secret monstars

[dyingmessage]

this secret needs keeping



By day, a normal, law-abiding citizen; by night, something fearful. We all know the stories. Getting attached is dangerous, they say, when staying alive depends on keeping a secret, on being able to sever connections at the drop of a hat, pull up roots and put them down in a foreign place. But even the inhuman among us crave connections, it seems. Why else would we all know the stories?

Someone here has a secret. Who will stumble upon it? Will they help keep it?

HOW TO PLAY:
- Comment with character. State your preferences - preferred scenarios or monsters, shipping permissions, and any pertinent information or premise ideas.
- Comment to others. Play whatever first comes to mind, mix and match prompts to build a scenario, or RNG it.
- Monster prompts are thematic categories because there are so goddamn many kinds of spooky things people can turn into in folklore that trying to amass a proper list of individual monsters would be a nightmare.
- Most scenario prompts can be tweaked to accommodate friends/family/ships or strangers/first meetings, and one human/one monster or two fellow monsters. Vagueness is intentional - go wild with the prompts.
- Have fun and play nice!

PROMPTS:

MONSTER - What are you?

1. A beast. A werewolf, kitsune, or other beastly, wild thing in human skin. Some turn involuntarily; some were beast before they ever were human, venturing into society to pick out easy meals. Tend to have especially monstrous mannerisms, and perhaps some options out in the wilderness to fall back on if they're found out - but who would ever want such a lonely life?

2. A bloodsucker. Or soulsucker, or flesh-eater: a vampire or other human-shaped thing that preys on people. The most frightening thing about these monsters is how well they blend into society, despite feeding on the people around them.

3. Fair folk. A member of a species that always has existed on the fringes of human knowledge. They may be less outright threatening than proper monsters, but their strange powers and ancient conflicts with humans make people nervous enough to do stupid things...

4. Dead. You're supposed to be dead, but something happened. As it turns out, ghosts are a little sturdier than fiction makes them out to be...but coming back comes with plenty of strings attached.

5. User of forbidden magic. You're perfectly human, actually, in terms of blood. But you have a power that just isn't popular - it might be something sinister, like calling on demons, or it might be out of favor for political reasons. Either way, you have a choice now - embrace who you are, or try never to think of it again? (Comics-style "mutants" fit here.)



SCENARIO - What's happening?

1. Monster hunter. Where there are creatures lurking in the crevices of human society, there are humans who take up the duty of finding and exterminating them for the greater good. Tonight was a bad night for you, getting into an confrontation like this. And it'll only get worse...

2. Human hunter. "Will you walk into my parlor?" said the spider to the fly. (And for the sake of dramatic tension, the fly said yes.)

3. Whoops. You didn't intend to blow your cover like this. But when the choice was between keeping your nature under wraps or letting - that - happen, it was clear what you had to do. Now all that's left is to deal with the fallout. Maybe, just maybe, they'll accept you...

4. Standing with you. Secret? What secret?...Well, it's still a secret from everyone else, but having an ally makes keeping a secret so much easier. You have someone to back up your lies, and someone to rely on when the stress mounts. Like now. Now is a good time to rely on someone. Because it's been a bad time for you, and they're not like the others you've been having such problems with.

5. Bad end. A monster getting attached to a human? How did you think this was going to end? Not well! The answer is not well! Now look what you've done, there's blood all over the nice rug! How are you going to patch this one up, huh?

6. Welcome to the club. Young or newly-inducted monsters are notoriously bad at keeping themselves out of sight. That's why they need someone looking out for them. For the transmissable cases of monsterhood, the person who turned them is preferable, but there are always irresponsible sires leaving spots that need stepping into.

7. Find the tells. Nobody will be giving themselves away today. Not intentionally. No, it'll take a careful eye to unearth their true nature. A careful eye, and a cold heart, to suspect that their habits aren't just innocent eccentricities, but signs of a frightful monster lurking. To confront, or remain quiet...?

8. Caught. There's a good reason for all this secrecy, and you're smack dab in the middle of it. Found out, caught, captured, behind bars, awaiting your fate on an examinatio table or at the end of an executioner's blade. Will the next person to come through that door be your salvation, or just the face of further torment?

9. For their own good. Monsters can't get attached to humans! So it's for the best that you cut ties, avoid them, leave the city, the state, the country, no matter how much it hurts. Humans are very persistent when it comes to hanging onto relationships, though, so you'll have to try harder than that.

Comments

[amnesiact]

[His anger had always been a quick-burning thing, and now is no exception. For a moment, he just stares at Dime. He brings up all those (very valid) points and this is Dime's reaction?

...Dime really is something else.

Frowning, more puzzled than angry, he sets his hands on Dime's shoulders and gives them a little squeeze.]

Hey, you're taking this seriously, right...

[sullenstallion]

I don't want to hear that from you. You're the troublemaker.

[Haru's hands, he knows, would be cold if he weren't wearing clothes. Dylas reaches up and places one hand over one of Haru's own. Dylas closes his eyes for a moment, takes a deep breath.]

This is where I want to be. [In Haru's hands. He gives it a squeeze.] Can't you understand that?

[amnesiact]

[That sounds almost...romantic. Not something he had expected from gruff, surly Dime - or maybe he should have expected it? He had always known that Dime was too soft for his own good.

A quiet little laugh escapes him. Ahh, now it looks like he's the one who isn't taking this seriously. But, whatever, he doesn't really care any more. Dime is sure about his choice. Dime really wants to come with him.]

Okay. I get it.

[He leans forward, pressing a kiss against Dime's neck, right over the beat of his pulse.

Then he bites.]

[sullenstallion]

It took you long enough. You're such an idiot.

[He feels like the idiot. Or that they're both idiots. Like often, there's no conviction behind what he's saying. The tension leaves his shoulders when Haru goes to kiss him, because Dylas has no idea that he's going to go for it right then.

He's expecting something gentle and, if he'd convinced Haru, some sort of...more meaningful moment for it later. He's not sure how it works. Instead, the tension returns all at once; he's never let Haru feed on him, and it's not a painless sensation. He digs both hands into him wherever he can, a pained, choked sound forcing its way past his lips—]

Keep going?!

[Look, he has no idea how this works, but he doesn't want Haru to get the wrong idea.]

[amnesiact]

Mnn...

[He doesn't think he could stop even if he wants to. He drinks deep, filling his mouth with coppery red, a sort of warmth that's even deeper and more intimate than sex. He had always enjoyed feeding, but feeding on Dime is something special.

Haru lets out a low little half-laugh. It's pretty amazing - Dime is managing to be cute even now. Haru can hear the pain in his voice (and there's some part of him that feels kind of bad for causing that pain), but Dime wants him to keep going anyway. He really is serious about this, isn't he?

When all of this is over, he'll have to take good care of Dime.]

[sullenstallion]

[He knows what he said.

He knows he isn't backing down.

But that doesn't help Dylas hurt any less, a weak, wet cough rising in his throat as Haru drinks from him. The most shameful part of him had always wondered what it would be like, knew he would let Haru feed on him if he ever asked, but this is different.

But it's still what he wants. Shifting, he holds tight to Haru, his cough turning into rough panting. He won't let go. The lifeless body he clings belongs to the person with the most life. He wants to protect that, be with that, and it's selfish of him—it's selfish of him to put those needs first.

Dylas isn't romantic. He only knows how to blunt, terse, and careless with his words.]

You better not stop—