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sticksandbones2024-10-04 11:32 am
sticksandbonesmods) wrote in sticksandbones2024-10-04 11:32 am
EVENT & TDM 017
WHO ARE THEY?
WAKE UP
Grey, overcast skies. A touch of autumn rain. The smell of crisp apples and fallen leaves, and the crunch of grass underfoot. Pumpkins growing along the path and out of the walls of the buildings and on the rooves and wait what—
You’re not sure how you got here, but does it really matter? There’s something more urgent happening. As you stare at the pumpkin growing out of the wall by your head, something small and coin-shaped bonks you right on the noggin. As you look up, you’ll realise that the rain is gradually becoming less and less wet, and more and more… candy.
It’s raining candy. Wrapped candy, mind — the sky doesn’t want any food safety issues! No razor blades in the chocolate this year! — but candy nonetheless. Chocolate coins, taffy, sour candies, you name it, all coming down gradually before an absolute deluge of goodies pour down upon Aldric’s Grove. Some of them include wrapped bags of microwave popcorn and, yes, the occasional toothbrush. If you’re lucky, you might get clocked in the head with a mini pumpkin!
…don’t be lucky. Maybe get inside and wait for the trick-or-treat storm to pass, and make some friends while you’re at it. Surely the people who’ve been here for a bit can explain this one? Surely…?
You’re not sure how you got here, but does it really matter? There’s something more urgent happening. As you stare at the pumpkin growing out of the wall by your head, something small and coin-shaped bonks you right on the noggin. As you look up, you’ll realise that the rain is gradually becoming less and less wet, and more and more… candy.
It’s raining candy. Wrapped candy, mind — the sky doesn’t want any food safety issues! No razor blades in the chocolate this year! — but candy nonetheless. Chocolate coins, taffy, sour candies, you name it, all coming down gradually before an absolute deluge of goodies pour down upon Aldric’s Grove. Some of them include wrapped bags of microwave popcorn and, yes, the occasional toothbrush. If you’re lucky, you might get clocked in the head with a mini pumpkin!
…don’t be lucky. Maybe get inside and wait for the trick-or-treat storm to pass, and make some friends while you’re at it. Surely the people who’ve been here for a bit can explain this one? Surely…?
A BONE TO PICK
At midnight the day after the candy storm ends, a distant rattlin’ sound can be heard. From the forest surrounding the Grove comes the clickety-clack of dry bones as what appears to be a small army of skeletons assembles. At the head of the phalanx is none other than everyone’s favourite friendly skeletal spirit, Mr. Bone-Jangles. If anyone happens to be up at this late hour, he’ll wave hello and greet you… by plucking one of those pumpkins off the wall or out of the ground, breaking it open by ramming his skull into it, and handing you one half.
It’s full of candy, just like the skies were. Has anyone cleaned up the candy sitting on the ground from last night’s storm…? This is too much! Just as someone tries to tell him that there’s too much sugar here, he breaks open a second pumpkin, which contains fully-baked pumpkin pie that uses the shell of the pumpkin as the crust. Sigh.
This will be your entire month. Mr. Bone-Jangles will hand you sugar-filled pumpkins if he thinks you’re getting too sad or uncomfortable at any point, and his skeletal entourage follow behind him, loudly playing off-key music like the worst marching band you’ve ever heard. You’re not entirely sure how skeletons can play the trumpet — they don’t have lungs! — but it doesn’t really matter. It’s happening. You must deal with it. He’s not taking “no” for an answer.
Cheer up! Stop being depressed! Try Not Thinking About It™!
It’s full of candy, just like the skies were. Has anyone cleaned up the candy sitting on the ground from last night’s storm…? This is too much! Just as someone tries to tell him that there’s too much sugar here, he breaks open a second pumpkin, which contains fully-baked pumpkin pie that uses the shell of the pumpkin as the crust. Sigh.
This will be your entire month. Mr. Bone-Jangles will hand you sugar-filled pumpkins if he thinks you’re getting too sad or uncomfortable at any point, and his skeletal entourage follow behind him, loudly playing off-key music like the worst marching band you’ve ever heard. You’re not entirely sure how skeletons can play the trumpet — they don’t have lungs! — but it doesn’t really matter. It’s happening. You must deal with it. He’s not taking “no” for an answer.
Cheer up! Stop being depressed! Try Not Thinking About It™!
IT’S YOU, IT’S ME
Not everything can go smoothly, though. Not that one would call Mr. Bone-Jangles and his marching band of goobers smooth, but at least they aren’t an active threat to you. The same night he appears, so do others. Your “Other” — a doppelganger who looks just like you, thinks like you, acts like you, has powers like you do (or don’t). They know you. They want to be you.
