January Event: Setting Fire to the Sky

[lifeaftr_mods]

JANUARY EVENT: SETTING FIRE TO THE SKY

Who: Everyone!
What: The sun dies, and the creatures of the night emerge from the depths
When: January 21st - January 28th
Where: Everywhere! Ensō, Monsun, Chol, and the Islets
Warnings: Character death, possible body horror and violence. Please mark any additional warnings as needed!

So We Can Take the World Back From the Heart-Attacked

The night of the 21st, the sun begins to dim. It dips in the horizon, sinks to nestle itself in the center of Chol like a star falling in slow motion, where it begins to smolder quietly - massive, smoking, and hot, like a massive egg. The night grows colder, the sky reduced to an inky black. The surface of the surrounding water is still but for the occasional ripple, the odd, strangely subdued wave, with not even the hollow lights of distant stars to glint off its reflective waves.

The Jormun gather around the sunken, dying sun with their scaled hands on their weapons, their expressions grim. They fan out across the island of Chol with arms in hand. Their fortifications have settled around the island's center in a dense ball of bristling weapons. They have been preparing for this. They are ready to fight.

Are you? No island is safe. From the well-trodden mainland of Ensō and its islets to the stark dichotomy of Monsun to the craggy shores of Chol, all manner of strange things have begun to haul themselves, dripping, from the watery dark.

No more preparation. No more running.

From here on out, it is fight or die.

One Maniac At a Time, We Will Take It Back

As the Storyteller has promised, there is sanctuary in their temple on Ensō, which will keep out the worst of the creatures. It will not, however, protect characters from the cold and dark, and so they will have to keep themselves warm some other way.

The Jormun fight fiercely, but they do not fight alone. Aside from the help that the willing of your number have offered, you may glimpse the Storyteller battling alongside the rest in a flurry of strange, shifting animal shapes: a heavy-antlered reindeer, a shrieking owl with outstretched talons, a slavering grizzly bear with the Storyteller's signature tome strapped across a broad, furry back, to name but a few. Those creatures that the Storyteller defeats will burst into a flurry of paper and dark, spattering ink, rather than being felled in the conventional manner. How odd.

As this is an event with a high risk of death, the Storyteller will impose death penalties for one week only. However, deaths succumbed during the event will count towards the character's total.

Then I'll Raise You Like a Phoenix

Come the sunrise on the 28th, the sun will launch itself into the air with a victorious shriek, its wings trailing plumes of fire behind it. The phoenix takes flight, reborn from the ashes. The shores of Chol are littered with corpses, both shadowy and scaled, along with an even smattering of crumpled paper and splotched inkstains. Despite the triumph of the fight, it did not come without its costs. The Jormun gather their dead and prepare to mourn them quietly. Those who perished in the fight will not see the sunrise from this unique perspective, watching the murk of the night tint to soft, milky yellow and pink, and then to a glorious new day.

Munin will greet the survivors with a mixture of solemnity and relief, thanking them profusely for their help. There is not much more that her people can offer you, at this point - they must grieve their dead, and she must return to the sea to prove that she has cemented her worth as a leader in the eyes of the other Jormun - but that does not mean that your stories will part forever.

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] January 20th: Monthly Storytelling occurs as usual
[ ♆ ] January 21st: The dark arrives, the temperature drops further, and the first hostile creatures begin their assault
[ ♆ ] January 28th: The dark ends and the sun rises
[ ♆ ] January 30th: Those who perished are revived, suffering from a reduced death penalty

Event Specifics

[ ♆ ] If you have any questions, feel free to look over our OOC Info Post.
[ ♆ ] Feel free to make your own logs if necessary!
[ ♆ ] If your character perishes in this event, please let us know!
[ ♆ ] Item trades with the Jormun can be found on the OOC plotting post here! Even if you were only recently accepted, you are free to participate!

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet takes the cup with an appreciative smile, sipping delicately from it. Good thing she doesn't mind spicy food.]

Thank you. Mm, it's a shame I never got around to asking them for the recipe... I'm well enough, just a bit tired.

[Okay, maybe more than a bit, but whatever.]

[ratsinadaze]

[Gobbet sniffs absently in response. She's not trying to be rude, she's just supremely...tired. Emotionally, mentally, physically. Just tired. That exhaustion has pulled down a wall that she keeps between herself and the world and she feels the weight of all the things she's been thinking about in her chest. All the realizations and worries that have plagued her in the in between moments as of late.]

