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pareidoliaooc2025-06-02 10:14 pm
June 2025 | Event V
The month ahead...
A new moon shines over Zoar, bathing the garden in cold, pale light. The next time you visit it, you find only elongated, finger-like fungi poking up from the ground. Were there ever real body parts growing there, or only a trick of the light? Did you look closely? Are you sure?
Post any happenings on the appropriate header below. Letting everyone know what your character is doing gets you bonus points!
There will be no IC event post. Please post prompt logs in pareidolialogs with your top levels. Use the following form to post your plotting comment below. Fill out as much or as little of it as you like.
As the twilight dwindles and the dark settles in, the mist lingering in the ravines pours into town like a great flood. It is heavy and white and wet, weighing down anyone who lingers too long and soaking their clothes to their skin. Even the cabins can’t keep it out entirely; the mist slithers in through cracks and crevices, extinguishing any fires and chilling the residents to the bone. It fills the town to the very canopies of the surrounding trees, settling over the area like a funeral shroud.
Then it all recedes. At daybreak, the mist drains away again, as silent as it came. The air becomes less heavy, the temperature rises, and the town is visible again. You can’t tell where the mist disappeared to or why it chose to flood the town now. You only know, with great relief, that it’s gone.
Until the next nightfall, at least.
Only the high places are spared from the mist: Ash’s cabin, the sanctuary, and the mountain path and hot springs beyond. Those who take shelter in any of those places by sundown will experience a normal, peaceful night—assuming they trust whoever else tries to shelter there, too.
☠ The only way to escape the mist is to go somewhere elevated: Ash’s cabin, the sanctuary, or the area leading up to the hot springs.
Anyone who tries to investigate the new weather pattern will find more dangers than the darkness and the chill. As the nightly mist shrouds the town, unseen creatures begin to move as well. They don’t leave the mist or enter any buildings. They merely wander, waiting for whoever might be brave or reckless enough to venture out of doors.
At first, they’re barely audible: a distant skitter, the snap of a twig, an eerie giggle like a child’s. The further you venture from safety, the closer and more frequent the sounds become—not one creature alone, but dozens, gathering to watch you grope and stumble through the dark. Press on even further, and they begin to interfere.
Perhaps they steal whatever items you may be carrying, making off with them too fast for you to catch. Perhaps they sneak into your path to trip you, giggling at you as you topple to the dirt. If you try to follow the noises, they only lead you somewhere more dangerous: the bank of the stream, the edge of a cliff, a hole that would snap your ankle to step in. At best, you’ll wind up far from where you meant to go, shivering at how close you came to disaster. More likely, you’ll wind up trapped or badly injured, helpless until someone finds you—if anyone comes for you at all.
Venture close enough to the usual boundary of the fog, however, and you may hear something even more menacing: a strange, sharp sound, like ice skates gliding over the earth. Turn back, and the figure won’t harm you. Press on, and the figure will stab you into compliance, then drag you away from the boundary it guards and leave you alone to bleed. The fog can enter Zoar now. That doesn’t mean anyone can leave.
☠ Anyone who approaches or tries to cross the boundary where the fog usually starts will be forced back by a humanoid creature, which will stab anyone who refuses to turn around.
Spending time in the sanctuary this month offers far more than just a respite from the fog. Behind the building, stones streaked with thick, black, burn-like marks have been haphazardly torn away to reveal a hidden cellar, its wooden doors flapping forlornly in the wind. Beneath the creaky trapdoors, a flight of slick, stone steps lead down to a frigid abattoir much larger than the narrow entryway would suggest.
The floor is sloped and uneven, highest in the center and lowest along the walls. At the highest point of the cellar, directly below the apse of the sanctuary above, sits a rectangular altar of solid, dark stone, its top surface and edges stained a rusty, unsettling brown. Around the base, drainage grooves in the floor lead away toward the walls, where slabs of cold, heavily salted meat hang from vicious metal hooks. The slabs vary in size and appearance, but all are stamped with the same 𐤊 symbol that was on the meat found in the kitchen two months back. Some appear to be from the same type of animal. Others...do not. Perhaps you shouldn't look too closely.
The good news is, the town is no longer at risk of starving. Right?
A wooden cabinet along the far wall holds an array of potential treasures: cleavers, saws, and a variety of knives, all well-sharpened and free of rust. Several smaller pieces of meat sit on shelves here, wrapped in old, faded paper. There may have been writing on the paper once, but it is far too blotted and bloodstained to make out. Only one stray piece of paper, torn and seemingly forgotten at the back of the cabinet, can be partially read:
21, 5436. The mist returned last night. I thought we would have more time. Hoped, maybe. We have somewhere to go this time. The kal is crowded, but it at least makes it warmer. Something is moving through the town. If you hear metal scraping on the stones, do not breathe. Do not look for it. Yosef says he saw it when Moshe was found. Sharp edges
☠ The abattoir also has what appears to be an altar at the center, directly below the apse of the sanctuary.
