Monster!AU Lore Drop #4 - Getting Blood-drunk (Patreon)

DISCLAIMER: This lore post won't affect the posting schedule, and the next monster!au comic will post tomorrow as planned!! However, we're getting into some Real Plot now, and I wanted to post this lore drop so that things in the future are easier to understand. Thank you guys again for all your patience with me - you're the best, and I'm so excited to show you what I've got planned!

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What seems like forever ago, Gaz, Ghost and Soap went on what was meant to be a covert recon mission, and turned into a clash with a seemingly feral cockatrice hybrid. Later, Gaz told Price in a one-on-one conversation that he suspected the cockatrice was blood drunk...or "something like that". So, today let's talk about blood-drunkenness!

In the world of the Monster!AU, human blood is considered especially pure - moreso than any full-blooded monster - and incredibly delicious to those who'd partake. The purity of their blood also digests efficiently and makes them a potent raw material - it's what initially led to the first hybrid forms and, in modern times, has become a strong vehicle for experimentation (as seen in Roba's case).

But you can have too much of a good thing.

Gorging is when a monster consumes human blood and only human blood for a certain amount of time. This behaviour induces blood drunkenness, which is a state that mirrors typical human displays of intoxication (clumsiness, slurred words, weaker mental faculties) with one added bonus - for a temporary amount of time, that monster's senses and abilities are heightened. They're stronger, they're faster, they smell better and see brighter - they're juiced, basically. The rapid intake of such a pure substance essentially stimulates their more animal instincts which results in a sort of simmering adrenaline-infused haze.

It's effects aren't the same for every monster. For instance, vampires are unable to get blood drunk at all - they could gorge themselves as much as they could want and all that would happen is that they'd metabolize. Similarly, monsters that considered "blood-suckers" like Roba would get much less of a boost to the system, simply because their bodies are supposed to be able to safely handle it. But for everyone else, they become border-line feral, dangerous and difficult to reason with while in this state.

Thankfully it's temporary, and the hangover that comes after a period of blood-drunkenness is famously excruciating. But the volatile effects are not only alluring, they're also addictive. Because of this, blood intake is heavily regulated, with blood-suckers within normal society getting special provisions.

The reason why Gaz found the cockatrice puzzling is because while a blood-drunk monster can be difficult to talk to, they're not mute. In fact, most blood-drunk monsters babble in a kind of a daze, and lose a lot of their inhibitions. However, the cockatrice they fought didn't speak at all despite being in a very aggravating situation where he'd justifiably want to curse all three of them out. Instead, all he did was screech in an animalistic and desperate way. It was a small thing to notice, but Gaz did pick it up and it just rubbed him the wrong way.

Anyway, that's all for now!! If you're confused, drop a question in the comments and I'll do my best to reply :)

P.S Roba's juiced-up, feral state could be confused with blood-drunkenness at a glance, but he's technically just drugged. He didn't consume an exorbitant amount of blood, and even if he did, it wouldn't have affected him much because he's a chupacabra, and they consume blood regularly. He only got to that state because the blood he drank was experimented on by his "vampire friend" and had more to it than your average bloodbag. This is also why Price's first words to him upon seeing his new state in the courtyard is "What did you do to yourself?". He knows that gorging wouldn't have gotten Roba to this state, so clearly he's hopped up on something else.