singillatim | it must be that old evil spirit

it must be that old evil spirit

SEPTEMBER 2024 EVENT

PROMPT ONE — PAINFUL REMINDERS: An Aurora briefly connects the Interlopers to their homeworlds, and with it are able to receive items from home — but these ones will bring no comfort to them.

PROMPT TWO — THE ENEMY WITHIN: Strange and familiar occurrences begin in Milton and Lakeside, growing in frequency and danger for the Interlopers. Who can truly be trusted among their numbers?

PROMPT THREE — BAD BLOOD: The Forest Fighters finally come to Milton, and with it: they bring the yawning grave.

PAINFUL REMINDERS

WHEN: 5th - 9th of September.
WHERE: Everywhere.
CONTENT WARNINGS: potentially upsetting themes; themes of loneliness/isolation.

For many, the sight of the Aurora is now one they have become used to. There have been plenty of them over the year that has passed since the Interlopers first came to the Northern Territories. Often, they have been a sign of great danger, with plenty of unsettling and unnatural things happening when the skies light up. Other times they have been the herald of aid — a link between Interlopers and Enola, gifting them with abilities to help them survive in this world. There is no real knowing what kind of force the Aurora is, truly. And there is a tension that holds amongst the Interlopers as the day turns to night and there is the soft sound that grows louder.

The ethereal, high-pitched chorus of sounds, is difficult to place. Perhaps it sounds like voices, or discordant strings. And with it, the low-drone of electrical buzz — punctuated with the echoing pops and sharp cracks. The sky is alive with sound, and with it comes the swirling streaking of colour against the inky black of night, growing brighter and brighter as time goes on — greens, blues, pinks and purples shifting and dancing across the night. And much like every Aurora before this one, the electricals of the world come to life too. Homes, streetlamps, cars long-stranded in the snow. Man’s world comes alive, buzzing and flickering precariously.

But there are no ghosts like there once was a year ago. No terrible weather, no poisonous fog. If one could call it a ‘normal’ Aurora, that’s what it appears to be. But there is something else in amongst all the light and noise. Snatches of things: whispers of conversations, names called, laughter and tears.

You realise you recognise these voices. They are the voices of home. Perhaps you hear your mother, your siblings or friends. Whoever they are, you can hear them. And although they might not be able to hear you — for one brief night, the Aurora has connected you, bridged the gap between your world and this one. You may sit for a while, simply listening to the voices, relishing in hearing those from back home. If others join you, you will find yourself compelled to speak of them: to share in stories about those from back home — the connections you share with them.

It’s strange, though. These voices do not fill you with comfort or joy. Instead you are left with feelings of sadness, anger, and isolation. The Aurora has connected Interlopers, but now you feel so cut off from home, cut off from friends and loved ones — reminded of everything left behind. Everything you long for. Everything you have lost.

Something strange skips through the sky, a warping of the sound. It’s unsettling. Something feels... wrong, somehow.

It’s not just the voices that will remind you of this. Something else comes through the Aurora after that night. A small token will be brought through. Whatever the item may be, when you go to sleep and next wake, you will find said item. It may be placed on your bedside, on your desk or dining room table.

The item, you will find, will bring you a reminder of pain. Of sadness. Of horror. Perhaps it’s something you haven’t thought of in some time. Maybe it is something that has lingered in the back of your mind. Perhaps it is a part of you, waiting to be uncovered. A sign of something to come. A painful reminder of your past, or an ominous omen of your future.

THE ENEMY WITHIN

WHEN: The month of September.
WHERE: Everywhere.
CONTENT WARNINGS: kidnapping/attempted kidnapping; attempted murder; murder; vandalism; arson; assault; animal mutilation; corpse mutilation/manipulation/desecration; themes of peril/terror; possible character/npc injuries; possible character/npc death.

It starts with strange happenings at night, things left to be found by the next morning. Those within Lakeside many find themselves unsurprised by it, given their location, but the scenes found in Milton are a foreboding sight.

Mutilated bodies of animals: rabbits, ptarmigans, even deer — mangled and strewn about the streets, blood upon the snow. Some may awaken in the middle of the night to the sounds of their windows breaking, with houses on the Outskirts being targeted more than those in the middle of town. There is… a kind of unrest in the world.

It escalates.

Some may leave their home for the day and return in the evening to find the place trashed: items broken, precious foodstuffs thrown about the place and destroyed. Those within the Outskirts are once again particularly vulnerable, as are those within Lakeside. Fires are started in some of the abandoned buildings of Milton. Something, someone is targeting the Interlopers.

