sticksandbonesmods: (Default)
sticks and bones. ([personal profile] sticksandbonesmods) wrote in [community profile] sticksandbones2024-06-04 01:17 pm

EVENT 013

LET'S GO TO THE BEACH, BEACH
EVERY DAY IS SUN-DAY
Summer arrives in the Grove as one might expect: With bright sunlight and sweltering temperatures, not to mention the humidity. It’s hot, it’s sticky, and not even the river feels cold enough to cool anyone down. In times like this, the local moose monster thinks to herself: “I could assist. I could open a permanent path to the seaside for the Children of Man, one that does not require those silly glasses. Children of Man love the sea.” Unfortunately, no one can tell Moder no, and so she groups all of you up and leads you into the woods, parting the fog wall with her own magic as she carves a path forward. It’s a three-day-long journey that feels as though only three hours have passed by the time she stops walking. At the top of the cliffside to the northeast of Aldric’s Grove, the Forest Guardian uses her gargantuan hooves to uproot a redwood, knocking it into the sand below to serve as a broad bridge. This, she binds with vines so that it doesn’t spin and throw anyone to the ground fifty feet down, and then carefully ushers each of you across.

As the last of you steps down the bridge and Moder follows after, there’s a rumble in the earth, and the few of you on the log get scooped by two large handibles as Moder suddenly launches herself off of it and to the ground below just in time for said log to creak, splinter, and suddenly snap back to a standing position up on the cliff face, as if it wasn’t uprooted in the first place. Time, they say, fixes all things, but usually not fallen redwood pines.

Suddenly, the fog wall grows darker on the cliffside, obscuring even the true paths to those that can see them — though anyone stuck on the other side will be able to get down here just fine due to it only being a one-sided blockade. A blockade meant to keep all of you, Moder included, out of the Grove and trapped on the beach. A childish-but-familiar (to most of you) voice can be heard yelling, but it’s distant, as if the Fallen Sun doesn’t want to get much closer: “IF YOU WANT TO BE ON THE BEACH NEXT TO THE NASTIES IN THE SEA THEN BE MY GUEST!! STAY THERE AND ROT FOREVER WHILE YOU’RE AT IT!!” And then there’s a chorus of grumbling and “ew” and “gross” before the Fallen Sun stops talking and disappears from the area entirely.

Welcome to the seaside, Aldric’s Grove. It seems you’ll be here for quite some time while Moder tries to fix what just happened.
RESTING BEACH FACE
The golden sands and crystalline blue waters of the sea welcome you in the meantime. While Heimr and Ydalir are also stuck here with you, they will, at least, be able to provide the usual amenities — Heimr has brought everyone beach fits, including swimwear and either a boho or surfer style casual outfit, and Ydalir can use her mirror to grab items you might want from your houses or inn rooms to play with. She supposes she can grab you your normal wardrobes, too, even though that’s not really in the spirit of beach.

Umbrellas, lounge chairs, and a volleyball net are all set up on the coast here, giving you ample room to both play and relax. The palm trees will drop the occasional coconut for you to eat or, say, throw at the person next to you, but one should exercise caution: Some coconuts are actually crabs that will pinch you if they’re picked up or thrown at mach speed into the nearest person. Under the brush crawl mango mice, and jellybeans float happily within the tidepools. Go far enough toward the cove to the west, near the cliff face where the Cosmic Serpent slumbers far out into the sea, and you may get accosted by the mobster lobsters. You’re in the wrong neighbourhood, kid, why don’tcha skedaddle?

Far in the distance, over the vast ocean, is a layer of white mist over the sea. Or, perhaps it’s another fog wall…? It’s difficult to tell from here, but the mist never dissipates and always lingers. Should you bravely swim out to it, you cannot pass through it nor see past it, though unlike the black fog back home, it doesn’t hurt to touch. It merely forces you back.

Enjoy the sun and soak up some vitamin D. While escape still isn’t possible, at least this place is peaceful.
THAT’S A-MORAY
…well, kind of.

The thing about Aldric’s Grove and the outlying seaside is that nothing is ever peaceful and cute for too long, and nothing ever goes exactly the way you want it to. To the east, riding the line between sand and sea, is a long, tunnelling cave that dips into the earth. It’s full of glowing corals and crystals and fish that should, theoretically, not be able to float through the air like it’s water — but stranger things have happened here, so surely the fruit sharks aren’t the real danger. No, the real danger is that every high tide, that cave floods completely, leaving no room for air or for escape. Luckily, high tide only tends to come at night…

…but during all hours of the day, something far in the distance sings songs. It’s a chorus, beautiful and hypnotizing, and if one were to look out toward stones that jut from the distant sea, they’ll spot them: a choir of gorgeous sirens resting upon the jagged rocks. They’re so, so happy to sing with you, should you stray closer — but getting too close means getting grabbed and dragged under. The sirens do not care if you drown on the way to a sandbar far from the Grove itself, but should you survive, you might want to scream for help. Their dinnertime is in a few hours, you see.

Somewhere far, far away from the shore, you can hear something roaring, too. Something large. Something imposing… something you should probably ignore.
SHIP HAPPENS
If one traverses the aforementioned cave before high tide rolls in, making it to the other side and crossing the threshold will spit one out on the docks, where there are cabanas for you to live in temporarily. Or permanently, if you really want to leave the forest behind. The pier boasts numerous empty stalls from a civilization long-gone; off by one of those piers is an old ship in a state of disrepair, and though it looks like it could function in the future, where would you even go if you fixed it?

