EVENT & TDM 010

[sticksandbonesmods]

WOULD YOU STILL LOVE ME IF I WAS A WORM?

WAKE UP

Nothing ever stays the same in this place. The people who came here before you know that, and have known that, and are used to that. When you and the other new arrivals start to stumble out of the fog wall and the surrounding woods, it’s an expected thing. They see you. They knew you’d be here eventually. Perhaps someone will be kind enough to explain how you got here, and why you have such a splitting headache, and why you feel so paranoid. Perhaps the sudden sense of foreboding and doom is too much to handle. It feels unnatural. It feels like the emotions aren’t your own. And when a butterfly with eyespots almost too realistic lands on your hand, it’s nearly impossible not to scream.

“Don’t touch the fog wall.” That’s what you’re told, and whether it reaches you through the fog-induced paranoid haze or not is left up to your will and your will alone. That sense wears off within half an hour, at least, though there are still more questions than answers in this place.

For instance: What is that in the river, that monstrous crocodile with too many eyes that seems to be stalking everybody who comes too close? “The Behemoth”, they call it, and it only wants as much to do with you as you want to do with it. Come too close, and it backs up to continue watching you from afar. Attack it, and it fights back, unkillable and gargantuan in strength. Offer it meat, and it cautiously takes the food from your hand before diving into the river’s depths.

Alternatively, you might wonder what that stone creature on the church’s roof is, or what the story behind the shadow-people are, or why there’s a two-story tall, many-limbed moose monster wandering around that no one seems bothered by. Where is this?

This is Aldric’s Grove. And for better or for worse, it’s your new home.

CAT-TASTROPHE

cw: forced animal transformations

Although time blends together in this place and makes it difficult to tell the exact date, it’s easy enough to tell that it’s early in March when everybody wakes up feeling and looking… different.

You recall going to bed in your usual body. You recall, as you fell asleep, hearing a childish voice whisper in your ear, “I’m booooored. Let’s race!” You almost certainly do not recall being an animal no bigger than a large dog, almost unable to leave your bedroom because door handles are difficult to open with paws or claws or anything else. It’s lucky that the windows are easy enough to nudge open with snouts and beaks so that you can leave your bedroom and see what, exactly, is going on.

You aren’t the only animal. Everyone here is, too, creatures of different shapes and kinds, though all of them hail from Earth itself. The Guardians and shadowy merchant siblings are just as miffed as you are about this. “Here we go again,” they say, just as the last of you arrives at the Grove’s centre — and then it all goes dark. When you next open your eyes, you’re deep within the woods, where colourful flag markers on trees and a winding, long path indicates a race.

A long race. One that will last at least eight hours, assuming you use your time appropriately and don’t take too many naps in the trees along the path. Fret not: To ensure everyone participates in the race as expected, the Creature in the woods has sent an entourage of monsters after you, with too many eyes and gnashing fangs and claws the size of tree trunks. They’ll chase you down and try to eat you if they get their talons on you.

Use your time wisely, unless you want to meet an untimely demise.

BURIAL OF ANCIENTS

The Creature is a big fan of participation awards. Whether you won the race against your peers, came in second or third or fifteenth, or died during the challenge, it matters little when the fog starts to pull back. That’s your reward for being forced to participate in a race you didn’t want to be part of in the first place, aside from the regular reward of going back to your normal body: you get to explore, and you get to explore a lot.

To the east and west where the river bends, the fog is no longer a blockade impeding progress. You can travel far in either direction by river raft, chart unknown territory, and get lost in the woods for as long as you desire. Though it will take three days to travel to the new “end point” in either direction, an offering of shells and fruits can be given to the River Guardian to be granted a travel boon that will decrease your travel time from three days to one. You’ll still have to camp out along the shoreline, but asking for that boon will ensure you aren’t gone too long.

Taking the river to the west leads you through an ever-darkening forest, marked on the banks and trees by blue-glowing mushrooms. The canopy here is so thick that the sun doesn’t shine through, making it twice as difficult to tell how much time has passed — and to see where you’re headed in general. At the end of the journey, the black fog wall comes back into view, as the river begins to widen into the beginnings of a lake. A lake, which you cannot yet reach, as you dock the raft and hop onto the shore.

Following the path leads you to a wide-open clearing with more of those glowing fungi and a strong smell of moss. In the centre of it lies a humungous skeleton half-embedded in the soil, so enormous in stature that one wonders how such a creature ever roamed this land. The inside of its skull alone is enough to build a moderately-sized house within, and have a lovely view of the lake behind the fog wall to go with it.

If you approach the lake’s edge, you can hear a soft song from within, beautiful and hypnotizing. It makes you want to walk into the fog wall. It makes you want to enter the water and drown in its depths. And if you don’t, if you get control of yourself, hundreds of sickly black hands slam into the wall again and again, desperately trying to reach you.

…

The next time you come out this far, all three Guardians are here, arguing with the thing in the lake in a language you can’t comprehend.

SHIMMERING COSMOS

To the east, another three days out (or only one if you ask for that boon), is a forest of sequoias that reach into the very heavens, and moose tracks the size of your inn rooms. Out here, there are no glowing fungi to guide your way, only the distant sound of the ocean and the smell of salt. The closer you get, the stronger both of those become.

At the end of the river where the fog wall yet again impedes progress, you hear a waterfall. It’s overwhelmingly loud, nearly impossible to talk over, but if anyone is with you, you’ll have to manage somehow. Behind the fog — only a scant few feet away — is the edge of a cliff, and a sheer drop into the sea. In the far distance looms the silhouette of a lighthouse, unreachable, and in the sea itself just barely visible behind that black wall, within a spiralling whirlpool…

…is the sleeping, peaceful figure of a serpent, scales glittering with stars. It doesn’t respond to if you call out to it. Perhaps it can’t hear you. Perhaps it doesn’t care. It is the stars fallen from the sky and the cosmos you haven’t seen since you’ve been here, immune to your plight, because what is a mortal but an ant to a God?

