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Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] deercountry2021-09-08 06:20 pm
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All men must die, but first he must live.

SEPTEMBER 2021 EVENT
IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Prompt One
[Image One: Woman holding skull in bag. ]
[Image Two: Plants sprouting out of earth.]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Woman rocking back and forth in dark.]
[Image Two: Woman rowing down river with corpses on stakes on horizon.]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Beef cake man breaking arrows off of shield with a sword.]
[Image Two: Beefy man slamming axe into troll-like creature, spraying blood.]

GROWING PAINS
WHEN: September
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Minor blood ritual.


September, for many in Trench, is considered a month of personal sacrifice. It is the month of self-actualization and promise. To grow your future, you must first be willing to sacrifice your past. You cannot walk forwards while walking backward. All throughout Trench, natives can be seen in yards and on plots of land digging small holes and planting a variety of items. Some plant seeds, some drop in a ring, others bury small parts of a body. But the ritual is simple: bury something that represents your past and seal it with a promise for your future.

You can write yourself a note or cut off a lock of your own hair. The ways in which people do this are limitless since it's a largely personal experience. Find a small patch of soil and dig yourself a shallow hole. Bury the item inside, say goodbye to who you used to be, and cover the item up with dirt. Once you are done, you must shed at least one drop of blood onto the sacrifice. It must be your own blood willingly given. Once the blood hits the soil, a small flower will miraculously grow out of the earth within seconds.

A single, powerless flower, but this flower will be completely immortal. You can either keep it on the patch of land or dig it up and bring it home. The flower will be a representation of your progress in Trench: if its petals wilt, you are lingering too much in the past. If it is in full bloom and vibrant, you're on the right path to a better future. If the flower starts to rot, you're heading down a dangerous path.

The flower may not be able to sway you one way or another, but it may serve as a valuable reminder of the kind of life you wish to lead. Some people abandon the flowers entirely and never bother with them. After all, there are no real consequences if you let the flower rot. If a character is dropped, their flower will fleck away like dust. Many believe that the flowers are made of the same stuff omens are made of.

You can dig up other people's flowers and watch their progress (make sure to get player permission) instead. After all, not everyone will care enough about their own flowers to really observe them closely. The flowers can come in any species or size, even fictional flowers, but they will only be replicas. Meaning if your character's flower is typically used for healing, there will be no healing properties in this replica. The flowers cannot be destroyed.

Many natives in Trench will repeat this ritual a few times every couple of years since the ritual is for letting go of the past. After all, the promises you make to yourself now won't be the same promises you make to yourself ten years from now. People change and so too will their flowers. What the characters bury is largely open to interpretation.

RIVER OF REGRET
WHEN: September
WHERE: Some obscure location within Gaze
CONTENT WARNINGS: Mangled corpses of loved ones, birds eating corpses, themes of regret.


You will find raven feathers all over Trench. They may drift through the air, lightly touch you, or you might decide to pick one up. The moment you come into physical contact with a feather, a conspiracy of ravens tears through the air and scoops you up into a whirlwind of feathers and caws. It only lasts a few seconds before you're deposited into a canoe drifting along a still river. Another Sleeper is in the boat with you. You pass beneath massive stone walls carved into the likeness of Never Mind and his ravens.

The world is silent around you. There is no rain here. Instead, sunlight pours through breaks in the clouds. Sunlight dapples across the water and golden-red leaves of nearby trees. It's more serene than most places in Trench.

You turn a corner and smell it before you see it. The picturesque summer day is dampened by the stench of rot. Then you come upon them: corpses. Corpses tied up to posts with barbed wire, corpses put through spikes and suspended in the air. Ravens flutter to and fro, picking at strips of meat. It isn't until you're close enough that you realize you recognize the corpses.

They are the corpses of people you have hurt. And that doesn't just mean people you killed or physically harmed. These are the bodies of people you have deep regrets towards: a lover you wronged, a best friend you lied to, an enemy you wish you had forgiven. Not everything is as black and white as murder, after all, and this grisly graveyard of mangled bodies says as much. Sometimes our regrets haunt us like the dead, and it seems like yours have followed you to Trench. You might even see your own body up on a post or the body of your canoe companions.

