EVENT LOG: WE ALL STILL DIE (PART TWO)

[nextnightmods]

EVENT LOG:
WE ALL STILL DIE PART TWO

characters: everyone.
location: around town.
date/time: june 16-18.
content: spirits are sacrificed, and revelry turns to catastrophe
warnings: gore, violence, psychological horror. please cw tags appropriately.

this tree it will die without leaves

The music fades away as a soft-furred forest spirit with a powerful warble of a voice and the body of a large moth calls everyone to attention. The other spirits usher everyone, with masks on faces and instruments in hands, to gather up at the harbor.

For a spirit, the speaker is eloquent enough - it mimes and dances, peppering movements with melodic speech in the spirits' language, as it demonstrates the rising of the sun that might once have happened here. As it bows, three spirits walk forward and stand side by side. One is only a few feet high, lumpy and pale purplish, wearing a paper crown. The second is black and birdlike, with an elegant floral mask and a pink ribbon tacked to its chest. The third is vaguely human-shaped but for the long, thick hair (?) that cascades from its head and covers its face, and for the long, slender-fingered hands that rest tucked against its chest and sweep downward to its knees. These three are soon joined by spirits with long, scythe-like claws that stand at attention. The warbling moth spirit begins a chant, which the other spirits soon join in, and as the volume reaches a roar of demand and triumph and fervor, the three clawed spirits move quickly and precisely, slicing open the bellies of the three sacrificial volunteers. Their bodies shrink backward and begin to slowly dissipate as if melting, but buckets and bowls are quickly passed forward and much of the gore and meat is collected, and passed one by one through the crowd of spectators, spirit and Beaconite alike - and all are offered a share.

Many of you have eaten spirit flesh before, haven't you? Some have even done so recently. Surely, this is something you all want, isn't it? After a full year here, the spirits have learned so much about their current neighbors who gather around the fire. Some even offer the bowls while shrinking away in what might be fear, while others cackle and chirp and insist on sharing all this fresh food with their friends.

Meanwhile, the changes you may have begun to notice the day before manifest more strongly now. A hunger that won't abate for anything and anyone. A unique manic euphoria, difficult to diminish and hard, if not impossible, to shake that draws one into the music and demands everyone participate in the festivities. Lastly, a violent tenacity to lash out at anything that acts to get in the way of the celebration.

The compulsion starts as a gentle longing and escalates to an incapacitating urge to run without a care through the dark woods, to hunt, to forget all responsibilities. The spirits begin to dance and play their music in unison now, and they march south and east, away from the harbor and toward the village, and it is infectiously fun. In the distance, another band plays an enthralling tune which can just be heard through the miles of forest, and the spirits gather so that they - and you - may join them and bring everyone together to celebrate.

You will come along, won't you? You'll bring all your friends, too. For those who join in, the grandest celebration awaits over the next few days. You are free to pursue your instincts, to lash out, to consume. To dance until your feet are raw and madness overtakes you. To join the parade, and all it entails.

The few that did not partake in any of the festivities at all will find themselves clear of mind. They can do their best to try and keep those under the compulsion from falling to their instincts, though it could provoke violent, miserable results. Once the maddened party joins the parade, trying to pull them out would be incredibly ill-advised. The spirits in the parade and the characters under the influence of its thrall will not tolerate any interruption of the celebration. The parade will chase them down, slice them open, tear their flesh from their limbs. This is a party for light and life! Anyone not with the parade is against it. Death surely will suit them better instead.

ooc notes:

SPIRIT INTERACTIONS: As mentioned previously, anyone who posts top-levels under the SPIRITS header means you are open to spirits doing a bit of threadjacking. We will not be consistently maintaining long threads with spirits, but they will be able to come and go from threads between characters. Please bear in mind that serious injury or death is a potential result of these interactions and so posting a toplevel to this header means you accept this risk.

POTENTIAL DEATH: This event couldn't have come at a better time, as the death mechanic has thankfully been restored. If your character dies in this event, please report it here! And remember, as it was just restored, there might be a few quirks to the system...

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Comments

Rosinante | OTA

[callada]

Attempting resistance: June 16

This isn't right.

It hits him abruptly as one song finishes, in the beat before the next one starts. A moment of abrupt clarity - his eyes widen and he stops in his tracks.

Where is he?

On the edge of town. There's the graveyard - he sees the gate and headstones out of the corner of his eye. Spirits hop along the fence, laughing, and then they all start up with their instruments again, a chaotic frenzy of melodies that eventually coalesce into some unknown tune.

Whatever brought this clarity, he can't stand out too obviously - that seems like a risk. Instead he keeps his head and watches - and at an opportune moment he grabs the arm of whoever is nearest and tugs them aside behind a dense patch of brush. With a snap of his fingers, the noise of the party cuts out abruptly, and he searches the face of whoever he's got.

"What's happening?"

One of them: June 17-18

Resistance didn't last long. Blood pounds in his ears as the music dominates all sense. Never has he felt so alive! Funny that it should take dying to realize that this is what he should have been doing all along. Why try so hard to save doomed people in a doomed, far-off world? He would much rather enjoy what he has here and now. Long limbs flail madly to the music, and he's covered in dirt and bits of trees from periodically falling, but he just doesn't care. Someone bumps into him and he laughs, takes them by the arm and goes to spin them in the dance. It's fun!

Maybe you try to pull away, though. His fingers tighten and he actually growls as he jerks you closer, suddenly staring you down, copper eyes just visible through the holes in his mask. "Where are you going?" he demands, the deep baritone of his voice rumbling in his chest at the question.

Or maybe you're off trying to hide and mistakenly move, revealing the light from your lantern for one horrible second. His dance partner is forgotten as he fixates on the movement like something predatory, then quickly stalks in your direction. He's awfully fast with those long legs, and you quickly realize - he makes no footsteps. When he shoves aside a branch, you don't even hear the snap. Will you continue to run, or will you fight back?

Wildcard

Have an idea? Throw 'em at me, or message me on plurk at tinylongwing. As indicated here, Rosi will initially try to resist, but he's too involved and fails to break free - and he's not very happy about anyone who's not enjoying themselves.