Family Meeting + Surprise(?) Contest

[menophesto]

Who: Everyone!
What: Family Meeting and Mephisto's Skill Analysis Contest
When: End of July-ish
Where: The beach
Warnings: Typical Stix game warnings: Child death mentions, physical abuse via Nene, torture, body horror, cannibalism via Callan. More will be in post titles as they come up.


[ Before they're free to go back to the Grove, Mephisto takes this time to find some stray driftwood to stand on it to make himself just a bit taller. It doesn't help much - most still tower over him. He clears his throat anyway. ]

If I may have your attention! I am Mephisto for those who do not know, and I propose we do something before we head back to Grove, if you don't mind. [ Mephisto, with his thick Russian accent, is attempting to speak slow to sound Smart and Concise. Even if occasionally he does drop words. ] Think of it as palette cleanser, considering what we endured.

I have been working on contests of sorts for us to work on. Contests of intelligence, strength, speed, dexterity... If enough of you are interested.

More than that, too, I would like to conduct meeting for us. I have important information to share, as well as previous information provided in notebook via previous Archive owner, Enciodes Silverash.

Anyway give me a moment to set up things for contest.

UPDATES since or from the last meeting:

Aurora's proper name is Freyr.

Some of the stars have been inflicted with an infections, and there's likely a way to cure them we haven't found out about yet. According to Loop, it spreads through telepathy, and the strongest of the stars, Hoku, needs to be cured before the others, else just risked cured stars to be infected again.

Shadow Milk Cookie discovered magical leylines that seem to be connected to the Forest entity, and harming them seems to harm him.

All natural phenomena seems to have a correlating spirit of some kind.

To start with, we lived a previous life we have no real memory of here at the Grove.

This is mostly as it sounds, but we all used to be here at the Grove in one way or another. After horrible events occurred here, Heimr and Ydalir tried to preserve our souls, which lead us to our "current" lives. The ones we all have memories of. Though, it does seem many of us carry the same personalities and other such traits we had while here.

This in no way is an encouragement to learn about your past life, of course. If this makes you uncomfortable or frustrates you in any way, I completely understand. Learning about things you've done back here does not currently seem to help us find our way home, so you are under no obligation to try and find more out about this if you do not want to.

Our enemy here is the entity possessing the forest.

There's still a lot we don't know about him, but that is perhaps for the best. The more we know about him, it's likely the stronger he will become in turn. It's only right we keep this section brief, in that case. If you truly wish to know more about him, I would be willing to answer questions, but understand my hesitance in doing so. That, and also it's likely he can hear us through the people here who are Corrupted by the forest.

He is the entity who got us all here. He wants us to suffer. He feeds on our misery. We won't let him have that satisfaction because we have this second chance. If he couldn't kill us before in a way that sated him, than he'll never get that satisfaction from us because we are resilient. Just be careful when going out into the forest. He can corrupt you, and... if you'd like, you can speak with those who have had first hand experience with it before, but essentially it means he can possess you if we're not careful.

Do not call it by its name. Do not worship it. Do not give it power of any kind. I am no longer going to be understanding to those who give it more than it deserves.

He is afraid of the ocean. Beiwe, his sister, mentions she doesn't believe he's open to listening to reason. She said the best way to fight back against him is simply rejecting him, turning sadness into resolve, and continuing to call him rude names.

Enciodes Silverash rallied everyone to a fight against the Forest. This ended at the cost of many lives, and many of us learning his name. We will not under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES spread his name more than he already has. This is a warning to all of you. We have learned things from this fight, such as:
- Dying feeds him. As such, even if we come back, do NOT die, regardless, as it will make him stronger.
- He can be damaged. Bombs seemed to be effective, as well as magic fueled by emotions.
- Calisto has mentioned that healing magic actually hurts him.
- Now that all of the Guardians are full strength, we may be able to contain him. If not bind him fully - as last time that required sacrifice - just keep his powers contained so we can fight him? Unclear. Something to workshop.
- He uses illusion magic to feed on our fears.
 

And we'll talk about the previous residents here - the ones who didn't have new lives. As well as the deities here.

