ship, isn't he? The mist is covering everything so thoroughly, he's not entirely sure what's going on. Had a room of cryotanks gone bad or something? A part of him wishes that he had the heavier coat he always wore in the chamber rooms. There's a steadily growing panic in his chest, short legs carrying him through the haze.

This has to be the ship. This has to be. (There are too many people, though, and the denial he keeps clinging to is holding on by a thread at best.) But this guy doesn't look like a crew member, and Vash has to clench his small fists at his sides, furrow his brows, put on bravado to hide the shaking of his fingers and knees.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"I can't find my brother. Have you seen him? He looks like me, but he's a little bit shorter. We're twins."

[sxnburst]

@nobully

"Can't believe he didn't even lift a finger to defend himself? You'd think after the shit he pulled back then killing us all in cold blood, he'd have no problem doing it again! HAHA!"

"Of course, it's no surprise that he didn't harm you. He could've the whole time, but he never touched you, sir. At the end of the day, he still knows who's in charge. He'll come running back to you in no time."

"I truly trained him well. I have to admit, it felt damn good giving him a taste of his own medicine. If I didn't need the sonuvabitch, I would've killed him myself a long time ago. My goal is to run this place and Sun's going to help me get what I want."

Laughter fills the quiet misty air around them. Bentley gestures for one of his men to check one of the buildings nearby for any valuables and without question, the men does so.

"Make sure we're grabbing everything---Hm? Who the fuck are you?" Bentley scoffs when the mist clears enough for him to see clearly, "Some punk ass kid."

[heclingmuzik]

Panic starts to rise at the pit of her stomach as she watches the CLOUD of the oh-so familiar mist plagues the area she was shopping in. She doesn't like this ONE bit and takes a step back.

She can't see through the thick mist. However, she sees what is unmistakably her sister Yaira walking through the mist.

"Yai--...." Her name chokes at the back of Ismael's throat. Is this a trick?

[light-imperfected]

“But what do you do for fun?” Mirage insists. The machine’s small, her blue-metal chassis a reflection of her notably more violent, winged counterpart, except she’s wearing a schoolgirl uniform and equipped with a voicebox. One of her hands is poised over a shared pizza, the toppings split: one half blood sausage sauce (local specialty!) with onions and those tiny knobbly sausage bits on top, the other mushroom with extra cheese. Mirage selects a slice from her side of the table and takes a bite. Through a mouthful, she says, “Do you do, like… cool skateboard tricks, or something? I cannot imagine what it’s like to avoid conflict all the time.”

(Don’t worry about the logistics of how she eats.)

…did food from a hallucinated reality fill you up? Mirage is already practically a dream, but the person across from her—Vash (@blankticket), right?—probably isn’t. She taps a tiny plastic container of chili flakes and decides to dump some on the rest of the slice. “Sounds terribly boring.”

[originskey]

@twohundredpower

'Demon Fang' was not exactly a common attack, per se. Common amongst people who use a blade, perhaps, and Lloyd knew about every voice that could utter such an attack.

The voice that this one belonged to, followed by a shrill 'eep!', was not an immediately familiar voice. Sure enough, the voice came into view... ...Running as fast as her legs could take her.

"Hi honey! Time to go!"

--And kept running!

Which made sense. That was a very big monster chasing after Anna.

[nicawlette]

NICOLETTE'S NO GOOD VERY BAD DAY — MISTIFIED TIMELINE

Nicolette run's into a sentient data imprint of Eiden's ( @kleinstar ) teenage self and attempts to help him... call out of his part time jobs. Things are probably mostly casual here, if not a bit strange.

The sleek, marble walls of the Akademiya take shape around her. It's here that she finds Zhilan ( @archaictold ) being roughly confronted by a sentient data imprint of his father. She becomes immediately hostile, and mildly triggered by the familiarity of the situation. She learns some deeper truths about her usually chipper friend, here.

Approaching emotional exhaustion, but holding it together through repression, she's briefly held at sword point by a sentient data imprint of Kasen Kanesada ( @taroudachi ). This interaction may be the last bit of hope she gets that the worst is over. It isn't.

Finding Break ( @schleckermaul ) in the mist, she witnesses fragments his past as Kevin Regnard and is further subjected to visions of his trauma, including the loss of his eye, as she tries to keep him mentally stable. She inevitably reflects his deteriorating state and is confronted with the guilty memory of killing her abuser's son— the mistake that sealed her terrible fate.

Once Nicolette is alone again, she comes face-to-face with a sentient data imprint of her childhood abuser. She last saw her uncle as a teenager after she'd mistakenly killed his son in his place. Though she knows deep down he's unlikely to still be alive, nor in the city, Nicolette's mental state is already hanging by a thread, and with no one around to keep her calm, it shatters completely.

She falls deeper into her own trauma, and uses her abilities to try and fight back against what isn't real until she's lost so much blood she cannot keep going. It's likely that she loses consciousness here, but I'm not sure yet where she wakes up. Unless someone would like to thread this! She is having a very bad time, here!

