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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.
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[ You know those laughs, those laughs where you don't understand why you are laughing. Don't understand the situation that you are in, but aren't so manic that your own voice sounds so estrange. Yes, that kind of chuckle escapes her lips. Despite the reddening of her face, and the seemingly distraught mannerisms that still cling to her body. ]
Salmon...
[ It takes a moment for her to gather herself, but the simple word. Seems to have... Not so much snap her in place. At least, offer a sense of stability that she did not know she could find in such a word. Perhaps... It was the simplicity in realizing that this was not a mirage or nightmare of her making. As she would never, could never think up something so random. ]
Ah... I do not understand... I heard help... I... Came... It seems quieter now though, now that you are here.
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At her assertion that his presence seems to help, Toge offers her at thumbs up. Glad to be of help, even if it's just to quiet the voices. Actually...now that she mentions it, his own nightmare seems to be kept at bay slightly too. Fascinating change.
He pulls his phone out of his pocket - he is after all a modern teenager - and while there's no service, that's not what he wants. He wants the notepad app. He taps quickly with his thumb and turns it around to her. ]
Sorry, I have the power of cursed speech, I can't really talk. I understand you fine though.
[ Maybe with all these unfamiliar people, he should save that somewhere. ]
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... W-What magic is this? How... Interesting.
[ Despite being absolutely bewildered by this small magical artifact. Caoimhe can at least. See the words upon the screen, and by the magic of the forest, is able to understand the words there. ]
Ah... What a powerful curse... I understand how such curses can control you... I almost was permanently cursed, if not for a kindly Priest. I would have... I would have became disfigured, turning into a spider and then become monstrous after.
[ Being this close, she offers the other a small squeeze on their wrist. Caoimhe retracts her hand though, nervous and uncertain how the gesture would be received. ]
That is neither here nor there. Old memories... As for now... I... Know not what curse ails us, and how to leave this labyrinth...
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He can't do much about them, he was born this way.
As for their dilemma he offers a half shrug with his right shoulder, the side where he has an arm and tilts his head. ] Tuna mayo.
[ He doesn't know how to get out either, but the best they can do is start walking, he figures. ]
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Oh...
[ Caoimhe seems to take an immediate interest in the marks along his face and tongue. ]
It - I see... They are unlike the arcane symbols I have seen... [ She remembers in that moment, her fervent interest in figuring out the tattoos that line along Godwyyn's body. His too, was a curse but of a different kind. A complicated sort of measure, that afforded him the convenience of immortality. At a price of... Never truly changing as a person and wholly unable to inevitably die. ]
Um... I know the forest plays games - it has done this before to us... I do not know what game it wants to play with us now though...
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He looks a bit grim at the news that the forest is playing games with them, that implies there's some trick to getting out of there. What could it be?
Toge sighs very slightly. What kind of game could it be? He doesn't know what to expect.
He looks around again, as if looking for the way out. There isn't a real way out that he can tell, but there is a path to the right. He points in that direction. Does that mean the path will be leading somewhere unpleasant? Possibly. Speculating and wondering won't fix anything. ]
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I-It is strange... But.. I-It seems... I've been told perhaps if you, share your feelings with another - the forest will let you travel back to the Well..?
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He blinks a few times and then gestures, tugging lightly on his earlobe. ] Tuna.
[ Okay, sure, he's listening. ]
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I... It is a bit of a sort...
Ah... Well.... If you would listen to my song... I-I have been working... On something about my journey... About my woes... Is that okay...? If I ... Do it in song..?
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[ He nods for emphasis, that's perfectly fine. It doesn't bother him to listen to a song, although he's not even sure what he would try to convey if he has to convey his feelings. He wasn't even sure what he was feeling. ]
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[ Caoimhe begins, and her voice is soft as she retrieves the violin from her bag. This is a song that needs something that can compel an intensity burning from within her. The Violin, is perfect for it.
