asgardmeridiem | EVENT LOG: FOURTH WALL!

EVENT LOG: FOURTH WALL!

Who: EVERYONE literally anyone and everyone ever
What: the mingle log for the Ain't Nobody Got Time F'That event!
When: Days 464-466 ( June 15-20 )
Where: anywhere in the city!
Rating: PG-13. Anything higher than that should be taken to a private log, please!

June 15-16 / Day 464:: Not long after sunrise on Day 464, the air in the city will become briefly charged with magic. It will feel something like static electricity, hanging noticeably before dissipating suddenly a half-minute later. This will mark the beginning of the Visitor's Event! Starting then, characters old and new will begin to tumble into the city. They may appear anywhere there is room for them: in the middle of the street, on top of the Ferris Wheel in Hel's creepy amusement park, in the Comfort House, or ten feet in the air above the lake! Visitors may appear at any point during the duration of the event.

The city's natives will begin to usher them to the courtyard of the palace at the center of the city, where Freyr and the Welcoming Committee will have set up stations. This is where they will be given a bracelet to allow them to communicate with the network and reside safely in the city, provided with food and drink, and given camping supplies - basic tents and sleeping bags - if they choose to stay in the courtyard.
June 17-18 / Day 465:: A minute after midnight, all characters in the city - including the freshly arrived Visitors - may notice something a little odd: a soft, warm glow through their shirts, right at the center of their chests. The light will fade, but it isn't quite finished yet. Starting then, threads of light with that same gold glow will lead from their wrists, beginning as intangible bracelets of light and leading them with anyone they have a "connection" with; what exactly that "connection" is is up to you! It could be romantic interest, or simply belonging to the same world, or sharing a favourite colour. Anything is viable, and they can have "connections" with as many or as few people as you'd like. The closer they get to the person they are bound to, the more brilliant the light. Physical touch will stop the light, and will also bring a sense of something like completion, contentment. When characters close their eyes, the glow of the strings is a soft, gentle one, akin to a nightlight.

The lights are not permanent, and seem to flicker to life and back off again arbitrarily. Your character may have one connection at noon that splinters to fifteen later that afternoon, and then none at all that night. Not all connections will always be "on," and you are welcome to play with this at your discretion! Please note: They will only ever be formed as a result of feelings your character already has - they will not create new ones.

That night, in the Castle Courtyard, Freyr will build an enormous, contained bonfire beneath the Great Oak Tree Merlin planted during an earlier celebration. Things may be rationed, but modest snacks and drinks will still be provided. He will encourage storytelling, games and riddles, and a general welcoming, since who knows how long these new Visitors will be here for, right? Mellow gold lights in the same shade as the ties between the Travelers and Visitors, among other things, will decorate the area to give it a sense of warmth and peace.
June 19-20 / Day 466: Day 466 brings a gentle rain onto the city. Awnings and canopies will be set up in the castle courtyard for shelter, and the Welcoming Committee will continue to operate the bracelet and supply stations for any latecoming Visitors. That evening, a god will make a post to the network, giving notice that the Visitors will soon be sent home, so that people should say their goodbyes. After the given time, they will flicker and then disappear. The strings of light between people will begin to fade at this time as well, a gentle tapering off for a few hours until they are gone for good.

[ OOC NOTES: This is the mingle log for our second Fourth Wall Event! All rules and guidelines can be found on the information post; please do feel free to ask if you're unsure about anything. We'll make an overflow log if the need arises. Please put [OPEN/CLOSED] along with the date and location in the title of your comment. Let us know if you have any questions, and have fun! ]

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( maze runner spoilers ahead. )

464.

