![[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.
Yuki Minano. Handead Anthem.
IT'S ALRIGHT
I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU
I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU
Yeah, give me anything no one wants to eat.
[ Although covered in armor from neck to toe, his head is without its helm and he is eating quite a bit of food. ]
no subject
He hums, looks over the spread before he settles on some sinewy piece of meat to pass over. Then a fresh peach. ]
Do you make it a habit of eating things like that?
[ He takes a peach for himself. ]
no subject
no subject
He'll have to try harder next time.
Yuki takes a bite of the peach, a familiar taste, though it's more to answer his question than to subsist or enjoy. ]
You sound a little terse. I don't mean anything by my questioning — I like learning about people, is all.
no subject
no subject
Some more than others.
It's sort of the same. ]
How so? You don't start eating people, do you?
the way i choked laughing
The other isn't inherently wrong, his dragon form has been said to devour human souls and human bodies alike. That of which discomforts the Knight greatly, as the act of that alone is enough to make him sick to his stomach. There may be a flicker of that guilt, and disgust of - eating people, shown against his expression. However, he does his best to not give any feelings away. ]
No, but there are monsters that exist out there that will if one is not careful.
[ By which he is, warning the other - warning anyone, to be weary of anything and anyone. Especially in this place - ]
Especially within this strange realm, where flowers devour bodies whole.
i'll take care of you
[He's actually here to pick off some of the chunks of fruit here. They don't have watermelon in Kjerag, so he's indulging.]
You're a new face, though. I take it you just arrived not too long ago?
no subject
[ He's all cheerful about it, too. ]
And yes. I arrived alone, but my boy and our [ a very brief pause ] colleague arrived after me. It seems like a place where everyone knows one another...
no subject
[He spears a cube of watermelon with a toothpick. Into his mouth it goes, and when he's done chewing:]
Gnosis Edelweiss. A pleasure.
no subject
[ He puts a hand to his chest delicately. ]
Yuki Minano. It's good to meet you.
How lucky, if you really do get along. I can imagine allies in cursed forests would be best!
[ But, of course, he has to be nosy: ]
Your name is interesting, though. Where are you from?
no subject
[Just, you know, based on the lack of animal features — Gnosis has feathers and all, so they're subtle but present. He can't quite see any feathers or scales or anything on Yuki.]
It's Alright (apologies for the delay!)
You'll be okay. I'm here now. We'll get through this together.
All good!
He shakes his head suddenly, catching his breath. ]
You... Look like Ko... I couldn't possibly be so lucky.
Re: All good!
( who... no, he can't worry about that right now, unless this 'ko' is also within the labyrinth. chung shakes his head. )
Call me Chung. Can you stand?
no subject
This might very well bite him in the ass; he attempts to stand, bracing his hand out on Chung as he rises on shaky legs. Red still filtering over everything, his breathing is steadying a little, but not quite enough... ]
Ahaha, how embarrassing... City life has really spoiled me.
no subject
( chung doesn't hesitate to reach out and support yuki himself, keeping an ear and an eye out for anything that may yet try to get the jump on them. thankfully, in his experience he hasn't been attacked yet, though. )
How are you feeling? Are you injured anywhere...?
no subject
[ He's a little taken aback; sure, people around him are that nice, and he can be that nice too, but its really only for those he's closest to.
Types like that... He understands them, but it's not him. It's not the people he calls closest, either. He sucks in a deep breath, still trying to even that out. ]
I... Not great. I don't know if it's anything you can fix, anyway.
no subject
( he doesn't see any wounds, at least. maybe add will have to take a look... )
I understand. Let me help, alright...? We just have to get through the maze. The exit has an inn where you can rest.