victory_road | Event: The Reveal Glass

Across the Pokémon world, characters may have spotted a falling star last night. Or at least, one would think that's what it was: a naturally occurring phenomenon, rather than a legendary artifact. Specifically, the Reveal Glass fell to earth during a fight among a group of legendaries started by the return of a long-lost family member. But it's probably best to leave them to handle all that themselves, while your characters deal with other consequences.

The Reveal Glass shattered upon impact, and the shards scattered throughout Kanto, Johto, and the Sevii Islands… And made their way into the hearts of your characters. But bleeding isn't the concern here. Instead, the impact will hit when a character first looks into any reflective service. An eerie feeling hits them as they're transported to the Mirror Dimension.

While this realm can be many different things for different characters, one thing is always true: It is a place of honesty, where true selves are revealed. Those struck by a shard will find themselves facing truths they are no longer able to hide, and now must accept. Fortunately enough, even those who haven't been struck will be able to enter the Mirror Dimension during this event via a reflective surface to offer help. By the end of the 29th, things will return to normal. Characters will be back in the usual Pokémon world and their hearts will be rid of the shards, but time is strange in the Mirror Dimension, and the experience may feel like it goes on far longer than a day. Or, maybe that's just the emotional exhaustion.

The Reveal Glass plot is here. You can swing by the event info post for additional details and FAQ, and play out your characters’ enforced therapy on this post. As with most VR events, this plot is entirely optional and your characters don't need to take part at all.

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And that easily, she changed the subject. "You know Jean?"

She knew of him more than she knew him, but in her first trip to Paradis, she'd seen him. She'd seen him very clearly as he'd dove to tackle the scout commander out of her path. Impressive agility, all told. If she'd not explicitly been trying to grab Reiner, she might've been frustrated back them with how he escaped her teeth.

And then he'd almost killed her.

And then he'd saved her.

Curious person, Jean Kirstein.

"- What?"

That's a surprise to hear. Enough to snap him out of the mirror's funk for a moment or two. He hasn't thought about Jean in... in too long.

"He was here. How did - how did you know?"

Pieck's answer started with a smile that was a little wry and a glance to the trunk he'd just been handling. "I notice things. It's gotten me both into and out of a lot of bad situations." And, smoothly, she went on, asking, "Would you like to hear how he's doing? That picture of him is, as far as I can tell, a few years old."

Distraction. Kind, but distraction, because he's already stopped moving for a few seconds and nothing has happened. If she can keep him distracted for a few minutes, then she can use this as proof. Proof that shared burdens are easier to carry.

Something she'd never quite managed to beat into Reiner's thick skull. Something Porco kind of understood. Something she, herself, needed to take more seriously.

The whole room has stopped. Everything. Even the subtle movements of air. All except Shiro - his surprise cutting through the rest of the nonsense going on.

"Notice...?"

He looks around. It's as if he doesn't even realize what he's holding. Or what is plastered all over the baggage in his grasp. Maybe he doesn't. Maybe that's what the room is doing.

"How do you know him?"

Anyone who held him in regard wouldn't want to hear a lot of what had happened, and so Pieck opted for what was both true and mostly safe. "We fought together. In a war. He's a very capable soldier. I could see him gaining a command position."

All true. And with it said, it behooved her to add: "He made it, by the way. To the end. He survived."

"You're from his world? Armin's world?"

Does Armin know? Have they met? His brain starts to move, to spiral, and with it, the rest of the room begins to kick back into motion. The air starts to circulate. The hesitation making things start to creak, slowly opening. Shiro's head whips around, as folders and x-rays begin to ooze out of the medical crate. As eyes glow in the dark cracks of suitcases.

He grabs frantically for a plastic tub - this one full of star maps visible through its clear sides - moving it to a new space without hesitation.

Armin. Now there's a name she'd not expected to hear. The idea that Armin and Jean were both known gave her pause. Something of a conundrum, really: how to help this man in some way, but how to maintain the peace that she and Porco had just found. Being around either Armin or Jean could end... very badly. Especially since they seemed to be here first.

As she thought, she watched him move. The rush, the hurry, the busyness of his trying to keep everything in just the right order - or maybe just keeping things moving so he wouldn't have to address what was packed so carefully. Ah.

"We can talk about that later," she said, seizing the opportunity. "All of these packages - they surely have somewhere where they're supposed to be. Somewhere that it's safe to open them. Maybe I can help you find it."

"They don't open."

It's short and flat and cryptic. He doesn't mean for it to be, he really doesn't. But that's how it comes out. It's that or be too desperate to speak more clearly. No one should open these things. They need to stay closed.

Nothing needs to come out. Nothing can come out. It's for the best.

"I - I just have to keep moving and they stay shut. Like they should be."

There was, however, a fundamental problem with his claim. The fact that he was having to move them to keep them shut. The fact that he was having to keep his mind busy to keep them shut...

"I have a friend," she said, "that you remind me of. More than one, actually, but him, specifically. Someone who had too much placed on him at much too young of an age. Someone who learned to keep secrets - about others and about himself - so well that it broke him. And the sad thing is that only more of the same pain put him back together. The only thing he did, for years, when he wasn't busy... was sleep. He tends to throw himself between people and harm - with the unspoken hope that he won't come out of it. I sit with him in sickbay when I can. Would it be all right if I just sit with you?"

Event: The Reveal Glass

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