reddosmod: (Default)
Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] deercountry2021-12-08 02:19 am

I'd go back in time and change it, but I can't

DECEMBER 2021 EVENT
Hello! We are trying a new style of event this December with archival-like entries that characters can ICly find in the Archives. This should allow characters to be able to plan against certain events that occur in-game and do research ahead of time, during the event, or after the fact.

The idea is that these prompts will provide you with all the possibilities characters could theoretically face from the prompt. We hope this leaves more open-ended opportunities for people to engage with. Anything mentioned in the excerpts could be an experience characters encounter. You can always ask for clarification on any prompt on the plotting page.

This is a way to keep all event prompts relevant since new characters would be able to "read up" on these events/excerpts by visiting the Archives or other such resources for information about past events and what they can anticipate from the setting.

We hope this new style makes sense and is fun for players to work with! They will rely on players creating more of the atmosphere than the prompts, but we think that the prompts will provide the perfect guidance as to what the atmosphere should feel like. Enjoy!

IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Prompt One
[Image One: Holiday themed antler decoration.]
[Image Two: White stag with perfect, circular antlers with bits of ice attached.]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Sculpture of white rabbit with neck caught in a snare. Non-graphic.]
[Image Two: Person in red cloak and wolf mask turning around.]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Puppet making bloody snow angel in snow.]
[Image Two: Bloodied hands wrapped in bandages clenching.]

WINTER MOURNING
WHEN: Begins in December and can last until the end of Feb.
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Spoilers for various canons, survival situations, forced memory share


[A passage from Rituals of Trench: Remembering Our Pasts reads the following:]

"A long-standing tradition to celebrate Bone Season is for Deerians to collect antlers and bones salvaged from natural resources and create decorative home accents. These antler-bone decors are known formally as Winter Mournings and can be found in almost every residential home throughout Deer Country. Winter Mournings can be made to look like wreaths, candle holders, or simply an antler with a bow hung up on a wall.

Winter Mournings is seen as a way to honor one's past tribulations and how one has managed to survive and overcome hardships during their life. Winter Mournings serves as a testament to survival and a willingness to keep surviving even when things look bleak and dismal.

Creating Winter Mournings is considered a blessing to the Pthumerians Dorothea, Remina, and Argonaut. You will know if the blessing was accepted once your Winter Mourning begins to glow like the moon. Touch your Winter Mourning and you will be pulled back in time to a memory of a specific time when you or someone else had to survive something physically or mentally challenging. For some, it is merely a memory that cannot hurt, but for others, you may want to proceed with caution as it has been known to pull people physically back to times of war.

One cannot choose which memory they wind up in if it is their own, a friend's, or a complete stranger's. Winter Mournings was designed to create a sense of union and empathy among residents and is meant to open your mind and heart to those who have suffered around you. It is time you explore your past, or someone else's past, with an open mind and see how the other side has lived through hard times. These memories are known to be from adolescence, adulthood, or sometimes even futures that have not yet happened or timelines you have never known. After all, Remina sees all past and all history. That means they see all of your past and history too.

No memory lasts forever though. Once the memory has been concluded, you shall be brought back to the present by the Winter Mourning Stag: a great white beast with a circle of frozen antlers. It will come to you when the time is ready, and you will return to the present like waking from a dazzling dream.

Experiencing Winter Mournings can stabilize one's mood and provide restful sleep after, even if the memories may be difficult to swallow. It truly is a tribute to honor past horrors and traumas. Some memories are painful to remember, but forgetting them will never do anyone any good either. So hang your Winter Mournings and remember what matters.

Survive another day. You are worth it."

FAQ

1. Winter Mournings can produce new memories every time you touch them or the same memory.

2. Characters cannot choose what the memory is.

3. Characters can arrive in each other's memories regardless of if they already know each other. Multiple people can experience the same memory.

4. You can either experience the memory as a memory you can't touch or experience - or you can physically be in the memory and have to survive the situation as well. If you die in memory, your body will die wherever you had been touching the Winter Mourning.

5. Palebloods are capable of altering memories or how they or others experience memories.

6. Characters can be pulled into memories at random - as long as one of the characters in the memory share is touching a Winter Mourning at first.
RUN, RABBIT, RUN
WHEN: Month of December
WHERE: Everywhere/the woods
CONTENT WARNINGS: Themes of hunting, ghosts, curses, attempts at animal violence, hunting people based on blood types.


