#ir event: pandemonium

[isolaradiale]

In the always-glittering streets of the Golden Ward, there were many things that got lost in the shuffle. Money and trinkets, to be sure, but common sense and no small bit of morality were often tossed by the wayside in some of the more lively and shadowed sections of the area. It was truly a playground of both the wealthy and the downtrodden---a place where someone could gain it all and lose everything in the blink of an eye.

It made sense that such a place was the favored den of K’horii the Merrymaker, especially since the only one he sought to make truly happy was himself and the thing that pleased him most was the suffering of anyone and everyone around him.

But as he looked down from his perch atop the roof of the Golden Dawn, he found himself frustrated. The daily bustling of the crowd was normally enough to sate his need for watching the rise and fall of the unfortunate inhabitants of the sector below, but these days, it all seemed so pedestrian. There was no excitement to it. Ever since the little foray into the pit of the dead with Athemia a few months ago, he’d found himself wanting more, but it seemed the population wasn’t willing to oblige him.

“Well. If you want something done right, I suppose you do have to do it yourself.”

The evening had barely begun in the central entertainment district when people found themselves looking at their surroundings with no mild bit of concern. All around the area, lights flickered rapidly, as if someone were constantly toying with the controls. Television screens and monitors and cell phones flashed between static and images that one could only describe as something they’d only dreamed of in horrible nightmares. Speakers dotted around the city rang out with a haunting melody, like the theme song to some horror-themed amusement park.

And then, they appeared.

Rising like little dots of light, the creatures seemed to almost pulled themselves out of the ground with a comical ‘pop’---small balloons that almost looked like cheerful and bubbly animated cats, except for the grotesque smiles painted on every one of their faces that promised they were much more than they seemed. They proved it when they all began to fly through the air randomly, leaving nothing but chaos in their wake.

Cars screeched and squealed to avoid smashing into them. Windows were shattered as they burst into storefronts. Parkgoers screamed as some of them chased away ride operators and took the controls for themselves, sending riders on terror-filled rides at speeds they were never meant to reach.

In an instant, the entirety of Golden had turned from a playground into utter chaos. And the one responsible for all of it was gladly taking center stage.

Atop the spire of the Dome, a monstrous cat-like creature crawled into place, all three of eyes glittering with dangerous intent. Every electronic device in the Ward suddenly bore its image as it settled into place and smiled pleasantly with a maw that had far too many teeth.

“Greetings and salutations to you, my dear captive audience. I have little doubt you’re enjoying my playground and all of its wonderful staff.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I have many names---the Mad Merrymaker, the Prince of Lunacy, the Denizen of Delirium---but I am better known to you mortals as K’horii. For this little excursion, however, you are free to call me Gamemaster.

“You see, you are all now players in a wonderful new game I’ve just come up with! We shall call it ‘Princes and Paupers.’ This Ward so loves to make or break people in a various sundry of ways, so why not make a game of it.

“The rules are quite simple! You merely have to kill my adorable little helpers wandering among you to collect points. If you have enough points by the end of the game, you’ll win a wonderful prize! What prize is that, you ask? Why, you continue to live the life you’ve known so far! There’s no greater gift than life itself, or so you mortals say.”

At the creature’s words, dissension brewed nearly automatically. Shouts of anger and disbelief rang out across the Ward, but many of them were silenced as small watch-like bands appeared on the wrists of every inhabitant, a counter blinking ominously on its display.

“I shall take your grumbling as the need for some method to keep track of your points in my lovely game. I have granted you such a device. I call it a ‘Catculator.’” The god laughed uproariously at his own pun, but stopped himself short just as quickly as he began.

“Rest assured, dear players, that this game is very real. Your fleeting bit of existence is on the line. If you require proof of that, I bid you watch ever so closely.”

He sent a paw crashing into the structure below and when he pulled it out again, one poor soul struggled in the grip of its claws. The device on his wrist began to glow with a sickly green light, but soon, his entire body was covered in green flames. Screaming out in terror, his hysterics quickly turned to yowls and screeches as he was transformed into a horribly sad-looking creature, a deformed thing that looked like some abominable cross between a cat and a man.

“This is the fate that awaits the paupers in this game: life as some unwanted thing too horrible to even look upon. Although, from experience, I can say they do taste much better than they look.

