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Deer Country Mod ([personal profile] reddosmod) wrote in [community profile] countryclub2022-08-05 09:24 pm
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August Plotting Post

AUGUST 2022 PLOTTING POST
Please use this post to plot with other players and keep track of your plans for this month's event! You can ask specific questions about the event down below. If you are ever waiting on a question, please feel free to reach out to Simcha directly.

This post will be updated with the Live Event once it is posted. Plotting posts are always made on the 5th and events always go live on the 8th.

WE GLOW SO DIM
CONTENT WARNINGS: Deep diving, possible drowning, possible death

Early on in the month, the waves start to have a strange look to them. They seem a little brighter, even at night, and it's then that it hits you: the waves are glowing. It's easy to at first to brush it off as the bioluminescence of certain types of plankton, but the way it moves and sparkles has an other-worldly quality to it that can't be explained by science. Those who look even closer at the glow will notice that it seems to be forming some sort of path into the watery depths.

Those who choose to follow the path despite the angry waves and awful storms that plague the seas this month will find that the ocean seems to be at its calmest along these illuminated, watery roads. Diving down to follow them won't require any equipment, as Sleepers will find that staying within the glowing path allows them to breathe under water when they might normally not have been able to. The pressure changes don't seem to be impacting anyone who follows the light either, allowing them access to deeper depths of the ocean than may have previously been explored.

Continuing to follow the path will lead Sleepers to a series of ship wrecks under the water. These ancient vessels are rotted and covered in seaweed, but anyone who is familiar with the cultures of Earth will notice that they seem to come from all over the world and their styles vary by multiple centuries. But all the ships seem to be covered in this same, strange glow that has brought people here.

Exploring the ships will lead to multiple different discoveries. There are chests filled with ancient artifacts: carvings of squids, statues of various sea creatures that feel a little off somehow, and stones carved with a strange text that is almost impossible to decipher. The artifacts are covered in strange, rust-looking stains that penetrate deep into the materials they're made of. These artifacts can be brought back to shore, and if someone were to try and ask the Trenchies what the writing said, they would only be able to say that these are clearly texts of the Old Ones from long before any recorded history that Trench has in its Archives. When asked about the sea creatures, they'll think it's obvious: these are Mariana's various forms from over the years. The off qualities are her unique takes as a Pthumerian on the creatures of the ocean.

Prolonged exposure to these statues of Mariana will cause people to become more bluntly honest, more open with their emotions, and often much more prone to large outbursts from said emotions, both good and bad. However, Sleepers who keep these statues near them will also find that they are able to keep more control of their blood powers. It's up to each individual if it's a worthy trade off.

If you leave the path, two things can happen: Sleepers will either turn into their squid selves and can continue to swim or they will drown. There will be nothing of interest outside of these paths, just typical ocean creatures, and maybe some of those monsters that have been crawling out of the watery depths as of late.

MONSTER WITHIN
CONTENT WARNINGS: Body horror, mentions of potential cannibalism/vore, possible death, contagious curse.

Soon after people start to explore the ships, a strange occurrence will start to sweep through the city. Locals start to mutter something about a curse, one that seems to only be impacting Sleepers. The early signs that there's something off is an increase in strength and stamina. For example, Sleepers will find that they might go to pick up a chair or a mug and it shatters in their hands. Some people may find that they are incapable of sleeping. Others might find they're able to move quicker and for longer periods than normal.

If they look themselves over, they will start to find small patches of skin that have started to gray and blacken. These patches will be cracked, almost scaley, and will be consistently damp no matter how hard you try to dry them off. As time passes, this odd rash will start to spread, taking over more and more of the body. The torso might start to swell and distort, making Sleepers feel particularly top heavy. And eventually, suckers will start to form on the arms and legs.

This curse isn't beasthood in its usual forms; instead, it seems to be some sort of malady in of the magical blood that Sleepers have been granted. If the blood of an infected Sleeper is looked at under a microscope, there will be black patches clinging to the cells, similar to the patches that people see on their skin. If it isn't stopped, the person suffering from the curse will ultimately turn into a monstrous form of their squid-selves: these monster forms are large, aggressive, and able to move on land. They will feel a hunger for destruction and some Sleepers may find in these forms that they are only satisfied if they feed on other, uncursed Sleepers.

