sticksandbonesmods: (Default)
sticks and bones. ([personal profile] sticksandbonesmods) wrote in [community profile] sticksandbones2025-01-29 09:10 pm

WHAT DOES A COST BRING?

Who: The Grove
What: The result of your sacrifices
When: Late Winter
Where: The Grove
Warnings: Ritual sacrifice, mentioned animal sacrifice


The blizzard stills, one morning. With the howling winds and the wraiths' calls, the sudden silence is stark. Waiting between the goddess's statues is a giant stag, grey and white and silver with heavy icicles hanging from it's antlers. Even Moder seems a bit smaller compared to it. Dry wood and bare branches cling to it's legs, and one would be forgiven for thinking it seems a bit... gaunt, for such a beast.

It does not bring violence. Sacrifices have been made, though it seems to be staring hard at Affogato Cookie. Even the sacrifice of it's kin, the cursed deer of the fae woods, satisfies. The wraiths seem to shift from their ghastly forms to white wisps who share the food between them as they climb and sit upon Winter's antlers. The rest of the sacrifices seem to flicker into a white flame, smoke imbibing the air before it becomes part of the deer.

Your sacrifice is noted. But your pride is seen as well. For those who could not find it in themselves to give, there are repercussions.

It's a clear, crisp voice that echoes through the woods, through Aldric's Grove, through your own minds and hearts. Those who did not give sacrifices will find a silvery mark upon them- antlers, gleaming like ice and glass. It would be beautiful, if it didn't mark them with unbearable chills as well. As time passes, they will find themselves falling ill. The illness will pass by player preference, but must last at least a week. It is a punishment, after all.

...

And then Winter and it's harbingers turn, and vanish into the winter day, as if they were never there to begin with. The rest of the winter will be gentle, pleasant and even warm, with the snow beginning to melt mid-February and staying gone.

submittome: (Done my time and served my sentence)

[personal profile] submittome 2025-01-30 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
[ Don't give him that look you frosty cow, he was trying to help. ]
quirkynote: (118)

[personal profile] quirkynote 2025-01-30 02:44 am (UTC)(link)
[Of course A.B.A didn't sacrifice anything, there isn't anything she despises more than having her belongings taken from her. She isn't a homunculus with many things, after all, and she's already lost so much.

So an incredibly ill, incredibly weak A.B.A can be found dragging herself all around cookie house, because she's a stubborn thing. A trip to the kitchen shouldn't be too frowned upon...right? Even she still needs SOME nutrients, and she recalls that soup is the traditional remedy.


...she's just boiling a pot of water. Boiling it a little too much. .....She's sitting against the kitchen wall, head against her knees as she's burning water.]
aneikonic: (092)

[personal profile] aneikonic 2025-01-30 02:48 am (UTC)(link)
[ Who came first, the elements or the Gods. Is this an Eikon or something more like Ultima? Either way, Clive is not impressed. He may have sacrificed with Will and Joshua, but the idea of repercussions for those who didn't rankles him.

He hates Gods so much. Sorry, Winter, he's feisty. ]


Pride? Or the exhaustion over being used by those who would take. Your "reward" for those who would bow to your demands is to simply stop what you had begun in the first place.

[ Why are Gods all the same. ]
leggierissimo: (Delete your ex's number from your phone.)

[personal profile] leggierissimo 2025-01-30 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
[ Wow hello rude he died? Is that not sacrifice enough? He has a scar now. He has a scar now and you're marking him. ]
timidheart: _7_HR@twitter (55)

[personal profile] timidheart 2025-01-30 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
[Mayoi came to meet this commotion as part of his duty, mostly. It would not do for him to cower when it seems the rest of the Grove is being called to attention. The deer is big, but not as big as the dragons, and so he finds it unnerving sure, but not as frightening as it could be.]

[It's the use of "Pride" that sets him off. As if refusing to sacrifice had been an act of selfishness. There are a great many things that would make Mayoi bow his head and simply accept punishment, but calling his act of survival and caution an act of pride is what does him in.]


"Pride." Pride!

[His own volume almost surprises him, but he can feel it rise up in his blood. Anger and fear and frustration. Bitterness drips off his words.]

I have spent countless times being tormented and manipulated by forces beyond my understanding, demanding sacrifice, demanding tribute while expecting me to hand over something precious blindly, in return only to be given the blood and death of my loved ones!

You come here demanding much the same with little explanation, tormenting us, cornering us with fear and threatening us with violence, and have the audacity to call it pride when I do not wish to comply?!

Curse me, and I will die cursed, but you'll receive nothing from me!
beathollow: (CA. 001)

[personal profile] beathollow 2025-01-30 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
( mayoi is a quiet man, even with his panic- so this is... this is. new. not unjustified, but- mafuyu can't help but worry, and it twists her heart and stomach alike.

after a moment, she just tucks into him, hugging him around the chest. )


Mayoi... I- ... you can feel what you need to. I'll take care of you.
purevanillacookie: (TR 12)

[personal profile] purevanillacookie 2025-01-30 03:11 am (UTC)(link)
[ What a perfect time for A.B.A. to meet her broken Dad. Of course Truthless is going to investigate the sound of water boiling. And boiling. And boiling...

