there'll be oats in the water

[singmod]

JULY 2024 EVENT

PROMPT ONE — THE AURORA: REDUX: A storm finally arrives, and with it — Enola extends her hand to help the Interlopers once more, granting them new abilities.

PROMPT TWO — PENSIVE LOOKOUT: With the Forest Talker efforts focused on sabotaging hunting efforts, Interlopers can attempt to explore the Pensive Lookout Tower, where they can uncover secrets from the diary of Sam Bouchard — the former firewatch worker of the summer of 2014.

PROMPT THREE — A PEEK INSIDE: A group of Interlopers get their hands on one of the Forest Talkers in search of answers — and get a little more than they bargained for.

THE AURORA: REDUX

WHEN: Mid-month, for three days.
WHERE: Everywhere.
CONTENT WARNINGS: supernatural/extreme weather; lightning storms; potentially disturbing dreams; dreams of being trapped in ice; dreams of animal death; dreams of the death of loved ones.


July brings warmer weather. The fog has lifted, and the daylight returned — but an odd kind of pressure lingers in the air, the kind that feels similar with oncoming storms but something still feels off about it all. Measurements and readings are erratic, with them often making little sense. It’s hard to predict just what might be coming, but sure enough something is coming.

Hold on a little longer, Enola told you. A storm is coming.

It comes quickly, the gathering of storm clouds. At first, it looks as if a kind of snowstorm is moving in, but there’s something else at play here. Within the grey, cloudy skies, there is a tell-tale sound of an Aurora mixed within those clouds.

And with it, in amongst the dark, the swirling colours. Greens, pinks and purples weaving through the clouds, almost mesmerising to watch. The air is alive with sound: static noise, cracks and pops: a storm and the Aurora mixed into one. For those who’ve been here long enough, it’s a worrying, unnerving sight. The storm rumbles with the low roar of distant thunder, growing ever closer. The electronics of the world begin to come alive, and in the static of it all — you begin to hear Enola’s voice even clearer than before.

After so much darkness, now there is so much light. A lightning storm — aurora colours mingling with the grey clouds, punctured with crackles of lightning. Something powerful and strange — flash forking across the skies, followed by booms of thunder.

The storm lasts three days, and even though her voice is soft — you hear it over all the noise, nestled gently in your ear.

“You're still here. It means something. This isn’t the end, I refuse to let it be the end. It can’t win. You won’t go into the Dark.” Enola tells you. ”I will make you more than what you are, more than what was stolen from you. This place will not be your end. I have to try. We have to try. Together. I showed some of you, once. I’ll show you again.”

She tells you to sleep. For some, they recognise this and realise what may end up happening. For others it feels like going out on a limb. But you sleep, and perhaps a dream may come to you.

COLD FUSION: The colours of the Aurora dance around you in your dreamscape. You dream of a great hall of ice: as if it had been carved into some great ridge of it. You walk through it, marvelling at the beauty of it — a blue gloom, echoing with each of your footsteps. But as you take one particular step, the ground cracks and collapses beneath you, sending you into dark, frozen waters. In seconds, the water freezes around you, encompassing you in thick ice, your entire body trapped within it. The coldness burns you, and you are stuck there — frozen in agony. The pain is immeasurable, your entire body crushed and searing from the ice. There is no escape, no reprieve.

A voice speaks to you, perhaps it is the voice of a stranger, perhaps it is the voice of someone you know: Do you know how you survive the cold?’ They ask you. You do not know, and you wait for the answer: ‘You become colder than it.

Your eyes close. You believe those words, you do. You must become colder than the cold itself. And so you will. Your breathing slows, your heart slows and the cold… it stops hurting, it doesn’t burn. The ice around you begins the crack.

When you awaken the first thing you realise is despite the temperature, you are completely cosy and warmed. You do not feel the slightest chill. It is perhaps only once you are around other than you truly notice the difference to you — you are cold to the touch, lacking the heat you once had. An understanding comes: you are at one with the cold, it will not beat you, it will not cause you agony. Winter is at peace within you: perfect Cold Fusion.

MOON TOUCHED: The colours of the Aurora dance around you in your dreamscape. You dream of running through the silent woods at night. The moon is full above you, the air is calm and still. Hunger draws you forward, everything is so sharp and vivid in your senses, even in this dreamscape. You hear the crispness of the snow beneath your feet, smell the scent of the pines on the air, feel how warm you are against the coldness around you.

The snuffling of a rabbit catches your attention, and you swiftly leap after it, jaws opening and closing around its neck as you capture it. You bite down hard, feeling the crunch of its bones as they break, the sweet coppery taste of blood filling your mouth and nose. You lift your head towards the stars, blood on your tongue. You realise you are not a person at all, but a beast on all fours: a wolf, content and filling your belly with meat.

You wonder, for a brief moment: were you ever a person at all?

You do not know the answer to the question. You do not seem to worry about such a thing but there’s a flash of warning on the air. Something you cannot quite place, but you know that you should not forget it.

When you awaken, you feel… different, somehow. Everything seems a little sharper, as if the world around you had been dull, or behind some pane of frosted glass. With it comes a strange balance of calmness and chaos, tameness and wildness, fear and bravery. You find yourself looking for the moon in the skies and when you finally find it, it hits you — this is what it means to be Moon Touched.

INTERLOPER’S SACRIFICE: The colours of the Aurora dance around you in your dreamscape and then fade into nothing. You dream of kneeling in a darkened, charred wood. You are not alone. In this dreamscape, you dream of a loss, or a time you have never felt more helpless in your life. Perhaps it is when someone you knew died before you, or you stood as someone was sick and injured and you were unable to do a thing. As you kneel, they are there with you: sick or dying or even dead in your arms. You cannot do anything but hold them, and the helplessness is overwhelming.

You look up and a woman in furs stands before you, her expression solemn. Enola herself. There are tears in her eyes, as if she shares the very pain you do: the loss, the grief, the hopelessness, the powerlessness. She approaches you and lowers herself to kneel in front of you and your companion, bracing your shoulders for a long, lingering moment. There are no words, none from neither of you.

Enola shifts slightly, leans forwards. She kisses your forehead, much like when a parent kisses their child: sweet and tender.

