hatthevar: part ii

[groundrules]

Hello, everyone! Heading into Part II of Hatthevar, a summary of events:

The party is entrenched in Hatthevar — former seat of mysticism, wish houses and Oracles, now transformed into a citadel of ghosts.

Matthias, creator of the undead, has been working local beacons to summon dead spirits from various places in time and space and revive them, in hopes of resurrecting his daughter Cosette. He has offered the party his entire power over the undead, if they recover Cosette, whom he senses appearing intermittently within Hatthevar.

Taking advantage of Matthias’ distraction, his creation, the dead lord Rathakku and old foe Anurr of the winds have been assailing the walls of Hatthevar with their forces, hoping to breach in.

FOLLOWING PART I:

■ Benedict, Emilia and Wrath defeated some of Anurr’s frost wyrms and Rathakku’s demonic scorpions and sand lurkers, preventing them from entering Hatthevar. Rathakku withdraws his forces, with any remnants (up to a handful) prepared to obey the trio in battle. Anurr remains, and his blizzards continue their attacks.

■ Vanessa controls one of the beacons. The party is guaranteed an exit point unless the beacon is lost.

■ Red recovered a substance from a cauldron typically used to eliminate memories. Along with supplying access to some of Matthias’ recollections, the liquid also enables the party to retain their memories of Akhuras upon departure.

■ Five and Wen Kexing learned two possible locations suspected as Matthias’ hideouts.

The case of Matthias’ daughter, Cosette…

FINDINGS SO FAR

■ Matthias describes his daughter as a young blonde child. No such girl is ever seen wherever he sends the party, claiming he senses his daughter’s presence in Hatthevar.

■ Matthias does not seem to remember or wish to share how Cosette died.

■ A puppet master, who worked at the bazaar when Matthias sensed Cosette was present there, says he was possessed to put on a play of a father-daughter quarrel, at the end of which the daughter ran off and was killed.

■ Matthias, formerly a technological and magical scientist of Ellethia, extracted two presumably shameful or painful memories: one was of him giving permission for his team to create a fierce magical storm and recover a power source, endangering nearby ships. The second memory was of running into a young blonde woman who disdainfully said she had not admired him since she was a child.

■ At one point, a woman seen where Matthias felt his daughter present traded a memory in which she was on a ship in the middle of a large storm, arguing with Matthias. River suspects Cosette may not have been a child at the time of her death.

■ If the woman is Cosette, she does not wish to return to her father.

Plenty of action to go in Part II of the event, due up over the weekend. Here are a few things to consider/sign up for:

■ Betrayal: Undead wind master Anurr no longer attacks Hatthevar’s walls with frost wyrms, but batters them with blizzards. More deviously, those exposed to his storms might hear… dark or saccharine voices corrupting, threatening or wooing them to open one of the gates of Hatthevar and allow Anurr’s forces in. Those prone to loneliness, despair or self-doubt are the most vulnerable and can turn aggressive, if anyone attempts to prevent them from their goal. They will have to be immobilized and warmed to return to normal.

■ Part and whole: Characters who own any of Matthias’ limbs or organs find these parts are attracting delirious, vicious and combative crowds led by ghost slavers who have received word (and promises of rewards) to recover these tokens. They may seek to abduct the actual owners of these parts or anyone unlucky enough to be mistaken for them. Get your character abducted or organize a rescue party! Note: if characters who do have Matthias' limbs/organs are captured, these tokens will be claimed by the abductors.

■ The streets: As the beacon held by Vanessa no longer answers him, Matthias assumes it’s depowering naturally and directs his energy to the remaining four gateways. The excess energy and turbulence agitate the ghosts and spirits of Hatthevar, many of which riot, mutinously, and take their anger out on ghost slavers or on anyone who reminds them of their plights while alive. Take care as hauntings multiply, and the citadel turns bloody. Yes, you can try to assemble and lead your own gang of hooligan ghosts.

