sticksandbones | EVENT & TDM 012

EVENT & TDM 012

IT'S GONNA BE MAY

WAKE UP

You open your eyes, and with a jolt, find yourself within the clearing of a miniscule town surrounded by trees and thick, black fog. Despite the ominous backdrop, nature seems to be thriving — it’s a pleasantly chill spring day, as far as anyone can tell, and everything is vibrant and blooming… even some of the animals. At some point, a friendly old dog with red fur approaches, carrying a basket in his jaws. Inside are blackberries and apples other fruits. Did he find this himself? Or did someone give them to him to bring to new arrivals? Regardless, he very clearly hopes that you’ll share.

A giant golden brown turtle sits by a tent, napping in the sunlight. Two statues sit in the courtyard by an old well — a haloed woman marked as the Goddess of the Sun, Beiwe, and a gentle woman looking adoringly at her counterpart, marked as the Goddess of the Moon, Ourania. If you pay your respects, the air feels gentle and warm in the day, and like a fresh cool breeze at night.

As you explore more, perhaps the bloomed animals will approach — a mossy squirrel, or a frog who happens to also be a lilypad. It’s charming, almost. Whimsical and kind.

Shame that the wall of fog looms ever on, watching. Waiting.

SHINING, SHIMMERING, SPLENDID

cw: hallucinations, compulsions, near-death experiences

For a while, spring seems gentle, almost. Peaceful. The previous month may have been full of jokes, but things are actually safe. Of course, that can’t last forever. Every night, a purple, shimmering mist floods the town. It does not breach the doors and windows, even if left open, but looking at it is… enticing.

Should you give in, the mist is cool and gentle, swaying around you like smoke. The longer you stay in, the more your eyes feel blissfully heavy. Soon, you find yourself surrounded by loved ones, in a place that brings you joy — a childhood home, a vacation spot, some place warm and safe and dear to your heart. Everyone is playing and having so much fun. Join them! Join them!

Of course, by the time you do jump into the fun, you’ll find yourself awakened with a start, just about to fall into danger. Perhaps you climbed a tree and were about to leap to the ground from too high up. Or maybe you stuck your head in the river and your lungs were about to empty. Regardless, the happy dream shatters with imminent danger, and perhaps you’d better hope that someone else is nearby to help you. … Especially since with each night you give in, the more enticing the mist is the next night.

DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY

At some point, the mist is forcibly dissipated and instead the moon shines brightly, almost like a spotlight. Investigation will reveal an absurdly large capybara that seems more like a vehicle than an animal, even with the jasmine flowers hanging off of it, siting down with the ‘door’ accessible to anyone willing to climb in.

“Come with me, and I will bring you to a night of festivities.” is all that it says when asked. And it knows that you will — you’re all curious as kittens, after all. Once the last person takes a fuzzy seat within the capybara, it slowly stands up and begins walking through the woods, and for the first time, everything seems peaceful. Normal, even. Why, there’s not even a monster or misshapen, grabby tree! Just a moonlit forest, and fireflies in the distance.

Eventually it brings you to a small but beautiful cabin, crouching down to let everyone out again. Outside is a layer of marble surrounded by pillars decorated with sheer fabrics and an abundance of lilies and calendula, jasmine and marigolds, hydrangeas and gladiolus. A buffet table has also been spread out, and within the cabin are changing rooms with a multitude of ornate gowns and suits, alongside sitting rooms and other potential necessities — though you get the feeling that you should still be on your best behavior here.

Gentle music plays from an unknown source. The capybara is resting, until it’s time to leave come sunrise. For one night, everything is at peace. You may as well enjoy it, and dance to your heart’s content.

SPARK NOTES

CLICK TO EXPAND!

WAKE UP

Welcome to Aldric's Grove! The fog wall is a little creepy, but worry not: A dog has brought you a snack, and the plant-bearing wildlife are pretty friendly. If you've been here for a while, no worry: You, too, are getting a basket of treats from the dog.

SHINING, SHIMMERING, SPLENDID

A purple mist fills the Grove at night, and stepping into it makes you experience a euphoric dream... shortly before you wake up because you nearly walked into death. Be careful, because the mists are addicting, and you may not have an easy time avoiding their temptation the following nights.

DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY

For one night, the mists clear up and peace settles over the forest. A giant capybara gleefully takes everyone to the site of a grand dance, where the clothing and food are all free, and the music swells with joy. Dance your hearts out until dawn breaks, and then the capybara will take you back home.

OOC

Happy May! This is a reminder that TDMs are game canon. Enjoy your dreams, enjoy your prom night, enjoy the capybara. OOC Plotting Lives Here if you'd like to plot anything out!

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INVESTIGATIONS
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(CODE)

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Please use the following form for investigations:

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

For players currently in the game, please use the regular NPC Contact page.

For TDMers: Comment here with a desired NPC in the subject line and kick off an interaction! Yes, the dog is an NPC. :)

I. wake up (there's a dog)

[Sometimes you wake up in an unfamiliar location, decide "fuck this", and then leave your strange owldog unsupervised. Where is this creature's owner? Great question, gone into the woods probably. That's okay, because the owldog is self-sufficient! Namely...

He and the Actual Dog are sharing blackberries right from the basket, and when those are finished, he — beak stained purple — will get up and wander around the rest of the Grove. Where is he going? What is he doing?? What crimes will he commit??? The answer is yes, yes, and all of them. Whatever you're holding, the greyhound-sized animal tries to take it from you, yipping in a distinctly owl-like way if you refuse. Perhaps he already broke into your house or inn room and has gotten into your fridge, or stolen your socks. Perhaps you are simply so interesting to him that he wants to show you something cool (the river, there's fish in it), so he's tugging your pantleg until you come with him.

His name is Dachsologie — or Dachie, if you're pressed for time — and maybe his owner will show back up and tell you that. For right now, the owldog has established himself as a public nuisance.]

II. in the church

[At some point, said owldog's owner finds himself in the church, flitting about with a purpose. He's looking for something, it would seem, and judging by the flat look in his eyes, he hasn't exactly found it. The pigeons in the rafters have begun to coo at him, clearly disturbed by his presence, especially when he physically climbs into them and dangles from a beam, frowning when there's nothing up here, and drops back down. Perhaps "drops" isn't the right word; it's more like he floats down on a current of energy, but details schmetails.

If you don't walk in on him dangling from the rafters like a freak, you might walk in on him sitting on the altar, legs crossed at the ankles, with several of those cult texts in his lap. There's a frown on his face that quickly clears up whenever you come in, though he doesn't actually hop down from the altar which he should not be sitting on and instead leans back and gives you a cheerful wave.]

Are you in charge of the cult?

[Listen bro your texts are suspicious he just wants answers—]

III. at the dance

[Ain has figured out a couple things (read: nothing at all) about this place. The first is that nothing makes sense (good, off to a great start) and the second is that the little clothing shop at this dance function will provide suits for animals. Dachie is dressed up in a little owldog tux and looking dapper, and Ain only somewhat matches, wearing something with far too many frills. He's debating ripping the sleeves off, he is not a sleeves boy, but so far he's managed to refrain from committing crimes against fashion. Everyone be grateful, this will not happen again.

Throughout the event, he's mostly wallflowering; by nature Ain tends to stick to the backs of crowds and only speak when he feels it's necessary, and right now, it's more fun to him to watch the humans (questionable) do their little human dances (also questionable). It looks fun, don't get him wrong, but... okay, so he doesn't know how to dance, he doesn't want to make an ass of himself. The social anxiety, man, it just don't leave.

...

Somehow, this does not stop him from turning to you if you wander into speaking range to ask:]

Do you want to dance? I have no idea how, haha, but you know, don't you?

IV. Wildcard

[hi it's wolfie... i kept saying don't let me bring Ain here but here he is, so sorry about this, SOS. as a note his name is read like "eye-n" and not like the beginning of "ain't" okay ty]

[OOC: I am TDMing Sparkling as an AU version of his time in Ryslig! He will be losing his memories of his time there, save for vague spotty/fuzziness. He will be a Vampire, looking like this in game wearing a modified version of this outfit. Sorry this is the best ref I had of his back wings-]

A) Hour hand's gone from two to three, now four | The Grove

[It feels like he's awoken from a particularly long dream that he can't quite remember. The only thing he can really remember is that he was dreaming...right? That is what this feeling is? This heaviness, the difficulty he's finding in getting his limbs to want to work. Come on, Sparkling. Have you been hitting the juice too hard? You know better than this, now wake up.