And then you feel it, as if you are set alight: an agonising pain that encompasses you whole — so painful you cannot even open your mouth to scream. You feel yourself growing weak, the corners of your vision blurring into black. It feels as if you might die from the pain, and you want for it to stop but it doesn’t.

Enola pulls away and you gasp, slumping in exhaustion, but still alive, somehow. You stare at her, sweating and clamouring for breath, and she offers you a sad smile. Never again. you feel the words inside of you. This time, it will be different. Better.

When you awaken, you can still feel the kiss upon your forehead — enough to make your fingers reach up to touch it, your entire body tingling a little. A small voice in the back of your mind whispers, reminding you as you find yourself looking down at your hands: never again. Never again, you tell yourself and the comprehension comes to you: you have chosen. This is what it means to be: this is your sacrifice. The Interloper’s Sacrifice.

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.

PENSIVE LOOKOUT

WHEN: The month of July.
WHERE: Pensive Lookout Tower, Lakeside.
CONTENT WARNINGS: themes of survival; possible fall injuries/treacherous climbs; themes of terror; themes of diminished sanity; themes of starvation.

The Old Hunting Lodge is located in the southern-most area of Lakeside, and its surrounding area is generally considered no-go territory with the presence of the Forest Talkers. As June turned into July, the Forest Talker’s presence in the wilds of Lakeside has begun to grow again — but their efforts appear to be focused on sabotaging the efforts of Interlopers, Methuselah and Young Bill in hunting fresh game. If anything, it could mean that with attentions drawn away — perhaps the braver sorts of the Interlopers can explore the area a little more fully.

There’s little in terms of buildings of interest in this area. The wilderness is thick and deep here. Perhaps the odd ransacked cabin once belonging to a local may be stumbled across — its contents picked clean, presumably by the Forest Talkers. Many of these buildings will be completely inhabitable due to the damage done — with some cabins being razed to the ground.

However, on higher ground, with a good hike to access it, stands a watch tower.

These lookout towers could mean a number of things: a chance to access supplies that may have otherwise been forgotten about due to the hike to get up there, a better view of the surrounding area, and the possibility of a radio — given the sign of a radio transmitter that can be found blinking a feeble red on Aurora nights.

With the snow on the ground it’s a little more treacherous, but given the circumstances, anything’s worth a shot, right? Those who attempt the hike may fall foul to slips and trips along the steep slow to reach the tower, and should take care in the ascent. Even with the warmth of July, it’s difficult. One might hope this might make the place a decent outpost, if you think about it. Somewhere hard to reach, and with such a vantage point.

Reaching the tower and climbing it to its interior will it largely intact but a mess. Someone has lived here for some time. Interlopers will find no food here, but some useful tools that belonged to the lookout: binoculars, maps, a compass, an alidade. There is even a radio sat upon a desk, and with it — a journal.

The journal, Interlopers will find, belonged to a man named Sam Bouchard — the firewatcher for the season during the previous year, detailing the months of his arrival and ending in November last year. It is unknown what happened to Sam, but his journal will perhaps offer some insight and even some information.

A PEEK INSIDE

WHEN: The month of July.
WHERE: The Gas Station, Milton.
CONTENT WARNINGS: themes of kidnapping; imprisonment; self-starvation; blood/minor injuries; psychological torment, supernatural abilities.

The Forest Talkers have a long history in the Northern Territories, long before Interlopers started arriving in Milton. Champions of nature, they have sought to put an end to the industries and tourism-related expansions in the Lakeside area, first peacefully and then… not-so-peacefully. But with the events known as the ‘The Flare’ last year, Forest Talkers have been… acting peculiarly, disturbingly, aggressively.

There are plenty of questions to be asked. But the Forest Talkers are difficult to communicate with. Previous attempts have ended up in aggression or being ignored entirely. And now, even with the events of the previous month coming to an end — game remains difficult to find, and Forest Talkers are keen on sabotaging any attempts of hunting made by Interlopers, Young Bill or Methuselah. And more importantly: what is the yawning grave?

It starts as mutterings between tired and disgruntled Interlopers. They need answers, and there’s got to be a way in trying to get some. They’re hungry and exhausted and so many of their numbers are now dead. Those mutterings grow, and soon enough a plan is put into place. A small group of Interlopers embark into Lakeside and wait.

Soon enough, it bears fruit. A man is captured, bound and blindfolded — quietly and secretly brought back to Milton to be held up in the unused Gas Station to be questioned. It is not the leader, but surely one of them is better than no one at all. He is injured, but not enough to kill him. It will prove challenging in trying to get answers out of him, but soon enough the Interlopers will get him to talk.

News of the Forest Talker in their midst will inevitably spread, as most things do in small communities. Secrets are hard to guard. It won’t be just those behind the kidnapping who might end up coming across the man being held in the Gas Station.

Anyone who goes to investigate will find the man sat on the floor in quiet contemplation. Attempts of conversation will be met with long, silent stares — holding your gaze for an uncomfortably long time. He will spurn any gestures of kindness: spit on the floor at Interloper’s feet, refuse any food offered — as if the man has chosen to starve himself in protest. He says nothing, at first.

But after some time, he will look into an Interloper’s eyes and utter something. A word. A phrase. It may be a name, or a place. It may be a specific thing an Interloper has read, or been spoken to by someone. Something that holds meaning to the Interloper. It may be the name of a loved one from home, or the last words ever spoken to you by a friend. Something the man shouldn’t know.

Whatever it is that he speaks to you, it is not something that will fill you with hope or fondness to remember — but quite the opposite. A reminder of something painful, of a loss, or some other thing that caused you misery. As if he had reached right inside your mind and plucked some painful part of your past from you and spoken it to the wind.

The Forest Talker smiles, and will say nothing else. The damage has already been done.

FAQs

THE AURORA: REDUX

1. The next three Aurora Feats are unlocked! Please see the following page for more information.

2. Aurora Feats are completely optional.

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

4. This Aurora/storm will last a full three days, darkening the skies almost to night.

PENSIVE LOOKOUT

1. Interlopers who dwell in the lookout for the next Aurora will find the radio works, albeit poorly. They will be able to pick up the same broken morse code message.

