PAST LIFE PLOTTING MEME: 01

[sticksandbonesmods]

Welcome to the very first PAST LIFE PLOTTING MEME! As many have discovered by now, player characters are reincarnated versions of themselves, with their previous lives having been settlers living in none other than Aldric's Grove. Though something went very wrong... and at the end of their lives in the Grove, a massacre timed with a desperate ritual to save them cast everyone's souls from the world, reborn eventually into their current canon lives. Time within the Grove was long enough for both the Grove to become a full-fledged town within the woods, and for characters to reach young adulthood, if they started out as little kids.

This meme is dedicated to establishing some things about the past life you lead! But there are some stipulations.

• Although magic exists within the world of Sticks and Bones, all past iterations of player characters were human.
• Your past life should not be a one to one copy of your current life! If anything, the au life may even be better, honestly? We are the bad ends now. But mostly, this is to allow both past life cr growth, exploration in charcter and backstory, and unique opportunities for later revelations!
• Though currently unapped major castmates may show up in the backstory, if they do ever get apped you are to let them have control of their character's past! Of course, it's great if you can build something together, though.
• The current highest level of technology is lightbulbs, basic electricity and indoor plumbing. The electricity might be magic-based however.

Major NPCs who can be referenced, but probably aren't the focus here:

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

There's also been some elaboration here and here if you'd like to reference anything!

Please fill out the following, and then tag around! It's a shared history after all!

NAME: who are you!
ROLE: what did you do in this slowly-growing town? were you a teacher? a cook? just a kid?
HISTORY: no need to go super in-depth right now, we're just hashing the beginnings out!
DEATH: so how do you think you died in the final massacre? :) 

Comments

AMITY

[amethystic]

felicity morais

[amethystic]

NAME: Felicity Antonia Morais
ROLE: Town kid turned apothecary
HISTORY: Felicity started out a very young girl in the care of her older brother after he... basically got himself disowned, consensually kidnapped her from their unloving noblewoman of a mother. Though Victor was able to barely support himself and his baby sister, he was clearly in over his head from the fallout with the Morais family, the sudden responsibility of parenthood and the struggles of living on one's own. Thankfully, Aldric stepped in when he came across the young man working multiple jobs, and managed to bring him and his sister along on the initial expedition, fully intending on getting them out of the Morais territory with a new beginning in which they would hopefully thrive.

Though she was a shy child at first, Felicity would grow over the years into a confident young woman with a fascination for plants, stars and the moon- some things never change. Despite the presence of the town doctor, her own inclinations would lead her down the path of an apothecary with a tendency to dip into whatever else caught her interest- once a polymath, always a polymath. Felicity most likely took on a 'team mom' role for her friend group and the other kids her age, but given the much gentler nature of her life she was both more open about her care and significantly less paranoid about making sure everyone was okay.
DEATH: CW: PLANT BASED BODY HORROR, NATURALLY

Felicity died at the age of 16 when a rose bush burst from her chest while trying to fend off the forest's monsters to buy time for others. Her skeleton is definitely somewhere nearby, identifiable by an amethyst pendant that resembles the current Felicity's own.

chung seiker

[shineprism]

NAME: Prince "Chung" Seiker
ROLE: Son of what would soon be the captain of the Guard
HISTORY: The young son of Helputt, a knight who would, over the next few years, grow to become the captain of the guard for the town Aldric's Grove would become. Although sickly, Chung was always a friendly child to all he met. And also very polite! Unlike some children in his friend group.

He'd always been taken with the statue in the temple, once it was unearthed. Zahliya, it became. He was less taken with the statue his father became.

With the early death of his father, Chung was forced to step up as more and more adults vanished over time, until the final siege. HONESTLY I have a lot less for Chung because he's very straightforward compared to Felicity, but like. He was a good boy! And he still is.

DEATH: Claimed by the bone beast that Elsword and 9S would eventually kill, Chung drowned in the river. Yall probably used one of his ribs by now to pay for something ://// (no you haven't. :) he's somewhere in the river somewhere.)

nene grenore

[mermaidcursed]

NAME: Nene Yashiro Grenore
ROLE: The town doctor's adopted daughter, gardener and the demise
HISTORY: A young girl who lost her parents to illness- likely the same that took Aldric's wife and youngest son- and was adopted by Doctor Grace. Though she was always a little ball of sunshine, she took to Grace's son like frosting on a cake- even if he might not have wanted her following him around like a duckling.

