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buttrinthum2024-04-30 10:34 pm
TDM #9
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 in scrawling, jagged lettering that seems a bit... ominous:
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: Larkspur and Anemone You’ll soon find out that being around the Larkspur makes you almost overwhelmingly tired, to the point you might even feel sluggish and in desperate need of a comfy place to rest. Why not lie down right in the garden? Or better yet, find someone to snuggle up with and sleep your worries away. The only truly strange part? You don’t seem to dream. At all. Straying too close to the Anemones, meanwhile, grants an entirely different effect. One second you’ll be walking through the garden and then suddenly you’re twenty feet away and facing the wrong direction. Even worse, whatever those flowers have done to you will sometimes make it so you “glitch” through solid objects – your leg might suddenly be lodged in the ground despite it being perfectly solid a moment before, or your arm could be shoved halfway into a wall that… actually, was that wall even there before? Nevermind that. The effects only last for a few minutes at worst, so at least you’re not stuck there forever, right?
Thanks to the combined efforts of dreamers and dragons, Vaeros is asleep. No one knows for how long. The locals aren’t particularly pleased with this turn of events and the village is a mess, but at least the moon is high in the sky again and everything is back to normal… relatively speaking. Things start to change... morph into something more dreamy, more surreal. It's subtle at first but after a few days…
The aftermath of the overgrowth, animal attacks, and the overall chaos of Vaeros' tantrum has left the village a little worse for wear. While most of the damages are cosmetic and could be fixed by the local's efforts alone, maybe a little help would be appreciated? If nothing else, it might help alleviate a little bit of the tension still lingering in the air after the events at the castle.
That, and the locals seem to be acting kind of strange. Leaving them to their own devices might not be the best idea. The Gelfling you are aiding in repairing a half-broken wall has been hammering for what seems like hours and when you look to see what they're doing, they haven't actually made any progress - they're just hitting the same spot over and over again, potentially making the hole even bigger. Did the goblin you just passed have a completely blank face for a moment? Others might walk into things, off of things (Starlight Cliff might be a hazard zone), or suddenly and inexplicably become aggressive toward dreamers, grabbing anything they can get their hands on (kitchenware, vegetables, a goose??) to use as a weapon. It's a very bizarre scene and the villagers don't seem to notice there is anything wrong with the people around them.
It’s not just the locals either. The animals have been acting equally strange. There's a wolf inside the clothing shop trying on suits, a goat standing (or trying to stand) on its hind legs, bleating out random words like a town crier while jingling a bell around its neck to get everyone's attention. Where you should find the local baker, suddenly they're replaced with a deer holding a paddle in its mouth to stir up a batch of brownies.
To top it all off, there's an eerie sense of deja vu no matter where you go or what you do. Didn't you just help that goblin with the wheelbarrow an hour ago? So why is it halfway across town again? You could have sworn you had to go and grab groceries, but your pantry is full like someone already had.
Days pass and the oddities continue to make themselves more and more apparent. The sidewalks seem uneven and wobbly at times, threatening to toss people walking across them to the ground or even fling them into the air with a sudden violent ripple. Walking through the forest sees the leaves of the trees melting into green goo that sticks to your clothes, your hair, and your skin - potentially staining them green and leaving you in dire need of a bath. You can always wash off in the lake, of course, but even that is not free of the strangeness occurring in Visium. The water of Lake Omen has turned to lava, at least in color; although there is no heat radiating from it when one approaches. That, and the locals are still fishing in it without issue, save the fact that they keep pulling up fish with tophats on.
Speaking of fish - they're raining from the sky now (tophats or not) in all sorts of different colors, shapes, and sizes. Good news! They're still edible. Bad news, they're probably trying to sell you something.
If you do decide to try the fish or any other meal in town, especially those served by the locals, you'll find that it doesn't taste like much of anything and most certainly doesn't fill you up, at least not at first. Everything is bland and unappealing until left in the presence of dreamers - and the more you share the meal with, the faster the taste returns.
Even with Vaeros asleep, only a small portion of the labyrinth is still accessible. Those that attempt to explore will find sections made up of pillows and cushions, and no matter what time of day it is elsewhere, this portion of the labyrinth seems to be stuck in perpetual twilight. Explorers will also immediately feel drowsy, then lulled to sleep by the quiet singing whispered through the air like a lullaby. Anyone brave enough to try and rescue those poor souls from their impromptu naps would be wise to plug their noses and cover their ears with earmuffs to block out the sound.