Heimr and Ydalir, or the Shopkeeper and the Trader respectively, both lost their previous names to the Forest. Heimr recently became human; maybe there's a way to get Ydalir to be the same? You can say "Aldric" now, but Heimr still prefers to be called Heimr. Please keep this in mind if the Forest ever tries to speak with you. Do not, under any circumstances, give it your name.

Nene is here as well, and very recently purified, but had previously been confined to the Forest's hold for... centuries, it seems. Please be kind to her, as I'm sure I needn't even point out. She is daughter to Grace, who was a doctor here at the Grove. She has a few books in the archives that I've been perusing. She's also apparently the person behind the Garden - a place in the forest that I'll cover shortly.

Callisto, the merchant who had a hand in releasing the Forest entity from the temple, resides in the town.

Renard has been rescued from the forest and resides in the town. Not much is currently known about him as we haven't had the chance to talk to him too much.

The Guardians are a group of... demi-deities, as far as we are concerned. Treat them respectfully and give them offerings if you require their assistance or plan to take anything that is theirs. The few we have with us here at the Grove are as follows:

Moder, the forest Guardian, and the large moose-like creature who's seen wandering around. She is incredibly kind even if her appearances may be a bit horrifying. She's helped clean up the northern part of town with me. She's also willing to take people through the forest safely if needed, seeing both as she knows it well, and was also once corrupted, so knows roughly what to expect in there. Considering she's lost her domain to that bastard in the woods, I ask that you give her your tribute as often as you can, as I believe she will be the one to most fiercely fight with us for her home back.

Zahliya, who has many titles I've listed in the notebook, is the gargoyle who is generally on fire. He can burn away any Corruption, and cares about each of us. His powers have since been fully realized, and can rid of your corruption. If you're unsure if you have been corrupted or not, Ezell is looking after a creature called Fieldwatchers who seem to be attracted to those corrupted, and as such can help determine this.

Sinann, the River Guardian, is the blue, glowing fish within the River. It has regained its power and is able to turn into a humanoid form to walk and talk freely. Please do not remove the bones from the River, and return any fish bones of those you eat to it as well. Shells and medallions are able to be taken freely from it, however.

Callan, the Lake Guardian, is thing that you all may have seen diving into the well when we got back from our time under the ocean. He is... not the kindest, but I don't believe he is malicious or malevolent by any means. I'm not entirely sure what to make of him. The Behemoth is his daughter, and the giant crocodile-like creature you've seen around the Grove. She isn't a Guardian, as far as I'm aware, but it's still recommended you are kind to her as well.

The Cosmic Serpent is in the ocean. For a good majority of the time, they are asleep. They do not seem to be opposed to helping us, but can only offer us so much, and likely may get annoyed if we expect too much of them. Apparently became what they are today by feasting on fallen stars.

Aurora, the Sky Guardian. She had been recently dead, though we'd put in an effort to reviving her. She is the bird that can change its size from a towering phoenix to a much smaller one at will. Her feathers can also serve to revive the recently deceased. Her real name is Freyr.

The Gods — Beiwe, the Goddess of the Sun, and Ourania, the Goddess of the Moon, are the current overseers. According to Moder, they are very weak and may need some help regaining their strength through prayer and acts of devotion. We likely have the power to help them return to their former strength.. We just need to figure out how. We've spoken directly to Ourania with a seance, and we've done the same with Beiwe. People can speak with them personally by praying at their statues, though there is no guarantee they'll respond.

Sehul, Beiwe's dragon mount, has been revived, mostly. They are skeletal, however, and have been standing around Beiwe's church.

Zonari the forest's gargoyle. She's no longer in the Grove, but visits occasionally. Probably to keep tabs on us to let the Forest know. Refrain from giving her details you would not want him knowing. She also has magic that can dig into your mind, so keep that in mind.

Magic and belief of this world.

Belief in something gives it power. Names give it power. Hence why we don't want to be using names for the forest. It's recommended to swap out the vague reference you use. Vice versa for our Guardians — please use their names, and believe in them intrinsically when we require their assistance. Mizuki has recommended before that we sing to Zahliya when he purifies things. Songs of protection and such might do us some good, I think. Just remember not to wish for things too frequently, only if it's absolutely necessary.

There are shards that seem to hold power of deities inside of them. Sun and Moon shards from Beiwe and Ourania respectively, and star shards from... likely, the stars? Be on a look out for them, as the Forest wants them destroyed. It also leads me to wonder if there are any shards of the entity we may be able to destroy?

