from “The Big Book of Festivals”:

As Shengdao begins to cool and the night begins to length, Shiji-Long of all kinds gather to celebrate the changing seasons. All across Shengdao, festivals pop up for a variety of different reasons, all in honor of the shifting summer and autumn. There is no festival as grand, however, as the one celebrated on the day when both night and day are the same: 

🎃The Harvestfall Celebration.🎃

This day marks the last of the harvesting season, and gives thanks to the generous bounties provided by the wind and soil throughout the year. Initially celebrated by the Nature Shiji-Long as a time to prepare for the hibernation of winter, this festival has instead become a symbol of shared joy throughout Shengdao. Shiji of all shapes, sizes, and subspecies gather to celebrate what is regarded as the “scariest” time of year with contests, costumes, and candy. 

While every village and town may have their own version of a Harvestfall Day event, none of them are as grand as the huge, sprawling carnival that gathers on the edges of the Dark Woods. This event has gotten so large that it is often celebrated for weeks before Harvestfall Day, and in some cases may linger even after the seasons have shifted. This year’s Dark Wood’s Carnival is perhaps the biggest, and spookiest, since it seems that real curses and ghosts have slowly begun to return to Shengdao. No one is quite sure what sort of things linger in the woods, and in turn what monsters might hide in disguise at the Carnival.

Banner by Sylvirr.

It's time to embrace everything spooky, scary, cozy, and strange. Dress up your Shijis, tell frightening stories, prepare mysterious treats, create something with your own hands or simply enjoy the season together.
This event is a little different from our usual quests. Alongside drawing and writing, you'll find activities involving crafting, baking, cooking, photography, collages and other real-life creations. Pick whatever inspires you and don't be afraid to get creative!
Not every Halloween has to be terrifying either. Maybe your Shiji loves exploring haunted places and telling ghost stories, or perhaps they'd much rather stay home with some freshly baked treats while everyone else deals with the monsters outside.

So grab your costumes, light some candles and prepare your best treats. Spooky season has come to Shengdao! 

✨ (NEW!) How to Earn More!✨

Most of the prompts can only be submitted once, but you can increase your reward by putting some extra work into your entry!
Every prompt has its own requirements, so make sure to check what you need to include and which submission types are allowed.

When in doubt: Follow your gut! As long as a piece contains at least a little of something, it defaults to that particular level, especially when we start talking about decorations and food. 
If you want to be sure, then specifically include what you intended with your submissions! Ex: "Art, FB, shaded w/ complex BG", "Boxmade cupcakes", "Handmade decorations", etc.

NOTE TO NEW PLAYERS:

• New to the Shiji-Long? Welcome to your first event! If you're not sure what to do because you don't have any Shiji, don't panic! You can still enter ALL of the events below by using Huan, our mascot! 

  • Huan can participate in ANY EVENT the same number of times as any other Shiji-Long! Any questions about Huan's design can be answered by Vashaa in our discord :)
  • Huan can be found on our homepage! (Or click here for a screen shot)

🎃Events🎃

Banner by Music-Minx

• Costume Contest (max 1 for FULL points; everyone votes for top 3)

  • Join in the seasonal fun! A long time ago, Shiji-Long would disguise themselves as the monsters that roam the woods in an attempt to hide from the scariest nights of the year. This tradition has continued not, and evolved from a festival of fear to a celebration of creativity! Shiji-Long of all ages, shapes, and skills are invited to participate in the Dark Wood’s Costume Contest.
  • Submit a drawing or moodboard of your Shiji-Long’s costume. You may enter ONE costume to be “judged” (by the community). The top 3 costumes will receive an additional prize! 
  • You may submit 1 entry for voting. Afterwards, additional unlimited entrees are 5 points each and MUST be unique: not dolls, moodboards, or bases. IRL additional submissions (one of each) allowed: costume and/or makeup/hair

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Banner by music-minx.

