deercountry | OPEN - Feb/Mar Catch-All

Oops! - minor injuries

[Icy weather? Check. Bad luck? Check. Sliding all over the place? 100%. Keith was not having a good time. Early in the month, it was minor. Sliding into a wall here, falling on his rear end there. Bruises, bumps, scrapes... name it, he probably had it happen.]

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Ow, Damn It - slightly worse injuries

[Mid-month, the bad luck has, of course, increased. Because, naturally, it couldn't get easier, could it? By now, Keith is already sore and moving stiffly and gingerly. He's been trying to avoid ice as much as he can, but, well, we all know how that would go. He might need a hand up... and some first aid...]

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Cleansing Ritual - blood ritual

[Keith sat there, still healing from his bad luck injuries, and he looked exhausted as they looked at the supplies they needed for this. He looked at his partner.]

Thanks for doing this. I appreciate it.

[First, because the person was willing to do it with him, but, second, he was just so tired of being achy and sore, and just wanted this over.]

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Helping Someone Else - blood ritual

Got everything?

[Keith was honestly relieved for having this done for him, so he was definitely willing to return the favor for someone else who needed help banishing that bad luck.]

Edited 2023-02-28 04:49 (UTC)

Fishing Others Out - body horror, piranhas, biting, squid transformations

[Keith was definitely attempting to help people get out. He had a net and was trying to scoop squids between balls and piranhas. It was tough, and he was bound to get bit for his trouble, thanks to the bad luck issues this month. But he was doing his best, okay?!

Who was this as a squid today? Someone new to Trench? Someone who was there for a while but ended up in the barrel by accident somehow. As the person began to shift back into their normal form, he was there to support them and offer up a robe he'd gotten from the Wakers.]

Hey... easy. Here. Wrap up in this.

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HELP - body horror, piranhas, biting, squid transformations

Oh, shi-!

[Welp! Guess who just got pulled into the barrel full of squids, balls, and piranhas! Keith was having a bad month. Now, he was trapped with the others, suddenly now a squid again, and NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT. There were piranhas in there and they were trying to eat him!

So, of course, in a panic, Keith might not be in the best mindset to be caught. Plus, as a flying squid, he had the ability to jump out of the net, so good luck catching him!]

Edited 2023-02-28 05:28 (UTC)

Keith! Damnit!

[Vira-Lorr caught sight of him toppling into the barrel and gave an exasperated sigh. This was already bad enough as is. Grabbing for the net, she batted away at a piranha that was too close to her first entry and tried fishing around for the multi-colored, quick little squidling.]

Hold still!

[Look! If he held still, he'd get eaten! He wasn't about to hold still!

Until he shot straight into the net she was scooping with. Cue momentary squid panic. Nets were bad! He wriggled and pulled hard, trying to find an angle to jump towards.

He was just as fighty as a squid as he was as a human, it seemed... or human/galra hybrid...]

[Fuck! Ok, he was definitely a wriggly little thing wasn't he? She was having to fight to keep hold, wedging her knees against the side of the barrel so she didn't get pulled in. She pulled hard, but avoided yanking, not wanting the net to be torn in the process. Either way, it was a tug of war both to keep him on the move away from piranha and to get him out of the water.]

Come on you!

[Her efforts weren't in vain, at least. He was definitely staying away from the piranha thanks to her help. If only his currently-a-squid brain could realize that. The sensation of being trapped in the net wasn't helping his panic.

But, she'd get him out of there at some point if she kept trying. Those darn balls were definitely not helping, sure, but there looked to be a clearer area if she could maneuver him over to the other side of the barrel somehow.]

[There she went. All she had to do was push him in and get him right up to the edge where it was clear. If she could just snap him up fast enough, she'd use his momentum to help him flop right over. When she was sure of it, she gave the quickest yank and aimed to catch him by surprise and pull him out before he knew what hit him.]

Get out of there you!

[SPLAT!

