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buttrinthum2023-12-04 08:13 pm
TDM #6 OVERFLOW
Whether it be sleep or death, you feel your eyes close, and as your body begins to let go, you see a barn owl that is flying through the darkness, soon sweeping you across the clouded sky. You feel yourself mouth the words, “I wish, I wish..” and utter your deepest and darkest desire.
When you regain consciousness, you’ll find you are in an unfamiliar place with no recognition of how you arrived here. You have the clothes on your back, but nothing else. No weapons and if you had a particular superpower, you’ll notice it is missing. All you have is a satchel with a piece of bread, a vial of water and a potion. The potion could be red, blue or golden. There are no instructions about these potions other than two words: Drink Me.
Will you drink it or not?
There is a parchment, handwritten, and it simply gives you a welcoming:
“Welcome to my Labyrinth. Per our agreement, you have consented to live your life here for an undetermined amount of time. In exchange, I will grant you the wish that you desire the most.”
You’re in a garden, surrounded by flowers and plants– most of which you cannot identify. However, there are a few that you can make out: holly and bluebells.
Standing too close to the bluebells for too long or smelling them will make a Dreamer unable to refuse requests. This can last for however long a player may wish, whether it be for a few days or just a few minutes. The holly, however, also gives off a strange effect when getting too close to it: Dreamers will feel compelled to be more helpful & outgoing, no matter how gloomy and closed off they are. This effect can also last for a few days or a few minutes-- it is up to the player!
Eventually, Dreamers will find their way out of the Enchanted Garden and into the city of Somnius, whether it be by following the alluring light or on their own.
It’s funny how if you ask for something, sometimes that’s all it takes to have it given to you. Maybe Webby is just that lucky, or Vaeros is feeling just that generous the day it’s requested but for two days and one night only in the beginning of the month of November, a large castle stands where one didn’t before. It’s grand in that it doesn’t need repairs like some of the available housing does, but it’s certainly nothing too awe-inspiring. But, it’s big enough for its purpose—a sleepover party for every inhabitant new or old.
During the night a few days before the party, EVERY person receives a handwritten invitation to this sleepover blowout. It doesn’t matter who, young or old. For those who wake up in Somius after the invitations arrive, they’ll find an invitation just for them in their pocket or satchel, like they were always meant to be invited from the beginning.
Decorations are bright and colorful, spanning the whole rainbow. One giant room full of cots and sleeping bags, blankets and pillows has been made to be the centerpiece of the whole affair. This is where most of the partygoers will mingle and play games, if they’re not too busy with one of the other activities located in one of the other rooms nearby. There’s plenty of room to wander, though any room that has not been decorated and made up for the party is locked down completely with no way in. There are, of course quiet spaces provided for those who need a quick getaway from all the partying. Or maybe going outside for a stroll in the night garden would be calming too?
For those who don’t have anything appropriate to sleep in, pajamas are even provided. But they might be a little silly, since beggars can’t be choosers. Who wants the unicorn fuzzy pajamas?
Games Galore - There’s plenty to play with, at Webby’s insistence (and by insistence we mean she gives you the biggest doe-eyes you’ve ever seen) and she’s more than happy to give you overly-detailed means on how to play the following -
🎉Twister - a huge sheet blotted with colorful spots has been laid on the floor, along with a square with similar colors and a spinny arrow. The rules are simple - one person spins the arrow, and where it lands you put your foot or hand. First to fall loses, so amp up the embarrassment - er, fun as you all get tangled up with each other.Bountiful Buffet - The best way to stay up late is to stuff yourself silly with sugar, which is why the dining room table is loaded with all kinds of desserts. Remy and Aurora have supplied some of their own sugary confections, and you’re more than welcome to have added your own creations to the buffet. Just don’t start any food fights. At least not where Webby can see it!
🎉Truth Or Dare - Two options, one chance for chaos. Surely you’re all going to be mature individuals and not ask mortifying questions or dangerous dares.
🎉Pin The Tail On The Donkey - Yes, Webby’s sole guardian was a woman whose idea of fun was from the 1950s, how did you know? But she’s also put up optional sheets of different animals to stick their tail/bodyparts on while you’re blindfolded, including past threats like zombies and skeksis.
As though the castle (or whoever ACTUALLY owns it) wants to help assist the party atmosphere, those who partake of the food might feel a little more inclined to be friendly and amenable to party activities. You know, just for those gloomy gusses out there. There are no drawbacks to this little bit of fairy dust, just a little bit of social greasing, you know?
Makeover Makeover Makeover - Vil has ever so kindly offered his beauty supplies for those of you who want to experiment with some new looks, and you’re free to have brought your own. Test it out on one another or try it out yourself. Then again, when he’s not looking, what’s to stop you from trying to paint yourself up like a B-movie monster?
Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark - Some of you may have had more than enough of your share of frights due to last month’s… fun, but surely you can handle a bit more fright? In a dark room with only one light torch, gather in a circle and share a spooky story from times gone by. Just be prepared for that one person who always sneaks up from behind and goes BOO at the right time. It’s inevitable.
Pillow Fight - Pick a side or be a lone warrior, grab a pillow and show no mercy! The last one standing wins! The only rule is your pillow is your sole weapon! In fact, there seem to be more pillows available than there are people here, so let the feathers fly! If the castle magically produces more, who’s to say? Shrug and keep the battle going!
CW: memory share, character specific trauma
Some may be aware that harvest season is a season of growth and not just in the cultivating sense. Townsfolk take this time to evaluate themselves and really think about things in their lives that have potentially been holding them back from being their strongest and truest selves. With the newly accessible Indigo Beach providing plenty of room for multiple bonfires, Dreamers will see several bonfires stretched across the dark blue sand, logs and rocks assembled around each one, beckoning Dreamers near.
As soon as they step out on the beach’s sands, characters will find a slip of paper on their person (in their pocket, up their sleeve.. any readily accessible portion of their clothing.) On that piece of paper, they will have a personalized phrase catered to them, making them remember a painful memory that has held them back in some way. The phrase can be anything players want it to be as long as it jogs the memory back into the head of their characters. Those with a paper slip will feel compelled to sit around the bonfire and contemplate their memory; they also will feel encouraged to share that memory with anyone who is sitting nearby. If characters choose to throw the paper slip into the fire, those who have heard the story of their grief will have a very vivid visual of the event in their mind’s eye along with feeling the exact pain they went through as well.
Once these memories are shared and characters take a moment to grieve, they will feel significantly better about the past situation that caused them so much pain. This can be temporary or permanent, it’s up to the player.
Although refreshments won’t be provided, Dreamers are encouraged to bring their own. And yes, something adjacent to s’mores can be something characters may bring.
On the morning of the 1st, some dreamers will receive a message from an unknown user.
Who or what from home do you miss the most?
They will feel compelled to respond with a truthful answer, as if their brains had gone into a trance, and before they know it, their response will be there for everyone to see. It cannot be deleted or changed. The user will not respond personally, but you get the sense they are definitely reading.
[ This is an additional network option for characters to interact with. Feel free to add a network prompt into any of your top levels. If you do not want to interact with this prompt, simply assume your character did not get the message. All threads are public unless actively privated by characters. We generally encourage threadjacking and engagement, so feel free to mention if threadjacking is fine with you so that others are aware. Note that the NPC will not be actively responding. ]
Welcome to the labyrinthum TDM OVERFLOW! All events are game canon. New characters (invited or not) and old characters alike are welcome to play in it. Existing characters can start their own logs or network posts for the event if they wish to. Those who wish to can move their old threads here to continue them without the threat of capcha. This is an opportune time to try someone new out with a fresh and wild TDM!
New and Old characters are welcome to top level on the TDM. Please state in the header if you are a new or old player! Also, new characters may link their top levels under the new character comment so they are easier to find. Thanks for your cooperation!
New characters will arrive depowered and with only their clothing, and will be given a satchel with a crystal pendant, a communication device, some water and bread and a magic potion. If they drink the potion, they will manifest an elemental, healing or animal transformation ability.
With the exception of Castle Vaeros, characters are free to go as they please, so feel free to place them in any of the locations available on the map.
You can find more information about the game here. Any questions regarding the TDM can go under the comment below. Special thank you to Melissa for the player plot and prompts!
Di Feisheng | Mysterious Lotus Casebook | New player
Text (cont'd)--Blue
[She could probably write this into a book and not his messages. He thinks he understands it, in an objective sense. He just isn't yet sure why he needs to, or why they should change courses and apply this one instead. Perhaps that will be in a later volume. But he's already invested too much not to be curious.]
Why does corruption play into that? I can't say what's fitting without knowing more.
It can be a flower, but then it won't be wuxing. And it won't be easy to diagram, or to think about.
[He may be sheepishly eying a bit of scrap paper, even now. A flower isn't wuxing, and a metaphor isn't a map.]
I'm not convinced. Wuxing is knowing how to get a result. I don't know what to do with flowers.
no subject
The good thing about flowers is that you don't have to do much with them. You can simply let them be, or you can arrange them as you like. Sometimes they help, sometimes they hurt. But usually, they're nice to look at.
In this case, they're just a visualization for how something can seem one thing, but have deeper parts. Layers, if you will. If they don't work for you, then don't mind them.
Tell me about your cycle. Why does that seem more proper?
no subject
This, too, is wuxing.]Violence is not only physical. Corruption may not be violence. Both are processes, but not the same.
Is the point of the flower that there's no set order of interaction? I'm not giving up yet.