We've also learned that the seasons are controlled by spirits, and will lose control of their magic every hundred years and need some sort of "sacrifice" to stabilize them. We've just passed the hundred year mark, so this is likely not something we'll have to face again.

We have baby dragons who grant certain blessings, as well. Feel free to see them if you'd like.

Places of interest.

Aldric's Manor is inaccessible now, though Heimr's kids have been rescued from it and are currently comatose as far as we know. They are no longer kids.

There's a part of the forest nearby where you might find people you know, but as trees. It's very upsetting there. Refrain from visiting it too frequently. Update: This area is now surrounded with Nethersea Brand - a fleshy, web-like material that will cause paralysis and neurological distress.

The Garden is where you'll end up if you die. Nene brings you back if you do end up here. Do not die. Do not end up here. Coming back will have you giving up something important.

The River is where the River Guardian is. Return any remains of the fish we eat from there back to it after we're able to fish there again. Thank the River Guardian when you take apples from the tree nearby there, and thank Moder when you take berries from the bush near it. Do not take bones from the river without permission. Be kind to the river's inhabitants, and don't dump any trash into the water.

The Well's water will always stay clean. Don't go dumping garbage into it, of course, but know that the water there is safe to drink regardless of what happens, it seems. Also, the well is completely bottomless, so if you can't breathe underwater, I don't recommend trying to swim down it. Mizuki tried to, but at a certain point it felt like something was pushing him back.

The Lake, where Callan used to reside, and Terho's cabin nearby. According to Mizuki, the bottom is littered with bones, so it's likely not a good swimming spot.

North Aldric's Grove and Other Expansions — The Grove, prior to stuff going awry, was a sizeable place, so we're likely to explore more areas as a "reward" for participating in games. The part of the Grove to the north used to be horribly burnt and unlivable - in a perpetual state of fire and decay. We've since fixed the time anomalies there and, with Moder's help, I've managed to get it looking like the rest of the Grove. There are no more sinkholes to be wary of.

The Church was Nene's previous home, and a former place of worship for Beiwe. It has since been worn down and transformed into something to worship the entity of the forest.

Beiwe now has a new church in the Northern part of the Grove.

The Temple is separate from the Church. Zahliya was formerly a statue guarding this place. It is also where the Creature was previously contained. It has since been destroyed due to our attack on the Forest.

There is a statue of Ourania embedded in the cliff face nearby the Lighthouse on the beach. In the lighthouse is a man named Adrian who is guarding over it. Zahliya recently purged the Corruption from Adrian, so while the area is safe to go to, Zahlilya had mentioned that Adrian prefers to be alone.

The beach is now accessible thanks to Moder. You may head there with the path she has made without needing help of the goggles. Just stay on the bridge of fallen trees she's made and you'll make it there. In the water are very dangerous creatures, so be mindful. Dipper has also found the evil entity's original temple under the water. Maybe that is partially why it has it's fear of the ocean?

Within the forest are star shrines, which may provide moments of respite while you are out there. Not much is known about them at the moment, besides that star... spirits? guardians? creatures reside there. Hoku, a lion-esque spirit, seems to be the "leader". We don't know what happened to him.

There's an expansive library that needs a portal - one found by the inn - to travel to that holds information that will likely help with our endeavors here. The library is inhabited by little creatures known as Bibcoons who acts as its keepers. They can't leave the library, but the library itself has every form of knowledge that's been written down throughout the history of the Grove and outlying territories contained within it.

There are other places within the forest and such, but if you want specifics, talk to Mizuki. He has a map.

If you do end up going into the forest, bring a pair of the golden spectacles that Heimr has with you. They will show you a safe-adjacent way into the forest. It won't guarantee safety, but it'll be your best case scenario.

Comments

Introductions

[menophesto]

Mephisto

[menophesto]

[ So anyway, who put this sassy child in charge?? You can go talk to him after his speech if you want. ]

Odile

[alphacraft]

[ Odile sits patiently with an open notebook in her lap and a pen in her hand. The notebook is open to a clean page. ]

I am Odile. The 'magic' that I use is called Craft, and I will gladly explain it to you later. Otherwise you might call me an academic.

