reddosmod: (Default)
Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] deercountry2022-01-08 12:48 am

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.]

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
sanctuarymoon: /==- (send all those villains)

[personal profile] sanctuarymoon 2022-01-16 04:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Murderbot sits through all of this with an expression of growing bewilderment, then incredulity. ]

Are you like this to everybody? I'm starting to see why murder was your best option.

[ Is that too harsh? What's too harsh for a murderer who likes to talk to themselves at length in the direction of the nearest bystander? It's not like Murderbot would know, because it keeps its long rants internal, and tries not to wax poetic about the murdering parts. ]

It's Rin. If you want proof I'm real, I could pinch you. [ Its expression screws up at the thought, and it amends: ] I don't actually want to pinch you.
forwantofahorse: (Laughing)

1/?

[personal profile] forwantofahorse 2022-01-16 04:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Hahahaha... none of you have tried that one...
Edited 2022-01-16 16:56 (UTC)
forwantofahorse: (Nervous)

2/?

[personal profile] forwantofahorse 2022-01-16 04:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Before... now...
forwantofahorse: (Blank)

3/?

[personal profile] forwantofahorse 2022-01-16 04:58 pm (UTC)(link)
...

[Sayo knows she is by all traditional metrics at least a little crazy. But she's at least self-aware enough of her craziness (now, when she was younger it was debatable) to have a general grasp on what was real and what was not. Her "other selves" never overtly tried to fool her like this.]
forwantofahorse: (Pissed)

4/4 okay done, cw: alcoholism

[personal profile] forwantofahorse 2022-01-16 04:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[Sayo reaches for a bottle of vodka she hasn't touched, pops the lid off, and starts chugging straight from the bottle.]

I'm not nearly drunk enough to have this conversation with someone who's real. Pray, give me a moment.
sanctuarymoon: =- (standing where i am now)

[personal profile] sanctuarymoon 2022-01-21 05:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It watches her descend from incredulity to horror to some sort of bleak resignation. This at least makes a semblance of sense: she'd thought it was a piece of that dream-place, and not enough of a person to actually judge all the murder and melodrama. Joke's on both of them, apparently, because it's only sort of a person but that won't stop it judging. ]

Neither am I, but I guess I'll have to manage.

[ A beat. Dryly: ]

Take your time.
forwantofahorse: (Default)

[personal profile] forwantofahorse 2022-01-23 10:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[Sayo takes a few solid glugs of the vodka, probably more than what's healthy, and sets it down. She tries to let out a satisfied sigh, but she just sounds miserable instead.]

So. Firstly. Like I said, I am trying to commit to not murdering anyone here. But if you do tell the truth to anyone and I find out... I won't murder you, but I will be quite cross and I have ways to make your life- well, not a living hell, but it'll be very annoying at the least.
sanctuarymoon: /==- (send all those villains)

[personal profile] sanctuarymoon 2022-01-24 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
[ As far as threats go, this one is more sad than threatening. The assurance that she's still sticking to the no-murder plan is... actually kind of good to hear, even if Murderbot isn't sure how far it plans to trust that. Normally humans get extra murder-happy when they suddenly learn of some new vulnerability, some new way they could be hurt. So: this could be worse. ]

Who would I tell?

[ It means to say this wryly, but it comes out sounding kind of hapless. The two of them are stupidly out-of-place, standing still and tense apart from the noise of the crowd. Holding its untouched champagne glass suddenly feels visibly pathetic. ]

So long as you aren't murdering anyone here, it doesn't sound like my problem.

[ There is a hanging beat, deciding whether to leave it there, before it adds: ]

Or my business.

[ Managing threats to its people is always its business. Still. Being able to kill people and planning to kill people are two wildly different things— even if, in humans, it can be terrifyingly difficult to predict when that might flip. ]
forwantofahorse: (Default)

[personal profile] forwantofahorse 2022-01-24 05:29 pm (UTC)(link)
I suppose we are two peas outside of everyone else's pod, aren't we.

Your discretion is appreciated.

[From her brief interactions with this nameless observer, Sayo should've gathered they were too apathetic to snitch on her, but the worry still tugged at the back of her mind. She wasn't lying when she said she was trying to commit to no murder, though.]

...but fair's fair. Equivalent exchange, and all that. I won't raise any more of a stink if you tell me about yourself.

You know all of my deepest, darkest, most intimate secrets, so I think it would be unsporting if you didn't inform me at least a ltitle bit about your own life.
sanctuarymoon: /== (i was never afraid)

[personal profile] sanctuarymoon 2022-01-24 08:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It slants its mouth into a new frown, abruptly wrong-footed. It makes sense that the human would want some kind of... security, some kind of collateral. That doesn't mean it has to like it. ]

Like I said, I'm Rin.