When he spots it's A.B.A. he stops in the kitchen doorway. He's ill himself, Pure Vanilla refused to give anything to Winter's demands, and thus he suffers. But you wouldn't tell by looking at his expressionless gaze. ]


If you continue to boil it, you will have nothing left.
quirkynote: (31)

[personal profile] quirkynote 2025-01-30 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
[Even without knowing what happened to Pure Vanilla, A.B.A is still quite upset with him. It's just as she told him before he left, she wouldn't forgive him if he died in that stupid, worthless battle. He's so lucky she has no strength, because there isn't anything she wants more than to throw him across the room just for thinking he can even talk to her again. If he likes dying so much, she'll gladly keep offering death to him.

But she can't, not yet. All she can do is growl like an injured animal as she sits on the floor.]


Just like everything else in my life.
purevanillacookie: (TR 09)

[personal profile] purevanillacookie 2025-01-30 03:21 am (UTC)(link)
Dramatic. Do not burn the house down while being so.

[ He steps over to the oven to turn it down at least, staring down at the water. He has no idea what she was even attempting to make, there are no ingredients left out. And if he's upset at her being upset at him, he doesn't show it.

He doesn't show much of anything. ]
quirkynote: (22)

[personal profile] quirkynote 2025-01-30 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
Oh? So now you care about your wellbeing? I should burn it all down for that alone.

[A hollow threat, she'd have to move her stuff out first, and she simply doesn't have the energy to do so.]

Is that really all you have to say to me? Cur! Cretin!
timidheart: _7_HR@twitter (52)

[personal profile] timidheart 2025-01-30 03:37 am (UTC)(link)
[He might have kept going, getting truly worked up for the first time in a while, but the moment Mafuyu comes and hugs him, he feels a majority of that fight leave his body. It's exhausting being angry, he doesn't like it very much.]

[He starts to settle down in her arms, spent. He finally puts his around her.]


... I grow tired of this, Mafuyu-san. [Of being the playthings of Gods.]
purevanillacookie: (TR 07)

[personal profile] purevanillacookie 2025-01-30 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
What else would you have me say?

[ He turns to look at A.B.A. finally, studying her. She's upset, he knows it. He remembers Pure Vanilla's promise to her. Ah, maybe it's that? ]

Ah. Are you upset over the death? Pure Vanilla Cookie was betrayed by one of the groups own.

[ Yeah he might have died anyways, but he might not have. He had his healing water, there was the Phoenix yet. ]
beathollow: (PV. 015)

[personal profile] beathollow 2025-01-30 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
I know. I'm sorry.

( mafuyu rests her head against his chest, head turned so she can listen to his heartbeat, even as frantic as it might be right now. )

... I love you.
quirkynote: (24)

[personal profile] quirkynote 2025-01-30 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
The cause doesn't matter, the betrayed one is me.

[It matters a lot. A.B.A fumes even more internally at this sudden, new information. That means whoever took Pure Vanilla away from her is someone here.

She'll kill them when she can.]


Begone if your only desire is to revel in my misery.
purevanillacookie: (TR 06)

[personal profile] purevanillacookie 2025-01-30 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well, since that wasn't his intent, he doesn't move. Plus he's feeling ill himself and standing still is very nice. Makes the room stop spinning.

Sigh. ]


What were you attempting to do?

[ He can at least do that. Plus it will prevent her from trying again. ]
timidheart: interdigitate@Plurk.com (74)

[personal profile] timidheart 2025-01-30 04:02 am (UTC)(link)
[Presses his lips to her forehead, quietly.]

You have nothing to apologize for. I am sorry ...f-for raising my voice like so. I let my anger get the better of me.

[Proooobably not the best behavior for a priest, but he's still figuring this stuff out.]

I love you, too. I think I would like to go back home, now that we are finished here.
Edited 2025-01-30 04:03 (UTC)
quirkynote: (49)

[personal profile] quirkynote 2025-01-30 04:08 am (UTC)(link)
What do you care...?

[Just go away. Continue being dead so she can stay mad about it. Why does he have to haunt his own house like a ghost?]

You've already made it clear you care not for me... I saw through your ruse... How could you? How could you make me open myself up to you... Maybe myself vulnerable when I was already crumbling...? Only to strike me down? Villain! Wretch!

[This is usually the part where Pure Vanilla would probably hug her right now, put up with her nonsense, ignore her bile, and reassure her everything is okay. The fact that it isn't happening only confirms her darkest fears, that it was all just some kind of sick act. How...how could she be so stupid? Never again, she's never opening her heart to any of these people ever again.

She just wants Paracelsus..... She only needs Paracelsus.... That's how it's always been, why did she think it'd ever be different?]


It's soup, you worthless worm...
purevanillacookie: (TR 03)

[personal profile] purevanillacookie 2025-01-30 04:24 am (UTC)(link)
[ He opens his mouth to state he doesn't want her burning the house down if she tries again, to close it. It's a struggle to not simply say the truth as he feels it. He's trying, it hasn't been that long since he's been Pure Vanilla, but it's been so long since he's been Truthless.

