fablelands | TDM/September.

TDM/September.

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away...
You snap awake with a sudden jolt, the sounds of nature surrounding you. The ground is warm beneath your hands, a press of fabric under your head. Sit up. Look around. This isn't where you fell asleep. Not even close to it. But with no one around you, answers as to how you got there in the first place are a little beyond your reach for now.

If you decide to head off, don't forget your bag. You'll want that if you plan on making it out here. If you want to survive. And if you don't want to move, well...good luck. There's a shadow on the prowl. A rustle of leaves, a snap of twigs. Glowing eyes in the distance...

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Characters find themselves waking up on the bare ground (or a bed if they're very lucky), a leather pack beneath their head, and entirely alone. It's not where they fell asleep that night. Isn't even close. The sky is the wrong shade, the ground isn't quite right. The only note of familiarity are the clothes on their back.

Searching through their pack, characters will find a change of clothes, a few food rations, and something personal to them. They'll also find a pouch of wooden coins and a shard of mirror. Before they get a real chance to investigate those items though, they'll hear a rustle in the distance. The sounds of something moving around.

It's their cue to get moving too. And somehow, all characters find their feet guiding them in the same direction. Off towards the Great Lake, less than ten minutes walk away, no matter where on the island they first woke up.

Welcome to the island of Leutheria.

Welcome to the first ever event/test drive for Fablelands. Above is an arrival prompt that players are welcome to use to introduce or test out any characters they are interested in bringing to the game. Below is an on-going event that will be taking place throughout the month of September (though the wolf will still remain a constant presence on the island for the months to come). And of course, you are free to use this post for any other prompts you wish to use, or mirrorshard conversations too. All threads are able to be used as game canon, providing both players agree to it, and can ultimately be used for bonus AC if you wish to.

If you have any questions, please direct them to the FAQ.

And without further adieu, let's get on with the show!

premise | faq | taken/claims | locations | wishing well | bonus ac

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away...

You wake to the feeling of being watched. Of a set of unfamiliar eyes, of warm breath on the back of your neck. A jolt back to the land of the living, and it's gone. No matter how quick you are, how sneaky, the source of the disruption has long since disappeared, so you have no choice but to try and ignore it. To continue on with your day and try to set that moment of strangeness aside.

You eat, drink, speak with others. Perhaps you explore a little. Whatever it is you choose to do for the day, that feeling from the morning won't return. And by the time the sun sets and the moon glows brightly above, you've likely set those moments of strangeness aside. It's not like it's anything new, after all.

It's the same again for the next few days. No better, no worse. Something best ignored, right?

A speck of blood on the doorframe. That wasn't there before, was it?

A snap of twigs in the distance. A crunch of leaves.

Claw marks gouged deeply into the door.

Into the wall above your bed.

Scraps of red fabric, turned darker with blood. Pieces of fur. Of flesh.

Do you run and hide? Do you fight? Whatever you choose, it's definitely time to make sure your body parts aren't scattered next...
...what a horribly big mouth you have.

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Since first waking up on the island, characters have been stuck with that feeling of being watched. It isn't a constant. Isn't more than a few seconds at a time, dotted throughout the day. Investigation has never turned up much, and there's never been any sightings of the cause of it all.

Until now.

Throughout the first half of the week, characters will find themselves suffering from that feeling of being watched on a far more constant basis. Rather than it being a one-off, few seconds occurrence each day, that feeling will last for minutes at a time, and on multiple occasions.

However, it isn't until the fifth day that they'll start stumbling across physical signs of their monitoring. There are claw marks on doors. Spots of blood on the paths outside. A crack of twigs in the forests, or the imprint of bloodied paws in the snow.

Ten days in and those signs start finding their way indoors. Wet footprints, tinged with red. Claw marks in the walls, the floor. Torn sheets and the smell of wet...something. Whatever it is that's been watching you, its finally decided to come and say hello.

Two weeks in and characters will begin to have sightings of the creature, its fur dark and its eyes a glowing yellow. At times it looks like a wolf, prowling in the distance. At other times, it's walking on its hind legs, almost human were it not for the muzzle full of gleaming sharp teeth. Get too close, and it slips away like a shadow, gone between one blink and the next. It decides when to reach out to characters, not the other way round.