Over time, Nene embraced multiple hobbies, but writing and gardening were her absolute favorites. When the creature possessing the forest begain to show itself, she treated it as a holy spirit, even repurposing an abandoned church for it. ... This was a terrible mistake, as once she earned the forest's affections, it corrupted her, spreading its malice through possessing her while slowly driving her mad with it's venomous love.

Before the massacre, Nene, while possessed, lit part of the town ablaze and in horror at herself and what she's become, she fled to the church, making it her new home, and declined being included in the ritual lest the creature use it's hold on her to reach to other worlds and beyond, spreading it's malice. And so she's lived, for thousands of years, unable to die.

DEATH: Oh, no, she's still here. She's been here for a very long time. She'll always be here. But she's not the love-hungry sweetheart she used to be...

Sheep 🐑

[devilishkouhai]

Sakura Matou > > > BB

[devilishkouhai]

NAME: Sakura Matou
ROLE: School Nurse and very smart kid on her way to wanting to become a scientist/programmer specifically interested in the Stars and Moon.
HISTORY:
This will be a little complicated, and broken down. I think out of all 3 of my muses, I thought about BB's Grove AU the most... Because well, she herself is a complicated character even in the series.

✰ Regarding "Multiple" Sakura's

1. Sakura Matou actually has two exact iterations in Fate, so the Sakura Matou that BB is from. Is a NPC created out of replicating what the Moon Cell (a computer) copied from this iteration. The likelihood that another Sakura will exist is low, but it depends on who apps, because there was a tentative placement of a Rin who is originally and actual Sakura Matou's sister. May change things. At this point, if an actual Sakura apps we'll just cross that road when we get there. Maybe there were or is two Sakura's who knows -.

2. For the Sakura that is based on the actual Sakura, and where BB comes from. I wanted to simply treat her as her own existence. She existed, she lived, and had a very nice life.

3. Ultimately Sakura!Moon Cell and Sakura!FSN are (basically for all intent and purposesThey are not) the same person, so really if anything. If a Sakura rper wants to change the story of Sakura, I am all for it, and inevitably it's just BB is based on that Sakura. The EXTENSION just continues. At the end of the day, I am more focused on BB being a COPY from SAKURA and what that means - bc that is also extremely important in her story in FATE CCC. I just gave Sakura a little flavor in the Grove to make it all heart-wrenching.

✰ Who was Sakura Matou?

My Grove Iteration of Sakura Matou is very simple and easy. Originally I wrote some stuff about her here.

1. A very kind girl who simply lived for others most often, although sometimes she would show a bit of a cruel streak. It was often always hidden and only shown to close friends. She cared about everyone within the school and worked hard to help establish the school as a place worth coming to. She had high hopes for the Grove and genuinely supported Aldric and the families that lived here. To her, this was her forever home, and she had tender feelings about one day having to leave this place and join SERAPH.

2. SE.RA.PH project is basically NASA.
- What is "SERAPH" it stands for in FATE: The Serial Phantasm, also known as the Photonic Abyss and Angelica Cage. An artificial environment within the Moon Cell that is located inside of a Spiritual Computer system called Automaton.

3. Sakura was part of the Toshka family but was given away and adopted by the Matou family. I will write nothing about either family, other than this and that they are rich and potentially held power within the town in some capacity. That power extended as far as working alongside a group called: SERAPH. Alongside SERAPH, the Matou family started a charity fund and officially created a school for children under their name.

4. Sakura grew up with this school being a CORE part of her whole personality. Very excited, and went there herself. The moment she turned 18, she offered to work as a School Nurse while studying and getting ready to join SERAPH entirely.

5. There is a Sakura tree outside of the school which represents the Matou Family. This is Sakura's favorite tree.

6. Sakura was moving to fund an observatory within the school - and it was going to happen up until the reckoning occurred. She was working on a project.

7. Sakura had a close friend named Hakuno - they loved them DEARLY. She also worked alongside a few others, Rani, Leo, Julius, Shinji who was her adopted brother. There is also mention of someone named Rin, who she had some relations with - but I will not discuss that here! This was her friend group.

✰ Who is BB?

1. BB for me is a 'canon' existence ONLY. She never existed in the grove outside of the concept of what Sakura was envisioning. IN FATE EXTRA, BB comes about because Sakura does not want to deal with her feelings of love and suffering over Hakuno. So she takes them out of her, and tries to throw them away - this, in turn, creates BB. That is who BB is. So BB does not exist until her Canon Life happens, meaning again. BB does not actually belong in the Grove, and it is Sakura's body she is possessing currently. Making her a demi servant (See Mashu or Laeticia).

