[Game 18] Citrine

[dramatispersonae]

[You find yourselves in a small, traditional Japanese room. The floor is covered with tatami and the walls are made of paper. There are pillows for everyone to sit on, arranged in a circle around a low table. On the table is a lantern much like the ones outside at the ring. Inside the lantern is a single candle. Its flame burns in your team color.]

Comments

PART ONE

[dramatispersonae]

[The Masked Lady's voice echoes from no discernible source:]

To begin, I'd like you to choose four numbers between one and twenty-eight. Don't choose the same number more than once, though. That's no fun.

((You can decide IC or OOCly in your team chan.))

Re: PART ONE

[domintation]

. . . boring . . .

Re: PART ONE

[tokenrename]

Eh, but easy enough, right?

Re: PART ONE

[pyrocatharsis]

We can each choose one.

[dramatispersonae]

[a single higanbana, a kitsune mask, a faded fan, and a biwa appear on the table around the lantern.]

Ne, do you like scary stories? I love them, personally~ How about you make one for me? I just have a few rules to make things a little more fun. You don't mind, right?

1) It's up to you what "scary" means, but you have to include each of the objects here in the story somehow.

2) You can make up whatever number of stories you feel like. One for each item, two stories with two items each, one story with all four items… be creative, okay?

3) When you're finished brainstorming, tell your story here~

4) It's up to you how you want to tell it. One person from the group can tell it, or you all can be involved. Let's all have fun with this, okaaaay?

[domintation]

We could split it up, one object and one story each...?

[tokenrename]

Sure, if that's how you guys want to work.

[pyrocatharsis]

Does anyone have ideas yet?

[domintation]

*picks up the higanbana*

Got one for this, I guess.

STORY ONE

[domintation]

*picks up the fan, snapping it open*

So once upon a time there was this guy. Let's call him Joe. Joe was walking through the woods. And it was dark and stuff, I guess, and he was afraid because like a dumbnut he forgot to bring any weapons. All he had was a fan stuck in his belt that was really pretty and bright, not like this old thing at all. Everybody where he came from carried one for good luck.

Joe was looking for somewhere he could camp for the night! He could hear rustles and growls and other spooky-type noises in the darkness, coming closer. He started running! But he kept tripping over stuff and he was really slow. That's how lame he was. Oh, noooo.

Re: STORY ONE

[lightmyfire]

Maybe we should add in something to be afraid of. Like the fan is supposed to be good luck against a monster? Er, unless you're getting to that.

Re: STORY ONE

[domintation]

Okay! So Joe fell on his face and was all, well, crap. Because the monster was right behind him! No, wait, it was on top of him. It had the worst breath ever and also red eyes and pointy teeth and it was drooling on the back of his neck and it was totally gonna eat him. So, because he didn't have anything else, he yanked the fan out of his belt and rolled over and BRANDISHED IT IN THE MONSTER'S FACE!

And I guess evil forest monsters hate bright colours, even if they're hard to see in the dark, because it backed up and ran away.

Holy shit, Joe said. I love you, fan! NEVER LEAVE ME. And he snapped it closed again and tucked it in his belt!

But for some reason, even with it put away, he could still see a bright colour. White! Moonlight ahead. It was the first moonlight he'd seen since entering the dark woods like a dumbass. He headed towards it, hoping he'd found a way out.

It wasn't a way out, but it was a clearing! And the moon was really bright. And full. And there weren't any monsters there that he could see, so he felt better. There were just a clump of red flowers growing in the middle of the grass, and all of 'em looked exactly like this one on the table right here.

They were way prettier than his fan was, he thought. Even brighter. And there was only room for one thing in his belt...but the fan had been his good luck fan for ages! But the flowers were just so darn pretty. In the end he laid the fan down, and all the colour ran out of it when he opened it in the moonlight, leaving it faded just like the one here. He'd thrown its luck away, even though he'd just promised twenty seconds ago that he wouldn't.

And he tried to pick a flower to put in his belt instead of the fan, but no matter how hard he pulled he couldn't get one to come off the plant. So he yanked, and he yanked, and finally he yanked so hard that he pulled the whole plant out of the ground, roots and all. And the roots were a monster and they killed him and dragged him under the ground and drank his blood. Raaar!

Then they replanted themselves over his body, to wait for their next victim who was dumb enough to ditch his good luck.

...so he'd actually have been safer if he stayed in the woods. And that was the story of Joe the Lame. I am so sleepy, you guys.

story two

[tokenrename]

Once upon a time, there was, uh, a girl. Walking down the road from her grandmother's house alone, through the vegetable field, and down past the river. She set off as the sun was setting, promising her grandmother that she would be fine, as the moon was full, and she could dash with ease past anything that'd try to stop her, but…as she walked closer to the bridge, there was a noise on the other side of the bridge. She couldn't see where it could be coming from.

[plucks at the biwa for a moment, managing to produce some really interesting noises that are no way in tune.]

Re: story two

[lightmyfire]

... The music is pretty creepy by itself. Good sound effect.

