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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
...probably not. But thanks for bringing him back. I'm glad he's... alive, if nothing else.
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for like, 30 seconds before she takes a bite. which is also treasuring it, really.
she wants to cry, it's so delicious. but nene is quick to somber up again. )
... Has... he told you anything yet?
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[Elsword takes a deep, shaky breath. He thinks he feels... guilt? Is this guilt. Fuck. It's not very strong, but there enough to make him wonder.]
I miss him, but... there's nothing I can do if he doesn't want to talk to me.
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( she had warned add. but maybe it really is for the best that she's the one to tell elsword. )
Add found me in the Garden, a resting place in the heart of the forest. My mom made it before things got too bad, so it... represents what she wants. A place to sit and rest before you keep going. But it got twisted, like everything else here, so if you linger too long you risk... fading.
But on the opposite end, if you're too close to the brink, it can bring you back. You just have to leave before the effects reverse.
... He was... I brought him there. He needed it.
no subject
[...well. That doesn't bode well. Or maybe it does, but the connotations are there, and Elsword speaks before he can think better of it.]
Be honest with me. When you say "bring back", you mean... that night he wandered off, he didn't just get lost in the woods for a couple months. He... died, didn't he?
no subject
no subject
Shit.
[Okay. So. That's... bad. That's bad! The Illuminous Phenomenon is trying to suppress every rational emotion he could possibly have about this while his brain thrashes in its claws, and for a moment, he's paralysed, looking off into the distance like he's not sure what to do. To be honest, he isn't. He's used to impulse and quick-thinking, not stuff like this.]
I should... say something to him. [Like. "Sorry for screaming at you I didn't realise you were traumatized I thought you were just being an asshole" but more eloquently. Which Elsword tends to be the opposite of.] I don't know if he'll want to hear from me again so soon, but I have to try, right? It's... I shouldn't have let him go that night.
no subject
... There's another thing you should know. The forest- um. If you cross from the Garden back into the woods, you have to pay a price, so that you don't think death is cheap here. That's why his eye... a-and something else might be missing too, but we haven't figured out what.
But. Um. I think... he wants to see you? But is bad at saying so.
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[Ah. Elsword Will Remember That. This is not a threat or a joke, he is forcing his brain to squeeze around that idea and never let it go. He's not sure he's the best person to figure out what Add's missing, considering his own unique problems, but he's making it his responsibility to try.
He wonders, vaguely, if it's a memory. Like all the things Elsword has lost.]
...Add is usually bad at saying stuff like that, yeah. [He manages the tiniest of smiles. Add has never said things like "I miss you" or "I want to see you" or "Let's hang out by the campfire and throw molten marshmallows at each other's faces". He's not that sort of person... but he's always been there for Elsword and their friends no matter what, so he's never thought much of it.] He's also never been much of a hugger, but I'm going to squeeze one in anyway.
[Who would win? One nerd who is touch-averse, or one very tactile angel?]
no subject
( nene hums thoughtfully, idly running a thumb over a part of the apple she hasn't bitten into yet. )
He doesn't like to be direct unless it's about you as his patient, I think. But he can't do that about this. You guys need to talk. ... I, um. I don't think I should be present there either, but. He really wanted to get home to you. I can tell.