3. A bit more, BB is Sakura and Sakura is BB, but it is established in the game that they are individually their own persons and respectfully Hakuno adores them individually as well!

Reiterating, BB does not exist on the Grove and never did. However, I plan to write something that Nasu did not get to explore that much in FATE EXTRA. It is that want of permanence, that is missing from BB, IMO, because the writing of FATE EXTRA was about BB trying to save one whole person. Instead here at the Grove, it will be her trying to contend with not being able to save HAKUNO - wanting to, but can't. But also what it means to never have actually existed at all.

DEATH: Sakura herself likely died after boarding the school to keep as many kids within and protect them, or any elderly, or etc. She may have tried to use magic at that time - but because magic is yet to be established I won't delve into it too much. Also because BB is the character I write and Not Sakura - I don't wanna explore too much. But definitely trying to save people within the school and heal/help as many as she can.

I like to think that Sakura probably lost Hakuno in front of her, in the process of protecting everyone, then snapped & lost it herself.

Caoimhe

[amhran]

NAME: Caoimhe!!!!
ROLE: She took care of the Lighthouse that I totally am still going to ask for when we GET THE OCEAN!! IF THERE ISNT ONE THERE ALREADY OKAY!! I SWEAR ON IT!! She also taught music at the local school.
HISTORY:
I originally wrote about here here!

🌊 Growing up!

1. Caoimhe was born and raised by her mother and father! However, they joined a Caravan of people called the Tuatha de. For about 10 years. Emer is from this Caravan, her father Beithir was not. Likely a sailor or someone who lived in the ocean town or the other side of the ocean. Whatever is there!

2. Tuatha de are people who travel and live off the land - they basically just roam about I do not know how big the area they are at is... But they are ocean-side dwellers if that accounts for anything. They do a lot of trade, and travel around a lot - they tend to stay within the grove for a year before traveling 3 years and coming back eventually.

3. Once caoimhe hit 13, her mother ended up "falling in love" with someone named [redacted], and "cheated" on Beithir. What actually happened was he was an abusive piece of shit from her past life that came back and basically stole her. Beithir never heard from her, and just assumed they divorced.

4. Beithir fell in love again w Mizuki's mother!! Caoimhe and Mizuki become step-siblings at this point! She tries her best to be an adorable big sister. She loved her little brother a lot!!! A LOT!!!! She spoiled him and loved her step mother dearly.

5. Stuff starts happening and Beithir gets lost to the ocean.

6. Caoimhe thinks he will come back, and was sad bc she was supposed to go with him that day he left. Abandoned by both her parents, she believes they will both one day come back - especially her father. So she grew up wanting to take care of the lighthouse. Thinking how important it was for the lighthouse to be taken care of - I would even go so far as to say. Because the light house was not working on a day when a bad storm happened - this was the reason her father went missing.

7. Mother Emer, she was an opera singer who gave up her dream when she had a kid because she loved her daughter. She had a mysterious past life and seemed to come to the Grove sometime as an adult, living quiet life until she fell in love with Beithir. She eventually disappeared, and many of the towns folk think she cheated on Beithir and ran away with the new man who showed himself. No one knows his name - and it is often treated better to not know his name. If you say it - something bad happens.

8. Father Beithir, a fail-dad sort of man who tries his best but is bad with words. He is kind in action but horrible with words. He loves the ocean, and has grown up living off of it for all his life. He fell in love with the opera singer one day visiting the grove - and immediately tried to woo her heart. He succeeded, but his heart ended up breaking when she disappeared from his life. Eventually, he found new love again... But unfortunately, disappeared into the seas one stormy day.

9. Mizuki's Step Sister!!! With her stepmother, Caoimhe tried her hardest to raise all the money that she could to one day give it to Mizuki so he could go to an amazing college of his choice!! Caoimhe loved her little step-sibling dearly - and nothing could ever come between her and him!

🌊 Life at the Grove!

1. Caoimhe was constantly asked to join the caravan by her 'two siblings' Caragh and Maeve. Siblings in Tuatha de are merely people who were raised together around the same age group. Blood relations do not matter. Regardless, Caoimhe refused wanting to take care of the lighthouse and live at the Grove permanently.

