A NEW YEAR, A FORGOTTEN YOU

[sticksandbonesmods]

Once upon a time, in the continent of Ostorn, there was a town called Haven. After a deadly plague had ravaged the lands, a man decided to strike out and pave a new trade route to cities barred by a lack of roads and an abundance of natural blockades...

Welcome to the first past life plotting post of 2025! Sticks and Bones is a setting where player characters are the reincarnations of previous residents of the town that Aldric founded within the woods as a midway stop between cities on his new trade route. The continent of Ostorn and the world of Sticks and Bones is a magical land inspired by the Tales of series, among other games. Below in the comments are some explanations, locations and pre-existing NPCs who can be referenced!

Players with dropped characters are encouraged to include their dropped characters if only for potential backstory purposes for others, but it is not a requirement.

While we don't want to restrict things a lot, we must ask you keep the following in mind!

• Although this is a magical setting where plant-animals and beasts like the Guardians exist, characters must be human in their past life, with few exceptions. Please speak to the mods if you feel something else is better for your character.
• The level of technology was a bit skewed, but largely it was very basic electricity that just... happened to be magic. Light bulbs, the magic of indoor plumbing. 
• Speaking of magic, while there are forms of magic such as enchantment and standard RPG mechanics, the Celestial magic that's been included in the game plot is not open to characters in their past lives.
• You are more than welcome to include new locations or expand on current ones, though if it is noted to reach out to a specific player about it, please do that. Ostorn is a large continent, and there is an even bigger world out there.
• The Goddesses are known, but very distantly as ancient history. Religion depends on the region, but Guardians, being demigod animals, are frequent objects of worship.
• Your past life should not be a 1:1 parallel to your current life! Things change, situations change, and the new reincarnations got off very badly actually.

When you're ready, please use this form and then tag out!

Name: it u
Place of Birth: where u from
Reasons for Joining the Grove: why u here
History: whahappun (also how did u die)
Role: what u doin
Looking for: what are you most interested in having for your past life cr?
Wants and Wishes: anything else!

<b>Name:</b> it u<br /><b>Place of Birth:</b> where u from<br /><b>Reasons for Joining the Grove:</b> why u here<br /><b>History:</b> whahappun<br /><b>Role:</b> what u doin<br /><b>Looking for:</b> what are you most interested in having for your past life cr? <br /><b>Wants and Wishes:</b> anything else!<br />

Comments

LOCATIONS

[sticksandbonesmods]

HAVEN

[sticksandbonesmods]

A small ocean-side town with a semi-populated port, and the starting location of the initial expedition. It invokes the feeling of a starting town in a JRPG, and holds a largely European-adjacent culture. Notably, an enchanter who sold Aldric the Golden Glasses he stocks and some other magic items lived there with his apprentices.

ROSEROOT

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A city on the other side of the forest, and the initial destination for establishing a shorter trade route. Much wealthier, and noted to have much higher quality goods including local medicines that Aldric was especially keen on getting to Haven. This was a very well-to-do city, and people from Roseroot are generally considered to be of a higher class than most folks.

THE MORAIS DUCHY

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A very nearby territory, though not the home of Haven or Roseroot. Dionira and her late husband, Cyrus, ruled over it while her brother Astarion tended to the family vineyard. Her oldest children vanished one day, with their uncle being the most likely suspect... Despite Dionira's callousness, she was an excellent ruler until her death, leaving the territory without any heir. The Duchy's main import was wines, dyes and perfumes. As this is tied to a former character heavily, please reach out to Amity for any potential major ideas!

THE CRESCENT ISLANDS

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A series of islands that make up a crescent shape around a brilliant blue cove. Not much has been revealed about this land, but it's been alluded to be an equivalent to Japan. As players decide more information, we'll add it here!

THE EMERALD SEA

[sticksandbonesmods]

A sea known for its gem-green waters, wrapped around the peninsula part of the forest rests on. A single lighthouse keeps the rocky shores alight. The sea is inhabited by Sea Monsters of various shapes and sizes and levels of bio-luminescence.

MAJOR PLAYERS

[sticksandbonesmods]

Aldric (founder and leader of the original expedition, a kind merchant who sought to expand trade across the continent to allow the flow of high quality goods and medicines to reach more towns. Father of three, 'mayor' of a sort, and probably unofficially adopted half the grove. If you had a shit dad, he did punch them at least once.)

Olivia (Aldric's sister, co-founder, and probably the most willing to get aggressive of the three- but only when necessary. Otherwise she's commemorated as jolly, gentle and vibrant. Also a huge lebsian. Wooed many women. Maybe even you.)

Renard (Aldric's closest friend, co-founder, and a man for the finer things in life. Despite this, he's no less unwilling to get his hands dirty with hard work.)

Grace (The original and main town doctor, mother of Add and Nene.)

Nene (Grace's adopted daughter, a gardener, the first to be corrupted and the future demise of the town, much to her dismay.)

Helputt (Captain of the town Guard and father to Chung, a former player character. A very good man. Painfully good, even.)

QUESTIONS

[sticksandbonesmods]

Merlot and co

[quirkynote]

Previous post right here.

A.B.A

[quirkynote]

Name: Alice Hohenheim
Place of Birth: Roseroot

Reasons for Joining the Grove: Alice was brought into the Grove as a child by her father, who was looking for somewhere a little less hustle and bustle for his sickly daughter to thrive. It worked, and Alice was able to grow into adulthood until eventually meeting her fate.

