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
royalfling: (explain | wave | talk)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-10-26 02:03 am (UTC)(link)
You sound exactly like Mako. I have to work, so I can't have any fun.

[ He does an astoundingly bad Mako impression, then sticks his tongue out ]

Well you don't have to work here, Manabu!

[ If he hasn't take Manabu's arm yet, he does now, dragging him forward into the crowd of people in masks and little tents and vendors calling out to them ]

Or, maybe you do. But not as hard! You need to let go a little, buddy! Have some fun.
siriusly: (i wish you'd stop......)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-10-27 02:02 am (UTC)(link)
[that impression would get a laugh were it not being used at Manabu's expense. instead, it gets something of a pout, but even that's short-lived, because he's then very hastily yanked along. for his part, he doesn't dig his heels in and resist much, even if he is reluctant.]

Jeez...you sound like my old platoon, you know?
royalfling: (wave | talk | tease)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-10-28 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
Well, if they, and I, all think the same thing then maybe it's time to listen, Manabu! Life is about more than work! And, look, I know that I had a different upbringing to you and, well, most people, but that doesn't mean that you can't learn a thing or two from me. Even when I was the king, I still took an hour every day to steam in the sauna, and an hour every night to do my face. You can spend some time on yourself, buddy!

[ He scans the stalls looking for something that might be fun for Manabu. If Manabu can have fun. Come on, Manabu, live a little! ]

You have to have some kind of hobby. Right?
siriusly: (:\ um this is uncomfortable)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-10-28 06:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[what a royal declaration. Manabu eyeballs him incredulously throughout and a little bit after, double-blinking with a little startle at the question posed.]

Huh-? What--what do you mean? If you keep busy, who has time for hobbies, right? There's...I mean, there's gotta always be something more to do, you know?

[his tone starts to shift to something more dubious because...well...he is starting to doubt that. but it's true he...doesn't really have any hobbies. and that's embarrassing in a way it never was before.]
royalfling: (soft | tired | sad)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-10-29 08:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Wu lets out a heavy sigh, patting Manabu on the arm. ]

Sure, buddy, sure that's how it could be, but what's life without some fun? You know, you do better work if you take some time to relax and refresh yourself.

[ Is this? Speaking his language? He's sure trying.

He looks around and gasps when he sees some mulled wine. Yes, that's perfect. He drags Manabu over, waving at the vendor
]

Two, please!
siriusly: (item get)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-10-29 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[Manabu recovers from being dragged (physically; he has no awareness he's being dragged for his boring lifestyle), planting his feet and putting his hands on his hips while Wu sets to foraging for drinks.

relax and refresh? what, like a bath? of course he bathes! it's just not very relaxing when everything is freezing cold all the time; Manabu's half-convinced he could sit in lava and still be chilly!

he utters a soft sound of thanks and accepts the cup.]


I mean...getting a lot of rest is important, I guess... [but that has nothing to do with picking up a hobby.

did...did his dad have a hobby? he frowns down at his reflection in the cup. when he came home from shore leave, he'd toss the baseball around with him and Mamoru, but that doesn't really count, does it...?

hm.]
royalfling: (wave | smile | idea)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-10-31 12:40 am (UTC)(link)
[ Wu pays for the drinks with probably too many shells and hands one to Manabu, hooking their arms together again. ]

It is! It's important. It's important to have fun and to just be yourself. You don't have to work all the time, buddy!

[ Maybe he'll get it through Manabu's head, maybe he won't, but he can at least ply Manabu with wine into having fun tonight. At least he knows that Manabu probably won't ditch him even if he doesn't really want to be here. ]

So, let's see... we have shopping, I hear some music, I bet there's dancing! And food, there's definitely food. Oh, and those kites! What sounds fun to you?
siriusly: (i wish you'd stop......)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-10-31 01:23 am (UTC)(link)
[this is starting to sound an awful lot like when the Spica girls roped him into singing backup on their little talent show song, and he's not sure he likes it...]

