deercountry | he ate my heart

he ate my heart

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Then we should explore. You want to make sure we have all the tools we can get, right?" she said, winking back at him and wading out into the water to waist depth in between the lights. her eyes gazed out at those for a long moment.

"We just follow the lights, right?"

"Mn, yeah."

Manabu catches up in short order, leaving Magnet to whine and grunt on the shore.

"It goes the entire way, kind of spreads out where the shipwrecks are." Like an airfield, he thinks. Probably not something she knows about, though, so he keeps it to himself. "So as long as you can see the stuff on either side of you, you're good. There's some kind of...warping effect besides the breathing, too. I floated past the lights once and started feeling really...really weird. Like I was melting, almost?" He grimaces. "Or, aa, something like that. Sorry, It's hard to describe besides not feeling that great."

She'd heard of airports a few times, but she'd yet to do more than see them in video footage. The thought of it was still kind of terrifyingly surreal to her. Who would willingly put themselves in a tube of metal that soared over the earth at speeds to make a bullet blush?

"You were probably changing back. It happens in the waters naturally if you can't breathe," she said, gesturing further out and nodding. "I don't know if we'll be able to talk much underwater while we're breathing it, but good to know. Shall we?"

And with a leap, she splashed in once he finished saying any peace he had.

If she thinks that's nuts, she needs to glimpse the space trains sometime. There's bound to be another chance to peek into that universe again, and she'll need a front-row seat.

"Changing back?" he echoes. "You mean--"

To a...squid...

Yeah, no he gets it. He doesn't like that he gets it, but he does. So the rest of that response is just a withered sound as he wades back in, Magnet's drawn-out whining following him from the shore.

"Mn. The omnis work under there though! So if something comes up, we can at least type messages at each other."

If she...has hers on her. In that getup. He's not going to investigate that one, that's on her - he's just gonna dive in!

She nodded, no pressing it. Distantly she remembered as he looed a little uncomfortable that he never did like that revelation. Few did. She'd... come to terms with it. Nodding over at him, she dived down and reached to her side, where she did thankfully have it attached to a little belt with some small single piece tools. She couldn't very well come down here without at least some preparation.

True enough. We do have this. But let's see what's further down.

Swimming deeper, she could see the strange, surreal lights once she got used to breathing the water. It was unusual to say the least, and she had a distantly ominous feeling, but for now she continued her swim.

(OOC: Totally forgot about the omnis, haha.)

Vira-Lorr's given the wide berth to swim the lead for a while, but once Manabu can glimpse the ship graveyard filling up the murky view ahead of them, he gives a firm series of kicks to get ahead of her, just so he can gesture and wave off the closest ones - the ones which were already investigated, picked clean of items of interest.

He waves her to follow along as he moves past those ones, up to one he's certain he hasn't touched - and that's because he can't spy any "x" carved anywhere on its outer body. He'd taken to doing that when he wound up exploring more and more, just to keep track. This one here seems a bit more intact than the other, which means it'll take a bit more exploring to find a good entry point that isn't just a busted-open hole in the hull.

Wow, people had been down here quite a lot hadn't they? She saw the X marks that he pointed out and nodded, motioning for him to take the lead now that the two of them were in the midst of the hulks. She briefly looked around to see if there was a sign of Godzilla in the area, but thankfully no world-threatening shadows sailed by, and she swam along, more at ease.

It took a while, but she pointed towards the top deck of the vessel. Perhaps there was an entry up there?

It takes a moment for Manabu to notice where she's pointing, but he follows through eventually and sure enough, an opening to the stairs below. He shoots her a thumbs-up before kicking over to investigate it, flailing backward when some fish spill out, just as surprised of him as he is of them.

She floated along behind him more slowly, letting the fish swim away in fear and trepidation. Thankfully none of them seemed threatening and the barnacles were entirely normal sized around here, so the worst they had was a jump scare. Still, just in case, she had a harpoon at the ready when she started to swim down into the substructure, turning on a little glow-light to shed some light, any light in the depths.

This place was incredibly gloomy within, the whole thing looking like it was down here for an almost indeterminable amount of time. Most of the furniture and tables were toppled, half-rotted. Barely any light showed within and the bioluminescence didn't come into this place. Every motion had a way of causing shadows to shift, even though nothing actually came out.

It was... unnerving.

It's a bit too murky to see, so Manabu lifts his omni, using the glow of the device to light their way. Sweeping it slowly around helps reveal glints of metal not wholly rusted in places - old hooks and fixtures, some chain links...a lock? He pushes off a part of the ceiling to propel him closer to what looks like some sealed crates. If they were labeled once, it's lost to time and erosion.

He holds out his omni for Vira to hang onto and shine for him, freeing up his hands to feel around the crate and look for an easy open or wipe away overgrowth that might hinder him. After sweeping sea-gunk off, he pulls out a fishing knife and slips it under the lid to see if he can't jimmy it open without having to mess with the lock. There's some give, but not enough to hit the jackpot right away. He'd use his pistol, but it's underwater, so he didn't even try to bring it...

Looking over his shoulder, he gives Vira a questioning look. Should he go all out on this badboy or does she have some ideas?

She took the omni from him and held it steadily so that the light was was in place and helping him to find the seams of the crate safely. Waiting patiently, she nodded down and took the harpoon she had in her other hand. Slipping the blade under one of the other seams exactly opposite where his knife was. Resting one hand down on the length of the spear, she shined the light back on it, gesturing for him to give a countdown.

