January 2024 Event Plotting

[singmod]

JANUARY 2024 EVENT

PROMPT ONE — THE AURORA: NASCENCE: Following the strange dream at new year, a three-day Aurora takes place. During which, Interlopers discover a possible ally in the mysterious woman heard in the static and heard in the dream — potentially earning new abilities.
THE AURORA: NASCENCE — CONTENT WARNINGS: potentially disturbing dreams; dreams of being burned alive; some minor supernatural horror; some minor ‘ghost’ horror/hauntings; death of npcs in various ways including suicide, murder or exposure to elements.

PROMPT TWO — ADUST: The Interlopers find out what happened to the owners of long-destroyed Milton House in the form of hauntings.
ADUST — CONTENT WARNINGS: fire; house fire; death of a child/children; hauntings; ghosts; mental manipulation; illusions of burning/being burned; potential injuries via falling/unstable building collapsing.

PROMPT THREE — THE VISITOR: Interlopers find themselves with an unwelcome visitor — a shadow doppelganger here to make everything absolutely worse.
THE VISITOR — CONTENT WARNINGS: supernatural beings; dream-related horror/disturbing dreams; doppelgangers; themes of depression; themes of self-harm; themes of isolation; potential themes of suicide.

THE AURORA: NASCENCE

In the middle of the month, it happens. A herald. The noise starts: faint at first, but then growing louder. An ethereal, high-pitched chorus of sounds difficult to place. There’s a kind of electrical buzzing with it all, a low, endless hum punctuated with cracks and pops. The sky is alive with sound, and with it comes the swirling streaking of colour against the inky black of night: The Aurora has come.

Much of what happened previously happens again: Streetlights, illuminating the town’s roads; lights in stores and homes will come alive, buzzing and flickering at times. Previously abandoned cars will turn on, their headlights blaring. Electronics that had previously seemed broken flick on — and whilst there are no broadcasts available on televisions, and the radio waves only drone on in static, both only occasionally blaring standard emergency broadcasts. Any computers and phones will turn on, but will have no internet or reception. Instead, Interlopers may find texts and emails — many of them unsent. The everyday lives of their users stored within, now readable.

There are still some instances of the ‘ghosts’ from the previous Auroras, but they are now only faint outlines, and far fewer in number. However, whilst the Aurora would usually only last until the next morning on sporadic nights over the month — this time it will last for a full three days. The world is plunged into darkness, a seemingly endless night with only the Aurora to light the skies.

On the second night of lights and noise, a voice calls out to you: static-like, and distant — as if someone speaks over a radio. A woman’s voice. It is the same one you’ve been hearing for a few weeks now, but finally it is far stronger than the scant whispers of name and the word ‘help’. She is far clearer now.

“You.” she says. She may whisper your name, too. “I see you.” You’re unable to speak back, the communication is only one way. She sounds upset, but there’s something more… a kind of wonder, perhaps.

”It’s not just a regular aurora borealis, but then you probably worked that out already, haven’t you? It’s so much more than that. Everything is… changing.”

”I don’t know how you can go back. But— but I can help. Maybe. Maybe I can make this place easier, somehow. I need help, but I’m stuck—” There’s frustration in her voice for a moment. ”It took from you. Took you away. It doesn’t always have to take. We can take, too. Sleep. I will help you take back. You will survive this. You will not go into the Dark. This is not the end.”

You have no idea what that means, for the most part. But you might just end up taking the chance and doing as the woman asked, even if it’s difficult with the noise and light with the Aurora. Sleep, and a dream may come to you.

FREE RUNNER: The colours of the Aurora dance around you in your dreamscape. You dream you are a magnificent stag, galloping through the snowy woods with ease. You seem to go on and on, never tiring, never slowing. You feel like the wind, or perhaps the very wind itself carries you. Not once do you stumble or fall, even when the snow is thick and deep, or the ground is shaky and uneven beneath you. You feel free.