[An excerpt from Legends of Trench: Curses and Causations reads the following:]

"One of the most notorious legends of Trench is without a doubt the tale of The Huntress and the Hare. Most Trenchies have been told this tale since they were children, but for those unfamiliar, settle in.

This story begins with a mischievous god and an ambitious huntress. The Pthumerian Dorothea loved to play tricks on hunters trying to survive the Bone Season, setting animals free from traps and remaking the traps to catch the hunters instead. One day, a darkblood Huntress was fed up with Dorothea preventing her from catching food for her family and decided to settle the score. The Huntress began to hunt for Dorothea specifically, but it is no small feat hunting the god of trickery and survival.

The Huntress started to rely on her darkblood powers to alter reality to make the perfect traps. Innocuous trees turned into glue traps that anyone would stick to until they were freed by a darkblood or death took their pain from them. Walking through bushes would snag legs and necks, effectively trapping whatever creatures were unfortunate enough to wander for food. Magical snares and beartraps lock around victims with unrelenting force, leaving people and animals to try for help until they cry no more. While this took many innocent lives in the woods, animals, and people alike, it never seemed to work on Dorothea.

Dorothea continued to outwit the Huntress until she eventually drove the Huntress insane. The Huntress died without ever catching Dorothea, but they say her vengeful spirit awakens in winter and begins to set her traps yet again. The Huntress sends her traps and her dead animals after vilebloods and warmbloods to spite Dorothea and hope to maybe catch the god's attention. But Dorothea is no passive god. Dorothea spurs vilebloods and warmbloods to defend themselves against darkbloods and coldbloods.

Infamously, this has created enormous tension between the blood types during December some years, and it is said that the blood lust has caused the types to begin hunting one another regardless of old friendships and alliances. Beware the Huntress's curse. Some believe darkbloods and coldbloods can still hear her haunting commands and cries from the Trenchwood.

They say there is no ease for the tension between the bloodtypes until December has passed, but some believe palebloods may provide relief if they are willing."

FAQ

1. Characters will increasingly feel the urge to actively hunt one another using traps/etc.

2. The Huntress's curse includes undead animals/beasts chasing after warmbloods and vilebloods and magical traps. Players can invent unique traps for their characters.

3. There will be an innate urge to chase/hide from one another.

4. The curse can be broken by paleblood intervention, character death, or a gradual wearing off by the end of the month.
LOCKJOINT
WHEN: All of Bone Season
WHERE: On Sleeper bodies
CONTENT WARNINGS: Mild body horror, blood magic curses, physical curses, cures through blood ministration/blood letting, possible skin removal, injuries, possible death via starvation/exposure.


[An passage from The Sleeper Condition; Chapter 13: Bodily Aches and More. Found exclusively at the Lumenarium:]

"Generally speaking, Sleeper blood allows Sleepers to navigate this world without the fear of illness and disease. However, no organic body is perfect, and Sleeper blood has its own set of ailments to fret over. Blood Ministers have studied the phenomena of Lockjoint for years now and believe that it is linked to the crystalization found in Sleeper death, though the exact connection remains unknown.

Lockjoint tends to begin and last throughout Bone Season. Some Sleepers may never experience it, but for many, it becomes a reoccurring issue to dread each season. This condition forces blood magic to gather at the joints and effectively lock up. Sleepers find it difficult to move their bodies at the bends, fingers, knees, shoulders, etc without some form of discomfort. Minimal lockjoint can be painful and annoyance, but critical lockjoint can be fatal.

The most severe cases of lockjoint documented have shown Sleepers to have crystalization form over their joints, rendering parts of their bodies completely immobile. Some Sleepers have been found dead in this condition, all their joints crystallized, and it is believed most died from natural causes thereafter.

One can determine they are experiencing lockjoint when the coloration around the joints begins to darken in color, typically looking like a bruise. Calcification may occur rapidly the more magic a Sleeper uses or the more they expose themselves to outside elements. It is imperative that Sleepers remain properly clothed during Bone Season, even if they are coldbloods, and to invest in enchanted clothes that can lock in heat.

A known cure for lockjoint is the art of bloodletting. Puncturing the joints with small incisions seems to allow a release of the built-up magic and can provide immediate relief to the Sleeper. Catching lockjoint early is imperative. Alternative methods are soaking in hot springs and salted water.

Those who are in a more severe state will have to carefully have the crystals removed. This will likely remove the skin as well. Local anesthesia is highly recommended for the procedure. This process is known to leave scarring. The crystals can be saved and used as bloodstones from whoever they were harvested from. If you find a Sleeper dead from lockjoint, make sure to harvest the crystals as they are incredibly valuable.