History:
Alice was pretty much the opposite of A.B.A personality-wise. Despite it all, she was very happy and friendly, able to do amazing things such as socialize and not scare people off. She also looked much more like A.B.A's earlier appearance, having striking red hair in a shorter cut. People may have a hard time recognizing her in old photos right away, but if you look close enough, they definitely have the same face.

Like mentioned before, Alice was brought into the Grove by her father, who was already interested in going anyway to help its development. He was a man of science and offered to help on the technical front, but also wanted to use this opportunity to study the forest. Her parents separated for reasons unrelated, all that's known is that Alice's mother did not join them.

As Alice grew, she became much more optimistic of her future. She was old enough to get married! She might be able to get a home of her very own! She might make it to old age! Sure, she was weak, some days were spent bedridden inside, but she had no reason to believe her life was going to be cut short. (haha whoops)

Speaking of being inside, though, Alice's father desperately wished she would stay inside more often. It was not uncommon for her to sneak out and explore the Grove. Much like A.B.A, she had a strong sense of curiosity and hated to be contained. Having a bubbly Alice come up to you and see if you needed any help was just a part of life. She wanted to be useful, although some people may have found her bothersome.

The person who would've found her the most bothersome would be the Grove's version of Paracelsus. Did you know Paracelsus has a canon human form, even though it's from a noncanon ending? There you go, there's what he looked like. That's the love of her life. Anyway, a lot of Alice's outside time was used following him around like a lovesick puppy. Since Paracelsus's real name is Flament Nagel, past Paracelsus's name was probably something stupid like Nigel. Much like Paracelsus, Nigel was very tsun about Alice's advances. He acted annoyed, and a lot of times he was, but deep down he liked the attention. He was a scary looking guy, after all. Quiet, shy, people didn't come up to him as much.

Part of what made him so scary was his love for the occult. But unlike someone cool who might join an actual cult, Nigel was just a dork who was interested in demons and monsters, he never stuck his toes into the real deal. Instead, he and Alice would run off to his little hideout in the woods where he would show her his diagrams, skull masks (goat skull in honor of Paracelsus's Moroha mode), and talk about his demonsona. All while Alice stared at him with hearts in her eyes. She thought it was cute when he got excited about the things he liked, since he's normally such a quiet guy. There was no doubt in her mind that she was going to marry this man someday.

But it never happened. As well as she was doing, there was no way someone as weak as Alice was getting out of that fire. It's very likely she was an easy victim and didn't get much father than her bedroom door. If anyone tried to get her out of there, it was probably her not-lover, and they died together tragically. Alice died cursing her weakness, wishing she was stronger.

Role: Man, great question. As much as I love to blab about what she did, I really can't think of anything that would make her important. I'm okay with her just being a background character if it comes to it, but if anyone has any ideas, I'm so open. I'd love to have her at least stumble on something.

Looking for: Anything and everything! So far, the only connection she has is with PV and Lily, which I adore. I'd love to know if she had more friends, annoyed anyone, some other third thing.

Wants and Wishes: If I can work dragons into this somehow, I will. Don't test me.

Jami's freaks

[ghostharasser]

Dipper Pines

[ghostharasser]

Name: Mason "Dipper" Pines [Art Ref]
Place of Birth: Haven

Reasons for Joining the Grove: Hilariously, the Pines were in the faewoods before the Grove, and simply got assimilated into the Grove as the town popped up around them.

History: Dipper and his twin sister Mabel originally came to live with their Uncles in the woods after losing their parents and the rest of the family to the plague. Stan and Ford had opted to settle in the Faewoods and build a cabin to help raise the kids. It wasn't long after this that Aldric settled the grove and the Pines simply became neighbors of the settlement.

Though Mabel was a social butterfly, Dipper, eventually going by Mason as he got older, was much more reserved and usually kept to himself. He could be found with a his nose in a mystery novel, or just following Mabel around trying to keep her out of trouble. Mason and Mabel were close, despite how they could be like night and day. Mabel always willing to embrace a brighter side of life while Mason was often more pragmatic in how he approached things. Losing their parents gave both the twins an interesting outlook on life, and Mason's hyper-vigilance and constant need to prove his own maturity could be easily linked back to a strive to grow up as fast as possible.

When things in the Grove started to take their turn, Mason caught on and decided to look into it himself. Having uncovered Alexi's cult, He decided the best way to learn more about the threat it was posing to the Grove was to join under the guise of being tempted by all that tasty dark knowledge and in return, Mason would use the things he's learned and studied from his uncles to help them with their rituals. As it turns out ...it's very hard to leave a cult once you're neck deep in shit, and whatever horrible blood pact Mason had to make with the rest of the followers to prove his loyalty only came back to haunt him when Mabel helped him make a clean break.


Role: Mason sure did help the cult grow to power by helping them with this dark magic and shit! He promised it was all for the purpose of learning what was going on but it sure blew up in his face! Whoops!
Looking for: Honestly I'm open to anything! People his age that he was awkward around, people who were frequenting Stan's outpost shop, people from the cult that helped him make terrible decisions. All sorts of stuff!!
Wants and Wishes: have this comic i made

Wolfie's funky motherfuckers

[eidxiety]

previously on sticks and bones...
ain
gnosis
passenger
flamebringer

it's ain! cw: religious homophobia n such

[eidxiety]

Name: Ainchase Ishmael

Place of Birth: Roseroot

Reasons for Joining the Grove: :') Mom's fault—

History: He and his mom and brothers were priests! Unfortunately I don't have normal art of his mom but this is his mom :) Probably assume she had the blue hair/face veil but was less monstrous. Very tall tho. Here is a brother, idk assume there are like 6 of these running around. They Probably all look different but the game provides me with One other angel okay :/ Whenever I have modern AUs I call this brother Almeric— so we'll go with that here. I feel like at some point I named the others but I can't find my names now.

