EVENT & TDM 024

[sticksandbonesmods]

MONSTER MASH

WAKE UP

Where were you last? Do you remember falling asleep, thinking you’d wake up in your own home, your own bed?

When you open your eyes, the room you’re in doesn’t feel like your own. In fact, you’re almost certain you didn’t fall asleep here. You’re given only a short few moments to get your bearings before the door to that room opens, the doorknob jiggling as whoever is on the other side is unlocking it. Is it a library study room you’ve found yourself in, or an inn room that doesn’t belong to you? A home that isn’t yours? A business after-hours?

An unfortunate few of you may find yourself face-to-face with the real owners of these rooms, homes, and businesses — and surely they’re just as confused as you are. The lucky ones might instead find themselves being “rescued” from their sleeping states by a heavily scarred man with dreadlocks and an impossibly sunny demeanour.

“Mornin’, sunshine! Up and at ‘em!” he’ll say, hands on his hips and the door held open in a way that says he expects you to simply come follow him, whoever he is. “You ain’t where you’re supposed to be, but I’ll bail you out before the person who owns this place knocks your teeth out for trespassin’. It’ll be our little secret, ‘kay?”

TRANSPOREMATION

cw: body horror, monster transformations, fungal parasitism

As usual, Aldric’s Grove is something of a hot mess, and that’s especially true lately. Aside from random people popping into existence in various buildings, there’s a bit of a fungus problem lately. A wee little problem with cute little mushrooms. …a major, unignorable, horrendous problem with some very large, purplish-coloured mushrooms, fruiting on still-living trees and the forest floor. They look quite similar to meadow mushrooms, but far, far less harmless. While eating one won’t poison anybody too badly — aside from an episode of horrible stomach pain — stepping on them or touching them at all will cause them to shower you in a spray of spores, all of which suddenly curve around and cling onto you as if they have a mind of their own. Any attempt to remove them, to wash them off, to brush them away from your skin and clothes, only makes the spores cling more stubbornly. Soon, they’ve started to root under your skin, unable to be pulled out.

The resulting transformation is, for what little it’s worth, extremely swift. Perhaps you feel it, perhaps you don’t, but the spores leave you fundamentally changed no matter what.

Your bones lengthen and rearrange, grinding together underneath your muscle tissue. Snapping, creaking, where new joints form over the breaks. Wings rip through your back in a spray of blood and torn flesh, the wounds healing themselves over a short second later. You drop to the ground as your back legs become something foreign and new, toes bursting free of your shoes, claws digging into the soil as you writhe on the ground. Your spine elongates, the muscles in your neck tense and relax as it gets too long. The spores are deciding what to do with you, it seems, as extra eyes rapidly appear and disappear over your body alongside feathers and scales. Within the span of sixty seconds, it seems the mushrooms have come to a decision on what you should be, and the transformations it inflicts on you rapidfire begin evening out.

Whether that leaves you something wolflike, catlike, ghostly, chimeric, or otherwise… that seems to be up to the spores. Regardless, you’re no longer in your own skin. At least you’re still “you”, and at least you haven’t lost much more than your old form… right?

…

Well, not to worry. Try your luck stepping on the mushrooms again! This time, they might be kind enough to revert you back to normal… assuming they don’t turn you into a different type of creature instead.

TIME TREKS ON

For the foreseeable future, many people are “stuck” outside their normal bodies. It doesn’t mean that life in the Grove stops, however, as people flit from building to building — assuming their monster forms didn’t bar them off from entering most of them anyhow — and their daily routines continue. From the Church of the Golden Sun in the north of Aldric’s Grove emanates a lovely, warm light, inviting all who are loyal to the Goddesses within its halls and barring the Corrupted or those loyal to the Fallen Sun from entry. Describing it as a “church” may not entirely be accurate; instead of an altar, there sits a throne that automatically prevents anyone who isn’t the Goddess of the Sun from sitting on it (despite the fact she isn’t currently there). Instead of pews, the first room is a large combat arena, golden weapons hung up on the walls that are free to use if you need to spar. Thankfully, the doors are large enough to accommodate most monsters, though the halls in the back may not be sizeable enough for anyone over eight feet tall.

