EVENT 25

[sticksandbonesmods]

HELLO, LISTENERS

GRAB THE KEY, LET'S GO OUT AND HAVE SOME FUN

While the fungus continues to thrive, life otherwise continues on as usual. The ever-flowing river of time carries the town along with it, bringing the soft concerto of crickets at night, a distant rumble of thunder during the day, and a warmth that whispers promises of oppressive heat and stifling humidity. Summer has arrived in the Grove, and before her work calls her into action, she is setting down her bags to sprawl on her hotel bed for a moment's respite after a long journey.

But there is something else. From a shrine in the forest comes an intense curiosity, and the world seems as though it is holding its breath, an odd tension lacing the air that even those in the Grove can sense.

And then, people disappear.

It isn't like a couple of months before, when Mr. Bone-Jangles had snatched up everyone in the center of town. The targeting is random - you may be in the middle of a conversation with someone, only for them to suddenly vanish before your eyes. Your friend might have gone inside to grab something and never returned. You may have settled down for a nap, letting your eyes close as you hope to drift off. Regardless of how it happens, anyone that is caught in the magic will hear a sudden, staticky jumble of sounds not unlike an old manual-tune radio shifting through several stations and picking up tidbits of broadcast in the split-second they're tuned to one. And then, everything feels as though it shifts slightly to the left.

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN SUCH A PERFECT DAY?

When the fog clears from your vision, you find yourself standing in the middle of a paved street, in a perfectly normal-looking little town out in what appears to be the deserts of the American Southwest. The buildings are modern and well-maintained, as are the roads, and there are people and vehicles about as would be the case in any town. Actually, you may want to consider getting out of the street, considering the traffic. There are perfectly good sidewalks, after all.

It won't take long for one of the locals to notice you. It's as though you're easy to single out, easily distinguished from those that live here. A man points his finger at you and shouts, "Interloper!" before continuing on his way as though nothing has happened at all. In fact, many people will do this. You'll get used to it, probably. Helicopters also fly overhead quite frequently, and in varying colors and designs, but none ever seem to land.

Eventually, you might find yourself at a bus stop, or maybe at a building labeled City Hall. It seems as though the local tourism board has put up a small kiosk full of fliers at these locations, decorated with a fun poster that reveals the name of the town: Night Vale. All of the fliers seem to be for a newly built Hampton Inn out by the convention center, however. Visitors are encouraged to stop in and stay a while, with rooms starting as low as "one brief, yet violently strong, emotion" per night. Continental breakfast is included! The only breakfast items shown in the photo are waffles shaped like continents. But hey, if you want a place to stay, that's hard to beat. Maybe it's time for a little summer vacation?

The Grove is not spared from the oddities, either. Old oak doors seem to be popping up everywhere. Perhaps there is now an extra door between the door to your room and your closet door. Maybe your front door is now doubled. Is that a free-standing door in the middle of the Grove? It sure is. But wherever they are, they seem to come and go - they're there for a little while, but eventually disappear, only to be found somewhere else. Should you try to go through these doors, you will experience the same thing as those that were picked up by the magic, and find yourself deposited somewhere right in the middle of Night Vale.

The good news is, if you can find one of these same doors in Night Vale, it will carry you right back to the Grove! You'll have to put in a little leg work to find one, though. They, too, like to disappear and reappear elsewhere.

WHAT'S IN YOUR MIND? LET'S DO IT ONE BY ONE

Night Vale seems to have no shortage of interesting places to visit. But the most interesting thing is the amount of radios present in the town. Everywhere seems to have one, ranging from modern stereos to boomboxes, from little travel radios to old-fashioned floor units. For the most part, they seem to function as any other radio would. Only two stations can be picked up, however: WTNV, the local community radio station, which seems to play various popular programs over the course of the day, ranging from the popular radio game show "Wait, Wait, Don't, No, Don't, Please, Don't!" to a radio program that can only be heard by dogs; and WZZZ, a station only broadcasting a woman's voice reading random numbers interspersed with chimes. If you listen long enough, the woman's voice may begin singing bits of the song "Roar" by Katy Perry, before going back to the numbers.

These radios also seem to be springing up in the Grove, and can only pick up the same stations as those in Night Vale. Very strange!

