buttrinthum | TDM #11

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TDM #11

Arrival / Enchanted Garden

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 nearby, being picked and torn at by a bird- is that a potoo? As soon as the bird sees you approach, it flies off. It leaves behind mangled scraps of bread, a smashed glass vial that seems to have spilled water all over the pack, 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 are scraps of torn, damp parchment, some of which have scrawling, jagged handwriting you can still barely make out:

“Welc” “aby” “r CONTRACT”

You’re in a garden, surrounded by flowers and plants– most of which are mundane, some you cannot identify. However, there are two that stick out: Faerie rings and Rafflesia.

The Rafflesia is easy enough to avoid, its horrid smell easily warning away anybody with a working nose. If for some reason you opt to approach, the only unusual thing you’ll see is that they seem to have attracted swarms of rats. The rats seem territorial and aggressive, but are otherwise unremarkable. The flowers seem similarly mundane. However, anybody who smells the Rafflesia begins to experience an odd fixation- the corpse-like smell of the flower makes you think about your own death. The more you were exposed to the smell, the longer and more intense this preoccupation becomes, from a mild distraction for an hour or so up to full-blown nightmares for the next week.

The Faerie Rings can be seen in the grass scattered throughout the garden, and they’re unfortunately a lot easier to miss. These, it seems, have been planted by the faeries infesting the garden this month, and anybody who crosses through them will catch the attention of the fae. Usually, this will be simple enough; teleporting you elsewhere in the garden, into the labyrinth, or somewhere in the village. However, those who are particularly disrespectful or unsavory might find themselves targeted for more malicious retribution.

Ill Wills and Omens

The tone in the village has changed since Vaeros retreated into his castle. The villagers seem anxious and paranoid, somewhat hostile to the Dreamers- even the newcomers will face their cold shoulder, despite having just arrived- and they’re spending most of their time indoors, except to angrily shoo out an over-curious potoo. They’ve also raided the garden and any shops and stores for all the pumpkins they can get, and overnight they’ve set up a variety of jack-o-lanterns outside their homes and shops. These seem to be intended to ward out evil, and notably, any Dreamer who approaches a warded home will briefly feel a sense that they’re unwelcome, though it’s easy enough to ignore.

Anybody who crosses through the warning zone of a jack-o-lantern and ignores it, however, might find themselves subjected to strange effects.

Jack-o-Lantern Faces
Scary: Jack-o-lanterns designed to look scary will make you indecisive. You’ll be compelled to overthink every decision, no matter how trivial. The worst-case scenario will constantly weigh on your mind, and it will be difficult to accomplish anything.
Funny: Jack-o-lanterns designed to look funny or cute will make you impulsive. Whims and emotions will pass through you extremely quickly, and it may be difficult to focus or stick to plans.
Creative: Jack-o-lanterns with more unique, abstract, or artful designs will make you obsessive. What the obsession may be is dependent on the person; it could be something they already care about, or something that happens to occur to them after they encounter the effect. Either way, it will be all-consuming.
Blank: Pumpkins that haven’t been carved at all do… nothing. Really. Nothing. We promise. Well, nothing internal. But after you get a glimpse of one, you’ve been marked, and the pumpkins will know. You may feel like you’re being watched. You may feel like you’re being followed. You may see a glimpse of orange movement. One thing is certain: The pumpkins are following you. They’re masters of stealth, but you know the truth. You know.

Regardless of which effect you experience, it should wear off after a few hours, a day at most- except for the blank pumpkins. They’re quite persistent, and may stalk you for days or even weeks; the pumpkins are patient and ever-vigilant.

Twinkling in the Darkness

Those who were in Somnius in spring of the previous year may remember- with no small degree of dread- the faeries who invaded Somnius briefly. Last time, they were in a good humor, and their jokes were playful. This time, something seems to have them in a bad mood. There’s no attempt to ask for favors, no negotiation… anybody who crosses the Faerie Rings in the garden might catch their attention, but you might just as easily catch their interest because they didn’t like your attitude or just objected to the look of you. They may simply try to lure you into the labyrinth until you’re hopelessly lost, trick you into more Faerie Rings until they’ve had their fill of you, or simply lay a curse on you.

The curses aren’t nearly so playful this time, either- they’re malevolent. Instead of petty inconveniences, these curses seem targeted to be personal. Somebody with a physical insecurity will find it magnified to draw attention to it. If you fear something about yourself, you may find it magnified and reinforced. If you’re desperate to keep something hidden, it will inevitably be revealed. It’s not clear if they somehow know what will hurt your character, or the curse simply finds it automatically, but it is vindictive and it knows how to hit home.

