reddosmod: (Default)
Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] deercountry2021-10-08 06:14 pm

Because one day, I'll leave you a phantom

OCTOBER 2021 EVENT
IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Prompt One
[Image One: Band playing on moving float with people in masks walking behind.]
[Image Two: Woman in gas mask and elaborate ballgown.]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Man looking away while creepy corpse-like woman puts hand on window.]
[Image Two: Two contorted girls crawling across floor with blood flowing out.]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Headless horseman with jack-o-lantern rearing on horse.]
[Image Two: Annabelle doll rocking on its own in chair.]

WELCOME TO THE BLACK PARADE
WHEN: During the daytime every day of October
WHERE: Throughout the streets of Cellar Door and Willful Machine.
CONTENT WARNINGS: N/A


The Black Parade has begun in Trench. You will begin to see residents painting skulls and monsters onto their faces, even the ones who abide by practical lifestyles. By the first week of October, you won't see a single resident of Trench without facepaint or a mask of some kind obscuring their face.

"It's for the Black Parade," they say, "It's to keep us safe. You should start painting your face too. You should disguise yourself so they can't find you."

Who, you might ask? Anyone dangerous. It's vague and unsettling, but you think maybe they are onto something. Call it intuition or basic common sense. Stalls pop up all around Trench selling cheap masks and costumes. They aren't exactly Halloween costumes. There's less of a focus on becoming something and more of a focus on looking different than you currently do.

Then the Black Parade really takes off. Black and white confetti seem to fall from the sky and you can hear the distant sound of trumpets and drums. You can feel the earth give small tremors and Trenchies begin to flock to Cellar Door and the Willful Machine. They line the streets and you can see why: a literal parade is coming through. Stages are set with talented musicians rocking out, singing into wireless, floating moonlit mics. Incredible, giant puppets walk through the streets guided by a dozen talented Architects. Other people move about in stilted costumes, elaborate gowns. Some performers set up small, stationary areas to perform for smaller crowds. The sky is filled with massive and unusual kites. Find one among the many stalls or make your own!

Stalls hand out candied applies, foil-wrapped candies, and roasted pumpkin seeds by the bundles. Hot ciders are kept in barrels ready to be served up in tin mugs, with or without alcohol. It's a festive atmosphere that seems to go nonstop 24/7 throughout October but exclusively in these areas. It's a good place to go to avoid some of the haunts of October and to have a good time. Why not get involved? Make your own puppet, float, or costumes, and join in the fun. Chunks of the road are reserved for parades, but others have been sectioned off for people to dance and mingle about. You quickly learn that face-paint and masked/concealed faces seem to be a good way of avoiding the attention of beasts, angry Pthumerians, and other unusual creatures in Trench.

It's not a foolproof method, but October largely celebrates the safety of ambiguity and is one of the few times the practical and pleasure factions get along. Get your face painted up or pick out a costume - it's both aesthetic and life-saving! The Black Parade is held annually every October all October long and is considered a significant Trench holiday. Many people refer to the costumes specifically as "Black Parade" costumes and sentiments commonly exchanged at this time include: Have a blessed and safe Blood Moon; May your Seasons pass unseen; Bless the many faces of cleverness; May you go unseen by the blood; Blessed Black Parade.

QUICK FACTS

1. Halloween costumes you can buy at the store won't be available unless a character intentionally makes one. Most of the costumes in Trench are more or less eccentric make-up looks and unusual masks. They look a lot more like Cirque du Soleil costumes than Halloween costumes.

2. Characters can have multiple costume/face-paint/mask changes throughout the month. No one will be forced into these - but it is strongly, culturally encouraged for everyone's safety to dress up!
LONELINESS KILLS: THE CURSE OF CLOVERFIELD
WHEN: October
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Psychological-based curse, feelings of intense loneliness, mental health.


It is said that the Blood Moon reminds Cloverfield of those he has lost over the decades. They say that the howling wind is actually the sound of Cloverfield's cries and there seems to be some truth to that. He can be seen wandering the Farther Shores and watching the moon. If you seek out Cloverfield and offer him comfort and companionship, he will bless you with a worn picture of a loved one or someone you miss desperately or even just a place you miss...Even if it's impossible for such a picture to exist.