But no matter where the radio is, even if the radio is turned off, it will turn on by itself every evening at a specific time to let a voice through, and cannot be turned off until the broadcast is finished. And the voice may be very familiar to some.

"Hold your horses. I just cleaned the floor, and I won't have them tracking all that horse dirt in this house. Welcome to Night Vale!

Howdy, listeners! Particularly those of you in and from the Grove. It's been a little while, hasn't it? I've been enjoying my little vacation, but I missed all your shining faces, so I thought I'd come back for a visit. Did you miss me? Was there a Joshua-shaped void in your hearts? If so, you should probably get that checked out.

'But, Joshua,' you may ask, 'what are you doing on the radio?' Great question. Honestly, it's a surprise to me, too! But it seems like a hoot, so why not give it a shot? All this broadcasting technology has me glued to my seat, after all, and news won't tell itself. And I do love a good story.

First, we'll start with the community calendar. On Monday, the Night Vale Community College will be hosting their bi-annual What Even Is That Thing? event. Residents are encouraged to bring their strange and unusual unidentified items and watch as scientists peer and poke at them, murmuring things like, 'Hmm…' and, 'Veeeeery interesting,' and, 'Gosh, I just have no idea,' while frowning thoughtfully and scribbling notes on a clipboard. Sounds like fun for the whole family!

Tuesday afternoon may or may not be a myth—"

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT SUCH A DAY WOULD COME?

As the month marches on, everything in Night Vale continues to be… well, strange. But that strangeness isn't just isolated to the desert town.

It starts with a tumbleweed. One small, seemingly innocent tumbleweed, blowing its way past the Grove's clinic and eventually finding its way up onto the inn's porch. And then there are more tumbleweeds. Hundreds of them, varying in size and tumbling along to clutter up the Grove, even going so far as to pile up in front of doors. Hopefully, you have another way out of that building.

After the tumbleweeds comes the sand. It's hard to say where exactly the sand is coming from, just that it's not there one moment and there the next, like it's growing from the ground. What begins as a patch on the grass eventually grows to a pile with the ambition of becoming a dune, and as they spread, scrubby desert plants begin to grow from them. Despite only being early summer, a soul-crushing heat begins to settle in, and the sunsets become unbearably, unsettlingly noisy.

And in Night Vale? The old oak doors are becoming harder and harder to find.

But that isn't all. In both locations, in the later half of the month, odd creatures begin to appear. They seem to be half-animal, half… tattoo? But they are aggressive and will attack anyone, particularly those experiencing negative emotions. And with the overwhelming desert heat taking over the Grove, it's probably pretty easy to find yourself in a bad mood. There aren't many at first, but with time, their numbers seem to grow, as if they're doubling every day.

In Night Vale, they seem particularly attracted to the Night Vale Community Radio building.

Spark Notes

summary

GRAB THE KEY, LET'S GO OUT AND HAVE SOME FUN: The fungi is still here! Also, you are being kidnapped. Well, some of you. There's a weird feeling of tension in the air and then bam, people vanish.
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN SUCH A PERFECT DAY?: Welcome to Night Vale! Things are weird here. Pamphlets are directing you to the Hampton Inn if you'd like somewhere to stay. If you weren't originally kidnapped, you can kidnap yourself through an old oak door for the low, low cost of Free. There are also old oak doors appearing in Night Vale if you want to go back to the Grove.
WHAT'S IN YOUR HEAD? LET'S DO IT ONE BY ONE: There are lots of fun places to explore in Night Vale! Take your pick. Or don't! It's all up to you. But there are radios everywhere, even in the Grove, and they come on every evening for an unskippable cutscene– I mean, a broadcast. Surprise, it's Joshua Kiryu, back from Fel's shrine and having a blasty blast on the radio.
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT SUCH A DAY WOULD COME?: Night Vale is trying to consume the Grove. Uh oh! Tumbleweeds, sand, and desert plant life are popping up all over the Grove, and it's agonizingly hot, and there's an awful, roaring racket every day during sunset. Also, there are Noise everywhere in both the Grove and Night Vale, and they're attacking anyone expressing strong negative emotions. They're also swarming the Night Vale Community Radio building! That can't be good, can it?

out of character

Welcome to the June event of Sticks and Bones! This month's event was brought to you by Kaed, playing Joshua and formerly the Other Joshua who is making a guest appearance. Signups for a special mission related to this event are open until Friday the 13th, and we will be reminding players periodically until then.