Re: story two

[lightmyfire]

[leans over to pluck at the biwa] Maybe I should try to play this thing while you guys tell the stories? It's pretty eerie... and I don't want you guys to do all the work.

STORY/STORIES GO HERE

[dramatispersonae]

[pyrocatharsis]

Once, there was a boy. This boy carried a fan in his belt wherever he went, as was the wont in his hometown where they believed the fans brought them luck. The boy's fan was brightly colored, beautiful, and he'd taken care to keep it shining for years. Unfortunately, a fan is merely a fan.

One night, he went walking through the woods and forgot to bring anything but his fan. As he tried to find a safe place to sleep for the night, he could hear rustles and growls in the darkness, coming ever closer. Remembering the stories of a monster in the woods, he walked faster and faster until he was running, hoping to find the way out. As it was dark, though, he could not see where he was going, and tripped over a tree root.

He fell hard, the monster landing on top of him, breathing hard with red eyes and pointy teeth. It was, without a doubt, going to eat him. The boy sought frantically for something to use as a weapon, but he had nothing but the fan in his belt, so he yanked it out, rolled over, and brandished it in the monster's face.

The monster recoiled instantly, and ran off, apparently hating the bright colors and beautiful patterns.

Startled, the boy looked to his fan and vowed then and there that he'd keep the fan with him forever. He snapped it shut and tucked it into his belt. Even with the fan put away, though, he could still see--moonlight, up ahead. It was the first light he'd seen since entering the woods and so he headed towards it, hoping he'd found a way out.

It was no exit, but a clearing, with the full moon brightly shining down. With the clearing lit, he could see no monsters and felt much more at ease. All that was there was a clump of higanbana growing in the middle.

'These flowers are much prettier than my fan,' he thought, 'much brighter.' But there was only room for one thing in his belt. The fan had been with him for years, but the flowers were just too tempting. In the end, he laid the fan down. As soon as he opened it in the moonlight, all the color ran out of it. He'd thrown its luck away, though he'd promised mere minutes ago that he wouldn't.

He reached for a flower to replace the fan on his belt, but no mater how hard he pulled, he couldn't get one to come out. He pulled and he pulled and finally he pulled so hard he pulled the whole clump out of the ground, roots and all. Except the roots for the flowers were actually a monster, and dragged him down under the ground to feed on his blood.

They replanted himself over the body, to wait for the next passerby who chooses to abandon his luck.

[tokenrename]

Once upon a time, there was, a girl. Walking down the road from her grandmother's house alone, through the vegetable field, and down past the river. She set off as the sun was setting, promising her grandmother that she would be fine, as the moon was full, and she could dash with ease past anything that'd try to stop her, but…as she walked closer to the bridge, there was a noise on the other side of the bridge. She couldn't see where it could be coming from.

As she walked closer, the girl hesitated, wondering what could cause the music, but kept walking. She'd promised her grandma that she'd be home safe and sound soon, and she didn't want to break her promise. But as she set foot on the bridge, her vision started to shift. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a glimmer of light, surrounded by a shadow. It looked roughly like a person with a lute, so she called out, asking who it was that played so far from the main road. The figure didn't stop playing, so she walked a little closer, thinking to call out again. Around her, the sky grew a little darker, but she could see that the figure was wearing something that looked like a beautiful mask. So, she crept forward, achin' to see what it looked like.

She moved closer and closer to the mask. However, as she walked, she looked down: she hadn't moved at all. The air around her was gettin' darker. Closer. The music was gettin' louder. So she tried to run forward, but the air just kept dimming. She could see the figure now, clearly: and the mask stood out as the single bright spot in all the world, that, and the music. She couldn't see anything else, not even her hands in front of her face.

Finally, she tried to step back, away from the mask, trying to get somewhere. Suddenly, the darkness wrapped around her. When she tried to breathe, there was something over her mouth, her nose, hard and sleek. She struggled to rip it off with both of her hands, but there was nothing she could do.

Her grandmother found her the next day, bloodied fingernails from clawing at herself, and a beautiful mask, laying next to her. The parents buried the girl, but the grandma kept the mask, thinking it an especially fine way to remember her granddaughter by.

She put it on her wall, but sometimes, at night, when the moon was full, she could hear a faint moaning, and as the night went on, gasping. All of it, over the sound of a soft lute. Never could figure out where it was coming from.

Re: STORY/STORIES GO HERE

[lightmyfire]

[ROCKIN' BIWA SOUND EFFECTS THROUGHOUT]

...?

[dramatispersonae]

[As you finish telling the story, the candle flame suddenly blows out, as though an intangible breeze has blown through the room. You're left in strangely impenetrable darkness. Something brushes against your legs. Ropes? No… vines?]

Re: ...?

[domintation]

...

*tries stamping on them*

Re: ...?

[tokenrename]

[the answer is obviously try to get up and wish you had a torch or something :|a]

Oi! Guys, are you okay?

Re: ...?

[lightmyfire]

[YELPS AND GRABS WHOEVER'S NEXT TO HIM]

Re: ...?

[pyrocatharsis]

[what the shit.

trying to step away from them]

END

[dramatispersonae]

[As suddenly as it came on, the darkness lifts, and…]