❪ event ❫ spirited away

[natha]

PRELUDE     I'll get straight to the point, Thesaens. Dranbu is in dire need of assistance. I have received confirmation that the disappearances we were investigating last month have... escalated. Be cautious as you make your way through Josa Forest. Ideally we could go straight through, but it seems the main entrance to Dranbu is overgrown with thorns and vines, and there's a bit of a glitch with the rail system - the train is having trouble recognizing the Dranbu station as a destination. I've uploaded a homing beacon to your devices with this message. Once enough of you have arrived in Dranbu proper, it should communicate with the train and register it as a stop. With any luck, that will make getting back and forth much easier for you all from now on. Best of luck. Entry to the forest is not only overgrown with vegetation, but seems to be growing at an increasingly alarming rate. Any attempts to clear the vines will be met with even larger ones growing in its place, and it only confirms Nurray's findings as true. The only way in is across the sound from Nadril, entering the forest from its snowy back yard. It doesn't stay cold for long; as one ventures further into the forest, the snow will disappear, as though it was completely out of place in the first place. The red sun's warmth will take its place soon after— and before long, you'll feel too warm for the clothes you came with. That's when you know you've entered the heart of Josa Forest. WITHIN THE FOREST     The forest seems to be thick with a profound presence that can’t be ascertained. While venturing through it, one will feel like there are being watched or followed. This feeling will only intensify as metallic-scented drops of rain begin to fall between the clearings in the trees. Unfortunately, what many don’t realize at this point is that this is how the forest itself eats. How it subsists and lives through the minds of those who eventually get lost in it. Wandering this far in is akin to walking into a lion’s jaw, or rather… straight to its stomach. But, the forest has a way of making one stay. While it swallows someone up, it shows them sinfully beautiful and picturesque sights. Even showing them people or things that are familiar to the lost. All of which will urge them to go in deeper and deeper. But, while the forest begins to prey on the mind of their victim— they will suddenly hear an elegant and alluring voice urging them back. This voice promises them comfort and safety. Promises to be kind and open. Promises she has a place for them where they will never feel displaced or unwanted, or lost. Before they can fully accept, they will find that they are whisked away in Barthala’s embrace. Some will be taken, wiped of all their previous memories and inserted new ones. Others will find they have no prior memories at all of themselves, only urged to go on with regular life. What is prevalent is the forest's desire to turn you. Metamorphosis is a phenomenon that occurs only to certain individuals, and there is no rhyme or reason to them. Some adventurers would find themselves changing by the minute, the hour, or the process may even take days and weeks. The forest toys with you, but it only wants to draw you closer to its core — as though there's a story there it wants you to see and understand. Will you go on anyway, knowing the forest has already has its claws on you? I. ALL ROADS LEAD TO — Exploring the forest is not a perilous experience - Barthala's blessing ensures that paths remain clear of any dangerous obstacles, and keeps anyone who enters the woods from losing their way. However, it will not always lead adventurers where they want to go. Stressed? Your path leads to a meadow, grass drifting gently in the breeze. Tired? You'll find your way to a tree with roots perfectly curved for a nap, the shade a peaceful retreat from the sunlight. The hungry will find streams full of fish or bushes laden with berries, and the curious will come upon elder trees, unique and beautiful. Only those who are truly satisfied with their circumstances, with themselves, can forge their own path, and venture to Barthala's Grotto. II. BARTHALA'S GROTTO — The deity's home is host to an abundance of life. Butterflies drift through the air, brilliantly colored and unbothered by any intruders. Foliage blooms in a rainbow of colors, many plants unique to this area alone. With trees arranged to provide a canopy over the path and small clearing, the scene is something out of a fantasy. Any plant life taken from this area will not survive long, though even in its dead, dried state, it retains a curious beauty. Explorers and creatures finding themselves in this area will suddenly find their clothing to be an unnecessary burden - what could be better than feeling the wonders of nature against bare skin? There is nothing unbecoming about such a natural state, any perverse inclinations are an aspect of personal preference. While the presence of Barthala can be felt here - a warm, comfortable sensation emanating from your core - she is nowhere to be found. Only one will