Even though the Cosmic Serpent can’t be reached, a sense of calm washes over you the longer you stay close to the sea. Before you head back home, why not take a nap against one of those tree trunks? Just be careful you aren’t asleep too long. A “nap” to you might seem like a small coma to everyone waiting for you to come back to the Grove.

SPARK NOTES

CLICK TO EXPAND!

WAKE UP

Welcome to Aldric's Grove. New arrivals walk out of the fog wall feeling paranoid because they touched the fog wall. There's a biblically-accurate crocodile in the river. Surely this is fine.

CAT-TASTROPHE

Everybody gets transformed into an Earth animal and thrown into a long race in which they'll be chased by monsters the entire time. Sounds fun, right? ...no?

BURIAL OF ANCIENTS

To the west is a dark forest marked with glowing mushrooms. Travel far enough out via river raft and you'll reach the edge of the lake and find the ancient bones of a humongous creature. Getting too close to the lake and listening to the thing behind it singing makes you want to walk into the fog wall and drown in the lake. If you don't do this, hands slam against the fog wall, trying to reach you. Sometimes the Guardians wander out here to shout at the thing in the lake.

SHIMMERING COSMOS

To the east is a forest of sequoias, with moose tracks between the trees the size of an inn room. The further you go, the closer you get to the cliffside, where you can hear a roaring waterfall just beyond the fog wall. Through the fog is the sleeping form of the Cosmic Serpent, and the lighthouse in the far distance.

OOC

Happy March! TDMs are considered game canon. If you'd like to plot with people for this event, head over to OOC plotting. We encourage exploration considering the sheer volume of setting updates this time, so if there's anything you want to explore in more depth, hit up this log's investigations toplevel.

UPDATES

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SUBMISSIONS

QUESTIONS
INVESTIGATIONS
PAST-LIFE PLOTTING

(CODE)

Comments

QUESTIONS

[sticksandbonesmods]

[livlaughlove]

can we assume characters understand one another in aminal form?

INVESTIGATIONS

[sticksandbonesmods]

Please use the following form for investigations:

Character(s):
Location:
Action: What are they looking for? What are they doing?

<b>Character(s):</b> <b>Location:</b> <b>Action:</b>

[soundsurfing]

Character(s): Beat, Josh
Location: Frankly everywhere
Action: Nose to the ground, Beat's going to follow scents. And dig. Dig everywhere. Anywhere. It may take a few days to get to the other places but eh. He's not hungry yet. If he finds a bone, he is stealing it. This is his skeleton now.

Josh is following Scooby-Doo here and taking notes on his phone, also looking for anything of particular note that may say Mystery~

Re: INVESTIGATIONS

[bloodyopus]

Character(s): Phantom
Location: The graveyard of bones, and then the lake's edge (if both of this are okay)
Action: The sight of bones is not at all a jarring nor terrifying sight to him (although the creature's massive size was) and Phantom looks strangely, perfectly at home as he tried to dig out a smaller (or several smaller) bone or bone fragment out of the soil.

If the creature's spirit is still around, or if there are any other spirits around...he should be able to see and sense them. Although considering its size...hopefully the former hadn't still lingered.

He would wander to the lake's edge afterwards, intrigued by the sound of faint singing that definitely didn't come from the depths of his mind this time. Perhaps a little...enticed.

[livlaughlove]

Character(s): livio
Location: school and river
Action: now with his handy-dandy Bone Ring, livio will be, uh... trying to see if perhaps there's any sort of animal spirit in the school kind of like there is in the shop? as much as he hates to think about it, he will likely be focusing on the area he found claw marks and blood splatters in.

at the river, he will try to potentially communicate with both the River Guardian and the crocodilian... thing.

to the fish, he offers a fair portion of bones and apologizes that he didn't know to do so when he first arrived. and he asks if it has a name, to see if it will even respond. he's patient, he'll stay a while by the riverside waiting unless something actively makes him feel unwelcome.

to the crocodile, he offers fresh red meat -- notably not from his hands, he places it at the riverside and steps back -- and also asks if it has a name, as well as whether it is a friend of The Forest or otherwise. and unless it explicitly indicates that it IS a friend of the Creature, he also asks if it would like regular offerings.

[mooninthewater]

Character(s): Mizuki
Location: The lake
Action: Mizuki’s gonna go to the lake, equipping himself with Elsword’s goggles (if he doesn’t mind?) and the undying lantern. Is there any paths to the lake that he’d be mildly safer to take?

[simplicitas]

I. weep little lion man
Before the race

[Elsword... is a lion. A (smaller than lions should be) white one, bulky and muscular but the size of a large dog, which comically makes him smaller than his actual pet lion. He's laying in the flowers that bloomed all over town this month, curled up into a lazy ball and watching as everyone else filters into the middle of the Grove. His corruption didn't see fit to disappear in this new lion form, so he is indeed still sprouting flowers out of what is now fur.

Cool. Thanks, asshole.

Annoyed as he is, he tries not to let it show, bringing his head up as you approach. He wonders if he can still talk to everyone...]

Mornin'. How's the new form treating you?

[It sounds like lion noises, but maybe you understand him anyway?]

II. you're not as brave as you were at the start
["Let's get lost in the woods for three days" is what Elsword says to you when you agree to come with him to the new spots that just opened up. You won't actually get lost (he's a great navigator despite the memory problems), but it's still probably not the most comforting thing to hear someone say. Regardless, he has a raft, he is refusing to ask for that travel boon because he wants to see the sights, he's packed supplies including a portable campfire kit for making s'mores (thanks Mizuki), and he has that handy flora and fauna field guide he got from Heimr's shop a while back with him.

Let's go on a trip.]
A) Camping along the way

[Midnight rolls around... or something like midnight, who knows it could be 3am, this forest is so damn dark, and Elsword docks the raft at a notch in the riverbank before dragging it onshore so it doesn't float off into the night without you both. From there, it's a matter of pitching a tent in the clearing and snuggling up. He, of course, only brought one tent, so if you're shy about sleeping in the same space, he'll sleep outside. No big deal. There are two sleeping bags, at least.]

Do you wanna get the campfire started while I pitch the tent? It's not gonna take that long. We can sing campfire songs after.

