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

"Okay," Murderbot says, but the answer does nothing for its risk assessment module. In desperation, it queries for shows that have ghosts and cross references which of those shows have people who control ghosts. The number of characters with "complete control" over ghosts who lose control over a ghost is alarmingly high. It's media, so it would be boring if nothing went wrong. Ugh. The threat assessment gives an answer, but Murderbot is good at threat assessment generally. This doesn't feel right.

"Ghosts aren't real in my world," Murderbot says. "In all the media from my world that would end badly for you, but you're a person, not a character."

"Is there a movie, serial, book, play, etc that vaguely represents your experiences with ghosts?" it asks.

The biggest worry is if a ghost tried to manipulate him, but Nico saw one ghost doing that a mile away and put a stop to that. Even when he'd been drowning in his own feelings. He is more careful here in this world, since there are still a lot of unknowns. But Nico figured it might be better if he's the one dealing with a ghost over someone who has no abilities at all.

"Most people don't see ghosts on the regular in mine. There are those that believe in them, some that will attempt to disprove there's a haunting happening." Nico pauses. "Sometimes that ends badly for them. I have an advantage over them."

This where Nico hesitates for a long moment. "Honestly, I couldn't tell you. I missed out on seventy years of most media and catching up was so overwhelming with everything that was happening that I didn't really try."

He missed most of the time period when movies, and television became big for people. "I guess if you've ever seen anything about Earth Greek myths, specifically the god of the underworld, Hades, that'd be pretty close."

Right, so his reality is a little bit like the stories then. Stories about ghosts being real but most people not believing in them AKA stories set in the 'real' world that doesn't have ghosts feel like paranoia bait. Here Nico is showing that could very well be the case. Thanks, it hates it.

"I leave the ghosts to you," Murderbot says, "Don't know how I could help." Nothing in its life has prepared it for ghosts, other than avoiding eye contact. And interpersonal interactions. A ghost you don't interact with should be pretty safe? Like, if it sees a ghost it's getting the hell out. No thanks.

It's disappointed about the media but not surprised. "I'll save that name, in case I come across it," Murderbot says. It's not from Earth, much as it has learned people are often from that place. "If you have time here, you're welcome to come to The Entertainment Feed. It has a few regular events, but you can come and watch, read, listen, etc by yourself. Social interaction isn't required."

It sure is, picking up anything about Greek myth would also be pretty accurate, too. For every ghost story out there, there is a human to investigate it. Most don't have any ability to sense or see them, but it doesn't mean it isn't there.

"Sure. If you come across any, you can call me to deal with them. I know this place has some around." As a warning. Almost all of them have been harmless, though very early on, one did seem to curse him.

He nods at the invite, possibly interested in going to check it out sometimes. "Maybe you'll have some recommendations when I come. There's a lot of stuff out there and I never really knew where to start."

"So noted," Murderbot agrees, "Hopefully they don't need much 'dealing with.'" It doesn't know what it can do against something noncorporeal. Can ghosts be hacked?

Murderbot starts a query in the background to build a list of options to sort through. "What interests or preferences do you have?" Murderbot asks, "So I can keep them in mind."

"Most of the ones I've met so far have been harmless. Not counting on that holding true." Honestly, Nico is expecting some ghost and undead problems before the end of the year. He will be disappointed if October has absolutely nothing going on.

That is a loaded question. Getting into media hasn't been too easy, but he supposes he had some favorite video game genres. "Action, fantasy, supernatural. Maybe sci-fi."

"Good things rarely do," Murderbot agrees. It looks across the ocean and the glowing water, suspicious.

"I have plenty of that," Murderbot says. It pauses for a human length of time to add, "Most of the regular life media I have would be sci-fi for universes of Trench's technology level, even a lot more advanced. There's a large gap for me."

Most things were a trap, Nico believed that even before coming here, and it seemed doubly true for this place. So he approaches everything cautiously.

The teen hums thoughtfully at that admittance. "That's fair. Anything space-based or not set on Earth would count as sci-fi to me. I'm sure there's probably futuristic stuff that would fall into that category for others, but starting anywhere else would be fine in my book."

