September 2024 Event Plotting

[singmod]

SEPTEMBER 2024 EVENT

PROMPT ONE — PAINFUL REMINDERS: An Aurora briefly connects the Interlopers to their homeworlds, and with it are able to receive items from home — but these ones will bring no comfort to them.
PAINFUL REMINDERS — CONTENT WARNINGS: potentially upsetting themes; themes of loneliness/isolation.

PROMPT TWO — THE ENEMY WITHIN: Strange and familiar occurrences begin in Milton and Lakeside, growing in frequency and danger for the Interlopers. Who can truly be trusted among their numbers?
THE ENEMY WITHIN — CONTENT WARNINGS: kidnapping/attempted kidnapping; attempted murder; murder; vandalism; arson; assault; animal mutilation; corpse mutilation/manipulation/desecration; themes of peril/terror; possible character/npc injuries; possible character/npc death.

PROMPT THREE — BAD BLOOD: The Forest Fighters finally come to Milton, and with it: they bring the yawning grave.
BAD BLOOD — CONTENT WARNINGS: attempted murder; murder; vandalism; arson; assault; mentions of blood; themes of peril/terror; possible character/npc injuries; possible character death/npc death; actual NPC death.

PAINFUL REMINDERS

WHEN: 5th - 9th of September.
WHERE: Everywhere.

For many, the sight of the Aurora is now one they have become used to. There have been plenty of them over the year that has passed since the Interlopers first came to the Northern Territories. Often, they have been a sign of great danger, with plenty of unsettling and unnatural things happening when the skies light up. Other times they have been the herald of aid — a link between Interlopers and Enola, gifting them with abilities to help them survive in this world. There is no real knowing what kind of force the Aurora is, truly. And there is a tension that holds amongst the Interlopers as the day turns to night and there is the soft sound that grows louder.

The ethereal, high-pitched chorus of sounds, is difficult to place. Perhaps it sounds like voices, or discordant strings. And with it, the low-drone of electrical buzz — punctuated with the echoing pops and sharp cracks. The sky is alive with sound, and with it comes the swirling streaking of colour against the inky black of night, growing brighter and brighter as time goes on — greens, blues, pinks and purples shifting and dancing across the night. And much like every Aurora before this one, the electricals of the world come to life too. Homes, streetlamps, cars long-stranded in the snow. Man’s world comes alive, buzzing and flickering precariously.

But there are no ghosts like there once was a year ago. No terrible weather, no poisonous fog. If one could call it a ‘normal’ Aurora, that’s what it appears to be. But there is something else in amongst all the light and noise. Snatches of things: whispers of conversations, names called, laughter and tears.

You realise you recognise these voices. They are the voices of home. Perhaps you hear your mother, your siblings or friends. Whoever they are, you can hear them. And although they might not be able to hear you — for one brief night, the Aurora has connected you, bridged the gap between your world and this one. You may sit for a while, simply listening to the voices, relishing in hearing those from back home. If others join you, you will find yourself compelled to speak of them: to share in stories about those from back home — the connections you share with them.

It’s strange, though. These voices do not fill you with comfort or joy. Instead you are left with feelings of sadness, anger, and isolation. The Aurora has connected Interlopers, but now you feel so cut off from home, cut off from friends and loved ones — reminded of everything left behind. Everything you long for. Everything you have lost.

Something strange skips through the sky, a warping of the sound. It’s unsettling. Something feels... wrong, somehow.

It’s not just the voices that will remind you of this. Something else comes through the Aurora after that night. A small token will be brought through. Whatever the item may be, when you go to sleep and next wake, you will find said item. It may be placed on your bedside, on your desk or dining room table.

The item, you will find, will bring you a reminder of pain. Of sadness. Of horror. Perhaps it’s something you haven’t thought of in some time. Maybe it is something that has lingered in the back of your mind. Perhaps it is a part of you, waiting to be uncovered. A sign of something to come. A painful reminder of your past, or an ominous omen of your future.

THE ENEMY WITHIN

WHEN: The month of September.
WHERE: Everywhere.

