methuselah (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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singillppl2023-11-06 04:15 pm
singmod) wrote in singillppl2023-11-06 04:15 pm
Entry tags:
November 2023 Event Plotting
NOVEMBER 2023 EVENT
PROMPT ONE — WHITEOUT: Methuselah makes an unexpected early return to Milton to warn Interlopers of an impending monster storm, and boy does it surely come.
WHITEOUT — CONTENT WARNINGS: extreme weather; storms; blizzards; themes of survival; possible character cold-related injuries; possible themes of peril.
PROMPT TWO — A CHOICE: Following the storm, sightings of a mysterious stag prompts a hunt down in the Basin and out in the Outskirts.
A CHOICE — CONTENT WARNINGS: survival themes; themes of hunting; possible animal death.
PROMPT THREE — REST MY WEARY BONES: While the storm causes a great deal of mess, it also uncovers some far more pleasant surprises. Hot springs.
REST MY WEARY BONES — CONTENT WARNINGS: LITERALLY NOTHIN', Y'ALL
WHITEOUT
In the times that he is no longer occupying the Community Hall in the center of town to help tend to the newcomers, Methuselah is out in the wilds. Despite his growing age, he is a hardened survivor, and has been more than accustomed to life living as a nomad, out in the thickest, deepest parts of nature. Sometimes he can be encountered, sheltered in a cave or out in the woods, huddled by a warm campfire, or busying himself with his latest game catch. He seems to be always on the move, never staying for too long, and never coming into town — unless it’s to begin preparations for the latest batch of new arrivals.
To see him returning to Milton outside of these times is a curious sight, and the grim expression he carries is enough to make anyone wary. Even his voice is grave. The warmth and kindness usually found in his expression is gone, replaced with a deathly seriousness. He doesn’t speak in jest.
"I am long used to this world and its weather, even with the changing times to more bitter nights." he will say. "I have seen the years rise and fall, too many to count. Please, I beg that you hear me with this— a storm is coming. Greater than some of you may have ever known. It is in the air, and we must prepare to see it through. We do not have much time. Three days, perhaps. But no more."
He will tell anyone and everyone; encouraging the word to be spread around. He will instruct on what needs to be done, what needs to be gathered. The storm will be long and hard, and will last for some time. With that, Methuselah will begin to prepare the Community Hall as a place of refuge with a stock of food, fuel and water to get through the storm. Interlopers will be free to join Methuselah and bunker down together, or can choose to bunker down on their own in their own homes, or with others.
You have only three days.
And sure enough, the storm comes. Maybe you can notice the signs too: the sudden updraft, the slow gathering of clouds, the drop in temperature, the changes of pressure in the air.
Halfway through the third day, the storm rolls in: a ferocious snow-storm unlike anything you’ve seen before. Even with the fading amount of daylight as mid-winter approaches, the sky turns as dark as night as will stay like night for the duration. Strong howling winds batter the town, and even the sturdiest of buildings creak and groan under the weight. Trees will be felled, some buildings might not fare the storm.
Relentless snow that falls so hard it’s a complete whiteout, and will be impossible to navigate if one were to step outside. Even then, it isn’t advisable. The temperature is bitter, with a frigid windchill. Going out in this kind of storm would be a death sentence. Staying out in it for longer than a half-hour will certainly kill you.
It would be best to wait it out, to huddle around warm fires in the darkness. It may certainly be a test of patience, depending on your choice of place to stay. The storm will last a full week, a stark reminder of what you are, the words you have heard in your arrival: thrown to Mother Nature’s mercy, the Interloper in her design.
But will you persist?
A CHOICE
After the storm passes, there’s a certain kind of hush that falls upon Milton and its surrounding areas as Interlopers are left to pick through the wake. While the temperature certainly doesn’t get that much warmer, there’s days and nights of clear, calm weather — short afternoons of weak sunshine and nights of chilly peace, the moon hung high in the starry skies. Winter is drawing ever-closer, but it’s still for a little while.
In the early evenings, before the sun sets, there’s strange sightings of a particular white stag that can be found roaming the area — particularly down in the Milton Basin. It seems quite elusive, but there’s plenty of Interlopers that have been able to capture a glimpse over the coming days. Even Methuselah himself has seen this beast before, remarking there has long been tall tales of a ghostly stag that roams the Northern Territories and is said to bring good fortune to those who manage to hunt it down.
Perhaps you’re a little low on luck. Perhaps you’re feeling lucky. You’re going to find that stag.
Hunting down the stag, however, will take a great deal of patience and time. You might find yourself waiting several hours to wait for it to appear. Building a snow shelter, or hunkering down in some old shack might be needed in order to keep warm. But if you’re patient enough, and able to withstand the cold for long enough — the beast will soon make an appearance.
In the dying light of the day, it is there. It’s unlike any deer you’ve seen before: tall and majestic, with thick, soft fur of brilliant white. It almost looks ghost-like in some angles, it’s an incredibly beautiful creature. But it seems to have also noticed you, just as you have noticed it. It doesn’t dart away, however. Instead it stands before you, waiting for you to act.
You have a choice: slay the creature, or let it go.
It will not move until you make your decision, holding your gaze until you raise your weapon or until you lower it and give up your hunt. But there is a consequence to either action: if you choose to kill the stag, you will be rewarded with a sizeable bounty of venison. Eating said meat will help you feel fuller for longer, and the meat will keep for far longer than any other deer slain.
However, if you choose to spare the stag, the creature will lower its head, as if bowing to you. Then, it will disappear with a swirling of powdered snow. When you return home for the evening and go to sleep, the next morning you will find a gift at the foot of your bed: a pair of deerskin boots, or a deerskin blanket. These boots are supple, tough and waterproof — allowing for a great balance of mobility and warmth. The blanket is incredibly toasty, and will provide a great deal of comfort in the long nights ahead.