have the opportunity to pass under a veil of willow branches and emerge to the cool air of a clear-as-glass spring. Another nearby grotto is home to a plant with intoxicating effects. Just smelling the leaves is enough to entice most animals, and consuming them has effects on both mind and body. More easily amused, with thoughts that weave deep and distant, along with increased sensory perception can bring the user on a pleasant trip lasting up to five hours. III. INFLUENCES — (18+) Every five days, a weed scattered in patches among the forest underbrush blooms. The flowers are small and white, unremarkable except for how clustered they grow. When their petals fall, after only hours of blossoming, pollen drifts through the air. It clings to clothing, to hair, in the throats of the sensitive animals dwelling in the forest. Even those unaltered by Barthala's magic can be affected. The locals of Dranbu claim the pollen enhances fertility, but in practice, it simply serves as a poignant aphrodisiac. Those affected won't differentiate between the warmth of another or their own, a simple need to experience sexual ecstasy overwhelmingly pervaded. The pollen loses its potency after about three hours, leaving behind only a sweet smell. YOUR NEW (NEW) LIFE    Adapting to an entirely new setting isn’t always so simple. People often say that assimilating oneself to the environment happens fluidly, and before you know it, you’re a part of it. In Dranbu, these words hold an uncanny sense of truth. When you awake, your day begins like it always has. Your daily routine meets largely unchanged, except a few tinier details. Perhaps, you’ve realized your true calling is an occupation within the villages itself. Maybe in farming up strange medical herbs, maybe in acting as a witch doctor for the people, or maybe you find yourself drawn to the arts and you really enjoy sculpting fellow villagers in the nude. Once you commit these tasks, you realize, it feels like what you’ve always done. As if it were natural, as if you’ve done them for years, and maybe you have? At least that’s what your gut is telling you, and slowly your memories will too. At the end of the day, when you return home, you realize you’re not alone. You have a partner who shares the same values and whom you love deeply. Or maybe a spouse whom you’re always arguing with. But, even that will feel as commonplace as the rest of your day. All you know is that the day that might have started off not being yours is entirely yours and yours alone. IV. THE HUNT — Those taken by the forest, animal features adorning their bodies, will find that their palates have changed as well. Carnivores crave raw meat, while herbivores don't mind snacking on a patch of grass or pulling leaves from branches. For most, there's no reason to cook a meal; once prey is captured, instinct says dig right in! It can be a gruesome sight, mangled bodies gorged upon leaving bloodstained faces, but it's natural. As is the hunt itself - any size of game can be found in the forest, and no one will go hungry for long. The magic that dwells here ensures a catch even for the clumsiest predator. Just take care not to stalk one of your own. For a hungry predator, there's no difference between a deer and a deer-like human. THE BOUNDARIES BEYOND     For some, placated is synonymous with bored. While there is a sense of wonder in the beauties of nature that adorn the woods, serene forest life isn't for everyone. Those seeking more adventure can explore the challenging slopes of Waco Mountain. Barthala's influence is weaker on those bluffs than in Josa Forest itself, so thrill chasers won't be disappointed. Lose the path, slip on loose rocks, fall into a stream and spend a night wet and cold, there are many perils that come with traveling a mountain-side. Scattered ruins offer some shelter, their walls carved with images resembling Barthala, a dragon, and three other stranger creatures. While the deity's pacification does not flow as deeply through this region, all are still save from mortal wounds, and the veil cast over their memories will not lessen. If you have made it this far, however, there is no reason to try to return to the main city of Dranbu. Accommodations are always available in the neighboring villages: Phares in the north, and Stroln in the south. These villages are in friendly competition with one another, and will tempt travelers with women and men of their kind in order to draw in business to their hotels. FINAL OOC NOTES     No REP is available for this log. REP will now be primarily available through achieving NPC quests, which will be available on the 19th! Please keep an eye out for that! Dranbu is entirely available for exploration! You may find that most of Wyver and Olympia Flora/Fauna may be found in the forest as well. For more information on your characters' (opt-in) Metamorphosis, please refer to the November Outline! QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● lore ● map ● npcs ● bestiary taken ● atp/emp ● application ● rep/acp ● quest bulletin calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