This curse is believed to stem from Sleeper blood magic congealing within the body in contrast with the atmospheric magic of Bone Season. There is no known prevention for lockjoint. Lockjoint can impact all Sleepers regardless of bloodtype or the material their bodies are made from."

FAQ

1. This impacts characters regardless of blood type or their body - meaning it can impact characters with metal/plastic/plant/wood/etc bodies.

2. Players can choose how rapid or severe this gets and how quickly they can be healed.
CODING
azurestar: (there she goes again)

[personal profile] azurestar 2022-02-27 10:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[Lance doesn't seem to hear him because it's pulling out a lot of feelings. Good, but also painful. Then he swallows thickly and nods with a bit of a shake in his frame.]

Uh, yeah… it's my room at home…

[For now he has forgotten about the poster of Shiro that's on the inside of the door, which is currently open so it's hidden. For now, a younger Lance stomps into the room looking frustrated and on the verge of tears. He's not even old enough to go to the Garrison yet. He sits at his desk and starts burying himself in… a book of all things. Current Lance doesn't look that phased, just confused. He snorts.]

Y'know, I've done that so many times I've got no idea what memory this is.
shiro2hero: (maybe he's born with it)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2022-03-03 06:11 am (UTC)(link)
It looks like you.

[He says it as gently as he can. Reaching over to clasp a hand on Lance's shoulder. Squeezing in quiet support. Really, he doesn't blame Lance for sounding like that. For looking distant. Shiro's not sure how he'd react to a memory of home that wasn't - well. Stupid as his had been.]

[The sudden arrival is a bit of a surprise. So is the book. He'd have thought Lance would go for the guitar, or maybe plant his face irritably in bed.]


You read that one a lot? [No, he figures Lance means the stomping in and reading part.] What's it on?
azurestar: (rocinante)

[personal profile] azurestar 2022-03-03 09:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[Lance huffs a light, breathy laugh at that, not really able to deny. He did everything he could to try and distinguish his identity in a house full of kids. Scrabbling together what he could that represented his interests in his tiny room he used to share with Marco was part of that.

The question has him rubbing his arm, a little abashed because he knows he's like pretty young here for the subject.]


It's uh… astrophysics.

[Not long after he says that, his mother comes in the room and places her hands on her hips looking at his back where he sits at the desk. Current Lance's breath catches and he looks like he's on the verge of tears just seeing her again. Then she speaks, in Spanish:]

Lance. No tengo tiempo para juegos.

[Young Lance turns around giving his mother a timid puppy dog look, but whines quite loudly back:] No estoy jugando, mamá.

[Her eyes narrow and she gesticulates with her hands as she responds, growing more frustrated sounding.] ¿Tienes alguna idea cuánto ponemos en la vida que tienes?

[Lance looks down with a bit of a pout and whispers:] Si mamá.

[There's a lull in the conversation as his mother seems to soften slightly and just regards him. A bit critically, but not without love. If Shiro has no idea what they're saying, Lance can translate… roughly.]
shiro2hero: (no really i don't get it)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2022-03-06 06:15 am (UTC)(link)
Astrophysics?

[It's like Lance just said he discovered Santa Claus was real. Shiro beams, and clasps Lance on the shoulder. He just barely holds back the urge to hug him. He's just delighted by that. And so damn proud it's radiating off him like sunlight.]

[He does turn more somber, though, as the memory progresses. Shiro... does not understand a single word here. Except names. He looks to Lance.]


I'm sorry - I don't have any idea what you guys are talking about. Is... everything okay?
azurestar: (save you)

[personal profile] azurestar 2022-03-07 07:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[Lance flushes, because his empathic ability tells him very loudly how Shiro feels about that. He's embarrassed and dodgy about it, though. For now he just answers the question about stuff with his mom.]

Oh, yeah. It's fine… she just wanted the best for us and I had trouble with school back then.

[Which is probably weird considering most kids his age weren't reading astrophysics. But just because he was reading it, doesn't mean traditional learning methods came easy to him.

His mother sighs and comes over to place a hand on the back of his head.]
Hijo-

[She spots the book he has on the desk now that she's closer and sighs again.] ¿No crees que deberías dedicarte a... uno de tus otros talentos?

[Younger Lance stiffens and looks down at his lap. Older Lance cringes a bit, but the memory is old and it's almost over. When he doesn't respond, she removes her hand and heads back to the door.] Solo quiero la mejor para ti… te quiero, hijo.