2. Caoimhe eventually picked up a job at the school becoming a music teacher.

3. Her friend group consisted of mainly Caragh and Maeve - when they came back around from the Caravan's travel. They wrote to each other OFTEN!

4. Caoimhe was close to many people in Gnosis's friend group as well!

5. She became an adult so whatever age you wanna imagine her basically beyond her twenties or so.

6. Friend Group, Laurenthius a town guard who was one of Caoimhe's friends. Sumeragi, a tea-loving enthused person. Who was a monk in his past life, and moved to the grove to share his love of tea with others. Cormac, a hard man who probably taught history. Caoimhe and him never got along but she knows him and respects him from afar. Sylas, a young lad who with his adopted sister - often understood what it was like to be adopted and love their siblings dearly. Oliver, a young boy who was extremely intelligent Caoimhe was teaching about music. Sometimes he was the one teaching her about things, as opposed to the opposite! Oliver has a wonderful mother named Trisha, who he loves dearly. Oliver was also adopted!

DEATH: 100% definitely protecting others, or trying to speak to the forest and beg for it to stop what it was it was doing, or she went back to the ocean because it called to her - who knows all are likely.

Lancelot du Lac

[alligatus]

NAME: Lancelot du Lac ( Lancer )
ROLE: Town guard, that one dude who loves his wife a lot.
HISTORY:

♞ Growing up!

1. Happiest DUDE EVER, a little dude with a mom who lived by a lake house or whatever. Her name was Vivanne and she was a lesbian - probably had like 2 wives or something. Also, he was adopted!

2. Loved fishing, was that annoying kid who would tell you all about fish and dinosaur facts. Wanted to grow up and be a knight so badly and was upset to find out knights don't really exist anymore so he had to settle to become a town guard.

3. Probably left the grove to go to school elsewhere.

4. Met Guinevere in high school, high school sweethearts.

TW: NON CON & DRUG mention & Abuse
5. At some point in HS he was drugged and unfortunately forced into sex with a girl named Elaine. Anyway, she got pregnant and held that over his head for the longest time. When Galahad was born, he took custody of him and pressed charges. Her ass got kicked out of the grove eventually - who knows where that crazy lady went idk. don't care!

5. ended up coming back to the grove bc ... . . feelings. his mom probably cried and wanted him 2 come back and he's a mommys boy.

♞ Grove Life!

1. Anyway got married to Guinevere, and raised his son Galahad! He has an awkward relationship with Galahad but they get close to each other towards the end of it all.

2. Arthur is his best friend, so is Gawain.. KOTR are his besties... I bet they were all town guards or most of them left who knows ! I am sure some left the Grove to do bigger better things. Not Lancelot... Let him live his small-town life.

3. Did he have other kids? who knows its a mystery i am up for it if u wanna be his kid tho lol.

DEATH: UM!! Doing his job and trying to protect his family 10/10 don't know how and am up for whatever!

Wolfie

[simplicitas]

 

ELSWORD FROM THE CRITICALLY IRRELEVANT MMO ELSWORD

[simplicitas]

NAME: Elsword, the man the myth the idiot himself

ROLE: He was a kid! One of those kids who was always outside camping and going on "adventures" aka he was 5 and he picked up a stick and pretended it was a sword. This lasted about ten years longer than it should have. He's also the sort who wants Everyone To Be Friends and he would have gone up to kids much older than him and tried to be friends with them please stop him. He's too friendly. That's how you get kidnapped dude.

HISTORY: Elsword grew up with his parents and sister Elesis, and was, again, That Kid growing up. The kid who would walk up to you and show you a worm and be weirded out when you're disgusted by it. Yeah. If the Grove had boyscouts he'd be a boyscout. Can we have boyscouts? I'm saying he was a boyscout now.

Anyway his weird little friend group would have existed here (do not separate them) and it's already been established lore that Elsword would go over to Add's house a lot when they were young teenagers and probably bug the hell outta him.

He learned how to wield swords fr fr and was dreaming about becoming a town guard for a while before going on wild adventures, you can take the Elboy from adventures but you cannot take the adventures from the Elboy or whatever. He was also definitely one of the kids who'd wander into the woods to the temple and talk to statue-Zahliya because Creature.

DEATH: He definitely threw himself in front of an attack from a monster to save someone else and died at 16. Yayyyy!

