All men must die, but first he must live.

[reddosmod]

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.]

[NAVIGATION]

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

[JUMP TO COMMENTS]

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

Comments

adorable????

[armd]

... Well now I think it does.

(after listening to his explanation that is, and considering her own moment of initial recognition. abby tips the lily gently toward her, staring at the dark stamens that sit starkly against the warmth of the petals. it isn't just owen, she realises, but her dad too. her dad and his greenhouse, his hopes and dreams. his dying plants.

the memory makes her grin suddenly, soft and fond. he used to complain about it. he was too forgetful about the watering, he either did it too much or not enough.)

I guess it has to, right. Otherwise they'd all be the same.

[possessum]

( He's never really had something like this to take care of — something to like, try to keep alive. His family dog Rex showed up in Deerington for awhile, but that felt... kind of different. Rex was dead back home. This version of him was something from Peter's memories — maybe kind of like a ghost, in a way. And he's gone now.

But this little flower... well. Peter has to water it, and try to keep it safe, and be gentle with it. (He doesn't know that it won't die anyway.....) )

Oh yeah, that's a good point. Everyone has different ones. ( He's looking thoughtfully at hers; it's a really beautiful flower. He wonders if she'd just gotten hers, given the toting it around without a container. )

Are you gonna put it in a pot, or plant it somewhere?

[armd]

Yeah.

(she puffs out her cheeks and blows the air out with a huff, looking at the lump of dirt in her hands, all over her hands, sort of up her sleeves at the wrists... the rain hasn't helped matters. the lily sways gently in her exhale.)

Gonna find something back at the house. My– dad actually used to be really into plants, but he was bad at keeping them alive. Hope that's not hereditary.

[possessum]

( Peter can't help giving a faint smile as she mentions her dad, the expression something that looks a little bit sad around the corners. He remembers his dad, even if it's something that still feels a little foggy. He remembers glasses and sweaters, a mug of coffee in hand. A man with a calm voice. Too calm, sometimes, distant. His dad was like a ghost more than a person. Peter knows he'll never ever see him again, just like all of the other people here will never ever see theirs again. It's... strange, sad. )

Hopefully this isn't some weird test. Like, here's some flowers, but we're gonna make them really hard to keep alive, and if they die, you also.... die.

( He gives a soft laugh, looking back down at the daisy, thoughtful. ) What kind of plants did your dad have?

[armd]

(that is sad.

abby hasn't forgotten about her dad. she thinks about him every so often, usually when something reminds her of him. like the flower, right now, or during conversations she has with lev. sometimes he makes her think about what it would have been to parent her while she was growing up, and those moments of memory are usually fond, the sting still there but duller, time slowly wearing at it.

her memories of him might become like peter's as she gets older. foggy, and faint, like a frosted over window. the thought of that scares her more than she's willing to admit to anybody. she's scared of forgetting what his voice sounded like.)

I really wouldn't put it past this place, (she replies, her voice dry.) Uh, he had a bit of everything. He liked nasturtiums. The– little orange ones. Anything colourful, really. I don't think he'd like this place very much.

(it's so... grey.)

[possessum]

( The other shoe might drop any day now, with these things — maybe they'll start requiring blood instead of water to grow, or... make seeds that turn into creepy pod people or something. Fuck, who knows. But even as he jokes (kind of) about it, there's that deep part of Peter that just.... knows he's supposed to take care of the daisy. It came from him — his hair, his blood, his memories. Those may still be fuzzy but he knows they're important.

As important as hers are, too. He likes listening, watching the girl attentively as she talks about her dad. It's nice she has something to remind her of him, Peter thinks; he's glad she does. He hopes she's not too lonely here. )

Yeah, it's really.... dreary here, isn't it? ( Peter peers out from the shop overhang; it's still raining, everything all grey and wet. Deerington had its dismal moments too, but this place is... very different. Like different all over, some other world entirely. The colourful flowers seem almost out of place. )

I didn't really think it'd be like this. Or... I don't think I did. My memories are still kind of.... wonky. ( The boy pauses, frowns a little. He'd... thought about what it might be like before going through the Door, he knows he had. But it's just now coming to him; he's just now starting to understand who she is. Remembering the last time he ever talked to her; it was back on the other side. He blinks, looks back to her— )

You're Abby. I know you.