I, uh--I don't dance, so, no thanks. I guess if you want to mess with kites, that's fine... [that last part is muttered into the cup before he has a sip, his expression scrunching up as the alcohol hits his tongue. jeez...how does David throw this kinda stuff back so easily?!]
royalfling: (explain | wave | talk)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-10-31 01:36 am (UTC)(link)
No, no, no, it's what you want to do! Come on, Manabu! One of those things has to sound fun, right?

[ manabu why ]

I think that all of it sounds fun.
siriusly: (:\ um this is uncomfortable)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-10-31 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
[helplessly:] I, I guess we can just eat something?

[because he can't be sure something's fun if he's never done any of it, right? so, of all those options, he at least eats...just to like, live. not for fun.

not...not since he was a little kid, anyway...]
royalfling: (look | tease | huh | neutral)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-11-01 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Manabu doesn't make this easy. Wu claps him on the arm, giving him a slow nod because, yeah, okay. Eating is good and fun and all, but boy was that uninspiring, bud ]

Sure! Let's go eat something. Did you know there's this whole trick to ordering noodles from the street carts? Mako taught me, then laughed at me for doing it wrong.
siriusly: (do i get any say in this at all.)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-11-02 01:49 pm (UTC)(link)
It, ah...It's different where you go, I think. [Manabu hesitates, but shrugs and goes on with his thought anyway as they walk.] I mean--my mom, she...she owns a noodle restaurant, but it works different than the guys in bigger places. When it's busy places, lots of people...the rules are different, I think.
royalfling: (smile | sweet | royal)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-11-02 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Does she? Oh, that's so exciting! What kind of noodles doe she make?

[ Wu smiles brighter at him as they weave their way through the crowd. He's taking Manabu to where Mako took him a few days ago ]

Mako made it all sound so intimidating!
siriusly: (i think he's dead.)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-11-03 12:27 am (UTC)(link)
Eh? Intimidating noodles? [what kinda food are they hawking over in Republic City??

anyway:]
Uh, well, she makes all kinds, you know? Udon, soba, ramen... [oh, well. maybe food was the right call, because just listing them off makes his stomach growl.]
royalfling: (smile | excited | idea)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-11-03 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
Those are some of the best kinds!

[ Wu laughs, and turns a corner to an area that's full of different food stalls. He takes them over to the one that Mako took him to. ]

Well, I don't know if these will live up to your mom's noodles, but Mako said that they tasted a lot like the street noodles he used to eat.
siriusly: (you equipped bees?)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-11-03 12:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[that they're offering any sort is something of a surprise to hear, so Manabu doesn't offer any complaints as Wu steers them into the shorter of the lines. he has to roll up on his toes to see over the heads of those in front of them, squinting for a moment before recognizing what's getting dished out.]

Uoh...no way... Where the heck was all of this before?! [why serve hot dogs when you can have this???]
royalfling: (Default)

[personal profile] royalfling 2021-11-04 09:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Before... the parade? I have no idea! Oh, we should ask them where they usually sell, I would love to eat this more often.

This city holds so many secrets. I hope more of them are good, like this.
siriusly: (item get)

[personal profile] siriusly 2021-11-05 04:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[it's a thought Manabu wouldn't think to have, but it's a nice one to consider. Manabu nods and offers a soft sound of agreement, letting that little hope spot simmer in him while they approach and receive their portions.

it feels...really nice to have just a plain, hot bowl of broth and noodles in his hands. sure, it comes with an ache of homesickness, but it's something of a love letter from home in a way, isn't it? a little assurance that he's not entirely lost to the unknown, that a little bit of home and the people there can still thrive here in some fashion.

that's the thought tempering his unruly mood as they find a place to sit and dig in, out of the way of the pedestrian traffic and pathways of floats and music.

quietly, after the first slurp:]
...It's. It's good.