The Others don’t make their appearance too obvious. They hide in the shadows, waiting for the opportune time to strike. Some might even wait until you’re talking to someone else to appear and cry out that’s not me! I’m right here! in an attempt to frame you. In almost every way, they’re the perfect “you” — especially should they get the drop on you and slash your throat, or gut you like a cod, or push you into the well where you’ll fall for an eternity before drowning all alone. Your Other will replace you seamlessly and, perhaps, they might turn their attention to your friends and loved ones next.
Yet, there’s always something “off” about them, no matter how perfect a replica. Perhaps your Other is more temperamental. Perhaps they don’t speak as well, or they speak far more intelligently than you ever did, or they’ve forgotten basic facts about their life. Perhaps your Other forgot that their dear friend’s birthday is coming up here soon. Or perhaps…
…the knife they brandish in broad daylight is a dead giveaway?
The Others don’t make their appearance too obvious. They hide in the shadows, waiting for the opportune time to strike. Some might even wait until you’re talking to someone else to appear and cry out that’s not me! I’m right here! in an attempt to frame you. In almost every way, they’re the perfect “you” — especially should they get the drop on you and slash your throat, or gut you like a cod, or push you into the well where you’ll fall for an eternity before drowning all alone. Your Other will replace you seamlessly and, perhaps, they might turn their attention to your friends and loved ones next.
Yet, there’s always something “off” about them, no matter how perfect a replica. Perhaps your Other is more temperamental. Perhaps they don’t speak as well, or they speak far more intelligently than you ever did, or they’ve forgotten basic facts about their life. Perhaps your Other forgot that their dear friend’s birthday is coming up here soon. Or perhaps…
…the knife they brandish in broad daylight is a dead giveaway?
…IT’S US
If you don’t kill your Other first, they will certainly kill you. The Others aren’t too concerned about any corpses hanging out in broad daylight, easily discovered by the masses where they can try to investigate if it’s “you” or “them”. Their job is to kill you; the method and clean-up really don’t matter, and since they’re the only ones left, they can claim easily that you were the doppelganger all along.
Where does your spirit go when you die to an Other? Deep within the forest lies a mansion made of creaky old wood and worn-down stone, one which no one outside can currently get into. The spirits of those who died are trapped here, left to haunt these halls. It is, ostensibly, a normal-if-decrepit home inside. There are living rooms, there’s a foyer, there are plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms, there’s a humungous kitchen — and as you float through the home, sometimes, a sense of mischief overtakes you. You really want to throw that table at someone. You really want to jump out at someone and frighten the daylights out of them. It’s dark in here, and there are plenty of places to hide.
Sadly for your prankster’s heart, the living — no matter how hard they try, and you sure can hear them trying — have been unable to break in, and they won’t be able to. Yet, standing just outside the iron-wrought fence, a stalwart figure of chaos and bad ideas, holding a greatsword with both skeletal hands… stands Mr. Bone-Jangles.
It seems like a way inside might unveil itself after all.
Where does your spirit go when you die to an Other? Deep within the forest lies a mansion made of creaky old wood and worn-down stone, one which no one outside can currently get into. The spirits of those who died are trapped here, left to haunt these halls. It is, ostensibly, a normal-if-decrepit home inside. There are living rooms, there’s a foyer, there are plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms, there’s a humungous kitchen — and as you float through the home, sometimes, a sense of mischief overtakes you. You really want to throw that table at someone. You really want to jump out at someone and frighten the daylights out of them. It’s dark in here, and there are plenty of places to hide.
Sadly for your prankster’s heart, the living — no matter how hard they try, and you sure can hear them trying — have been unable to break in, and they won’t be able to. Yet, standing just outside the iron-wrought fence, a stalwart figure of chaos and bad ideas, holding a greatsword with both skeletal hands… stands Mr. Bone-Jangles.
It seems like a way inside might unveil itself after all.
SPARK NOTES
CLICK TO EXPAND!
WAKE UP
Welcome to Aldric's Grove, newbies! It's raining candy and the pumpkins are growing out of everything they can, no matter how nonsense it is. The people who've been here for a while probably know how to explain this one. Definitely.
A BONE TO PICK
An army of skeletons with instruments are here to cheer you up. Whenever you're Too Sad or Too Uncomfortable or Too Negative Emotion Here, they will chase you down and play music, and their leader will hand you a broken pumpkin full of sweets. Yaaay!
IT’S YOU, IT’S ME
The peace doesn't last long. Doppelgangers appear, seemingly from nowhere, with the intent to kill and replace you. They're almost-perfect copies, but there's always something off about them. They're perfectly killable, if you're smart about it.
…IT’S US
Those of you who die to your doppelgangers will leave a pretty corpse behind, and your spirits will be trapped in a (currently inaccessible) mansion in the forest until further notice. Your spirits will be quite tempted into mischievious ghost activities while you await your rescue.
