deercountry | Gain the weight of you then lose it

Gain the weight of you then lose it

JANUARY 2022 EVENT

IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Prompt One
[Image One: Woman in an elaborate blue dress with high collar staring at camera while people dance in background.]
[Image Two: Woman in pink dress touching chest and smiling at camera while people dance in background.]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Explicit gif of snake shedding its skin and a new viperlike snake coming out of the old skin.]
[Image Two: Gif of eyes gazing at camera and right eye turning yellow.]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Image of rock snake with fire glowing in its mouth.]
[Image Two: Gif of a snake made entirely out of flames hissing.]

[NAVIGATION]

Prompt 1 • Prompt 2 • Prompt 3 • Plotting • Newsletter

[JUMP TO COMMENTS]

SNAKE DEN

WHEN: Evenings throughout January
WHERE: The Red, Cellar Door
CONTENT WARNINGS: Alcohol/Drugs, possible NSFW scenarios, forced honesty, mood altering substances.

Around Trench, Sleepers will find a gold-edged flyer pinned to most doors, lamps, and posted around stores and throughout the market. Some may even find the flyer pinned to their front door:

MADAM GENEROSITY INVITES YOU TO THE SNAKE DEN

Hello darling and dearest Sleepers! Do not let the cold dampen your spirit or weaken your hope. Do not allow our differences to divide us; do not let the frigid drive you to isolation; do not hurt your soul by forgetting one another. They say snakes cannot thrive in the cold, yet here I am, defying it, thriving despite it. You can too. We must persist. We shall persist. Not with violence and bloodshed, not with pollution and corruption, but with unity! With compassion and fun.

I invite you all to join me at The Red every odd evening of January! Welcome to the Snake Den! A little Talent Show I throw occasionally to remind Sleepers of their profound potential for greatness and awe! Come be flashy on stage or to support your friends. After the Talent Show is our famed Fashion Show. Do you have eccentric outfits you would like to show off? Now is truly your time to shine!

The evening will be filled with plenty of food and drink for all. We shall dance, we shall show off, we shall persist and defy corruption together. Let my lovely Night Walkers shine and keep you company for the evening. Find some new friends, have an illicit affair, or just come so you don't have to be alone for a night. You are all welcome...And don't worry, I've enchanted the Red so that none of your powers can cause any damage while inside the building. Feel free to really make a light show with your fire! It won't hurt anyone.

I so look forward to seeing all of you there.

With Love,
Madam Generosity

The Red has been elaborately decorated for the Snake Den spectacle. Enormous golden statues of snakes have been placed throughout. Golden lights glitter above. Servers carry about golden flutes of champagne, soda, and sparkling water. You can order other drinks at the bar. While the invite has gone out to Sleepers, there are some regular Trenchies who have come to show their support. To perform in the Talent Show portion, one simply needs to go backstage to prepare with the rest.

A female Trenchie named Dorothea seems to be directing the acts. People can perform multiple times. Talents performed can include music, comedy, dance routines, or little skits. After the Talent Show concludes, a Fashion Show will be put on, and everyone is encouraged to join. You can get your hair and make-up done elaborately backstage and find eccentric outfits to try on if you're not so happy with the one you showed up in.

Going to the Snake Den at this time will cause incredible stress relief. Even those who are typically shy or introverted will find themselves soothed at the Snake Den. Giant pillows have been thrown about so people can puddle in together and snuggle up. Private rooms have been created out of silks for some private conversations or interactions.

There must be something in the drinks or the snacks going around because it becomes easy to become a much more outgoing version of yourself at the party. It may increase friendliness or touchiness and relax people's usual reservations. Who knows? It might encourage you to go up on stage and show off a bit or talk to that handsome stranger who has been eying you the whole night. Regular intoxication from alcohol/drugs is possible as well which means some people might not need the additional encouragement.