[ newt thinks he must be in paradise, and not at all the version that they were trying to reach before newt was told he was a crank. he was there in that dusty desert where he died--he felt the gun on his forehead, the seething of the flare in his bones, begging to reach up and grab tommy and rip his arm off until he could chew on it, as if that would help satiate the never ending anger that tugged at his usually composed personality. he'd been begged thomas to kill him, and he supposes this must be his reward.

he awakens in a place that reminds him of a hospital--he couldn't tell you how he knew what a hospital was, but there were faint memories, things WICKED had taken from him long ago--and newt stares up at the soft light hanging over his head, pushing himself up to a sitting position. he rubs his forehead, but finds no bullet hole. in fact? he feels perfectly, wonderfully calm.

until the people in the hospital start to shoo him outside, of course. newt gets his feet under him, still dressed in his dusty, bloody clothes from the crank palace, and takes a limping step forward--you'd think he'd be able to walk normally in paradise, but that would be his luck--then another, until he makes his way into the sunshine. squinting at the greyed out buildings, newt puts a hand over his eyes and stares out into the courtyard beyond, muttering-- ]

Bloody hell. [ that's a lot of people--a lot of munies? a lot of dead people?--but he looks every bit the mess he feels like, and newt limps down the stairs and out into the courtyard, shaking his head and trying to find a familiar face. or some answers. or something.

for day 465, he has but one gold thread, and the person it's attached to has not left his side since they met again. still, newt wants to explore the city, so he'll spend much of his remaining time in asgard looking at everything he can and asking questions of the locals. ]

Edited 2014-06-16 00:41 (UTC)

[ Upon seeing Newt for the first time in -- what, a day? -- awhile, Alby's first reaction is to just.

Sit back and stare.

It's undeniably Newt. If he hadn't already known from the back of his head, then the limp in his leg would have given it away -- clear as day, skinny chicken legs, tiny little shoulders, a silly mane of curly, golden hair. He should, in reality, run to go meet him, slap his shoulder and say good to see you, shank, but his knees have locked tight, preventing him from going anywhere. His voice catches in his throat, eyes wide and watery with tears.

Why? Reunions are to be happy, he's understood -- that if they're here, and they're together again, he should be smiling his half little smile, scooping up Newt and finding out where the heck they are. And yet. Had Alby not preached against the very thing he'd done -- had he not told Newt that the martyr, the sacrificing, the self-hate and the loss of hope, all of that was an unacceptable way of life? Truth be told, Alby really hadn't been thinking of Newt when he threw himself to the Griever -- his thoughts were overcome with the outside world, with the cruel reality of what was waiting for them if they did make it out.

And he left him. He left Newt, his right hand man, his best friend, his --

He'd jumped right into the Grievers like Newt had from the Glade.

Blinking, he tries to form words with a stuck dry throat -- Newt's walking away from him and he wants to cry about that, but he can't find the means to tell him to come back, please, Newt. He only wants to be near him, wants to figure out why he's here, because if he's done what Alby thinks he's done -- if he's followed Alby's footsteps and killed himself and he better not have -- then Alby needs Newt, immediately, just as much as Newt needs him.

( Newt deserves to live, he thinks, even if the world is a piece of klunk. He's better than death. )

With the thought of protecting Newt in his mind, Alby cups his hands in front of his mouth and yells -- ]

Newt!

[ there is so much to adjust to--having the bracelet put on his hand, looking around, newt has figured it out easily enough. he died, and this is what's left. and that's fine, he guesses--it's a little gray for what he likes, but, it's not the scorch and there aren't crank palaces everywhere, so he'll take it. he has to wonder if there's a way to watch tommy and minho, and he flips on the bracelet and looks through it, but to no avail.

he'd thought when he went to paradise, he'd get to see people they'd lost. chuck, ben, winston--alby, most of all. his stomach twists at the thought of it, a faint, fluttering hope somewhere in the back of his head, and as he makes his way through the crowd of people, newt knows that if this was a challenge, he'd wander forever in order to find him.

but he won't have to.

newt, he hears, and the glader whirls around, frozen to the spot, thunderstruck. he'd watched. he'd watched alby die, he'd had to have thomas literally hold him back to follow after him. his best friend, his leader, the person newt trusted more than anything in the world, who'd gone and done the same thing newt had told him a thousand times he'd never try again. he should have been angry, was, maybe somewhere deep inside of him, but it didn't matter now.

newt had kept his promise. he'd not died by his own hand.

his eyes lock on the short, dark figure yards away, and his throat clicks. newt thinks to yell something back, to wave to him, but it's not enough. his feet start moving, one step, two, and he feels the swell of emotions rise up so deeply in his chest he doesn't even know where to start, and then newt's running.

