sticks and bones. (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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sticksandbones2024-04-05 10:27 am
sticksandbonesmods) wrote in sticksandbones2024-04-05 10:27 am
Entry tags:
- !event,
- arknights: gnosis,
- arknights: mizuki,
- arknights: passenger,
- arknights: sesa,
- cookie run: dark cacao cookie,
- cookie run: pure vanilla cookie,
- original: kiera canorus,
- original: luca aurelius,
- the owl house: hunter,
- the world ends with you: beat,
- the world ends with you: joshua,
- trigun: livio,
- trigun: vash,
- trigun: wolfwood
EVENT 011
LIFE HAS MANY DOORS, ED-BOY
A DOORWAY OF CONFUSION
The residents of Aldric’s Grove have been down in the dumps recently, haven’t they? Whose fault could that be? Is it the fault of Wolfwood, who started the catastrophic bonfire? The Forest, who took over the body of Elsword and set him to the slaughter? Perhaps it’s the fault of Vash, who disappeared and came back with a corpse, or Beat, who went berserker-mode on everybody. Maybe it’s Gnosis’ general mopey energy spreading like a plague, or the fact that Luca has had the bar closed up for so long, or Pure Vanilla’s forays into his past. Why are you all so depressed, wonders a spirit in the forest, a spirit who has watched you for a long time. Why are you all staying indoors and not talking to each other?
This spirit knows what to do to cheer everybody up. A fun little prank, an event that will spark joy and lead you to somewhere vast and unknowable. Yes… the spirit has been here before, always observing you, even if you don’t often see it. It is the same spirit who hosted that masquerade all the way back in October before diving feet-first into a sinkhole. It is… a walking skeleton by the name of Mr. Bone-Jangles, and he is casting a spell.
At midnight, the sound of rattling bones rings out across the Grove, alongside a chime that sounds like the bell that hangs over the General Store’s door, and then a distinctly warped sound like trying to listen to music underwater. Were you to look outside your windows, you’ll spot a skeleton dressed like a cashier dancing around the well and the two statues next to it, movin’ and groovin’ to the beat of his own drum. Should you try to get outside through a door or a window, however…
You’ll wind up somewhere else. Not where you expected that door to lead, certainly. Your bedroom door might take you to your bathroom, or to your neighbour’s room, or to Ydalir’s tent. Your window might have plopped you right into the church, or the clinic, or one of the many weight-lifting rooms in the rec center. Should you try to leave the new location you’ve found yourself in, you’ll be in a similar spot — these doors also don’t go where they’re supposed to. The doorways have been scrambled, but at least — once they’ve been walked through — their randomized location is permanently set. If the inn doors lead to the bar, they’ll continue to lead to the bar.
Should you manage, by some miracle, to make it outside? Mr. Bone-Jangles will simply wave his phalanges at you and disappear into a puff of smoke.
This enchantment, or perhaps “prank” will last for the month. Good luck, Aldric’s Grove! Merry April Fool’s Month!
This spirit knows what to do to cheer everybody up. A fun little prank, an event that will spark joy and lead you to somewhere vast and unknowable. Yes… the spirit has been here before, always observing you, even if you don’t often see it. It is the same spirit who hosted that masquerade all the way back in October before diving feet-first into a sinkhole. It is… a walking skeleton by the name of Mr. Bone-Jangles, and he is casting a spell.
At midnight, the sound of rattling bones rings out across the Grove, alongside a chime that sounds like the bell that hangs over the General Store’s door, and then a distinctly warped sound like trying to listen to music underwater. Were you to look outside your windows, you’ll spot a skeleton dressed like a cashier dancing around the well and the two statues next to it, movin’ and groovin’ to the beat of his own drum. Should you try to get outside through a door or a window, however…
You’ll wind up somewhere else. Not where you expected that door to lead, certainly. Your bedroom door might take you to your bathroom, or to your neighbour’s room, or to Ydalir’s tent. Your window might have plopped you right into the church, or the clinic, or one of the many weight-lifting rooms in the rec center. Should you try to leave the new location you’ve found yourself in, you’ll be in a similar spot — these doors also don’t go where they’re supposed to. The doorways have been scrambled, but at least — once they’ve been walked through — their randomized location is permanently set. If the inn doors lead to the bar, they’ll continue to lead to the bar.
