MINI EVENT: GARDEN OF EVIL

[sticksandbonesmods]

GARDENING

Content Warning: Carnivorous plants in a very unconventional way, horror hunger, attempted violence towards animals

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EVERY ROSE HAS ITS THORNS

You've done well to avoid the flowers, haven't you? Though some hapless victims here and there may have nearly fallen to it, but even they've been rescued and taken to safety. And the flowers can't approach the General Store, the Trader's stalls, the inn or the house Elsword has built- something prevents the forest from creeping into it ever so softly, so of course it's minions couldn't either. But they're so hungry.

Starvation tears at the flowers like claws, and what should help them- the water and sunshine- burns like ice. The only thing that satisfies is flesh and blood and bone and they're hungry. And they've had enough of being told no.

As everyone goes about their day, the flowers still. They do not reach for and try to grab anyone, and for a moment all seems well. Up until Rusty begins snarling in a way uncharacteristic of him, trying to tear the nearest one out of the earth with his teeth. He is immediately ensnared in vines and leaves, with the full intent of tearing the old dog apart. The flowers shake and there's an odd hum in the air before they all seem to turn, looking at the denizens of the nest as if they had eyes. You will not look away. You can't look away. They are everywhere. On the ground, crawling up the walls of the fence, growing larger to block off the routes to safety, and always shifting to be in your line of sight. Look at them. Look at them.

Look at them.

The madness won't creep in slowly- as they force themselves into your vision, already you can see vines creeping at the edge of your vision, tearing into flesh that isn't there. Ravenous maws biting into the people around you and not letting go. Blood and sap pouring out like ichor. Blink once, blink twice, and it shakes away to reveal the truth but if you aren't careful the visions set in again. Misfortune radiates off of the flowers in waves, tripping you up and interfering with your aim and casting. Get ready, because the flowers aren't going away without some blood.

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Comments

QUESTIONS AND REPORTS

[sticksandbonesmods]

Any questions or status updates that you think may influence the event? Post them here!

Re: QUESTIONS AND REPORTS

[harmacy]

as per his toplevel: he made extra batches of Every Weedkiller and left them in the kitchen for anyone else to use if they don't have a better strat. you're welcome.

but rly tho how mad are the flowers gonna be about weedkiller... im expecting him to get almost murdered again its fine its all part of the plan

[devilishkouhai]

Do the plants seem interested in Elswords Lion/Dynamo as at all?

[devilishkouhai]

BB is destroying plants like crazy w tentacles, i imagine they are like slap fighting each other. but they also bit her and vampire succ some of her blood so there is that.

[mooninthewater]

Will the antidote that Add made work from the flower's hallucinations, or are the flower's using less of the neurotoxin effects and more of the general mindfuckery inherent to Mizuki's corruption?

elmofire.gif

[devilishkouhai]

how much of the forest can we set on fire?

Re: QUESTIONS AND REPORTS

[harmacy]

i was told to report so i am reporting that add got chewed on granting the flowers the incredible power of [checks notes] being genetically incapable of using magic

you're welcome

update

[simplicitas]

I was told to report that Elsword accidentally granted the flowers the ability of being mini fucking El Shards I guess but re: Add it doesn't matter, they balance each other out. God bless.

[harmacy]

[A - remember to use protection when working with chemicals]

[Someone else can save Rusty because Add looks outside for about 5 seconds before closing the blinds. Ok, cool. That's enough of that bullshit

A short time later, he's left his room and moved down to the inn's kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets and pantry. On the counter he's piled up all the biggest buckets he could find, spray bottles, vinegar, table salt, dish soap, baking soda, bleach, a few vials of mystery chemicals that are either medicinal or extremely toxic or a worse third thing... you know, gardening stuff.

He has his six drones and a purple holoscreen floating next to him, mumbling off the ingredients on his list as he double-checks his stock. There are still bandages wrapped over his right eye. If anyone lingers near the kitchen for too long, he'll address them without even looking up.]

