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

[reddosmod]

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.]

[NAVIGATION]

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

[JUMP TO COMMENTS]

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

Comments

kaworu nagisa | evangelion | ota

[peripheries]

Winter Mourning

cw: medical imagery, child mistreatment, implications of self-harm
[
Memory 01
The scene is a hospital room without windows and the harsh fluorescents make the white floors and walls difficult to look at. In a corner there is a bookshelf with a few books in English, German, and Japanese. At the far end, a small piano, that seems out of place in the room.

A small boy, wearing hospital pajamas sits in the middle, alone in the sterile room. He has a feeding tube in his nose and an IV port attached to his wrist. It is, of course, Kaworu Nagisa, reading a book… a story about a group of friends who explore a mountain. He is trying to understand why he, also a boy, does not have any friends, nor can he explore a mountain.

The door opens and a group of scientists enter the room. “We’re doing further sync tests today. Seeing how he interacts with the Simulation Bodies with increased plug depth. Come, Tabris.” They move to shuffle him out, for the first time, he resists a little.

“Why don’t I have friends? The children book have friends. And go to school. And do sport.”

One of the scientists helps him into a wheelchair, connecting him to a IV. “Because you are not a normal child. You were created. Unlike everyone else, you have purpose.”

As he is wheeled away, the older Kaworu watches, expression sullen.

Memory 02.
It’s the same room. Though the books have shifted to be novels fitting for older teenagers and the piano is worn instead of new. In the center is a hospital bed, where Kaworu Nagisa currently sits. Or more accurately, where he’s currently restrained. He has bandages around his forehead and around his arms, from wrist to elbow. An odd spear, about a meter long, is lodged into his chest where his heart is. Oddly, he doesn’t seem to react like it’s causing him pain, though his wrists are shackled to the bed, preventing its removal.

An old man stands at his bedside, though it’s clear from the expressions both wear that neither are particularly pleased to be conversing.

“This insolence is tiring, Tabris. . Your purpose is to return the soul housed within you to its original body. Nor is your purpose to destroy facilities when you are displeased.”

Kaworu counters like he’s trying to get the upper hand, his lips curling into a sneer. What are you going to do about it? Kill me?”

“If necessary. We have found ways to make you replaceable.” The old man says, voice flat, disinterested in the boy in front of him. On the other hand, the color drains from Kaworu’s face. “If you are tired of this, then fulfill the destiny that you created for, and your burdened existence will cease. You already know it’s the only way.” The man departs without another word.]

Run, Rabbit, Run

[The idea of trapping animals is rather rudimentary to Kaworu and he displays little interest them, however, as a Darkblood, that means others may display interest in him.

And let’s be honest, he’s kind of a punchable little shit.

He’ll pass by a trap with someone in it, maybe a vile or a coldblood and smirk a little bit at their predicament. Especially if they seem inclined to attack him.]

What you think I set this trap on you? It wasn’t.

[Probably.]

Lockjoint

[Kaworu is a naïve, dummy on a good day but to make matters worse, he’s a naïve, dummy from a world where winter no longer exists and Japan exists in the eternal heat of the summer.

So naturally, he’s walking around in his short-sleeved school unform. He’s… cold but he doesn’t really seem to understand what that feeling is. It seems to eb and flow, conflicting with his bizarre biology.

Eventually, his arms become covered in bruises and it’s hard to move his fingers. Hmm.

He examines his hand for a bit before shoving in the face of some poor passing stranger.]

Is this what’s supposed to happen in the cold?

((As always, hit me up if you want any closed prompts or anything! Feel free to PM or hit me up on plurk (mythal) or discord (Trevelyan#6066 or I am in the Deer Channel)

memory 02

[thinkfirst]

[ This is a hard thing to watch.

