and my heart went 'boom!'

[reddosmod]

FEBRUARY 2023 EVENT

Due to the cyclical nature of Trench, prompts from the PREVIOUS FEBRUARY are available for use again. Please note when you are using this years prompts vs last years prompts when plotting or writing top-levels to avoid confusion.

IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Prompt One
[Image One: A broken mirror with a woman looking into it, pressing her fingers against the glass. ]
[Image Two: A rose lit up like embers. ]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Neon hearts glowing on a wall. ]
[Image Two: A pocket watch on top of a book page. ]

Prompt Three
[Image One: A young woman with dark hair standing in the snow with red flowers. ]
[Image Two: Footprints in the snow. ]

[NAVIGATION]

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

[JUMP TO COMMENTS]

BAD LUCK OF THE EARLY WORM

WHEN: February
WHERE: All around the city
CONTENT WARNINGS: Curses, violence, danger, misfortune

---

Everyone has their own streak of bad times. There are some days or weeks whre it feels like nothing is going right. Most people would try and tell say that it's just the tendency to focus on the negative. That it can be relieved by writing down all the good things that happen in our lives, because we have a tendency to only ever focus on the bad. And maybe most of the time, people are right! Maybe the idea of luck really is just perspective.

But not in Trench. Not this month.

No matter what way it's looked at, bad luck seems to be clinging to some people. It might start out small, with simple things like knocking over a favorite drink or snack, or ruining a project that had hours invested into it. Then it might become bigger. A person might start to trip over things and injuring themselves, they might get lost in a blizzard and nearly freeze before finding their way home or to someone they know. Eventually, it could even become undeniably dangerous. The person impacted by bad luck could start to notice corruption levels rising quickly, they could start to turn into a beast at random, they could start to attract violent beasts to them and put themselves or others at risk with heavy battles. The possibilities seem to be endless and none of them are good. Did someone break a mirror? Or twenty?

It will be easy to see that this isn't just impacting one person. Sleepers and Trenchies alike seem to be being plagued by streaks of bad luck across the board. Luckily, the locals seem to know what to do about it. Bad luck pops up from time to time, and of course there would be a ritual to help cleanse it.

Small vendors will start to pop up through the city selling wooden carvings that they promise will absorb all the bad luck that's been going around and dispell it with a simple ritual. A drop of blood from the person impacted and a drop of blood from someone they are close should be placed upon the carving. The blood types of the persons involved should not match (i.e. Coldblood/Coldblood would not work, but Coldblood/Warmblood would). It must be left to soak into the wood overnight, leaving behind deep red stains. The carving must then be placed with a fully bloomed rose and burned in the entrance doorway to the home of the inflicted. The ashes should then be placed into a container and kept somewhere in the home for the duration of February, to make sure that the bad luck stays away.

It seems like it really works! The tricky part is making sure that the bad luck following doesn't get in the way of the ritual while the blood is soaking over night. It may be best for both parties involved to hunker down together until morning, just in case. Time to break out the small talk. Or the deep, meaningful conversations that can sometimes happen in the middle of the night.

[JUMP TO TOP] • [JUMP TO COMMENTS]

GETTING TO KNOW ALL ABOUT YOU

WHEN: February
WHERE: A magic room in the city.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Reference to mild shocks. Forced honesty. Embarrassment. Lots and lots of embarrassment.

---

Honestly, after being in Trench for so long, people should be used to not ending up in the destination they initially intended for. This month, it seems like the city is trying to encourage people to social, to form new bonds, whether they're romantic, platonic, familial, or any other option one could think of. The bright idea this month for that sort of thing?

Speed dating.

It's not traditional speed dating, necessarily. No one is here to exclusively seek romantic partners, although there are certainly options for it. And it's not something people are signing up for out of their own free will. Instead, people seem to simply show up at the event, with no real recollection of how they got there. Maybe they just woke up on one of the comfy couches and found a "Hi, my name is..." sticker slapped on them. Or maybe they were wandering in the snow and got lost, ending up finding shelter in this strange place, and are now forced to participate until the blizzard passes. All in all, it's harmless fun, isn't it? Who doesn't need a few new friends.

