(no subject)

[oblivium]

INHUMAN COURTESY

I. PUSHING UP DAISIES

---

cw: depiction of hanahaki, mention of blood, mild body horror

The Frightful Harvest ended on a bloody, eerie note, but the Respite's most welcome interlude has proven exceptionally fruitful. The sky's darkened again, moons struggling to glow through turbulent clouds, but crops all over Stygia have grown dense and healthy, herbs and plants and flowers aplenty. Normally, it'd be a time to rejoice, even as sleet pours and winds grow bitterly cold -- and it might have been, had greens and stems and petals NOT elected to blossom inside you. Your lungs, specifically.

It's an uncommon side effect of the Harvest, affecting those who foster affection or attraction towards another, triggered only by a stray thought. Almost as if punished by Oblivium for harboring any kind of positive feelings. The worst part is that the object of your desire doesn't even have to be in the Netherworld for you to be afflicted. Over the span of three months, you'll gradually experience various degrees of the "harvest's curse", depending on the source of your feelings:

► PHYSICAL/EMOTIONAL ATTRACTION & REQUITED LOVE
It starts with an itch. Your throat tickles, an odd sensation in your lungs, slightly constricted. Allergies? Not quite. It worsens overtime, and days pass by, perhaps weeks. You cough, a little more every day, a little deeper, and then it happens: petals, stuck to your lips as you wheeze and try to empty your chest. Marigold, carnations, daisies, peonies... Thankfully, for you, it's more of an annoyance, sporadic at best and leaving you exhausted at times, but you're in no immediate danger. Unfortunately, not all Restless share the same luck.

► UNREQUITED LOVE
It doesn't matter whether it is truly unrequited; as long as you think it is, whether you're fully convinced or distantly resigned, you get the whole package. It starts the same way the lesser variation does, gradual, and with unsavory (!) additions: lilies and dark red roses. The first slowly spreads its poison in your body, inducing fevers, skin rashes, blistering in your mouth and stomach aches. The second pricks your throat bloody, making speech difficult and breathing even more so. It spreads throughout Stygia, and if most wound up meeting their end in the past, some speak of a highly hypothetical cure. It's believed that if the object of your affection confesses equally strong feelings for you, the curse should rapidly subside. If this option isn't viable, Doran promises that all Healers in Hale are working extremely hard to find a solution. In the meantime, symptoms can be partially soothed with poultices and spells that you can find in the Marketplace or in Serene. Some merchants might even take pity on you and offer them for free.

if your character has heard of similar diseases in their home world, they're absolutely welcome to share their insight on the netherwork or anywhere else
the evolution of the disease can be as gradual, as fast or as severe as you wish it to be
a mini quest to retrieve ingredients for a cure will be available in december or january
by february, all characters should be cured

II. DO NOT PASS GO

---

cw: mention of blood, torture, branding, violence, forced captivity

Full-swing investigations concerning the Harvest's murders have begun, though the mysterious rider has yet to resurface. The day is young still, but no matter; the Hierarchy firmly believes that the creature was summoned by a group of renegades, fully intent on finding and dismembering the organization. Perhaps even literally.

If you've spilled blood not your own in the previous event, the Hierarchy finds you. Do they know? It doesn't really matter; they've targeted you for reasons they won't divulge, persuaded of your involvement -- and off to the Gallows you go. Each of you receives the same greeting when you arrive, held down by rough hands and branded upon the arm with the letter F. The mark signifies ‘forsaken’, and the painful scar is indelible proof that each of you has betrayed the Hierarchy's hospitality. Writhe and scream and glower as much as you want; next thing you know, something heavy hits you across the head, and you collapse.

When your vision slowly creeps back, your eyes adjust to a dimly lit stone cell. Your feet are secured by iron cuffs tethered by one long chain, and you lie in nothing but filthy, tattered rags. It's dark; the air is bloated and filled with agonizing shrieks. Dead vines scrap the walls of half-crumbled buildings, weather-worn stone pillars surrounded by withered clumps of grass. You may converse with your cellmates: the guards patrolling the Gallows couldn't care less, convinced that no one could possibly escape anyway.