■ Five and Wen Kexing have learned Matthias has two possible lairs: one is the Whispering House of the Red Lady, in Hatthevar’s wish district; the other is the half-sunken ghost ship, the Headless Dancer, which appears infrequently in Hatthevar’s lagoon. Both must be explored for any signs of Matthias, starting with the Headless Dancer. OOCly, please note that Matthias won’t be on the ship, but you can sign up for a RNG draw to either discover a critical token or encounter Cosette.

The final event write-up will include a lot of haunting options for ghost city :') The NPC inbox remains open throughout, particularly for any deals with the wish houses.

Lastly: please vote on Matthias’ fate.

PLOTTING

Fill out the form below and comment around mightily to plot!

<b><small>PLAYER</small>:</b> <b><small>CONTACT</small>:</b> <b><small>CHARACTER | CANON</small>:</b> <b><small>GENERAL PLANS</small>:</b>

Comments

QUESTIONS

[groundrules]

An apple a day keeps the ghost mob away.

Allegedly.

[blackscales]

This is maybe a stretch, but if I don't ask I won't know.

Way back in Ellethia, a lot of documents were found on the research there. Among them, was information about a lead technician and senior board member, and information about their resignation with immediate effect on 'on grounds of ethical concern and with utmost regard for national safety' etc etc. Matthias then took over, iirc.

... Was any gender mentioned, for the previous lead technician? Would be, for example, juicy family drama if Cosette worked there then resigned because she disagreed with stuff her dad is now into on an even bigger scale.

Edit: Noting I'm asking because at the time, Wrathion spoke to Jon about it, and I recall he had the documents there for anyone who wanted to read. So Wrathion would have been nosy enough to go through them!

[companionsgrasp]

Can I sign up for both RNGs with a preference of one over the other?
Or only sign up for one?

[matermali]

I figure the answer is yes, but just in case, does Vanessa need to remain by the beacon to keep it safe?

[blackscales]

On a different note: Irenia! Wrathion has long wanted to see if he can help her survive (or... you know, undeadly continue on in freedom) once people start to go home through the beacon.

I guess.

i) If he asks her, does she... actually want that? If she's like nah dude I wanna die in peace at this point he'd let her.
ii) Are there any leads in Hatthevar? I know there's a bunch of undead bits of Matthias and mirror and dark water the party possess, but Wrathion doesn't have any of those personally (beyond... the bit of the Huntress he ate I guess, inside himself, unhelpfully). He suspects one of those might help (mirrors especially seem potent power sources) but I figure I'd shake down other sources before he tries to meddle with the more dangerous things while they're... busily already meddling in dangerous things.

[somebadnews]

Now you have me thinking! Way back when Five first got Anurr’s finger, he could control wind to a degree if he was in Sa-Hareth. Say Five does have his villain moment with Anurr nearby, could it do anything like it could then for an extra little surprise?

[inferus]

Hi,

I know there is a conclusion post scheduled for the 23rd. I was just wondering if that post would have a space for characters to say goodbye in it, or is it more meant to like summarize everything that happened and put a bow on it?

Thanks. :)

SIGN-UPS

[groundrules]

THE TOOL

[groundrules]

Comment here by 23:59 GMT on Feb. 2 to be considered for a RNG draw to discover a critical item on the Headless Dancer.

Please note: you will have to thread out action on the Headless Dancer to qualify.

THE GIRL

[groundrules]

Comment here by 23:59 GMT on Feb. 2 to enter a RNG draw to thread out an encounter with Cosette on the Headless Dancer.

Please note: you will have to thread out action on the Headless Dancer.

This RNG draw would need the character to be informed about the investigation into Cosette — even just assuming they're aware of the information summary in this post is fine!

MATTHIAS' FATE

[groundrules]

Drop a comment below with your suggestions regarding Matthias' fate by 23:59 GMT on 2 February. Please give your comment a short title ( Ex: 'KILL' or 'ISOLATE' or 'GIVE CUPCAKE' ) to make it easier for other players who agree with your suggestion to +1 it.