[You can also say "no, no campfire songs", he won't be offended. But he will suggest sharing travelling stories if that's the case. Gotta do something to pass the time until you both conk out.]

B) The actual lakeside

[The next leg of the journey involves camping over here, which may not be the best idea, considering the singing and hand-slapping going on here. Elsword can't say it makes him super comfortable, so he stays clear of the lake's edge, instead climbing onto the skeletal wing of the creature that died here. He's trying to See It Up Close (he's disrespecting the dead).]

I've never seen bones this big before. Do you think it was something cool like a dragon? Or a sea serpent? Do you think the water levels changed that much?

[He turns around from where he's standing on this bone, not too high off the ground, but high enough to where one bad fall could fracture something. A burn-scarred hand is held out to you.]

C'mere. It's cool, I promise.

III. wildcard

[hello hit me with whatever]

III slash II.b

[soundsurfing]

[The next time Elsword goes to check the bones for whatever reason, it won't be his travel companion he finds there. Oh no. Beat (and Josh somewhere, he's sure) have finally arrived in their investigations, and of course that big dog is going to go right for the bones.

If Elsword thought climbing on it was disrespecting, then what's the dog doing? Cause that big boy sure is trying to wrestle a piece of the skeleton free, his teeth clamped into the bone, hands and feet dug into the ground for leverage, and his tail wagging enthusiastically.

He did announce any skeletons he saw were his.

And if he sees Elsword seeing him? He will growl and yank harder. His!!]

I

[sesa]

ELSWORD!!

[SQUAWK

RAWWWK

SQUEK

Is what Elsword will hear from across the way as...something comes running towards him. Running a few feet...then tumbling over onto his face. Getting up, running a little more, then falling again. This repeats a few times over as Sesa desperately tries to get his sealegs in his own new form, running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

Or, more specifically, a raptor.]

Is that you? Truly? I've become...Liberi? But also Vouivre? Draco??

[He spins in place, feathers falling from his tail and little chicken wings as he tries to look at himself but fails to properly do so.]

I barely escaped my room in one piece, and now I can't- [Boof is the sound his feathers make as he flumps into the grass again after tripping over his own two massive feet.] I can't seem to-!

II.b

[interestingtimes]

[Camping was quite literally the one thing she had gotten used to since coming out of the Underdark. That and kidnappings, but she wouldn't call Elsword, dragging her out into the middle of the unknown, kidnapping. That was consensual, at least.

The point being, that setting up camp came naturally to her at this point. Usually, it came with the additional noises of Astarion batting his eyelashes to get someone else to set his tent up while he decorated, Gale's exasperated noises at their current dinner supplies, and Lae'zel's whetstone grinding into the middle of the night.

She hadn't realized how much she had missed the act of it until now.

Well, not so much the act of having to sleep outside, but more so the company. The repetitive nature of it. The familiarity.

Taliira looked up at Elsword, giving him a small smile before she nodded her head. That was something Gale usually did, and usually with magic. But she was resourceful. How hard could starting a campfire be?]

I can't say I know any campfire songs, though.

[succiduous]

I.
During the race

[There's a rustling in the bushes near you, a bit off the beaten path. If you're running, you might entirely miss it, and/or you might mistake it entirely as a monster trying to get you. The wing that sticks out and tries to get your attention is not that of a monster's, though, far smaller and with black and white plumage.

Surprise, it's Gnosis! Is it shocking that the guy who's literally a bird would be turned into one? Probably not. Either way, once he has your attention, he twists his long crane neck toward an alcove of trees, hidden away from the racetrack by heavy foliage. It might be enough to elude the monsters for a time.]

There's a spot here to take a break, if you need it. We can move on when the coast is clearer.

[Right now, Gnosis is preeeeetty sure he can hear something coming. It sounds fast.]

II.
Outside the lab

[The snow has melted off. Flowers are springing up, the world is bathed in greens and pastel flower tones, and Gnosis is lamenting the lack of snow. He wants to be cold. >:(

He has a set of seed packets tucked into his vest pocket. Considering the spring weather, he's no longer wearing his coat, and he has his sleeves rolled up as he kneels in front of the lab with a trowel. While he was originally going to plant these seeds in the greenhouse, he reasons the spring weather is perfect for planting, and the greenhouse should probably be utilized for other things. It's mostly Add's, anyhow. Besides, a splash of colour and having food right outside his door so he has even less reason to leave the lab will improve the place.

So. He's digging spots to plant those seeds. There isn't a spare trowel next to him, but there's one in the lab, if you want to help. As you pass, he at least bothers to give you an acknowledging nod and a wave.]

III. Wildcard

[hello throw anything you want at the bird, he's doin bird things. i didn't make a prompt for it but if anyone wants to explore the new areas, we can try to determine the skeleton's age. super fun nerd shit goin on here.]

iii. Integrated Strategies: Gnosis and his Nerd Shit

[bloodyopus]

[ All the recent forced social interactions have finally drove one (1) cat crazy and drained him enough to make him go non-verbal. Thus, at some point (perhaps before he went to investigate things by himself, or maybe after that), he simply finds Gnosis (or he accidentally finds him), gestures at the massive set of bones, then vaguely gestures at the...general direction of everything. After that, he looked at him with a questioning look on his face.

Essentially asking him, how old is all this shit junk, approximately? Do your lab science nerd stuff, birdman. Enlighten the masses and the voices in their heads. What Will Gnosis Do and How will he answer? ]

I

[sesa]

[By this point...well. Sesa hasn't gotten used to his new form persay, but he at least isn't falling on his face every two feet like he was earlier. He's learned to more balance his center of gravity by keeping his body a bit lower to the ground, small wings tucked in with his tail acting as a rudder to keep himself steady. He's already discovered the hard way that these wings cannot be used for flight, which is unfortunate given the state they've all currently found themselves in. His only saving grace is that he is fast. Much faster than he was even as Vouivre, though even he can only go so far for so long...

