#horror setting

[lookingskyward]

I present to you, the horror movie setting that is a hotel hallway:

[dr-abigail-richelieu]

Vampire Life Cycle And Reproduction.

In this entry we'll discuss the life cycle and reproduction of Homo Sapiens Homovorus.

Do note that a lot of the more biological data was taken by observation on ancient vampiric remains, as our test subjects at the institute wouldn't give us accurate data as they're not full vampires.

What our test subjects can, however, give us is a fair assessment of vampiric behaviour regarding mating rituals.

Reproduction:

Vampires exhibit little to no recognizable sex drive, with reproduction serving a purely functional purpose, accompanied by minimal dopamine release. The act itself is highly mechanical, efficient, and occurs rapidly, initiated through a complex non-verbal mating ritual. While this process appears intricate to human observers, it is straightforward for vampires. It involves a combination of facial expressions, pheromonal signals, and other non-verbal cues, though to a human, it may simply resemble two vampires staring at each other from a short distance. If both parties answer positively to this then mating occurs, if not then best case scenario they'll both go their separate ways. Worst case scenario, they’ll fight each other.

Gestation:

The gestation period of Vampire is around 34 weeks, during this time the mother is much more vulnerable, however she still poses a huge threat. The mother gains some weight but it's genuinely not that noticeable, instead of a bump on the belly it is just like she has gained a bit of weight.

At birth, the infant vampire will weigh between 1kg and will usually fit in its mother's palm. It doesn't cry or make much noises and it will be highly dependent on its mother for the first few months but will quickly grow, reaching around 3kg in 4 to 6 weeks.

By the 8th week of its life, it's already quite mobile, able to move mostly on its own, but not walk yet and will even help hunting in a very disturbing way. By being a lure. You see, juvenile vampires still have a “Baby Schemas” which are a set of infantile physical features such as large head, big eyes, round faces which are meant to be perceived as cute to activate caregivers behaviours in individuals. Now we know this does not work on vampires at all (we know thanks to brain scans showing atrophy in OFC-amygdala connections, and vigorous testings, some which I personally participated myself and others more morbid than what I personally deem unnecessary) so why would their offspring have these traits? We believe that it was a way to bait humans, imagine being alone in the woods and seeing an infant wandering around, you'd follow it only to be met with its mother…

In fact the whole baby schema seems to have been present in not just the juvenile but also the adults… We know vampires had bigger eyes and smoother features and while we've long believed it was unrelated, some of us now believe in the possibility that some vampires used this to try and appear less threatening to our ancestors. This does seem to echo myths of strange beautiful and youthful forest people seen throughout history…

I'm getting over myself, anyway Vampire maturation occurs rapidly, though it’s more complicated than simply an accelerated version of human growth.

For vampires, toddlerhood spans from 5 months to 2 years of age, early childhood lasts from 2 to 5 years, and then childhood typically extends from 5 to 13 years old. Thus, they develop into children much faster than humans but remain in that state far longer. Adolescent spans between 14 to 17 years of age. Vampires reach sexual maturity much later than humans do at around 20 years old, I theorised that their body priorities predatory developments, and a combination of other factors, such as food scarcity is why they mature a bit more slowly than us. It wouldn't be sustainable to breed at the same rate as your prey

Just as their development differs from ours, so do their reproductive physiology in key ways.

Female vampire biology utilizes both induced ovulation and endometrial reabsorption. Meaning that not only is ovulation triggered by the act of mating itself but the uterine lining is also reabsorbed instead of being shedded.

Meanwhile, male vampire biology utilizes on-demand gametogenesis, where sperm production is triggered only in specific environmental/pheromonal cues. This results in a lower baseline testosterone which contributes to their androgynous appearance However since spermatogenesis isn't instantaneous this means that there's a lag between the triggering cue and functional readiness, to mitigate this lag, their physiology utilizes a dormant reserve of viable sperm, perpetually maintained in their specialized epididymis. To store the sperm the epididymal lining secrete a specific glycoprotein and enzyme that suppress sperm motility and metabolic activity, placing them in a state of suspended animation. During this dormancy, the Sperm's mitochondria are downregulated and its cell membranes are stabilized against oxidation.