Each person will have a small information blurb given about them that can't be seen by the naked eye, but will appear as soon as someone looks at the other party through their omni. What the blurb says is unique to each person, but it might become clear pretty quickly that they didn't write it themselves... Deerington survivors may find themselves having flashbacks to the days of DeerlyBeloved.

Pairings are completely random. People will be given a series of random questions they can ask one another or they can always feel free to make up their own. Anyone who tries to lie or avoid answering a question might feel a small shock from the chair they're sitting in, one that gets stronger with every lie they tell. The after effects of the shock seem to encourage the need to answer the question with full transparency. It's important to tell the truth when getting to know someone, after all.

After five minutes, both parties can either press a button beside their chair to continue talking to the person they're paired with, or they can move on to the next pairing. Both parties have to press the button in order to stay where they are.

Have fun and remember to always be honest!

[JUMP TO TOP] • [JUMP TO COMMENTS]

LONELY HEARTS CLUB

WHEN: February
WHERE: Trenchwood and throughout the city.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Violence, abuse of power, jealousy, possession, supernatural events, possible death from elemental exposure

---

There's a tale that comes up around this time of year, one that seems to be an old favorite in Trench. Long ago, in the heart of a blizzard, a young woman was found wandering in Trenchwood. She wore only thin fabrics to keep herself warm and had no shoes. Her skin felt cold as ice. The Hunters who found her quickly brought her into town, giving her shelter in a local in to try and get her warm. She stayed for many nights and it didn't take long for the inn keeper to fall in love with her. But she did not seem to return to his feelings and so he was heartbroken and jealous of all the other men who gave her attention. He demanded she offer him something in trade for her stay and when she could offer nothing, he threw her back out into the snow. The woman went back to the woods and some could hear her howling in anguish, carried through on the strong winds of the blizzard. The Hunters tried to find her, following her cries, but they were unable to, and had to return home before they too might freeze to death. The innkeeper was shunned from the town and forced to leave the city for his cruelty, but nothing stopped the howls of the snow woman.

Throughout the month of February, people will start to hear that the sound of the wind blowing strongly through the streets is starting to sound a little more human-like. The woman's cries will be heard in empty alleys, will be loudest near the edge of the woods, and can even penetrate into dreams. The cries might sometimes sound like cries for help, begging for someone to help save her from the cold. There will be a compulsion that sets deep into the bones of some and many will find it hard to resist her call. Eventually, they may even go looking for her in the woods, trying to brave the winter storms to help the lost snow woman.

Those who give in to that temptation will eventually find the snow woman, but she will not be friendly when found. Her skin has turned a pale white, her lips blue, her eyes glowing a bright red, her long hair blowing every which way in the wind. She will rush at whoever she sees, but instead of giving a physical blow to guard against, she will go through any solid objects and latch on to the soul of her target, possessing their bodies. Male or female, it doesn't seem to matter, she simply wants a chance at life again.

Those who are possessed by the snow woman will not realize they are possessed. They will forget why it was they came out into the woods looking for and will return to the city in a daze. As time passes, they will find that they become irritated by any signs of affection, will become physically aggressive towards couples they see around them, and will attack those who care about them most. The spirit does not necessarily hate love: instead, they see affection as a possible risk for all those who love others. Jealousy kills and she wants to save everyone around her from it, as well as keeping herself safe from losing this new chance at life.

Signs of possession outside of the aggression can be noticed by others. The possessed person will have: ice cold skin, blue-tinged lips, they might shiver even when inside where it's warm, and an aversion to fire or warm/hot water.

Information on how to banish the snow woman from another's body can be found in a book of local legends. This book is sold in stores or can be found in the Archives. To save someone from the snow woman, people must tell the possessed person the things they love most about them. It will cause the possessed person to react violently, so it is suggested that they be restrained during the process. The longer they are forced to hear the positive messages about love, the feelings that they can stir up in another (whether platonic or romantic), and the safety that can be found in that love, the more weakened the hold from the snow woman will be. When the possessed person eventually stops struggling, a cut must be made on the back of their neck, before a cloth soaked in warm rose water must be placed on top of the wound. Their skin will begin to steam before a large gust of snow will pour from their mouth, swirling around the room, and smash through the window. It's suggested to leave it open if you'd like to save the glass.