Fortunately, they mostly keep to the garden and the labyrinth, even when the potoo's around. These curses wear off after a day or so, but by then the damage may well be done.

The Times They Are A-Changing

There are many smaller side effects of Vaeros losing control of Somnius, changes that will last for the foreseeable future. Chief among them is that the labyrinth is no longer magical; it’s a mundane structure, albeit one that seems to have immediately attracted the same hostile fae and oddly-aggressive rats that infest the garden. Best not to meddle too much. Some other changes include:

The Network Devices were powered by Vaeros’s magic. Without him, they’ve depleted to much more limited forms. Around the first day of October, the eye adorning them closes as the magic becomes dormant. Among other things, this means that Network posts will not be available for the time being. Sleepr will also not be taking place. Personal one-on-one or small group communication is still possible via text, voice, or video, as per usual, and old posts are still available to be perused, but mass broadcasts will not be available without Vaeros.
The Crystal can still grant wishes, but Myrta seems to be the one granting them now; she’s trying to work out how to take full control of the thing and undo all the damage Vaeros has done. However, especially now that new arrivals are coming to Somnius again, she’s willing to do her best to grant stolen powers and objects; it only seems fair. Potion powers are also still granted to newcomers. [[The OOC reward mechanic has not changed, only the IC flavor and possibly the tenor of some of the results.]]
Speaking of Myrta, she’s still asking the Dreamers for help in her work. She may send you on missions asking for all sorts of odd things. They might be extremely trivial mundane items that belong to random Dreamers, arbitrary bits and pieces of the setting, or even debris from the labyrinth itself, once the Dreamers start wrecking parts of it. Don’t worry, she won’t ask for anything suspect. (She might become indignant at the suggestion.) Occasionally, she'll pine over her missing bird, almost exclusively when you spot the potoo out of the corner of your eye. Coincidence? Yeah, probably.
The Library now has more books on the world and history of the village before Vaeros took over, now that he’s not actively censoring them. [[Feel free to ask us any questions you may want answers to in our game FAQs!]]

OOC

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 the bubble of magic surrounding 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, which is no longer enchanted and will not move or shift to hinder them anymore.

You can find more information about the game here. Any questions regarding the TDM can go under the comment below.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It's been four years, but it feels like lifetimes more. Eren's memory is an impossible slurry from no matter where he's standing. Returning to Somnius has done little to ease that dissonance.

[There's a spectacle in the sky. Who wouldn't stop to watch? Eren observes the image of someone he can't remember meeting. That person flying around, though, seems familiar. He tracks her through the sky, waiting to see if she'll land.]

[Luz found her way down after an hour, flexing her arm. It hurt, but it also sort of didn't- Luz didn't mind feeling pain if it at least meant people would see Willow had left.

Luz honestly couldn't bare to make a post about it. Thinking about it was painful enough.

When she finally got to regular ground, Stringbean popped up, cuddling against Luz and them disappearing when the new person approached. Luz was still a bit in a daze, so when her eyes sought out the person she wasn't sure what she was expecting].

Hey, I'm sorry, I just wanted ever-

[But the words died at her lips when she finally settled on the person. But that was impossible. For what she knew, he was gone. It hurt, but Luz had did her best to come to term with it all.

Yet].

Eren? That...isn't you, is it?

[Luz recognizes Eren, and it surprises him. He struggles for his own memory. Her face brings about the idea of a cat, but also a cliffside, floating lights. Her name is...

[Lucy? No. Something else.

[Aubrey's girl.]

That's right.

[Eren's demeanor when he last knew Luz was subdued, sure, but it's nothing compared to the way he carries himself now. His voice is as hollow as an empty tomb, green eyes dulled grey, weighed down by the same dark circles he wore before. He's older - much taller at six foot, and broad, muscular. Most would be hard-pressed to believe he's only nineteen.]

I remember you.

[So that was it.

Luz hadn't seen it happen a lot, but she knew sometimes it DID happen that someone would be gone, then come back different because time had passed. It had happened with the Doctor, who had also forgotten that he knew Luz when he at first arrived].

You look different, Eren. The last time I saw you, we were in war torn Somnius, and when we got back, you were gone. We thought you were gone for good.

[Luz would have hugged him if it was Eren from then, but he might not even remember her now. That would just be awkward].