[dr-abigail-richelieu]

In an earlier entry, we discussed vampire packs. Surprisingly, despite their extremely antisocial nature, we have found evidence that vampires would form packs. Early in their evolution, they were somewhat social animals and would form packs. In later periods before their extinction, they apparently began forming packs again to make hunting humans easier. These packs typically consisted of a mother and her brood, with a hierarchy likely based on dominance. Essentially, the strongest individual was the pack leader.

Even so, these creatures remained highly antisocial. They didn't live together; when not hunting, the pack would occupy a large territory, with each member living separately. While vampires never really developed their own society, we do think that these packs did develop a very basic form of it and even a very basic language. 

In 2001, a huge burial ground was discovered in Eastern Europe, near Russia. Investigations by anthropologists and archaeologists revealed that the area was, in fact, the hunting ground of a vampire pack. Their housing was found shortly after: a huge cave system that appeared to have been artificially expanded. The entire underground system extended around half a kilometer in total. The remains of around 15 individual vampires were found, each in their own chambers. Most seemed to have died while hibernating. It is believed that they had exhausted their main source of food and decided to go into hibernation, possibly hoping to awaken when food became available once more. Most of their remains were relatively well preserved, which is to be expected thanks to their ability to enter suspended animation, this “undead phase” essentially had them mummified themselves alive… The oldest vampire in the group was found in the biggest chamber, we suspect she was the matriarch of the clan.

Using bone histology such as osteon counting and dental analysis of her remaining teeth, and other methods more finely tuned to vampires, we were able to estimate her age before death to be around 143 years, not counting any past hibernation, however, using advance Histopathological Examination of her soft tissues, such as the state of collagen and elastin fibers and more, we were able to determine that she was biologically around in her mid to late 20s, which is to be expected from Vampires. 

Homovorus have plenty of adaptations against senescence, the most prevalent being an increased telomerase production to maintain telomere length, which is associated with cellular longevity. Cells can divide way more times before reaching senescence. Another adaptation being the production of antioxidants enzymes protecting them from the harmful effects of radiant oxidation and ionizing radiation. In short Vampires are essentially immune to senescence, they do not age, at least not physically. Once they reach adulthood at around their early 20s they will not physically age anymore, however they're bones will still degrade overtime, causing them to become weaker and unable to hunt as efficiently as before, but that isn't it. They're superior production of collagen also aids them; this consistently high rate of collagen production, ensures their skin and connective tissues remain youthful and heal quickly. They also retain high levels of active stem cells throughout their lives. In humans, stem cell activity declines with age, but in vampires, this activity remains constant or at least higher than in humans, allowing for continuous efficient tissue repair and regeneration almost akin to that of human juvenile. We believe that the reason for such adaptations to have emerged is because of a combination of factors, but mainly because of their already low reproduction rates. Because of this, a long lifespan and extended periods of reproductive viability was advantageous, as it allowed individuals to contribute to the gene pool over a longer time. We do not know as of late, when or even if Homovore reaches reproductive senescences… In any cases, we'll discuss such topics in another entry focusing on Vampire reproduction.

Going back to the discovery, it's important to precise that while the Matriarch’s bones were degraded they weren't at all as damaged as one would expect of such an old individual. She could very likely still be active in her community, if not it's very likely that she wouldn't have been tolerated by the others, even if they were her own kids, and perhaps even participate in hunts, though to a much lesser extent. We can also see that she had a lot of healed bone fractures and much more such as dental work and even dental implants, using carved bones (these implants were quite honestly very well done, almost indistinguishable visually from other teeths) This tells us two things.

1: This clan of vampires was capable of primitive yet very impressive medical feats.

2: These vampires were able to show forms of compassionate behaviour. One could argue that these interventions were done in the name of efficiency, so that others could heal faster and burden the others less, however some of these interventions weren't as seemingly necessary for the survival of the individual and more or less done for her comforts.

