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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
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... Why?
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zahliya says its huggin' time
It would be very easy to give a flat "no" to this, but. Maybe, he is also feeling a bit homesick, and the typing was making him think about Nene, and if he says no he's going to make this person sad and he'll have to deal with that for the rest of the day, and maybe it'd be easier to just... do the hug? A quick one? He can handle that, right? He's... he's had some practice, with the touch thing...
Mentally he is here, but he manages to force out a reply that doesn't sound entirely forced. Maybe. Sort of.]
S...ure?
Bless you Zahliya
But he’s saying sure! So that means it’s okay! And boy does Mizuki look so excited about it. His hands are off the purple screen and he wastes zero time closing the distance to give this relative stranger a hug. A very full, warm one at that! If there’s a stinger or two that joins in, just ignore it— ]
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Anyway, it's fine up until he notices some ????? extra limbs????? creeping around his back, which is not something he was expecting. Like okay he's met other people with weird body situations but—]
Watch the arms. [A bit terse, but he's in an unstable form right now... the fragmented parts of his right arm and left shoulder aren't exactly pleasant to touch, feels a bit like sticking your hand (tentacle?) in a pile of glass. Also doesn't feel great for Add. He's wincing about it whether Mizuki makes contact or not, though. How much longer does he have to sit through this hug?]
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When he lets go, even though Add might be a bit more grumpy, Mizuki seems… weirdly energized? Like he's gone from a muted melancholy to a bright cheer within just seconds. He's even glowing! …Literally! There's a blue bioluminescent shimmer that he gives off when he's happy.
He turns to Dynamo first, though instead of using the screen and keys, he signs at them. Something he would've used to begin with, but he's still not sure how similar things work with this Add. But surely a drone can understand that, right…? ]
« I know you're different, too, but it's still nice to see you again. »
[ And then to Add: ] Thank you! You're real nice, Mister Add. It feels like everyone's been so upset lately, it's been hard to ask for one of those.
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[... anyway, Add rolls his shoulders a few times now that the hug is over. He's still grumpy and a little embarrassed, but he can only be so annoyed when the kid(?) is acting so sincere about it. He grumbles.]
Yeah, yeah, don't mention it. [literally Do Not Mention It he can't ruin his cool and intimidating reputation this early on ugh moving on] Everyone, huh? What's the situation here? Vindictive fallen god, I assume the primary goal is to get rid of it or otherwise remove the source of the threat, but entities like that rarely go down without a fight. Give me a summary of the past couple of months, I want to know what I'm dealing with. What's the current progress towards the end goal, recent counterattacks or blocking attempts, status of group morale...
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As for Add's questions... Mizuki lulls his head a moment, trying to think of the best way to go about answering. In the end, he just ends up using the fact he has to type to his advantage here, making more concise bulletpoints rather than trying to explain everything. ]
The Forest (VFG):
- Don't call it by it's name.
- Trying to get rid of it. Unsure how. Previously sealed away in a temple. Presumably can be killed?
- Toys with us in the meantime. Plays sadistic "games".
- Possesses the whole of the forest. Doesn't seem strong enough to come out of it? Isn't strong enough to pierce the barrier around the Grove, for sure.
2 Months Ago
- Furniture came to life and got mad at us if we didn't fix them/clean up/etc.
- The forest gave us gemstones that gave us negative emotions (cowardice, anger, instability, apathy, etc.)
- We restored a demi-god (called "Guardians"), and he rewarded us by giving us rain that made the plants very big.
- The gargoyle (Zahliya) who usually hangs out above the church in town went on a quest to find his swords that his moms made for him (the goddesses).
Last Month
- Monsters played chase with us in the Grove. Couple people died and everyone was really exhausted. Morale particularly low right now because of this.
- The River guardian had some of its power restored. A plus for us, since the guardians seem to be working with us.
- As a side note, if you saw the giant moose lady walking around, she's very nice, and I would recommend talking with her, as she seems to know a lot. Bring her flowers, too.
- Also we talked to the Sun god. She's also the former god's sister. She's pretty sure we're gonna have to kill her brother.
This time, last year
- I don't know what's going on with the candy falling from the sky, that's new, but the skeletons roaming around are not. They appeared here last year.
- There was a masquerade (hosted by the skeletons) and also ghosts.
- The forest gave us all marks that forced us to feel one another's pain. Physical and emotional.