Anyhoo, when I say his entire family were priests I mean it in a very Evangelical sense. These were not people you'd want to hang out around. They were from Roseroot and came here to Spread The Word Of God, meaning they were a) very posh and b) very stuck-up, so sorry to anyone who knew Ain between the ages of 10-18 he was very much An Asshole. It did not help that his mom, known by "Lady Ishmael", kept all of her children on a short leash and basically sequestered them in her house constantly (which she was trying?? to turn into a church dwbi). There was a lot of "those people outside are dirty / we don't associate with them / they must be brought to God's Light" type of Evangelical bullshit. Which, you know, a Smol Ain bought into and I'm sorry to say he was the most annoying motherfucker for many years due to this.

Good news is, Smol Ain would later snap out of this because he realised Boys Cute and maybe those people outside their walls aren't so bad. Unfortunately his mom and brothers were the type of people to boot his ass out for this, you may insert other religious homophobia overtones here because I am not writing them down but it was Bad Enough that Ain was very self-hating for quite a while. In the end he wound up couch-surfing and probably had a lot of sordid gay rendezvous behind buildings and in the woods, especially in his twenties.

I'm sure he had a house of his own at some point but he was very much the "I'm trying to avoid my entire family while they try to form a cult" kid. He probably had 300 crushes and this was known about him... near "the end" we'll call it, he picked up music and gardening and finally started to be happier with himself.

As for his death, it was swift and merciless; his freak of a mother thought the sudden apocalypse was Great and had his brothers grab him and offer him as a sacrifice to a monster. It's okay, they died soon after. Ain will have absolutely no PTSD about this when he discovers this memory heyo—

Role: After abandoning being a priest and giving into the sin as mom would call it, he took up singing, and would often be seen gardening. No tailoring for him in this past life, that's for future-Ain to figure out. He wasn't really trying to make it big so much as just find something he loved. ...and then he died before he could figure himself out totally so oops.

Looking for: I'm down for pmuch anything. Bandmates, romance arcs, couches to surf on, people to shake the religion out of him...

Wants and Wishes: idk right now ask me again later (8ball voice)

---

Updates from plotting with folks!
- Ain and Livio were A Thing, they were very cute and soft, Ain tried to serenade him and his guitar kept going out of tune :') also couch surfed at Miss Melanie's often (because Liv Was There)
- He was however also interested in Ezell, and Ezell was one of the ones who would comfort him when his mother was acting, uh, Like That. However, he didn't confess until it was too late, by leaving an ominous note that essentially read, "I feel like my mother's going to do something. I don't know why. But if I die, it's her fault. I love you, I hope I'll see you soon."
- anyway then that didn't happen
- Aside from his mom sacrificing him, Alexi also helped with this, and both of them combined are what wound up with Ain dying in the end.

guess who's back (back again) (it's weasel)

[livlaughlove]

past TL's for (mostly my own) reference: jan 2024 // june 2024

STAY TUNED FOR RETURNING APPEARANCES MAYBE??? :000

livio

[livlaughlove]

please respond below so i can edit this comment later!
CW: mention of child abuse

Name: livio [lastname?]
Place of Birth: undecided, probably will remain a mystery. he never wanted to talk about it.

Reasons for Joining the Grove: to escape an abusive home

History:
++ like in canon, he grew up neglected and physically abused. unlike in canon, he simply fled his childhood home and became a runaway. likely around age 12ish?
++ came to the grove after it was already being settled, but was a resident for at LEAST 4-5 years
++ he was never formally Adopted™ but miss melanie was chillin in the grove with jas and offered him a place to sleep when he needed it. that was his mom and sister in all but legality
++ pv also all-but-legally adopted him. congrats buddy the universe replaced your shit parents with good ones
++ you could not force him to go to school past like 15. sorry
++ performed odd jobs for money/goods such as foraging, chopping wood, assisting in building things, etc
++ but really he favored the chance to nurture anything living. so usually he could be found babysitting or tending crops & livestock. that boy loved flowers and chickens.
++ he and razlo were probably a lot more open about being a system. razlo was more of an obnoxious delinquent than anything and fronted at least a couple times a month
++ livio did lots. i mean LOTS of handholding with ain :3 (but also like ain, livio definitely blushed at every other cute boy in town [threat])
++ he was around 18-20 by the time Shit Went Down™
++ vash's fascination with the forest ended up getting livio corrupted
++ once he realized he was a threat to others, he asked his bff nick to mercy kill him. if nobody volunteers their blorbos for The Slaughter™, i'm toying with the idea that he hurt or killed jas in contrast to canon... 🥺

Role: older teen/young adult. caregiver/babysitter as well as livestock & crops tender

Looking For/Wants and Wishes: kids to babysit! friends! gay crushes! lambs for the slaughter!

Tal's Pot of Potatoes

[purevanillacookie]

Pure Vanilla

[purevanillacookie]

Name: Percival Vienetta
Place of Birth: Haven

Reasons for Joining the Grove: Percival was part of the original expedition, agreeing with Aldric's vision to expand trade, mostly for Medicine.