It's after characters finally get a good look at the creature that it starts leaving...gifts. Characters will start to find familiar items from their home worlds amidst the mess. The remains of a childhood pet, perhaps. Photographs of loved ones, faces torn almost beyond recognition. It's only once it delivers its final gift that the creature retreats to the trees again: a blood-splattered item of clothing that clearly belongs to the person the character misses the most at the time, alive or dead.

[credit 1 & credit 2]

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[ he yelps when the branch wraps around his ankle unexpectedly, but he doesn't struggle, instead just staring at it. wait a minute. ]

Groot? Groot, stop messing around. Is that kind of plain looking guy-god with the eyepatch still with you? [ peter reaches down and pats the roots, trying to get them to release. does groot not realize it's him? ] You're not still mad at me, are you? Those games are rotting your brain. I'm serious.

[Somewhere, across divides and galaxies, across horrors, across millennia and the span of creation and consciousness there is a person laughing hysterically about what is about to be said.

Alec has no concern for that. Instead he steps out of the shadows, a 7 foot tall wall of green rotting plant matter, constantly shifting and moving. No point in threats.]

I'm not Groot.

[One very long vine pulls itself out of his body and points...before the vine around his ankle retracts. The creature sets his hands at his sides. Anyone powerful enough to capture him here would have a connection to the green.

This man is firmly in the red.]

[ oh. no, that is... not groot. he can't help the almost devastated expression that crosses over his face. ]

Definitely not. Groot is much cuter. [ said with all the pride of his dad!!!! ] At least, when his face isn't buried in that stupid game.

[Task at hand Quill. He'll ask about Groot later.]

Sorry to disappoint. Thankfully you're not my type. [As much as he hates to admit this - hates to admit it, if he picked a guy it'd probably be John. Out of all the men he's met he's the one who he respects the most and Abigail-

No time for that now Alec.

Focus on the task at hand.]

What is a Groot? And why did you think I was...him?

He's a tree. Also my son.

[ whatever. all he can do is shrug. ]

What is a... you?

[That...gives Alec considerable pause. A tree? And his son? The green surges against him and he stares stoically down at him.

This guy is looking out for a tree. Does he have any connection to the green? He's so deep in the red it's like seeing blood. Swimming in a lake of Kool-Aid.]

People call me The Swamp Thing. I'm a plant. I protect the life force of the earth.

[This man has no reason to lie.]

If you think this...Groot is here I can reach out for him and find out if he's here and safe.

Of Earth-earth? Cool.

[ peter even smiles a little, though it's wan. he's not his usual bubbly self today for a multitude of reasons though he really is trying to hold it together. ]

...You can do that? Like a phone tree, right? [ okay, he has to laugh at his own joke. see, he's fine! it's fine that his wife and son are gone forever and he's probably going to die really slowly forever. it's all good. ] Um. Yes. Do that thing - if you can't understand him I can translate.

[Like a phone tree. Alec doesn't know if he wants to laugh or cry at that. Or stare blankly. It's so painfully normal.

One thing he's noticed about this green is he can't access it without direct contact. That's concerning. Getting real results should be like making a phone call, not by going down to the DMV.

He finds himself wondering what this other man with a "tree" for a son will think of him slowly extending roots out of his arms and legs, planting them in the soil.

Something is really wrong. I haven't focused on human...things in awhile.

Still, once he has a solid connection he does a quick scan of the area - as far as he can reach - then another. Then another. Plenty of young saplings. Plenty of older trees, plenty of teen bushes, no one who seems to know a human who knows Bruce Lee movies. Or plays games.

He shuts them down before they can ask What game? What game? and pulls himself out of the green with a shake like a large green dog.

He can't hide the pity in his face.] I'm sorry. I can't find him. Or any sense of him.

[He pauses] I'll keep trying if you think he's lost somewhere Mr...

Lord. [ he supplies helpfully, then grimaces. STUPID THOR. ] Not mister - just. Starlord. I'm Starlord, legendary outlaw. You already forgot my whole speech.