He's heaving for breath by the time he notices that flash of black and white in the bushes, reptilian eyes dilating for a brief moment as fight or flight threatens to overwhelm him for the hundredth time today. When he realizes it's Gnosis, however...

Sesa dips into the alcove without a second thought, immediately collapsing onto his side once he's far enough in to be hidden.]

Gnosis...how long has it been? I fear I cannot keep this up forever.

[This form, it seems, lacks the stamina of his previous.]

ii

[cryopathy]

[consider kiera curious as to what such a stuffy guy is doing on his knees in the dirt. they take their time wandering over from the town center, acting as if they'll simply pass him by perhaps on the way to the tavern -- and they have likely seen one another there on multiple occasions.

they're pleasantly surprised when he actually seems to greet them in his own way. good. they don't need to come up with an excuse to stop nearby and offer him a sickly sweet smile.]

Are you the gardener?

Mizuki | Arknights | Current Player

[mooninthewater]

I. Elevate the headstrong dead long halo (Open; The Grove)

[ Mizuki is not unfamiliar to the surroundings, the oddities, and the things that don't make any sense because, realistically, he's been here for over half a year now. He's almost got a routine down, as crazy as that might sound.

Part of his routine is to go to this little shrine he's made in the morning. Rather, a shrine made by a friend of his that was meant to pay tribute to the forest, but he has long since repurposed it, taking away the things that made it "the forest's" and instead made it to pay tribute to the people that left that he was close to. Etched on the plaque currently were four names and more space that grimly spoke to the reasoning that these are probably not going to be the only four. Caoimhe, BB, Toge, Nai.

Mizuki visits this with breakfast and spends his morning talking about what he did the day before to the shrine, and how he hopes everyone is going to come back soon… He doesn't seem particularly upset for… what that's worth? Is that better? That might be worse, actually— ]

II. Caught up in our skin, gotta fight the grind (Open; The Race)

[ Perhaps the worst part about suddenly literally becoming an animal was the sudden lack of things, rather than anything else. Lack of thumbs, most commonly. Lack of height, too. Just a lot of lacking. Especially if you happen to be one Mizuki, who'd become a moon jellyfish outright. Not having eyes sucked. At least he wasn't uselessly on the ground and drying out and dying or anything like that — floating through the air was fun. But that's about all he had going for him.

Perhaps someone should help him stop bumping into trees. ]

III. I can make your day go sun to rainbow (Open; The Lake)

[ One might think that the large glowing thing at the edge of the lake is just another mushroom, if disproportionally large, at a glance. But further investigation would suggest that it's way too humanoid shaped to actually be just a mushroom.

Rather, it's Mizuki! His hair glows in that blue bioluminescence, and there's smattering of the same across his skin, looking akin to glowing freckles. He's sitting at the edge of the lake, looking at the waters with his umbrella loosely supported by his shoulder. He twirls it around idly, and if you're one to recognize Mizuki's voice, you'll also hear it along with that of the lake's song. It's different, though. Directionless, echo-y, and equal parts enchanting and unsettling. Not nearly so much so as the song from the lake, but enough that you might feel less inclined to take a dive.

In an ancient Norse language, he sings to the lake. Even if you can't make out the words, it sounds… sad. Approaching Mizuki will get him to stop, but he doesn't look up from the lake. ]

Should I have a look down there? I could breathe down there just fine…

IV. Colour in your step, let me lose your mind (Open; The Sea)

[ It's unsurprising that Mizuki finds himself at the oceanside. Or, as close to "oceanside" as he can get, all things considered. He missed the smell, the dampness in the air, the sprays and sound of the sea. It calls to him. He knows he shouldn't be here long, but surely he isn't wrong for wanting to savor this time to himself just a bit?

He is also busying himself with something, anyway. He has a nightsun flower sitting mostly submerged in saltwater in a pot next to him. He picks out the seeds from these flowers and holds them tightly in his hand. He wishes he could push through the fog wall, and wishes he could take a dive off into the ocean. He misses it so, but…

For now, he can at least give the flowers their preferred home, at least, right? He has to try anyway. So, Mizuki stands, lifting his hand over his head and chucking them as hard as he can in hopes they'll go into the ocean, but it is hard to keep up with them after they breach the fog wall. After all, the seeds don't quite glow like their flowered parent does. Not yet, anyway. He knows they'll flower nicely down there, though.

…

He wants to stay here, too. ]

V. Animate the air with a stone cold question (Open; Anywhere)

[ Are you doing something important? Nothing at all? Something? Exploring? Meandering? Pondering a nap??? Well, whatever it is, congratulations, there's a jellyfish here instead to keep you company. Maybe it's unwanted, but he's never been too good with his people skills. At least he's not trying to hold your hand — he's learned his lesson there. He does give you a very friendly smile, though.

If you are someone new that he hasn't psychologically pestered before, then he'll ask: ]

a. Have you heard of the Trolley Problem?
b. Have you heard of the Prisoner's Dilemma?

[ Or, if you are someone he's pestered before: ]

c. If you were two separate entities, do you think you would be friends with yourself?
d. What's the capacity of happiness any one person can have? Is that quantifiable? Does it vary between people?
e. If people understand the things that make them happy, why do they not always pursue it?

VI. Do you have the time? Do you hate your life? ( Wildcard! )
hmu on Discord or @ rubiesriot if you wanna plot anything. Otherwise just throw ur blorbos my way. <3

i

[oleaeuropaea]

[Vash has a tendency to wander, especially lately. There's a lot weighing on his mind, and a terrible foreboding that clings to his shoulders. He and Wolfwood had spoken about it once, a feeling of dread that just wouldn't ebb. The only thing that eases the tension even for a brief moment is a walk around the grove, checking each and every corner for signs of something going wrong.

Finding a little shrine isn't that surprising. Finding that said shrine has his brother's name on it? That's something different. But where Vash expects it to hurt, it feels faintly warm. Hopeful, perhaps? He'd made enough of an impact on someone to be cared for, and that has to be something good.

So he makes a point of visiting this shrine daily now, just to remember his brother as fondly as he can. He doesn't know who made it, but there's always been the subtle hope that he'd find out.