☠ There are an assortment of sharpened knives for the taking, should anyone need them.
QUESTIONS & FEEDBACK
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The creatures cannot be stabbed or maimed. No matter how close you get, or what traps you try to set, you can never quite get them. They're far too fast.
Sometimes, when you try, they seem to increasingly target you. You attempt to attack, and your hands or weapons come away with thick, black, tar-like substance, similar to what was on the mirrors months ago. They trip you, or pull at your hair, and wherever you feel their touch, they leave the same substance.
Re: QUESTIONS & FEEDBACK
Out of curiosity, is there any necromatically-detectable sign that the hands were ever in the garden at all? Like, a leftover thanergenic signature or something? Or is it *spookily* going to seem like they were never there at all, even to Pal?
WHAT IS THE MEAT?
Any other vibes or information that he could pick up from the abattoir? In particular, when was it last used to slaughter animals, and has it only been used to kill non-human animals?
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Great question! Yes, there are necromantically-detectable signs of the hands. Think incredibly rich compost. Any hands Palamedes had separated from the garden to study have left behind bones, though there are no bones left behind in the garden.
The meat is the same type as what was found in the kitchen a while back! It is goat meat. Mostly. Of the oldest slabs in the abbatoir, there are a few hanging from hooks with an unmistakable human signature.
The abattoir is still regularly used to slaughter animals, and was most recently used a few days before the abbatoir was discovered. The animals slaughtered in the last thirty years are mammals, but not humans and not goats.
Humans have died on the altar. The last human to die on the altar died a little over thirty years ago.
There has been a lot of death in this room, and not as much lingering death energy as there should be.
JUNE HAPPENINGS
Everyone is stuck together on a tiny mountain town, so everyone knows everything... If something happened publicly, or if your character is being weird enough someone could notice, or even if you just want something noted for posterity, let everyone know about it here.
Xiao Xingchen | MDZS
When: The first night that the fog first creeps into town
What: Xingchen is reunited with his sword Shuanghua at last.
Riot | OC
When: Middle of the night, early in the month
What: Riot finds his greataxe Fateripper embedded in the wall.
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When: throughout the month!
What: alex and xingchen have become friends? they can be routinely found a short ways outside the sanctuary in the early morning, meditating and doing other acts of spiritual cultivation and training.
Re: JUNE HAPPENINGS
When: Within a few days after the abattoir is discovered
What: Pal's tacking a big ol' sign on the human meat that says "HUMAN: DO NOT EAT." The sign will be warded and will give anyone who tries to remove it a painful-but-not-dangerous electric shock.
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When: into perpetuity until further notice, but starting late in the month shortly after the arrival of a certain someone
What: ademnet is no longer the only person in town with a stalker! alex is now also following lisa around through alleyways, roofs, and treetops like a second, more distant shadow. there's decent odds that if you see or talk to her, you might catch a momentary glimpse of alex or an unknown stranger, though he'll be gone when you look again to confirm that he was there and that it wasn't just your imagination.
Ademnet | OC
Pronouns: she/her
Contact: @/tzviaariella on Plurk or Discord
Character Name: Ademnet
CR Preferences: Any
Permissions: Here
General Plans: Pride Month? WRONG. For this gay teenager, it's Guilt Month. Last month he cut down a fellow Crow in cold blood and then got slapped with the out-of-context knowledge that he's going to become a lord someday--which he can only assume, based on what he currently knows, means he's going to abandon his siblings and sell out to a foreign king to save his own life. What better way to prove to himself that he's not that kind of asshole than to test out the justice system he designed by turning himself in for murder? Surely this will be fine. It's not like he has any pre-existing trauma about having to take public accountability for crimes, or anything.
I'll probably make a log for the trial "event" itself, but most of his threads this month will probably tie into it somehow. He'll definitely approach either Ms. Casey or Palamedes to charge himself with Kyubey's murder--probably Palamedes, though I could see it going either way--and I'd love to do a thread with Xingchen this month, considering he's the (indirect, unknowing) reason Ademnet committed the murder in the first place. Beyond that, it's open season: come console him, get the gossip, or call him an idiot, as your characters see fit.
Event Plans: Ademnet will want nothing to do with the mist, but he's in absolutely no mood to sleep in a room with everybody else. He'll be roughing it this month, probably sleeping in a tree by the hot springs. (That's fine, too. Everything's fine.)