[If it were anyone else, Gobbet would have just kept her mouth shut, let the silence grow until one of them left the fire. But Muffet has been nothing but kind and courteous and...and Gobbet feels like she's safe.]

[At least for now, she's the safest thing on the island.]

Can I make a confession? Just about myself, I didn't kill anybody.

[...well, not here, anyway.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet blinks and looks at her, surprised but certainly not unsympathetic.]

Of course, dearie- I'm perfectly happy to listen.

[ratsinadaze]

[It's a mistake, isn't it? To show your vulnerable side in the middle of a crisis, to someone you only faintly know? But she'd done that with Ace, too, hadn't she? Ace had already proved herself in the field to Gobbet by the time she broke down and revealed some of the pain of her past. And Muffet was out here, defending the incubating sun in a world that didn't belong to her, proving herself in ta similar way.]

[But this was the pain of the present. And that is substantially different than an old wound.]

I used to think that I could do anything by myself. I could win any fight, accomplish any task, whatever it took to survive and thrive I could just...do it. Which is dumb because I've operated with a team for such a long time. But the longer I stay on these islands and the more shit that happens...I'm starting to realize that in the end, I'm just a kid with a sharp stick. I can't...I can't do this by myself. And it's killing me.

[She sighs, curling into herself a little.]

You ever feel that way? Embarrassed that you can't do something alone?

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet's expression holds nothing but sympathy and understanding as Gobbet speaks, her words resonating with her on an unexpected level.]

Oh, yes- that very particular kind of shame that comes with realizing how close you came to getting yourself or someone you care about killed. I rushed in without thinking and narrowly avoided a very permanent lesson.

[She smiles sadly.]

But in the end, it's just how people work. We're capable of more when we work together than we are apart, and some things are too big for any one person, no matter how skilled or clever. It's not shameful, it's just simple math: a group is more than the sum of its' parts.

[ratsinadaze]

[But that's just it, isn't it? It is something to be ashamed of.]

Don't get me wrong, I agree that a group is more skilled. You're right, that's just math.

It's just that at the end of the day, the only thing you have - really have - is yourself and maybe a handful of friends. Everything else can be taken away. Hell, even friends can be taken away. If you can't rely on yourself when everything else is gone, you've got nothing. Nothing at all.

[What then?]

[It's a question she desperately wants answered, because it's the position she's in now. Taken from her world and her friends, her connections, all her belongings - forced to start over from scratch. And she can't handle it, she's coming to realize.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet shakes her head slowly. Just because it's something you're ashamed of doesn't make it shameful. It just means you're holding yourself to high standards.]

I think... just because something isn't permanent doesn't mean it wasn't really yours while it was there. Sooner or later, everyone loses everything- but it still matters while you have it.

The fact is that you can't rely only on yourself, because at the end of the day everything depends on something else. Even the most fundamental things, like food- if you buy or steal it, someone has to have made it first. If you can cook for yourself, you have to get ingredients somewhere. And even if you grow your own food?

[She indicates the darkness above them, smiling ruefully.]

Even then, you still need the sun.

And apparently now the sun needs us, which just goes to show it really is true for everyone. Unless you built the universe from scratch, sooner or later you're relying on somebody else's efforts to survive. Pure self-sufficiency has never been an option for any of us.

[ratsinadaze]

[What she says isn't wrong, but...Gobbet's world is so small, contains so few things and people. Outside of those things are only resources to draw from. Those faceless creators whom she so dutifully robs and oftentimes kills, they don't...the don't count. They can't count, or she'd go insane. Gobbet looks at the smoldering egg in the middle of the camp bitterly.]

[But even then, you still need the sun.]

You know, muffin, you're pretty wise. You can't be much older than me, either, so I'm guessing you've been through some rough spots yourself.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet smiles wryly, remembering some of her earlier choices.]

One or two, certainly. Not nearly as many as some people, but they were enough to leave an impression.

[She moves a little closer and lays a gentle hand on Gobbet's shoulder, light enough that she can shrug her off if she doesn't want to be touched, but still enough to let her know that contact is an option if she'd like it to be.]

To tell you the truth, I'm beginning to suspect that most wisdom is just having a clear enough memory not to make the same mistake twice and an eventful enough life to have plenty of mistakes to choose from.

[ratsinadaze]

Ain't that the damn truth.

[Gobbet doesn't shy away from the touch, but she doesn't lean into it either. She does offer a genuine smile, but it falters quickly into something neutral and tired. It seems the wall of aloofness and humor is slowly raising back up in the wake of having said something so...vulnerable.]

