EVENT & TDM 029

[sticksandbonesmods]

WAKE UP

A house springs up in Aldric’s Grove one day. That comes with the usual tidings of autumn — the leaves change colour, the air gets colder, pumpkins and squash start growing out of the sides of buildings and damaging rooftops, and people emerge out of caskets in square graves that have yet to be covered.

…

Yeah, all of that is normal. You may find that people here before you are willing to help pull you out of your grave, if you ask nicely enough. Maybe they’ll even tell you that you aren’t dead! Yet.

But don’t worry about that. Let’s worry about the house, which is inhabited by the dead — specifically a family of skeletons, who wave everyone, new arrival and old citizen, within their walls. A cloth sign hanging on the awning outside reads “BONE-JANGLES HAUZ! COM IN GET FUD”. The Bone-Jangles are a family of eight — Mr. Bone-Jangles himself wearing a sheet ghost costume for Halloween, Ms. Bone-Jangles wearing a pumpkin hat and an apron as she sets food from your homeworld on the table, and their six skeleton children (“children” may be generous, as these are full-sized adult skeletons, but is your baby not your baby no matter how old they may be?) are wearing various animal costumes. Bees, wolves, cats, the sort.

If you just crawled out of a grave, they permit you to use their shower before dinner. The water pressure is a touch too low, and the soap is several hundred years old, but it’ll get the dirt off.

You return to dinner with the skeleton family and several other Grove residents who came for the party, and despite the oddness of the situation, it’s a lovely time. At the end of the night, before everyone plans to head off to Roseroot — a city to the north, just over the mountains, which you are hopefully informed of by your peers before they all ditch you here to go on vacation — Mr. Bone-Jangles hands you a bag of microwave popcorn and an oversized chocolate bar. Trick-or-Treat!

A note attached to the inside of the chocolate bar wrapper reads in Ms. Bone-Jangles’ curly handwriting: “Be cautious on your journey tomorrow morning.”

You go to sleep holding the well-wishes close to your chest.

…WAKE UP?

What do you last remember?

You were somewhere. Not here. Not within this city. Were you at home? With your friends? At the bar, the cafe, one of the churches, the General Store? The Bone-Jangles’ house? …How did you get here?

…that’s right. The truck. A truck had barrelled through the woods a week ago, with two people stumbling out of it and telling you they could get you out of here. The truck was small, though — at most, it could fit six of you, and that was assuming all six of you packed light for the journey. You talked with who you were journeying alongside as you rode in the bed of the truck, while two others in the vehicle proper got to talk to the drivers. The ride had been bumpy, the car travelling at a medium clip through rough terrain. At one point, the car’s driver had shouted that those of you in the back should “hold on tight” and floored it, nearly jiggling someone next to you out of the back seat as you approached the mountains.

You did not remember the mountains being so close to the Grove. Weren’t they much farther away? You remember the—

The…

…

You’re in Roseroot! The truck comes and goes throughout the day, dropping people off before it turns around and heads out again. Some of your peers who were particularly fast or could fly might have opted to simply follow alongside the truck. Maybe if you can find one of them, they can help you bring your stuff further into the city? Where are you going to live from here, speaking of? In a house? A mansion? A hole-in-the-wall restaurant? You feel like you’re missing something as you wander the beautifully-paved streets on foot. You remembered to pack your toothbrush, right? A change of clothes?

The thought of “someone” comes to your mind, but the silhouette is blurry. A person nearby you asks if you remember two gargoyles with purple skin, and a shadowy woman with her turtle, and a kindly shopkeeper with salt-and-pepper hair, that they think they might’ve left behind in the Grove. You shake your head.

You would remember people like that.

THE CITY OF ROSES

Roseroot is a beautiful city, truly. Every building is beautifully designed, roses of all colors and sizes growing from the ground floor to window boxes to special trellises and even on the rooftops. It's almost overwhelming. A river flows through it, framed with stone sidewalks and curved wooden bridges. Warm streetlights line every few yards, illuminating it even in the dark. Museums and theaters can be found all over, and there's even an aquarium! … It's only got water and plants, but it's there. Truly, this is what one might expect from an affluent city dedicated to flowers and scholarly pursuits!

