singillatim | nature offers a violence

nature offers a violence

NOVEMBER 2023 EVENT

PROMPT ONE — WHITEOUT: Methuselah makes an unexpected early return to Milton to warn Interlopers of an impending monster storm, and boy does it surely come.

PROMPT TWO — A CHOICE: Following the storm, sightings of a mysterious stag prompts a hunt down in the Basin and out in the Outskirts.

PROMPT THREE — REST MY WEARY BONES: While the storm causes a great deal of mess, it also uncovers some far more pleasant surprises. Hot springs.

WHITEOUT

WHEN: Early to mid-month.
WHERE: Milton.
CONTENT WARNINGS: extreme weather; storms; blizzards; themes of survival; possible character cold-related injuries; possible themes of peril.

In the times that he is no longer occupying the Community Hall in the center of town to help tend to the newcomers, Methuselah is out in the wilds. Despite his growing age, he is a hardened survivor, and has been more than accustomed to life living as a nomad, out in the thickest, deepest parts of nature. Sometimes he can be encountered, sheltered in a cave or out in the woods, huddled by a warm campfire, or busying himself with his latest game catch. He seems to be always on the move, never staying for too long, and never coming into town — unless it’s to begin preparations for the latest batch of new arrivals.

To see him returning to Milton outside of these times is a curious sight, and the grim expression he carries is enough to make anyone wary. Even his voice is grave. The warmth and kindness usually found in his expression is gone, replaced with a deathly seriousness. He doesn’t speak in jest.

"I am long used to this world and its weather, even with the changing times to more bitter nights." he will say. "I have seen the years rise and fall, too many to count. Please, I beg that you hear me with this— a storm is coming. Greater than some of you may have ever known. It is in the air, and we must prepare to see it through. We do not have much time. Three days, perhaps. But no more."

He will tell anyone and everyone; encouraging the word to be spread around. He will instruct on what needs to be done, what needs to be gathered. The storm will be long and hard, and will last for some time. With that, Methuselah will begin to prepare the Community Hall as a place of refuge with a stock of food, fuel and water to get through the storm. Interlopers will be free to join Methuselah and bunker down together, or can choose to bunker down on their own in their own homes, or with others.

You have only three days.

And sure enough, the storm comes. Maybe you can notice the signs too: the sudden updraft, the slow gathering of clouds, the drop in temperature, the changes of pressure in the air.

Halfway through the third day, the storm rolls in: a ferocious snow-storm unlike anything you’ve seen before. Even with the fading amount of daylight as mid-winter approaches, the sky turns as dark as night as will stay like night for the duration. Strong howling winds batter the town, and even the sturdiest of buildings creak and groan under the weight. Trees will be felled, some buildings might not fare the storm.

Relentless snow that falls so hard it’s a complete whiteout, and will be impossible to navigate if one were to step outside. Even then, it isn’t advisable. The temperature is bitter, with a frigid windchill. Going out in this kind of storm would be a death sentence. Staying out in it for longer than a half-hour will certainly kill you.

It would be best to wait it out, to huddle around warm fires in the darkness. It may certainly be a test of patience, depending on your choice of place to stay. The storm will last a full week, a stark reminder of what you are, the words you have heard in your arrival: thrown to Mother Nature’s mercy, the Interloper in her design.

But will you persist?

A CHOICE

WHEN: Mid-month, onwards to end of month.
WHERE: Milton Basin, Milton Outskirts.
CONTENT WARNINGS: survival themes; themes of hunting; possible animal death.

After the storm passes, there’s a certain kind of hush that falls upon Milton and its surrounding areas as Interlopers are left to pick through the wake. While the temperature certainly doesn’t get that much warmer, there’s days and nights of clear, calm weather — short afternoons of weak sunshine and nights of chilly peace, the moon hung high in the starry skies. Winter is drawing ever-closer, but it’s still for a little while.

In the early evenings, before the sun sets, there’s strange sightings of a particular white stag that can be found roaming the area — particularly down in the Milton Basin. It seems quite elusive, but there’s plenty of Interlopers that have been able to capture a glimpse over the coming days. Even Methuselah himself has seen this beast before, remarking there has long been tall tales of a ghostly stag that roams the Northern Territories and is said to bring good fortune to those who manage to hunt it down.

