deercountry | magic, madness, heaven, sin

magic, madness, heaven, sin

JULY 2022 EVENT

IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Prompt One
[Image One: A statue of Lady Justice with her sword against a man's throat. ]
[Image Two: A pair of hands covered in blood. ]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Two people trying to reach one another being pulled back by multiple, disembodied hands. ]
[Image Two: A feminine figure lying on a boardwalk above the ocean. ]

Prompt Three
[Image One: A pair of black scales held by a statue. ]
[Image Two: A single hand reaching up from the water, implying drowning. ]

[NAVIGATION]

Prompt 1 • Prompt 2 • Prompt 3 • Plotting • Newsletter

[JUMP TO COMMENTS]

GOOD AND EVIL

WHEN: July
WHERE: All over
CONTENT WARNINGS: Violence, revenge, possible torture, possible death, mental manipulation

An excerpt from the book Thus Comes the Reckoning:

Are we inherently good or evil? Are we hard-wired for empathy? Or is violent behavior our innate reaction when the world has done us wrong? This is something that has been debated for centuries, even in the times Before Sodder. Have we evolved since the Dreamless World? Since the Nightmare? Have the Pthumerians and their blessings made us more peaceful and understanding?

While it is true that our world is more generous and caring than the ones we have read about in the Dreamless World, where in spite of our shortages, we want for nothing that we truly need, the very existence of corruption and beasthood should speak of our true natures and of the true natures of Sleepers. There is no time that this is more prominent in our world than in the month of July, when the Reckoning holds sway.

It is unclear if it is the unbearable heat, the Pthumerian's influence, or perhaps just our true selves coming forth, but each July is the prelude to chaos. The pleasantries die off, the generosity wanes, and we forget the lessons of our more kind and gentle benefactors. Fist fights over minor disagreements, people attacking one another with weapons when they don't get their way or wait too long in line, and murders over the loss of a game. Does the summer make monsters of us all? Or does the Beast Moon simply encourage what is already inside of us?

Sleepers will find themselves encouraged towards violence. Many will be drawn to do evil. They will feel a pull to hurt others, particularly those who have hurt them first. Anger will seem like a natural state and many will find that they have lost all ability to reason when they become even minorly frustrated. Vigilante justice will seem like a great idea. Did someone hurt your loved one? Then tear them apart! Did a person borrow something from you and never return it? End them. Criminal activity will skyrocket, particularly violent criminal activity, throughout the month of July. People will feel more inclined to steal, to damage property, to kill, and to get revenge. Torturing others will seem like a perfectly reasonable idea. It is the month to do so and it might even feel good to hurt other people.

Sleepers will also feel violently protective of those they love. They will want to make sure that the violent crimes happening to other people doesn't happen to their people and they might go to such extremes as locking their loved ones up so that nothing can get to them. It's an obsessive need to protect and not let go. Someone might even feel so inclined as to kill their friends just to make sure that no one else can hurt them.

On the flip side, those who manage to resist the violent urges will be more inclined to help those who are violent. Even if you are someone who has never wanted to help another person, you will be drawn to do good. It's not impossible to talk others down, to sway them to being better people and to remembering who they are. It's just a lot of work. But still, those who are impacted by the good will feel that same need to protect others; only for them, it doesn't have to necessarily be someone they know. They want to do the right thing, to protect people from themselves. Unlike the evil, they will know there are limits, and they will not hurt others in their attempt to protect them. But they may end up being willing to, possibly uncharacteristically, sacrifice themselves to do so.

QUICK FACTS: 1. You can only be impacted by The Good or The Evil at one time. Someone who is Good can be corrupted into becoming Evil. If someone is talked down from being Evil, they can either go back to being their normal selves, or they can become impacted by The Good instead. This can happen as many times in the month as possible, but they can only be Good or Evil at one time. You can not be both at once.

2. Characters who can usually heal demons/possessions/etc. can cure Evil in people. Their powers will work the same as they would in their canon/from their blood powers. Game based items that would normally cure corruption however will NOT work to cure Evil. They will still work to cure corruption/beasthood.

3. The Reckoning can still punish you. Just because you're being influenced by outside forces won't matter to her. If she catches you doing something bad and it isn't for revenge purposes, she will punish you as she sees fit. This is left up to player interpretation.

