deercountry | open | lights are on but nobody's home

Who: Luna Lovegood @creidim + you!
What: April catch-all + Luna falling into end-stage Corruption and eventually Beasthood.
When: The month of April.
Where: Gaze, The Farther Shores, Willful Machine + Trenchwood.

Content Warnings: Warnings in individual prompts; some threads will contain gore + character death.
Notes: Information on Luna's Corruption / Beasthood can be found here.
Beast!Luna art for reference. cw: animal skull

☽ god stood me up and I don't know why | general catch-all — april 1st - april 15th
cw: corruption-related body horror; themes of loss/grief

[ The month of darkness is met with a tense kind of worry. It's much like the month of October in Deerington, and for someone like Luna who has a couple of them under her belt — she's wary of what the month might bring. More for her to worry about, heaped onto her plate that is already much too full. The last six weeks have been difficult, dealing with Maul and Willow's death; worrying over Falco, over Peter and Paimon, and the difficulties of Moss King's games.

She still remains under the effects of Corruption from last month. She looks pale and gaunt. Her eyes glow in the darkness of the endless night: two eerieely pearlescent orbs, without pupils. Her hair hangs limp and oddly, doesn't look much like hair. Sometimes a clump of it that looks more like some strange appendage than anything else might twitch or sway on its own accord. Two deer antlers sprout from her forehead — not growing much more than a very young buck, but quite prominent all the same.

She's... not really had much of a chance to try and get on top of things, and there's plenty more to keep her occupied. John's gone. Much like Diarmuid, he's another person she loves dearly who's returned to the waters. He's left her his shop Ritual Gig over in Willful Machine. And of course, the place is no stranger to her. She knows how to help around, she's done that plenty before here and there. But walking into the place with him gone, she looks like she's at a loss for what to do. There's other visits in the first half of the month, where she'll be minding the shop. If anyone comes looking for John, they'll be met with an eerie but clearly upset-looking witch instead. ]

Oh, sorry— [ She distracted, startled by any new presence in the shop. ] Can I help you—?

[ She'll also be found down at The Farther Shores, staring off into the ocean for what seems like hours. There's been plenty of times she's sat here when Diarmuid left, wondering how he fares out beneath the waves. But here now, there's a deep grief to her as she sits with her knees pulled to her chest. Plenty of people have left her, she's used to people leaving both here and in Deerington — but it doesn't stop it hurting any less. Sometimes there's pains that one just can't seem to get used to. ]

☽ pretty face with pretty bad dreams | corruption — april 16th - april 21st
cw: hopelessness, corruption, body horror, magical violence.
note: luna can be encountered alone, or with the possibilty of Peter / Paimon @possessum with her. contact jhey @skeletals.plurk and i for plotting!

[ It feels like some kind of joke that the witch who loves magical creatures so much should find themselves so cursed by them. She's captivated by the creatures, curious of them — but that curious awe of hers comes with a steep cost. The steady foothold she already has with her own Corruption holds fast, and Luna finds herself drained of hope and swiftly falling into the deeper clutches of it.

As a result, she's far worse in terms of her state of Corruption. Her antlers have grown substantially; points grown tall and sharp as they reach up and outwards. The entirety of hair no longer looks like hair, but strange appendages that looks eeriely similar to that of Moon Presence. Her nails are sharp and claw-like, her eye teeth more pronounced and eyes glow far brighter in the dark.

But most disturbingly is her entire demeanour: those who know Luna will find her cold and indifferent. Her usual dreamy gazes now steely stares. For the times she's out of the house, she meets any interaction with an icy kind of aggression. She will react poorly to those who love and know her well, and actively hostile to anyone who doesn't. Peter and Paimon perhaps remain the sole people she won't actively mistreat, but even then as she travels about the city there's a cold, haughtiness towards them both.

She's quick to use magic on others as she goes about her business; jinxing others out of their way, even poor Trenchies themselves just trying to survive, trying to safely move about in their day to day life. Or even anyone who's caught staring at her worsened state of Corruption will be met with quickly escalating level of violence — some poor person might end up with a stinging hex to the face so they can no longer see. Or she'll jinx people's tongues to the roof of their mouths, hex people's knees to reverse themselves — just about anything to cause a satisfactory amount of misery.

