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sticksandbones2023-10-04 03:16 pm
sticksandbonesmods) wrote in sticksandbones2023-10-04 03:16 pm
Entry tags:
- !event,
- !tdm,
- arknights: gnosis,
- arknights: irene,
- arknights: mizuki,
- baldur's gate iii: astarion ancunín,
- baldur's gate iii: taliira a'daragon,
- digimon survive: haru,
- elsword: add,
- elsword: elsword,
- fate: bb,
- i'm the grim reaper: brook,
- jujutsu kaisen: toge inumaki,
- murder drones: n,
- original: caoimhe ailbhe,
- original: felicity morais,
- original: kiera canorus,
- original: lancelot,
- original: luca aurelius
Event & TDM 005
SPOOKY SCARY SKELETONS
WAKE UP
cw: immolation, sinkholes
When your eyes open, you’re lying in crisp, blackened grass. The sky is dreary, the world around you is still and silent. Were it not for the ash raining from the sky or the acrid tang of burnt flesh, it might almost feel peaceful. Familiar-feeling memories wash over you — a town burning, the cackling of an unknown beast, the shrill screams of friends and loved ones dying a slow, painful death—
Where did that memory even come from? You’d better shake it off and rise to your feet before the ash buries you, too. It isn’t real… right?
The town you’re in is dilapidated and charred. Something snaps under your feet, and when you look down, a bone lies pressed into the earth, perfectly broken into two neat pieces. You press on, toward the destroyed remains of houses — some missing roofs, some collapsed in on themselves, others still weathering the test of time — to where the trees are vibrant and orange, to where the grass has regrown and the buildings stand tall. You press on… and your foot catches in the mud, a hole opening up beneath your feet and dragging you in. If you’re quick enough, you might be able to escape the collapsing earth before it buries you alive in years of muck and decay. If not… perhaps you’ll be lucky, and someone from the nearby settlement will bail you out.
Hopefully you won’t have to wait long.
When your eyes open, you’re lying in crisp, blackened grass. The sky is dreary, the world around you is still and silent. Were it not for the ash raining from the sky or the acrid tang of burnt flesh, it might almost feel peaceful. Familiar-feeling memories wash over you — a town burning, the cackling of an unknown beast, the shrill screams of friends and loved ones dying a slow, painful death—
Where did that memory even come from? You’d better shake it off and rise to your feet before the ash buries you, too. It isn’t real… right?
The town you’re in is dilapidated and charred. Something snaps under your feet, and when you look down, a bone lies pressed into the earth, perfectly broken into two neat pieces. You press on, toward the destroyed remains of houses — some missing roofs, some collapsed in on themselves, others still weathering the test of time — to where the trees are vibrant and orange, to where the grass has regrown and the buildings stand tall. You press on… and your foot catches in the mud, a hole opening up beneath your feet and dragging you in. If you’re quick enough, you might be able to escape the collapsing earth before it buries you alive in years of muck and decay. If not… perhaps you’ll be lucky, and someone from the nearby settlement will bail you out.
Hopefully you won’t have to wait long.
KEEP MY HEAD TOGETHER
Somewhere on your body is an intricate, black mark that doesn’t come off no matter how hard you scrub. Perhaps there are two, or even three, or more. You don’t exactly remember getting these small, medallion-sized tattoos — it’s almost as though you woke up with them. Better make sure no one’s drawing on you in your sleep.
As the day progresses, the effects of these marks become apparent. Suddenly, everything hurts — a dull, throbbing pain as if you’ve been stabbed. Perhaps the pain is quick and sharp, like you stubbed your toe on the inn’s coffee table. Perhaps it slowly burns, like hot coffee accidentally splashed on your lap. No matter what the pain is, you feel it at less of an intensity than you would if you’d actually done these things. Later, you might meet with the person who shares a mark with you, and maybe they’ll tell you — they stubbed their toe, they spilled their coffee, someone randomly stabbed them, how weird is that?
These marks link you and your partner(s) — any pain they feel, you’ll feel, too, albeit at half the intensity they do. If you’re sharing that pain between three people, it’ll be at one third the intensity.
Negative emotions, though? Those, you get at full throttle. If those you share a mark with cry, you’ll cry, too; you feel their rage at being stuck here as though it were your own; you long for home, and you miss a mother that isn’t yours. Fight through your blurring sense of self, friend. Surely you’ll get used to it soon. After all, these will stay on your body for the rest of the month.
