sticksandbones | EVENT 021

Solitary Voyage

The first light of dawn does not come this morning. The moonlight outside continues to cast its muted glow over the Grove, still high in the sky. No matter how long you wait, no matter how many minutes or hours slip by, the darkness remains, and the silvery sentinel refuses to yield to the sun. It also appears bigger than usual, its surface etched with shadows that seem to pulse with a life of their own, and you swear there weren't this many stars peppering the night sky last night.

Despite the oppressive night that looms above, there’s an odd sense of calm. No werewolves prowl the streets, no ominous howls echo through the trees, or other dangers that usually seem to threaten the Grove. In fact, it's not making it more cold than usual, either. The ice on the river, once a solid barrier, begins to chip away, revealing glimmers of water beneath, giving new life to the creatures that call it home. A handful of the baby Seaborn even flop out of the water to explore the world, as if it's entirely new to them and hasn't only been a month since they've been unable to be on solid ground.

The only thing that the perpetual night seems to be affecting is the local wildlife. Disoriented and confused, they flit about in a daze, their natural rhythms thrown into chaos. The diurnal creatures now wander aimlessly with their instincts dulled. Someone should probably feed these poor critters before they forget how to forage for themselves.

The Grove also seems to be sans one sea jelly. Hope no one booked their therapy appointment this month.

The Reef is Immortal

It was the loud creaking that caught your attention first, a sound that reverberated through the ground like the groan of a ship caught in a storm. There's a... tree? Or, wait, no. That can't be right. It's colossal, easily taller than the supposed "limit" of the sky barrier, but it's also... blue? There's a smattering of bioluminescent patches that give a white glow, especially under the pale moonlight. The "branches" swayed unnaturally, each one moving independently, like a thousand skeletal fingers reaching for the heavens.

With the coming of this "tree" also comes something some of you may be familiar with - the Nethersea Brand. It's a blue, web-like membrane that more resembles flesh than what anyone would like to admit. Contact with the membrane is not recommended as it invokes a creeping dread that gnaws at the edges of your mind and locks your muscles and bones. It wears off... eventually, but if you don't get out of it in time it'll continue to chew at your nervous system.

It is not localized like it was last time, either. It spreads and expands to cover all of the Grove more and more with each moment, every hour swallowing more and more land, with just a few exceptions. One, the Inn's lobby, which is protected by the Inquistion's Fireplace inside. And two... surprisingly, the River and its banks, where the Guardians (and the Behemoth) seem to be taking solace from the threat.

The baby Seaborn are not aware of many things, but they are at least cognizant that some of you don't seem to do well in the Brand, with some control over what it covers. If you're by the river, they seem to be able to control the brand just enough to free you, chirping in an innocent manner. You do not know what they are saying, but you can imagine it's something along the lines of "Hi! What doing!" There's less of them in the river currently, but the few that are around are nesting on Moder or following Sinann around. They do not sense the distress. They are just babies.

The Mass of Sorrow

The sensation of being trapped in the web-like brand is suffocating, a foreign sensation of the boundaries that have been blurred between your identity and the collective consciousness of others. Each time you succumb to the nervous impairment, it feels like you’re slipping through a veil, where the lines between your thoughts and those of others dissolve into a swirling mass of emotions and memories.

You can’t shake the feeling of grief that lingers in your chest, a weight that seems to grow heavier with each passing moment. It’s as if you’re mourning something you can’t quite grasp—perhaps the remnants of your own past, or the fragments of lives that are not your own. When you finally come to again, rising up from the brand to attempt to move again, you'll notice you have tear stains against your face you don't remember crying.

It's not easy to escape the brand, either. Between the rough terrain flesh-y webs make and the way it slowly neutralizes your nerves, it's a wonder you can keep moving at all. But more than that, there's this... voice...

"Embrace... Our Warmth..."

In short moments of clarity, you remember... dreaming? Remembering? Commiserating...? Something. Whatever the case, you were in someone's mind. Maybe your own. Maybe someone else's. Maybe even something from the forest - the brand is taking all prisoner, after all.

Best hope We Many doesn't share anything you don't want anyone to see, because it doesn't seem like you get much of a choice.