The two merchants have their own spaces here — past the line of cabanas is an old, run-down building that looks like it was meant to be a seaside souvenir shop before the world as you once knew it ended, and this is where Heimr chooses to set up a temporary General Store. He’ll need some help cleaning all the old junk and coconut crabs out, if you feel like giving him a hand. Fatherly love points will be given to any and all who help, and once finished, a friendly spirit in the form of a dragonfruit dragon will help keep things stocked, as Plum does back at the Grove. Ydalir’s tent lies right outside of the temporary General Store, although her giant tortoise spends a great deal of time wandering off to go play in the shallows.

Each cabana is equipped with a small kitchen, a small living space including a pull-out couch and a bed suitable for two, and a bathroom with a standing shower and sink. There’s an outdoor seating area and firepit next to each, too. Sadly, there are only ten of these, so some sharing may be required, unless you want to sleep outside.

Happy summer, everybody. Don’t forget the sunscreen!
SPARK NOTES
CLICK TO EXPAND!
EVERY DAY IS SUN-DAY
Moder has led everyone to the beach for a day out. Unfortunately, "a day out" is actually going to be "an entire month out that you didn't ask for" thanks to the Fallen Sun. Oops.

RESTING BEACH FACE
While everyone is stuck on the beach, at least the usual amenities are available. Watch out for the coconut crabs, who are actually coconuts, and the mobster lobsters who want nothing more than to pinch your ankles until you get off of their turf. Enjoy volleyball and lounging under the sun in the meantime, though.

THAT’S A-MORAY
The cave floods during high-tide, the sirens want you to come out and sing with them and drown, and something roars in the distance. The ocean is full of untold horrors for your viewing pleasures.

SHIP HAPPENS
The docks is where most of the actual living will happen. Heimr needs help cleaning out an old souvenir shop to make into a General Store, an old ship on the pier might be able to be repaired, and there are ten total cabanas between all of you. Better find a roommate!

OOC
Friends it is summer, please use sunscreen IRL if you go to any beaches that may or may not contain sirens. For the event specifically, OOC Plotting Lives Here if you'd like to plot anything out!

UPDATES
❖ None yet!

succiduous: (018 pixiv user 16978584)

[personal profile] succiduous 2024-06-13 04:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[Gnosis is at the bar... he's not drunk though he's just eating some sort of grilled blackberry fish. He's not sure if he loves this or hates it, to be honest.]

I am. [Another cookie... two big gacha games are converging...] Sit and join me, I don't mind helping. I'd like to clarify that I am by no means a licensed medical professional, but I did bring Doctor Kal'tsit's laptop [SO YOU JUST ADMIT YOU STOLE IT NOW] here, so I can at least show you files and answer any relevant questions.

[less wordy: i don't know everything but i'm a nerd so i might as well know everything.]
lilyberation: (055)

[personal profile] lilyberation 2024-06-18 01:02 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you.

( she'll take a seat, letting her staff rest beside her. )

I understand. I'm not entirely, either- though I do know some healing magic. Though... what is a laptop?
succiduous: (031 bvslime lofter)

[personal profile] succiduous 2024-06-22 07:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Healing Arts are common on Terra as well, and yet that is completely irrelevant for finding a cure, as far as we're aware. Some surgical progress has been made— [he has his Secret Files now so he knows things,] —with Operator Greyy, but it was quite invasive, and it seems like it cannot be done to major organs.

...Oh, sorry, the laptop. [He will pull it out of his bag, he brings it everywhere, and open it up for her. Right now, it's monitoring the blood-originium levels of everyone who has an infection monitor here. The names of the Terrans that are here as well as Pure Vanilla are listed in various graphs and charts... the other Terrans who aren't here have a "no signal".] It's a type of computer made to be more portable. If it had internet connectivity, I could show you more, but right now its sole purpose is to monitor Oripathy infection levels and show me the files of other Terrans that aren't here. It helps with research.

[Also he's nosy. Like. He's just fucking nosy.]
lilyberation: (044)

[personal profile] lilyberation 2024-06-26 02:18 am (UTC)(link)
( gnosis please she was in a fairy forest she doesn't know what a computer is!!! even if she is leaning over to get a better look, it's just- really weird.


she wants one. she wants to take it apart and then put it back together.

the display is curious though. and very, very useful. )


I think I get it. This is more technologically advanced than what I'm used to, I'll admit. Pure Vanilla told me of his reasoning, but... ... As I'll be helping him with his research, I'd like to know about any symptoms I should look out for, or what we should avoid above all else, please.
succiduous: (024 kongwuming581 lofter)

[personal profile] succiduous 2024-06-28 06:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[Girl you are just like him fr let's go take apart things and put them back together for enrichment. #besties.]

Sure. [Flipping the laptop around... there's gotta be pictures of case files on here— ah, there. The most infected man he knows: Flamebringer. Here's a picture of a very sick man.] The most obvious symptom looks like this. Do you see the large crystals protruding out of his face, neck, and hands? If you've seen Operator Passenger around, he has one on his forehead that looks like a decoration — either way, you wouldn't want to touch them, as they can directly transmit the infection. I believe this is how Pure Vanilla infected himself.

[Fucking sighs.]

Not every Oripathy patient has these. Some are completely internal. [Pulling up further pictures of someone's CT scans that show the black nodules in the internal organs.] Right here, you can see that this Operator has Originium nodules in their internal organs, specifically the kidneys and liver in this case. Without proper equipment, that's more difficult to see, of course.

[And he will go on to explain a few more things... Amity I know you played Arknights I'll spare you too much of the extra detail but: Don't be touchin stuff, don't breathe in the dust, quarantine any corpses to avoid further infection before they explode, don't eat the damn rocks, blood is a conduit for infection, and most importantly be aware of total organ failure and body shutdowns. You know. The whole wiki page about the topic.]