The song continues, at times her voice is weak and weary - but sing on she does. Inevitably at some points she finds herself invigorated - captured by the passion in her voice. Wanting to feel in the moment, as one would when they join their instrument in song. She sings her story, and for easy consumption I will just bullet point what she says. No need to read!! But dabs.
- She says she lived 200 years, a quite life that begot its own trials and problems.
- That here she did not know she was born from the sea and a question she once asked as a kid: Who am I? Seems to eat her up when it is learned. But it is not learned yet - so she tells the story of how it all began.
- The world one day when the festival of the moon came, had grown wounds upon the earth. That spat out undead and killed many people therein.
- To represent her people she meets the king with 4 others. Something that surprises her, because she was certain her people wanted to simply be rid of her.
- The king tasks them to explore this tower in the mountains behind the kingdom. it is known to have a time paradox.
- The go in, they defeat a monster. caoimhe befriends a bubble elemental - and they learn of a past that was never told.
- she moves the story along to the king again, as they confer their success. but it is that night the Umbral Moon came - and with that a whole Kingdom in disarray.
- everyone within the kingdom gets teleported east - and this is really where the story begins.
- She sings about trials, about countless human lives lost. About how her companions alienate her. about how she struggles to stop them, save them - about how their journey takes them everywhere.
- she talks about a spider that was a monster, and feared them. shares that her companions and herself killed it - betraying it in the process. this hurt her severely and she realized there her voice had no power.
- then they move, and eventually again she is faced with an issue that no one listens to her. and one of her companions dies. in his death the state of the universe is sealed and basically the big bad evil guy successfully starts to make the world worse.
- they are on bought time. not sure how much longer til everything ends. because they didnt do better at protecting that companion - and basically let him run to his death.
- she mourns and when she turns to the plains ( a place where she i sfrom ), she writes about this being an awakening of sorts?
- she sings about the orcs who became her family. about how they taught her to have strength in her voice - and that when she in turn wished to save them. because an evil person laid with them - she too had failed them here.
- countless innocent people died, including children.
- and their body count was on their hands for having attempted to face the evil infront of all the orcs. so that they understood he was evil too - but they were fools.
- caoimhe then will sing about how in this moment she felt for the first time what she understood anger. And that in this anger - she felt a flash of feeling most alien. That she wanted not only this evil man dead - but out of frustration and her shame. she wanted too, her companions dead.
- because none of them listened to her, and countless times because of this - so many people wounded up dead.
- she sings that this is her fault that she ahs no strength in her words, that she has no strength in her hands.
- that she begs for the ability to help change the world. so that when she is faced with something she cannot change - that she at least was able to give it her all.
- That the answer to "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. " was, she has let countless people die before her because she is a coward, that she is scared, and that she has no strength to make the right thing happen. And that, in her cowardice she felt the sin of wrath and wanted even her friends dead.
WHEN THE SONG finishes, it is done so with a SHAME of herself and FRUSTRATION of how she feels. It is POWERFUL how her vocal chords nearly shout and how the strings peek into a crescendo when the moment calls for it, but stay in moment she does. Ever part of her is moved, and Caoimhe feels gladden some how. That the forest and someone - SOMEONE can hear her at last. There is a pain in her voice when it ends.
Caoimhe will pull her violin down suddenly, the palm of her hand pressed now against her forehead. As tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. ]
I am sorry... [ She is huffing, as if she just ran. ] I do not have the will to sing further.
[ It seems... Almost as if there is more to be said. As if the fury of her feelings had not ended, and she is ashamed of her life as it is. ]
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He holds up his hand when she says she has no more will, as though to agree that she's maybe done enough. It's interesting - not in a neutral way, but because it's surprisingly relatable, in its own way.
He cannot sing, or speak his words, but it might help to get his thoughts. He should probably offer condolences, that's what a well-adjusted individual would do. He is not that.
He pulls out of his pocket, a phone. It's not hooked up to anywhere, but it does have a notes app. He can write a message and turn it towards her. ]
That sounds pretty bad. In my last battle, a single attack took out the thousands of people I was trying to protect.
