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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
so his only recourse is to lie.]
I'm afraid not. [shalem gives a shrug, and an apologetic little smile. like he really didn't, leaning hard on his acting ability to make this lie convincing. make him seem silly and vapid.] I've not seen a camera and printer here at all.
[he hasn't seen a lot of technology in a while, really. not even his shield, given the sabre on his belt.]
no subject
I see. I wonder why...?
[He pockets that information for later. Whoever left those odd photos may be picking and choosing, or maybe no photos exist of Shalem from his youth. That's a possibility Gnosis hasn't considered until now... (he's jumping down the entirely wrong rabbit hole).]
I've also taken note of the lack of technology. It's quite reminiscent of home. [He manages a half-amused chuckle.] With a few more blizzards here and there, I might be feasibly convinced we're in Kjerag.
[It's a poor attempt at a joke. He shakes his head, following that up with a bothered-sounding sigh.]
If only I could remember how I arrived in the first place.
no subject
but in the meantime, shalem will throw him a bone, because there's something about his circumstances here that he can share.]
Ah, you don't either, Mr. Gnosis? I only remember waking on the forest floor, despite having gone to sleep in my bed. At the very least, the last place I remember sleeping in was my own room. [not that he feels safe sleeping in any other place, though. not until he's completely secured it.]
no subject
"Either"... [he echoes thoughtfully.] The last thing I recall is that I was dozing in the lab while working on something. I thought I had gotten up from my desk to get coffee, [instead of sleeping, because why would he do that?] but I blinked, and I was here, with as much fatigue as I had prior.
[Another thing to consider — asking people around here if they remember how they arrived. Gnosis reaches into the pocket of his vest and pulls out a small notebook, penning down "memory lapse" as a rather ironic-sounding reminder to himself.]
It seems, of everyone from Rhodes Island, it is only you, myself, and Mizuki. I haven't seen the Doctor, nor any other recognizable faces.
no subject
oh well. at least this tendency of theirs keeps shalem employed.]
I have already encountered Operator Mizuki, and he reported the same as you-- our numbers here, that is. [it's best that the doctor is not here anyway, when rhodes island needs its tactician more than the offworld stragglers need their boss.]
I wonder what the common thread among us would be, to be pulled into this place... If whatever or whoever did so wanted high-value personnel, they could certainly do better than me.
no subject
"High-value personnel" is something Gnosis does not give voice to. If they wanted Karlan Trade's secrets, whoever or whatever is in charge here would have pulled in SilverAsh, as Gnosis lacks the habit of blabbing classified information to unconcerned parties.]
If that were the case, the entity — I'm assuming an entity, anyhow — that governs this place would have taken Doctor Kal'tsit, the Doctor, or young Amiya. [Or even Ch'en, or someone from Rhine Lab... it makes no sense.] That also doesn't explain the others who aren't from Terra.
[Vague gesturing to the others around the bonfire.]
no subject
certainly not the man who is laughing mad.]
As to the other people around... I'm afraid I don't know them well enough to come to a conclusion. I'm feeling a little too tired to mingle right now.
no subject
[And being unintentionally (or perhaps totally intentionally) insulting to boot. For all his fancy Victorian education afforded him, he surely didn't learn social graces, did he?]
I only vaguely know some of the people here from a small party one of them held early this month. I was the newest person here until you and Mizuki arrived. If you ever needed someone to provide an introduction for you, I'm more than willing, when you aren't too exhausted.
no subject
I would appreciate that greatly, Mr. Gnosis. I'm glad to see that you've been well, all things considered...
You and Operator Mizuki both. But given I'm here now, I don't mind if you were to lean on me for the same duties that I perform in Rhodes Island.