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

[kyley_b]

[Feeling the stones warm, Kyle is beginning to realise just how dangerous L's new body actually is.

Still. Friends don't let friends become beehives.

He kneels down beside him and gets the tweezers at the ready. He examines L with his multiple eyes and nods.]

Okay, hold still, I see some and they're moving really slowly.

[Carefully, he tweezes out a bee and puts it on the ground. After a second's hesitation, he squishes it.]

I hate killing em, but they'll just fly back inside you if we don't.

[hearthebell]

[L tenses; though he doesn't personally feel the heat, he's had time to witness its effect on his surroundings. He's had a crash-course in judging distances and tempering it when he can, with calm and care, just so he's not starting fires and burning people with every step. He scarcely dares to breathe as Kyle leans in closer.

The extraction is not painful, or even particularly uncomfortable; it just feels strange, pressure and then release. He blinks at the sheer oddness of it, canting his head slightly when Kyle squishes the bee.]

Not that any bees are precisely good news, but I... believe the infestation to be localized, and limited. We caught it early.

[And he is relieved as fuck about that.]

Thanks. You've explained "bros" to me but I feel as though you've persisted in exceeding those expectations and standards pretty much since we met.

[kyley_b]

Thank fuck for that. [He picks out another bee. Squish.]

Dude, that's just what friends do. Like you'd do the same for me.

[He believes this completely.]

Dude, I can feel how warm you are but it doesn't feel uncomfortable. [He puts his fingers on L's skin briefly, then nods.] Yup, seems fine. That's good.

[He shuts up as he digs another bee out.]

Have you noticed more hives anywhere else on you?

[hearthebell]

[There's something uncomfortably reminiscent of pimple-popping about this; he holds still and tries not to think about it, or, if he must, that some people find that cathartic and he can surely search for relatability in that regard.]

I'm sure I would.

[And he actually is; for someone with a "one is one", eye-for-an-eye, rather draconion philosophy about justice, L's outlook lends well enough to the active reciprocity of friendship. If he falls short in the sentimentality or experiential department, he's fastidious about the checks and balances of favors done and owed, tacking on extra goodwill in the abstract ledger where no returning obligation is expected.]

Maybe you're resistant to heat as well. Have you noticed fire behaving differently around you? And no... fortunately, I think this is it. It could have been different if it wasn't addressed immediately... unfortunately, they like open wounds, and my skin's been splitting.

[Hence, the messy stitches in places that give him a piebald and patchwork appearance.]

[kyley_b]

Exactly. So, no need to thank me.

[Whereas Kyle just... loves his bros. It's ingrained into him that you do whatever it takes for a friend.]

Maybe I am. I mean, if this angel shit is remotely on theme then that would make sense since a lot of them are just... burning things.

[All of his eyes widen.] Dude! Oh, dude, that's awful. Does it hurt? Can we like, I dunno, moisturize you?

cw: skin actively cracking

[hearthebell]

It actually doesn't hurt!

[He's quick to assure Kyle, maybe too quick, enough to suggest that it's not completely painless.

As if on cue, another little tear appears on his hand. And then he realizes, it is on cue. They're a response to lying.]

I could... maybe try something oil-free, for... obvious reasons.

cw: skin actively cracking

[kyley_b]

[Kyle frowns.]

Yeah. Yeah, oil free. I bet we can get a lotion.

Dude... you can say if it hurts. I won't think less of you.

[hearthebell]

[The the pallor of his skin, it's possible to see that he's a little flushed, flustered at being called out on the lie.]

Maybe you wouldn't think less of me, but...

[...but I would.]

It hurts,

[He admits, then his breath catches as the split in his hand knits back together and mends before their eyes. It's as though it was never there at all.]

[kyley_b]

[Kyle blinks at it.]

...huh. Okay. Uhm. Say something else honest.

[hearthebell]

[That's a tall and upsetting order, however simple it might seem.]

I need to know you won't share anything I say!

[kyley_b]

I swear to you on my mother's make, I won't tell anyone anything you say.

[hearthebell]

[He nods, an edge of franticness in the motion, because while he accepts those terms... he doesn't really know where or how to begin.