[ He at least understands, somewhat. It wasn't his fault, but it still happened. He failed to protect them. ]
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... ?
[ Was this... A place of limbo, for those who had taken the lives of others from before? Even if they had meant to protect them, and keep them safe.
Her eyes stay on the screen. Then move to him, her breath beginning to slow down. ]
What... What do you feel now? [ Caoimhe thinks her questions is worded strange, swallowing. She shakes her head, as if attempting to gather her thoughts again and asks a bit more desperately. ] How do you feel? Now? About it?
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Toge tilts his head like he has to think about it for a moment. How does he feel about the loss of life? ]
I don't.
[ That might be a surprising answer, but he's honestly incredibly numb to it. ]
People die in our line of work, a lot. Classmates, teachers, innocent bystanders. I don't really feel anything.
[ Maybe his numbness can be related to shock too, it's been a short enough time he could calculate the hours, and yet, there's little to be said about it. Little to do about it. The death has led to more death. ]
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To feel nothing.... I can only imagine... The strain your own heart must bare... I am sorry.
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Her reaction is very normal, but as to why she feels for him when he's the one who's like this, he doesn't know. ]
Thanks, but I'm not sure why you're sorry. I don't think it's too strained, it's just empty. This kind of thing is normal for me. I care for my friends, but should I be ordered to, I'd be expected to kill them.
[ Does that help? Probably not. ]
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Was Toge too.. Much like this? ]
In order for someone... To feel the way that you have, you must have... Gone through so much... Becoming desensitized by it all.... No one person should bare such pain on their own, that they forget who they are as people... The burdens you have, are something that should be shared by many. So no one person, can feel the strain of what you feel in this moment.
[ In her gentleness, she squeezes his hand. ]
No one should think, one day... That they would have to kill their friends. A world born from such a reality, is a world - no a realm. Worth changing... So... Whatever evils are there, I hope that one day you and your people can over come them.
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He smiles, just a little bit, understanding how she feels about what he said now and he will let go because it's the only way to give her a response. He's getting used to it, it's new to have a limb missing.
He pulls his phone back out. ]
It's just one more thing. I kind of know it sounds terrible, but it's how I feel about it. My friends are the only people that care about me, I don't want to have to be put in that position. It's the same for me too, if I step out of line, the Elders will make the call to have me taken down and my family will be glad for it. We all understand the stakes.
[ It's why his communication skills are lacking, in a way. No one cares if he can get around in the world, no one thinks he'll make it into adulthood. He's stubborn though, he's not going to die just because people hate him. What else is new? ]
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No. [ She says. ] As long as you are here. No one will take you down - no one is taking anyone down. We all deserve to live, we all deserve a good life, we all deserve to know no matter the weight of our sins. Even we deserve far better then to sink below into the Ocean Waves. [ A fierce sort of tightness, words shared intimately for him. For herself? For everyone - even the forest. ]
No consequence of living, should ever be that at the end of it all. You don't deserve to live.
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Excuse him, people don't usually hug him. ]
Fish flakes. [ It's a small protest without heat. He's been told he should die since the day he was born. It's a ticking clock. He's not worried about what he's done. Has he killed people? He's definitely helped. He's killed ample spirits. Objectively, to most normal people, he's probably not that great of a person for those sins alone. ]
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[ She is sniffling.. crying in his arms... She really wanted a hug, and she is holding onto him tighter. ]
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He can't do much, or explain more while being in a hug, and he is patting her back in a consoling manner. He doesn't really know why she's crying and so upset on his behalf. He's not that important. ]
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W-We should try, truly leaving from here now... I do feel... Oddly better - I don't know if it is from the hug or not but... How do you feel? Do you feel.. Different having been able to share your own feelings?
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Well. Actually. He hasn't had the chance to talk about this event. He hasn't really had the chance to process it either. None of the ramifications either.
He raises his hand and presses it to his chest before nodding. Actually, yeah, he feels a little bit better. ]
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Mmm... Im not sure... Where to go... [ Her eyes look back towards Toge, ] We could always rest for a short time...
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