reddosmod: (Default)
Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] deercountry2022-06-08 05:26 pm

has the moon lost her memory?

JUNE 2022 EVENT
BRIEF EVENT INFORMATION IF NECESSARY

IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Prompt One
[Image One: A person laying asleep in bed with a black cat watching them. ]
[Image Two: Someone sleeping in a bed with a demonic looking figure crouched over them, a long finger with a sharpened nail pointing towards the sleeper. ]

Prompt Two
[Image One: A set of scrolls with gold ink on them bound with a maroon ribbon around the center. ]
[Image Two: A GIF of Rick, Evie, and Jonathan from the movie The Mummy walking into a dark, underground room holding torches to light the way. ]

Prompt Three
[Image One: A black and white photograph of a long stone hallway. A girl with long hair and a white dress is standing in the center of the image. The girl is see-through, implying she is a ghost. ]
[Image Two: A series of traditional Japanese gates in the woods with steps leading up to an unknown location. There are statues between each gate as you head up. Everything is covered in moss and looks abandoned. The sun is shining through the gates. ]

DON'T GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS
WHEN: June
WHERE: Everywhere in Trench
CONTENT WARNINGS: Living nightmares, violence, possible death


In a place like Trench, nightmares are probably par for the course for many. Whether it's things from home or new fears that have been discovered in new worlds, there's plenty of fodder for the mind to create the scariest dreams off of. Waking from them is easy enough though, isn't it? A shake from a friend or a frightening enough moment and the brain jolts awake. Someone who doesn't have to sleep would never have to worry at all.

At least until this month. Throughout June, Sleepers are finding themselves plagued with nightmares; whether it's when they fall asleep, or nightmarish daydreams when they zone out during the day, their worst fears and memories will play in their heads, and no one can wake them or startle them out of it. A person stuck in a nightmare might look like they're in some kind of trance, only waking when they reach a part of their nightmare that becomes too much and their mind finally startles them awake.

Even if a Sleeper was trying to find rest in traditional sleep, they'll awaken more exhausted than they were before. In fact, people plagued by these nightmares almost look like there is something draining their life force from them entirely. They'll start to show typical signs of weakness: ashen skin, circles under the eyes, clumsiness, etc. As the month wears on, the worse it looks. What's even more strange is they may start to show signs of injury they sustained inside the nightmares. Scrapes, bruises, even awful gashes start to manifest. If one isn't careful, the nightmare might literally kill them.

The worse someone looks, the more it starts to become apparent there's something clinging to them. A usually invisible monster latched onto their back. It's humanoid in shape, but it's skin is black and scaley, and it's fingers seem to be extra long, with razor sharp nails at the tips. It's legs are wrapped tightly around the person suffering from the nightmares, a demon taking a nice piggyback ride from it's victims. Anyone can put two and two together that these demons are likely causing the nightmares.

The demons can be defeated one of two ways: 1) Someone who sees it clinging to another person can attempt to fight it for the sufferer. It's the more challenging option in some ways, as it's almost impossible to fight the demon without injuring or killing the person it's attached to. Every blow seems to make the Sleeper being clung to weaker and there's an obvious risk of hitting them with any spells or weapons. If the fighter can get a quick, clean kill, however, then they can save the Sleeper suffering from nightmares before it can drain them of all their life energy.

2) The next option, and arguably less painful, is found in a clip from an old book on dreamscapes, for those who do their research:
...In order to rid yourself of the demon, you'll need a helping hand. The ritual is simple, but takes time, and more importantly, vulnerability.

In a quiet room, hold hands with another person, hopefully someone you trust deeply. If you close your eyes at the same time, you will find yourselves transported into the nightmare realm that has plagued you for who knows how long. Together, you must explore the nightmare, turning over every metaphorical stone until you find the demon hiding in the realm. It may be at the end of the dream/memory you're living through, or it may be hidden in the parts that frighten you most. Regardless, the demon must be faced, calmed, and eventually released.
What it means by "faced, calmed, and eventually released" is, of course, not entirely clear. This is because it may be unique to each individual. Fighting the demon physically won't work here, though. The Sleeper must discuss their memory/nightmare, facing their fear and opening up about the emotions that have created this nightmare world. Is it guilt over the death of another? Uncertainty in one's past actions? A fear of never being enough? No matter the reason, it must be divulged to the person who has accompanied the Sleeper into their nightmare. Once the emotions have been fully divulged, the demon will glow white, before slowly dissolving into glitter and blowing away.