Within that church, the kilns in the back are fired up, pottery baking while animal spirits resembling lions and dogs mix paint with their paws. It’s difficult, being a little guy — help a critter out? You can paint a selection of finished pottery when you’re done, which they’d tell you if they could speak to you. If they bring you a flower-shaped plate or a vase in the shape of a tulip and a paintbrush, will you figure out what they mean? If you don’t, that’s not a problem, as they’ll nudge you toward the pottery wheels and get you clay to work with. When you make your own thing, they think you’ll be more willing to paint with them. Hope you brought your art hands, assuming you have any at all after those mushrooms got you.

In the opposite wing from the pottery room, the kitchen is going strong, the smells of freshly baked bread wafting down the hall. Here is where Ydalir is, the shadowy woman wearing silks who normally casts magic and sells items, who turns to you and extends a flour-covered palm. Come here! Let’s bake something together — it’s the least she feels she can do, since she can’t exactly eliminate the fungus problem. There’s a host of food sitting in the dining room nearby already, with Heimr and Renard setting the table, Heimr nitpicking the setup while Renard focuses too hard on decorating with garlands and candelabras.

If you can’t fit into the dining room for any reason, one of the three will bring you food. They’d hate to see you go hungry, after all.

IT NEVER ENDS

While the Guardians themselves are immune to the transformations — Moder is, in fact, eating the mushrooms when no one is nearby to get spore’d — it doesn’t mean they’re not enjoying the fact that some of you can now spend more time with them in ways you couldn’t before.

Those of you with wings or flight abilities are invited by Aurora and the newly-resurrected bone dragon Sehul to come flying. Though Sehul won’t land in the Grove (too many buildings too close together for a hundred-foot dragon to feel comfortable, you see), they’ll land on the seaside, and even invite you to race them there. They do have something of a body mass advantage, but when they eventually win, they’ll fairly concede that it doesn’t really count. Aurora, meanwhile, wants desperately to teach you to do a midair flip.

Those of you who find yourselves suddenly aquatic will be literally accosted by Callan, who swims up into the river for once only to wrap his tentacles around you and drag you off toward the lake with a watery laugh. He expects you to do the same to him in return, but the Guardian’s extreme strength might make it difficult. Worry not, because if no one comes to your rescue, Sinann will chide him until he lets go, and show you the nest the baby Seaborn have built at the deepest point in the river. You’re welcome to live with them for a while, if you want. Their pastime is singing, and they’d love to sing with you.

And to the folks with a sudden craving for plants, Moder will gladly show you where the best snacks are — her favourite trees to reach into, the best flowers to eat, a fragrant patch of wild herbs. She’s happy to stroll through the forest with you, calmer than her peers are. If you need a ride on her mossy back, she’ll accommodate, so long as you don’t mind her telling old tales of a world long gone.

The final Guardian, Zahliya, doesn’t seem too keen on playtime, and will simply perch in various locations throughout the Grove to keep watch, as he normally does. Gifts of food given his way are rejected for the time being. He has a job to do; why don’t you go play with everyone?

It’s a beautiful, sunny day. This world isn’t often peaceful and playful. You should take advantage of it before something horrible happens… you and everyone else here know the good mood can’t last too long.

Spark Notes

summary

WAKE UP: Welcome to the Grove! You've found yourself in someone else's home/business/room it seems. Good luck explaining this one, but maybe Renard will be in time to bail you out?
TRANSPOREMATION: The mushrooms in the woods will spray you with spore clouds if you're not careful, and then transform you into something else. After a potentially-painful transformation, you'll find yourself in a new, more monsterlike body for a while.
TIME TREKS ON: Despite the monster mash, Beiwe's church is going strong, providing an opportunity to get creative or cook some dinner. Ydalir, Heimr, and Renard are all happy to see you and invite you to a home-cooked meal. They'd probably appreciate help with the dining room decor, too.
IT NEVER ENDS: Despite the transformations, it seems like the Guardians are all super pumped to spend time with you guys in their own domains. Many of them will invite you and your friends to hang out, some more politely than others. It's peaceful for once, so why not take them up on that?

out of character

Happy May! Here is your usual reminder that TDM threads are game canon. Per our plotting post (linked below) please keep in mind our rules for the monster transformations, and have fun!

updates

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

submissions

❖ NPCs List
❖ Questions
❖ May Plotting
❖ Past Life Plotting (Closed to Game Members)
❖ Investigations
❖ TDM NPC Contact

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Comments

[sesa]

[Sesa huffs a soft laugh, then cups his hands underneath Elliot's as he still holds the bird.]