Flynn is here and yet not, seeing and unseen, because none of the figures in this room seem to be reacting to his presence at all. And what figures they are, talking about a person the way one would talk about blastia. The words are the same words Alexei used to talk about Estellise, the same words that made Flynn's blood boil. Chilling to hear them again, here, in such a similar context.

He makes himself wait, just in case he is clocked as an intruder, until the awful sneering man departs, and only then moves forward to hover by the weapon plunged into Kaworu's chest. ]

Can I remove this? Will anything happen?

[ Jumping right into action because Flynn doesn't know how else to be. He has to help somehow. ]

[peripheries]

I'd be able to use my AT Field.

[Oh look, it's normal Kaworu, he has his feet on the piano (crass), leaning back and watching the scene.]

But it is SEELE tech created for the purpose of confining a creature such as myself. I don't know what failsafes they've put on it to prevent tampering.

[thinkfirst]

[ Flynn, already halfway across the room, halts at those last words, looking over his shoulder at the current Kaworu. ]

What did they mean? About... you being replaceable? Is it hurting you?

[ That last part is addressed to them both. He isn't even sure if the younger Kaworu can hear him but Flynn can't simply leave that there, not when he's vibrating with anger at those callous words lobbied to someone who couldn't even defend himself. Who mocked the idea of dying, and then seemed to have been presented with it. ]

memory 02

[facultative]

[Anakin finds himself sitting in the hospital chair next to Kaworu and he sits frozen for the whole conversation, hands gripping the chair arms tightly. He doesn't know if he's really here or not, but no one seems to be acknowledging his presence.]

...Is it even possible to escape your destiny?

[He's not expecting a reply. This had to be some sort of Force vision even if everything about this was unfamiliar.]

[peripheries]

Perhaps. But not without a cost.

[Another Kaworu, the one from the Trench, is sitting across the room at the piano bench, watching both Anakin and the other him, staring sullenly at his feet under the blanket.]

[facultative]

[He startles with the reply. So used to the idea that nothing could be changed.]

What did it cost you?

Memory 1

[alternia_strength]

[It had been close to accident when he'd ended up here. He'd been stopping by to bring something to someone's house nearby, right about the time that he was caught up in the light of the relic that Kaworu touched. Finding himself in the memory, he whirled for a moment, disoriented. His fists clenched, right up until he realized it was just a show.

A look at the boy reading, and a glance to his side.]

Grrr. I do not believe I am meant to see this. [A snort] Somehow I am not surprised I would be made to invade.

[That was as close to an apology as he was likely to give. This was clearly not meant for him to see.]

Mmmmph. These humans in suits are quite certain of themselves...

[peripheries]

They have to be. It's how they justify their behavior towards their goals.

[The real Kaworu speaks from a corner in the room. He too had been watching his memories, replaying like some sort of television screen.

There's something... violating about having these parts of him be seen but also validating. No one knew what his life was in that facility. It was all a big secret.]

lockjoint

[givehead]

(No one would ever refer to Dirk Strider as compassionate. He was someone who got shit done, in and out, no time for dicking around. He got shit done. There wasn't a soothing bone in his body. He simply was not raised to be soothing or nurturing. He was raised to be analytical and detached and he was good at being those things.

Until it came to people like Kaworu, apparently. He had stalked the shit out of this kid after their talk on his post and so when he sees him, he actually recognizes him. Dirk's not familiar with winter either, being from Texas, but he knew enough about the weather to have a leather jacket on, some gloves, and an orange scarf.

But apparently, no one gave Kaworu the memo on the cold or what it could do to you. He stares at the proffered hand, feeling something weird and unrecognizable in the pit of his gut. He would later assess the emotion to be one of protective concern - but in a way, he's only ever really felt in glimpses towards Dave. Not quite to this extent. Because Dave was always capable in his eyes.

Kaworu, this guy who was shoved into existence through experimentation, was not.

Okay, Dirk. It's time to use your words, buddy, and stop staring at the hand. He shakes his head.)

