deercountry | there's a monster in my closet

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It's good to meet you Viktor. I'm Wei Wuxian." He brings his hands up and gives a bow towards the man. It's been a long time since he's used his typical greeting but it seems fitting in this moment.

He stands up straight again, "I'll be sure to contact you if something happens to go awry. What do you do in your lab if you don't mind my asking."

The term is a newer one for him but he has learned that labs generally mean experiments of some sort and he is very familiar with that kind of activity obviously. So he is curious what the other might be interested in.

The bow has him wondering if this man is from a world like Chizuru's, where bowing seems far more common form of greeting than what he's used to. He bows his head in turn, hoping that is a respectful enough reply, and asks, "It is good to meet you as well - is Wuxian your family name or first name? I have come to learn some works have a different order than I am used to."

He has absolutely called people Mr. First Name without realizing it. At least he is learning.

"Ah, well in my world I helped cofound a technology that was able to utilize magic as a mage would. To put it simply... hm, a mage taps into a source of power, often within themselves or the world around them, yes? We found a way for machines to do something similar, and so gates could be made that teleported ships to far off places, or gloves that could help miners lift and break stones far greater than their weight without fatigue.

"I am working on finding a way to use blood gems as a power source to do something similar. I am also researching corruption and purification, which is unfortunately a slower go." And other projects, which makes him shake his head thinking of. "It is good to keep busy, yes? Especially here."

"Ah...well, My courtesy name is Wei Wuxian. My family name is Wei. Where I am from we don't typically call people by one name. But I know that isn't exactly customary around here. So you are welcome to call me Wuxian." He could get even more complicated and explain he also has a birth name but that isn't one he expects anyone to use so he doesn't offer it up to willingly.

He listens to the man's description and nods in interest. It sounds like important work and he is curious about finding out more about it. He doesn't have a lot of experience with machines but it is good to learn more about things that he isn't familiar with. Especially in a place like this.

"It definitely is good to stay busy. That is why I keep the shop open. But your work sounds important and interesting."

"Ah, very well, Wuxian. I can't say I've heard of a courtesy name before, but to be fair where I was born we rarely bother with even last names." So two sides of the coin, complicated and way too simple.

"I think I'd go mad otherwise, not that this place does not make its attempts." A sigh there. "Did you work in an apothecary of sorts in your world before this?"

"I was a cultivator back home...ah..which meant I fought the dead and spirits and protected people who couldn't protect themselves. But I was good at inventing things to help with that process so this kind of became a good way to put my skills to use. We started it back on the other world."

And even though his husband is no longer in this world he has continued with the shop because there are still people who need help. In some cases there is even more need for it now. So he will continue to do whatever he can.

"Inventing things?" Well you've piqued his curiosity. "That sounds not unlike mages, in a way. Or at least in my world mages would be the ones capable of handling such matters. I suppose it could be more eh... religious?"

So hard to say now, if it's normal to assume the dead can walk around, spirits cause trouble. He glances around the shop for a moment though, and nods. "Well I am glad you did. Getting incense has been a bit irritating, I find. At least at the Willful Machine markets."

"I don't think incense is widely used here but if I can encourage more people to see how useful it is...well then I'm doing a good service."

It's not going to be useful for everyone but if it helps even a few then it is a job well done. For some it will be easier then drinking tea.

"I invented a device that would help point towards dangerous spirits, and a couple ways for summoning them. Things that wouldn't do much good in this place but..." He taps a bag of tea with his finger. "I can put my skills to this use now instead."

That has Viktor curious though, that device, hand going to his chin as he considers it. "I do not know, if you could modify that to detect beasts it would likely be very useful, I think. I suppose I cannot say if such a change would even be possible."

But still, an early warning system of some kind that a beast is nearby? Or in that direction? Sounds very useful to him.

It's been a long time since he has thought about the spiritual compass. He found it amusing when he encountered the juniors attempting to use a version of it that was poorly designed many years later. He wonders if he could design something similar in this place. He doesn't quite have the same understanding of the monsters here as he does of the spirits back home. But perhaps with enough research he could figure it out.

"I'll have to consider it. I imagine it is a similar thought process in its creation, just have to alter the type of spiritual energy that is used to power it."

"No doubt, one of the issues I find here is learning to translate the magic and ways of our worlds into this one. It is possible though, I have had good results so far," Viktor answers with a nod, then, "If you do decide to I would be very curious to see what you come up with. In all honesty it would be very useful to someone like me."

Who really needs to avoid beasts as best as he can manage. Being caught by one is a death sentence without help, unfortunately.

"I will definitely make sure to let you know if I figure anything out. If it is something that will help others then obviously I need to at least give it a chance."

Plus it is another thing he can do to keep himself busy. The more things he has to keep his mind active and keep himself out of trouble...the better. He might not fully understand the world enough to be able to be successful but it is worth a try. It just means he will have to do a little more research first.

there's a monster in my closet

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