sticksandbones | EVENT & TDM 020

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EVENT & TDM 020

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No, no, they've all been here for a few months at least! Ezell and Flamebringer showed up this summer, but Mr. Jellyfish and Mr. Crane have been here for over a year. That's what they said, anyway.

[Ain is looking over at Elysium with his big, bright eyes. Although he's acting like he doesn't see an issue... he almost certainly fucking does.]

...I was told time passes differently here. We exist in something like a time bubble right now. And if you have a watch or something, I bet it doesn't work right. Or a... what do you call it, phone? The rectangles with the bright lights and the glass screens. There's a clock in that, too, right?

[That doesn't seem right...but Elysium has experienced strange and stranger things before. He's a Catastrophe messenger, after all. He's seen everything and more.]

A phone...? Well, I do have a communication device that I keep with me on my person at all times, but if what you say is true, I don't think it's going to operate here. At least not the way it's meant to...

[Which is!! Concerning!!!! What is he going to do if he can't reach out to Thorns and fill him in on what's happened...?

Elysium sighs.]

This is all so confusing. But I appreciate you giving me this information anyway! I'll have to come back to you if I have more questions later.

[Ain is the correct person to be delving out this information, absolutely.]

How long have you been here then, Ain?

Haha... since May? I'm really not an expert, though. [And, you know, the mood is still kind of light... Ain doesn't want to say "by the way if you die you'll come back" all ominously. Let's just keep it chill.] Lots of strange stuff happens here. Some is good, some is bad.

[And then, deciding to launch into a story:]

We all got trapped on the beach over summer~. It wasn't actually that bad — there are really cute animals here, and we had places to sleep and relax. And everyone gathered and played some games to pass the time. There was... oh, Nikolaus called it a "wet T-shirt contest", and there was "spin the bottle". I'd never heard of those games before coming here.

[Probably for the best for the time being. Elysium still has snow stuck to his hair and feathers after all, he has plenty of time to be filled in on the dark stuff.

OH okay it's storytime-]

The beach? That sounds like more my speed. It's so cold here right now...

[Whining, he feigns a shiver, wrapping his arms around himself.

And then...Elysium's eyes light up suddenly as he leans in closer to Ain.]

Wait a minute, you had a wet t-shirt contest? For real? And I missed it?

Uh-huh! Haha, sorry, Mr. Know-it-all~. It's a little too cold to group everyone up now. I could always toss you into the bathhouse, I guess.

[Shit-eating grin... tail wag. Horrible, truly.]

I don't think you'd like the walk back much, though, haha!!

That's so laame...

[Slumps forward...sad. How come he missed that!! What the fuck!!! If he's going to be teleported through space and time or whatever, the least it could have done was drop him here during the warm weather or something.]

I'm also not sure I like that nickname. Can't you come up with a more flattering one, if you won't call me Elysium? Like...Mr. Handsome? Mr. Good-looking?

Ooh... I dunno~. My boyfriends would get jealous, don't you think? [They literally would not.] Are you reaaaaally that handsome?

Boyfriends?

[Huffs!!!! Well now you're just showing off.]

I can't believe you're even asking me that question. Just look at me, I'm gorgeous! I have such pretty, striking white hair, with this lovely streak of red...and look at my feathers! I keep them in pristine condition, you know. I'm lean, and you wouldn't believe the musculature I have underneath this coat. It's just too cold for me right now to remove it.

[Huff! Huff!!!]

I've also got the most gorgeous eyes you've ever seen, and a lovely voice. Don't you just want to listen to me talk just to hear it?

[Bitch you are sexually attracted to Every Aegir, you have no reason to call Ain the showoff!]

Something tells me you'll talk no matter what~. [Ain! Be nice!] Are you sure you're not lying about having muscles, though? I mean...

[He reaches out and pokes Elysium. Right in the shoulder, even! The scandal!]

You seem pretty soft and squishy.

[Talk about speaking for yourself. Neither of you have shut up since you first met each other.

Elysium's feathers puff out a little, indignantly.]

I would never lie about something like that.

[His gaze flickers away, just briefly.]

I am a Catastrophe messenger. If I weren't in fit condition, more people than just me would be in a lot of trouble.

Ooh~. So you're important.

[Mr. Know-it-all... Mr. Important... hm.]

Oh, that's why you do that voice thing, then. You're like a walking siren...

I like to think I am!

[He's so humble, too.]

Which is why I'm hoping I can get back to Rhodes soon...they need me.

[Hahaha-]

But yes, that's right. Being able to communicate over longer distances than most others would makes my job trivial compared to most. Though I try not to use it unnecessarily.

[What he considers "necessary" remains to be seen...annoying people with his opinions? Probably deemed necessary.]

If I talk back to you when you're doing your voice thingy, do you hear me? Or is it one-way? Haha, I wish I had something that cool~.

[Ain, you would literally use this power to DM Elsword. You wouldn't use it for good.]

Haha, it is pretty cool, isn't it?

[Do not inflate his ego you're making him WORSE]

But no, it's just one-way. I can call out and deliver important messages, but if you have anything to say back, you'll have to come find me!