History: Once the expedition had settled and the Grove had sprung up, Percival focused his attention on working with Grace to further medicinal knowledge. Being in the Faewood however meant that there was illnesses science was woefully - in his opinion - ill-equipped to handle and thus turned his attention towards magic as a way to supplement and maybe even surpass scientific method.

While he wasn't working to bandaid scrapped knees, he took to being a sort of Grandfatherly figure to all who needed one who understood and didn't judge them. His couch was open to whomever needed it, and he would often have dinners with whichever children came over that night. He was unable to have children of his own, so took the role with great glee and gusto.

At some point in time he finally married his wonderful Lily while in the Grove, though Percival was a thinker of free love and extended his hand towards Dom as well.

When things started to go south, Lily was unfortunately corrupted and attacked Percival in his sleep. Though he survived, her corruption and death ultimately drove him mad with denial and grief, and he began to dig deeper into darker magic. Searching for ways to reverse the corruption, searching for means in which to bring the dead back to life, and ways to combat the Cult. Unfortunately whatever he found was not enough to save him, when he either challenged the Forest directly or attempted to make a deal with it in exchange for Lily, and he died for his transgressions.

Role: He was a Doctor of both scientific and magical means (once he began to figure it out) as well as sort of the defacto Grandpa to all who needed one.

Looking for: Friends, children who visited the most (A.B.A. was his pretty much adopted Granddaughter), those who were interested in joining him in magical healing.

Wants and Wishes: OPENS ARMS WIDE COME AT ME

Amity

[lilyberation]

[lilyberation]

Name: Lily Vienetta

Place of Birth: Haven

Reasons for Joining the Grove: Part of the original expedition, Lily was keen on new horizons, getting to carve a path through the fae woods, and of course being with her husband. She was also the sort to dip her fingers into anything magical, so her expertise was likely very coveted for the journey. (Cough enchanting cough.)


History: Lily as a child attended an especially prestigious school in Roseroot, but spent the summers with her grandparents in Haven. At some point she grew up to be a researcher, but unlike the Lily we knew today she was satisfied with everything in her life... mostly.

She also was married at some point to Percival! This was great, also! They fostered many children as they grew older together, before they joined Aldric on his expedition. Maybe it wasn't the wisest, bringing an elderly couple, but they were also key babysitters when the building began.

When the fallen god began his tricks, corrupted or "sick" animals and people cropping up more and unusual plants growing in the woods, Lily took to researching everything she could for cures, fixes and to figure out what the hell was going on. This lead to Lily herself being corrupted and rapidly driven mad from the rot within. From attacking her husband in his sleep and having to be fought off to trying to sabotage the town and worsening Aldric's own madness, she was eventually taken into custody... but with her age, they were reluctant to place her in jail, so instead locked her away in an unused room within the inn, enchanted to let people in but not let her out. An echo of her grief, guilt and madness remains there to this day... It can be assumed she passed before the final assault.


Role: Grandma, Researcher


Looking for: Are you her kid? ... Student? .... Future caretaker while she goes insane?


Wants and Wishes: shruggu

Jess

[goldenambition]

Whippoorwill

[goldenambition]

Name: Wren Allaway
Place of Birth: Born in the Grove

Reasons for Joining the Grove: Wren's mother, Rosalie, came with the first wave of settlers as a homesteader who bred and kept many work dogs for hunting and herding.

History: Wren had a pretty happy childhood, tussling with the hounds and running around the woods with his agemates Jacob and Caleb. In fact even though he wasn't fae-touched he had a knack for the woods. So when Jacob joined the Guard he followed as a scout. And as such he also was invested in trying to sniff out the possible cult and whatever was causing the growing bouts of madness in his neighbors. Something he often did on his own time, using his tracking and investigation skills.

What exactly happened to Wren is unclear, but his body was eventually found torn apart in his family's kennels, his corpse almost indistinguishable from the hounds and barn cats that had all been sacrificed alongside him, as if to mock. His poor mother passed away from shock before the month was even out, saving her from the chaos that came to the Grove soon after.

Role: local good ol'boy, scout, graphic portent of the coming destruction
Looking for: friends! exes! parental roles! Like Will he was very social
Wants and Wishes: suffering

Kaed (or, the law offices of Joshua, Joshua, & Jiaoqiu)

[leggierissimo]

Joshua (bitch)

[leggierissimo]

Name: Joshua Kiryu
Place of Birth: Haven
Reasons for Joining the Grove: Parents moved to be in a more centralized trade location/closer to family

History: Joshua grew up in the Grove, and is the cousin to Siffrin and Loop. His father was a stonemason from the Crescent Islands and his mother was a baker from Haven. His parents both loved and adored him and pushed him to follow his dreams rather than try to wrangle him into following theirs. His father briefly attempted to stoke an interest in masonry, but Joshua ended up with more of a love for baking via helping his mother and was known for being a little avant-garde with his creations, which were also - thankfully - just as tasty as they were unique. This was only more or less a hobby, though, as music was his true passion, and he had a reputation for playing. He spent a lot of his time sitting outdoors composing little tunes on his flute that he would effortlessly convert to piano or violin later on. Need someone to play for a wedding? Need a funeral march? Having a party? Call Joshua!

He did go through a bit of a "rebellious" phase in his late teenage years, spurred on by meeting Alexi. Rebellious as in "exploring who he is as a person, experimenting with styles of clothing (and skirts), and wearing makeup", which isn't all that rebellious actually but it's the thought that counts. He ended up dating Beat shortly before everything went to hell.