It is hard to pin-point who exactly, and it only puts the Interlopers on high alert. Nothing like this has never happened before. This is new, especially in Milton.

As the month progresses, the acts become more serious. Fires may be started in the middle of the night in Interlopers’ homes while they sleep. Some are attacked in the night, others are taken from their beds. Some killed within their very homes. Of the Interlopers that go missing, their mutilated remains may be found days later out in the wilds.

In Milton, soon enough, someone is bold enough to come out from the darkness, out from the gloom of the night. Interlopers may be attacked in broad daylight — by those they may recognise as newer Interlopers of the community, who appeared from the wilds: lost and shivering, with nowhere else to go. Some of them have been within Milton for a few months now.

Those in Lakeside will face something similar: Forest Talkers are making a move, rogue and isolated incidents — done with sabotaging attempts at hunting and taking a more direct approach.

They have no qualms about being captured or killed, only determined to get rid of as many of the Interlopers as they can. They whisper, they scream: “You don’t belong here. You should never have come here. It wants you gone, it wants us all gone. The end is here, it’s too late for any of us. Nature must run its course. The yawning grave has been opened.”

The attack is on two fronts: the first of Forest Talkers in Lakeside amplifying their actions. The second in Milton, enemies within the ranks of the Interlopers, Forest Talkers hiding as Interlopers.

Within Milton, newer Interlopers will likely be met with suspicion as being some of the Forest Fighters as a result of these individual acts of violence. As the numbers of Milton have been infiltrated, and it’s easy to have mistrust amongst those newer to the community. In-fighting is likely, and the entire town is stuck in some terrible, tense state — unsure of who to trust within their own numbers. In the days and weeks that follow, it remains like this. Acts of violence and vandalism — chaos and disorder.

BAD BLOOD

WHEN: The night of 27th - 28th September.
WHERE: Milton.
CONTENT WARNINGS: attempted murder; murder; vandalism; arson; assault; mentions of blood; themes of peril/terror; possible character/npc injuries; possible character death/npc death; actual NPC death.

Towards the end of the month, the moon is full. They call it the Harvest Moon, but colour seeps into it — oranges and reds: a blood moon, partially eclipsed. The night is calm and cloudless, but there’s an uneasy feeling in the night.

The earth groans, the rumble of another quake that’s plagued the Northern Territories since the beginning of August. It is the only warning Interlopers will get — if they may realise it as a warning. To some, when they look back, it’s a omen, a starting pistol.

They do not come through the Mines. Thanks to the efforts of Interlopers to guard the entrances of the Milton Mines, they know better. They come to town from the south, not the north.
The quakes of August and September have opened a new way from Lakeside to Milton. They are led by their Leader: a man dressed in white, a large deer skull upon his head. And while their numbers are small in comparison, they come armed and with the determination to get rid of the Interlopers once and for all. As they come into town, they launch their attack.

More fires will be set, Interlopers will be attacked with abandon. Shot at, stabbed, beaten. It is a mass execution. They will not stop until the Interlopers, or them, are dead.

Well, the majority of them. There are just under a dozen teenagers and younger people amongst their ranks who have shown hesitance toward violence in the past. Perhaps they can be reasoned with. Perhaps there may be a way to convince them to abandon their cause. There is fear in their eyes. Some of them do not want to die. They fear the yawning grave.

What will do you then, Interloper? Are you willing to fight for your life? Are you willing to take another’s to save your own, or a friends? Will you hide, or run? What choice will you make? The Forest Talkers have long since made their own choice. Now you must make yours.

It is another night of chaos on a town already scarred by the events of June. Interlopers will note two familiar faces in the fray: at some point during the night both Methuselah and Young Bill will arrive. While Methuselah will concentrate on aiding the wounded and trying to shelter Interlopers the best he can, Young Bill will help protect Interlopers from the Forest Talkers with his rifle in hand. But fortunately, it is just for one single night. Ammunition runs out, sides are switched, and people are killed. As dawn approaches, Forest Talker numbers dwindle. Either killed, incapacitated or defected. In the early morning light, bodies lie in the snow both Interloper and Forest Talker alike.

Those trying to hunt down the leader will see him slipping inside an empty cabin, heavily wounded. Following after him, they will find him settling himself down to kneel on the floor. The white of his tactical gear stained red with blood as it blooms from his wounds. Slowly, he removes the deer skull from his head to reveal a clean-shaven man in his late twenties with a shock of white-blond hair. His eyes are blue, calm.

He sets the skull down, panting and sweating. He is dying. He is not afraid.

“My name is Mallory, not that it matters now. We are dead, you and I.” he says softly. “We exist in a dying world.”

