#taboorp

Alright with all that out of the way—

I have been dying to play out a sun and moon coded pair of boys in a world where vampirism is more like a disease. It is predominantly a blood-borne pathogen that no one really knows the origin of, but it has almost entirely sterilized the population afflicted with it.

In the first recordings of vampirism, it was a plague. Individuals afflicted with it were frequently accused of being witches or demons, and many burned at the stake.

There were battles fought between the rapidly climbing vampire population and what those at the time considered themselves “human”. Vampires are now, save for a small population of outliers, considered animals—with equal to or less than the same rights as domestic animals, depending on the state.

In modern times, there are very few documented cases of someone being born with the disease and what it presents like in children.

Our characters are friends as children—you playing the sun coded character, me playing the moon. The sun’s family dynamic is up to you ofc but I have imagined this with the Sun boy’s family being quite well off. Whereas my character, the Moon boy, was abandoned into the system as an infant and at the time is with a working class foster family. We can work out how the boys meet/become friends, but however it is they’re always happy to be around each other. I wouldn’t say their parents’ are friends by any means (honestly thinking Sun boy’s parents look down on the working class due to generational wealth).

Vampirism is strange. In those who contract it, it causes extreme anemia that can make the infected crave salt and meat. In events of extreme hunger, it has been documented that vampirism affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain and causes complete, animalistic behavioral changes. This is typically paired with a phenomenon that medical professionals loosely call "Frenzy strength". Frenzy strength is an event that is most compatible to hysterical strength; when in a state of extreme starvation, those afflicted are able to access inhuman strength in pursuit of nourishment. They are stronger, there have been claims that they are faster, and they have no thought other than to eat and survive. Individuals that experience Frenzy strength are flooded with adrenaline, increasing their pain tolerance drastically, and this puts them at risk for sustaining injuries. Torn muscles, ruptured tendons, strains and tears, joint dislocation, and broken bones are not uncommon in the aftermath of a Frenzy. Vampires will also experience extreme exhaustion. It has been linked to circadian rhythm disorders. They become violently sensitive to light, garlic, and silver. The former and latter can cause minor to major burns, while the middle causes the symptoms to worsen. Most individuals with vampirism develop porphyria. Though research has not come to understand how, vampirism has rushed an evolutionary adaptation for those infected; they develop a tapetum lucidum (the layer in an animal's eye that allows them to see in the dark and gives their eyes that shine). Those afflicted are able to see 5x better in low light than a human can. Due to this, exposure to sunlight not only burns the skin, but can also damage a vampire's eyes. When hit by sudden lights at night/in areas of low light, the afflicted look like they have red eyes.

Vampires also produce a stronger form of Opiorphin-a natural pain-killing compound present in human saliva. One mg/kg dose of human-produced Opiorphin is the equivalent to 3-6mg/kg of morphine. A 1mg/kg dose of vampire's saliva is comparable to 12-24mg/kg. It is potent and, unlike human-produced Opiorphin, Vampire-sourced can be addictive.

Once an individual is diagnosed, they are stripped of their rights and become property. Vampires are a bit more regulated than the average domestic animal in the sense that the government decides who gets an afflicted individual due to the risk of transmission. Vampires are not publicly well-liked due to propaganda portraying them as blood thirsty, soulless beasts, though there are small rights movements stirring online. A large portion of the dominant religious population believe that vampirism is an act of their deity as punishment for what their Almighty considers a sin. We can develop the religion more if you'd like your character to be a part of that, as that would let you play with the religious guilt themes. My character has complex feelings regarding religion; he was raised in a household that shared that belief.

Our characters are playing together (I imagine they’d have been late elementary school) one day when the Sun boy gets a minor injury and suddenly the Moon boy goes feral. They’re separated before anyone can be hurt, but it’s a fairly terrifying ordeal. Moon boy is immediately taken into government possession. His foster parents are mortified and beg Sun boy’s parents not to sue them—that they had no idea. Sun boy’s parents end up buying Moon boy to appease their son.

Suddenly, Moon boy is spending 24/7 muzzled. His life is forced to contort and fit into the Sun boy’s schedule. He is thrust into a reality that he had no idea really existed, and he is not benefiting from it whatsoever.

Owning a vampire is trendy among high society. It means status, power, control. It looks good in the 1% because it screams that the "owners" are so superior that the government trusts them with a "dangerous beast". The dietary needs of a Vampire make them expensive to adequately care for, and they must be fed properly. Vampire obedience is part of the image that owning one pushes; that ascendancy over even the highest of society. There are expensive schools where vampires can be "trained", much like dogs.

Fast forward into adulthood (be it freshly 18 or later in their 20s) and the dynamic shifts into something more intense between the two of them.

For example, some ideas I had were:

-Sun boy getting Moon boy a permanent silver ankle bracelet with his name on it so it forever leaves a mark/reminds Moon boy of him

-Sun boy cutting the tips of his fingers to drip blood into Moon boy’s hungry maw through the muzzle

-Sun boy being involved in criminal activity (be it as his own person or part of the family) and using Moon boy to dispose of anyone that Sun boy wants to disappear. Allows him to feed Moon boy and handle business in one go.

My idea for this story takes place in twin cities inspired by Zaun and Piltover from Arcane (specifically season 1), with more of a gothic aesthetic–

Velmora was once a single, sprawling coastal metropolis built atop rich subterranean deposits of a metal with higher corrosive resistance than Rhodium. As demand for this substrate grew, so did the depth and aggression of extraction. Tunnels webbed too deep, supports were an afterthought in pursuit of wealth. Entire sections of the city began to shift as the earth softened beneath their foundations.

