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Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] countryclub2022-04-05 04:54 pm
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April 2022 Plotting Post

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.

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.

CODING
enblightened: (350 DOLLAR FINE)

Bigby the Abomination | Darkest Dungeon

[personal profile] enblightened 2022-04-06 05:26 am (UTC)(link)
Character Name: Bigby
Character Blood Type: Vileblood
Character Role: your depressed uncle who lives in the woods

What CR you would like to develop for this event: UHHH HECK. Bigby will probably need some solid support this month, some solid love. He's been stressing about Illarion, and due to April being what it is he's half-transformed constantly and teetering on full out beasthood... which is worse than usual for him.
Open/Closed to New CR this event: Always open!
What CR you want to avoid this event: Directionless antagonization that never develops

Timeline/Event Ideas:

- Butterflies!: let's be honest, Bigby is probably going to hulk out unless there are some measures taken. He's been struggling since March for a multitude of reasons, and April's effects aren't doing him any favors. He could use some pals to wind him down

- Wonderkind: The cool thing is that Darkest Dungeon has an insane amount of monsters to pick from, and all of them horrible! So we can do this in two ways: you team up with Bigby to take some down, or I'd be happy to pseudo DM a fight scene for your character to face off with some. There's a whole list of them here, some tougher than others, and some certainly more disturbing than others. Just heed there is a ton of body horror there.

- Tethers: I may not necessarily put up something for Bigby for this on account of his shenanigans already, but I am always down for him helping someone else out, even if he doesn't know them!
mehanizovati: (5)

[personal profile] mehanizovati 2022-04-06 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
well i have to butt in here, seeing how many hours i've sunk into darkest dungeons. absolute delight to see one in the game

i'd love to do something with him and viktor, if you'd like! viktor's not really a fighter but i'm happy to have him need help with wonderkind DD monsters, or happy with him trying to help/getting some help with tether stuff, his own is definitely going to be a problem. or trying to get bigby away from the Butterfly Menace before things get too bad, likely with a lot of poking with his cane and his omen trying to herd him away

if any of those sound good let me know!
enblightened: (mouth is alive)

[personal profile] enblightened 2022-04-06 06:25 am (UTC)(link)
honestly i'll have any excuse to have CR with viktor too, i didn't expect to love him half as much as i did when i watched arcane!

im thinking either something with DD monsters or the butterfly, whichever you might be more invested in. i know viktor isn't much of a fighter but that's all right, bigby will give him a hand wherever he's needed.
mehanizovati: (4)

[personal profile] mehanizovati 2022-04-06 06:58 am (UTC)(link)
haha same, i never played LoL but had enough friends that did so i vaguely knew who he was. his whole arc surprised me in a great way

honestly it's hard to say no to some DD monsters while we have the chance to have them here, their designs are so good. viktor has some defense at least because his omen is rio and rio is Huge, so maybe he can be unintentional houndmaster so bigby isn't carrying all the fight
enblightened: (BOOF)

[personal profile] enblightened 2022-04-06 06:40 pm (UTC)(link)
i have, regrettably, spent a long time playing LoL. do not play it do not play it.

RIO. oh my heart im so glad. old man clutching chest meme right here. but yeah, let me know which monster(s) strike your fancy, bosses included if you're feeling any of them, just probably not the heart of darkness lskdhflkdsah
mehanizovati: (23)

[personal profile] mehanizovati 2022-04-06 07:29 pm (UTC)(link)
sdegesed that is the consensus i have found. i'll stick to reading little lore facts in the wiki and being baffled. or listening to friends who still play it scream, poor souls...

god yeah, or the collector given how many times that asshole ended me early in runs. ... actually he might be a fun one despite that. i've always been partial to the weald and cove monsters, or farmland stuff those crystal designs are chef's kiss. maybe a few from the cove monsters would be a good selection? legit any of those three i'd love though, if you have a particular thought, or the collector since he'd be a fun vague miniboss to handle. also the fact he looks so much like micolash from bloodborne, he'd fit right in
danserai: princess tutu (29)

[personal profile] danserai 2022-04-07 09:45 am (UTC)(link)
ahiru is here for some SOLID LOVE