That's right. The very same. Thorns helped me find it, lost here in the Grove.

...you can uncover your eyes, now.

[forwander]

[He will do just that, then, and what do you know... it's the exact thing. Down to the most minute detail, the little warp in the glass from Sebastian's relative inexperience working with it, the tiny chip at the corner of the stand it's on because Elliot once put it down a little too hard. It's in overall pristine condition, and he feels like he almost shouldn't have it. How did such a thing survive for so long?]

You went out of your way to find such a momento...?

[Congratulations, Sesa, you've stunned him into near-silence.]

[sesa]

Of course.

[His voice is low, his thumbs brushing against Elliot's knuckles. Some of the effect may be a bit lost given that Sesa has two extra heads now (the tiger is asleep and the sheep is. Staring, at them), but he's doing his best to ignore that much to focus on his partner instead.]

I wasn't entirely confident it could be found, but then Thorns made me aware that he had an ability that could potentially help him uncover it...and it was an opportunity I didn't want to pass up. I was lucky, this time.

[He shifts, very gently closing Elliot's fingers around the bird with his own.]

[forwander]

[They're creatures. It's fine, he doesn't expect the other heads not to stare at him. It's almost funny, really.]

Lucky indeed. I'll have to put this in our room. Gently, this time. [He indicates the tiny little chip from his past life's goof.] It's sturdy, to have survived that apocalypse and the changes that have happened here since.

Will you come back to the house with me, dear?

[sesa]

Of course.

[Sesa replies quietly, holding out his arm for Elliot to take. Once he takes his elbow so they can make their way back, though, he'll continue.]

That isn't the only thing I wanted to say, though. The bird was just the catalyst, you could say.

I've actually been thinking that...I would like to start thinking about planning our wedding.

[He just. Blurts, before he can let his nerves get the better of him because they're There, he's just barely swallowing them back.]

I know...I know this place isn't ideal for it, but I...I don't know. "My husband" has a nice ring to it, no?

[forwander]

I'm glad we're on the same page. Truthfully, I was intending to discuss it when we got back to the workshop. [So they are, yet again, of one mind.] It is not ideal, no, but there is not a place in this multiverse that seems ideal. What better way to celebrate, than with close friends and people we've known for a long while?

Besides, Heimr seems the excitable type. I have a feeling he'll want to be there.

[And they can make Moder a guest of honour or something, which would be really fucking funny.]

[sesa]

Hah! My apologies for jumping the...what is the expression? The dolphin? Jumping the whale?

[The shark. It's shark babe.]

But I couldn't agree more. I was just thinking that it's been...almost a year now, I believe, that we've been engaged.

[Given that Sesa took advantage of their beach cabanas to bring Elliot to for it, because it was the most romantic setting he could think of.

Smiling from ear to ear, he rests his temple against Elliot's as they walk.]

We have plenty of time to plan, at least.

[forwander]

I was thinking "jump the gun".

[They're both things you can jump over. Maybe you should not jump over any of those things, though. Regardless, they're walking-slash-slithering over to the workshop, and Elliot nods along with what Sesa says.]

It has almost been a year. I think. [You know, time fuckery.] When should we officially have something like it? How quickly do you want to shotgun our union? I'm sure Heimr and Ydalir wouldn't mind helping us with preparations, at least — and I'm sure the others would love to have a party.

[When Sesa first announced that Elliot said "yes", Flamebringer had immediately suggested things to break for the wedding, so... y'know, at least Rhodes Island has their backs.]

[sesa]

I was thinking sooner, rather than later. I know the weather has gotten warm, which isn't the most pleasant for weddings, but you and I are both more acclimated to it than we would be having a winter wedding. We could even have it on the beach...

[He's been daydreaming about what a wedding at those cabanas might be like, if he's honest.]

It would be themeatically appropriate for us, to meet on the sand, and further solidify our union on it as well.

[forwander]

I agree. Sooner, rather than later, and on the sands... close to those I assume we met upon.

[At the very least, it matches the proposal.]

Then, let us plan and speak with the tailor about clothing. [poor fucking ain this month dude]

[sesa]

I cannot wait.

[They've made it to the workshop by now, though Sesa can't help but turn and draw Elliot into a kiss the second they've crossed the threshold, wrapping his arms around his waist.]

My dear...my husband~

[NOT YOUR HUSBAND YET]