GNOSIS my beautiful baby bird tweet tweet

[succiduous]

NAME: Gnosis Edelweiss

ROLE: Gnosis was a young... teenager i had to do math, but when the Grove was first settled he would've been somewhere in his teenage years. He's undoubtedly one of the people who would later go on to help establish electricity etc, that's his role in life he's a nerd. History repeats itself. He grew out of the teenager antics very fast and then apparently he's 17 years older than Elsword so when that boy was 5 he was in his twenties, which means he would've been y'all's babysitter. Let me know if y'all want this to be a real thing bc I sure as hell do.

HISTORY: Like I said he was very good with tech and likely on constant adventures to Find More Tech, that's just who he is as a person. And then one day he met Enciodes Silverash and he had his gay awakening this is lore i am not leaving this lore behind. You can take this ship from my cold dead little hands. Cue fucking months of constant embarrassment on Gnosis' part because he was young and dumb. He just wanted to go to school and learn stuff and build cool contraptions and this fuckin hot dude is in his vision all the time??? Anyway luckily in their past lives they didn't have to do a coup d'etat PROBABLY. MAYBE. We'll see.

DEATH: I established this in an investigation already but he and his family burned to death in the burned town we unlocked this month. :) Natsuno discovered the skeletal remains of his parents so like lol. Lmao.

ZAHLIYA guest starring on this post

[purifier]

NAME: Zahliya aka "the Purifier, He Who is the First Sentinel, the Grove's Guardian" including additional titles no one knows yet but will surely come up one day.

ROLE/HISTORY: When all of you were alive, he was a gargoyle statue on the temple. One day, some of you kids (or even the NPC kids idk, SOMEONE) decided to make a wish and give him a name, and that gave him sentience within his stone prison. Whenever the Grove's kids would play in the forest, he would watch over them, therefore he has an extreme fondness for very bygone memories of everyone here. He will infantilize all of you, he will treat you like kids, and he has not come to grips with the fact that you all died and grew up elsewhere. You can work with him on this and try to remind him that you're all grown up/not babies anymore, though. Or you can let him baby you forever.

He was brought to life by the ritual that sent everyone out of here originally, meaning most of you were already dead by the time he sprung into action and began killing things. He's been in the fog for centuries fighting monsters. Moder was something of an escapee that he refuses to live down.

DEATH: He never died, but he can. Try not to let this happen. Or do, I'm not your dad.

Rubie

[mooninthewater]

Mizuki for all ur eldritch abomination needs

[mooninthewater]

NAME: Mizuki

ROLE: Mizuki moved into the town as a young child with his (formerly single) mother. Mizuki was fairly prone to illness, often needing to stay indoors or have frequent visits to the doctor. Because of this, Mizuki had a very strange outlook on life. He was incredibly positive, but somehow also morbid in the same way. Optimistically so. He adored the townsfolk like they were all family however, often spending his time with kids a little older than him and following them around excitedly, hoping to be invited to play games or do puzzles with them. He was often fairly forgettable because he didn't talk all that much, generally getting a "oh, Mizuki was there?" response to things from people outside his immediate family…

HISTORY: Mizuki moved into the Grove with his mom, and she soon found love with Caoimhe's father, Beithir, making the two of them step-siblings. Mizuki was a little shy and didn't speak too much, but his mother was extremely positive and cared so, so much about him. She wanted him to have the absolute best life he could, despite the fact he had a very complicated immune system. Magical means didn't seem to work on him, either, which stumped a lot of people about his condition.

He and Caoimhe were often seen by the lighthouse together, naturally drawn to the ocean.

I don't have anything else too terribly thought out for Mizuki so if there's anything you were thinking might be fun would work!

DEATH: (cw: child death obv, suicide ment, drowning, u know the works)
I honestly have no idea how he died exactly, lmao. He would've been roughly 7-10 years old, though. I know his mother would've done everything she possibly could to protect him. Mysterious creature from the ocean get him? maybe the illness finally got to him? maybe he killed himself knowing that even if he did survive, being "alone" here would've been his inevitable death anyway? maybe he was morbidly curious what would happen to him afterwards? Maybe he fell asleep in the ocean waves and just never woke up??? idk. Something Happened.

[reaperbunny]

NAME: Brook Alexander Chykov

ROLE: Another quiet teenager. He didn't really hang out with the other kids unless he was dragged along with it. Generally, he found himself just doing odd jobs around to help make himself useful, but he didn't seem like an entirely unhappy kid. Just quiet. When he wasn't working, he would be resting somewhere the wildlife would gather and spend time feeding them. He probably single handedly made the nearby deer unafraid to approach someone and take food out of their hand because he just fed them out of his own hand so much lmao.

