![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
4.1 Event
4.1 Event Plotting
OOC announcements
Welcome to cycle 4! Wellstone got a facelift, trading in the hot and dry for the cool and damp. While a nice reprieve from the desert, the lush forest comes with its own trials...
There will be no event post on the main comm. Instead, make your own logs to include these prompts, and any other prompts you want to add. There will be a mini-event log mid-month.
Use the happenings form to report on what your character’s been up to! Did you break something? Did you get into a screaming match in the middle of town? Spill the tea! Everyone’s thirsty for gossip.
Post any bulletins to the bulletin board.
Fill out as much or as little of this form as you like:
New this month
At the Staywell
Breakfast is laid out every morning in the dining room, with a spread of breads and cheeses and pastries. All taste perfectly fresh, and are warm to the touch no matter what time you come down to breakfast.Dinner is served more formally, the dining table made with plates and cutlery already laid out. This month, the diners alternate between a feast with a roast vegetables and a ham served with hearty bread; and pies stuffed with meats or vegetables served with a salad.
The General Store
The General Store is full of novelty items themed around the medieval: pens shaped like quills, notebooks shaped like dragons and castles, tiny letter openers shaped like swords, keychains shaped like shields, and more! If you could find it at a renaissance fair, it's fair game (as long as it's useless! No real swords or armor here).Around town
The tavern’s special for the month: A cheesecake covered in chocolate on a stick.The pub is now serving mead, and has its own casks of it behind the bar.
The baths are gleaming and beautiful, at odds with the vibe of town.
When you visit the few other locations in town, you’ll find the employees friendly and welcoming, although they may say some strange things, in addition to the handful of phrases they usually say:
The receptionist: “Welcome, welcome, I hope the rooms are to your liking. Let me know if you need me to build up the fire." Which he won't do, if asked.
Owner of the General Store: "All's well in love and war, ain't it?" And he winks at you.
The bartender: "The sword, eh? Wouldn't go after that if it were me. The forest isn't your friend."
The waiter: “Oh, good! Best to stay inside. It's so chilly out there!” He serves you a slice of cheesecake in your favorite flavor.
The gravedigger: She watches you ominously, if you can find her.
The sheriff: Is drooping in the heat of the baths.
From the stone
Content warnings: potential for impalement & light stabbing
It comes to you first in a dream.
A voice, soundless, booms through your skull. You're floating in formless darkness, staring straight ahead.
You're awake, it says, except you know that isn't true. You know what you must do, it says, but you don't think that you do, actually. You open your mouth to ask, but you can't speak and there's an awful pressure in your head, pressing down on your ears and through your sinuses, expanding and contracting all at once. Your tongue is too thick to speak. Go, says the voice. The darkness around you bursts into green: you're in a forested glade, dappled with sunlight thick and bright enough to taste. A single beam falls through a crack in the trees, lighting up a shining sword thrust deep into a moss-covered stone. You reach for it; your hand is armor-covered and bright.
The voice comes back like a thunderclap, booming through the clearing, just as your fingers curl around the hilt: Find the sword.
You wake up with the smell of ivy in your nose.
From the moment you have this dream, no matter how you may personally feel about Swords and Quests and Tales of Heroes, you'll be struck every now and again with the urge to fling yourself into the dark woods around Wellstone to find the sword. You can go, of course, at any time. If you don't, the urge will get stronger. The dream will repeat more and more often until you find yourself over and wall and in the woods without even really meaning to do that, desperate to find that clearing and that sword. You're sure that if you do, everything will be fixed.
Is there, in fact, a sword?
Of course there is.
It won't be easy to find the glade—the woods are twisting and dark and full of terrors—but it is possible to do. You may come across those same nasty vines from the maze, or brambles that catch your feet. Eyes follow you from the darkness, red-bright, making you feel intensely paranoid the deeper you go. They itch on your skin and under your clothes. Growls and grunts and wild groans echo from the trees around you.
You might get caught in the forest’s own mechanics and get thrown into the maze or back to the start. You might get attacked. Those snarling, growling sounds get louder the deeper you go, and they might just erupt into a pack of—well, wolves, but if you're tuned into the differences you might notice that they're sort of a mish-mash of a bunch of different red-eyed canids: coyotes with wolfish snouts, wolves with brushy red-fox tails, foxes the size of lions with coyote-sharp teeth and painted dog ears wide and swiveling. They'll surround you quickly and attack fiercely, bent on tearing you apart.
