(event) SHATTER & DECAY

[vestigemods]

EVENT LOG: SHATTER & DECAY

JULY 21ST - 27TH

► IF THERE'S NOTHING BUT PAIN, PUT IT ON ME

On the morning of the 21st, the sun dawns peacefully over the crystalline lake just as it has every day for nearly three weeks now. Birdsong melodies soften the crisp edge to the morning air, and woodland creatures retreat from many a cabin backyard, unhurried but unwilling to contend with the cabin's residents as they wake. It's... peaceful, more so than one might expect after such a dire fate spelled out in the pamphlets upon your arrival. Perhaps, after many such days, it has managed to lull you into a sense of something like security.

Today we'll be learning a valuable lesson on why that is, in fact, a mistake.

Sometime between the 21st & 22nd, you begin to feel a bit... off. Perhaps the source is apparent at once, the ends of your fingers or toes going stiff and crystalline or swelling and blooming in small rotting sores. Perhaps the source of your discomfort is a bit less clear as your senses begin to sharpen or dull. But make no mistake, this is only the beginning.

As time passes, your situation only worsens. The glass or decay carves a slow but steady path up your limb or limbs. Your sharp senses begin to overwhelm you. Your dull senses muffle altogether. Soon, you may not be alone in your own mind, bombarded by the omnipresent thoughts and feelings of those around you in a way that you can't seem to hide from. Or worse - maybe there's no one around you, and yet you hear whispers in your mind all the same... Whispers which turn to yelling and screams and sharp violent emotions and imagery you can't simply close your eyes to because it exists inside your head.

But there is a solution.

It's detailed inside your new coffee-table centerpiece, a book bound roughly in leather and written in a language none here know or can recognize. All you know is that this book was not here last night. Not far from the book's front cover, you'll find two pages of illustrations with a page of text between them. One depicts humans holding their heads as if in distress, then cutting themselves or one another, then no longer holding their heads in distress. The next depicts much the same, but instead of a their heads they hold a discolored arm or leg... and instead of simply drawing blood, it shows them rubbing one another's blood on their discolored limbs. Skimming the rest of the book will find a dozen or so pages roughly torn from the bindings. Perhaps those were further illustrations. You may never know.

Besides - you have more pressing issues to attend to. Like bleeding, or finding someone else to, in order to make this stop.

You who only suffer the mental effects are lucky, in a sense. Your condition is deeply uncomfortable but it almost definitely isn't fatal. If you've found your limb crystallizing or rotting away, however, you have little choice but to seek a solution or resign yourself to a distinctly unpleasant death.

Regardless of which effects may be lingering, you'll find blessed relief at midnight on the 27th. Over the course of an hour, your senses will fade back into their proper strength, the unwanted guests will evacuate your mind, and the glass or rot will recede from your limbs to leave them just as they were before this veritable nightmare of a week.

Now, it's time to breathe, to recover, and to lick your figurative wounds.

► MOD NOTES

• This log is a general dump for all log threads pertaining to July's Shatter & Decay event! Feel free to utilize vestigenet for any event-related network posts you'd like to make.
  
• The event takes place from July 21st - 27th. All characters begin to experience effects by mid-22nd at the latest. Any event effects lingering at midnight on the 27th fade away over the course of an hour, in much the same way as they would if provided sufficient blood during the event itself.
  
• All event information (in detail rather than the flavortext I've provided) can be found on the July Event Infopost!
  
• Important semantics reminder! While you can have a character experience both psych and body horror within the event, both must be either rot or glass, not mix and match.
  
• Limbs lost or irreversibly damaged to this event reappear next time your character sleeps (as early as right when the event ends) unless you OOCly choose for them to retain the loss, in which case they instead regain the limb upon their next death + respawn. (If your character doesn't sleep, they go offline/fall unconscious and return to consciousness with the limb fixed.)
  
• Any questions can be directed to this top-level or, for a quicker response, to Trace on discord/plurk.

