he ate my heart

[reddosmod]

AUGUST 2022 EVENT

EXTRA WARNING:

IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Prompt One
[Image One: The shore line lit up by some sort of bioluminescent organism. ]
[Image Two: A sunken pirate ship covered in algae, seaweed, and suffering from wood rot. ]

Prompt Two
[Image One: A tentacle wrapping around a persons hand. ]
[Image Two: A close up of someone's shoulder which is turning black and cracked and dripping water. ]

Prompt Three
[Image One: A statue of a human face, split in half, with a golden devil mask between the two halves. ]
[Image Two: A number of golden hands reaching up for a white sphere. ]

[NAVIGATION]

Prompt 1 • Prompt 2 • Prompt 3 • Plotting • Newsletter

[JUMP TO COMMENTS]

WE GLOW SO DIM

WHEN: August
WHERE: The Ocean
CONTENT WARNINGS: Deep diving, possible drowning, possible death

---

Early on in the month, the waves start to have a strange look to them. They seem a little brighter, even at night, and it's then that it hits you: the waves are glowing. It's easy to at first to brush it off as the bioluminescence of certain types of plankton, but the way it moves and sparkles has an other-worldly quality to it that can't be explained by science. Those who look even closer at the glow will notice that it seems to be forming some sort of path into the watery depths.

Those who choose to follow the path despite the angry waves and awful storms that plague the seas this month will find that the ocean seems to be at its calmest along these illuminated, watery roads. Diving down to follow them won't require any equipment, as Sleepers will find that staying within the glowing path allows them to breathe under water when they might normally not have been able to. The pressure changes don't seem to be impacting anyone who follows the light either, allowing them access to deeper depths of the ocean than may have previously been explored.

Continuing to follow the path will lead Sleepers to a series of ship wrecks under the water. These ancient vessels are rotted and covered in seaweed, but anyone who is familiar with the cultures of Earth will notice that they seem to come from all over the world and their styles vary by multiple centuries. But all the ships seem to be covered in this same, strange glow that has brought people here.

Exploring the ships will lead to multiple different discoveries. There are chests filled with ancient artifacts: carvings of squids, statues of various sea creatures that feel a little off somehow, and stones carved with a strange text that is almost impossible to decipher. The artifacts are covered in strange, rust-looking stains that penetrate deep into the materials they're made of. These artifacts can be brought back to shore, and if someone were to try and ask the Trenchies what the writing said, they would only be able to say that these are clearly texts of the Old Ones from long before any recorded history that Trench has in its Archives. When asked about the sea creatures, they'll think it's obvious: these are Mariana's various forms from over the years. The off qualities are her unique takes as a Pthumerian on the creatures of the ocean.

Prolonged exposure to these statues of Mariana will cause people to become more bluntly honest, more open with their emotions, and often much more prone to large outbursts from said emotions, both good and bad. However, Sleepers who keep these statues near them will also find that they are able to keep more control of their blood powers. It's up to each individual if it's a worthy trade off.

If you leave the path, two things can happen: Sleepers will either turn into their squid selves and can continue to swim or they will drown. There will be nothing of interest outside of these paths, just typical ocean creatures, and maybe some of those monsters that have been crawling out of the watery depths as of late.

[JUMP TO TOP] • [JUMP TO COMMENTS]

MONSTER WITHIN

WHEN: August
WHERE: All over
CONTENT WARNINGS: Body horror, mentions of potential cannibalism/vore, possible death, contagious curse

---

Soon after people start to explore the ships, a strange occurrence will start to sweep through the city. Locals start to mutter something about a curse, one that seems to only be impacting Sleepers. The early signs that there's something off is an increase in strength and stamina. For example, Sleepers will find that they might go to pick up a chair or a mug and it shatters in their hands. Some people may find that they are incapable of sleeping. Others might find they're able to move quicker and for longer periods than normal.