When you awaken, you feel the most refreshed you’ve ever felt since you first came here. For the final day of the Aurora, you are bursting with energy and even when the lights in the sky fade — that revitalised feeling within you remains. There’s something within you that understands: you are the Free Runner. The ground will yield beneath you, your energy will not desert you, the wind will carry you.

LIGHT BRINGER: The colours of the Aurora dance around you in your dreamscape. You dream of sitting by a lonely campfire in the mouth of a cave at night, warming your hands. As you sit, a strange feeling comes over you, a desire to reach out to the flames. And so you do, reaching with both hands into the fire — gripping at the white-hot embers. It burns you, and for a moment there is blinding hot pain as the fire suddenly explodes around you, consuming you whole. But the pain soon stops. The fire doesn’t burn you. No, you have become the blaze — your body warmed. You burn bright enough that the darkness around you turns into day.

When you awaken the next morning, you feel warmed and comfortable. As if even the coldest of winters couldn’t reach your bones. The warmth remains even when the Aurora ends, and you are left with the innate understanding:you are the Light Bringer. The power of flame is at your very fingertips. You master the light, life, warmth.

AURORA CALL: The colours of the Aurora dance around you in your dreamscape. You dream you are standing in the very sky itself, at the Aurora’s height. Colour and sound twirls around you, within you — and you feel it curl into your body. Your head fills with noise, a chorus of voices calling out, snippets of conversation echoing within you. A woman’s voice calls to you, it is the same voice that spoke to you before you slept: “Don’t you understand it now? We are all connected. The Aurora connects us.”

And you do, you do understand it.

When you awaken, you feel connected to the world around you. To the very people who live amongst you. You feel less lonely, a kind of kinship with others. You have heard the Aurora’s Call and you have answered it, unlocked a connection with your fellow Interlopers. You will be heard.

NOTHING: The colours of the Aurora dance around you in your dreamscape, but only for a moment. The edges of your vision begin the blur with black, slowly closing in until everything goes dark and you fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. You awaken, and although you feel rested, as if the dreamless darkness has helped you feel a little more ready to take on the day — nothing else about you has changed.

ADUST

There is a reason why it is advised to avoid Milton House other than the simple fact that it’s a miracle the house is still standing. Once one of the largest buildings in the town of Milton, it is now a former shell of what was once a fine and grand house. It has lain in ruin for many years, dilapidated and host to a great deal of fire damage.

While he is in town, Methuselah will not speak of the place, but he often looks sad when it has been brought up in conversation. “A great tragedy.” he will say before falling into a pensive silence. “A blackened mark on the town’s memory.” He does not wish to say much more of what happened: sometimes there are things that are just too painful. He will continue to advise the ruin is left alone, out of respect, and the fact that the place is a danger.

Of course, advice will not stop anyone from attempting to get into the ruins and exploring the house, even if it is in fact highly dangerous.

The sounds of voices and whispers may be enough to pique anyone’s interest. You're sure you heard something, maybe you should go to check it out?

It is true in the fact that the house itself is incredibly dangerous structurally: floors and stairs may give way and you’ll find your foot (and half of you) falling right through the floorboards. Damp and rot that have long since set in, and it will be dangerous to breathe in. But you’ll find that the house itself is pretty ordinary: this was once a family home. Just about the entirety of the house and its contents aren't salvageable, but you’ll be able to find out a little about who once lived here.

There are faded, half-destroyed photos that show a family of five: a father, mother, and three young children all under the age of ten. The father with warm, beaming smiles, the mother has kind eyes, the two oldest boys with toothy grins much like their father, the younger girl looks shy, wanting to hide against her mother. They look happy. Just a typical family. In a world where so many strange things are happening, it feels so strange to look upon these family photos and around this home to realise that they simply lost their home in a house fire.

But as you hold a family picture, or some half-destroyed trinket: a toy, a shoe, a book, a vase, you’ll find the item will suddenly catch alight, bursting into flames in your very hands. The flames do not burn you, and as you discard the item, it will fall to the floor as if nothing had happened.

