Info
Original by yoyoflux
"Stretchsterz is thanked for his advice on Negative inclusion!"
Rewrite by: Positive123 Author Page , using the draft of
MarshallThings as a base.
Critiqued by:
centurys lute Author Page
Voshimynuel
Vixiepixie
ReyDay Author Page
endless_waters
captaiin Author Page
DrAkimoto Author Page
XRaggiX Author Page
SquibbleZombie
Praetor3005 Author Page
Greenlit by:
Praetor3005
Languages:Languages:
IOTSPTS:
5
Object Number:Class:
44
ConcordArea of Effect: Object Classification System
Rare
RarityFrequency
Highly lethal
UsefulnessDuration
Majority
LocationIntensity
DESCRIPTION AND PROPERTIES
A collection of empty Cashew Water bottles.
Cashew Water is a highly dangerous liquid, most commonly found in levels with lower entity population. It manifests in bottles similar to clear wine bottles, usually found individually across a wide variety of levels, rarely appearing in groups.
In terms of physical appearances, Cashew Water shares a near identical look and taste to Almond Water, with the only noticeable difference being a strong aroma of cashews, giving the liquid it's name. Further research has shown that the liquid has a PH value of 9.0, as well as a crimson red tint when illuminated by ultraviolet light.
If Cashew Water touches exposed skin, localized numbness will occur, followed by immense pain. It is consistent, and unaffected by the duration or volume of the exposure.
Ingestion of the liquid in quantities below 140 milliliters by a human will cause the opposite effect of Almond Water, where their body will begin to anomalously be removed of calories. Eyewitnesses have reported symptoms resembling early stages of starvation, such as shrinking of muscles, a drop in body temperature, as well as reduced concentration and increased irritability from such a dose. In higher doses, one usually dies quickly before suffering any symptoms beforehand, sometimes convulsing on the floor in their final moments.
When ingested by an entity, however, Cashew Water acts more like a stimulant, granting them higher problem-solving capabilities and proactivity. Tests have shown that the liquid "enhances" their brain activity, causing it to send more electromagnetic pulses.
An example of an airtight container suitable for carrying Cashew Water.
This stimulating effect towards entities can last for extended periods of time, usually ranging from days to weeks. Thus, one must not count on outlasting the effects when engaging in entities that have consumed the liquid.
The powerful aroma of Cashew Water attracts entities very effectively. This has resulted in the consumption of most cashew water bottles by entities, particularly in levels infested by them. This also means that carriers of the liquid are highly vulnerable to entity attacks. Due to this, all Cashew Water must be stored in airtight containers for safety. It's theorized that in earlier times, Cashew Water was as common as Almond Water, as levels with lower entity count have noticeably more Cashew Water. But since Cashew Water was actively sought out by entities for consumption, an imbalance of the two has been caused in levels with higher entity count.
A unique property of Cashew Water is that, upon coming into contact with Almond Water, it gets converted into pure water. The reaction begins with both liquids bubbling out, identical to that of an acid + alkaline reaction. Bubbles and steam are also emanated from the mixture, despite there being no change in temperature. The relatively quick reactions of this, along with the production of harmless byproducts, have lead most people to use this as a primary method of neutralizing the liquid.
Interestingly, the first recorded mix of both liquids according to eyewitnesses, generated a powerful explosion, despite a lack of physical or video evidence of one occurring. Following that was the disappearance of all traces of Smiler Repellent. All attempts to recreate the explosion have resulted in failure.
HISTORY AND USES
HUNTING
Cashew Water's appeal to entities makes it an effective, albeit risky, method of luring, trapping, or confusing them.
Several texts from the Lost have indicated that Cashew Water was used, in bygone eras, to hunt and lure entities for sustenance. A drawing of a rod designed to lure Scits with the liquid was found in an old base of theirs, along with a design for sprayers used to hunt Phobic Centipedes. Cashew Water would be sprayed in multiple areas, confusing the entity and leaving it vulnerable to being stabbed. A small manual about hunting Frost Boars using the liquid to attract the herd was also found.
The hunting of entities eventually dwindled as more levels were mapped out and safer sources of food discovered. Increased knowledge of effective agricultural techniques also contributed significantly to the decline of hunting as a whole. The danger of carrying the liquid also became apparent, as the casualty rate of hunters was quite high.
