there's a monster in my closet

[reddosmod]

MAY 2022 EVENT

IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Prompt One
[Image One: Half man, half goat gazing through the sky in front of mountain.]
[Image Two: Deer-like skeletal creature talking in a forest.]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Bees crawling out of and over a calm man's cheek.]
[Image Two: Humanoid figure with honeycomb skin.]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Skull beside dried flowers.]
[Image Two: Red wilting flowers. ]

[NAVIGATION]

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

[JUMP TO COMMENTS]

SELF EVALUATION

WHEN: May
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Body horror, heavy themes of dysphoria and body dysmorphia, acceptance of self, forced physical transformations.

---

An excerpt from Book of Bausphomette:

"They say you should walk a mile in someone's shoes before casting judgment. The true rhetoric can be applied to Bausphomette's version of 'self-evaluation.' It shouldn't come as a surprise that a Pthumerian would have a very different idea of self-evaluation than the typical person, but here we are and I'm going to give you a heads up: don't freak out about the fur.

Or scales. Really, it could be anything, but when your body starts to change into something you can't recognize, you're not going crazy and you're not turning into a Beast. Or okay, you're turning into a beast but not a Beast with a capital B. You will be yourself, have your normal personality, your normal thoughts, your normal habits...You just...Won't exactly look like yourself. People have been known to turn into minotaurs or sprout ten wings or become half-goat on top and all fish on the bottom. Either way, you're not going to be physically recognizable.

But you will be yourself. You will just have new vocal cords or have to learn a new means of communication. Telling your loved ones about your sudden transformation might be a bit alarming, but I think that's kind of the point. Bausphomette seems to believe the monstrous transformation will allow people to consider different parts of themselves that are usually hindered by social judgments. Are you really happy with yourself enough to not mind being a beast? How does this impact your relationship with your body? Does your body matter to you as much as you believed? Can you adapt to this new body and come to love it?

Granted, not everyone has hated this process. It has made some parts of life especially exciting...If you know what I mean. Thankfully the process doesn't last! The general idea is that once you have accepted something about yourself you will begin to turn back to your usual body! Of course, for more stubborn folks, this has been known to take a few months...Try not to be too stubborn or resistant to the new change! ...It will only make it worse."

QUICK FACTS 1. Your character can have various monstery attributes during May. They should be monsterous - not cute little ears or a non-distracting tail.

2. The lesson the characters learn can vary greatly and depend on what players choose to explore.

3. Feel free to go as heavy-handed with the body horror. Your character can magically just wake up with the body or go through some painful transformation.

4. Characters should NOT have mental alteration during this period. The point is that they are still themselves regardless of their new appearance.

5. Have the size of the beast be appropriate to the setting's size.

6. Temporary powers can be gained through the beast's body for the month. Do not break the setting.

HUMMING IN THE SKIN

WHEN: May
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Increased bouts of mindless violence, optional insect-based horror, insects in skin, honeycomb in skin, bodies as hives for insects, extreme body horror.

---

An old article clipping was gathered from a newspaper that used to run in Trench. It seems like the rest of the article is missing except for the end:

"And, he said, "They will say that I have shed innocent blood. What's blood for, if not for shedding?"

We do not know what this Sleeper's intent was, but we do know the impact lasted. Reports of symptoms include feeling as though your skin is humming, that there's itchiness you can't quite get rid of like something is always crawling over your skin and around inside of you. Some people claim that this remains a mental only terror that keeps them up at night. Some have been known to scratch open holes in their skin and pull themselves apart just to make sure they aren't filled with bugs. We wish we could say that it was only a paranoid curse, but it seems there is some foundation to the concern.

Some who have gotten cuts or other injuries at this time will discover various insects, but especially bees crawling out from exposed wounds. Once you have gotten an injury, the humming seems to get worse. A descent to madness happens swiftly, but all at once, you become calm and content with the situation. Your skin slowly becomes honeycombed, bees moving in and out of you freely. You become a walking, talking hive.

But of course, that's just the worst-case scenario. For the most part, people who are itching mindlessly seem to be driven to bouts of violence, wanting to get rid of the feeling by randomly attacking those nearby. Strangely enough, the bloodshed during these attacks does not seem to contribute to blood pollution.

Instead, blood shed during this time of month seems to be instantaneously soaked up by your immediate surroundings. The bees from these people have been seen flying everywhere, and instead of collecting pollen, they seem to be collecting blood magic. Either to bring it back to their walking hives or using it for other deeds..."

IMPOSTERS

WHEN: May-June
WHERE: Outside where flowers can be found
CONTENT WARNINGS: Demonic, violent, blood thirsty flowers?? Parasite style monsters.

---

From Plantlife and You: Trench Edition:

"This is a tricky subject as it does not technically have to do with actual plantlife but rather the nefarious imitation of plantlife.