As the day progresses, the effects of these marks become apparent. Suddenly, everything hurts — a dull, throbbing pain as if you’ve been stabbed. Perhaps the pain is quick and sharp, like you stubbed your toe on the inn’s coffee table. Perhaps it slowly burns, like hot coffee accidentally splashed on your lap. No matter what the pain is, you feel it at less of an intensity than you would if you’d actually done these things. Later, you might meet with the person who shares a mark with you, and maybe they’ll tell you — they stubbed their toe, they spilled their coffee, someone randomly stabbed them, how weird is that?
These marks link you and your partner(s) — any pain they feel, you’ll feel, too, albeit at half the intensity they do. If you’re sharing that pain between three people, it’ll be at one third the intensity.
Negative emotions, though? Those, you get at full throttle. If those you share a mark with cry, you’ll cry, too; you feel their rage at being stuck here as though it were your own; you long for home, and you miss a mother that isn’t yours. Fight through your blurring sense of self, friend. Surely you’ll get used to it soon. After all, these will stay on your body for the rest of the month.
THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE
A week into October, a skeletal visitor comes rattling into the Grove, wearing a top hat on its bare cranium and a name tag on its ribcage: “Mr. Bone-Jangles”. Mr. Bone-Jangles cannot speak, but he’s very excited to take willing people into the burned town and lead them toward the far north of it, where a small army of fellow skeletons have put up a circus tent. Pumpkin-shaped flags decorate the scorched remnants of a street, and mysterious skull-shaped lights float in the air. Mr. Bone-Jangles joyfully motions to the tent, where a banner placed over the tent-flaps reads “MASKERADE”... you assume this is meant to be “masquerade”, but it would be rude to point out the spelling error. Skeletons don’t have brains.
Before you can even enter the tent, Mr. Bone-Jangles’ employees direct you to a smaller tent set up to the side, demanding with clacks of their jaws in morse code that you put on your costume and mask. Costumes are optional; masks are not. Luckily, all of these are free. The costume tent itself is entirely empty save for one giant mirror which, when gazed into, shows you standing in your outfit of choice. Once you exit the tent, you’ll be wearing that outfit, and the skeletons will hand you a wooden mask in any design you feel suits you, matching or not. Where did your old clothing wind up? Great question! They’ll be teleported back to your bed in a wrinkled heap, but you don’t have to worry about that until the party stops. And speaking of that mask… when you put it on between the party start at 10pm and end at 6am, it won’t come off no matter how hard you pull until 6:01am approximately.
The skeletons insist you don’t try to tug your skin off, though, and instead direct you inside the masquerade tent itself. It’s almost akin to being teleported to another dimension — a grand ballroom is decorated with classic Halloween decorations, a buffet of spooky-themed snacks is laid out on the tables, the music is almost too loud, and a lounge is set up off to the side for those who’d like to rest between dances. If you lack a dance partner, worry not — the skeletons are more than happy to waltz with you. And, if you’re of age, they’ll serve you any liquor you’d like.
Stay too late, though, and the skeletons will kick you out. They’re stronger than they look and aren’t afraid to toss you like a wet rag onto the burnt streets. Once the party ends for the night, you won’t be able to get back into the tent no matter how hard you try, so don’t leave anything behind!
Before you can even enter the tent, Mr. Bone-Jangles’ employees direct you to a smaller tent set up to the side, demanding with clacks of their jaws in morse code that you put on your costume and mask. Costumes are optional; masks are not. Luckily, all of these are free. The costume tent itself is entirely empty save for one giant mirror which, when gazed into, shows you standing in your outfit of choice. Once you exit the tent, you’ll be wearing that outfit, and the skeletons will hand you a wooden mask in any design you feel suits you, matching or not. Where did your old clothing wind up? Great question! They’ll be teleported back to your bed in a wrinkled heap, but you don’t have to worry about that until the party stops. And speaking of that mask… when you put it on between the party start at 10pm and end at 6am, it won’t come off no matter how hard you pull until 6:01am approximately.
The skeletons insist you don’t try to tug your skin off, though, and instead direct you inside the masquerade tent itself. It’s almost akin to being teleported to another dimension — a grand ballroom is decorated with classic Halloween decorations, a buffet of spooky-themed snacks is laid out on the tables, the music is almost too loud, and a lounge is set up off to the side for those who’d like to rest between dances. If you lack a dance partner, worry not — the skeletons are more than happy to waltz with you. And, if you’re of age, they’ll serve you any liquor you’d like.
Stay too late, though, and the skeletons will kick you out. They’re stronger than they look and aren’t afraid to toss you like a wet rag onto the burnt streets. Once the party ends for the night, you won’t be able to get back into the tent no matter how hard you try, so don’t leave anything behind!