One purple and red flying squid pulled from the barrel! Now that he was out, the transformation back into humanoid shape began! Thankfully, it didn't take long this time, but he was probably going to need a new set of clothes... or even just one of those welcome robes or something.]

[The good news? She was draping a towel over him for the sake of modesty and laughing softly while she did.]

No more bobbing for sleepers for you, Keith. We're going to let someone else do it, because you're a very fast swimmer.

[Keith shook his head, trying to clear it from what he'd just been through.]

Sounds... sounds like plan...

[He pulled the towel close. Though, at this point, modesty had sort of gone out the window in this place with all the weird things that happen like transformations and stuff. He just wanted to get dry and feel more human and less squid again.]

Sasuke said I jump, too, apparently... right out of his pond.

[Modesty was just another casualty of all that was Trench. At least he was whole. She chuckled a little and stretched.]

Mmmmm. I suspect Sasuke would probably get himself in trouble here too. He'd think he was being tough, get himself in over his head, and then have to be fished out all surly and sullen.

[That actually got a small chuckle.]

I can see it... a grumpy squid face and all.

[He pushed his wet hair from his face.]

Thanks for the save.

You're welcome. It's always a pleasure. But, let's... just let them take care of it for the moment. I'm worried about falling in myself.

What... don't want to be a squid again?

[Keith managed a weak smirk as he teased a little, a poke at her experiments with controlling the transformation and getting ink.]

No, I... I don't want to deal with that again. The squid thing is bad enough, but the piranhas just make it all the more horrible.

I do that entirely too much already. no thank you.

[She gave him a little wink and just grinned away. Oh yeah, she caught that joke right there. Why not lean in a little to the ribbing.}

Yeah, that was an addition I hadn't expected, so let's... not. We can already say we helped.

[Keith just nodded, wrapping the towel around himself once he was dry. Well, regardless of season, the temperature didn't affect him. Yay for coldblood powers. He got to his feet, a little wobbly, but able to stay upright.]

Yeah... I can definitely say that much.

Thanks.

You would have done the same for me. Think nothing of it.

[...ok, he'd probably have jumped in after her, she imagined, which would have put them right where they were, but hey. Best not to say that thought.]

[She wasn't necessarily wrong... he might have done just that if he hadn't been aware of the consequences beforehand.]

Yeah.

[Though...]

I should probably head home and get some clothes. [Sheepish chuckle.] I'll see you later. Try not to let anyone drag you in.

Good idea. And I promise. [She waved and grinned at him as she opted to call it a day herself.]

[Keith huffed a tiny laugh through his nose and waved back as he headed off back to his place.]

[Keith had no idea how he got there, but he was now sitting at a table in the room, and just... confused. He frowned at the person sitting across from him. Not because he was angry at them, but because he was just at a loss of anything else to do.]

Uh... hi...?

[Sorry. He wasn't great at words. But, the person who was now at his table would find a nice little Deerly Beloved profile on their device to look at.]

Edited 2023-02-28 05:45 (UTC)

[Lance is heavily leaning his cheek against his own fist as he mindlessly scrolls on his Omni waiting for the next person to pop into this speed dating hell. And then Keith's profile pops up before he can get a chance to see that the man himself is sitting across from him now.

His brows shoot up and his posture straightens a bit. Oh great. Of course, it was only a matter of time before the forces of Deer Country put Keith in front of him. So of course, he's going to cover up all his emotions by ruthlessly teasing him. And he hasn't thought it through either with the help of drugs and alcohol clouding his judgement a little.]

"LoneWolfEmo"? Oh-ho, that describes you perfectly.

[Keith had only sort of been paying attention to who he'd ended up across, and then... oh. Oh no.]

Uh. [Wait, what? Where did he see-?] What? [Keith looked surprised. Clearly, he hadn't seen his own profile, yet.]

[Lance sighs heavily and turns his Omni around to face Keith so he can get a look at it himself. But not for long enough to get more than a glimpse.]

Pull it up on your Omni, genius.

[Joke's on Lance, though. When Keith boots up his Omni, it'll be Lance's profile he'll see first.]