I'm not really an outlaw anymore anyway. It was a little... you know, like, rude or whatever. Now I mostly save planets. In a casual way. If it pays good. What's, um. What's your whole... thing?

[ he puts his hands on his hips and watches swamp thing root into the ground. it doesn't faze him like even 1% of an iota. ]

[He knows a Maxwell Lord so he's about to say several choice things before the man's deal.

He saves planets and he has a tree for a son. Hrmm.]

I'm an earth elemental. The avatar of the green. I guard earth's plant life and it's interests, keep the balance between the animal and plant kingdoms, the prospect...of life and death.

[Wow Alec. That's the most pretentious thing you've said. Ever. And you've fought superman.

He stops and feels ashamed for forgetting the speech. Then feels concerned about feeling ashamed. This place is causing changes. Damages within him.

He pauses before reaching into his chest and pulling out his bag.]

You found one of these when you woke up? Full of...items?

[Personal effects. Honey it's bloom. Our love will bloom forever. Not blossom. Blossom is a noun.

I know Alec. The engraver got it wrong but I think it's cute. It'll make a great story to tell our kids some day.

He's stoic and staring but inside he's thinking of Abigail and wondering if there might be some plot here - collect these guardians of planets and beings and their loved ones and hold them hostage.]

Woah. That's wicked, dude. I was stolen from Earth when I was nine by my fake dad who turned out to be my real dad, so I appreciate you holdin' down the fort while I was in space, being the coolest guy, you know, ever.

Do you know Kevin Bacon?

[ focus, pete. the plant guy is asking you stuff. he points to the bag and its contents he left strewn in the field he woke up in, going to retrieve it and shove all the items back into it. he puts his blasters back on his belt and clips his walkman into his coat before getting back to his feet with the bag in question. there's one item he didn't put in the bag, still holding yondu's jewel frog. it feels real, tangible. does that mean...? ]

Hey. You don't think we're dead, do you? Because that would be super duper inconvenient, not to mention monumentally uncool.

[Despite everything Alec finds this guy growing on him. He has a type. Sarcastic assholes who appreciate nature - to a point or so. He raises an eyebrow, but the "dead" remark he's much clearer on. Especially when he sees the objects.]

No. We're not dead.

I've died twice or so. Trust me. I'd know.

[He pauses.] ...Your objects. Do they belong to living people or dead ones?

That's crazy! I've almost died, like, so much but I've never actually done it. Oh, sorry. It probably sucked, huh?

[ he's sarcastic but also somehow earnest af. peter quill everyone. he looks down at the frog and closes his hand around it protectively before looking back up at alec. ]

This was my daddy's. I buried it with him.

I'm sorry for your loss.

[He is. Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust might not work - whoever this boy's father was he has returned to the green. That doesn't make the hurt go away.

He shoves his own past away from this before he stares at him, debating about trusting him with the knowledge of his own pack...

After a moment he exhumes the bag from his chest and selects the papers.]

These are mine, from before I died. They should not exist.

[He puts it back in the bag and puts the bag back in his chest.] You say that object was buried with your father. Whatever has brought us here must have some...supernatural ability. Be watchful.

What weapons can you use?

[ he makes a grossed out face when he expels the bag from his chest, but then his eyes are alight with something like wonder. this guy is a lot like groot, when he was an adult anyway. groot who's also died more than once, it gives him pause. ]

That was gross. And really, really cool.

[ juST SAYIN'. he glances at the papers, but doesn't have a chance to identify what they're supposed to be before they're away again. peter looks back down before holding up the jewels between his finger and thumb so alec can see. ]

He had a million little treasures like this. He loved stealin', not just for jobs, but just if he thought something was neat.

[ kind of like a bird. there's a deep fondness in his eyes as he clears his throat and places the item reverently into his pocket. ]

Weapons? I mean, all sorts of stuff. If it's deadly, I've probably used 'em. And my guns are right here, if that's what you're talkin' about.