… It's just… empty. Not a single soul aside from the lot of you can be found. Businesses still provide services, but by who, and how? The answer eludes even the most curious of folk. If you choose to steal, dine and dash, break in to something, well. You can, and nothing is going to stop you. But the emptiness of it all is jarring, isn't it?

Of course it's not. This is how it's supposed to be!

As the days pass, however, the beauty begins to fade. Flowers wilt. A strange substance seems to grow out of cracks, creep up windows, grow. The beautiful sky gets darker, cloudier, drearier. A fog creeps in. And when you sleep- and you will sleep- you dream. Maybe it's the sweetest dream of your life, and maybe its a nightmare. Maybe it's something incredibly silly! What a pity that the dream doesn't stay in your head. Or stay as pleasant as your dream might have been.

Soon the fog is so thick, you can barely see the next streetlight. And you are no longer alone. But the trucks are gone, and the city borders seem to have vanished.

A PLACE YOU CANNOT LEAVE

The fog does not fade. But sometimes, you can hear something- just out of sight. The giggles of childish, cruel whispering. The sound of glass breaking, footsteps dragging across the pavement. Twisted beings born of your worst traumas shamble through the fog, lashing out, hunting, seeking, wanting. Every day the remains of Roseroot grow more dilapidated, some buildings even crumbling and collapsing while others cease existing all together. Roads vanish or twist to loop around into giant circles. Safety is growing limited, but how does one escape?

That may be on the forefront of your mind, but it's not something you can focus on- not while you're fighting off these monsters.

How does one get supplies when grocery stores are claimed by sudden bursts of an all-consuming rot? How does one sleep when those monsters could be anywhere, when one has to keep moving?

Fight on. Protect yourself. The way will show itself soon. You just have to outlast your pains made manifest.

MONSTERS ENCOUNTERED

This list will be updated as the event goes on, but feel free to pull from any monsters from our toplevel below as well in case updates are delayed!

An unholy, angel-like being found stationary in a warehouse. The top half of her body hangs down from a portal in the ceiling, and no matter which way you face, she can twist around to track you. Her wails and sobs cause hallucinations, panic attacks, dissociations, and crippling self-doubt; when characters are distracted, she will attempt to sever them with two oversized swords.

A shambling, undead, fully-armoured knight with seven swords stabbed into it, most of which through the back and one of which through the head. Each sword is engraved with words; five of them say “sacrifice”, one says “the one you loved most”, and the last says “hubris”. The knight wanders the city streets and attacks indiscriminately.

Seven assassins wrapped entirely in black robes and bandages to hide their identities. When they are being looked at, they become stationary, therefore they try to spread apart within their pack to keep most of them able to move. They move like glitchy robots with jerking and seizing limbs, yet are fast enough to slit throats in an instant, and largely stick to alleyways and tight corners to get a drop on someone.

A hand-monster called the Docent, who hides in the shadows and exacerbates negative emotions and insecurities. Even if you can't see it yet, if it's nearby, you will feel cold and miserable. Its physical form is made up of hands and if it catches you, it will add yours to the collection.

Mannequin-like people who look similar to Firefly, wearing plug suits and acting as mannequins in storefronts primarily. They will not "activate" until you come close to them, where they will be like dolls that creak and crackle and either start moving or pull themselves up off the ground to slowly chase you. They are dangerous in numbers, not as much as a single unit. They only speak if Firefly is around, saying things like "you let us die", "you didn't protect us", etc. By the end of the time in Roseroot, most will default be splayed on the ground all over looking dead, but they aren't.

The Swarm, a mass horde of diverse insectoid creatures with the sole drive to propagate and spread. They're big, and can hide invisible if they choose. They will start in small numbers, but slowly spread throughout the town during the end of their stay. They will swarm you and attack if they see you.

A young man with cat ears who has been burnt to a crisp and is still smouldering, who will wander the city and attempt to set people on fire.

A pack of small robotic bears with various weapons who run around indiscriminately and try to kill anyone they see. Despite how armed they are, they are easily defeated, but they roam in extremely large packs.