In other chambers we discovered primitive yet complexed tools as well as a few cattle pens, most likely used for keeping humans. We essentially uncovered substantial evidence of tribal culture and technology. Among the findings were even symbols, writings on birch bark scrolls, and most impressively, cave paintings. These paintings were intricate and detailed yet disturbingly macabre. Many depicted human faces contorted in agony or mutilated corpses. While unsettling, such imagery wasn't entirely unexpected. Vampires, being our natural predators, evolved not only to hunt us but also, as some researchers have shown, to preserve their victims for extended feeding.

One chamber stood out for its striking details: On the wall, there was a meticulous drawing of a human head frozen in a scream. In front of the painting, a skull rested upon an improvised counter, undoubtedly the model used for the artwork.

In conclusion, while Homovorus was typically a solitary and antisocial species, it was still capable of forming groups or tribes under certain circumstances. We still have a lot of learning to do concerning these fascinating beings

Exemple of symbols we found in the cave

[dr-abigail-richelieu]

Vampires were an extinct human subspecies, discovered and then de-extinct through morally questionable genetic engineering research in the year 1981 by The Genomic Innovation Institute (or G.I.I) in an attempt at finding cures for some neurological disorders through gene therapy and tweaked retroviruses. Thanks to these… Morally questionable experiments, It was discovered that some specific dormant genes were extremely widely spread throughout the population and that these genes could be reactivated in some individuals. In certain cases some of these genes express spontaneously. This gave rise to the theory that some neurological disorders could at least partly arise from the expression of these genes albeit in a very “broken” and rudimentary form. Essentially the treatments to cure certain types of neurological disorders turned out to activate some of these dormant genes, essentially turning the test subjects into what we now call a Vampire. The Genomic Innovation Institute decided to pursue research on this subspecies, hoping to turn a profit. Thanks to them, we now have a complex understanding of Vampires…

They were humanity's natural predator, emerging between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago, around the same time as Homo sapiens, or at least shortly after. They hunted our ancestors with brutal efficiency, to the point that even though we eventually forgot about them (before bringing them back from extinction), they remained engraved in our cultural memory. For lack of better words, they were the things we feared were in the dark.

It's difficult to identify ancient vampire remains, as their identifying traits are primarily neurological and soft tissue-related. However, their skeletal structure does have some minor differences, which allow for identification now that we know what to look for. It seems that vampires began going extinct around 2000 BCE, with their population drastically reducing as civilization emerged. Their extinction was due to more than one factor. 

-Vampires were extremely antisocial, which makes sense for a predatory species whose prey resembled it that much. This however did complicate mating between vampires because vampires didn't just tend to ignore each other but would see other vampires as threats and would often attempt to dispatch each other upon contact. Since sexual dimorphism is quite lacking in Vampires, which not only resulted in both of the sexes looking very androgynous, it also meant that both Male and Female had essentially the same musculature and strength and general ferocity, sexual coercion would have most likely resulted in one or both of the party's demise or heavy maiming, rendering it extremely inefficient. Plus, vampires seemed to generally be very uninterested in copulation, though it did happen from time to time. Strangely enough all of this seemed to have made the idea of mating with humans more appealing for some Vampires which is why like with Homo Neanderthal, Vampiric DNA can be found in modern day humans. (The mating behaviours of Vampires will be discussed more thoroughly in another chapter)

-The Emergency of euclidean architecture seemed to have greatly affected vampires. We discovered that in their eyes, the receptor cells that respond to horizontal lines are cross wired with those that respond to vertical ones. When both are fired simultaneously in a specific way it'll result in quite a violent seizure. We call the effect “The Crucifix Glitch”. While the glitch will only trigger when intersecting right angles occupy more than 30° of visual arc, we discovered, thanks to our currents subjects, that the simple suggestion of the Crucifix Glitch being triggered is enough in 75% of cases to completely dissuade an attack, if they had been exposed to it previously (depending on the vampire's current emotional state). These seizure are quite violent, reminiscent of Tonic-Clonic seizures, but because of the vampire's particular muscular structure and their higher distribution of fast twitch muscle fibers, these seizures tend to result in dislocated limbs much more often than regular seizure. Plus, with the Vampire's unique neurochemistry, we suspect that the seizures are much more distressing for them. In conclusion, the seizures caused by the Crucifix Glitch are extremely traumatizing and painful for vampires to the point that any right angles, even if not in a context that could induce the glitch, will usually make a vampire extremely uncomfortable and anxious (work best if they've been exposed to the glitch at some point in their life). Because of this a lot of the vampires did not even dare to approach human settlements with euclidean architecture, which greatly complicated things for the overall survival of the species.