But at least he can correct her on her words, even if he doesn't move to hug her. Why should he, she's throwing a fit, he is not Pure Vanilla, he wont allow himself to be verbally abused and then hug her. He moves to gather things for soup, shuffling around as he does. ]


You are making up narratives to suit your misery, seeking only to wallow. There was no ruse, no trickery in Pure Vanilla Cookie. His love for you was real.

[ Ugh, he can't smell these items, are they good? Oh well. He begins to chop them, despite his inability to smell them. ]

I am not Pure Vanilla Cookie. I have no desire to comfort you while you hurl anger and misguided vile my way.
quirkynote: (9)

[personal profile] quirkynote 2025-01-30 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
[His love for you was real.

The "was" makes her flinch, she's not...sure if that's better or worse. He loved her and then...stopped? Did he...feel like she was no longer worthy of it?

But then he drops that bombshell, his responsibilities as Pure Vanilla apparently are no longer on his shoulders. A.B.A was wondering why he was talking in the third person, it was incredibly out of character, but what does she know? She barely knows who the real Pure Vanilla is anymore.

She chuckles.

Her body feels like it's made of bricks, but she still manages to drag herself back onto her feet, her posture hunched over as gravity fights her efforts. She chuckles more. It hurts, it all hurts. Her body aches, her heart cries, and all she can do is laugh at this reveal.]


Did you...did you really fabricate an entirely new persona just to keep your distance from me? Do you despise me that much!? That you had to...had to die and recreate yourself?! ...So be it! If you're no longer Pure Vanilla, then I will gladly treat you like you aren't. You...you have no idea how close you are to death...if I have no connection to you, do you think I'd mourn you while I coat my hands in your blood?

Go ahead, make the soup, return my strength.
purevanillacookie: (TR 08)

[personal profile] purevanillacookie 2025-01-30 04:51 am (UTC)(link)
Sit down.

[ Flat, dead, as he chops the vegetables and adds them to the water. Hm. Salt and pepper too. Some seasonings. Is there meat? He shuffles to the side to open the refrigerator to look. Hm. Yes, but it'll cook at a different rate. Substitutes meat for another vegetable more proteiny, that'll do.

Back to chopping, he doesn't even glance her way. ]


I am not a fabrication, lest of all to simply deny love to you. After all Pure Vanilla Cookie has done for you, you look down so badly upon him?

[ Typical. It would hurt, if he could feel the pain anymore. If he was Pure Vanilla Cookie anymore. ]

Pure Vanilla Cookie died. He is gone. His existence has been consumed by the bitter truth that his entire life was a lie and he was nothing. He fell, and in his place I arose. I am Truthless Recluse. I am the result of a bitter world of lies and betrayal. I exist here because Pure Vanilla Cookie fell to his heart being taken and given to the enemy, and I am the price of his death.

[ Good, that should be a hearty enough soup. He adds more water to replace what she boiled off, then leans himself against the counter... and sneezes into the cabinets. Ah. Yucky. ]
quirkynote: (107)

[personal profile] quirkynote 2025-01-30 05:03 am (UTC)(link)
[...!! D-Dammit! If only she had her strength now, is he really not scared of her? She wasn't even bluffing that time, she'd kill him in an instant if she could lift her key! What sort of awful new personality is this?! She hates him! Hates him!!]

Yes. I told you not to go, I explained why it was an appalling idea. You're old, weak, it was certain death! You chose to die!! You chose to break my heart and I can never forgive you, I told you. Should I have begged more? Did my pleas not satisfy you?! Pure Vanilla, Truthless Recluse, whoever you choose to be, you're lucky I look at you at all.

[As logical as A.B.A likes to believe she is, she will always be an emotional, immature person. There's just simply no convincing her she isn't the victim in Pure Vanilla's own death. As far as she's concerned, he did it on purpose.]

If you're so truthless, then what makes you think I should believe anything that you say? How can I not suspect you of ruses when it's in your very name!!

[Okay, she can be a little logical.]
purevanillacookie: (TR 02)

[personal profile] purevanillacookie 2025-01-30 05:17 am (UTC)(link)
I am Truthless because my life was a lie.

[ He finds a towel to wipe his nose and his eyes, ugh he hates being human, being a Cookie is far less... liquidy. He won't blow his nose into the towel though, preferring to find a napkin which he will... eventually find once he looks around enough. Excuse him as he does so. ]

Do what you wish. Feel how you will. Believe what you want. But never accuse me of being a liar.

[ That would probably have more impact if he didn't now sound incredibly stuffed up. But at least he looks far better on his feet than she does. He may be shuffling like an old man but she can barely stand. ]

Pure Vanilla Cookie would have lived, had he not been betrayed. But you care not, do you? The love others have shown you means nothing to you. Wallow in your falsities then, your selfishness, bemoan your made up atrocities. I will stop trying to remember how he felt, and show you as much care as you show others. Eat the soup when it is done or do not. I do not care.

[ He tosses the used tissue away and grabs a few more to head for the exit. ]

Page 1 of 3