Regular dancing occurs after the Fashion Shows with various musicians performing on stage to fill the night up with plenty of mood melodies. As the evening prolongs, the lights dim and things become quiet and soothing. Since paleblood magic is exceptionally strong this month with honesty, attendants of the party may find themselves being more open and honest about themselves. Hopefully, you don't confess anything too vulnerable about yourself...

FAQ:
1. Characters with mental abilities may be able to resist the honesty sway if they consciously realize it is happening.

2. Any talent can be performed on the stage.

3. The flyer is magically enchanted so that people who touch it will feel unusually excited to go to the Snake Den.

THE SHEDDING CEREMONY

WHEN: Begins in January - Effects may be permanent. Players choose when the effects wear off.
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Forced modification of body, possible themes of body dysmorphia, shedding/peeling skin, burning/eating dead skin, alternate versions of characters, possible genderswapping, possible alteration of personality/memories.

[A passage from Rituals and Reality; Chapter 2: The Shedding Ceremony. Found exclusively in Gaze:]

"Worshippers of Madam Generosity believed that the shedding of snakeskin was symbolic to the shedding of an old life and the acceptance of a new life. The skin left behind was a reminder of past trials and tribulations, and the skin you walk away with is evidence of all that you have learned and experienced. In ancient times, Sleepers would ritualistically select one of their own to sacrifice to Madam Generosity. Eventually, Sleepers would come to learn that Madam Generosity did not appreciate blood sacrifices. Due to her gentle nature, she encouraged Sleepers to pay tribute to her in other ways.

Thus came the Shedding Ceremony. Sleepers would rub away chapped skin and set it afire in a bowl. They would reflect on lives left behind and the new life they had been given in Trench. Over time, this created a powerful magical experience that persisted beyond the original ceremony. The Shedding Ceremony is both a ritual and an enchantment.

As January begins, Sleepers may find that their skin has become dry and brittle. The generous application of lotions and oils may soothe the skin, but neglected skin can begin to peel off. Although it is a painless experience, it can be rather gross to look at and a bit itchy. Then one day, you simply fall asleep and when you awaken, you are an entirely different version of yourself. You will find a nearly perfect replica of your old self in a shed skin nearby. Your new body may be stronger, faster, more powerful. Old scars may be healed, lost limps replaced...Or you might be an entirely new gender. Some have even experienced becoming a different species. Some awaken as an older or younger variation of themselves while others find that they have become an alternate version of themselves.

These effects have been known to last for a few days up to months at a time. In some scenarios, the effects have become permanent. Some believe it to be a curse while others believe it is a gift. It may happen multiple times and take a few sheds to return to your original body. It is believed that ingesting your old skin or burning it alleviates the changes and brings you back to your original body faster. Generous application of lotion and oils can prevent the Shedding Ceremony altogether for some - or at the very least, slow it down."

FAQ

1. Characters can avoid this prompt altogether via the application of lotion.

2. If you decide to permanently change your character in a big way (ie; changing their species/gender/age) then we do ask that you update your character on the taken page to reflect that they are now an Alternate Version of a character. This would open up the original character to be applicable to new players.

3. This can change blood types for those interested in trying on a new blood type. You can either temporarily change a blood type or permanently. If you permanently change a blood type, let us know on the Blood Type page and update your information on the taken page.

4. You can play out the transformation as explicitly or non-explicitly as you want. Maybe characters see the changes happening under their peeling skin or just wake up in their new body. The peeling does not need to be any more graphic than what you would typically see on dry skin.

5. You can alter a character's gender, species, age, blood type, or switch to a general alternate version of a character (ie; Coffee Shop AU, an AU of your character but with different powers, an AU of your character if they came from a different canon or timeline.) Please have fun with this and explore the possibilities for as long as you like!

Unsnakely

WHEN: All of Bone Season
WHERE: Anywhere outside
CONTENT WARNINGS: Possible injuries or death from burns/fire.