Keep the curtains closed. I'll be done in here before dinnertime... if you're not doing anything else, you can start by filling that bucket with vinegar. Three tablespoons salt, one tablespoon dish soap. Mix well.

[B - this is only slightly better than setting the grove on fire]

[Add takes his time with the preparations. There's enough spray bottles in the kitchen for everyone to help themselves to, and if that runs out, boiling water should still prove itself effective. He leaves a note of all his recipes in the kitchen just in case. Only then does he head out himself, Dynamo in tow.

There are still a few gaps he has to account for, and he's not sure how effective Mizuki's antidote will be... but if he's careful, it should be fine. He's already half blind, so at least that should help with hallucinations.

Anyway, it sure is handy that he designed Dynamo specifically for applying medicinal sprays. Weed killer is basically the same thing, right? He stands a safe distance away while his drones get into all the hard-to-reach spaces, deluging the walls of vines and flowers with a thick mist. Add himself is wearing a medical mask, but you really shouldn't stand downwind of it... on the other hand, he's a doctor, so it'll probably turn out fine.]

[C - wildcard]

((heyoooo i have a minievent plotting comment here or just hit me up wherever!!))

SECRET BONUS D PROMPT (the d stands for divorce) (closed)

[harmacy]

[The flowers are being stubborn, but it feels like he's starting to finally wear them down. Bit by bit, the wall of vines is forced to draw back, petals and leaves closing up. If he can spread the poison to their the roots, he won't even have to deal with the rest—they'll wither on their own, given time to bake in the sun.

but really... that would be too easy, if it were that simple.

The dynamos working up close keep malfunctioning, but that part is expected. It's annoying, but a little bad luck isn't enough to shut him down for more than a few minutes. Each time, he checks his scanners for a safe path forward, eyes down to avoid getting distracted by hallucinations, only going as far as he needs to meet the drone halfway and pull it out of there. Quick repairs, a refill, a swap with his drone on standby...

But he's made a dangerous assumption. Hallucinations are restricted by line of sight and wear off quickly, but he's mistakenly lumped the misfortune aura along with it. He doesn't expect a delayed malfunction, an incorrect reading off the standby drone that should be safely out of range. He's too complacent in his routine, following the path mapped out by Dynamo without checking it by sight. He's too comfortable in his own blind spots.

They haven't been worn down as much as he thought. They've been patient. Biding. Spiteful.

The scanner reads him a safe route, but he doesn't spot the mistake. Add steps forward, proximity alarms failing to trigger, a vine coiled up in the grass on his right—by the time he notices it's already made a lunge for his legs, thorns digging in deep as he's dragged further back. He shouts, fingers clawing into the dirt.

The tangle of flowers twist their way up his waist, eager to tear him apart before he can scream for help.]

A

[succiduous]

[Gnosis has basically decided "I am not going outside today, fuck outside, outside is bad" and enters the kitchen for a snack... which is when he sees Add. He's content to ignore the scientist and shoulder past until spoken to, at which point...

Hm.]

What are you making, exactly? Some sort of chemical, I wager, based on the composition of the ingredients taking up the counterspace.

[simplicitas]

I. The Battle
a.
cw: mentioned violence against an animal BUT WE'RE SAVING HIM DWBI— also light hallucinations

["Elsword your house is safe why not just stay inside" no he will not be doing that, thank you very much, there is a dog out there getting hurt and he will not stand for it. Even Leon will be joining him on the front today, and unlike Rusty, Leon is made of raw magical energy. He does not bleed when cut, does not back down when lashed, and more importantly, the lion is ripping any plants he can find out by their roots and shredding them with his claws. Still, there's a lot of work to be done to get him free. Elsword and Leon move like intertwined gears, an uppercut from the knight's sword at the same time Leon rolls to the side to avoid both that and a whipping vine.