“But enough of that. There are rules that must be told! The first is that, of course, if you leave the area of play, you are automatically made a pauper and will meet your appropriate fate. The second is that you may steal points from other players! How, you ask? By killing them, of course. There are only so many points to be had in our game and you do want the chance to survive, don’t you? So play as hard or as smartly as you wish! Band together and survive, if you like! Just make sure to be above the threshold before time is up. Good luck!”

The broadcast ended as soon as the god finished speaking, leaving a sense of foreboding lingering over the crowd. Some people worked to remove the bracelets and some refused to believe the event was happening at all. But among the haze of disbelief, the harassment of the miniature menaces continued, refusing to let people consider their situation for long.

And all the while, the Merrymaker looked on, completely entertained for the first time in far too long.

Welcome to our latest mini-event, Pandemonium! We hope you’ll have fun with this little game (and the new lore).

So what’s going on?

Essentially, anyone and everyone inside Golden Ward at the beginning of the announcement has been roped into playing “Princes and Paupers,” a game devised by K’horii. The object of the game is to destroy the balloon summons that have appeared throughout the Ward to collect points. Those who have enough points at the end of the game will not be harmed; those who don’t will be transmogrified into a horrible creature. Fun, right?

How does this work?

Quite simply: White balloons are worth 100 points. Black balloons take 100 points away from you. You can focus on trying to pop as many white balloons as possible or you could strategize and use the black balloons against others… It’s all up to you. And, as K’horii stated, it is possible to completely steal another player’s points by killing them outright. But no one would go that far, right? Right.

Additionally, while this game is only being forced upon people in Golden Ward, all communications to other Wards are still open, meaning you can call in help. Of course, anyone who enters the Ward at that point becomes a player themselves. Please note that if you were in the Ward from the beginning of the game or enter it, you cannot leave it until the game is over.

You will have until midnight on 4/7 to get your participation in this event. Additionally, there will be no extensions. Good luck and have fun!

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my character really be transformed into something else if I lose?

Haha. Heehee. Hoho.

What’s the threshold we have to reach?

Only K’horii knows that. For now, you’re expected to gather as many points as possible.

Can we team up for this?

Yes and it’s completely encouraged! It might be wiser to work in numbers if you can develop a good enough strategy.

Will there be a reward for this?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[courageousguise]

@yumeiroandromeda liked for a starter

Link hadn’t been paying much attention for a bit, and suddenly it seemed like something big had started up while he’d been distracted. He went to send out a mass text, but accidentally hit the wrong button- instead selecting a random name from the contacts list.

[TO: ?] [FROM: lonk]

[TXT]: dos any one no why this started??? [TXT]: and  wat it is???

[aurelsabre]

continued from [ o~ ] @kiratte  

TO: Dune FROM: Narberal Gamma

 I’m on my way to Pearl. Stay on your location, i’m joining in even without my electricity.

She’s on her way to his rendezvous point. Fly isn’t necessary since she’s around Golden as well but not too far from Pearl.

[exegesisindigo]

@davestr1d3r

And, there it was. A rock, wanton, cracked into the back of the indigo's head, staggering him and throwing him off from the goal he was trying to achieve; preparing himself to barrel horns first into a nearby balloon. He was lucky for his higher genetics, only feeling minimal pain, but groaning in frustration as the commotion startled his target away. With a grimace and a sigh, he glanced towards the perceived source, eyes narrowed at the man with an arm full of rocks and a head full of empty, no doubt trying to hit the same balloon Galekh had been targeting.

"You missed."

[hippogriff]

“Oh, this’ll be easy! Now that I’ve got La Black Luna with me, I can get aaaaall~ the points I want!” The paladin unhooks his horn from the loop of his belt, holding it steady as it expands -- shifting with an ethereal glow, growing larger and wider, until it wraps around his torso. He beams at the floating balloons, confident in his ability to blast them to bits.

“Bye-bye, spooky cat things!” He gasps in a huge breath, then empties his lungs into the mouthpiece.

BBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMMM!

With the cry of a massive bird, the neigh of a thunderous horse, and the bellowing of a frightful dragon, La Black Luna emits a rippling wave of sound throughout the area. The ensuing pops of his foes are drowned out by the blast; as the chaos clears, all that remains are pieces of cat-balloon, littering the ground where they once floated about like tiny drones. Astolfo grins in triumph, returning his magic flute to its usual size and stashing it back on his hip.

“I wonder how many points I got for that!” Beaming with pride, the Rider checks his score-keeping watch -- only to find the number well into the negatives.

“...”

“EEEEHHHH?!” In targeting everything without discrimination, he ended up popping far more black balloons than white. Whoops.