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FORTUNE'S FOOL

WHEN: July
WHERE: All over
CONTENT WARNINGS: Star-Crossed lovers, encouraged suicidal ideation, possible death

Love. A complicated feeling that puts people into complicated circumstances. And yet, people will find themselves focused on this emotion more so than usual this month. For someone who is already in love, the emotions will become even stronger, almost overwhelming, wanting to burst out of them like a song. For those who were not in love before, they may find themselves suddenly easily falling for others. Maybe they will love multiple people or maybe just one, but love will be an all consuming emotion to those who fall victim to it.

The only problem is that love isn't always accepted. People who are deeply in love will suddenly start to feel persecuted and judged from those around them. They will feel as though their love is unallowed, that the person that means the most to them is being rejected by their family, their friends, by society itself. It doesn't matter if that's the truth: there's just something inside of people that makes them thoroughly convinced that their love is not meant to be. Star-Crossed. Unattainable.

There will be an increased urge to solidify that love as being real and unbreakable. Maybe this is done through fighting back against those who are saying no. Maybe it comes in the form of secretly saying vows and loved ones spiritually tying themselves together forever. Or maybe in the end, the only true way that lovers feel they can truly be together... is in death. All of these will seem like reasonable options— or maybe even the only option. Love is never ending, after all, even if life is.

QUICK FACTS: 1. Anyone can fall in love with anyone else. It doesn't have to be the character that you're already shipping with if all players agree! You can fall in love with someone you know, someone you've just met, or even a total stranger. Love is a gift to everyone, right??? Who needs pesky things like introductions.

2. You do not have to commit suicide. You can, of course, and many will definitely feel drawn to it with the basis of the prompt, but it is not required. Please make sure to mark all threads accordingly!

3. The persecution against your relationship does not have to be real. You can, however, tie this into the first prompt, and have even the smallest slights be reason to think that your love is persecuted. Similarly, people who are impacted by the first prompt may be more likely to actually shun those who are in love. Feel free to work with it however you see fit!

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OUR OWN PRISONS

WHEN: July
WHERE: All over, but particularly by the ocean.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Self-hatred, judgement, suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, possible drowning.

Everyone has personal flaws. Things about themselves they don't like, reactions they wish they didn't have, habits that they want to break. Sometimes the awareness of flaws can outweigh the awareness of our strengths as well. It's easy to get caught up in the feeling that we're less then perfect, that we'll never be able to fix ourselves no matter what we do.

This month, those feelings seem to be amplified. Sleepers will see flaws everywhere; in the people they love, in the Trenchies, and most heavily in themselves. Feelings of self-hatred and judgement will be amplified and even those who are usually confident in themselves will find that they're suffering from it. Sometimes these feelings may manifest as a simple bout of anger and depression; but for others, it can become more severe quickly.

Those who find themselves suffering heaviest from these feelings will feel called to the ocean. Maybe it's a desire to go back to a squid form, a place that's simpler and more straight forward. Or maybe it's the unbearable heat that's putting these thoughts in someone's head and they'll feel like going for a swim would cure it. But there's something inside everyone that knows that if they go into the ocean, they might not come back out again.

Sleepers will feel like the ultimate judgement is waiting for them out there. If they are seeing flaws more in themselves, being by the ocean will amplify feelings of suicide. If they're seeing flaws in everyone else, they might feel compelled to bring those people down to the ocean to drown them. The ocean, associated so heavily with rebirth, could be the very thing to cleanse people of their imperfections, after all. Maybe it would be a favor to everyone if someone just gave in and tried to fix themselves and others. For the good of Trench.

QUICK FACTS: 1. These feelings can cause people to become more corrupt. The longer they are exposed to these feelings, the closer they will get to high levels of corruption, and eventual beasthood.

2. Because these feelings can cause corruption, they can also be relieved through the same methods as corruption. Talking, touching, Moon Drops, get some therapy, whatever the player chooses.

3. People who do not address their feelings and/or who spend too much time by the ocean will inevitably deal with feelings of suicide and/or homicide. Please be sure to handle these topics appropriately and content warn your threads.

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CODING

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Chizuru. She remembered her. Huh. She was really meeting people she hadn't seen in some time. That was almost painfully ironic.

She paused though, and looked over at the girl.

"Stop? Why? I want to be at peace. Maybe a squid for a while. Maybe I'd...get to see them. Again."

She stared out into the ocean. It was a tempest to here, even when it seemed calm. Deliliah had helped her remember that.

"You shouldn't! It's dangerous..!"

