deercountry | My blind optimism to blame

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My blind optimism to blame

APRIL 2022 EVENT

IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Prompt One
[Image One: A large green butterfly.]
[Image Two: A woman staring in a daze at light orbs floating around her face.]

Prompt Two
[Image One: A volcano with meteors falling down around it.]
[Image Two: A ball of quivering light hovering in the dark with woman standing in front.]

Prompt Three
[Image One: A woman staring at a mirror-like humanoid being staring back at her.]
[Image Two: A woman in a field of grass with humanoid-shaped flower sculptures nearby.]

[NAVIGATION]

Prompt 1 • Prompt 2 • Prompt 3 • Plotting • Newsletter

[JUMP TO COMMENTS]

MIGRATION OF MOONLIT BUTTERFLIES

WHEN: April
WHERE: Everywhere outside
CONTENT WARNINGS: Hopelessness/corruption, heavy themes of mental trauma/health, killing of gentle creatures.

Excerpt from BEASTS OF DEER COUNTRY Chapter 12: Migrations:

"One of the most beautiful natural phenomena of Deer Country is the migration of the mysterious Moonlit Butterflies. These giant creatures are most often the size of a house, with exceptional wingspans. Fear not: they are not violent creatures. Most will fly well above the city of Trench, leaving trails of glittering orbs of light that fall all throughout the city. However, it is common for some Moonlit Butterflies to land and rest throughout Trench. Despite their massive size, these creatures appear to weigh very little, able to rest harmlessly on homes, lampposts, and the like. Don't be surprised to find some scattered throughout your neighborhood.

They have a gentle aura about them and are most famous for their behemoth wings which glow a radiant green. They are aptly named due to their ability to store immense power from the moon during April and are seen as distant children of Argonaut. Being near them will enchant the air with the scent of amber and fresh linen, and you may hear a soothing song emit from these beasts.

Despite their rare and incredible beauty, it is wise to not linger in their presence no matter how captivating they are...And they are captivating. Many residents of Trench have been known to stop and stare, enthralled by the wings or the orbs of light that are shed by the butterflies. Those who have been staring for too long will have an unnatural glowing green glaze over their eyes, obscuring their pupil and gaze. This is known as the Moonlit Drain.

These butterflies do not gather all of their energy from moonlight...but they gather it from hopeful beings as well. It is why they gather among populations of sentient beings. They soak up all hope in the area and the longer you stand in their presence, the more hopeless you may become. Standing in the presence of a Moonlit Butterfly has driven people to rapid, severe corruption in under ten minutes. It is best to avoid these butterflies no matter how mesmerizing they may be to look at.

The little orbs of light are actual manifestation of everyone's hope. Touching them may restore hope and they can be gathered into jars for future treatments of corruption. They do not "go bad" as they are the essence of emotion. One way to restore hope to a corrupt or beast-ridden soul is to slay one of the Moonlit Butterflies. They are incredibly easy to kill as they are naturally delicate and non-hostile.

Be warned: the one who slays a Moonlit Butterfly will be consumed with instantaneous corruption and possibly even beasthood. But once the butterfly has been slain, anyone in the surrounding area besides the killer will have corruption alleviated. Killing a Moonlit Butterfly has been known to fill people with incredible grief and guilt. Few have survived."

WONDERKIND

WHEN: April
WHERE: Everywhere outside
CONTENT WARNINGS: Possible spoilers per canon, time/vortex style presence, variety of possible monsters.

Excerpt from an essay titled "The Wonderkind Pthumerian" from the book The Curious Nature of the Weakest Pthumerian: Argonaut and Misconceptions:

"Most of the other Patron Pthumerians are known for exceptional strength and durability during trying times. It is only Argonaut in which people think of weakness. They believe the Patron to be a fickle, tiny thing with little worth, but there is a unique and powerful quality to Argonaut that should not be overlooked.

This is the phenomenon known as Wonderkind. It has only been known to happen once every few years and only ever during April, but those who have seen it would testify to the hidden strengths of our explorer Patron. There is much to be said about curiosity and resilience, after all. Argonaut has wandered through the lives of many without most ever realizing it. He has likely seen into your own life, curious about the odd Sleepers that show up on the shores of this world.