► Ironically, a magical barrier around the Gallows prevents magical/spiritual abilities from functioning. However, characters who roam free still can absolutely sneak in! Be careful not to get caught, though!
► Loud disagreements might attract unwanted attention. A single guard will come, and if he finds nothing else amiss, will threaten them to be quiet. A second violation earns the offender a rap on their bare feet with a club. A third violation will cause the offender to be gagged. Note that in order to beat or gag the offender, the guard must first open the cell.
► If you share affinities with Gargoyles, incapacitating a guard in any way will draw the attention of one. It'll show you to the gates where you'll be able to escape, taking care of sentries on your way. You should probably keep a low-profile from then on, and avoid showing-off your brand.
► A secret passage may be found through a mausoleum nearby; an arrow of flaking red paint marks the entrance. Or is it blood? Inside, it's nearly pitch-black. Perhaps, if you're lucky, your vision extends as far as 30 feet in front of you, but occasionally, the darkness is broken by clinging phosphorescent fungi or crawling luminescent creatures, and from out of the silence echo sounds of dripping water. You're underground, and Abysmals can be encountered here if you're too loud. You should also watch out for cave-ins, but as you get farther away from the general region of the Gallows, your magical abilities gradually come back.
► Eventually, a long, broken staircase will lead you to Hale. If you're injured, you'll be sent to the main infirmary; characters with healing abilities or knowledge are super welcome to help!

Luckily for you, there are so many prisoners it's a difficult task for the Hierarchy to always keep track of all of them. Your brand, however, is a dead giveaway, so you might as well try and find a way to get rid of it; you might hear through the grapevines that the dead skin of Badaliscus can be used as bandages, and overtime, the brand will fully heal and disappear.


III. TO THE RESCUE

---

As you attempt to escape, or perhaps once you’ve successfully snuck in, you come across a terrifying spectacle: in front of you, impaled through the shoulder by a spear, a weary humanoid figure covered in blood. The body is being restrained by additional shackles on each arm and leg, which are linked to chains anchored within the walls. There's a guard nearby, armed to the teeth… and still you decide to free them.

The guard’s magic is just as useless as yours, and while impressive in size, dexterity definitely isn’t his main strength. He hits hard — with brass knuckles, a chain mace, and a sturdy shield — and his stamina almost seems endless, but it’s not. Keep evading, and he’ll eventually tire enough to topple over. It’s also possible to have him chase you around if you don’t go too far, which would allow someone else to grab the spear. Once he’s too exhausted to go on, you can either kill him or chain him to the wall. The keys are in his boots, and you’ll find a bottle of water as well as a small vial of ointment in a satchel on the ground, where he previously stood.

The prisoner is a young man, perhaps in his mid-20s. Once freed from his shackles, he immediately keels over, though he’s not unconscious. He thanks you with a deep and raw voice, begging for water. You can tend to his wounds if you’re able—the ointment quickly soothes—and when he finally stands again, he asks you a question: “I’m a stranger to you, and you could have died. Yet, you chose to free me, unaware of my past. Of my crimes. Of my virtues. Why?”

Regardless of your answer, he smiles, a private understanding that turns the stretch of his lips enigmatic. There’s a bubbling chuckle in his throat, very hoarse, and then he hisses, touching where you’ve helped him apply the ointment on his body. “You know what they say. If it stings...” He looks at you, deliberately pausing there and staring bold into your eyes. “... then it must be working.”

It might feel like there’s more to what he’s trying to say, though it’s pointless to ask: he bows, and then he slowly inches away from you. “Until we meet again.” White and thick tendrils of smoke envelop him, seemingly coming out of nowhere, and then just like that, he’s gone.

so you’ve chosen to free him, which in turn has generated a future plot point that’ll occur some time in february. some of you WILL see him again.
what he says to you is a clue.
you can answer his question OOCly right here. it’ll have some bearing on the way your character will be approached re: future plot point.
if you've voted no and would still like to participate, you could always allow your character to be convinced or reluctantly dragged by another!

ooc note

► As always, check out the Notice Board if you'd like additional prompts! Older quests from previous months are always available as well. You'll also find the Calendar right here.
► You'll find already answered questions just here, and if you'd like to ask new ones, ask them here!
► For fun's sake and similarly to the puck adventure, you may play it out in different groups or on your own, and still obtain the same results as everyone else whether your characters threaded together!

Comments

Itadori Yuuji — Jujutsu Kaisen

[notpicky]

Adventures in Shadowland
( During his time exiting the undeniably way-too-spooky halls and caverns of Hale, Yuuji had managed to find out something interesting—and potentially really helpful, not just for himself, but for anyone who might end up with gnarly injuries. And if the whole thing with that headless guy is any indication, those kinds of injuries might be more common than he expected, even in quiet little places like Serene. Still, for now, his priority is as his friend (and, like, everyone else he'd heard whispering about it) suggested, which is to do anything and everything to get rid of this mark on his arm.