Wake up!

His eyes snap open, gazing up at the sky above, and for a moment he worries he somehow got so inebriated the night before that he wound up in the forest outside of the Kingdom. That would truly be an embarrassing incident, especially since he was working late the night prior, he's pretty sure...when would he even have time for it?

He sits forward carefully, bringing a hand to his forehead to brush his bubbling locks out of them. Like usual, he hears them pop and fizz as he straightens them back into place, curls parting through his fingers easily. A sigh of relief passes his lips. All seems to be in one pie-

...

Startling with a worse jolt than the one he woke with, Sparkling brings his hand away, holding it up to look at it. His hand, previously crisp dough with a solid edge, has been split with fingers tipped by claws, and for a terrifying moment, it feels like he must have never woken up from that dream-turned-nightmare. This is a monster's hand, not his own.

He doesn't even see poor Rusty approaching him by the time he's scrambled to his feet before falling over onto his chest just a second later, his wings flaring frantically behind him. Those are just as startling if not moreso, prompting him to flip over on his back to try to see them, only winding up with pinning one beneath himself in a way that causes enough pain to force him back to his knees.]

What? What's...what's going...

[His heart isn't beating. Every breath he takes, though he doesn't realize it now, is unnecessary and forced. And the sun...it causes his skin to ache.]

V...Vampire? [He finally calls out, lifting his head from the grass.] Mint Choco...Herb? Hello!?

[His Cookie friends do not answer. Instead...a creature tinted yellow and pink just...appears out of nowhere and throws herself into Sparkling's arms before he can say or do anything, excitedly licking his face.

He is sticky now.]

B) You've barely slept all night | Prom

[By now, Sparkling has had a bit of time to adjust to his new form. Not nearly enough time, granted, but enough that he isn't startling every time he sees parts of himself out of the corner of his eye. He can't see his reflection at all (extremely distressing, but he keeps that fact mostly to himself) which means he can only glean so much from what he can see and feel, along with what others are telling him...but clearly, he's ended up in a new place entirely different from the Kingdom. Perhaps different from Earthbread altogether.

What a relief it is, if nothing else, to see just how peaceful this place has been so far.

Being carted to a new location inside of a giant Capybara is the same kind of whimsical oddity he might experience back home, so he finds a fondness for it all more than he does bewilderment. And if there's one thing Sparkling utterly adores, it's a good party.

At some point upon arrival, he finds for himself a suit that is somehow tailored to fit his wings through the back (it's magic, thanks based Capybara) to wear so that he's dressed appropriately for the party before setting off to mingle, keeping said wings tucked close to his back so he isn't accidentally smacking people with them.

...this does not always go as according to plan, as pretty much the first thing he does when stepping out is wallop someone with them walking past.]

Oh! Oh, I'm terribly sorry- are you alright?

Edited 2024-05-03 16:56 (UTC)

( in this case, it's a little of both- the owldog has his magic pen and is very eagerly leading him somewhere and vil is already over it. he does not run- that would be far too undignified- but he does follow, arms crossed, before he pause and puts his hands on his hips. )

Come now, you've had your fun. Drop the pen.

I. Wake up (from being dead)

[The last thing Harque remembers is clutching his younger brother's cheeks and telling him to run shortly before he was quite literally stabbed in the back. He knows without a doubt, when he wakes up here, that he died that night; he knows without a doubt that he shouldn't be here, either. Harque does not think he deserves to live on in any form, when his younger brother is still out there and probably terrified and in danger.

(Harque doesn't realise how much time has passed since his death and his awakening; said little brother is fine, actually, but that knowledge won't reach him here.)