[A journal entry from the Wayward Watcher that can be found in the Archaic Archives reads:]

"Do not trust the naked snake trails of January. They exist to trick you into a sense of Madam Generosity's comfort. The Good Pthumerian leaves snow tracks in her wake, but the Unsnakely leaves melted trails of snow. This creature has spent centuries cloaking itself to rope in those who devotedly follow Madam Generosity. The kind people of Trench look to snakes as a trustworthy, compassionate symbol filled with good intention.

There are many ways to anticipate the Unsnakely's presence. Besides its melted trails (that eventually turn to ice in the cold), you may notice pockets of comfortable heat. While many believe greenery is a good sign, do not be fooled by the melted patches of grass you find. These are not symbols of an early spring. They are symbols of incoming destruction.

The Unsnakely is not of blood or soul; it is a blood curse of the earth, a product of Blood Pollution. It's a creature made out of rock, with no pulse, no soul, no mind. Molten lava pours through its body. It moves in and out of the earth without disturbing the surface, transforming from rock into small beasts or a snake the size of your home. It looks to spill blood to freshen its own magic and its choice of weapon is its size and the fire it breathes. A furious Unsnakely will light up in flames and can bring great destruction to its surroundings. People have lost their homes to the Unsnakely and of course, people have lost their lives.

The Unsnakely, no matter the size it takes, is as fast and lethal as a typical snake. It cannot truly die, as it is a curse of the earth, but it can be physically destroyed by immense blunt strength or coldblood abilities whether fire or ice. Typical ice abilities will not work against the snake - they must come from a coldblood source. Enchanted coldblood items will be effective against the Unsnakely.

The Unsnakely can spit fire like venom and boil the air around it. It can be difficult to get physically close enough to land a blow due to the suffocatingly hot temperature rolling off its body. It traditionally hunts in the streets and in the woods, by the beach and among the cliffs. Once someone has slain the beast, it returns to the earth where it rebuilds itself over a period of 2-3 days. It primarily hunts during Bone Season, preferring to use the cloak of Madam Generosity to its advantage.

Since this is not a traditional snake, it has no desire to "eat" anyone. It will simply roast you alive - which is arguably worse for some. Its fire burns hotter and brighter than regular fire, and it is a slow, agonizing death that has caused absolute madness in some. People have claimed to see strange visions in the smoke that pours off of the Unsnakely, causing distortion in battle. Do not inhale too much of the Unsnakely's smoke as it will cause intense vertigo. Remember: this is a creature of deception.

Lastly, it would be beneficial to know that the Unsnakely cannot hear or see. It responds to the vibration around it. Some who stay still may get the upper hand, but the creature can feel the vibrations of your heartbeat if your pulse is unusually elevated. Good luck, fellow Hunters. Treat burns by the Unsnakely with vileblood. I know it sounds mad, but the vileblood seems to attack whatever cursed heat comes with burns from the Unsnakely.

Take care of yourself,
- The Wayward Watcher"

FAQ
1. Characters who can manipulate earth can contort/stop/fight against the Unsnakely's natural body. It will take great control to fully control or dismantle the body.

2. Coldbloods with fire abilities can similarly control the fire of the Unsnakely with great control.

CODING

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"True, yeah. And a few directed hits would probably do the trick to get its attention on me."

When he gave her the go ahead, Luz put her speed up now, and had the bat ready. Once she was sure she had the right distance, she slapped the glyphs on the bat and aimed the spells at the worm, hitting it in a few choice spots where there was flame present. The spells were, completely on purpose, her ice spells, so they were already going to be getting the snakes' attention.

Those air blasts would come in handy right about now.

Only a Coldblood's ice is effective on an Unsnakely; they knew that going in. The ice vaporizes in the boiling air, but it does what the two of them really want: Its attention is zeroed in on Luz. Midoriya drops behind a taller building for cover just in case and comes hurtling around its corner with both arms pointed forward. By now, he's well-practiced at aiming while moving. The wrists of his gauntlets spring out to form a cylinder that channels the super strength flicking of his fingers. He fires off two blasts in quick succession, aiming for one of the spots Luz hit.