But as you get closer to the sword, following a small, easily ignored path that branches off deep in the woods, a chorus of ethereal voices grows louder around you. If you're being chased, the creatures chasing you will fall away, their own voices fading. The chorus crescendos when you step into a bright, dewy clearing. There it is: the sword from your dream, embedded in a stone, shining in a beam of sunlight no matter what time of day you set out or what the weather was like before.
If you’re there with a companion, or several, you will need to decide if who will try to take the sword first. Or, you might try together.
Comment below to see how your sword finding adventure ends! You may try multiple times if you fail at first. You may only succeed once. Let us know if you'd like a mundane failure or if you're open to a horrifying one.
tl;dr:
It comes to you first in a dream.
A voice, soundless, booms through your skull. You're floating in formless darkness, staring straight ahead.
You're awake, it says, except you know that isn't true. You know what you must do, it says, but you don't think that you do, actually. You open your mouth to ask, but you can't speak and there's an awful pressure in your head, pressing down on your ears and through your sinuses, expanding and contracting all at once. Your tongue is too thick to speak. Go, says the voice. The darkness around you bursts into green: you're in a forested glade, dappled with sunlight thick and bright enough to taste. A single beam falls through a crack in the trees, lighting up a shining sword thrust deep into a moss-covered stone. You reach for it; your hand is armor-covered and bright.
The voice comes back like a thunderclap, booming through the clearing, just as your fingers curl around the hilt: Find the sword.
You wake up with the smell of ivy in your nose.
From the moment you have this dream, no matter how you may personally feel about Swords and Quests and Tales of Heroes, you'll be struck every now and again with the urge to fling yourself into the dark woods around Wellstone to find the sword. You can go, of course, at any time. If you don't, the urge will get stronger. The dream will repeat more and more often until you find yourself over and wall and in the woods without even really meaning to do that, desperate to find that clearing and that sword. You're sure that if you do, everything will be fixed.
Is there, in fact, a sword?
Of course there is.
It won't be easy to find the glade—the woods are twisting and dark and full of terrors—but it is possible to do. You may come across those same nasty vines from the maze, or brambles that catch your feet. Eyes follow you from the darkness, red-bright, making you feel intensely paranoid the deeper you go. They itch on your skin and under your clothes. Growls and grunts and wild groans echo from the trees around you.
You might get caught in the forest’s own mechanics and get thrown into the maze or back to the start. You might get attacked. Those snarling, growling sounds get louder the deeper you go, and they might just erupt into a pack of—well, wolves, but if you're tuned into the differences you might notice that they're sort of a mish-mash of a bunch of different red-eyed canids: coyotes with wolfish snouts, wolves with brushy red-fox tails, foxes the size of lions with coyote-sharp teeth and painted dog ears wide and swiveling. They'll surround you quickly and attack fiercely, bent on tearing you apart.
But as you get closer to the sword, following a small, easily ignored path that branches off deep in the woods, a chorus of ethereal voices grows louder around you. If you're being chased, the creatures chasing you will fall away, their own voices fading. The chorus crescendos when you step into a bright, dewy clearing. There it is: the sword from your dream, embedded in a stone, shining in a beam of sunlight no matter what time of day you set out or what the weather was like before.
If you’re there with a companion, or several, you will need to decide if who will try to take the sword first. Or, you might try together.
Comment below to see how your sword finding adventure ends! You may try multiple times if you fail at first. You may only succeed once. Let us know if you'd like a mundane failure or if you're open to a horrifying one.
tl;dr:
- You have a strange dream calling on you to make a quest to find a sword in a stone. If you ignore this call, the dreams get more insistent.
- If you embark on this quest, you must venture into the woods and find a small, unobtrusive path that will lead you to a clearing where you find the sword from your dream.
- Comment below and the mods will roll for your result! It could be great, just okay, or truly terrible.
Drawn to you
Content warnings: encouraged intimacy, emotional vulnerability, altered mental states
The bathhouse is a new addition to town: a gleaming interior at odds with the rest of the run-down buildings, it’s oddly inviting with its moist coyote attendant and plush towels and three dressing rooms. Every night, even in the thick fog, golden light spills through the high barred windows, making it easier to find than anything else.
After three months of very little water, the baths are a real luxury. In sharp contrast to the chill outside, it's warm and cozy, and it smells wonderful: the most wonderful scent you can imagine emanates from the water, enticing you in. It seems to smell different for everyone, too. One person might smell a relaxing cedar while another smells sweet, soft vanilla. Soak your tired muscles and sink into the scent around you.