For ease of parsing — don't go into too much detail about the reasons for your character's choice and instead focus on what they can concretely do to bring that outcome about. Please note: we won't be handwaving the outcome.

The option with the most votes will be implemented, though best effort will be made to try to take something from everyone.

If you vote to kill Matthias, please specify if you'd be open to have your character do the deed, in case that option wins and we need to carry out a RNG draw.

KILL

[blackscales]

Wrathion is willing to help bring the fight to this guy! Given they have several... bits of him? He suspects they can leverage those in some way, with a little research, to weaken him. He is willing to do nerd research on this, and on any other tools they might be able to use against him. He is also willing to breathe fire on him, extensively.

[downswing]

PLAYER: ruxi
CONTACT: PM

CHARACTER | CANON: Lan Wangji / The Untamed

GENERAL PLANS:

■ okay, after several years of fighting the good fight, it's high time for Wangji to try out the corporate evil benefits and get on that sweet Anurr payroll for exactly five minutes. I'm going to have him at the gates, just trying, to uhhhh open them to... go borrow... a cup of sugar from his friend Anurr over there... please holler at him, beat him down, or let him absolutely be a sword-wielding menace at you.

■ raiding the Headless Dancer: it's a ghost ship, why would you not bring him along? He's like action Barbie for the undead, let him be your purse accessory.

■ hauntings: here for you. Here to point, laugh and/or exorcise.

■ he might need some tlc as a result of a side plot, someone pls making him flavour, spice and meaning-free soup at some point!

[massrez]

Hello yes please be a sword-wielding menace, I would love.

[silverneedles]

Could he handle a very brief hug?

[weifinder]

look at me i'm not sandra dee and what i'm lousy with isn't virginity but i AM HERE and want to get things done - which itch is currently not scratched thus far in plotting?

emily | allison + carol

[rumorate]

PLAYER: Emily
CONTACT: iluvroadrunner6 | iluvroadrunner6 on discord

allison hargreeves

[rumorate]

CHARACTER | CANON: Allison Hargreeves | The Umbrella Academy

GENERAL PLANS:

I put her in the RNG to talk to Cossette, but regardless she's going to at least be going to the Headless Dancer.

I'm down for her still to fuck up some ghost slavers, should the options arise.

I'm also down for haunting-related shenanigans, once those materialize more.

My big goal with Allison is that she's going to have to decide whether she should stay or go. A lot of her wants to return home where she will (hopefully) have Claire again, but I've been wanting her to kind of confront what that could mean for Claire based on the parallels in Matthias's actions. She still hasn't made a decision yet, but I'm hoping to target her threads in this final event towards that so if you are interested in having that kind of conversation with her, let me know and I will be sure to either target top levels or slide into your inbox/write a starter.

bluesy | number five

[somebadnews]

PLAYER: bluesy
CONTACT: lonesheep / PM / discord chat

CHARACTER | CANON: Number Five | The Umbrella Academy

GENERAL PLANS:
- Happy to play a role in Matthias' fate, supporting or otherwise. Teleporting assassin is your friend to either assist or get you out when the Big Dumb Idea puts you in danger. He still thinks that getting Matthias' power will definitely backfire on them, so feel free to discuss.
- Five is going to have to face some major choices and stakes with ye ol' dead brother on one side of the equation, and a maybe-apocalypse waiting with the rest of his family on the other. Memory potion adds another layer, so expect some postulating about using his knowledge here to change the future. (Or let's just retire to Kamala's world and/or Wrath's version of Hell these both seem like fine choices.)
- Fallout from recent major happenings (Five maybe getting sold to a gang for that handy Matthias location info - of which one of them should share, his deal with the Whispering House to get his memories fixed, and any other follow ups you'd like to resolve I am here for All Of It)
- Matthias' tongue is in Five's possession (I know, the first you've heard of it, but it's true). It's also locked in a heavily warded box he can't open himself, so if anyone does wrangle it from him they've got a second layer of defense. Here for dealing with consequences/anyone near him getting mistaken for having it/whatever you want to do here!
- Five has Anurr's finger. Surely there's some way to use this against(??) him. Anurr owes him and look what he does. (He's also a prime target 'prone to loneliness, despair or self-doubt' at least 2/3 of the time if having him turn a 180 is something you'd like to play with.)
- Leaving myself open to anything, all ideas are golden and I will make them happen if there's anything at all you'd like to do or have Five involved in!