Sorry for getting weird on you, I'm. Kinda tired, I guess.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet suspects that the matter is far from resolved, but she doesn't push Gobbet on it either- try to make someone talk about what they aren't ready to and they'll only clam up more, she knows.]

There's nothing to be sorry for, dearie. Everyone needs to talk about things once in a while, if only to vent a bit- and we've all had more than enough to deal with lately.

[ratsinadaze]

[Ain't THAT the damn truth, too - both to the venting and the having too much to deal with.]

Yeah, I'm just not usually the venting type. Sometimes energy just runs real low and walls come down, you know?

[Gobbet sighs. Sips at her drink. There's still a lot of night ahead of them and that sends a fresh wave of exhaustion through her bones.]

What've you been up to these days?

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet is approximately zero (0) percent fooled by Gobbet's attempt at changing the topic, but she'll be polite and not call her on it.]

Oh, just the usual: fighting shadowy beings bent to kill us all, preparing for a week-long night, hauling brave but reckless friends off to safety by the scruffs of their necks. Nothing too exciting, really.

[Credit where it's due, she's got a knack for deadpan humor.]

[ratsinadaze]

[Gobbet manages a tired laugh and a lopsided grin. Deadpan humor is the best kind of humor. The rats in her lap both lift their heads as if to acknowledge that they, too, are amused.]

Probably should have seen that one coming. Minus the heroic rescues, I've been pretty similar. In fact I had to be rescued twice. That's. What had me thinking about self-reliance and all that.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet coos at the fuzzy little beasts and reaches out with another hand to pet one gently on the head. So cute~]

[As for Gobbet, she winks playfully and shakes her head.]

Ah ah- when you're telling the story it's not 'being rescued' it's 'winning the fight, with some strategic assistance from a teammate'. It's all in how you phrase it.

[ratsinadaze]

Tch, that's...a good way to look at it, actually. No, really - I'm used to running with a team, it makes sense that I just needed someone there to give me an edge.

[It's dumb, relying on oneself so heavily when you've been running with at least three people at your side for most of your life. But it's her confidence in her own ability that makes her trust the others she works with. It's not like they're trustworthy people, after all.]

You know, running the shadows is the same no matter where you go. Even here I could make a killing if I had a team.

[prettypurpleparlor]

Hm, what would that normally entail? Given the interesting assortment of individuals we've got available, you might be able to find a few that fit the description.

[She's just... not going to point out the irony in the phrase 'running the shadows' given what they're fighting right now.]

[ratsinadaze]

Eh, you know. Theft, murder, saving the world.

[One of these is not like the other.]

You do odd jobs that nobody else is willing to do, for money, basically. Usually four or more people group up and get shit done as a team, split the pay, and either stick together and repeat the process or part ways until you find the right combination. Some people run solo, but that's really situational.

[prettypurpleparlor]

Well, I'd recommend avoiding the middle one if at all reasonably possible, but it does seem we're in the market for the last at the moment. Perhaps you ought to start evaluating how people do over the course of this week, and keep some of the better candidates in mind for your future world-saving endeavors.

[ratsinadaze]

Fair point. This is a good time to see what people are made of.

[It's a small wonder that Gobbet's thoughts would eventually turn to making a profit. She DOES like her job quite a bit, after all.]

Could probably get services and supplies in exchange for scouting missions or resource gathering. I seem to have a knack for finding the mother lode wherever I go.

You are, of course, invited to join the team if I ever get it off the ground.

[prettypurpleparlor]

Why thank you, dearie- I always do appreciate a good business opportunity. I can't say I've had much experience with world saving, but I suppose now is as good a time as any to learn.

[Exploring and scouting she's good for, although not so much the killing people for money part. That didn't work out great the last time she tried it.]

[ratsinadaze]

[Don't worry, Muffet. The killing people part is unlikely to come up on the islands.]

Null sweat. [It's a good thing the island translates because Ace's hometown slang that Gobbet's picked up sounds weird and stilted in Cantonese.] It's hard to get good teams, but you seem like good people so.

[Gobbet shrugs. "I think I can trust you."]

We can probably wrap this unless you want to do more with it.

[prettypurpleparlor]

I appreciate the compliment, then- and I'd say the same of you.

[Muffet understands the importance of trust, both in a personal sense and a professional one. On the level of the former, she finds Gobbet genuinely pleasant company, and has no desire to see her come to harm if she can prevent it. On the latter... well, she certainly didn't make a successful baking company by breaking her word once she gave it.]