A phantom that specifically stalks Till, covered in blood and with several bullet wounds through various parts of his body. Characters who spend a lot of time around Till may have to watch out…

Shadows shaped like people on the walls, always watching, whispering, giggling, pointing. If one gets too close to them, they can reach out and attack like a particularly brutal child bully might- and like children, they do not know when they are going too far.

Shambling skeletons or rotting bodies dressed in strange village clothes, waiting to drag whoever they seek out into the earth.

An almost giant skeletal bird caught ablaze, trapped humans within its ribcage forming a grotesque heart. It does not fly, and molten poison drips from it.

Young men and women in a black uniform, half-gripping swords. Their footsteps sounds like bottles breaking. Soon enough they are accompanied by their killers as well.

A very tall priest in holy regalia... except his face is a mass of writhing blue tentacles of varying lengths, singing the song of the Seaborn. He shambles like he no longer remembers how legs work, swaying like a drunk almost, always wandering and reaching for his target. He sings a song of an unknown language, haunting and mesmerizing. If somehow you anger him, he will throw rocks at you... and if he gets his hands on you he will absolutely try to eat and/or assimilate you.

A monster that changes shape whenever you blink. It is normally faceless, and usually appears to look like some abomination-adjacent version of people you know.

A monster that wears clothing of a holy priest, with far, far too many arms. It "attacks" by trying to grab onto you and try to hug you almost comfortingly, while two hands strangle with rosary beads.

A creature that takes the form of something in the water- you'll never truly see what it looks like. But if you get too close to the river, something will reach out and try to drag you under.

A headless mannequin dressed in kingly finery, wielding a heavy sword. It wanders in search of one person, but will stop to kill anyone else it finds too.

An Ifrit, bleeding from a wound not unlike the ones Joshua inflicted upon Clive. It's furious. It's terrified. It will see your death done.

Shadows that, while not the most harmful things, will whisper, gossip and grab and pinch and punch and tear! They say things to characters reflecting their deepest insecurities. In short, the shadows are school bullies.

Two figures, a man and a woman, sewn together by the half. They bicker in a ghoulish language at each other, but are largely uncaring of others. When they find Zoey, they all but descend upon her, both wanting her for themselves and uncaring if they pull too hard in one direction or another. Their grip is like iron, and they're capable of tearing others in half.

A man-shaped monster whose head is a black skull. He wears a suit, tie, and gloves, and carries a rotating number of weapons- pliers, knife, scalpel, hacksaw, hammer, anything that might be used for torture, smeared with blood. Sometimes he just has a gun. He moves in an uncanny, inhuman jerk, and prefers his victims trapped and isolated. He will passively darken the area around him, turning working lights dim, and is accompanied by the sound of a power drill and his own creepy laughter.

Something dark, mostly shapeless, but the size of a large man, with bat-shaped spikes coming out of its head. Or maybe they're bat ears? He is able to shoot projectiles with deadly speed, sharp enough to gouge a hole in metal. They disappear like smoke once they've hit their mark. When faced more or less head-on, shoots a grapling hook at its victim with enough force to seriously maim, uses it to pull them close and break their bones. May appear suddenly from behind and break bones before you have a chance to react. He moves sometimes as a literal shadow, but when outside of shadow form, moves with grace and speed. Sometimes his presence is accompanied by flashbangs, smoke, and the sound of radio static or ringing in your ears. Otherwise, it is completely silent and doesn't even breathe.

A monster wearing armour and carrying tomahawk axes, with crablike appendages protruding from her abdomen that have pincer-claws. The semi-congealed gore that drips from them can be sprayed at enemies. As she talks, she claims to know "what you really are" and can absolutely back that claim up.

A brutish monster that is constantly on fire. He moves quickly enough to "blaze past" you, and likely set you on fire by proximity. Otherwise, he boasts impressive and inhuman strength.

A doll with swords through it that leaks toxic ooze as it moves around. Slow and moves around pathetically, looking as if in pain, and moving as if crying. Gives hugs instead of attacking, but the swords through it will hurt you if you let it, and the toxic ooze feels akin to acid.