They could both use help, though. It's only a matter of time until the hallucinations take hold of both of them while they're in the thick of it — really, it's already started, vines creeping at the edges of his vision and blacking out his sight. His hits lessen in their strength, at times missing, and Leon is no better. Somehow, the lion has wandered away from Rusty's prison and found himself fighting off something that isn't there.

It's going to be a long afternoon.]

b.
cw: body horror, hallucinations, madness-induced self-harm I'm so sorry about this one guys

Move!

[That is the only warning you get before Elsword comes shooting out of the sky like a star and slams his greatsword into a flower that was quite literally sprinting after you seconds earlier. He manages, through some miracle, to cleave it in two, even though he can't see properly. The Grove is pitch black, swirling, there are claws closing in over his eyes and suddenly he's no longer sure if his sword is embedded in the grass (it is) or if he lost it somewhere.

Elsword staggers, head spinning, and as the world turns sideways it occurs to him that he's falling over — not with enough time to catch himself, though. The magic maintaining his wings wanes, causing them to strobe intermittently. Unable to fly now, the plants see this as an opportunity, and they are on him. Floral teeth rend through his armour, tear away fabric, shred flesh. Elsword does not feel them, too focused on his right arm, the same that had been infected by the forest months ago. The same that he tries to keep bandaged because it has started to sprout, to bleed black.

To an external viewer, Elsword is simply collapsed under a heap of plants. From his vantage point, he sees twisted vines bursting from his bicep, roots crawling down his arm and into the soil and embedding him to the forest floor. A voice laughs in his ear, and Elsword thinks to himself: Get it out. I need to get it out.

His free hand shakes free of the carnivorous plants just long enough for him to embed his clawed gauntlets into his skin, and he scratches, blindly trying to dig out whatever root has infected his system. The deeper he digs, the more he bleeds, red mingling with black.

Somewhere deep within him, a dam breaks, and he shrieks his fury to the heavens.]

II. The Aftermath

I'm fine, [Elsword says, and you're free to not believe him because the boy has been Not Fine all month and this is only making it worse,] thanks for checking.

[He looks tired and pale — it's definitely the blood loss, because the blood on his clothing is clearly his own. His armour is fractured in places where the plants chewed through the metal to get to his skin, his left sleeve is torn, he's missing some of the claws on his gauntlets, and even the light of his halo is dim. Elsword might be having what one could feasibly call "a rough day". Might even say he had "the worst day ever".]

Are you okay?

i.b

[amethystic]

( in the frenzy it's almost hard to keep track of everything- between magic launching about and the flowers and the hallucinations, it's all so much- too much. she's going to soak in a tub for hours after this. but it's impossible to miss elsword when he's like a comet even during the day.


quite literally at this point.

it's also hard to miss the results- and how he desperately begins to claw at his own arm (she sees the sprouts and tiny blooms, she sees the black just barely) and the flowers are regrouping, fuck- fuck. with a sharp inhale, felicity swipes her hand out and a pink sphere surrounds the two of them, blocking the flowers' path with it's sheild. she has to act fast-

crouching beside him, she grabs his shoulder, letting the other hand squeeze one of his own, regardless of the blood and black substance. )

Elsword! Elsword, listen to me, I'm here-

Ib (cw: needles)

[mooninthewater]

[ Hey, no, let's not do that, Elsword? If you wanted those things out, you should've just taken Mizuki up on his earlier offer to rip them out with his teeth! Using your own hand like that is going to hurt way worse... Of course, this isn't the first thing on Mizuki's mind. Rather, he's acutely aware that no one is quite in their right mind around the flowers now.

His fault, his fault, his fault...

He is, at least, quick to try and stop him from doing anymore unnecessary harm to himself. With an alarming amount of strength from someone his size, Mizuki manages to yank him away from the plants and vines and onto the ground. Ideally before he's able to grab his sword because... he really doesn't need a delusional hero swinging that around. If Elsword feels like the vines were replaced with something a little more slimy, but still keeping his legs and now his wrists bound to keep them apart, it's because... well, Mizuki's tentacles are doing just that. No point in hiding them right now, right? Elsword's already got the madness, and that effect can't exactly be amplified. Not unless he stung him, anyway...

