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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
[Well — if he's getting a thumbs up, that's good. Elsword stares a bit too hard at Toge, not because he's trying to be rude, but because he's trying to memorize the new person's face. Or, what amount of face he can see as Toge hides back behind his collar.]
Oh. Are you hungry?
[Makes sense, dude just got attacked by bloodthirsty flowers. Anyone would be hungry in that situation (source needed).]
no subject
He smiles and offers his hand, fortunately it's his right so it's not that strange. At the question though, he shakes his head. ]
Fish flakes. [ No thank you, he's not hungry. ]
no subject
Okay. [At least the head-shake clues him in.] Do you have a name?
no subject
Toge Inumaki, semi-grade 1, birthday October 23, 2001. His picture is with his collar removed, his curse marks are on full display. ]
no subject
Mine is Elsword. You're new here, aren't you? I haven't seen you before. There's... a lot going on, if you can't already tell.
no subject
He raises his hand once the wallet is back in his pocket and gestures around at the maze.
Any thoughts on how to get out of it? ] Tuna mayo?
no subject
The maze, right? It's new. This hasn't happened before, I don't think. [But his memory is pretty spotty.] I haven't figured out how to leave it. If you try to climb over it, it blocks you off. Hacking our way out is a bad idea... so I guess the only way through is forward.
[He'll begin to lead the way at that point.]
no subject
He doesn't hesitate, he falls into step with him. Can't go over it, or through it...guess they have to solve it. The turn they take leads to a fork. Left or right?
He gestures, tilting his head. ]
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Elsword turns left at the fork, blindly picking instead of using any real logic. Logic is out the window anyway; the maze attempts to separate them, and it's only narrowly that he manages to latch onto Toge's wrist and pull him through to the other side before they're cut off from one another.]
Sorry. Stupid trees...
no subject
[ Huh, everything is so weird, isn't it? Toge waves his hand a bit, dismissing his own exclamation. Elsword didn't need to say anything to his murmuring.
His expressiveness no doubt could be attributed to the fact he'd been like this since birth. ]
no subject
Honestly, I'd cut our way through, but I know from experience that's a bad idea. [As they go about the maze, forward and then having to retrace their steps and then running into walls that get put up in front of their faces, Elsword tries his best to explain.] It gets hostile if you don't do what it wants. I wound up killing one of its monsters months ago, and it retaliated by infecting me with some sort of forest parasite. I'm not sure what it does so far. I don't think it's contagious, but try to do what the forest wants. I don't want you to end up like me.
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He nods. ] Salmon. [ Got it, but that begs the question. ]
Tuna mayo? [ He gestures around them. What does the forest want then? ]
no subject
I think this maze is another one of its games. When I first showed up here, it wanted to "play" with everyone, and it made us participate in a game of hide and seek. There was a moose-like monster after everyone that was injuring or nearly killing the people it caught.
I managed to temporarily put it out of its misery, but it regenerated later on. The forest took this as cheating, I think, and that's how I got the parasite.
[...]
I don't like how it "plays" with us.
no subject
Toge frowns behind his collar looking concerned, but there's little he can say about it. It's good, Elsword got his question.
It's really their best guess what it wants, right? That's what his impression is. ]