A shambling amalgam of corpses and heads much akin to the Cramped Casket that pulls itself with its many arms across the ground. It easily spans around 12 feet tall. At the very front of it of it is the upper half of a young boy. It attacks by slamming itself into the ground where you stand, and is otherwise silent... unless you are Elsword, in which case it asks, "why didn't you save me?"

A monster that looks like a pirate that's on fire. Permanently. To most, it only appears to be leaving scorched earth in its wake. To Mizuki, it looks like everything around it is burning. It attacks with a cutlass, and otherwise looks mostly humanoid.

An ambling monstrosity that easily towers any house and building. It moves slowly, and seems as if it's "sliced" down the middle, with two "heads" and a mangled body. One arm carries a harpoon, one arm carries a kitchen cleaver. They mutter conflicting questions that, if you answer, you'll be contradicting the other. "Should we go left?" "Should we go right?" asked simultaneously, so answering "yes" would be answering both. Things like that. To kill it, you have to pick a head to cut off, and if you choose wrong, it instantly grows back and you'll have to try again.

A small, cute puppet with a circle of knifes protruding from its neck. It constantly cries and attacks by trashing around like a child. It doesn't even seem to be aiming for anything specifically, but its thrashing is so wild and erratic the knives in its neck are bound to hit you anyway if you don't put distance between the two of you.

An angel with wings and a halo of light that towers around 10-12 feet tall. It's head is replaced with a bouquet of flowers and it's hands are fused together in a constant prayer.Everywhere it walks, it leaves flowers behind, but they wilt and decay and rot within seconds and stay as a stain upon the land. It attacks by summoning blades of light from the ground under your feet. If you listen closely, you can hear soft singing.

A cloaked being with black crystals growing out of it who floats along the ground. It freezes anything it touches solid in blackened ice, and a trail of said ice follows after it. The air becomes frigid when it is close by.

A loud, ravenous monster that is majority mouth with waaay too many teeth. More dog-like than human shaped. Does not have eyes and thus cannot see, but can hear a pen drop. While it will bite to kill, it plays with its food. Lashes with claws and attempts to do anything it can to hurt you as much as possible before you break.

A mass of black crystals, the shape appears to be in that of Faust. Its arm is replaced with that of a crossbow. Its bolts are enough to shatter concrete. Despite being made of stone, it is very fast.

A monster that takes the shape of prey animals, starting off as smaller ones, then becoming larger ones as it stalks you. It does not necessarily attack, keeping a distance. But the more it watches, the more starved for food you feel. You haven't eaten in a while, have you? Are you hungry? Are you going to die because you can't eat? Aren't you just a waste of space if can't kill something to feed yourself? Killing it won't be easy, as it is fast, but if you do manage to, it will fall to the ground immediately as rotten, disgusting mass of meat that is not safely edible. The monster will spawn in again as it's smaller form all over again if not eaten.

A small army of husk-like creatures. They're just so hungry. Won't you help them? Won't you feed them? They appear like demons, with the stronger ones looking like some of Mystery's old friends...

A large, train-sized worm patterned in purple stripes. They have four eyes above their gator-like mouths which are full of sharp teeth. Their backs are ridged with green shark fins. Sandworms burrow through the ground at alarming speeds and feast on the dead along anything else they can catch. They aren't picky.

Spark Notes

summary

WAKE UP: Good morning! It's autumn! New arrivals are crawling out of graves, Mr. Bone-Jangles has invited everyone to his house, and everyone is having a nice little family Halloween get-together.
…WAKE UP?: Do you remember your old life? The people you left behind? ...of course not! You barely remember the truck ride over here! Welcome to Roseroot! Enjoy your vacation!
THE CITY OF ROSES: Roseroot is a beautiful, empty city. It's clearly a wealthy place, connected with nature, but you lot are the only ones there. ... That's how it's supposed to be, of course. But something forces you into sleep, and when you dream something awakens. ... Now that it's awake, something is making the city rot.
A PLACE YOU CANNOT LEAVE: The city is falling apart, rotting, vanishing and looping into itself and you are not alone. Monsters born from your trauma are out to hunt you down. Thankfully, they can be killed. You just have to keep fighting, even as places of rest and food dwindle rapidly.