As spring begins be cautious of the plants around you. It might be lovely to see tulips popping open and other spring delights coming to light. We all like to see the splashes of color pop up around Trench, especially after such cold, long months...But be wary.

Among these flowers are insidious imposters. Telling them apart from the original flowers is almost impossible. You can only do your best to be careful around any plantlife you interact with. They look like flowers, but these creatures are demonic beasts who have perfectly cultivated a flawless mimic. Instead of sunlight and water, they soak in the blood of Trench up through their roots. If you pick the wrong flower, blood will squirt out from the roots and vines.

The bees from Sleeper bodies seem intent on pollinating these exact flowers with blood, leaving little bloody streaks in their wake, but the bees jump between normal flowers and the imposters, making it difficult to properly figure out which is which.

I know what you're thinking: okay, so what? They eat blood, big deal, they are just flowers...

Ha! Did you really think it would be that simple? No, no, these imposters will invade your gardens and your homes. Their little vines will wrap around your foot when you're in the garden or taking a walk. It's not evident at first, but it doesn't take much for a flower to grow on your body. Harmless, painless, but they will suck your blood dry. They have been known as silent killers, parasitic, draining you of life and energy and magic slowly but surely.

And the catch is once you have one flower growing on you, more will come, and it can distort your personality and make you feel or act as though you are drunk. Things won't make sense and you won't exactly know how to ask for help. Your only luck is that someone else will notice. Taking the flowers off requires an icy bath or shower and some serious salt scrub. To prevent this in general, you will want to keep your skin covered thoroughly and not allow pollen to brush against you since that's all it takes. Good luck!"

CODING

Comments

[hearuthinking]

Thanks.

[Part of the eating problem is figuring out how the heck to get it in his mouth. Eventually he shakes some nuts into his hand and eats like that. Sort of like feeding a horse? It's weird]

This place should mind its own fuckin' business and let people figure out their own shit.

[mehanizovati]

[honestly the talking to a ram guy that sounds like jason is also weird. it's a weird day. he continues to be glad for the plant thing, even if the fact they're growing all over his organs in a very visible way is hm. less than ideal.]

Do you think it's supposed to be symbolic? Such as... hm, I spend too much time with machines and not nature? [he snorts. incredibly dumb.] I'm not really sure what a ram would symbolize.

[hearuthinking]

Maybe you just need more sun. [He says it dryly to show he's joking. Though maybe he's onto something? Who knows. He shrugs and chews on a few more nuts]

Got no clue. Not a fuckin' clue.

[Lie. He's not sure he's right, but he does have an idea]

[mehanizovati]

[that has viktor snort, which then unfortunately makes him cough and he covers his mouth with a cloth before clearing his throat. his lips are still quirked though.] Well if that's the case I suppose I'm doomed to being a human garden pot. That is far too much a sacrifice to make.

[very dry. but that gets a nod and sigh.] Well, if you'd like to brainstorm I'm all ears. I am a bit concerned about just how far these transformations will go if left unchecked.

[hearuthinking]

[He lets out his own little snort, his eyes falling closed in the closest he can get to a smile with his new face. He's glad Viktor hasn't lost his sense of humor. But there is a flicker of worry when Viktor coughs]

You okay? Maybe we really should go outside and get ya some fresh air.

terminal illness cw

[mehanizovati]

[ah, for a moment viktor considers deflecting but he supposes it's about time he's told this to jason. he's hoping he'll find a cure or a way to save himself before it would even become relevant but... yes.]

At the moment I am fine. As a whole I am afraid I came to the Trench with an illness in my lungs that will inevitably kill me. Turns out growing up around toxic fumes is eh, not ideal.

[dry, sometimes morbid humor is how it needs to be. he turns with a bowl of mushrooms and vegetables, this makeshift salad, offering a crooked sort of smile.] It is one of the projects I am working on, you could say. Here, try this.

[hearuthinking]

[His nostrils flare and his head jerks at the words. He knew Viktor wasn't in the greatest shape, but he hadn't thought it was this bad. It feels like a punch in his gut. Viktor is dying...]

There's gotta be a doctor, someone who can help you. Our blood is fuckin' magic!

[He shakes his head and tries to rein it in. He sort of blinks at the bowl]

Fuck, Vik. You keep feeding me and you ain't ever gonna get rid of me.

[It's a weak joke but deflection is the best he can manage. He wants to do something, but he's not a doctor. He doesn't even know that much about plants to help with the vines and mushrooms growing on Viktor's body]

[mehanizovati]

Unfortunately I have not had much luck with the blood ministers. I do agree that surely there is something to be done with the blood magic, it- ha, there is much more hope here than I had back home.

[much, much more. admittedly the best plan he has right now is make himself some new lungs one way or another and hope they take.

he takes a seat across, offering an amused huff for the joke.] Maybe this time the meal will come without being dragged into some alternate lighthouse dimension. I do think that goulash was much better though.