[ he draws them and spins them like a real outlaw before holstering them again. ]

[He nods mutely, glossing over the idea of anything being gross.] My bag was also filled with personal possessions that belonged to loved ones.

[He considers the man in front of him.]

Perhaps it's best we stay together. If you assume your son is somewhere on the island I can help you find him.

[ peter nods, showing alec his walkman by opening his coat briefly. ]

This was my mom's. My dad - the evil one not the cool one - broke it because he was a big, stupid dingus face, but now I got it back. I wish I had my Zune though... Kraglin says they're all the rage on Earth and it had three hundred songs on it. Man, it was cool.

[ oh, this guy wants to hang? that's cool, that's cool. he's been nice so far so peter nods even if he probably shouldn't still be so trusting of strangers considering... you know, his entire life. ]

Yeah, we really should look for him. He's a teenager right now and it totally sucks, but soon he'll be cool again. I just know it. I was with Drax and Mantis too - can you sense bug-people too or just plant-people? Oh, uh. Is there anyone you're looking for? We could keep an eye out for them, too.

[Hrm. His expression darkens.]

Fathers.

[That could mean anything or nothing. He's not entirely sure he wants to share that he used to be a man yet.

The notion of a teenager however - he's befriended a number of children in all of his incarnations as well as sired one of his own.]

My daughter is considerably difficult. I understand. Tefe is...complicated. She's older now however.

[She was never really my daughter either. Except in a way she was. His eyes close and he gestures.]

Insect people?

It's okay, I murderated his ass.

[ he nods. yondu had died in the process, which hardly seemed worth it. but ego had to be put down. peter sighs.]

Complicated, okay. That really isn't a problem for me.

[ peter lifts an eyebrow, the shadow of a smile on his face. he nods at the question. ]

Name's Mantis, she's got big antenna... things. Which are not for feeling doorways so she doesn't get decapitated, just FYI. She's an empath. And she can make people sleep just by touchin' 'em.

[An empath. This poses a degree of concern. It's hard not to feel affection for Quill however. Especially since he's giving so much information up so freely.

All the more reason to be watchful, and pay attention.]

She's of the animal kingdom one way or another. The only insects I'm familiar with are the ones that tend to be attracted to swamps.

[he nods.] I will watch for her however, and the trees will keep an eye out too.

This green is...strange. I feel disconnected yet connected at the same time to it. It's...uncomfotable.

The green. [ he makes a face, ok then. ] Oh, hey, cool. You can talk to the trees here? Even though they're... weird, or whatever?

You can talk to animals?! Woah. I also know a raccoon if you wanna keep an eye out for him. And I don't really know what Drax is, but he'll probably show up, too. Sorry about your whole thing, though. Is there anything I can do?

I can't talk to animals. That's a different kingdom.

[He pauses] Well I can. But like this, not like how I speak to the trees. It's a different language. The language of my people compared to...animals.

[even if he was an animal. He stops, trying to think.]

No. Not until we stop for the night I think. I need to commune with this green-These plants. Perhaps they might have clues about who has captured us.

Oh, okay. Cool. [ it sounds dismissive and unsure and somehow... sincere, all at once. ] Well, while you do all that tree-talkin' stuff I'm gonna look for my people the old-fashioned way.

[ he starts getting ready to go when he realizes he doesn't want to just ditch alec. also... ]

You never told me your name, man. Wanna meet up later and talk about which thing worked better?

...You can call me Alec.

[So much for code names. He moves toward a thick grove of trees.]

As soon as I've investigated the green I'll come and find you. The green should know if your people have arrived. I'll be sure to ask.

Weird name for a tree monster, but okay. Sweet. I'm Peter. [ wait, he already said he was starlord. goddamnit. he mutters under his breath, ] That was my one chance, ugh. Whatever.

[ at least alec seems cool. he holds out his fist for a bump. ]

You ask that green stuff and I'm gonna look with my eyeballs. Then we can get dinner or something. Do you eat... you know what, nevermind. That can be a fun surprise. Bye, Alec!

[ he waves over his shoulder and pulls up his earphones, hitting play then adjusting the strap on his bag across his chest. here goes nothin'. ]

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TDM/September.

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