He probably did have some vague nature-y magic that allowed him to talk with animals.

HISTORY: Alex came from an incredibly wealthy family. They actually did their part to help fund a lot of the things Aldric needed. After a time, they eventually sent Brook there to learn responsibility, or whatever, but really it was just because they needed to put Brook somewhere he wouldn't be "in the way". If he had an opinion on this at all, it never showed.

DEATH: HMMMM hm hm hm. I feel like he probably died trying via bloodloss somehow. Probably when some vines tried to grab his arm and he instinctively just cut it off and ran.

Then died later because he couldn't stop the blood flow in time,

OR SOMETHING IDK coming up with this is hard for me lmfao.

Lavvy

[harmacy]

Add

[harmacy]

NAME: Add Edward Grenore (Add might still be a nickname, someone else make up a reason how that happened because the canon excuse is ?????)

ROLE: gestures at Grace on the known-NPC list........ Edward is the eldest son of the town doctor, extremely proud of his mom & her work and training to be a doctor himself!! He's still a bit prickly and shy but the lack of several key traumatizing events in his childhood means he is WAY more well-adjusted and sane, though he still takes personal offense to any other doctors/healers trying to "threaten"(???) his mom's very important job.

HISTORY: Grace came to the Grove with her son to get away from her shitty abusive ex-husband. Sometime after settling in as the town doctor she would also end up adopting Nene. Edward would've been extremely shy and anxious as a kid, clinging to mom, overprotective of mom, initially VERY wary of Nene......... but hey so it turns out growing up in a healthy environment is good, actually?? So by the time he's in his teens he would've been way more relaxed/comfortable around people, still very protective of his mom but far more willing to talk to others and maybe even?? make friends???? he is also overprotective of Nene... she is his #1 fan and that means the world to him, anyone who bullies his little sister gets laxatives slipped into their food get fucking wrecked

NOTABLY he wouldn't have his funky face tats in any photos and sticks!Edward didn't have an interest in robotics. His dad was probably still an engineer and forced him to learn all that shit but like. canonically, as a kid Add hated his dad's lessons and only ended up liking robots because he had an entire library of Cool Robot Facts injected into his brain... so, in sticks AU he stuck to medicine and botany (just like mom!!!!!) and retained a general interest in the other sciences, had a disdain for engineering in early childhood that he eventually grew out of and before he died he was neutral towards it.

also his shitty dad tried to get into the Grove at least once and got his ass beat by Aldric, this is canon lore.

DEATH: looks directly at amity :) i think Nene should have the honours so u tell me!

Specific gory details aside, he probably died trying to get to Nene while she was burning everything down... and if anyone tried to stop her by force, he would've gotten in the way to protect her. mom probably died first because i'm mean and want to set her on fire. Edward would've been 19 to keep him lined up with Elsword.

Nat

[cursedwords]

Toge Inumaki

[cursedwords]

NAME: Toge Inumaki

ROLE: Toge was very much just a kid, shy and sweet and a bit of a loner. He's more the type to go for a walk on his own than play with others unprompted, but he almost always accepted invitations. He was a diligent student, excelling in math and athletics he played soccer.

HISTORY: Toge was born to a pair of loving, but unremarkable parents. His mother was a teacher and worked at the school and his father was a carpenter, someone very much in need with an expanding/fledgling town. He was the youngest of two kids, and so he had an older sibling that was out there keeping half an eye on him.

A bit of a dreamer, Toge always thought he'd end up on some grand adventure, getting out of town and exploring on his own. He was too young to pursue those passions however, so it's hard to say if it would've ever materialized. His father was always hoping he'd follow in his footsteps, but Toge was never interested in that.

His favourite hobby was to sit around reading books at all hours of the night and day when he wasn't busy with other things. He was kind of a pain to get to do chores, because chores were frankly just boring.

DEATH: One of the beasties smashed through the back door of their home and Toge was right in the line of fire. Sharp claws slashed through his torso, and after being tossed aside, the last thing he saw was the beast tearing apart his parents. He was twelve years old.

[neckromancy]

NAME: Astarion Ancunín, formerly known as Astarion Morais (The former was a surname adopted as an alias during his time On The Run™)

ROLE: Technically he never finished obtaining his license, but he probably would have ended up taking on any magisterial duties the Grove had need of once he was settled. Also any clerk responsibilities such as record keeping, yearly logs, etc etc. Lots of paperwork essentially.

