While I’m figuring out where to post writings,
So what happened to dear old Eddie? Why does he look like that? Why does he now need to eat little guys?
Tldr;
—Long answer under cut!—
This universe is set in a semi-modern fantasy setting. Very basic technology in access like landline phones, television, you get the idea. Though some areas have less than others as they simply see it as less of a priority. Alright? Alright.
Character-specific events
Eddie was an elf that lived in a forest town called Thornbush. Pretty regular guy, floating between physical labor jobs, bit of a ruffian, whatever this universe calls a greaser essentially. As you could guess, he gets into some trouble here and there. One enemy turns into five. Those five may wanna beat the shit out of him for some reason. So on so forth. Never seeks conflict, but can and will fight when he needs to.
Long story short, he got on the bad side of one too many thugs, and they all ganged up on him and threw him over a bridge into an empty canal. Over the course of that night, however, some unknown force worked to keep his body alive, transforming his appearance into something far from elven— or any kind creature that anyone knew, for that matter. Waking up to himself all contorted and wrong, he fled back home and hid away for days on end, terrified of what he had become. The bare thought of food and water revolted him as his innards had been turned into some strange, velvet-like material, devoid of any form of fluid that would typically help carry out the process of digestion. Not wanting to risk the consequence of what would happen if he forced himself to eat and drink as usual— and from being borderline horrified of liquids now as a side effect— he went hungry for weeks. He tried to eat typically inedible things to make himself atleast feel like he was full, but to no avail. His body wouldn’t let him sleep. Still too scared to go outside. Until one day he started to hatch a plan.
He knew he had at least one borrower living with him, so he thought that maybe with some convincing, that borrower could go fetch like, a wizard or someshit. A scholar. He didn’t have that part figured out quite yet. But soon that plan started to be twisted by what he tried his hardest to convince himself was intrusive thought— his body began to crave the borrower. Convinced that they were the solution to this hunger. For a while, the thought only made him even more scared of what he had become, resenting himself further. But eventually, he caved. And somehow, for reasons unknown to either of them, it worked.
What is “The Argus’ Blessing”?
There are 3 gods responsible for the creation and development of this planet— The Mollusk, god of the seas, with a physical appearance unknown to any mortal for if they are to dive down deep enough in an attempt to see it, they never come back. Smultz, god of the land, by far the most involved with the mortals that live in her domain with an appearance that adapts depending on the location, but is most known for her red fox-like form. And finally, The Argus, god of the skies, the culprit to poor Eddie’s ailments. An enormous feathered beast covered in eye-like patterns, neck carved with humanoid faces that it is said to sacrifice every time a sphinx is born. It is often seen dancing in the clouds, not a care for the land below.
Every god has their respective “blessing” and “curse”. A curse comes when an individual does something to upset a god, and their living form becomes contorted into a mindless beast driven only by pain, destroying whatever is in their wake. A blessing, however, comes upon the untimely death of an individual, effectively giving them a second chance at life, though their body is changed to mimic that of whoever favors them. The factors to determine who favors what and why have not been confirmed because, well, the gods don’t wanna fuckin talk to the mortals. “Wouldn’t you like to know weatherboy” mentality.
Blessings render all regular bodily functions typical to keep the living fueled and healthy useless, also stunting the aging process, making them essentially immortal unless something were to kill them again. For The Mollusk, an individuals body is practically dissolved into a gel. They become slime people. All they need to upkeep those bodies is moisture. For Smultz, their bodies become plantlike, though leafy attachments are purely for looks as their needs closer match that of moss.
The Argus has possibly the most inconvenient of the three, being that an individual sprouts wings, feathers, claws, so on, and the entirety of them aside from feathers and hair becomes coated in a fine, velvety material— inside and out. THEIR needs to fuel their body rely on energy that is produced by other living things as they lack the bodily functions to absorb anything else and process it into their own energy. Raw energy is usually pretty well contained in people, unfortunately, but there is one exception; dreams. Their wild, unpredictable nature makes them much harder to contain, so as a person sleeps, it seeps out of them like a dense fog. Those who are blessed by The Argus can see this energy, and can then absorb it through inhalation/general consumption. Heres another problem, though! Its KIND of hard to do that to a full-sized individual! Even moreso if you’re trying to be discreet for any reason! Sitting there sniffing at someone is a pretty inefficient way to get a days worth of energy in.
Solution? Have the person in your stomach, that way any expelled energy is immediately absorbed into the blessed individuals body. In fact, other bodily changes seem to only encourage this method. Skin becomes thicker and can withstand a further stretch (though nothing crazy, as the person can certainly still feel extreme discomfort from pushing it too far), gag reflex is rendered non-functional, instead giving the individual an insane amount of muscular control that allows them to move parts inside of them that people couldn’t usually move, and a much larger stomach. Glands within the stomach now produce a sort of pheromone when it detects that the body is in need of fuel, and this pheromone acts as something to lull prey to sleep once they are inside. Has a really sugary sweet smell to it (think taffy) and thereby affects the smell of their breath. Very few cases of blessed individuals in general exist, and the few that do for those touched by The Argus note that every individual has a slightly different scent.
Side effects may include;
Food-repulsion, intense hydrophobia, complete loss of sleep as sleeping is now just wasting energy, a major jump in height (none of your clothes fit right anymore), inexplicable desires to put people in your mouth out of affection even when you can’t, purring, chirping, trilling, warbling, the argus turned you into a fucking bird, getting bitches, molting every few months, and a natural general attraction to people who are tired. Even if you’re hiding it REALLY well, these people know. And they encourage you take a nap. Right now preferably. Please. Please. Please. Please. Ple
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If you read all of this yapping, THANK YOU!!!! I am sure to share more eventually!!!!! :}
And why yes, a Mollusk-blessed individual would probably get along well with a Smultz-blessed individual. A being that relies on remaining moist and a being that frequently consumes moisture. [taps my stack of paper against my desk]