Re: bluesy | number five

[downswing]

I think strongly we should have them turn briefly Evil in Anurr's employment and take some people out, let's find victims.

[cosplayqueen]

PLAYER: Rose
CONTACT: milanobutterfly on plurk | aroseblazing on discord

CHARACTER | CANON: Kamala Khan | MCU

GENERAL PLANS: **Spoilers for the Marvels
-Kamala's goal is to go home. Everyone will get a tearful goodbye. She's heading back to rescue Monica with America and form the Young Avengers/Champions with her as the first recruit. (Sorry, Kate!) She will be retaining her memories.

-She is here to stop any betrayals! Her hugs are so warm, guys!! :'( Her light constructs are pretty good at stopping people even while weakened.

-Probably will backdate Kamala getting those buns because I find her going to get them and namedropping as asked hilarious. Let me know if anyone would follow her or wants to split one with her.

-She's chasing after Cossette still!!! I did throw her into the RNG.

-She agrees killing Matthias is the right call, but doesn't want a part in it. Kamala knows she is too empathetic and may try to spare his life if she's involved.

-Likely will be forming rescue parties to get abducted people back.

[somebadnews]

I am here for literally any and all of these bullet points. Five is going to get her home this time, gd. (Does she know they're going back to an apocalypse, because Five might be very tempted to follow her with the fam. There are tough calls to make.) And did you know Five has a tongue, because she's free to rescue him from the people after it.

Whatever you're into, I'm here for it. :)

[wifedup]

PLAYER: Sarah
CONTACT: qingya or discord: sadgaydna

CHARACTER | CANON: Wen Kexing | Word of Honor

GENERAL PLANS:

Part & Whole: Unfortunately, and despite several words of warning from several different people, Wen Kexing still has Matthias' hand. He definitely has it in him to take on the whole ... abduction efforts, he's a feared jianghu monster! But if anyone wants to be caught up in the crosshairs of that or try and convince him the hand isn't worth it ( good luck ) then be my guest.

Matthias' Lair: I might have him try to follow up on what he and Five have discovered so if you want a paranoid squawking bird man to come with you then absolutely yes.

Betrayal: Still 50/50 if I'll do this might depend on the day but I am easily swayed so if you wanna fight the Ghost Valley Master then let me know!

[downswing]

Putting myself down for blood and battery, as is the way of my people.

[companionsgrasp]

PLAYER: Aisu
CONTACT: PMs to journal, ask for plurk or discord

CHARACTER | CANON: Benedict Fox | The Last Case of Benedict Fox

GENERAL PLANS:

» Raiding lairs: Benedict will definitely be participating in this. It seems a good way to go since they're conspiring to get rid of the guy. And Ben has no sympathy for him after what the investigations have come up with.

» Betrayal: He won't do any betraying but he can use his abilities to trip up and/or capture those that are acting up and help them out. Don't mind a few tentacles tying you up, kay?

» Part and whole: Benedict doesn't possess any body parts obv, but he's here to help out anyone who needs it. Maybe an attempted kidnapping on him would be funny... we'll see. But he can help fend off kidnappers as needed!

» The streets: Rinse and repeat; Ben's on call for anyone needing any help with hooligan ghosts and possess and whatever else. He's a very helpful guy. He's also capable of telling if someone is being possessed even if he doesn't know them.

Generally speaking, I'm just here to have fun! Ben's available to just about anything if you have any last minute ideas or desires from him and me. Let's just have at it! I know I haven't always been the most quick tagger or even very active sometimes but I've appreciated every thread I've had here and I'm very grateful for anyone who I've had a thread with. Thank you!

