EVENT 021

[sticksandbonesmods]

Feeding from the Ocean

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

Comments

A little lamb. Its time for baby communication

[ghostharasser]

[He is a cookie again. He's getting weirdly used to this? But he looks different than normally. He recognizes the clothing he's meant to be wearing ...it's an old outfit he hasn't thought about in years. The vest, the shorts, he reaches up and finds his old pine tree had that he had gifted to Wendy at the end of a summer long, long ago.]

[But it's nice out here, isn't it? He can't help but appreciate the peacefulness out here. All his other run ins with the cookie dimension had been so dire, it's almost startling to see something so nice and quiet.]

[Until the even littler cookie comes up to him. Dipper lets out an undignified shriek at the sudden Hello!]

[And then he keeps going and Dipper is struck silent while the little guy just an impressive amount of questions in one breath.]

Oh man.

[Alright, hold on, lets back up a bit.]

So, uh, in order: Maybe! D- [He pauses, and then he corrects, thinking perhaps its best to blend in better.] Campfire Cookie. Nice to meet you, too. I might need directions, yeah. I'm looking for my family. What did the grass taste like? Shouldn't it be sweet?

a wee little baby for Dipper

[purevanillacookie]

[ The shriek is FUNNY and he giggles, holding the lamb up to his face to hide behind it a little. He scared him, he scared him! He doesn't seem sad about it, so that means it's funny and okay to laugh.

Then his questions are answered and he beams, happy. He likes it when the older Cookies come out and join him. ]

It's kinda bitter! I can help you find your family but I don't think they're out here! There's just me and my sheep!

[ He holds out the little lamb he's holding, which looks at Dipper silently for a few seconds, then throws it's tiny cream head back and goes 'mleh!'

Dipper might recognize the sound as a very tiny version of Peepaw distress call.

Pure Vanilla oh's! and lets the little thing go so it can run to it's mom. ]

Weird, Meringues usually a lot bolder than that! What does your family look like?

hols him

[ghostharasser]

[Dipper leans in to look at the cream sheep when suddenly it just wants nothing to do with him. Weird!]

Maybe he had important sheep business?

[Sheep, man. What funky little creatures.]

My family ...uh. Has kind of a tendency to wander off. They could be literally anywhere. [Mabel could be out here eating grass, it's entirely plausible. Anyway he thinks over how to describe his uncles to a very young child while trying to pretend he is a cookie from a family of cookies.] My two uncles are like me but waaaay older and grunklier. Tall, gray h- uh. Grey icing, glasses, and they're twins so they look really similar! One of them really likes money and terrible jokes and the other is a researcher and likes books.

[A pause. They will not find Mabel here, but it feels wrong to not mention her too. His expression is a lot softer as he talks.]

I have a sister, too. She looks a lot like me but her dough is baked with glitter and poprocks. She's the brightest, friendliest person that ever lived. I think you two would be really good friends.

gentl like cookie

[purevanillacookie]

It is nap time!

[ Solemn nod of baby agreeance. Nap time is important sheep business. And he listens intensely to the descriptions of Dippers family. Nods to "grunklier" like that explains it. He gets it. He knows. This child Understands. ]

What's grunklier?

[ HE understands but he wants to make sure Dipper knows.

Excuse him as he reaches up to take Dipper's hand. They're holding hands now, that's how being around baby Pure Vanilla goes. ]

Glitter and poprocks! Uhm! There's only Vanilla's around here but they might be in the village! All the elder Cookies stay there too cause they say their dough is too stiff now and it might crumble away if they stomp around the hills with the sheeps but I think they just wanna be comfy. And sleep a lot. We can go look!

[ INHALE.

Meringue takes that moment to bounce it's way off away from the group, getting the other lambs to join it in a Tiny stampeding little herd that goes in every which direction. The moms Do Not Seem to Mind, they're still eating, but Baby Vanilla ohs!! and let's go of Dippers hand. ]

Babies!

[ Says the baby as he takes off after to try and herd them back, grabbing his little shepherds crook as he does. The moment he's away from Dipper, the mood seems to turn. While the skies over Vanilla remain bright and sunny, Dipper will find a shadow cast over him, and it turns colder. There's a small bleat behind him. ]

[ghostharasser]

Grunkly. You know, how like when cookies get kind of old and they act kind of [He makes a very silly impression of Stan when he tries to get up from a chair.] Like that.

[Anyway, yes, Dipper will hold your hand little vanilla. Please don't run off without him he'll lose it-]

That sounds awesome, thanks. My family travels a lot so, they could have passed through.

[And then suddenly the sheeps scatter and Dipper watches him run off before Dipper could do anything to stop him. Sigh. Well, he can wait here for him to get back. Ahaha, what a cute kid. A-]

[Ah.]

[It really doesn't take Dipper much to figure out what's happening here. He sighs, but doesn't turn around.]

Even here, huh?

[purevanillacookie]

"Oh, don't seem so surprised. I told you, I've always been with him."

[ Is that true, though?

Sadly it's a memory; as much as a certain blueberry would love to change it, turn it into a nightmare for the interloper, he can't. So Pure Vanilla gleefully rounds his wayward lambs up, brushes them down, and begins to go about his business. Without Dipper there beside him, the memory has continued on and he's forgotten about "Campfire Cookie".

It tugs the other with it as Pure Vanilla moves through the fields, however, though Shadow Milks influence keeps Dipper on the fringe. Away from Pure Vanilla. ]

"You're quite nosy, aren't you? I usually like that, but you're just so so so so SO irritating!"

[ghostharasser]

[He hopes it isn't true, but he can totally see this guy being the kind of person to stalk a man through his whole life for nefarious machinations so he's got no room to call him out. Poor PV, honestly, getting stuck with this creep.]

[His little cookie hands go in his cookie pockets as he watches the memory go on without him.]

Get in line, man. If I had a nickel for how many people thought that quality of mine was annoying, I'd be able to pay for college.

[He will finally turn back to look at him.]

Did you have something to say to me? Or did you pull me out of this memory just for the heck of it.

[purevanillacookie]

[ Dipper turns and there is merely a little lamb there, that looks startled and bleats and bounds off into the memory to join up with it's brethren. ]

"Just to annoy you, I think!"

[ Behind him, again. ]

"Ah, also to ask..."

[ At his ear, hissing. ]

"Do you enjoy my little gift?"

[ This is Truthless' mind after all, he knows very well what was planted in Dippers during their last little encounter. And if Dipper is going to be nosy, Shadow Milk - or at least the echo of him - is going to be a little bitch. ]