April 2022 Plotting Post

[reddosmod]

APRIL 2022 PLOTTING POST

Please use this post to plot with other players and keep track of your plans for this month's event! You can ask specific questions about the event down below. If you are ever waiting on a question, please feel free to reach out to Milk directly.

This post will be updated with the Live Event once it is posted. Plotting posts are always made on the 5th and events always go live on the 8th.

[NAVIGATION]

Prompt 1 • Prompt 2 • Prompt 3

Plotting Form • Event Questions • Live Event • Monthly Newsletter

[JUMP TO COMMENTS]

PROMPT 1: MIGRATION OF MOONLIT BUTTERFLIES

CONTENT WARNINGS: Hopelessness/corruption, heavy themes of mental trauma/health, killing of gentle creatures.

Excerpt from BEASTS OF DEER COUNTRY Chapter 12: Migrations:

"One of the most beautiful natural phenomena of Deer Country is the migration of the mysterious Moonlit Butterflies. These giant creatures are most often the size of a house, with exceptional wingspans. Fear not: they are not violent creatures. Most will fly well above the city of Trench, leaving trails of glittering orbs of light that fall all throughout the city. However, it is common for some Moonlit Butterflies to land and rest throughout Trench. Despite their massive size, these creatures appear to weigh very little, able to rest harmlessly on homes, lampposts, and the like. Don't be surprised to find some scattered throughout your neighborhood.

They have a gentle aura about them and are most famous for their behemoth wings which glow a radiant green. They are aptly named due to their ability to store immense power from the moon during April and are seen as distant children of Argonaut. Being near them will enchant the air with the scent of amber and fresh linen, and you may hear a soothing song emit from these beasts.

Despite their rare and incredible beauty, it is wise to not linger in their presence no matter how captivating they are...And they are captivating. Many residents of Trench have been known to stop and stare, enthralled by the wings or the orbs of light that are shed by the butterflies. Those who have been staring for too long will have an unnatural glowing green glaze over their eyes, obscuring their pupil and gaze. This is known as the Moonlit Drain.

These butterflies do not gather all of their energy from moonlight...but they gather it from hopeful beings as well. It is why they gather among populations of sentient beings. They soak up all hope in the area and the longer you stand in their presence, the more hopeless you may become. Standing in the presence of a Moonlit Butterfly has driven people to rapid, severe corruption in under ten minutes. It is best to avoid these butterflies no matter how mesmerizing they may be to look at.

The little orbs of light are actual manifestation of everyone's hope. Touching them may restore hope and they can be gathered into jars for future treatments of corruption. They do not "go bad" as they are the essence of emotion. One way to restore hope to a corrupt or beast-ridden soul is to slay one of the Moonlit Butterflies. They are incredibly easy to kill as they are naturally delicate and non-hostile.

Be warned: the one who slays a Moonlit Butterfly will be consumed with instantaneous corruption and possibly even beasthood. But once the butterfly has been slain, anyone in the surrounding area besides the killer will have corruption alleviated. Killing a Moonlit Butterfly has been known to fill people with incredible grief and guilt. Few have survived."

PROMPT 2: WONDERKIND

CONTENT WARNINGS: Possible spoilers per canon, time/vortex style presence, variety of possible monsters.

Excerpt from an essay titled "The Wonderkind Pthumerian" from the book The Curious Nature of the Weakest Pthumerian: Argonaut and Misconceptions:

"Most of the other Patron Pthumerians are known for exceptional strength and durability during trying times. It is only Argonaut in which people think of weakness. They believe the Patron to be a fickle, tiny thing with little worth, but there is a unique and powerful quality to Argonaut that should not be overlooked.

This is the phenomenon known as Wonderkind. It has only been known to happen once every few years and only ever during April, but those who have seen it would testify to the hidden strengths of our explorer Patron. There is much to be said about curiosity and resilience, after all. Argonaut has wandered through the lives of many without most ever realizing it. He has likely seen into your own life, curious about the odd Sleepers that show up on the shores of this world.

Wonderkind appears as a meteor shower, but these are no meteors. Balls of flaming light will fall from the sky, silent, beautiful, striking, and somewhat ominous and terrifying. They rain upon Trench in intervals throughout April. They do not crash into the city so much as glide throughout. These balls of light are shimmering orbs that have split open time and space itself into unraveling cocoons, exposing portals into worlds foreign to this one.