Perhaps you’re a little low on luck. Perhaps you’re feeling lucky. You’re going to find that stag.

Hunting down the stag, however, will take a great deal of patience and time. You might find yourself waiting several hours to wait for it to appear. Building a snow shelter, or hunkering down in some old shack might be needed in order to keep warm. But if you’re patient enough, and able to withstand the cold for long enough — the beast will soon make an appearance.

In the dying light of the day, it is there. It’s unlike any deer you’ve seen before: tall and majestic, with thick, soft fur of brilliant white. It almost looks ghost-like in some angles, it’s an incredibly beautiful creature. But it seems to have also noticed you, just as you have noticed it. It doesn’t dart away, however. Instead it stands before you, waiting for you to act.

You have a choice: slay the creature, or let it go.

It will not move until you make your decision, holding your gaze until you raise your weapon or until you lower it and give up your hunt. But there is a consequence to either action: if you choose to kill the stag, you will be rewarded with a sizeable bounty of venison. Eating said meat will help you feel fuller for longer, and the meat will keep for far longer than any other deer slain.

However, if you choose to spare the stag, the creature will lower its head, as if bowing to you. Then, it will disappear with a swirling of powdered snow. When you return home for the evening and go to sleep, the next morning you will find a gift at the foot of your bed: a pair of deerskin boots, or a deerskin blanket. These boots are supple, tough and waterproof — allowing for a great balance of mobility and warmth. The blanket is incredibly toasty, and will provide a great deal of comfort in the long nights ahead.

REST MY WEARY BONES

WHEN: Mid-month, onwards indefinitely.
WHERE: Milton Outskirts.
CONTENT WARNINGS: n/a.

The storm has blown in plenty of snow to make traversing the area much more difficult, but there’s something else of note that comes with its passing. While the storm has brought much devastation, and some places have been buried in snow drifts, plenty of snow in areas has been blown away, uncovering otherwise lost secrets within Milton. Clouds of what looks like steam can be noted not too far from town, towards the mountains of the north.

If Interlopers head to explore the clouds, they will find old trails leading up towards the mountains. It isn’t a particularly difficult journey, for once, and they will soon discover that the storm has blown away the previously blocked access to a cave. It appears that this is the right place.

The air is warm here, pleasantly so. Warm enough that hats and mittens and coats seem a little unnecessary. One might wonder if someone lives within, and that a great fire is stoked to keep the place warm. But there’s no one in sight, no sounds of life: human, animal or otherwise. If they press on, they will discover that the cave floor is well worn with footfall: plenty of people have come here before, and the reason why is soon revealed.

The air grows even warmer, and more humid. The space opening to reveal small pools of slow-flowing water, warm water. The stone houses a natural hot spring, and following the cave out the other side will lead to another space in the rock open to the air, where there are even larger pools of warm water, perfectly sized and deep enough to bathe in. It seems that this place was frequently used by the people of Milton, where their life of hardship could be forgotten for an hour or two.

The water is pleasantly hot, and incredibly inviting. After so long in the freezing cold without modern appliances and utilities, a natural hot spring sounds like an absolute luxury.

FAQs

WHITEOUT

1. Characters are free to play around with this prompt how they want. Maybe they're dumb enough to go into the cold and get injured or sick. Maybe they're stuck in the Community Hall for the week. Fights might break out as tensions run high whilst everyone's stuck together, or maybe you're actually having a nice time.

2. For those stuck in the Community Hall: there are board games and old school textbooks stored in cupboards. There is also a piano.

3. A floorplan of the Community Hall can be found here.

A CHOICE

1. .... Yes, you can pet the ghost stag.

2. Characters will get one choice only with the ghost stag, meaning they can't keep going back to find it to get extra gifts.

3. If characters can't agree on a course of action, whoever acts first will get their gift. The second character will have a chance to try again another time.

4. If both characters agree on sparing the stag, but players want different gifts (ie. one player wants the boots and one wants the blanket), characters will get the gift the player wants their character to receive.

REST MY WEARY BONES

1. The hot springs will now be a permanent fixture in the Milton Area, enjoy!

PLOTTING POST

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I woke you up. [ She keeps her voice low, still very much a whisper. She presses her fingers against her mouth, fighting back the urge to cry. ] I'm sorry, it was just— it just a bad dream and I'm— I'm trying—

[ Trying to be better about them, trying to be more considerate of those around her. Her eyes are already darting around the room, to those still asleep. She's already fretful about those she knows — what if she's woken up Lieutenant Little? He needs to sleep, he's always so busy and downing coffee to keep himself awake and he needs to sleep.

