sticksandbones | EVENT & TDM 014

EVENT & TDM 014

THE OCEAN IS ONLY SCARY IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT

WAKE UP

You open your eyes to a peaceful, beautiful forest. Whatever you were dreaming about — be it something happy, something sad, or something nightmarish — seems secondary to the bright wash of greenery and the comforting, cooling breeze that washes over you. It rustles the leaves of the canopy overhead, disturbing a small nest of two-headed birds who chirp as the sticks for their nests are blown away. A hop, hop, hop later, and they return to continue their building, unbothered by your gaze.

As you walk around, you will find that Aldric’s Grove feels… empty. You pop your head into the inn only to find a fine layer of dust on the furniture, and an ever-burning fireplace refusing to be put out. The General Store is unmanned, the door locked, and the lights inside completely out. The house to the south is abandoned, and a building labelled as a clinic sports no patients. The most life you’ll find lies in the church, where the pigeons see you and swarm at your feet, cooing and asking for breadcrumbs.

Flowers bloom, a deer with a halo of horns skips through the clearing, and a small lizard shaped like a leaf climbs the well. You spend several hours alone… and then from the woods to the east comes a giant capybara and a monstrous moose two stories tall. Upon each of them, they carry a hoard of people coming back from what is clearly a summer vacation, if the inner tubes, swimwear, and overwhelming stench of sunscreen are anything to go by.

Maybe the people dismounting the two animals will be nice enough to greet you and tour you around. It’s the least they can do, since you were excluded from the vacation activities.

NOT A MOMENT OF PEACE

It’s still early in the month when a cacophony occurs; an enormous crocodile with too many eyes, known simply as “The Behemoth” suddenly rushes out of the river in a panic as some kind of blue, veinlike latticework covers the surface of it, nearly trapping her within it. It spreads across the entire length of the river from east to west, creeping onto the shoreline up to the church and across the back of the home to the south. When touched, it stings bad enough to paralyse the nervous system, and after making contact for too long while you’re unable to move? Death is imminent, unless someone saves you.

The Behemoth certainly doesn’t try to, too occupied plonking around on land to look for something to do while she can’t go into the water. She won’t attack anyone, but she’s normally searching for a meal, if you don’t mind sharing a snack. As for the other supernatural creatures in the Grove…

Ever since that latticework covered the river, the moose monster — Moder — and the gargoyle that sits on the church’s roof — Zahliya — have only stared and scrutinized. One wrong move, one fight with another resident of the Grove, means either of them are getting up to deal with the problem. It seems that they’re waiting for someone here to show the wrong hand, suspicious of everyone — including those who have been here for over a year at this point. And the second one toe is out of line? Either of them are willing and ready to kill.

Though the suspicion of the Guardians doesn’t wear off and won’t any time soon, the blue gunk covering the river disappears at the end of the first week of July, and it’s anyone’s guess what’ll happen for the rest of the month.

UNDER THE SEA

cw: thalassophobia
What happens is pretty simple if you don’t think about it: Another week passes in peace, and then a disembodied voice somewhere in the woods says, “You guys still smell like seawater and sand, and it’s putting me off of my lunch,” and if you’re new and haven’t gone to the beach yet and have no idea what the voice is talking about… too bad, you’re being lumped in with the crowd. Being lumped in also includes, well… a burst of magic, the sound of fingers snapping, and a loud splash of water. When you next open your eyes…

You’re underwater in some kind of reinforced metal base, one thousand meters under the sea, and something is slamming against the outside of it in an attempt to get in and — presumably — eat you alive. If anyone finds the on-board torpedoes in the command room in time, you might be able to kill the creature before it breaks through the hull and kills everyone inside. And with that hopefully taken care of…

Welcome to your new home for the next two weeks. Your only objective is to survive. There are several rooms here dedicated to underwater research, a bedroom with enough uncomfortable single-person beds for everyone (sadly glued to the floor, too), and a “cafeteria” type room that you can eat in. While the seabase comes equipped with supplies — torpedoes, enough rations to last for everyone but not enough for big eaters to eat big, diving suits and oxygen tanks, and underwater planter boxes growing strange fruits — it may take some effort on your part to ensure that survival is guaranteed. After all, the hungry leviathans know exactly where you are, whether you go outside of the base or not. Water, of course, may pose an issue; there’s no way to filter the seawater here, so the bottled water you have is all you’ll get.