Then, it comes to you. Here and there. Different sensations that stop and start suddenly: the house groans and creaks around you; the smell of smoke enters your nose; the sound of fire cracking and popping with a roar fills your ears; the sensation of heat against your skin; the clawing and suffocating feeling in your lungs that makes you cough and choke; the sounds of terrified shrieks of children echoing above you. Feelings flood you: fear, panic. When you next turn around, the entire house is aflame around you, and you can’t tell if this is real or if you’re reliving some terrifying memory.

You need to leave, get out of here. For some, it will be what comes naturally. You’ll have to fight through the flames and escape the house before it burns down completely around you. You’ll have to fight your way out, find an exit not already consumed by flames — through a window, perhaps. Crashing out of the house and into the snow, you’ll look back and see Milton House just as you entered it: nothing more than a half-burned ruin.

But for others, there will be another pull. You are drawn upstairs, to the screams of children. You need to get to them, to help them, save them. You will battle through the flames, heading towards the ruins of what was a child’s bedroom, or towards the bathroom. Inside either, you will find a figure cowering, engulfed wholly in flames: one in the bathtub or one in the closet. You recognise them as the two sons from the family pictures.

Mom. They will call you. Or Dad. They weep, terrified of the flames. I’m scared, I’m scared. I want the fire to go away. Help me. Stay here.

The tragedy of Milton House is before you. More than just a fire. What is more tragic than the death of a child? What silences voices? Breaks spirits? Leaves one helpless to act in the wake of such a passing?

There is something to be done here. You are not so powerless. Calm the child. Offer gentle assurances. They will get out. They are safe. You are there for them. You will stay. Embracing them will set you alight. Too hot. Too bright. It will hurt, but you won’t burn. But don’t let go; holding them will eventually calm them down enough for the flames to grow dim, to slowly ease their spirits to rest.

Soon enough, the flames will go out and the child will disappear, leaving you alone in a decaying, dilapidated room.

In the churchyard of Milton, there is a family grave by the name of Barker. Three lie within it: Thomas it reads, and his beloved sons, Patrick and Christopher.

THE VISITOR

It seems the dream of the New Year and the Aurora dreams are not the only odd sleep-related instances occurring this month. You first notice that something is off when a strange dream pulls you from sleep. The dream may feel like any particular dream you have, whether it be a usual nightmare or strange concoction your brain has conjured up for you this night. Maybe it’s a dream you’ve had before, maybe it’s a new dream entirely. But no matter the dream, there is one thing that is odd about it. In tiny moments within the dream, you notice that there is something different, something that feels out of place. Something is there that shouldn’t be.

A figure, tall and silent, entirely made of shadow stands lurking in the background. It looks human, but there is not much more that you can really describe further. It is a sad, unsettling presence.

When you awaken, eyes bleary from sleep, and you look about the room, to the bottom of your bed, for a half-moment you see that figure standing there silently. That unsettling sadness permeates the room, and after a few seconds of blinking and sitting up — the figure disappears. Perhaps it was just some trick of the mind, some half-awake illusion.

But the next time you sleep, it appears again. The same figure, the same emotions surrounding it. And when you awaken, it stands at the bottom of your bed once more. Only this time, it lingers, and you find yourself staring down the figure before it disappears once more.

Over the next several days, the presence continues to linger more and more. It stands silently in the corner of the room of your home; it hovers by the window, staring out into the snow; it stands in the middle of the road as you go about your business. More and more, it is there. Always standing, always watching — silent and sad.

No one else seems to notice it, only you. And over time, the shape of it seems to change — the vague, undefined shape of it slowly shifts into something you recognise. The same hair, the same height, the same way it holds itself: it is exactly like you. A perfect doppelganger, a second shadow. And with it, it exudes an oppressive sadness, a particular kind of loneliness. It is suffocating, bleeding into you.

It makes you withdraw from the world around you, from the people around you. Perhaps you stop spending time with others, retreating into solitude. You hide from others, keep to yourself. You find yourself not sleeping at all or perhaps sleeping too much. Perhaps what little you already eat becomes nothing. The shadowy doppelganger draws ever closer to you, close enough to touch you - ever hovering at your shoulder. Its presence bores down on you, making you feel small and more and more alone even with its ‘company’. No one else can seem to see it but you, mentioning it to others will earn odd looks, or even concern. It seems you and your double are alone together.