"DELAWARE SMASH AIR FORCE!!"

The blasts echo off the buildings. The Unsnakely buckles, nearly severing in two. It spits molten fire in Midoriya's direction, and he ducks behind the building again just in time. It lunges clumsily towards him, unable to sense Luz in the air.

Ah. That guy was really good at lining her up. She felt a twinge of excitement and fear at having the snake coming at her, and that was just how she liked it. Maybe she didn't expect Deku's use of force, but both this Luz and real Luz were quick thinkers, and when given an opening, they took it.

Now Luz strikes out with her magic with the bat, firing ice shards, sharp as she could make them, at the unsnakely. It may have been able to withstand Midoroya's blast, but her shards were going to make it even harder to stay in one piece now, as Luz worked to further splinter up the beast.

A huge volley of sharp hard objects pierces the Unsnakely. The twice-weakened points begin to crumble, and the Unsnakely writhes in place, unable to move properly even if it now knows where Midoriya is. He sees his chance and jumps out again, exhaling as he takes steady aim, holding, visualizing...

THOOM

The Unsnakely collapses in a molten roar of sparks and vaporizing ice shards. Its inert rocks tumble like dropped toys onto the cobblestones. Midoriya hurries forward, ready to kick any stray boulders away from bombarding the buildings around it. There could still be people in them, and his training taught him to keep property damage to a minimum.

It's at this point Luz descends on the scene and does her best to start freezing any of the rocks she can find in place, similarly, unwilling to let anyone get hurt. It was all well and good to start a bar brawl, but at her heart Luz still wanted to help people and making sure that a snake monster didn't explode all over the place and have buildings come crashing down seemed pretty important in that endeavor.

She was definitely glad to have Midoriya to help, though the snake still seemed to be trying to move around. She struck at it with her bat so the plan magic could gum up the snake's continued assault.

"You got this?"

"Thanks! One blow should do it!"

He dashes, jumping from roofs and lamposts to cut down on it predicting his position. He fires another blast at the downed snake. The finishing blow extinguishes the Unsnakely. The cursed fire on the rocks disappears, and it collapses into dead earth.

Ordinary flames catch and try to spread onto the buildings. There aren't too many, and the blazes haven't had time to grow large, but,

"Need your ice for these. It'll be faster."

Fire trucks (carriages of water tanks pulled by horses) close in with alarm bells. Midoriya darts around, trying to check if anyone is trapped in close proximity to the flames.

The blow indeed takes care of the job, and Luz grins in spite of herself, sweaty and a little bit of bloody, but mostly just glad that they were able to extinguish the snake for now. Once that was over though, Luz started to take note of the devastation around them and took a sharp breath.

So glad real Luz isn't going to see this.

But enough of that: she has, as Midoriya reminded her, work to do. She gives a nod and is already on the staff, working the glyphs onto her bat and aiming at just the right moment. A bat swing later the flame is engulfed in ice, and Luz is already working on following up on the other buildings.

It's weirdly familiar, stepping out of burning wreckage carrying multiple people on his shoulders--though not nearly as many as All Might. Midoriya is nowhere near as broad as the all-time favorite hero he watched videos of over and over. He deposits the injured with Blood Ministers next to ambulance carriage. It's hungry, sweaty work, and by the time he can call himself done, the sun has ticked over in the sky a bit.

Midoriya finally rests. He finds an out of the way curb near a demolished market stand and sits with his arms limp on his knees.

Luz was busily making sure that her glyphs did the trick, but she did take a moment to pause and watch Midoriya. In the back of her mind she knew that Luz had thought of him as a hero, but it was something very different seeing him in action. Luz favored the fight unlike her counterpart: the exchange of blows and the display of power was always where you got to see the meat of where the fight would go.

