reddosmod: (Default)
Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] deercountry2023-02-08 06:25 pm

and my heart went 'boom!'

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. ]

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.

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!

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.

CODING
eudaimonikos: (the methods of ethics)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2023-02-21 02:43 pm (UTC)(link)
So it's just gonna draw in the freakiest ones?
entreats: (walking around)

[personal profile] entreats 2023-02-22 08:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ange groans. ]

No way. If anyone makes a weird comment about it, I'm going to..

[ .. pause.

She glances around them, and then sighs. ]


Well, not leave, I guess. [ Thanks, Pthumerian who decided forced speed dating was going to be a thing this month. ] But if they get too weird about it, I'll make them shut up about it somehow.
eudaimonikos: (responsiveness)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2023-02-22 08:13 pm (UTC)(link)
I think we can just sit here for a while?

[He looks around, then down at the timer.]

Just, uh...pretend we're doing the thing.
entreats: (and leave it outside)

[personal profile] entreats 2023-02-23 08:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Pretend? They probably have some way of making us talk.

[ Even though Ange isn't too sure whether or not she wants to find out what that is. For all she knows, some Pthumerian might drop a monster right into this room with them.. ]

I guess we could ask each other some of these cliched questions, if you don't mind.
eudaimonikos: (as many times)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2023-02-23 09:10 pm (UTC)(link)
That's all it even really is, right? Stupid questions?

[They can make them do that! Michael mostly meant that they can't make them go on a date or anything gross like that!]

Sure, give me one!
entreats: (let me sink in the silence)

[personal profile] entreats 2023-02-24 08:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ange hums. ]

Let's see..

[ She glances at the device to see what question pops up on the screen, before reading it out loud. ]

"What's your favourite life experience?"
eudaimonikos: (laws of power)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2023-02-24 08:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[Michael laughs.]

What, ever?
entreats: (maybe i'll come alive)

[personal profile] entreats 2023-02-26 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
That's what it says.

[ Not that she thinks Michael is doubting that, but it's just Ange's instinctive response before looking back over at him. ]

I guess they weren't counting on people with more experiences than a regular human life's worth, huh.
eudaimonikos: (consequences)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2023-02-26 10:24 pm (UTC)(link)
They usually aren't. Let me think...

[His single favorite ever? No sense in trying to pick one of those, really.]

Well. Winning my whole court case about the fate of humanity was nice for a few minutes. Until she decided to wipe them all out. After that, though, once everything was really sorted out...that was pretty satisfying.
entreats: (with everything you said)

[personal profile] entreats 2023-02-27 06:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[ That's definitely not the sort of answer anyone would expect to a generic question like that. Let alone during a session that's supposed to be interpreted as speed dating.

The thought sure shoots across Ange's mind, but thankfully with what she knows about Michael - this feels totally normal. ]


Why was it fun before the verdict? Are you just really into lawyer drama?

[ Just casually chatting about this now. ]
eudaimonikos: (as many times)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2023-02-27 09:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, no, most of it sucked before that. Most of the couple centuries before it did. That's why it was so great - I wasn't exactly getting a lot of wins back then.

[Eh, who cares about dating, he's just gonna shoot the shit as long as he's here.]

Even that one party we had...oh, that was a good time. Only that good 'cause we thought we were all gonna die the next day, though. Well - get tortured eternally, Janet was the only one who would have actually died-died.
entreats: (she's not good enough)

[personal profile] entreats 2023-02-28 09:14 pm (UTC)(link)
You can party when you know eternal torture is waiting for you the next day?

[ Ange is just weird enough that she can say this sort of thing with just faint deadpan, rather than actual disbelief.

Michael's world is hardly all that much more strange than her own, or Trench. ]


If anything, most parties already feel like a form of eternal torture.
eudaimonikos: (pink shirt)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2023-02-28 10:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah! One last bash before the end! A very human thing, I've always thought...

[Though he just shrugs at that last comment. Sure, parties obviously aren't for everyone.]

Different when it's just a small group of friends though, right?
entreats: (maybe that one wrong word)

[personal profile] entreats 2023-03-03 06:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[ There's a tiny moment of consideration. ]

Sure. I guess.