When the monsters attacked the Grove, Joshua was attempting to go back into his house to make sure his parents were out and safe, and also to retrieve one particular cherished personal item that a certain blacksmith's son had made for him, but ended up getting trapped in the burning house and died from smoke inhalation.

Role: Eccentric hobbyist baker, professional musician
Looking for: Give me anything!
Wants and Wishes: Also anything!

Rubie

[mooninthewater]

Mizuki (cw: child death mention)

[mooninthewater]

Name: Mizuki Kurage
Place of Birth: Unsure, but definitely somewhere a bit far from the Grove
Reasons for Joining the Grove: Mizuki was a very, very sick child, and his sickness seemed to be completely immune to magical healing, and his mother was desperate to help him. She found Grace at the Grove, hoping her more medicinal focused methods would help, and if not, hoping the divine may help.
History: When Mizuki isn't sick at the clinic, he can often be found along the beach, captivated by the ocean. Although it's a bit of a distance from the Grove, his fascination with the sea makes it hard for him to stay away. This close proximity to the beach had the Kurages introduced to Adrian, the lighthouse keeper. He quickly formed a bond with Mizuki's mother, and their connection blossomed into a relationship. This newfound love led to both her and Mizuki becoming permanent residents at the lighthouse.

Mizuki met his end at the lighthouse, just inside the front door, where he tried to fend off the Forest's monsters. Unfortunately, he was still just a child (roughly 7-9ish), frail and weakened by his illness, and ultimately was unable to fend off the beasts, even with the help of Adrian, who'd been there to witness the death of his stepson.

Role: Be kid. Sickly Victorian child. Help with the lighthouse because him love da woder...
Looking for: Nothing specific.
Wants and Wishes:

Alex

[alphacraft]

Odile

[alphacraft]

Name: Odile Last-Name-TBD
Place of Birth: Crescent Islands probably?
Reasons for Joining the Grove: Hiding from The Law
History: A highly educated scholar who, for entirely personal reasons, ended up making a living as an infobroker on the black market. She left home after her parents passed away in order to expand her network internationally. When authorities started closing in on some of her bigger clients she decided the Grove was the perfect place to lay low for a while. She doesn't actually need the money from teaching, but it makes for a good cover.

If asked, she would tell you she has no idea how she ended up adopting two mishievous teenagers, but the truth is that they're adorable little rascals and it broke her heart to see them so lost and alone after their parents died. She is definitely only teaching them good things and nothing illicit like knife throwing or lock picking or anything like that.

She is acquainted with Stan from their respective criminal lives, and while she doesn't exactly hide it she will verbally deny having any idea who he is.

Role: Teacher, mostly
Looking for: Shenanigans

Chi's Men

[sesa]

Previous post, I only ever posted Sesa but I'm fixing that sorgy

Sesa

[sesa]

Name: Sebastian Blackthorn

Place of Birth: Haven

Reasons for Joining the Grove: Sesa was around 6-7 at the time when the Grove was settled. He moved with his father, so obviously he was going to come regardless! He was basically raised with the town itself, and as he got older would mainly focus his efforts on assisting with the construction of the town buildings as a carpenter.

History: Sebastian lived in the town with his father Nathan Blackthorn- also a Carpenter and one of the main architects who oversaw the construction of the town buildings- and his younger brother Matthias. Their mother, Anna Blackthorn, who was present with the family during the initial expedition, died due to illness. It was unclear whether she simply could not handle the journey, or something else caused her death...otherwise, it left Nathan a single father raising his two sons in the town as he focused his efforts on building a home for both them and the rest of the town's residents. Sebastian was an outgoing and energetic child, who looked up to his father and wanted desperately to follow in his footsteps. He had been born with a genetic deformity that left him missing his left leg (his father, being the skilled carpenter that he is, builds his son a wooden prosthetic that he regularly replaces as he grows out of the old ones), yet despite this he knew that he too wanted to grow up to be an architect and carpenter like his father.

During his teenage years, however, a lot of his ambitions were shelved in the pursuit of looking after his younger brother Matthias, who was much more reserved and shy than Sebastian and struggled socially, often fearing leaving their home. On days when Sebastian couldn't leave the house while watching his brother, he would practice woodwork by building toys for the other kids in town. He learned how to make little wooden gliders that could fly short distances when thrown, and one day he accidentally threw one out the window that managed to fly into the window of a neighboring house. A few moments later, the glider came sailing back, having been thrown by a young boy living in that house whose room Sebastian accidentally threw the toy into. This would blossom into a friendship as Sebastian would tie notes to the glider and throw them into the boy's window with the two of them communicating in this way. Sebastian never saw the boy with the long red hair ever leave his home, yet he would always be there when he was home watching Matthias, allowing them to talk to pass the time.

Unlike a lot of others here, Sebastian's death was not heroic. On the contrary, when all hell breaks loose, Sebastian simply...disappears. To the townsfolk, it would be easy to assume Sebastian fled due to cowardice, which is only half the truth. He would leave his home in search of the boy he'd befriended, in the hopes he could bring him back to his family for protection. Sebastian would then be driven into the woods by monsters before he could make it there, ultimately too terrified to leave his hiding place. He would die alone from exposure in his mid 20s before being devoured by beasts. His family would meet a similar fate in being killed by monsters in their home.