2. There are no signs of blood/injury that befell Sam in the lookout. It appears he made good on what he wrote on in his journal and attempted to leave to get to Silverpoint.

A PEEK INSIDE

1. While only a small number was involved in the kidnapping itself, anyone can discover the fact there's a Forest Talker being held in Milton.

2. In terms of appearance, the Forest Talker is very much your typical average white guy. Bearded, weathered by the cold, someone who's lived several years without much in the way of comforts or luxuries.

PLOTTING POST

Comments

bigby wolf | the wolf among us

[bigbaddy]

( a. wolf - anywhere )

[ Bigby is not letting a moment of having this ability given back to him - though in distorted form compared to his usual self - go to waste. As soon as the Aurora is over, it's easy to come across the wolf pretty much anywhere. Mostly around Milton, but considering that this isn't his only Aurora Feat, Free Runner definitely brings Bigby in wolf form all the way out to Lakeside as well, if you happen to be there.

Either way, you might just be going about your day, or you might be hunting, or-- whatever you happen to be doing either far into the wilds or right outside of town, you may suddenly find a wolf crossing paths with you. A big one, too. Certainly not as tall as entire buildings, the way Bigby used to be, but even within natural standards, Bigby is likely a bigger wolf than you've ever seen, with fur as dark as night. It might make the man difficult to recognize, since Bigby's own human hair certainly isn't black, but the wolf is definitely standing still and staring right at you. What do?

Or maybe it's you instead approaching the wolf, if you're daring enough as a human - or feel called as a wolf. Because when Bigby is out in the woods in wolf form, he'll definitely be letting out loud howls anyone can come and investigate. Look, you got to mark your position as alpha wolf somehow, okay. ]

( b. man - milton (but if you're interested and won't be in milton, pm me and we can arrange something!) )

[ Or maybe you've seen a note on the message board in Milton. It's really not that difficult to find Bigby, especially since he does make sure to be visibly around in town at least once a day after putting up the note, since he's not just going to offer help and then peace out.

Which means you're likely to find him either in his house, if you know where it is, or otherwise hanging out somewhere around town while smoking a cigarette. It's one of the few things he can't do as a wolf, so he might as well kill two birds with one stone while waiting around..

You ready for some wolf lessons, or even just wolf talk? Come talk to him, he'll be waiting! ]

( ooc: will match format, so don't worry about which format you reply to me with! )

b.

[pacificator]

[ Wynonna hasn't seen the note. It's wholly unnecessary, because when she wakes up from a dream she can't explain, with a feeling she really can't explain, she's off at way-too-early o'clock in the morning to the only person here who might be able to give her any kind of clue at all. Her arrival is heralded by a series of rapid thumps on the door as she bangs the heel of her hand against it. ]

What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck-- Bigby, open up!

[ There's a faint undercurrent of panic in her voice. What the fuck, Bigby! ]

a

[castitas]

[ In cautiously going out to forage just on the outskirts of town, Kate had hoped there wouldn't be any degree of problems. Just once, she'd like for there to be no problems. But as she'd drawn close to the gas station, noting a distinct amount of presence there, she'd cautiously gone to check it out — only to peek through the windows and find an actual person tied up inside.

Kate hadn't gone inside. She's not that brave enough. Whoever it was inside wasn't one of the Interlopers, though. The man hadn't been alone, either. There'd been some Interlopers in there too, although she couldn't be sure of names. She'd made a sharp exit, hurrying away back to town because she absolutely needs to tell someone about that—

she keeps looking back as she hurries along, not quiet paying attention to what's ahead of her until she spots something huge and dark in front of her and she does a double take—

Kate comes to a screeching halt, frozen on the spot, horrified. She doesn't even breathe. She doesn't know what to do—! Oh, crap— that's a wolf—! ]

a, time for some woof/woof action;

[powersuited]

[ The dream itself had been vivid, unmistakable in its clarity — all of Snow's senses turned up to eleven as she runs through the woods at an impossible speed, so much faster than she ever believed she'd be capable of. The aftermath of the Aurora, which left her untouched before, finds her compelled, upon waking, to return to the woods again — to embrace those instincts that had felt so intense before, imbuing her with a power the likes of which she's never felt before.

It may not come as any surprise, then, that Bigby's wolf stumbles upon another one soon enough during his woodland wanderings — this one smaller, her coat pure white in color, her eyes a crystal-clear blue. Perhaps something about her feels familiar as she peeks out from around the wide trunk of the closest tree, seeming cautious and a little nervous, as well as awkward in this form. Inside, Snow doesn't know how she recognizes this other wolf, but she knows she recognizes him from somewhere, feels a kinship she can't completely identify, alongside the assurance that he won't attack her when she finally emerges.

Slowly, she pads out from behind the tree, the soft breath she huffs in greeting visible in the air. She'll venture even closer, if he doesn't move, if he remains standing completely still, until she can sit down on her haunches in front of him and study him with a distinct tilt of her head. ]

b.

[reneger]

( bigby's at home. wherever that is. jason hadn't known before now, but his ability to follow scents is a little more--well. his sniffer works better than what one would anticipate from the average guy. he didn't know where he was before, but he knows where he is now, and he's taking full advantage of that.

there's the scratch of claws against the wall just below one of the windows, a low growl. the sound of something outside his house getting knocked over.

a large, dark shadow.

it's jason, being an ass. )

A

[guidemyway]

[Ruby's back over at Lakeside by now. She's hanging out in the scrapyard just trying to pull a part a car for some scrap metal when she hears the padding of a wolf approaching.

At first she moves to grab a hold of her scythe, but- then realizes this one didn't seem quite as feral as the others roaming around. And it looked like she was dealing with an awfully big boy too.]

Woah- Did you get lost there big boy?

[There's a pause and then she goes into her backpack quickly and produces a ball.]

Or are you just looking for this?

b.

[pythianwoman]

You’d think Zoey would be used to the multiverse throwing her a curve ball. And it’s not like this world hasn’t given her a different power than her usual BEFORE. So there’s already precedent. She still doesn’t expect to wake up with the ability to turn into a fucking WOLF. But she does. She wakes up and it’s there, as much a part of her as the ability to conjure fire is, now.

Holy fucking SHIT.