Wonderkind appears as a meteor shower, but these are no meteors. Balls of flaming light will fall from the sky, silent, beautiful, striking, and somewhat ominous and terrifying. They rain upon Trench in intervals throughout April. They do not crash into the city so much as glide throughout. These balls of light are shimmering orbs that have split open time and space itself into unraveling cocoons, exposing portals into worlds foreign to this one.

These portals cannot be entered for they are not portals out of this world...But portals into this world. Sleepers have claimed to find beloved items and pull them out of these portals. Some may find old pets that come out to greet them. It can be a lucky and cherished event for many. Tragically, these portals do not seem to be able to bring in sentient beings ~~applicable characters~~, but you may be able to talk briefly to a loved one who isn't yet in this world.

But that's not all that can crawl through these portals...Monsters from other worlds have been known to flock to these portals and make their way through. Monsters from your worlds or other worlds slip in to wreak havoc on the streets of Trench. It is during this time that it is of the utmost importance that our Hunters take up arms and protect the vulnerable. If you recognize the monsters or disasters from your world entering ours, then please, make sure to caution those against it.

The portals close after a few hours and cannot be manually closed by anyone. Nothing can be sent into portals, but one can stand by a portal and guard it for potential dangers. Portals from your world may reappear several times throughout the month, so don't let your guard down for even a moment, and always expect the worst even when hoping for the best."

Quick Facts:

1. Respect the setting. Do not bring in monsters that would be capable of destroying the world/city/etc.

2. Things like unique plants/items can be gained through these portals.

3. You do not need to engage with portals from your own canon. You can invent new worlds, engage with other canons, or alternate universes. It's up to you.

FROM WITHIN AND WITHOUT

WHEN: April
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Instant beasthood, corruption of soul, draining of soul, replication of soul, mistreatment of sex workers/night walkers.

An excerpt from a journal kept by a Night Walker named Charlotte Finch. Finch was known for being one of the first established Night Walkers and was known for her advocacy on the front of Night Walker work and its relationship to beasthood. This journal is kept in the Archives. It contains content pertinent to Beasthood yet, unfortunately, due to ongoing biases against Night Walkers, this journal is kept in the autobiography section rather than the section for beasthood. Good luck finding it.

"the job of the Night Walker is, of course, undervalued by this world. we do our best to soothe the troubled souls of this place and yet they continue to doubt our worth. what must we do to convince them? must we wield blades to show them how we fight? must we shed blood to prove our dedication? must we pick up books to show our intelligence? nei, we not do that. we sleep beside our worn hunters and rest heads upon the chests of scholars and hold the tired hands of architects. we guide the way to light in a way disciples could never.

all us are valuable, it be true, but why must the night walker be left to the wayside? why must our duties be written off? why must it be that it always a night walkers blood in the streets that leaves no tears to be shed? nei, nei, it is hatred of those who understand the soul and body have a close connection.

you know what i believe? these souls of ours change the landscape of our bodies. you cannot have one without the other. when the soul is corrupt, it only be natural that the body corrupts, turning rigid and hideous and monsterous and beastly. aye yes i have seen it myself, though none of the others believe except for other night walkers.

you see, there is a shape that comes to us in the Long Night of april, a shape much like our own. looking like a person ought to look but with no face and no features, like a mirror glimmering in the shape of you. they look like us, and they will mimic us. these odd mirror beings is the shape of our soul, you see, and once it finds you, it will copy you, and you will be driven mad! mad! how does this thing move as you move? how does it replicate what you replicate?

aye, it is your soul, my friend. your soul in a shape you can see. or something like it, may not soul be in your lexicon. it is you, as you are it. it is the Tether between you and beasthood, see what i say. the Tether will begin to soak into you if you let it, if you let it consume you, and it will consume you rapidly. people have been known to be ravaged by the Tether and turn into beasts within seconds, AYE yes, seconds, not minutes, into a vicious beast. the Tether wins.

But you need not let it be a victor, my friend. you see, we proved it, we did, us night walkers, we proved to lay with the Tether is to soothe the Tether. Allow yourself the kindness of another soul, another companion. touch and feel and express companionship. holding the hand of your lover or your friend or your brother or sister will cause the Tethers to weaken before ye very eyes! i do swear it, my friend, i should not lie on a subject i hold so dear.

you see, when we hold one another dear, when we cherish one anothr truly and wholly, we abate the darkness in our souls. listen to your companions, my sweet friends, and let your souls heal, and you can stop the Tether from consuming. you see, you see. surely you see. this is what it looks like. the Tether is always with us, but only in April under this moon can we see it always and will it be vicious and invasive. do not allow it.

do not allow it."