he slows to a stop two inches in front of him, freezing. it could be a trick. there are tears welling up in his brown eyes and newt stares, his hands in loose fists at his sides, the tension so tight in him it could be cut with a knife. ]

Alby. [ he has to choke it out, around the lump in his throat. ] This is--if this is some kind of bloody trial--

[ Frozen in spot at the sight of him -- it feels like it's been ages since he's actually seen Newt, really looked and seen him. His last days in the Glade were powered by an overwhelming sadness and the thought of sacrifice was really spur of the moment -- he likes to think that, if he'd known his next move, he would have at least said goodbye to Newt. All proper with tears and hugs and Newt's denial -- he deserved to know the last time he saw Alby would, actually, be the last time.

Though, apparently it isn't, since the wide-eyed bunny rabbit before him is definitely Newt -- limping and running his way over, and Alby loses control of his feet and runs to meet him, slowing as Newt does, like approaching a spooked animal. Rarely does Alby wear his emotions on his sleeve, but he smiles a bit, eyes glittery with tears.

( He'll never admit to being afraid about waking up alone. )

He tries to think of something he could say -- Newt speaks but it doesn't make any real sense to him, but he knows instinctively that Newt needs him. It's a sixth sense he's built in their time in the Glade, not that it isn't painfully obvious now. Newt looks like he's about ready to crumple up and faint, and Alby's not having any of that.

Raising his hands up, he tentatively reaches them forward to cradle Newt's cheeks -- nodding a bit to shoo off emotions because it's not about him, it's not about him, it's always about Newt in his books. ]

Nah. S'me, in the flesh. [ His lips set in a hard line, furrowing his eyebrows. ] What're you doin' here, Newt?

[ he has to admit--he holds his breath when alby's hands come up. newt waits for the punch line, waits for the walls to fall around him, for rat man to come up with a clipboard and a calculating stare. it's a trial, don't get excited (he thinks of his third trial, thinks of watching himself climb the wall and jump over and over, watching alby drag his near lifeless body through the maze, over and over and over) it couldn't be true.

but all of his hopes are confirmed at once, by warm, calloused palms touching his cheeks.

newt's expression crumples and he feels the tears in his throat rise up until he feels like he might sob--there's wetness on his cheeks and he doesn't care as he finds himself tilting his head into his hands, reaching up with one of his own to clap it around his wrist, like if he lets go this might all be a dream, some crank fueled vision where he'll wake up on a scorched out, dusty road, alone and hungry. ]

Bloody hell, Alby. [ he manages to choke it out, finally, and now the tears are flowing free, but newt won't shut his eyes, drawn to stare at the short, serious glader like a thirsty man is drawn to the drink, and he can't help it as he breaks into a wet, crooked smile.

(are you cryin on me again, you sissy? he can hear it in his head, the false chiding that might come from him, the bluster of a true leader that newt always saw straight through.) ] What 'm I doin--I thought you were fake. Thought someone was tryin' to shucking trick me again, oh, Alby. What are you doin here?

[ Alby finds himself endlessly heartbroken at the sight of Newt crying, thumbs stretching out across his cheeks to wipe them when they fall. If he could prevent one person in the world from ever crying again, it would definitely be Newt without a single thought. The guy's known too much heartbreak for his tastes -- and, well. He looks better when he smiles. Happy suits him.

Though, broken bits reveal themselves when Newt speaks up -- Alby feels a hot tear roll down his cheek but he keeps the others in, never too fond of showing a weakness. Not that such a thing exists around Newt -- it's always been easier with him, like Alby's showing himself to a half of him that had broken off somewhere along the line. ]

Hush up with that, now. [ He says softly, and he doesn't do anything softly, but Newt merits it. ] Ain't a thing about it. Just woke up here, yeah? You know --

[ death, he doesn't feel like mentioning. ]