You have one of two choices: ignore your regret or face it.

Choosing to ignore your regrets doesn't seem to have any ill consequences at first. You pass by the corpses and continue on your river voyage. But the water grows thicker, and you come across the same corpses only in a worse state. The situation gets progressively worse each time you ignore it, and the river gradually becomes a river of blood and gore. The stench becomes insufferable and you will become increasingly corrupt. Some may even turn into beasts right there on the river.

Facing your regrets means talking about them, even mildly, to your canoe companions. You simply need to acknowledge the corpses, acknowledge the slightest truth to your feelings towards those regrets. When everyone in your canoe has acknowledged their regrets, the ravens will come for you once more. You will be brought back to Trench and awaken in the School of Mutter. Those who faced their regrets will discover that they have been gifted a white gold compass. The compass's needle will always point in the direction of the nearest Lamp Friend no matter the chaos going on in the world. But the compass only works once you have calmed down and focused.

QUICK FACTS

1. Each boat can hold up to 4 people. There can be multiple canoes in the same area.

2. If you try to leave the boat, you will drown in the River of Regret.

3. This does not have to encompass every regret someone's had. It can only represent one or two things. The regret should have to do with another individual or one's self. Something like "I regret not going to college" wouldn't necessarily work within the parameters of the prompt.

4. The river can only be accessed by touching a fallen raven feather. Touching a raven feather attached to the bird or a quill does not count.

5. Characters can engage with this prompt as many times as they touch a raven feather.

6. Characters with no regrets will not see corpses, but they will still be able to interact with characters who do have regrets.
BLOODSPORT
WHEN: During the Blood Moon
WHERE: Everywhere but specifically, The Gate
CONTENT WARNINGS: Violence, fighting, forced aggression/violence, forced fighting.


The Blood Moon invokes religious reverence among Trenchies. September and October are the ultimate months of sacrifice to pay tribute to the gods and the blood that rules this world. An energy begins to swell among Trenchies and you keep hearing the same word whispered excitedly around the city: "Bloodsport."

As the Blood Moon floods the streets in red, you begin to feel antsy, like you don't know what to do with yourself. You're not necessarily angry, you just have an abundance of energy. You don't need to be told what it is: your blood is reacting to the moon. The Blood Moon enhances blood powers significantly and you're simply not used to that yet. You don't feel in control of your own power or maybe even your own mind. At least until you exert some power, some force. Slam a door shut or swing a sword, shoot some electricity or spit some poison and you'll feel at peace with yourself. That nervous energy will ease out.

Only to come back twice as strong. It starts to put you in a real fighting mood and you start to realize why the locals call this Bloodsport. Hunting down beasts and monsters might seem like the fun thing to do right now, but the real attraction for Bloodsport takes place at The Gate. You can hear the roaring crowd blocks away. Hundreds of Trenchies have settled in to watch Sleepers duke it out with each other or with locked-up monsters. Maybe join in the fight. At least you know the other Sleepers there want to be there...Right?

Unfortunately not. Those who resist Bloodsport will find themselves passing out more and more frequently. Eventually, they will be taken by Mysterious Forces to The Gate to be pitted against other Sleepers and monsters. Some Sleepers will be forced into a gladiator-style fight that they either must win or die trying. Most fights at the Gate do end in death, but there are some circumstances where someone surrenders. Of course, that never stops their opponent from killing them anyway...Hopefully, you're fighting someone who is still relatively reasonable. Both parties can be resistant to fighting, but they will feel obligated to fight each other. If they don't, monsters will be unleashed into the arena and your situation will get a whole lot worse.

Bloodsport can greatly enhance a Sleeper's ability and many believe it is a gift from the Pthumerian gods. It is generally considered an advantage to Sleepers during the Season of Blood to prepare them and train them to hone their skills for the Season of Bone. Many believe it is wisest to submit to Bloodsport and let yourself get used to the motions of violence in order to survive the remainder of the year.

QUICK FACTS

1. Casual physical training will alleviate Bloodsport feelings. You could get through the month just by jogging around a lot.

