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buttrinthum2024-07-20 09:30 am
TDM #10 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 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: Sunflowers and Hibiscus. You’ll soon find out that being around the Sunflower makes it difficult to pass through the already disorienting garden, even with the light guiding you. Where patches of them grow, even if only waist-high, you cannot pass through them, over them, or even destroy them to get them out of your way. In each grouping that blocks your path, there is one that has a key-shaped opening in the middle of the flower. Maybe the key is nearby? (Spoiler: it's probably under a rock nearby that you forgot to check!) The hibiscus offers an entirely different effect - inhaling the pollen grants you the temporary ability to shoot fireballs out of your hands. But be careful, those fireballs are difficult to control and seem to bounce in random directions no matter how hard you try to aim (cannot be used to destroy the sunflowers). The effect ends once you step out of the garden.
Somnius is once again recovering from a devastating blow. Buildings need to be restored to their former glory and the emotional turmoil of the previous weeks surely needs to be alleviated. What better way to lighten the mood than a little fun for the whole family? A new arcade has appeared in town, beckoning residents with its stone doors set wide open.
With multiple levels, a variety of games and even a snackbar, Appl3 Pi Arcade is sure to be a hit!
Of course, as with everything that ever happens in Somnius, the arcades appearance is not without some complications. For one, playing the games inside might see characters teleported into the machine itself, perfectly pixelated to fit the game they're in. Hope you weren't about to fight the final boss, because now you might be fighting for your life! The good news is, if you die in the game... you don't die in real life and are just popped back out into the arcade again.
Strange things happen outside the arcade too. Walking down the road you might suddenly see a healthbar pop up above someone's head. Are you supposed to fight them? Are they going to fight you? Best to be cautious and reach for any trusty weapons you have just in case. Weapons that have become pixelated and can be pulled seemingly out of nowhere like some kind of hammerspace. They are also prone to breaking and shattering into glimmering pixel pieces (your normal weapons are still intact, don't worry).
Boxes and pots around Somnius are somehow more breakable than usual, smashed open with a single swing of those pixel weapons and producing gold coins! What a shame gold coins aren't the currency here. But if you don't want to destroy more things around Somnius, why not try fishing instead? That seems safe - if not suddenly more difficult with the fishing minigame that popped up in front of you. Quick! Keep the fish icon in the green bar or you'll lose it!
All things considered? It's all relatively harmless fun up until-
Vaeros wakes up. For those new to town, this means nothing. For those that were here for the castle raid? They can rest assured that they're in for a surprise. The Overlord of Visium has finally awoken from his Hyalily induced coma and he is furious. A shout echoes from the castle:
A wave of magical energy sweeps through the town, shaking it to the very core. Miraculously, the destroyed buildings and any remnants of the forest onslaught are gone and returned to their usual state. Perhaps Vaeros shouting was just another tantrum, an empty threat?
Not quite.
The town has been restored, but the locals? They are nowhere to be seen - cowering in their homes and fleeing to the sanctity of the Church of the Moon in hopes of staying out of sight of Vaeros and Dreamers both. The once tame video game effects are now far more intense - monsters from within those games are now rampaging through the town. They seem to shift through buildings, but if they run face first into a Dreamer, they will find them very corporeal and very deadly.
Not only that, but the lines are starting to blur between reality and fiction again, the healthbar above your head flickering in and out, the monsters turning from pixel beasts to real, live animals that roam Somnius - both feral and not. One second you are walking through town, and the next you are stepping onto a platform that starts to break under your weight, demanding you jump to the next platform before you plummet into an odd, multicolored abyss.
And strangest of all is that music coming from the labyrinth, growing louder when you approach and fading out when you move away.
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.
setting test (derogatory)
[Wow, doesn’t he look perfect! Seems fake. As she does best, Valerie will play along—at least long enough to get a sense of these bizarro little options. Since when was making choices her job, hm?]
Are we skipping introductions?
[Get grinned at in a vaguely-menacing manner, simulator boy. If he gets a vague sense of impending dread, his instincts might just be correct!]
the LOVE of my LIFE
[And yeah, there's a bit of dread, but mostly at the potential for dealing with an off-putting or otherwise obnoxious person; he's done it before, he'll do it again, etc..]
My apologies. [He holds out his hand for a good, firm handshake.] Richard Gansey, though...do call me Gansey, please.
>Introduce yourself
>What was that about dead Welsh kings?
>You're full of shit, aren't you?
>Flirt
>Check your heart status
:^)
[Gansey! This is about the part of the show where Val would roll the name around her tongue a few times, except she doesn’t have the option to do that. Pity. He’ll get a bobbing little nod, a firm handshake (albeit rather unfeeling; no body heat in this one, boys), and then a response just as scripted:]
You’re full of shit, aren’t you?
[Well! Not really like Valerie to swear, but she’s got to use what she’s been given! The smile does not change.]
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[That sends a chill up Gansey's spine.
[Luckily, the - frankly, quite egregious - "You're full of shit, aren't you?" catches him off guard, his face very briefly reflecting some more significant shock before evening out into something between mild surprise and tight-lipped dissatisfaction.]
Well, that's extremely rude of you. I've done nothing to give you that impression, I'm sure. [What did he do though? :(]
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[It is a reaction she is quite, quite used to. Valerie waves a hand, as if to dismiss it.]