out of character

Hello everyone! Welcome to our October TDM. This is a reminder that TDMs are considered game canon. This is our last TDM of 2025! November-December will be check-in AC and we will be back to our regular schedule with a TDM in January 2026. If there are questions, please hit up the toplevels below.

updates

None yet! Important updates about how characters interact with the log and change the course of events will be placed here.

submissions

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

code

Comments

[foreversembrace]

Wh- h-hey!!

[H

Hello?? Where'd he get a gun? Till is so stunned that he just kindof. Stands there, stiff, afraid to follow too closely because there's a GUN and he literally doesn't know this guy but, you know.]

You can't just break in and start shooting people!

[namuthing]

[Genya rolls his eyes as he looks back at Till.]

Have you seen anyone else here? Aside from the jackasses we showed up with.

[It doesn't bode well, really. He's heard stories of Hashira coming across entirely empty towns, victims of a gluttonous and careless demon. He can't help but wonder if that's what happened here.]

Besides, I'm only going to shoot someone if they're a threat. You should be more worried about that then any civilians.

[And since no one has come to the door, Genya reaches for the handle. Mercifully, it's unlocked, so he swings it open, casts a wary look inside, before stepping in himself.]

You comin'? Or are you going to sleep outside tonight?

[foreversembrace]

[The funny thing is Till isn't even thinking about civilians being shot, here. His thought was if you walk in and start shooting and THEY have a weapon, guess what they're gonna do back? And who knows what this guy might consider "threatening".

But the idea of staying outside with his thumb up his ass is worse than going in there...so Till grimaces and rolls his eyes.]

God...

[He'll carefully make his way in, thankful that it does seem empty. Maybe abandoned? From what he can see at a cursory glance, it doesn't look like it's been recently inhabited, anyway...]

At least there's nobody here.

[namuthing]

[None of this seems to occur to Genya. Largely because there truly is no one inside, so he doesn't have to consider the consequences of his actions. Yippee! He waits for Till to get inside, before closing the door behind the two of them.]

Food's been rotting fast, so you better get your hands on something fast.

[Genya, likewise, is stumbling to a pantry. He might have considered taking a bite out of one of the things chasing everyone around but a) his own demons look like his brother and b) he gets a bad feeling when he even so much as thinks about it.

Therefore, regular food will have to do. He pulls out a tin of — well, he rips the metal away first and reveals several pieces of fish. Awesome. He'll just starting eating those with his fingers, thanks.]

So whash yer name?

[foreversembrace]

[Till, despite having certainly eaten worse things before, seems a little more wary to just start grabbing abandoned food and eating it. He will walk over to the pantry and see what else there is though...maybe something canned that isn't fish because eugh.]

...Till. [He says this as he pulls out a dusty can of what might be green beans, or something.] Just Till.

[namuthing]

Till. [He swallows down another fish. The bones are a nice, crunchy texture.] s'kinda dumb name, don't you think?

[The final fish is slurped down, followed by the juices in the little tin. He tosses it to the side, metal skittering across the floor.]

Genya Shinazugawa.

[foreversembrace]

[Wow!!!

Till makes a face, though it's not like Genya is COMPLETELY wrong...mostly because he doesn't entirely love his own name, either. Kindof hard to when it's literally branded onto the side of your neck.]

Could say the same about Genya...Sheen-a-zoo-ga-wah.

[namuthing]

[Any irritation he might have felt at the insult (that's his big brother's last name too, jackass) melts at Till's pisspoor attempt at saying his name. He snorts once.]

You sound even dumber than your name does.

[foreversembrace]

[Ya'll about to have a slap fight in the streets-

Till bristles, balling his hands into fists as he leans forward on the balls of his feet, glaring at Genya.]

Yeah?! Well you LOOK dumb!