If they look themselves over, they will start to find small patches of skin that have started to gray and blacken. These patches will be cracked, almost scaley, and will be consistently damp no matter how hard you try to dry them off. As time passes, this odd rash will start to spread, taking over more and more of the body. The torso might start to swell and distort, making Sleepers feel particularly top heavy. And eventually, suckers will start to form on the arms and legs.

This curse isn't beasthood in its usual forms; instead, it seems to be some sort of malady in of the magical blood that Sleepers have been granted. If the blood of an infected Sleeper is looked at under a microscope, there will be black patches clinging to the cells, similar to the patches that people see on their skin. If it isn't stopped, the person suffering from the curse will ultimately turn into a monstrous form of their squid-selves: these monster forms are large, aggressive, and able to move on land. They will feel a hunger for destruction and some Sleepers may find in these forms that they are only satisfied if they feed on other, uncursed Sleepers.

There are two ways to lift the curse. One is through a thorough blood transfusion with a blood type that is compatible with your own. This becomes more difficult to do the closer to the monstrous form people get, both due to aggression from the curse, and also due to the fact that the black patches of skin are highly difficult to puncture. Once the blood is completely replaced by fresh blood, the skin patches will disappear over 48 hours and the Sleeper will be left feeling thoroughly exhausted.

The second way to lift the curse is through death. While these monster squid forms are difficult to kill, it is not impossible, and they are particularly susceptible to magic over weapons. Once a Sleeper has died, they can be reborn, and their blood will be completely free of the curse.

The blood malady can be spread outside of those who come into contact with the ship wrecks. People who touch a cursed Sleeper, particularly the scaley patches of skin, will also run the risk of being cursed. It takes roughly a week for the signs of the curse to show, and can spread as slowly or as rapidly as players choose.

[JUMP TO TOP] • [JUMP TO COMMENTS]

LAVISH DESIRES

WHEN: August
WHERE: All over
CONTENT WARNINGS: Personality changes, mental manipulation, hoarding, obsessive anxiety, disassociation, depersonalization

---

The high waves seem to just be getting higher at the beginning of the month. Rougher and rougher seas start to cause something anyone who's lived around water will be familiar with: flash floods. These floods are large, powerful, and fill the streets of Trench. First-floors of buildings may get extreme damage, though they can be protected with physical and magical barriers if people are smart about it. The floods happen multiple times throughout the month without warning, so it may be good to get that protection built up sooner rather than later.

The after effects of these floods aren't just structural devastation though. People who get caught up in the water, particularly those who end up swallowing it, will have one word echoing in their mind on a regular basis: More.

More of what? That seems to be different for each individual. Maybe one person wants more and more food, anything from an extra slice of cake after dinner, to wanting to stuff themselves until they just might pop. Or maybe they want to hoard all of their favorite objects or pieces of clothing, filling more and more of the space in their homes until they're ready to burst at the seems. Some might find it's their emotions that come in excess, with over the top anger, or irregular excitement that leaves them unable to sleep for days. Anything and everything can come in excess and it certainly seems to be this month. Some people may get these obsessive needs to such a degree that they start to feel disconnected from themselves, fractured by the overabundance that has taken over their lives.

If people ignore these desires, they'll start to find they're plagued by hallucinations. Strong, life-like visions that riddle them with anxiety and leave them petrified of what might happen if they don't partake in this gluttonous behavior. They'll feel shaken to the core and slowly go mad with need and desire for whatever it is they've been craving. This feeling of madness can make them become violent, lashing out at those around them, even killing those who try and help them out of belief that they're trying to force them to give in to their vices.

The impact of the water will wear off either after one week without re-exposure, or by using a Moon Drop to help to cleanse the mind.

[JUMP TO TOP]

CODING

Comments

Luz Noceda | The Owl House

[imaglyphwitch]

We Glow So Dim- Sunken Ship Edition!

Luz hadn't expected to see glowing things in the sea, especially since she could see that the waters were getting choppy and pretty rocky. However, this got the better of Luz, and after making a tentative swim toward the path that was leading toward the strange colors, she found that it led down to a trove of sunken ships! Luz recognized how they all looked a little different in various colors and insignias, letting her know that they were all from different worlds and from the past!