Kaed is graciously handling investigations and questions relating to Night Vale, while Wolfie and Amity will continue handling ... everything else. We hope you enjoy this special Pride month!

updates

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

submissions

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

code

Comments

QUESTIONS

[sticksandbonesmods]

[sailingfor]

hello kaed :) will we have to get jobs to afford anything here? do our shells work for paying for services that require money (like the pawn shop)??

INVESTIGATIONS

[sticksandbonesmods]

Please use the following form for investigations:

Character(s):
Location:
Action:

<b>Character(s):</b> <b>Location:</b> <b>Action:</b>

Child on the loose

[lovelyredthread]

Character(s): Pavlova Cookie
Location: the Public Library
Action: Pav is dodging and/or fighting Librarians and is searching the library for any sort of secrets and/or magic books. He's making the most of this trip so he doesn't have to go back

BROADCAST SUBMISSIONS

[leggierissimo]

In true Night Vale fashion, Joshua is omniscient and can and will talk about things your character does on the air, up to and including judging you and gossiping about relationships. If you have something you would like him to talk about live on the radio, fill out the form and submit it here!

(These will not be posted anywhere, just consider this a bulletin board of things characters will hear on the radio if they're paying attention to it. Refer back to it at your leisure!)

Character Name:
Where are they?:
What juicy things are happening?:
Link:

<b>Character Name:</b> <b>Where are they?:</b> <b>What juicy things are happening?:</b> <b>Link:</b>

Re: BROADCAST SUBMISSIONS

[ichoosefight]

Character Name: Stephanie Brown
Where are they?: The Dog Park
What juicy things are happening?: Steph has climbed the fence and disappeared into the dog park
Link: it an hiatus

MAP OF NIGHT VALE

[sticksandbonesmods]

Click to make it bigger or open in a new tab!

the new localization fucked me a little bit please be nice while i adjust-

[sailingfor]

I. The Beginning/Jackie's Pawn Shop

[In the Grove proper, Thorns steps on a mushroom. Obviously. It's the hot new trend and everybody's doing it, but it's really because he's playing monster gacha to try getting out of various forms he finds inconvenient. The plant form was bad; he couldn't move, and nighttimes made him feel physically ill. He'd fixed that part with Sesa when they decided to try eating the mushrooms (not a great idea in terms of physical illness, again), but he'd become inconveniently small and catlike. That was fun for a little while, but he'd like to have his normal body back, he thinks. Mushroom gacha, however, is not too kind to him. He goes through the forms of giants, snakes, taurs, dragons, dwarves... and finally, the form of a Seaborn. This is the one that, for reasons he hasn't entirely made obvious to anyone aside from Sesa and Mizuki, that pisses him off the most on top of the deep traumatic cut it leaves on his psyche.

When he goes to crush one of the mushrooms underfoot again, endlessly frustrated and suddenly wishing he hadn't given up the form of that small cat, the world seems to snap and fall apart in front of him. When he blinks, he's standing in the middle of a road, a car barrelling toward him, and a split-second leap for the sidewalk manages to get him out of the way without getting obliterated.

After that, laying on the pavement with his frustration bubbling, Thorns presses both palms into his eyes and screams at the top of his lungs:]

¡La concha de tu madre!

[He'll be fine, give him a minute. If you're not here for the mental breakdown, though...

Somehow, Thorns makes his way to Jackie's Pawn Shop. Apparently, you can only find it when you need it — and he's not sure why he needs it, if he's honest, but maybe it has to do with his Seaborn-transformation-induced mental breakdown. Perhaps screaming in Iberian in the middle of the sidewalk has unlocked something. More likely, it hasn't.

Either way, if you're in here with him, Thorns eventually makes his way toward a strange display he can't make heads nor tails of. To him it looks like the "random junk" section of a Goodwill. In one tentacle he holds an actual firearm, very carefully pointing the barrel away from anything else, and in another he picks up a chipped mug.]