HISTORY: "No need to go super in-depth" It's me, sorry. I have gone super in depth (though I'll try to do so as succinctly as possible. Under a cut all the same, bc I tend to ramble)

Tw for mentions of torture!

As the second-born of House Morais, Astarion spent most of his childhood either clinging to his mother's skirts or sneaking off to roam the vineyards of his family's personal winery. He was his elder sister Dionira's junior by three years, and while they remained on civil terms for the majority of their childhood, the two were by no means close, and he did his best to avoid her whenever possible.

Freedom has ever been an ideal Astarion keeps close to his heart, and here he found his freedom by throwing himself fully into his studies and moving out from the yoke of his family's estate. While bookish, Astarion was by no means introverted, and was often considered the life of any gala or event he attended. To no one's surprise, he had gotten himself involved in one or two scandals by virtue of his prolific night life, much to his father's chagrin.

The distance he had placed between himself and Dionira lessened upon her marriage to Cyrus and the subsequent birth of her children, once again relocating himself to be a little closer to his childhood home. While not an overly doting uncle, he was nevertheless friendly and attentive to Felicity and Victor whenever their paths crossed at family gatherings, and was often the one to sneak them an extra dessert or two behind their mother's back. His reputation as a trustworthy adult earned him Victor's favor, and when Cyrus died, it was Astarion that the boy went to in order to ask for help in order to save himself and Fel from their situation.

He hid Victor on his estate, colluding with his nephew and offering aid and resources to back his plan to liberate Felicity from Dionira's clutches. Providing the two of them with funds and a means to escape the city once they were both free, he set off to confront his sister with the proof of her misdeeds.

This altercation... Did not go well! The public cover story was that Astarion had kidnapped the two children of House Morais, spiriting them away into the night where the three of them then vanished entirely. In reality, Dionira attacked her brother in her private quarters, and with the advantage of surprise on her side, subdued and kept him chained within the estate's dungeons.

He spent a year there in captivity, enduring life as the subject of various occult experiments and creative torture methods. When the eventual opportunity to escape presented itself, he was quick to seize it, although not before enacting his revenge on Dionira and murdering her in cold blood. Leaving House Morais functionally bereft of an heir, he fled the city, dodging the law while attempting to track down his niece and nephew. Victor received word of his uncle's status among the living first, and was the one to get word to Astarion to tell him about the existence of the Grove.

Intending to flee there to put down new roots of his own, it was when he was hitching a ride on a passing caravan that he first crossed paths with Taliira, who was also running from a past she wished to leave behind. He had intended to step in on her behalf in order to defend her from a sleazeball who refused to take no for an answer, a sentiment that proved highly unnecessary as he then watched her waylay the man on her own with a single, well-aimed punch. Impressed by her abilities, the two continued to socialize, until eventually he offered to take her to the Grove with him.

An offer she accepted, and the duo settled in the Grove alongside the other residents, where they then proceeded to fall into an insufferable "will they, won't they" dynamic. Gross.

DEATH: Present day Astarion might be a liiittle affronted to learn this, but he went out in a heroic last stand of sorts. While Tal did her best to gather the children inside the school and barricade the door, Astarion stayed outside to try and fight off any attacking beasts in order to buy her time. Naturally this did not conclude in his favor, and he was eventually impaled on the doors of the school itself via a plant creature's branches. Staked through the heart, ironically. Ha ha.

[amethystic]

BEST UNCLE EVER!!! the moment he showed up in the grove fel was so worried and happy but mostly worried because she knows what her mother's capable of. i need them to know their past now i need it

[interestingtimes]

NAME: Taliira A'Daragon, formally Taliira Olass (Olass was her family name, one that she stopped going by after Running Away ™)

ROLE: Taliira became a teacher when she came to the Grove, probably in general education or art. She would have probably also done commissioned paintings/portraits.

HISTORY: I tried to do a short summary, but I failed.

Still putting it under a cut bc it became longer than intended!

Taliira was born into a very wealthy family. She was the youngest daughter, and yet she was still expected to dance to the tune of perfection. She had the best tutors money could buy, along with learning how to paint, play several instruments, and even embroidery. Everything that a studious noble lady needed to know. When she wasn't studying, embroidering, or playing the piano to entertain guests, she watched her brothers train with her father, and in the middle of the night, she would practice what she saw in her room where no one could see her.