Edited 2023-03-01 00:20 (UTC)

[Keith moved to grab Lance's omni, but Lance had pulled it away too quickly, so he did exactly that. Except, yes. Lance's profile came up first.

Keith stared for a second, reading it over. Keith's eyelids lowered slightly as he pursed his lips into that flatlook he often got when he was having one of those, "why are you like this?" moments about Lance.]

"blueBalls"? [His eyebrow twitched upwards.] You don't even have a spaceship here.

[Lance's head shoots up and his eyes go wide as all at once he realizes his mistake. Dammit, why didn't he realize that Keith would see his own profile, that's how it works here!]

Hey! I didn't write any of that. And technically, I do have a spaceship, she's just been shrunk down!

Well, I didn't write my apparent profile, either, so there.

[Fair was fair, Lance. Though he did flip through the pics for a second.]

Why does the idea of discovering the mysteries of your black hole seem like a bad idea?

[Lance had just paused to take a swig of his drink he's been trying to pace himself on. And of course, that black hole comment from Keith has him choking on his and barely managing to not spit it out all over the place. He has to take a couple minutes to cough and pound at his chest, though.]

Wh-what?? [cough, hack.] Why- why is that your big take-away?!

'Cuz it's the last thing I read?

[Duh? It was how the profile ended, after all.]

I mean, honestly? It does kinda sound like something you'd write...

[Okay, Keith was going to have fun with this.]

No it doesn't! I wouldn't write any of that! I've hated this stupid dating profile since I first saw it years ago. And I thought we were all finally free of it, but noooooo!

[He's turning a little red and his hands are clenched on his thighs.]

[And that just made Keith laugh.]

Sorry, man. It's just... it's frickin' funny.

[He flipped to a particular picture.]

I mean... [He turned the omni so Lance could see which one.] How did they even get some of these pics? Do you normally run around not wearing shirts under your jacket?

[Keith just gets a pouty glower for calling it funny as Lance then leans back and crosses his arms over his chest. Then his cheeks dust a little with pink when Keith shows him the picture he's talking about.]

Uh, no… that was probably taken at a party. Happened my third month in Deerington. [He can tell by the lack of scars. His only wound at that time was around his collar bone and the jacket is mostly hiding it, but if Keith were to look close, he'd see the sliver of it by the jacket.] Losing my shirt was one of the tamer things that happened there. Dunno how the picture happened, but I was plastered.

Right.

[Keith made a face.]

Sounds like a real moment to be proud of.

[So, he'd just finally flip over to look at his own to see what stupid embarrassing thing was written about him. Oh geeze...]

Who even writes these?

[Lance squints at him for that face and the words that follow.]

For your information, you were at that party too and- [He cuts off. That was where their first kiss happened /cough. Then he shakes his head and redirects.] And don't even get me started on when you went swimming in an ice bucket at Chloe's birthday and declared yourself king of the bottles. Or something… Chloe told me about it later.

[He heaves a huff of a breath and shrugs, looking agitated.]

Hell if I know who writes them.

Does it count if I don't remember it? [Keith huffed in frustration at more things that happened in the nightmare that he had no clue about. That was a sore nerve. He curled his lip in mild disgust and dropped the Omni on the table.]

So what is this [He waved his hand around at their current surroundings, meaning the whole speed dating set up.] all about, then?

In this case? Yes. [He says stubbornly with his arms still crossed.

Then he drops it because he can tell that it's hitting a nerve with the help of his empathy. And as fun as it can be to poke at Keith, he doesn't really want to get into a big fight or anything. Even if it would be easier than the discomfort of this whole… situation. He heaves a breath.]

It's a… speed dating thing. [He glances to the side, shifting uncomfortably.] You sit for a few minutes with a new person each time and talk and stuff. Only with this hell version you get shocked if you lie.

[He is trying very hard to ignore and skirt around the fact that this technically means they are on a date.]

[Keith narrowed his eyes, leaning back in his chair to mirror Lance's position as he crossed his own arms. Very. Sore. Nerve.

