EVENT 018

[sticksandbonesmods]

LIKE BRANCHES ON A TREE

A WINTER WONDERLAND

For a brief time, the world seems brighter; the sun pokes through the clouds more, and the gloomy atmosphere of the constant overcast days lessens ever so slightly. The sky seems bigger, brighter… but, it is the end of autumn as we know it and with the change of leaves comes bitter frost. The change is practically overnight — one morning grants pretty frosted windows and pleasantly crunchy leaves underfoot, and the next the world is being softly blanketed in snow.

Heimr stands at the window of the General Store, and every time he sees someone not dressed for the weather, he immediately calls them in. No one leaves without a proper pair of winter shoes and a coat, and the more you try to decline, the more he adds. Hats. Scarves. Gloves. Snow pants. Just make it easy on the both of you. Although, if you do feel you need that for the weather, he’ll oblige … And at least everything is nice to look at alongside being high quality.

Those with the bone ring may hear childish giggling as they leave, see the flick of a fox tail out of the corner of their eyes — but Plum is content to stay in the shadows still.

Winter frost and the falling snow seem to spread everywhere — Callan’s lake already has ice forming a thin shell on top while Terho’s cabin is blanketed in white. The river water is crisp and clear as ever, but the cold is bone deep and the Guardian tires from it already. Even the beach seems washed over with the cold.

Winter is here, and the cutting chill already tells you one thing: this won’t be an easy one.

WHISPERS IN THE WOODS

As the weather worsens, the forest and fog seem to open in sprawling paths. Some are inviting, a warm feeling in the air and even plant life poking through the snow still, an early spring! Some are alluring, wind beckoning and urging you forward. Come home, it says. Come home.

Even if you know it’s a bad idea, others might not — will you really let Mamika wander into the woods alone? Not that it’s truly her. The forest isn’t above tricks to get what it wants, and will lure you down these paths with illusions and mirages, the sounds of voices you know and love calling for you, for help, for anything and anyone — and maybe that is a trick, but can you really risk it?

Regardless, once you’re on the path, there’s no going back. It leads to a dead end and the fog closes around you. You’re trapped, alone in the woods, and all eyes are on you.

A DIFFERENT “ME”

… But only for a few hours. After that, you’re free to go, unharmed and unscathed. It’s just that… are you really you? Your clothes are different. Your memories too. Maybe now you remember making a different choice at a major crossroad. Maybe you didn’t save them. Maybe you did. Maybe everything went wildly wrong, and maybe it actually went right. But you’re different now, despite remembering your life in the abandoned Grove and all the people here clearly.

As you wander back off the path into town, you know this is right. You’ve been trapped here for however long with the people here, and maybe you no longer love them like this, but you know them, know yourself, and know what’s happened.

You’re just from a different walk of life, now.

SPARK NOTES

CLICK TO EXPAND!

A WINTER WONDERLAND

Winter has come, and during the light snowstorms, Heimr is lovingly forcing everyone into winter clothing. The more you say no, the more clothing you get. Be warm or else!

WHISPERS IN THE WOODS

Mysterious pathways open up in the woods. Should you go into them as they tempt you with murmurs and whispers, you'll be trapped for a few hours by a fog wall you can't pass through.

A DIFFERENT “ME”

But don't worry, you'll come out fine in the end - just with a few memories, or maybe even your physical body, changed entirely. Everyone will still recognize you as "you", and you'll still recognize the others... but maybe you know something has changed. Or maybe you don't.

OOC

Everyone thank Aspen for this month's player plot! Enjoy playing your AUs (or not) and get ready for winter. OOC Plotting Lives Here if you'd like to plot anything out!

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QUESTIONS

[sticksandbonesmods]

INVESTIGATIONS

[sticksandbonesmods]

Please use the following form for investigations:

Character(s):
Location:
Action: What are they looking for? What are they doing?

<b>Character(s):</b> <b>Location:</b> <b>Action:</b>

[jouvente]

01 | WINTER WONDERLAND

[ cold weather!!!!