He is in much pain from his wounds. He moves again to sit cross-legged on the floor. A hand touches the bloodied fabric of his front and he laughs humourlessly.

“You don’t understand, do you? The end must come. That is the order of things. The end must come so the world can be reborn. That is how it’s always worked. When the world is swallowed, it will grow again from the earth.”

It is a story. The story of the Darkwalker. Some believe it to be the end of the world, but Young Bill had once said there is another telling of the tale. A creation myth. The Darkwalker swallows the world and returns to its slumber within the earth. Within it, everything its swallowed grows again and the world returns.

“We fought against man’s actions to ruin this place, not knowing our true purpose. The Devourer has shown me the truth, and I sought to put that into action.” His head tilts to one side. “The yawning grave is opened. Does new life not grow from the decay? It is a cycle. The grave and the cradle.”

He finds it difficult to breathe, but he presses on.

“You fight to live. You come here and you do not see what you are. You are only delaying the inevitable, perverting the true course. Prolonging the suffering. You are the Interlopers, you are not part of nature’s design. The Darkwalker does not want you here. And where it fails, we have tried to succeed.”

There’s another laugh, something catching in his throat. He coughs, blood bubbling from his lips.

“And failed. For now. The First Cursed cannot hold it forever. She, too, delays the inevitable." Even as he is dying, he still have the energy to sneer. He speaks of Enola. "A woman who plays at being a god. What right does she have? All must go into the Long Dark. ... As will I. Return me to the grave.”

Mallory’s head dips, his body sagging. He inhales once more and then stops.

FAQs

PAINFUL REMINDERS

1. Players must sign up for items. See the toplevel on the plotting post.

2. Items will face the same warps/nerfs as everything else that is brought into the game.

3. Items can be no bigger than something your character can reasonably carry.

4. While items do not have to belong to your character, there has to be a good reason why they’d receive such an item — ie. something related to your character.

THE ENEMY WITHIN

1. The Forest Talkers within Milton are a number of NPCs that have been pre-selected from NPCs who arrived in April and August. Not all of them will show their true intentions as the month goes on but will continue to stay hidden.

2. Two NPCs killed in the June Event were also Forest Talkers. … Good… job?

3. The following NPC Interlopers will out themselves as Forest Talkers at this stage: Devon Busswood; Rita Yee; Realm Lovejoy.

BAD BLOOD

1. Following the events of this prompt, Interlopers now have an additional way into Lakeside. It’s still rather dangerous: it’s through a partially collapsed cave system that ends into abandoned bunker on the Lakeside side. The game map will be marked accordingly in due course.

2. Some Interlopers may recognise a familiar face in the Forest Talker ranks: the man who was kidnapped by Interlopers previously in July has returned. Looks like he made good on his promise. He's come back to cause problems.

3. The following NPC Interlopers will out themselves as Forest Talkers during the attack: Jackie Blackmore; Ross Huguet; Jennifer Kitchen; Daniel Kresco.

4. As a reminder of numbers: around fifty Forest Talkers will show up for the attack.

5. There is an OOC vote on the fate of the remaining Forest Talkers, the link is here.

PLOTTING POST

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Of course Eren clocks that posture immediately. Eren himself is and always has been a wildcard, ready to go off at a moment's notice. Even before anyone knew he was a titan — himself included — he was ready to throw down. He looks like that now, but it's not different from any other time.

Eren was never trained to live among enemies. He just did it. Some of it always reminded him of Reiner (Bertholdt and Annie too, but distantly; he long since dismissed both of them as being worth his time to think about). There were only two things he really needed to be careful about in Marley: one, not letting his injuries heal, and two, not letting Reiner or Pieck see him.

He knows he can't take Reiner in a fight like this. He doesn't have Reiner's strength or tactical abilities. He's good at hand to hand combat, and he knows a lot about Marleyan soldier's training now. He was trained by them too, for a short while, long enough to be used as fodder in their war. It was all necessary, but none of that could make him any match for Reiner without their abilities.

Even as titans, though, he can't really take Reiner in a fight. Reiner can't take him either, not now, not with all his terrible power. They're well-matched, a mirror of each other, a stalemate or mutual destruction.

He would fight Reiner, if he had to. But even in all his fragmented madness, Eren knows that Reiner can't be on the Forest Talkers' side. They've only just got here, not even a month ago. He doesn't know what Reiner has discovered in that time, but he's pretty sure these guys aren't open to so-called Interlopers joining them anyway.

"Yeah," he finally says, "on the guy who tried to kill me with it."

