FEBRUARY BULLETIN

[vestigemods]

FEBRUARY BULLETIN

► AND NOW FOR A WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS

Holy shit, how is it February already? 💀 January passed like a flash in a pan, let alone the first seven... days... of this already-short month, yikes. The intro got long, so instead I've tossed all of the info into the announcements drop-down below (in lieu of any real announcements) - feel free to skip the State Of bit, it's just context for some of the stuff below it.

Also note that this month's 'events' drop-down has been replaced with 'anomalies', which usually go into the 'month in vestige' section. I'm still figuring out what is/isn't too much during the off-months, so this month we're testing out two options - one very brief and avoidable thing with fairly low stakes (gotta celebrate Valentine's Day somehow) and one optional investigation/hunt which might not even draw the attention of like 90% of the game. I'll be feeling things out a bit later in the month to see if this was the right amount of action or too much of it and adjust future off-months accordingly!

ANNOUNCEMENTS OF VARYING IMPORTANCE

• STATE OF TRACE - So I've started my internship, which needs me to be available for most of like 3-4 days per week in order to space out my allotted hours - which doesn't mean I'll be busy for the entirety of those 3-4 days, just that I have no idea until the week-of which days/times I will be busy. Also anyone in our Discord server has heard me openly weeping into my hands about one of my professors this semester, who basically doubles the work we have to do by way of incredibly unclear expectations and due dates. Those two things mean that while I have enough time to be around and modding and tagging, I have a frustrating lack of consistency in the schedule I have to keep, half of which will be solved in March and half of which continues 'til I break for summer (hopefully not literally).
  
  Thus far as a mod, I've been all about transparency and getting all information out in the open as soon as I'm able. This has been great in a lot of ways - it has led me to gather feedback that has changed the game for the better on more than one occasion! But on the flip side, my dedication to transparently laying out schedules and dates for upcoming events/changes has mostly just led to due dates I've set and then failed to meet. Because of this...


• (TEMPORARY) MODDING POLICY CHANGE - Until I have a better handle on my schedule, I'll no longer be offering even estimated dates for when things will occur on an OOC level. IC dates will still be scheduled so y'all can RP with continuity, of course, and I'll try to get those things up on my end before they're ICly necessary - but other than that, 'possibly mid-month' or 'the end of the month, hopefully' or something is the best I'm going to offer.


• NO-INVITATION APP ROUND - As for the 'no-invitation app round' I've teased for January and then February (ripski), I've decided it would be better to kick it off on an event month anyway, so I'm tentatively aiming for March if I have time to get my ducks in a row by then. I will try to let you know as soon as I know concretely one way or the other.


• GENERAL AGENDA - So there's an immediate agenda, then there's an ASAP-after-that agenda. The immediate agenda, as soon as I'm able to churn it all out reasonably, is to finish this Bulletin (good start, good start) and do the catch-all log pretty much ASAP. Then I'll be getting back to a lot of the investigation questions/loose ends.
  
  Then, as soon as I'm able to tackle it, I'll be drafting up a few things to toss y'all all at once, including (1) the next TDM. (2) A brief infopage for potential applicants, something functioning kind of like most games' premise page but not quite. (3) A brief infopage for new applicants in order to get them all of the info they need to know right out of the gate including things like 'your username is fucky for a week, sorry homie'. (4) An update to the FAQ to bring it in line with all of Vestige's developments over the last 7 months.


• REMINDER: VESTIGE BINGO! - On a wholly different note - this is just a reminder that Vestige Bingo (our 2021 kickoff resolutions/goals + CR-forming meme) is evergreen, and you're never too late to make your own list! Feel free to post it in the links channel on Discord if you do, for maximum visibility. (If you aren't a member of the disco, I'll paste it there for you.)

FEBRUARY IN VESTIGE

OVERVIEW.

After the idyllic snowscape of December slipped into nearly a month and a half of Struggle plus an involuntary nap that wasn't even restful, it's entirely reasonable not to trust any stretch of time within the containment zone which seems to resemble peace and quiet... But believe it or not, that's pretty much what everyone's getting. The weather is decent, the wildlife is back and flourishing, and the incidents this month are about as inherently harmless as the Technicians have to offer. It's entirely possible to go the entire month of February without encountering anything more stressful the trials of semi-survivalist life and the latent anxiety which comes with waiting for the other shoe to drop.