[ Which is not off to a great start if she's looking for secrets, but whatever, it has to keep some things. It hedges: ]

I work in security. Keeping people from getting murdered. [ A beat, and it has to concede at least a shred of honesty: ] Or murdering the problem before it murders people first. That's not a threat, by the way, I'm just explaining my job. And that I meet a lot of murderers.
forwantofahorse: (Default)

cw: suicidal ideation-ish

[personal profile] forwantofahorse 2022-01-25 05:06 pm (UTC)(link)
O-ho. So a detective! Albeit a significantly more proactive one than most.

[Imagining Rin in a (canonically inaccurate but still iconic) deerstalker cap is a hysterical mental image that Sayo files away for later.]

Frankly, I don't understand people who groan and moralize about killing murderers making you no better than the murderers themselves. After all, if someone had the balls to kill me, several things that went wrong on Rokkenjima would have corrected themselves fairly quickly.

[Another downside of forced honesty is being up front with how miserable and suicidal Sayo feels at all times. When those words leave her mouth she doesn't even flinch.]
sanctuarymoon: /== (i never used to feel like)

[personal profile] sanctuarymoon 2022-01-26 03:37 am (UTC)(link)
I've solved a couple murder mysteries.

... Well, I solved one.

[ It's easier to just admit the stupid, small things than to fight itself over admitting the big stuff. Murderbot barely blinks at the sentiment, because it knows that one down to its inorganic bones. It just casts its gaze off to the dancing crowd, and the words well up: ]

I know the feeling.

[ Wait.

Wait, shit, it didn't want to get this deep into— into anything. Murderbot's expression goes startled and then blank, and it tries to explain in slow, carefully-chosen words: ]


I've killed people who didn't deserve it. If someone had stopped me, I wouldn't have blamed them.
forwantofahorse: (Smug)

[personal profile] forwantofahorse 2022-01-26 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Ahh, it's hitting you too, isn't it?

[Her smirk is simultaneously malicious and pitying. Sayo feels sorry for Rin, she really does, but getting this bit of petty revenge out for them not clarifying they weren't, in fact, part of the dream (nevermind how that was an intensely ridiculous thing to have to clarify) felt good.]

Something about this place makes us want to be honest with each other. That's why I fled from the party.
sanctuarymoon: /==- (send all those villains)

[personal profile] sanctuarymoon 2022-01-27 06:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ It grimaces. ]

Apparently.

[ This conversation suddenly seems like a much worse idea. Sure, this human is a murderer and might not flinch at its kill count— even if they should, anyone should, it's at least in the dozens— but revealing that it's a weapon seems like a bad move when faced with someone who could feasibly want to use it. Murderbot is done with being used. That's been the only upside of the squid planet, thus far: no one thinks of it as a tool more than a person.

(Okay, so they still probably think it's a tool. But in the funny way, not the literal way, get it.) ]


I don't like anything that messes with our heads. [ Beat. ] And I don't even like normal parties.
forwantofahorse: (Default)

[personal profile] forwantofahorse 2022-01-28 06:56 am (UTC)(link)
It seems like we've finally found some common ground. Other than being murderers, which isn't a very pleasant thing to bond over.

[Sayo is even less willing to "use" Murderbot than most citizens of Trench; although she enjoys yanking it around with her unhinged airs, she feels an unfortunate kinship with it.

But considering how much Sayo makes herself miserable on purpose, it should come as no surprise that she derives some small joy from messing with Murderbot regardless.]


I would say I don't even know why I came here, but I remember the moment I touched one of those posters, I thought to myself, "Golly gee, I should put on those shiny duds Madam Super Generous gave me and head straight on over here to have a jolly old time!" Ugh. I thought she was supposed to be the nice one out of all the Pthumerians, and yet here we are, happiness drugged and coaxed to spit out our most dearly-kept secrets.
sanctuarymoon: /==- (send all those villains)

[personal profile] sanctuarymoon 2022-01-30 04:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Its frown deepens at being called a murderer, but it's not like Murderbot is going to protest. Hell, that's its name. It's just... awkward to have someone know even a scrap of how fucked up it is.

It should probably get out of here before she knows any more. ]


I didn't know they could make us think things. Or feel things. I think I'm going to be really pissed off about that later. [ It directs its glare to its champagne glass, then holds it out to Sayo. ] Do you want this?
forwantofahorse: (Pissed)

cw: alcoholism

[personal profile] forwantofahorse 2022-01-31 05:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Gimme.

[Sayo snatches the champagne flute from Murderbot and downs it all in one gulp, heedless of proper champagne-drinking etiquette. She needs to get drunker—more drunk?—damnit, she doesn't have time to savor the taste. At least this way she seems totally disinterested in whatever Murderbot's trying to avoid talking about.]

I'm treating it as a test of will. If I can get angry and bitter and spiteful and have the strong desire to deface the decorations of this establishment despite Madam Generosity's best efforts to soothe me, I win!
sanctuarymoon: /==- (send all those villains)

[personal profile] sanctuarymoon 2022-02-02 06:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[ In all of this, Murderbot still feels relieved to have gotten ride of the champagne. It settles back against the wall, arms folded, and does its best— despite the atmosphere— to glower. ]

Here's to that.