Why are both of these exactly the same price?

II. Antique Mall

[At some point, Thorns finds himself at the Antique Mall, thinking to himself that it will surely hold more odds and ends like the Pawn Shop did. And, yeah, it does! It does have that! Except none of them are for sale, and the "Antiques" are all creatures or something resembling them — owls, hyenas, and... bacteria? He thinks that's bacteria. Could be a virus, he's not too sure.

They're also locked up. Probably for good reasons, he has to imagine; some of them are throwing themselves at their enclosures in an attempt to get to both you and Thorns.]

Do you think the actual zoo will be any more normal than this?

[No, god no, do not go to the zoo.]

III. Closed to Sidney - Date Night

[Thorns, in his infinite wisdom, has decided to get a car. Why? Solely so that he can buy Sidney dinner, like he said he would. He wasn't expecting the timing to be so... convenient. Y'know, aside from the whole mushrooms-turned-him-Seaborn and he-got-dumped-here-before-he-could-fix-it thing.

He's leaning against the edge of the car, a convertible with a distinct scratch down the passenger side door and a blown-out tire he's been unable to properly fix, currently trying to ask Sidney to dinner after spotting him out and about. There are no less than ten water bottles in the car because Thorns' Aegirian ass cannot handle the heat right now, and he reaches past the rolled-down windows for one of them as he talks.]

I was thinking we could go bowling, [he says, uncapping the bottle.] The place is apparently run-down, but it's one of the nicer locations I could find on short-notice that didn't contain things that would try to eat the both of us.

[Thorns raises the bottle up, and dumps it all over his own head. He does not apologise for how weird or offputting this probably is; he's dehydrated.]

Oh, and afterwards... how about dinner? [He asks, while completely fucking drenched.] There's a diner nearby, but I've heard the food is subpar. I did find probably three or four of a restaurant called Applebee's, though. It might be a bar.

IV. wildcard

[you know where i live]

i

[mooninthewater]

[ The shouting in Iberian is enough for Mizuki to be drawn to Thorns' location, but more than that, it's the distress he's feeling that gets him a whole sea jelly in his location. Mizuki will even grab his hand once he's next to him.

Things sure have been... weird since Thorns' arrival. He knows he's unhappy with the river babies. He knows he's unhappy with a lot of things, but Mizuki still hasn't really grasped why. For someone who's good at reading people, this part is flying over his head. ]

Mister Thorns...? Are you okay?

II

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood is here, his hands deep in the pockets of his blazer that barely fits in this form as he looks listlessly at the creatures like yeah this might as well be happening. He works his jaw, moving the cigarette he's smoking from one side of his mouth to the other.]

What, about any of this, would make you think that the actual zoo here would be normal?

is for ME

[wolfetracks]

( imagine just wandering around the latest weird fucking city and then your- uh. flirtationship? shows up with a car, a bottle of water he's pouring on his head, and a sincere offer of a date. what's a guy supposed to do? one eyebrow quirks as he talks, and he almost wants to play coy, but... )

... That sounds nice, actually. And I do enjoy not trying to be cannibalized by the locale.

( he had his own water bottle, but thorns is... part fish or something, right? so he offers it to him idly, lke it's no big deal. )

A four's better than a three, though.

ii

[kingincognito]

[ Joshua was certain that he knew what the word "antique" meant - something old, typically an item such as a chair or a vase, but the word could also be applied to "antiquated" ideologies and the like.

And yet, here are... creatures, none of which seem old at all. One of them even looks a bit like a stolas.

He's been looking at them for quite some time, arms folded, expression a thoughtful frown as his ears and tail occasionally flick from some unseen or unheard stimuli. But when Thorns speaks, he finally glances up, eyebrows lifting in what seems like surprise. ]

... what is a "zoo"?

[eidxiety]

i. Harbor

[People keep telling Ain — fittingly re-monsterified thanks to accidentally deer-panicking his way into a whole patch of those damn mushrooms — that the Night Vale Harbor and Waterfront Recreation Area does not exist, and if he does see it, he needs a psych eval. Oh, but it was rebuilt recently, and you can see the ocean from it. Do not go near the ocean. (How is there an ocean in the middle of a desert, he wonders? Unless it's an oasis and the residents of this town are just stupid?? He thinks maybe they're stupid. There's nothing psychologically wrong with him.)