Four years passed. [Once again, it looks like far more; feels that way too, for all the time he spent in infinite, endless, beginningless space.

[She mentions the war, though, and at once, he recalls: Luz and Eren in Subaru's old bedroom, pushing each other to sleep - finding it, eventually, but only once they had someone to sleep beside.

[Even back then, it's not something Eren would have done with just anyone. Maybe it was all in Aubrey's interests, but it doesn't feel that way.

[He should recognize Luz as a friend, then, maybe, but he's forgotten how to be one.]

Your name is Luz. Right?

Four...years.

[Oh man. No wonder he looked so different. Time had passed since then, and it had only been a week here. Luz couldn't help but stare into his eyes, and her heart broke a little bit.

How would Aubrey be when she encountered Eren? How would SHE feel? Because she sure felt like of all of them, he'd gotten the short end of the stick.

And she remembered that night, of course. It had been important for her, kept her focused on things all after and had made her seek him out once they got back, only to find that he was gone.

Then MORE things happened because of that, so her feelings were all jumbled up now].

Yeah. Luz. I'm...I"m glad you remember me. Four years. Jeez, Eren. That's a lot.

How are you feeling, now that you're back here?

[Eren used to hate that question - How are you feeling? - get angry at it. He doesn't feel angry now, but there's still no way of answering. He doesn't feel anything, or he feels everything - both at once, somehow, and not at all. His mind makes no sense. His heart makes no sense. It's something he's never been able to explain. Not to anyone.

[So he doesn't answer. Not that question.]

A lot has changed. That's true.

[Luz. Kind-hearted, he recalls. He also recalls that every time he spoke to her, it felt like deception. She really doesn't know the type of person he truly is. Neither does Aubrey, Thorfinn - a lot of people. Without knowing what he's done, how could they? He used to fear what they'd think; doesn't anymore, but isn't eager to get into that particular topic. It's over now. Let it be over.

[If she wants to go on thinking he's whoever she thinks he is, fine. It will be easier that way; that, and anyone here who realizes he's a monster might well interfere with what he's planning to do.

[Can't have that.]

You've been with her, haven't you? [The question comes on suddely - he'd meant to change the topic, latch onto whatever he could hold first.]

Aubrey. You cared for her. [Right?]

[That's fine, honestly. Luz would have liked the answer, but knew it was luck enough that he was still here, not gone forever, even if she would wonder what happened to him in the years since he was with them in the farm.

Truthfully, she knew she would be concerned about that now, even knowing he had people who he likely trusted more than her. In her eyes, quietly, she preferred a world where he was in it. She didn't know his story, but she was still wanting to share in the one they had now].

Here too. It's crazy that's only been a week since.

[And then he asks that question, and Luz literally trips over herself and she goes very, VERY red. She opens her mouth, then takes a moment to gather how to reply to this without sounding like an idiot].

C-care. Yes. I care a lot about her.

[BEEN WITH HER. Luz is trying to appear like that slip was obviously all it was and nothing more, of course].

[Hm? Luz trips over herself at the mere mention of their shared partner. Eren knows that Luz cares for her--

[Ah. This is absolutely none of his business. He lets his eyes flicker to the side, away from Luz, so she can pull herself together.]

I remember enough, Luz. What I meant was while I was gone. You and Sunny - you took care of her.

[How awkward...]

That's all. I get it. I know you did.

[She really hadn't meant to think THAT, and obviously Eren hadn't been able to know that, how even would he]?

No, of course we would. Sunny knows her from his world and I'm...yeah. Her girlfriend too. I did not mean to say that, I swear!

[The last thing she wanted was to seem like she was boasting. In truth the opposite was true: who could she even talk to about "that" experience? Eda barely knew Aubrey, and no one else seemed like they had the experience to talk about it. If Willow were still around, it would have been her. It was a special memory, and right now, only one other person knew it happened].

We both missed you, by the way. I don't just think of you as one of her paramours, you're my friend too. You know that, right?

[All Eren knows is that she's blushing and stumbling over the same girl he spent a lot of time blushing and stumbling over! He doesn't know how to handle that sort of thing anymore! Everything else Luz has on her mind, he is completely unaware of.

[At any rate, he certainly doesn't mind that Aubrey and Luz are close. As he recalls...he was the one that encouraged it in the first place. He always finds himself looking at his partners' partners and trying to decide whether or not he approves. After all, he's nothing if not protective of the people he loves.