Comments

Lan Jingyi | OTA

[gusumouthcannon]

//Intro & Event Prompts//

Scandalized Junior Discovering His Clothing Options Bare A LOT of Skin
The problem with only having one set of robes is that he needs more clothing than that. That is just math. Reality. Something. The cabins he has rifled through do not have anything remotely similar, and everything that properly covers the skin is all very heavy and very much not suitable for the heat. So he is here, at the gas station, feeling like a criminal as he prepares to steal something more to wear that will not melt him instantly. "Are these--" He turns toward the sound of someone approaching and his tone is an even split between despair and delight as he holds up a tank top to his torso to measure its coverage. It does not cover a lot. "Are these our only options?"

Junior Beating The Heat On Verge Of Learning How Electronics and Lake Water Interact
The function of the smartphone is yet a mystery, but clearly the only way to find out how it works is to experiment! Thus, Jingyi sits on the very end of the dock wearing his new ugly sport shorts and a T-shirt, his bare feet in the water of the lake. He is hitting buttons without a lot of concern. A sound upon the lakeshore startles him, birds bursting up out of some bushes, and he almost drops the thing, bobbling the phone with a loud yelp.

Who Has Two Thumbs and Brand New Zombie Legs!
It is VERY early in the morning and Jingyi has just awoken to the fact that his legs are rotting from his body. His bloodcurdling scream is. Loud. And he is out of his cabin and into the woods as fast as his poor corpse legs can take him, which is incredibly distressingly not that fast, to see the creeping rot and shredded flesh in the chill, stark light of the morning. Hyperventilating, he wails, "They only itched yesterday!"

#PleaseForTheLoveOfHanguang-junDoNOTLeaveMeAloneMyHeadIsFullOfGhosts
He handled having corpse legs like a boss. But now his brain is haunted and that is. Not great. That is why the very next person he sees minding their own business acquires a Jingyi who is smiling a little over-brightly in the internally screaming sort of way. No reason, not even a fake one, just a beeline straight for their side and a slightly strangled (and strangely over-loud, even for Jingyi), "Hello!"

Wildcard~
HMU for a custom starter or throw something at me. :) I'll match brackets or prose.

Jiang Cheng | The Untamed

[legbreakings]

[ individual prompts will go below, contact me if you'd like a specific prompt on Discord or cynicalharlequin Will match brackets or prose. ]

Geralt of Rivia // OTA

[coolmotivestillevil]

A. Body decay like idk July 23

[ Someone doesn't seem overly concerned with what's happening right now. Not because he isn't concerned, but because he doesn't want to give the whoresons responsible the satisfaction. He's kind of trying to ignore it, and he's also made sure to wear something that covers it, despite the heat. Even so, though, the rotting spot on his arm still shows below the sleeve on his wrist, if barely, and, well … It smells.

He's also not about to believe the supposed cure that was provided by the ones who caused it. No, instead, he's scouring the lakeside and the edge of the forest for plants that he may be able to use to create something that could potentially heal it. And how intently focused he is on this task is a good sign of just how concerned he really is. How couldn't he be? It looks and smells not unlike a necrophage bite, and while it obviously isn't, he's worried about how dangerous it is.

If you happen to be in the way of whatever patch he has his mind set on, he'll speak sharply, almost a growl or a hiss between his teeth. ]

Move.

B. Mind decay like July 25

[ Just when he thinks he might be free of it, the world around him turns … bland. The wind still rustles the leaves and the sun still shines as brightly, but he steps out of the cabin and he can no longer quite smell the forest, or the deer that he can hear walking not too far from here. His expression wasn't exactly bright to begin with, but it darkens instantly, lips curling with distaste. ]

You've got to be kidding me.

[ They're messing with his senses now? He needs those. And how come his medallion still hasn't hummed? What the hell is going on?