These portals cannot be entered for they are not portals out of this world...But portals into this world. Sleepers have claimed to find beloved items and pull them out of these portals. Some may find old pets that come out to greet them. It can be a lucky and cherished event for many. Tragically, these portals do not seem to be able to bring in sentient beings applicable characters, but you may be able to talk briefly to a loved one who isn't yet in this world.

But that's not all that can crawl through these portals...Monsters from other worlds have been known to flock to these portals and make their way through. Monsters from your worlds or other worlds slip in to wreak havoc on the streets of Trench. It is during this time that it is of the utmost importance that our Hunters take up arms and protect the vulnerable. If you recognize the monsters or disasters from your world entering ours, then please, make sure to caution those against it.

The portals close after a few hours and cannot be manually closed by anyone. Nothing can be sent into portals, but one can stand by a portal and guard it for potential dangers. Portals from your world may reappear several times throughout the month, so don't let your guard down for even a moment, and always expect the worst even when hoping for the best."

Quick Facts:

1. Respect the setting. Do not bring in monsters that would be capable of destroying the world/city/etc.

2. Things like unique plants/items can be gained through these portals.

3. You do not need to engage with portals from your own canon. You can invent new worlds, engage with other canons, or alternate universes. It's up to you.

PROMPT 3: FROM WITHIN AND WITHOUT

CONTENT WARNINGS: Instant beasthood, corruption of soul, draining of soul, replication of soul, mistreatment of sex workers/night walkers.

An excerpt from a journal kept by a Night Walker named Charlotte Finch. Finch was known for being one of the first established Night Walkers and was known for her advocacy on the front of Night Walker work and its relationship to beasthood. This journal is kept in the Archives. It contains content pertinent to Beasthood yet, unfortunately, due to ongoing biases against Night Walkers, this journal is kept in the autobiography section rather than the section for beasthood. Good luck finding it.

"the job of the Night Walker is, of course, undervalued by this world. we do our best to soothe the troubled souls of this place and yet they continue to doubt our worth. what must we do to convince them? must we wield blades to show them how we fight? must we shed blood to prove our dedication? must we pick up books to show our intelligence? nei, we not do that. we sleep beside our worn hunters and rest heads upon the chests of scholars and hold the tired hands of architects. we guide the way to light in a way disciples could never.

all us are valuable, it be true, but why must the night walker be left to the wayside? why must our duties be written off? why must it be that it always a night walkers blood in the streets that leaves no tears to be shed? nei, nei, it is hatred of those who understand the soul and body have a close connection.

you know what i believe? these souls of ours change the landscape of our bodies. you cannot have one without the other. when the soul is corrupt, it only be natural that the body corrupts, turning rigid and hideous and monsterous and beastly. aye yes i have seen it myself, though none of the others believe except for other night walkers.

you see, there is a shape that comes to us in the Long Night of april, a shape much like our own. looking like a person ought to look but with no face and no features, like a mirror glimmering in the shape of you. they look like us, and they will mimic us. these odd mirror beings is the shape of our soul, you see, and once it finds you, it will copy you, and you will be driven mad! mad! how does this thing move as you move? how does it replicate what you replicate?

aye, it is your soul, my friend. your soul in a shape you can see. or something like it, may not soul be in your lexicon. it is you, as you are it. it is the Tether between you and beasthood, see what i say. the Tether will begin to soak into you if you let it, if you let it consume you, and it will consume you rapidly. people have been known to be ravaged by the Tether and turn into beasts within seconds, AYE yes, seconds, not minutes, into a vicious beast. the Tether wins.

But you need not let it be a victor, my friend. you see, we proved it, we did, us night walkers, we proved to lay with the Tether is to soothe the Tether. Allow yourself the kindness of another soul, another companion. touch and feel and express companionship. holding the hand of your lover or your friend or your brother or sister will cause the Tethers to weaken before ye very eyes! i do swear it, my friend, i should not lie on a subject i hold so dear.

you see, when we hold one another dear, when we cherish one anothr truly and wholly, we abate the darkness in our souls. listen to your companions, my sweet friends, and let your souls heal, and you can stop the Tether from consuming. you see, you see. surely you see. this is what it looks like. the Tether is always with us, but only in April under this moon can we see it always and will it be vicious and invasive. do not allow it.

do not allow it."

Quick Facts:

1. Tethers will take the exact body shape/size of you and mimic your moves. They may follow you around for several hours/days. Once they decide to "consume" you, it will be quick. It will essentially look like your body is turning metallic and then you become a beast.

While Charlotte states it happens in a matter of seconds, this can happen in several hours/days as well. Depends on the character and their general resolve.