And look at that, someone like you happened to find her struggling with a nearby treasure chest.

"Hey, could you give me a hand? Trying to bring this for our book shop!"

Lavish Desires

A lot of people may have had desires that were pretty regular, items like money and the like. For Luz, she was far more concentrated on all of the flooding that's happening and trying to patch up what she could whenever she came across places in danger of it.

And soon after this, Luz was now taking the initiative and is attempting to save anyone that she could, going out and coming back to the house completely drenched and shivering and then moving on to try and help YOU, or maybe you catch her on her way out in a yellow slick, intending to ride her worried Palisman to try and save someone from impossible odds.

"What? I'm going to so stop another place from drowning, obviously. What are YOU doing?"

Wildcard- throw it at me!

[thunderingcourage]

"You should have called, I would have been here sooner."

Jupiter had been accompanying a number of different sleepers down to the ships just to be on the safe side. It seemed a lot better to explore and be prepared for trouble than to just wait for it to pop out. Walking over Jupiter seemed to examine the chest, helping to free it from the resting place it had found.

"It's pretty big for the book shop, are you going to use it as a display?"

[imaglyphwitch]

"Its kinda hard to call someone underwater!"

Truthfully though, Luz had been drawn to the lights like a moth to a flame and had been anxious to explore it before she enlisted someone's help! She wanted some actual Trench statue for the bookshop as a reminder of what type of lengths she'd go to get informative books into Trench.

"Thanks! I want the stuff inside, not the whole chest. I want a few statues from here. I feel like we should have a part of Trench in the bookstore, so people have a reminder of the rich history this place has!"

[thunderingcourage]

"That should be too hard to grab. Though I'm not sure that they'll appreciate it much with how they've been acting lately."

Makoto had seen a number of the locals being jerks to the sleepers lately, and finding out that one of them had broken Snow White's arm pushing her out of the way had certainly not helped Makoto's view of them lately. Of course there will always be those that she is thankful for and that are helpful among the locals as well. But those helping with moving stuff, not so much lately.

"If it's like before though, there's only so much that we'll be able to get."

[imaglyphwitch]

"This isn't for people thinking like that. I'm hoping this is more for the people who come to our bookstore seeking knowledge and have an appreciation for Trench lore! What better than an actual statue from times in the past?"

Luz. You've seen haunted house stories, you ought to know better than this. She'd also heard about what happened to Snow and was pretty appalled by that. She could only imagine how angry it made Makoto.

"I don't want to be greedy. Just a statue, for the store. You can keep all that other stuff. It's probably cursed anyway, like in the Pirates movie."

[thunderingcourage]

"Well if you don't want the chest itself, I could probably thing of something to do with it."

It would make a good raised bed for some flowers. And for anything else that was in there, she could make sure that it was safe and then give it to Usagi to use for her crafts and jewlry business that she was doing. And there were probably a few things that could be used for decorations around the store.

"Some of the scrolls surrounding the statue would be pretty cool for a display."

[imaglyphwitch]

"Sure, why not? I might take one or two things, like if there's...a ring...but otherwise, it's really the statue I want, and that might need both of us for that."

Luz would help with the chest, but other than one small knickknack or two, she'd be focused on the statue.

"Ooh, scrolls, yes! That sounds great!"

Luz was really after this on a nerd slant, but if she had a chance to also get something for Lexi, she wouldn't refuse it!

"Thanks for coming with me in this, Makoto. I'm sure you're probably busy with other people, like your boyfriend or helping Usagi."

[thunderingcourage]

"Atsushi went home in June. But yeah I've been helping Usagi with her business and things have really business at Flour and Bloom too. I've been making sure that I haven't had much down time."

It had only been when the last of his mark vanished lately that it had really hit that Atsushi was no longer in Trench, but she wasn't as lost or angry about it this time. They'd gotten closer and had managed o get through the last of the barriers holding them back, but he'd made it to where she was confident and comfortable in her skin. Makoto knew that he wouldn't want her to be in pain, so she was doing what she could. Besides there was always the chance he'd come back.

