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5:15 PM
MARCH 2026 EVENT
PROMPT ONE — MISERY: It is the end of days. Interlopers face a dying world as the Darkwalker begins to close in and experience the Five Stages of Misery.
MISERY
WHEN: The month of March
WHERE: Everywhere.
CONTENT WARNINGS: supernatural-induced illness; altered physical states, altered mental states; hallucinations; nightmares/sleep terrors; themes of starvation; themes of disordered eating; emetophobia; suicide ideation.
Into March, the Toxic Fog of Rot subsides, for the most part. It can still be found out in the wilds, if Interlopers delve too far deeply away from Milton. It’s enough to lull people into a false sense of security: not an immediate, seeking threat but one that looms over the heads of Interlopers nevertheless. Interlopers would be prudent to keep up with their protection runes from Enola, just in case. The Darkwalker’s stalking around the edges of Milton isn’t as relentless, either, but it remains. It follows the same pattern: where Interlopers must take care not to venture too far so the Darkwalker can hunt them down. And at the very least, the town of Milton seems spared — the soft iridescent shimmerings remain in place throughout March, too.
But there are more machinations of the being, however. And its methods can be just as insidious as they are direct. The assault is relentless, and it shows no signs of stopping. Interlopers have never faced such a long time in the dark. The sun set over three months ago now, and shows no signs of returning. The green gloom that Interlopers have seen, at the longest amount of some twenty-odd days, now reaches over a month and will surely stretch for another.
It begs the question: where is Enola? Surely she would have come by now, surely she would end the gloom and help restore the sunlight. Enola remains silent, unreachable. It’s hard to know if she may even well be alive, given that silence. But there’s another question: just how much of all of this has she been holding back to keep the Interlopers safe this whole time?
She had told Interlopers she would keep the worst of it back. Could this get worse?
She is still missing, and the Darkwalker persists.
By March, Interlopers are completely void of their Feats. The issues that have persisted through the month of February end up in a full-scale blackout of power. Maybe it is the disconnection from Enola, maybe it’s the Darkwalker’s doing. All but those touched by the being will find that their gifts have gone, and they must face this world as they once were when they arrived: vulnerable, powerless, alone.
Interlopers touched by the Darkwalker will continue to feel a bizarre and exhilarating sense of mania. While other Interlopers settle into a morbid apprehension, those with Darkwalker’s Revenge are out of place with their dispositions: gleeful, thriving and energetic.
But the hunger lingers, more potent than ever. They are tempted by those around them, and the ache to feed upon the very life forces of their fellow Interlopers is an awful kind of madness to endure.
The world is bitter and still. There is no snowfall nor wind, at least. But the cold is biting. Interlopers will continue to find their hunting efforts ruined by the fog that seeks to rot food sources out in the wilds, but even then it is difficult to find wildlife in the first place. The animals continue to become scarce. Interlopers must rely on foodstores and rationing to keep themselves going.
But for how long? The world is wrong, and it is the end of days.
This is the ending of all things.
“She cannot help you now.” the Darkwalker sneers in your ear. ”It could have been so easy. You could have gone so quietly, as it was meant to be. But now… you will know true misery.”
Quietly, you consider: maybe it would have been better to die sooner. The previous attempts of the Darkwalker, surviving through this world was a mercy. Now, the Darkwalker’s attempts to rid the world of Interlopers is far more personal.
And as promised, Misery sets in.
Stage 1: Hardship — Diminished Form: A morbid decay has set in. Your hardiness has failed you. Interlopers will feel themselves physically weak: they will have less energy, stamina and strength and will generally be more vulnerable physically as a whole. Some days, even the smallest of tasks will feel like moving mountains. You find it harder and harder to do more each day, and you cannot ask your body to keep up. Even sometimes in a literal sense, it’s hard for it to keep up — you find yourself slouching more, keeping yourself small, trying to take up as little space as possible.
Stage 2: Sorrow — Haunted Mind: You experience an endless inner turmoil. In Misery, there is not even the promised safety of sleep — a brief respite from the horrors and difficulties of waking life. Over time, sleep begins to evade you, and you find yourself awake more often than not. As sleep deprivation kicks in, you begin to lose your mind to the endless night. Interlopers will begin to experience hallucinations from the lack of sleep, and will be tormented by past regrets. When sleep does come, on rare moments, you are haunted by nightmares — violent, horror-filled and bloody: your own demise, the end of the world. Interlopers may also sleepwalk, or find themselves acting out their dreams — putting themselves and others in danger.
Stage 3: Despair — Sour Stomach: Your questionable diet has caught up with you. You cannot eat as much before you feel full, and each mouthful feels like a burden. You feel no joy when eating, take no comfort from a hot meal, or drink. It is mere sustenance, but even then it comes with a price. Interlopers will find themselves prone to bouts of nausea and vomiting, or even contracting food poisoning, no matter how well-cooked the food is. Dehydration can creep in quickly if Interlopers don’t take care, and with it comes instances of dizziness, muscle cramps and shallow breathing — and can prove fatal before the end stage has been reached.
Stage 4: Torment — Rheumatic Joints: A painful inflammation has taken hold. To move is agony, as if your joints are filled with glass. Stiffness and swelling is common in the mornings, or long periods without activity. Your hands shake uncontrollably at times, making it difficult to aim weapons. It is harder to warm up, as if the chill has settled in your very bones — which prolongs the pain. You become clumsy and accident-prone. In some cases, Interlopers can experience chest pains.
Stage 5: Ruin — Broken Body: Your body carries the weight of a dying world. In the final stage of Misery, you feel close to the end. You are prone to melancholy and suicidal thoughts. Death would be kinder. Wounds will take longer to heal, illness will take longer to recover from. You bleed more freely. You begin to experience hallucinations of loved ones, from home or here in the Northern Territories. Although they speak to you kindly, or behave just as you remember them, they speak to you only about the end of the world. They encourage you to find your end, try to convince you to give up — by whatever means. Whether it be out of love, or anger, or grief. Dying would be better, dying would be a kindness.
Once the final stage of Misery is reached, it is only a matter of time. Your body gives out, or you choose your own end. You are dying. You will go into the Long Dark.
Or maybe you hang on, just a little while longer. Maybe your stubbornness, or your selfishness keeps you going. Maybe your selflessness does.
Or maybe you remember the voice of a woman dressed in furs, who asked you once to keep holding on.
FAQs
1. Misery marks the beginning of Endgame, and marked a special event of one single prompt compared to the previous three-prompt format. The three-prompt format will return for April's Event.
2. This Event is heavily inspired by the difficulty mode Misery in The Long Dark. You can find more information about this mode on The Long Dark's Wikia.
3. All Feats barring Darkwalker's Revenge are disabled for the month of March.
4. Prompts from February's TDM can be used throughout March, with the exception of the 'Winter Of Our Youth' prompt, as the Forest Talkers have all died by the end of February. February's Test Drive Meme is here.
5. While Interlopers experience all Five Stages of Misery, players do not have to play each stage out and can choose to focus on particular stages instead.