Her first thought is Bigby. She hopes, more than anything, that he’s found himself with the same ability. It won’t be the same as he was before, but it would be so much closer. Also, she just REALLY wants to share this with him. She’s a wolf!

Because she is who she is, she’s going to set out immediately to figure out exactly what all it is she can do as a wolf. How the wolf thing works. She wants to know all the ins and outs of it. (Also, BOY she’s going to want to stash clothes around Milton and Lakeside if this is one of those ‘clothes don’t shift with you’ things. Not that she plans on risking it.)

She strips down and shifts, into a lithe wolf with void-dark fur and crystalline ice-blue eyes. There is… so much. As keen as her senses had felt upon waking from her dream, this is… so much more. Zoey gives herself a minute to adapt. And then she’s loping off towards Bigby’s place, quick and graceful.

Once she’s there, she paws and scratches impatiently at the door. Come OOOOON, Bigby. It’s your friendly neighbourhood former seer turned wolf.

Milton

[tinstar]

[It felt ironic, seeking out the man who had only weeks ago admonished Raylan towards believing the stories he heard from the people collected here. And granted, his current.. affliction hasn't been a story as such, but it was sure as shit was on that level of weird. The note said 'if you're having trouble with the wolf thing' and Raylan was despite his very best, most logical efforts. No better person, he supposes, than the Big Bad Wolf, though he wasn't sure he'd fully wrapped his head around that fact.

It was the smell of cigarette smoke that leads Raylan to Bigby, the scent of the greyblue smoke sharper than it had ever been in his nose, even when he'd lived with smokers when he was a kid.]

Gonna break my own long standin' rule - you got a spare onna those I can steal from ya? I need somethin' stronger than air and coal dust.

b. milton

[salamanca]

[ Sometime after he put up the note, but not too long after, Bigby will hear scratching and a distinctly canine whining outside his house. Sounds like somebody wants to be let in! ]

a

[solitarysoul]

[Levi runs across Bigby right outside of town, stopping dead as he spots the wolf. His rifle is in his hands so he levels it at the canine but doesn't shoot. Wolves were still a danger, but for some reason people here seemed to have friendly ones. Or big dogs that looked like wolves. So he's not sure if this big, black beast is a threat or not.

He watches for a moment before clearing his throat.]

Um...shoo?

[It is nowhere near the force that one might need to scare off an animal. Levi is uncertain about this as well.]

B

[flambeaux]

His gloves cover his knuckles, but he may have bruised them punching that Forest Talker. It wasn't anything he did, but what he said to him. How did he know about Paul?! Louis can't figure out how. Punching the guy isn't exactly a secret, so when Louis spots Bigby, his face pinches in annoyance.

Aw hell...

Bigby's a cop. Louis would never hear the end of it. Maybe he can just... turn up his collar, sidle away, and smoke his cigarette somewhere else...

(open ) the doctor | doctor who

[thedreamer]

lakeside / aurora

[ He'd joked a time or two about retirement one day. Taking up watercolors or bee-keeping. A quiet life. Never in his years has the Doctor just stopped like this, not for this long, not ever. Well, not against his will in any case. There was that exile on Earth for a long while, but at least he'd been of use. Dashing from one dying star to the next being born, chasing dreams and running from things before they leave, before they burn and fade forever — that was his life. But he's been trapped here, so far from his beautiful blue box, from a life of choice and exploration and very cleverly and perfectly avoiding the things that hurt — those things do have a way of catching up with everyone in the end, it seems. Even him.

Even as his thoughts tumble around in his mind, he remembers that choice he made not long before he'd been pulled here — to stop being the Doctor, to stop helping, to perch himself up in the clouds and hide away from everyone. It was his own melancholy, his own grief that pulled him away from the promise of himself. Not here, though, no, he won't follow that darkening path again. The suffering here, those in need, all of it. He wants to help, he needs to help, to focus on that, on everyone else, and not the frustration of being trapped here. He'll see them all safe no matter what it takes.

Those urgent thoughts dart to and fro in his mind in a repetitive cycle — keep them safe, he thinks. All of them. No matter what they've done. Keep them safe.

His own thoughts mingle with that voice as the storm comes — Hold on a little longer, she says. This isn't the end. Whatever comes next, he wants to know it, feel it, glimpse her again, that her pain might be shared, that who she was might be remembered and known.

Everything hurts — physically, mentally — and there's a weight in his arms he'd thought long gone, a memory he's always chasing. Susan. She's there, and the woman is there and everything hurts and hurts with an agony he's not known in a long while, until it all breaks and he staggers awake. The memory cradled in his arms was only that, like the old ghosts of his hearts and nothing more, and his jaw tightens as his eyes glisten suspiciously for only a moment before he blinks it away and rises to his feet. There's something changed in him, he feels it. Never again. To the first person he comes across — ]

Did you feel that, are you okay, did anything happen to you? Something — that storm, I mean.

milton

[ Though he spends much of his time in Lakeside, he doesn't prefer being stationary, not when so much is happening. He'd spent time exploring the Lookout Tower, collecting a few useful supplies, and then spending time jotting down notes from Sam's journal. Cliff notes, essentially. The highlights. Though the site of their recent contentious meeting, the Doctor sets up for a bit in Town Hall after placing a note on the community board. Supplies are scarce these days, but if you join him, he'll be quick to greet you and nudge a small pack of biscuits your way. ]

Not hungry — it's all yours, so do go on. Glad you could come! I'm the Doctor.

[ He is hungry, of course, and it remains a point of contention for him. He shouldn't be. In so many ways, this body of his has become so humanlike, far more fragile and fairly useless (in his mind), but he's still stubbornly clinging to the way it was before, particularly if it means someone else being nourished at the very least. ]

[ If you find him in Town Hall later but don't care to hash out details of what was found in the Lookout Tower, he'll offer another way to pass a bit of time if you catch his eye. ]

Care for a distraction? I've got loads.