2. Characters forced to the Gate will not remember how or when they arrived - they will just wake up and be thrown into the Gate by some shadowy force.

3. Characters who willingly participate in violence/fighting will feel temporary relief from Bloodsport only for the feeling to increase.

4. Effects of Bloodsport last as long as the Blood Moon shines through September and October.

5. You can treat symptoms of Bloodsport with calming techniques such as aromatherapy, meditation, medications, etc. Can be based on what would ICly help calm your character but it should require a lot of it.

6. You can invent the monsters/beasts that are at the Gate. They should be killable creatures and easily captured for the purpose of the Gate.
CODING
undermoonlight: (223)

Growing Pains

[personal profile] undermoonlight 2021-09-10 09:45 am (UTC)(link)
[The natives have made this ritual sound important and Atsushi is easily pressured about these kinds of things... but like Rei, he isn't keen to do the spilling his bloody willingly part on his own. It sounds like a recipe for disaster. And in general, the ritual is something he wants to do before Usagi or Makoto try it. He gladly takes up Rei's offer to try it together and make sure it's harmless.]

As ready as I can be, considering what we're doing.

[He bows his head as she arrives. Atsushi has a small knife in one hand and a couple seeds in the other. As for what to bury with the seeds...] Though I couldn't figure out what to bury. You?
incandescentfaith: (Neutral/Flat)

[personal profile] incandescentfaith 2021-09-11 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
I have something.

[She's holding a small strip of leather attached to something she has her hand closed around. It's an important memento, but not something that she's sure she wants to be rid of yet. If nothing else, she can clip her hair.]

Have you ever done a ritual of any sort before, Atsushi?
undermoonlight: (160)

[personal profile] undermoonlight 2021-09-11 09:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[While he's curious about her memento, Atsushi won't pry. He focuses on her question and shakes his head slowly.]

No, sorry. We didn't really get out of the orphanage much. I've been to shrines, but only to pray.

Do you recognize this ritual they're talking about? I would think burying random items is like littering..?
incandescentfaith: (Sarcasm)

[personal profile] incandescentfaith 2021-09-13 09:56 pm (UTC)(link)
It isn't, if it's done with a purpose. There are...some rites that involve this sort of thing in certain faiths, but I don't believe this is like those.

[This place is wholly different, the church is nothing like ones she's familiar with, either.]

The blood bit is unique, certainly.
undermoonlight: (115)

[personal profile] undermoonlight 2021-09-17 06:44 pm (UTC)(link)
The blood bit is unique, indeed... and quite common here, huh?

[It reminds him of a bad horror novel, really. He needed to do a doubletake when he first saw someone performing this ritual.

He unconsciously begins pushing the sleeve of one arm up slightly, anticipating what they're going to have to do.]


I don't know much about rituals or religions, but this place seems to really like blood? Or... fear it?
incandescentfaith: (Dutiful)

[personal profile] incandescentfaith 2021-09-19 06:46 pm (UTC)(link)
It is common, yes.

[Rei considers what he's asking solemnly, thinking back to what she'd learned thus far. The academy was a bit unusual, but blood was a very, very common theme.]

In my world, blood has power. It did in Deerington too. It...does track that it'd have the same implications here. But here, maybe because of the Pthumerian influence, it's become much more of a focus. Fear maybe, or perhaps it is reverence?
undermoonlight: (66)

[personal profile] undermoonlight 2021-09-27 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
It does seem to be a mix of both. You learn to respect what you've feared for too long, right?

[So it's unfair of him to think of this place as 'weird,' when their feelings on blood at probably justified. Atsushi releases a held breath, trying to relax.]

Step one is to bury the past, right? How do we do that?
incandescentfaith: (Cheeky)

[personal profile] incandescentfaith 2021-09-28 02:45 am (UTC)(link)
Mmhmm.

[That's completely fair.

But, focus on the moment, of course.]


Did you bring an object with you, something you want to let go of?
undermoonlight: (87)

[personal profile] undermoonlight 2021-09-28 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
Well, I think I do?

