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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
What strange things?
[Well, faking it won't get him information. He needs to know what he's dealing with first, then do something about it.]
no subject
( just... like she's discussing a particularly inconvenient storm...
That sucked, actually.
no subject
Werewolf?
[It's... getting harder and harder to keep a straight face here. He's trying his best not to scowl.]
no subject
no subject
[Was that the problem? No. However, it gives him a clue as to a location, or a general area. Which, you know, is freaking him out a little more because how did he even end up outside of Japan?
Calm. Keep calm. Remember your ikiai, but do not vocalize it.]
no subject
( but elsword has that somewhere, and she's not about to go and rummage through his stuff, she respects him far too much for that. )
no subject
[Which sucks, he's back to square one. Or square negative, given he can't even figure out where they are. That seemed basic.]
Where'd you see the map?
no subject
( she's talking about the boy! a good boy. maybe they've already met. )
no subject
[The wariness in his tone, he can't help but have. Did they steal it?
He looks at her curiously, trying to determine what she might say.]
no subject
( she doesn't even wait for a confirmation- just leads him straight to the fenced up manor, with a single grave and a sad dog waiting outside of it. she tentatively gives the dog a light pat on the head... and then climbs the gate.
once she gets to the top, a force pushes back and launches her twenty feet away, with absolutely no grace. ... she's just gonna lay there for a second. )
That. That's why.
no subject
[He had followed her, because he had nothing else he could do with how strange this place is, but he didn't actually expect her to climb. Since he had a bow in hand, large and not exactly easy to keep behind him, he ends up watching her do as she wants.
Until she flies away. He doesn't even think about it, he runs after her.]
Are you okay!?
no subject
Stings a bit but it'll wear off quickly. Not the first fall I've taken. ... For context, I'm a gymnast and acrobat.
( girl you are so many things. )
But! Yeah. That's why we can't get back in.
no subject
[Being a gymnast and acrobat doesn't mean she'd be okay being thrown like a rag doll like that. Though... she does seem fine.
Whatever composure he had earlier, it's gone now.]
What were you even thinking!? You could have gotten seriously hurt.
no subject
( though, as soon as it leaves her mouth she does realize that was probably not a good thing to say.
it's super true, though. )
Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. ... Honestly, I just figured having undeniable evidence would work best.
no subject
[He scolds her, but reels it back in as soon as he realizes that it wasn't helpful. So he just kind of angrily stands there.]
Then? How did you get in before?
no subject
( someone is a perfectionist polymath with a billion hobbies. but the smile fades as she sits up. )
Before the fence appeared, there was just the manor and it's porch. If you tried to break a window or the door, it would self-repair automatically. So...
( she summons a flash of lightning, a faint pink, to her fingertips before she dispells it just as easily. )
I had to cause damage faster than it could fix itself. Elsword got in and explored while I kept the hole open.
no subject
[Everything was weird enough that it wouldn't surprise him at this point, but also, he was still a regular person. There's only so much suspension of disbelief he could do before he's back to reality.]
That sounds like a lot of effort just for a map. Was that really all you were going for?
no subject
( she says it so cheerfully too, up until the second question, where her face falls with a heavy sigh. )
... Elsword was hoping his friend who went missing somehow got inside. He didn't, but- we at least learned some things from it.