Should you venture out, make sure you’re equipped with the proper gear first. Those of you who cannot swim should probably stay indoors, as there are no fancy vehicles to take you anywhere. Those of you capable of going out may consider braving the danger in search of additional supplies… or perhaps you’re just curious about the ecosystem. You’ll be here for two weeks, after all, there must be something to do. Travel far enough from the base and you’ll find the skeletal remains of something far larger than the Grove itself… and if you’re not careful, a monstrous, snakelike thing who wants you for dinner.

Try not to lead it back to the base for the others to deal with. Who knows how kindly people will take to that?

AN OMINOUS RETURN

As always, when one of the Forest’s “games” ends and you’re returned to the surface when the magic wears off, there’s a reward waiting for you. This reward isn’t as obvious, however. The fog wall is, for the most part, rolled pretty far back. The folks that have been here before may expect to see it revealing more of the trees, or showing off some new area that hasn’t been accessible yet, but the Grove remains quiet upon return. The Guardians, too, have little to say. Normally, they’d be a little more overjoyed at your return… alas.

No, the “reward” for surviving — or blowing up the base immediately and dying, either way — is that the fog wall obscuring the lake ever so slowly rolls back. From within it, something jumps out, a dark black shape, and disappears into the forest.

…

Perhaps you’ll see whatever it is another time.

SPARK NOTES

CLICK TO EXPAND!

WAKE UP

Welcome to the empty Aldric's Grove! ...oh, here come the people, back from summer vacation! Hey hello.

NOT A MOMENT OF PEACE

The river and shoreline near it are messed up for a week. The Guardians are suspicious of everyone here. The Behemoth is taking big steppies around the Grove asking nicely for food. A week passes, and the Guardians are still suspicious of everyone. Yaaaay.

UNDER THE SEA

And then, everyone was trapped underwater in a seabase, made to survive the horrors of the open deep sea. Watch out for leviathans! And try not to eat and drink all of the rations immediately; that's all you'll get.

AN OMINOUS RETURN

Your reward for playing in yet another of the Forest's games is the fog wall over the lake rolling back. Of course, what jumped out of it and ran off into the woods could either be your greatest boon, or your biggest nuisance. It all depends on you.

OOC

Happy summer! This is a reminder that TDMs are considered game canon. For your threads, feel free to make up your own leviathans/weird fish/whatever you want for spice, or just steal from Subnautica, it's all good. OOC Plotting Lives Here if you'd like to plot anything out!

UPDATES

❖ None yet!

SUBMISSIONS

QUESTIONS
INVESTIGATIONS
PAST-LIFE PLOTTING

(CODE)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

As do I. I'm taking advantage of enjoying the warm weather while I'm still able to.

[Well guess what Elliot you're about to get romanced on, because now that he has their things all laid out (the blanket will hopefully keep Elliot from getting his tailfeathers too sandy), Sesa will take this opportunity to finally open up the basket and pull out its contents.

The massive ass bouquet, for starters, which Ain so lovingly prepared for him with tons of flowers correlating to flower language that the Vouivre doesn't understand. But what's important is that it's pretty, and it's getting carefully laid in Elliot's lap.]

These are for you.

[That is a huge-ass bouquet good god, if Elliot had allergies at all he'd be dying right now. Luckily, he does not, and he delicately runs his fingers over the petals and hums. They're pretty; all "romantic" colours, whites and pinks and reds, tied off with a ribbon and wrapped with that crunchy bouquet paper. Elliot coos briefly, headwings fluffed up, and then leans over to kiss Sesa on the cheek.]

I must look shameful, not giving you the gifts you deserve. Allow me to make it up to you another time.