And she dares anyone to come up against her; recklessly fierce as she just about goads people who might want to do anything against she does in retaliation to these perceived slights. Best to leave her alone. Not only will going up against her will end up with the very real threat of dark magic being used upon them, but if Peter's accompanying her, they may have a very angry demon against them, too. ]

☽ no end in sight // the rest you know | beasthood — april 21st - late april
cw: beasthood, minor body horror, possibilities of fatal injuries, magical distraction, possibile injuring via goring or mauling, mention of wild animal death
note: luna can be encountered alone, or with the possibilty of Peter / Paimon @possessum with her. contact jhey @skeletals.plurk and i for plotting!

— closed to clarisse

[ There's certainly no tipping moment that sends her over the edge. It creeps up on her quietly; spent too long in the ends of Corruption. Some slow-paced crawl to something that simply tips when the weight becomes too much. On a rare time she doesn't have Peter or Paimon sticking close to her side, that she's alone while she's out and about in Gaze — she feels suddenly sick and dizzy. Sweat starts to pour from her and she sways on the spot. Something ripples uncomfortably within her, like something's trying to claw its way out from her skin.

She staggers in the street through the dark. The cold, cruel demeanour suddenly breaks, a slither of herself peeking through once more and she gasps loudly. A tiny piece of fear. Whatever it is beneath her skin wants out, her heart beating too hard and too fast in her chest — like it might explode. ]

No, no, no— [ Stop it. Stop it. But she can't stop it, she doesn't know how. She doesn't think she can. She keeps moving forward, staggering on — bumping into people, trying to shove them out of her way. There's a ferociousness to her voice, but even Luna herself isn't sure if it's anger or desperation. ] Move, move—! Now—!

— ota

[ She goes on a full on rampage. There's little reason to her directions at first, simply tearing through the districts of Gaze and then Willful Machine. She's lost in a frenzy of herself, overcome with new sights and sounds and the wildness of herself. Something very raw and feral that careens into buildings and people with little thought.

Her focuses on others are random, for the most part — just whoever seems to get into her path. Those who know her well and have a good relationship might have a chance of stopping her in her tracks for a moment, but not for long. Soon enough the beast part of her takes over once more and she'll be escaping. Anyone she doesn't know well or isn't on friendlier terms will find themselves getting targeted. She'll be meeting them with sharp claws, sharp antlers, and wild blasts of accidental magic. The blasts can damage buildings, or set fire to them; she might shock or burn others who get too close. Best to stay out of her way.

After unleashing carnage around the populated areas of Trench and clashing against others in her path, Luna does eventually leave the city to move towards the quiet districts. She'll head towards the woods of Trenchwood, where it's less busy and there are less people about. She wants to get away from any Hunters and their sharp swords and deadly weapons. Despite all the anger, she is very much like a wild animal — she feels trapped by the buildings, aggravated by seeing people. She wants to be alone. Taking to the woods is a far better option for her, and just about everyone else, really.

She'll exist quietly out here, exploring and resting from her earlier fights, and will be very much placid if left alone. That's not to say she won't attack anyone who dares come near. She'll be tolerant of other beasts, if they're well behaved — and will share her space or latest kill of some poor hapless animal who came across her with them if they're in need of food. But if you're a person, odds are she'll be growling and snorting, her head lowering to brandish her antlers: back off. ]

☽ wildcard

[ something else in mind? i'm open to plotting! closed prompts available. contact @heolstor.plurk or heolstor#5725. plotting comment is here. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( The demon doesn't attempt to move out of the way of the punch — not quite knowing to. He's certainly been struck before, more than once, actually.... but physical combat isn't something he's particular accustomed to. He can't quite remember his existence before Peter, but something inside of him knows it was soft and quiet and unassuming; a child. And once, before that — a great king. Not one to engage in combat himself, but one to lead and command legions of spirits to do the fighting.

...Which is to say that he just stands there, and the force of the man's punch is full. It staggers his vessel's body, makes it dizzy. The demon's hands fly to his face with a sharp whine; he doesn't quite react to physical pain as much as a human might, but the attack still upsets him. Blood creeps out of Peter's nose, already slightly crooked due to having been broken once before.