Well, despite the cold, there's a bit of fun to be had with all the snow, right? At least Isabeau can be found running about with a nice looking dark blue winter coat with a fluffy soft collar around it. One second he's over there... and the next second he's

..? He's walking kinda slowly, coat buttoned up but clearly holding something in it based on how his chest is now so comically and largely round. One hand is patting it as he laughs, trying to soothe whatever it is. ] Snow too cold for you?

02 | TAILOR MADNESS

[ Isabeau can be found within the tailor shop, working on some personal things - unless someone comes in with a request that is! Though currently he has something set aside already gifted in a small bag, while having what looks to be the makings of a scarf in front of him. ]

Maybe a pattern... hmmm. [ For any visitors, he'll offer a small wave. ] Hey!! Need some adjustments for the cold? Or is there something else I can help you with?

03 | NEW YOU NEW ME

[ What if we came out of the AU entrapment forest together uwu...

Which is to say, Isabeau will look only subtly confused before he brightens up. ] Oh! I thought I saw someone go in so I got worried, you doing okay?

[ Or maybe you just watch this big oaf slide back into town like a confused dog. He looks fine at least! Nothing different appearance wise. Just good 'ole Isabeau. ]

WILDCARD

[ ooc; feel free to dm me on discord for plotting! otherwise you can hit me up at burners. 👍 ]

[lupusxylem]

A) A Winter Wonderland | The Grove, OPEN

[Wolfwood is spared of Heimr's fussing this year. He went through that whole song-and-dance the year prior, meaning he actually has a thick black jacket with a pair of boots to match, so he's fine. This is the most any of you will ever see this man covering up his skin, so be thankful (or don't, depending on how you perceive that sort of thing). Normally he'd be indoors where it's warm because newsflash No Man's is NEVER this cold except during the dead of night in the desert, so he's still not really used to the snow despite having seen it the year prior. But...maybe that's why he's out to begin with.

It is, he's realizing, a whole year ago now since he woke up here. A whole damn year.

He trudges through the thin blanket with an entourage of creatures, a near full-grown Angelina trotting ahead, along with a little creature nervously following, occasionally darting back to grab onto Wolfwood's leg if it accidentally steps into snow a little too deep for it. Bartholomew, Wolfwood's Dachsologie, sits snugly in the collar of his coat like the black one here, occasionally disturbing Wolfwood by reaching around and plucking one of his own feathers, shaking his head violently to toss it away. It earns him the occasional grumbled "the fuck are you doin'", but Mew is not listening. What is he doing.

(He is molting. In winter...?? Wolfwood doesn't get it, he'll have to ask Ain)

Anyway, he is on a walk, and he looks...well cold, but also like he doesn't feel super great. That's probably because of the wind chapping his face, but there's a particular sallowness to his complexion that isn't usually there. The bags under his eyes are heavy, too, like he hasn't slept decently in a while.

He also doesn't look like he's shaved lately. He usually has a five o'clock shadow anyway, but he's edging into scruffy territory, with things considerably more lengthy than normal. He might have a full-on beard if he lets it go another week.]

B) Whispers In The Woods | The Forest, OPEN

[Wolfwood knows better than to wander anywhere near the forest with Angelina and co., so he'll come out again another day without them. It's still cold as ass but with the doppelgangers leaving a deep scar on the grove from the month prior, he isn't comfortable ignoring the outskirts right now. He's going on a patrol (without telling anybody, but at least a broken clock works twice a day), trusting in his golden glasses to keep him from straying too far off the safe paths. He's not planning on going IN the forest, just staying at the edge where it meets the Grove, but....

That is until he hears it.]

Nicholas...

[He stops dead, a heavy breath exhaled in a puff of steam as he looks up, then whips his head around because it's both as if he heard that right next to his ear, but also very far away. It's less about what he can see...but what he can hear. His name, being called gently. Beckoned. A voice he hasn't heard in many, many years now.]

M...Miss Melanie? No-

[He turns around again, his heartrate spiking.]

Nicholas...come home....