Should you manage, by some miracle, to make it outside? Mr. Bone-Jangles will simply wave his phalanges at you and disappear into a puff of smoke.
This enchantment, or perhaps “prank” will last for the month. Good luck, Aldric’s Grove! Merry April Fool’s Month!
SAVINGS, SAVINGS, SAVINGS!
One door in the Grove, and only one, will lead you to a completely new space. A space named Alpha Mart, designated by the golden sign. It is, for all intents and purposes, a fairly advanced (by Grove standards) grocery store, and it carries… products of the uncanny and unusual. Once you’re inside, you can’t leave via the door you came from — it’s up to you to find a different exit, because that entrance door will simply plop you back inside.
What kind of products are here, one might ask? Well, the produce section contains the, erm, expected yet unexpected fruits and veggies, which at times seem to be alive and have minds of their own; the carrots will stop mid-yoga session to run away from you, the beetroots will try to bite, the raspberries have tiny eyes, and the tomatoes act much like lemmings, throwing themselves off of the displays at your feet. Nets in a tall, warped basket near the produce section can be used to catch anything that moves, and once caught, they’ll rest like normal food items would in your cart or basket or hands or pockets. All of these are perfectly edible despite the moral implications!
Head on to aisle fifteen, where the snacks are, and you may be pleasantly surprised by the great savings (100% Off!) on blueberry-flavoured pretzel bites, 100% salt peanuts, fried sunflower petal chips, and cookies shaped like Moder’s head. The deli section is a delight of chocolate-flavoured cheeses and lunchmeats with your faces printed on them. Even though some displays clip out of reality, rest assured, you’ll be fine to walk through those spots. The hard-working staff of skeletons are working on cleaning it up. Speaking of cleaning up, do you need something to wash your sins away with? How about some Plausible Deniability?
The walk-in freezers nearby are pleasantly deep and chilly, and should you walk through them, you might find yourself spat out somewhere else. …still within the Alpha Mart, of course. You didn’t think you could leave through a twisting maze of soda bottles, did you? Come on.
%20(1).jpg){kind=link}
What kind of products are here, one might ask? Well, the produce section contains the, erm, expected yet unexpected fruits and veggies, which at times seem to be alive and have minds of their own; the carrots will stop mid-yoga session to run away from you, the beetroots will try to bite, the raspberries have tiny eyes, and the tomatoes act much like lemmings, throwing themselves off of the displays at your feet. Nets in a tall, warped basket near the produce section can be used to catch anything that moves, and once caught, they’ll rest like normal food items would in your cart or basket or hands or pockets. All of these are perfectly edible despite the moral implications!
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/omega-mart-corn-drill-MART0820-69405310e82d45d6976499f3f5750ac3.jpg){kind=link}
Head on to aisle fifteen, where the snacks are, and you may be pleasantly surprised by the great savings (100% Off!) on blueberry-flavoured pretzel bites, 100% salt peanuts, fried sunflower petal chips, and cookies shaped like Moder’s head. The deli section is a delight of chocolate-flavoured cheeses and lunchmeats with your faces printed on them. Even though some displays clip out of reality, rest assured, you’ll be fine to walk through those spots. The hard-working staff of skeletons are working on cleaning it up. Speaking of cleaning up, do you need something to wash your sins away with? How about some Plausible Deniability?
The walk-in freezers nearby are pleasantly deep and chilly, and should you walk through them, you might find yourself spat out somewhere else. …still within the Alpha Mart, of course. You didn’t think you could leave through a twisting maze of soda bottles, did you? Come on.
FUN 100% GUARANTEED OR YOUR SHELLS BACK!
cw in first image link: eyes, trypophobia
After making it through the freezer aisle and its twisting, cold maze of products, you’ll arrive at the, uh… um… the eyeball space! Anyway, let’s quickly move on from there.