[His hesitation is visible as he removes the red and blue from his tie. It's something that can't be replaced: A piece of his original uniform from Yokohama. A symbol of belonging with the Agency and his old life there.

Even as he holds it in his palm, Atsushi is having doubts.]


They want us to let go of the life we had before the Trench, right? I think this represents it well enough. [Though he isn't sure if he's actually ready to bury his old life. He only does this because he thinks it's expected of him.]

Can I ask what you picked?
incandescentfaith: (Sarcasm)

[personal profile] incandescentfaith 2021-09-28 08:37 pm (UTC)(link)
You can ask.

[Rei doesn't immediately intend to tell. She has something held tight in her fist, a simple thing, nothing extravagant but with immense personal significance. It's a little difficult to explain why she doesn't want to show it, and she keeps silent for a few minutes longer before letting out a breath.]

It's a gift from...someone I used to be involved with.

[Ironically, not something from home, but Deerington.

She holds up a small, plastic pog. Just a milk-cap, with some writing on it.]


This. A memento of my first girlfriend.
undermoonlight: (234)

[personal profile] undermoonlight 2021-10-05 08:41 am (UTC)(link)
[It may be a small object, but even someone as dense as Atsushi can understand the significance. He looks at the milk-cap with concern.]

And you're sure that's something that you want to bury?

[Because while he's also burying memories of people, he isn't as certain. Atsushi had almost hoped that he might be told not to bury them at all.]
incandescentfaith: (Sad Eyes)

[personal profile] incandescentfaith 2021-10-06 02:38 am (UTC)(link)
I am.

[Rei turns it over and over in her fingertips.]

I'm happy with Winter. I've found someone that I care for, and while Gwen will always be a part of me, I...don't think I'll ever have that kind of romance again. Or want it. If she were to return, I'd want us to stay friends, but I feel more connected with who I'm with now. So burying that past feels right.
undermoonlight: (56)

[personal profile] undermoonlight 2021-10-13 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
I see...

[He looks at the clip he'd been considering again, thinking over Rei's words.]

Me too. Even if the members of the Agency came here and asked for me to stay with them, I'd... I'd probably stay with Usagi-chan and Makoto-chan.

[Atsushi closes his fist around the clip again.] So I'll bury this.
incandescentfaith: No Source (Default)

[personal profile] incandescentfaith 2021-10-13 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
Good. They'd like that I'm sure.

[That's what matters most to Rei. That her friends and their connections are happy.]

Are you ready, then?
undermoonlight: (83)

[personal profile] undermoonlight 2021-10-14 07:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, let's do it.

[He kneels down by the dirt, setting the tie clip aside for now.]

Are you expecting anything weird to happen? It seems like a normal ritual to the people here, but they're used to a lot. [Like monsters and the blood poisoning.]
incandescentfaith: Icon by <user name=palpos> Colors by Naoko (Contemplate the Future)

[personal profile] incandescentfaith 2021-10-15 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
[Rei pulls out a pair of trowels and hands him one, before beginning to dig.]

Not really, no. This seems tame?
undermoonlight: (85)

[personal profile] undermoonlight 2021-10-15 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
Well, when we compare it to anything in the old place...

[Atsushi takes one trowel and begins digging.]

I still don't understand how we ended up here. Maybe I need to bury that part too, before it drives me crazy.
incandescentfaith: (Leaning Forward)

[personal profile] incandescentfaith 2021-10-15 04:16 pm (UTC)(link)
I would. There's little good to be had, dwelling on Deerington. Sodder is dead, and with her, that hellhole.

[The flesh falls hole especially unnerved her.

She digs quickly, methodically clearing space for the pog.]


It's wise to let past traumas be forgotten.
undermoonlight: (srs bsns)

[personal profile] undermoonlight 2021-10-20 05:54 am (UTC)(link)
[Akutagawa had said something similar. While reluctant to take any advice from his enemy, Atsushi can see the truth in those words when they come from Rei.

He nods. The tie clip doesn't require much space and he's quick to set it down in the dirt.]


You're right. Maybe this ritual isn't so strange as I thought, then.