QUICK FACTS: 1. Regular weapons and magic will work against the demon, but will harm the person the demon is attached to at the same time. If the demon is killed too slowly, the Sleeper will die with them.

2. If a demon is attached to a person for too long, it will eventually kill them. This is up to the player, but should take at minimum a week, and at maximum three weeks.

3. All demons will disappear by the end of June, regardless of whether or not they've been defeated.

4. Characters can figure out the ritual/solution to calming the demons without ever finding the book.

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
WHEN: June
WHERE: Various points in the city.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Earthquakes, claustrophobia, insects, body horror, death


Early in June, the ground around the city will start to shake. It will be quiet at first, but slowly grow, until there's a feeling of a full-blown earthquake under people's feet. The structures of the city will not be impacted, but people can still be thrown to their feet, and objects can fall from shelves or furniture may tip over.

When all is settled, while the buildings may be in tact, there will be large holes in the streets, and caved in areas in the woods, and ice caverns exposed under the ground of Shiver. These holes will be hard to see down to judge what's inside of them, but not so deep that they can't be easily climbed into without injury. Those who are brave enough to go inside will find that the noises of the city don't reach underground— and neither does the light. Anyone who wants to explore will need torches or lanterns of some sort to be able to light the way.

The holes lead to tunnels that run under the city streets. These tunnels aren't mapped and they twist and turn in ways that don't always make sense. It seems almost like some sort of maze, clearly meant to trick and confuse people who are trying to look inside of them. Sometimes people will simply run into solid walls that block off their path. Others might lead to actual traps. There are rooms that have flesh eating insects crawling on the wall, ready to pounce no whoever comes inside. Other rooms are filled with gases that will eat away at people from the inside, causing them to cough up blood, eventually killing them if they don't get to clean air quickly.

But some rooms will be filled with old treasures. Shelves lined with old books, covered in dust. Scrolls that are stuffed into chests with ancient objects. Most of these books and scrolls have information that is readily available in the archives, but locked chests that have been undisturbed for who knows how long hold information that may have been lost to time.

One room has a small book on Pthumerians as a race. It does not focus on the Patron Pthumerians, but on the general population of them. It discusses the early history of the Pthumerians and their admiration of humanity. It tells the lore of the Sleepers and how Pthumerians populated the world when much of it was destroyed by Sodder's dream world took over. An excerpt can be read here.

Another room holds a scroll that is tightly sealed. It can be opened peacefully with a drop of Vileblood placed directly onto the wax, causing it to melt away quickly. If it is attempted to open in any other manner, the wax will spray acid into the air, harming anyone near by with deep burns. The scroll itself will remain undamaged. Once opened, the scroll is difficult to read. The ink is faded and it's hard to tell if it was even written in any known language. There will be one passage that can be made out, discussing the history of the world while Sodder dreamed. It can be read here.

The last room holds a small, thin book on a brief history of Maine. It's brief, many pages have been ripped or damaged by time, but it's one of the rarest history books in this world. It seems as though it might have been written for tourists once upon a time, but when the book is brought to the Archives, it will be treated as one of the most highly prized treasures that anyone could have found.

All three of these rooms as well as a handful of other chambers that can be found will have useful items inside the chests and laying on shelves as well. There are various shaped bloodstones that can be used to improve the powers of various weapons, as well as blood gem tools that can help people to start to make their own stones from their blood without having to hire a jeweler in town. These stones would be weaker than those that have been made by people with years of experience, but it's a good starting point for those who want to learn the trade. There are also large, round, glowing white orbs that almost look like the moon: these orbs will help to ease the impact of blood pollution with their glow and can be used to help grow crops or ease corruption. The glow from the orb will become dimmer with use and go out entirely after two weeks. It can be recharged by being left outside for a night under the glowingfull moon.