Hopefully, those around you will notice the change in you. How you stopped reaching out, how you’ve stopped taking care of yourself. Hopefully they will see something isn’t right and reach out. You are doomed to the doppelganger's company otherwise.

However, those around you can push the shadowy double away, and can break its influence and hold over you. Genuine care and concern for you will have it shrinking back. Perhaps it is a kind word, perhaps it is the gentle but insisting coaxing to eat. Perhaps it is an attentive ear to listen to your thoughts, to how the presence has made you feel. Maybe it is even the simplest of touches, an embrace or the holding of a hand, the grip of a shoulder. Continued connection with you will slowly have the visitor’s power diminish.

And hopefully it is done before it is too late, or it may be all too easy to fade into the Long Dark.

FAQs

THE AURORA: NASCENCE

1. Aurora Feats are now unlocked! Please see the following page for more information. Aurora Feats are completely optional.

2. Interlopers will only receive ONE Aurora Event. The only time this is available is this month. After January, players will have to wait for the next Feat round for another chance at an Aurora Feat.

3. This Aurora will last a full three days. It will be a period of only night.

4. For more information on the ghostly loops seen during the Aurora, see this previous event, under 'The Aurora: Aftershocks' prompt.

5. For new players who would like a little extra context regarding the woman can look at December's Tales From The Northern Territories, under the 'New Happenings in December' section.

ADUST

1. Characters will not be physically burned in the fire, but only feel as if they have been. The effects of this illusion will last a short time after they're out the house before they will fade.

2. The only real injuries characters can sustain will be from fall damage, or if the floor gives way and their feet go through, etc. whilst in the house.

THE VISITOR

1. An Interloper's Visitor can't be seen by anyone but the Interloper themselves.

2. The Visitor can be spoken to, but it will not speak back. It cannot be interacted with and is intangible.

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>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

sad wet dog victorian nanny

[fidior]

Character Name: Edward Little
Canon: The Terror

Wanted CR: I'm wide open to anything, whether it's exploring cr and seeing what grows organically, or trying to find An Angle to play around with! Some specific beats that I'd enjoy:

folks to nanny — in his nervous but resilient way.... Edward is not a Paternal Type necessarily, more the "I have responsibility for someone and it's My Job" type, as well as "falling to the role of Reluctant Nanny / Middle Manager because I had to, as the First Lieutenant of a failing expedition". He's been embracing it more these days and actively fussing over / trying to take care of people. This could be for young folks but also anyone, really... He's a good Guard Dog in general (pathetic, but unflinching loyal)

fellow military / law enforcement types — Ned has been trying to keep order and structure in Milton as best as he can, and has already met a few people to help him do that, so I'd love to both continue developing that cr and open my arms to any new! There have been some talks of a little Law Enforcement HQ type deal, which could be really fun, too.

misc. things — others from around his time (1840s) that he can vibe with; those from modern times to teach him things; those with medical experience (he's pretty much cleared of scurvy by now but comes with some lead poisoning and has been suffering the effects of that, so that's... fun); canon cr drama things (he has a good deal of canonmates here in game now, and I'm wide open to any drama / talks / etc. that could go along with that....!); always open for people to join him on his patrols sometime, he goes all over Milton, checks in at the Community Center, and ends up at Francis Crozier's little isolated igloo on the outskirts of town... In general, he can be seen at the Community Center a lot to help out there and watch over Kate Marsh, his duckling 🐤

Event Ideas:

THE AURORA: NASCENCE — I actually have no idea if I want to give Ned an ability now, or wait on it.... I think I'll see what his various cr will have going on and then possibly form plans with this, so ON HOLD for now

ADJUST — Edward comes with some relatively fresh fire-related traumas (that he never addressed again and certainly never coped with!), so I think he'll be pretty prone to panicking when the house catches fire. I'll likely skip the 'rescuing children' bit for him and just focus on the fiery house part, if anyone might want to thread out a little thing there.