DON’T CHASE THE DEAD
Turns out, the masquerade isn’t just for one night, but for every night for the rest of the month. On the second night of the masquerade and on from there, ghosts appear in droves, gathering at the party and in the burned town for a night out. No matter how hard you try, you can’t get their attention; they’ll merely pass right through you as if you aren’t there.
Some of the ghosts look eerily familiar to you, like people you knew in the past who aren’t here now. It could be your mother, your brother, a close friend, or maybe your old neighbour or coworker. Each is dressed in masquerade attire, each intends only to party until the sun comes up, and at that point, each ghost fades from the world as if dissolving away into nothingness.
They’ll be back the next night, of course. And the next. And the one after that. Until finally, the last day of the month rolls around, and the ghosts aren’t there. If you come to the burned town at 6am, you’ll be greeted by the sight of the skeletons packing up their tents and decorations. And if you stick around until 7…
Mr. Bone-Jangles takes off his top hat and takes a bow, waves one last goodbye, and then him and his skeleton crew take a dive into the sinkhole that was, somehow, underneath the masquerade tent the whole time.
Some of the ghosts look eerily familiar to you, like people you knew in the past who aren’t here now. It could be your mother, your brother, a close friend, or maybe your old neighbour or coworker. Each is dressed in masquerade attire, each intends only to party until the sun comes up, and at that point, each ghost fades from the world as if dissolving away into nothingness.
They’ll be back the next night, of course. And the next. And the one after that. Until finally, the last day of the month rolls around, and the ghosts aren’t there. If you come to the burned town at 6am, you’ll be greeted by the sight of the skeletons packing up their tents and decorations. And if you stick around until 7…
Mr. Bone-Jangles takes off his top hat and takes a bow, waves one last goodbye, and then him and his skeleton crew take a dive into the sinkhole that was, somehow, underneath the masquerade tent the whole time.
SPARK NOTES
CLICK TO EXPAND!
You find yourself in a burned-down town. As you try to leave, a sinkhole opens beneath your feet and sucks you in. Screaming for help is a viable option.
Everyone is now sharing pain and negative emotions. Please try not to get stabbed so that your partner(s) don't have to also feel stabbed. You can pair up with as few or as many people as you want, as long as you're paired up with minimum one other person.
Welcome to the masquerade! Mr. Bone-Jangles hopes you have a good time. Masks and Halloween costumes are provided free of charge, but be careful, because donning the masks between 10pm and 6am makes them unable to be removed until the party stops at 6. There's tons of food and drink, and liquor for those who are old enough to have it. Just don't stay past the party's end or the skeletons will yeet you out onto the street.
The masquerade goes for the rest of the month, and after day 1, it'll be frequented by ghosts who look like people from your past. They don't seem to notice you and will float through you if you stand in their way. At the end of the month, the skeletons pack up the party, the ghosts disappear, and the skeletons jump into a sinkhole underneath the masquerade tent. Goodbye! Happy Halloween! Mr. Bone-Jangles sends his regards.
Welcome to the fifth TDM & Event Log of Sticks and Bones! This log is game canon. The prompts are meant for all players, current and future, so have fun! Our applications operate on a rolling basis, so applications are open with no end date unless we suddenly cap players. If there are any questions, please direct them to the "questions" header below.
❖ None yet!
TDM TOPLEVELS!
❖ Vash (Trigun Stampede)
❖ N (Murder Drones)
❖ Rin Tohsaka (Fate/Stay Night)
❖ Rui Ninomiya (Gatchaman Crowds)
❖ Ain (Elsword)
❖ Hiyori Iki (Noragami)
❖ Taliira A'Daragon (Tav) (Baldur's Gate III)
❖ Genjiro Chibana (Handead Anthem)
❖ Haru (Digimon Survive)
❖ Samatoki Aohitsugi (Hypnosis Mic)
❖ Leon S. Kennedy (Resident Evil 4: Remake)
❖ Grusha (Pokemon: Scarlet & Violet)
❖ Woljif Jefto (Pathfinder: WOTR)
❖ N (Murder Drones)
❖ Rin Tohsaka (Fate/Stay Night)
❖ Rui Ninomiya (Gatchaman Crowds)
❖ Ain (Elsword)
❖ Hiyori Iki (Noragami)
❖ Taliira A'Daragon (Tav) (Baldur's Gate III)
❖ Genjiro Chibana (Handead Anthem)
❖ Haru (Digimon Survive)
❖ Samatoki Aohitsugi (Hypnosis Mic)
❖ Leon S. Kennedy (Resident Evil 4: Remake)
❖ Grusha (Pokemon: Scarlet & Violet)
❖ Woljif Jefto (Pathfinder: WOTR)
Ain (Opferung Route) | Elsword | TDM for fun and profit
II. I need you right beside me
III. I'll even take you dead
IV. wildcard
III. oops-
[ Hi! Those skeletons aren't actually hurting anyone, as Ezell has discovered. He's still incredibly worried about where he is, stressed about what's going, but taking it out on the things here is very not good, actually!!! So!!! He's going to gently place a hand on Ain's shoulder to keep him from fighting one of them.