Quick Facts:

1. Tethers will take the exact body shape/size of you and mimic your moves. They may follow you around for several hours/days. Once they decide to "consume" you, it will be quick. It will essentially look like your body is turning metallic and then you become a beast.

While Charlotte states it happens in a matter of seconds, this can happen in several hours/days as well. Depends on the character and their general resolve.

2. People can be pulled back from this through emotional support whether verbally or physically and general acts of kindness. It's the sincerity that matters here. You do not need to be familiar with the person to help them.

3. Everyone can see each other's Tethers so you can determine how severe someone's Tether has become. The more severe the Tether, the more silvery the impacted person will look.

4. Tethers cannot be destroyed with weaponry/attacks. Trying will only hurt the person they are mimicking. You could actually kill someone by trying to "kill" their Tether. The tether will vanish with those who died but reappear once they have reincarnated.

CODING

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[Truly, what a good dog—

But oh, butterfly right ahead. Palamedes turns on his heel to face away from it, pulling up the hood of his cloak and staring resolutely at the ground. He doesn't want to stand around with his eyes closed, cutting off all spatial awareness seems like a bad strategy, but he doesn't dare peek out from under the hood except to glance at the flickering shadows as the thing glides overhead.

It does rain down a lazy shower of Cool Orbs, which is nice. He can see the faint glow of some in his periphery, staring at his shoes, so-]

That's one method. [hah.] Your dog isn't impacted by the staring problem?

Guess not...

[which is a good thing! Manabu wasn't actually sure; boy, he'd feel like a jerk for sending Magnet off to get...uh...whatever'd by whatever consequence comes to an omen in the face of a giant butterfly.

in any case, the dog trots back triumphantly, looking unfazed by the encounter, tongue lolling out to complete the smiling look.]

Maybe omens are okay around them? Who knows. [he shrugs, his head now canting up to behold the gentle, glowing shower.]

Either way...looks like we don't have to go far at all to get started collecting, huh.

[At least the dog is okay! That's what really matters. Palamedes gives Magnet a solemn nod of approval, very good boy, then looks around at the orb shower as it slowly falls.]

I suppose not. Lucky it went right over us; I hate to run.

[He has the stamina of a paper bag, after all. He stoops to put his satchel down, fishing out an empty jar and popping the lid off. Hm-

Well, the first strategy was just to wave the jar around like a net and hope for the best.]

So— have you got some kind of collection method? Tried and true? I was going to wave this around.

Tried and true? Not sure, but I know they're kind of like...like plant seeds, kind of? You can just float 'em a bit where you need.

[he'll demonstrate once he's got a jar lid popped off and he can target one of the little orbs, blowing on it to get its momentum in a direction and holding the jar out opposite so it'll simply drift in.

while he's closing that up.]

I don't know of any better, but I do kind of accidentally touch a few along the way. Practice makes perfect, I guess...

Hm. I've been half-convinced the butterflies drop them as a lure.

[This as he stashes the jar lid in a pocket and moves a few steps away, so they aren't waving jars around in each other's faces.]

You know, to drop an ounce of hope that makes someone more inclined to stay and have a look around; I could be wrong, though. It could be coincidence.

[He holds the jar out in front of himself, moving it minutely to catch orbs as they descend in slow motion.]

Sorry, you said something about seeds. I don't know anything about plants; is this really a thing?

Um, well-- [he squints, shrugging.] It, it was on a couple planets I've been to? Where some plants and trees had sees that were really...light and floaty like this. Dandelions and stuff.

You...don't have dandelions, where you're from?

No. Or trees.

[He scoops a pair of orbs into his jar, considering the fastest way to condense the Sixth House No Plants Thing.]

I grew up in a sealed station sitting in the polar ice caps of our planet. We didn't have room to import— dandelions? I honestly have no idea what that is.

Ehh, really? [he blinks, looking over after closing up the jar.] They didn't have any maintained greenhouses or anything? What did you have to eat?

Imported foods, rations; that kind of thing. We didn't get any direct sunlight, so a greenhouse wouldn't have done much good, either. Plus, there's the issue of temperature control...

[Moisture. So grim. He pops a lid on the jar.]

You said you lived in space, didn't you? It's about the same, minus the actual ship.

