EVENT & TDM 020

[sticksandbonesmods]

BITTER WINDS HOWLING

WAKES AND AWAKENINGS

Are you one to find yourself plagued with nightmares? Do you dream at all? Well, worry not, because tonight you find yourself in a somewhat alarming peace. You’re asleep. You’re aware of this. Yet, you feel incredibly lucid, all the same.

You hear the sound of water, like you’re under the ocean waves. You don’t see anything, but it’s almost as if you can feel others around you, despite not touching anything at all. They’re your… family? No. Friends? No. You don’t seem to be able to find a word to describe them. They’re important to you! …You think. Who are they, again?

You think they’re trying to speak to you, but all you can hear is the sound of gentle currents and air bubbles. Or maybe this is what they’re saying to you? You don’t know. Dreams are weird, aren’t they? But then they sing. It’s the prettiest sound you’ve heard. It’s the most haunting sound you’ve heard. It encourages you to move, at last. You didn’t realize you could. There’s a light that filters through the surface of the water…

…and you wake up. You feel strangely refreshed, like that’s the best sleep you’ve gotten in ages! You also feel… distantly sad, like you’ve just remembered something horrible that happened a long time ago.

It’s probably nothing.

For the rest of the month, you find sleep comes easy, and dreams are soothing. How uncharacteristically nice! Maybe don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

A BITTER ARRIVAL

You wake up to bitter cold. It's dark, the winds howling and whipping through the air, snow battering anything not sturdy enough to stand tall against it... and even the trees seem like one more push could knock them over. This isn't a forest you know, yet it seems like home. If you're not prepared for the cold, the warm lights of a small town will guide you, call to you, and your heart yearns for warmth. As you stumble through the heavy snow and harsh winds, something heavy hangs from your neck and the winds begin to form words with your own voice- SACRIFICE... END THIS WINTER WITH SACRIFICE.

As more voices join the wretched wails, your eyes feel heavier. You're almost to the town, though. Is it one of the houses that you wind up knocking on? Or do you manage to get to the inn, big and tall and radiating more warmth than anything you've ever felt? Regardless, you are no longer alone, but the cold still aches and clings, and something with your voice still calls it's omens outside. Only when you melt the heavy snowflake-shaped amulet hanging around your neck in the fires does the cold abate and the foreign copy of your voice fall silent.

A COLD RECEPTION

In the forest of the lost, the worst winter you've ever seen has finally set in full. The lake and river are both frozen over completely, and even the most hardy of beasts have hidden away from the cruel blizzard. The sky is dark, the winds are sharp and the freezing temperatures permeate most buildings, creeping in like a thief ready to steal the breath from your lungs if you aren't careful. Even fires seem to bend to this cold, save for the ever-burning, ever-blinding light of the fireplace in the inn- though she's long since gone, it seems one woman's faith still protects those in the Grove. Shadows haunt the clearing and amongst the winds and even the deafest ears can hear the voices howling alongside the storm, always demanding the same thing: a sacrifice.

When shadows flicker across the window, that is when you know you aren't alone. Ghastly wraiths of frost and ragged sleet fly through the air, and it's hard to tell if they are commanding the winter winds or if they are working in tandem. Regardless, the cold seems to be enhanced by their presence and if they catch you alone outside, they curse you with a frost so deep it pierces the heart and spreads. To some, it may be familiar, like turning to ice from within. To others it may be entirely new. But it spreads slowly and with agony while the wraiths make their demand once more and then vanish. Thankfully, a bit of kindness can melt the ice, but the winter wraiths are always willing to inflict the curse again...

... But you are not powerless. So long as you don't go alone, so long as you have a weapon, you can fend these things off, for a time. But they will be back.

They must have their sacrifice, after all.

BEACONS

Not everyone can fight though. Not everyone should. The only peace that can be found is in the sleep that follows that odd dream... but eventually the large shadow woman known as the Trader, Ydalir, makes her way through the snow to find you. With a warm furry blanket and a cup of tea, she gives you a small kit.

"Build these lanterns and hang them in the window. Be a light in the dark, loves." Is what she says.

