tentacle time { mini horror plot

[matermali]

cw: tentacles, body horror, potential compulsion



Have you been craving a little extra horror in your dose of DWRP? Vanessa is here to help.

Some of you may have noticed that something dark now lurks in the water. Feeling the call of the deep, Vanessa has made a connection with it, and as a result, she now carries a piece of it within her—'infected' or 'possessed', as it were. As a result, Vanessa will be slowly taken over by its dark influence, which will be vibing with the darkness that already lived inside of her. Thus:

Provocation:
— She will occasionally feel the urge to prey on others' darkness (fear, anger, doubt, paranoia, their worst urges), pulling those threads to the surface until they overpower the victim.

Contamination (optional):
— The 'infection' may spread to her victims (via tentacles/inky tendrils through the closest orifices).
— They may feel the substance shifting around inside of them, trying to spread throughout their body. It feels curious. It wants connection.
— The change may not happen immediately, but the victim can't resist for long, and will eventually give in to the influence.
— It may be a subtle influence at first, with the person acting slightly off while it continues to feed on their darkness, until the host gives in to the pain and fear and succumbs to the infection.
— When the infection succeeds in taking over the victim, they may likewise wish to spread it to others and provoke their darkest thoughts until the host can 'taste' them. (The urge may be subtle, compared to Vanessa's need.)

If you want your character to become a victim of this tentacle horror in some form, please comment away.

PLEASE NOTE, if you want your character infected, it cannot be reversed or healed before the next event! Further details on how to cure this infection will be revealed when the mission is posted.

<b>1.</b> Do you want Vanessa to feed on your character's darkest emotions? <b>2.</b> Do you want your character to become infected? <b>3.</b> Thread or handwave? (We can discuss their interaction if handwaved.)

MINI FAQ:
Q: Is the rate of progression up to us?
A: Yes!

Q: How aware will the infected folks be that they are infected?
A: They won't be consciously aware of the changes happening within them - as if something is blocking them from noticing something is off.

Q: Can you be more specific about the 'influence' and what happens when one succumbs?
A: It will influence people by drawing their darker fears, anger, etc. to the surface for them to act on, and when succumbing, they will want to draw out and provoke the same in others and spread the infection.

Q: How does one spread the infection?
A: It is spread via tentacles, sort of like inky black tendrils, through the closest orifices.

Q: What do you mean by 'taste'?
A: Like when you can taste a scent. The fear in the air tastes delectable. Like the best meal they've had in years.

Q: Can animals sense or smell the infection?
A: Not at first. However, once the infection grows, they may be able to smell it in the same way some dogs can sniff out cancer. They will react defensively - whether this is by trying to save the infected by attacking where the infection sits, or by barking/hissing/avoiding the person is up to players.

Comments

[keepgodwaiting]

1. Do you want Vanessa to feed on your character's darkest emotions?
Y E S. As mentioned, it could be interesting for Vanessa to pull forward the stuff she already knows about Johanna, i.e. guilt about Astra! There's a lot of despair she's trying not to acknowledge right now, too. We can workshop it.

2. Do you want your character to become infected?
I mean. How can I resist some body horror. Is the rate of progression up to us or what?

Follow-up question, though: how aware will the infected folks be that they are infected? Like, if tentacles come in through an orifice and one's body feels ~wrong~, is it cool to draw that connection eventually? If yes, Johanna might try to self-exorcise, or offer exorcism to other infected people. If not and it's more in the "something is off and you can't figure out why," that's cool too!

3. Thread or handwave? (We can discuss their interaction if handwaved.)
Would love a thread, and we can always handwave elements if need be!

[matermali]

The rate of progression is up to you! Theoretically it will take others over quicker than it does Vanessa (she'll be keeping herself partially together here and there til the mission) but otherwise it's your call.

Quoting the mods: They won't be consciously aware of the changes happening within them - as if something is blocking them from noticing something is off.

[keepgodwaiting]

rubs my little hands together

[100more]

Just some more specifics, please!

For contamination:

- Can you be more specific about the 'influence' and what happens when one succumbs?
- How does one spread the infection? What do you mean by 'taste'?

[matermali]

It will influence people by drawing their darker fears, anger, etc. to the surface for them to act on, and when succumbing, they will want to draw out and provoke the same in others and spread the infection.

It is spread via tentacles, sort of like inky black tendrils, through the closest orifices. (For Vanessa this is likely a tentacle kissu if with friends~ since it is not uncommon for her to smooch friends during weirdly angsty exchanges.)

For the taste, quoting the mods: "You know how when there's a strong smell in the air, you can get a taste of it? The fear in the air tastes delectable. Like the best meal they've had in years."

[100more]

Thank you!

[tocastashadow]

1. Do you want Vanessa to feed on your character's darkest emotions?
Hell yeah, come and get your all-you-can-eat-buffet of unacknowledged grief and self-loathing and the gaping hole in her heart where god used to be

2. Do you want your character to become infected?
There's already one creepy crawly wriggling around in there, why not another one? Maybe the tadpole and the tentacles will get along and like, unionize or something ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

3. Thread or handwave? (We can discuss their interaction if handwaved.)
I'd love a thread but happy to handwave as needed!

[matermali]

Tentacles vs. Tadpole for prime real estate!

[tocastashadow]

Just thought of a question: can animals (specifically thinking about Scratch here) sense/smell the infection in people?

