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.

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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?

[mooninthewater]

[ Mizuki looks up from, apparently, another wooden plaque he’s working on “Ire”… one for Irene, maybe? He’s doodled some birds and ocean waves on it, too, putting little stickers around the edge. ]

Hey, Mister Vash. Um… sort of. Miss Caoimhe… set it up originally for something else. I repurposed it, though. Been working on it for a couple weeks… I just wanted to make something to help them with hopes and prayer and stuff in case they’re out in the forest somewhere, you know?

[oleaeuropaea]

[The smile he forces himself to wear starts to wobble at the edges. He leans down in front of the shrine, thumbing over the names that have been completed. Naturally, he hesitates over Nai's name. There's a brief second where the mask falters, and grief shines through plain as day.

He swallows it down just as quickly as it appeared, though. He's used to bearing this burden. Used to the distance between the two of them.

That doesn't keep his voice from being the slightest bit softer, though.]

You think it will work?

[mooninthewater]

Of course it will. [ It's immediate, and almost matter of fact, as Mizuki looks back down to the current name and starts carving out the N and E. ] When we went into the forest for a real big rescue mission, Miss Ydalir said that prayer and well wishes would keep us safe and protected — and then we got home safely after that, and even Moder came home with us.

I know this isn't quite the same, but I figure… at least it'll keep them safe, if the forest does have them.

[oleaeuropaea]

[Somehow, between the quick reassurance, and the fact that Mizuki isn't the only one that believes in this, Vash finds himself comforted. Even if the shrine might not guide Nai back, he can at least believe he's providing some sort of aid.]

I think... that's a good thing. A very good thing. [He pulls his hand back, then dusts it on his pant leg.]

Is there anything you need to uh... keep it potent? Or anything?

[mooninthewater]

It's been a while since I've asked Miss Ydalir about it, but as far as I can tell, the more "hope" and "wishes" you get, the stronger it'll be overall. We got Zahliya back that way, by all of us getting together and saying how we wanted him to come home and stuff like that — I imagine it's not much different here. I imagine tellin' the others to give our friends best wishes and stuff like that would work well here.

But, um, other than that… um, I'm not so sure? This shrine business isn't exactly something I'm used to — my Church usually communed with our gods through other means.

[oleaeuropaea]

I think I can do that.

[He shifts himself just enough, so that he's seated in a far more reverent position. His hands clasp together, and his head bows just a little. He tries his best to send his thoughts outward, to "think beyond himself" and into the woods. He imagines Nai, barefoot, pissed off, and determined as hell to keep going.

He has to be alive out there. Vash knows it to be true. And since he does know this, he tries to extend all of his love. His willpower. His own determination. Maybe with that little push, it would all be alright.

Eventually he opens his eyes. They sting, and he doesn't realize they've begun to dampen until he's wiped them with the back of his wrist.]

Your Gods... What were they like? 'n' how did you communicate.

[Anything to change the subject.]

II

[sesa]

[Sesa has been on the run for what feels like hours, when- at least at this point in the day- it's only been maybe one or two out of the eight they'll eventually be promised. It sucks to not only be thrust into a form you're not used to, but to be hunted by the beasts of the forest at the same time. That's meant to be fun? This is meant to be a race??

It's frustrating, and alarming, but what else is there to do but to try to survive? And so, he runs. His clawed raptor feet thud through the undergrowth as he darts among the trees, leaps over fallen logs, tries to put as much space between him and whatever it might be that's following him.

Until he bursts into a clear opening, intending to use the straightaway to sprint and cover a bit more ground, until something cold and slimy slaps him square across the face. Just.

Plaps right into his eyes, draped over his beak-like muzzle.]

Ourhg-?!

[He comes skidding to a stop, hopping in place with his tail whipping behind him as he tries to reach his claws up towards his face (he cannot, his arms are too small so he can't reach), uselessly trying to paw at whatever he's run face-first into.

It's Mizuki-]

Ah! Ah-! Get off, g-get off of me-!

[mooninthewater]

[ Being suddenly smacked into is certainly… a thing. There's sure a lot going on today, huh? Mizuki figures for a moment this might be a monster, and he laments that his stingers aren't nearly as potent as they are usually. He tries to float away, too, but the momentum has him unable to really move. That is, until Sesa stops anyway.

Mizuki has no mouth and he must scream—-

Except, well, he can still talk. Sesa will hear Mizuki's voice sourceless and all around, much akin to how it sounds when he sings. So, he does reply when he understands this is a person and not something actively trying to eat him. ]

Sorry, I'm not very fast. I'll get out of your way. [ And he just starts drifting up like a balloon— ]

[sesa]

[Sorry Mizuki, it's not you, it's him. Sesa is still getting used to this new form, and for all he knows, he could have just run face-first into a giant spiderweb. And then, who knows how big the spider was who made that. It could be on his face right now!!!