WEATHER.

Though the air remains brisk throughout much of the day, the month of February is actually pretty sunny overall. The last of January's snow melts throughout the first week or so, and though the occasional dusting of snow comes down throughout the following weeks, what little manages to stick is quickly melted away by the sunny skies. Very few clouds appear overhead, apart from those occasional snow-sprinklings and an infrequent shower of rain.

(At least for the first week or two, the lake still seems to be frozen? But the odds of falling through are about 80% at this point, so I wouldn't risk it.)

WILDLIFE.

Plant life in the containment zone is finally starting to revitalize! That which survived the winter, at least. The snow has melted away, revealing grass and foliage long hidden under the blanket of powdery white. Though much of the flora almost seems to be growing at first (and rapidly, too!), it's simply straightening up to full height again after a winter spent supporting the weight of the snow. Near the end of the month sees the first new growth, the most vibrant of which is the occasional cluster of pansies sprouting up in various woodland clearings... Though anyone present last summer might cast a wary eye at the blackberry starts sprouting up along the the lowermost walls of some of the cabins.

The wildlife, meanwhile, has bounced back quite robustly. Birdsong now fills the morning air, especially for those who live amongst the trees, and the expected populations of deer, rabbits, foxes, coyotes, and yes, even mountain lions seem to steadily return throughout February. No bears, but that's to be expected with one month left of hibernation - and I'd say that mountain lions are plenty, wouldn't you? Also conspicuously absent: Raccoons. Aside from those which were brought mercifully inside during the frozen months, that particular population has yet to wander back in... Which is odd, considering the return of the opossums and quokkas in town.

A new herd of elk roams the containment zone, typically sticking together in a cluster... And unlike the deer, the elk are both wary and ready to defend themselves from any perceived threat. I wonder what has them quite so defensive? A closer look at the herd might give some sort of indication: A few of them (maybe 1 in 10) have a long, narrow patch of darker brown-black somewhere on their shoulder or flank, the coat there patchy and ragged. Those familiar with the concept might recognize it as some sort of necrosis, not yet advanced enough to debilitate the beast but certainly not something one typically finds on an otherwise-healthy elk. Concerning, to say the least.

RESOURCES.

Since very few people were actually able to make a grocery run before the snowstorm swept through, Foodland still contains many of the blackout supplies from January (flashlights + batteries, oil lamps, a couple of generators with fuel). Additionally, residents will find:


• Valentine's Day candy! Heart-shaped boxes of assorted chocolates in varying sizes, none of which have the cheat-sheet which tells which shapes are what flavors (a true evil), are pushed to the backs of the shelves and hidden behind a truly godawful number of boxes of candy hearts. Some have the phrases you might expect, some are kinda insulting, some are not appropriate for Naminé's eyes, and some... well, some are like this. It's pretty much impossible to tell what kind are in each box, so godspeed.


• Paper valentines of varying sorts, like the kind kids give each other in elementary school. Mostly. Some of them have questionable text (whether lewd, confusing, or outright threatening). Feel free to make shit up, whatever suits your fancy.


• Lederhosen.
The gas station is still boarded up... though a couple of the boards are a little looser, as if they've been opened and then hastily nailed back on.

FEBRUARY'S ANOMALIES

( As an even-numbered month, anomalies will be listed here rather than events. These are very limited + entirely optional to interact with. )

MISTLETOE BLEEDING + EMOTIONAL DISCOMFORT, FEBRUARY 14TH

It seems that someone has hung springs of mistletoe in quite a few locations, largely public but occasionally even over the doorways of personal residences! And this isn't any ordinary mistletoe - if your character's been caught underneath it, they'll know. All at once, they're inexplicably unable to move - as if they're made of cement from the waist down. The only way to free yourself is to kiss someone, then slice them open in some way and dab their blood on the mistletoe's leaf. Even just a pricked finger is enough for the bloodthirsty plant to release you.

But how will your characters know what to do? Taped somewhere near each sprig is a piece of paper, about the size of a bookmark overall. On it are two simple pictographs: The first, of two people kissing. The second, of the stuck person smearing blood on the sprig... While the helpful volunteer lies on the ground bleeding profusely from the neck. It's just being dramatic - you only need a tiny bit of blood, I promise. (If anyone's still keeping track of the Big Book Of Runic Script and Creepy Pictographs, this process is also depicted in a small formerly-blank spot there as well.)