[lednikovyy]

[ Bucky groans and he's not sure if it's from those warm hands on his skin or the request, but they're both pretty damn enticing. In this moment, Bucky can't think of much he wants more than to explore Thomas's body like his life depends on it. ]

Yeah?

[ The word is breathless and for a moment Bucky considers if it would be better to lie and pretend that he knows what he's doing with another man. It can't be that different, because he's already finding that it feels just as good to kiss and touch, even as he rolls his hips to test it out and the friction pulls a need little sound from his throat.

He ducks his head to kiss Thomas's jaw, sloppy as he starts to walk him back towards a tree. ]

Might need to give me a few pointers.

[ettersberg]

[ bucky might need a few pointers when it comes to the mechanics, but as far as thomas is concerned, his instincts are excellent —he can't (and doesn't try to) swallow the groan that escapes when his back his the tree, when he finds himself trapped between that and bucky, arching against him. ]

That wouldn't be an issue. [ god, their hips meeting feels impossibly good, impossibly necessary ] we can do something simpler, too. [ he manages, after a moment, voice rough and low. something like his hand down the front of bucky's trousers or simple friction until they both cannot take it anymore, until they spill helplessly. it would be good and thomas finds himself wanting that, wanting the immediate release almost as much as he wants to feel bucky inside him, pushing into him.

instead of making the choice, he lets his head fall back, hitting the trunk of the tree, pulling bucky close with one arm around his neck, the other fumbling and pulling at bucky's shirt and the buttons of his trousers. ]

[lednikovyy]

Simple is good, too.

[ His voice is a little breathless as his right hand finds its way under the hem of Thomas's shirt to find warm skin. He's overcome with the urge to touch and taste and lose himself in it. In a funny way, he feels more like that old, lost version of himself than he has in a long time and he wants to chase that feeling as much as he can. He could be back in an alley in Brooklyn, worked up from dancing and sliding his hand up someone's skirt. Maybe there's no skirt here, but it doesn't really matter all that much, does it?

There are fingers unbuttoning his fly and he can't help rocking his hips a little, breath hitching in anticipation. ]

Simple is real good.

[ More open-mouthed kisses against Thomas's throat and then he hooks the fingers of his left hand in Thomas's waistband to anchor himself, forgetting the fact that the metal is probably a little cool to the touch. ]

I want you.

[ There's so much weight to those words for him, but he doesn't want to fight it. The want is there, clear as day, and he can't see a negative side to this if they both want it. ]

[ettersberg]

[ the metal of bucky's left hand is cool to the touch, but it isn't unpleasant. instead, it's a contrast to the heat burning inside him, the fire stoked by the open-mouthed kisses bucky's brushing against his skin, prompting nightingale to tip his head back further, baring his throat, moaning softly.

i want you ] —yes.

[ it's mutual and nightingale hurries to undo bucky's trousers finally, to push them open and just far enough out of the way that he can sink one hand into them, that he can wrap his fingers around bucky's cock and give it a first pull. it's unceremonious, lacking finesse or patience, but he needs to touch, needs to feel bucky close and closer still. ]

[lednikovyy]

[ Maybe there isn't a whole lot of skill or finesse happening right now, but that sure is the first hand that's touched Bucky like that in a good 70 years and he can't help the way he whines at the feeling of it. Sure, he's touched himself, but there's really no comparison and this feels amazing. He feels like a fucking kid again and he's not even embarrassed right now, because maybe he doesn't know all the steps, but he knows the music and he can muddle through the rest.

He own fingers are clumsy on Thomas's pants, but they're fighting to get the job done. Bucky's no quitter, but he's acutely aware that his left hand is a hell of a lot steadier than his right one is right now. He can't even manage to keep his hips still and maybe it's better if they don't fuck, because Bucky's not sure he'll even last that long the way he's feeling and he doesn't try to stop himself from making filthy noises right in Thomas's ear, moans and whimpers pulled from him like he's already half-lost. ]

You feel so good.