And one day, he does. Or at least, maybe he does. There has to be a reason Mizuki is here, tending to it, right? Besides, of all the people in the grove, the young man made the most sense to want to honor his brother, at least aside from Vash himself.

Despite everything, Vash finds himself smiling.]

Hey, buddy - [He clears his throat, trying to keep his voice light.] This something you put together?

[forwander]

I. run, baby, run, run for your life
During the race

[All of a sudden, as you dash through the trees, something flutters down from the canopy on top of you, sinking its claws into you...

...

They are very small claws. This is a very non-threatening presence, one of a small blue-and-orange pigeon who is digging his claws into your neck and/or back as you run. He folds his wings neatly at his sides, tilts his head, and coos,]

I could use the break.

[...so anyway he's not going to be helpful at all, but you're free to try to shake him off while he cheats at racing by using you as a mount.]

II. i'ma tear out your heart, it'll always be mine
Around the Grove

[It's Spring, which means that damn snow has finally melted off and Passenger can live his life as God intended: Wearing fancy attire and sitting on a bench outside the inn with a book. It's not too hot, considering the snow just barely melted, but it's warm enough to where he doesn't feel like he's going to die stepping outside. Living in Sargon for so many years does that to a man.

Heimr did tell Passenger he needed to get out more and make more friends. He... is not good at this, but he does look up and wave as you pass. Why not sit down for a spell? Look, he'll even put his book away. He's so friendly and normal right now and—

—and sneezing. Uh-oh, someone has allergies.]

...pardon me.

III. wildcard

[hello, a pigeon will be around this month thank you for your time, i don't have much this month but yk i'm down for anything lmao]

ii

[oleaeuropaea]

[Hello, Passenger! Vash takes one look at him, scrapes his eyes down to his very bare chest and.

Honestly he looks so concerned.]

Jeez! Did somethin' take a bite out of you? Did you fight off some monster in the forest?

[And... yeah. He sidles up closer and. Pokes right at one of the bruises.]

You should see someone about that, bud.

[cryopathy]

i. race

[this whole thing has kiera uncharacteristically panicky and pissed. how long has she daydreamed about shifting into a peacock? and now she finally is -- yes, a peacock, not a peahen, 5 feet of tail feathers and all -- and she can't even enjoy it. no, she can't even stop to admire herself, can't shift into anything else, and the beautiful tail is more of a hindrance than a help, weighing her down and providing a huge target for monsters to grab at.

it's a good few hours before she can even catch a break, finally outpacing the snarling beasts as she manages to flutter up to the canopy and roost on a high branch. would that she could actually stay hidden, but monster or grove resident alike will hear the soft croak of her breathing. how fucking long is this shit going to last?]


ii. in town. horsey.

[a few days after that nightmare, kiera can be found walking around the grove, beside their pinto mare. with the fog wall so close, exercise for pinto is hard to find... but at least she and kiera find comfort in each other.

though maybe pinto is slightly more outgoing than her master, because anybody who comes nearby is getting trotted up to and snuffled and nuzzled for treats.

to kiera's credit, they hide their exhaustion and exasperation well, shooting pinto's poor victim a lazy smile.]

She's friendly. Just don't walk right behind her.

ii, but with a twist. cw: prey animal death

[unheiring]

[Luca... has been looking for Kiera. High and low, really. And judging by the look on his face, he's not exactly happy.]

Kiera Aurelius. [His voice is sharp, and when he isn't speaking, his teeth seem to be clenched together. Interestingly enough, he's not alone. Polaris seems to be hopping from perch to perch, staring curiously down at Luca.

The reason why is revealed soon enough. He pulls a dead mouse from his pocket and promptly chucks it toward her head.]

I know you had something to do with this.

Lucifer Morningstar | Hazbin Hotel | Current Player (new character voicetesting pls be gentle)

[hellhearted]

Looks like you could use some help (Wake Up) | OTA

[Very few hellborn have the privelege of setting foot on earth. Generally speaking, sinners in general cannot return, period. Death is a done deal. A one way street, so to speak. Hellborn- the imps, loan sharks, goetia- are typically in the same boat. But there are a few who have artifacts that allow transport between worlds for explicit purposes, all of which are one person's job to keep an eye on.

Suffice it to say, however...Lucifer himself has not visited Earth in over 10,000 years. A fallen angel with the powers he wields should theoretically be able to go there any time he pleases but, well...when you've been banished to Hell, forced for all eternity to witness the destruction your choice to give humanity free will has wrought on the world? It's not easy. Perhaps not impossible, but...

How. Is he here now, exactly?

The last thing he remembers is rebuilding the hotel. A bittersweet memory, but it's not like it would take much to beat the mire of self-loathing he'd wrapped himself up in for the last decade and some change. A mere blink for an immortal, perhaps, but a blink that wouldn't be missed. This is the first time he can remember ever winding up somewhere he didn't intend.

So. What now?

The Grove...well. It feels stunningly, remarkablyt like Earth. The trees, the animals, life surrounding him...there's no denying it. This isn't Hell, even if the oddly mutated creatures might suggest otherwise. But they don't bother him. In fact, the first thing he tries to do is coax the many-eyed river crocodile over, crouched just at the edge of the river. The crocodile, unsurprisingly, is not fucking having it, having backed up to the middle of the river to just sort of. Watch. This 5 foot tall man try to call out to it like it's a puppy or something.]

Oh come on now, don't be shy! Look at you, oh, you're so pretty. Oohhh, so pretty...come on, ol' Lucy just wants to say hi!

[He could be doing more important things- like figuring out where the hell he is- but hold on a second he wants to pet the fucking crocodile.]

From the big boss of Hell himself (Netbook) | OTA

So not that I'm saying this notebook-to-notebook technology isn't "hip" or "totally gnarly" or whatever it is kids are into saying these days, but...

Was I wrong in assuming Earth, like. Advanced further than this by now? It's been, what, millenia at this point since the dawn of creation? Don't you guys have cell phones?

Check out Daddy's reviews on Yelp (Cat-Tastrophe) | OTA

[Lucifer is used to being animals. He's animals a lot of the time.