Quite a ways out of the eyeball space, where the walls blink at you and follow your every move, is something of a playground indoors, featuring both your run-of-the-mill slides and waterslides where the water is dish soap and the swimming pool at the bottom is white chocolate. Try not to get any in your mouth; it doesn’t taste great! Inner tubes are provided by a skeleton staff member wearing a speedo, who also functions as a lifeguard should you drown in chocolate. Your grocery products can safely be set in a cubby nearby for “purchasing” later. Or you can use them between slide sessions. They are free, after all.
When you’re done with the slides, heading through a side door will lead you into a different section of the Alpha Mart, where the products continue to be bizarre and sometimes-sentient. Anything and everything you can imagine is here, unless it makes sense, in which case it’s completely absent from the store. At the tail end is the checkouts, where Mr. Bone-Jangles stands in his cashier uniform, miming a tired retail worker. He’ll send you through with your products after you pretend to pay him and will refuse actual attempts to pay, and then the exit door to the Alpha Mart will be revealed on the back wall. If you walk through it…
It spits you out in the middle of the Grove, and your silly “purchased” products are gone. If you want to go back in, you’re going to have to find the door again. The entrance should be in the same location it just was, at least.
…or maybe, after all of that, you need to wash the chocolate off and take a nap.
After making it through the freezer aisle and its twisting, cold maze of products, you’ll arrive at the, uh… um… the eyeball space! Anyway, let’s quickly move on from there.
%20(1).jpg){kind=link}
Quite a ways out of the eyeball space, where the walls blink at you and follow your every move, is something of a playground indoors, featuring both your run-of-the-mill slides and waterslides where the water is dish soap and the swimming pool at the bottom is white chocolate. Try not to get any in your mouth; it doesn’t taste great! Inner tubes are provided by a skeleton staff member wearing a speedo, who also functions as a lifeguard should you drown in chocolate. Your grocery products can safely be set in a cubby nearby for “purchasing” later. Or you can use them between slide sessions. They are free, after all.
When you’re done with the slides, heading through a side door will lead you into a different section of the Alpha Mart, where the products continue to be bizarre and sometimes-sentient. Anything and everything you can imagine is here, unless it makes sense, in which case it’s completely absent from the store. At the tail end is the checkouts, where Mr. Bone-Jangles stands in his cashier uniform, miming a tired retail worker. He’ll send you through with your products after you pretend to pay him and will refuse actual attempts to pay, and then the exit door to the Alpha Mart will be revealed on the back wall. If you walk through it…
It spits you out in the middle of the Grove, and your silly “purchased” products are gone. If you want to go back in, you’re going to have to find the door again. The entrance should be in the same location it just was, at least.
…or maybe, after all of that, you need to wash the chocolate off and take a nap.
SPARK NOTES
CLICK TO EXPAND!
A DOORWAY OF CONFUSION
A skeleton has made the doorways stop working properly. Your doors and windows and other entryways now lead to random locations within the Grove. At least once they're locked in place, they don't change. Try not to walk in on your friends changing!
SAVINGS, SAVINGS, SAVINGS!
Welcome to Alpha Mart! There are sentient produce items and other weird products. You're going to be here a while, considering the way out is nowhere to be found. Enjoy shopping! Remember to eat the 100% Salt Peanuts while you're here!
FUN 100% GUARANTEED OR YOUR SHELLS BACK!
This isn't just a grocery store. It also contains slides, chocolate pools, and ten thousand other things that are vaguely horrifying and weird. The way out is through the checkouts. It's a shame that you can't take your products into the Grove with you.
OOC
Happy April Fool’s, Sticks & Bones! Casual modly reminder that we’re allowing you to make up whatever you want for this event due to the nonsense nature of it. Disclaimer: Neither of the mods have been to the Meow Wolf this event is based on. We’re sorry for inconsistencies but something something copyright free use don’t sue us thanks. OOC Plotting Lives Here if you'd like to plot out nonsense alongside actual plot-important things, or just see an update of the recent lore from last month. Have fun!
UPDATES
❖ None yet!
SUBMISSIONS
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[It’s the slam of a door that announces Vash’s presence to the world. It doesn’t matter where you are. Sittin’ on the toilet, in bed, about to take a shower. In one moment there’s a wooden crack and then silence follows. It doesn’t last terribly long before the creak of a door breaks the fragile peace that envelops the space.]