Some semantics! Though the pictograph depicts people kissing on the lips, a kiss on the cheek or something would technically work - though they wouldn't necessarily know that until after they've drawn the blood and completed the tiny ritual successfully. Also, destroying the plant is fully possible, but leaves the character rooted to the spot for a number of hours so I hope they've got good leg stamina. If the plant is intact, they're functionally trapped until the kiss-blood ritual is completed.

These appear in the wee hours of the morning on the 14th and spontaneously wither up dead sometime early on the 15th. Characters still trapped in their grasp when they wither up dead are freed immediately.

"SABA" GENETIC ABOMINATION, HENCEFORTH UNTIL KILLED

Throughout February, those who travel often throughout the woods of the containment zone might find the occasional elk carcass, partially-mutilated. Though their location varies, most of them fall into one of two categories:


• Necrotic spots are larger and more numerous across the carcass, oftentimes up around the throat and head. Necrosis is also much more advanced, likely the cause of death. No further damage.


• No necrosis whatsoever, but an assortment of wounds. Most of the wounds look like they were inflicted by some manner of claws or talons, though some sport what look like small impalement wounds ranging in size (some shallow and about the width of a pencil, some deep and the approximate width of a silver dollar at the entry point but tapering smaller). These appear to have been... eaten somewhat? Or more specifically, large pieces of them have been clawed away for some reason or another, and consumption is the simplest bet.
What did this? Good question. :') As February goes on, the non-necrotic/wounded carcasses begin to outnumber the necrotic ones, and non-necrotic carcasses found later in the month seem to have been killed more efficiently. Could whatever this is be... learning? Either way, it currently seems to do a pretty good job of avoiding incidental human contact, but if someone takes it upon themselves to solve this gory mystery, an active search may turn up a bit more.

How do you interact with this anomaly? Anyone who discovers a carcass is free to post/spread information about it as you please! If you'd like your character to actually dig into the mystery, hit me up in the questions top-level below and I'll dish some more deets. Otherwise, this anomaly will continue to linger within the containment zone.

Enjoy what's left of your February, and don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have in the top-level below!

Comments

MOD QUESTIONS

[vestigemods]

Questions? Wanting to participate in the second anomaly? Hop on in here.

[coolmotivestillevil]

God wait February is almost over wtf.

ANYWAY Geralt would absolutely dig into the dead elks so. If he were to look around one of the carcasses, are there any tracks or anything he could find? Or is there something else to do c:

[vestigemods]

He would, in fact! Specifically around the category of corpses with no necrosis, the second bullet-option above (no prints can be found surrounding the necrotic carcasses).

There would be tracks that look vaguely handprint-shaped, but with one fewer finger and gouges indicating the presence of claws. He could follow them to the nearest tree of decent size, at which point they seem to scale up the tree (indicated by subtle claw-marks in the bark).

[coolmotivestillevil]

Would it be possible to bait whatever it is either with like elk meat or by controlling an elk to roam the area around the tree it climbed up?

[vestigemods]

The elk meat would go untouched - but re: the live bait, how obvious would it be that the elk is being controlled? Like, would it be acting elk-like?

[coolmotivestillevil]

He'd only tell it to stick close to the tree so beyond that it'll be acting like itself.

[coolmotivestillevil]

Oh, also, how big does the creature look to be from the tracks?

[vestigemods]

Answering both in one -

The tracks are vaguely hand-shaped, but four-'fingered' rather than five. The palm is a bit larger than a human palm, while the fingers are half-again as long before the claws. All four feet seem to have this same shape, with no real difference like we see with human hands .vs. feet.

Based on this, the creature could be anywhere from a little larger than the average human to 1.5 humans in size.

As for the elk...

It seems to be fruitless, but that disappointment only lasts until nightfall. Under the cover of darkness, the elk all of a sudden lets out an alarmed, struck sort of cry and pitches over to the side. Sharp eyes will be able to see the silhouette of a lithe creature blending in almost entirely with the night, digging claws into the elk almost like one would expect from a panther attacking from overhead.

How does Geralt proceed? :')

[coolmotivestillevil]

Can the creature be mind-controlled to stay put?

[vestigemods]

Yes, but doing so feels like it's burning at the inside of Geralt's mind - like his mind is an ant and the Axii/mind control link is a beam of light beaming down through a magnifying glass.