He is NOT used to being stuck as one animal and unable to un-shift from that form, or really...do much else with himself, for that matter. Really, the only thing he's retained is his top hat, which inexplicably sits square in the middle of the head of the albino snake he's become. Look at him. Even in snake form, he's so tiny. So small.

Which means he isn't altogether very fast, but that's fine. He'll just wind himself through the grass, and hide among the bushes if any of the creatures chasing them down draw too close. He isn't afraid of being eaten- he's seen, he IS, far worse- but he'd rather play it safe than sorry, being in a form like this.

But it's very likely most others are far larger, which means he's going to be doing a lot of slipping through people's ankles.]

Whoops, pardon me. Some of us kinda got the short end of the rope here, huh?

Wildcard

[Hi it's Chi I don't know what I'm doing, throw something else at me if none of these work if you want!]

From the big boss of Hell himself

[amethystic]

we are SUPER not on earth! cross-dimensional kidnappings are the norm here, have been for like
a year?
i think it's a year. times weird here. we had three full moons last month(?).
it's been very trying.

Mjr. Motoko Kusanagi | Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex | New player!

[majormalfunction]

1. Making my way downAround Town

[Of all the places Motoko definitely wasn't yesterday, a forest definitely ranks high on the list. And the town that follows is almost painfully small compared to the skyscrapers and lights she's grown accustomed to. Still, it's pretty, in a way she's not too certain of yet. Something...quaint, maybe. Innocent like her cities could never be. Not when she knows what's underneath the lights, hiding in plain sight in front of them. Here, though...here it looks like if the neighbor's dog came home late it would be all over the town in an hour.

At least the headache is a quick fix. She's got enough to make her head spin as it is without that on top of it. The deja vu, though...that's harder to fight off. There's something in every step, every stone, every shadow that feels like it should remind her of something, but it dances away just as it comes into the edges of sight, frustratingly intriguing, infuriatingly curious. Another rabbit hole, but this time she's Alice.

And what is she supposed to do with that?]

No evidence of a hack or a virus...firewalls and attack barriers are intact...what the hell is this?

2. Actual Cat-tastrophe (before the race)

[If her eye could twitch, it certainly would be. A particularly irritated looking cat with dark purple fur and pinkish-red eyes apparently disagrees with her circumstances. Loudly. And often. To anyone who will listen, regardless of the fact that it only ever comes out as a hilariously tiny little "meow." Which, honestly, only makes her even more irritated. Attempting pets may be dangerous, but who can resist an adorable little friend like that? Even if she seems a little angry. And pointy.]

3. You do you fam
[aka the wildcard option!]

meant to tag earlier but works been Murder sorry- also, 2!!!

[amethystic]

( there's a rabbit with pink fur, blue eyes and only three legs, and she looks pissed. after a moment of trying to figure out how to walk, feeling dreadfully clumsy, she looks back at the purple cat and feels a pang of jealousy- the forest must have missed the memo that felicity was also strictly cat coded. at least she looks as angry as felicity feels. )

... Mood.

Dark Cacao Cookie | Cookie Run: Kingdom | New Player/Character

[winterfrosting]

Wake Up

[ Paranoia is nothing new to Dark Cacao. It's licked at the corners of his mind for hundreds of years now, ever since the Dark Flour War ended in so much loss. What IS new is waking up somewhere new, and this horrific misshaped form. Enough like a cookie to recognize, but dough-y in some places and stale in others, limbs too long and everything so wet. He is, what he will learn later, is called a 'human'.

So it's not surprising that he comes from the fog swinging, massive sword bared and eyes too wide and wild. Not helped by the fact that he is a large man, fully armored on top of his weapon that he wields with ease. He bellows a war cry, absolutely ready to fight.

Maybe try and calm him down? But please stay out of slicing range!]

[purevanillacookie]

[ Where most might hear an angry war cry and think oh no, Pure Vanilla's ears perk up to the angry war cry and he looks - well, almost delighted. There's worry of course, but he recognizes that angry bellow. The worry is why is it here and who is it directed at. Patting his hands down, he climbs to his feet from where he had just been resting in a totally not old man manner, and he begins moving in the direction of the yell.

It's close to the edges.... he turns his staff one way and then the next...

Ah!

.... Oh my. He was always a bigger Cookie but his height is truly impressive here. As well as the full armor and that sword as big as he is. Someone is going to get hurt. ]

Dark Cacao Cookie, stay your anger! You are all right, my friend!

Gale Dekarios | Baldur's Gate 3 | New

[watersdeep]

BURIAL OF ANCIENTS

a. Gale was a Wizard, an academic of the arcane arts, through his reckoning he never elected to abdicate his practices to become a Druid. Druid's were well versed in shifting their forms to become animals and while it was charming and probably quite useful at times, it certainly wasn't for him. Neither was the merry little race he found himself participating in (also against his will) all magic ineffective in his new form leaving him no choice but to flee in the face of the many-eyed beast.

Gale found himself in the middle of the pack somewhere, pacing himself meant he wasn't as fast as some, but his pragmatism wouldn't allow him to rest long enough to become a snack.

It was a relief when the fog rolled back from whence it came and Gale was himself again, for whatever it was worth. There were still complications he had to deal with, but at least he had his magic, his belongings, and his opposable thumbs...the last being most important as he didn't realize just how vital opening doors could be without digits when one had none. The race also left his body, especially his knees, incredibly sore so for him the more time spent languishing on the raft and getting his bearings the better, although this place is quick to make one lose said bearing and sense of time.

Floating along a river under the canopy of trees one could easily become disoriented and after what felt like hours Gale steered his way to shore, tying off his raft, and looking for a decent place to set up camp. Not too far from the water, but not so close that was laying on marshy ground. Once there he was able to drop his pack and bedroll on the ground, get a fire going, and assess what he had among his belongings. His pouch (vital of course), a spell book, parchment, quill, inkwell, rations, waterskin, a few small lock picking tools, some gold, a knife, a sword, and a change of clothes and shoes. He's grateful to have prestidigitation spell in his wheelhouse, though it doesn't beat lavender baths, without it he'd be lost in the wilds as it is certainly his most useful camping spell.