Sure, Chizuru can't be sure if there's any specific danger out there now. But it wouldn't be the first time she's seen some sort of threat either on the beach or near it, and the last thing she wants is for Luz to walk out into the ocean and just die.

And even if she did turn into a squid.. Would that really allow her to see the people she's missing again? Chizuru can't be sure of that either, but she doubts it.

She doubts it just enough to be firm in calling out towards the other, rather than just letting Luz go.

"Y-You could get hurt, you know..!"

"Is it?"

Luz looked over at Chizuru.

"I died two months ago, Chizuru. THAT is dangerous. I was almost killed twice in just that time. What I want, what this water can bring is...absolution."

At least that was what Luz thought was happening. It had to be, right? Wasn't water supposed to be purifying anyway, cleansing you of the things you did, so you could put them to right?

"It has to work. Right?"

Usually Chizuru hates to tell people something with absolute certainty. Because she never feels 100% confident about being right about something, and she always hates the idea of telling someone something that isn't true.

But in this situation.. even though she isn't sure, she feels like she has no other option. If she hesitates here, then Luz might just turn right around and walk further into the water, right?

"I don't think so at all!" She makes sure her voice doesn't waver as she says it. "What do you think will get better when you go out there, Luz..? Don't you think the people here who care about you will be super hurt?"

And that's only one argument Chizuru can think of. But she can't help but start with it, since it's the one she knows would work on her, if their roles were currently reversed.

Luz hesitated.

In that moment, the stillness of the water, its beckoning and its menace, both lay juxtaposed for her. There was that moment where she could see what led her here: losing so many, feeling the loss of those she failed, hating herself for the things she failed to say, or when she thought her own selfishness had been her undoing. There were times Luz hated the girl she was, the one that Deerington and then Trench had twisted and made different.

In her mind, she could still see the OTHER her, the one that she'd seen in Deerington, embittered and longing for the person she used to be. How different was she from that girl? Had she become that jaded?

Luz didn't have to think long. There was Luca, Ahiru and Zin at the house. There was her girlfriend, her own hermosa, still wanting her somehow, even though Luz knew the worst of herself.

And there was that letter from Korra. The thing that reminded her she never really LOST herself. There was still love, and it was waiting for her.

"M-maybe you're right," Luz finally decided, and took a step back. "No, you ARE right. And I'm...gosh, what am I doing out here?"

For a moment Chizuru's body language is still very rigid. Like every single muscle in her body is tight in this moment, ready to continue this determined act for as long as she has to - just as long as it's enough to try and get Luz away from the water.

But then..

".. oh?"

It's a soft sound of surprise, and in an instant Chizuru's entire body grows more relaxed along with the surprise. She was so ready to continue, yet it seems like she managed to hit just upon the right thing.. It makes her blink a few times, clearly surprised, but then she moves a little closer towards Luz.

Even if it means Chizuru's shoes are currently in the water. It's alright.

"Oh, Luz..! Are you sure you understand now? Or.. Or was it something else taking control of you..?"

It was probably enough of an indication that Luz was being pulled to come here rather than her truly wanting to end it all. Sure, it sucked to be having so many bad things happening at once, but Luz was far from the girl that thought a plunge into the ice and that reclaimed her friends would help.

"I think it's been this month," Luz finally said, stepping out of the water and steadying herself against Chizuru. Boy, had no idea how long she'd actually been standing in that water, her legs felt super tired. "My month's been poopbutts, but I've definitely never had the want to do THIS."

She shook her head. "Are you OK? I haven't seen you in a bit! How've you been?"

When Luz is steadying herself against Chizuru, it doesn't take long for the latter to just wrap her arms around the other girl and pull her closer. Sure, Luz is pretty wet from how far she had gone into the water already, but Chizuru doesn't really mind her own clothes getting a little wet. Not to mention that she isn't too sure how long it'll take for this heat to actually warm up Luz after getting out of the water - so maybe she can add a little bit to it that way.

The last thing she wants is for the other to safely have gotten out of the water, only to catch a cold, after all.

"This really isn't the time to be talking about me.." Chizuru says - rather softly, since it's not like there's any need to speak up any louder when Luz is this close, after all.

It's not even her trying to avoid the question. It's just that it doesn't feel right to turn all the attention towards her when Luz just went through something awful..

"Instead I'm just worried about you. I'm so sorry that something did this to you.. It's so scary to think of what could have happened."