[gotcrimes-blog]

Pandemonium Event Starter Call

Gregg may only have a wooden knife (and claws and fangs), but he is a fox: he’s adaptable and a survivalist, and he’s pretty good at rigging up things and making them work. He’s a good guy to have around if you need someone with humor.

Capping at 4.

[centralcxmmand-blog]

@rainfect event starter

The oddities occurring in the city had brought yet another disruption on what Central was hoping would be considered the status quo. Yet seeing just how often these strange events were occurring, she was beginning to concede that all these wild events were a norm that couldn’t be predicted. It was unsettling, worrisome and a pain to deal with.

Still, she at least could hopefully rely on someone else to at least try to get to the bottom of what was happening. A keen distrust on any sense of authority gave her all the reason to at least give someone a call. With a quick tap on her cellphone, Central sent out a call to the one person she hoped would be able to assist her.

“I hope you answer this, Star...” Central muttered to herself as she leaned back in the bench she was sitting on. “And I hope you’re okay as well...”

[maarcelline]

“... Y’know? I gotta say: I’ve never really liked balloons.”

[hoshidancode]

“If you’d stop complaining we’d be halfway done by now.”

“Blame the gods giving me these useless things.” Kagero wished not to complain but these fidget spinners aren’t helping at all. The balloons were bouncing and bouncing than being popped that sways both present colors away from them.

“I wished i have something sharp.” She’s nearly losing herself in this wretched event.

[wildberryoras]

     GRASPING the back of Enma’s uniform, Star Platinum yanks him back into an alley as a car screams by before crashing into a store front. Though he looms over the boy like a two and a half meter tall tower of ill will, he does not cast a shadow.

⦑ Now is not the time to hang your head. Eyes forward. ⦒

He barks and the words go directly to Enma’s head rather than his ears. What hears is more like.

❝ ORA. ❞

He releases his hold on the uniform, leaving massive wrinkles in his place, tapping at the catculator on his own wrist to ask his number. If the kid can understand, he has no idea. It’s always a flip of a coin in this place.

*:・ﾟ☆

@forlornflame

[goldenless]

The witch could be seen lingering about the Golden ward, clearly bored out of her skull with this so called “challenge“. With her powers this was easier than blinking one’s eyes! Maybe she should follow her husband’s example and be a good samaritan...?

... HAHAAHAHHAH!! No no, that would be way too boring! No way she would help just anyone! Witches don’t reform after allll~☆

“Hmph, this is of no challenge at all... Weeeeelllll? How many points do you haaaaaaaave~?! Hehehehehe, why don’t we make it a bit more interesting, shall we...? How about a game of our ooooooown~?“

[isolaradiale]

Glass shattering. Metal twisting. Screams lost in the depths of violent explosions.

Anger. Panic. Fear. Hope. Despair.

Desperation.

Looking out over Golden Ward, it was a perfect den of chaos. All throughout the night, the citizens that had been caught in the game and those that ran into the Ward looking to play the white knight had been fighting for their very lives. Bonds had been tested and broken. Lives had been saved and lost.

From K’horii’s perspective, it was a wonderful rendition of the entire human experience compacted into span of a single night---and it was thoroughly entertaining.

Though, in all fairness, he’d set his expectations of his players rather low. Since they had all come into being on this island, there was little the residents of Spirale had done that had impressed him. Perhaps it was in part because he refused to be impressed by creatures so far beneath him. Perhaps there was more to it than that. If there was, he would refuse to admit it, even to himself. Knowledge, once conceived, always had a way of falling into the hands of others. Once it did, people would then act on that knowledge.

It was far preferable to keep the answer maddeningly out of his own reach so that he might pass that madness on to others. The madness of desire was just as much a part of him as every other madness in the world. It only stood to reason for him to add to it any way he could.

But as much as he enjoyed his little spectacle, he knew there were others who didn’t share in his appreciation. Ominous clouds tinged with aetherial lightning were starting to circle overhead. The speed at which they gathered made the mad god’s ears twitch.

“Well. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the mammatus, it seems,” he muttered.

Quickly, he bounded along the sides of the Dome until he reached its peak. His eyes took on a preternatural glow of red and a yowl echoed across the city. As it rang through the streets, every balloon that had been tormenting the populace throughout the night popped into nothing, only shreds of rubber signifying they had ever been there at all.

Screens across the city flickered to life again, but when K’horii appeared before them, he was simply his normal feline self---three eyes glittering with far too much intelligence aside, he was a far cry from the monster the city had seen before.