( ooc: happy to match brackets or prose, I'm good with either! also very open to any wildcards and if you want to plot out something, feel free to message me at geekorthodox or PM me! )

( closed ) jopson

[thedreamer]

With everything that's happened most recently, the Doctor has been terribly remiss checking on his friend. He can admit to worrying about people, he can quite easily inquire after someone's well-being, but what he's not very good at is saying that he's missed anyone. The words tend to hover and just sit in his throat, like old, barely used things. But it's all of that driving him to check on Jopson now, truthfully, though he'll mask it under the guise of wanting to explore more of the area around the Lookout Tower, leading up to it more specifically. He'd gone looking already, but this time he intends to go slower, take his time, really get the lay of the land and do a bit of scavenging and reconnaissance. Who better to tag along?

This time, at least, the Doctor has more than an old carrot to offer. When he comes to see Jopson and greets him at the door, he's got a few cranberries in his pocket. Not much and quite tart, but something at least.

"Jopson! Hello," he smiles warmly.

Connor Wolf | Fables

[wolf_lover]

A. Wolf Like Me

To say Connor was ecstatic about getting the power to shift back into a wolf was putting it lightly. No one in town could really understand how it felt to be a shapeshifter stuck in one shape only. It was like a slow form of torture, as if there was a series of sharp nails digging into his skin at all times. While it wasn't quite the same as having all of his powers back, it was like this place had heard his silent pleas of wanting just a little bit of that back. Because if there was only one other form he could have chosen to be able to turn into, it would have been a wolf. That was in his blood. Hell, half the time during his childhood he and his siblings had spent as wolf pups rather than human children, so it was one of his oldest and most familiar forms.

One could find a very large brown wolf running around with abandon through Milton and the nearby woods like he was a complete lunatic. Unlike some of the recently-changed wolves, this one seemed to have near-perfect control over his instincts. He would come up to people, yipping excitedly and bouncing about, doing that excited butt wiggle canines would do like he wanted to play. He bounced about in the snow, but despite acting a bit like an idiot, he knew what he was doing since his hunting proficiency and ability to rein his instincts were clearly on display. Occasionally, he’d sometimes drop a squirrel or rabbit at the feet of someone.

After his dad ended up putting an announcement on the boards that he could help all the new wolves figure things out, he was ready if anyone showed up at the cabin he shared with Bigby who needed some pointers. “First off, let me just tell you, be sure to take your clothes off before you shift,” he advised. “Otherwise they’re gonna get torn up and you’ll be outta luck.”

B. Wildcard

[Looking for something different or a custom starter? Give me a poke at Light_shade or .lightshade on Discord!]

For Ruby cw: dead animal imagery

[wolf_lover]

This place wasn’t so bad after all now that he could shift into a wolf again, so a lot of Connor’s natural exuberance for life had come back to full swing. Hence the fact he walked into the Community Hall like someone who’d just had a day he would describe as awesome. He looked about for anyone who could help him with a little project. That was when he spotted Ruby.

“Hey, do you know how to skin one of these?” He asked, holding up a pair of rabbits that he’d caught out in the woods. The fact they had teeth marks all over them made it clear which form he’d caught them in.

Harry Goodsir | The Terror

[bestsir]

It's been a difficult month for Goodsir. The fact that he has been working seemingly witout ceasing is at once the source of the difficulty and the only thing keeping further pain at bay. Until he sees Enola. And then he withdraws, only engaging with others as emergencies call for it.

It's only after the aurora that he emerges from his shell like a cicada in summer. The vision of Enola lifts his fog of guilt and depression and he starts to venture out again, resuming his rounds of the town and returning to Lakeside for a short time as well. He seems more haunted than ever, but there's a kind of lightness to his expression as well now.

He doesn't go to the tower unless he's asked to, and he avoids anything to do with the Forest Talkers directly. Enough, for now, to resume the life he's built for himself here.

[friendsfordinner]

It's as he's leaving Milton, headed towards the mine to go to Lakeside, that Goodsir spots a wolf. Well, technically he spots Hickey, currently in wolf form, wandering about. He knows all these places as a human, better to know them all if and when he's out here as a wolf. It's only sensible. He's being smart!

What he's not expecting is to see Harry Goodsir. When he spots Goodsir, Hickey just freezes, like a person who's been caught doing something they shouldn't. The wolf just awkwardly stares at Goodsir, not sure what to do, before it starts licking one of its paws, an action to kill time while Hickey's mind goes a mile a minute.

Fuck, he's probably getting shot! If he saw a wolf by itself, out in the woods, he'd shoot it to try and stay safe. But does Goodsir have a gun? Fuck, does Goodsir even know how to shoot in the first place? Great job, Cornelius, you possibly put yourself in danger, the fuck are you going to do now?

Raylan Givens | Justified

[tinstar]

Werewolves? Sounds fake - Lakeside

[Raylan's dreams were usually dark, ugly. The worst things he'd seen playing again in the theater of his mind, filled with blood, with horror. It was something he normally kept quiet with whiskey, distracting his mind with the warm embrace of blurred edges. Without that comfort, the storm that rages outside is the white noise that helps put him down into Enola's embrace. You're still here. It means something, she says. I will make you more than what you are, more than what was stolen from you. We have to try.

Thankfully he doesn't feel himself shred his second favorite pair of jeans, nor does he feel himself break past the barriers he's put up against his resort room door to help keep people from accidently getting into his chosen room. He doesn't feel the fur or the claws or the teeth - just the primal and overriding need to get out, out into the wildness, out where he could pump his legs as hard as he could. It wasn't until he's deep in the forest, lungs blissfully full of air that didn't seem as cold as it ought to as a horse of a gangly, mottled brown and grey with streaks of white running up the backs of his ears wolf, leans back and howls into the sky.

His senses were going wild; every noise loud and clear, nose full of too many scents and information that the human man that was Raylan couldn't handle, but that wonderment was dwarfed by how much he could handle it. Any coherent thoughts were suddenly washed away by the hunger that he'd been denying. It was only after one lucky rabbit catch did the Man surface somewhat again.

He wasn't human. And he was freaking out.]

If only there was a porchlight to lead these tired feet - Milton

As soon as he's allowed to go with the pup, Raylan returns to Milton, with a dirty little wolf-pup, a coal-stained fluffball on a rope harness in tow. They both look tired and its not but twenty feet outside the mine that the pup lays down and refuses to get up again. He fully commiserated. They hadn't rested much in the mines and Raylan had already carried the pup most of the way; his own feet and legs screamed at him in protest of more.