Oh man, how’d I break something this bad.
[Turning to look at your nearest door will net you one look at one floppy haired blond. He spots his guest? Visitor? Visited? And flashes a wide, if sheepish, grin.]
So. This isn’t what it looks like. I definitely didn’t do this. Probably.
[And with that, the door slams shut again. There’s a gap of five seconds, before it warily opens once more.]
Dammit!!
ii. It Grows Upon the Mountain, in a Sacred Place
[One way or another, Vash eventually figures out that the doors aren’t his doing. Imagine being able to create a gateway to another space. That’d be weird. Clearly he was ridiculous for thinking it was himself!
Anyway.
After venturing through the strange network of doors, Vash finds himself, predictably, within the heart of AlphaMart. Unfortunately, this weird mish-mash of aesthetics and batshit products is right up his alley. And so you can find him going through the aisles, showing off the products that he finds.
This one, for example!
Hey look! [He holds it out with his single arm.] Coping mechs! Get it because I’m a mech and … [He looks down at the empty space where his arm normally is. Instead, he finds only the tied off sleeve of his new shirt] You know. The joke isn’t as funny when I don’t look like a robot.]
iii. Once He's Gazed Upon Him, a Man is Forever Changed - Closed to
[Vash has been following Livio for a long time. He’s found a product that he’s very, very excited to use, and Livio’s the perfect target. Specifically… This thing. This thing he immediately took out of its packaging and is now lining up for the perfect shot!]
Hey Livio!
[He intends to hit square in the chest. Unfortunately, this goo hand is very new and very out of control. And so as Livio turns, the hand extends and. Well.
Slaps him right in the crotch.]
iv. Wildcard
[Hit me with anything, or DM me to brainstorm!]
ii
Anyway, Wolfwood is here! Against his will, but he is here nonetheless. He's using his crutches for a blessing, meaning that he isn't getting stuck in doors trying to navigate this hellish grocery store.
And that, right there, basically tells him everything he needs to know. Not that he hasn't noticed the absence of Vash's arm, they just haven't talked about it yet.]
So how long were you plannin' on goin' without it?
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Ah, you know. [He heaves a shrug.] However long it takes Gnosis to replicate it and provide something for you, I guess. I can manage just fine without it. See!
[He wiggles the fingers of his remaining hand!]
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Uh huh.
[He tips his head a bit to one side, looking at Vash over the rims of his shades. It's definitely a far cry from how it's been, with Wolfwood being the one having to look up at people, instead of at them eye-to-eye.]
We don't got lost tech here, yaknow.
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We do have people like Heimr. And Ydalir. And for the record, Gnosis's world was just as advanced as ours. Probably more, seeing as how this kind of thing wasn't lost tech for them. If anyone can make it work, it'll be him.
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Guess I ain't got nothin' else to lose, right?
[If Vash can do dark humor so can he-
He will shuffle a little closer to him though, so they're more side-by-side as he glances back down at the item in his hands.]
Where'd you get that anyway?
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[Vash is more than happy to accommodate for his partner moving into his space. Granted, they can't exactly hold hands, what with Wolfwood having to use his crutches, so brushing shoulders occasionally will have to do. Going off of Vash's beaming smile, he doesn't seem any more or less upset by their current arrangements.]
This? Couple aisle to the right? Or maybe the left? Or... up? [This place is a mess.] There were some other toys around there! Real silly ones.
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Yeah? Well, ain't like we're gettin' outta here any time soon. Show me.
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You being serious? Or just trying to mess with me! Because I bared my heart with that little robot toy, you know! I don't think he or I could take the heartbreak!
[Despite his "protests," he is, in fact, guiding Wolfwood toward the aisle. He thinks. Hard to say around here.]
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so he does! and so liv turns around to see what he needs, and then jumps and yipes not unlike angelina when a squirrel surprises her in the window. he's certainly not down for the count, but he does give vash a horrified look.]
