Hey, everyone! Happy August! Things have been both crazy and slow around here because adult life remains incredibly weird. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m looking forward to getting back to full steam now that this stupid heat is finally moving on. We’ve got some pretty exciting stuff on the docket for these coming months, so this time around I’ll be doing a 2-for-1 plotting post so we can all strategize as far in advance as possible. Also, just a final reminder that items from the Interdimensional Flea Market will no longer be available for purchase after August, so please get those purchases in! Alright, there’s a lot of ground to cover, so without further ado, let’s get into it! There’s one more month of our summer TDM! If you were planning to do any more shipwreck dives now’s your chance to get them in!

Which also means our autumn TDM is right around the corner. Pokemon types will be changing--- September, October, and November will feature Ghost, Dark, Flying, Electric, and Poison type Pokemon available for befriending! As usual, our spooky suggestion box is open for TDM prompt ideas, or just inspo! What’s your favorite thing to do outdoors in the fall? What’s the best Halloween decoration display you’ve ever seen? What’s a story, image, or piece of media that freaked you out lately? We love your input!

And of course we’ll have plenty of our own Halloween tricks and Autumnal treats in store! And of course, as with the other goddesses, Celestine will be here to visit during the TDM. Stay tuned for surprises!

The final living member of the Mendel’s Court of Fools returns after a year in hiding to perform their grand finale.

Mendel, the Prince of Fools, was the first demon royal to perish due to Aster’s machination, as well as the one to reveal Dahlia’s true nature as his niece. This wicked jester held domain over madness, lies, and cruel trickery, and while he did not survive the infamous gala, one of his court members did. A face-changing theatrical puppet called Seemingly, whose voice, personality, and gender swap with their faces, remains at large--- and they have a bone to pick with all of you. Especially you, Jonathan Sims.

An elaborate music box is placed in the town square, playing a tune and ticking away. At each week-long interval, a new mask slots into place on the front, representing one of Seemingly’s four faces. Each week, there will be a new affliction making havoc on Marrow Isle--- and a new opportunity to help end the nightmare. Four pairs/groups will be selected to brave the danger and collect one of the keys to unlock the music box, whether on purpose or by happenstance. Efforts to unlock the music box are being led by Jon Sims, who has a long-standing beef with Seemingly and is eager to see them defeated at long last.

The structure of this event is such that it expands and changes each week, representing four separate mini events that make up the larger one, then finally a last push by Jon to take Seemingly down directly once the music box that’s shielding them is opened. The event will launch on August 9th--- but only with the text for the first week! It will update each Saturday evening with the next week’s events.

We’d like to keep as much of the specifics of the event a surprise as possible, but we can tell you up front that each week will feature a new (super)natural disaster with terrifying side effects!

Here’s a brief sneak peek:

Burning Wrath - based on Seemingly’s Wrath face, an intense heatwave that can reach lethal heights and has strange effects on exposed bodies.

Twisting Wind - based on Seemingly’s Twist face, galeforce winds howl through the town, whispering memories, regrets, temptations, and fears… and possibly taking parts of your house along.

Gleeful Tidings - based on Seemingly’s Glee mask, flash floods rip through town from the Paring River down to Tawny Beach, with water so dark that it’s hard to tell what tricks hide underneath.

Hollow Chill - based on Seemingly’s Hollow mask, a cold snap that kills the summer heat with a miniature winter, freezing over all that wet ground, and plenty more besides.

All of these will have opt-outs of some variety, so feel free to sit out parts of the event that aren’t to your taste or handwave whatever you need to in order to manage your thread load. Anyone can sign up to be a part of the teams acquiring keys, but please refrain from volunteering if you don’t believe you could be expected to complete the thread before the start of the next event (Sept 20). I’m going to be working hard to make sure that my plot-vital threads are done before then, too!

It’s time once again for Dahlia’s birthday gala, this time with a special surprise. Back by popular demand, Dahlia Leeds’ highly anticipated birthday ball will serve as the stage for a remix of one of our most popular events ever, Ghosts of the Past!

It will function with similar rules. Each character can have up to two visitors from their homeworld, living or dead. These guests can be played by you (either from the associated character’s journal or a custom one) or by another player on your behalf. You can even invite non-member players to play that character for the event with moderator approval! For this event, characters will be here for the weekend ICly--- the Saturday of the party and the Sunday after.

Since this event is less intended to inspire deliberate chaos than its predecessor, you are under no obligation to have your visiting characters be more honest than usual about your regular characters’ history. However, this is still a working of Eligos, so feel free to include that if you like. After all, what is a fancy gala without some interpersonal drama? Let’s get this thing as messy as it is glamorous and turn Dahlia’s birthday into a Jane Austen novel in the absence of any spookies! Don’t worry, with October right around the corner, we’ll be right back in horror territory in no time!

The plotting post is a great place for prepping which visitors you'll have for which characters and keeping a reference list, so please feel free to make use of it!

CURRENT METAPLOT