( ...It's taken him a whole conversation to remember a single name. That's the state of him. )

[armd]

Just a bit.

(they're currently standing in the middle of a downpour, and the stone underneath of their feet is suspiciously grubby for something that gets rain-washed on a regular basis... there's a bit of muck at the toe of abby's boot, something that could be dirt, but she has a sneaking suspicion that it's something worse than that. gorier.

gross.) I know what you mean, though. I dunno what I was expecting, but...

(she heaves a sigh, squinting out into the rain,) I guess I thought it'd be a little nicer, yeah. Less... um, Victorian.

(wait, is victorian even the right word? are they still on earth?? holy shit, she hadn't even considered that until right now. deerington was to maine as trench is to... abby's expression remains slightly blank even as peter finally places her; she jolts back into the conversation seconds later.) Huh? Yeah. I'm Abby.

What were we talking about?

[possessum]

Right? I mean I wasn't exactly expecting a Hawaiian resort, but... ( An all-you-can-eat buffet, maybe?? He almost says it as a joke, not meant seriously, but stops himself. ...Wait, where'd that thought come from? It was almost intrusive-feeling.

Peter's blinking, brows furrowed at himself for a moment. Then the blinking is directed at her as she seems to come out of a brief haze (oh, mood) and he's some mix of bemused and relieved, this weird feeling flooding in. Because he knows her. She's— one of Clarisse's friends, and he'd talked to her a couple of times, too. She was one of the last people he talked to before he came here. )

How freaky-deak this place is. ( Peter smiles a little, turns to face her a bit more. He should be in Anxious Mode to be thinking about this place at all, but he can't help being fueled by that sense of relief, at least in the immediate moment. )

But as fucked up as this place is, at least it seems like most of us are here. Us from... Deerington. ( It's what he'd been so worried about, losing sleep over those last few days when he and Luna stayed in bed eating everything in the house and not being able to help wondering if there was maybe a chance they'd never see each other again.

...But then, there's a thought, and his eyelids flutter a little— )

Is... Lev here? He came, he's... with you? ( It just seems like if he's here, he'd be with Abby. )

[armd]

Right. (the topic of the hour. every hour, and every day, and this entire week. abby's a little tired of it but there's nothing else to react to right now. everybody is finding their feet, and then their space, and dealing with the whole memory thing... the blood thing, the omen thing. too many things. she pinches the bridge of her nose with one hand, and sighs, and leaves a good smear of dirt behind on her skin.)

Yeah, Lev is here.

(aw. she remembers peter asking about him now, when they sat on that beach and watched the world come to a close around them.) You should come around to our house some time. Clarisse and Bella are there too.

[possessum]

( It happens without him really being consciously aware of it.

As soon as she says the name herself — Lev — something shifts up under him. Not with the usual convulsive jolt, not with any pain. Peter breathes in, and something else breathes back out. Just for a moment. It wakes up and watches her, and remembers.

It hates her, it thinks. Or whatever sensations the strange entity is capable of feeling that come the closest to that.

But it's not so reckless and frenzied, now. It knows better than to lash out, expose itself. It listens, and remembers what she says. Maybe it can do to her what it did to Clarisse, once. Make her see things, make her scared and screaming.

Then Peter's back, completely unaware of any of it. He smiles, not so nervous at all anymore. He remembers those names too, now. They're his friends. )

Yeah— Yeah, I'd like that. Luna's here too, we should all— see each other. Team up. Who knows what shit this place is gonna pull.

[armd]

(abby doesn't even notice. it's over in the blink of an eye, one she isn't even looking for. she's thinking about people, how they're important, that people got her through deerington and no doubt they'll get her through trench, too. she's got friends, and she isn't alone here. she's got lev. she's got clarisse; it's going to be okay.)

Yeah. (she seems less tense in that moment, his reassurance allowing her shoulders to drop,) That's a good idea.

Maybe in a couple days, once we've got a handle on the... new powers thing. (she's thinking of clarisse when she says it, to be honest.)