reddosmod: (Deer 2)
Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] deercountry2022-08-08 09:32 pm

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. ]

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.

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.

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.

CODING
acidjail: rights to use paid by me; do not take (Default)

[personal profile] acidjail 2022-08-27 03:47 am (UTC)(link)
Woe freezes as the butterflies take flight, her body locking up in repression of the pink smoke that wends its way from her chest and joins them in joyous whirls and dips, a peach-colored butterfly Omen at play among her seeming golden sisters.

"Yes," she says, clipped and sharp, watching her Omen frolic with a deeply unhappy set to her mouth, "Suggestive. You may end the demonstration."

She digs the thumbnail of one hand into the palm of the other, expression shifting to one of troubled thought, working at a problem like a wiggling tooth.
chessboardturn: (014)

[personal profile] chessboardturn 2022-08-27 05:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, he's kinda proud of himself. He leans back with a smirk.

"Well? What do you think?"

He may or may not be surprised by the response.
acidjail: rights to use paid by me; do not take (03)

[personal profile] acidjail 2022-08-27 07:59 pm (UTC)(link)
"I think it was a proof of concept," she snips, squinting at a point across the street of apparent great interest. "Not a particularly helpful one."

It's an unnecessary harshness, but she doesn't see it as hypocrisy from her words before about cruelty. She has a point to this, and it is pushing the image of butterflies as far from her as she can, their mimicry intolerable.

"Do you know how you would have gone about removing yourself from your 'catbox'? Or are lightshows all you can manage?"
chessboardturn: (005)

[personal profile] chessboardturn 2022-08-27 09:37 pm (UTC)(link)
"...that's a tough question," Battler admits and leans back in his seat, considering it, "...I had a way of sort of removing us. Of putting us into a place away from it, but it would involve removing us from the world entirely. We'd be safe, but... not able to reenter the ongoing timeline. It's... complicated."

Battler frowns.

"Magic has rules, even if it's magic."
acidjail: rights to use paid by me; do not take (Default)

[personal profile] acidjail 2022-08-29 03:42 pm (UTC)(link)
"Of course magic has rules," she scoffs, prickling all over like an irritable hedgehog. It's a poor cover for her frustrated disappointment. Of course it wouldn't be so easy - nothing ever is.

"Still. There could be something to it - tell me, how stable are your constructs? What energy do you draw on to fuel them? Do they self-sustain, or require your continued attention?"

He doesn't know any of the terminology she does, but that's all right. She was there when it was all invented; she can do it again, if she has to, as loathsome as the effort is.
chessboardturn: (007)

[personal profile] chessboardturn 2022-08-30 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
"I usually don't have to put too much energy into them," Battler shrugs, "They exist once I put them into the world - although if I'm gone for too long, it's possible they might fade away, too... but generally just people believing in their existence is enough once they get going," Battler seems happy to share some of his information. Although it's possible he shouldn't honestly.

Still, he's already doing it. Can't stop now.

"The energy... the energy is belief. In people thinking that it will happen. That's pretty much it."
acidjail: rights to use paid by me; do not take (06)

[personal profile] acidjail 2022-09-04 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
It isn't information Woe can see a use for. It also isn't information that seems to make her very happy, although that's no deviation from the established pattern. She tugs her cloak even tighter around herself, like an overpinched dumpling, matching the crimped seam of her mouth.

"So you don't know. Of course not." She closes her eyes and draws a sharp breath in through her nose, tipping her head back. "Bleck."

She says it with minimal, snipped inflection, as if that's an unremarkable thing to say.

"It's not to be helped. You're not to blame. Lay practitioners - always a few, however you try to educate, and not a soul did for you, did they?"
chessboardturn: (Default)

[personal profile] chessboardturn 2022-09-04 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
"Don't tell me I don't know if you don't like the answer," he replies with a little smile, "It's belief. Believing in magic is what makes it work. That's how it is where I'm from, anyway. If you don't believe, it'll never work, no matter how hard you try."

Which is not a satisfying answer, he's aware, but it's not supposed to be.