At night, dreamers dream. They will be visited by the same melody heard in the labyrinth, though it is distant. They will also hear a woman telling them to spend more time together, to bond and create things together in order to soothe the effects of Vaeros' magic growing wild in his dreams. Dreamers will also have the ability to visit other's dreams, meeting in a dreamy light liminal space that will not feel so real when they awaken.
Welcome to the labyrinthum TDM! 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. Yes, this includes the Labyrinth - though characters will not be able to clear the maze.
You can find more information about the game here. Any questions regarding the TDM can go under the comment below.
I Love You A Lava
You know what happens when you fall in lava? I've seen it firsthand. You don't die quick, that's for sure. The heat scorches your lungs and causes your organs to fail. All the water and blood in your body would turn to steam. You'd basically boil to death from the inside out, like a cooked lobster.
[He pauses.]
You should totally go for it.
no subject
If you're all that knowledgeable, then you know as well as I do that this isn't REAL lava. We totally would have felt the heat by now.
[ That said, she cups her beak and tilts her head. ]
Which makes me wonder if if this is this world's version of lava? And if that's true, what other elements have been rapidly switched around? And what other differences are there between the lava of home and the lava of here? Maybe something else pops out of their volcanos!
no subject
[But she raises a good point. Dito tucks a hand under his chin and cocks his head thoughtfully, unwittingly mirroring Webby's mannerisms as he thinks aloud.]
If volcanoes don't actually erupt with lava in this world, what else could possibly come out? Salt water, perhaps? Is that how the switch works? Or maybe--
[His stream of consciousness is suddenly interrupted as something lands on the ground inches from his feet with a wet smack. Shouting in surprise, Dito jumps back as the fish that had just fallen from the sky flops about helplessly, a top hat falling clumsily from its head. The disciple stares at it for a few seconds, gape-mouthed, before throwing his arms up in exasperation]
Or maybe the volcanoes just spew fucking goddamn FISH into the air! Are you kidding me right now with this?!
no subject
I've never had well-dressed dinner before! I guess I don't have to go fishing if the fish can come to me! What a good day!
no subject
Ugh. Count me out. Seafood's disgusting, dressed or not. Don't know how anyone can even eat that stuff. How can you tell if fish goes bad? It smells either way!
no subject
You sound just like Della Duck! She hates fish too - anything beneath the ocean, really. Even just talking about mermaids makes her wanna upchuck.
no subject
[He glances down at the fish still flopping about on the ground despite Webby's attempts to catch it.]
Tch. Disgusting. Can't even die with any modicum of dignity.
no subject
[ She fishes around (hohoho) in her satchel, and pulls out a knife. She gives it a little twirl, and then begins trying to stab the fish to death.
All with a smile. ]
no subject
The third stab, however, finds its mark just under the fin, and with a final shiver the fish lies still. Dito scoffs.]
Not the most dignified end, but I guess it's the best a dumb animal like that could hope for.
no subject
[ She sits on the ground and begins, still very cheerfully, to debone the fish. ]
Since fish gross you out, I don't suppose you want a piece?
no subject
Ugh. You suppose correctly. Keep that noxious thing away from me.
[But he can't help but be a bit fascinated at the speed with which this small child goes to work. It's almost as if she's done this before.]
I take it this isn't your first time gutting an animal, then?
no subject
[ She says it with such pride! Isn't she so cool? ]
no subject
...Okay, I gotta admit I might've misjudged you. I thought you were just some dumb kid, but you've actually got some skills. Who trained you, anyway? Did you have a master like I did?
no subject
My Granny! She trained me in combat, survival, and espionage ever since I hatched! Everything I know is thanks to her!
no subject
No shit? Since you were hatched? Sounds like a tough old broad. This wouldn't happen to be that Della you were talking about earlier, would it?
[He'd definitely have to meet her, if that's the case.]
no subject
[ She uses her knife to begin drawing a family tree in the dirt. ]
My Granny works for Scrooge McDuck as his housekeeper. Della Duck is Scrooge's niece - her mother is Hortense McDuck, Scrooge's younger sister.
I am... not related to any of the McDucks, but they treat me like one of their own!
no subject
Good on you for having tight familial bonds, I guess? I wouldn't know what that's like.
[Because that doesn't sound like a totally edgelord thing to say, Dito. He wrinkles his nose at the gutted fish lying close to her, its insides left in a pile a few feet away.]
Uhh... you're not just gonna leave that there, are you? Because in this heat I only give it a few minutes before it starts to smell.
no subject
[ She gathers the fish - guts and all! and has no issue carrying it. ]
It was nice seeing you! Have a good day!
[ And off she goes! ]