There are two ways to lift the curse. One is through a thorough blood transfusion with a blood type that is compatible with your own. This becomes more difficult to do the closer to the monstrous form people get, both due to aggression from the curse, and also due to the fact that the black patches of skin are highly difficult to puncture. Once the blood is completely replaced by fresh blood, the skin patches will disappear over 48 hours and the Sleeper will be left feeling thoroughly exhausted.

The second way to lift the curse is through death. While these monster squid forms are difficult to kill, it is not impossible, and they are particularly susceptible to magic over weapons. Once a Sleeper has died, they can be reborn, and their blood will be completely free of the curse.

The blood malady can be spread outside of those who come into contact with the ship wrecks. People who touch a cursed Sleeper, particularly the scaley patches of skin, will also run the risk of being cursed. It takes roughly a week for the signs of the curse to show, and can spread as slowly or as rapidly as players choose.

LAVISH DESIRES
CONTENT WARNINGS: Personality changes, mental manipulation, hoarding, obsessive anxiety, disassociation, depersonalization

The high waves seem to just be getting higher at the beginning of the month. Rougher and rougher seas start to cause something anyone who's lived around water will be familiar with: flash floods. These floods are large, powerful, and fill the streets of Trench. First-floors of buildings may get extreme damage, though they can be protected with physical and magical barriers if people are smart about it. The floods happen multiple times throughout the month without warning, so it may be good to get that protection built up sooner rather than later.

The after effects of these floods aren't just structural devastation though. People who get caught up in the water, particularly those who end up swallowing it, will have one word echoing in their mind on a regular basis: More.

More of what? That seems to be different for each individual. Maybe one person wants more and more food, anything from an extra slice of cake after dinner, to wanting to stuff themselves until they just might pop. Or maybe they want to hoard all of their favorite objects or pieces of clothing, filling more and more of the space in their homes until they're ready to burst at the seems. Some might find it's their emotions that come in excess, with over the top anger, or irregular excitement that leaves them unable to sleep for days. Anything and everything can come in excess and it certainly seems to be this month. Some people may get these obsessive needs to such a degree that they start to feel disconnected from themselves, fractured by the overabundance that has taken over their lives.

If people ignore these desires, they'll start to find they're plagued by hallucinations. Strong, life-like visions that riddle them with anxiety and leave them petrified of what might happen if they don't partake in this gluttonous behavior. They'll feel shaken to the core and slowly go mad with need and desire for whatever it is they've been craving. This feeling of madness can make them become violent, lashing out at those around them, even killing those who try and help them out of belief that they're trying to force them to give in to their vices.

The impact of the water will wear off either after one week without re-exposure, or by using a Moon Drop to help to cleanse the mind.

PLOTTING FORM
Feel free to use the following form as a general guidance for your ideas for this month's event. Tag around for new CR, build off old CR, or use this as a way of organizing your thoughts and plans.

CODING
burnitblack: by burnitblack @ dreamwidth (Default)

[personal profile] burnitblack 2022-08-06 07:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Damn, I'm torn between the two of these. On the one hand, Dabi'd probably feel most comfortable going exploring with Nara'a if it comes to that. Though he'll be far less enthralled with the ancient treasure than the guy, so that might be a downer. (Maybe he'll find some gold or something...) Might be amusing to see their interaction.

On the other hand, Nara'a probably deserves a chance to slug this asshole at some point, so I'm tempted to get them into a fight. Dabi's gonna be hit with the greed thing, so this time he might actually just "gimme that damn stone" and go for it physically. (He gets point for trying at least.)
aetherweaver: (Default)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-08-06 10:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Dabi underwater sounds pretty amusing... if he can fight underwater, that might be fun. I'm sure there's shiny stuff there - Nara'a will be less interested in the valuable shiny things than the historical stuff.

But yeah he will absolutely punch Dabi if he tries to take one of the stones. He's pretty scary in terms of his general survivability, and it's implied that the warning markers you see in game are part of his abilities giving him a heads up so he can dodge pretty well when I don't fatfinger the controls. The two of them going all out would be mighty interesting. :o
burnitblack: by burnitblack @ dreamwidth (Default)

[personal profile] burnitblack 2022-08-06 11:35 pm (UTC)(link)
He can use his Quirk underwater, but it probably won't go very far and mostly would just end up heating the water around him or providing a bit of light. He's fine in the rain, but underwater's kinda not his forte, hah. Oh that'd be fun. "Look! A map of ancient times!" vs "Look! A chest of coins!" Not that "money" is of much value here.