[ That's all she's going to say. She's got a spiel for this, and she can't be bothered to change it. ]

Aira Shiratori

[love_swan]

[ He's been here, but he's never been to a meeting before, so he's going to do this, he supposes! ]

Hello, I'm Shiratori Aira. I'm Ayase Mayoi's unitmate, and an idol who's still planning on performing when I can. It's nice to meet you all.

[chickenchoicejudy]

Oh! You know Mayoi?

[Ryan is all smiles when he pops up here. Sure all of the world information is important, but these meetings are great for musician networking.]

I'm Ryan, and that's my bandmate Min-Gi. [He gestures over to wherever Min is at the current moment.] Together we're Chicken Choice Judy! Good to have another musician around.

Ain // cw: he's still crashing out/yandere bullshit

[eidxiety]

[Now appearing in Dead Inside Technicolor is one (1) Ain! Who looks like he hasn't slept in three years at this point but hey he's. He's??? making it. Maybe.]

I'm Ain. I run the tailor shop primarily, and I can heal if you're in a pinch. I live at the bakery with, uh... a lot of people now, haha.

[...freak mode activating:]

Oh, and I have some people from back home here now~. Add has been here, but Elsword— my Elsword— is here now too. [You know, because it needs to be specified since there are legally two of them running around.] Be nice to them~. If you aren't kissing the ground they walk on, I'll skin you and feed your corpse to my wisterias~.

[uh]

[lovelyredthread]

[ .... You're kind of scaring him, actually. His injured wittle wings are all ruffled at that last part given he very nearly ended up siren chow ]

Uh..? Not literally right?

[friendshipbeams]

Ain, hey... they don't have to go that far. That's really unfair, you know.

Passenger

[forwander]

Greetings. Call me by my codename, "Passenger". These days, I primarily run the Magic Lamp Cafe, and otherwise don't do too much. If, however, you find yourself in need of machines being built or fixed, you may come to either me or my husband. [Points at Sesa.] I don't ask for anything in return other than your patience.

[sesa]

[Sesa's tail is wagging like a dog's as he smiles at Passenger like :))))]

Thorns

[sailingfor]

Es agradable conocer a todos. You may call me either by my codename "Thorns" or my real name Isidro. I answer to either. I have... a number of specializations, mostly around medicine, navigation, reconnaissance, swordplay, and "locating", put shortly.

[It's very difficult to explain what he can do, because it is... a lot. He can do too many things.]

I'm Corrupted currently — as an experiment, don't worry about me — so if there's anything important you need to say, I do suggest kicking me out first.

Flamebringer

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Lighting up a cigarette as they stand out here:]

Flamebringer. Not my real name. You don't get my real name. [lmao at ezell and wolfwood knowing his real name] Sarkaz mercenary and gardener. I run the tat and piercing place, too, if you need body art done.

...

I burn shit. ...And I'm immune to non-Originium bombs. That's it.

Elsword

[friendshipbeams]

I just got here, but I'm Elsword! I'm pretty good at fighting, and I have some combative magic that will help! If you need help with anything, you can always come to me! Even if it's not something that I can explicitly help with, I'm sure we can find a way together.

Mizuki

[mooninthewater]

[ For those of you familiar, you probably aren't surprised when Mizuki pulls out his phone to speak. His voice to text is the standard robotic voice this time around. ]

Hello! My name is Mizuki. Mister The Forest took my voice away, so I have my phone to communicate for now. I also have a pendant to let me communicate telepathically, but it only works on one person at a time, and it can sometimes skip words or muddy my sentences, so it's a little unreliable. But if you hear my voice in your head, that's why, okay?

I run the therapy building, but all of the rooms are free for you all to use - sans the upstairs, where my house is, and my office. But there's a rage room and a wall climbing room with trampolines and a painting room and a library and sensory deprivation tanks all totally free to use! Oh, and there's a TV and video games in the lobby, too.

I like to cook, and always have food on hand, so just come to me if you're ever hungry. Also I swallowed Miss Ourania's moon rock and now I'm immune to Mister The Forest's corruption. I know how to use some of her heal-y magic, but only very basic stuff. I'm a sea jelly, so I have stingers and can camouflage at will. The Seaborn in the Grove are my kin~ Please do be kind to them.