[namuthing]

[Genya should act his age. He should walk away, find a corner to lay low in and pretend like he's the bigger person. Sure, he'll be simmering with rage the entire time, but at least it'll keep them both from causing a scene and disturbing their one single hiding place.

And yet...]

Takes a dumbass to know a dumbass, dumbass.

[Boys. For real...]

[foreversembrace]

Yeah!! And that still makes you a dumbass! Dumbass!!

[Why are you two like this. If whatever is lurking in this town hadn't heard your presence before, they've sure been made aware of it NOW.]

[namuthing]

Fuck you!

[Genya thinks about getting up to beat some sense into Till but... food. The next logical step, then, is to eat the last sardine in the can and toss the fish juice at Till.]

[foreversembrace]

[Lmao bozo over here rolled a 7...so yeah, he tries to dodge, but ends up getting splashed anyway. Meanwhile, Jibang- his therapy snail still perched on his shoulders- eagerly oozes over to where it soaked into his shirt and starts.

Slurping. Sluuuurp. Happy :)]

Ugh-! The hell's your problem!? You wanna go??

[namuthing]

[Genya just... grins.]

You think your scrawny ass stands a chance against me?

[foreversembrace]

[Lmao...not even a little. Till KNOWS he can't fight this guy. He knows he's getting himself in hot water here, but...

Till really hopes the way he's balking a bit doesn't show in his expression.]

Sure? Why not?

[namuthing]

[Famous last words, Till. Genya reels his arm back and throws a... relatively decent punch. It's was a 13 so who knows, maybe he procced a bloody nose or something.]

Bet you're not so tough now, huh?

[foreversembrace]

[Haha...Till, uh. Isn't expecting Genya to just haul off and punch him without warning! Like, it's deserved, but also...damn, way to warn a guy!

Anyway, Till rolled....a 3, so he gets clogged right in the fucking face. Yes, his nose WILL be bleeding after this, though he's lucky that fate was kind and didn't give him a broken nose since he'll be dying in a couple days anyway-

Till staggers back, very nearly knocked off his feet by the force of the punch as blood drips down his face from his nose where he was hit. And he just kindof...stares for a moment, like he isn't entirely sure what just happened.

And then, he...what else, is going to just try to punch Genya back. Eye for an eye, and all that!

Of course, he DID just get punched, so he's...clumsy, and it's very likely he'll miss.]

[namuthing]

[Well you see, Genya rolled a 9 so good news is that Till hits, and hard enough that Genya stumbles back a bit. He shakes his head once or twice, honestly a little startled that scrawny little Till managed to pull that much off.

Then throws his head back and starts to laugh.]

Shit, I didn't think you had it in ya. [He wipes at his nose, flicking the blood off to the side.] Your form is kind of shit, but that wasn't too bad.

[foreversembrace]

[Till, meanwhile, is taking advantage of the pause to kindof hold his hand under his nose...there's a shocking amount of blood happening, but that's what you get when you have a nose bleed.]

Y-you're seriously critiquing my fighting style now?

[namuthing]

Pinch your nose. And hold your head up. Otherwise you're just gonna make a mess.

[Never mind the fact that the smell of blood does trigger some kind of reaction in the back of his throat. It's instinctive, usually dormant, but in this place where food is scarce, he can't exactly help it.]

And yeah, I am. Brute strength isn't gonna get you very far. Trust me. I know.

[foreversembrace]

[He doesn't want to take advice from this guy...it makes him feel weak, and kindof pathetic. But after a moment of reluctance he does, tilting his head back so his nose doesn't keep bleeding everywhere.]

I'm not a fighter. I don't even want to fight you, but you were being a dick.

[namuthing]

[Genya rolls his eyes but... maybe looks just a little cowed by that.]

Sorry. I guess.

[He does take a step closer, but this time his hands are kept wide. Mostly, he's inspecting Till's nose.]

... Doesn't look broken. You should be fine.

[foreversembrace]

[Till sighs, though it sounds a little stuffy when he does.]

'Least I got that goin' for me...next time don't just start punching people!!

[namuthing]

[Genya snorts, before shrugging.]

No promises. Kind of a punch first and regret it later kind of guy.