[Normally, he'd know better. But Wolfwood's brain has been foggy since the month began, and the feeling that hearing that voice is instilling makes it impossible for him to ignore.

The question is, will you see him disappearing into the forest before he's already too far gone?]

C) A Different "Me" | Various, OPEN

[Like many others, Wolfwood comes back different. His memories of the Grove and its residents are completely intact, nothing has changed there...but he certainly has.

Which path will you choose?

1: Wolfwood was never taken by the Eye, and grew up normally in the orphanage. He never became an assassin or a "Priest", and he's honestly about as normal and well-adjusted a person coming from No Man's Land can probably be. He last remembers being a caretaker himself at the orphanage he grew up in, never being adopted but never finding it in himself to want to leave, instead choosing to stay behind to watch after the younger children now that he's an adult.

2: Wolfwood's last memory is getting hit by a car. He's fuckin' dead man. He never met Vash and co., they literally hit him with their van-

3: (CW: Darker route, involves implied child death) Wolfwood fails to save the orpahange from getting destroyed by the sand steamer. He returns a much darker, bitter, and hopeless version of himself, worse than anyone has ever seen him. He is truly at rock bottom so have fun!!]

C) Wildcard

[OOC Plotting is here!]

you know I want C3-

[andacht]

[Ain, too, has been changed into a freak. Don't worry about that. All Wolfwood needs to worry about is the sudden haunting notes of:]

Ni~ko~laus~

[And then very suddenly he's being accosted, koala-beared from behind while a tail wraps around his leg in a proper embrace.

And then Ain full-stop bites his shoulder. It's hard to get through the jacket, but the press of Teeth is definitely there.]

I DO I LOVE MY LIL YANDERE

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood takes in a short breath, lifting his head up when Ain(?) just seems to appear in his vicinity out of nowhere. Of course, that sing-song lilt of his name being spoken isn't unfamiliar, nor is the way he's hugging him from behind. Maybe a little unexpected given he's just Out Here, but you know.

But then Ain bites him, and he can definitely feel the hard press of those sharp pointed fangs he now has, which is enough to cause Wolfwood to reach his arm up to grip at whatever part of Ain he ends up finding, which is the back of his head by his hair. It's not a hard or rough grip by any means, but it's There.]

FFfuck-! What the fuck, Ain-?

[andacht]

[Scruffed...]

I didn't break any skin! [Your jacket is too thick for him to do that. He sure did try, though.] It's a love bite. Because I love you~ and you~ belong~ to me~.

[God why are you like this]

[lupusxylem]

[He is Literally being scruffed over here. Scruffed like a cat you were petting that was purring and then suddenly decided to bite you out of nowhere. The only difference here being that this guy could do a Lot more damage than a cat, if he wanted.]

Tch...might wanna reconsider.

[Mmm self loathing yum yum.]

You ain't ever hauled off and bitten me like that. What's gotten into you?

[ephemeralflow]

I. Winter Wonderland

***((This prompt takes place pre-AU, for anyone who wants to catch her old self before it kicks off!))

[Well, of course Timekeeper got dragged into the shop and handed winter wear. And, of course, she was just as bullheaded as Heimr is about it. No, no, it's perfectly fine, she must acquire something that fits her style, after all! No she hasn't gotten around to visiting the tailor's yet with all that's been going on, why do you ask? Oh, that coat is much too plain, she simply couldn't-

In other words, anyone who got to see the whole debacle bore witness to a true test of stubbornness, and in the end, Timekeeper walked out with boots, a coat, a scarf, earmuffs, and gloves... and yes, all right, maybe they're not "custom tailored steampunk" but they're pretty nice and in her colors regardless. The scarf, black with gold borders at the ends, is even knit into a point that makes it look not unlike the hands of a clock when wrapped about her neck just so.

In the end, it's just as well. She'd forgotten how the chilled air and biting wind felt, how cold could seep into the body, just as steady and dangerous as time. Well, it's not going to stop her from getting tea at the cafe and sitting outside as usual regardless, especially not now. You might catch her sighing and speaking aloud to herself, however.]