He's aware he's not alone at the rivers edge, there were several who made it safely, some that even cast off the same time he did and so to anyone who might be close at the time he offers some of his rations.

"It's not exactly a sumptuous meal, but dried meat and barley bread is at least one step up from watery oats."

b. With the morning comes new vigor and a new destination, a clearing of glowing fungi and moss, of which he collects samples for research purposes later. The Underdark was the only place he'd known where glowing mushrooms existed it also kept his mind off of the wall of fog and this impending sense of unease that came with it for obvious reasons. What did give him pause was the monolithic, half submerged, skeleton in the middle of the clearing that did not feel right and inspired more questions than answers.

Did it die from natural causes? If not what could kill something this massive? Was it even really dead? The last seeming quite a silly question, but Gale came from a place where things like this were not out of the realm of reality and that was all the more reason they should move on if at all possible -- forward or backward, just not here.

"I think the judicious plan here would be to let sleeping bones lie, especially ones of such Brobdingnagian proportions. Wouldn't you ag-" pivoting away from the skeleton to address others present only to have his sense assaulted by hypnotic music. The beauty of the music combined with his own curiosity is enough to lure him to the edge with any other unfortunates, it's enough to make him want to go into the water and...

...pulling back at the last minute, whether it's due to arcane knowledge, his experience with sirens, or perhaps it has something to do with his parasitic tagalong, drowning was Gale drew the line wrenching himself back just in time for hundreds of hands to slam into the wall of fog in front of him. It was jarring, but he was able to compose himself enough yank the closet person back with him and overbalancing, collapsing to the ground in a tangle of limbs that the wizard carefully extracts himself from.

"I would apologize, but I imagine you were just as ready to go to a watery grave as I was."

a.

[neckromancy]

Truth be told, even as the winner of this twisted little contest, Astarion still had not found himself having even a moment of fun while being chased through the forest by an eldritch monstrosity. Granted, he did get a lovely bow out of it, which was most certainly a plus, and he did, of course, relish victory over all of the others. There was just… Something a tad humiliating about being named the best at running away.

It wasn’t surprising, given his whole… Well, everything. But it still stung.

Suffice to say, he was in quite the wretched mood.

Astarion had wandered off on his own fairly soon after running aground on the riverbank, grumbling to himself about the joys of roughing it in the outdoors. Because sleeping on the ground in the filth like an animal was certainly more preferable than a nice warm bed, obviously.

Gods above, he was miserable.

Still, there was bound to be some animals around here that he could sink his teeth into in order to give a certain neck a break; while he was not quite hunting just yet, given the proximity of the other Grove residents, he was quietly stalking through the foliage in search of signs of life. Best to have a direction in mind when the night was dark enough, as he didn’t quite fancy the idea of going in completely blind. It was during this particular reconnaissance mission when he felt it; a prickle on the neck, a squirming of the worm that had more or less laid dormant these past few months.

There beneath the thick canopy of leaves, he froze. Unnaturally still, head somewhat cocked to the left in the way a predatory animal might listen for the sound of nearby prey. There was something here, something familiar.

Something not all that far away.

Following the brief moment of activity from his mawsome parasitic companion leads to the firelight he can see between the trees. Close enough to get a good look at the occupant of said hearth, but not yet revealing himself from the safety of the tree-line. That is, of course, until he recognizes the man before him.

A pang of excitement blooms in his chest, one he very quickly masks with a scoff of disdain. He throws caution to the wind then, leaving the forest and stepping out into the dancing light of Gale’s fire. “Cute, but I’ll have to pass. Honestly, I would have expected far better from you and your usual handiwork.”

Special dietary concerns aside, there’s always enough time to put into Gale Bullying Hours. Astarion folds his arms, the performative curl of his lip doing… Not as much as it could have when it came to hiding how relieved he was to see the wizard again. “Where in the hells did you drag yourself out of this time?”

hunter || the ool hoose || existing player, new character

[grimtalker]

i. around town

[hunter has already had his post-arrival panic attack, so don't worry about that. now that he's come to his senses, he's trying to get his bearings as well. this involves sneaking around town with... mixed results, honestly. he has moments of very successful stealth, given the extensive training. but also... well. his confidence is not what it used to be, and it shows.

when he trips out from behind his most recent cover and is spotted by whoever is unfortunate enough to be nearby, this scrawny teenager pulls himself up to his full (still pretty damn meager) height and tries to project a forgotten air of authority.]

You, citizen! [ah. the voicecrack. he deflates, and the prey animal posture takes back over.] Uh... Could you tell me the name of this settlement? [extremely quietly:] Please.


ii. in the church

[he does not know what y'all are on about concerning the animals here being "weird." a giant crocodile with a billion eyes is tame, and plantimals are... well, to say he feels an immediate kinship to them on some level is an understatement. not that anyone is going to pry that out of him.

he is definitely trying to coax some pigeons out of the church rafters with some crumbs of bread though. is it actually bad for them if they're not regular earth birds? who knows! they love it, so they're getting it, and he's getting swarmed like the bird-themed disney princess he is.]

Aw, you guys are cute... But I don't think I have enough for everyone...


iii. wildcard

[[sup y'all it's weasel. you know the drill baybie pm me or just toss whatever the fuck you want at the sonboy]]

[oleaeuropaea]

[Okay, so. Vash currently has his back turned to the little scrunklet yelling at him. And even though the kid doesn't have the most intimidating voice (or like... any type of intimidating voice), he still stiffens up. He squeaks once, turning around with a very wobbly, nervous expression.

He hasn't been on No Man's Land for months. Old habits still died hard.]

Uuuhh, that's me! Just your regular, run of the mill citizen! Haha! [He scratches at the back of his head, before finally looking the young man up and down. The fact that he doesn't look more than... what? 12? Isn't lost on Vash. But he also knows that young kids can do plenty of things when they're desperate, so he isn't about to write him off as not being a threat.]