But, hey, it's probably better than being accosted by the plants, right? ...No? Well how about having a dissociative, manic jellyfish hovering over your and shoving his hand against your face to better his access to your neck with a syringe without saying a single word? .......STILL no? Crazy. Lower your standards- ]

[amhran]

𝐀 ♫ ♩ . I'm caught, between. the wind, aaand parts of the unknownnn ♫
⇥ Before . cont of thread / casually wandering. Prelude, flowers start up right after.

[ Madness takes form in many different ways, for the one who broke days before the ravenous plants decided their onslaught. She had stood there, and let their roots wrap along her body and do with her as they pleased. It had been but contentment and peace wrought onto her, the warm winds welcoming her home. The sounds of Tuatha De singing warmly in the after evenings, as the dancing lights would float all around her. She perhaps, goes missing at some point. Then when she does turn up, there seems naught out of the ordinary for one who always acts out of kindness and care for others.

Though tired she seemed now. Sleepy... A daze always in her expression, a foggy haze cast within her once sparkling clear eyes. Only to return to the Grove, finding herself often in the woods on her own, and speaking warmly to the plants that spoke back to her in turn. A loneliness that was filled whole, and take then from her they did.

After all, the pain along her body that they elicited was -in some ways, better then nothing. Or rather, to her... In this state of Madness - felt like nothing. Despite her stomach constantly churning, and her inability to eat at times becoming an issue - and where was the Goat?

Where Did Cinnamon Go...

Where Did Cinnamon Go...? ]

Cinnamon...?

[ He's gone. And... For a moment clarity finds her, she is confused - where is she...? The plants seem to... Go Restless... It's about time for Gardening. ]

𝐁 ♫ ♩ . It feels like everything is moving, Aroooound me ♫
⇥ During .

[ Caoimhe... Get lost again - how misfortunate. She stands there watching - not entirely sure what she is watching, but the flowers seem to be unafraid of this victim running off. They are unaggressive to her, and are no longer are snacking on her body like they had been up till now. Having been using her as a subtle source of food until their anger came, and now they are upon everyone.

As the world plays off like a movie around her, she watches - unable to ascertain what is going on. Locks of her brilliant red hair moving as Elsword pierces the world with his weapon and the lion commits to its justices. She watches, and sees what seems to be ocean water flowing all around them. It fills in quickly, the weight of it seems to offer a comforting presence, and rather then stand in the water she begins to settle down within it. Sitting upon the floor then... Starts to eventually lay down and.... Her voice carries a soft song... Humming... And... In her madness see herself under the ocean shores, can hear the waves crashing over her (the sounds of arduous battles) -

But reality is far different. Roots find her, and she lays in them thinking that the waves of the ocean have come to take her back home. ]

Ah... Finally... The Ocean has come for me at last..?

𝐂 ♫ ♩ . Every particle in syyyyyynch, Coooooooooome on and guuuuuuuuide me ♫
⇥ After .

[ Pending, I will open up another top level for anything afterwards! ]

B

[succiduous]

[Gnosis voice: I am not going outside today.

And then he looks out his window and Caoimhe is being eaten by plants and by Kjeragandr, he has no choice but to step in. Losing what few of their number exist here is going to cause more problems than it's worth, should this ever happen again.

With that, he heads outside in a rush, ignoring the way the illusions claw at his eyes as he goes.

Gnosis realises quickly that he should close his eyes to avoid the worst of it. It makes it hard to aim, as he holds his Arts unit — the long cane he carries with him — high, bladed end pointing to the sky, and casts a barrage of ice in the surrounding area. If some of the shards hit Caoimhe, he's very sorry and will say so after she snaps out of it.

