Atramentum | OP style | ED style | episode guide | magic/academy | guild

❝ The motion of these vermin is like that of ink; at least, a nightmarish sort. They bulge into massive bubbles and balloons and thin to threads and spindles, eternally shapeless things that catch and consume everyone and everything in its ooze faster than most could even hope to blink. 

And, yet, in spite this, there are still people to save, and by God, that is a good enough reason as any to keep trying.❞ 
-- a lecture from the Academy, 18XX

by salice-is-an-idiot@DA

QUICK NOTES 

• BW WORLD WITH HINTS OF COLOUR 
  
• PLAGUE OF INK DEMONS 
  
• AND PLAGUE DOCTORS
• SO SHONEN THIS PLOT LMAO.

WORLD INFO 

• The world is composed of very tall, pointy buildings high above a trash and rubble covered ground, and connected by bridges and cable carts, which are the main means of transportation. Some richer people have their own private gondolas. (AND LOL SOME PEOPLE CAN USE HOOKS AND THEIR OWN WHEELS TO GET AROUND TOO) 
  
• Everything is completely washed over in black and white. Colour is sparse-- mostly present in clothing highlights, and the denizens' extremely vivid eye colours. 
  
• The better parts of the city are extremely well lit by white ink magic. Said magic is produced by seals in a magic person's fingertips. When dragged against walls, the walls light up. 
  
  Also towards the center of the city are white ink wells in the form of columns of aquariums and even entire walls composed of contained white ink. At first glance, you think they are marble, but then you see mechanical fish swimming in the ink. The mechanical fish churn the ink and are also testers for the white ink's purities. If impure, the mechanical fish will stop working, and float to the surface. 
  
  
• The worse/lower parts of the city have more faulty/flickering lights and less white ink wells. The very worst/outer-edges of the city is almost covered in all black with fewer still ink wells, and is extremely dangerous to venture into. 
  
• It is very common and very wise to purchase pre-lit lanterns from your friendly neighborhood plague doctor/magic user just in case you get stuck in a rut of darkness/shadow! 
  
• The clothing style is similar to this, in that sunglasses are common (due to the light and the infection--see next header) and so is plaid and other similar patterns.

PLOT 

• The world is infected with ink demons that run rampant like the plague. Said ink demons infect people by hiding in their shadows, and over the course of one month, irreversibly consume them. 
  
  The process of infection in detail are as follows. 
  - you can only be infected by people infected with powerful ink demons. they infect you by dripping ink onto your shadow. 
  - the ink settles into your shadow in the form of a mark, or brand. it takes an average of 48 hours for the mark to form into a portal, and another demon to crawl out of it. 
  - the demon then proceeds to take you over. it takes a month for this to happen. (SEE SYMPTOMS BELOW). 
  - when smaller demons successfully take over a person, they can force said person to hide in darkness, so that they may become more powerful. 
  ww- when they are powerful enough, they too can force their host to infect other people. 
  
  The symptoms in detail are as follows: 
  - their incredibly vivid eyes become desaturated, and dulled until the are completely covered in black. (which is why shades are common) 
  - they lose their wills, and get thrown into insanity and are forced to infect other people by dripping ink into their shadows. 
  - And, over the course of one year, slowly get digested!
  - There are those very very very few that are able to control their demons, and infect other people willingly. 
  -It is not recommended to attempt to control your demon, for THE FAIL RATE IS SUPER SUPER HIGH. 
  
  
• Being in light slows and weakens the symptoms, but there is no common cure after one month (SEE EXCEPTION HOWEVER FOR BELOW). Many of the infected seek residence towards the center of the city in order to stay alive as long as possible. 
  
• Plague doctors also help control the plague, provided you find one one month before you are completely infected.
  Plague doctors work with their assistant scribes in the following way! 
  - The person is weakened LMAO. PROLLY TENDERIZED ALL GOOD YEAAAA 
  - Certified plague doctors use white magic to draw the demon out. 
  - Not-certified use other means, like black magic! 
  - If successful, the person vomits out ink into bottles. 
  - A demon's power is measured in how much of the bottle it fills. One liter is a very strong demon, 10ml is very weak. 
  - The scribe then uses (usually white) magic to draw all that ink into a pen and seal the demon onto special paper. Demons can then be destroyed completely by burning those papers. 
  -...But, most plague doctors keep them in albums for reputation's sake. The more successful exorcisms, the more business you get HON HON HON. 
  
  
• There is a theory (and numerous testimonies) that if a person is very strong, and the plague doctor is EXCELLENT BEYOND BELIEF, that a person that has been infected for more than one month (but before the end of one year) can successfully expel their demon. 
  -This can be done when the demon is pushed/condensed into one of the infected person's limbs. 
  -And then the limb is amputated * >* They can get prosthetic limbs tho YEE!! 
  
  
• The government is weak, but good and tries very hard to reduce the effects of the plague. TOO BAD THEY'RE POOR...!
  
• Although most plague doctors are very good, there exists a group dedicated to capturing ink demons and infected individuals that are able to control their demons. Said group then conducts research to see if they can harness the power of ink demons and then take over the weakened government. There are rumours that even some certified plague doctors are a part of this group!! UH-OH!