"You tired?" He huffs tiredly himself and adjusts his pack before bending down and picking the yet unnamed pup up in his arms. "Yeah, me too kid. Let's get you home, we can rest properly before takin' a bath tomorrow, huh?"

Raylan drags himself into town proper, pup in his arms, eyes darting around to see if anything had changed like he had. Nothing seemed on fire, and he was desperately happy to see the little house he'd found for himself. A little fire and the very last of his whiskey sounded like the best reward for getting through whatever the fuck he'd just experienced. He could tackle... everything after a sleep he both desperately needed and was grateful he could get at all.

Lakeside

[salamanca]

[ Lalo is having a great time as a wolf. As a human, his every instinct is to just to follow his whims and have fun anyway, and as a wolf, it turns out he's not much different. He lopes along happily through snow, kicking it up and then trying to eat it before it drifts lightly back down to Earth. (He always fails.)

It's Raylan's howl that sends him trotting towards the other...man? Animal? Creature?...and when Lalo appears to the freaking-out Raylan, his tail is wagging a little and his head is tilted, looking curious but not unsure. Lalo is solid back, large, with yellow eyes...and a few telling gray streaks around the muzzle, betraying his age.

But he looks almost puppy-like in his delighted confusion as he pads darts the other wolf, full-speed ahead, despite having no clue who he's dealing with. He hopes he's right, and it's a transformed person and not an actual wolf.

He still remembers being attacked by a wolf while traveling with Methuselah, after all, and he has no desire to repeat that experience. ]

Konstantin Veshnyakov 🛰️ Sputnik

[sputnik]

CLOSED STARTERS

🛰️ — PLOTTING POST

— Svetlana Nazarova.

[sputnik]

It's been almost a month since Konstantin made his way towards town, largely staying holed-up in the isolated little cabin he shares with Vasiliy on the outskirts. Things have been... bad, really, really bad — with the shortage of wildlife to keep the thing inside of him fed and satisfied, he's been terrified of the outcome he's always felt looming.

But the sun shines again, the green gloom lifts, and maybe that means things will be back to normal — whatever "normal" means in this place. Finally, Konstantin's willingly trekking back out, taking a little walk up to town. There's a pack slung over one arm with a few supplies, including a tumbler filled with grouse blood... just in case the thing gets restless while he's away from home.

There are people he wants to check in with, people he's been worried about, and one of them at the top of his list is Svetlana. So he makes his way to her home, rapping his knuckles against her door and calling out to let her know who it is, just in case. He doesn't know everything that's gone down lately, but a little bit of gossip has floated his way, at least. It seems like things have been bad for everybody. Someone might be wary to open the door without knowing who's on the other side.

"Sveta? It's Kostya, are you in?"

Levi | Fear & Hunger 2: Termina

[solitarysoul]

plotting comment

Fortifying/A Peek Inside (sorta)

[solitarysoul]

Barricades 1 - Early July, Milton
During early June Levi had kept making and reinforcing the barricades around Milton and the mine entrance. As game got scarcer he had stopped, better to conserve his energy for more immediate concerns. Then he'd spent a good amount of time digging graves, but by July Levi is back at it. The one by the mine entrance is completed, though, so he's mostly making sure the ones at the edges of and in the streets of Milton are coming along. He'd welcome any help, but things don't seem to be urgent yet so they can go slower to make sure everything is secure.


Barricades 2 - mid/late July, Lakeside
When the topic of what to do with the Forest Talkers came up they'd taken a vote. He hadn't voted on all of the options, but he resolved to follow whatever the group decided. One idea that had been voted down was kidnapping one of them, and Levi was glad that had been voted down. He saw too many ways it could go wrong. He thought that was it, but apparently not everyone agreed. Maybe because nothing had been done at the trial people thought they could do whatever? Or someone(s) thought they knew better than the rest of them.

It didn't really matter why, and while who might be important there was something Levi felt was more important first. The Forest Talkers had a reason to strike back at them now, and while he'd gotten some defenses around Milton, Lakeside was a different story. It'd been good to have a barricade/guard station on the other side of the mine. He'd figure out where else from there.

So after editing his original call for help, Levi makes his way to Lakeside. He'll have to gather supplies there or in the mine, since carrying much through made things go slower. But once he's across he'll start looking for supplies and people willing to help.

Chloe Frazer | Uncharted

[desperate_times_right]

The Aurora: Redux

A dream about being an animal in the middle of a multi-day aurora is something that Chloe knows what it means right away this time around. What it could actually have given her this time is still in question, but she knows right away this time that she's changed. Before she's even thought about it, she's run outside right into the storm. For some reason, she needs to see the moon. She's not really thinking about it, just chasing the feeling, focused on what she might be able to do now, so she doesn't even realize that her body has transformed like it's nothing until she notices her shredded red shirt fluttering to the ground beside her. Son of a bitch. She'd liked that shirt! And she's not even going to think about how she's going to replace the jeans. Canadian women did not have asses in 2014, let her tell you.

Chloe howls in a mixture of anger at the state of her clothes and delight at the state of the rest of her, and runs off into the forest.

[Feel free to find either a weirdly intelligent wolf or a very cold naked woman sniffing around your stuff for this one.]

Pensive Lookout

Chloe can't resist when she hears that the Forest Talkers have mostly cleared out from their base. She doesn't care about Young Bill and no one would let her have whatever the Interlopers are catching anyway, so she isn't really worried about what they're doing. This means her full attention can be devoted to exploring the places they can't normally get to. And of course she's going to climb the tower. What a great day to have her grappling hook.

Around Milton

Aside from that little jaunt, though, she's in Milton. The greenhouse construction is completed, and now it's time to actually grow some food. The seeds came with a little manual, and she's doing her best, but Chloe won't say no to more help. She'll also excitedly show anyone who comes by all the little green shoots that are coming up.

"Look at that! Veggies that don't come from a can. Feels like a real luxury."

Pensive Lookout.

[guidemyway]

Look the last time Ruby came by the Forest Talkers base it had not ended well for her. But she wasn't about to let her past mistakes hold her back from potentially making new ones. Which is why she's decided to join Chloe out this time around.

Don't mind her as she notices the grappling hook and her eyes go wide with delight.

"Woah, woah woah! What is that? It looks so cool!"