Elegy of the Outliers

Those holed up inside are not entirely forgotten. While the warmth of the fireplace and the kin of the river may keep the brand at bay, the persistent weight of grief and sadness still reaches those within. It is the curse of an ancient being long gone, a sorrow that lingers like a scar. Yet, this sorrow can be softened by the company of those around you. Distractions, warmth, and togetherness serve as reminders that collaboration is, as always, the answer.

Gazing out at the brand, one will notice shadows moving along the fleshy web—shadows that seem hauntingly familiar. Loved ones move through the Grove as if it has come alive again, as if the threat of an obsessed, fallen deity has vanished, and things have reached some form of normalcy once again.

Upon closer inspection, the observant may discern that these are not true apparitions, but rather the brand's way of storing memories within We Many's consciousness. It is a surreal experience, reliving moments through the Seaborn that drift freely about. This phenomenon is both unsettling and captivating—perhaps it could even make for compelling television while you remain trapped inside. Yet, the sight of a loved one, even as a mere shadow, may also be overwhelming, pulling you away from your current sanctuary.

Be careful out there.

Spark Notes

summary

Solitary Voyage is this moon's journey. The expected dawn fails to arrive, leaving the Grove shrouded in an unusual, persistent moonlight. While the darkness disrupts the local wildlife, causing confusion and disorientation, it also brings life to the river as baby Seaborn venture out.

The Reef is Immortal, bringing forth a colossal, bioluminescent "tree" in the Grove, accompanied by the spreading menace of the Nethersea Brand, a blue, web-like membrane that induces paralysis upon contact. While the Brand expands across the land, the Inn's lobby remains safe, and the baby Seaborn near the river seem to possess a surprising ability to help free those ensnared by the Brand, blissfully unaware of the surrounding danger.

The Mass of Sorrow is the experience of being ensnared in the Nethersea Brand. Personal identity blurs with the collective consciousness, leading to overwhelming grief and confusion as emotions and memories intertwine.

Elegy of the Outliers, or those sheltered from the Nethersea Brand, still feel the Arbor's weight of grief and sadness, a lingering curse that can be eased by the warmth and companionship of others. As shadows resembling loved ones move through the brand, it becomes clear that these are not true apparitions but memories stored within We Many's consciousness.

out of character

This month's event has been written entirely by Rubie! Please be nice and say thank you Rubie! Enjoy your memory shares and your eldritch horrors, and remember that questions asked should be asked in public channels and not DMs if they're related to this month's event. Have fun!

updates

Any potential updates, such as characters damaging something important or whatever else, will be put here.

submissions

❖ Questions
❖ February Plotting
❖ Past Life Plotting (Closed to Game Members)
❖ Investigations

code

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The Reef is Immortal

[Dipper has been pacing along the outline of this particular stretch of Brand for a few minutes now. Every now and then, he stops, seems to have an ...angry conversation with himself? And then goes back to pacing.]

[One might think he's gone off the deep end but, like, it's Dipper so it's hard to say.]

[After a certain point he stops, takes a deep breath, smacks his cheeks a little, and proclaims.]

Okay! Here goes literally nothing!

[And walks straight into the brand.]

The Mass of Sorrow: Part A

[As you come to, it becomes apparent that you are ...moving. On a bus, apparently, as it hits a particularly deep pothole and you feel it through your entire skeleton. You're sitting in the very back, and the soft warm tones of dusk as setting in.]

[Sitting next to you is a boy, maybe eleven or twelve. He's curled up and looking out the window. You get the feeling you were having some kind of conversation a moment ago, to which he responds in a sullen tone.]

...I'm not in the mood.

[Very distantly, you feel the ground shake. Weird. Maybe it was another pothole?]

The Mass of Sorrow: Part B

[Mason Pines has been awfully ...busy of late, it seems. He normally had a tendency to keep to himself, often letting his twin sister be the social butterfly unless something had caught his interest. He was from that house out in the woods that had been here before the arrival of the Grove proper, so the Pines were neighbors, but Mason never acted particularly like he was a member of the town.

Until now, suddenly, he seems to have an interest in the history of the surrounding area. He's asking to talk to people around town, he's asking strange questions, and he's spending a lot of time in the library, looking through old, old books around the forest and its history.

