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
azurestar: (there's an infestation)

[personal profile] azurestar 2022-12-05 01:09 am (UTC)(link)
"Ohhhh," It all makes sense now. Then he shrugs, "If you can breathe, you can talk. Did you ever try?"
siriusly: (my bad)

[personal profile] siriusly 2022-12-08 02:53 am (UTC)(link)
"Wh-who would do that?" he exclaims, now both baffled and indignant. "It's still underwater, you know!"

In embarrassment, Manabu kicks to turn himself around and continue down the algae pathway to the shipwrecks. Okay, yes, talking will be easier...but it's not like he wants to think about feeling stupid for not knowing that, you know!! So the next time he pipes up is only to be complete business.

"That one," he says, pointing to the gloomy shape of a wreck further on. "That's where I left off."
azurestar: (thinking of you)

[personal profile] azurestar 2022-12-09 09:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Lance grins and snickers. Well, to be fair, he might be just the right amount of crazy person to actually do that. Manabu isn't wrong about it being an unnatural thing to do in this environment.

Aaand he's just gonna let it go. It seems like keeping an eye out for possible dangers and exploring wrecks is way more important and interesting. He's been caught off guard when teasing Keith enough times to know it's not always the best thing.

"Nice, find anything good last time?"
siriusly: (i think he's dead.)

[personal profile] siriusly 2022-12-10 04:38 am (UTC)(link)
"Depends on what you find good..."

He finds himself close enough to the remains of the nearest ship's mast to reach for it, to use it as something to propel himself forward with a kick off of it. Swimming doesn't come naturally to him - best he can compare is space walks, but it's not one-to-one. But you kick off things in zero-g all the time,so...

"I mean, some very weird cargo. What's left of it anyway. No manifests or anything like that - it's all dissolved or gone down here. Carvings and statues of...some weird stuff. You'll see what I mean when we reach there."

Just a few yards more.
azurestar: (there's an infestation)

[personal profile] azurestar 2022-12-11 09:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Lance is a rather strong swimmer, moving through it like it's nothing as they reach the mast. He uses one hand to brace himself against it as he kicks down to the deck.

"You say 'weird statues' and I'm picturing some crazy raunchy like pthumerian fertility statue or something."
siriusly: (have you ever tried to read fob lyrics)

[personal profile] siriusly 2022-12-12 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
That gets a weird look.

"Uh, I don't know?" Fertility statue? What? "Maybe you're more an expert on that kind of thing..." Weirdo.

That said, Manabu leads the way to the top deck of the ship he's not fully scoured yet, pointing out where the stairs to the lower decks are, giving the stronger swimmer the leeway to head out first, while he himself floats to look around and make sure there's no spooky sea beasts scoping them out.
azurestar: (ready for it)

[personal profile] azurestar 2022-12-13 12:15 am (UTC)(link)
"Nah, my brother took art history as an elective and liked to share pics of the weird sculptures with me. The funniest ones were always the fertility statues."

So not weird at all! Just bonding with his brother… who he is never going to see again. And now he's just going to go very quiet and waits for Manabu to finish looking out at sea before swimming down the stairs.
siriusly: (do i get any say in this at all.)

[personal profile] siriusly 2022-12-13 04:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Pretty weird to a guy with no head for art! But Manabu doesn't really think much on it, following Lance down into the murky lower decks. Once he turns the light of his omni on, the light bounces off scattered, filthy remnants of glass, lights up all the particles of lingering debris flaked off what remains.

"This doesn't look like a combat vessel," he muses. "There's no fastenings on the walls for harpoons or weapons... Maybe not even any cannons on the deck below. So, so maybe... Merchant-class?"

That's kind of his hope as he navigates along the remains of the wall, searching around for any openings or remaining crates.