[Winks. He winks at Ain. I hate this man.]

[I HATE HIM SO MUCH anyway Ain is teehee, heeheeing (danger). There's a heavy thump of a wagging tail against the floors in here. Sigh.]

Ooh~. Wow, I don't have anything like that. I know mostly healing magic, but I can do fun things, too. Like this!

[And then he gathers a bit of magical frost on his fingertips and boops Elysium on the snoot with it.

Why.]

[Elysium gasps softly, his nose wrinkling a bit at the sudden cold nipping at it. He'll then reach up to touch two fingers to the end of his nose, then gasp in a louder, much more dramatic way. He may not have a tail to wag, but he sure is expanding like a ghibli character with the way his feathers floof out.]

You have Arts!

[Magic. Arts. Same-ish thing.]

You can control ice...like Gnosis. That's not nothing! That's a pretty powerful ability to have, on top of being a healer...my job is important no doubt, but those who excel in combat are in as much of high demand as any.

Aww, it's not that good. Really, my best spells are all about healing and shielding~. And my combat magic can only be done outside. I don't want to break anything.

[He makes vortexes. That's kind of not inside magic.]

But yes, I'm from a group of adventurers~. It's my job to keep them safe. The other healer in our group is... [Scrunches his nose up,] Ten? Thirteen? Or something like that, haha, she's only a kid. Last I saw her, I was teaching her basic first aid.

[He hopes :) his friends aren't dead :) Laby can be trusted with the healing but also his friends are reckless assholes—]

But, if we get separated, we can't communicate like you can. We got this device once... it was called a "walkie-talkie" or something, but it's not like we just have those. It's very difficult to contact people many miles away where I'm from.

Oh, really? I made a device like that for my partner, Thorns. We've...been unfortunately separated for a time, so I wanted to be able to still communicate over the long distance.

[He's making them sound like boyfriends straight up]

I don't intend to overstay my welcome here, but I would be more than happy to show you how I made mine, assuming this place has the right parts.

Haha... I hope your partner, [edge to his tone that says "romantic?"] is here for your sanity, Mr. Know-it-all, because... we can't exactly leave. If we could, I think a lot of us would've gone home by now.

Oh, but if you could show me tinkering like that, it would be nice of you. Mr. Crane probably has the parts. He's a nerd~.

Haha...that is assuming Gnosis would be willing to share.

[Somehow...........he doubts that.

But at the mention of Thorns, Elysium visibly deflates. He's still smiling, but it's clear he looks more than a little sad about it.]

He...he's out at sea right now. Very far away. I'm not sure how likely it is he would be here, since I don't see any oceans for miles...

[...]

Oh, I probably didn't understand you right...but why can't we leave, exactly?

One time I fluttered my eyelashes at his husband and he picked me up while totally shirtless~. I think I can convince either of them to give you the supplies.

[You did not flutter your eyelashes you fucking liar, you asked "hey can I room with you guys on the beach" and Enciodes decided to rizz you up because it's Funny, and you folded like a shitty auditorium chair. Don't tell fibs.]

Mm... we can't leave because there's a pissed-off false god in the woods keeping us all here, I think? But if you refer to it as a god, you make it more powerful, so you have to call it things like "motherfucker" and "pissbaby" and stuff. [Ain.] Being mean weakens it~. Or you can just call it "the Forest" and everyone knows what you're talking about. We're all trying to find a way out of here, but it's tough... haha, sorry. I didn't want to bring it up until later, since you were so chipper.

Oooho~ Do you think he'd pick me up if I did that?

[Smash cut to Elysium being in the Family Guy Death pose

But the sillies aren't forever...because Ain continues to explain about how they can't leave, and they're being held captive by a.........gggggod? And yeah, it all. Sounds pretty shitty, if he's going to be honest.]

...oh. You're serious about that, aren't you?

[Haha uuuuuuuuh]

I suppose I can be mean if it's for a good cause! As long as some eldritch being doesn't surface and explode my head for calling it a pissbaby.

But that's...mm. Very...discouraging to hear. I really...can't leave Rhodes right now. Mm...

Unfortunately, none of us really had a choice. Mr. Crane and Mr. Jellyfish have been here for over a year. I really don't want to be a downer and say "get used to it", but we can't leave this dimension. I know you miss your... significant other, [that is not the word he used Ain] and I know your job is important, but that's how it is right now.

[He doesn't want to be a downer, he says, but also... yeah, buddy, you're gonna have to get used to it.]

H-haha- my?

[Elysium turns red when Ain says Thorns is his "significant other", but he also...doesn't........correct him.....okay Elysium keep drinking the Copium.]

W-well...this wouldn't be the first time I've been stuck somewhere I didn't mean to be.

[Cough he's legally someone's slave cough cough]

I'm just going to have to adapt.

[He's sure someone will come looking for him...soon enough.]

[Ain has decided to be perceptive and notice that. Ooh... Mr. Know-it-all's love affair with a mystery man!! He must know more.]

Are you new lovers? Haha, you blushed just now~. What do they look like? Are they cute?

EVENT & TDM 020

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