While you're in the water, it's hard to feel anything but relaxed. Sitting in the water makes you feel vulnerable and open. Suddenly, you're craving company: it would be a shame to just sit here alone, wouldn't it? You're drawn to the people around you, wanting to get closer, to share this experience and maybe a little bit of yourself. The sense of warmth and openness smooths over your pricklier feelings. You feel more open and willing to be close to people: emotionally, physically. Share a hug, a kiss, a secret. It all feels good, even if usually it might feel scary to show the soft, vulnerable parts of yourself.
You can handle the repercussions of that kiss or confession out in the cold fog of morning.
tl;dr:
The bathhouse is a new addition to town: a gleaming interior at odds with the rest of the run-down buildings, it’s oddly inviting with its moist coyote attendant and plush towels and three dressing rooms. Every night, even in the thick fog, golden light spills through the high barred windows, making it easier to find than anything else.
After three months of very little water, the baths are a real luxury. In sharp contrast to the chill outside, it's warm and cozy, and it smells wonderful: the most wonderful scent you can imagine emanates from the water, enticing you in. It seems to smell different for everyone, too. One person might smell a relaxing cedar while another smells sweet, soft vanilla. Soak your tired muscles and sink into the scent around you.
While you're in the water, it's hard to feel anything but relaxed. Sitting in the water makes you feel vulnerable and open. Suddenly, you're craving company: it would be a shame to just sit here alone, wouldn't it? You're drawn to the people around you, wanting to get closer, to share this experience and maybe a little bit of yourself. The sense of warmth and openness smooths over your pricklier feelings. You feel more open and willing to be close to people: emotionally, physically. Share a hug, a kiss, a secret. It all feels good, even if usually it might feel scary to show the soft, vulnerable parts of yourself.
You can handle the repercussions of that kiss or confession out in the cold fog of morning.
tl;dr:
- The bathhouse is open and the water is warm. It smells like your favorite scent in the world, comforting and enticing.
- The baths lull you into relaxation and make you feel vulnerable and desperate for closeness, physical or emotional. You’re drawn to share yourself, body or soul, with the people around you.
memento mori
Content warnings: ghosties
Every night in Wellstone, after the sun sets and the chill that the sun staved off bites at your toes, thick fog settles heavy over the town. It laps at the windows of Staywell Manor, curling in strange patterns against the glass The trees circling the town look like dark soldiers emerging from the mist.
Braving the fog means you'll want to bulk up on warm clothes and a solid mental map of the town, if you've formed one yet, because it'll be very easy to lose your way and end up down some dark alley, and this month, that's not a good thing.
You can certainly hear them: muffled voices echoing down damp cobbled streets; a cut-off scream or a voice raised in helpless anger; sobbing so heartbroken it chills your bones. You can see them, too. A silvery gown flashes, a hand reaches out from the fog, a strange light glints off thick armor and the blade of a sword: ghosts. Lots of them.
Some of those ghostly forms seem familiar. They’re people you know, or think you might know. They might even be you, silvery and translucent. They’re playing out moments in your life, memories that you don’t have: moments of pain, of heartbreak, of joy, of love. Every memory played out by the ghosts has some emotion at its core.
Stay to watch, and the ghosts may stir a memory in you. Or, you may watch a memory that you can’t remember and try to piece it together. Or, you may watch someone else’s, and learn something about their lives.
Or, sometimes, the ghosts you see look just a little odd. They just look like people with sheets draped over them. And they seem to see you, and they wail "ooooOOOOOooooO!" and disappear into the fog.
After the memory plays out, the ghosts disappear into the fog.
tl;dr:
Every night in Wellstone, after the sun sets and the chill that the sun staved off bites at your toes, thick fog settles heavy over the town. It laps at the windows of Staywell Manor, curling in strange patterns against the glass The trees circling the town look like dark soldiers emerging from the mist.
Braving the fog means you'll want to bulk up on warm clothes and a solid mental map of the town, if you've formed one yet, because it'll be very easy to lose your way and end up down some dark alley, and this month, that's not a good thing.
You can certainly hear them: muffled voices echoing down damp cobbled streets; a cut-off scream or a voice raised in helpless anger; sobbing so heartbroken it chills your bones. You can see them, too. A silvery gown flashes, a hand reaches out from the fog, a strange light glints off thick armor and the blade of a sword: ghosts. Lots of them.
Some of those ghostly forms seem familiar. They’re people you know, or think you might know. They might even be you, silvery and translucent. They’re playing out moments in your life, memories that you don’t have: moments of pain, of heartbreak, of joy, of love. Every memory played out by the ghosts has some emotion at its core.
