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sticks and bones. ([personal profile] sticksandbonesmods) wrote in [community profile] sticksandbones2023-10-04 03:16 pm

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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
neckromancy: (004)

[personal profile] neckromancy 2023-10-06 07:10 am (UTC)(link)
[The speed at which this fetus can move is quite impressive! Astarion is, however, a rogue, a vampire, and is also in possession of a pair of impressively fast hands. He also rolled a nat 20. His fingers close around the stem of his wineglass and manage to move it out of the way just as Haru's own grip closes in on the empty space left behind.

He then proceeds to give a soft tsk tsk, paired with with a supercilious waggle of his finger.]


Ah-ah! I gave you my terms, you wretched little thing. Say please, and I'll give you the glass. [It's safer than some of the other drinks this kid could get into, if nothing else. It's just a Bloody Mary, after all... Sans the Mary.]
kohenkyo: the voices of long-departed souls resound (004)

[personal profile] kohenkyo 2023-10-06 07:38 am (UTC)(link)
[ugh

visibly annoyed that his plan didn't work, but not quite mad enough to start biting... you win this round, weird vampire elf man.]


... Please. Let me have some.
neckromancy: (Default)

[personal profile] neckromancy 2023-10-08 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
There we are. See? Simple.

[Part of him is tempted to decline just to see what happens, but the look on the kid's face tells him that he probably shouldn't; if he has to get into a fist fight with a zygote, that will certainly ruin his reputation. The glass is lowered and set down in front of Haru, easily within reach and clearly there as an offering. It's about half full from his own leisurely sips across the evening, though he can't imagine the amount will matter much.

Children - in his experience - tend to protest the taste of vegetables, so he highly doubts this one will be quite the fan of blood.]


Don't guzzle it all down at once. Take it slow, let the flavor breathe.
kohenkyo: even if the lights in our hearts die out (010)

[personal profile] kohenkyo 2023-10-09 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
[He climbs up into his seat for a better angle, kneeling on the barstool like he DEFINITELY should not be consuming alcohol, but it's fine because it's not alcohol! Haru sniffs the drink first, wrinkling his nose at the very obvious scent of blood

... and then takes a sip anyway. This is the part where Astarion probably expected him to spit it out but no, he's just frowning very slightly.]


This is just blood... do people normally drink this?
neckromancy: (004)

[personal profile] neckromancy 2023-10-09 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
[Elbow on the bar top, he shelves his chin on the back of his knuckles, clearly settling in to watch something he expects to be quite entertaining. Surely this tiny halfling is not about to enjoy the drink, which means he has front row seats to…

To…

The gleeful look of mischief dies out the moment Haru actually drinks and remains mostly unaffected. Astarion’s own expression passes several seconds as a perfectly blank canvas of disbelief.

Then he scowls.]


I…

If you don’t like it, give it back.
kohenkyo: the flowers yearn for the leaves (005)

[personal profile] kohenkyo 2023-10-09 04:51 am (UTC)(link)
Am I not supposed to like it?

[his expression tells very little but hey, he's sliding it back over. it's not the funny adult-only drink so he doesn't want it anymore.

might think this guy is kinda weird for drinking blood tho... no other humans he knows drink blood, he's pretty sure...]
neckromancy: (Default)

[personal profile] neckromancy 2023-10-09 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
Of course you’re not supposed to like it, it’s blood!

[Says the vampire.

He realizes after the fact that maybe he’s raised his voice a little too loudly, and snatches the glass back into his immediate orbit seconds later. When he speaks again a moment later, it’s in a more hushed tone.]


Right. What are you, then? Because no human child I know would react this way to imbibing in such beverages. You’re a devil, aren’t you?
kohenkyo: the voices of long-departed souls resound (004)

[personal profile] kohenkyo 2023-10-09 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
You were drinking it, too, weren't you?

[are you calling yourself a devil?

leaning one arm on the counter, the poker face stays On. he ain't saying shit.]
neckromancy: (004)

[personal profile] neckromancy 2023-10-09 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
[Astarion is many things, but an idiot he is not. He's quiet for several moments, clearly debating on what avenue to take from here; devil, creature from the Feywild... Either way it's become increasingly clear that this child is in fact not a child.

A quick glance around to make sure the area is clear of eavesdroppers, and then he leans a bit closer so he's not overheard.]


Alright, here is what is about to occur within these next few moments; I am going to fetch you a glass of whatever you'd like from behind the bar, you are going to drink it, and then the both of us will part ways pretending we've never spoken a single word to one another. Does that sound agreeable?
kohenkyo: let us change our anguish into strength (011)

[personal profile] kohenkyo 2023-10-09 05:55 am (UTC)(link)
That's fine with me.

[a tiny smile. what a funny guy.

He peers behind the counter, thinking about it for a second before pointing at a bottle of vodka.]
That one?

[if he gets a freebie he is getting the MOST alcohol out of it (or maybe he just picked at random, who knows)]
neckromancy: (006)

[personal profile] neckromancy 2023-10-09 06:08 am (UTC)(link)
[Haru gets a brow raise, but Astarion doesn't further comment on the little guy's taste in hard liquor. He waits just long enough for Captain Jack Marrow to turn his back towards them to speak to (clack at?) another bar goer before he's quietly slipping close enough to snatch the predetermined bottle up and off of the shelves. He's back in his spot moments later as if he'd never left, and Haru gets the whole bottle passed over to him from below the lip of the bar.]

There you are, then. I look forward to meeting you for the first time, preferably in the distant future.
kohenkyo: the flowers yearn for the leaves (005)

[personal profile] kohenkyo 2023-10-09 06:24 am (UTC)(link)
[he is going to get absolutely smashed for the first time and then wonder why people do this to themselves on purpose, but BEFORE that he is going to stare blankly (victoriously) at this huge bottle and offer Astarion another small nod of approval.]

Alright. Thanks.

[Astarion who? He is already looking away to go about stealthily(??) pouring himself a drink under the table so he can finally see what all the fuss is about. The next couple minutes are this child recoiling from the smell for the first attempt, a couple experimental sips, ??? confusion ??? and then i guess fuck it he might as well take a whole damn mouthful, godspeed Haru]