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Add appreciates the quick bullet points. He nods along with them, running another holoscreen now to simply copy the contents of this one. Easier than typing the same thing twice.]
... Well, at least no one is murdering each other here. [lmaoooooooooo]
Increasing the power of allied guardians seems useful. Sounds like you've all made decent progress, at least. Morale may pose an issue... shouldn't be more than two years... [mumble mumble mumble]
Does this forest entity declare its attacks in any way? If they're supposed to be "games", I'd expect an explanation of the rules to start. Any other warning signs when it's up to something?
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He did it to Elsword. Elsword was a mess about it and kept blaming himself…
There’s no rules, hence the quotes for “games”. It’s not fun or anything. It’s usually just something to make us upset. There’s no warning, just… whenever he gets bored, I guess.
…
He goes to sleep in the winter, though. If that’s helpful to know.
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... How is he doing, anyway? Elsword. [Is he still around? There's a melancholic tone to the question, unwilling to ask any more directly than that.]
Good that it has an off season, I guess. If it's October now... it should be hibernating soon, people will have a chance to relax for awhile. Enjoy it while it lasts.
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[ Hey, Mizuki, you can't just say shit like that. ]
We're together always now! [ Begging you to be normal, Mizuki. ]
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staring at this text for altogether WAY too long to pretend he knows what the fuck its on about]
... Context?
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Oh! Um, so I can expel evil from myself. Also I can't get corrupted 'cause I got the moon goddess' rock and I ate it so it's a part of me. So I asked Elsword if I could eat him to fix him and he said "okay"!
...We're dating! So, it's okay! We're real close. And for my species... we're um... I don't know how to explain this very well, but we're known for assimilating with the things we consume? So I can do this now! [ Mizuki holds a hand out for a moment, and after a bit of concentrating that seemed to take just a little too much focus, he summons one of Elsword's spears. Briefly. It fizzles out after a moment, and Mizuki gives a sighing gesture before he types again. ] I'm just not good at using magic. My kin aren't really able to use magic, so I'm really bad at it.
He's also still in the Garden with Doctor Add. Which... is a place people here go when they die. They're resurrected, but at a price. It's how I lost my voice. But I can still sorta communicate with him and feel what he feels and such. [ Less because of the consuming/assimilation and more because of the hivemind, but he promised his Add he wouldn't talk about that, so... ]
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but he's also done some weird shit before, so... eating people. to cure them. sure! why not!!]
You're dating. [why is that the part he's focusing on?????]
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Yes?
...
Doctor Add is, too?? Dating Elsword, I mean.
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I say something wrong???
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... You know what? Forget it! Forget I asked! I don't even want to know! He can do whatever the fuck he wants, that's none of my concern!!
[sure sounds like it's his concern but ok lmao]
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I'm really sorry, Mister Add. I didn't mean to upset you...
Is... this because you also like Elsword? [ Maybe all Adds IS the same- ]
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Anyway, he is immediately back to spitting tsundere anger the moment Mizuki even begins to type that—] No, I am not interested in Elsword! Why would I be interested in Elsword?! Just because some other version of me has a taste for soft-hearted idiots doesn't mean every version does!
I have no interest in romantic partners whatsoever! [folding his arms in a huff] I don't have time for idiotic things like that. I'm busy with my research, and various other topics of personal interest...
[like... like robots, and cats... yeah.]
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I’m going to assume you asking why you would be interested in Elsword is a rhetorical question. As for everything else… I’m genuinely sorry if I upset you. If you wanted to talk about it, or let me know what I did wrong so I can avoid it, I will listen. I’m very good at taking orders, and even better at talking through someone’s thoughts with them…
Or if you just need someone to vent to, I have no personal judgements towards anyone. You could do that, too.
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......
.........]
... I haven't even seen him in years. Mine probably... moved on already...
[Dynamo makes an especially sad bebeep!! :( and gathers itself up to give him a hug. There, there...]
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Here would be the point where Mizuki would put a hand on his shoulder or something along those lines, but he figures that would make things worse for Add, not better. He tilts his head for a moment, then shakes it. ]
The Elsword I know has the "Illuminous Phenomenon". It makes his memory really, really bad.
But he works so, so hard to remembering his friends. He says it's hard to remember their faces sometimes, but he's still doing everything he can to think about them and remember them and who they are to him.
I know people from different universes can vary immensely, but if your Elsword is anything like that, he still cares. I guarantee it.
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