"How big of a statue do you want? I've seen some that were smaller."

[imaglyphwitch]

"Oh? I'm sorry to hear that. You're taking it pretty well though! I would probably not be doing that half as well!"

Having a relationship was a new thing to Luz, so if she were to lose Lexi at this stage, she'd probably be more than a little devastated. This let her know that Makoto was in a place where relationships didn't have to define you to your core. It actually gave her hope that one day she'd be able to move past her loved ones going in at least a more positive direction.

"In this case, it's less about the size and more about what they're expressing! I want something that has an air of age and story in it somehow, you know? Something that looks like it's part of a bigger story!"

Glow!

[onerthes]

Swimming up beside her was a squid! It was a big one, a purple one and... oh, ok. That third eye was probably identifying. Swimming around her with an almost gay and playful fashion, it bobbed its cuttlefish head. Clearly, Vira-Lorr understood her properly at the very least, because she was reaching out to grab hold of the chest, to try and use her two longer tendrils to help dragging it out of its housing.

How was she so cognizant as a squid? Well, there was that whole time she turned herself into one to get lots of squid ink, so... maybe she figured she'd do that again? Either way, it felt more useful than her noodly arms right now.

Only downside was that she wasn't as good at talking right now.

Re: Glow!

[imaglyphwitch]

Luz took note of the squid, curious at first, then starting when she saw the third eye, and couldn't help but chuckle. She had no idea that Vira Lorr could do this, but she was clearly enjoying herself, even if they couldn't talk, and she gave her friend a smile.

"I don't even know if this is a Trench thing or not," she said, shaking her head, "but at least you're not suffering. And you are kind of cute for a squid, if that makes sense? You know me and animals. Thanks for the help though! It does make more sense to use than my weak nerd arms!"

Which were, strangely, not so weak anymore.

[onerthes]

The squid did a swirling motion that made its tentacles fan like a spiral for a second before waving one of the bigger pads in a way that almost liked someone trying to wave their hand and motion that everything was fine. If squids could look friendly and like they were laughing? She'd be doing that.

reaching down, she wrapped one of them hard and the other against the other side, clenching tightly and starting to pull. Thankfully Luz was a bit stronger than she should have been. But it wasn't like Vira-Lorr actually knew how heavy this thing was as they started to move, right?

[imaglyphwitch]

Luz certainly derived that from Vira. Honestly, aside from a few situations, Vira tended to be one of the more friendly people Luz knew, and it seemed that turning into a squid creature had done little to change that.

Thankfully she was NOT that alien creature, which would have made things pretty hard.

Luz also gave the chest a grab and found, with their combined strength, they were able to pull it forward with relative ease! Now swimming with it, that would be the true test of strength for the both of them.

"On the count of three then?"

[onerthes]

Yup. She'd managed to get her transformations to take on one of two tracks. Squid... and that thing. One was much less offensive than the other clearly, not to mention it was a lot less useful in this situation. Vira-Lorr nodded her ... uh, head? yes, she was going to think of it as her head right now. A quick nod and she braced herself with just enough of her tendrils ready to help the process of swimming while her others wrapped around it for a good, tight hold.

Time to haul this prize.

[imaglyphwitch]

Luz would second that. If Vira mastered that transformation somehow, wow. She'd think she was the coolest and scariest person she knew. It was an interesting combination.

But she got the message, grinning and going upward herself, very glad for the illuminated path. She'd be in a bit of a fix without it. Now though, it was swimming to get the chest where it needed to be! Onward and upward!

She really did wish she could talk to Vira in this form though.

[onerthes]

Talking in the water was kind of difficult to begin with. It was all gurgle this, blurble that. But the path to get this chest back wasn't too far at the very least, so as the water's edge and the light began to show, she picked up the pace to try and help them get there just a little faster.

...but no Jet ink firing for increased speed. Squid ink was valuable, don't cha know?

