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]

[Would he worry Dime if he tells him that he's always like this when he goes out?

Probably! So Haru keeps it to himself and just smiles. He never has any trouble telling when Dime sounds playful, and he's pretty sure he'll never get tired of hearing it.]

Hmm... Somewhere...important?

[Did he say that? What was he talking about? Maybe sótano? He can't think of anywhere else more important to him (except for his apartment - the apartment he know shares with Dime). sótano was where everything started, after all. He still works at the bar, and he likes everyone there, so it's important, right?

There's also the summer festival he wants to take Dime to, but that's not set up yet, so it's probably not that...

Yeah! sótano it is!]

Mm! I haven't taken you to see my workplace yet, right?

[A thought strikes him.]

Ahh... But I haven't seen anyone like you come in...

[Oops. Maybe he shouldn't have said that out loud?]

I'm sorry this is so late ;_;

[sullenstallion]

[He would, but he can also turn into a giant undead deer with skeletal spines to sniff him down if he doesn't come home at the right time.

He'll keep that to himself.]

Yeah. You were really excited to take me there.

[His ears and tail are drooping a little out of guilt over lying to him, but he's had Haru mess with him before. Turnabout is fair play, right?]

Hey, yeah. You haven't taken me there yet.

[He considers smiling, but there's that second part. He scratches at his cheek. He's not sure if Haru means monsters period or just scary monsters that are known to eat people, but it stings a little. When he speaks again, he does his best to sound pleased regardless.]

I don't think they'd take me in. No shoes, no shirt, no service, right? ...But hey, you said there was a mall around here, right? Maybe we should go there instead.

nooo it's ok ;3;

[amnesiact]

[It's a little weird to see Dime's ears and tail droop, which is always something Haru had associated with Dime feeling something not-so-good. Maybe Dime doesn't want to go to sótano...? Haru isn't too sure. But sótano really is important to him, and he thinks they wouldn't mind having Dime...maybe?

Well, whatever. He's never really hesitated to bring anyone to sótano, no matter how weird they are, and he isn't about to let something as small as the possible awkwardness of bringing an undead deer monster inside change his mind!]

Let's try sótano first! [He grabs Dime by the hand.] It'll be fine. [Probably.] Unless you don't want to go?

passes my fever onto you \o/

[sullenstallion]

[Does he not want to go? He doesn't want to go and be turned away at the door. As much as he likes to pretend otherwise, he has feelings, and he doesn't really like it when they're hurt. It's dangerous to be close to people, then, for reasons other than his preferred diet—he's bad at feeling and he's bad at being close to people.

But dammit, Haru makes him want to try. He ducks his head, still resting on Haru from behind, and nips softly at his neck. Given his fangs, it's not hard to leave a tiny mark with very minimal effort. He'd love to see Haru all marked up, actually, as his—he really needs to get a handle on his greed issues.]

I want to go. If you're sure it'll be fine, then...that's what I want to do. I'll try my best not to shed, but no promises, alright?

[He slowly eases off of Haru and steps back, giving him the freedom to move again...but he's already holding out his arm, expecting Haru to grab it or his hand. He's a little surprised at how touchy he's feeling tonight, but that comes with moving in with someone you care for.]

/o\ I HOPE YOU'RE FEELING BETTER

[amnesiact]

[Is he sure it'll be fine?

Not really. But there's no harm in trying, right? He laughs a bit as Dime marks up his neck. His boyfriend is so cute when he's possessive. Haru isn't even worried about having a monster at his neck.

Eagerly, he grabs onto Dime's hand, swinging their joined hands around playfully like a child.]

Let's go, let's go!

[Now that their course of action has been decided, there's no need to hesitate! He had taken the way from the convenience store back to his apartment and then to sótano so many times now, that even he remembers how it goes. In no time at all, they're standing in front of a building. Haru leads the two of them right to the top of the stairs that lead to the basement.]

This is it! Ready to go in, Dime?

[sullenstallion]

[He's not sure it will be fine at all. But he has to be willing to trust Haru in situations like this. It's hard for him to feel comfortable sometimes, and part of Haru's draw, part of what makes Haru so irresistible that he worries he'd keep him as a possession if he tried to leave as a boyfriend...is that Haru is so comfortable everywhere he goes.

Dylas is glad he can't blush while he's undead, because just holding hands and letting his arm be swung around would do that to him.]

Lead the way, Haru. [And at least while he's nervous, he's still sort of...what's that word people use? He's sort of feeling like he's in a honeymoon phase, even if it's just from moving in. He fights past the nerves to add:] I'd go anywhere with you. ...Within reason.

[See, he's trying to be romantic. Wendigo don't usually get to feel like they're on a honeymoon.

Once they're standing in front of the stairs, however, his body language is a bit more tense. His tail is more active, his ears are turning more quickly towards sounds that normally wouldn't make them swivel—a passing car, footsteps. He's used to those things.]

How are my hooves? They've—we've been walking around for a while. They might be dirty.

[He's nervous about leaving a hoofprint. Why did he let Haru get all sexy and offer to go for a walk without his shirt, too? He finds himself scratching at his mane next.]