The man is a threat, a huge, huge, threat. He could strike Luna like this, next... which is something Paimon will not allow. A fresh growl ripples in the demon's throat, staved only for those few seconds Luna touches his face (Paimon freezing, unmoving, stopped in his tracks) before her hand lowers and it returns again. And with that growl, he's moving forwards—

—only to be stopped by that pressure to his shoulder. Obediently the demon waits, but it's with every ounce of his willpower, teeth bared like a wolf's, eyes wholly black and murderous. The very energy around him tightens; the air itself seems almost to buzz with a grating static.

She's broken some of the man's bones, tells the man he can choose his punishment, but Paimon's barely hearing it due to the white-hot anger searing in and from himself. He wants to rip, to tear, to claw the man's eyes and tongue out before he can come near his witch and strike her this way. And while he won't disobey her.... he's definitely straining, twitching, seemingly seconds away from losing control of himself. He's making sounds, ragged, wheezing; he's salivating. The tether's about to snap. )

[The punch lands and Johnny feels a faint hint of satisfaction. He might be fighting kids but they were kids who were proving to be real pricks who deserved what was coming. ...Except that minor victory is cut short when he catches the wave of the wand and there's a sudden intense pain shooting up his fingers along his hand to his wrist as the bones splinter and break under the pressure of the spell. Pain vibrates through his entire arm.

He let's out a pained cry but it's cut off as he clenches his teeth and focuses on what's in front of him instead of the pain. The girl was currently the biggest threat- The tall guy seemed more bark than bite at the moment. He could work with that.]

That's not going to happen, bitch. Thing about Cobra's is, when they're in a tight spot they slither!

[And instead of backing off, he pushes in. Johnny Lawrence knows that the best defense is more offense. Which isn't true in the slightest but he makes it works. He feints to give the impression he's going after Paimon again before he turns and makes a grab for the wand in the Witches hand. He's doesn't know a thing about how magic actually works but he figures this might at least slow her down and even out the playing field.]

[ It doesn't take much to wrangle it out of her hand, she's not go much in terms of physical strength and certainly not against a grown man. He yanks it out of her grasp and she freezes, eyes wide in quiet fear. Her wand. He has her wand.

Sure, she's capable of doing magic without it. But nothing more precise that what she needs right now. Her breath hitches in her throat for a long moment before she utters. ]

Give it back, give it back right now. [ He pressure against Paimon's shoulder tightens, gripping at him slightly. She needs her wand back. The moment's fraught; and then softly, she utters a quiet message to the demon through hers and Peter's mental link: ]

« Do not burn him. Nothing can happen to my wand. » [ There's no guarantee of getting it repaired if it's damaged, nor is there one of replacement. They need to move, need to just jump him in hopes of getting it back. Her eyes flick up to his hand, holding her wand, held aloft. She'll make a grab on his arm, Paimon can keep him occupied. ]

« Get. Him. »

[ And with that, she charges forwards with a snarl — jumping as high as she can to grip onto the man's arm, clawing desperately at it to try and retrieve her wand. ]

( The demon tenses as the man seems to come at him again — except the man's tricked him, moving quickly for Luna instead. Struggling against her, grabbing her wand from her grasp before anyone can do anything to stop him.

The demon howls, absolutely livid. He's ready to strike, only barely kept back by the pressure Luna's increasing at his shoulder, but the thought is a desperately growing one — the man can't be allowed to keep her wand. It's hers, it's how she channels her magic, it's of utmost importance, he'll rip the man piece by piece to get it back—

Then comes the mental instruction, and despite his growing rage, Paimon understands clearly. Her wand can't be harmed. He has to be careful; he knows his own power, now. He understands, synched with Luna even despite her wrongness this month; the demon is still tethered to the witch in a particular way. He knows. He's with her.

Get. Him.

And Paimon lunges as Luna does, letting her go for the man's arm while he targets the rest of him. He grabs for the other arm, the one with the broken bones, intentionally targeting an area that's already Pained. He can practically feel it, those waves of pain. The demon latches onto mutilated fingers, quickly pulls that broken hand to his mouth and bites down as hard as he can.

There's a sickening crunch as his teeth make contact with the bones that are already shattered, and his fingers dig into the man's arm to latch on harder, nails driving in. He bites, and bites again, each push driving him in harder. )

open | lights are on but nobody's home

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cw: demon munching some broken bones