Now her head was swimming with a wide arrange of possibilities that were in her head now about why things turned out the way that they had. But it was good to take a moment to try and regroup, get all the doubts out of her head. Chizuru had come at just the right time, and she was grateful.

"I know, it's just a default of mine," Luz answered honestly, because she would rather concentrate on other people than think of what had happened to her, especially recently, with the run-ins she'd had.

"I shouldn't have been doing that," Luz said bluntly, "but I think that was what this month is about: pushing people to their absolute limit, and some people's worse selves coming out. Thank you, for looking out for me. I don't think I want to know what would happen if I went further into the water."

That makes two of them who don't want to think about it too hard, really. And they don't have to. Luz didn't go that far into the water, after all, so it's a moot point. Though it does make Chizuru worry a little about whether or not this place could have that effect on more people this month.. Maybe she should occasionally come look at the beach, just to make sure.

But for now she just turns her focus entirely back to Luz. Even if the other has been saved from whatever compelled her to run into the water, she's still soaked, after all. And maybe a little shaken from the experience, though Chizuru thinks the other seems admirably brave in this moment.

"Are you sure you don't feel like doing that at all anymore..?" Let's make sure of that first, Chizuru thinks. Just in case it'll come back the moment Chizuru leaves the other alone.. "Is it gone entirely now?"

Luz was already bothered enough about how much she HAD gone into the water. She might have been some frustration and a little bit of guilt about things that had happened this month, but she couldn't see how she'd want to actually go back to being a squid would help her, or anyone.

Luz was still recovering from being in the water all that time, trying her best to dry her clothes. She was trying to be all business now, despite feeling a little bothered by how she'd come to the conclusion she had in the first place.

"No, no way!" Luz replied, shaking her head. "My clothes are all soaked through now, and I have to try and understand why I was just attempting a version of suicide! I'll be lucky if my girlfriend doesn't want to lock me up when she hears about this!"

.. oh, gosh. Right. Luz's girlfriend, and the people she lives or lived with - it's probably better if they don't find out about this, right? They'd just worry about Luz for no reason, especially since everything managed to end well.. thankfully.

Chizuru thinks about it for a moment, but then speaks up. "Do you want to come with me to where I live? You can dry yourself off there.."

Just so Luz doesn't arrive home totally soaked. There's no way to play that off with a story that won't worry everyone, Chizuru is sure.

Luz could probably fib about this to the people of the house, if only so they don't think that she was needlessly doing something dangerous again. Lexi...she didn't really WANT to lie to Lexi, especially when they had promised that they wouldn't do that to begin with.

It was one of those reasons Luz hated these monthly things that happened: sometimes they made it impossible to live relatively guilt free.

"Yes, please. I gotta have some time to think and dry off."

"Let's go that then," Chizuru says.

She places a gentle hand on Luz's back, if not just so she can help guide the girl in the right direction. Thankfully it shouldn't be too long of a walk from here, she thinks, or the other girl might just catch a cold..

"And if you want to talk.. then of course we can do that too." She adds, though the idea comes to her entirely naturally. Chizuru never minds listening to other people, and she figures others can often use it with the extreme situations that come up in this place. "You've been through a lot. So if you need a listening ear, I'm right here with you."

"Thanks again," Luz said appreciatively. "You were great, to look out for me like this."

Luz took the hand and walked on, shivering slightly but thankfully able to compose herself a bit better now. It had been a heavy month, and Luz did not look unscathed by it all, but she did feel like she was starting to get on the mend.

"Talking sounds good. Let's start with you though: how've you been, since we were last hanging out?"

She's more than happy to guide Luz down the streets. Chizuru doesn't let go of the other's hand - not because she's worried about losing Luz, but more just because she hopes it's helping give the other some comfort too at a moment like this. Knowing there's someone with her, someone who's willing to guide her for a moment until Luz is feeling fully better again.

"Me? Ah.. I've been having some trouble with the ghosts that seemed to pop up everywhere.."

Something about her tone indicates that it must have been quite a bit of trouble. She almost sounds awkward just talking about it.

"But thankfully that seems to have been solved. I don't think I've seen any ghosts at all this month." It's definitely a good thing, considering they were very much actively trying to murder her!!

Luz was more than happy for a little of that comfort. She knew she was strong and would eventually get over this, but for right now, she still felt a little vulnerable and odd about what had happened in the first place. She was glad that Chizuru found her.

"Really? Huh. Are they that scary? I see ghosts too, thanks to the Pale Blood, but it's at least not as scary as people might think it is. What's happening with the ghosts that you're seeing?"