2. People can be pulled back from this through emotional support whether verbally or physically and general acts of kindness. It's the sincerity that matters here. You do not need to be familiar with the person to help them.

3. Everyone can see each other's Tethers so you can determine how severe someone's Tether has become. The more severe the Tether, the more silvery the impacted person will look.

4. Tethers cannot be destroyed with weaponry/attacks. Trying will only hurt the person they are mimicking. You could actually kill someone by trying to "kill" their Tether. The tether will vanish with those who died but reappear once they have reincarnated.

PLOTTING FORM

Feel free to use the following form as a general guidance for your ideas for this month's event. Tag around for new CR, build off old CR, or use this as a way of organizing your thoughts and plans.

<b>Player Name:</b> Your name <B>Player's Pronouns:</b> Your pronouns <b>Preferred Player Contact:</b> <user name=PLURKNAME site=plurk.com> or DISCORD##### or PM. <b>Monthly Pacing:</b> Will you be a little slow this month? Will you have more time than usual? Let people know what they can expect here! <b>OOC Limits:</b> Any limits you have - either things you're not currently interested in or things you cannot/don't want to play. <b>Opting-Out Prompts:</b> Any prompts you do not want to engage with at all whether out of disinterest or discomfort. You do not need to explain why you won't be engaging. <b>Character Name:</b> <B>Character Blood Type:</b> <b>Character Role:</b> <b>What CR you would like to develop for this event:</b> Do you want to get some enemies in the works? Find a lover? A best friend? A mentor? Let people know here! <b>Open/Closed to New CR this event:</b> Y/N <b>What CR you want to avoid this event:</b> What are you not interested in playing? <B>Timeline/Event Ideas:</b> Let people know any ideas you have for the month. If a timeline is important to you, let people know about when you plan to have things happening to your character.

CODING

Comments

Viktor | Arcane

[mehanizovati]

Player Name: hal
Player's Pronouns: they/them
Preferred Player Contact: dichotomy or overlysensitiveowl#5925 at discord or a PM here is fine!
Monthly Pacing: i will be pretty fast this month i think, but i don't mind any pace, backtagging is good, etc
OOC Limits: no suicide please- self sacrifice is fine though!
Opting-Out Prompts: all are good to me

Character Name: Viktor
Character Blood Type: paleblood
Character Role: leaning towards scholar but mostly he's been getting by on repairs/engineering and doing personal research

What CR you would like to develop for this event: i'm open to anything honestly, i always love more Science/Engineering/General nerds, either in collaboration or rivalry. outside of that too, just yeah open to whatever
Open/Closed to New CR this event: very open to new cr
What CR you want to avoid this event: not that i can think of!

Timeline/Event Ideas:

butterflies: viktor's been working with allen and in general studying purification, so he's absolutely going to have a huge interest in gathering those balls for study. so anything to do with collecting those and meeting, or maybe finding someone who needs them? definitely an avenue to work with.

on top of that he's definitely the sort who'd accidentally get swept into a trance by the butterflies if someone wants to try to help there. i'm happy to go with some rapid corruption or just basic get him out of there before things get too bad, etc. i think it's very unlikely he'd kill a butterfly but he might whack one with his cane if it really looked like a dire situation for a corrupted individual.

wonderkind: open to this, though i can't say i have much in the way of ideas off the top of my head. anyone want to deal with shimmer, aka a very dangerous drug that makes you super fast and very pink? maybe a monster from arcane world... which i guess would still just be shimmer fueled people/whatever those shimmer suits were.

basically i'm open to this, especially for other people's worlds, if anyone wants to brainstorm. maybe someone can come with him looking for useful scrap from the portals.

from within and without: this one i have a lot of interest in, especially for people who would like to build some extremely positive cr. on one hand viktor's kind of standoffish but genuinely cares a lot, so it wouldn't be out of the question for him to be able to help someone genuinely in need of that reaching out to save them from the tether. long story short if you want someone to offer an ear/hand he's available, we could make something work.

i'd be interested in doing him being tethered too. he struggles with being helped and sees it as transactional in almost all cases, which would make it an interesting conversation i think. so the short side of this is if you want not a huge challenge but definitely someone who isn't going to instantly believe people are sincere this could be fun

etc: i'm open to tdm plots too, and actually if anyone plays a doctor who could help with a terminal lung illness or would like to try that's another plot i've been sitting on. sorry these are all vague, i figure keeping them vague and going into details as we discuss is the best course

[megatheorem]

how does viktor feel about. necromancy. palamedes has a decade+ of trying to cure terminal illnesses under his belt and sometimes without necromancy, even!! he would Help if possible... he would also Help with collecting hope orbs or whichever other thing

also broadly i love viktor and i want to put two skinny turbonerds in the same room and watch them Go? nerd collab??