QUICK FACTS: 1. Each character can only have one orb. Trying to take more than one will cause them to shatter.

2. Characters can get multiple tools, but will only be able to use them one at a time, so it's up to them on whether or not it's worth it to carry them. They're pretty heavy.

3. Feel free to have characters find objects from their worlds hidden among the treasures in each of the rooms. These can be rare items from home as well as every day items.

THAT'S THE SPIRIT
WHEN: June
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Ghosts/supernatural horror


It's not uncommon for people to be haunted by their pasts in Trench. It's something Sleepers have come to warn others about when they first arrived, knowing that this place likes to dig into the memories people least want to explore, and force you to... Well, work on your issues. The nightmares this month have been proof enough of that.

But it's become even more apparent now. At first, Sleeper's might think that they see something out of the corner of their eyes, or they might get the sense of being watched, but when they turn to look, nothing will be there. This feeling becomes more and more persistent, with a certainty that there truly was something there before growing stronger. There will start to be reflections in mirrors and windows that look familiar, but are gone again when someone tries to confirm the reality of the situation.

Then they start to linger. Ghosts from the past. They can't speak, and with some, it's hard to tell if they're really aware they're there at all. Maybe the ghost is going through an old ritual, a daily habit that was performed over and over without end. Or worse, maybe they're reliving their last moments, taking their last breaths, feeling the pain of their death again and again with no way to stop it.

Eventually, these ghosts can start to become aggressive. They'll be more aware of their presence in this world and they won't be happy with it. They'll start to smash objects, tear apart rooms, and even attack the people they're haunting, no matter how much they may have loved them in life. They're trying to free themselves and they've no idea how to go about it. Being trapped has clearly started to drive them insane.

Ghosts can be calmed by hearing stories that they shared with those who are haunted. This won't get rid of them, however, and they will continue to become harder and harder to talk down. Eventually, they have to be sent away. A cleansing blood ritual must be done on the person being haunted: a few drops of their own blood mixed with the blood of another, smeared in a circle on their forehead while in the presence of the ghost that's coming after them. The mixed blood must be of two different types to work (i.e, a Coldblood and a Darkblood would be a successful ritual, but two Coldbloods would not).

The ghosts may fight this ritual while it is happening. They may try to knock the sharp object used to cut the skin out of someone's hands or they might attack the person who is trying to apply the circle. But once the ritual is complete, a sense of peace will overcome the ghost, before they disappear into nothingness.

QUICK FACTS: 1. People who have the ability to see the past when they touch an object, either from canon or from this months blood abilities, will be able to see brief pieces of the past when they try to touch the ghosts.

2. Ghosts do not have to be someone from a characters canon. They can be from another canon so long as permission is given from any CR that may be impacted.

3. Ghosts can kill your character if you want them to, either from a character never undergoing the cleansing ritual and the aggression escalating too severely, or from the ghost trying to stop the ritual itself.

CODING
megatheorem: (193)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-07-05 02:43 am (UTC)(link)
That is a problem endemic to us Sleepers, I've found. You can't imagine how many people I've met with that exact problem— it's as if none of us are from a world that can hold its head up on its own neck without unmitigated disaster before and after.

[This is a criticism: all worlds suck, actually. He shakes his head with a short sigh, like he's scolding All Worlds from a distance.]

At least you've understood the first step; trying to take care of yourself. That's good. Who knows, maybe we'll have an off month around here, and nothing grueling or emotionally fraught will happen.
aetherweaver: (running)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-07-05 03:13 am (UTC)(link)
Maybe. I don't know, it seems eventful around here. But at least there's people to commiserate with, if you have to.

[He'd nudge Pal if he was close enough, but he's still taking the lead.]

I'm trying to keep things calm, but it's been a little rough. I'm not sleeping well at all, and that never helps. I'd like to be able to go to bed without fearing I'll wake up the whole house as I wake up.
megatheorem: (127)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-07-05 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
[Palamedes snorts, a quick little bark of a sound, but genuinely amused.]