It starts with strange happenings at night, things left to be found by the next morning. Those within Lakeside many find themselves unsurprised by it, given their location, but the scenes found in Milton are a foreboding sight.

Mutilated bodies of animals: rabbits, ptarmigans, even deer — mangled and strewn about the streets, blood upon the snow. Some may awaken in the middle of the night to the sounds of their windows breaking, with houses on the Outskirts being targeted more than those in the middle of town. There is… a kind of unrest in the world.

It escalates.

Some may leave their home for the day and return in the evening to find the place trashed: items broken, precious foodstuffs thrown about the place and destroyed. Those within the Outskirts are once again particularly vulnerable, as are those within Lakeside. Fires are started in some of the abandoned buildings of Milton. Something, someone is targeting the Interlopers.

It is hard to pin-point who exactly, and it only puts the Interlopers on high alert. Nothing like this has never happened before. This is new, especially in Milton.

As the month progresses, the acts become more serious. Fires may be started in the middle of the night in Interlopers’ homes while they sleep. Some are attacked in the night, others are taken from their beds. Some killed within their very homes. Of the Interlopers that go missing, their mutilated remains may be found days later out in the wilds.

In Milton, soon enough, someone is bold enough to come out from the darkness, out from the gloom of the night. Interlopers may be attacked in broad daylight — by those they may recognise as newer Interlopers of the community, who appeared from the wilds: lost and shivering, with nowhere else to go. Some of them have been within Milton for a few months now.

Those in Lakeside will face something similar: Forest Talkers are making a move, rogue and isolated incidents — done with sabotaging attempts at hunting and taking a more direct approach.

They have no qualms about being captured or killed, only determined to get rid of as many of the Interlopers as they can. They whisper, they scream: “You don’t belong here. You should never have come here. It wants you gone, it wants us all gone. The end is here, it’s too late for any of us. Nature must run its course. The yawning grave has been opened.”

The attack is on two fronts: the first of Forest Talkers in Lakeside amplifying their actions. The second in Milton, enemies within the ranks of the Interlopers, Forest Talkers hiding as Interlopers.

Within Milton, newer Interlopers will likely be met with suspicion as being some of the Forest Fighters as a result of these individual acts of violence. As the numbers of Milton have been infiltrated, and it’s easy to have mistrust amongst those newer to the community. In-fighting is likely, and the entire town is stuck in some terrible, tense state — unsure of who to trust within their own numbers. In the days and weeks that follow, it remains like this. Acts of violence and vandalism — chaos and disorder.

BAD BLOOD

WHEN: The night of 27th - 28th September.
WHERE: Milton.

Towards the end of the month, the moon is full. They call it the Harvest Moon, but colour seeps into it — oranges and reds: a blood moon, partially eclipsed. The night is calm and cloudless, but there’s an uneasy feeling in the night.

The earth groans, the rumble of another quake that’s plagued the Northern Territories since the beginning of August. It is the only warning Interlopers will get — if they may realise it as a warning. To some, when they look back, it’s a omen, a starting pistol.

They do not come through the Mines. Thanks to the efforts of Interlopers to guard the entrances of the Milton Mines, they know better. They come to town from the south, not the north.
The quakes of August and September have opened a new way from Lakeside to Milton. They are led by their Leader: a man dressed in white, a large deer skull upon his head. And while their numbers are small in comparison, they come armed and with the determination to get rid of the Interlopers once and for all. As they come into town, they launch their attack.

More fires will be set, Interlopers will be attacked with abandon. Shot at, stabbed, beaten. It is a mass execution. They will not stop until the Interlopers, or them, are dead.

Well, the majority of them. There are just under a dozen teenagers and younger people amongst their ranks who have shown hesitance toward violence in the past. Perhaps they can be reasoned with. Perhaps there may be a way to convince them to abandon their cause. There is fear in their eyes. Some of them do not want to die. They fear the yawning grave.

What will do you then, Interloper? Are you willing to fight for your life? Are you willing to take another’s to save your own, or a friends? Will you hide, or run? What choice will you make? The Forest Talkers have long since made their own choice. Now you must make yours.