He'll go down into the cellar if he has to--somebody has to process the mystery meat, and it's better than sitting still--but he will not stay there any longer than he has to. Aside from the generally putrid vibes down there, he's got bad memories of being locked underground the last time he had to face a judgment. The last thing he wants to do is give anyone the opportunity to shut the doors and leave him there, however irrational that fear might be.
Anything Else: It's my birthday this month, so my wife says you all have to be extra nice to me. :)
Re: Ademnet | OC
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Speaking of the trial stuff! Given Pal's and Ademnet's conversation, how do you picture him telling people about their justice system idea? Pal would both advocate finding some kind of way to get everyone's thoughts and buy-in, but would also encourage Ademnet to lead the way--both because it was his idea, and because people seem to get mad whenever Pal suggests a group project.
On another note (sorry, I just realized there were so many things for us to touch base on lol): would Ademnet have done anything to follow up with Pal after this convo with Kaz? I'm happy to play it out or handwave, though I'd definitely want to game it out a little bit if we're handwaving, since Pal is likely to be genuinely confused about what he's supposed to have done.
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AND YES, he would follow up with Pal about the garden! Obviously, not with Kaz's approach--he'd approach it more as "hey, uh, so you know, Kaz thinks the dead body parts showing up in the garden has something to do with the dead bodies you had working there. is that possible?" and then ask if Pal can just agree to not use skeleton gardeners if Ademnet manages to get a garden going again, for the sake of keeping the peace. (Ademnet will also admit that the skeletons creeped him the hell out and he personally doesn't want to work with them.) I'm happy to thread this out, I think it would be a funny conversation!
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And cool! Yes, let's do a skeleton discussion thread! Pal will think everyone is being silly, but won't be much of a dick about it. He will also point out that he has some skeletons helping Alex with the tree-chopping, but Ademnet is gonna have to talk to Alex if he wants that to change, since Pal feels like he already promised Alex that help!
Also, oocly, I do help that in the future Pal can do some fun skeleton stuff without people turning against him. ICly Pal honestly doesn't care that much, but I think that having him make constructs is a neat way for him to contribute to the survival-y aspects of the game, and I hope I can tap into that without it becoming IC drama every time!
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And yeah, sounds like a good candidate for Happenings posts!
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Pronouns: she/they
Contact: scrying would probably work. otherwise i'm in the game discord or on plurk @ moonlanding
Character Name: Casey
CR Preferences: let's get weird and dramatic
Permissions: boop
General Plans: Eagle-eyed readers might notice that I have omitted the "Ms." from her name! Casey is going to be testing out dropping the title and just going by Casey. Happy to thread out Casey asking your character to make the change for anyone who wants it, otherwise I'll just make this into a little happenings! She will also still be reeling from her first ever murder which will definitely shape how she approaches the event.
Event Plans:
the blooming: I think it would be very fun for Casey to try and climb a tree (she is taking inspiration from Ash's cabin which ngl she will probably also hit up). Probably she will eat shit while doing it which is a canon event in any person's life. Otherwise I would be very happy for Life Chats up in the sanctuary or by the hot springs since night time is obviously the best time for those.
a sharp turn: Casey herself has not had much in the way of near-death experiences here, so I'm considering having her get got by the monster in the fog. Viscerally understanding that she is trapped in this town just like she was trapped in Lumon will make her feel some type of way!
the descent: let Casey have a cleaver!!!! she'll dutifully take inventory of this new, creepier storeroom for the crows. I also personally love doing little IC rituals and Casey is having fun with funerals so I also think placing some of the finger fungi on the altar might be a neat way to pass the time, although Casey probably wouldn't think to do it unless it came up in conversation with someone else. No more science-based horror we are doing esoteric magics now thanks
Anything Else: Casey, now that she is a COLD HARDENED KILLER (no)
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Kaz Brekker | Six of Crows
Pronouns: she/them
Contact: memegod420 on discord
Character Name: Kaz Brekker
CR Preferences: up for anything!
Permissions: here!
General Plans: Kaz is still desperately trying to pretend he's still in charge here. He may be doing mild amounts of 'pushing his friends away' as a result of cursed knowledge he now has, which might just tie in great with the fact that some of them are...attempting to invent the reinvent the concept of laws??? He will still be discouraging his fellow Crows from bothering Ash's cabin as a result of the promise he made (hypocritical considering he stole from her, but it is what it is).
Event Plans: In lieu of an offical Crow meeting he will instead be heavily encouraging his fellow Crows to gather in the Sanctuary to sleep/spend the evenings. This is because he wants to sleep in the Sanctuary but doesn't want to do it alone, and because he wants as many eyes possible on those weapons. He will be taking at least one knife, thank you. He will not be doing any investigating or poking around in the fog, because frankly after the second time he's grown a little tired of dying.
He will likely be spending the majority of his time in the Sanctuary actually.
