(no subject)

[groundrules]

TRAIN-CRASHING NEAR YOU

Heya, bonjour, think of Bastille! This post will serve as the main plotting and Q&A hub for our recent event and test drive meme (TDM).

Feel free to make a plotting comment, if you want — and to flag if you're playing a TDM participant or an existing character in the comment title, to help with precious, beautiful organisation.

For any general questions, you have the following main threads for:

TEST DRIVE QUESTIONS

EXISTING CHARACTERS

THE COMMON TIMELINE

Thanks so much and enjoy!

Comments

TELL A GHOST, TELL A FRIEND

[groundrules]

Arha, we've got some bad news for you.

[bearshermark]

raises hand

[groundrules]

Wonderful! Most wonderful. How can this go poorly? It cannot.

Whom would Eleven try to 'fess up to, an infantry soldier, a group, Arha himself?

[bearshermark]

Arha himself bc well, if he's braving blood-curdling dread, may as well go the full height. pls go away be at peace, undead ghosts. ur fight is over

[groundrules]

O hoooooooooo! As the first person to attempt to break this fine piece of news to Arha, Eleven gets away relatively lightly: enjoy an entire day of shackled imprisonment in one of the caravan tents, closely supervised by four phantoms. No worries, though: the tar person Eleven gained as a dutiful stalker friend during his purification quest can come visit and keep him company :')

For the next few days, Eleven will find his interaction with the ghosts particularly coarse, with several of them refusing to answer him, throwing him hard glances, or sometimes shallowly compromising his work: if he is holding watch, his brazier will turn off the moment he turns his head. Some of his rations will go mysteriously missing. His favourite sword? Rusted for the day. His tent belongings? Scattered in the wind, when he's out on watch. Some of the ghosts will also make attempt to roughen him up a little in passing.

[bearshermark]

wow rude lmao. well could've been worse

What is the timeline on this? I know it's pretty loose, but the TDM is spread pretty far and I don't think the manifestations begin til this weekeeend? maybe next weekend for dropping this bad news for these shenanigans? or maybe I could be extra industrious and combine both into this weekend. unless that's rushing the plot too fast!

[groundrules]

If by manifestations you mean the tar creatures — they started taking shape as of 10 July :) Up to you whether you want Eleven to be pursued by one, of course!

I've purposefully avoided giving a concrete timeline so folks can back/forward date as they need, since there's a lot happening — take what measures you need, from that point of view! I admit I'd assumed you might want to top level a log starter, case in which that wouldn't be a problem :)))

[bearshermark]

okay! hm I'm tickled by this and the idea of a network post like 'uh hey so hypothetically, if there was a tar creature chilling next to you, what would you do also might be held captive by the undead rn someone pls keep hendrik from starting an incident'

[groundrules]

That sounds like an excellent exercise in team bonding...

[groundrules]

Hello! Just wanted to check, as you'd had some plans for a network post for Eleven as a result of his interaction with Arha — can I ask when you wanted to handle that? Asking because there's now a second person who'd like to have a heart-to-hear with Arha, and I need to chronologically set them for their interaction to happen after Eleven's!

[bearshermark]

oh! pertinent question: would Eleven know he's only being held captive for a day, or is that going to be worryingly unclear?

[lancifolium]

So how badly does a gentle heart to heart with Izahad the ghost bae about the truth go? Let's say she waits for an occasion when he remembers her, and probably after the ghosts get more solid and ornery because clearly we're making wise choices.

[groundrules]

For once, Izahad's manner will go melancholy and listless, taking Lily alongside him to a shadowed, more isolated corner of the camp, promising his superiors he will keep firm watch of the witch — once they are together, he will urge her plainly to never speak such madness again, never within Arha's earshot, never without reason or shelter, or a death wish —

But first, he will say, "We have always known."

[lancifolium]

She will promise not to, and ask him how she can help him be free to finally rest.

[groundrules]

Sadly, this isn't something he can answer — he knows, each year they walk their march, and each year they end it, as before, and it is never enough. Among themselves, ghey know their fate. Only Lord Arha seems to reject their passing.

[lancifolium]

Is he corporeal enough at this point for her to give his hand a squeeze because if so Izahad is totally getting an encouraging hand squeeze while she promises she will try to find a way to help him find peace.

[groundrules]

Sure!

[plentystrong]

late to this train, but Catra would be the person to just blurt out "HEY YOU'RE DEAD"

[groundrules]

Hey! Whom to?

[plentystrong]

she would absolutely say it straight to Arha's face, but if that spot is taken, she'll also yell it at a foot soldier

[groundrules]

Happy for her to approach Arha, though because of the aforementioned overwhelming feelings of dread, it might not end up quite a "HEY YOU'RE DEAD" moment.

As the second person to approach Arha with this particular reveal, Catra will find the warlord already testy on the subject — in a fit of fury, he will scream that he and his people would never fail Hatisse by perishing before she has been released by the Attaryl, and he will accuse Catra of attempting to poison his mind with doubts. Catra will be dragged away for two days of house arrest, under the close supervision of six ghost soldiers, all increasingly more corporeal as the days pass. She will retain access to her quartz stone.

Arha will visit on multiple occasions throughout her imprisonment to ask, half savagely ridiculing, half himself haunted, how it is that he died, if Catra knows so much? Where is this enemy who killed them? They go to Taravast, the road is empty, Hatisse will open the gates once they reach the citadel, and they join her to defend her against her sister witches — how do they die, then? He will appear in real want of an answer, more seeking to talk himself into confidence in what he knows to be true.

After her release, Catra will be very closely watched by the ghost soldiers and will find herself given the worst camp tasks and strictly forced to obey the curfew. She will no longer be allowed to do night watches, if she intended to.

Eleven is the first lucky news breaker for Arha, and their player's planning a (network) post by 18 July — if you could do one sharing Catra and Arha's situation with the group in the 20-22 July period, that'd be great!

[plentystrong]

*rubs hands* CAN DO

[plentystrong]

*slides in here* so, uh. I know I'm late on this, but, one question: can I NPC Arha in my network post?

[aprescoup]

Hey! Please excuse the account, just mid-NPC log comment — what were you thinking of having Arha do?

[plentystrong]

No problem! Just barge into where Catra is being held (I'm assuming some kind of tent?) and ask questions.