For once, no lies or bullshit. It's not even a threat, just a fact. That guy picked the wrong person to try to take out. Eren can't — won't, doesn't — die in this place. He may not be the most skilled, but his determination and viciousness are still high.

"What about you?"

Seconds tick by, neither one of them wavering. They never do, do they? Not when they face each other across a battlefield, the threat of violence heavy in the air. Even when Reiner wants it to end, Eren fights on. Even when Eren wants it to end, they keep going.

But this isn't their fight. As far as Reiner knows, neither of them has reason to throw their lot in with these so-called "Forest Talkers." (Besides, when would they have had time?)

That doesn't mean they won't fight—it's always a possibility with Eren—but they don't have to make this another one of their battlefields. There are no other factors at play here: no war, no mission, no end of the world. It's just them.

Maybe Reiner should seize this chance. He doesn't have as much muscle as he used to, but he's a better fighter now, and Eren is underweight. Neither of them have their Titans here. If it came down to it, he could overpower Eren.

It would be ugly. It would hurt, in more ways than one.

But if Reiner was going to kill Eren here, why didn't he do it when they first met? Why didn't he shove Eren beneath that freezing water, repaying Eren's "mercy" by ending it?

The moment passes. Eren chooses words instead of violence. (Not that Eren's words can't be knives of their own.) Reiner doesn't bother asking if the pipe's previous owner is still alive; that would be a waste of air. And besides, he really doesn't give a shit what happened to the guy.

"Not yet," Reiner answers. Yet, again. "I must not look like an appealing target."

Eren doesn't look like an easy target, either. At least not to Reiner. Then again, Reiner may be the most biased person in the world.

Reiner shifts the rifle—relaxed movements, easy to read—to sling it over his shoulder, effectively standing down. Then he steps closer, his eyes never leaving Eren's.

"Which way are you going?"

There is and will always be a threat of violence that lingers in the air around Eren. No matter what this place is or does, nothing could erase that from him now. It's too ingrained in him. It's his first and best and last answer to almost all problems. He'd fight a brick wall if it would help him get anywhere (wouldn't they both?).

He'll fight Reiner if he thinks he needs to. Or maybe if he just gets pushed a little.

Not today, though. Not unless Reiner starts it.

Eren isn't afraid of that, though. He's aware that with their all too human weaknesses, Reiner has a gun and he has a pipe and there is a serious difference of strength between them. There's also a difference of straight up viciousness, though. Eren can endure a fight on stubbornness and that rabid dog streak he has. But he knows that they don't die here. He's…not entirely sure Reiner lives longer than him. He can't know who does; the world after his death is dark. Even Eren cannot outlast death, cannot know what will come next.

If he could, he might not like the outcome. The world he will leave them isn't the one he would have picked, if he had a choice. (He did have a choice. He had many choices. He always chooses this ending, though. To Eren, there is no other answer.)

But he knows they aren't going to die here.

"Together we probably look even less appealing," Eren says, though it's not exactly a suggestion that they stick together. Still, it's…easy, familiar, to be near Reiner. Even after all the years they spent apart, the years Eren spent hating him, they're too alike. The years they'd trained together aren't erased just because things went to shit.

Anyway, the devil you know, and all that.

He forces himself to follow Reiner's lead, not relaxing exactly, but shifting so he's more neutral. They can save it for the other Forest Talkers, if any dare to come at them.

"Towards the community center," Eren answers. "Seems like where most people like us would go."

Of course there is no one else like them in this world, and maybe not in their own. He means Interlopers but he also means exactly what he says. People like us.

There is sense in what Eren says, that they look like even less appealing targets side-by-side. Eren is taller than he used to be, and he still has that violent energy better suited to a Titan than a man. Reiner is physically imposing enough to give people pause, and he knows how to use his body to intimidate. Anyone with any sense should think twice about approaching them; together, they should have each other's weaknesses covered.

It's strange to think of Eren from an outsider's perspective, looking past years of memories to consider what a stranger might see. If these Forest Talkers are stupid, they might see Eren's pretty face and miss the danger in his eyes, like underestimating a beautiful wild animal.

Maybe that's what happened to whoever owned that pipe.

But it's stranger still to think about them … covering each other's weaknesses. Working together instead of clashing in one painful stalemate after another. Reiner tries not to dwell on it.

(He fails.)

Eren's words weren't quite a suggestion they stick together, nor were Reiner's words an invitation to do so. But the fact remains that Reiner doesn't trust a damn person here, and he has always worked better—performed better; protected better—with a partner at his side.

Eren isn't Reiner's partner. But for better or worse, he is Eren.

"Right," Reiner says with a nod. The community center seems as good a place as any. "Let's go."