But the hand at her shoulder feels steadying and she fights to take a deep breath to try and calm herself rather than getting herself all worked up over fretting. ]

They keep happening, and I don't know how to stop them.

You didn't, okay? Even if you had, I wouldn't have minded.

[Ruby tries not to press, forcing anything doesn't feel like the right move to make. The best she can do is just be present and listen.

She shifts slightly moving to sit on the edge of the cot. She gives a little tug at Kate's shoulder to indicate the other girl can lean in if against her if she wants.

There's an uncomfortable twist in her stomach when Kate says she doesn't know how to make them stop. Ruby didn't really have an answer for that.]

I don't think you can. I think- I think they're something you always kind of carry with you. But you learn how to manage them. Sometimes they get a bit better. Other times they're worse.

... I mind. [ And it's kind of her to say that she wouldn't have minded being woken up, maybe no one would mind being woken up. Nightmares happen, and they're all stuck together. But Kate minds. Sleep is already so precious, and she worries for those she knows in particular who are currently asleep in here — her eyes glancing about in the dark to the vague directions of where they are: Lieutenant Little, Mr Goodsir, Mr Kenway, Rei.

She's tired, she's so tired. She misses Max and her family. It's easy to fall into melancholy, and this girl's trying her best. She leans in, but she's still tense and uneasy from the nightmare. ]

I don't want to carry this. [ It's still hushed, but there's desperate frustration to the words. ] I don't even know what this is. They don't make sense.

[ It's not fair. ]

They started up over a month ago, and I don't know what they are and it's so stupid.

[Well Ruby couldn't really argue with that. It's actually a pretty clever way to shut down what she had. She lets her shoulders sag just a little to admit defeat.]

Well that does count for more than a little.

[After all, whatever was bothering Kate was certainly real and Ruby didn't want to make her feel like it didn't.

If there's one thing she can do, it's empathize with what she was going through. The memories scorched into her mind, the responsibilities she had to carry. She hadn't asked for it.]

No. I'm sure you didn't. ...But it's not going to change now that you're saddled with it. I'm sorry.

[There's a pause and she sucks in a breath before she asks.]

...What happens in the nightmare, if you don't mind me asking?

It's not fair. [ It's all she can say, and it sounds so... pitiful, so childish. Just to whisper it out loud: it's not fair. There's so much about everything lately that's not fair. She hates this.

As for the dream itself, Kate can only exhale at first: weary. Her skin crawls a little as she thinks about it, and it takes effort to keep her voice low and steady. ]

It's... hard to say. They're... weird. It's like... everything's underwater, too bright and too dark all at once. [ She presses the heels of her hands to her eyes, shuddering. ] I can hear a man talking, like he's... he's trying to assure me. He sounds so calm, but I don't— I can't move.

I feel sick and I don't want him to touch me. But he does it anyway.

No. It isn't. It never is.

[Gosh does Ruby's heart just ache for this girl at the moment. Her silver eyes briefly catch a glint of green over by her own cot. It was never fair- And the best people always had to suffer because of it.

She just gently sways back and forth as one gently rubs at Kate's back to support her.]

But you're going to get through through this.

[She doesn't know how exactly, but it was something they'd have to figure out.

She listens to the dream and there's not denying that's an awful feeling.]

I'm sorry, I'm so sorry have to go through that as much as you are. ...Do you recognize the voice at all?

[ 'No. It isn't. It never is. But you're going to get through this.' It reminds her of Lieutenant Little, in a way. Even with his own sad eyes and hopeless situation with the Expedition and his men, he'd offered her a hand — tried to gently assure her meaning, how highly he thought of her. ]

Everyone's so much hopeful for me than I am for myself.

[ It's hard to, when the darkness is so thick, and the cold is so biting and she's never felt so far from God's warming light. But the words are appreciated, she doesn't dismiss them. She didn't dismiss the Lieutenant's either. ]

I don't think so? I'm not sure, it's really hard to tell. [ She's quiet for a few long moments as she tries to find the words to describe it. ]

It's like... you know... you know the voices of people you know should be safe? Like everything else tells you that you can trust them, but they aren't? That's kind of like what he sounds like. If... that makes sense.