[mehanizovati]

sedf what's wrong with a little necromancy? given he's using weird rubix cube blood magic in canon to work on it frankly necromancy is a step up. that would be great though! funnily enough i've talked to another player from your canon, the emperor's player? who has offered something similar, which locked tomb really likes its necromancy huh? that is appealing, if it's a book i should read it one of these days.

i have a thought for a thread if you're interested - basically they meet collecting orbs, viktor coughing up blood attracts a beast but far away enough he can just throw down the bloody kerchief and they can flee to his lab? cue nerding and hang out? i have no idea if palamedes (which the classics nerd in me adores that name, what a good choice) can fight or would try to fight it, obviously that is possible too. what do you think?

[megatheorem]

oh yeah they SURE DO like their spooky magic in tlt!! that is spicy because if anyone can like, actually just snap their fingers and do a healing, it's the emperor, but canonically normal ("normal") necromancy cannot.... palamedes has legit had to invent apparatuses to get around how necromancy is kind of a shitty healing magic. he likes the challenge....

which, GIVEN THAT: yes this is perfect!! pal is a glass cannon but he's very good at Blood Wards so any beast fight might just be "oh shit i made a wall ok let's speedwalk out of here" which, honestly. ideal. i'm into it!! are you thinking an event log? i can drop a starter in my catchall if that works better :eyes:

[mehanizovati]

oh palamedes sounds exactly like the kind of person viktor would like a lot. take what you have and go i'm going to find a way to make this work? hell yes. honestly he'd probably he happy to act as a sort of test subject for it, it sounds like the kind of useful research he'd be all about.

sdfsdf 'ok let's speedwalk out of here' killed me. also i plan on doing a top level at the event log, but if you wanted to do it earlier (which i'd love to) i'd happily tag into your catch-all!

[swellter]

Shouto will be collecting those luminescent balls for later use (he's going to pelt his brother with them later) so maybe they can run into each other while they gather their supplies.

Also, I was going to bring it up in their current log (haven't forgotten about it I'm just slow during weekdays!) but he lost his last engineer and needs a new one? He's got quite a few support items (equipment) that need maintenance he is wholly unqualified to maintain aside from basic needs. Let me know what you think about possibly tinkering with Hero Support items, especially those involved with extreme temperature control.

[mehanizovati]

yes, perfect! that'd definitely be a great opener for something, even if it's just chatting or running into trouble

funnily enough shouto just came up in a thread i'm doing with allen as someone who they could grill about beasts for their whole 'let's study corruption' thing, so viktor was going to seek him out anyway

i would love that! i think the little thread we have going in my catch all can go there, i was kind of thinking of having viktor point out the flaws in the toolset he's buying and try to help him get a better deal/set, if that isn't stepping on toes? if he brought that up viktor would be happy to help and it'd be very up his alley. he has a little lab in willful machine too where shouto can drop by when he likes

[swellter]

Exactly what I was thinking! I don't have any particular plans, but if they get into the engineering stuff in their current thread they chat about the progress on that?

LMAO. We'll he's been a hunter for 6 months now, so he knows about beasts. He's very reluctant to kill any sentient being, so he usually captures them (if he can) with his ice and drags them to the Lumenarium to have them 'de-corrupted'. But yes, go ahead and ask him about things. Not sure where you want it to go oocly, but I can work with anything you need!

Perfect! Yes... he's a hero, not a scientist. He can take care of the basic maintenance but that's about it. Anything goes wrong and he's screwed! He can also tell the rest of his canonmates - who also have support items - about him later on. He might just get more 'heroes' seeking him out!

Pfft. Please! Anytime I tag a thread, I've got no idea what I'm doing! There are no toes to step on! Go ahead! I'm just making things up as I go!

[mehanizovati]

i think mostly the plot is just to see what else can be done about beasts rather than hunting them down as the major option, where it goes is very up in the air. that attitude towards beasts is perfect basically, the whole idea that maybe we can find better, faster ways to save even the worst corruptions. i hope you won't mind viktor asking a lot of 'what signs are there, what are common behaviors in beasts, etc etc' very research/data point kind of groundwork.

also thank you <3 that sounds perfect for a way to get them on the topic of viktor working as his engineer. he gets a huge kick out of seeing tech from other worlds so he'll be especially happy about it

but yes, when the event goes up let's do some orb collection. the closest thing to collecting fireflies in the trench huh

[tealeafs]

technically chizuru is not.. fully a doctor, but her dad was one and she's basically been helping him out. and if she knew someone had a terminal lung illness she would be 100% concerned with trying to help out, especially since one of the people close to her back home had tuberculosis so it'd hit close to home for her. so even though she might not be able to fully help, she'd at least be willing to try, so i'd be all up for a plot like that.