[Luz is right though. She isn't just "Aubrey's girlfriend" to Eren either. Slowly, memories settle in - lanterns at a festival, then lanterns on a cliff side. Luz told him about her father and then--

[War. They relied on each other. They slept beside each other.]

I know. [Yes, he won't deny it. What use is there in that? He doesn't want to.

[He cared about her.]

Sorry...[He sounds a bit detached as he says it, scratching idly at the back of one ear.]

I'm still regaining my memory about this place. I didn't forget you, though.

[He wants to reach out, put a hand on her shoulder, but he can't quite get himself there. He's been apart from people in any real way for so long. He's forgotten how to act.]

It's good...to see you again. [Give her that, at least.]

[Luz was still in awe over those feelings, but was holding fast to them, because if she never told anyone other than Eren, they would be a secret she could hold onto as her own and cherish. A reminder that this place had more beauty than people gave it credit for.

Luz had felt the same way, and thought as much when she decided to meet Eren. She never expected that overtime, he would become someone she cared about too, even someone she trusted, enough so that when war had ravaged her unprepared, she was able to find solace in his gaze, and then in his arms.

That mattered, and when she thought he was gone, it had cried out in a part of her she couldn't express, because it didn't feel like the people around her would understand.

She managed a smile, and though she could tell he couldn't touch her, she reached out and lightly touched his face].

It's good to have you back. It looks like...you've still had it hard, wherever you've been.

I'm sorry.

[She reaches out to him...? Eren struggles to understand. It shouldn't be so surprising, maybe. What is there to understand? They're friends. They've been closer than this before.

[He isn't fit for that sort of thing anymore. Every sin that he thought he carried at sixteen has become real. He is the monster he and so many others feared he would become. Luz will never know this. He's already decided that.

[It feels like deception. That's fine. Eren deceives. That doesn't mean he likes it. It's disquieting, seeing how many people have grieved him, how many want to celebrate his return. It makes a moment like this - a touch from a friend - feel sinister, like a prey animal walking into a fanged maw.

[He doesn't step away. There's that, if nothing else. He can't quite look at her.]

Don't apologize. Everything I've undergone was intended that way. [It's his fault.

[All of it.]

[There's a moment of quiet. His right hand flexes at his side.]

I've lived my life through to its end now.

So, I...[His voice momentarily trails off, as if losing his train of thought.

[He has to keep it nailed down. Straightens and catches his friend's eyes.]

So, I won't be leaving again until it's my choice. Just as before.

Consider my absence a mere interruption. [Something needed doing.]

That sounds so. Clinical.

[She hated it. Not him, never him. The anchor around his neck that she couldn't see, that continued to be the thing he carried around. The thing he accepted without letting the feeling consume him, like he was biding time, waiting. Keeping the parts of himself at bay.

It was like Eda, but worse, because whatever it was, he'd gotten good at hiding it. It showed in his eyes, sure, but what it was seemed to stay his secret. Aubrey might know a little more, or at least share more of him (obviously), but she guessed he kept that part of him at length too.

Before the war in that version of Somnius, she might have been content at leaving those things be. Somehow, Eren then seemed to be able to let himself be a little more vulnerable then. Now, something felt different, shut in.

And that bothered her].

You're here now. So. If you need to keep yourself tucked away, I get it. I know what it means to do that now, to a point.

But I AM going to be happy you're here. And I have no intention of letting you be miserable, no matter how stupid and naive it makes me look.

[It's not the reaction Eren is expecting, though, he really had no expectations to begin with. Luz is right though. The context may be different, but the lines are just as rehearsed. He's had to teach himself how to remove all emotion from his words and only deliver the information, firm, inarguable. There were certain people who had always refused to accept that version of Eren, but he hadn't expected Luz to be one of them.

[That being said, the sentiment is aggravating for how familiar it is. He remembers others in Somnius, before he left, desperate to force life back into him, as if he had any capacity left to hold it. He's worse now than he's ever been - not just miserable, but dead, a husk.

[And he gets the feeling that no matter how much he tries to argue that, this is the type of friend that won't listen.

[She wants him to be alive. That doesn't make it true. His gaze sharpens on her.]

Be happy all you want.

There are things you can't change, Luz, no matter how it makes you look.

[It was less that Luz didn't want to accept Eren, but she didn't want to accept the fact that he had to be miserable. A part of her knew, after everything that happened to her, that there were some worlds that were simply unforgiving.

It didn't care how innocent you started, or how unfair it was. It threw life at you and stacked things on and on until you broke, or just made you accept that you didn't have a choice in your misery.