That much is available in spades, if you know where to look. That is, everywhere. [a whole town full of deeply depressed people and Atlas types...]

For nightmares, though— I don't really know. I'm a blood minister, I could ask around at the Lumenarium, see if anyone knows a good sleeping draught. Blood-free. [ha ha.] You know, if you're interested.
aetherweaver: (frustrated)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-07-05 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
We've all got problems. Some of us just have 'everything in their world' as one of them.

... If you could, I'd appreciate it. I'll figure a way to pay you back for it. I'm no chirurgeon myself. Only managed some basic healing spells... I'm quite awful at healing magic.

[He's getting off topic.]

Anyway... if I could get some decent sleep it would go malms towards helping my mental health, not to mention my physical health. I'm... not unused to nightmares in general, having seen... some things. And not even in my own head all the time!

[He throws up his hands and sighs.]

It's bloody useful being able to see some of someone's past, but not when I can't control when it happens or what I see. And even if I could... sometimes what I need to see is still ugly.
Edited 2022-07-05 03:28 (UTC)
megatheorem: (141)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-07-05 03:37 am (UTC)(link)
I'll look into it. Those lunar orbs do wonders for palebloods just by being in the room; surely there's a convenient healthcare device for every blood type. If there isn't, I'll put it on my list of projects. You said yours is coldblood, right? Your type.

[Mentally, he is taking notes. But come on, do palebloods not already get everything around here? Maybe he's been spending too much time in Allen's Sanctuary, previously a paleblood-worshiping cult building about the Moon Presence, or something.

He just thinks maybe other blood types deserve a magic orb that makes them feel good because of the moon, too. Is it so much to ask.

But oh!! Hm!!]


Is that what you do, though? How? I'm psychometric, personally, but peeling back the ghost-within-the-thing isn't quite the same as tidily seeing flashes of the past.
aetherweaver: (rising fury)

Shadowbringers spoilers

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-07-05 03:47 am (UTC)(link)
Coldblood, yes. It would definitely be nice if we could all have something to help keep us healthy.

[They definitely deserve them! Justice! But he sighs.]

I'm not... familiar with the term 'psychometric', I'm afraid. And as for 'how', it's... a long, long story. The short of it is certain people 'awaken' to the power of an ancient race that's long-since destroyed under special conditions.
megatheorem: (027)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-07-05 03:57 am (UTC)(link)
Luckily and tragically, I'm not inexperienced in designing assistive technology for healthcare. You can trust me, I'll figure it out.

[And - ah, yeah, no, that's nothing like his thing, he can already tell.]

Right. No; that doesn't sound familiar to me. Psychometric— psychometry— refers to the ability to read different energy signatures left behind or otherwise naturally existing in... anything. I could touch your house keys and tell you how they were made or what puddle you dropped them in last, that kind of thing.

[He wiggles his fingers again, at Nara'a this time, for... emphasis? Example? Stay with him.]

The element of touch is a prerequisite. It isn't like getting visions, not really.
aetherweaver: (heroic)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-07-05 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
That sounds both good and bad. Good that you know how, bad that you have to.

[And - oh! His ears perk up a little and he looks over at Palamedes.]

That sounds like something that a - a friend of mine has. She got an accidental one when we were testing to see what kind of blood I have.

[And yeah, that sounds... very different from his thing.]

I don't have to touch anyone. There's other effects, too - like prevention of mental influence and understanding other languages. There's other manifestations of it too - like Krile can track people, or Mikoto can see into the future.
megatheorem: (in front of my salad?)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-07-05 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
I know. Thank you.

[For the sympathy, anyway. He squints a little, considering - hm!]

Your friend's variety isn't going to be a one-to-one match for mine; it's a specialty of where I'm from, but I've heard of similar abilities here. That explains it. That, and darkbloods have been gifted a version unique to this place; it's been unbearable to navigate around, and I'm already good at it.

[Screw this town, etc. He waves a hand, like, he's just Touching Fewer Things, only somewhat annoying.]