It is another night of chaos on a town already scarred by the events of June. Interlopers will note two familiar faces in the fray: at some point during the night both Methuselah and Young Bill will arrive. While Methuselah will concentrate on aiding the wounded and trying to shelter Interlopers the best he can, Young Bill will help protect Interlopers from the Forest Talkers with his rifle in hand. But fortunately, it is just for one single night. Ammunition runs out, sides are switched, and people are killed. As dawn approaches, Forest Talker numbers dwindle. Either killed, incapacitated or defected. In the early morning light, bodies lie in the snow both Interloper and Forest Talker alike.

Those trying to hunt down the leader will see him slipping inside an empty cabin, heavily wounded. Following after him, they will find him settling himself down to kneel on the floor. The white of his tactical gear stained red with blood as it blooms from his wounds. Slowly, he removes the deer skull from his head to reveal a clean-shaven man in his late twenties with a shock of white-blond hair. His eyes are blue, calm.

He sets the skull down, panting and sweating. He is dying. He is not afraid.

“My name is Mallory, not that it matters now. We are dead, you and I.” he says softly. “We exist in a dying world.”

He is in much pain from his wounds. He moves again to sit cross-legged on the floor. A hand touches the bloodied fabric of his front and he laughs humourlessly.

“You don’t understand, do you? The end must come. That is the order of things. The end must come so the world can be reborn. That is how it’s always worked. When the world is swallowed, it will grow again from the earth.”

It is a story. The story of the Darkwalker. Some believe it to be the end of the world, but Young Bill had once said there is another telling of the tale. A creation myth. The Darkwalker swallows the world and returns to its slumber within the earth. Within it, everything its swallowed grows again and the world returns.

“We fought against man’s actions to ruin this place, not knowing our true purpose. The Devourer has shown me the truth, and I sought to put that into action.” His head tilts to one side. “The yawning grave is opened. Does new life not grow from the decay? It is a cycle. The grave and the cradle.”

He finds it difficult to breathe, but he presses on.

“You fight to live. You come here and you do not see what you are. You are only delaying the inevitable, perverting the true course. Prolonging the suffering. You are the Interlopers, you are not part of nature’s design. The Darkwalker does not want you here. And where it fails, we have tried to succeed.”

There’s another laugh, something catching in his throat. He coughs, blood bubbling from his lips.

“And failed. For now. The First Cursed cannot hold it forever. She, too, delays the inevitable." Even as he is dying, he still have the energy to sneer. He speaks of Enola. "A woman who plays at being a god. What right does she have? All must go into the Long Dark. ... As will I. Return me to the grave.”

Mallory’s head dips, his body sagging. He inhales once more and then stops.

FAQs

PAINFUL REMINDERS


1. Players must sign up for items. See the toplevel below.

2. Items will face the same warps/nerfs as everything else that is brought into the game.

3. Items can be no bigger than something your character can reasonably carry.

4. While items do not have to belong to your character, there has to be a good reason why they’d receive such an item — ie. something related to your character.


THE ENEMY WITHIN

1. The Forest Talkers within Milton are a number of NPCs that have been pre-selected from NPCs who arrived in April and August. Not all of them will show their true intentions as the month goes on but will continue to stay hidden.

2. Two NPCs killed in the June Event were also Forest Talkers. … Good… job?

3. The following NPC Interlopers will out themselves as Forest Talkers at this stage: Devon Busswood; Rita Yee; Realm Lovejoy.


BAD BLOOD

1. Following the events of this prompt, Interlopers now have an additional way into Lakeside. It’s still rather dangerous: it’s through a partially collapsed cave system that ends into abandoned bunker on the Lakeside side. The game map will be marked accordingly in due course.

2. Some Interlopers may recognise a familiar face in the Forest Talker ranks: the man who was kidnapped by Interlopers previously in July has returned. Looks like he made good on his promise. He's come back to cause problems.

3. The following NPC Interlopers will out themselves as Forest Talkers during the attack: Jackie Blackmore; Ross Huguet; Jennifer Kitchen; Daniel Kresco.