Of course, not everyone will visit Cloverfield. Cloverfield's loneliness begins to curse the city of Trench. Sleepers will be impacted the most heavily as their blood will directly react to this curse. Sleepers who have a good sense of relationship may be able to avoid the curse, but those who often feel lonely or homesick will start to feel worse and worse as the days go by.

Eventually, their loneliness begins to manifest as a corpse-like version of themselves or the person they care about most. This corpse follows them around everywhere like a shadow. You won't notice your own Loneliness, but other people might, especially palebloods, Night Walkers, and Disciples. These corpses don't seem to care about anything or anyone and at first don't seem violent...But eventually, this Loneliness becomes consuming.

Once it does, you too will contort, and you and your Loneliness will soon be crawling about on all fours, blood floating out of you in thin streams. You'll be lost to your feelings of loneliness, stalking the streets with your Loneliness, looking for companionship. Of course, you're completely corrupt at this point, so your version of finding companionship most likely involves accidentally suffocating someone or other violent actions. Some people may never become violent once they are in the Final Stage, but the blood constantly flowing from them will create heavy blood pollution and may draw in far more dangerous creatures. You really don't want Lonely People walking around!

Better start some conversations - even if these Lonely People are creepy as hell. But, then again, they are just lonely. Hopefully, you will find peace of mind and find your people. Hopefully, you will banish loneliness...For the time being.

QUICK FACTS

1. This curse will impact people who are more isolated than others. Interaction with other people or animals will alleviate the curse and may completely stop it for some.

2. You can stop the curse at the corpse stage by confronting a Sleeper and opening up an emotional conversation about their loneliness. This may not always work, but the more the conversation works for the Sleeper, the more effective. The corpse will fleck away once the curse has been reversed.

3. Curses can continue to come back throughout October, but once you've experienced it once, it's less likely to occur again.

4. The Final Stage of the curse is the hardest to stop and most of the time, it's easiest to just kill the Cursed. It's easier to kill them than talk them out of their loneliness, but it is not impossible to talk them out of it. It requires dedication, patience, and some serious cleverness on how to survive a monster trying to kill you at the same time.

5. Loneliness can be widely interpreted once in the Final Stage. People should generally still look like themselves. How people act in this stage can vary from character to character and should be centric to how characters deal with their loneliness in general. If they're prone to shutting people out, then maybe their Loneliness is aloof and distant. If they're prone to clinging to toxic people, then maybe their Loneliness is accidentally violent. It's open to interpretation.
LEGENDS OF TRENCH
WHEN: All October
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Ghosts, Themes of death.


Unfortunately, not everyone can gain control of their loneliness. As blood is spilled throughout Trench over loneliness, this blood pollution festers and begins to claim poor souls. Corruption leads way to beasthood and people lost to this find themselves transforming into familiar, legendary ghost stories of old-world lore. These Legendary Ghosts come out primarily at night. As the Black Parade established, anyone who keeps their faces disguised with make-up or masks will be completely safe from the Legendary Ghosts. Though if you go after a Legendary Ghost in a costume, you'll only be safe until you attack them. It's not a bad move for a sneak attack though!

...But those who forgot to dress up or felt like such superstitions wouldn't work...

Congratulations, you might come across the path of a Dullahan: a headless horseman carrying a whip made from a spinal cord, ready to throw basins of blood on you and draw in other beasts. Or maybe you encounter a far more subtle Legendary Ghost. Maybe you see a hitchhiker on the side of the road and decide to give them a ride, but when you look in your rearview mirror, they are no longer in your backseat. While most of these Legendary Ghosts are intending to harm you and spread more blood pollution, some just seem to be genuinely lost souls, lost to corruption, lost to their own failures and loneliness. In some cases, freeing them is protecting yourself and others, but in other cases, freeing them is just simple kindness.

You may meet a ghost bride who is waiting eternally for her wedding by one of the shrines in Cassandra. Maybe you meet a ghostly scholar at the Archives in Gaze. The spirits range widely and seem to haunt every corner of Trench - including your own homes. The only real way to deter a Legendary Ghost from your home is by heavily decorating your home with things like jack-o-lanterns, fake blood splatters, fake gravestones, and various other death-centric decor. This seems to repel Legendary Ghosts as they see it as a reminder of their own fate. Some are angered by the decorations while others are terrified by them and seem incapable of telling the difference between real blood and fake blood.