"But I had to figure it out mostly on my own. With a little bit of help from Beato's furniture."
acidjail: rights to use paid by me; do not take (06)

[personal profile] acidjail 2022-09-07 04:09 pm (UTC)(link)
"Of course you must believe, but you must also believe in your ability to stretch out a hand and pick up a glass of water - but belief is the motive force, not the instrument itself." Her voice has the air of someone who has had an argument like this before, more than once, and is already very tired of it.

"I know I am going to regret asking this," she adds, with clear and pronounced suffering, turning her eyes to the heavens, "But how did the furniture of who or whatever a Beato is assist you?"
chessboardturn: (005)

[personal profile] chessboardturn 2022-09-08 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
"Mmm. I'm pretty sure belief is the instrument. Because if you explain how the magic works, it's not really magic anymore, is it? Then it's just a trick," Battler smiles. This is conversation he's had before. And he thinks he knows how she'll react to that. But... that question is an interesting one.

"Well... they explained a lot about the gameboard and gave me servants who were willing to do a lot for me. They were willing to stand alongside me and help me run the gameboard."
acidjail: rights to use paid by me; do not take (02)

[personal profile] acidjail 2022-09-12 03:34 pm (UTC)(link)
"The furniture," Woe repeats, almost in a daze, with an underpinning of absolutely exhausted indignation, "The furniture stood alongside you. You went into conflict beside an armoire - you broke bread with a table - you confided in a chair?"

No. Even this affably dim boychild would surely not be so delusional, if he's yet to turn and introduce himself to the bench. Woe has heard all types of grisly rumors about what flesh necromancers get up to with their underlings, and has had to clean up the messes herself.

"You wouldn't happen to have brought any of this furniture with you? They sound much better informed than you - no offense," she adds, offensively.
chessboardturn: (Default)

[personal profile] chessboardturn 2022-09-13 02:16 am (UTC)(link)
"No, no, they were... constructs but they could think and feel and they had minds of their own and powers of their own. Furniture was just what they were called. A lot like me or you, but beings made from magic. Not quite sure why they were called furniture, but they were usually servants to witches..."

It's all very complicated. Not that he misses the offense in her words in the least. So he responds by being annoyingly cheerful.

"Nope! Sorry! Haven't seen any of them since I washed up here. Although Beatrice is here, she might know more."
acidjail: rights to use paid by me; do not take (08)

[personal profile] acidjail 2022-09-20 07:47 pm (UTC)(link)
“What an unpleasant nomenclature,” says one of the least pleasant people in town, “At least ‘construct’ has less implication.”

She’s very familiar with the tools of dehumanization. She has employed many of them herself, over the years, when necessary. It doesn’t mean she can’t still have notes.

“As for your Beatrice - I am sure that she does.” Woe pushes off the bench, coming to her feet in a crisp unfolding. “You wouldn’t happen to know where she might be, then?”
chessboardturn: (014)

[personal profile] chessboardturn 2022-09-20 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"I didn't come up with it," he shrugs, "And they seem OK with it... for the most part. But maybe it'll change later."

He sighs and watches as she stands, "...I know where she's staying right now, if that's what you mean. We can probably talk to her, if you want."
acidjail: rights to use paid by me; do not take (03)

[personal profile] acidjail 2022-09-21 07:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"I have other errands to attend to, at the moment," she says, gathering her cloak around her and dipping her head to allow the hood to fall more securely forward, "An address will suffice. Or directions, if there is none - this city is a rat's nest."

Big words for someone living in a sewer, but Battler doesn't need to know about that.

"You have been," she pauses, measuring out her words, "Revelatory."
chessboardturn: (007)

[personal profile] chessboardturn 2022-09-21 07:37 pm (UTC)(link)
"Uh, it's called Sanctuary," Battler replies after a moment of thought. He's content to just chill on the bench a little longer.

"Good luck with everything. Glad I could help!"
acidjail: rights to use paid by me; do not take (06)

[personal profile] acidjail 2022-09-22 04:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"Tch!!" Is her only retort, paired with an imperial upward jerk of her chin, before she sweeps off in yet another randomly chosen direction. It doesn't matter what she chooses. She will find her way where she needs to go, eventually.

What a peculiarly affable young man.

(But she will remember Sanctuary, and she will remember his helpfulness. She is so particularly bad at forgetting.)