PAPER RITUAL - END

[wooliefrand]

[Bodies litter the pasture now, as the demons cackle through the air.

The blood that flowed from everyone converges on the paper flower, turning it a bright, disgusting red.

And then--something bursts from it. Another shadowy demonic beast, emerging with unfurled black wings. For those still alive, it looks something like a crow.

Black feathers scatter all over the pasture, and the voices of the demons are overjoyed. "She's returned! She's truly returned! Oh glorious day, our time has come--!"

The beast flies into the sky, easily bypassing the pasture's barrier, and simply....disappears. And with it, the oddities of the ritual.

All the remaining paper withers. and those living can hear a faint voice.

Well done, mortals. Finally you show your worth.

For the most ruthless, Rose, Daffodil, Weeds, Lily, Peony, you have our thanks.

The rest of you. . .what pleasant sacrifices you all made, hahahaHAHAHA!

And it is gone.


[OOC:
WINNERS get revived painlessly, and any special effects incurred are instantly poof, gone! BONUSES WILL BE ANNOUNCED LATER/IN THE MORNING BUT YOU'LL GET SHIT FOR OUR SACRIFICES.

HOWEVER no limbs regrow if you're missing them. You gotta fix that shit yourself.

ETA WINNER BOONS
Each winning team gets the standard memory coins, along with their trees taking on the following changes/sprouting fruit:
Daffodil - Buddha's Hand.
Lily - Cherries
Rose - Pineapple (yes i know shh). But most curiously, their tree blooms into a giant rose. Not a tree with roses, a giant rose flower. It's stem is large enough to be climbed like a tree trunk, and its thorns act as branches. The fruit hands from stray leaves/petals.
Peony - Dragonfruit

WEEDS curiously, will have a strange plant growing on the grounds near their clubhouse. Uh oh are those Avocados?? Sure are.

MINI BONUSES
MOST READY KILL - Daffodil - They receive 50lbs of meat of whatever they desire. This can be a creature from home or just like. a lot of steaks. They will also find that for the next 3 ic days, they will auto-heal from any sort of injury whether they use their powers or not.

MOST 'can you lighten up a bit' - Weeds/Rose. They receive two sets of clothing; one any design in their standard fashion (ripped/suits), but the other can be in ANY STYLE so long as there is a flower of some sort incorporated into it somewhere, no matter how small.

MOST 'aren't you tired of being nice' - Peony - they'll find their Horse ability extended by 24 hours for the next 3 ic days. (tho it does not have to last that long)

MOST Survivor's Guilt - Lily - Ananke gets a knife made of pure silver, but it can be molded into any other kind of weapon.

DAFFODIL, ROSE, AND PEONY also instinctively know they can request a barn upgrade OR a community upgrade (one or the other, and it can't be something that's a deal in progress). Let Ash know what you want by Wednesday so I can incorporate in the next mingle!


Losers - Bluebell, Clover, Thistle. Oh buddies. Any dead MUST be manually put together/fixed by others, and also will incur a Paper Curse. This can either be:
-True words will appear on their body like ink/tattoos at inconvenient times
-They will become Light as Paper for two IC days and thus easily blown away/knocked down
-or have their soul trapped in an origami paper animal and just be that for a day.
SINCE THIS GAME WENT BUCK WILD this will only effect those present.]

Comments

[hotnbothered]

What about her? Her second and third round went the same as her first.

[ Similarly, she could mean this in terms of either whether she suffered injury or her attitude. ]

[jerkalope]

Ah, so I didn't miss much. Good, good~

Are you going to be checking on the other flocks later? In terms of damage control?

[hotnbothered]

[ . . .

Surreptitiously scrubs at her eyes and exhales a long, shaky breath as she makes a valiant effort to shift into business mode. ]

I'll call Hannya. I feel like Thistle owes us more than the other way around. Lily... I don't know them particularly well.

[jerkalope]

I didn't see Hannya there, so checking up with him is a good call, Boss~

If they start giving you trouble, remind them that jackalope feet aren't lucky, so it was just really tacky to go so low. And if you run into Spinel...

[ he trails off, giving a little jackalope shrug ]

Anyway, I wouldn't bother with Lily. I told that one before he dropped that if he had an issue he could take it up with me. I have a feeling "stubborn and silent" is part of their group motto.

[hotnbothered]

[ With both a hint of distress and a hint of annoyance: ]

That was so stupid. There's no reason things had to end that way.

[jerkalope]

The self-righteousness was really a mood killer. Attitudes like that do allow some humans to sleep easier because it lets them feel like their participation in the torture murder ritual is all justified, you see?

[hotnbothered]

[ Snorts. ]

Oh, I'd love to hear what idea they had for the second round that was so much more humane.

[jerkalope]

They're in the winner's circle, so sounds like the same kind of violence being thrown around but with more excuses.

[ after a moment's debate ]

But I'm serious about avoiding them. Their priest hates all Weeds on sight. Who's to say they aren't following her example about Weed profiling?

[hotnbothered]

Their... priest?

[ #CLUELESS ]

[jerkalope]

Hmm, tiny little sheep thing. Huge black hat. Bigger metaphorical chip on her shoulder. I observed her giving Miku an unprompted tongue lashing, calling him worthless and a mongrel. And if you've spoken to Miku, it took a lot to get under his skin. Which is probably why he never bothered with shirts...

[hotnbothered]

That doesn't really explain much, you know.

[jerkalope]

Let me put it this way: Lily has a powerful patron that, if she spoke to you, would push every button you have and expect you to smile and accept her condescending malice, or the alternative would be something nastier and demonic. And probably involving your organs.

Does that help?

[hotnbothered]

... Ugh. Yes, unfortunately.

Why would they associate with someone like that in the first place?

[jerkalope]

Power and influence! The flocks are in a race to find priests that can help them with their aims. The cat Bell Sister gives Daffodil extra rations, and Rose's priest apparently has connections with the Time Snake.

Peony's... that one I haven't figured out yet.

[hotnbothered]

What about Thistle, Bluebell, and Clover?

... Would the Snake count as ours?

[jerkalope]

Clover is currently working on finding theirs. That's why they're being exponentially reckless as of late...

[ said like someone who will get splash damage from that recklessness ]

The Snake's probably the closest thing approximating one. In that he can conjure things for us and supposedly grows more powerful when we cause trouble on his behalf.