[...Sesa gets another kiss on the cheek, actually, Elliot lied he's not done.]

How sweet of you regardless, my love.

[And then he sits back up properly, grabs one of the red lilies from the bouquet, and tucks it behind Sesa's horn. It blends in with his hair a tad... but he's cute nonetheless.]

[Elliot's approval of the flowers makes the tip of Sesa's tail wag happily, which hopefully covers up how unbelievably nervous he feels right now. He's an excellent actor, if nothing else, and is able to keep those feelings mostly subdued for the time being as Elliot peppers his cheek with kisses.

Hehe :) ]

I give you these gifts because I care, not because I expect you to gift me in return. Just your presence is a gift enough.

[uuUUUUGHHHHHHHH]

But of course I will allow it. Though, do not discount the amount you've fattened me up at the cafe already...

[He's pretty sure he's getting a little pudgy...

Sesa ducks his head slightly as Elliot tucks that flower behind his horn, his tail flicking across the sand again as he reaches into the basket to pull out a few wrapped sandwiches from inside. They are...sandwiches. They're nothing special, it's not as romantic as the flowers, but Sesa wasn't going to try to cook something perishable to bring outside. Not when he's also brought a bottle of wine from Luca's bar with him for the two of them to share.

It will be the perfect timeline. They'll have just enough time to eat before the sun fully sets...and while they'll eat, he'll start gently setting things up.]

I wanted to ask you, Ellie...did you ever think that- if we had stayed back home on Terra and never came to the Grove- we would have actually ended up together like this?

[If Sesa gets a little pudgy it's just more Sesa for Elliot to hold onto. He's already salivating over Sesa's biceps and tiddies every damn day. Muscles and body fat all at once would make Elliot Worse™.

For now, he sets the bouquet aside, if only because he doesn't want to get crumbs in the petals. Hard to eat with flowers on your lap, too. Equally as hard to balance wine glasses in the sand but hey, he manages to get it after a second by making a divot in the picnic blanket and pushing the glass down in there. If he's not watching it, he feels like it'll spill.]

In my ideal fantasy, of course, I considered the possibility. I had wanted to for quite some time, as you well know. I do not know if the circumstances would have allowed it, of course. Heavyrain seems rather intent on keeping me away, rightfully so, though my will toward you is not one of ill.

[He's just

you know, he wants Sesa to kill a man, no big.]

Were we ever put into a life-or-death situation on Terra akin to the castle last winter, though... yes, I believe I would have kissed you there, too.

[Oh. Now that's an interesting response. It makes Sesa flush, because he's pretty sure that if Elliot just hauled off and kissed him in front of the rest of the Operators, several would have something to say about it. Not that he particularly cares now, but...Elliot is definitely right in the fact that Heavyrain is keeping him away. She can smell crazy from a mile away and while Sesa appreciates her for it, he is already too far gone. He is crazysexual-

Anyway, wine glasses on the beach probably wasn't the best idea he's ever had, but he'll at least try to mitigate that by pouring just a little bit for each of them at a time, scooting a bit closer to the edge of the picnic blanket so Elliot has more room to sit.]

It is true that we cannot predict how things would have gone...especially not in a place as unpredictable as home. Though, I'm sure we still would have ended up around each other just as often.

[SOMEHOW...even before they ended up here, that just. Was a thing. Sesa would turn a corner and Elliot would be there working on something like "hi".]

In that case...where do you see yourself in the immediate future?

[Besides dead, we are not considering your shortened lifespan right now Sesa WILL cry]

I am unsure. I would not prefer to return to Terra, under the stipulation that a cure can be found here, of course.

[Why the fuck would he go back to Terra? There's nothing for him there.]

I suppose, thinking on it... I go where you go. That is where I see myself in the future: at your side, wherever that may take us. If that is here, then it is here. If you wish to return to Terra, it is there. Gods forbid we are taken to another world, but should it happen... I needn't reiterate the point, I think.

Ah...haha. I was hoping you would say that.

[Oh. Oh boy, now the nerves are REALLY kicking in. Maybe he should wait for them to finish eating? Hm...