Your ability, on the other hand... I'm not sure what I'd call something so varied. Do you have a name for it? Tracking and prescience under the same umbrella is— impressive, to say the least.
aetherweaver: (serious)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-07-05 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
I see. Entirely possible - I hadn't known her to have any such ability before. If you're already proficient in it, I can only imagine it being annoying to have another version to work around.

My ability's called 'the Echo', because we can 'resonate' with the aether of another. Where I'm from, everything is made up of aether - physical aether for the world around us, spiritual aether for souls, and memories are made up of aether as well. So it's not all that inconceivable for memory aether to be able to be 'read' - though I'd never heard of such a thing before it started happening to me.
megatheorem: (305)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-07-05 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
Before; someone from your world, then, and not a brand new friend? Lucky.

[He quirks a little grin, genuine; very lucky indeed.]

Only the one big 'aether,' though, right? For me, it's twofold- [and he holds up his index finger on both hands, to gesture appropriately with them,] Thanergy, the energy for death; and thalergy, for life. That's where the distinction seems to fall with most people I talk to— one versus two.
aetherweaver: (tilted up)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-07-05 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
From my... set of worlds, you could say. I'm from the Source, and she's from one of the Shards. They're 'reflections' of the Source.

[Hm. Life versus death? Interesting. He mulls that over for a moment.]

We have 'Astral' and 'Umbral' aether - Astral being the active and Umbral being passive. Whether you view 'active' as light or dark and 'passive' as dark or light depends on your point of view. There's differing theories.
megatheorem: (023)

ignore that i've changed all of my icons

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-07-07 05:50 am (UTC)(link)
[Reflections... huh. That, too, is like nothing he's heard of before.]

I'm from a system of worlds, but they're all distinct planets you could hop a shuttle to, if you wanted to. You'll have to explain that to me, sometime. As for thanergy and thalergy, we don't consider them up for theoretical debate— in terms of purpose, anyway. Or 'light' and 'dark,' which is— is...

[Is another story entirely, but hold on. He's stopped walking, looking back over his shoulder, then squinting ahead, then repeating the process.]

Have we been down this way before?
aetherweaver: (eh?)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-07-07 06:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Interesting. And sure, it's not something that's well known in my world, but I've... been through a lot of strangeness to put it mildly.

...

[He looks around and tries to think.]

I don't... think so? Did you draw on the wall or not?
megatheorem: (031)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-07-07 08:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Haven't we all. Been through strangeness, that is. Hold on, let me see—

[Well, he's. He's been talking about psychometry, so what better test than just crouching down here on the path and slapping his hand on the dirt, to get a reading.

There is a mark on the wall at roughly eye-level, a few paces ahead on the left. It's definitely there. Here is the problem, as Palamedes straightens back up:]


We haven't walked this way. Something else is down here making marks.
aetherweaver: (uh oh)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-07-07 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
... Great. Can you tell what it is? Or is that not something that your abilities can tell?

[Either way, it's suspicious. He moves his hand towards his rapier, on his guard.]

Why would it be doing that? Just to mess with us?

[He knows that's sometimes reason enough...]
megatheorem: (019)

[personal profile] megatheorem 2022-07-07 11:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[He shakes his head, then stops and goes to run his fingers over the mark on the wall, then shakes his head again. It was worth a shot.]

Only that it's not something I'm familiar with. But look at this, [the mark, which he rubs at with the heel of his hand to show that it doesn't actually come off] This is scratched in. Claws, as far as I can tell.

[Maybe it's... a nice frog with claws... that would be fun, right. That would be easy.]

We're being specifically toyed with, that's for sure. I wonder if it's been following us, and if so, how it looped around to get in front... Maybe there's a hidden passage?

[Or maybe they shouldn't stand here Theorizing, but that's just his instinct, ahem.]
aetherweaver: (rising fury)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-07-08 12:27 am (UTC)(link)
A hidden passage, some sort of ability that lets them travel through walls... it could be any number of things.

[His ears prick up as he hears a growl from up ahead - it's faint, but it's there.]

Either way we fight or we run - and I don't think that there's much point in running if it can get ahead of us.

[He unsheathes his rapier and magical focus, the gem floating above hsi hand and glowing a gentle red hue.]