[JUMP TO TOP]

CODING

Comments

[bolstafir]

[It's oddly fitting, that Asriel should mention truth and the freedom to choose. How many arguments did he and Oz have, in Deerington, about that very thing? How much anguish had passed between them, as Qrow tried to get his mentor to understand that the truth wouldn't have discouraged him at 17. At 21. At 25. This conversation strikes home in ways he'd hardly expected with a stranger, but that's what the Pthumerians do to them, isn't it? They set up the dominoes for each other to find each other's vulnerabilities, and ever-so-delicately tip them over and watch as people grapple with the aching scars of old wounds.

It draws a sigh out of him that makes him seem a lot older than the simple forty-three on his profile.]

Everything's always complicated, huh? Even the things that seem like they should be simple.

[anbaric]

[ asriel does not want to relate. he does not seek human connection in their shared experience. he leans back in his seat, unconsciously recoiling from the idea.

he doesn't even realise what's happened until it's passed because it's so sudden. he's left with the painful awareness of the shock and the compulsion for honesty, which is even worse than whatever he registered as physical discomfort. ]

I sacrificed every single person in my life, figuratively or literally. I won, and it cost me everything.

[ he seems unsure how to follow up the words he didn't intend to say, especially how they came out like he'd been blandly reading facts off a page; it's not quite natural. asriel clears his throat. ]

... Complications, as I said.

[ he knows stelmaria is watching him even without having to look at her. she has always urged him to tell the truth but never met it to be wrung out of him involuntarily. ]

[bolstafir]

[Asriel's reward, such as it is, for this response -- this desire to escape human connection, is that Qrow's expression hollows out. He withdraws more emotionally than physically, but it's clear in his body language that Asriel's struck somewhere deep, and sensitive at that. Where before he'd seemed tired more than anything, there's something angry in it, but it's not a hot anger, not rage. It's something colder.

When he speaks next, his voice has gone toneless and flat:]

Was it worth it?

cw: mention of violence involving children

[anbaric]

I didn't do it for me. I was just the only one who could. The fate of every life in every world that has ever suffered under the Authority's tyranny was at stake.

Should I have been more selfish? Could you have done it? Would you let a million children suffer a future where they would have their very souls cut away to make just one more comfortable temporarily?

[ that is the big moral question at the heart of all of asriel's most controversial decisions, and he has always chosen to favour the greater good. it's so easy when you have all of human history to back up your reasoning and a functional problem to solve; the hard part is being reminded here in Trench of everything he lost along the way. ]

I should also be dead, you see? Or something like it. Instead, I'm here having random strangers question me.

1/2

[bolstafir]

[He's not sure what exactly does it; he stopped listening a few sentences in, but as the man continues on, something inside Qrow just snaps. One moment he's cold as ice, staring down this man as though he's no better than a corpse himself, and the next he's crossed the space between their couches and decked him in the jaw, then grabbed him by the shirtfront before he can even pick himself up.]

[bolstafir]

[He pays no heed to the snow leopard, his weapon left propped up against his own couch as he gets right up in Asriel's face.]

That's not an answer to the fucking question I asked. "I was the only one who could save the world", "there's nobody else out there making the hard decisions, you wouldn't understand", "sometimes sacrifices need to be made for the greater good", am I getting the tune about right? Because I've danced to this fucking song before. Brothers, I wonder if you types ever get sick of your own bullshit. It's always this same shit, about how only you understand the real truth, that there's no other way but yours, and whoever gets in your way needs to be disposed of.

[He snarls venomously, forcibly shoving Asriel backwards.]

By any means necessary, isn't that it? There's no lines you wouldn't cross, no back you wouldn't stab to get your way. You never stop to think if there's other ways, if there's people you can trust to catch you when you're steering wrong. If they might have an angle you didn't consider. It's aaaallll about you and your stupid--[shove] fucking--[shove] hero complex!

[He's breathing hard by now, anger clear in his tone, yes, but also -- grief. Despair. A person like Asriel is the reason everything fell apart, in Atlas, and Qrow has to live with the fact that his nieces might have died there.