Ain is going to the ocean. FUCK you guys.

Of course, Ain feels like there's not much to do other than maybe swim, maybe eat at some of the vendor stalls that swear that they themselves are not real, maybe sit on the boardwalk with his feet dangling close to the ocean and think for a while.

The residents of this place are getting to him a bit. If this place isn't real, or is a hallucination... is Ain himself a hallucination? He's pretty sure this is all some stupid conspiracy like everything else in this place, but.

But also, Ain looks up at you from where he's seated and can't help but ask:]

Would you still want to hang out if I was a hallucination you thought up to assuage your loneliness?

[Perhaps Ain, too, is a conspiracy theorist now.]

ii. Moonlite All-Nite Diner

[Well, apparently, Ain is real enough (not a collective hallucination enough) to go to the diner and grab something to eat. Of course, it's the middle of the night when he goes — just past one in the morning, he can't sleep — and he winds up spotting you there, maybe unable or unwilling to sleep yourself. Slowly, the feathery mass that is Ain slides into the booth seat across from you, headwings folded over his face.

He's about to say something when the waitress, a woman growing what he thinks are branches, toddles over to hand both of you a menu, then stops to pluck fruit from her branches and pass both Ain and you one each. Then she leaves.

Okay.]

...do you think this is safe to eat? [Looks like the waitress is going around to other diners to do the same thing.] ...haha, anyway, what I really wanted to ask is how you're doing, I guess?

iii. wildcard

[gimme threads (threat)]

i cw: disassociation probably in this entire thread they're not okay

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood is with Ain, because as much as being alone is doing wonders for his mental health (this is sarcasm), he kindof Needs to be around people he trusts when he's feeling like he does. Never mind the fact that this place is a disassociation nightmare.

To that end, as Ain...fucking says THAT to him, Wolfwood kindof looks down at him with an expression that can only be described as strained.]

...Babe. What?

[lupusxylem]

A) N e s t l e | The Hole in the Vacant Lot Out Back of the Ralphs | OTA

[It doesn't matter that he's learned to not interact with the weird shit that shows up in the Grove, because whatever cosmic force is behind Nightvale said YOINK and brought him with anyway. Not ideal, when all he really wants to do is lock himself in a room and brood, or better yet, bury himself in a hole until the winter comes. Reverse hibernation is probably a thing, right?

So why, then, is he just dropped by...a hole? It's a fucking hole in the middle of nowhere. Is this the universe's way of making fun of him for wanting to be alone? "Oh so you want to be alone and feel sorry for yourself? Here's a hole to sit in"

From what Wolfwood can tell, with his enhanced wolf demon...thing senses, he's outside in a vacant lot near what looks to be a grocery store not far from where he is, which may be more likely to have people than this...hole. Mmh.

...

He does end up standing there, peering into it for longer than he realizes. He's not sure why, maybe it's the depression compelling him to the hole. Maybe you happen to be walking to the store and see this hulking werewolfdemon hybrid just staring into a fucking hole in the ground. Is he good?

Well, he won't be doing that forever. He's stuck in another New Place and there's nowhere to go but Ralphs, so he'll head inside for some levity from the liminal space of the outside.]

Anybody from the Grove in here? Shit's happenin' again.

B) Noise, noise, noise! | Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex | OTA

[Eventually he gets hungry, never mind listless from wandering around this place that seems even more bonkers than Neo Eden was somehow, but fortunately in his newly changed form he can fly with wings more leathery and less clipped. So he can just fly somewhere, and that somewhere ends up not being a regular(?) eatery but the Bowling Alley with the best chicken wings. He's definitely heard about it on the radio by now, and he's really feeling like bar food, so sure why not.

That is...if he even makes it inside. For you see, the lot just outside of the building is absolutely swarming with Noise...particularly those more wolflike in nature. And the very second Wolfwood touches down, they scent out his bad emotions like bloodhounds. He's surrounded pretty much within moments, leaving him to back up with his teeth bared. He didn't have Livio's Fangs with him because they're just harder to lug around when you don't always have clothing suitable to clip them to, so if these bastards want a fight, he's going to have to claw and bite his way out.