That was what Luz wanted to fight, even if it seemed impossible. Eren had already seen so much when she knew him. Now it felt like he lost a little life in his eyes].

Maybe not. But I can try. I owe it to the guy that made me able to stand on my feet after he swept them out from under me.

[It was a strange way to say it, but Luz was thinking of how Eren had showed her how to take a punch...and then he'd seen her at her most compromised, and managed to remind her she could always get back up].

Can you still turn into a wolf?

[She has a funny way of wording things, but Eren knows what she's talking about. Memories lately tend to come back in flashes - familiar words, smells, sights, and then, familiar moments.

[It's frustrating that she won't take no for an answer. Eren either realizes that it's useless to argue, or decides he's too tired to bother trying. Plenty of people want him to be happy, he's sure. He doesn't deserve it, and yet, that's how things are. He'll disappoint all of them at every turn, of course. There's nothing new about that either.

[She changes the topic, so he allows it to move on.]

I'm not sure. I haven't tried yet.

[There was a feeling, as there always was, that she was missing something that she should know about him, that she might be being naive. She couldn't help that.

Sometimes, and she knew this, someone had to try and keep a little hope. It was hard enough to do it for herself, but she did her best, and tried to keep a little more for those she loved.

For now, she was glad he was here. If that meant he still carried some things he had from his world, maybe there was a way to try and lighten the load].

Well, why not give it a shot? I'm curious myself.

Hm? [Eren just barely raises an eyebrow.] Right now?

Oh, right! It might take some time to be able to do that again, with how long you were gone.

It'll probably be pretty easy when you've had more time here.

[Eren recalls hours spent in that form. Before he regained his own abilities, he thought he'd use it as a weapon. It never ended up being that. It felt good to be a new kind of inhuman. His mind could find some semblance of peace, even as this reality tortured him. He's not sure he could forget how if he tried...]

I can. If you want.

[He takes a few steps back then. At this point in his life (or death), he's so used to transforming into his titan that it hardly takes any thought at all. Transforming into his wolf is a bit different. He needs a few seconds to focus, and then...

[There he is. A massive brown wolf, watching Luz with sharp green eyes. He doesn't look quite how he used to look when he'd transform, though. The creature stands tall and still, looming. His tail doesn't swish, his ears stay standing straight. Just like his human form, he shows absolutely no sign of emotion. Whether or not he'll be able to maintain that in this form is unclear, but it's not entirely an act. He's numbed as a person.

[Still, as before, his mind is a little quieter like this.]

[Luz watched him quietly. She had to admit that when he turned into a wolf the first time, it was unexpected, though very comforting. It had been the one thing to get her to finally rest.

He was unnerving as a wolf though, with piercing eyes that she was sure would have unnerved anyone. Not to be outdone, Luz shook a little and out came gray fur as she got on all fours and now stared at him back in her own wolf form, smaller than his but clearly meant to be a compliment].

I actually got better in this form after seeing you do it, if you can believe it.

[If Eren's capable of speaking in his wolf form, he never has. It's the same way when he uses his titan shifting ability. Is it a gag or an excuse for some small reprieve? He neglects to answer.

[He hadn't realized that Luz had a wolf form also. He recalls another boy, their age at the time. Eren and he played around in their wolf forms for hours. He couldn't imagine doing so now. Just as with being human, he's forgotten how to act around friends.

[For lack of anything better, he nods his head in acknowledgement, nudging his shoulder against hers.]

[Luz was lucky enough to have used her forms enough she could project her thought into someone's head, though she tended to not do that so much in these forms unless she absolutely had to. It was hard to maintain when you were in an animal form, after all.

And Luz, as much as she'd like to seem as if she'd gotten more subdued as time had gone by, could not maintain that sort of attitude as an animal. Instead, it was as if her excitement was given a little spike, and she was more than happy to get a nudge from Eren as a wolf. She gave out a small bark, rising in her back legs a little, giving a bit of an excited yip.

Okay, maybe wolf Luz really wanted to play].

[His friend's enthusiasm doesn't bother him, though Eren can't return it the way he might have before. He's not in the mood to wrestle around or play. In lieu of that, he settles for placing a paw heavily on her head. In some strange way, it's a sign of affection.

[He pulls his paw back, then, and backs up. All at once, he readies his body as if to run. He weighs a glance at Luz, waiting to see if she'll get the message. He might not be able to play, but he can race...]

wills & omens

Re: wills & omens

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we can probably wrap/handwave them running around for a while unless u have smth in mind <3