He pulls himself off of the ground, wincing. His back hurts terribly, wonder why, but that's less pressing than where he is. It's pretty, despite the ominous fog wall. Harque thinks of the fog wall as a bubble meant to keep lost souls in as he looks at it. It makes sense to him, and he carries on from there.

The first person he sees is you, and he flits over to you on light footsteps, pulling at his sleeves as he tries to get your attention.]

Excuse me... I only just arrived a moment ago. Is this Heaven?

[Oh honey.]

II. don't touch the mist

[Harque figures out, after the first night of mist, not to touch it; he woke up from the dream seconds before he nearly fell off of the roof of the inn (how did he get up there, he wonders) and has since not gone out at night. That is, until he sees you about to do something equally reckless and deadly, and he thinks to himself, I wouldn't wish death on anybody, and quickly leaves the inn to run toward you.

This is also how he figures out conjuring a magic barrier around himself keeps the mist from leaking in, which, thank the Moon for that. Harque makes haste toward you, tugging on your wrist with a gentle firmness.

Come with him, we're going back into the inn.]

You shouldn't be out here in this. [If you haven't yet woken up, you're getting dragged, sorry. The barrier will extend itself around you, at least.] Are you hurt at all?

[The inn doors get shoved aside, and Harque is dragging you onto the couch and looking over you like a mother hen. Listen, he may be young, but he's responsible!]

III. dance, dance

[Formal events are second nature to Harque, who grew up wealthy and got quite used to some of their neighbours or family members throwing a grand event every so often. Thus, he is completely in his element in his formalwear, sweeping everyone he can into a dance and enjoying the buffet laid out on the table. For as shy and somewhat squirrelly as he can be, he sure is trying to be the life of the party here.

If he spots you without a dance partner, he'll suddenly appear at your side with silent footsteps, holding his hand out to you and smiling. He's a tall young man, just under six feet, so he'll find himself leaning forward a bit if you're significantly shorter than him.]

Would you like to share a dance with me?

[He only knows very traditional ballroom dancing, so anything else is going to be lost on him... but if waltzes are your thing, Harque likes to think he's an expert.]

IV. Wildcard

[yes it is wolfie again let me tdm my elswordians :/]

[Dachie's brain says SHINY THING and he wants it. He's trotting Very Fast and sometimes looking over his shoulder back at Vil like :D? Chase? Chase Dachie???

...

He does not drop the pen, he simply bounds forward toward the inn. His hoard of stolen objects (he has been here for ten minutes) lies there.]

[ where is his dog!!!!! ]

Hey-!

( the inn, is it? well, good luck getting past him when he corners you. he's had to deal with savannaclaw, after all. which is to say, vil follows! )

( trotting over with that old man gait and a basket of fruits! oh wow look at that tail fucking GO. )

[Chase Dachie!! Chase him now!!!

As Vil corners him, he starts barking, bark bark bark bark bark bark bark ba— and then he bumps the doors open with his butt and goes running through the inn lobby and dives underneath the couch. You know, where he's quite easy to get to.

He is not a smart owldog. The magic pen is getting stashed in his hoard of items (a basket, a bag of trail mix, several books he's shredded with his beak, a rock)... if Vil looks under the couch, Dachie just owl smiles at him.]

[ Rustyyyyyyyyyyyyy...! Akki's old man gait and creaky joints are more out of so many months of disuse on the account of being nonexistent, but he throws himself towards the dog nonetheless, dropping to his knees just short of reaching his friend as not to crush Rusty under his weight and receive a well deserved nip in the nose for his exuberance.

Instead, he opens his arms, and lets the dog come the rest of the way to him. ]

( the basket gets dropped rather unceremoniously, though rusty does pause to make sure nothing fell out of it.

he then absolutely bodies akki, jumping up on him and putting his whole weight into a very happy lean that turns into a slide onto his lap. )

( oh honey.

vil frowns, pausing from his own look around as he slowly looks the man over. are there any injuries? ... or the scent of blood or anything- )

Not in the least- I don't know where this little town is, but if this is the end, I've complaints to make.