He taps his claws together, then reaches for his wine and downs the entire glass in one go. It only has a little poured into it but, like. Ough.]

You know that I still have business to take care of, back home. I have to figure out what happened with my brother. But that doesn't mean I'm aching to return immediately...particularly not when this world has afforded us a certain peace I do not think we would have gotten there.

I have not forgotten. Nor would I take you from the vengeance you are owed.

[Thanks Elliot, that's so romantic of you.]

I will say that Terra has its moments of quiet in between the strife. I was not, for example, involved in Victoria's civil war, nor was I dispatched to deal with Leithanien's recent issues. [You know, the reawakening of thE FUCKING WITCH KING.] But my slice of peace pales in comparison to the strife there, and, indeed, peaceful moments are more easily felt in a small area such as this. There is no national news to tell us which Grand Duke launched a war, or which country has hit record poverty levels, or anything of the sort. We simply... are.

[His face scrunches. He'll drink his own wine much slower.]

I do think that, for what it's worth, telling you I love you here was much more gratifying, given that.

[We simply...are. It's a sobering thought, to know that they've been so divorced from the trouble of Terra's politics, and war, and the inescapable plague that is Oripathy. ...well, not so much that last part anymore, thanks to a certain Cookie...

But then, is it better to be this way? To just...be ignorant to the troubles of home? He can't rightly say, but at least it isn't like they can choose to leave. It's all completely outside of their control.

Either way, hearing Elliot say that makes Sesa's heart skip a beat, his claws fidgeting with the tattered edge of his coat as he looks out over the water beyond where they're sitting.]

I am inclined to agree. Sometimes I still wonder...why you chose me, out of anyone.

[An interesting question. Elliot swallows the last bits of this sandwich slice and folds his hands together in his lap, chewing contemplatively for a moment.]

Out of everyone at Rhodes Island and beyond, you are one of few who understand me, and I understand you. Of course, there are other reasons, but it starts there.

You are determined. You are intelligent, even despite your fumbles with understanding forgeable mushrooms. You are kind-hearted, more so than I could ever be. You are brave, and hard-working, and driven. You are the many, many things I cannot be after Oripathy claimed most of my ability to feel. There is not a thing about you I would change. I seek only to drive you forward to whatever your goals are. I seek your attention any which way you would give it — your love or your hate, your fervour, your scorn, your vengeance and wrath or lack thereof.

At the end of the road, I would only have you for you.

[Well. That's...even better than Sesa was hoping to hear, really. Even if hearing that Elliot would crave his attention no matter the type- be it his hate or wrath, as opposed to love- he just...he knows Elliot enough by now to understand the intricacies by which he operates. And knowing that Elliot cares for him this deeply is enough, for Sesa.

The little box in his pocket weighs heavy. He could just leave it where it is, but he decided long before he brought Elliot all the way out here that he didn't want it to end there. He's realizing now that there's no better way he could follow up such genuine, heartfelt words than....well.

The very reason he came here.]

Then we are of like minds.

[He says this as he has long finished his own food, and his wine glass sits empty. And even though Passenger folded his hands in his lap, Sesa is going to reach out to try to steal one of them for himself.]

May I speak plain? Just for a moment?

[Of course, Elliot is so detrimentally obsessed with Sesa that he'd still love him if the man turned on him completely. If he listened to Heavyrain saying that Elliot is bad for him, or if he decided on his own that Elliot is no longer worth his time... he would still be obsessed with him. He would still want to sink his claws in any which way he could. His twisted love doesn't stop just because Sesa could one day grow to hate him.

He allows the Vouivre to take his hand, head tilting briefly at the gesture before his eyes try to meet Sesa's.]

Have we not been this entire time? [He jests,] Of course you may.

[Look!!! Don't make fun of him okay you just said a whole lot of really touching shit to him, so he's going to have to really step up his game to follow up. But follow up he intends to, as he brushes his thumb nervously across the back of Elliot's knuckles.]