If he turns around, he'll find Ezell in an outfit like this and a simplistic mask, since he figures participating in whatever is happening here isn't going to hurt anything. ]
Is everything alright? Did they do something to you?
bites u chews u
used to beis?He's immediately standing up to say hello. The look on his face is anything but normal. He looks a little excited? Don't mind him if he just pokes one of the beams of light there. Touch touch~.]
They forced this mask onto me. [He answers, clearly no longer bothered by it (the skeleton he was attacking rattles away).] Are you an angel? You don't have any El energy on you.
<3
[ Ezell pulls his hand back and offers a gentle smile. …Uuuuuntil he touches the wings. Then he just jolts a little and tries to shuffle so his companion doesn't keep doing that. Hey, hi, hello. Don't do that, thank you. ]
I am. [ It's a more casual term, but he'll roll with that. ] Though, I can't say I know what that other thing is?
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Ain tries again until Ezell moves a second time, and then he looks mildly cross underneath the mask. Hello? Why are you rejecting him.]
You're not from Elrios, then. Ahhh, but it's fine~. I'm surprised there's another angel here. Your wings are like mine used to be.
[...Ain's tail may or may not be wagging (whipping back and forth and liable to hurt someone because it's sharp). Fellow angel!! You understand him! (These two have nothing in common.) So pretty, pretty... not Elrian, not close to the El, not even close to Ishmael Herself but eh, you'll do.]
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Oh? "Used to be"? [ If Ain will let him, he'll guide him away from the crowd to somewhere a little more open on the floor. Then they can dance! That's fun and not dangerous probably ((x) doubt). Even if the Sankta connection is actually nonexistent here, Ezell still feels a lot of the emotions around here. It's… intense, actually. He can put on his best face, anyway. ]
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Dancing issssss sort of a human thing? But whatever. Sure. They can dance. The fun thing about Ain's dancing is that his tail very much follows his movements, quite fluidly at that.
He doesn't answer Ezell's question.]
What God do you follow?
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Hmm… I don't suppose He's something you'd know of, if we're from different places. Generally speaking, He doesn't affect anyone out of Sankta like us.
… The Law. [ He supposes it's still fine, even if he doesn't totally agree with all of Laterano. That's not God's fault. (haha,) ] That is… He connects all of us with His divinity. [ Which He isn't too keen on sharing. Ezell still doesn't understand why. It's fine, though, he's not a heretic, he swears— ]
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Oh? The Law... [hmm hmm! Makes sense.] Goddess Ishmael connects everything, too. She is the one responsible for creating the El, which is a stone that keeps Elrios alive.
Of course, Goddess Ishmael won't answer my prayers anymore despite being Her angel, so I've taken matters into my own hands with how to get Her to talk to me. I would do anything to feel connected again. You're lucky, Mister.
[There's no desperation in his voice when he says "anything". Rather, it's a cold, cruel rage beneath the surface, and jealousy when he says Ezell is lucky. He's horribly jealous. Why does this angel get to stay connected? Why isn't Ain connected? Hhhhh—]
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Ezell doesn't want to make assumptions, but it's hard not to, when Ain draws comparisons like this. Even the "stone" that keeps his planet "alive" — maybe they truly are just birds of a feather, just from different universes, rather than worlds. Yet, with those comparisons comes such bitter conclusions. The only fallen Ezell has ever met is Mostima, but he had stories of her. Even spoken with her. There's not a lot she told him, but he knows that what she did was noble. How could the Law see that as a reason to sever her connection? Especially with what sanity she has waning…
And Cecelia, too. Sweet Cecelia, who never had that connection to the Law, despite being "one of them". It's cruel. He doesn't understand why a God couldn't just keep everyone connected. Why is that an issue? Doesn't everyone deserve that chance?
He feels that jealousy, Ain. And he's so, so sorry. He really shouldn't have brought it up. Just saying His name should've been enough. He puts a hand on Ain's side, and twirls around with him, giving his hand a little squeeze. ]
She neglected you… I'm sorry to hear that. Genuinely. [ He should probably change the subject. At least Ain is focused on him now, instead of the skeletons. ] I'm Ezell, by the way. I probably should've introduced myself before offering this dance.
cw ain (yandere bullshit)
Ezell.... kind of reminds him of Elsword. He seems like a gentle person who only means well, sympathetic to even the darkest of souls, a beacon in the night...