4. As a reminder of numbers: around fifty Forest Talkers will show up for the attack.

5. There is an OOC vote on the fate of the remaining Forest Talkers, the link is here.



PLOTTING FORM

<b>Player Name:</b> Your name here. <b>Player Contact:</b> What’s the best way to reach you? <b>Pacing:</b> What's your monthly speed looking like? Explain it here. <b>OOC Limits:</b> Any hard limits for RP go here. <b>Character Name:</b> Your character name here. <b>Canon:</b> Your character canon here. <b>Aurora Feat:</b> Does your character have an Aurora feat? List it here, and any other information on how they're doing with it! <b>Wanted CR:</b> Friends? Mentors? Hunting buddies? Lovers? State preferences here. <b>Unwanted CR:</b> Not keen on romance? Mortal enemies? State preferences here. <b>Event Ideas:</b> Your event plotting here! <b>Anything Else?:</b> You know what to do.

EVENT POST

Comments

— a spaceman

[sputnik]

Character Name: Konstantin Veshnyakov
Canon: Sputnik
Aurora Feat: N/A, he already has a whole alien to worry about atm

Wanted CR: Literally anything! He's friendly and extroverted and could definitely use more buds, anyone with space and/or alien experience, fellow parents, anyone with themes of Being A Hero and all the complications, Fellow Monsters... would love more Alien Interactions too

Event Ideas:

general. Kostya's big thing for a long while has been being torn between keeping a necessary distance from most people for their safety vs. being a presence so he can actually help them in this horrible place... But he's starting to lean towards the latter, which involves exposing the truths about his nasty deadly alien situation, so I would love to do more of that! In general, I'm looking to get him more involved / form deeper connections / reach out to new connections, and would love to utilise the event for that, or do some general shenanigans on the side.

painful reminders. Kostya will be hearing the voice of his mother, his sole Close Person back home. I would love to do some things with this, maybe characters learning more about each other's backgrounds. On his side, it could lead to him opening up about his dad leaving him and his mom when he was little, and possibly even to talks about his own son, a subject he's been flinching sharply away from. As for his item, it's most likely going to be his Hero of the Soviet Union medal, which would gut him in a very particular way, since he'll take it as a reminder of everything he's lost / how he's a Fallen Hero / etc. Alternatively, it might be a pair of child's sneakers... which he'll think belongs to his son even though they were actually someone else's / hashtag Meaningful Canon Things™. I'm still thinking on this!

the enemy within / bad blood. I do plan to get Kostya involved here, though I have no solid ideas yet how that might go / am still fleshing out my thoughts here, so I'm willing to brainstorm! I'd love for him to have some opportunities to show his leadership / commander skills, and also show himself that he's still capable of being of use despite his "condition." It leaves him very ill and physically unable to do as much as he's used to, but team-ups / mission-type things could be really fun. Any opportunity to have to lean on each other!

I'd also love to get nice and bloody :) Kostya's alien will become very reactive to all the violence, especially since June's events already had it revving up. It's very weak in this setting, and the point is to keep it that way — but it can still do some damage! I'd love to have Wormy make some appearances and go to town on a Forest Talker or two. The alien needs to feed from human brains (essentially the blood inside of them) to stabilise its condition, and while it's been making do with animals this whole time... could use a little boost. Maybe folks to witness this happening, or even help somehow?? Wormy Team-ups?? There's also the option for his alien to violently protect someone, and this could apply to anyone that Konstantin or Wormy has positive attachments / feelings towards....

Anything Else?:

[unsheathedfromreality]

c'mere wormy, i have a treat for you

But also SO much else I'd love to have Illarion run into Kostya for!! Dad feelings, Fallen Hero feelings, "I am dangerous to society and should be exiled as a monster" feelings...

[sputnik]

Quickest way to Wormy's awful little heart!!

Heck yes, I'm very much looking forward to them meeting! It sounds like there's sooo much potential to play around with. I'm definitely gonna be tossing up an open thing once the event drops, so we can see if there's anything there that might be good to work with — or I can hop into yours! Reaching my grubby little hands for the sad bird man

[unsheathedfromreality]

I need to do a re-read of your TL to see if there's a good place to throw Illarion, but!! here is mine, if any of these might suit. they...are mostly about the dead LOL i was in a mood when i wrote it, clearly.