It's not that he doesn't think he deserves the scar. On the contrary, while he has little idea of the nuance of its distinction—that the idea is to brand violence done within Stygia and surrounding lands—the moment he'd been told it was for shedding blood he knew, beyond a doubt, that if anyone deserved such a mark it was him. The idea that he might have been suspected and punished in error never occurs to him after that. And his Shadow, naturally, agrees, recollecting alongside him all the times his hands have shed innocent blood and taken innocent lives as Yuuji makes the long, lonesome trek out to the Shadowlands in search of those weird crocodiles he'd seen skulking around when he arrived.

But, before seeking them out, he makes a pitstop to his Door, emerging with a black trash bag which he balls up into his pocket. It's noisier than he would like, but he also figures that he's likely to smell the things before they get close enough to attack, even if the noise of the plastic draws them in. And anyway, it's probably not nearly as distracting as the persistent hiccuping and coughing he's been doing lately, which is sure to draw attention from much more than just the crocodiles.

Whether you find him carefully pulling his door shut behind him, or out and about in the wastes, Yuuji will be wearing the same grim yet determined expression. He'll also look a little worse for the wear, with his sleeves pulled determinedly over his arms and clamped to his palms by his fingers, along with the occasional pink petal or red stamen stuck to his lips, or scattered every few feet behind him. )


network

text; un: itadori

has anyone taken any of the classes at the library?
I was thinking of checking out the gardening class

for...reasons

ooc

( Yuuji ultimately will not be attempting to rescue the prisoner, despite being wrongly accused and branded himself. Also very open to gaining a Soulmate or two, intentionally or deliberately, since he'll be out in the Shadowlands harvesting skin! (In the least creepy way possible.) Yuuji's Door leads to a hospital room, dead end corridor with a couple of other rooms, and a nurse's station (floor plan forthcoming). Happy to write a starter for that upon request, or receive a random one!

Yuuji also has a catch-all for notice board quests or general world exploration/cr-building here in case none of this tickles your fancy. )

closed to shadowier

[notpicky]

( By now the ache of his arm is little more than background noise, a warm pulse of pain like a headache that Yuuji is keen to but can't quite ignore. It isn't enough to complain about, not yet, but if Megumi chances to look at his face in the dim, ambient light of the corridor he'll notice not just a clenched jaw but a sheen of sweat that isn't all nerves. They could be swept up by a guard at any moment, and Yuuji does his best to grit through not just the tenderness of his arm or the rawness around his ankles as they steal away, as quickly and as discreetly as possible in what Yuuji can only hope is the right direction.

When they come upon ancient-looking stone doors, he pauses, glancing at his friend with uncertainty and maybe just a hint of fear. It abates only for a moment when Megumi, sharp-eyed as ever, ducks to dig through a large, wide bin tucked into an alcove by the doorway. He emerges with two...squares? )

Ah!

( The realization leaves his lips before he can stop it when Megumi turns on the flashlight of his phone, tossing the other to Yuuji. He catches it with a fumble, thanks only to his instincts and not at all to his attentiveness. And so, as well-equipped as they might hope to be without actually trying to take out a guard, they lean together into one of those stone doors until it grates open just enough for them to slip inside. Into a darkness so thick they can almost taste it, and which the pinpoints of their flashlights, for all they'd hoped, can barely cut through. )

Kinda feels familiar in a way, huh?

( If they can't brighten the tunnel, Yuuji might as well try to brighten the mood. Even if his own comment sends a different sort of pang through him, a clenching, sad emptiness as he misses their other classmate and remembers, vividly, the last time he saw her. )

[shadowier]

( it isn't that he doesn't hear itadori--he can hear him, sense his breath, the way he's nearby, can feel him move and catch his phone and seem to come to the same realization that he has, only moments later. it isn't that he's not keenly aware that they're currently living on borrowed time, if they're even living at all, and it isn't like he doesn't understand that being in this place any longer than they need to be might mean they both get thrown back into the cells, far in the darkness behind them now. the corridor that they manage to escape into, thanks to only a small amount of critical thinking, is so dark that even the flashlight from their devices feels foggy; the air is thick, and in the distance, there's the faint sound of dripping water.

he isn't the kind of person that should be here with itadori. last time they'd been in a situation like this, they'd been arguing, fighting over morals and lives lost and things that feel almost pointless, now, as they carry on. it had been one of the first times that they had all come together as three, even if kugisaki had just shouted at them, calling them idiots. itadori's quieting means that he's probably remembering the same things; he's probably missing having kugisaki nearby, even if it meant more noise.

so he pushes on for the both of them. itadori is injured, he knows, but he hadn't gotten a good look at it back before their escape--and here, in the gloom, it isn't the time or the place to stop and stall and tend to whatever it is. it'll have to wait until they make it out. )

You hear that, don't you? ( rather than make heartwarming comments or try to lighten the mood, he pushes on with his usual stoicism. ) In the distance.