Then it gave way. Districts sheared downward, streets folded, structures were dragged into the earth as if swallowed. The coastline fractured, opening a vast rift that split the city into two uneven halves. Fires burned where infrastructure ruptured. Biological stores ruptured with them, flooding the lower depths with unstable matter. This event has been named The Rift.

The two halves have connected once again via a thin, floating bridge. Present-day Velmora’s side has a guard post that approves or denies entry into the city via the bridge. Below stretches a vast, jagged chasm wide enough in some places to form its own microclimate. Steam wafts from its depths, and red light flickers in the recesses from bioluminescent growth and industrial burn-off. The bridge connects Velmora's mid and upper tiers to the safer edges of Offal’s upper sprawl. The deeper regions of the city remain inaccessible except through unofficial routes, maintenance shafts, or old collapse tunnels. Both sides can see each other from across the gorge.

Velmora –

A city of pale structures and green-accented interiors. Velmora’s districts are laid out in wide arcs and precisely measured grids. Estates are luxuries for the particularly wealthy, but most residents of Velmora reside in apartment blocks. Most buildings are designed with rib-like supports as part of the integral structure and have carefully designed ventilation systems. Considered the uppercity, it retained its name. The disaster that was The Rift is remembered as a tragedy, but is deemed “nature’s correction” by many. With access to one of the main building materials used in the city cut off, Velmora had to destroy many structures in order to produce the supplies needed to build the floating bridge, but has since recovered after regaining access to its mining tunnels.

The city built upward and outward, reinforcing foundations with bio-structures designed to resist further collapse. Entire districts were redesigned to be flexible, stronger, and more shock absorbent. Tram systems connect districts, but the main method of transportation around the city is via foot or bicycle. Central sorting houses distribute written correspondence with couriers operating on a strict schedule.

Officially, Velmora did not abandon the lower half of the city. It was deemed “unrecoverable” until Velmora had stabilized again.

Velmora boasts itself as a center of trade, innovation, and biological mastery. Its harbors connect it to distant regions, drawing in wealth, talent, and influence from across the world. Its mastery of bio-engineering has shifted its society’s view on body modification; bio-tech enhancements are selected more for elegance than for performance. The distinction between improvement and ornamentation has thinned to nothing.

Family names carry significant weight, shaping access to opportunity, political influence, and social standing within a rigid hierarchy based on said name. An individual from a family with a legacy built on successful trade, civic leadership, and dedication to the city is very likely going to have more opportunity than someone from the merchant class. Appointed authorities of Velmora maintain control with little restraint, often exercising brutal measures along the the boundaries with Offal.

Velmora relies on Offal for access to critical building materials, experimental data, and black-market biological material. High ranking families and companies often utilize the lack of restrictions in Offal, using it as a testing ground for unethical medical trials. Anything that comes into Velmora is processed and purified, with only the safest materials being used and the less than ideal is sold back down at a beastly cost.

Food in Velmora is clean, optimized, flavor is prioritized over function. Green-house grown produce, controlled livestock, and preserved goods. Individuals in Velmora have easier access to a balanced diet, though it is subtly balanced and regulated through availability and pricing. Meals are regular, portions predictable, and shortages rare. Illness from food in Velmora is almost unheard of. All food is grown in controlled bio-domes away from the public eye, and only specialists work there.

Children in the lower and middle classes of Velmora are assessed early for biological and cognitive traits. Early education is standardized, then they are funneled into roles where they’re expected to function best. Advancement depends on testing, sponsorship, and family standing.

Offal –

The lower city, Offal was renamed by three of the many citizens that stepped up to lead rescue efforts in the wake of The Rift, in the aftermath of the tragedy. Offal endured more damage than Velmora did in the disaster, and much of the architecture shows such–a lot of buildings are misshapen. Pieced together structures that utilized what wasn’t plundered by Velmora post-bridge construction make up a large portion of Offal’s districts. There is a constant haze from biological runoff that casts the city in dim, red-stained twilight. Offal is a maze of tunnels, pipes, and old structures that have rusted from a lack of maintenance.

It is common for Offal residents to walk through the undercity. Parkour is a skill most Offal-dwellers develop from a young age. There is no formal mail system in Offal; information is most often passed by word of mouth, runners, or coded signals.

The residents of Offal have a strong sense of community. Informal networks of crews and foster units form the backbone of the city. Orphaned children are adopted without hesitation, and Offal-youth are raised collectively. Most individuals from Offal do not sport any surnames, as the chances of losing blood relations are high. Despite this communal foundation, Offal has a pervasive criminal presence driven as much by necessity as by ambition. Offal’s black market thrives on the steady flow of restricted goods from Velmora.

Offal’s lack of regulation has made it a haven for work that cannot exist elsewhere. Biological experimentation outlawed in the uppercity is conducted in the undercity without restraint, often on behalf of Velmoran interests. Entire districts in Offal have been warped by failed augmentations and health issues caused by the rivers of runoff that collect in the lowest reaches. There are still active mining shafts in Offal, and they are worked by the desperate or the defenseless.

People from Offal build themselves from what Velmora residents discard. Mismatched grafts, outdated implants–anything that works, regardless of how it looks. Limited access to stable biotechnology has driven Offal’s residents toward a culture of adaptation and reuse. Education is inherited with skills passed through family units or factions, and what an individual can figure out on their own.

Food in Offal is inconsistent, creative, and often risky due to the biological matter contaminating the area. A lot of individuals consume questionable black-market meat. Flavor is secondary to survival, and the quality of meals varies from day to day.

Due to the excessive force Velmora’s martinets exercise, their presence is met with distrust and hostility by Offal residents.