Reiner moves toward Eren as he starts in that direction, expecting Eren to fall in at his side. A lifetime ago, they did mock-patrols as cadets, "securing" the training grounds in an exercise Reiner considered all but useless on that island. He tries not to dwell on that, too.

"I hardly met anyone before this crap started," Reiner admits. A potential weakness, but also a potential strength: he won't hesitate to shoot a familiar face.

Eren somewhat knows what people see when they look at him, though he can be oblivious or naive about some of it. He's aware he can and does look threatening when he wants. (He's spattered with blood today, and that probably helps.) He's also aware people underestimate him. He figures it's because he's young or they just don't know what he can do, never chalking it up to pretty face. He can't see himself that way, not really, even through other people's eyes and memories.

Reiner has lost some of the bulk he had when he was younger, but he's still tall and broad. Maybe he looks less likely to go off than Eren, but he knows how to intimidate if he needs to.

Eren won't even bother. He'll just start swinging that pipe.

Whether he would admit it or not, Eren does better not on his own. On his own, he's unchecked, volatile, impulsive. With another person he's most of those, too, but it's less likely to get him killed. He doesn't cover his own weaknesses well, especially since he's used to being able to heal almost any injury.

Or maybe it really is any injury now, isn't it? He'd survived decapitation somehow. Eren will die when and how he declares. That's all there is.

And yet, in this place, he could die as easy as any other human. So could Reiner, despite Eren's words that he won't let that happen. Eren still believes it, though, that the only person who gets to decide their fate is him. He will not and cannot have it any other way.

He doesn't say anything when Reiner starts moving, but he does fall into step almost beside him. Easier than behind. He's not here to chase after Reiner like he did as a bushy tailed cadet. But he doesn't need to lead a charge, either. Much as Eren might like to do otherwise, they're not on offence. Part of that, though, is that Eren isn't sure who the enemy is.

"I didn't either," he said. "And there's only one person so far that I absolutely do not believe is a traitor. Michonne. We fought some of these people already."

He doesn't bother pointing out that sometimes you kill your own people too. They both know. But this isn't like that. He trusts Michonne enough because she's competent and no nonsense.

"Anyway, anyone who got here the same time we did, I don't think they had time to join these assholes," he says. It's surprisingly astute for Eren, maybe, but he has to think about it. He can't just go around killing everyone. Yet.

If Reiner were to think about it, he would realize that he and Eren are both too accustomed to healing from injuries. Before, their ability to continue fighting through pain was a strength: they could take blow after blow and keep on going, the veritable immovable object versus unstoppable force. Now, with their regenerative abilities stripped away, it's a weakness.

That hasn't stopped Reiner before. Not when he was seventeen and convinced he was a soldier, his healing suppressed by the force of his delusions. He still leapt in front of a Titan to save Connie. Still fought even as it sunk its teeth into his arm, breaking bone. Still intended to hurl himself out a window along with the Titan, because in that moment, that's all he could do.

Reiner is reckless, thinking of himself as a shield. Eren is vicious, a spear utterly determined to strike. Together, they can kill enemies faster than they could alone. It's not a perfect covering of their shared weakness, but it's better than nothing.

What Reiner does know is that Eren won't allow him the release of death. Not unless it's on Eren's terms. And if Reiner were to follow that thought to its conclusion, he would realize that he may be safer at Eren's side than anyone else's.

But Reiner doesn't follow that thought to its end. Not right now. The idea of fighting side-by-side instead of against each other is strange enough.

Walking together instead of chasing each other is strange enough. They do so, anyway.

Reiner takes note of the name, nodding. Eren trusting her isn't good enough for Reiner—after all, Eren trusted him—but it's a start. If nothing else, it's good to know that this Michonne can handle themselves.

"Even if they'd tried to join, I'd be surprised if they were accepted. They wouldn't have had time to earn trust." Reiner pauses for a moment, then adds an afterthought: "Unless they're trying to prove themselves now."

Reiner doesn't consider that likely, and his tone reveals as much. But proving one's loyalty through violence is a possibility. (He forced Annie to do just that.)

He's about to say more when there's a sound from his left. His head turns toward it—away from Eren—eyes scanning for whatever his ears picked up. He doesn't immediately see anything, but…

There, again. Shuffling in the brush.

Reiner raises his right hand just enough to hopefully catch Eren's attention. Then he signals, his hand making familiar signs—ones that were meant to be used when trekking through Titan territory.

Movement. Ahead, left.

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it must be that old evil spirit

sorry this is all stupid introspection

chews on it!!! delicious introspection

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