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sticksandbones2024-03-01 09:09 am
sticksandbonesmods) wrote in sticksandbones2024-03-01 09:09 am
Entry tags:
EVENT & TDM 010
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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
❖ None yet!
SUBMISSIONS
Lucifer Morningstar | Hazbin Hotel | Current Player (new character voicetesting pls be gentle)
From the big boss of Hell himself (Netbook) | OTA
Check out Daddy's reviews on Yelp (Cat-Tastrophe) | OTA
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
a year?
i think it's a year. times weird here. we had three full moons last month(?).
it's been very trying.
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Alright then! We aren't in Hell, and we aren't on Earth. So.
Just where the hell are we, might I ask?
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long story short, this used to be a steadily growing town in the woods to establish a traderoute between cities. and then someone unleashed a monster sealed within a hidden temple because of course they did. and that monster has steadily slaughtered everyone, got sealed within the forest as a last resort, and managed to kidnap new victims from different worlds.
that would be us.
the natives would be heimr, ydalir and nene- two shadowy folks and the girl with wooden legs and a peony in her eye.
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Now are you aaaabsolutely one hundred percent positive this isn't Earth? A ~corrupted~ version of it maybe? Beyond the part about monsters and world-hopping-kidnapping, it sounds a lot LIKE earth. You know, the part with the humans trying to settle and all. Very Earth-like. Also very Earth-like for sinners to meddle with things they don't understand and then ruin the planet with it, that's definitely an Earth thing.
Not that I'm saying this couldn't just be a pocket dimension offshoot of another universe, very plausible. Just trying to make sure I'm understanding this all correctly.
Cause I gotta tell ya, this is a bit wild sounding even for me, and I've seen. Well, literally everything!
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trust me i know its a lot!!!! ive been here for the beginning except like w
nevermind actually we don't need to talk about that part
anyway yeah no. its in the stars. and the moon. NOT earth. or at least it sure as fuck isnt MY earth.
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Actually, hold on. Back to that last thing you just said. So we're on the moon now? Or do you mean in the stars as in metaphorically.
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[system of a down voice] WAKE UP
[The voice comes from behind Lucifer, but also notably above and behind. If he turns to look, there's... no one there? There's not even any place for anyone to be unless they've climbed a tree. Unfortunately, the trees nearby seem to be empty. Could it have been the wind, or maybe just a figment of his imagination?
What do you do, little man?]
KSJHFJK SCREAMS LAUGHING
He's internally immediately on high alert, he just doesn't let that show outwardly. He merely adjusts himself, flips his cane around, and plants it in the soft soil beyond the shallows, looking up into the trees.]
Oh? And are you going to tell me why that is, my friend?
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I don't think so.
[The voice is behind Lucifer again. Very close behind, this time. Directly behind his head, in fact. If Lucifer turns to look - which he's banking on! - he'll find Joshua, right behind him, floating seated in mid-air with one knee over the other, elbow on his knee, chin braced on the back of his hand with the other hand folded in his lap.]
If I gave it all away, where would my entertainment be?
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And, true to form, Joshua manages to startle him nearly right out of his skin. If it weren't for the fact that Joshua is positioned where he is, Lucifer might have just completely lost his balance and ended up ass-over-teakettle in the river. And then, well, petting the biblically accurate croc would have been the least of his problems.]
Ho-woah! Oh- oh my. Goodness, just where the hell did you come from?
[He takes a step back, brushing off the lapels of his suit before tossing his cane from one hand to the other.]
You know if you're looking for entertainment, I'm not sure I'm the person you're looking for. I'm still not...entirely sure where I am, unless you'd be so kind as to enlighten me? Misterrrrr...?
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Well, it wasn't from hell.
[Limbo, maybe, but not hell. He thinks he's funny.
As his quarry straightens himself out, Joshua straightens up, leaving his knee crossed over the other but shifting to instead cross his arms over his chest.]
Oh, you'd be surprised. Entertainment can come from anywhere.
[A brief flourish of his hand, and his arms cross again. Explanation can come in a moment, but first:]
My name is Yoshiya Kiryu. But, you can call me Joshua. And you are?
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[Lucifer is still eyeing Joshua with particular intrigue, because for the most part there are very few hellborn who have the ability to do what Joshua is doing now. Some of the more powerful do of course, like the Seven Sins, the occasional Overlord, and more rarely a Goetia...but this Joshua looks like none of those.
In fact, he looks like just a mere human. And that is what has him more interested than anything.
Well, if Josh is going to introduce himself...Lucifer will do so in kind, reaching up to tip his hat.]