At 15, Sebastian would begin his official apprenticeship under his father, working to help in construction both in the planning and physical building stages.

Role: Sebastian as mentioned worked as a carpenter, assisting to build the actual buildings that stood in the Grove before ~the incident~.


Looking for: Honestly I'd be down for literally anything from childhood friends to enemies to apprentices and more!

Wants and Wishes: No idea im so late to posting this

Kei

[ozmosis]

Oscar Pine

[ozmosis]

Name: Oscar Pine
Place of Birth: Roseroot
Reasons for Joining the Grove: Brought there with the rest of his family

History: My thoughts for Oscar's life in the Grove are very vague for now, but I do have some ideas for his history before!

He was born in a farming community outside Roseroot.

Oscar's birth family got wiped out by the plague when he was very young, which nearly killed him as well.

After he recovered he spent a few years bouncing between whatever families would take him. While he was not mistreated, these families were already stretched thin trying to recover from the plague and he didn't get as much attention as kids his age generally need.

Eventually he met Ozma! Ozma would travel between the cities and villages of Ostorn helping people that had run into trouble on the roads. Oscar was completely dazzled by Ozma, and Ozma had a soft spot for kids. So when Ozma moved on, Oscar ended up following him.

Ozma had already semi-adopted Ozpin prior to this. With Oscar being so young Ozma decided they needed to have something that could be considered an actual home. I'm thinking he had some admiration for Aldric for establishing the trade routes in the first place, so Ozma took them to the Grove.

Ozma, Ozpin, and Oscar arrived in the Grove when they were somewhere in the range of 20-25, 15-20, and 10-15 years old. They introduced themselves as brothers.

For the next five years Ozma kept doing his traveling hero thing, though he returned to the Grove frequently. Ozpin was happier to stay in the Grove, where I'm thinking he did a lot of research and archiving of history, mythology, and fairy tales in Ostorn.

Though they were close, all three brothers would be known for being pretty independent! Ozma was away more than he was home (up until things started to unravel near the end). Ozpin regularly left to go do research in other towns and only sometimes took Oscar with him. And Oscar was always good at keeping himself occupied.

Misc: Some other backstory points I'm considering but haven't 100% committed to yet:

Ozma's girlfriend/fiance/betrothed, Salem, died during the plague, which kicked off his wandering years.

Ozma was extremely well-meaning but had some culty tendencies; I'm gonna say that while he was not outright starting cults (we have enough of those already) he had some followers/admirers and could be a little intense about maintaining connections with them and his brothers.

Oscar outlived both of his brothers, if only barely.

At some point, Salem came back Wrong. c:

Role: Oscar lived in the Grove during his teenage years and was a pretty normal kid in that time! He would have had an intense interest in gardening, farming, and arboriculture. I don't want to say he was outright studying the corruption (again, he would have been 18 or 19 at most by the end) but I do think he would have stumbled across it.

Looking for: Other families that would have been willing to keep an eye on Oscar whenever both of his brothers were out of town. Apart from that, anything!! Since Oscar would have been pretty young for a lot of his time in the Grove, I'm okay with making CR connections through his either of his brothers.

Wants and Wishes: Ozma and Ozpin are both characters in RWBY! While I'm unlikely to get either of them as castmates, Ozpin is the way more common character in DWRP. So Ozma will generally be much easier to work with if we want to brainstorm any past life connections, since I'll be less worried about possible retcons if we ever get an Ozpin.

Joey

[outofsynth]

Min-Gi Park

[outofsynth]

Name: Min-Gi Park
Place of Birth: Polaris Landing
Reasons for Joining the Grove: They came across it on their travels and ended up sticking around.
History:

Min and Ryan grew up in Polaris Landing, a small riverside settlement in the north. Although they remain the same age they do not share a birthday. They've still known each other since childhood and in this universe actually got their act together and have been dating since their teens. This same date happens to be their birthday in their reincarnation! Min-Gi was and is close with his family, but due to its small size and its only real access being by ferry it's common for people to leave to pursue new careers and opportunities. Both Min and Ryan always dreamed of being musicians, and left pretty much as soon as they were old enough.

They did okay! They travelled for a while, playing in whatever towns they found themselves in before moving along again. It wasn't always easy, but so long as they could play music together they were happy. This only changed once they arrived in the Grove. Travelling had been exciting, but settling down somewhere had its perks too. They could still make music, and without moving from one town to the next they could land work more reliably.

Despite having been together so long and being practically inseparable, the two are in their late 20s by the time they decide it's time to propose. They both had rings and were ready to surprise each other, but ultimately never had time to officially ask the question.

Some Min things:

• Min has an interest in unusual instruments, particularly those with complicated or revolutionary mechanics.


• He's an only child in both lives. In his previous life he (mostly secretly) kind of wishes he wasn't.


• He's great at navigation, and although he much prefers to travel in the day he's particularly good when using the stars. He knows all the constellations, and even uses a few that he and Ryan made up when they were young.

Role: Musician
Looking for: Friends! Presumably there were people to keep them in the Grove after they first arrived. Relationships with venue owners would also be pretty good considering their vocation.
Wants and Wishes: ???????

Billie Sue

[charlastan]

Stanley Pines!

[charlastan]

Name: Stanley Pines!
Place of Birth: Haven
Reasons for Joining the Grove: He and his twin brother Stanford pre-date the Grove - when Aldric first settled the place, Stan and Ford were already in a wooden cabin on the edge of the area, studying the fae woods and the anomalies within it. I'm gonna place the investigation on the Pines house here for safe-keeping.