The lanterns consist of wood, paper and a little cup for a candle. They can be in any shape and color, and when you hang them in the window the candle sparks into light. As frost clings on the other side of the window and the snow shrouds the outside world and veils what lies beyond, you can see other lights. Other lanterns, shining brightly. It may not be much, but it is still a sign. A reminder. You are not alone in this blizzard.

Spark Notes

summary

wakes and awakenings will bring you into a strange dream of being with many being, important ones, and a haunting song. Despite the melancholy feeling, it also brings a month of restful sleep no matter what.

a bitter arrival is how our new arrivals find themselves: lost in the woods in the middle of a terrible blizzard with only the faint lights of the Grove to guide you to safety. While you wear the snowflake amulet, the winter wraiths can use a mimicry of your voice to make their demands and curse you with a lingering freeze- only melting the amulets in a fire will set you free and silence the copy of your voice in the cacophony.

a cold reception shows just how bad the winter's gotten, with impenetrable ice freezing both the lake and the river solid. the wraiths curse whoever they see with turning to ice from within, but a genuine act of kindness or love will save their victims. the wraiths can be fought, but only with a companion or two, and definitely not with your bare hands. ... they will return though, again and again.

beacons grants perhaps a bit of hope in this dark winter- ydalir brings people supplies as best she can since the cold doesn't affect her shadowy body and there is nothing for the wraith to freeze, and she also brings a gift- a lantern to craft and hang in the window to show the others in town that you're all still here, cutting through the darkness.

out of character

Welcome to the first TDM of 2025! Regular AC resumes this month and as you can see, we're changing things up a little. TDMers are welcome and encouraged to reach out on our plotting post linked below. We're so excited to start the new year with everyone, and may the horrors stay in writing... because they are resuming now.

updates

❖ AFFOGATO COOKIE has used a magical artifact as a sacrifice. This has resulted in the blizzard lessening but still being present and the wraiths being banished from the grove, but still haunting the forest. There are further effects but they will come in to play during a player plot. ... Get your sacrifices in still though.
❖ MAYOI'S prayer to Ourania the day of the fight with Suri invoked a blessing: an aurora shines through the sky, and anyone in it's lights will be gradually healed and soothed.

submissions

❖ Questions
❖ January Plotting (Open to TDMers)
❖ Sacrifices (Plot relevant, open to all)
❖ Past Life Plotting (Closed to Game Members)
❖ Investigations

code

Comments

[the_halfa_it]

Not that I know of?

[And let's be real, he'd probably end up knowing about it. That sounds like about the kind of thing Danny gets caught up in regularly, only with fewer ghosts, maybe.]

No! Well, I mean, when I'm Phantom, yeah? But they don't know it's me!

[Danny shivers again. Yeah, okay, the novelty of being inside a warm building is starting to wear off. The chill is getting to him again.]

Can we come back to that later and focus on the fact that I think those ice ghosts are making my core go haywire?

[ghostharasser]

Sure, but my uncle absolutely wrote the book on infuriating deflections so don't think this conversation is over, man.

[But he does see they do have a more pressing issue at hand, and that's whatever the fuck is going on with Danny's powers.]

So, your core's going haywire, how do we fix that? You said blankets don't affect you because you don't have body heat. If you're implying you're an actual honest-to-god ghost right now then my only idea is ...I dunno, maybe trying to exorcise your access energy?

[the_halfa_it]

My sister wrote the book on never forgetting to pry into anything weird I've ever said ever, so believe me, I know.

[But!!! More pressing issues indeed.]

I mean, technically I'm half ghost. The way this worked last time was - actually, that's not too far off, but I'd rather not get exorcised and possibly killed all the way or worse? I just had to use up a ton of the cold energy that'd built up.

[He shudders again, rubbing his hands over his upper arms. It does nothing.]

If that doesn't work, I don't even know where to begin.

[ghostharasser]

We have to go back outside, got it.

[Well, it's a good thing they're out in the woods. It is kind of dangerous out here, though, and Dipper isn't keen to do this.]