He wants. To stab him. He wants to cut him with his tail and watch the blood ooze out, wants to lick it from the wound and memorize the taste, bite him until he cries and then lay against him and never let anyone else have him ever... Sigh. It's such a nice thought. He could kill this man so easily.
Ain flops forward into a hug. Ezell is warm... he smells so pleasant. He really, really has to resist suddenly turning his tail into a shank just to see how his expression looks when he's in pain.]
Ain. [He says, with his voice wavering just a bit,] You seem like... a good person. You're so nice to a stranger you just met. Pretty, pretty...I want to keep you...
[yeah just give him a bit he'll recover. probably.]
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But then it's muddied. Maybe "muddied" is too kind. It's dropped and coated in disgusting black tar. It's kind of an overwhelming sort of feeling that Ezell doesn't know how to handle. He should be worried for himself here, but instead he just finds himself fretting more for Ain's sake. It's not pity, but rather just genuine worry about the sort of path this person is on because of a God that abandoned him. If Ezell was walking on a dangerous path to heresy before, he's running now.
His initial reaction to the hug is to settle his hands on Ain's shoulders, the empathy being just a little too overwhelming and seeming like he's going to push Ain away, but settles after less than a second and gives this very strange man a returned hug. If it's what he needs at the moment, Ezell will provide. He's done more for people he's just met, after all. Usually for children, sure, but someone like this deserves just as much compassion, right? It's only slightly awkward to be standing in the middle of the masquerade hugging, dwbi. ]
I think being nice to people should be the default… Do you not usually run into people like that? [ Fret increasing! ] …Are you alright, Ain? I can take you to go sit down, if that's what you need.
I ROLLED A 1
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cw ??? ain-
i dont have a good icon for this ppl need to draw ezell more
begging fanartists to appeal to US specifically!!!
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II. I need you right beside me
[ She chimes, in a rather confusing way. ]
Your little puppeteer master, after all, controls the both of you ~~ Tehe ♡ !!
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Thank you for confirming my theories that he's here.
[This is the politest he's ever been in his life, anyway he's going to attempt shouldering past her now. The demon tail is lashing.]
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Ain's tail lashes harder.]
I can sense the faint traces of El energy coming from him, but I didn't know if he'd moved on from this area because the signature is too weak... actually, I don't know why I'm telling some little girl this. Why don't you go play with your dolls and butt out?
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[ Eh? EH? WANT ME TO BUTT OUT NOW FREAK? ]
II
So he smiles a little bit behind his mask. He doesn't gesture, he just rests his arm across his stomach. ]
Sujiko. [ Yep, that's going to sound like nonsense. It kind of is. ]
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Humans are worthless.
[Hi, yeah, this is Elsword's friend from home, one wonders how these two can even get along in the first place when Elsword is so "✨💖✨💖✨💖" and Ain is the rudest freak in the room.]
If you don't know, don't waste my time.
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Fish flakes. [ Humans in general, are not worthless. ]
Tuna mayo.
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[Ain helpfully points in the background to the General Store.]
You can buy food at stores like this. I don't know if you've heard of them.
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Fish flakes. [ He's not actually hungry. He could keep messing with this guy, but he's not really in the mood.
He pulls out his phone and types on it. At least he's mastered that, even one handed. ]
Elsword's around here, and I'm not hungry. I can't speak normally due to cursed speech.
iii.
But here might as well be like where he grew up, when he could just go out and dance when he wanted. These days, in Japan, its mostly on stage or not at all.
It's not typically his style of dance, but a Handead needs to perform, even if its only to a dance partner. Approaching Ain while he's trying to fight a skeleton ... He's seen this guy around on the edges of the dance floor; what's his deal? )
Has this person harmed you? It might be best to break this up.
( It might not be clear who he's talking to.
Go on, guess.
His eyes land on Ain anyway, stepping in between him and the skeleton he's harassing ... )
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Oh? Are you stepping in to defend a skeleton? Humans are so...
[...no, wait, angel senses are popping off. Ain cocks his head, eyes widening slightly behind his mask.]
...haha, are you human?
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( That's ... weird. Both to be asked, and ... Oddly enough, to admit. Being so used to having his flock call him God, and being used to the same from those he works with, has evidently gotten to him in ways he didn't expect. )
So, what were you going to say? Humans are so ... ?
( Genuinely curious, but his voice is a little intense. )