She hoped it wasn't giving her too much trouble. Chizuru seemed too nice for that kind of a burden.

"Oh, good! Really? This month? That's even better, since there seems to be so much going on already!"

.. wait, what?

"You.. see ghosts because of your paleblood..?"

Sorry, Luz. Chizuru is not even trying to dodge the question here. It's just that this fact is so baffling to her that it takes her attention away from anything else she might have wanted to say. After all, Chizuru has paleblood, and she doesn't think she has ever seen a ghost outside of that one time - and last month everyone was seeing her. It's not like it was just her.

"Yup. I didn't see them as much before Trench, but after the blood thing I see them all the time."

It was kind of annoying, but something she accepted now.

Paleblood had some selective powers. Luz just happened to get those. Lucky? Not really.

"That's so strange! I have that too, but I've never seen a ghost other than that month.."

Her voice momentarily trails off as she thinks about it, but then Chizuru shakes her head while walking. No, the last thing she wants to do is make Luz feel like she's strange, especially after the other already went through something so difficult..!

"Maybe your paleblood is really strong, because you're special..!" I-In a good way?

Look, Chizuru is trying to somehow bend this into something positive, okay. She's trying her best to be supportive, even if it's sometimes a little clumsy.

"I have a feeling Pale blood affects us all different though. I just happened to have one where I see ghosts. When I was in the Boiling Isles, they existed there too so I don't see it as too big of a deal...provided they aren't malicious."

Luz was already plenty strange in her own opinion, so likely she wouldn't try and judge Chizuru so harshly!

"I think it's just different? Granted, I can also astral project, but I still have to get the hang of that."

Luz is still trying to figure out what Chizuru's ghost sightings are doing to her specifically!

Differently, huh.. Chizuru is at least willing to believe that, since so many people with paleblood she has spoken to seem to have different powers from each other entirely, but it still doesn't help her figure out what her own is, especially since she feels like she hasn't seen it in action just yet..

She doesn't want to start about that though. Luz has just had such a rough time. It's not the time to be talking about herself, Chizuru thinks.

"You're so impressive in your own way, Luz.. You just went through something awful, but you're already talking like you usually do again." She means the compliment, a tiny smile on her face. "And you also talk about ghosts as if there's nothing scary about them, and about having these amazing powers.."

The fact that Luz is younger than her honestly only makes it even more impressive to Chizuru.

Luz figured it was one of those moments where Chizuru might need to find a nice, quiet place to meditate, relax and really try to see what her powers could do. Luz was just as guilty with that, mostly because the magic she arrived with was still the primary focus for her.

Oh Chizuru. Luz is more than happy to hear about your problems. Hers tended to take her on a melancholic wave she didn't really want to ride more than she had to.

"Well, to be fair, I've been doing this for more than a year and a half somewhere else. It's kinda messed up that some of the things that have happened have been WAY worse. True, something this bad is rare, but in the grand scheme of things, I can handle this."

Existentially she's going to have a lot of questions, but Luz knew it was just as important to prioritize she was still herself, not the girl that wanted to end things minutes before.

Edited 2022-07-26 07:27 (UTC)

"Well.."

Chizuru's voice trails off for a moment, but then she reaches out to put a momentary - but gentle - hand on Luz's shoulder before pulling it back again.

"As long as you're sure." It's not like she can be sure Luz is telling the truth, after all. And Chizuru is a little worried about stuff like this, since she's so used to people telling her they're fine even when they're not.. Because even tough people sometimes have trouble dealing with things, and Chizuru knows it. She has seen it with her own eyes.

But she likes to think Luz wouldn't lie to her. Hopefully.

"But if you do end up feeling bad about it later, you can always talk to me.."

"I'll be fine."

She took a long, deep breath. "It hasn't been easy, the last few months, but something DID happen to offset that a little bit. It's made me realize I don't need to be so down on the things that happen to me, that good things will happen too."

Even if you get smacked in the face with more of the BAD stuff, sometimes literally. But Chizuru was certainly right that strong people could have their own troubles that they kept from other people.

"I'll be sure to look you up," Luz said, with a sad smile. "With so many people that used to be part of that circle going away, I'm glad there are still people who are still here I can depend on."

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magic, madness, heaven, sin

Re: our own prisons

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darn it that icon is so cute

being cute is one of chizuru's specialities!!!

Then she's working it well!

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