[ Silence has never been Bucky's strength in moments like these, but more than that, he feels this almost compulsive need to keep it a little more dirty than intimate. He hasn't let anyone in in a long time and he's not planning to start at this exact moment, so instead he focuses on getting his right hand into Thomas's underwear to palm at him experimentally. It's not like touching himself at all, but he still thinks he can transfer enough of those skills to make sure they both have a good time. Focusing on someone else's pleasure is nice, even when he's got a burning need of his own. ]

[ettersberg]

[ there are times when skill and finesse aren't necessary —and right now is one such time, thomas would say. the lack of skill or finesse doesn't matter in light of the fact that they're touching, skin on skin. it doesn't matter in light of bucky's fingers curling around thomas' cock, palming him. thomas is hard and heavy in bucky's hand, leaking a little because of the need that's been building inside him, not helped by the filthy little noises that bucky's been making. ]

Good lord — [ he rasps out, hips jerking forward a little, pushing himself into bucky's hand, seeking pressure and friction and more. just more.

he tips his head forward until his forehead rests against bucky's shoulder, then turns his head to mouth at bucky's neck for a moment. it isn't overly coordinated because he's breathing too hard, panting almost. his own hand around bucky's hardness speeds up a little, thumb flicking over the head with every other stroke. ]

[lednikovyy]

[ Bucky can't help laughing a little, even with the needy movements and shuttered breathing, because he doesn't think he's ever gotten a good lord out of anyone and it's kind of funny in a surreal way because this whole thing is surreal, but it's not bad. Not by a long shot.

Still, the laughter turns into a moan pretty quickly when he feels lips on his skin and he tips his head to the side to invite more.

With a little more confidence, he wraps his fingers around Thomas and starts to stroke him, listening for signs of what he might like as Bucky tries to find a comfortable angle and the right pressure. He really does feel like a kid in an ally outside a dance hall again, only half sure of what he's doing and acutely aware of how easily they could be caught like this. He doesn't care and he hadn't cared much back then, either, too busy chasing pleasure and losing himself in another person.

His left hand tangles in Thomas's hair, gentle and encouraging even as the fingers are unyielding. ]

You got any fuckin' idea what you sound like right now?

[ There's nothing but awe and attraction in his voice. ]

"smut" did you mean me rambling about nightingale endlessly oops

[ettersberg]

[ bucky's laughter vibrates through his body and thomas is acutely aware of it like he is aware of everything that is bucky, of everything happening within the circle of their entangled limbs —and of very little outside of it, all his focus on this. it turns into a moan and thomas chases that sound, scraping his teeth gently against skin and tendons.

at the same time, his hips push more insistently into bucky's hand, seeking a similar rhythm to the one he's setting for bucky, too, a little slower than he really wants but something that can build.

(he doesn't feel like a kid outside a dance hall again because that was never the experience thomas had. instead, this brings back memories of being a schoolboy in an all-male boarding school. it brings back memories of working for the foreign office and visiting other countries, other places, finding those interested in the same things he was, always careful, so careful, that they wouldn't be caught because this sort of thing has been a crime for most of his adult life.

by the time it was decriminalised in the uk, the war had taken its toll on him and he hadn't been looking anymore. here, things are different. in some ways, this planet has brought a kind of awakening. back home, peter had dragged him back into the life of the city and the metropolitan police department. this is a different thing altogether, but the principle is similar.)

he drags in a breath, chest tight and every part of him burning with need. ]

Not unlike you do, I'd imagine. [ he manages after a moment. ]

the best kind of smut!

[lednikovyy]

[ Everything feels so sharp, from the teeth at his throat to the spikes of pleasure and lust that run up his spine, and he couldn't stay quiet now if he wanted to. Not that he wants to. They're alone enough. They've got enough space that there's no self consciousness left in him to fight to stay quiet.

His breath hitches and he doesn't fight back the whines, doesn't try to keep his hips still. He matches the rhythm Thomas has set and takes his cues and lets himself get lost in that, trying to pull sounds and shudders from the other man. Some part of him wants to press as close as he can, give and take until there's nothing left between them and no line between them that either of them can find.

He tugs gently at Thomas's hair, turns his head to try to chase a kiss and now his eyes are hazy with lust, his own hair falling in the way a little, but he doesn't pay it much mind.