At the very least, the plants respond with shrieking shortly before they're frozen into blocks, which Gnosis shatters with a flick of the wrist.]

[devilishkouhai]

𝐀 . Misery Loves Company .

[ BB has to eat, because her tummy hurts!! She has to Bathe, because she is smelly!!!! She has to brush her hair - BECAUSE IT GETS KNOTTED!! She has to sleep, because her head hurts. She DREAMS??? She has never ever ever dreamn't in her life before. What is this mess!!! _What is this mess? _What is this mess? _What is this mess? _What is this mess? _What is this mess? _What is this mess?

The Plants are chaotic, but she doesn't seem to care. She is too busy mixing something with some herbs she found to make a shampoo - when. One bites her hand, and BB is all but pleased by this alteration. Within the bowl, the shampoo carries a tint from the crimson droplet that has merged into its liquid.

BB stares, the sound of aching metal echoes and suddenly a barrage of tentacles form out from shadows and whip in such a frenzy the flowers that had bit her are reduced to nothing but dust. As fast as it had happened, the tendrils from the shadows subside and BB is left staring mesmerized by the red dancing down her hand. ]

Ahhh, how pretty...?

[ She cants her head and looks over to perhaps, someone who had just walked in on this... Estrange moment. ]

Do you bleed like this too?

[ A threat? A innocent question? She knows the answer, she is simply being... Friendly. ]

Ahahaha~! Of course you do, BB is just being silly. Are you ready then~? For the Evil Villian's next stage of their plan?

[ Just who is she talking about? ]

𝐁 . Ai stands for Love .
Warning: BB becomes a little yan here, your character is Hakuno/Master ( in a sense ) - but rather the way I conceptualize it. Is more that in now becoming a 'human,' and her 'processes' as a AI are effectively fucking up. Not to mention her Core as a Goddess of Pele as well. Technically 4 systems are bombarding one another in this madness going on. So she is AWARE exactly of who you are. Youre not Hakuno or Master, but the problem is her default to love someone is now falling onto you - or whoever she sees immediately. Interacting here, means she will possibly still hold those feelings even after the event is done.

Ne... What are you doing to senpai~~~☆? [ A dark look over comes the woman as she walks laden in this air of depravity hanging all around her. Every step is heavy that she takes, and callous are the tendrils as they flicker about under her evident obedience. Each one dark, with red sharp shapes decorating along its back, and yellow diamond like jewels that look dull even in the light. Each one of these tendrils look heavy in weight, and sit there coming out of her shadow. Almost threatening to overflow any minute seemingly bound together by a greater strength then they exude. ] Do you think - you get to have the chance to kill senpai again~✩?

No I wont let you. Either I'll kill senpai first, or I'll cleanse this Grove of your disgusting existence. [ It's funnier when - BB knows they cant kill Hakuno. Knows how the mind of a villian works, but its funnier that she is also enchanted by all of this. So... She decides to play along. After all, when does she get to play Hero?

A hand goes up and.... It seems now your life may be between the balance of this crazy woman, or the flowers trying to grip you. Either way, BB seems that her attention is on the flowers in the grove and will destroy THEM first. However she also attempts to grab you all the same, with her menacing tentacles. ]

A

[simplicitas]

[Elsword definitely has a penchant to walk in on stuff like this. The plant that bit BB is beheaded before either of them can blink, and he's about to tell her to be careful, when...

...girl what are you talking about?]

The villain...? The plants, right?