[mehanizovati]

oh i'd love that! maybe she could at least help in easing the symptoms? he definitely has a problem of falling to cough fits, that meaning blood and blood meaning maybe attracting beasts, so any sort of help to lower the amount of those he has he'd be really grateful for.

or even just her catching him during a bad episode, i'd be really interested in letting them have a chance to interact during that given chizuru's history

[tealeafs]

yes!! i would love a thread of her catching him during that, which could always be what leads to her wanting to help out... while she couldn't cure it i do think that if chizuru would study up, she could definitely at least make some medicine that would at least lessen some of the amount of coughing fits like that ;;

be ready to have a tiny girl fuss over you, viktor

[mehanizovati]

i could put something in my catchall and link it to you here, if you'd like? also that's honestly perfect, thank you chizuru you are a real one okay. he'd appreciate it all so much, even if he'd be awkward nerd about it. welcome to free repairs/mechanical work and some fussing too forever

[thisislife]

Would From Within and Without work for him and Rose? I'm planning to do catch-all posts for all three of my girls and I don't know if I have you on Plurk. I'm there on argustar, that oddball with blue hair and red glasses.

[mehanizovati]

yes it would work very well! i'm glad, i was already planning on seeing if i could tag rose during this event. also i just checked and i do have you on plurk so we are good there

[thisislife]

Awesomesauce! When work isn't busy and I can focus on making posts, I'll do a comment specifically for Rose and Victor, then link you to it. Yay! Even though I currently have raspberry hair and rainbow glasses. Should do a new selfie for tumblr, will get around to that the 45th of Never.

[mehanizovati]

thank you! also god rainbow glasses, what a look. i got a purple pair an it's the first time i went with something other than black, it's a delight

[asas]

ok so I really want something new for ammy and viktor!

I’m considering within and without if viktor still needs help with that, but amaterasu can’t exactly speak unless characters have means of animal talk! unless, check this out: ammy speaks to him through the omen and follows him around as support dog, but viktor doesn’t know it’s her who’s sending him messages (at least not immediately)!

or, alternatively, ammy is about purification and can maybe help in a way re: studying butterflies? god gives science nerd her pov about purification of souls and bodies

[mehanizovati]

oh my god, speaking through his omen sounds amazing, please! that's such a good workaround for it and cute/hilarious to boot. would you like me to make something for that in my catch all and link it here?

also honestly the second he learns she's all about purification at any point he will definitely be like please give me your thoughts, an actual god. which i very much look forward to the image of viktor taking notes as an adorable dog god offers her wisdom

[asas]

my phone has betrayed me and changed omni for omen, but!!! 😭😭😭 it still works, if his omen reads her notes to him! (or he could read them, it’s still cute)! i would love a starter!

[mehanizovati]

oh that makes a lot more sense dfgd, well regardless here you go! oh terminal illness warnings for the thread and please let me know if anything needs changing!

[expertonshutters]

I am hitting you up super late so I hope that is okay, but I wanted to see if you were up for Hayato reaching out to Viktor since he responded to Penny's post about robotics/cybernetics. He was the friend of hers she alluded to who is keeping a low profile on his own cybernetic nature.

He'd like to field anyone interested in helping them since ...rooting around in ones insides is kind of intimate you feel.

[mehanizovati]

not too late at all! i would love to thread anything there, honestly yeah especially since being weird about andriods/ai/robots can be a Thing with people hayato is right to keep an eye out

how would you like to do it? i have an ic inbox but i'd be happy to post a starter of some sort on my catch-all if you'd like. he'd definitely give penny the location of his lab so i can see hayato learning that and visiting if you'd prefer doing something like that instead!

[expertonshutters]

Definitely, and not only is he particularly protective of Penny, but he's also the result of some pretty nasty human experimentation and came by his body against his will. He has a reason to be suspicious of science types.

Let's start with an inbox that leads to them meeting up in person. I think Hayato would start with them meeting somewhere public before they head to see his lab, if that works for you.

[mehanizovati]

ooooh boy, then yeah, please, be suspicious. especially for penny's sake, she seems like the best

that sounds great! here is said inbox, because i had to double check i even made one with my shitty memory haha