To think I would ever have to worry about something as trivial as the weather again... all the more reason to continue my efforts, I suppose.

[She takes a pen and small notebook out - a normal one, not her netbook - and flips to a specific page, considering it for a moment before beginning to write. Continuum Cog floats nearby, occasionally spinning its gears to swipe them through the snow and experiment with what kinds of patterns it can make. Or just... sucking up a bunch of snow into itself. It doesn't seem bothered by the cold at all.]


II. A Splinter in Time

[It isn't long after leaving the cafe that Timekeeper sees something out of the corner of her eye, and glances towards it automatically.

Is that... Dipper, headed into the woods?

That seems like something Dipper might do, is the thing. Go off into the woods without telling anyone, regardless of the danger. Timekeeper should know better than to do the same - but in that instant her hackles raise, something flashing through her heart that throws all caution to the ground. Not now. She won't have him endangered again, so soon. She's on one of the Embroider halves in an instant, barrelling after him, Continuum Cog following after her in alarm.

By the time she realizes she's lost "Dipper," the forest has already closed thickly behind her, and the fog does not hesitate to follow suit.

A few hours later, a hooded figure walks out of the woods, looking exhausted.]

Ah, finally.

[She reaches up and pulls the hood back, breathing a sigh of relief.]

Back to town, and everything looks normal. I thought for sure something horrible was going to happen! I guess I should be more careful... that never was Dipper, was it, Cosmos Gear?

[The floating gear with a face beside her makes a displeased grinding noise, to which she only laughs.]

Ah well, no damage done, at least! Let's get back home, I still have some things I want to clean up around the clock tower.

[With that, Croissant Cookie shoulders her golden wrench and sets off, making her way confidently towards the northern part of town. While she doesn't look much like Timekeeper at first glance, there are certainly similarities - like her height, or the fact that she's wearing the same coat and scarf that Timekeeper was earlier.]

III. Wildcard

[Got anything else you want to bother her with, either pre or post AU? Go for it! Everyone's always welcome to grab me on the discord or ioniconeirologist for plotting shenanigans.]

[quirkynote]

A. Winter Wonderwhispers

[A.B.A.'s never been very fashion savvy. She found one brand to obsess over if only because their logo contained a key, wears pants as a shirt and called it a day. She's never really felt a need to shake it up, there were more important things to worry about, so by all accounts she should be the perfect fretting target.

Her time in the mansion, however, has made her a little more...thoughtful. A.B.A. has a resolve now, and after everything that's happened, she refuses to die. Not before she gets to see Paracelsus—the REAL Paracelsus—again. Yes, sure, of course she didn't want to die before, but it feels like this world is far more determined to kill her than her own. She won't let it win, and that includes freezing to death.

It may be a little over the top, but it's the only way she's willing to wear her winter clothes. With most of her bandages covered up and the top actually being a top for once, she almost looks...normal.

Honestly, she's not sure how she feels about it.

Thankfully, it's the least of her problems, because the woods keep whispering to her. The sweet voice of her beloved, a shadowy figure that looks familiar yet unknown at the same time, begging her to follow. ...It infuriates her that someone would try that trick again, so soon while her heart tries to heal. She will not be fooled again.

So she can be found in the café, one of her few safe spaces, muttering to herself as she nurses a hot chocolate in hopes to calm herself down. It's not...working as well as she hoped it would. But, um, hey! At least she's trying.]

I can hear it...beckoning me. I don't understand, what did I do to deserve such torment?!

[Siiiip. Chocolate is her only friend.]

B. Wildcard

[I'm tling light this month, so this is here for anything else!]

A

[quirkynote]

[Creepy. Stitched up. Doll creature.

CREEPY!! STITCHED UP!! DOLL CREATURE!!

Whatever it was A.B.A. was doing, it no long matters. She runs as fast as the snow will permit her before tumbling right in front of Wolfwood's little abomination, on her hands and knees that sink only slightly. Yeah yeah, his other pets are really cute, whatever, but it goes without saying that A.B.A. is a fan of a...particular aesthetic.