[And with that, she leaves and shuts the door behind her… revealing a poster of 'Ace Pilot Takashi Shirogane'~ Lance is so distracted by watching his mother probably for the last time ever that he's delayed in realizing it. But the moment he does, he leaps over and tries to cover it with his body.]
Edited 2022-03-08 03:38 (UTC)
shiro2hero: (lowkey wanna die)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2022-03-11 05:18 am (UTC)(link)
You sure?

[It sounds really serious, from where he's standing. Especially as the conversation continues. Shiro absolutely believes Lance is bright - more than he lets on sometimes, or at least, more than he'd let on before Deerington, before Trench. He doesn't speak the language, but the expressions here worry him.]

What are you talking about, here? [If Lance even wants to talk about it at all, that is. He knows, logically, this is an old memory, it's done with. But he can't help but be concerned.] I -

[Okay, whatever he was about to say? That's no longer important. There are few shocks in the world like seeing yourself on a poster like you're a celebrity. Especially in his teammate's room. Heck, he'd almost forgotten about those stupid things...]

... Uh.

I... can pretend I didn't see that.
azurestar: (let's stop)

[personal profile] azurestar 2022-03-12 05:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[He presses himself against the poster with wide nervous eyes that dart around when Shiro says that. Now he knows he did see it, so him pretending he didn't seems dumb, but he appreciates it. But oh god, he's turning very red in the cheeks.]

See what? There's nothing to see!

[Topic, change of topic, he needs it now! Right, Shiro was asking about the stuff with his mom before. Going back to that isn't exactly comfortable, but it's at least slightly less embarrassing.]

A-anyway, my mom just wanted the best for us, and all my teachers in school kind of gave up on me because I wasn't getting stuff the way I "should." [He does raise his fingers in air quotes at that with a slight roll of his eyes.] I wanted to take advanced classes so I could get into the Garrison but we weren't exactly rolling in cash and all my brothers and sisters had done really well already, so… there was a lot of pressure to be great, y'know? She was worried I was… trying to be the best at the wrong thing.

[Her fears and expectations got the better of her. His family has a lot of love for each other and they're close and he always misses them greatly but they're not perfect. Ironic considering there was always a lot of expectations to meet. And they were encouraged to pursue what they wanted, but there was an unspoken rule that if you didn't excel at it then what was the point of the expense of pursuing it? His mother was being told by his teachers that he didn't have what it took and she certainly would have preferred he pursue his ambitions, but not at the cost of his future successes. It came from a place of love, even if he felt like everyone around him at the time was losing faith in him, giving up on him.]
shiro2hero: (alone in my sulk corner)

[personal profile] shiro2hero 2022-03-18 06:02 am (UTC)(link)
The giant poster on your door? The ones I definitely remember getting photos taken for?

[It's a little embarrassing for both of them, honestly. Definitely more so for Lance, though. So... the least he can do is look embarrassed himself.]

[Then he sobers, listening to that explanation. Something rankles at it. People dismissing kids because they didn't fall in the right lines. Weren't exactly the way they wanted them to be. It didn't really sound like that was the case with Lance's family, but - all my teachers in school kind of gave up on me. That. That's what gets under his skin, grates on him.]


I bet those teachers would lose their minds if you showed them what you're capable of now. [The teachers, not his parents. Because they clearly cared. And... Lance missing his family was a wound Shiro absolutely did not want to pour salt in.]

They were wrong about you.
azurestar: (pout)

[personal profile] azurestar 2022-03-20 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
[He sputters.] You said you'd pretend you didn't see!

[Why is his face so hot? God, his cheeks are glowing from the blush he's got going on. Since coming to Trench, his star powers do that now, it seems like, it's awful and he hates it.

But Shiro is talking about his school troubles and saying nice things, because of course he is, he's Shiro. But he can't help but look down at the floor with a bit of a pensive expression as he thinks about that. He knows he was underestimated. It was with the right help from the one person who saw that that he actually mastered these subjects and rocketed to top of his class.

But then he got to the Garrison and struggled even harder because there was always someone better and smarter no matter how hard he tried. And in so many ways, that's still true… desperate to carve a niche for himself, he called himself Sharpshooter, and yeah he's an amazing shot, but it's not where he wanted in his heart of hearts to shine.]


I dunno… I'm still the dumb one, y'know? I don't really… [He shakes his head, not sure if he wants to go that far down that path of thought.]