[ At least Ange does feel better about that than some of the huge parties that happen in this place.. Thankfully not very often, though. ]

Although that also kind of depends on the friends. Some of my own friends can be exhausting to me in large quantities. [ Nothing negative towards them, though. It's more just Ange having such a small, small social battery.. It's empty so quickly.. ] Not you though. You're very chill. It helps.
eudaimonikos: (pink shirt)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2023-03-03 08:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Hm, yeah. I guess I get that.

[Michael's far more social, but he's not one of those people who's loud about it or whatever. Not most of the time, anyway.]

I've been to bigger, less...impending doom-y parties since, but that one is still my favorite. It's really about the people.
entreats: (see i was dead)

[personal profile] entreats 2023-03-06 08:19 pm (UTC)(link)
If you put it like that, you almost make it sound like the people here aren't as fun to you.

[ Even though she knows that's not what he means.

.. Probably not what he means, anyway. But Ange can understand that people you've spent time with in your own world can feel like a different social circle entirely from meeting people in weird multiversal towns. ]
eudaimonikos: (you're out in the world)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2023-03-06 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, come on, it's not that. That was just...a very particular time in my life, I guess.

[He leans back in his chair, thoughtful.]

And this place is different. Everything's so......Deerington. [which is to say: fucked!]
entreats: (i won't wander anymore)

[personal profile] entreats 2023-03-07 09:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey, it's a little different.

[ Put some respect on Trench's name!!

.. not that Ange is fully serious about it. Judging by her body language and tone, she's just making a deadpan joke over here, especially when she shrugs a little. ]


I mean, we have annually returning horrors now. It's like our very own little screwed up holiday calendar.
eudaimonikos: (a treatise of human nature)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2023-03-09 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
At least that makes it easier to keep track, yeah. I wasn't quite in Deerington long enough for that.
entreats: (no more calling like a crow for a boy)

[personal profile] entreats 2023-03-12 08:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ Ange huffs. ]

From what I experienced, that place was totally different. Nothing really ever repeated much. [ Sure, she wasn't there for two full years, but she did get to at least one and a half - enough that she would have noticed if it was quite as much of an annual thing there. ]

That one time we got stuck on the Titanic never really happened again. [ ... ] Not that I mind. That sucked.
eudaimonikos: (half and half)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2023-03-12 11:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah. I missed that one, but people still talked about it sometimes.

[Which means it must have been pretty bad, he figures, given how awful things happened pretty frequently around there.]

Think the worst time I ever had was with the blood floods that one October. Though there were worse things that happened. They just didn't bother me as much - like when no one could sleep.

[He's somber, recalling it all. Maybe Michael never had a need for sleep in the first place, but that doesn't mean he had a great time watching everyone else deteriorate over it.]
entreats: (she just needs someone)

[personal profile] entreats 2023-03-13 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Ugh, the blood was gross.

[ Ange didn't really expect this to turn into a Deerington memories party, but.. you know, if they have to sit here and talk, they might as well talk about whatever.

And it's not like you can talk about these memories with just anyone when the number of people that remember the dream is dwindling so steadily. ]


I guess that's one change that I'm pretty okay with. Not having every single October being an absolute hellscape here. Though I guess we kind of traded it in for November. [ Especially since Ange does not like the sleeper farm, thanks. ]
eudaimonikos: (repetition)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2023-03-14 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
It was always gonna be some month.

[Can't really be helped!]

Like you said, at least it seems like all the Novembers are gonna be pretty similar. We can prepare for it.
entreats: (she's not good enough)

[personal profile] entreats 2023-03-15 08:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[ That's a point she agrees with.

Even though she replies with: ]


Yeah, like burning down the entire sleeper farm in advance next time.

[ It sounds like she's making a joke, judging by her dry tone, but Ange is actually pretty seriously interested in that idea, honestly. ]
eudaimonikos: (ampliative)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2023-03-15 08:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmm...

[He considers this seriously!]

They'd probably just pop up somewhere else around here.

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