Is it enough to say something undisputed in the sane and reasonable world, that the Earth is round, for instance? Or something that he personally believes?

He realizes it's probably necessary to repair the damage with the reciprocal truths that repair the originating lies.]

Sometimes... I tell the person I'm dating what he wants to hear, so he'll think I'm someone better and worth staying with.

[This is hard, and it's the first thing off the top of his head. Two cuts in one on his face immediately close, healing smooth and seamless.]

[kyley_b]

[Kyle feels his heart ache a little at that. It's just... so relatable.]

I understand that impulse. It feels like... you need to make yourself easier. Sand off the rough edges. Yeah.

It's working, dude.

[hearthebell]

[The tragedy, of course, is that L doesn't really believe that any of what he goes through could be relatable.

Even the things that truly and really are; maybe especially those things, in part because they still feel so new and alien to him. He despises this vulnerability and almost wishes that the wounds don't heal.

But they do; his head hangs a little lower.]

So... you know?

[Putting someone else on the spot usually makes him feel momentarily better when he's had to feel vulnerable.]

But you make it look easy.

[To date; to be worth staying with.]

[kyley_b]

I know. I'm not the easiest person to love.

[He shakes his head.] I just got lucky and found someone as abrasive as I am. We just happen to for not in spite of it but I think partly BECAUSE of it.

You're not unlovable, dude.

[And he gives in to the urge to hug L.]

[hearthebell]

[L gives in to the urge to not only accept the hug, but lean forward into it. The burning in his cheeks feels alarmingly warm, to the point where he realizes it's actual radiating and scorching heat.

Fortunately, Kyle's angelic form seems like it can probably take it.]

Everyone who thinks that doesn't actually know much about me, you know.

[kyley_b]

[The benefits of being a weird monster!]

So let me know more about you. I'm not going to be scared off, dude.

[hearthebell]

[Though L is in his mid-twenties, he has a way about him, often, that is like a lost child. He looks that way now, even through the demonic visage, all wide eyes and anxious features.]

I'm not worried about you being scared, if I let you know more. I'm worried because you could die if someone from my world showed up. It's the same reason I don't tell Shoyo, because if that happened, I'd probably need to stop calling myself Lazarus and disappear.

[A couple more visible cuts close right up, at that. L winces paradoxically.]

I shouldn't even have said that; I guess I didn't want you to think that if that happened it was because I didn't like you.

[kyley_b]

Lazarus, it doesn't matter if they kill me here. [He points it out gently.]

I'd come back. And I'd come back pissed, so they'd be in deep shit.

I like you, too, for the record.

[hearthebell]

It matters. Death shouldn't be treated lightly, even if you come back... especially if you come back.

[In L's world, it's a one-way trip. Deeply unnatural, something no one gets to do. Until he did by coming here, presumably.

He thinks about pressing, putting Kyle on the spot, asking why. It feels like too much to demand, when he's already been helped so much.]

...thank you. Hearing that is still really new to me.

[The skin on his face just continues to get smoother and smoother.]

[kyley_b]

No. No, I guess not, but like... dude. You don't need to worry about that.

[Kyle is frankly impressed this is working so well.]

Yeah, I can tell. But my impression is that you grew up really alone. That can make feeling accepted harder.

[hearthebell]

Your instincts are good. You'd probably make a good cop, or... social worker.

[Or something. He's bad at paying compliments even on a good day, and this is certainly not one of those.]

It was better that I grew up mostly alone. There weren't enough of those when they could have helped me; maybe they couldn't have, anyway, so. I played the role I could, the way I could.

[kyley_b]

Thanks. [He does look very happy at that.]

I don't know why you think you were such a lost cause. And most humans benefit from contact, sorry.

Not that you turned out like, a serial killer or something.

[hearthebell]

[He laughs, suddenly and harshly.]

What if I told you that my best friend did turn out like that? We had a lot in common.

[With his face healed, it's hard to tell if the process is continuing under his fireproof cloak at this point.]

[kyley_b]

Did he really?

One of my best friends was... not a serial killer, but definitely a sociopath.