( vil no )

Edited 2024-05-03 17:35 (UTC)

[ Ugh... ugghhh... it doesn't matter if he's crying, nobody can see when his face is pressed up against Rusty's warm fur that hides both Akki's tears and the small wobbly smile that forms on his face despite himself. Good dog. Best friend. Really, the only familiar thing in his place that he recognized from his 0.25 seconds of looking around the place before his attention was grabbed by this friendly sweet potato that he'd immediately latched onto the last few times he was here as well.

How much time has passed, exactly...? It's hard to tell, even after he gets ahold of himself and finally pulls away from Rusty's fur, one hand smoothing out the fur he'd cried on as if that'd stop it from being sopping wet, the other hand gently cupping the side of Rusty's face as if to see him better. ]

Hey... How have you been doing?

[ Eating well? Fur looking brighter? No new battle scars he has to go ballistic over? ]

Character(s): Dark Cacao
Location: prom
Action: Cacao is kinda slowly getting used to things just Happening in the Grove, but that doesn't mean he's not sus of this party. So between dancing and snacks he's going SNOOPIN'. If by snooping you mean just walking around like he has some kinda authority here to look around and find out why they were invited here. He really has made himself the Sherrif around here with no one else's input. Dominic would be proud

Edited 2024-05-03 17:44 (UTC)

Honestly...

( vil absolutely crouches down and just. gently pulls the owldog to him- he's irritated but it's still just an animal, after all. he does make sure he's got a good grip on him so he doesn't just run away, but he's getting his tome back! )

Drop it. And then we are returning these things, you little crimelord.

( oh- oh no? boy is sad? the boy is sad. HIS boy is sad. immediately, rusty flips and goes to give him so many kisses, headbutting his cold nose against akki's cheek between mlems.

... he looks like he's been eating more. his fur is soft too- cleaner, aside from the berry juice from stolen treats for himself. he seems happier. )

Here's a hint, Dark Cacao: from the moment the sun set to even now, the moon has stayed in its spot, shining silver light down upon the grounds. Even if time is wonky in this place, it's probably a little odd that the moon hasn't budged an inch tonight.

[ Rusty deserves all the treats. Akki would fully believe that that basket next to them is just the dog's picnic basket he's having for lunch, all for himself, so he can grow up(?) big and strong and healthy. The dog's surely doing better than Akki himself is, though that's no difficult feat to achieve. ]

Good.. good... thank goodness...

[ He breathes a sigh of relief at the... okay, honestly? the mere fact that this dog still exists. Means something is still okay in the world. As for the rest of it, ]

...Is that old man still here?

[ Lifting his gaze, he looks around for the general store. mister shopkeeper? dad? ]

Fascinating. It might be difficult with so many party sounds, but he pauses to listen for any natural sounds. Animals, bugs, wind and water.

[blehs Vil's stuff back into his arms :)

then starts owl screaming when Vil doesn't let go of him :( ]

( the basket is being pushed towards him, actually. have a berry, pup! its for you. there's apples too!

akki cannot go explore until he has a fruit. only then will rusty get off of him, tail wagging. to the general store!

the giant shadow man is not there. instead, theres an old, presumably human man with long, dark curly hair with streaks of silver, a matching beard, and golden orange eyes that may remind akki of the shadow, sitting in a giant knit sweater and a cup of tea as he reads at the counter.

he glances up- and the voice that comes out is the same as the shadow's. )

Akki?

Edited 2024-05-03 18:09 (UTC)

[There is a gaping fucking wound in his back that he's unaware of. It looks like he was hit with a beam of magic. Possibly moon magic. Y'know they aren't totally clear how Dantalion whacked Harque but I'm sure it was not with a knife. Anyway!

He looks slightly sad? He's not in Heaven... did he go to Hell? Is it because he was a terrible son—]

Oh.

[...]

...is it Hell? [ :( ]

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EVENT & TDM 012

QUESTIONS

INVESTIGATIONS

TDM NPC CONTACT

Ain (Bluhen Route) | Elsword | Current Player, New Character

Sparkling Cookie | Cookie Run Kingdom | Current Player/New Character

give me that dog

Harque Ebalon | Elsword | Current Player, New Character

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RUSTY

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Re: RUSTY

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wake up

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