“My players, it would seem we have reached the end of our game. It was a lovely display of chaos and savagery, far better than I had hoped! Those of you still alive should give yourselves a pat on the back. I’m certain there’s a disembodied arm or two lying around to help.

“Ah, but I’m certain you’re all wondering about the winners and losers in my little contest! Well, simply put, there are none! And there were never to be any to begin with. Smoke and mirrors, my players, that’s what it all amounts to. Oh, and a bit of help from Dave. Wave to everyone, Dave.”

The seemingly poor soul that had been transformed before people’s eyes only hours before appeared on the screen and gave an awkward wave, perfectly normal except for the claw marks where his shirt had been torn upon being picked up.

“He’s a great sport, really,” K’horii said candidly. “He told me that shirt was his favorite.”

“At any rate! You mortals have alleviated my boredom for a time, so I shall accept the offering of this bloody little play and take my leave. You are free to heap praise upon me for assisting you in determining your true friendships and adversaries, just as you are free to hate me and drive yourself mad at the thought that you can never be rid of me. In fact, I quite encourage the latter. It’s all the more reason to go even more over the top next time. Ta!”

The screens winked out, leaving a myriad of emotions left swirling in the streets of Golden. K’horii would have been of a mind to watch all of them play out as well, but he was too busy craning his neck to look to the skies.

“There, you see? No reason for you to rouse yourself at all. It really was a jo---”

A peal of lightning cut through the clouds and struck the spire where K’horii stood, barely missing hitting the cat straight on, but still sending a fair jolt through him and singing his eyes. Yowling and hissing, he jumped from the building and took to the streets, somehow missing the skeins of electricity that now flowed along the ground before he disappeared in the darkness.

But he wasn’t the only one trying to dodge the volts as they traveled through the Wards. Many who were left dumbstruck by his words now ran for their lives from the energy, but those who stood still came to see that though it pierced them, it did them no harm. Instead, it simply felt like a warmth that was almost comforting and familiar. To those who had fallen in the game, though, it was a powerful shock, one that brought them back from the brink and left them hale and whole of body, as though nothing had happened to them.

As quickly as the lightning had descended, it was gone. The clouds cleared the skies and pale moonlight cast a wan light over the remnants of the night’s chaos.

To those who’d lived and those who died and came back, it was a scene---and a god---they’d not soon forget.

Thanks for participating in our April Fool’s Day-inspired event! We hope you had a lot of fun with it.

There won’t be any Galaxy-issued rewards with this event, however, for those characters that did participate in the game and ended with a positive amount of points, an equal amount of Dust (not Stars) will be in your Spirale bank account! 

It’s a consolation prize, but it’s better than nothing, right? All you had to do was nearly die for it!

(In all honesty, thanks for taking part. We hope you enjoyed the event and the new bit of lore that came along with it.)

-- The Island Stars

[bladeverbenas-blog]

closed event starter for @haemoneiron!

Of all the days for some strangeness to rear its ugly head and interrupt the quiet routine of his life, it had to be on Crow's birthday, the day they had set aside to visit a particularly nice restaurant in the Golden Ward.

It would have been perfect—a quiet evening between the two of them, good food and wine, maybe even some dancing, but no, some Void-spat cat-monster had to rear its ugly head and turn the entire ward into its playground! It didn’t even have the good grace to return his powers to him for the duration of this madness: all he had was a sword and his ability Blink. It would be enough, hopefully, but still it rankled...

Trouble hadn't reached him yet, as they were far above street level, but the chaos on the streets was clearly visible from the windows. It would soon reach him, if his previous experience with this sort of thing was to be trusted...

Corvo stood up, phone in hand, already dialling Crow's number. As soon as she picked up, he didn’t even bother to say hello.

"Please tell me you're not in the Golden Ward."

[asernolonger]

Pandemonium Drabble #1: Duty Commenced

((Going to be making a series of drabbles to supplement Selenie’s adventures throughout the new event! Here’s number 1!)

Selenie knew it. She bloody fucking knew it. She knew this was all too good to be true. A perfect, peaceful paradise with no threat of invasion from the Garlean Empire? Where even the enthralled such as Hermemost were seemingly rendered docile and harmless? Where the only price to pay was to be stripped of most means of self defense? It was too good to be true. Years upon years of being a soldier, fighting in a war against bloody fucking dragons, and even before that, years upon years of being spat upon and derided by those that were supposed to be her fellow countrymen had already made her wary. Add on top of that both her initial adventuring career and later becoming the fucking Warrior of Light, Savior of Eorzea, Eikon-Slayer, Griffin’s Bane, Imperial Nuisance Number One, and overall Hero of Legend had only made it worse.