Dabi's unfortunately aware that Nara'a no pushover, so he wouldn't opt to attack him on a normal day. He's wary about people with "fireproof" things, like armor or spells or whatever. But in this case, since he's under the influence, yeah he'd probably try to get it. But lbr, they've got a fight between them coming down the pipe at some point.
aetherweaver: (Default)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-08-07 11:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah Nara'a can't attack super well underwater either, probably. Game never lets us fight underwater. But yeah they have vastly different interests so hoarding stuff is probably not going to cross over with them.

Yeah Dabi'd try to sneak attack him, huh? He's never unarmed, but there are times when his guard is lowered a bit so it wouldn't be hard to try to jump him during those times. But yeah a fight's been in the works since they met.
burnitblack: by burnitblack @ dreamwidth (Default)

[personal profile] burnitblack 2022-08-08 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
Dabi might feel somewhat better with that reveal. They're both stifled. Because underwater battles require physics and ppl don't wanna deal with that. Likely not, though it means their respective hoardings won't get in the way, so they can hoard together without having a clash. Joint hoarder partnership.

Well he could go about it one of two ways. Smart, talk to him, swing the conversation to the stone, get him to bring it out so he can look at it again, and then either see if Nara'a would trust him enough to hold it, or just make a lunge for it (like bilbo baggins and the ring). Stupid, walk up to Nara'a and shove his hands right into his pants pockets to look for it. Physically.
aetherweaver: (Default)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-08-08 08:57 pm (UTC)(link)
... If Dabi shoves his hands down Nara'a's pants he's going to make a joke about how that's the wrong pocket and he didn't know Dabi was interested.

He is less innocent than he looks. xD
burnitblack: by burnitblack @ dreamwidth (Default)

[personal profile] burnitblack 2022-08-08 09:03 pm (UTC)(link)
how can both pockets be wrong?! shit, was it the ass pocket?! maybe he'll just burn his pants off, since he's got his hands down there anyways.

he's interested in his stones, yeah. hey, dabi does night walker stuff, so you know... he wouldn't say no.
aetherweaver: (Default)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-08-08 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Given how JRPG protags have invisible backpacks it very well might be the ass pocket but like. Yeah.

Pffthaha the two of them together like that could be dangerous but hilarious.
burnitblack: by burnitblack @ dreamwidth (is that all you have to say)

[personal profile] burnitblack 2022-08-08 09:10 pm (UTC)(link)
now i'm getting the mental image of him putting his hand in nara'a's pocket, and it just... up to his forearm, then his elbow, to his shoulder, like full-blown mary poppins rooting around in his pocket going "what the fuck is this hammer space?"

set the bed on fire. it's been known to happen before. just mind pulling the staples. at least one or two's lost a round.
aetherweaver: (smirk)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-08-08 09:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh god I do try to make the mechanics make sense but that's still hilarious.

It's fine, he's gentle when he wants to be. He's not pulling anything unless Dabi does first.
burnitblack: by burnitblack @ dreamwidth (Default)

[personal profile] burnitblack 2022-08-08 10:07 pm (UTC)(link)
so we're going for the pocket grab --> fight route? innuendo all the way~

expect him to pull a tail...
aetherweaver: (Default)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-08-08 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, absolutely. That sounds like a lot of fun!

Hey, that's sensitive! 8(
burnitblack: by burnitblack @ dreamwidth (Default)

[personal profile] burnitblack 2022-08-08 10:14 pm (UTC)(link)
awesome! it does. i'll write a lead up to that in my TL coming tomorrow or wed.

oooo, good to know~
aetherweaver: (Default)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-08-12 05:03 am (UTC)(link)
I've got a toplevel up here, or you can make one if you'd like!
burnitblack: by burnitblack @ dreamwidth (Default)

[personal profile] burnitblack 2022-08-12 03:29 pm (UTC)(link)
and *salutes* - i have a toplevel as well (finally) if we want a second thread for another other plots.
aetherweaver: (Default)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2022-08-12 11:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Maybe we can use that one for their fight?
burnitblack: by burnitblack @ dreamwidth (Default)

[personal profile] burnitblack 2022-08-12 11:25 pm (UTC)(link)
the pocket grab fight?
burnitblack: by burnitblack @ dreamwidth (Default)

[personal profile] burnitblack 2022-08-12 11:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Works for me!