And now he's trapped in this stupid little room playing a stupid little bonding game with someone who just casually fucking talks about sacrificing everyone he loves and calling that a 'complication'. Like he doesn't even regret it. Fuck.]

So I'll ask you one more time, Lord Asshat. Was it worth it?

[anbaric]

[ this is not the first time asriel's words and actions have inspired this reaction in people. almost everyone on his council got in his face at least once — a couple even drew weapons — and then there was the polar bear.

he has a lot of reasons not to fear qrow, but it doesn't stop stelmaria from snarling and pacing threateningly. she moves close but never close enough to touch qrow, even accidentally. ]

I've really struck a nerve, haven't I?

[ asriel also never learned to quit pushing his luck. ]

Would it soothe something inside you if I said it wasn't worth it? Is it better to think they all died or suffered for nothing? That's the admission you want, isn't it? Then you could say, 'I told you so,' and feel vindicated that someone in my position finally acknowledged your pain.

[ he's seen this before a few times. his cold objectivity when it comes to loss tends to inspire anger when people think he's heartless. ]

You don't know me. You know someone like me, so you think you know everything. But you are close; I'll give you that. I've said plenty of those things and meant them. If you ask that question of me as the leader who formed the Republic of Heaven, the answer will always unequivocally be yes.

[ and here there is a hesitation, a breath taken to speak again and then another for good measure. ]

If you asked it of me as simply a man—...

[ he chuckles, but it's a pained and unhappy sound. his jaw aches where qrow had hit him, and he knows he's bleeding, but only because he can taste it since the darkblood just wisps away otherwise. ]

The answer would still be yes. I made sure it was worth it. Personally. I took my enemy down with me, and I protected my daughter when it mattered. You're asking the wrong question because worthiness doesn't mean you don't end up with a few regrets by the end of it.

[ that statement tracks a little too close to vulnerability, though, and he's still too resistant to let that stand without trying to cover for it. ]

I don't care if you don't think it's sufficient. I didn't do it because I needed anyone's approval.

cw: mass-scale violence, also involving children. lmao.

[bolstafir]

"You think you know everything" is pretty rich coming from a guy like you.

[Gods and god complexes ... he's so damn tired.]

Because I'm sure you decided on your own you knew what was best for everyone, and anyone who disagreed with you needed to die or otherwise taken out of the way. Forget approval, people like you are always looking for obedience.

[He infringes on Asriel's space again, advancing on where he'd pushed him.]

Do what you say, or you'll authorize lethal force against kids and everyone connected to 'em. Bomb cities full of innocent people and shoot down the planes sent to get them out. You're saving the people you can, right? Anyone who dies in the process should've fallen in line. I mean, they forced your hand, in the end. Obviously.

[What do you mean you hit a nerve, Asriel, Qrow is clearly having such a normal one.]

But hey, I'm sure your kid appreciated being protected "when it mattered".

[He does, in fact, make air quotes here. Like an asshole.]

[anbaric]

That is quite a story you've concocted. Too bad it's more ridiculous hyperbole.

[ he rolls his eyes and shoulders qrow out of his immediate space. stelmaria won't touch him, but asriel has no objections. ]

None of those things would have brought me closer to defeating my enemy. Do you even understand who my enemy was? In my world and all the worlds connected to it, the Authority is God. The one true God, we were led to believe, but it was all lies.

I didn't set out to fight a war. I'm an experimental theologian. [ he forgets his world has dated terminology. ] A scientist. I wanted the truth, and I found it in Dust.

[ he's never stopped being fascinated by Dust. he looks like someone who is trying and failing not to smile because this is asriel's big brain special interest that not even qrow's bullshit can make less amazing. ]

Dust is truth. It cannot lie. It is consciousness, and it is an elementary particle that we can observe and measure. It exists, and the Authority wanted a world empty of it to make us easier to control. There was nothing and no one worth allowing such a bleak future to come to pass.

No one wanted the girl to suffer. This was a fight we took on willingly, but she was never meant to be involved.

[ stelmaria cuts in, always the one with the shred of parental care between them. it's easier. maybe she thought asriel could use the support; mostly he was planning on ignoring the comment because the air quotes irritated him. ]

I wanted us to all be free of fairytales and destinies. No child should have to bear the fate of everything either.