[descensionstar]

@swordofdeath​ ✧ Starfell Lake, Mondstadt

the lake at which the northern Statue of Sevens resided held a special place for Paimon and the Traveler — it was the location where first Lumine was attuned with Anemo energy. the place where they followed Dvalin to find Venti, where they encountered Amber and reached Mondstadt after two months of travel. it was the beginning of everything, and they'd never really been apart since.

but as she floated above the water's surface now, Paimon was all by herself. almost as if the day that Lumine had rescued her never happened. beautiful though the scenery were, it was... lonesome without her. it was an ache Paimon had felt once before, in Sumeru City — a pain she never wanted to be afflicted with again. but... she didn't know how she got here, and there was no sign of her friend. it was... a horribly empty feeling.

there were moments where the Traveler would step aside to speak with someone in private, but she always came back. she never went away for good... like that day in Sumeru. the throbbing within Paimon's chest grew with time — calling out and flying all over had found no trace of the Traveler — it swelled like a sadness consuming her from the inside-out. she was truly alone.

as searching turned up nothing, she spent the remainder of the daylight hours perched on the Statue of Sevens, by the bard's stone robe. eventually there was movement that took shape not familiar to Teyvat — it wasn't the Traveler, but it sparked hope that had Paimon soaring as fast as possible from the platform.

✦Yachiru! is Paimon glad to see you. have you seen Lumine? Paimon thought she'd been thrown out of the city without her.✦

[moraypower]

"It's so hard to see out here with all this mist..."

"We should all sing and find each other by sound instead. Here, I'll start! Everybody knows this one! Ya, weni, marei mirekyarahire, juri yu mirekerason..."

[firstclassrookie]

Starter call for the Mistified Event! Leon will be with a data imprint of the President's Daughter, Ashley Graham, trying to protect her from harm.

Uncapping this, but I might be selective!

[spiderstaff]

OK I'm caving-- here's an event starter call for Kay! Most of these will probably be with her dads -- Jim and Peony.

If you'd rather, though, I also want to do things with alternate route Mirror Kay-- (though I'd prefer this to be with people she's already met!)

Leaving it uncapped but selective! Leave a preference in the comments or dm me if you want a specific scenario, otherwise I'll choose at random !

[blankticket]

@amoirsetpacis

The scenery around makes him (nearly) believe that he's been caught in another surreal projection of the Mists; everything is smudged, blended outlines and stains of color. It's a sunny day somewhere else, interpreted into watercolor and counterfeit memory, belonging to no-one.

But his body is whole again here, and beyond the initial pain from awakening, he found everything in working order. Floating here and there are strange lit screens, powered by nothing, offering live glimpses of other Mists-wanderers Vash doesn't recognize. It feels like spying into diaries of people he's never even seen before, so he decides to ignore it best as he can.

His attention (mercifully, quickly,) catches onto the footfall of someone approaching from up ahead, heavy boots walking steadily on sidewalk pavement; it's distinct enough for Vash to know even before he looks up, clutching anxious and tight at his elbows.

"Hey, Vash," the younger Stampede says again, with a smile. There's no helping how hollow he sounds, even with his voice restored the way that it is. Same way they're both standing around, like what happened to them didn't. He doesn't... Want to be the one to start, so he leaves it at the greeting. Just in case this was going to be another thing they danced around. Or—who knows. Maybe this incoming Vash was just another Mist-figment, too.

[amoirsetpacis]

@plantfell, mistified

★ --;; The second he feels anything familiar in the back of his mind, that normally ever-present reminder of his brother's presence, Vash takes off at a sprint. It's a bit difficult-- there are a lot more people here than he's used to, and seeing so many humans milling about is honestly making him a bit anxious. Their first time meeting Conrad had only been so recently, after all, but all of these people almost seemed to be- ignoring him? He'd had a theory about one of the cryo-tank rooms malfunctioning, but the ship's alarms hadn't gone off--

"Knives, are you here? Knives? Kn-- oof--"

He's not expecting the legs he runs into, and he has to crane his neck up in an attempt at manners. "Sorry mister, I'm looking for-"

"... Knives ... ?"

[sxnburst]

His entire body hurts. He must have passed out at some point, but when he finally opens his eyes he can see that he's no longer blindfolded. He can actually see his surroundings, but he is unable to move. His ribcage, his head, arms, hands, legs, his back---his entire body aches.

"Bentley...?" He calls out, voice weak, tail twitches upward weakly. "An---," Sun attempts to push himself upright to at least get on all fours, "Anyone...?"

[thrillingtremors]

@hopeled // event starter call.

the moment they'd ended up somewhere indoors with myriad sharp corners and dark halls, danny should have realized something beyond the horrific little turnabout that had already been in place was going on. this place was supposed to be a research facility, but given that that wretched babbling so-called doctor had originated from here, he suspected there was a lot more going on than met the eye. the hooks being the only thing that reflected light in the twilight didn't help his growing paranoia.

when they'd both turned around a corner - this was a partnership born out of circumstance, not necessity, else he'd have just let the girl wander about on her own - the sight that stared back at him was perhaps a bigger shock than the one he'd been expecting. the mask of the ghost stares back at him with dark and empty eyes, and the knife - his knife - that gleams in its hand - his hand - reflects his own horrified expression.

what the hell? he's not sure how to handle seeing himself like this, even if properly disguised. he doesn't think that it - him - knows what to do either, the blade of the knife lowering for a moment as if in contemplation. the masked face tilted slightly to the side, considering, then pointed behind them with a nod. run. he can understand that.

'we... need to get out of here.' this was more than he was prepared to process today. he grabbed for the other's shoulder as he began to turn about - knowing himself, there wouldn't be much of a head start.