[ Does it? Kate doesn't know. ]

[Ruby's expression doesn't falter when Kate says that, but there is an empathetic twinge to it. Her trip through the Ever After wasn't all that long ago- That feeling of being utterly lost and overwhelmed was still fresh.]

It's just a feeling, but- It's not something we can really share. You're going to have to find it for yourself along the way.

[At least that's how it went for Ruby. In the end she had to choose herself and it wasn't easy to do.

Ruby pauses on that briefly. Letting the question sit for a little.]

Yeah... Like on a normal day you'd trust your gut, and it would tell you it's fine. But now it's kind of mia when you need it?

[ She's gonna have to find it for herself along the way. She tries not to sigh too much at it, but there's a tiny sigh at that. The girl's right, though. Of course she is. ]

Yeah, kinda like that. [ She nods. ] He... he doesn't feel safe at all.

[ She inhales, shaking her head slightly — it aches a little. ]

It's— it's so stupid.

[ She hates this. ]

... How do you— know about this stuff?

[Ruby wishes she had a better answer than that, but she knew no matter what it wasn't going to be an easy road. The least she could do was not beat around the bush for Kate's sake.

She gently rubs the other girl's back in small circles. Just providing what comfort she could.]

It is- It's the dumbest thing around, really.

[The question hits her like a sack of bricks. Kate wasn't the only one who hated this. Ruby had mostly had the chance to reconcile what had happened to her, her family. But that still didn't make what had happened, or how it happened right.]

Let's just say I've been around the block.

I was being pulled along through something dark, like a puppet on strings. Eventually I figured out what was going on. The strings got cut- And I had to figure out how to move on my own.

[ It's a kind of solidarity greatly appreciated. Yeah, it's so dumb. Kate exhales, something like wry amusement in it. She's too tired to offer much more than that.

But she does listen to what Ruby has to say, her brow furrowing in thought. She's horrified on the other girl's half. The visual is... pretty awful sounding. Enough to make her sit up to look at the girl properly. ]

That's awful. [ Like, she can't even comprehend it. ] Why would someone do something like that? Like, you're my age.

[ Or there abouts. ]

That's... that's so messed up. I'm so sorry.

[Ruby's happy with that bit of solidarity. Looking out for the people around her was always her first responsibility, and she was happy to ease the burden however she could.

She hadn't quite expected the reaction from Kate. To have her suddenly sitting up and staring her in the eye like that. She should have, but she didn't often give her troubles the same consideration as others. She had lived it, survived it and had moved on. hat's what she had to do, right?

Her eyes drifted down the floor as she considered what to say.]

I think... I think he thought he was protecting me, and he was scared. And when I found out the truth that made him more scared- but it didn't make things any better.

I was a tool that didn't know what I was really being used for-

[She pulls away just a touch. She had made amends with Oz since then- But she still remembers how lost she, and everyone she had been travelling with had felt when he retreated back than.]

I'm sorry too, but... That's something I have to get over too.

And it still doesn't make it okay, either.

[ Honestly, it sucks. And she's so sorry for her. Like she can't even imagine anything like that, it's awful.

... but... that's something I have to get over too.'

It's not fair.

Finally, Kate sighs, her eyes dropping to her lap for a long moment before she glances around the Hall — nearly everyone's asleep. Kate feels far from sleep, but she finds herself struck by an idea: ]

... Do you wanna go get some hot cocoa? The stove's fire in the kitchen should still be going— we can go make some there.

...You're right.

[It is the worst, and it does make her feel a little better to hear someone else say it.

But Ruby can't help but feel a little tinge in her stomach. She hoped what had she had done had provided some sort of help to Kate- And not pushed her feelings inside while Ruby drudged up her own past.

She might just been looking into things a little too much. She keeps an arm around the other girl just to support her for a little longer- until the idea comes up.

Then her eyes go wide with delight.]

You know what? That sounds like a great idea right about now.

Let's go.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

nature offers a violence

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

cw: mentions of non-consensual (but also non-sexual) touching

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

CW: Implications of grooming

no subject

no subject

~wrap!

Wrapped!