Stay to watch, and the ghosts may stir a memory in you. Or, you may watch a memory that you can’t remember and try to piece it together. Or, you may watch someone else’s, and learn something about their lives.
Or, sometimes, the ghosts you see look just a little odd. They just look like people with sheets draped over them. And they seem to see you, and they wail "ooooOOOOOooooO!" and disappear into the fog.
After the memory plays out, the ghosts disappear into the fog.
tl;dr:
- The fog is thick and dense after dark, making it difficult to find your way around.
- However, in the fog you find shapes, some familiar, and some not, playing out memories that you've lost. The memories are focused on times of great emotions: both good and bad.
- Once the memory plays out in the ghostly forms, the ghosts vanish.
- You can regain up to 3 memory points with this prompt, one per time you interact with the prompt (both if it's your character's memory, and if it's someone else's).
no subject
Your pronouns: she/her
Contact:
Character name: Daniel Arlington
General ideas or plans for the month: Danny is largely going to be getting his bearings this month, seeing as he's so new! Super down for anything good, bad, or neutral that'll help him build CR (or build on the stuff that's already started brewing in his TDM threads).
He finds the manor familiar and comforting in a way that he can't quite explain right now (though who knows how long that'll last, in a place like this), so he's likely to be found hanging around there, along with occasional ventures into either the pub or the tavern, and looking through the general store for the most useful of the useless stuff.
Event ideas:
Sword: As I a) laughed about it loud enough to scare the cat and b) am incapable of passing up the chance, Darlington will be getting himself an accordion sword, thank you mods for this beautiful gift. Would love to have him join up with another group of sword-venturers or have people join him; he doesn't know it, but he's actually got some experience fighting sinister and mysterious wolf-things, so he'll be a decent one to have if things get dangerous.
Bathtime: Since he's so new and hasn't regained anything super confessional, I don't have plans to do much with this prompt where Darlington's concerned! That said, it'd be fun to rope him into being a listening ear for anyone who does have something to confess, so I'd be perfectly happy with getting him involved somehow that way.
Ghosts: This is the hardest one to make decisions on. I have to do something, but for right now I'm torn between a few options:
* Good memory: A ghostly Darlington and Alex, smashing a seemingly endless supply of crystal glassware and fine china. They're both extremely drunk.
* Bad memory: A hulking, ram-horned demon covered in golden runes, looming over the cowering shade of a once-dignified older man. Various tortures ensue.
* Tragic memory: A much younger Danny, sitting at the top of the stairs (or I guess up in a tree for these purposes, because forest), eavesdropping on his parents and grandfather fighting.
Theoretically, all of these could just be options for any given thread under this prompt (coin flip? choose your own adventure? something), so that is an option, but I also feel like I should maybe winnow it down to just one? There's just so many memories that could be fun to play with.
Are you planning to create a log this month? Yes!
no subject
no subject
I love this idea, also if there's wolf fighting maybe Pal will get the coveted not-actually-a-prize of being the first one to see Darlington demon out??? We'll see how the thread goes!
no subject
no subject
I'd love to see how these two get on with either sword quest or the memory ghosts! I'm putting together a plan for tagging into John's party and also a log for Darlington, so both should be represented somewhere this month. Please throw Yuri at whichever (or both!) catches your interest most!
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
i'll keep an eye out for your TL and tag in there!!!
no subject
- save the impossibly powerful necromancer from getting mauled by mundane wolves
- John witnesses the bad memory, torture and all, and does not have a normal human aversion response. kind of entranced by the gore, honestly. he feels as weird about this as Darlington probably does.
- after one of those, John admits in the bath that he's lost a lot of friends and is sad about it
also come get wasted at his party.no subject
I am definitely sending Darlington to the party and have been slowly formulating a tag for John's tree prompt, so expect him there (and also in a toplevel of his own)--what a welcome to the world of Well for this boy, seriously.
no subject
no subject
no subject
I'm also having her start a club to get the various fighters to be a little more organized a little later through the month and occasionally have sparring tournament type Fight Club-by things so that could be a thing (alternatively/also/etc).
I'm assuming Darlington is not um, rocking demon appendages in the bath?no subject
no comment, please never discuss this againno subject
Dammit, you're supposed to have strong feelings! Hmm. If he's at the party I can have Cam tag him there, that makes total sense since ...tbh since it's already posted which makes it a lot easier 😂
look it's not my fault it's leigh bardugo's, if she didn't want it discussed she shouldn't have done it