reddosmod: (Default)
Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] deercountry2022-12-08 08:09 pm

now your tearin through the pages and the ink

DECEMBER 2022 EVENT
Due to the cyclical nature of Trench, LAST YEARS EVENT PROMPTS are also open to players. Please be sure to mark if you are using this years prompts or last years prompts to avoid confusion for players.

IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Prompt One
[Image One: Animal paw print in the snow. ]
[Image Two: A close up of a hissing cat's mouth. ]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Hands underneath cracking ice. ]
[Image Two: A dark, snowy river bed in the woods at night under the moon and clouds. ]

Prompt Three
[Image One: A woman lying in the snow, her face covered by her hair. ]
[Image Two: Bloody handprints in the snow. ]

FIGHT OR FLIGHT
WHEN: December
WHERE: Throughout Trench, particularly near the woods.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Paranoia, fear, violence, possible murder, reality questioning


Dorothea seems to be off. She's more skittish than usual, even to those she may have formed even the slightest of connections to. Her own patrons will notice that she still acts like a cornered animal whenever someone gets too close. Her hair might puff up, she shrinks back from touch, and she's quick to bite if she feels she has to defend herself. People can put two and two together pretty easily: whatever illness that has made the Tower so odd has spread out to others.

The fear she's feeling will slowly start to spread out through the month. Those who have Dorothea as their patron Pthumerian will start to feel the impacts earlier than others, but soon it's going out into the general Sleeper population. It starts off with a tiny voice in the back of the mind, one that alerts danger, even if there isn't anything immediately threatening in the area. It's quiet at first, but becomes louder and louder, until the fear becomes overwhelming.

People will start to respond to it with their natural instincts of fight, flight, or freeze. Some people might try to blend into the background and keep away from strong social settings. Others might start to lash out, fighting with anyone who crosses their path because they could be the threat. People can even go so far as to try to kill those they're close to simply because they don't trust them to be safe.

But that rational side might still try to break through. The constant tug of war can leave people questioning what's real, where the danger really is coming from, or if there was any danger to begin with. It's hard to get the answers or to calm down enough to look for concrete proof when the heart is racing as fast as it is, clouding the mind from being able to handle reason.

If a Sleeper fights their natural instinct and tries to trust others, the effects seem to lessen, but they never fully go away. The small underlying feeling of fear will be there throughout the month, no matter how hard someone tries to fight it.

Note: Not everyone will be hit by this curse. You may opt-out by simply having your character not be effected. For those who are already dealing by paranoia or distrust from their blood impacts, the effects will be that much stronger and more difficult to fight, and more likely to escalate to violence.

COLD AS ICE
WHEN: December
WHERE: ???
CONTENT WARNINGS: Possible drowning, being trapped under ice, claustrophobia


It feels like a dream, but the world around is so solid and real, it's hard to tell if that's true. Everything is pitch black at first and the Sleeper stuck in this new place will feel a heavy weight on their chest. What's most noticeable right off the bat is how cold it is. Colder than it was back in Trench, an almost stabbing pain all over the skin, and it wouldn't be over the top to worry about frost bite. The pressure that's pushing onto the Sleeper's chest will become more noticeable all around them, like there's some sort of vice grip on their entire body.

A beam of moonlight breaks through the darkness and it's then that they are able to tell where they are: under water. Trapped under the ice of a large lake, one where shore seems completely out of reach. Swimming to the top will make it clear that while the ice has cracks on the very surface of it, they're superficial, and it may feel difficult to break through. Trying to use powers to break through the ice will make it clear very quickly that powers don' work in this water.

Is this it? Is that the end? Continuing to swim to try and find a hole may feel pointless, but those who choose to will eventually find that they run into another Sleeper or two. It's hard to communicate underwater, likely, especially when it seems like the omnis don't work to project thoughts to one another the way they usually do. But if the Sleepers can figure out how to communicate, they might find that coordinating their movements to push up against the ice will start to make a loud, rumbling noise fill the water.

The ice is starting to crack. It just takes team work.

Fighting one another or resisting will bring about the very obvious feeling of drowning. Even those who can breathe under water will find that they are unable to in these moments. The only option to get out is to work as a team. So long as they cooperate, Sleepers can break a hole through the ice, escaping the frozen water.

Crawling through the hole in the ice will bring them out of a manhole in a random street of Trench. The lake will be gone and the water too. Those who don't crawl out fast enough behind their teammates will find that the hole disappears entirely and they're forced to start all over.