So uh. Sorry if you're enjoying some fun time in the arcade and you just hear a dog fight break out outside. It's probably fine.]

[OOC: SORRY THIS TL IS KINDA SHITTY I'll be tagging around more this month than TLing I think but if there's anything ya'll wanna plot with me feel free to hit me up!]

it's my hole it was made for me

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Flamebringer is grocery shopping :)

Turns out the restaurants here are weird, like everything else. There's this restaurant called Outback Steakhouse he kinda wants to look at. Maybe it'll be weird steak, like how the food in Neo Eden was sometimes chrome-plated. Maybe it'll be normal. People kept saying Applebees was normal. Flamebringer isn't sure he wants to eat bees, though. Ezell would be upset.

He, still affected by the monster transformations, is pleasantly surprised to find his cat ass fits in the grocery store. He's just about to head further in, a little basket in hand, when he hears Wolfwood and perks up.]

Hey sheygets. Shit sure is happenin', huh?

b

[kingincognito]

[ Unfortunately, Joshua, being a werefox at present, is unable to ignore the sound of what is probably the most startling dog fight he's ever heard, and that's coming from someone that has seen Torgal fight all manner of beasts.

He isn't in the bowling alley, but he is nearby enough that he comes running. He's seen the creatures roaming about, and though he hasn't run afoul of any of them, he isn't about to underestimate their ability. Again, he's seen Torgal fight. But, surprising to him, the face he comes across is familiar. ]

Wolfwood--!

[ Oh, Founder, this isn't good.

Fox though he is, he can still channel the Phoenix, and semi-priming now makes him look like a fox on fire. Which is exactly what rushes toward the group of Noise tussling with Wolfwood, sword drawn and at the ready. ]

[lovelyredthread]

Who is this sassy lost child? ♡》
[ One moment the boy is happily playing with the hatchlings in the front yard, and the next Pavlova is losing his balance tripping over the curb of a street that wasn't there before.

He yelps, wings flapping uselessly as he tried to keep himself upright. He just gets scraped hands and knees for his trouble, and a finger pointed in his face as someone calls him an interloper.

Yeah. No kidding. Maybe spare some sympathy for a kid who almost got ran over.

He's left to glare at the man till he leaves and then wobbles to his feet, trying to figure out where he is. Nothing is really familiar... his wings move to curl around his shoulders in a self-soothing manner as he picks a direction and walks. It's only when he finds himself walking past the same businesses that he realizes he is once again stuck. Joy.

... there's something defeated to his expression as he sits down on the edge of the sidewalk, arms wrapped around his knees. He's tired. ]

The Harbor that Doesn't Exist ♡》
[ it's strange to hear murmurs of a place that doesn't exist, especially when an exact location is given when asked about it. Unlike the Garden where he was raised, he doesn't know the rules of this prison he's found himself in, nor does he know if there's a way out or not. He'd at least like to get back to the prison where his father was.

For now the boy walks along the boardwalk, and... between the breeze and the sound of the water, Pavlova could almost convince himself he was back in the garden, sitting by one of the grape juice streams. The only problem is the wood of the boarwalk and the gentle creaking. Everything here is a little bit off. From the reaction of the townspeople to the rules of each business there.

He's kept his head down for now, but he'd have to figure out how to survive here at some point. For now he's content to sit and listen to the waves. One might think he's asleep with how he's curled up at the end of the dock ]

Scary Library ♡》
[ Pavlova loves to read. Anyone whose known him for more than a few minutes could catch that from how he talks. It's not surprising then, that one of his first stops in this strange town was the public library.

Why this library had to be one of the most disturbing and violent places he's come across since exiting the garden, he's not sure, but the boy is standing shakily not far from one of the so-called librarians that he'd just turned into a colorful pincushion with his arrows. He's not sure it's dead and he's not about to find out or wait for another one to find him. He just silently ducks into the next row, young adult fiction. If he's going to have to fight for his life for books, he's at least going to stock up on reading material. He wonders if there's anything in this library his dad or miss Lily might like... ]

Wildcard ♡》
(Come and get the lil guy he's lost)

Sassy Lost Child

[notsonewbie]

[Meryl's about had it with being pointed at and seemingly scolded for just existing. She's already resolved herself to rip into the next person to even lift an eyebrow at her, or even look at her cross-ways.