What the hell was that?! [this is surprise, not anger. it's livio, after all.]
no subject
It's - It's - [He starts snorting all over again.] It's a bitch slap! And I got ya!
no subject
A wh...
[he just STARES at vash incredulously. even more so as vash just laughs. this is almost fascinating. will he never comprehend the complex inner workings of this plant?
... okay, he scoffs once, and chuckles more.]
... Pff. Y'sure did.
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[He titters with another bout of laughter, before finally shuffling closer. He claps Livio on the arm, not nearly as hard as he should. Maybe his hand lingers for a few seconds longer than it should. What can he say, he likes the muscles.]
Sorry, just been awhile since I've seen you smile. [He sobers up, just a little.] I know I'm probably the laast person who should ask you for it but. Was still nice to see.
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Ah... Sorry. Been a rough couple months 'n all, y'know... Didn't mean to worry you, Mr. Vash.
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Mister, huh? [He tries to keep his tone light, but there's still a slightly "off" note to it.] No, yeah. That's fine!
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Ah... You asked me to drop that part, haven't you? Habit... Sorry, Vash.
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[He says with his hard feelings. His sole arm coils around his waist.]
Aaanyway, you found anything interesting around here? You should show me! C'mon!
[He is... very quickly moving past Livio! Just give him a few seconds to compose himself, it's fine!]
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i // sorry to embarrass both of them but not really
He is also asleep. Enciodes is definitely with him. The door opening wakes him up...
...]
Good morning?
[Bird looks scrungled. Vash disappears and reappears and Gnosis somehow looks even more tired.]
...Vash. Disappearing and reappearing won't make me get out of bed any faster.
[In fact he is going to remain shirtless and in bed with his husband thank you.]
no subject
The door creeps closed once more. It stays that way, perhaps for a minute or two. Long enough that maybe Gnosis will think it's all a dream.
Until it flies open yet again.]
Aw c'mon! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break it, honest!
rubie said i could steal enciodes for a tag therefore-
...
Gnosis gets out of bed and reaches for his sweater, draped over the back of the desk chair, and throws it on. His glasses follow suit as he's getting up.]
If you're here for a status update on Wolfwood's prosthetic, it's coming along. I take it your impatience and barging into my bedroom is because of that. I'm also decently sure I locked the door leading to this hallway, but perhaps not. In either case, I'd appreciate it if you could—
[Pauses as he grabs the door handle and pokes his head out. Uh.]
—that is not the lab.
[what the fuck is happening.]
hi mister silverash hiiii
Vash motions feebly toward the door, as if somehow Gnosis might understand his predicament from motions alone.]
Like I said! It's broken! I don't even know how you break something this bad but! [He shrugs, defeated.]
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[He's about to step out into the house proper, sorry he wasn't invited but he needs to know more about this whole situation, when Unci — the baby snow leopard who was previously perched on the end of the bed — zips out between both of their legs into Vash's living room.
Baby seeks chaos. Baby seeks Angelina to play with.
Gnosis just sighs, looking briefly apologetic.]
Sorry.
[Baby snow leopard in your house what will you do]
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It's perhaps a good thing that Angelina is apparently in the bedroom, presently inaccessible though it is. Not that she doesn't notice Unci! She immediately starts yapping up a storm from her vantage point on the bed. The second she jumps up and attempts to run through the door, though -
Poof. Off she goes to somewhere. Puppy in the Alpha Mart, what sins will she commit.]
S'fine. S'fine... [He bends at the waist, flopping down low enough for the tips of his fingers to drag against the floor.] Wolfwood's going to kill me.
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We'll find her. Presumably, all of the doorways are scrambled— [Unci trundles back over to Gnosis like ? Friend gone :(?] —which might mean a search. Perhaps she'll have wandered to a room with a door, or into the home of someone who will hold her until she's found.
[Just. Walks into the house.]
Come on. Wolfwood doesn't have to kill you if you find her in time.
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(He might be deliberately avoiding the more concerning scenarios mentally. He's already stressed enough.]
How are we supposed to catch her when we can't even get the doors to work right.
[Since trying to go out of the front door isn't working, he beelines toward the door to Livio's room.]
Maybe this one?
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