History:

• Stanley and Stanford were born to Filbrick and Caryn Pines in Haven. Unlike Glass Shard Beach, Stan thrived in Haven growing up. Without a traditional school system, he worked with his father a lot and didn't have to sit through studying anything that didn't catch his interest. His hobbies were respected as things that would keep the family shop afloat, like carpentry and other work with his hands, but he still wanted to ultimately head out to sea one day, with his brother by his side.


• Because Ford's interests weren't as profitable in this world (studying only merits so much without a formal K-12 school system that rewards it), he was the one Filbrick considered to be useless - but as Stan got older, he stood up for Ford more and more. Without school to bind them to Haven, it became more and more apparent that Filbrick needed Stan more than Stan needed him - and so, eventually, Stan and Ford left, ending all contact with Filbrick Pines.


• Despite the fact that Filbrick is objectively the worst, Stan grew up with more support and was treated more like he was worth something, which left him not being as clingy with Ford as they grew older. There's less of a codependency, because Stan knows that he's worth something on his own, and that he isn't automatically a fuck-up just by existing. They went on a number of adventurers together but they also had their own experiences - Ford heading toward academics naturally and Stan toward the sea. Being on their own doesn't need to be the end of everything, and they likely found ways to communicate whether it was letters, stones of far speech/speaking stones, birds, etc.


• Stan's twenties in his past life weren't as full of crime as his current life, but they weren't totally free of it. This is still Stan after all, and Stan is going to have sticky fingers no matter where or when he is. The difference is that when it happens in his past life it's never for the sake of survival. Is that worse or better? Who knows! He spends a lot of time on different ships until he eventually secures his own, and the vibe of his adventuring is generally more of a chaotic neutral pirate or an Indiana Jones type. He's treasure hunting and having adventures and not being tied down and having a blast. He has at least one romance during this time, and there is a letter from those days stowed away in the Shack. He probably knows a lot about ocean myth and lore in particular from years sailing out on the ocean and living to tell the tale.


• Eventually he and Ford hear whispers of fae woods, and of course they decide they need to check it out. This means staying there long term though, so they build themselves a home to stay in. As they both get better at navigating the forest, they both occasionally venture out for other adventures grand and mundane. (Sometimes an adventure is just your baby brother getting married, or your Ma finally divorcing your piece of shit father!) They both learn a lot about the forest, and past Stan has a greater willingness to put up with supernatural things. He's a social guy too, so he probably picks up quickly on the best ways to make friends (and enemies) out of various guardians. The forest eventually accepts the brothers' presence.


• Eventually they get neighbors, when Aldric and his followers settle into the grove. This is honestly great news for Stan - he's more likely than Ford to get a little stir-crazy away from society, and society just kind of walked up and settled next door! Convenient! Stan has many, many, many wild stories, both from the forest and from the seas, and much like present Stan it's difficult to tell which ones are true and which ones are just him entertaining himself by lying. That being said, Stan and Ford are both trusted resources about the forest...even if they're both kind of. Weird in their own ways. .........They're probably trustworthy.


• His death was most likely tied to the cult stuff Dipper was getting up to at the end! To echo Jami - "Dipper's betrayal of the cult probably did not do him many favors when hell was breaking loose. Whatever the Pines got up to at the end, it was probably messy."

Role:

• Stan has a number of connections out in the world, so eventually he sets up a little trading post in the grove - he doesn't really need it financially, but it's something to do. It's not really competition to any other stores, since none of the things he brings in are really essentials, but if you reach out to him with a request he'll probably at least try (even if he complains at first). His shop also has a number of things he's made himself. Some are a little on the weird side, but others are legitimate carvings, sculptures, and even taxidermy. He wouldn't call it a museum but, y'know. In theory you could visit it like one, and if Stan's in the shop he'll tell you whatever you want to know about everything (and plenty of things you didn't want to know at all). Eventually, years down the line, Loop will wind up working for him.


• He and Ford eventually wind up taking in Dipper and Mabel as permanent guardians, after the death of their parents. It turns Stan's stomach that they're the only ones left, but he takes to being a parent seriously. He and Ford are old men and can look after themselves and each other, but he's determined to keep these kids safe from harm. He and Ford teach them the ways of the woods, which rules can be broken, and which rules must be followed no matter what. Most importantly though, Stan loves his weird little family with his whole heart and would do anything to protect them.

Looking for: Friends in town, little connections here and there, I'm really down for anything. Want to listen to tall tales? Are you an older person who knew Stan before the Grove, or even just an older person who wants to play cards now and then? Hit me up!
Wants and Wishes: Art by notllorstel - This is very much the vibe of Past!Stan's 20s.

Vesper's lil guys

[love_swan]

Aira Shiratori

[love_swan]

Name: Aira Shiratori (subject to change)

Place of Birth: Roseroot

Reasons for Joining the Grove: A series of unfortunate events.

History: Aira was a young child and the heir to one of the wealthy merchant families based in Roseroot that were cooperating with the Grove to establish trade routes. It was on a trip to the Grove through the forest that his parents and the caravan were waylaid and killed. Aira only barely survived by running away while they were distracted fighting his father. Over the next few days he made it to the Grove and kept back to the shadows out of fear up until he met Mayoi and befriended him. He stubbornly insisted that his parents would come back for him, but… well, Asher and Nick took him in and he didn’t ever get picked up.