Randvi | Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla

[meadqueen]

Around Milton and Lakeside
As more time passes, Randvi starts to feel more and more like herself, getting reacquainted with her body and its current capabilities. She'd managed to help with cleanup after the horrible events at Midsummer and assisted separately with the funerary arrangements for poor Heartman, and is once again becoming a fixture around town. She can move almost as quickly as before now, as long as she has her walking stick with her to keep herself from tripping, and can be encountered running errands in town, enlisting people to help her with a project (she needs a spotter to help her climb some trees), or even in the outskirts of the forest trying to learn to use her bow left-handed.

Around the middle of the month, just after the storm, she decides to truly test her capabilities and make her way to Lakeside for the first time since her injury. It's slow going, but she does make it across, and visits with her friends on this side of the mine for a day or two (and maybe checks on the defenses there, shhh) before returning to Milton.

A Peek Inside

It's upon her return that Randvi starts feeling a bit disillusioned. In what seems to be some kind of protest toward the post-Midsummer vote, there is less help around town than before, especially at the hall. Since most of the people who are less adept at fending for themselves live there, they're more vulnerable to a monster like that man Cornelius Hickey than others, so she throws herself further into helping there. She may not be able to hunt large game yet, but she can handle snares well enough, and scavenge as well.

She discovers the captured Forest Talker on a trip to scavenge at the station that Uzi had once fortified as a home base. She's furious and horrified - why do they keep voting if no one is going to respect the outcome? What capabilities does this man have to transmit information to his comrades? Why is he so badly injured? - but he does little more than stare at her until she turns to walk away and he calls out, "Sister," to her back.

Randvi turns, an admonition on her lips - that's terribly familiar - but before she can speak it he continues.

"No woman can live without a man and call herself married."

She freezes, feeling lightheaded. "What - "

"You have honoured the family with this union but live without reward or comfort."

A mat catches fire, burning itself out against the tile, but Randvi barely notices in her haste to escape the man's presence before he can recite more of Thora's letter to her. How can he possibly know those words, what they would mean to her?

She needs to get help. She needs to find someone in authority to tell about this.

Around Milton

[salamanca]

Lalo is SO excited for Randvi to see this. While it's nice to see her getting out and about and being more independent with her stick, he has arranged for something much better.

SomeTHING...maybe even more like someONE.

It's an utterly delighted and cheerful voice that rings out from outside as someone knocks on the door.

"Randvi! I've got something for you!"

Svetlana Nazarova | Night Watch

[balancedlight]

Svetlana Nazarova
Some OTA/Some Closed
Plotting Post
waningsunflower

Look Out for Your Souls - OTA

[balancedlight]

In Lakeside, Sveta can see the parade of people wandering to and from the tower, but she has absolutely no desire to walk up there herself. She can wait for the stories. As more venture out, she sets off to the base, waiting there with supplies should anyone need help. One of the huts that are close to the tower become her little base, and there’s always a bit of a fire there, welcoming anyone who ventures out.

Hornet | Hollow Knight

[weavered]

Milton

She's been wandering for too long, she realizes, popping into abandoned homes and store fronts just to get a better idea of what she was up against. Time has passed, enough for her to notice she has not sought anyone out for information. She nearly lost her mind prior- a angry thing ready for a fight- but now things have calmed she can see it in a different light.

Hornet sighs, setting up in the Town Hall wrapped in warm clothing, or at least whatever she could find that fit her. Not that she needs to any more. Something has changed and she is not certain it's for the better. The strange lights, the fitful sleep, the dream she can't quite piece together - it all is on the forefront of her mind as she sets down her small tackle box and needle.

"Take one." She says as she opens up the box, filled with all sorts of mushrooms. Whether or not they were edible was a different story, she simply foraged what she could find. "What can you tell me about those lights?"

She is still getting used to the sky, after all.

Pensive Lookout

She ascends.

Which wasn't as easy as it looked. The climb up to the watch tower was frustrating with the snow, but she makes it with a bit of determination. Hornet looks around the disheveled mess, taking it all in before she moves through the place. She picks up wrappers, smells them, and tosses them back down before she stumbles across a map and a journal. It wasn't like the journals one could find littered through Hallownest, but it was something she could read.

If one were to find her, she's huddled in a corner, sitting on the floor, her red shift covering her legs as she holds the journal and flips carefully through the pages. She knows you're here, it's hard to not notice the noise, but she doesn't look up at first. When she does? She shakes her head.

"There are no answers." She says, glancing back down to the journal in her lap. "But there are questions." She offers the journal. "What do you make of it?"

Milton

[solitarysoul]

Levi has seen Hornet around but not really talked to her, so he's trying not to stare rudely at the...whatever she is. He looks over the mushrooms and picks one out. He's pretty sure this is safe. "The aurora? Its been happening since we got here. Its...weird."

That really didn't help, huh?

"Um, I mean, it brings electricity and sometimes weird things...the last time there was a long one people got, um, powers."

leonard mccoy | star trek (aos) | cw: animal death

[homeostatic]

wolf father at the door

( strange dreams seem part and parcel of one's existence in Milton, the ebb and flow of disturbing nightmares and bittersweet dreams like the motion of the tides. this vision of loping fearlessly through dark woods, feeling the rabbit's blood flow hot on his tongue, reveling in silver moonlight– it isn't like anything he's felt before. when Bones wakes, he's falling out of bed, a frenzy of furry limbs and a lashing tail.

out in the pink light of predawn, there's a timber wolf having a wobbly-legged stroll down the street, like a newborn foal testing his first steps.

later, once the day has settled into late morning, and Bones has had time to reconcile with his new ability, he sets out to examine it. words are impossible with a snout, but he grumbles and growls his way through a circuit of Milton. picking out and following different scents, he lets his nose lead him to familiar faces, or even other wolfish Interlopers.

perhaps there's scratching at your door, or a green-eyed wolf just ambles on up and shoves his head into your hands, demanding attention with a huff. )

Starting human, turning wolfish

[pythianwoman]

[Zoey is in between wolfish episodes, taking a break to tinker on her porch. She’s absolutely LOVING being a wolf. But she’s got work to do. And the aforementioned work is starting to get her still put together. Which is what she’s doing when the green-eyed wolf approaches, shoving his head into her hands for attention.