He took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm. At least he'd gotten better at that over the years...]

Forced truth during speed dating. Sounds fun. [But not.] Do we have to participate or can we just wait it out? [Like, was there a time limit in this version? Or was there a minimum number of questions before they got to go home?

Not that it wasn't tempting to through a few questions at Lance while they were being forced to be truthful. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, tightening the grip on his arms for a moment, trying to push that thought away.]

Pretty sure not participating for too long gets a shock too.

[Lance heaves a breath and shrugs one shoulder. Normally, electric shocks don't bother him much, his powers allowing him to absorb it rather well. But in this case, he's not so sure what will happen as it's all magic and shit. But he's also used to pain, so…]

We could wait around and find out.

[Keith was learning that he had an odd resistance to electricity, too, and he wasn't sure why. He assumed it had to do with his powers, but how fire and ice related to electricity were beyond him. So, after a moment of consideration, he shrugged.]

Alright. I'm down if you are.

[Yeah... just... totally ignore the situation altogether. That would work, right?

Except it made his stomach hurt, and he squirmed in his chair. Why did that hurt?]

- self-harm, pain, blood, potential mutilation

[A lot had come to pass in the last year since arriving, and Keith was dealing with a lot of feelings. And he'd been holding back. A lot.

And, this month, that was coming to bear. Keith was... in pain. And it wasn't just any injuries from the bad luck this month. It was everything. And the more he tried not to think about things, the more he tried to deny himself and hold back, the more pain he felt.

And the more he wanted to gouge his fingernails (claws? they'd definitely become claws by now despite the fact he was keeping them trimmed down... and, in a lot of cases, just biting them off) into his own skin. He was picking at the scabs from his scrapes that he'd gotten earlier that month from his bad luck, just barely keeping the pain at bay...]

Edited 2023-02-28 06:32 (UTC)

Are You Waiting for Someone? - body horror, frozen, immobility

[Making his way along the boardwalk, Keith spotted a familiar person sitting on a bench. They looked like they were waiting for someone. So, he wandered over to give a small wave, but had been planning to keep going as to not interrupt...

Until they didn't wave back. In fact, they didn't seem to acknowledge him at all. Which was odd to him. As he got closer, it was clear that they were completely still. He paused, looking around for a moment. Was something keeping their attention? No... He pursed his lips a little in curiosity.]

Hey. You okay?

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Stuck Here Waiting - body horror, frozen, immobility

[Normally, Keith didn't worry when people ran late. It happened from time to time. So, as he sat there outside the Roost, he was feeling fairly okay. But, as the time got longer, he started to feel a weird pit in his stomach that he'd never felt about this sort of thing before. Well, not in a long time, anyway. He was used to waiting for his dad. And then that one night when he didn't come back from the call...

As his thoughts wandered, he started to feel stiff, and it was harder to move. And, suddenly, he couldn't move at all.]

Edited 2023-02-28 07:16 (UTC)

Possessed - lack of self-control, emotional trauma

[Keith didn't know why he'd gone out into the woods that day. He wandered slowly back into town, feeling out of sorts, trying to remember what he'd been doing. He looked like he was confused...

As the month wore on, he got more irritable. He was annoyed at everyone. Well, no. Not everyone. Just people in love. People being affectionate. Even just friendly affection. Even if it was directed towards him. Keith was just... annoyed. Go away. Leave him alone.

He glared at the next person trying to be nice.]

No. [It didn't matter what they were asking about.] No. Shove off.

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Exorcism? - possession, haunting, exorcism, spooky, loss of self-control

[Keith was a bit surprised when the person he tried to talk to got angry at him for no apparent reason.]

Woah, hey... are you okay?

[He frowned a bit.]

Is something wrong?

Edited 2023-02-28 07:44 (UTC)

OPEN - Feb/Mar Catch-All

Bad Luck Blues

Barrel o' Squids

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And I think that's a wrap!

Looks like one to me! 💜

Speed Dating

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Have Mercy

Waiting Forever

Possession Obsession