To anyone brave enough to speak out when he's got this face on; kudos to you. ]

C. Wildcard

Jon Crane | OTA

[timetoplaynow]

It had started this morning, while he was making coffee, his fingers feeling more stiff than usual. But he'd ignored it, put it down to sleeping oddly on his arm.

By midday, however, his fingertips have turned -- well it looks like they've turned to glass. He turns his hand this way and that, watching the ends of his fingers glint in the sunlight. "How interesting."

Daemon Sadi | OTA

[singularwidower]

First Half - Hands Off

"Well that's inconvenient," Daemon says, staring at his now shattered hand. The glassy stump he now sports glitters where it has sheered off at his wrist. He...perhaps needs to do something about this.

Hrm.

The lakeside seems to be a regular meeting-ground, and so that's where he goes, eyes sharp for someone seeming to be suffering any sort of strange bodily ailment.

"You," he says when he finds one and sidles up, eyes sharp and a little bit predatory. He tips his head toward the offending damage. "Might you and I come to an arrangement?"

Second Half - Psychic Bleed
[A Network Post, to begin.]

You are all thinking far, far too loudly, and if I am having psychic bleed-through, I can only imagine the horror that the rest of you are going through. I have found that I can shield enough to dampen other's thoughts for a short period of time. And if I can do it for myself, I can do it for you, in case you are not interested in bleeding to rid yourself of the voices. Thus, I am offering.

wei wuxian, open + closed

[mannerless]

█ 24th (ANYWHERE)


( this part is kind of just to grab attention for his network post! )




█ 27th, mid-day (FOREST)


( wei wuxian would like to think that he's held it together pretty decently so far. his sight and hearing seem to have leveled out now that he can't feel a single inch of his skin - and how lucky is that, to lose a sense that just makes it easier to bleed without making anyone feel guilty for it? or so he'd argue. he'd also argue, if pressed, not to worry about the angry voices (spirits? hallucinations?) either, since he's quite accustomed to ignoring mutinous whispers in his head.

so this trip out into the woods, it's just... a bit of fresh air, that's all! definitely not trying to avoid his housemates, who thus far have been thoroughly convinced that he's about as unaffected as one can be. one hand grips chenqing, white-knuckled - the flute goes everywhere he goes, but even on top of that, he's considering the distinct possibility that he might be able to play a bit of the right melody and rouse his own latent resentful energy to drown the new spirits(?) out with his own. it's a weak plan, and it's one he definitely shouldn't cave to, but that doesn't make it any less tempting. they're getting louder now, despite his best efforts. leveling accusations at gods-only-know who, showing him things he doesn't want to see -

a fallen branch snaps to his right, and he whirls on whoever approaches, flute raised in defense, eyes sharp and haunted. a moment later he seems to realize himself, lowering the flute with a sheepish chuckle. ) Ah, sorry - are these your woods? ( he hadn't spotted a cabin, but he's also a bit too distracted to trust that right now. )




█ 27th, just after midnight (FOR SIZHUI)


( anyone in the cabin a half-hour before midnight likely heard wei wuxian leave in a rush. now, barely less than an hour later, he (or at least someone) can be heard stumbling haphazardly back through the door. the door shuts too heavily, aided by wei ying leaning just as heavily back against it, and he calls - ) Lan Sizhui! If you have a minute, ( with a veneer of casual that can't entirely mask that something is Wrong.

the wei wuxian that sizhui finds leaning against the door is more reminiscent of the one that lan zhan dragged out of the burial mounds with decoys painted in blood on his stark-white shirt than any wei wuxian that has been seen in vestige thus far. his face is terribly pale, and much of his weight is supported by the door, eyes closed to fight back a wave of dizziness. his sleeves are hiked up most of the way to his elbows (they've slipped down farther than he meant them too, now getting thoroughly bled on), and the inside of each forearm bleeds from a terrible gash from the rolled-up sleeve to just inside of his wrist, blood dripping down his shaking hands and onto a pair of bloody linens discarded at his feet (they're useless, they're too bloody to soak up any more of it).