[sputnik]

So much delicious food in this toplevel!!! There's definitely plenty of potential here — I could hit up the prompt where Illarion is having a meal of his own, with Kostya's alien pal crawling up, smells some more Freshly Spilled Blood and is ready to keep his own buffet going... Surprised Wormy Face when he sees another guy is munching away!

[unsheathedfromreality]

Oh I love that, LET'S DO IT!! Come share, Wormy, Illarion is definitely not going to eat all of this alone...

[castitas]

What if Wormy having its lil snack time is the first time Kieren meets them...

[sputnik]

Oh my god pleaseeee First Meeting face 2 face.... That would genuinely be so interesting!!

[castitas]

Kieren just "WHAT THE FUCK IS THA— oh shit is that Konstantin's alien worm—"

HE COMES IN PEACE, WORMY.

[fidior]

Time to meet your new bro, Kieren.... It'll be very fun because I have no idea exactly how this thing might react until I actually get into The Situation — he might be more chill towards Kieren initially, or he might get hissy... Either way, we doing this B)

[castitas]

jhrktdjfg yaaay.... a new sibling....... he's so excited........

I'm honestly pretty hype to see how it goes tbh!!

[desperate_times_right]

I would love for Randvi and Wormy to meet for the first time! She’d be like Wow That Looks Nothing Like An Eel!

But also her item is something of her husband’s after a sense (lol) so they could probably have an interesting conversation there.

Chloe is doing her first ever Milton murder and it's not even a Forest Talker, so there's also that…

[sputnik]

We gotta let them meet! She could maybe come across the little dude in the middle of his Bad Blood Frenzy — maybe help calm him down a bit after he... violently murders and eats someone, OR we could do a thing with their training times, maybe after the event when Kostya comes to her like "okay UHHH it's definitely time to start this..."

I'm absolutely crying at her item though, I'd love for this to somehow come up one way or another, especially now that Kostya has learned some more Randvi Past Lore from her younger version of self... just fucking straight up gets his arm from the Aurora, it's fine...

Also the handshake over "oops the person I killed wasn't even a Forest Talker and so didn't help our cause at all". Could be some fun angsty talks there for sure, and maybe this is when Kostya finally tells her the truth about his embarrassing, ugly situation...

[desperate_times_right]

It could be kind of funny if it got too cold after its little murder, being out in the snow, and Randvi had to help it back over to him. Wormy like oh she's so nice and she's just thinking “worm paste” on a loop lol.

She is going to accidentally set a fire when she finds it, so if he comes by to check on Sansa he might witness that…

Honestly the funniest part of Chloe finding out is going to be her realizing that he thought she also had a worm. Awkward.

[fidior]

Oh my god that would genuinely be hilarious but also really cute to thread, Wormy's Heart Eyes over Randvi just sparkling brighter... unknowing of The Truth... by the time they do get up to their Training Sessions, this thing really thinks they're best friends for life. At least he'll be a well-behaved alien for her..

VALID response to receiving one's spouse's arm, and Kostya would definitely try to help! Ah yes here's that fire power of Randvi's in full horrific display...

LMAO we could have been Worm Buddies.... Chloe like thank fucking god we aren't

[desperate_times_right]

I can wildcard her into the current worm prompt if that works!

I’m hoping to get open TLs up for both of them tomorrow.

[sputnik]

I'm absolutely down for it! And happy to hop into toplevels for some more shenanigans when u do!

[desperate_times_right]

Okay, I've got them posted!

Open TLs for Chloe and Randvi… Let me know if you'd rather have something custom and I can put it up!

I've done all of Chloe’s tagins and I'm coming for Randvi’s… Wormy your friend is on the way.

[sputnik]

These are gr8!! I'll send Kostya over to help with Randvi's Fiery Problems and — edits this reply here since I'm stupid and only just realised Kostya's Worm Interloper Murder happens a whole prompt later on from Chloe's Paranoid Interloper Murder, so I can wildcard something with him coming to find her again after the bad blood fuckery happens!

[desperate_times_right]

Poor Kostya, he hears from someone that Chloe killed a guy and is like oh no… worm buddies real…