I'm sure you remember our relationship, when I first met you. I behaved incredibly guarded around you, because I saw much of myself and my own ambitions in your actions, and it...frightened me, admittedly, that I could be capable of such. I want for nothing more than peace in this world, and obviously I wasn't going to achieve that by seeking vengeance upon my enemies...but something in me changed when I lost my brother. That much I've come to accept about myself. I will never be the same, and if that means I am a darker man because of it...then so be it.

But even so. I never thought that I would be able to find such a kinship in another as I have with you, and it stretches far beyond goals, or ambitions. You are...genuinely one of the most intelligent and dedicated people I have met, and in many ways I aspire to be more like you. [Bad, bad, bad toxic yaoi-] You are...brilliant. You are beautiful. You are talented, and deserve far better than the hand that life chose to deal you.

[He gives Elliot's hand a little squeeze as he scoots a bit closer.]

If I have learned anything in my time here, it is that there is no better time than the present, and opportunities not capitalized on are opportunities squandered. And I do not wish to make the same mistake twice.

[Now is when he reaches into his pocket and finally pulls out the box he'd been hiding there, and...even though they're both sitting and it puts them at a funny angle to do so, he is going to shift his position so he's on one knee in front of Elliot as he opens the box. Inside is a handcrafted silver ring, with a perfectly polished pearl from the beach set in the center of it. Encircling the pearl on one side is a dove with wings outstretched, and on the other a serpent, the two (somewhat crudely molded) creatures in constant motion in a way that makes it hard to tell which is chasing the other.]

I am well aware that the years you have left in this world are numbered and few. Yet I can think of no greater honor than to spend the rest of them with you, Elliot Glover.

Will you marry me?

[Elliot wears this charmed, somewhat head-empty look on his face the entire time Sesa talks. Not for any bad reasons, but simply because he's wondering what, exactly, has driven Sesa to be so much more romantic than usual. They are romantic, of course, that's to be expected. Sesa has given him jewellery he hand-made, Elliot has drawn henna upon his back and chest and hands and cooed over how beautiful it looks on him, they've gone on long walks and held hands and sleep in the same bed. Their lives do not lack romance, even if Elliot is strangely fixated on certain things; it's just that this time, it's different...

...and he understands why when he sees Sesa reach into his pocket and get down on one knee. His usually-impassive face is alight, feathers puffed out and a string of coos in the back of his throat as he laughs. Not cruelly, and not to poke fun at, but simply because he couldn't possibly have seen this coming, somehow. The date, the flowers, the ring, even — it's all so Sesa that it hurts.

Gods above, he loves this man.]

Yes. Of course, yes. How could I possibly say no?

[Imagine if he said no, Sesa would have cried fr-

But he doesn't. Of course he doesn't. He says yes, and...despite expecting a positive outcome, Sesa basically immediately bursts into tears anyway. Not full on sobbing, thank God, but the tears do well up pretty much instantly as he very carefully takes the ring out of the box so he can slip it onto Elliot's finger for him. It fits him perfectly, of course, and the moment it's on, Sesa will put the box aside so he can gather Elliot up in his arms for the biggest hug he can manage without crushing the poor Liberi's ribs. He's kissing him too, of course, it's just not the best kiss ever when he's struggling to catch his breath through tears at the same time.

He will never forget that smile. That singular, elated expression, for as long as he lives.]

Then...you have made me the happiest Vouivre in the world. Y-you and I...we will be together from now until death do us part.

And I pray that we may yet be together for many moons yet to come.

[Oh, his poor fiancé— Elliot goes to try to wipe those tears away with a smile before he's being kissed and you know what, that's fine, that works for him. Elliot is not a crier himself, but it's just as hard to kiss when he's smiling so brightly.

The kiss doesn't have to be coordinated to be good, though. Sue them.]

"In sickness and in health", or... whatever the phrase is, [he coos,] yes. You are everything to me, Sesa. You will never stop being everything to me.

[They kiss, and Sesa can't help but laugh softly through it, still a wet little bug but certainly not a sad one.]

As you are mine. I love you so much.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT & TDM 014

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject