outofsticks | JANUARY PLOTTING: THE COLD NEVER BOTHERED ME ANYWAY

SETTING UPDATES

Wolfie remembered to update the frickin map and locations page before this plotting post went out, give it up for Wolfie overcoming her executive dysfunction finally🎉🎉🎉
The fog wall is starting to roll back in, so no more free forest vacations. While it isn’t back to fully covering most of the forest, most of it will be covered back up by the end of the month. The Golden Glasses can still be used to find the “true paths” through any fogged areas.
On that note, the Forest is also waking back up, which means no more sleepy monsters in the woods. The monsters are awake and they want to kill you.
Sesa & Elsword know the path to the cliff overlooking the ocean. You cannot go to the beach yet, but if you want to look at the ocean over a cliff, ask them to take you there.
It continues to snow, but the temperatures are no longer sub-zero most nights, and instead it feels like a regular winter again.
The river is now unfrozen, so Vash can get his pants wet as he walks back and forth to his house. Good luck buddy.
Alongside that, the river is now full of fish and the temporary meat famine has ended. There are many fish that shouldn’t be in a freshwater river, such is the nature of the Grove. Reminder that the river can be populated with fish from player canons if you’d like. Please give us your weird fish.
Wolfwood and Mizuki discovered Renard! He is a tree-man. He can be saved if the playerbase would like this to happen; this will tie into the greater plotline of players discovering how to cure the forest corruption.
Speaking of the corruption conundrum, Mizuki ate the moon shard. The sun shard is still in Zahliya’s possession. The rest of the shards… unknown, good luck, have fun finding them!
Animals will start to reappear in the Grove. They will be… mutated and feral. Biblically accurate deer and carnivore bunnies and the sort. This is probably fine.

PLOT UPDATES

It is Large Game Month. For those that weren’t here with us for the Volcano Event that keeps being ominously referenced by us old people, “Large Games” are semi-regular events that last for a single in-game day where the goal is typically to survive whatever silly shenanigans the mod team stole from a movie or something for a day. You will see exactly what movie we robbed for this one shortly.
Large Games make death very, very possible, but importantly they do not send you to the Garden, our death spot where you must give up something to return to life, and you will respawn the morning after you died terribly. This is your opportunity to kill and be killed without repercussion, have fun, go wild.
The Grove-wide reward for surviving this game will be that each player character receives a single-use charm that can undo any negative outcomes going forward. It cannot be used to undo harm that was already done (i.e. Elsword’s corruption), but say one of y’all hecks up and gets an NPC killed — the charm could possibly undo that outcome. Do not godmod with these… we doubt we have to say this. Always ask another player for their OOC consent before you unbreak their bones for them.
In addition to the Game, this month, small pocket mirrors will begin showing up around player characters, starting within their nightstands and almost seeming to follow them around by appearing on nearby surfaces (desks, walls, the floor, in the coffee machine, go wild). Looking into these mirrors will reveal your “worst” traits about yourself in a reflection that looks just like you. Anybody can look into your mirror and see your “worst self”. You can break the mirrors to stop them from following you and nothing will happen, until the Game takes place that is.

Anyway, here’s the Game:

One night, everyone will go to sleep (and if you can’t or don’t sleep, you will simply close your eyes the moment before everyone gets transported) and when they next open their eyes, they’ll be laying on the floor of a giant ice castle. Yes, you will have your gear with you. Yes, coats can be included if you want. Or you can freeze to death, we’re not your parents.
The castle will be able to be roamed freely. Unfortunately, the furniture is also made of ice, so there’s no where comfortable to sit down. You will also eventually be chased by a frozen legion of knights the entire time, all hell-bent on killing you. They cannot talk and they will not entertain conversation, they will simply try to stab you with lances/spears/other sharp objects. They can be killed, but more will eventually take their place. If they land a killing blow on you, you’ll immediately freeze solid and shatter into shards.
Those of you who decided to break your mirrors will also find that you get colder, both physically and emotionally, as time goes on. Eventually, you’ll start to turn to a statue of ice. Don’t worry, though: The cure is true love, whatever that means. This can range from a genuine compliment to being kissed on the mouth to being given a hug from someone you really needed a hug from.
If you survive until the morning, the castle will start to melt around you, and you’ll be transported back to your room/preferred area of sleeping. Those who died will wake up a bit afterwards, but they will feel an inner chill for about a week.
hbomberguy is going to shut down our game for plagiarism—

OOC UPDATES

Happy 2024 what the fuck happened in 2023??
We said this in the discord but are putting it on paper: The cast limit cap has been removed, and we allow people to play up to 4 characters now. Player cap (25) remains the same.
Thank you for participating in our silly little game <3

Please use the following form for plotting.

Character:
Status: Who is your character? What did they get up to last month and how is it impacting this month? Did they discover something? Are they harboring a clue? HMM
Seeking: Any CR or plot thread you want to kickstart!
Not Seeking: Anything you'd like to avoid.
Anything Else: A permissions post, opt-in for a character-specific power or whatever else.
Meme: you know you have one.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Character: Add
Status: add blearily emerging from the lab after my 2 month surprise hiatus like hey guys it sure is cold for november haha am i right? guys?

ok but really that is the explanation im going with. IF ANYONE HAS REQUIRED HIS MEDICAL SERVICES SINCE THEN please im so sorry, we can handwave it, let me know if u wanna establish any weird shit w\ Add i WILL throw him at everyone i can from here on out i swear

hiatus aside he also spent those two months putting himself in a hivemind with Mizuki and also Elsword, this is Secret Information that no one else gets to know about (yet) ICly but it will probably get out eventually. dwbi they're very normal.

Seeking: please i want to tag all the ppl ive missed out on im sorry ive been dead... everyone here looks cute and fun let me throw Add at u
Not Seeking: romance. you don't want him also he's already brainmarried

Anything Else: he is going to kiss his two boyfriends in the ice castle these are my only thoughts rn. also he sees his spooky mirror reflection move without him one time and he is smashing it immediately no questions asked, so yes he is also getting kissed. romantic. glad to be back folks.

Meme:

I need you to ignore that I am on the wrong fucking journal for this I'm mobile and don't want to log out,

Aside from what we already discussed I need Add to be weird about Nai and I am also??? Going to bring another science bird in, his gays are numbered

I'm not fixing that typo goodnight

HIS GAYS ARE NUMBERED HELP

actual quote from ainchase ishmael elswordonline its canon now goodnight

I HATE THAT YOU'RE CORRECT

ain vc: your gays are numbered mr. ancient :)

whY DID YOU LOG INTO ATh FOR THIS IM LOSING MY MInD

becuz its ain vc duh

this is no longer a plotting post this is just ains arguing with each other in front of God and everybody (and letting Mr. Ancient know his gays are numbered)