NOW YOU SEE ME
WHEN: December
WHERE: Trenchwood
CONTENT WARNINGS: Murder, demons, supernatural, violence, abuse, other awful fairy tale themes


There's one thing that's always nice about the holiday seasons lining up across so many worlds: people get to share the stories of their homelands with one another. Traditions are passed down, legendary figures are explained. People will find that they're even more compelled to share stories from their home, whether it's about a winter holiday they deeply enjoy, or even fairy tales that they were told as children. Th urge to share will feel completely natural, even if it's just to one person rather than a whole group.

But there's always a catch in Trench. As stories are shared, the figures that they're focused on will start to manifest throughout the city as actual, real beings. Santa Claus, shoemaking elves, Snow Queens... Anything is up for grabs, but they won't be exactly like the figures that people spoke of. Their eyes will glow a deep red and their skin will be covered in bleeding wounds, dripping red paths across the snow. These strange versions of these legendary beings will haunt the streets of Trench, attacking anyone they see who doesn't look like them.

It will become clear that there's violent demons about as Trenchies (or even Sleepers) start to show up dead in the snow. Their deaths never seem to be gentle, but instead a clear product of a frenzied blood lust. People may have been brutally stabbed, or ripped to pieces and scattered. Even if the characters in a Sleeper's story were good people, even heroes, their Trench counterparts only want to destroy.

Killing these demons at least seems to be extremely easy. Luring them in with a blood sacrifice is probably the simplest, but people can try to find them and corner them throughout the city as well. Destroy their eyes and the demons will vanish. This can be done by attacking the face directly or by cutting off the head and destroying it. This information is not readily available however, so it will have to be done by trial and error until Sleepers can start to share the information with one another as the month goes on.

CODING
chenqing_player: (what did you say?)

[personal profile] chenqing_player 2022-12-18 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
He nods and moves along with the other man. Every once in awhile there is a small jerk of shoulders if anyone happens to walk past them or approach in anyway. But he feels slightly more confident with Xichen by his side.

Wei Wuxian has worked very hard to make sure he didn't let the quirks of this place make him lose himself or lose control. He has trained hard over these last years, especially once he was left alone. He knew he had to be able to keep any darkness inside of him in check. There were a few times when this place got the best of him. This was one of those times but he wasn't close to losing himself in quite the same way as he did when he was first trying to control the demonic cultivation.

The question is a curious one though and he looks up at Xichen with a confused look. It is at least enough to distract him from everything else around him for the moment. "I took the body of Mo Xuanyu but...I have always looked like myself."
baiyueguang: (:))

[personal profile] baiyueguang 2022-12-18 01:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Different books on a shelf, Shen Yuan had described it. With only a few words changed. It warms his heart to know that even in a different reality, his little brother and Wei Wuxian still chose each other.

"Ah," he says to this revelation. Because at the end of the day, it matters very little. A slightly different Wei Wuxian is still Wei Wuxian, after all, and Xichen isn't going to nitpick over semantics here. "My mistake, then."

They are close to the sanctuary - he can see the guardian tree rising above the surrounding wall and he soon guides Wei Wuxian through the courtyard to a bench cleared of snow so they can sit away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

"May I check your pulse?" he asks. "I wish to ensure that whatever is causing this isn't interfering with the flow of your qi."
chenqing_player: (what did you say?)

[personal profile] chenqing_player 2022-12-19 04:47 am (UTC)(link)
Wei wuxian is not as educated in the idea of various versions of himself out there but he knows that in some cases he has seen it happen. It's not that he thought he could possible be the only one...its just he hasn't really encountered someone from a similar place as his own world. Now to think that Xichen...Huiasang...or even Jin Guangyao could all be different has his mind working in a frenzy.

But he gets drawn from those thoughts as Xichen settles him down on a bench and asks to check over him. If he tenses just slightly it is because there is still that slight fear that this is a trick...and that by doing so he other man will somehow do something to him or take control of his mind.

Trying to have faith in what he sees in front of him he gives a nod and holds out his hand towards the other man. "I don't want to lose control of myself." ALthough he feels like he already has...
baiyueguang: (feeling good)

[personal profile] baiyueguang 2022-12-19 05:21 am (UTC)(link)
"You won't," he says with with a rare kind of certainty.

He takes his wrist gently, the way he'd done a thousand times for his brother while Wangji recovered from his injuries, and checks his pulse.