QUICK FACTS

1. These corrupt souls can be saved through blood rituals/magic/ghost banishings relying on blood artifacts. This will usually put the soul to rest - it will not bring people "back to life."

2. While it is mostly Trenchies turning into these beings, Sleepers can also be transformed into Legendary Ghosts. We provide a general outline, but the idea is that people are turning into legendary ghost stories so you can play with your own ideas/canons.

While Trenchies cannot be saved, we leave it up to you if a Sleeper could be brought back to themselves or if they will have to "die" to be cured of their Legendary Ghost status.

3. You can use famous Legendary Ghosts from around the world. We gave a few examples, but have fun with this! The Legendary Ghost-like creature you go with should generally be "ghost-like" / have to do with death specifically. They do not need to be exclusively evil/violent spirits, but many are.
CODING
notimeforfailure: (Surprise)

[personal profile] notimeforfailure 2021-10-20 01:41 am (UTC)(link)
[Maybe...

Maybe if they both scream so long that they pass out...

The ghost won't be able to bother them anymore because she never technically got an answer! Brilliant. This was clearly the solution. Lysithea is halfway to this end goal when she realizes that probably this isn't going to work out and maybe she should try to do something about it?

She decides she can at least grab Wu and pull him back.]


You're...

[Obviously calling her ugly was the wrong answer, but she really cannot bring herself to say 'pretty'.]

You're... pr...etty... Erm. Pretty OK.

You're pretty OK!
royalfling: (huh | scared | sweat)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-10-20 01:47 am (UTC)(link)
Y-yeah! P-p-pretty OK!

[ Wu pipes up, clinging hard to Lysithea's arm. Probably too tight, but he's too focused on that awful, awful face. No, she isn't pretty. She isn't pretty at all. She's terrifying, and Wu just knows that this face is going to be imprinted in his brain forever, haunting his nightmares.

That awful gaping mouth stretches wider into something like a grin, or a grimace
]

Monsters aren't pretty.

[ She dives at them and Wu screams, hiding behind Lysithea ]
notimeforfailure: (Frustration)

[personal profile] notimeforfailure 2021-10-20 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
Back!

[It's unclear if she's talking to Wu or to the malevolent specter. An orb of light crackles through the air as she dives, and the scene is momentarily enveloped in blinding light. Once it has cleared...]

Wu!

Are you OK?!

[The ghost is... currently not in sight. Lysithea does not look her gift horse in the mouth and makes an attempt to drag Wu bodily out of the alley if he responds in the affirmative.]
royalfling: (huh | talk | concern)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-10-21 09:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Wu covered his eyes when the ghost leapt at them, but saw the flash of light through his eyelids. He's still cowering when Lysithea grabs him ]

Y-yes? Are you? Is she gone?

[ He peeks his eyes open to see the empty alley and Lysithea looking frantic. He manages to find his feet after she's dragged him a few feet, but he holds onto her arm, hunching down so he's sort of hiding behind her ]
notimeforfailure: (Surprise)

[personal profile] notimeforfailure 2021-10-22 02:38 am (UTC)(link)
I'm alive! I don't know where she went!

[That's good enough. Lysithea's sort of stumbling down the streets at random, searching for places that might be more populated. After a few minutes of this, she turns around and examines Wu critically.]

You -- You're not hurt, right?
royalfling: (look | huh | interested)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-10-23 08:07 pm (UTC)(link)
No! No, I'm not. Are you? That was so brave, Lysithea!

[ Wu finally let go of her, his hands shaking. His eyes are still wide and he looks around, like the ghost will appear out of nowhere ]

What did you do? How did you get rid of, of her?
notimeforfailure: (Pout)

[personal profile] notimeforfailure 2021-10-24 04:08 pm (UTC)(link)
It... really wasn't.

[Lysithea shudders as a distinct chill runs up her spine, but she shakes her head a few times and proceeds to pull on Wu's arm again.]