And she was right. The peace was too damn good to be true. As now, it had been utterly shattered at the hands of this K’horii figure. She wanted so very badly to fucking go up to him and give him the justice he likely deserved, but all she had was limited use of a single skill (and said skill was not even one of her offensive techniques-no, all Battle Litany could do was make her and nearby allies stronger) and a wooden spear. Even if she did have her proper spear, she would be reluctant to fight him so recklessly without either allies or at least some of her proper offensive abilities. 

Still, he infuriated her. He was just like the damn Ascians, playing with those he thought beneath him because it was fun to him. Hadn’t he done enough by unleashing these strange... things upon the Island?! Now he was forcing everyone to participate in this little... game of his. But he had just made a grave mistake.

By forcing the strange counter-device (Selenie knew a counter when she saw one-she’d seen far too many counting down on any number of magitek bombs she’d dealth with) onto her wrist, she was forced into the game. But she was a veteran of war. And she was the bloody fucking Warrior of Light. He wanted to play? Oh, they’d play alright. But she’d play to beat his ass. And she’d play smart. 

One thing was evident right from the moment the counter was forced upon her wrist-the black floating coeurl heads were hostile to any who bore one. It was honestly amusing. These things were delicate, and one poke from a sufficently-sharp object was enough to cause them to pop rather comically. She jumped and snapped her tail under her, spreading her wings and easily taking to the sky. She slashed a white one with her claws, and after it popped, she heard the little device make a cute, high-pitched noise. She watched as it changed... and, after several seconds, she managed to figure out it had gone from zero to one-hundred. However, when her tail accidentally slapped a black one into the ground too hard, it went back to zero. 

“Target the white ones, avoid the black ones. Simple enough.” She said quietly. She then flew higher, and began clawing and impaling as many white floating heads as possible. She couldn’t avoid hitting the occasional black one, but being able to fly made it very easy to avoid the mass majority. 

...But then, something she didn’t expect to happen... well, happened.

A crazed middle-aged woman suddenly leapt up, knife in hand. Of course, with great ease, Selenie deflected her with a swipe of her arm, sending the woman flying into a nearby wall. Then, she suddenly heard the sound of the counter increasing... and her eyes widened in horror.

So causing outright chaos wasn’t enough... this monster was encouraging outright cold-blooded murder in the name of victory. She was furious, but knew that the day had been long. And, besides, accumulating ten-thousand points (sadly, half of them coming from the knife-woman’s unfortunate death due to self-defense) was not a bad way to end the day. 

Swiftly, she made for the balcony of her apartment. Once she was inside, she was even more swift to close and lock the doors. She let out an exasperated sigh, and decided enough was enough for tonight. She got ready for bed, and collapsed unceremoniously on her bed.

If this turned out to be some sort of Ascian scheme, she was going to personally shatter each and every last one of the bastards she found.

[exegesisindigo]

@millesimus

Galekh had been doing pretty well, he figured. Though, his methods weren’t exactly the most sound.

Ramming headfirst into the balloons wasn’t the safest idea, but he really had nothing else on him, and it seemed to be working well enough save for a few… collisions. He was, once again, thankful for his genetics, most tumbles resulting in little more than a small bruise. And luckily, so far, he had only run into things, not people, be they a sign or a wall or a tree or something else.

But the keyword here, is so far.

Galekh had reared back, lowered his head like a bull enraged, charging at a nearby balloon with nearly all his indigo strength to back it up, dangerous and lethal to said balloon as he barreled through it as easily as he did all the others. But what he didn’t expect was for someone to be so close behind, it, fumbling, attempting to skid to a screeching halt before he could ram horns first into the unfortunate stranger. And as he stopped just short, tripping over himself in his attempt to skid and landing on his face (ouch) on the pavement, he groaned as he moved to pull himself up, rubbing at his jaw with a sore grumble before straightening up as best as he could and dusting himself off, eyes closed in embarrassment and frustration. That… could’ve ended badly.

“I’m terribly sorry about that. It’s rather hard to see where you’re going when charging at these things1.”

[aurelsabre]

“What in Nazarick’s is with all these floating objects?” Narberal, again doubted about these balloons everywhere in her ward.