[ his hands shoot up immediately from where they were resting on his wrists and find alby's cheeks, mirroring him, so he could wipe up his tears too. newt's forehead tips forward with the motion, and he can't help it, pressing to him with a fierce affection in his brown eyes, wiping away his weaknesses like he always had. he was his support after the changing, the one who stayed by his side when he screamed through the night, who spent a sleepless two days holding his hand across the bed, not giving two klunks if alby broke his fingers in the process. newt tended to him every time he needed it, whether it was just a cool head to vent to or the press of a cloth to a gash in his forehead, newt's soft "I need you, don't you die on me" the only comforting words he could provide as he dabbed away blood from beautiful eyes.

he tended to him because alby had done the same for him, so long ago, and newt never felt like he could repay it.

watching him die had been hard. moving on after had been harder. he did it for the gladers he cared for, the people he threw himself into, but when the time came for newt to give up? he did. he walked right into the crank palace himself. he told the others not to bother with him, and when he died? he kept alby's promise, and here he was. reunited with him again. ]

Yeah--yeah. [ he sniffles and pulls his head away a little to look him in the eyes again, just--incredulous. they're here. they're together again. alby's himself, newt isn't a crank. ] Me too.

[ i died, he thinks to say too, but it must be implied. ] Couldn't leave ya alone for that long, huh? [ he manages a smile, soft and watery and nothing at all like his usual bright, squinty one. ] Told you, I needed you.

[ He feels something akin to a knife being shoved into his chest when Newt says it -- me too -- casually, like it's not a big deal. He wants to grab him, shake him, scream at him that no no, you have to live, you have to. But he realizes how hypocritical that is, how weak sounding, how impossibly unfair of him.

And he can't blame him. The outside world Alby had seen -- heat and lightning and dust and decay -- he wouldn't wish it on anyone.

So it's fine, he decides. If they're dead, they're dead together and that's all he cares to think about, tilting his head into Newt's palm and looking up at him with eyes so afraid to spill more tears. He wants to know everything about what happened -- had Newt fallen from a Griever, followed Alby right into the underworld? Did they make it to paradise, did they realize Alby was right all along?

It's just a little bit unbearable to think about, but necessary all the same. ]

Cut that, ya baby. [ A mirroring smile, he thinks, wiping Newt's cheeks, moving a hand further back to touch his blond hair. Tentative but sweet, he pulls Newt in from the back of his head, clunking their foreheads back together again. ] Need you, too. Was sorta worried 'bout waking up without my right hand, yanno? Wouldn't know what to do with myself.

[ He pauses a second, clutching Newt a bit roughly for a second before shaking his head in some semblance of an apology. ]

What happened? I swear to all that is good and shucky, Newt, if you went in with the Grievers after me, I'll straight up slug ya.

[ how does he explain what had happened after left, when the sun went out of newt's world? maybe a month had passed between them, but newt felt it every day. he clung to the memory of him when the flare ate away at his mind; best friends to sharing a bed in the homestead, soft, secret kisses in the deadheads whenever they could escape for a little bit of alone time. it was sweet and unfabricated, unlike everything around them, and after living through the scorch, newt found himself missing the glade, the soft green grass, the never changing weather.

missing alby. he missed him the most.

he was the one good thing in his life--the only thing newt didn't hate about the glade at the time. when alby yelled at him after he jumped, newt took every second of it, because he deserved it, he did. it'd been around then when he realized he had to stop living for himself and start living for other people, and when alby went through the changing? that was priority number one. having him here in front of him, safe and sane and not torn to pieces by the grievers is grounding. it's like being home again, for a person who never truly remembered "home" outside of the four walls of their glade.

when alby pulls him in close again, that's when newt finally lets his hands drop--but it's not for long, because they find his hips instead, clutching at the fabric of his shirt as if he might just fly away. he won't, though, steady and warm and strong in front of him, and newt bites his lip as he thinks about everything he has to tell him.

and he will, he decides. he'll learn everything. ] Should sit down. 's a proper long story.

[ staring at him again, newt shakes his head himself--this time, when he steps forward, he collapses onto him, wrapping his arms fully around his waist and pulling him into a tight hug that says everything his words could never really match. ]

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EVENT LOG: FOURTH WALL!

newt ( the maze runner ) | ota | 464-466

holy wow tmr spoilers!!

who's crying not me!!

well i am i'm a weenie

oh good i was just hiding it

shoves at

wipes your tears

wipes ur tears like alby wiping newt's

so sweet