![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sticksandbonesmods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
sticksandbones2023-08-04 10:59 am
- !event,
- !tdm,
- arknights: gnosis,
- arknights: mizuki,
- arknights: shalem,
- baldur's gate iii: astarion ancunín,
- elsword: elsword,
- fate: bb,
- handead anthem: gara ukai,
- i'm the grim reaper: brook,
- jujutsu kaisen: toge inumaki,
- original: caoimhe ailbhe,
- original: felicity morais,
- original: rennuid tathviel
Event & TDM 003
You open your eyes.
It feels like you’ve been here before, like you’re finally home. Today, the sun shines brightly, brilliantly, on the open forest clearing making up Aldric’s Grove. Vines wrap around old buildings, overgrowth covers ruins of what once were homes and shops, and weeds poke up through the cracks of foundations. Before you stands an inn, a well, and one hundred beautiful flowers peppered throughout the clearing. Be not fooled by their beauty, wanderer; should you stray too close, the flowers are happy to bite.
Fret not, however; should you seek escape from the carnivorous foliage, the inn is plenty safe from attacks. Perhaps you ought to get acquainted with others like you, lounging in the lobby with nowhere to go. Perhaps you should find yourself a room, a place to stay. After all, room and board is completely free of charge! Should you dig through the bedside table of your new room, you’ll find only one thing within: A Polaroid photograph of yourself from years ago. You were younger, then — or, if age doesn’t define you, you were different. Still, you remember posing for this photograph… don’t you?
If the photo is too much for you, a trip to the river might offer respite. The oppressive fog wrapping around the grove and obscuring much of the distant forest some miles out won’t let you wander too far. Luckily, there’s a stretch of river perfect for a round of fishing, playing in, or simply relaxing by. Mushrooms grow along the banks and on the trees, but remember to say “thank you” to the forest if you take them. You wouldn’t like the consequences otherwise.
cw: madness, hallucinations
You might have had luck avoiding the gnashing fangs of the flowers thus far, but they begin to get restless and aggressive the longer they go without feeding. They can’t quite uproot themselves and chase you down, but they will stretch their stalks as far as they can, unfurl their petals and try to wrap sharp leaves around your legs and anything else within reach. If you aren’t careful, their fangs will pierce your flesh, and they will drink from you until they drain you dry. Shout for help if they latch on. Surely someone will come to your aid.
…just try not to look at them much. The flowers take passive abilities of anyone they feed from, and that means they possess powers of their own. Stare for a moment too long, and you’ll begin to see your nightmares brought to life, feel a crawling down your back like one million insect feet, a grappling at your ankles as something tries to drag you under the metaphorical tides. Black tendrils sweep over your eyes, they grip the facades of buildings, they tear your friends to shreds and eat them whole. Focus. Focus on that voice telling you to snap out of it, on the people around you waving their hands in front of your eyes. It isn’t real. Blink, shake your head, and clear your thoughts.
Or don’t. “Give in,” a sultry voice murmurs, “Let me consume you.”
cw: auditory hallucinations, animal butchery
From the fenced-off, locked-up manor to the northwest of the Grove, a spill of magic begins to leak out from boarded-up windows. It’s gradual at first before it suddenly bursts, and that’s when everything starts to go haywire. The Manor’s heart aches, friend. Something in that house is oh-so-miserable with no way out… and it intends to make you feel its pain.
Every regret you’ve ever had — every word left unspoken, every lie you’ve told, everything you believe you’ve done wrong — those feelings are brought to the surface and magnified. No matter where you look, what you do, or how much you try to distract yourself, those emotions will always bubble to the surface.
You might think wandering into the forest will help you flee from yourself for a time, but as soon as you cross the threshold, the path back to the clearing closes behind you in a rustle of leaves. The only way out is forward, it seems, but the forest won’t play fair. The path will shift unexpectedly, blocking your route, forcing you to backtrack, but never quite allowing escape. All the while, voices fill your mind, chasing after you no matter where you go. They are the murmurs of those you have wronged, the murmurs of a conscience slighted.
Seeking out a companion in the labyrinth will quell them, for a time. Should your heart weigh too heavy, confessing to your labyrinth-partner what you’re grappling with will absolve you of your guilt and leave you feeling clear-headed enough to escape. At that point, the forest, too, seems content to let you solve the maze without interference.
Should you escape fairly, without harming the labyrinth, you’ll be rewarded: A freshly-hunted game animal from your homeland is dropped at your feet just as you step back into the clearing. Enjoy it, for you will not have the opportunity to get another. The forest only allows one round per person.