[imaglyphwitch]

It really was, under normal circumstances. Luz was happy to be in the spot where she could walk and talk normally, but of course Vira was not in that same area, so Luz had to go out to her. So Luz tried to mime what she was saying, then looked exasperated and just jerked her head to the surface.

They could get the chest out with their combined strength, that was enough.

Luz did NOT know that about jet ink, but might have suggested a glyph had she been thinking about it.

Sunken Ship

[foulhussy]

Kainé is doubtful that anything good will come of following that light. Any blessings that Trench seems to hold out are usually double-edged. But she convinces herself to follow it regardless, reasoning that enough Sleepers are going to get caught up in it that she should at least accompany them to keep them safe.

But the truth is, she finds the sights interesting all on their own. She never knew much about the sea in her own world, had never been on a ship before coming here, and it seemed beyond imagination that such a different world could lie beneath the waves. She's busy imagining what sort of worlds those ships could have come from, when Luz's voice reaches her.

"Sure, kid. But if you get eaten by something on the way back up, it's mine." Kainé barks a cold laugh, but bends down, lifting the treasure chest with effortless ease.

Re: Sunken Ship

[imaglyphwitch]

That was certainly true, that Trench seemed to give them a whole lot of bad before it would give them something good. Certainly the lights help, and it helped more that she didn't seem to be able to drown.

Of course, all of that is interrupted by this pretty interloper, who at least seemed to indicate that she'd help!

"Don't be so disappointed if I'm not eaten!"

Not that Luz planned on being eaten. She may not have had the staff, but she still had a free hand to grab for her pockets if she needed to grab a glyph.

"Do treasure hunting often?"

[foulhussy]

"It'll mean more of it for me if you are," she remarks dryly. It's less the treasure that fascinates her than the sight itself. All of these ships from other worlds. Where had they been going, what sort of people had sailed them before they were doomed to be swallowed in Mariana's domain?

"Nope," she says truthfully. Though she's certainly done a lot more of it since coming here, it was usually incidental to whyever else so found herself in some strange new place.

[imaglyphwitch]

"Well sure, but who'd want to wish that on anyone?"

Clearly Luz was banking on people being better than that. She hoped anyway. Luz was just as fascinated by the ships though, and all of the things that came with it. Even she was curious as to what journeys they'd been going on that led to them becoming this.

"It's my first time too. I kind of wonder if we were meant to find them though, with the way the light is illuminating the way for us to find these remains."

[foulhussy]

"Maybe I do. Maybe I'm a scary serial killer and I wanna eat your kidneys or some shit." She snorts, having less optimism in strangers. For all she knows, this girl could be just that. She doubts it, though.

"She wants us to find this. She also wanted to send giant fucking ocean beasts against us. I wouldn't trust her."

[imaglyphwitch]

"Do serial killers usually tell you what they're going to do to you? I always thought they wanted to keep that a secret until the end."

Luz was, of course, very much not up to anything and was just trying to get some nice Trench related things for the book shop.

"Oh, I don't know about that beast part. If they really wanted to do that, they'd have done it already. I should know: I've actually seen one in person."

And was possessed by a ghost, but the less about that the better.

[foulhussy]

"Dunno," Kainé says. "Isn't the point of them that they're batshit? Don't need a reason." As somebody that hosted a bloodthirsty murderous shade in her head for many years, that's not a hypothetical. But he'd been very different from her off-the-cuff quips.

"I don't trust anything they do for us. Even the ones that play nice fuck around with your head." Like Madame Generosity when she'd first arrived.

[imaglyphwitch]

"I don't know if that's the only reason," Luz said, but she also knew she was lacking in that area. She really didn't know what it was like to want to hurt people and make your mark on them. "But maybe it's the only one that matters in the long run. They're dangerous."

Right, let's not go there though.

"I..." Luz trailed. "I have one that's my patron, but things DID kind of go south that month. Now that I think about it, I was corrupted then. Not trusting them is starting to be the only way to be lately."

After last month's whole thing, it was hard for Luz not to feel pretty fed up with the "gifts" the new month gave them.