Yeah, but...you don't move. You just stay in that one spot the whole time, right? [he grabs another empty jar while Magnet huffs at some low-floating orbs, snapping at them like Air Bud.]

Well, of course. It's a library, and very carefully maintained; moving it would be a real hassle.

[He sets the first jar on the ground and opens his bag for another one, with a hum.]

I know how it sounds, trust me— it's been made abundantly clear to me already that my home is weird, at best. I didn't say it made sense.

A library at a north pole, huh... [he tries to imagine what that's like while working to guide a little orb into the jar.]

How does anyone go and read all the things in there?

By filling out a lot of tedious forms and waiting a lot of arbitrary time, mostly.

[He shrugs! and waves his jar at some more orbs.]

Assuming they want to access something permissible to begin with, that is; we're primarily an archive with preservation interests.

So it's...just you and the books? Or...or do you have other librarians there. Friends and stuff?

Oh— no, there are plenty of us. Enough to make a whole House, capital-H. We're not as numerous as we could be, but it's not lonely.

['Friends and stuff,' that's oddly endearing... hmm.] My best friend from home was here for a while, actually.

[Manabu pauses mid-orb-capture to blink and look over.]

Here? [for a while.] Ouh, he...went back, then? [out to sea, and...off to home, probably? maybe?

he...actually doesn't know what happens after that. Amara came and went a few times and can't say she really recalls entirely herself.]

She, but yes. Some... [he wiggles his fingers down at his side, counting-] Two months ago now? Two and a half, or thereabouts.

[He shrugs, unable to help but frown slightly. He's no blind optimist, but...]

As long as I'm here, she'll find her way back. Relentless, that girl. So— well, that's the situation.

[he stumbles a small apology at the correction, muted so the other can keep talking. Manabu hums a thoughtful sound, quiet for a beat after that situation is explained.

eventually:] Would...showing up here again...would that be better? Than being at that library.

Objectively, no. Neither of us were there before here, though, so it's a nonissue.

[A beat. Ahem.]

Sorry; you were just explaining something about plants, and I've gotten off topic.

A-- [he waves the hand holding a jar lid in a dismissive way.] That's okay! I mean, that's how conversations go, right?

Besides... [he double blinks as an orb passes into his good eye's peripheral, prompting him to talk a little quieter and carefully raise the jar up under it.] I don't...know too much about plants. Scientifically or otherwise.

[got it. lid on.]

Especially 'cause the part of the planet I grew up on was more arid and rocky than most places. Mining country and stuff.

[Aw, he's so earnest, that makes collecting gold orbs in the dark more enjoyable, somehow.]

You know more about plants than me. And— mining, too. How did you get from mining country to, what was it, the space corps? For the railways?

[Space train?? He's intrigued.]

[ha.]

My dad. [he trades out a full jar for an empty one, his tone getting more nostalgic.] My dad was a captain for the best train in the whole SDF. There's a station at the edge of the town I grew up in, too, so me and my big brother used to sneak over there to watch the trains coming in and out from space, trying to catch him by surprise whenever he was on leave... [he chuckles a little, his breath puffing an orb into the trajectory of his jar.]

Mining country's gotta get supplies from somewhere too, right? So a lot of those trains brought stuff rowdy kids like me growing up would love to get a hold of first.

[This is - very wholesome, he thinks. He can imagine why a train coming in with supplies from far away would be exciting to rowdy kids - in the Sixth they had view screens to look at and nothing else. The mail was very exciting, sometimes...]

I've never been on a train. That's probably obvious now. [ahem] Tell me about the best train in the whole SDF? Did your dad help earn its stripes?

[or like. awards. or. something. he doesn't know anything at all about trains.]

[just saying he'd never been on a train in general would've been enough ground to cover, and Manabu does utter a soft, incredulous sound at the remark, but he pauses at the actual ask.

while securing the lid of his latest jar:] Definitely. He was the best. [he chuckles sheepishly before looking over.] I, I know I'm pretty biased and all, considering! But...I mean it. [his demeanor softens, his good eye's gaze drifting down, following the aimless floating of one of the uncaptured orbs.]

He gave everything to protect people. The railway. It takes a lot...to be willing to sacrifice yourself like that. But he didn't even hesitate, not even a second. Me and the rest of Big One's crew...the rest of the SDF, really...we owe a lot to his example.

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My blind optimism to blame

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