THE VISITOR — This is going to be the Big One for Nedward.... He already deals with such things as anxiety, depression, self-loathing, loneliness, Oppressive Sadness,,,,,, He's also still been visited by The Voice feature in game and never quite dealt with it! He's been coping by putting on his Lieutenant Cap and carrying on like he always has, but over time, he's already been dealing with themes of being worn down and his resolve has certainly been weakening, so this timing is actually perfect for everything kind of reaching its tipping point. Over the month, he'll become noticeably absent from his Typical Duties, such as patrolling the town, checking in on folks, being present, etc.... and will gradually self-isolate more and more. Eventually, this will become pretty dangerous for him, and lead into some suicidal ideation / attempt (that will be stopped by Kieren Walker). As far as options for interacting with this prompt go:
• maybe interactions with others suffering from their own Visitors? Misery loves company...
• people who are used to him Being Involved and Helpful and then he's just... not at all.... Maybe starts actually spewing his truthful depressed thoughts to them...
• people who notice something's up with him and can maybe help relieve him of it temporarily, but I have plans for Edward to get very bad off, so his Visitor situation will not be cured easily!

Anything Else?:

[burying]

at this rate Ned is going to end up getting hugs from both Kieren and Kate, I swear to god

[fidior]

DOUBLE HUGS.... Both of those kids also very much need hugs, it's a win/win for everybody! But yes please let me finally have Nedward give the Teddy Bear Hugs I know he's capable of....

[burying]

Kieren will hundred percent give Edward a hug in their thread when it all comes out. I think if we do something with Kate and Ned next month when he's finally out again after The Visitor business, that's when Kate will

he's very sorry for worrying his duckling............
Kate: HUG TIME

[solitarysoul]

levi'd try to check on ned when he notices the other man isnt on patrol as much. he wouldnt be very good at cheering up but maybe they can be sad together. or levi can remind him that its his duty to keep going and i have no idea how thatd turn out

[fidior]

Ohhh Levi reminding him that it's His Duty to keep going would be very effective, I think! Them being sad together would be cute too though, I'm good to swing it however!

[solitarysoul]

Well Levi's usually sad anyway ;)

He sees Ned as a superior officer, more or less, so he'd be likely to plead that he can't quit cause his men rely on him etc etc

[fidior]

Same hat..... "forever sad handshake".... That could be really good though, because Edward did in canon let everyone down and has a lot of guilt about not being good / strong enough! So it could lead to some fun emotional talks about that.

[solitarysoul]

Should be fun. Levi may even hint he has leadership experience but not sure.

One of us can put up a starter on event post. Doesn't matter to me who

[solitarysoul]

want me to put a starter up on ned's closed starter thread or did you want to write up one?

i am still going back and forth on if ill top level or not ^^;

[fidior]

If you want to go ahead, feel free! I don't mind setting it up but it might take me a bit! If you do want to, I was thinking it could either be set before Ned gets so bad off he's not leaving his house (so he'll still be coming by the Community Center, just less and less.... and could bump into Levi there), or he could be refusing to leave his cabin (in which case Levi could come out to check on him?) I'm game for either, it's just How Depressing you want this to be!

[solitarysoul]

maybe when he's started slacking on patrols but not completely stopped them? levi'd probably check on him if he was staying home though.

i lack creativity lately but ill try to think up something. don't wait on me if you have anything to start with

[solitarysoul]

thinking maybe levi comes across little on one of his patrols once he's almost stopped coming by the hall? just somewhere in town i guess, unless youd prefer somewhere specific.

[fidior]

Sorry for the delay, I got up a little starter for this here with him just aimlessly patrolling! lmk if anything needs adjusting!