You're uh. In Aldric's Grove Population... I actually don't know anymore. Nice to meet ya! [Just smile and be friendly! It's fine!]

G'raha Tia | Final Fantasy XIV | existing player, new character

[presentminded]

i. 「by the well」

[There is a red-haired catboy in your town center, Grove.

G'raha Tia has already gotten over his brief disorientation. He doesn't exactly know how he got here, but different worlds are not exactly foreign to him, so the shock has been significantly lessened. The opposite is true, in fact! Finding out the what, where, and why is the foremost item on his list, and so off he's gone to study what he can, to figure out just where he is and what he's doing here.

Which is why he's out by the well, studiously investigating the statues there. He's pulled a small leather-bound book and pencil from his satchel, and he's very busy taking notes… until he spots you, of course! At which point the book closes - gently, with the pencil as a bookmark - and his ears twitch as a smile spreads across his face.]

Hello there! Pardon me, but you wouldn't happen to be able to tell me about these statues, would you?


ii.「in the library」

[For the same reasons as before, G'raha has now, er. Sort of. Stationed himself inside the library. Being a member of the Students of Baldesion and a well-rounded scholar, he's quite used to spending hours upon hours with his nose buried in books, and it's all too easy to forget certain things. Drinking. Eating. Sleeping.

Which is why you might come across him, sitting at a table with his arms crossed across the book laying open on the table, his cheek nestled right in the crook of one elbow, completely conked out.

Do you wake him? Or do you leave him as he is?]


iii. 「wildcard」

[hey hey it's kaed! if you want to do anything different, hit me up, you know the drill]

i. i'm so sorry. he's a little asshole

[grimtalker]

[of course two dudes trying to learn as much as they can about the grove would inevitably run into each other... but unfortunately, the one who gets flagged down by g'raha doesn't hear any of the miqo'te's words after he witnesses that travesty with the journal. he squints at the book and frowns, face pulling into a downright pained scowl.]

You're going to break the spine.

Rei | NU: Carnival | Current Player, New Character

[mysterydrug]

I. wake up

[There's something off about the air here. Maybe it's the fact that he isn't home (he has no idea about this). Maybe it's the fact that he just stumbled out of the black fog, something that makes his skin burn and prickle in ways that not even the Dead Zone has in the past. There's pain behind his eyes, searing and white-hot, and against his better judgement...

The first noise Rei hears — perhaps it's you trying to get his attention, or an animal, or a shout far in the distance — makes him jump out of his skin, visions flashing in his paranoid brain. He whips around and hauls ass back into the fog like an idiot, hitting that ghastly wall head-on. Goodbye he is Leaving. Surely this wouldn't end horribly for him.

Please don't let him walk off into the fog and get eaten.]

II. hey look, rocks!

[Along the riverbank is a small collection of stones ranging from polished, fragmented, and completely unpolished, sitting in neat little piles per their designation in the three categories. It grows throughout the day, starting as something innocuous and growing into towering piles by mid-afternoon. The culprit?

A stout, fat owl who swoops to the bank and sets a stone clutched in his talons in the required spots. ...oh, and maybe that drenched man downriver, standing waist-deep in water and rummaging around for more. Any stone that seems like it might be worth something gets handed to the owl, who sets it in a pile and flies back, rinse and repeat.

This has, apparently, been going on for several hours. If you've been watching Rei at all, he's gradually drifted off to the west, further into the darkened canopies and deeper water... maybe he intends to go all the way to the lake at this rate, who knows.

If you get too close to the stones, that owl death-glares at you. Hey. Don't touch the rocks. Those are for a Purpose.]

III. on an adventure to the lake

[Whether you arrived at the lake after Rei, or decided to come with him on the journey, there are two very important ("very important") things happening.

The first: The man moves like the terrain literally doesn't affect him at all, quick and lithe and unheard, and if you fall behind that's your fault and you need to do better.
The second: He is completely, one hundred percent, without a doubt, ignoring everything you do.

Talking? Ignored. Breathing heavily because running after him has you tired? Ignored. Pointing something out? Ignored. Nearly walking into the lake because of that creature's singing? Igno— okay hold on. It's not like he's going to stop you from walking into the lake if you get hypnotized by the siren song, but he's at least going to say something now.]

If you want to drown, be my guest.

[......okay, so, maybe not the greatest help there.]

IV. wildcard

[hi this is wolfie... i have another science bird...... help, i am voicetesting pls gentle]

2 Im sorry-

[pegathesis]

[Having been here for...about as long as Rei has means that Twilight's own wealth of knowledge about this place is at a solid zero, compared to most things. Lacking knowledge is not a feeling she enjoys, nor has she felt anything short of panicked since her arrival. How, in the name of Equestria, is she meant to feel when she's suddenly been teleported somewhere far from home- far from her friends, no less- when she's been tasked to take over the entirety of the kingdom?

Bad. She feels bad. And apt to panic, even though she promised herself long ago that she wasn't going to be that pony anymore.

At least she's had time to explore. Observe. Ask questions. And she's come to the uncomfortable conclusion that there are no ponies in this world. Not a single one, in fact. And while she's met and befriended nearly every type of creature in Equestria at this point, "humans" are beyond her understanding. Not that she isn't willing to learn, it's just...

Overwhelming? Possibility to have discovered a whole new species to learn about? Amazing. Being far from home? Less amazing.

...but if there's one thing she's familiar with, it's owls. She has a pet owl of her own back home, though she certainly doesn't recall Owlicious ever looking at her as aggressively as Father is when she cautiously approaches the riverbed, not having noticed Rei initially.]

Oh! Hi there, little guy. That's uh...that's a whole lot of rocks! You've got there. Haha...

[She takes a pointed step back (she promises, she won't steal your rocks) before scanning the river proper, and it's only then she happens to spot Rei a little further down, rummaging through the shallows for rocks.]

Oh, thank goodness- sir! Does this owl belong to you?

[With a slight shift of her wings, she takes to them for a brief moment, flying the short distance from where she was to where Rei currently is before landing carefully among the pebbles a few feet away. Maybe he knows a little more about what's going on than she does.]