But there's something about seeing a near kid being victim to the same treatment that absolutely sets her over the edge. She storms past Pavlova, following the man that'd yelled at, but never seeming to get close enough.

When she tires of yet another strange in game in this world, she opts for yelling.]

Just who do you think you are, huh?! Treating a kid like that! [And when that isn't enough, she picks up a nearby rock and throws it after the retreating man. It goes wide, but Meryl doesn't see that. She turns around to Pavlova, expression softening as she does.]

Hey. He didn't hurt you, did he?

harbor

[eidxiety]

[Aww, baby is sleeping... Ain approaches very, very slowly, careful to not let the talons on his new form scrape the wooden boardwalk too much. He's not trying to sneak up on Pavlova, but he does want to make sure he's not disturbing his rest too much. The sun shines so brightly here, what if he gets sunburnt...

...

Oh God, Ain wonders if anyone told Pavlova about how skin sunburns. Uh. Okay, plan B: Wake him up so he doesn't get skin cancer.]

Mr. Sweetheart~. Are you asleep?

i also want the sassy lost child, also sorry about this tag-

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Ooh people that are mean to kids make his blood boil. More than that, teleporting into the middle of the street and nearly getting run over? What a nice fucking day, truly!

While Pavlova manages to dodge a car via tripping and gets called an interloper by someone else, and appears to be having a mental breakdown on the sidewalk... Flamebringer, currently a large panther-taur thanks to the mushrooms, does not. He does, in fact, lean back on his hind paws and smash his front paws down onto the hood of the quickly-approaching vehicle, sinking the entire car down as he growls to the driver:]

Apologise to the little kid you nearly killed, jackass.

[After the driver does squeak out an apology, likely unheard due to the distance from the road to the sidewalk and the squeaking metal, Flamebringer spits and turns to walk over to Pavlova. The car putters uselessly down the road, and will probably completely crap out in half a mile or so.

He loafs on the sidewalk, taking up a solid six feet of it just by himself, and glares as the car leaves.]

You okay, kid? You want me to deal with the guy who just called you names too?

library

[kingincognito]

[ Joshua, too, loves to read. He's also fairly used to traversing potentially dangerous places, and the combination of those two things here is not as startling as it should be, considering how the rest of this world seems to be going. He's experienced enough to know that plenty of important information has been hidden behind the barrier of peril, so checking out this place is just a good idea in general.

But he isn't really expecting to find the body of a librarian stuck well and thoroughly through with a slew of colorful arrows. While the sight brings him to pause for a moment, it's an indicator that he isn't alone, and so he keeps moving. Until--

Ah. A child...? The fox ears atop his head perk in interest, and the gentle, curious sway of his tail comes to a stop. ]

... pardon the intrusion. Might you be responsible for the, ah...

[ He lifts a gloved hand, gesturing back to the porcupine of a librarian laying on the floor. ]

[thebladebringstheflame]

i. Mission Grove Park/The Obelisk

[When arriving in a desert town, the first thing you must do is touch grass. At least, that's what Flamebringer does; he and his big panther ass (thank you mushrooms) go right to Mission Grove Park because he wants to see what plants are here. There is no greater reasoning than that.

(No, he does not take the kidnapping well because Where Is Ezell, but look, that's not what you're here for.)

He wanders into the park half-expecting all the humans here to think he's a freak of nature due to the panther bits, but no one says anything about that. "Interloper" gets thrown around and has been for a while, but nothing substantial, and Flamebringer spends his time ambling around and sometimes panther-loafing in the occasional tree... until something catches his eye. What the hell is that, and why are they having a festival about it?

Flamebringer hops down from his tree with a dull thud, yawns, and paces his way over. The ritual is to carve his name into it, apparently, and maybe if he's lucky during the course of the festival he'll be chosen to ask it a question. He has... no earthly idea what to ask, though, if he's chosen. And yes he's carving his name into the Obelisk as you approach, why do you ask? There's no stopping him now!]

What kinda question would you ask this thing anyway? Do you think it knows anything about the Grove?

