deernet | April Forecast

Good evening, everyone. I hope March has been treating you gently.

Unfortunately it seems we have a difficult time ahead of us, as historically the sun does not rise in the month of April. On this point both the Archives and network posts from previous years are clear: assuming the trend continues, the sun will not appear after dusk on March 31, until dawn on the 1st of May. This means that we will have to rely on stored lunar power for light this month, as the moon will also be largely invisible due to heavy fog cover which we can expect to descend after midnight on the 1st. Fortunately a fully-charged lunar pod can be expected to provide light and power for at least a hundred years; if your household does not already have a pod or if you would like to donate a spare, please leave a comment in the designated spaces below this post, and you will be contacted by a member of Outreach on a first-come, first-serve basis.

In addition to the darkness, residents of Trench must contend with the annual migration of the Moonlit Butterflies, which are believed to be the creations or possibly the distant descendants of the Pthumerian Patron Argonaut. These creatures are described in detail in chapter twelve of Beasts of Deer Country, which can be found in the Archive, so I will limit myself to the most salient points: while the golden orbs cast off by these creatures can be safely collected and used to treat corruption, prolonged visual contact is known to rapidly increase corruption, as is slaying one of their number. Sleepers are thus advised to avoid looking at or attacking the butterflies, even if one lands on or near your home.

On a final note, I have received reports that portals to other worlds may be seen throughout the city this month, while a handful of network posts from last year describe attacks from silver-skinned dopplegangers; unfortunately I was not able to find more information on these events in a reasonable timeframe, for which I apologize. If anyone has any information they’d like to share about these or related events, or believes this post contains inaccurate information, please feel free to let me know in the comments below. Thank you all for your time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If we deal with the portals again, people should be ready to deal with monsters from other worlds. A lot came in last year.

Oh good, you're back. I was hoping you'd see this post.

I did find a few hints that the portals only open every three or four years, so there's a chance they might not appear this year after all. But I wanted people to be prepared for the potential danger just the same.

Any particular reason or just cause?

To think, I was dreading April and now I'm still going to be dreading April but not due to that specific thing. Awesome.

The information you gave my alternate self in January was very helpful. When I came back and reviewed his notes and network conversations, it proved to me that I was on the right track by trying to collect information on the things that happened last year, and that where was a need in our community that I could try to meet. I suppose I wanted to thank you. :)

And if the portals do open again it'll be good if there's at least one person around who can describe their hazard in detail, but that doesn't mean the first part isn't true as well.

I think we've needed something like this for a while and I'm glad I could help. If you ever need any information, you can just text me and I'll pass on anything I know.

Given the types of creatures that came through the portals that I encountered, I got doubt anything more than 'be prepared' would be useful. I did unconsciously call my guardian through a portal, though.

wait

like intelligent monsters or????

I don't think so. All of them were kind of mindless and murderous so... You know.

aw

dont think ill be seeing anyone i know then heh

Some people did manage to see familiar faces through the portals last year but no one like that could get through. Just like we couldn't cross into the portals ourselves.

... they couldn't talk to those people could they??

From what I heard, yeah. I didn't see anyone in all the portals I encountered, just things that wanted to kill me, but I'd heard some people had full-blown conversations with the people that were on the other side.

oh

[That's it, just 'oh'. Sharon can probably guess he's thinking about Toshiko, about how he left his body for her to find.]

[... It's never going to feel like enough apologizing.]

Don't overthink it, Taro. [ She's got a feeling she knows what he's thinking about and she doesn't want him to beat himself up over it. ]

A month without any daylight at all? That sounds pretty depressing, it must be difficult to keep track of the time and establish a schedule when it's night all the time.

There are a few mechanical timepieces in town that I know of -- the clocktower in Gaze, the clock over the Entertainment Feed (which also shows the date, I believe) -- but I imagine most people will be relying on the omni network to keep track of such things. We shall have to hope it does not go down.

I imagine this month will be quite hard on those with seasonal depression, as well. The days had only just started to get longer, and now this? Hopefully those with vulnerabilities to the dark have friends who can look after them.

Hopefully not, being trapped in a prolonged night and not able to reach out and call someone. It sounds like a pretty bad situation.

Yeah hopefully they have someone that they can talk to. Or found someone to help them through it.

You make a month of darkness sound much worse than it is. You do realise that places where that happens must plan accordingly?

What about simple candles, lanterns, and torches for light? They are easier to produce and more readily available. I imagine those making them locally also appreciate the seasonal uptick in business.

You will likely have a difficult time ahead if you go into it expecting to have a difficult time.

I'm sure the people who have lived in Trench all their lives will have the situation well in hand, but my forecasts are meant for people who like myself have lived in Trench less than a year, and may not even know these complications are incoming. If you're fortunate enough to be used to living under such conditions then I'm happy for you, but the availability of torches and candles does little good for people who aren't even aware that they need to stock up on them.

Not to mention that many Sleepers are used to modern conveniences which require more than a few candles to keep working. But I suppose from your words that you must have come from a world without household appliances?

You misunderstand; I am not debating the usefulness of your forecast, only the tone of your warning.

[ sooo... he's here to nitpick... ]

My world has simpler technology than many, but we still have things that run on anbaric power. What do you suppose is powering those appliances in their homes right now? This place lacks the climate for solar power and you've mentioned the longevity of lunar power, so even a partially charged lunar orb should be sufficient.

In any case, I imagine anyone presently living without power will continue doing so, but may appreciate a simple substitute for the lack of natural light.

Those giant moths are a pain. I might just remain in my house for most of April if I can.

[Of course, what Maul couldn't have known was that Sidious was going to be making a reappearance, so he wasn't going to stay hidden for long.]

April Forecast

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