Well, would you look at that! No more options. [Completely disregarding his words, yes.] Lucky for you [the word emphasized like an inside joke], that means I can say what I want this round! I wouldn’t have put it that way, my friend.
[A beat. She reaches to pat a hand out flat on his shoulder; just a tap! Not to linger.]
You’re not from around here, are you?
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[He keeps pleasant, smile easing back into place.]
I am. Fresh from Henrietta, Virginia, if you've heard of it.
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[Without a moment’s thought:] Not in my life!
Now, pray tell, [with a wave around the space,] precisely what landed you here? You don’t strike me as one of those clueless little gremlins, immaculate as your hair may be.
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Well, it's the same that's landed you here, isn't it? [The same as everyone, or so the story goes.]
A wish. [And Gansey's, borderline nonsensical...]
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[Clap! Point!] That’s right! A conspicuously implanted memory from our oh-so-generous administrator, Vaeros.
Now, [and here she begins to pace, still gesticulating] no one I’ve talked to yet has made heads or tails of this predicament. I suspect it’s much the same for everyone! Well, all us non-gremlins. But granted, it’s a rather large place, this Somnius, and I would be remiss not to question every possible character. Like a manhunt! Surely someone out there has more information than the rest.
Ah, [back to the young man,] but I’m getting ahead of myself. Richard, Richard Gansey, yes? What’s this about “dead Welsh kings”?
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If you're looking for more information on what phenomenon might have brought us to this world, you might be interested in something other than my King.
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Richard, right! [Yes, she caught the preference. No, she will not be respecting it at this time.] My name is Valerie! You can call me Val. Shall we handshake again?
[It’s offered. The rest does not seem to have dissuaded her interest.]
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[Blink.
[Wink.]
Touché, Gansey.
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[Handshake!]
Would you like to hear about my theory?
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[Funny quirk about this place: being in an unfamiliar environment, in which she has zero automatic knowledge of everyone’s entire being, inclines her to genuinely give a darn about what they think. Fascinating!]
The spotlight is yours, Gansey. [She dips her head in a little bow.]
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[You mean people don’t just blab exposition endlessly at the first opportunity? Huh!]
Can’t say it sounds any more familiar than Henrietta, Virginia! The ley part, that is. “Line” has a myriad of meanings, but I’ve never met one laying down!
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Ancient trade routes, if you don't - to...[He pauses, making a dismissive sort of gesture with his hand.]...greatly oversimplify. But that's not my point.
Ask me why it matters.
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Those commands weren’t your suggestion, were they?
Why’s it matter?
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[He inclines his head, meeting Val's eyes with his brows raised high over his own.]
A ley line.
Invisible paths, charged by supernatural energy, that criss-cross the entire globe - at least, where I come from. Those trade routes that the Neolithic civilizations followed run along these lines, as did the trade routes of dozens of other ancient civilizations, many of which had no communication with the others. This is phenomenon that has been occurring for millennia, and always the same paths.
When these paths converge, the convergence becomes a pocket for a massive amount of this energy. Any number of things can happen.
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[Surprisingly, Val is listening. It’s not as though those goblins/gelflings (not gremlins; they are not endeared to her) had answers to much of anything—and in general, people tend to be less than inclined to spill their true thoughts to Valerie. This is by design.
[Gansey, as far as she can tell, really is just sharing his whole theory with a nigh-stranger, and she’s not quite sure what to make of that.
[Val taps her chin.]
You think a quirk of your particular setting applies to one entirely removed?
[It is, perhaps also surprisingly, not intended to be hostile. Doubt is evident, though.]
BARRY-KUN MENTION
[Better he didn't, as it all turns out, but, still.
[Gansey's smile is humbly self-aware.] This is what I know - and I know an awful lot about it. These ley line convergences are long rumored to have enough supernatural power to alter reality as we know it. This could be proof.
[He already has proof, but as forthcoming as Gansey might seem, he still holds some cards close to his chest (though, it's...more out of sentiment than secrecy; Cabeswater is a sacred place).]
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Oh, it’s a rumor.
[Hand flick. Sorry, Gansey; her attention is lost, and with that the even (er, relatively speaking) tone is just as gone.]
You know, you almost had me in the first part. But this could just as easily be a case of seeing what you want to see, no? Don’t you think it slots in just a lit-tle too well?
Or, rather, that part does. And would these “convergences” account just as easily for our contracts?
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There are plenty of phenomenon surrounding ley lines which have been thoroughly researched, documented, reviewed, and shared. [A brief pause for another perfectly self-aware laugh.] Trust me. I know.
[As for the contracts, he concedes with a pair of raised brows and a momentary flash of his palms.]
I'm not claiming to have the mystery solved, but if you're interested in a "manhunt," as you put it, for information, then you should at least take what the people you're hunting have to say into consideration, right?
I give you what I have.
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[Ah. More counter-needling, is it? (There are few ways, if any, to quote Val to herself which will not be perceived as such.) The grin returns; the eyes are far less amused.]
Don’t get me wrong, Gansey. I take what everyone has to say into consideration quite carefully. And rest assured, every last character here, whether gremlin or so-called “Dreamer,” has a wealth of life experience to offer. As I understand, this is perfectly normal.
“Trust me, I know” doesn’t elevate you as much as you might think!
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