[Should he like, ask how to cure depression for Ezell's sake, or does he ask how to murder Suri? Decisions, decisions...]

ii. The Lottery/Lighting Yourself On Fire For Fun & Survival

[When Flamebringer hears that there's a lottery that everyone's supposed to participate in, he's not expecting good things. He's not exactly daft to the ways of the world, especially not ones that seem to be nebulously connected to the Grove and that already have weird customs to begin with. But, the festivities surrounding it throw him off, and the fact that he's sort of unwittingly dragged into it. It... can't be that bad, right?

...

So anyway, Flamebringer draws purple, and everything breaks into sudden chaos. What do you mean ceremonially disemboweled and fed to wolves? Hello?!

Naturally, he's going to defend himself, although in the interest of not slaughtering an entire town and possibly making things worse for himself and others, he's mostly focused on running away here. When cornered by wolves, though, out in the middle of the desert where he doesn't actually know where he is... Flamebringer finds that, as soon as he lights his swords on fire and starts to wave it at them, they almost seem to lose interest and start acting like they can't see him.

Weird. Strange.

Maybe he won't have to kill starving animals today, he thinks, as he decides instead to light a small ring of fire around himself, then sits in the middle of it while letting the flames lick down his back as well. You know, for extra protection. The wolves do not see him, they cannot sense him, and so they wander off.

It is several hours later when he hears footsteps, yours specifically, and he raises his head up from his fire prison and calls to get your attention:]

Are those fucking wolves gone?

iii. The Whispering Forest/Sometimes You Become Tree

[Flamebringer has had a fuckin' month, man. Maybe if he goes into the woods here, he can find the way home and have hopefully less of a month back in the Grove? In his mind, this makes sense; he's completely missed all the old oak doors by sheer happenstance, so obviously the way back home is in the suspicious-ass woods with the suspicious-ass name. Duh.

Flamebringer, of course... is not expecting to wander into the Whispering Forest and get complimented. The voice is mysterious and pleasant, though he can't identify a source. Well, anyone would be stupid not to take compliments (they say that his horns are magnificent and he, out loud like an idiot, replies "thanks!"), but Flamebringer finds that the voice isn't that helpful when he's asking it where the portal home is. "You are home!" it says, and he rolls his eyes... for a bit.

By the point you actually happen across him, Flamebringer has started to sprout tree branches out of his head, horns, and some of the bones on his panther-taur ankles. He is lazily loafing in a tree, one treebarked paw dangling down, and taking what appears to be a small nap. You approaching does alert him enough to wake up, but not enough to take anything too seriously.]

Wanna come up for a nap? It's nice up here.

[OR. Or. Consider: You should leave before you become a TREE.]

iv. wildcard

[this entire setup exists for me to torment fb sorry, i will also accept calm nice things too if you want-]

I

[sesa]

[Don't worry Flamebringer, Sesa- too- is upset because where is his husband? He just got him, what do you mean they've been separated? Like this is definitely not lasting long knowing them, but still.

Sigh.

The Obelisk...it serves to distract if nothing else, though that's a question he isn't actually sure how to answer initially.]

Mm. I can think of a few things, but that would rely on whether or not it can answer questions about events from Terra.

[He frowns, noticing that Flamebringer has already gone carving his name on it, despite probably not knowing how that might affect him later.]

To that end, it's probably just as likely to know things about the Grove, I suppose...is it supposed to know everything?

iii

[love_swan]

[ For as much as Aira's appearance in the Grove was no secret between him residing at the shrine and his daily trips into town where he made his musical nature everyone's problem... He didn't actually talk to others much and tended to people watch when he wasn't busy practicing.

He has a problem branching out so to speak, afraid of the rejection he'd face if he tried. Besides he had a lot he was still coming to terms with and he didn't want to drag anyone else down with him. This situation was a bit of a different case, though. It may not be an island with an active volcano and a blood ocean, but a place connected to the town by a portal set of loud, blaring alarm bells for Aira that screamed at him to both get back to the grove now and to not trust anything he sees or hears.

Something he can tell Flamebringer fell prey to when he finds him in the forest. ]

Um... No thank you...

[ After seeing the state of him why on earth would he? ]

Have... you noticed all the branches and bark on you?