[100more]

1. Do you want Vanessa to feed on your character's darkest emotions? Yes, but it might backfire because of feelings regarding a certain Dream lord?
2. Do you want your character to become infected? No, let's keep him infection free
3. Thread or handwave? (We can discuss their interaction if handwaved.) Would be happy to thread but I leave it up to you and your time.

[matermali]

If it is connected to the darker/negative emotions she'd be feeding on then probably lol (Like she didn't already KNOW fff)

This entire mini-plot is a backfire on her, what's a little extra!

LMK if you toss up a toplevel somewhere, otherwise I can set up a starter for him.

[100more]

Feel free to put up a starter when you're ready to kick things off. Hob was meaning to visit, anyway.

[keepgodwaiting]

m👀m don't mind me stalking the shit out of this!

[matermali]

primo telenovela material, nobody is having a good time (except for her tentacle baby)

[relished]

1. Do you want Vanessa to feed on your character's darkest emotions? yes, and honestly i’m down for her to grab anything from him because of this. his darkness is intense, and his greatest fear is being alone. he doesn’t think what he does is terrible (in a traditional way) so lmao he’ll be pretty subdued, unless you want to see about him attempting to unalive her.
2. Do you want your character to become infected? while i would LOVE some tentacle horror, he's busy with ...stuff, currently.
3. Thread or handwave? thread pls

[matermali]

HANNIBAL, attempting to unalive her while experiencing the fear of being alone is very counter productive hello!! (how on brand) but awww they share a fear :')

We can wing it! I am not intentionally seeking out violence, but considering the type of plot I sort of expect it in some cases. If drawing all that to the surface would bring it out in him, I can roll with it! Just no succeeding in killing her (before the next mission at least)

[relished]

winging it is fine w me!! that was my thought process bc it's the first time he'll actually be experiencing some very real very harrowing thoughts about loneliness since he's been here and we can just see where it goes. i'm easy i dont need anything concrete i'm excited to have him involved in this horror plot :)

[abit_ofboth]

1. Do you want Vanessa to feed on your character's darkest emotions?

Yes please! There’s so much dark in his head. Currently it would likely lean towards his worry that the entire multiverse is collapsing around them without him in place.

2. Do you want your character to become infected? Yes, yes I do.
3. Thread or handwave? (We can discuss their interaction if handwaved.)

I’ll happily thread it out if you have the time.

[matermali]

Your wish is my command!

Is there any setting in particular you had in mind?

[morethan084]

1. Do you want Vanessa to feed on your character's darkest emotions?

Yes please! Daisy has so many of them. Will Daisy be aware of this happening? Just curious.

2. Do you want your character to become infected?

100% yes! Here for the drama, and how this will unfold.

3. Thread or handwave? (We can discuss their interaction if handwaved.)

Threading would be great if you’re down for that. :) I don’t have anything open for Daisy right now. Did you plan on making a log for this? I can top level in that, if that’s the case.

[matermali]

She won't be aware on a conscious level of what exactly is happening, that Vanessa is specifically drawing out her darkness, no. She might temporarily realize 'something' is off, like 'why is this lady so weird' but not enough to outright resist if it's affecting her. Once it's taken hold, she won't consciously notice what has happened to her.

I have a log set up here! Late getting to things bc I have been hashing out plot details, but with that mostly done I am now all for taggums.

You are free to wildcard me a toplevel, or I can write something up if you prefer.

[tinflower]

I'mma answer this just so it's finally jotted down!

1. Do you want Vanessa to feed on your character's darkest emotions?

Absolutely, unless somebody else wants a chance to spread the infection onto another individual! Vanessa would already have a hint that he has a fear regarding his death, but anyone capable of getting into his head and tricking him would have an easy time after he's been working on the mirror shards plot and is suffering from exhaustion. But he's scrambling to prove his worth as someone who can create and do good with his artificing, as well as not simply being good at destroying (and how he might not even be good at that).

He also has a lot of anger/rage inside him, which would be the strongest emotion he holds!

2. Do you want your character to become infected?

Absolutely.

3. Thread or handwave? (We can discuss their interaction if handwaved.)

I would love to play this out, but let me know what works for you or anyone else.

[matermali]

Poor guy deserves better!

I can for sure set up a toplevel for him! Unless you want someone else to infect him. Just lmk either way c:

[hauntedsnowfall]

1. Do you want Vanessa to feed on your character's darkest emotions?
Absolutely. Dimitri has a lot of dark emotions roiling around inside of him. His exists only to enact revenge and to stop the strong from trampling the weak- usually via slaughtering the wicked. There's also a lot of self-hate here, he is a death chaser.

2. Do you want your character to become infected?
Yes Please~! Although I think I only want it to go to level two. I have a couple of options between a couple of options on how to get rid of the infection lined up.

3. Thread or handwave?
I would appreciate handwaving, I'm currently trying to get on top of my inbox and it's been a battle. How would you like to go about this?

[matermali]

She can provoke as much of those negative feelings as you want! They'll be pulled to the surface during their encounter. Self-loathing is easily something she can tug at, as it's something she can relate to to a certain point, so it would be easy for that connection to keep it relevant. Revenge is also very relatable, and emphasizing the darker repercussions of vengeance can be covered during the encounter.

Are there any events in his background that you'd want her to pick up on to further emphasize those emotions? The Im'mari can sense these things, but she also has her clairvoyance to dig into memories if necessary. If not, the emotions connected to the memories can simply be dug up and prodded at.

Is there any setting you prefer, like something from the TDM, mingle, or mission log? or just say they ran into each other while on the street or at a café?