[hearuthinking]

Sometimes hope is all you got.

[His nose twitches at Viktor's returned humor. He relaxes, though he still feels a little awkward. Viktor is always doing nice things for him: building that practice dummy, getting him food. He wants to give Viktor something, for a change]

Um. Vik, what kind of... I mean, what do you... like?

[Holy shit that was awful]

[mehanizovati]

[that question has him blink then bite back a chuckle in turn- that was great, not an awful in sight. he pushes his amusement aside as he considers the question.]

As in hobbies? Hm, I don't really have any to be perfectly honest, unless research and general work here count. I suppose some of the projects are more for enjoyment than practical use.

[hearuthinking]

[Well that didn't help at all. He'll just have to think of something. But the mention of research does remind him of something]

I forgot to tell ya: one of those portals spat out a vampire from my world. Me and another Sleeper were bein' real quiet, so I was able to listen to its thoughts.

[He pauses for Viktor to soak that in and get excited]

This is the weird part: it didn't have thoughts in words. It thought in sound; it was almost like music. Ain't that somethin'?

[mehanizovati]

[hey, nailed it, viktor perks at hearing, fascinated. a brief moment of concern that you know, jason had to deal with a vampire but he seems in fine spirits about it so]

In sounds, truly? That is fascinating, could you describe the music? The instruments it sounded like? [see, this is hobby. nerd shit.] Also you were able to use your ability on command then?

[hearuthinking]

[His ears flick in pleasure. A downside of this form is it's harder to hide when he's happy. He likes that Viktor gets excited about this stuff]

Yeah, I've been workin' on it. The song was kinda... messy? I can try to play it, once my face is back to normal.

[mehanizovati]

You play an instrument? [oh, intrigued. creative matters always impress him, given he doesn't have an artistic bone in his body for the most part.]

That is excellent though, now if only we could find a safe way to test it on a beast... hm, I'll brainstorm it. I have a project in the works that could help with restraining one but it will be some time before it's ready for even initial testing.

[hearuthinking]

[He makes a "so-so" gesture with his hand] I ain't bad on the harmonica, and that's the closest instrument I can think of to match. Not exactly, but... I donno, it's hard to describe that sound.

Someone told me that she was reached with some kinda mental link when she was a beast. So it's possible. I'll keep practicin' so when you're ready to test your project, I'll be ready too.

[mehanizovati]

Oh, that I very much need to hear, I think. [even if it wasn't to mimic the sound, he wants to hear jason's harmonica skills first hand, thank you.]

Really? That opens up a lot of possibilities. [he taps his fingers against the table as he considers said possibilities, specifically with paleblood.] I suppose that's a running theme, that the person is inside regardless of the eh, the packaging. Purification is a matter of reaching them before they're swallowed completely.

[hearuthinking]

[Well, shit, he walked right into that one. He snorts and starts eating the salad Viktor gave him. It's perfect for his ram's teeth, even if his human stomach wants meat. Maybe if he just thought about why he thinks he has a ram head, that will be enough?

He lifts his head at the next comment]

We'll figure it out. And I do have that sword that's supposed to cure beasthood we can use, too.

[mehanizovati]

[beware having human head again, you'll have to play harmonica. a double edged sword.]

I have been curious about that. Maybe I could introduce you to Allen, he'd probably like to get a look at that. He was an exorcist in his world and might be able to intuit something from it.

[hearuthinking]

An exorcist, huh? He gonna make me vomit pea soup?

[Jason that joke only works if the person has seen the movie. Maybe Viktor will laugh anyway?]

[mehanizovati]

[piltover does not have the exorcist, so this goes gleefully over his head, though he snorts at the image alone.]

Dare I even ask...?

[hearuthinking]

It's a movie from my world. It's about this girl who gets possessed and an exorcist comes to help her. The girl starts spewin' green shit, I forget what it was supposed to be in the story, but the movie people made it pea soup. My sister told me that and it made the movie less scary for me.

[mehanizovati]

[the movie bit is interesting (does his world even have movies? good question) but something else interests him more-] You have a sister- older, I take it?

[hearuthinking]

[His ears flick] Yeah, she's older. Haven't seen her since before I got shipped out.

[mehanizovati]

What's her name? [sorry, he is nosy. also the ear flick is amusing, though it does remind him they should probably try to figure this out sooner rather than later. if jason turns into a whole ass ram that's probably a problem.]

[hearuthinking]

Penny-- Penelope. Like from that old story...

[And then it clicks. He snorts and lets out an angry noise]

You gotta be fuckin' kidding me. That's why I've got this stupid head?

[To Viktor, he explains:] There's this story about Jason, this other warrior Jason, goin' after a golden fleece. It came off of this magic ram. This place has got a fuckin' sense of humor.