No. These flesh sacks aren't really meant to withstand this kind of cold. Here. Put this on. (He slides his leather jacket off and immediately plops it around Kaworu's shoulders. He was wearing an orange sweater under, so it was fine. He was fine.)

Dude. We need to get you inside ASAP.

[peripheries]

[Kaworu blinks at the jacket suddenly being slung around his shoulders. It's way too big for him and the fabric is strange... but it's comforting. And he suddenly realizes how cold the parts of him exposed to the wind were. He'd never experienced cold like this and thought, perhaps, the sensation was just normal and unavoidable.]

Inside? Is it bad to be cold then?

[He asks before sneezing violently and sniffling, all while looking very confused as to why that just happened. He... needs help.]

Lockjoint

[rosae]

( Despite the icy chill and the snow that's blanketing almost everything, Rose continues the search for her daughter, almost daily. It's... a slow process, and a frustrating one, something that serves as a painful reminder of her own limitations. Pure adrenaline and determination can't sustain a person forever.

Still, she keeps trying, a lone figure wandering slowly down the streets, boots stepping where the snow's been cleared a little bit by other people, hands shrugged into the pockets of her long tan coat. It's when she's passing a street corner that someone's arm shoots out and the person speaks to her, catching the woman by surprise.

That surprise is simply amplified as she takes him in. Young — another young boy; this place has so many. And he's in short sleeves... In this weather, young man?

The Mom Frown that touches her face is immediate and instinctive, tugging her lips tightly back. Of course, there's another matter at hand, and it's the state of his arms which is a fresh cause of sudden concern. Rose turns towards him, both of her own hands lifting, though she doesn't touch him just yet, simply staring wide-eyed down at the boy's bruised arm. )

What— oh— what happened to you? Did someone hurt you?

( It's clear by her horrified surprise that no, this definitely isn't supposed to happen in the cold. )

[peripheries]

No. They'd be unable to do something like that to me.

[His arms are bruised and his nose is red and runny... He certainly looks a sorry sight, even if he's not shivering or acting like someone who is cold should be.

He sniffs.]

Is this unusual?

run rabbit

[vibing]

Very funny.

[ Yuri is the one doing the hunting, so getting his foot tangled in a trap isn't exactly what he was intending to do today, but a small part of him is glad for it. He doesn't like this impulse to hunt that's vibrating through his body. He doesn't like being out of control of himself like this, and even if he also doesn't like being tied up, he can focus on trying with frigid, still fingers, to open the trap caught around his ankle. ]

You did set it, right? So, unset it.

[peripheries]

No, I would not have set a trap so rudimentary as that. If I wanted to catch you, I would have taken you by force.

[Still, it's like funny. It's funny to see him in that trap, even if he didn't set it. Hah.]

Though, I can set you free.

one Lockjoint, extra awkward, on the rocks

[wannasmash]

Having endured injuries to his joints in the past, Midoriya is quick to notice the unusual stiffness. When his usual remedies didn't work, he consulted a Blood Minister, who told him the best cure was hot springs or a saltwater bath. He's spent a lot of time cooped up at home resting. Hot springs sound amazing.

The Rocks were mostly populated by those who didn't or couldn't go to Achelliac. Today, it's mostly families, mixed groups, and the asocial. Midoriya is the last, not because he dislikes people, but because he's used to everything being separated by gender back home. The local Trenchies here are blasé about it, as on a nudist beach, but the last thing Midoriya wants to do is freak out if he accidentally gets too close to someone's boobs.

Their voices murmur quietly along with the sound of surf below. He finds a pool that's out of the way and gets into his towel behind some rocks. In addition to the old scars on his right arm, he has a lot of new ones everywhere from last month. They're light though, because he was able to get to the Blood Ministers quickly. Like everyone else, he keeps his clothes very near at hand. Beasts don't frequent the Rocks because it's so inconvenient to get here, but one never knows. The average Trenchie covers up well for safety.