Let's keep going. I don't know if it just put her off momentarily - you can never tell with ghosts.

[Lysithea appears to have mistaken ghosts for all-powerful divine entities.]

That was... a poor showing. I'm sorry. I hate them so much.
royalfling: (huh | talk | concern)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-10-27 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, it's, it's okay!

[ He follows where she's leading him, like a marionette. He feels a little hazy, coming down from the surge of adrenalin, leaving him slack jawed and shaken ]

You were so much better than I was! If you hadn't been there I would have been doomed. Doomed, Lysithea! You saved me!
notimeforfailure: (Default)

[personal profile] notimeforfailure 2021-10-27 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
[Lysithea isn't exactly sure where they're going at first. But as she pulls Wu this way and that, she realizes she is subconsciously leading them back towards somewhere vaguely familiar that she believes to be safe. Her doughnut stand in the Willful Machine district.

And the closer they get to the parade, the more secure she feels in the anonymity of a crowd...]


I... think we can slow down.

[...]

Did we really lose her...? I don't even know if we did anything right.

[Her tone is a little indistinct, as if she's just now realizing what a narrow miss they had.]

But we're all OK, so...!

[a deep exhalation]

...You weren't around the first October, so -- I have to say... I just can't stand ghosts. I don't even know why. It's... the worst thing in the world to me. Even attacking one is just...
royalfling: (scared | soft | concern)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-10-28 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
I, I think we did.

But you did it, Lysithea!

[ He can't stress that enough, gripping her arm reassuringly, staying close ]

I know it's scary, so scary, but you did it. I heard about last October, but not about the ghosts, I heard... about the blood and the, the moon.

[ And the no sleeping thing. He shivers. Even though they're slowing down, he can't help but look behind himself, feeling like there might still be someone there. He sees one of those white wisps in the air and shuffles closer to her with a gulp ]

We're okay. We're okay, we're going to be okay. We'll stick together. Promise.
notimeforfailure: (Surprise)

[personal profile] notimeforfailure 2021-10-29 01:36 am (UTC)(link)
Oh -- yes, actually...

[She considers.]

The ghosts were the month before that, weren't they? Regardless...

[She dips her head slightly.]

I must apologize again for my base cowardice. It really would have been completely unacceptable if something happened to you.

[...]

I need to eat some doughnuts.
royalfling: (huh | talk | concern)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-10-29 09:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Lysithea--!

[ Wu grabs her arm with a frown. ]

It isn't your responsibility to take care of me! I mean, I'm grateful that you did, but it wouldn't have been your fault. I was scared too. It's okay to be scared!

...but doughnuts sounds great actually.
notimeforfailure: (Pout)

[personal profile] notimeforfailure 2021-10-30 12:37 am (UTC)(link)
Of course it is.

[soft doughy wu]

Naturally, a trained combatant against monsters and dark creatures needs to do everything in their power to protect those unversed.

[squishy flaily helpless wu]

Being scared isn't an excuse for inaction.

[defenseless forlorn baby bird wu]
royalfling: (idea | explain | excited | talk | look)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-10-31 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ the small baby bird watches her with a sad expression ]

Exactly. You were scared, but you still took action. You saved me! And yourself. I, thank you. So much. For doing that. I really thought she was going to eat me.

[ not unlike how they're going to eat the doughnuts. Wu eyes them, wanting to drown the dregs of his fear with sugar ]
notimeforfailure: (Time)

[personal profile] notimeforfailure 2021-10-31 02:05 am (UTC)(link)
I --

[...hm. Lysithea pauses.]

I... suppose I hadn't considered it from that angle before. I only felt the overwhelming fear take hold. In the end... I guess I just did whatever was necessary for survival.

[But perhaps he's got a point.]

Well. Was this... a successful ghost encounter?

['Success' might be a strong word, but...]

To... our success then.

[After a confused pause, Lysithea takes Wu's hand again and slowly leads him down the street towards her little stall, where she unlock a compartment and comes out with a fresh basket of doughnuts.]

To our success.
royalfling: (look | smile | talk)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-11-01 09:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Wu takes the doughnut gratefully and holds it up to hers like they're cheers-ing ]

To your success! Really, Lysithea, even if you're scared of ghosts, you were really brave. I would have been dead back there without you. She was so spooky!