[notarat]

poor ned... truly being the saddest and wettest dog around this month....

if it helps, billy WILL actually notice ned being off. it sure helps when you've served a guy for years and know pretty much perfectly what he's like at this point, and ned's constant patrolling of milton is something billy would have noticed too.. so he'll notice it when ned just. stops doing that. which could lead to the most awkward attempt on billy's end to try and check in on ned. it'd work perfectly for your whole 'the situation won't be cured easily' thing since obviously billy's attempt wouldn't be too effective, given that it's an awkward mess of Whoops, How Does One Check Up On Your Middle Manager Boss You Have Never Been Super Close With And You Also Kind Of Betrayed??? HE WILL TRY BUT IT'LL JUST BE.. SO AWKWARD.. AN AWKWARD ATTEMPT

[fidior]

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH... Billy just Trying... but it's so awkward all around.... and Ned just openly depressed and glum (I mean isn't he always.... but ADVANCED depression and glumness)... This sounds both very cute and hilarious, I'm here for it!!

[notarat]

kjfkdjgfd this isn't normal depression and glumness anymore... it's ADVANCED GLUMNESS.. GLUMESS 201!!!

do you have something for me to hit up or would you rather i start something? i'm cool with it either way!

[fidior]

GLUMNESS 201

I don't have a toplevel this time around but I'd be happy to toss up a closed starter! I figure Billy could come to Ned's cabin to check on him if you like, since he'll be holing himself away there..... I thought it would be funny if Ned's front door gets left open somehow and he's just.... not bothered to close it... Billy awkwardly stepping up like "uhhhh are you in here or are you dead...."

[notarat]

thank you for being willing to bless me with a starter, jhey.. that works perfectly.. billy will 100% come looking for ned there if he's not around town, so feel free to just have a starter of ned in his cabin being busy with glumness 201 so billy can walk in on that!

ESPECIALLY WITH THE DOOR OPEN.. LOL.. YES... it's so funny since billy is also doing the same thing for hickey, so it's like, "guys yes i know everything has sucked for a while but why are you all getting depRESSED NOW.." he's not supposed to deal with this?? guys, can we stop having all these emotions--

[pacificator]

I may hit you up on disco because I have a bunch of ideas, but here's some that were bouncing around my head:

- taking turns rescuing each other & saving him from his fiery panic would be amazing tbh! she'd go running back into the house to save the kids but how much do I love him telling her about his Fire Trauma. Chef's kiss.

- Visitor stuff: like I said on Plurk, this could go REAL BAD if she has a Visitor of her own! Can absolutely see her going to check on him and then going all Wynonna about it, picking a fight, storming off. Their CR could get kind of rocky this month which could lead to some rich ground at the end of Jan/through Feb.

- it's possible she might not get a Visitor in which case she'd be more useful for dealing with his. Or after all this shit goes down she might show up at his cabin with moonshine and see if he's finally ready to deal with his trauma the healthy way: with alcohol!

[fidior]

gathers all of these ideas greedily into my arms.... As always my only complaint with this cr is that I want All Things, everything sounds so good....

I'm literally down for anything (or brainstorming More Things here/on discord/etc!!!) but just to try and provide SOME helpful feedback: I do think the Visitor Things could be really good food either way 👀 If she gets one of her own, then I love the thought of a little Rocky Confrontation (and all the "make up" potential later on), and if she DOESN'T get one, then it could be fun to see Wynonna trying to help out this Super Depressed Victorian.... I'd also totally be down to let them actually have a lighter moment for once, what if Ned Little lets himself get a little tipsy after all of this........ GASP.

I realise that didn't narrow it down much HAHA but we could definitely decide on something depending on if she'll be getting a Visitor or not!!!

[pacificator]

HITTIN YOU UP IN DISCO but oh my god... tipsy Nedward... please it would be so funny (or maybe so sad? coin flip!)

[guidemyway]

Maybe Ruby can help Ned out with his visitor? Or they can both be depressed together?

[fidior]

I'm down for either flavour honestly!!! Though it could be fun to have them both be moping around together, since he's gotten to see a little glimpse of some Ruby Sads but nothing major, since she's usually always keeping up the chipper face. These two just wallowing in depression together could be funny (and sad)...

[guidemyway]

I agree completely.

I think depression buddies is definitely the way to go.