Nothing else matters. This is just the two of them right now. ]

<3

[ettersberg]

[ even without the influence of the pollen, this would be utterly intoxicating —the way bucky sounds, the look of him with eyes glazed over with lust, how he's fucking into thomas' hand, shuddering and moaning, the whines. combined with bucky's hand around his own cock, the matching rhythm, thomas isn't going to last long.

he thinks he gasps as much into the air between them, but he can't be sure. maybe it gets lost in the kiss. it's a little uncoordinated, not graceful, but then it doesn't need to be. it's just another point of connection, utterly necessary and wonderful, and thomas tugs bucky closer, pace of his hand speeding up, and loses himself entirely to sensation, the pressure at the base of his spine building. ]

[lednikovyy]

[ Bucky has no problem keeping up and as Thomas's pace gets a little quicker, so does Bucky's. It feels like they're melting together, sloppy as it is. Maybe because it's so sloppy, but it's really not a bad thing, Bucky thinks. It almost makes it better that they're so desperate, pawing at each other like a couple of horny teenagers when they're clearly anything but, even just by the way they both look.

He breaks the kiss to mouth at Thomas's jaw and whisper hotly in his ear. ]

Come on. Let me see you.

[ Maybe if he wasn't half out of his own mind with need, he could have come up with something better, but there's a broken neediness to his voice that he couldn't contain if he wanted to. ]

[ettersberg]

[ there's nothing prompting thomas to hold back and a great many things encouraging him to let go and so when bucky whispers into his ear, urging him on, he gasps and pushes his hips into bucky's hand again and then again before coming, back arching off the tree and muscles straining with it.

he comes, and it feels incredible —but as he comes down from the momentary high to focus on bucky's pleasure instead of his own, he finds that it doesn't really seem like enough, that need still burns bright even now. it's sated enough, at least, that he can properly focus. that he can brush his lips against bucky's check, mutter— ] Let me.

[ that he can uncurl his fingers from around bucky's cock and set them on bucky's hip to hold him still, to push him back just far enough that he can sink to his knees unceremoniously and lean in, taking bucky into his mouth. ]

[lednikovyy]

[ Bucky pumps him through it, marveling at just how unexpectedly sexy this whole experience is and how much the sight of Thomas like that only makes his own need that much more urgent.

All he can do is nod as the other man shifts and drops to his knees and holy Hell that's a view.

He braces his weight on the tree with his arm, acutely aware that his hand is still sticky and that his clean hand has already done a number on Thomas's hair. He tries his best to keep his hips still and only sort of succeeds, because there's a very real part of his that wants to just take and his self control needs a reminder that he's stronger than he looks and the last thing he wants to do is hurt someone. ]

Think I might let you do just about anything right now.

[ It's meant as a compliment, because really Bucky's surprised he can form a sentence with how good he feels right now. ]

[ettersberg]

[ thomas can't exactly reply right now, at least not with actual words. he's a little busy —but he does reply in his own way, one hand warmly squeezing bucky's hip, humming around bucky's cock in not just acknowledgement but encouragement.

the truth is that he loves this. there's something about the heavy weight of a cock in his mouth, about making his partner feel good like this, about hands in his hair and hips twitching forward, trying to chase the heat. there's something about the struggle between maintaining control and losing it, about tightly coiled muscle.

he's decidedly too old for a short refraction period, but between this and whatever magic is in the air and in their lungs, his spent cock is already stirring again, getting interested in proceedings. he doesn't really notice, entirely focused on bucky, on hollowing his cheeks and sucking, on pressing his tongue against the bundle of nerves. on doing just about everything, in short, to make bucky lose it. ]

[lednikovyy]

[ Losing it isn't something Bucky's too far away from as it is. He'd already been getting close before Thomas dropped to his knees and now he's just sorry he won't be able to truly enjoy that view for long, because there is something impossibly hot about someone dropping like that and wrapping their lips around him and Bucky will think about the fact that it's usually been a woman later, because right now there's no room for thinking about anything but the moment at hand.

The sounds he makes grow louder, fingers twisting and tugging at hair as he can feel his orgasm building. ]

'M gonna--[ And that's about all the warning he can manage, doing his best to relax his grip so Thomas can move before he's coming with a low whine. ]

[ettersberg]

[ bucky gives him space to draw back, to pull off —but thomas does nothing of the sort. if anything, he redoubles his efforts, breathless and with need growing in his chest and making his stomach feel tight again despite his earlier orgasm.

he doesn't pull off, and when bucky comes with a low whine, he swallows, sucking him through it, only slowly gentling his ministrations. ]

[lednikovyy]

[ Bucky watches with a sort of rapt fascination. That's incredibly fucking dirty and not at all in a bad way.