[ He shivers and takes a huge bite of doughnut to stop himself from remembering it, because that's totally how that works.

Well, it does work, because this doughnut is damn good
]

Lysithea! Did you make these?
notimeforfailure: (Surprise)

[personal profile] notimeforfailure 2021-11-03 02:16 am (UTC)(link)
Y-Yes. Yes?

[She still seems a bit dazed. Wu's exclamation causes her to focus more carefully - was than an exclamation of delight, or...?]

Yes, I made these last night.

I hear that they're traditionally supposed to be fried in oil, but as I don't have the materials for that, I used some careful application of fire magic to mimic the effects. Baked doughnuts are too cake-y and dense.

Why?
royalfling: (smile | laugh | soft)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-11-04 09:54 pm (UTC)(link)
They're great!

[ He laughs, delighted, and takes another bite ]

You really made these with magic? That's so cool! I'm eating a magic doughnut.

[ For some reason, that really tickles him. It could be the fact that he's coming down off of the adrenalin of the ghost, or the sugar in the doughnut, or the stress of being in Trench, but, well, he breaks down into laughter, sways against the cart because he can't really control his body right now. ]
notimeforfailure: (Resigned)

sorry for delay!

[personal profile] notimeforfailure 2021-11-07 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
Oh!

Well. Thank you, Wu.

[She smiles, a more relaxed expression than anything she has displayed for the past hour.]

I wouldn't really call it a magic doughnut, more a... normal doughnut cooked by -- erm. W-What's so funny? Are you alright?

[His giggling... is contagious enough that she can't help laughing lightly at how absurd he's acting right now, too.]
royalfling: (smile | wave | concern)

youre good!

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-11-09 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ Wu waves a limp hand at her, unable to stop himself from laugh. He holds onto the cart, the laughing pealing out of him near endlessly. He can barely breathe, but at least it feels good, it feels good to let it out and forget that they were just chased by a ghost, because they survived and that's what matters ]

Ly-Lysithea! You fought a ghost! You got it!

[ He throws two weak punches, still laughing ]

Bam! Bam! Ghost, down! Lysithea wins! You're my hero!
notimeforfailure: (Smirk)

[personal profile] notimeforfailure 2021-11-09 02:34 am (UTC)(link)
W-Wu, really! Oh come now, you're making a scene.

[She finds the laughter near impossible to resist, though she reaches down and tries to pull Wu upright. This effort is liable to fail, and she eventually leans over, her head buried in her crossed arms as she, too, shakes lightly with mirth.]

I barely fought!

I mostly just... screamed until it took pity on us. That's probably what happened. Ahhhhh, you're giving heroes a bad name here.
royalfling: (smile | laugh | celebrate)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-11-11 02:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ Wu sways into her, slinging an arm around her shoulders not really to keep them both up, but just to share in this. His body's shaking with laughter ]

No, no, no Lysithea! Take the credit! You know, you know, once Mako saved me from pies? Ghosts are much scarier than pies!
notimeforfailure: (Surprise)

[personal profile] notimeforfailure 2021-11-12 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
Augh!

[Wu should know that Lysithea has the durability of crepe paper. Don't put your weight on her! She tilts over and may very well take Wu with her.]

Nnnnnoooo....

Ghosts... are scarier than pies.

But why pies? Pies are lovely. I... want a pie now.
royalfling: (smile | wave | tease)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-11-14 08:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Wu stumbles with her, but manages to keep them upright by sheer force of will, and maybe leaning back against the cart ]

Someone threw pies at me! It was horribly rude, and I thought I'd been shot!

[ In retrospect, it is pretty funny, and he still can't stop laughing ]

I think we deserve pies! Honestly, throwing pies is such a waste of pie. Let me treat you, my hero.
notimeforfailure: (Pout)

[personal profile] notimeforfailure 2021-11-17 02:43 am (UTC)(link)
Awful! Who would do something like that?

[Lysithea, too, eventually ends up leaning against her cart in an exceedingly awkward position.]

And don't call me that!

I'll take the pies, you can keep the title.

((And since we've reached captcha, gonna call this one here, if that's alright with you!))