( how far ahead of them does this place stretch, anyway? it's hard to tell even as he squints into the light of the device, and he can't really feel the shadows here, anyway. they're--different, wrong, mottled with something he can't touch. )

It sounds like... ( a swallow, as he turns his head towards itadori, and then, nods out in front of them: there's the soft slapping sound of wet skin on rock, scrabbling, crawling, skittering, a flickering of blinking light in the distance. ) ... feet.

[notpicky]

( He knows well enough that he doesn't need to say most things he's thinking out loud—because Megumi already knows, and because Megumi doesn't really want to hear every dumb thought that races through his head. So he keeps that small flame of worry for Kugisaki covered and all but smothered, burning intensely deep down while their flashlights do so very little to slice through the ink dark around them.

He's about to reach out a hand, not because he so desperately wants something to hold onto (he does), but more because he wants some semblance of space between himself and his friend and himself and the walls that feel like they're closing in. Is this passageway narrowing as they forge ahead? Are they heading ever deeper underground, or is it leveling off? His thoughts distract him just enough that he stumbles on something on the ground, soft but reactive. He isn't sure quite what it is, but it brightens with a green-blue glow seemingly in protest of being kicked. Yuuji can't pay it much mind yet though, lifting his gaze at once to Megumi. )

Feet?

( And then he hears it, now that their own footsteps have stopped and the silence can oppress them as much as the encroaching darkness. He holds his breath, brows furrowed as he strains through the dark to catch a glimpse of what might be making those sounds. A clue comes in a curious way, as the skittering hurries towards them instead of away, tiny insects glowing in a way the plant by he shoe does. They're pretty—kinda cute, really—and the impulse to reach out and try to catch one is too strong to resist. The plap of the other footsteps (if they can even be called that) is easy to ignore when his delight blossoms at the sight of a tiny, glowing beetle cupped in his hands. )

Look, look!

( His voice is not loud, but he's certainly not whispering. Either way, he doesn't notice that the slither-slap above them has come to stop at the sound of it. )

[shadowier]

( his mouth thins out into a line of displeasure, and he's tempted to reach out and slap whatever it is out of itadori's grasp--it's not that he's upset with him for exploring, or that he's doing something that he inherently shouldn't, but more that he's worried for him, and worried for what the creature he's got might do. whipping around on his heels, the gleam of the flashlight from his device shines an unnatural light on the beetle that's skittering in itadori's hand; it still glows, even with the flashlight on it, though it looks strange this way, like it should always be encased in darkness instead. other than the unnatural gleam, it looks the way any beetle should, or would: no extra feet, no poisonous tail, nothing that he can see that might attack itadori.

still--he doesn't trust it. more it's that he doesn't trust the sudden silence; it's interrupted only by itadori's excitement, and he clicks his tongue against his teeth annoyed. something isn't right.

instinct tells him to jerk his hand up: the narrow glow of the flashlight beams along a damp stone wall, up and up, until his phone is pointed at the ceiling. there, hanging off the uneven gravel, is a creature he's never seen before--something with long arms and clinging tentacle legs and a long, slurping tongue, salivating in interest at the beetle that's still clamoring over itadori's fingers. thoughtlessly, megumi throws an arm out--it's to push itadori, to shove distance between them as the scrambling creature launches an immediate descent from the ceiling, landing in a wet plop between them.

separating them. megumi's on the side they came from, at least, and immediately, he's shouting over the creature-- )

Go! I'll catch up!

un: zagreus

[dodgeouttahell]

There are classes? What kind?

[notpicky]

yeah!

well. so. I heard about this one from a tailor who said that his sister's husband recommended it to him for his wife because she has a "brown thumb"

(do you think that's a thing people have here??)

but anyway he mentioned that the library offers classes in pretty much anything like gardening, painting, and alkemy (idk what that is) but I feel like the gardening is probably the one I need to start with...

for reasons.

Re: Itadori Yuuji — Jujutsu Kaisen

[sonofrome]

https://sonofrome.dreamwidth.org/1247.html- Info page for Marius Titus for you (if you are canonblind)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Marius is quiet and the red shirt he is accustomed to wearing is covering his brand after he'd escaped from the Hallows. He looked over at Itadori and blinked.

((Wildcard sounds fun!)