[amethystic]

a. icicles don't soften when they die

( it starts when something cuts into her leg as she's heading to the river to get some apples. stardust wafts through the air for a moment and the world turns ravenous- some might feel lightning in the air as the fight begins, and that would be for no reason other than her own fury, a snap of her fingers summoning bolts of pale pink lightning to strike down everything around her, fire manifesting in her palms to launch like a particularly vicious game of dodgeball.

but that doesn't help when she starts seeing grandfather- and so panicked is she, that she can't help but launch a spell at the dead man walking. it's just that... it might be overlaid on you. )

YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD-

b. glory and gore go hand in hand

( amidst the grove, a purple-silvery dust wafts through the air before it suddenly liquifies and drops to the ground. that is the only warning that felicity is in the area, working her way through bloodthirsty foliage like a shadow. one of the larger flowers rears its head at you, but then it stills

and

rots.

the remains of the stem crumble away in her hands, as she breathes heavily, arms and legs covered in cuts from the razor-sharp vines and leaves. despite everything, and the black staining her hands, she's smiling just as sharply. )

Stupid things...

A

[succiduous]

[Yes, he is supposed to be dead, but better people have tried and failed to make that come true, thank you Fel—

Gnosis barely manages to dodge, an impressive feat from someone who can't do much more than stand still and cast Arts. Kjeragi instincts, he'd call them. The fireball whizzes past his head and hits a plant that had been behind him... so not a total waste.]

Remind me not to walk out in front of other Arts users, [he grumbles in the battle's lull. Then, louder:] Close your eyes and recover. I'll cover you until then.

b.

[devilishkouhai]

Oh girly, you are not lookin' so good.

[ BB lets out a wolf whistle like sound from lips, watching as the other stands only a bit a ways. The rotted flower falling down between them. ]

Maybe you should let the professionals handle this~~

[ She says this but, Fel will notice BB's body is far more torn apart and dripping with blood everywhere. ]

[cursedwords]

I. Not The Princess In The Tower

[What, like Toge would sit around waiting to be rescued from a terrible fate, taken in by plants? Of course not. This Inn and space is their current living situation and there are dangerous plants out there. Of course he’s going out there to do something about it.

Plants are organic. They’re alive, in some capacity. That should mean he won’t have much of a problem.

He’s a little pale, a little lightheaded. No matter. He should be in bed. He isn’t though. Toge’s way too tough for that, and besides, no one would’ve let him just rest at home either. It doesn’t matter if anyone else has sounded the warning not to go out. He certainly can’t do that in a reasonable way. Better to run headfirst into danger.

Upon seeing a large patch of the plants with their thorny vines moving about, trying to ensnare people, his collar is unzipped easily enough. He takes a deep breath. ]

Explode.

[A simple seeming command and yet the vines, the plants pause for a moment and then ignite, burning to a crisp where they are. It’s alright if there are any onlookers, Toge is incredibly precise with his aim. He does have to catch his breath. His throat is already burning. ]

II. The Downside

[There sure are an awful lot of them and Toge has been here before. Surrounded by curses, usually, but what amounts to a swarm of targets he can’t possibly hope to beat.

He’s running out of steam and likely the smoking trail in his wake proves, at least, that he was trying to help.

This time when a plant shows up right in his face, he whispers, hoarse. ]

Don’t- [Blood spurts out of his mouth, causing him to double over a bit, dripping on the ground. Each breath feels like knives. The flower is there of course to move in close, to shove itself back into his vision.

It’s alright, Toge won’t even notice as his eyes cloud over a little bit and his vision changes. He’s even already spilling blood, it’s just a free for all for the plants at that point as he sees them. Monstrous teeth. Mocking laughter. That’s not the plants, probably, that’s the hallucination. Sudden pain wracking his body and he can’t scream because if he did, it would only make things worse...]

III. In The End

[After Toge and possibly others have had to be dragged out and the plants are quelled or have taken over as their new overlords, he might find himself in the lobby of the inn.

Just lying there. Well the last time he found himself waking up after a battle he was down an arm.

So this is already better, he still has the other one. ]

IV. Wildcard

[Come at me.]

II.

[simplicitas]

[They should keep a scorecard of the times Elsword shows up to save Toge. Right now he's two for two, but that's not a bad thing; saving people is second nature to him, and it's something for him to focus on through all the hallucinations.