Sometimes he spends hours in there, pouring over old, archaic texts, writing indecipherable text in a journal that does not look like a language anyone can understand.

All the while, it feels as though there is something hounding him. A devil at his heels. There is urgency in his every action and a tinge of mania. Something has him on edge and he's being awfully cagey about it.]

[Well! This sure is a non-sequitur! They have no idea what is happening on several different levels, but the overwhelming onslaught of visions and emotions has calmed down for the moment. So, this is fine. And they even found a friendly face!

They prop an elbow on the back of the seat, beaming their best Mabel impression.]

And what are you in the mood for? Not trapping people in a nightmare dimension, I hope.

[It's such a startling and strange question, Dipper actually turns his head to look at Loop- Mabel? Loop you might be a little Mabel shaped right now.]

What? I- don't even know how to respond to that. I wish I had a nightmare dimension to drop Gideon in after what he did.

[He sighs, deflating soon after.]

But he won, and now we're going home.

[That distant thudding happens again, it seems to be getting closer.]

Whaaaaaaaaaaat? Are you suuuuuuure?

[... his surprise says it all, though. He doesn't seem aware of what's happening.

Which is VERY unhelpful!! They echo the sigh, drawing back to look around some more. Weird as this carriage may be, nothing else inside strikes them as important... so, all they can do for now is play along. They'll just have to feel out this character as they go.]

Hmm... well, what if you did have a nightmare dimension? Do you think that would fix it? [can this problem be solved with violence, they're good at that]

[That's pretty convincing, not gonna lie. Dipper doesn't seem to suspect much other than just being so bummed out he doesn't feel like playing along. It's not Mabel (Loop), though. There's a lot he's mad at but he's mostly mad at himself for not being able to figure something out. For failing.]

Mabel. I- ...I don't know. [But he simmers down. She's probably trying to get him to talk so he's not just locked in his own head.] I think it might.

If we dropped him in a void we could get back the deed to the Mystery Shack, right? It's too bad that triangle creep didn't something a- [There's the thudding again.]

What-

[And then it starts getting much faster. Like large footsteps. Thoom. Thoom. Thoom. ThoomThoomThoomThoom- Then out from the trees explodes-]

GIANT ROBOT!

[Out from the trees explodes a three story metal monstrosity, that is rapidly approaching their location.]

[They're still missing a lot of context here, but they can work with this. Something about a missing deed...? He seems upset about it, so clearly this isn't the outcome he wanted.]

If there's still something you could do about it, who says he already won? It's too early to give up, Ghostbuster! As long as there are doors—

[anyway rip to their uplifting speech because WOW that sure is a giant metal child(???) crashing into view]

Oh! That looks bad. [and they should probably sound more worried but when has Loop ever had a fear of death, they literally can't remember.] Is that Gideon? He's taller than I expected.

[ There's something different about Mason lately. It could be anything, really. It could even just be puberty. But if there's a mystery afoot then there's adventure to be had, and he wants in.

Obviously, the way to accomplish this is to simply go up to him between interrogations and ask outright. ]

Hey! Watcha doin?

[Maybe some of the townsfolk are a bit put off by the Pines, but Cassie never has been. So they're a little eccentric and live deeper out in the woods, so what? They've earned some respect simply from having been here longer than most, in her eyes. And of course she'd made sure to build a rapport with them whenever they needed something fixed up.

So when Mason starts acting even more, uh, eccentric than usual, she notices quickly. Cassie rarely comes across free time, but she just so happens to have a moment when she catches sight of him ducking into the library for what seems like the zillionth time that week, so she apologizes to the person she was chatting with and darts off after him.

It takes a minute to figure out what row of bookshelves he's delved into, but once she does, she peeks around the corner and knocks on the nearby shelf to announce her presence.]

Hey, uh... [Crap, she 100% didn't think of what exactly to say.] Wh... whatcha studying? [Yeah, she hates that as soon as it comes out of her mouth, and can only smile awkwardly about it.]

EVENT 021

Dipper Pines | Gravity Falls (CRAU)

sorrow A

no subject

no subject

1/2

no subject

1/2

no subject

Sorrow B!

Sorrow B