OOC
Welcome to October's TDM! Reminder that all TDMs are game canon. This is the LAST TDM of the year; November & December won't have any due to the holiday season. We'll see you guys in January with a fresh new TDM, but feel free to continue playing on this one until then. OOC Plotting Lives Here if you'd like to plot anything out!
Living characters cannot currently get into the mansion to stage a rescue, but we encourage anyone who's "gone ghost" to float about in there. The rescue will be a mid-month event for our current playerbase at time of writing.
Living characters cannot currently get into the mansion to stage a rescue, but we encourage anyone who's "gone ghost" to float about in there. The rescue will be a mid-month event for our current playerbase at time of writing.
UPDATES
❖ None yet!
SUBMISSIONS
this is what i get for editing too many times
Dynamo floats up to intercept the black hole creature, six drones arranged into a shield-like array. They are only a little overprotective, really!! but they also offer a few curious beeps in return. Sidekick to sidekick communication.]
Chronokinetic... mm, close. Time, space, dimensional travel, all of these are within my capabilities. Calling it just "chronokinesis" is too reductive for my tastes. [read: he likes to brag about his resume.]
Are you here by choice, or is the force here capable of preventing your exit as well?
no subject
You certainly do not hold back, do you?
[She laughs, appreciatively, a sound like a thousand ticking clocks. Sure, you can't have time manipulation without spacial manipulation - they're the same thing at the end of the day. Timekeeper just likes time better aesthetically, and doesn't care to advertise the rest.]
...Hmm. The temporal state here is frustrating indeed. It seems even the most experienced time traveler would struggle, though it is a problem I fully intend to solve. At the very least, this is a fascinating place in the meantime.
I am Timekeeper Cookie, by the way, and that is Continuum Cog. [The... "dog" by her chair looks up and gives a short huff.] Ah, and this is Sidereal, he is a relatively new acquaintance.
no subject
Add is stuck talking to Timekeeper tho, alas.
Even the most experienced time traveller would struggle, huh? Add scoffs, dismissively waving off her very valid and reasonable concerns.] I've already dealt with this issue before. Weakening the tether is the first step, then you just need a powerful enough force to break past the transdimensional pull and enter neutral timespace again. From there it's a walk in the park. I'll show you how its done once I'm finished calibrating my equipment for this reality.
Add. [is his name. Hopefully she picks up on that.] My assistant is Dynamo. It's been surprisingly rare for me to meet other time travellers. I'd be interested to know what your methods are, if you're open to an exchange perhaps.
no subject
Alas indeed. Timekeeper's eye narrows, though her smile only widens.]
Have you? Such an issue has not yet been recorded in my own timelines - I would know. Perhaps the timelines outside of Earthbread's are simply not very well managed! Although it is a necessity in our case, as time travelers are not so rare, and some cause mischief.
[Herself included. But, details! She brushes the topic aside with a wave of her hand, still sorting the candy before her into piles.]
The expertise is needed here, regardless, and I am certainly curious about your methods as well. I had been planning to try establishing a temporal anchor in town to maintain normal flow - given that the state of local spacetime is the doing of a fallen god throwing a temper tantrum, he is likely to try and undo whatever we fix.
no subject
[He pops another candy in his mouth. Add is out here, trying to figure out wtf is up with these dwrp jamjars.]
Mm... temporal anchor, that's not a bad place to start. Instability is more helpful for escape, but difficult to control in this state. Stabilize, then reintroduce controlled instability at specific timespace coordinates...
no subject
[She picks a candy from her own "actually edible" pile, the smaller of the two, unwrapping it and popping it into her mouth as Add muses about the anchor idea.]
Mm, precisely! Personally, I am in no hurry to escape, necessarily. There is still much of interest here! And "when" I return to my original world is not an issue for me, of course. [Ah, the perks of rampant time travel.] I am far more interested in being able to leverage my powers fully. Not to mention, if local spacetime can be stabilized enough to allow me to access time rifts again, I can make great use of that. Even should only local, unconnected rifts be accessible, the materials alone would be worth it - I am an engineer first, after all.
no subject
[He listens quietly to the rest, eyebrows raising slightly at the last part—ah, a fellow engineer. That he can truly appreciate. He breaks a small smile.]
Our goals are similar, then. Kukuku... bending time and space to our will, why settle for something as mediocre as "escape"? Open doors are useful things to keep.
[He has no desire to stay, but he can relate to wanting the option to return. It is why he refused to graduate for so long. That, and a simple desire to solve the problem through his own efforts.]
no subject
Yes, I see you understand perfectly. All these new timelines that were beyond our reach before... I should very much like to extend the Time Balance Department's influence to them as well. Then we should not have any more mismanagement issues, hmm?
...Well, after I've had my fun, of course.