Hunting using the liquid did not increase until after the year 1970, as establishment of major bases by The Leaders1 in several major levels, increased need for food and resources in the short term. The effectiveness of Cashew Water as bait caused it to be used for hunting far more frequently than before, both by major and minor powers. However, this caused several entities, such as Hens and Swindlebirds to be hunted to near extinction. A significant increase in deaths by entities was also recorded by the Kalag Institute2.
One of the biggest parties at the time that used Cashew Water was Team Artemis of the Ariane Circle3. This team uses the liquid to help gather resources for the group. Other than hunting entities for meat, however, the Team also hunts entities that are classified as Itemic4, such as Junkhunks5, luring them into traps so that they may later scavenge their bodies for scrap.
Eventually, however, increased activity in the Backrooms resulted in more levels being discovered and improvement in technologies. Food could be produced on a mass scale and, similarly to the past, usage of Cashew Water dwindled.
COMBAT
Due to the harmful effects of Cashew Water on humans, it has been commonly employed as a weapon in various inter-human conflicts. Recovered records from the Leaders and Emstable6 contain several proposals and plans for the use of Cashew water in assault, defense, and assassination. However, most of these plans were cancelled—presumably due to the high risk involved, with entities attracted to the liquid potentially ruining these plans, as well as making bases that were assaulted via these methods being potentially infested with entities, making them uninhabitable for a short period of time.
Another major community, which drafted plans to use Cashew Water for combat in the same time period, was the the Slam City Administrative Council7. It is well-known that canisters of Cashew water are stocked in secret locations throughout the level, for use if the city comes under attack by foreign parties. However, while considerations were made to employ them in the war between the Leaders and Emstable, none of them have seen use since their placement in 1961.
Another infamous usage of Cashew Water was during in a battle of the B.N.T.G. Resource Extraction Facility 38, where the squatters of the base fired on M.E.G. personnel using Squirt Guns filled with Cashew Water. Not only did it stun and severely harm multiple prominent M.E.G. field agents, it also attracted several small Wranglers that caused further destruction to the facility.
In most wars, Cashew Water was used as an instrument of torture, as the object is more likely to hurt than kill. Past conflicts have seen the object used for interrogation to harmful effect as well as sabotage in guerilla warfare, such as the war against the Church of the Veiled in levels 6, 7, 8 and 9, as the liquid's effects are incredibly devastating. Hundreds of settlements were destroyed from entity rampages that were drawn to the base by the liquid, along with plenty of cases which wanderers were forced or tortured with the liquid, either through skin contact, which generated immense pain, or through ingestion of the liquid, causing malnutrition.
The resulting harms caused by weaponized Cashew Water have resulted in several debates and conflicts within the Ariane Circle, with Adler, the Leader of Team Thanatos9, requesting multiple times for the complete ban of using Cashew Water by the Circle as a whole. However, due to the reliability of the liquid as bait, all the requests were vetoed by Alexis Laurent, the Leader of Team Artemis. Cashew Water, along with Organiguns still serve as a major tension point with Team Artemis and Team Thanatos to this day.
The Followers of Jerry were another group that used Cashew Water of combat purposes. In their attacks, the liquid was used to incapacitate, and distract, as well as cause panic, so that destruction of established structures could go uninterrupted.
In 2019, a general conference was held in Level 11 between nearly all the major groups of interest as well as several dozens of smaller communities. This conference served to regulate and determine how future conflicts were to be fought. While most major parties participated in this conference, notable exceptions, such as the U.E.C.10 and the Reverence11 did not take part in it. These groups later continued to use Cashew Water without complying with the rules laid out by the conference.
Along with enforcing that no civilians were to be harmed, several objects, including Dumb Gum and Cashew Water, were strictly forbidden from being used in conflict12.
EUTHANASIA
In high doses, one will suffer a quick and painless death upon consumption of Cashew Water. Interestingly, if one dies this way, all pathogens in their body are also exterminated. This includes pathogens native to the Backrooms such as The Disease and Crawlers.
At the time of discovery of this effect, in the year 2022, the M.E.G had completely banned the use of Cashew Water, owing to the efforts of Overseer B and Underseer Somalia Hanks. However, the recent outbreaks of the Crawler Fungus prompted a petition by several members of the M.E.G., lead by Overseer C, to allow for usage Cashew Water for euthanasia towards victims of the Crawler Fungus. Multiple debates were covered regarding the topic, but eventually the usage of the liquid was allowed for research of the fungus.