He's got his weight braced against the tree, but after a moment he feels a little more steady on his legs and he lowers himself down next to Thomas. The edge he's been feeling is still there, but for the moment he just wants to catch his breath. ]

Holy shit.

[ When he looks up, he's still panting, eyes blown wide and he doesn't feel in the least bit ready to be done. ]

[ettersberg]

[ bucky lowers himself to the ground and thomas finds the thought of not touching him utterly impossible, so he reaches out to set one hand on bucky's shoulder —and then his body acts without checking in with his mind, want still coursing just under the surface, and he moves to straddle bucky, to press himself close, to nose at his jaw. ]

Can I kiss you? [ better to ask, he remembers just in time. not everyone likes the taste of come that's still on his tongue. ]

[lednikovyy]

[ It's not exactly a moment of deep thought or reflection for Bucky. The longer it goes on, the less Bucky resists the whole idea of just going with it. Kissing sounds good, especially with the warm weight settling on him so he nods gently, making a soft affirmative sound before he manages a verbal answer. ]

Yeah. Please.

[ His voice is rough, but his face is nothing but pleased as he turns his head to meet halfway. ]

[ettersberg]

[ bucky's voice is rough and thomas' stomach clenches with it. he leans in, hands sliding over bucky's shoulders, one moving into his hair, before he fits his lips over bucky's.

it starts slow, but firm, betraying some of the need that thomas still feels, even now that the urgency is gone. ]

[lednikovyy]

[ Kissing is no hardship right now. There's something almost emotionally satisfying in letting himself close his eyes and lose himself in another person. Now that some of the edge is gone, it's a little easier to do that and it's been so damn long. He'd almost forgotten how much he'd loved this sort of intimate affection and absently, he's a little aware that he can taste himself, but it's hard to let the oddness of that that overpower how good it feels to be touched and kissed like this.

He wipes his hand on the side of his jeans--something else to care about later--and brings both of his hands up to Thomas's waist, thumbs rubbing encouraging patterns through his clothes, because he can't imagine wanting to be anywhere else right now when this feels so good. ]

[ettersberg]

[ bucky's hands find his waist and thomas takes it as an invitation to press closer, to curl both hands in bucky's hair and deepen the kiss. it brings their hips together and he lets out a pleased hum at the touch, sparking want in his stomach even though his cock is still spent. it won't, he thinks, stay that way long —and perhaps that ought to give him pause, but he likes this too much.

so he simply kisses bucky again and then again, deeper, a little filthy. ]

[lednikovyy]

[ Bucky thinks he could get used to this again--kissing someone like they're the only thing in the world. He'd always been the kind of guy to throw himself into things entirely and God, has he missed this.

Eyes closed, he kisses Thomas like he's lost and that kiss lights his way home, all heated affection and need as he lets his hands wander a little. Maybe he's not in a rush to get off anymore, but he still feels the need thrumming under his skin like a heartbeat. ]

[ettersberg]

[ bucky pours so much affection into the kiss that thomas feels like he loses himself in that. it turns what could have been a somewhat anonymous shag against a tree into something warmer, something more personal.

they don't know each other, but with kisses like this? thomas finds he wants to know bucky.

in more than just the carnal sense, but —also in that sense, very much, still. ]

[lednikovyy]

[ The thing is that Bucky had had a healthy sex life back in the forties, but it had never been anonymous. He's not sure he really know how to do this anonymously, because it takes out a lot of the appeal for him. This is oddly perfect, though. Maybe they don't know each other, but it doesn't feel like nothing, either. There's a connection to it that Bucky's been sorely missing, even if it isn't a very deep one.

He tugs at Thomas's clothes until he can slip his right hand under the other man's shirt to slide his palm over warm skin. ]

You're wearing too much clothing.

[ The words are mumbled into Thomas's jaw as Bucky ducks his head to kiss whatever skin he can reach. ]