a little assistance would be great. )




█ 27th, after above thread (FOR HOUSEMATES)


( either later that night sometime in the morning proper, wei wuxian can be found occupying the largest couch. he's stripped to his undershirt and trousers (though the latter are covered by a blanket, nice and warm if he could feel such a thing), the loose sleeves of the grey shirt rolled up past the elbow to make room for the firm wrapping of bandages up the entire length of each forearm.

though he has drifted in and out of sleep since he returned, he's awake right now - awake and ready for literally any distraction from the presences lingering in his mind, and so the first person he spots he'll whine - ) I'm so bored, show mercy! Sit over here, talk about anything. ( seeing as the most recent time he tried and failed to get up was about an hour ago (blood loss is terribly annoying once you've lost your golden core), he's not yet trusting of his ability to go distract himself. )

Naminé | OTA

[lethechained]

[ || A. Lake | July 22

[ In the absence of proper drawing materials, Naminé has taken to experimenting with new methods by which to express her artistic inclinations. Although impermanent, a stick and a sandy lakeshore work as a canvas in a pinch - and she is, as a matter of fact, in a pinch.

She's already made short work of one small section of beach; delicate scribbles line it in places where she's sure they'll be at least somewhat safe from the water. The little markings depict all manner of events probably recognizable to anyone who's been in the containment zone for a while, from a disturbing bat-dragon creature to the gas station to the party that took place on that very shore. One might even find themselves if they look hard enough, rendered in a simple yet oddly accurate style just cute enough to be called a caricature.

Naminé isn't far off, in the process of being responsible for yet more of these drawings - or she was, that is, until this very moment, when the stick drops suddenly from her hand. Her soft noise of surprise has an edge of discomfort, her arm pulling in toward her torso as she looks down. Upon catching sight of her fingers, she realizes abruptly that the stiffness in her joints wasn't just from overwork; the glassy texture of her outermost digits is proof enough of that.

Startled, she holds them up as she tries to make sense of what her eyes are telling her. ]


[ || B. Cabin Surroundings\\Road | July 25

[ Today, Naminé is busy.

Despite having recovered from her earlier affliction, she looks... preoccupied. She's also more stylish than is strictly an everyday occurance, assuming one considers wearing sunglasses to be an automatic +3 to fashion. The eyewear in question is cheap and gaudy and pink and doesn't really go with her simple white dress at all, but she seems dead set on wearing them as she makes her way from tree to tree, walking with purpose - if a bit unsteadily. She pauses at each trunk, placing something on it before moving on to the next.

Eventually, either all this activity has tired her out, or there's some other reason she sits down under one of the aforementioned plants, tucked not quite out of sight from the road. Although her posture is normally proper, this time it seems she's elected pull her knees up to her chest and press her face into them, sunglasses and all. ]


[ || C. Cabins | July 26

[ If one didn't happen to see Naminé wandering through the forest the previous day, it might come as a surprise should one happen upon a tree marked with a sticky note. They're not exactly the ideal way to adhere something to bark, and a few may have fallen off - but the ones that are where they're supposed(?) to be have been labelled with large, clearly written numbers.

And should one's curiosity get the best of one, those numbers can be followed back along a path toward one of the cabins near the lake. This particular cabin isn't anything special; nothing seems out of the ordinary from the outside... except for the fact that the front door is standing open. In a place like this, well - that's probably not a good sign. ]


[ || D. WILDCARD | Anywhere

[ Choose your own adventure! For the record, Naminé will also be experiencing the ambient telepathy effect during the later part of the event, so presumably that'll be going on in the last prompt, if not prompt B as well. ]

Nie Huaisang | OTA | 500 years late with no Starbucks

[porndealer]

7/21 | Video - UN: @ nie.huaisang

[The video is shaky as it attempts to focus on something, it looks like Huaisang might be holding glass or small crystals, they catch in the mid day light... at least until the camera focuses finally and it's made clear it's the tips of his fingers to the first knuckle.]