But a hero, like Midoriya? He was there for the OTHER part too: where there were people in trouble and suffocating, and he was putting himself on the line to save them. You didn't see that in your typical anime where the big fight was happening and buildings were crumbling to dust around you. But here, where the fires were doing nothing but exposing people to smoke and heat, a hero was needed most of all.

Luz continued her extinguishing and when she was done, she walked over to the boy, squatting a moment and looking over at Midoriya.

"You did good, guy. Man. You were something."

Midoriya looks up at her with eyes bloodshot from the smoke but otherwise fine. He mitigated most of it by breathing through his mask, so the irritation is superficial and will pass. He'll have to replace the filter later. He wipes sweat and soot from his forehead with his arm, the same one that delicately cradled the head of a fire victim as his Iron Soles smashed through burning rubble. The best heroes carry the dichotomy of kindness and strength, saving people and winning fights.

"You too... miss."

It seems silly to call her Luz now. He doesn't know who she really is. She's still a stranger to him, familiar magic or not. He wonders how Owlbert feels about all this. He makes no move, keeping his arms resting on his knees, but he tenses very slightly where he is. He keeps his eyes fixed on her. Where is Luz?

"Heh, miss. I'm no one's miss hombre. Just a girl who's subbing for a bit."

Might as well call a spade a spade, after all. Owlbert is performing for her of course, and seemed to know that this was, at her core, still Luz.

"But you? You're the real deal, that's for sure. Definitely have the strength and the brains to help out in a jam. No wonder she thinks so highly of you."

Luz doesn't even talk like that. He'd noticed her demeanor previously, like someone wearing her skin. Still... she helped save these people. By her actions, it's clear she's a hero, or something like it. They even make a pretty good team.

"So who are you? And where is Luz-san?"

He will not be deterred. Where is his friend?

"Aww. You miss her that much? That's sweet."

It sounded teasing, but she meant it. Luz was a lot of things to different people and knowing that people would miss her meant a lot. She was a good kid.

"A her. A different her, to be specific. Best not to think about it, but I'm what she could have been in different circumstances. As for Luz, she'll probably be back in a day or two. You can just call me, I dunno, Luzura or shit."

Luz would have likely said something like that, right?

"Luzura-san," he tries it out, tilting his head a little, as if that will help him find traces of his friend on her. His face is skeptical, which, on him, just looks like gentle dubiousness. "Someone told me something about shedding. Don't exactly know how it works still, but I think you remember everything from here. You're not feeling weird, right?"

It's a consistency, he notices, that the people his friends shed into aren't as uneasy about all this as he is. Why should they be, since they've lived their lives as they always have, except for this recent hiccup? But for Midoriya, it brushes uncomfortably against his instinct to protect people he cares about, like a cat pet the wrong way. It's uncanny to him.

"Luzura" chuckled. "Something like that. I don't get it either, but I'm here, so I figure I ought to do the girl justice, and do what I like since I have the chance. If she remembers everything, she is gonna have some serious thinking to do about herself."

She sounded pretty amused by that notion.

"Weird? Nah. It's an interesting existence, and not one I expected from 'other' me. Figured she would be in the Boiling Isles right now. So this is interesting, to say the least."

He presses his lips together in a watchful frown in contrast to her amusement.

"Don't go too crazy. She probably will remember everything. What do you mean by 'interesting?'"

He figures that's the least invasive question.

"If she does, well. She'll have lived a little for once. Can't be little miss precious goody goody all the time, right? It can be pretty fuckin' tiring."

Look, she knew well enough that she'd be going soon, but she sure wasn't going to be guilted into staying in her lane, even by this adorable guy, thank you.

"Different. Dangerous. And she chose this too, I think. Bet she has some regrets about that. Wouldn't you?"

He wipes a bit of ash from his face. Strange to hear someone who looks like Luz's twin talk like that, but he's long been desensitized to a foul mouth thanks to Bakugou. He doesn't wish she was Luz, because she simply is not.