Unlike the M.E.G., the U.E.C. is known to actively use Cashew Water for euthanasia. During outbreaks of Crawler Fungus, the U.E.C. uses the liquid on the infected to halt progression and contain the spread.
A bottle filled with Cashew Water for researchers infected with Abyssal Ooze.
One of the most infamous examples of this act was during a water leak that brought water, contaminated with Crawler fungus, into one of the U.E.C's smaller outposts in Level 3, named Black House13. Upon hearing of the news, the U.E.C. sent out a division that rounded up all those identified to be infected and force-fed them Cashew Water to prevent an outbreak of the fungus from sprouting up in Level 3. This took out nearly a third of the members in the base, and later resulted in the complete collapse of the community due to being overwhelmed by entities.
In addition to pathogens, another infectious entity affected by their host's death from Cashew Water is Kirai. If one drinks Cashew Water before Stage 3 of infection by Abyssal Ooze, they will die without being controlled by Kirai. This effect, as with Crawler Fungus, has resulted in debate on whether or not the liquid should be used for euthanasia to prevent Kirai from gaining a new host. Eventually, it was agreed that the liquid would be used as a contingency option for Entity 73 researchers that came into contact with Abyssal Ooze.
Cashew Water also later proved useful in neutralizing Abyssal Ooze as well, as the liquid is able to reliably dilute and render Abyssal Ooze harmless. While the M.E.G. did not use Cashew Water for this purpose, the same could not be said for other parties such as the U.E.C., which used the liquid liberally towards all instances of Abyssal Ooze.
TRADING
After the general conference which banned all usage of the liquid in combat, the demand for Cashew Water showed a noticeable decline across factions. However, due to its unique effects, a market for the object still exists.
Unlike most other factions, the B.N.T.G is far more relaxed in terms of Cashew Water usage, supporting the primary market and trading for it at several outlets, such as the Office Market and Office Space EL3A. One may trade or purchase the liquid using B.N.T.G. bucks14 or other items such as Almond Water15. However, these bases won't accept the liquid if it isn't sealed in an airtight container.
The B.N.T.G also uses Cashew Water to set up Safe Havens by spraying the liquid to lure dangerous entities away from their bases and other places of habitation. This is used for several of their bases, including Floor 283 in Level 13 and the Storage Facility at Level 3. Before 2019, one may personally request to move to an unoccupied residence in said areas in exchange for paying a "protection fee"16. However, threats from unknown parties have stopped this practice from taking place.
The B.N.T.G.'s liberal use of Cashew Water has been a sore point in their relationship with the M.E.G., with the latter opposing many of the actions by the former. Multiple requests and diplomatic meetings have been conducted with the aim of stopping the B.N.T.G. from using the liquid to no avail.
Another major dealer for Cashew Water is the Eternal Repository, with their stations and outposts open to trading the liquid. Unlike the B.N.T.G, which accepts money and barter, the Repository only accepts information as a currency. The quantity of the liquid traded will be dependent on the value of the information, as determined by Repository Agents17. Similarly to the B.N.T.G., the Repository will not accept Cashew Water if it isn't sealed in an airtight container.
One may request a deal by contacting the Eternal Repository's official e-mail, or making a request at the reception desk of any Repository base. From there, a member of the Repository will guide one to a designated room. An exchange of information and the liquid is made in the room, then both leave, without ever mentioning the encounter.
However, despite Cashew Water being publicly available through trading, it is still banned in most bases for fear that the liquid may draw in entities. The M.E.G. for example, completely forbids operatives without a permit. One who violates this will be subjected to varying punishment from being imprisoned for a period of 3 months to exile from the M.E.G.
CONCLUSION
Cashew Water is one of the most divisive object in terms of usages in the Backrooms. While the liquid can be helpful at times, such as for hunting entities for resources and sustenance, it can also be used for nefarious purposes, such as in combat where it has proved to be a highly unethical weapon. And other uses, such as euthanasia, are still subject to debate.
While some view Cashew Water as a useful resource or tool, others view it as a terror weapon and a dangerous liability. Some communities will gladly trade for the liquid while others will apprehend those who possess it. It is thus advised to be cautious when using or carrying Cashew Water. Be informed of both the political circumstances and the natural risks of possessing it.
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