And that aesthetic is creepy toys.]

Precious child! Sweet, innocent soul! [She sits herself back up, if only because she starts reaching out for it. There's no touching yet, but with the way her hands shake...she's close to it.] Tell me, how is it that you move?!

[purevanillacookie]

Winter Wonderland

[ And just like that, without any fanfare, Pure Vanilla is back. With his Doppelganger dissolving away (with a startling 'Well, Fuck' if anyone was around him and didn't realize it was a fake), the old sheep is fetched from the Garden and returned to the Grove. No rest for the wicked, however! With the snow finally arriving, it means he can start handing out the things he has been working on during sleepless nights.

Haven't visited Heimr and been clothed? Well, you're being jumped by a sheepman with an armful of crocheted things. What are they? Mittens, scarves, and lopsided hats. Some of them are multi-colored and some are white. All of them have a soft iridescent sheen in the moonlight!

You can fuss all you want but Peepaw is wrapping a scarf around your neck with a wide smile. Though they're clean, they still ever-so-vaguely smell of vanilla. ]

Now is the time to take extra care of yourself, lest you catch a cold! Winter can be quite unforgiving!

Whispers in the Woods

[ He's not entering the forest, but he is standing at the edge, staring at it with trepidation. After all, the memory of walking through it and having something irrevocably ripped from him is still fresh. Of course he can hear the whispering, but so far he's managed to resist it.

Instead, when he sees someone else approaching, he will make a noise of distress. ]

Please, reconsider. It matters not what you may hear [ The sweetest calls ] or see [ a friend wandering in, looking dazed ] it is undoubtedly another trick by our captor. I beg you to resist.

Wildcard

[ peepaws back from the dead! he's been gone another month oops. anything you wanna do, hit me up here or tap me on DMs! ]

[forwander]

i. netbook

[When Passenger got back from being Dead, he immediately slaughtered the doppelganger occupying his cafe and took the business back over. The new menu items that clone added are... not exactly what he had in mind, and it turns out the doppelganger absolutely could not cook anyway, so he spends the next few days at the end of the month cleaning up the corpse and the mess in general, getting everything back in order.

Still, he wonders if it's not a good idea to expand the menu out further, but with dishes he actually knows how to make, and actually wants to make too. Thus does he work for a few days, and early in the winter season, sends out a quick note via notebook.]

The Magic Lamp has several new menu items — one new drink, and a selection of savoury options. I have not added new desserts at this time.

Also, the doppelganger that took over while I was dead has been disposed of. I apologise if anyone got food poisoning.

You may visit during our usual operating hours to try the new dishes and give feedback.

~Passenger

ii. passenger, but if he was normal

[Passenger eventually steps into the woods, and comes back... largely looking the same, but with core parts of his identity completely erased. He lacks that Oripathy shard on his forehead, first of all, and if someone calls out to him via the name "Passenger", he won't respond. He has no idea what Rhodes Island is, he's never been there. He's free of childhood trauma. Little Elliot is no longer chirping in his brain.

Instead, "Passenger" is now Elliot, and Elliot Glover grew up completely normal. That's not to say he isn't still engaged to Sesa — you can't separate them in a way that matters — but rather, he's less driven by vengeance and bloodshed.

He just wants to cook. Which is what he's doing today, surprise surprise: expanding the menu turned out to be beneficial, because now he can throw himself into his work and not into what has become a side-hobby of building machines.

If Elliot isn't flitting about the cafe hard at work baking and cleaning and adding more decorations, he can be spotted donning a thick coat and heading off into the snow toward the General Store, where his arms are a little too full of groceries for his own good. Someone help him.]

iii. wildcard

[you know where i live etc]

[andacht]

[The sharp tail curls further around Wolfwood's leg. Danger.]

I love you! And I want to cover you in little marks so that everyone knows who you belong to.

[Unfortunately, thick jacket means he does not succeed in this. Wolfwood is safe for the next five minutes.]