Which she gives, gladly. The still isn’t going anywhere, after all. She can put it together whenever she likes. Stroking the wolf’s fur and giving him scritches.]

You too, huh?

[She says it with a laugh, a grin.]

Zoey Westen | Original Character

[pythianwoman]

starters to come in the comments below
plotting! | ThriceWiddershins | PM

PRE-EVENT

[pythianwoman]

[TBA]

john irving | the terror

[extramuralise]

✒︎ i. |  pensive lookout

[ As a whole, Lakeside is not really an area Irving's felt especially compelled to explore much as of yet, nor has he been harboring any remote intentions of that changing anytime soon. Certainly he can appreciate the necessity in becoming as familiar and informed about the town of Milton and its peripheries as urgently as possible, but all things considered, he just doesn't feel comfortable taking on that particular duty, even with company; the risks involved have, now more than ever, simply removed it from his direct purview as a personal priority, in so much as it surely may as well be left to those who would (or do) gladly volunteer for the task.

Such types of exploratory excursions are just not really Irving's strong suit, to say the least (never mind the fact he was stabbed to death the last time he'd been enlisted for one), but nonetheless he's still, after considerable deliberation, come to a tentative conclusion that these watchtowers may well be worth seeing for himself, in fact— not least of all if there genuinely is some truth to the Forest Talkers' attentions being rather... elsewhere focused, as of late.

In which case this could, in fact, be the best (if not only) opportunity he'll get to ever investigate the towers at all, let alone to real satisfaction, and he's certainly nothing if not a bit of a control freak these days whenever it comes to things he isn't sure can or should be trusted in anyone else's hands but his own. "If you want something done right..."

Not that this fussiness is anything particularly new to him, of course, but he's been steadily developing an increasingly critical edge alongside his rather more typically straightforward neurotic disposition since even before the Franklin Expedition, be it an internal cynicism at the effectiveness of command, or at times plain judgement of his cohort's behavior and priorities.

Not that it could ever amount to much; Irving remains far too passive to ever truly question authority, but behind all the parroted orders and click-heeled yes, sir!s lies the self-awareness that his obsequious loyalties seem to have done him very few favors overall to either his career prospects, or in the esteem of his peers.

But if only and what if are such useless mantras, in the end. He may have ultimately contributed very little towards the expedition's success, apart from a thorough meal-rationing timeline that went unheard for months only to be dismissed in the wardroom, but he's hardly without new opportunities to still prove himself now.

So, indeed, he makes the long, arduous climb, undoubtedly with his trademark spyglass in tow. If ever there were a (purely non-sentimental) reason to have hung onto it all this time, this is surely it! ]

( 🌟 & plotting comment! 🌟  )

[notarat]

[ This wasn't Billy's initial plan - but somewhere between some annoyance at Cornelius insisting on spending any time at all as an animal and the news reaching him that apparently there is information to be found in that tower, it starts looking a little bit more like an attractive plan. It might give him just a little bit of time to be with just himself and his own thoughts - the one place where no one can annoy him. Not to mention that the month of darkness has made him even more desperate to know more about this place, to perhaps find ways to deal with it all before things get even worse.

If he had been aware of what was awaiting him at the tower, he never would have gone. Somewhere out there his current - future - self is screaming at his past self to never leave Milton the very moment he finishes his climb of what felt like infinite stairs, only to find the man he wants to see least right up there in the lighthouse.

A wave of nausea hits him so hard that he is in fact contemplating just going back down the entire flight of stairs, no matter how much lost effort it would mean to just go back to Milton with no information at all now. But when the man he spotted first turns his head to spot Billy in turn, he knows there's no saving this situation. The only thing more awkward than being in one room with Irving is being noticed while straight up awkwardly noping out of here.

So he doesn't go back down. Even though Billy can feel the power of the fire burning within him, rising with his emotions, making him feel like it's trapped behind his ribcage, threatening to spill out. He has been trying so hard to avoid John Irving like the plague ever since that damned town meeting, and now-- here he is. In the one place in their vast surroundings that does not have an easy escape route. Not even a god would create this kind of irony.

The only upside to this situation is that he is pretty sure Irving must feel just as awkward as him right now, if not worse. Maybe he should just cling onto that thought - like when a parent tells you that some bugs are way more scared of you than you are of them, even if it never fully helps. ]

.. Mr. Irving. [ He finally forces out. ]

eduardo "lalo" salamanca | better call saul

[salamanca]

A. THE AURORA REDUX: HUNTING WOLF
[ Lalo has always been a hunter, even when he was a human. His sense of smell is sharper in a way that's never been before, and the world is full of new delights, sights and sounds in his new form. The form Lalo's wolf takes is jet black with shining golden eyes, and some telltale silver around his muzzle.

He moves quietly through the night, taking in all his surroundings through his new senses. He's like a ghost in the night, weaving in between tall trees, following the smell of a rabbit or the footprints of a grouse... or the sounds of a human walking.

He sees it: his target. It might be human, or animal. He pads quietly, keeping them in sight. ]

B. THE AURORA REDUX REDUX: FRIENDLY WOLF
[ The next morning, Lalo is still in wolf form! However, as the sun comes up, with his belly now full, his mood shifts from hunting to playful. He lopes happily through the snow, kicking up trails of white dust behind him. He chases a rabbit for a little bit, only to let it get away when he gets bored. He howls, hoping to attract other wolves.

Eventually, he sees it. A human, or another wolf. He stares at them, only for every playful, delighted instinct to take over. Lalo runs up to his new target, only to all but prance around them instead of attacking. He bounces back and forth, play bow-ing and then dancing away and then dancing back. If they're a human, he may attempt to jump up and lick their face. ]

C. PENSIVE LOOKOUT
[ For this expedition, Lalo is back in human form, and to be honest, he's glad to be. Being a wolf was fun, but it's nice to have the dignity of standing up and wearin clothes again. Besides, he wouldn't sacrifice the chance to investigate an old, rickety, dangerous tower for anything. He's wearing newly scavenged clothes, by the way. His wolf transformation destroyed his old ones.

As he makes the hike up, he calls out to someone just ahead of him, grinning. ]

Hey! Little help?