But it isn't. It's Mizuki. Who...appears to be a jellyfish, one that just...inexplicably begins floating up into the air on command.]

M...Mizuki?

[Sesa shakes his head a little now that he can see again, tilting his beak up so he can get a better look as the Seaborn drifts up and up...goodbye.]

Ah, wait! It's alright, you aren't in my way! You just startled me, I apologize. I am...having a bit of a hard time, it seems.

[mooninthewater]

Oh. Yeah, I guess everyone might be? [ Unclear! He does not have a brain, therefore thinking hard— ] It's hard for me to see anything.

Mostly because I don't have eyes, I think.

[ He's doing his best!!! His best just isn't very good right now. Hence why immediately Mizuki bumps into another tree. ]

[sesa]

Well...in that case, I can tell you that we are all animals of some sort currently. You've become a jellyfish.

[A very small, adorable one.]

And I am some sort of...cross between a lizard and a bird. I've never seen such before.

[Hang on Sesa is just gonna...gently reach out and boop Mizuki with his nose to guide him back to where he is. Come here.]

IV pls thank u

[simplicitas]

When the fog wall was pulled back, me and Sesa managed to get to that whirlpool.

[Elsword is laying on his side next to Mizuki, stretched out with one hand propping his head up. He looks comfortable, for once in his life. He's said it before, but being around Mizuki and the moon shard he ate and basically became does wonders for all the pain his body experiences due to the corruption.

He kind of wants to curl around the jelly and squish him into a hug. He refrains, though.]

I wish we could go to the beach. Maybe one day...

[mooninthewater]

You mean when the both of you said "we were only gone for like half a day" but you were gone for like three? [ He gives Elsword a playful nudge. He was still really worried about him, then. ] Did you guys go out in the water, then? I'm a little jealous — I miss the ocean. It's the best place to sleep.

Do you think that's another Guardian out there? I remember there was supposed to be one by the cliffs. Maybe that's the one they were talking about?

[simplicitas]

We didn't really swim or anything. The whirlpool would've killed us. I carried Sesa in my arms like a princess and let the waves touch my shoes, but that's as far as we got.

[Sesa is, y'know, a whole foot taller than Elsword. So.]

I dunno if it's a Guardian. It would be cool if it was.

[mooninthewater]

Ehehe!!! Like a princess? Oh man, I'll have to tease him about that~.

[ He wiggles himself closer to Elsword so he can use him as a pillow. ]

We could try asking it, I guess? Talking to stuff hasn't really worked with regards to Moder, but it did for Mister Zahliya? I dunno if it'll hear us, though. I think I might be able to get it's attention if I try to use my… um, Aegirian voice? The sort of… um, echo-y voice, I mean. It's meant for speaking underwater so other kin can hear.

Do you think that's worth a try?

[simplicitas]

[Elsword will stop french girl posing and lay back so Mizuki can do this.]

Sesa and me tried to talk to it. It couldn't hear us. Or maybe it didn't care? I dunno. You could try, though. That might help.

[Combing his hands through Mizuki's hair...]

[mooninthewater]

Hmm… If it didn't care, then I certainly wouldn't get it's attention. I'm nothing all that important or anything…

And I'd feel a bit silly if I tried without a response. My Aegirian sounds weird 'cause I'm not that good at singing…

[simplicitas]

Who says you're not important? [Elsword will Get them.] I think you sing nice, too.

V b., this will go well

[forwander]

[Hello Mizuki, nice to see you. Passenger is sitting down outside with a book in his hands, which he politely puts aside when Mizuki blorps up to him to start asking questions.

...]

I have not heard of it. If you would be so kind...?

[Tell him more about your dilemma.]

[mooninthewater]

The prisoner’s dilemma presents a situation where two parties, separated and unable to communicate, have been caught for some sort of crime. For this thought project, your relation to the other party is intentionally vague and ultimately doesn't matter, as well as the crime you committed.

The authorities have no other witnesses, and can only prove the case against them if they can convince at least one of you to betray your accomplice and testify to the crime. You are given the choice: you can keep quiet and each get 1 year in jail each, or you can testify and you don't get any jail time, and your partner gets 5 years in jail. However, if you both testify against the other, each of you will get 3 years in jail.

Do you testify?

[forwander]

I do not.

[This is. All he says. I'm sorry Mizuki.]

[mooninthewater]

You don't! [ Mizuki repeats, excitedly. Oh he loves this part. He doesn't know Passenger well enough to go making assumptions, though, and there's so much he wants to know! Is he the trusting type? The self-sacrificing type? The cooperative type? Something else??? Oh the suspense is killing him, can he just crack Passenger's skull open and find out that way— ] What's your reasoning?

[forwander]

I simply see no reason to. If I were guilty of a crime, why hide it? Why would I see fit to implicate my partner as well if that were the case? I do not believe I should get away with a crime of any severity when someone I have partnered with takes the fall.