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
fabrications: (ɪ know exactly what i want)

[personal profile] fabrications 2022-08-27 07:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The way Daniel asks about 'Coldblood tricks' tips Akechi off to the fact that he's new around here, and the followup question completely confirms it. Akechi blinks, then offers Daniel a smile. There's no more trace of strain in his expression, though there's an amused cast to the expression that suggests he's not being entirely sincere. ]

Well, there certainly could be. There aren't many possibility you should discount in Trench.

[ Though the Pthumerians - particularly Mariana - electing to do a Sleeper a solid for no reason is one of those possibilities. ]

That looked more like Coldblood magic to me, though. Fire and ice usually are.
miyagimagic: (040)

[personal profile] miyagimagic 2022-08-30 05:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ Daniel exhales upon the realisation that this might be, in fact, some sort of magic.

That he did.

This is apparently his life now.

So that exhalation definitely isn't just a normal breath. No, that's a sigh for sure, though he shakes his head to show that he's at least not sighing due to Akechi, or at him. He's instead sighing at just how ridiculous his life has gotten in the span of a month or so. ]


Well, I guess that answers the question as to what kind of.. magic I can use.

[ Just listen to the way he says that word. Daniel is too old for this. ]

Though I kind of imagined it would be a more conscious thing. [ Rather than him accidentally freezing stuff up just because he's too Italian to not constantly be gesturing with his hands.

He shakes his head again, but then seems to put himself at peace with the situation for long enough to ask the other: ]


Was it like this for you at first too?

[ Please, he's had enough weirdness already. At least let this be normal somehow. ]
fabrications: (ʙᴜᴛ if i chose)

[personal profile] fabrications 2022-08-30 11:51 am (UTC)(link)
[ This guy is... pretty interesting, actually. He clearly has no idea what this place as like, and just as clearly isn't entirely sure how to come to grips with it, and yet he's handling it surprisingly well. No excitement, but no denial or discomfort with the idea, either.

What a strange person.

The question about Akechi's own arrival gets a faint laugh from him.
]

I didn't arrive with the ability to do anything more than I could back home. No magic for me, I'm afraid.

[ The first part is the truth and the second is a lie, but Akechi says both without his expression so much as flickering. ]

Though I have heard it's not always under control even for long-term residents. It seems to be highly responsive to the user's emotional state.
miyagimagic: (073)

[personal profile] miyagimagic 2022-08-31 06:18 am (UTC)(link)
.. you know, in a way you might actually be lucky.

[ Apparently Daniel is opting to take Akechi's words entirely by face value. He doesn't even seem to hesitate before believing the other and saying that - the words flow out of the man's mouth rather naturally. He even shakes his head, trying to return to a slightly more casual and less adrenaline-driven mode by doing so.

Daniel's secret may be that he's actually tense all the time, but it's not like that's the way he'd love to come across as in front of an adolescent. ]


This magic, it's.. [ His voice trails off, and he glances back at the spot where the wave had been frozen before suddenly melting and crashing down on them, as if he can still see it with his mind's eye. ] .. it's something.

[ Very eloquently summed up, yes.

But this is indeed still just Daniel coming to terms with what his life currently has become. ]


When you can't control it, it seems like it might work just as much against you as for you. Like a double-edged sword. [ He frowns, and there seems to be a hint of sympathy in his eyes as he looks at Akechi, along with something else. Like he's trying to assess the other's ability to protect himself just by the way Akechi looks. ] But I understand that not having it could be a disadvantage in a place as dangerous as this one. It feels like everyone is bound to get into a situation where they'll have to protect themselves at some point.
fabrications: (ʙᴜᴛ if i chose)

[personal profile] fabrications 2022-08-31 10:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Lucky, huh? Akechi's smile grows a bit thin at that, and then outright brittle when Daniel looks to him with sympathy. It doesn't outright fade, though it looks like it could at any moment. ]

I suppose the rest of us will have to make due with physical fighting.

[ Not that magic is strictly necessary for protection anyway, but Akechi ended up in more that one situation where he would be dead without his Persona. So he can, frustratingly, see why Daniel would act so concerned over his presumed lack of means of defense.

It still annoys him.
]

In any case, you're correct about magic. It can backfire in deadly ways, if you're not careful.

[ Too cheerfully, he adds: ]

If things had gone a little differently, you might have ended up as an ice cube floating out to sea.
miyagimagic: (031)

[personal profile] miyagimagic 2022-09-02 06:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ Daniel pulls A Face at the mention of the ice cube. That's for sure. He's an expressive guy, after all, and so there's no way his instinctive reaction of 'nope, nope, nope, thanks' doesn't show up immediately on his face as he shakes his head. ]

Okay, let's just not mention anything anymore about ice. I think I'm fine with not thinking too hard about ice or ice cubes for the rest of the day. [ Especially since he'd truly rather not imagine how badly this could have gone wrong, despite him not consciously having tried to do anything.

He shakes his head, as if to shake off the thought, and then jumps back a tad in the conversation to something else that stood out to him. ]


Do you know how to deal with that? [ At least this time it sounds very much just like an open question, rather than anything laced with sympathy or any other particular emotion. ] Physical fighting?

[ Hey, it's just a topic of interest to Daniel. And he knows that in this sort of place there's truly no telling whether or not someone knows how to fight just by looking at them. ]
fabrications: = ɴᴇᴜᴛʀᴀʟ (ᴏɴᴇ track heart)

[personal profile] fabrications 2022-09-04 04:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Akechi mentally notes that Daniel isn't a big fan of the ice cube reminders, and immediately makes a second note to find a way to bring it up again later. For now, though, he offers a mild: ]

My apologies.

[ There's no need to dwell on it further, especially not now that Daniel is willingly moving towards a subject Akechi finds more comfortable. ]

I know a fair amount. I've been here for about a year now, and there's plenty of people eager to pass on their craft.

[ Including one person very relevant to Daniel LaRusso - but Akechi doesn't know that, so instead of bringing up Johnny he addresses the more obvious matter. ]

Though it seems like you might know a fair amount yourself. Not many people are dedicated enough to come all the way down to the sea to practice.
miyagimagic: (041)

[personal profile] miyagimagic 2022-09-06 06:50 am (UTC)(link)
Ah, well..

[ Despite the entire soaked state that's still ongoing, though they're starting to dry up a teensy bit now, Daniel starts looking a little better at the mention of that last part. It's like some slight tension rolls right out of his shoulders.

After all, despite everything that happened back home, karate remains a comfort to him. It's been a no-brainer to come out here to train, especially since-- ]


I just find it relaxing. [ The man sounds very genuine about that. ] I've been into karate ever since I was a teenager. Never stopped since.

[ Look at him talking about it in that way only old men can truly talk about things.. Sorry, Akechi, you're stuck with old man talk now. ]

I guess even being dragged off to another world didn't feel like an excuse to stop to me. The beach is perfect to come out to and practice some kata, especially when it's not so busy out here.