Toge collapses and spits blood, and as the flowers close in, a sword cleaves through the stems seconds before they can sink their teeth into him.]

We should retreat back to the inn.

[The plants can't get in there, and Elsword takes the blood leaking from Toge's mouth to mean he's injured, that he needs healing, not that he's overused his ability at all.

The knight offers out a hand.]

Come on.

i

[prozaic]

[shalem hears the command and then the explosion, and knows, immediately, what happened. if he didn't know anyone who had sound-type originium arts that allowed them to use their voices as weapons, he would never have realized it so quickly. he considers himself fortunate that the boy's aim is accurate, but also, isn't that harsh on the throat?

he steps forward, black-scaled tail lashing, and puts an arm before the boy's body to shield him.]

Don't overextend yourself-- we have so many plants to go through. [then he raises his left hand, snapping his fingers and letting deep red sparks fly from them. the serpent hasn't had to use his powers in months, he needs to warm up.]

[mooninthewater]

I. I don't wanna know all your secrets 'cause I'll tell (Open) (cw: needles)

[ Hallucinations... suck. Hallucinations where you see your worst fear? Sucks worse. Mizuki is here, though! Assuming you managed to get safe from the flowers even in your frantic state, there's a jellyfish trying his best to calm you down. ]

Hey, hey, it's alright. Will you let me help you...? It... it'll only hurt for a second...

[ Hm, maybe trying to hold onto someone while holding a hallucination when they're suffering terrible visions isn't his BEST plan, but... ]

II. It's hard enough being alone with myself (Open)

[ There's few situations Mizuki finds himself at a loss with. Maybe it's because he's always been put into those situations, or put himself into those situations, though? He can deal with the nethersea brand, he can deal with the politics of Iberia, he can deal with bad guys, social debates, conversations, making friends, cleansing evil from people, but... maybe not non-seaborn plants. No matter how much they may remind him of his kin from home, they are not. They are worse.

They're evil.

And he can do nothing here about it. He can't control ice or fire, and his harpoon can only do so much, and he can't risk the flowers eating more of his tentacles, so those are off the table, too. He hates this. He hates feeling useless. But he thinks he isn't smart enough to know what to do, so... if you just so happen to be nearby, then, congrats, you have a very clingy boy death-gripping your sleeve or wrist or bottom of your shirt -- whatever might be within grabbing range, and then: ] Tell me... what to do.

[ Order, orders, orders, he can take those. ]

III. I don't know how long I'll be holding on (Closed to NPCs)

[ This is probably some sort of... karma, or something, surely. He deserves it, surely. Inflicting fear and hallucinations on these nice people, unintentional or otherwise, must have been an awful experience. To relive those traumas when that is the very, very last thing Mizuki would ever want - it's only fair he got a taste of that, too. The smell of smoke and the overwhelming amount that filled the air. The intense crackling of the flames, and the smell of what burning flesh the flowers had eaten...

Though, as much as he did think he deserved this, he didn't want to deal with it. He couldn't. He needs to help, but what if he just... didn't... do that? What if this one time it was okay if he huddled inside, in the safety of curling his knees in to hug them on the floor. Surely, that's okay. Surely, surely, surely. It's not like the last time this happened, anything bad happened. Haha...

...

At least there's people here, maybe he could try talking through it? ]

... Um, has... anything like this happened before now...?

IV. I know you tried your hardest, I know you meant well (Wildcard)
( Winks at you but it makes a duck sound- )

it's for me prompt

[sticksandbonesmods]

[Both the looming, shadowy figures of the Shopkeeper and Trader (and her turtle) are in the inn, for good reason, and so they're relieved when Mizuki comes in. And less relieved when he curls up into a ball on the floor.

The Trader will make her way over and give him a long, lingering hug.]

Nothing so awful, dear. Nothing so awful.

[Bad shit Happens in Aldric's Grove, Mizuki has seen it, but the plants eating people is uh... certainly a new one. She quite misses the forest handing out free game animals.]