Together? They would probably get it popped off where alone it was risky to the tools.

It's easy to catch onto what she's suggesting; Manabu nods and situates his knife more snugly under the top. While gripping the handle in one hand, his other counts:

One...

Two...

On three, he nods and brings his hand down with some extra oomph to pry open the top. Between the two of them, the old crate lid buckles and pops up, a portion of it splintering along the way. It's enough to clear it away and expose the insides...

Carvings...? Little figures, seemingly sculpted out of stone or metal. Tentacles curled together, eerie totems with an alien-like quality (but then, cephalopods have always looked alien).

She held up one of the carvings, staring at it curiously, the bloated, inhuman thing causing her a frown while she gazed at the other tentacled monstrosities.

Taking out her omni, she typed.

The hell are these supposed to be?
They don't look Pthumerian in origin.

He shakes his head, grimacing. Whatever they are, they sure are ugly... Maybe that's why they're at the bottom of the ocean? Manabu takes his own omni back just to clip it onto his shirt so he has a dedicated light source in front of him, and once he puts his knife away he has two hands to rifle through the crate and let some of its contents float or sink freely. He was kind of hoping for something with writing - something with legible clues...he's not creative enough to interpret artwork.

Turning one of the squid-looking ones in-hand, Manabu shoots a dubious look back at Vira-Lorr before bringing his satchel up and shrugging. Should they take them?

She nodded as soon as he proffered the bag. Hideous? Yes. Potentially dangerous? This was Trench. But they were something, and she wanted to have a careful look at them. Pity she no longer had psychometry. It would have come in handy... or driven her insane.

She didn't stuff a large amount. They could keep looking, to see if they found anything else, such as something with writing. She would have been curious as well.

While she's doing that, Manabu bends to reach further into the crate for the items too dense to drift up. The shapes are more uniform - oval stones of varying degrees of smoothness and polish - with peculiar markings...writing?

Once her hands are free, Manabu lifts one of them out and holds it out for her inspection; if anyone could have a guess on that writing, Vira-Lorr surely would have.

She looked at the writing when one was in her hand, frowning again and then shaking her head. setting it where it couldn't go anywhere, she typed on her omni to get a more detailed response out, even if it was painstakingly slow with the water around them.

Don't recognize the language. But none of us learned Pthumerian. So it might be that?

That gets a dubious, shrug-of-a-look from Manabu before trying to fit the one he had into the satchel. It's starting to get pretty stuffed...

It takes some doing, unclipping his omni and swapping the flashlight out for the text screen, but eventually:

Should we head back or keep looking?

Her satchel was only so full, but at the same time? It did seem like perhaps they should be getting out of here. there was only so much that they could care, after all, and it would be better not to weigh themselves down just in case. A quick nod and she grabbed a few more of the stones to put in the sack.

Starting to move, she motioned for him to come with. This definitely seemed like a very good time to get back to the topside.

Manabu lets her take the lead, swimming out of the lower deck a distance after her, lingering at level with the upper deck and looking around - really looking around. How long ago...did this vessel sink? Where did it come from? What other shores did it see? Who manned it? Where they natives, or like him and Vira-Lorr...?

Much to question, but so few answers to go around. Glimpses of fish passing by catch his eye in the peripheral and shake him out of that brief trance of thought.

He'd sigh, but...underwater, it's weird enough to be down here without an apparatus. Oh, well.

He follows the shape of Vira-Lorr to the surface, satchel heavy and weighted with the spoils of their search.

Her own focus was on the swim. Despite being easy going about everything? Vira-Lorr wasn't particularly hell bent on remaining in the dark depths of the ocean longer than necessary. this was Mariana's realm, and she disliked the intensity of her presence, even protected.

Soon, she was at the surface, coughing up the excess water and getting a good, long lung-full of air while she waited for him to catch up. God, getting water out of her ears was... ugh. "This was definitely something to remember," she muttered as soon as he caught up at the surface.

"Glauughhhh-!"

Manabu surfaces gracelessly, hacking on seawater as he returns to a proper air-breather. He has to work to push some of the wet mop of his hair out of his face and find where Vira-Lorr is.

"All good?" he asks, treading water. "We, we better get back to shore before we really wear out...or something weirder happens."

She nodded, coughing up the last of it, pushing towards the shore one step at a time. When they'd found the sand, she set the bag down and flopped, panting. honestly, this much swimming was exhausting no matter what.

"That was certainly something. I'm not sure what we'll gain from this, but it is at least something. Are you alright?"

Swimming really is the ultimate exercise, isn't it? Manabu's wiped, laying on his back as his omen rushes over to lick at his face before going off to check on Vira-Lorr.

"Yeh-yeah," he puffs. "I'm good. Just...hoo...I don't do a lot of swimming, eh, eheh..."

She flopped down and panted, looking up at the sky and laughing softly. "Gods, but I don't swim nearly that much. Ever. I try to avoid the water around here normally, so this was a lot, but perhaps these will be worth it," she said, holding one up and squinting at it.

"It will probably be frustratingly and tantalizingly close to the truth and we will learn absolutely nothing but feel like we've progressed in the process though. So I'll just add it to a wide collection of these sorts of nicknacks..." Blink blink. Did she just SAY all that? She usually kept the cynicism under the wraps.

he ate my heart

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