He grew up and eventually had to accept that his parents were gone. He stayed in the Grove for a while until he could go back and reclaim his position as the head of the family from the people who had wanted to take it over. Business was never his interest, though, and often he would return to the Grove to perform alongside his brother and friend, Mayoi.

Role: Heir/businessman/theater member

Looking for: He already has past foster parents in Flamebringer and Wolfwood, but I am open to him being scruffed as a friend by any of the other kids, or any adults that want to babysit him. Scrungly lil rich boy. I’m open to discussion as well.

He also grew up in and around the Grove, so anyone's free to say they know him. He was very friendly.

Wants and Wishes: I’m willing to work w people. come into my office i want friends!

aster was here :)

[dreamunchained]

firefly / sam (wip)

[dreamunchained]

Name: Sammie [insertlastname]
Place of Birth: polaris landing
Reasons for Joining the Grove: her family travelled to the grove to try to find new, better opportunities
History:

•sammie lived with her loving mother and father, and she was the utter spitting image of her mom (haha clone joke)

•she grew up there since the age of ~2, living a completely average, normal happy life :)

•she was in the process of trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life, some things notably being:
-some sort of more magical and jrpg form of baseball (image not canon i just want you to look at how cute she is)
-singing
-swordplay so she could ADVENTURE one day perhaps

•death: her house caught on fire during the monster attacks and she did not get out in time :(

Role:

•she was just being an 18 y/o kid figuring out her life dawg

Looking for: friends! neighbors! teachers! music teacher perhaps even, doesn't have to be an Actual School Teacher! people who would want to be involved in helping me figure out what the fuck fantasy baseball would look like!

Wants and Wishes: this is pretty boring because she specifically had a very boring, average, nice life compared to her life Now, but if you have any ideas on how to incorporate your character with her, i would love to hear it!!!

Appen's Assholes

[tempurahair]

Kyojuro Rengoku (WIP)

[tempurahair]

Name: Kyojuro Rengoku

Place of Birth:Middle o' fuckin' nowhere, probs

Reasons for Joining the Grove: Duty/Love LMAO

History: Historically, the Rengoku family has been a group of traveling swordsmen, well known in the Crescent Islands. However, at a young age, Shinjuro Rengoku left the islands, preferring to not lord over others with his skills, but actually put it to use. It wasn't long until he met Ruka Rengoku, a skilled medic who took one look at this scraggly, bleeding man and had to put him back together. Between Shinjuro's strict honor code and Ruka's high levels of empathy, their two sons, Kyojuro and Senjuro, would grow up to be well-rounded and talented young men in their own right. While Kyojuro would naturally follow in his footsteps and learn the techniques of their family, Senjuro thrived under Ruka's tutelage. Together, their family served as a roaming band of bodyguards for those that might need it. Unsurprisingly, the expedition to Aldric's Grove caught their attention, and they would gladly accompany the first foray into the unknown. At the time, Kyojuro was around 25 years old.

Along the way, Kyojuro would quickly fall in with Hakuji, not only another skilled medic providing aid to the expedition, but also a talented martial artist. The two got on amazingly, and by the time the Grove was on its way to no longer needing a group of glorified mercenaries to watch over them, they were fast friends. Kyojuro, admittedly, had his own interest in Hakuji, but given his engagement to Koyuki Soyama, he assumed nothing would come of it. Despite being encouraged by Hakuji to stay (or perhaps outright begged, he would reluctantly return to Haven on what he assumed would be his last assignment for the Grove — informing Hakuji's father of the safety of the town, and arranging the man's travel back.

Well, that was what was supposed to happen, at least. However, after some gentle encouragement from both Hakuji's father, as well as his own family, Kyojuro would personally escort Hakuji's father back to the Grove and, in the end, settle down with the soon-to-be Soyama family.

Eventually, the combined family would settle into a relatively small, multi-building dojo. Yes, Hakuji, Koyuki, and Kyojuro were all three married. Fight me on this.

With the guard well-established, Kyojuro ultimately wound up putting down his sword and settling into work as a teacher. Though he largely preferred history, given the initial lack of educators, he fell into a general studies role pretty quickly. In his free time, he helped out at the Soyama Dojo, performing various tasks around the facility and offering lessons of his own from time to time.

Being that they were part of the initial wave to arrive, Kyojuro and the Soyama's were significantly older by the time everything went down. The combined Rengoku-Soyama family went down swinging in an attempt to spare the Grove. Senjuro was the first to die of the bunch, proving to be a devastating blow to Kyojuro. Stunned as he was, he failed to notice he was being corrupted until it was too late. The now corrupted Kyojuro then turned on his family.

In the ensuing duel between Hakuji and Kyojuro, the former tried desperately to both bring his husband back to his senses, and also avoid injuring him in any permanent way. In the end, Hakuji would be killed by a blade through the solar plexus, left to bleed out and watch as Kyojuro went on to attack the rest of the village.

Koyuki, notably, was the last to die of the family, but I'll make Weasel talk more about that one. 8)

Role: Swordsman/Teacher/General Handyman

Looking for: Mostly friends and students at the moment! Did he help teach yours how to use a sword? Did he teach you the initial history of the expedition? Did he fail your kiddo? Did he murder you in his corrupted state? Or were you the one to bring him down?

Wants and Wishes: Help make him blissfully happy so we can laugh at how badly things went to shit for him when he was resurrected. Or give him things to regret and lament when he gains PL memories.