The residents of Aldric’s Grove have had a rough time here, but not everything has to be bad. On the night of the new moon, the Shopkeeper leaves his store for the night, and alongside the Trader — who normally sits outside the inn by her stall and her giant turtle — he constructs a bonfire some distance from the carnivorous plants. Nearby to it are tables with a feast set upon them, free for everyone to enjoy. There’s music playing from… somewhere. Don’t think about it too hard. The wispy, sentient shadows that comprise the Shopkeeper and Trader are happy to dance with you, too, if you ask.
Enjoy your night, friends. You’ve made it to the end of the month, and you deserve a break.
CLICK TO EXPAND!
❖ Several patches of the murderous flowers seem to have been electrocuted, lit on fire or cut.
no subject
( Go away, he wants to say.
He doesn't. )
Wouldn't be me if I didn't sing. You know that. Why didn'tcha join me?
no subject
I was unfamiliar with that song, though. It sounds nice.
[ He wishes he had his pipe. He clears his throat; Gara seems a little touchier than normal. With a charge as violent and volatile as him, Gen's barometer has to be super sensitive and fine-tuned to even the slightest changes. ]
You, ah . . . Have you been here long, Gara?
no subject
( He feels pretty sour over the hallucinations, earlier. Pretty freaked out on top of it. Can't be sure that Gen here isn't a hallucination, but something tells him he isn't; not after he just sang.
He might as well be pouting and kicking rocks. )
no subject
This isn't exactly Tokyo, is it? I'm just worried, given the . . . state of the flora.
[ This feels a little awkward, as much as it feels like home. ]
Have you, ah. Eaten?
no subject
( Stubborn to the last.
Food. Yes. Food good. )
Yeah. Still hungry, though.
( He skulks off in the vague direction of meat; hopefully Gen has learned by now to follow. He'd rather tear into some raw meat, of course, but the cooked stuff isn't so bad.
He gets some in his hands, tears into it. )
You see Yuki around? Probably got all tore the fuck up by those fuckin' flowers. Maybe made a crown outta 'em.
I NEED TO COMMISSION MORE ICONS THIS IS RIDICULOUS
Gen has followed Gara, of course, but stays away from eating for the moment. He has a million questions, but . . . This isn't the time for the ones that eat away at him the most. He's too on edge in such a way that makes Gen think he might bite. ]
I have not. I wouldn't past him to do that, though. I'm sure it'd make him happy.
[ A low chuckle, in sharp contrast to the silence that follows. ]
Did the . . . flowers give you a rough time?
It's fine. Incoming peach twink.
Yuki sees the familiar silhouettes of Gen and Gara before he hears their voices. Gara tearing into meat, Gen watching him with the air of a father who doesn't quite understand his son's moodiness. All is well for Yuki Minano.
He rushes over about as quickly as a delicate, lacy waif can, holding up his hand, calling loud enough for most to hear: ]
Geeeen! Gaaraaaa! Oh, I was beginning to think I was all alone here, how nice to see you both.
[ Yuki draws up closer to Gara specifically, dipping a little bit at the knees to come eye-level with the mad dog, to dab at the corner of his mouth with his thumb. ]
You're eating as messily as ever, Gara. Surely that means I can't be dreaming.
lmao we all need new icons
He's happy to see him, but he'll never say that.
Then Yuki dabs at his mouth and Gara swats his hand away hard. )
Fuck you, I'll bite 'em off at your fuckin' dead points if you touch me like that again.
( Missed you, he doesn't say.
He means it, though. He feels too wired. )
So now Shura Jodo's here. Haven't seen anyone else. None'a those ALBA chumps or those DAA ass-kissers. ... Might be a fuckin' paradise in that case, hah!
for just pennies a day you can get these gayz some variety in there icons
He has to laugh.
Even seeing Gara threaten him so earnestly has him feeling a little better, because it means they're out of the woods with his mood. With Yuki around, he can calm.
. . . Right?
He takes in Gara's sentiments, humming thoughtfully. ]
All alone without paperwork and bureaucratic red tape . . . Really putting the jodo in Shura Jodo, hm? I'm reluctant to pass judgment this early into our . . . stay here, however . . .
GFM for the tiniest fucking fandom.
He shifts his weight over one hip, links an arm through Gara's. Dou, dou. ]
If we're here together, we're safer. If we're safer, we're happy. And I'm doubly happy being next to you both when it didn't feel likely... But... Maybe we should talk about our findings. Let's go sit.
no subject
( He growls it loudly, but heads off with Yuki and Gen anyway to take a seat closer to the fire. He pushes Yuki's arm away as they go, however, not keen on closeness when his insides feel like a tempest.
As they sit, Gara stands, rocking his weight from over one hip to the other. He keeps looking around at everyone else, like he's just now noticing they're there. )
Might have better luck shaking down one'a these randos. I haven't seen shit.