• Activities (max 1 of each)

• • Trick or treat

• • • • When the veil of the natural and supernatural is thinnest, spirits travel from one side to the other to play tricks on unsuspecting Shiji-Long. It is said that the only way to prevent such pranks is to offer these wandering spirits candy. Over the years, young Shiji-Long have taken this activity and turned it into a fun adventure for friend groups of all sizes with the intention of getting candy… or tricking those who refuse! The Dark Woods Carnival will specifically have booths set up for visiting families to collect candy, and often will bring area-specific sweets for the pups.
      • Draw or write your Shiji-Long pup(s) participating in the activity (trick or treat). Remember: All Shiji-Long must be accompanied by at least one adult! 

• • Apple bobbing 

• • • • A mysterious vendor always seems to appear every year around the time of the Carnival. He claims to own an apple farm somewhere in the Dark Woods, but those who seek it out seem to mysteriously forget their objective and return to the edges of the woods. Never-the-less, Bob’s Apple Bobbing seems to have a permanent place at the Dark Woods Carnival. The game is simple: with your hands behind your back, dunk your head into the water and grab an apple. The catch? Bob’s apples aren’t.. Well. They aren’t exactly normal…
      • Draw or write your Shiji-Long bobbing for an apple! Be very specific on how the apple your Shiji gets looks and tastes- each apple is unique, and could offer a special surprise (or two)!

• • Carnival games

• • • • A common sight in any Carnival: games! Booths line the worn dirt roads connecting the villages of the Dark Woods, and they spread so far and wide that there’s certainly a game for everyone! Whether its tests of strength, ring tossing, dart throwing, or even trying to scoop up little goldfish, Shiji-Long of all ages will certainly find something to play that will keep them entertained for the night!
      • Draw, write, or make a moodboard about a game your Shiji-Long plays. It can be a real “classic” Carnival game, or it can be something you make up with rules and instructions!

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Banner by Sylvirr.

• Pumpkin carving (max 1)

  • This custom originated back in the “dark ages”, when lights were primarily candles. The equinox symbolizes the beginning of the growing darkness, which is exacerbated by the towering trees of the Dark Woods. Due to this, the villages who bordered this magnificent forest often lined their towns, houses, and roads with little flames of all kinds. During Harvestfall, this tradition is kept up with pumpkin carving. Pumpkins line nearly every available road and surface leading to the Carnival, each bearing a face that was once used to scare away the spirits that might wander to the festival… even if some now invite them.
  • Draw, write, craft, or make a moodboard that shows your Shiji-Long creating a carved pumpkin. Be sure to include what it looks like once it’s finished, and the candle is inside!

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• Ghost stories (unlimited)

  • What better to get in the mood for a spooky season than stories meant to scare and terrorize? Gather around the Carnival campfire- a giant, roaring flame that starts on the first day of the Carnival and only ends once the booths have packed up and moved on- and share a tale meant to make a heart race and blood pump! 
  • Write a scary story of at least 100 words. You may create a “scene” of your Shiji telling the story, but the story itself must be at least 100 words. It MUST be a unique story- while it can be inspired by “classic tales”, it should be customized for Shiji society!

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Banner by rosepeony.

• Spooky treats (max 3)

  • What goes better with a Carnival than Carnival food? Some of the many booths set up for the season include just that! Whether it’s local or far away specialties, or the treats that everyone loves, there’s surely to be something for even the pickiest eater to find!
  • Draw, write, bake, or make a special Halloween treat! This should be something that is Halloween focused- not just regular cookies, but spooooky cookies~

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Banner by MoonBlossom.

• Halloween decorations (max 3)

  • Every village that borders the Dark Woods takes pride in their appearance at this special time of year. Even the travelling caravans that line up along the pathways connecting the towns get into the festive season with decorations of all shapes and sizes. In the years past, decorating a home was meant to protect from mischievous spirits who wanted to cause chaos, but now it’s a celebration of the season!
  • Draw, write, create a moodboard, or actually decorate in all the ways your Shiji-Long would! Basically, share your decorations with us :) 

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• Spooky mask (max 3)

  • Once used to hide from wandering spirits, masks are a common sight during the Dark Woods Carnival. In the old days, Shiji-Long who lived along the Dark Woods would use masks to travel the roads safely, especially when the days started getting shorter. It was said that disguising yourself as a monster or other creature would trick the spirits into thinking you belonged, and therefore they would let you pass safely. This custom has continued in the years that followed, causing masks to become more elaborate and become a huge part of the Carnival life, especially once the sun goes down.
  • Draw, write, craft, or create a moodboard for your Shiji-Long’s spooky mask! It can be the mask by itself, or the Shiji can be wearing it. Masks must cover at least the eyes (masquerade mask). IRL submissions are allowed in the form of face painting/eye makeup, but must meet the covering requirements! (eyebrows to top of cheeks, covering the eyes at minimum).

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• Fortune Telling (max 3, individual fortunes)

  • The Harvestfall Festival is known for many things, but amongst them is monsters, mystery, and magic. Caravans of Shiji who claim to have magical abilities often gather at various points on the road, tending to collect close to the Carnival. For a small fee, many of these fortune tellers can peel past the veil of the beyond, and answer questions that burn in a Shiji’s heart. Alternatively, many gather with draws, or small trinkets with various fortunes and luck to share.
  • Draw or write your Shiji-Long visiting one of the fortune tellers. Be sure to include what they are asking the fortune teller for, either a specific question or a general fortune (luck, romance, work, etc.), so you can get an answer!
    • You will get a personalized, custom fortune, so be sure to check your submissions once accepted!

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• Spell crafting (max 3)

  • Not all the magical things are bad. This time of year magic seems to be stronger, perhaps just a little bit, and it often leads to groups of magic users gathering to share techniques and secrets. These spells are shared between community members, adding to the repertoire of knowledge that each carries with them, and adding to a grimoire of collective knowledge stored in Zhishi’s library.
  • Create a spell to put in our spellbook! Draw or write a spell that your Shiji-Long has practiced and perfected. These should be specialized spells that match a particular type of magic, so be sure to say as much! Your spells will be collected into a grimoire, which can be accessed in Zhishi’s library for any and every Shiji-Long… so be sure that you want others to know what you are sharing.
  • Spells should be a “full page” (if drawn), and must include the following information: 
    • Name of the spell, and the Shiji who created it
    • The class of magic it was designed with (elemental fire, star, mind, etc.) 
    • Details of how to perform the spell
    • What should happen if/when you perform the spell (what is it used for?) 
    • Any warnings that others should know

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Banner by rosepeony.

• I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-A-Pumpkin (max 1)

  • Sometimes it isn’t just spirits that trick Shiji-Long, it’s other Shiji-Long! With pumpkins being one of the biggest crops harvested during the Harvestfall Festival, they have become a huge centerpiece in the celebrations. There is pumpkin themed everything all over the place, and the Carnival is no different! Many will craft specific pumpkin themed treats, and some will even “trick” others by making something look like a pumpkin when it isn’t. Surprise! 
  • Draw, write, or cook a pumpkin themed dish! You can use a primary ingredient of pumpkin, or you can make something completely different that looks like a pumpkin. 

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Banner by music-minx.

• Haunted House (max 1)

  • Young pups will be young pups, and there’s nothing that young pups love more than challenges of their bravery. Without fail, every year many pups find supposed “haunted houses” to investigate. Together, and usually unsupervised, they wander through these spooky places… and, sometimes, they manage to find a house that really is haunted. Then there are the big ones- the adults who share the youngster's desires for a test of courage. Somehow, the most haunted places of Shengdao will always attract those brave enough!
  • Draw or write your Shiji investigating a haunted house. Friends (and parents) are recommended, but not required! If you collaborate with someone, you may use the submission as long as it meets the requirements for all.