REST MY WEARY BONES
The storm has blown in plenty of snow to make traversing the area much more difficult, but there’s something else of note that comes with its passing. While the storm has brought much devastation, and some places have been buried in snow drifts, plenty of snow in areas has been blown away, uncovering otherwise lost secrets within Milton. Clouds of what looks like steam can be noted not too far from town, towards the mountains of the north.
If Interlopers head to explore the clouds, they will find old trails leading up towards the mountains. It isn’t a particularly difficult journey, for once, and they will soon discover that the storm has blown away the previously blocked access to a cave. It appears that this is the right place.
The air is warm here, pleasantly so. Warm enough that hats and mittens and coats seem a little unnecessary. One might wonder if someone lives within, and that a great fire is stoked to keep the place warm. But there’s no one in sight, no sounds of life: human, animal or otherwise. If they press on, they will discover that the cave floor is well worn with footfall: plenty of people have come here before, and the reason why is soon revealed.
The air grows even warmer, and more humid. The space opening to reveal small pools of slow-flowing water, warm water. The stone houses a natural hot spring, and following the cave out the other side will lead to another space in the rock open to the air, where there are even larger pools of warm water, perfectly sized and deep enough to bathe in. It seems that this place was frequently used by the people of Milton, where their life of hardship could be forgotten for an hour or two.
The water is pleasantly hot, and incredibly inviting. After so long in the freezing cold without modern appliances and utilities, a natural hot spring sounds like an absolute luxury.
FAQs
1. Characters are free to play around with this prompt how they want. Maybe they're dumb enough to go into the cold and get injured or sick. Maybe they're stuck in the Community Hall for the week. Fights might break out as tensions run high whilst everyone's stuck together, or maybe you're actually having a nice time.
2. For those stuck in the Community Hall: there are board games and old school textbooks stored in cupboards. There is also a piano.
1. .... Yes, you can pet the ghost stag.
2. Characters will get one choice only with the ghost stag, meaning they can't keep going back to find it to get extra gifts.
3. If characters can't agree on a course of action, whoever acts first will get their gift. The second character will have a chance to try again another time.
4. If both characters agree on sparing the stag, but players want different gifts (ie. one player wants the boots and one wants the blanket), characters will get the gift the player wants their character to receive.
1. The hot springs will now be a permanent fixture in the Milton Area, enjoy!
Marlowe | Nie Huaisang
Player Contact: marlovingian on plurk or discord
Pacing: I usually keep my tags to within 3 days and will almost always do my inbox in order. Backtags forever, I'd rather finish a thread four months later than have four threads that get handwaved in the middle.
OOC Limits: No damage more serious than bruising to Huaisang, no detailed gore or eye trauma in the tags.
Character Name: Nie Huaisang
Canon: The Untamed
Wanted CR:
Friends: Huaisang wants to be friends (or at the very least thought of as tolerable and harmless) with everyone.
Anyone who will protect him, feed him, spoil him, help him survive, in any capacity: He's used to being a spoiled nobleman's younger son and will gladly impose on others if it means he can avoid work.
Flirty Friends/Lovers: Huaisang will flirt with everyone and everything. He's more comfortable around other men, but he is pansexual and takes a pretty casual approach to things. He will assume that any flirtation (or more) is casual and not exclusive unless other terms are specifically discussed.
Unwanted CR: I prefer to avoid negative CR if possible! I'm fine with initially negative CR that has the chance to develop into something more, and I know that sometimes things will happen and a thread might take an unexpected turn to make our characters dislike each other, but I'd prefer to avoid things that we expect to turn sour.
Event Ideas:
Whiteout: Huaisang will be sticking to the community center where it's safe and warm. He won't be particularly helpful in preparation, but he's good at keeping a fire burning and he's made that one of his unofficial jobs, so he'll often be found keeping warm and monitoring the fire. I'm here for all snowed-in antics and shenanigans. Please introduce Huaisang to whatever random old board games are lying around. He's also always eager to help with elaborate hair-braiding styles and he will happily draw some sketches for you of just about any subject you ask. Left to his own devices he will mostly sketch landscapes and birds (and porn, but he tries to avoid doing that in the community center.
A Choice: Let's go pet the stag, lads. Huaisang can ostensibly do a little mediocre archery but he doesn't want to. Petting zoo, though, he's absolutely up for frosty arctic side quest petting zoo.
Hot springs: HOT SPRINGS EPISODE YEEEEEESSSS. Huaisang will happily be taking advantage of the hot springs and also probably doing some laundry. He will make absolutely no effort toward any kind of bathing apparel, so if you'd like to be flirted with by a small naked Chinese man step right up.
Anything Else?:
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On the events... I would love him and Erich both trying to figure out board games and literally ending up with their own rules or even having Erich pretending he knows exactly 'how monopoly works' and Bsing his way in. He would also love to see him braiding his hair? Sadly all he has is a mess of non evenly cut hair so on that side he can't actually offer.
Erich would also all be in for petting the stag. If it wasn't needed for survival, he'd probably slide toward vegetarianism, so you can guess how much he wants to hurt the animal.
The hot springs- While it would be hilarious seeing Erich trying to avoid to look at him all the time, I fea r the 'Erich doesn't look at people's skin because it's highly inappropriate' may get old fast if there isn't much driving the scene. Also, again, he doesn't know how to recognize or respond to flirting so....
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I think the board games option sounds like the most fun! Teach him how to play all these strange foreign games, Erich.
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Oh, no no, Erich also finds them foreign. But he would 100% try to impress a new (possible) friend by pretending he got everything under control and knows what he's doing.
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Anything I should add down?
no subject