Lucifer Morningstar. A pleasure. And, forgive me for being presumptuous but...I don't suppose you're actually human.
Are you?
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Ooh. Big name, there.
[For a little man. But that goes unsaid, because that question catches him off guard just enough that his attention is abruptly diverted. He laughs, a quiet chuckle, and shifts again to lean back in his "seat".]
Mm, maybe. Maybe not. What do you think?
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bambi vs snek
Oops! Didn't see you down there, little worm.
[.... stomp stomp stomp!!!]
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Eventually though, he manages to slink up a tree, crawling quickly onto one of the low hanging branches so he can wrap his body around it and hang there for a bit to catch his breath.]
Hah! Well ain't that just fucking fantastic-
[He hisses under his breath, his tongue flickering out. Blelele.]
Better watch yourself, pal. I hear it's deer-hunting season in these parts.
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A deer smiling is incredibly unnerving, and even more so when the deer has shark teeth] Oh, look, now you're at least at eye level. Fabulous, I won't have to throw out my neck looking down at you.
[he tosses his head back and laughs, then prances around the tree] Oh, is it? Does this look like autumn to you? My goodness. I know it's been some time since you've been on Earth, but deer aren't hunted in the middle of spring, your majesty. But, you know, it's open season on slippery serpents. You'd make a lovely pair of boots -- for a baby.
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He winds around the branch a couple more times to make sure he's secure just in case before rising up to a slightly taller height. There's no way he can get much taller unless he tries to climb higher up, but at least this way he's almost looking down at the deer heckling him from the ground.]
Oh, it isn't autumn at all. But I'm pretty sure Satan himself isn't beholden to the law, wouldn't you agree?
[He smirks, showing off his own rows of teeth, as well as the large twin fangs he sports now that he's been snakeified.]
Speaking of fashion, spots are a terrible look on you, Bambi.
[Does he even have spots. This burn is not going to land if he does not but Lucifer doesn't seem to be worried about being accurate-]
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[he has spots!! faint ones. That... look more like eyes than spots, actually. He folds his ears a bit, smile more of a grimace]
You know, people keep calling me that. I have no idea what y'all are referencing, so it's a pointless insult. [oops a y'all slipped out]
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Oh, you don't know? [Lucifer chuckles, as if he's privy to some sort of wonderful secret, using the tip of his tail to tip his hat to one side.] Very famous little guy, but not a very good history with guns I'm afraid.
[And no it doesn't seem like he's going to clarify what that means.]
You know if you've been here a while, I would have thought I'd have seen your hoof prints all over this place already. You aren't exactly the kind of guy who can handle being out of the spotlight for more than five minutes, am I right?
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wake me up insiiiddee
Hilariously, it's the monstrous creatures that give her the most comfort. There's something familiar in them, in spirit, even if she doesn't know who or what they actually are.
And speaking of familiar--]
...Dad?! [Charlie could recognize that voice anywhere and she rushes toward the voice until she spots him] Dad! Oh my gosh, am I happy to see you! [Or anyone she could recognize from home really]
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The moment he hears a familiar voice calling for him though- Dad- all attempts at making a new friend are abandoned. He shoots upright so quickly he has to grab his hat to keep it from tumbling off, pivoting just in time to see Charlie come crashing through the undergrowth.]
Charlie! Sweetie! Oh, thank goodness, finally someone else! And it's you! My favorite someone!
[And if she does not stop him, he is going to hug her. That is just happening, he is attempting to crush her ribs with the force of this hug. He's still not quite lifting her up off the ground though due to their height difference, much to his chagrin. Alas.
He will draw back to let her breathe after a moment though, holding her at arm's length.]
Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you? One second we're rebuilding and the next- whoosh, pop, dear ol' dad's wound up someplace else entirely. It's been a while since I've accidentally lifted myself someplace else, you'd think I'd have a better handle on the whole teleportation magic by now-
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She inhales air gratefully once she's let go, laughing a little. Thankfully aside form some grass stains and a couple twigs sticking out of her hair, Charlie's doing just fine.]
I'm fine, dad, really. Just... Sort of thought maybe you knew where this was. [She looks around, brow furrowed slightly.] Or maybe you'd seen someone--anyone--else?
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[He grimaces, glancing off to the side.]
That's gonna be a no, I'm afraid. I wasn't sure if anybody else was here. Not until you showed up, at least. I guess I got a bit distracted introducing myself to this lovely lady here- [Gesturing to the crocodile that is still watching them with her many eyes from the river] -so I cooould have missed somebody? Maybe? But it's probably unlikely.