"Choosing this world, you mean? Well, she told me she chose it for the people she cares about, like the people she calls family in a way, so no. No regrets. But I can't speak for anyone making that choice anyway. I didn't have one in coming here. You remember how confused I was."

Luz is definitely not present in this version, at least, not right away. It was more that this Luz was rougher around the edges, more abrasive and less likely to suffer fools. In some ways, she honestly was similar to her more pure hearted counterpart than she would have care to admit.

"Yeah, she does. But saying hello to this world meant not being back in her other ones. That still takes a toll on you. Stick around and you'll probably see the squirt regret things a little bit."

He casts his eyes away on a cracked bit of cobblestone. He knows well that someone with prickly edges can still have a good heart. "Luzura" helped him save these people here, and he knows Luz would have done the same. But sometimes those edges are so hard for others to deal with. Midoriya isn't thinking of himself. He's thinking of Luz.

"It's probably not good to tell me something so private," he sighs with a note of melancholy. Even if Luz would, she hasn't yet, therefore, in his mind, it's not his to know.

He was a good kid. Cute too. Luzara could see why Luz thought pretty highly of him. He was even trying to be all honorable right now, trying to make sure she didn't tell any of Luz's secrets.

"That's not just a warning for her, buddy. You'll probably regret stuff too. Her, she had the last town to think about. What that was like I definitely won't tell you about. But you've been here long enough, Midoroya. You'll probably find some of her secrets, and she'll find out some of yours. That's pretty much the nature of this place."

His eyes flick to her with his usual open attention. Then he purses his lips to the side, giving her a dubious look to hide his own unease. He has secrets, ones which he must guard with the same fervor he guards the people he cares about. She might too.

"Guess I'd just rather hear it from her, even if she is another you. It can be pretty hard, having a secret revealed when you don't plan it to be. Like last month with the antler memory. Maybe not so much a secret, but definitely a bad time."

Luz knew full well that the girl had secrets. The big ones, the IMPORTANT ones, they were ones she had no intention of spilling. She was lucky enough to get to roam around on her own. The last thing she wanted was to make things awkward for Luz.

"Nah, I get you. If I thought this was too personal, I wouldn't say shit. The kid gets enough of that in this place. I share her memories, you know. You wouldn't want to know MY memories, and hers are a doozy. This place had made her see some pretty fucked up shit."

Yes, cursing! But this was on purpose: Luz wasn't doing it to be cool. Luz had seen some bad stuff.

A little tension leaves his shoulders. An alternate self could be a loose cannon in more ways than being a potty mouth. He grew up with Bakugou. He doesn't mind her cursing so much as how strange it sounds coming from her, and more importantly, the entire uncanniness of the situation.

"Yeah. I know," he says quietly. A small ripple passes over his face, but it settles back into smoothness. November. The Sleeper Farm. His burrowed fear of seeing people he cares about hurt.

He circles back to something she said earlier that context couldn't explain.

"If it's not too private, what are the Boiling Isles?"

Yep. No one would expect little miss sunshine to suddenly start dropping F-bombs. This Luz had to admit there was a little joy in that, even if she meant every bit of it.

"Looks like you've seen some shit yourself then, huh?"

She could tell by the look in his eyes.

"No shit? Luz hasn't mentioned them at all?! That's the first 'other world' she wound up in! The Boiling Isles is where she learned magic!"

Gain the weight of you then lose it

Re: lmao thats beautiful, also i lost this, im sorry

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I got rid of the icons so have this one of Luz looking like the Fonz

ayyy

Re: ayyy

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gonna wrap this up and concentrate on new stuff! thanks for backtagging with me ;u;

Re: gonna wrap this up and concentrate on new stuff! thanks for backtagging with me ;u;

Re: gonna wrap this up and concentrate on new stuff! thanks for backtagging with me ;u;

Sure! See you again soon!