Till

[foreversembrace]

[Well everything at this meeting already feels tense as hell, so Till considers not even saying anything at all when it comes around to his turn to speak. But he's already here, and people are staring, so...]

I'm...Till. I don't really have any businesses or anything going on that's important here. I'm an artist...and a musician.

That's it.

Nicholas D. Wolfwood

[lupusxylem]

[Hey guess who ALSO has a cigarette, it's Wolfwood! It might actually be one he stole from Flamebringer because he doesn't have very many pockets right now thanks to being a fishman, but anyway-]

Nicholas D. Wolfwood. Full-time assassin, part time priest. I own the church in the Grove with the pigeons in it. People don't really use it for this much anymore but there's a confessional if you wanna...I dunno. Confess. I ain't a therapist, fair warning. Go to Mizuki if you need real advice, that's just for venting about shit if you need it.

[Because trust him he sure knows he does!]

Sesa

[sesa]

My name is Sesa!

[And he's VERY LOUD]

Name Sesa, Codename also Sesa. I own the workshop located close by the lab. If you ever need some metal work done, or a gun reconstructed, I do take commissions regularly. As my husband mentioned, you can come to either of us if you ever need assistance!

Stanley Pines

[charlastan]

[If you're someone who only really sees or interacts with Stan at the family meetings, he's looking a little different these days! If you're someone he knows though, he's probably one of the only people looking considerably refreshed from the whole Siren Spa from Hell thing. His skin is significantly less grey now, almost a normal human tint, but the extra eyes and claws and fangs remain.

But is he going to actually address any of that in his introduction? Of course not! What are you, nuts? There's no way he's calling attention to all that! He just beams when it's his turn, a little fake and with a few too many pointy teeth.]

Hi! I'm Stan Pines, one of two resident weird old men. My twin brother Ford's here too, and you can tell us apart 'cause he's the smart guy and I'm the brawny one! I've also got fire magic, know my way around weapons, and have lots of experience being a criminal and a businessman. A criminessman, I guess? ...Eh, I'll workshop it.

[He also recently had experience being a 12ft tall hellhound, but that's none of your business!]

Shadow Milk

[jesterlies]

Beast of Deceit, Fount of Knowledge, Origin of Magic, all are masks that I have worn, but you may call me Shadow Milk Cookie. Jack of all trades, master of everything! Illustrious playright, poet, actor and director, ee-tee-cee ee-tee-cee!

[He's dressed like someone's production of macbeth exploded on him and he carries a staff with a ...grapefruit sized blueberry that seems to possess an eye. It blinks when he blinks. It will be easy enough to tell by the way Shadow Milk's eyes don't exactly focus that he is blind.]

I've been stripped of my power by the Forest because it is a coward, but that doesn't mean I am harmless. After all, isn't Knowledge the greatest weapon there is?

Firefly

[dreamunchained]

Hello everyone, I'm Firefly. Uhm... I'm not sure what of use I can be for around here, but I'll do my best! I've never really been in a situation like this before...

The Death Spirit

[menophesto]

Till and I spoke with Death spirit. The forest has kept them out, hence our repeated revivals. Seeing as names have power here, I would like all of you to say their name and believe in them best you can. They're called Morrigan. If we're able to get their help in the end, perhaps we can even stop ублюдок пожирающий дерьмо.

Unfortunately, it was hard to talk to them fully, as barrier kept us with... essentially bad phone service. But maybe if all of us try at some point, may be better?

Contests

[menophesto]

[ Elevator waiting music as Mephisto sets these up. ]

[unheiring]

Respectfully, what makes you qualified to host one of these meetings? You have hardly been here very long, and if I recall, most of your efforts have been rather antagonistic toward those who have already put work into this place.

[menophesto]

It does not have to be me~! But no one else filled the roll that that snow leopard left behind. Even if I am not one orchestrating it, I would like for one to be done. Again, I just had information to share, and thus, decided to start it myself.

I've done my best to be civil, but cannot help if there are those who believe my every word to be an attack on their person.

[foreversembrace]

[Till knows Mephisto isn't exactly popular (and he's probably biased), but it's not like he's doing anything to anyone right now...]

So what makes someone "qualified"? Does it really matter if all we're doing is gathering to share information on shit?