At 20, her mother arranged a marriage for her, to a wealthy man in another city that would solidify their family's fortunes and political standing. She was getting too old with no signs of getting a husband on her own, and despite her protests and pleading, she wasn't given a say in the matter.

So, on the day of the wedding, Taliira found herself in a beautiful white gown inside a horse-drawn carriage heading to a city she had never been to. Halfway through the journey, panic settled in and she began to plead with her mother. Dismissal after belittling comment, Taliira did something she never thought she would be capable of doing: she struck her mother hard enough to knock her out, and before she could think better of it, she threw herself from the moving carriage and ran.

She had no idea how much time passed in those woods, her once beautiful dress torn and dirty. She had ripped up the skirt to make it easier to navigate the woods, and eventually, after days of starvation and exhaustion, she came by a caravan that offered to take her somewhere safe. This is where she met Astarion, someone in a similar situation as herself. During their ride, one of the other passengers continued to harass her, and she was quick to put him in his place. Thankfully, the rest of the trip had her getting to know Astarion and no other incidents with unwanted creeps until eventually, he offered to take her to the Grove with him.

This was an offer she considered, of course, for a while seeing as how this was a stranger she had just met. But there was something about him, and eventually she accepted. He took her to the Grove where they both settled down and proceeded to have the worst tension the Grove has ever known, probably.

It took her a while to settle into a role that suited her, but she found that she loved children, and it wasn't long until she became a teacher and a painter, finally able to pursue her passions without restraint or worry of judgment.

DEATH: Tal died protecting her kids at the school. She barricaded them in one of the classrooms, and despite wanting to go out and help Astarion, she didn't leave their sides even when she heard his screams. She used her body as a shield when they were attacked, holding out as long as she could to keep the children safe.

[amhran]

TALIRA!!! Im sure caoimhe and taliira knew each other well - arts department??? She was the music teacher! and was very passionate about giving everyone a voice to sing, and or teaching an instrument of her choice. She knows strings, and piano! she had a little step brother she adored a lot ( mizuki ), and from what rubie said their mother also worked in the school too!

I also have BB/Sakura who worked as the nurse, she tried to also get everyone inside the school and began barricading it... apparently, BB rn seen the dead blood stain on the schools door. which is.. astarions lmao... i wonder if they can find his body oh god.

Juu

[anthropophagite]

Kaneki Ken

[anthropophagite]

[ I will be editing this post as I come up with more ideas, please comment here! Thank you! ]
NAME:

Ken Kaneki

ROLE:

A cook! Kaneki once upon a time was a surprisingly good cook, able to make delicious dishes out of very little. Even though he was very young, Kaneki was always very hard-working and diligent. He also had extensive knowledge on books and literature but that was for fun.

HISTORY:

Born into the family of a librarian/teacher (his mother) and a fisherman (his father), Kaneki learned a lot from both of them. They were loving, and kind and taught Kaneki the same kindness. They were genuinely happy. He may have had a sibling - either adopted, blood-related, or just someone he took care of - but for now, he won't remember WINKWINK who wants to be his sibling

Kaneki's love for cooking meant he'd often make meals to share with his neighbours, while he listened to their stories and kept them in his memory - perhaps later on to write a book on his own. He loved reading, too, which made him knowledgeable.

He wasn't shy. Kaneki always tried to help others and would often do so by offering some food or a book for them to read.

DEATH:

He sacrificed himself, trying to save his mother during Nene's fire. Both of them ended up dying AND THAT'S IT I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE

Aspen

[oleaeuropaea]

[oleaeuropaea]

NAME: Vash the Stampede Saverem

ROLE: Just a run of the mill kid, and the younger twin. He and Nai were inseparable, though Vash spent most of his time hiding behind Nai, or his mother, Rem. They were around 12 or so at their oldest.

HISTORY: The twins, but mainly Vash, were absolutely obsessed with Nene, in the way kids tend to be with their elders. Running around in the garden with her, trying to help out, that was their favorite thing to do. As they were growing older, though, I imagine the twins were also starting to grow apart a bit too. Developing their personalities and separate interests. And with his brother starting to develop his own hobbies, Vash was left rudderless and clung to Nene all the harder.

Matters were made worse as Nene came under the influence of the forest.

DEATH: Vash deeply trusted Nene. And as the village came under (literal) fire, he stayed put. He tried to convince his family to trust in Nene as well, and might have even gotten physical (spoilers for trimax) with Rem. Eventually, he died in the fire, but it's hard to say if his family died with him.