He sinks into the water all the way up to his chin. His joints tingle pleasantly, healing warmth spreading all the way to his fingertips. He breathes in the steam and sighs. Heavenly. He recalls how, when he was healing from injuries to his arms in the past, he used heat as directed to stimulate circulation. He realizes how much he needed this, body and mind, after last month. He was smart to come here.

[peripheries]

The hot spring is... well, boring, much to his great disappointment. From the human television he'd been able to see, scenarios where humans go to hot springs were supposed to be exciting, filled with romance, drama, and sometimes even things like ghosts.

But this was just people milling about. Mostly families. He idly watches parents with their young children for a bit but it stirs something in him that feels acidic and sharper than the pain from the Lockjoint.

He turns to see who else is about, wondering idly if Shinji-kun (the human, not the omen) would have come to a place like this with him if he'd asked. Even if he'd needed it to survive.

Then his eyes turn on someone a boy... not quite his age, but only a little older. Someone who is definitely a Sleeper like him. Immediately, he crosses over and sits down next to the other boy.

"So, are you here to cure the Lockjoint too?"

lockjoint

[lludw]

[Lucius blinks. At the abruptness and the possibly-frostbite, but mostly at how the arm's owner is barely wearing anything in solidly below freezing temperatures. Lucius may be a Coldblood immune to external temperature (and unwittingly generating his own field of heat at the moment) now, but he's still dressed in multiple thick layers. It's stupid not to prepare for winter.

He raises his eyebrows.]

It is if you're going around dressed like that.

[peripheries]

[I AM SO SORRY I MISSED THIS.

Kaworu whips around and stares at the other boy before scrunching his face up to sneeze from the cold. He wipes his nose on his forearm.]

How should I be dressed then?

Lockjoint

[azurestar]

[After his own experience with a little bit of lockjoint, Lance is bundled way up. Even though he doesn't really ever feel cold. And when he spots Kaworu on the street in shorts, he stops and stares at his brandished hand.]

Dude, you're supposed to wear pants and a jacket in the cold! You'd get frostbite anywhere dressed like that in this weather. [But even as he says it, he is carefully taking Kaworu's wrist in his hand and getting a closer look.] This looks like lockjoint.

[peripheries]

I am wearing pants.

[He says like that's an acceptable enough answer for the situation. Sure, the school uniform has pants but the top part is short sleeved. And would certainly be extremely cold.]

Lockjoint?

lockjoint

[sideeffect]

[ riz may be a bear, but that doesn't necessarily mean he enjoys the cold. he's no thriving polar bear. fur helps, and yet, he's still bundled up with several layers as he can against any chill. he's minding his own business, as he does, when abruptly a human hand enters into his field of vision. he stops in his tracks, looking down to follow along the bruised arm - ]

[ ah. it's kaworu. ]

Oh... Dunno.

[ helpful. ]

-- but for guys like you, probably not. [ for humans? angels? there's a bit of concern to his voice, but he can also see that he's not yet suffering any afflicting crystals... that aren't hidden by clothing, anyway. ] That's called Lockjoint, isn't it? Another malady you'd see here.

[peripheries]

Is that like… what do humans call it… a cold?

[As if on cue, he sneezes, rather violently, and seems a little surprised that his body decided to do that.

He rubs at his nose.]

What should I do about it?

lockjoint.

[micycle]

[This is absolutely not what Mike was anticipating when he stepped out of the bakery, already twisting his coat tighter around his shoulders. School uniform? Strange. Short sleeves? Stranger. Sudden forced arm inspection? Woah, okay, no thanks.]

Dude. [He stumbles on his bad leg, taking in the sight in bits and pieces.] You're getting frostbite. That's what happens when you dress like that in winter.

[It's really not.]

[peripheries]

Well, this is the only clothing I have.

[So... what do you expect him to do? Buy more? Ridiculous!!!

He examines his fingers.]

Frostbite?