Anything Else: preemptively apologizing for how goddamn angsty Kaz might be this month. he's such a pathetic wet rat of a man.
Nova | OC
Pronouns: she/they
Contact: memegod420 on discord
Character Name: Nova
CR Preferences: anything!
Permissions: here!
General Plans: Nova killed someone last month and attempted to kill at least one other person, so I'm anticipating she'll likely have some kind of fallout from those situations. If there's a trial happening for murder she'll be wondering if they'll come for her next, but it's something she'd be more curious about than worried.
Event Plans: She has low tolerance for personal discomfort and as soon as she cannot manage to magically redirect the fog, she will unmagically redirect herself. She'll be spending most nights at the hot springs, so that she can have 1-in-1 fog avoidance and relaxing spa evenings.
Although the thought won't occur to her to investigate, if anyone else suggests it she will gladly go along with it even if it's just so she can serve as bait or something. If she stumbles across anyone bleeding out or dying she'll do her best to help them so that she can get in their good graces.
She won't do much in the way of helping with the new food source, she exists to be served food, not to prepare it.
Anything Else: I'd love for Nova to get the chance to interact with some of the people she hasn't really met yet!
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Pronouns: she/her
Contact: @/tzviaariella on Plurk and Discord
Character Name: Mirnatius
CR Preferences: He inspires strong emotions in people. Not usually good ones, but strong.
Permissions: Here
General Plans: He's resigned himself to the fact this is going to be a long-term stay, so now he's gritting his teeth and trying to make it through, even if it means being part of the group somewhat. He'll still be trying to hunt, and he'll even share what he catches in return for being allowed to use the newfound butchering tools. He may also suggest to some of the people he tentatively respects that perhaps they should copy Ash and build new shelters up above the reach of the mist, and maybe even offer to help with such an enterprise. (Not because he wants to be helpful, mind you. God forbid. He just wants the forced group sleepovers to stop.)
He will think Kaz's gang members killing each other is really fucking funny, but have no opinion on Ademnet beyond that.
Event Plans: There is no amount of mist that will convince him to spend even a single night in the same room as Kaz. Fortunately, Mirnatius will have zero qualms about spending time in the creepy meat cellar. Unless Rownan forbids it or anybody else claims it first, that's where he'll sleep.
Anything Else: I neglected my boy a bit last month, so here's hoping I can make up for it this time!
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Alexander J. Mercer | [PROTOTYPE]
Pronouns: he/him
Contact: place my sigil, made from silver, on your lapel and summon me while facing the east (use discord for most reliable access to me)
Character Name: alexander j. mercer, or zeus
CR Preferences: none :)
Permissions: click on my journal it's the only post on it currently
General Plans: true to alex's words to various people, the logging project is going to be slowing down on the actual logging front this month as they have a pretty good stockpile at this point. the project will be more focusing on the tapping, construction, and further processing of the wood, resin, gum, and other resources they have collected. though, even this much is likely to be slower than he'd like for it to be, what with the fog situation limiting work hours
Event Plans: there is absolutely a part of alex that wonders if the project might've had something to do with the mist doing that, but the note suggests that this is a regular occurrence? regardless, he doesn't actually care, because he's an asshole like that. at first he'll try to kill the invisible creature things, but when that fails to work he'll swiftly resolve to just ignore them if he can't just avoid going out around town at night
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Pronouns: she/her
Contact: historein on discord and plurk. Either are fine, but I definitely check plurk more consistently.
Character Name: Palamedes Sextus
CR Preferences: In general I am down for any and all CR, but this month I’d love to spend time developing CR with characters who like him, or at the very least, are interested in working with him to make their lives in this hellscape better.
Permissions: Here
General Plans:
Like I indicated above, I’d love to spend some time deepening his connections with other people this month! Pal isn’t someone who makes close friends easily, but once he does, he’s pretty ride-or-die. Up until now, he has been keeping a fairly professional distance even from people he likes, and I’d love to break through that a bit.
Event Plans:
Fog—As things get dicey, Pal will start spending evenings in the sanctuary. He will be doing some trips into the fog with Cam, though, both for the sake of his own curiosity and to look for people who might be lost out there and help them to safety. Would love to have them rescue some people if anyone’s into that! :D
Spooky abattoir—Pal is obviously going to be doing some investigating! Here’s what he’ll find out. As a result, he’ll be pinning an unsigned note to a couple of the slabs of meat that reads, “HUMAN: DO NOT EAT.” Otherwise, he’d love to discuss his (creepy creepy) findings with anyone who might be interested.
Additionally, Cam and Pal will be spending time testing all the weapons to figure out which scientifically suit her best because they are dorks even when it comes to violence. They won't really involve people in this (unless others are curious), but folks are likely to see them around practicing.
Anything Else: idk, hit me up with your ideas
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