He'll start with one particular side of sci-fi, since there's already a lot for him to cover in terms of media entertainment.

Murderbot startles at the statement about Earth given Earth is a planet it only learned about upon coming to Trench. "All of my universe's media is sci fi by that standard," it says, "As far as I know, we don't have an Earth."

It breathes according to the algorithm it wrote for a couple seconds. "However, DeerNet mostly has media produced on Earth, whether or not it's set there," it says, "So I can provide recommendations to non-sci-fi media." It's simply less familiar with it.

Nico lifts his shoulders in the motion of a shrug. "Guess it should have figured that it would have happened eventually. Don't know a lot of people who don't have an Earth at all." How Murderbot pictures sci-fi is likely different from his view.

A hum of affirmation at the next part. "Produced on Earth is fine, having some scenes on Earth is fine too. If you cut all those out, the list probably wouldn't be very long."

Murderbot stands there awkwardly. It doesn't fit Trench in so many different ways. Not being from Earth or knowing about one ever existing is yet another way. It appreciates that can explain any discrepancies that might otherwise get associated with being a SecUnit.

"It wouldn't," Murderbot agrees. "I'll see what I can do." It glances over at Nico's hair. "Do you have any media not available here?"

[ OOC: I don't think MB has asked that and currently have trouble scanning the whole thread. Please let me know if you remember it need/needs an edit. ]

It just goes to show just how long Trench's reach is. That it can collect people where worlds don't seem to exist in other people's. He has only heard of two realities where a God is physically seen hanging out with their people. Not Greek like his own.

"Thanks." That look has him lifting a hand to his hair and ruffles it, checking to see if he has anything in it. "I mostly know video games. Which might be a little harder to duplicate unless people are just in it for the storyline. Books, I suppose. A weird video that people didn't like, and unique campfire songs."

"You're welcome," Murderbot says in response. It makes a little of a face but doesn't give up. "How much of those do you have here with you?" Murderbot asks. It supposes campfire songs could be sung.

"Just what I remember. I've been living at a summer camp place where we have very little in the way of tech. Though, there might be people around here who could make some kind of arcade game for you." He knows one person who build a dancing game.

"Oh," Murderbot says, a touch disappointed but not surprised. Most people cannot store media in their memory and share it. This place is light on augmented humans, much less very many people like it. Such a shame. For the media's sake.

"I would like more games," Murderbot says, "Those aren't easy for me to acquire."

Most of his media comes in the form of books, it's a lot easier to carry around, and he's not worried about catching up on seven decades worth. Being augmented might not be the best option for a demigod who attracts monsters when they use various methods of communication and connecting to the net.

"Not sure who all could build them around here, but I know of some low-tech ones that could be easy enough. Don't have much in the way of actual story or plot." Old school games like skeeball, pinball, air hockey.

Murderbot shrugs. "This is for everyone, not just me," it says. It isn't confident in what this place can offer, but it'll offer what it can.

Nico nods. "There are public places where people can play all kinds of games in my world. Even the most basic of games can be a stress-reliever."

If that is what this whole thing is about. Isn't that why people watch movies and television, or listen to music?

"Yes!" Murderbot says more strongly than it means. It needs one of those stress relieving games after standing by the ocean.

It looks away again. "Still have some fixing up to do, but yes."

"An arcade area could be something to aim for after the initial fixing up is done. I wouldn't mind writing down all the plot-related games I've played for if you ever reach that point." He can at least do that much, even if he couldn't help much with the actual programming or building of a gaming system.

Murderbot nods. "It's saved for later," it says, "I won't forget. If you meet anyone who has games here or remembers more, also send them my way."

Someone bobs up in the water, a short way from the glowing water about fifty feet out, flailing and disoriented. Murderbot shakes its head and says, "It looks like I'm needed after all."

Nico gives off a little salute. "You got it."

He watches as someone comes up from the water and seems to be failing on swimming. Why they went out there in the first place befuddles him. "Go get 'em, lifeguard."

The demigod will only linger on the beach long enough to make the saving is a success, and no one comes close to death before heading back into the hustle and bustle of the city.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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