-Vampires make for terrible parents. Given their natural antisocial behaviour, it’s unsurprising that they aren’t the best caregivers. Despite their longer lifespans, one might expect them to invest more time and effort in their offspring, but this is not the case. In fact, it’s quite the opposite; their longer lifespans and fertility lead them to essentially not value their offspring, as they can always have another later on in life. The father is most likely going to be completely absent, as he typically feels no compulsion to ensure the survival of his offspring. The mother, on the other hand, while interested in her child's survival, is not as invested as one might expect from a primate species. She won't hesitate to abandon her offspring if she considers it a liability. She'll usually take care of it up until it's pre teenage years where she'll abandon it. However, some exceptions to this were found, as we've recently found proof of a Vampire Pack, more on this in a later entry.

-Mating with humans: As previously mentioned, vampires tend to be awful parents, to the extent that some began mating with humans. Why? Because it was easier. Human mating rituals were simple for vampires to emulate, and once mating was complete, the male vampire could leave, confident that its offspring would be cared for. Meanwhile, the female vampire could stay with the human and be looked after during her pregnancy, a wolf in sheep's clothing, she could discreetly sustain her need for blood by feeding on humans in the tribe or even her mate. Once she gave birth, she could either leave or continue caring for her children with a continuous blood supply. Another tactic vampire would use to get out of raising their young is “Brood Parasitism”. They would kidnap human children and replace them with their own. We believe that this is what gave birth to the legends of “Changelings”.

Overall the extinction of Vampires wasn't due to one reason but a combination of many things. A reminder of how evolution might screw you over. You may have been a perfectly adapted predator but something seemingly insignificant can truly come back to bite you.

Speaking of biting, the infamous bite of Vampires while not exactly as described in myths, is nothing to joke about...

This is from a setting of mine, where alot of cryptids, myths, etc are real or were directly influence by real events/creatures all explainable by science, kinda like the amazing YouTube Channel ThoughPotato This entry focuses on Vampires which biology and history is inspired and influenced by the Amazing Peter Watts and his just as amazing books Blindsight and Echopraxia (in fact this setting started out as a AU of his awesome universe)

[grayrazor]

My issue with "horror D&D settings" like Ravenloft is that they tend to be written as stuck in spooky mode all the time. It makes you wonder how it all functions day-to-day for normal people; or alternately, how to tell a scary story if everyone everywhere is The Addams Family.

[senpai-fish]

Looking through old notes I had from highschool, and I just rediscovered an old Alice in Wonderland setting I had been working on.  It was based on Final Fantasy and Resident Evil mashed together in a Wonderland setting.

Now I kind of want to revisit it, now that I’ve more experience worldbuilding.

[skunts-own-truth]

Considering actually writing that weird horror/horny clowns vs. vampires story I’ve mentioned a few times. The premise is pretty simple, in that the setting’s great Maker and Adversary destroyed each other early in existence, leaving Angels and Demons left with nothing but their last tasks to work with. Both sides are attempting to manipulate creation and the souls of mankind with no guidance other than those last bits of programming left to them, and the use of elevated mortals as their agents on earth. Demons convert people into vampires, angels convert people into clowns, and both are pretty balanced equivalents of each other. These earthly agents are near immortal beings with specific weaknesses, that feed off of the vitality and emotions of mankind to live forever. Both sides are given tasks sent down from their otherworldly masters; but these tasks often seem pointless or even needlessly cruel in nature. Neither side is good or bad, both sides are cosmic inhuman entities with grey morality, which usually leads to both vampires and clowns to grow completely disenfranchised with their immortal lives and try to break away from their handlers.