[notpicky]

For the first time since his arrival, Yuuji finally looks tired. As the type of person to push forward seemingly without faltering, people around him had often wondered whether he really had a limit. Leave it to the afterlife to help him find it—and hit it like a brick wall. A prison break hadn't been what he'd expected (and, really, if anyone but his friend had come to rescue him he likely would've elected to stay), but to have caught some strange cold on top of it isn't helping in the least. Especially not when his coughing draws the attention of strangers like Marius.

"S-sorry!" Yuuji laughs lightly, delicately reaching to brush a few errant pink petals from the shirt wrapped around Marius's arm. His own arm is bandaged a bit better, with a torn dressing gown pilfered from the hospital behind his Door in the Shadowlands. It seemed better than wasting the scant bandages he's found. "At least they smell nice!"

Network! @harukaze

[janescayre]

[...is it spreading?]

Is this a serious inquiry about gardening?

Or are you having a hard time with a bad cough?

[notpicky]

bo...th?

I mean, it's probably not a bad idea to learn about gardening if we're gonna be around here awhile since fresh vegetables always taste best!

but how did you know about the coughing? is there some kind of weird cold going around because I feel like I'm seeing a LOT more flowers than there should be this time of year. although time is kind of weird here.

(is your username what it's called or just a pun because it's a pretty funny one)

[janescayre]

[Oh great. Another sweet and simple teenage boy. There seems to be a surplus of them.]

If you want to start a hobby you can do that without hollering about it to the rest of us.

There's definitely something going around. And my name has NOTHING to do with it! I just picked something simple so it wouldn't be embarrassing later!

[Because she's a spring baby. Except now it has definitely become embarrassing, thanks Itadori. Just what's so fucking funny!!!

huff huff, deep breaths]

Nevermind. Have you heard of "Hanahaki Disease"? It's the only thing I can think of that fits, but it's just a stupid plot device in shitty romance manga.

[notpicky]

( rather than feeling put off, there's a rather large part of him that's endeared by the vitriol, if only because it reminds him so much of someone he's been missing lately )

I guess I could have just gone and met people already taking the class... 🤔

I think "spring cold" sounds a little better than "hanahaki" but I guess that one is a little more accurate. I didn't know there was a book about it though! do you think they have it in library? it might have some advice about handling the symptoms if the gardening class doesn't work, right?

[janescayre]

[NO DON'T BE ENDEARED??? WHY ARE ALL YOU PROTAGS SO WEIRD]

Maybe you should log off and go do that.

The library is huge, how would I know? I've barely made it through the 20th century literature, and it's got materials from all over multiple realities. If you want to find it go look yourself.

The only thing I know about it is that you get sick if you have "unrequited love", and then you get cured if your crush confesses back. Which is stupid. Why would any illness respond to words out of people's mouths? Much less their dating status.

If nothing else swallow some weed killer, see if that clears it up.

[Please do not swallow weed killer.]

[notpicky]

( accept his endearment he's too dumb to be mad )

multiple.....realities?

( if she listens closely, she might hear the realization clicking into place as those two words seem to open up a host of possibilities he hadn't considered. unfortunately none of them have anything to do with the illness's description of unrequited crushes. )

are you from some alternate Japan? like Blade Runner??

do a lot of people catch Hanahaki where you're from?? what kind of weed killer works best? are you at the library now because I can come meet you! I'll bring snacks!!

are snacks allowed in the library?

[janescayre]

[noooOOOOOO!!!]

What? No, I'm not from Blade Runner. That's a stupid movie based off a Philip K. Dick story, not a literal reality! Get your head out of your ass!

And I told you Hanahaki is just a story where I'm from. Don't actually swallow weed killer you numbskull, do you want to die AGAIN?

Do NOT come to the library while I'm there. I don't want to see you. Figure it out on your own time.

text | un: 4025dusk2

[prozaic]

What sort of reasons? Apologies, but you can't just say "reasons" and think people will not be curious about them, until you specifically say that you refuse to elaborate.

[notpicky]

I guess I'm just used to people stopping me from explaining my reasons...but since you're asking!

lately I've had this weird cough, but instead of snot (gross, sorry) coming out, it's flowers?? so I thought maybe learning more about gardening would explain how flowers got in there

I really thought this kind of thing was a joke, like how you shouldn't eat watermelon seeds, so I'm also kind of hoping the class will also explain that we just have to worry about the flowers...

[prozaic]

You're ill too, then.

It's sound logic, I will admit that. But as I'm not afflicted with it myself, I have to wonder how people figure it out too, and how it feels. I've been to the library before but so far, I haven't seen any texts describing what is happening right now.