A

[submittome]

[ Ugh, it's HER. He debates turning around and walking right back out the cafe door, but the call of something sweet and spicy and hot during this stupid winter day pulls. Uuuuuurgh. It's fine, he can ignore her. Brushing snow off his coat, he sets it up and stuffs his gloves into the pocket before heading over to order.

Ignoring her. He's ignoring her. Until he hears her mumbling. The sass rises unbidden. ]

Perhaps you should heed it's calls~ Who knows, it may offer you betterment~ And free us of your incessant whining.

[ After all, Affogato did and truly, nothing has changed? Sure he got lost for an hour but he found his way back and he's perfectly fine. ]

[quirkynote]

[Wow!!

Wow!!

Here she is, being a good and wholesome girl, sipping her spiced cocoa, and LORD JACKASS has to WALTZ IN and ruin her anxiety-fueled ramblings. You can practically hear the breaking glass sound effect that is her mind snapping as her expression darkens.]

You had better hope that we don't leave this establishment at the same time, because the only thing keeping you alive at this moment is my fondness for its owner.

["And hello to you, too."]

locked to cookie house and affogato + possibly mod stuff

[winterfrosting]

[Toppers will be added as needed]

[submittome]

[ Well, at least it seems to have gotten her off her wandering worrying path. He spins in spot to face her, sneering. ]

Oh, darling, my poisons would overwhelm you before you had even attempted to come at me. My King did not hire me simply for my beauty, after all~

[ He rather does like circling like this with her, hissing and spitting. It's good energy relief. Plus, he gets to annoy her.

And NO he didn't order a spiced hot chocolate because of her. It's simply the perfect winter drink. But what's that? He ordered two kanafeh? And when he gets his items he will sweep over GRANDLY and sit in front of her to annoy the fuck out of her.

And put a plate of kanafeh in front of her. ]

There is nothing to fear of those whispers. I have checked them out personally and nothing has become of it.

Before the Snow

[winterfrosting]

[Once his dream ends, Cacao gets to work instantly. First is telling Lily and the others what has happened and what he plans to do. As much as he would like having their support in this, Vanilla could return any day, and leaving the house empty when he does would be traumatic.

And while he doesn't say so, he worries Lily especially might not be able to handle the coming cold.

There IS one person he knows that could, which is why he ends up outside the Therapy building, knocking to try and find Affogato Cookie]

[submittome]

[ And Affogato will answer, wearing his usual outfit because it's the best fit for the cold. And spotting Cacao, he steps aside to let the other in, amused. ]

You know, you can come into the Therapy building itself~ My room is another door.

[winterfrosting]

... I do not think Mizuki would like that.

[he comes in though, dusting off the tiny bit of frost already settling on his fur cloak]

[submittome]

The building is for everyone. To what do I owe this visit? Everything is well?

[ And excuse him, as he flicks his eyes over Cacao. The other has been busy and quite silent lately, which isn't anything in particularly worrisome because it's Cacao, but it does mean he needs to check him over. Hm. Looks fine. ]

[winterfrosting]

I am well, but everything is not. I need your help.

[Oh]

[submittome]

[ Oh. That gets his focus. Cacao is his friend now, after all. ]

Of course. What is it you need of me?

[quirkynote]

Wretched creature, you truly know nothing for someone who pretends to know everything. I am a homunculus. Whatever pathetic poisons you carry, my blood would reject easily. I was designed to survive.

[Is...is that true? She's so overpowered, it might be true. She sure acts like it's true, she's certainly confident in her healing abilities enough to believe that it's true.

...Just...just don't remind her how slow it's been lately.

Her eyes are never taken off Affogato, glaring daggers, her eyebrow twitching. That's when she reaches out for the kanafeh, grabs a handful, and stuffs it in her mouth like a goddamn animal. Just because she's dressed nicer, doesn't mean she's gonna act nicer.]

You would fall prey to such an obvious trick, wouldn't you? I wonder what really happened... Maybe I should run tests... Perhaps you're another one of those horrid copies trying to lure more into the woods...