[However he really doesn't have a better idea. He doesn't actually know much about Danny's weird biology to properly brainstorm a better solution.]

Let's go out the back so you can aim towards the forest. I've got a couple more rounds of the coldblood ammo in case something tries to get too close.

[the_halfa_it]

Yyyyyyeah. Sorry. At least you... seem really prepared? Is that like, magic bullets or something?

[Moving at least helps him shiver less, but Danny's still visibly uncomfortable as he slides off the blanket pile to hover a few inches off the ground, ready to follow Dipper back outside. He's not too worried, yet. So far this just seems like whatever's going on with the cold... ghosts? Magic? here made his core's ice energy build up super fast or something. He'll probably be fine after freezing a few hundred trees solid, right?]

[ghostharasser]

Yeah, you’d be surprised how much my innate paranoia and hyper vigilance comes in handy around here.

[He’s already loading his gun, though he keeps the safety on for now until they can get outside. He definitely handles this thing like its second nature.]

Something like that. My family’s blood is unique. It’s a long story how, but my uncle’s blood has a special elemental property that makes it super useful for modifying weapons.

[the_halfa_it]

Great! I'll fit right in.

[Sigh. He knows those terms. He listens to Jazz's psychology rants too much to not know those terms.]

Sooooo, weird elemental blood magic, got it. I can't believe it even seems normal for me to be saying that.

[But like, he can't deny that magic is very definitely real, either. Danny's seen a lot of bullshit that can get explained by "ghost powers" or "ectoplasm is weird and science was done on it," and a lot of bullshit that definitively can't. He just hasn't really had the space to parse it as "huh, guess magic is real" yet.]

I'm just gonna let you lead the way to wherever I can freeze a bunch of stuff, then.

[ghostharasser]

"Prepared means no worries"!

[A truly paranoid and deranged person told him that once. He also became one of Dipper's psuedo-uncles in a previous world. Dipper misses Xerxes Break.]

The easier you can roll with weird stuff the better off you'll be, honestly. Maybe once we're sure you're not about to experience Turbo-Death I'll show you what my weird blood magic does.

[And with that he will lead the way! He takes them out the side door to the parlor, pretty much everything around them is woods. Dipper does a quick pass to make sure none of the frost ghosts are around before he motions to Danny.]

Straight into the trees should be fine? Just make sure to face away from the house.

[the_halfa_it]

Yeeeeeeah, at this point I've kinda given up on my life not being nonstop weird stuff.

[And Danny has to admit, he's a little curious about weird blood magic. Probably not half as curious as Sam would be though. Man he wishes she and Tuck were here.

But! They're not! And he does, indeed, have to focus on not Turbo Dying, so blasting the forest with ice it is. He actually flies out a short ways away from both the house and Dipper - he thinks he can focus the blast, but when Frostbite first taught him how to do this, he kind of ended up unleashing a wave of ice on everything in the vicinity. And weird blood magic or not, he suspects Dipper can't withstand being frozen solid half as well as a ghost yeti can.]

All right, here goes nothing.

[Danny's hands glow with an icy blue as he focuses on his core, gathering as much energy from it as he can manage. It comes in a much stronger, swelling wave than he expects, but he hastily manages to direct it into his hands, thrusting them out in front of him and letting it loose. Yes, facing away from Dipper and the house, thankfully.

Very thankfully, because that sure is a massive swath of trees now utterly encased in ice. Even Danny looks surprised.]

Oh, yikes. No wonder I felt like crap!

[ghostharasser]

[Dipper waits on the last step of the porch, and watches Danny take to the air. He's glad at least, that he can manage that much now after how rough he looked a few minutes ago. While he gets ready, Dipper keeps his eyes out for any of the Wraiths. He's anticipating whatever they're about to do is gonna act like a great big shining beacon for them to come over and cause problems.]

[Of course his attention is grabbed the moment Danny lets loose. The ice hits the trees with an incredible force and while Dipper is standing away from the line of fire, he shields his face from the sheer force of that blast.]

[Once it's over Dipper lets out a loooong whistle with both his brows up.]

Holy shit, dude.