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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
He nods, lowers himself into a kneeling position before he can think better of it. )
Long as I'm breathing, I sing. Dunno what this place really is, but ... Shit, looks like you're lacking a good front man.
( Gara sniffs, glances around. In that moment, for just a moment, he feels a little small. That thirteen year old kid who was bouncing off the walls for a chance to be that very same front man he now is. That kid who got praise and awe.
He handles it better now than he did back then; were he that same boy, he might've bitten her wrist already. )
Name's Gara.
1/2
no subject
M-Me too... [ She sounds almost a bit too excited, like a child who just heard someone say what they like - and she HAD to join along. ] Um... My name is Caoimhe... It is really nice to meet you.. I do not know many others who sing with the winds, it makes me happy... At the same time sad, this place is... Well.. If you need to know anything, I have been here for over a months time since now.
no subject
It's not really like him to ask questions like some wide-eyed child; he far prefers figuring things out on his own.
But the picture ... The hallucinations of his loved ones ...
He's silent for a beat longer than is considered polite, bowing his head briefly. Hopefully it just seems like he's wracking his brain for a question. )
That kind of shit with the flowers. The vines. ( His voice takes on a low quality, a dark tone. ) That happen a lot here?
no subject
I... I am uncertain, the flowers were never like this before... Their ravenous ways are newly founded, perhaps something new has changed in the forest? [ Caoimhe's own head turns towards it, looking into the distance where the branches seemed to be always unmoved despite the winds abiding by them. ] I have been told not to speak to the forest, and to not... To be more careful around it as well... I wish though... I wish though to understand it, so that mayhap we come together and overcome what it is that troubles it. [ As if the Forest was a living entity, and is - at least to Caoimhe who comes from paganism and a world full of magic, that is true. The forest is alive, and has a soul - and she was always taught to respect its existence. ]
no subject
The notion of a forest being troubled, of flowers that bite and hold onto more than his necrotic flesh with their vines, of troubles and happenings he can't just bite and scream his way through ... It feels so unsettling.
His brows furrow, trying to understand. Clicks his tongue and looks away. )
I don't come from a place that has forests you gotta bite your tongue around. Afraid tryna talk to some trees ain't my thing.
( But he looks back to her. )
What else can I expect. Place is kinda somber, I gotta know what I need to tear into.
no subject
Do you... Not speak to your forests at all..? Ah.. Um... I-I do not know much more... Much of this place is a mystery to me still... The Trader, and Shopkeeper... You should speak to them, they know much about this place.
no subject
( He narrows his eyes a bit, leaning a little closer. Looking her over for a dead point, not really finding much that would make him think either way. )
... Don't think the word Handead means much to you, huh.
no subject
N-No it does not... S-Should it mean something?
no subject
( He rises again to full mast, looking out towards the trees. )
... How d'you talk to a forest.
no subject
The Forests are always listening... But if you wish to hear back from them, you merely only pay attention - or... If you study and are skilled enough, you may be able to cast magics... I-I can now cast magic to speak to them myself... It took time, but I am gladden to be able to do so.
no subject
( He laughs; it might come off as condescending, but that's just how he tends to sound. It's a little mirthless, cold-sounding. No magic and miracles for Gara Ukai. )
Y'think so? That kinda stuff wasn't possible anywhere I ever went.
no subject
Do you mean... Magic? Does that mean... The Weave does not exist where you came from?