I don't know what's happening or when or how... I swear I didn't touch anything strange! What do I do? How do I stop it? I-It's slowly moving up my fingers, I can't feel it, but l-look!

[He shoves the phone camera in closer, which only blurs the view for a moment.]

You can see it! Oh this is horrible! I just wanted to look at the birds in the woods!


7/24 Gas Station Smash:
(Before Fran's network post lol)

[Trying to keep his mind off that fact that he was slowly turning to glass, Huaisang wandered off to the gas station to snoop around. It had quite a lot of things in it that were a mystery to him. Food and clothing, literature. Mostly he just wanted anything that would distract him. For a while the many magazines and a newspaper captivate him, in fact he's rolling a couple up to tuck into the crook of his glass arm to bring back to the cabin with him.

Once his arm got to the elbow of turning to glass he'd bent it and kept it against his body, so it would at least be stuck in a way that was easy to work with. Tucked against him more like a broken arm in a sling. It has at least made for a convenient holder for things. So with a handful of magazines rolled up and tucked into the crook of his glass arm, Huaisang has a peek into one of the freezers, peering through the partly frosted glass. Nothing he could see was anything he recognized, but he was learning that trying things was the only way to figure out what was good or not. It was more fun with someone there to try it with though.

Alas. Alone he'll open the door-- er, try to open the door? The suction on the door fights with Huaisang as he tugs for a bit, wondering if he's just that weak. It would be easier with TWO hands.]

Maybe it's locked? Why would they lock the food, that would just be cruel.

[Like his arm turning to glass wasn't already. So he tries again, giving a big hearty tug and- it's way too much force than he needs and the door swings open, but Huaisang is thrown off balance and stumbles, falling glass arm first into a shelf. Thankfully he doesn't seem to be hurt, nothing feels like it hurts at least. Until he stands up right and glass pieces start falling out of the sleeve of his robe.]

Wha- no- NO!

[The horrible realization hits him and Huaisang grabs at his "arm" feeling nothing but jagged pieces of glass in his sleeve, digging into his hand. More pieces fall to the floor and he'll fall to his knees to try and collect them up, desperately muttering "no no no" to himself as he starts to tear up. The glass cuts his hand as he does smearing a bit on the floor.

Anyone who stumbles into the gas station will find a sobbing Huaisang sat pitifully beside the open freezer with a pile of glass that was once his arm.]

number five | tua | ota

[callidus]

July 23rd - Almost Down by the Lake

[ five gingerly touches the dead flesh just barely visible between his sock and his shorts. he scrunches up his face, both in pain and because of the realization that he'll have to burn these clothes soon. once the smell of dead flesh gets in, it's hard to get back out. the smell is why he's on his way to the lake. it was filling up the cabin and making him nauseous (not that it was simply the smell doing it. the feeling is sticking with him even outside), and before too long, it would likely seep into the wood, making the cabin uninhabitable. of course it didn't seem too much like it would matter, he could just head to another cabin, so that's more of a secondary issue. his leg is the primary issue here.

he stops for a moment to pull off his blazer and undo his tie, using the blazer to mop sweat from his forehead (he feels like he's burning from the inside, out) before tossing both to the ground. he takes a seat next to them. he's gone far enough.

five carefully rolls his sock down to his ankle, face twisted in pain each time his sock touches his leg again, revealing the full extent of the damage. yesterday, it had only been his foot. of course he saw the rot further up, but didn't quite realize it was the entire bottom half of his leg. whatever this is, it's aggressive.

he digs around in his pocket for one of the knives he grabbed from the gas station and opens it up, staring at it with his jaw clenched and his eyes wide. there are some stupid ideas swirling around in his head but instead he simply drops the knife on the ground next to himself.

doing away with the leg entirely seems a little extreme, but maybe it's what he needs to do to stop the spread ]