Words and violence aren't at odds, or different by default. Violence can probably be the process for all the phases, one way. Diplomacy another way, if you prefer.
no subject
The point of the flower is the abstraction. To see one part and know that it's made of similar but smaller parts. Perhaps a better image would be petal floating in a rocky stream or a leaf fluttering in the air. Though it might dally in places, spinning in circles around a rock or tree, the current eventually pulls it on to the next thing. In that, you have cycles within a cycle.
In that way, couldn't it be said that violence could be a cycle within a cycle? Words beget something beget action as you do, cycling back around again and again until a wave crests over and sweeps them to the next phase.
Castle exploration, Alberto (cont'd)
Di Feisheng accepts this new bit of intel gravely, though it's probably the least pained he's been in this entire interaction. Bit late for Alberto to start being even a little bit respectful in his bearing, but Di Feisheng has given up trying to understand. He has the high ground now
against this childand he isn't sure why, but he hopes to keep it. Asking questions seems to be a very hit or miss strategy.If there wasn't any magic for him to have, there wouldn't be any point in judging him for not going out and acquiring it, is the technicality Di Feisheng finds he has to allow. Being from a place with no magic sounds pointless and not fine actually, but as much as he hates the terminology he's been backed into adopting, he gets it--he also probably wouldn't want to dwell on such a sorry state of affairs, if it were him. Whether this means anything for his tenuous potion theories is ultimately inconclusive.
"That still sounds boring. Especially...” Since you want to be magic? No, try again. “Since you know better, now.” The world is vast, etc. “Is that the thing you wished for?”
no subject
"No... I guess I never really thought about it til I came here. I didn't think magic was, y'know— real."
He seems sheepish to admit this, rather than dismissive. It's embarrassing to admit to Di Feisheng, as brusque and direct as he's been about the matter — but hearing himself say these words in this enchanted castle, in this world, in the midst of all of this, it's just... oof. He tries to turn that visceral cringe into a joke, laugh it off.
"Obviously I was wrong, ha. But I mean, eheh, who am I, it's not like I'm a magic-ing expert."
He gives the slightest raise of his brow, raise of his tone, as if to acknowledge Di Feisheng, apparently, as a 'magic-ing expert' himself... It's a strong inference, sure, but he'd place his bets this guy knows what he's talking about. Whatever this magic-ing expert did to gain the upperhand in this conversation, it's working well.
no subject
hilariouslyprim rather than bemused, like he's just witnessed someone spilling something at the dinner table, but he's not immediately in range so it's not his problem...yet. But problem or not, his response of "That can't be what that's called," can't be suppressed and brooks no argument.As for the other effects...it looks like the boy is now aware of some fault and feeling some diffidence about it, just not any of the faults Di Feisheng might have picked out. Nonetheless, this feels. Unprincipled maybe? Not on the level of putting human children in labyrinths, but not the level he wants to inhabit either. At the very least if he's going to make someone feel ashamed it should be on purpose or by being very good at something, which is not what he's done here (as far as he knows). He tilts his head a little like he's making a reluctant concession, though whether it's to an inner principle or just technicality as a concept is unclear.
"But not knowing is different than being wrong." It just happens sometimes. “And you know now. You have friends with...abilities.” He's not accepting the mantle of magic-ing expert, just of expertise at being Di Feisheng, and that's worse. “I would find a way.”
no subject
"I tried to! Me and my friend Luz, she tried to help me figure out which magic I had. We practiced in the woods after she showed me her animal powers. I couldn't shoot fire or water or wind or lightning, I couldn't turn into a cat... We even tried to see if I had healing magic! It didn't work."
Which was unfortunate because there's... only one way to check if he has healing magic... These kids just be out there, man. But he seems to feel convicted in defending that he's tried to find a way, too. He didn't just throw his hands up and say 'Oh, well.'
And increasingly seems like he's trying to impress this guy, too...no subject
The concept of this or any child being able to shoot fire or lightning (that gets a brief look, both incredulous and a little intrigued) should likewise instill fear. But it's...good Alberto was thorough? Di Feisheng doesn't seem impressed so much as pensive, but he is at least not judging Alberto for complacency.
"Maybe not those things, then," he finds himself allowing. Still not a magic-ing expert, but that was a decently well rounded list of subjects, even if he's not so sure just going out in the woods...He can't even finish that thought without a hint of a sigh. "Or just not that way. Maybe start smaller, and with better instruction. Find a book, or..." This is more hesitating than Di Feisheng has done in most of his life, all in one go, and a remarkable number of words, besides. "Someone who doesn't have cat abilities."
no subject
"Is that how you started learning your powers, then? What counts as 'starting small' — I mean, for me?"
He's on the hook. But Di Feisheng may have just taken a misstep up there on the high grounds of this conversation... He suggested Alberto seeks better instruction, and uh— he's following his advice right away...!