[downswing]

I'd love to thread, shall we meet on a terrible boat?

jesse ✧ vanessa ives (amunet)

[matermali]

PLAYER: Jesse
CONTACT: cherto | pactoris @ discord | PM
USEFUL LINKS: Permissions + Opt-In/Out | Abilities | Inbox

CHARACTER | CANON: Vanessa Ives (Amunet) | Penny Dreadful

GENERAL PLANS:

↪ will keep the beacon safe for the gang (aka not dying until everyone's through).
↪ can help (or hurt) with hauntings.
↪ violence!
↪ will openly sport her demonic eyes while using her spells, speed and strength for maximum hurt. (may go feral and drink slaver blood.)
↪ must dodge and murder slavers & co. who want to kidnap her for Matthias' heart.
↪ possibly(?) be lured and compelled by Anurr, if anyone wants to stop her before she reaches a gate.
↪ will help any way she can to kill Matthias.
↪ can set magic barriers for protection, and survive most 'mortal' blows to protect someone else.
↪ needs a friendly face to confide in, since she doesn't know what to do if she survives the fight (she's already dead, fam).
↪↪↪ and she's ready to sacrifice herself for the team if things take a bad turn.
↪ anything & everything

[somebadnews]

Here for violence, let's have them cross paths in whatever capacity interests you! He's in a weird place with Vanessa, so he's definitely not the friendly face she might wish he was, but you know... people tell him things and he hasn't been spreading gossip about her, so. Sadly this counts as friendship for him.

[weifinder]

PLAYER: rakel
CONTACT: pm or hit me up on discord!

CHARACTER | CANON: Wei Wuxian | The Untamed
GENERAL PLANS: I'll be doing a choose your own number so I can write a starter sort of top level for him! Trying to summon energy to plot isn't happening, so I'll be diving right in.

CHARACTER | CANON: Licyn Mansbane | Original
GENERAL PLANS: Same as above! I'll toss out some starting ideas as a top level and then go from there.

CHARACTER | CANON: Nynaeve | Wheel of Time
GENERAL PLANS: Same as above, I don't have the proper focus to try and plot things out, but I will get her up with some ideas and run from there. Thank you!

This is more a comment for people to let me know if they want to thread with any of mine, so I can pointedly look for their top levels or make sure to write a starter for you and the character(s) of your choice. January was a no go zone for me, but this leap year February I'm all on!

[silverneedles]

Wei Wuxian is getting a hug. I must have this.

[blackscales]

PLAYER: Jack
CONTACT: PM or Discord!

CHARACTER | CANON: Wrathion | Warcraft

GENERAL PLANS:

Wrathion has THREE major plans here!

i) Investigate ways to stop Matthias. If you have a mystery body part, let me know how he can connect with you to look into options! He isn't aware of all the people who have them, I think, just some! No idea if it will help or hinder oocly, but ICly he would be interested in this so it's on his To Do List!

ii) Free Irenia!! You don't want grandma dragon to die... do you? And if all of us go home, without an anchor she will!

The tactic is to take Irenia to one of the bacons Matthias still controls, and let her bask in the magic. We either distract the Titan, or kill it! Wrathion isn't bothered which.

Then.... ah, gently encourage Irenia out of Hatthevar. She'll be... lively... once she gets her mojo back!

Additional note: If your character hasn't found out Wrathion is a dragon himself, and you want a way in, helping with Irenia is likely to do it. There's a very strong chance he'll change shape during this process, potentially at the end to draw her away if not during the fight with the Titan.

iii) Grabbing a tool from the captain's cabin of the Headless Dancer! We'll get more detail on this, but I need someone to thread this adventure with me since Wrathion got rolled for it!

[somebadnews]

A tongue in a box, you say? Never heard of her. (How long is it going to take Five to realize they're chasing him because of that, let's find out.)