There is a flicker of relief in his eyes; Wei Wuxian is not on the fast-track to a qi deviation, but his pulse is racing and there is definitely something wrong.

It's an external force, however, and Xichen has the tools and skills to repel it.

"I will play the Purification Tone," he explains. "It will be more effective if Wei-gongzi can enter a meditative state, but it should still help even if that's not possible right now."
chenqing_player: (Default)

[personal profile] chenqing_player 2022-12-22 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
"Relaxing that much will be difficult..." He isn't sure he can actually meditate when he thinks that the entire world is out to get him but with Xichen there he might just be able to give it a try. He knows that if anything were to try and get him then the other man would be able to strike it down. Which is likely more then he is capable of at this moment.

He lets out a slow breath. He has never been one to run from a challenge though and if Xichen believes he can help, then he will believe in him. "I will try."

Because that is all he can do. He closes his eyes for a moment to try and settle his breathing. He doesn't like not being able to see what is around him and that makes it very difficult to settle down but after a few minutes his breathing does seem to slow and even out a little.
baiyueguang: (toot toot on the flute)

[personal profile] baiyueguang 2022-12-28 06:46 am (UTC)(link)
"That is all this one can ask of Wei-gongzi."

Though even then, he knows he doesn't need to. He knows well that whatever task Wei Wuxian sets himself to, he will put in his best effort.

Liebing makes an appearance, the pale jade flute pulled from the recesses of his robes and brought to his lips to play out a slow, soft melody. Gradually he weaves his energy into the notes, and it begins to feel like a brisk, winter wind blowing away the paranoia and fear.

Xichen's qi has always had a bit of a chilly bite to it, but with the change to his blood, it's become much more apparent. Ice crystals begin to form along his fingertips, clothes, and mouth, as if the Lan were not already strange and ethereal as-is.

Eventually the melody fades into the winter air and Xichen lowers the flut to his lap.

"...Does that help any?" he asks, banishing the apprehension from his voice, even as it hovers around the back of his throat.
chenqing_player: (smile tender)

[personal profile] chenqing_player 2022-12-31 02:48 am (UTC)(link)
It is easier to relax in the presence of Lan Xichen and when the notes start to float across the air to his ears it becomes even easier. He finds some of that fear start to ebb away with each note that gets played. This is the most calm he has felt since the month started. That cold feeling helping to calm the heat that has had him so unsettled.

As it ends he opens his eyes slowly, afraid that just doing that much will bring all of that fear and anxiety flooding back in. But for now he stays calm as he looks upon his brother-in-law.

"Yes...no longer ready to leap from my skin." He gives a smile, still timid but at least more sincere then the masking smile he sometimes wears when he doesn't want others to know what is going on with him. He has been grateful that Lan Xichen is in this world since the moment they first encountered. Now he is even more so. His appreciation is evident in his face as he looks upon the other man. He might not be up to his normal energy levels yet but at last he now knows there are ways to combat whatever this month has been doing to him.
baiyueguang: (owo what's this???)

[personal profile] baiyueguang 2023-01-03 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
"That would be a terrible turn of events. Wei-gongzi should endeavour to keep his skin on," he teases.

His playful smile settles into something gentler.

"This place likes to play with our emotions," he states the obvious as kindly as possible. He decides not to mention that Wei Wuxian's were... volatile much of the time.

"Was there anything specific that it was trying to get at, or was it more of a..." he gestures vaguely, "...sort of general malaise that overcame Wei-gongzi?"
chenqing_player: (Default)

[personal profile] chenqing_player 2023-01-06 08:13 pm (UTC)(link)
He smiles at the comment, something he feels a lot more comfortable with now that the chaos in his mind and body seems to have settled. This place likes to do a lot of things and perhaps for someone like Wei wuxian, it makes it that much more dangerous. Someone who had a long time of not necessarily being able to control himself. But he has learned a lot in his time on these worlds. This was the first time in a long time that he had felt uncertain he could control himself but it is also the first time since arriving in this world that he had someone who could help him stay himself.

"It was more general..but also it seemed like everything was coming. Everything that...could possibly have something against me."

And honestly that is a fairly long list. Perhaps not so much on these worlds but he has done a lot to stay alive. And there are many in these worlds that don't care about anything but causing pain. But now he looks upon the face of someone who would stand by his side and help him through and that gives him a sense of relief that he hasn't felt in a very long time.

"Each month there are different effects on us. Our blood types cause it...and even though I understand that, it still is hard to control."