My blind optimism to blame

[reddosmod]

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

Comments

[slightlytaller]

[Observe: the sassy teenage eyeroll that ill befitted the 30 year old he spoke like but well suited the nineteen year old he looked like. Waver Velvet cast him a belligerent look before tearing his eyes away.]

If only.

[Folding his arms with a huff he looked out towards the sea-- just as the figure on the other end of the tether emerged.

Oh note was the fact that this figure was noticeably different from the small, weedy person that Palamedes knew. Although there was nearly a foot in height difference and a noticeable degree of more polish, the dark eyes and underlying demeanor of frustrated sadness made the similarities obvious.

Waver pouted and glowered at the man.]

... I wasn't exactly ready for you to know this yet, Palamedes.

[He mumbled, withdrawing a plain pocket knife from the folds of his cloak. With the blade flashing in the moonlight, he made a simple move--

Not before the stranger promptly flicked him in the forehead. Hard.

-- and, just as suddenly, the figure faded into dust along the shoreline, with only a lock of Waver's hair that he had cut off remaining where the other man had stood.

... Though no words were spoken, the sentiments were clear:

Waver had just been called an idiot by his other self, and only had the wounds on his pride to prove it.]

[megatheorem]

[Sitting on the ground, still, Palamedes watches this play out with morbid fascination. The tether's existence is more discomforting than its older appearance, and he wonders just what the idea behind whipping out a blade is to challenge, ah... Oneself?

Silvery tether shadow self? Either way.

Not that it matters, because the big one flicks the little one in the head and vanishes in a puff of judgment, and Palamedes can only stare at the spot the tether occupied with a furrowed brow. Hmm. He stares at the spot for a long moment, then glances over at the remaining, tinier version. He clears his throat, hesitantly.]

... Because it's embarrassing?

[To get owned so hard by one's own other self, that is. Ahem.]

[slightlytaller]

Yes!

[Even leaving a taglock for the powers that be wasn't enough to alleviate his sheer embarrassment-- and, like a kid, he flipped up the hood of his cloak to hide his face and his burning cheeks.]

In my calendar it was right around Christmas, and I got tricked into being a key to a large scale hypnotic curse that's outside of my control. It's an old classmate, and she can't let go of something from our school days for some reason!

[He was babbling and blustering, but at this point he didn't care. The chrome had completely faded from his person and Gray had leapt from his shoulder to join Palamedes in watching the show.]

She was hurt badly enough to damage her magic circuits after I dropped out, so I thought it was about getting revenge.

But. It's not.

Even if it was, why would she pick me anyway? Why are my memories so important to her vision of that time?

[Huffing, he flopped back down into the sand and became a veritable lump of fabric sulking on the shoreline.]

[megatheorem]

[Hello, cat, welcome to the audience. Palamedes reaches out to give Gray some well-deserved pets while this... this happens, this contextless story that ends in Waver being cursed to be little. He thinks? Magecraft doesn't make any sense.

Waver sure does have a lot of Stuff going on. Palamedes opens his mouth to speak, closes it again, considers. Ah...

Okay,]

I have no idea.

[Like, actually, this one is beyond him.]

I don't know what Christmas is, either. Why did you try to cut it? Or him, I suppose; other-you.

[And after a beat, because he is a sulking ball of fabric, but he's also not attached to a silvery shadow monster anymore, so,] Are you feeling any better? Be honest.

[slightlytaller]

[The question was enough for Waver to lift his head from the pile he had made of himself within his cloak-- and, undeterred by the fact that he had all the visual resemblance of a stray cat left out in the rain, heaved a sigh and answered.]

It wasn't him. It was a lock of my hair, to serve as an anchor for the tether while I broke out.

[With that he tilted his head, showing the uneven length towards the front.]

Storing mana in an item you commonly carry or even your own hair is a common tactic, and it can be used in situations like this to redirect magics if you're it's intended target. It's not a perfect solution, but it can help in a pinch.

[It was simple and academic. Additionally, it was so basic of a skill that Waver suspected nearly anyone could learn it if they put enough effort and focus into it.]

The holiday is nonsense here, but it was winter and towards the end of the calendar year before I washed up here. There is only a week between that holiday and needing to change calendars.

My point is: I didn't expect to still look like this. It's annoying, but I'm doing better.

[megatheorem]

[Oh, a fun magecraft lesson, free of charge. Palamedes' eyebrows go up, listening curiously - should he be writing this down - and then he nods, in understanding of the broader concept. Well-]

Necromancy has something similar. Almost. Not entirely, and unhelpful as a crossover mechanism.

[It's dying, is why. He recalls Harrow's casual assertion, 'Give me a single death and I can go for ten minutes,' and that's technically the same overall concept: magical fuel stored in an object for later use, uses varied.

The object is just alive until "later use," and he doesn't imagine that will go over well with too many non-necromancers. He decides not to elaborate.

Anyway.]

Better is good. D'you want to get off this beach? Personally, I assume the water is always mildly threatening us.

[slightlytaller]

[Death could be fuel for a number of magics in Waver's understanding as well. After all, he was himself not guiltless when matters turned to the ethics of slaughtering animals for the sake of complex spellwork.

The key was to do it quickly and not to form attachments-- but that was a subject for later discussion.]

You're right in that assumption. There's so many things under the water that people will never see and never comprehend. Life as we understand it does not exist once you get deep enough.

[And, in a realm where tentacled beasts were an actual reality, Waver didn't want to risk his chances. Pulling himself back up to his feet, he dropped down his hood and scooped up his omen.]

Thanks, Palamedes. I'm certain I would have been in trouble if you hadn't shown up when you did.