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buttrinthum2024-10-01 07:30 am
TDM #11
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:
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.
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.
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.
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!]]
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.
It's a Kacchan!!!
At least there's still some friendly faces around... He knows he'll see his friends from home again but others... He knows the chances are unlikely so he does his best to be grateful for the time he did have with them.
He knows there's always a chance someone might come back, Bakugo did before, he did too... so he keeps an eye out for anyone he's met before just in case.
He's very taken aback at the state he comes across Bakugo in, eyes wide with concern as he runs up to him. "Kacchan!!! What happened??? Where did you go??? Hold still, I'll heal you!" He's already reaching out to take Bakugo's arm, hands glowing with blue light to start the process.
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And so seeing Izuku here... had they been moved via quirk? But where? Why?
Those questions die at the blue light on Izuku's hands. He jerks his arm free and steps back. He's not sure he's actually looking at Izuku right now. Or somebody pretending to be him.
"Since when do you have healing among your quirks?"
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"... What do you mean? I've had my healing since I took the blue potion when I got here... It's been over nine months... Don't you remember?" He looks concerned but not too shocked. Temporary memory wipes are not an uncommon occurrence here unfortunately...
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"Remember what?"
He has a bad feeling in his gut.
"What do you mean nine months? We don't have time for bullshit. We gotta get back to the battlefield. You got a fight to finish and All Might needs help."
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Did Bakugo go back home and something else happened after his fight with Shigaraki...? Or does he really just not remember... Either way Izuku doesn't have a good feeling about it.
"All Might needs help with... what? What's the last thing you remember, Kacchan? Tell me details. And hold still so I can heal you! You're really wounded!" He's wise enough not to reach out to try and touch him again until he has his permission but what's something quick he can say to get him to trust him... "You were the first person I ever told about One For All. It's me, Kacchan. Let me help you. Please."
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Unless he's dead. And this is just the afterlife and his mind? Well. He can worry about that later.
"Fine." He turns to offer his arm, which is all messed up. "The last thing I remember is getting up after Best Jeanist and Edgeshot patched me up." Got his heart stitched and restarted. "And All For One was getting ready to kill All Might. You tossed me at them with one of your quirks. And then..." He gestures with his good arm. "I was here."
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But then he frowns at the rest of what he's told. "But that's... That already happened to you. The last time you disappeared and came back, you were from further on from that point." Izuku still doesn't sound too shocked about it. "It's okay, this... happens sometimes here. Our memories get messed with. It usually resolves itself after some days. But the fight... You don't have to worry about that. I was here for a while, went back home, then was brought back after the end of it. It..."
He can't help but want to reassure him but there's still so much that happened he can't easily sum it up with a quick it's okay. "We do it. We stop All For One, everyone together." The way he says it is subdued and melancholic but it's with no doubt.
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"Everyone comes out okay on the other end?" He presses.
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He hesitates, looking down at the ground with some regret. "In the end, I couldn't save Shigaraki. I tried but..." There was also losing One For All too. If Izuku were given the choice between saving Shigaraki and keeping One For All, it would be the former without any hesitation. But he's still sad to know what's going to happen once he goes home. "He went down fighting until the very end."
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It's possible it's just his own mind comforting him. He's thinking back on how he briefly saw All Might in some capacity in his 'final moments' and... honestly his subconscious taking the form of Izuku to comfort him would make sense.
That thought is shelved at mention of Shigaraki. His gaze fixated on Izuku's face, studying him. He doesn't need to look for the cracks in the fascade to know. Izuku can't be handling that well. That admission feels like... reaching out.
And he has well and truly learned not to slap that hand away again.
He reaches out and... flicks Izuku in the forehead. His affection comes in rough ways. He's got room to learn still but he's trying.
"I know you too well. You definitely gave it your all." It's a shake of faith in what Izuku wants though. Save everyone with a smile. Like All Might.
Katsuki faced a shake to his own beliefs. All Might always wins and Katsuki... lost to Shigaraki. There was no denying that.
But... they aren't All Might.
Maybe that was a lesson they both needed to learn.
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"Yeah... I gave it everything." He tries to sound bright about it but there's still that melancholy to his voice. He really did give up everything trying. They were successful in saving the day so he wouldn't take it back if that's how it had to happen. He's still not sure if he should tell Bakugo about losing One For All. He doesn't want him carrying the weight of that around if there's nothing to be done about it.
He pulls back from healing, the blue glow fading away. "I think you should be okay now... Does anything still feel off? If you need to rest more, we can go back to the house. You have a room there! And Todoroki and Urara-" He has to stop and correct himself. "I mean... it's just me and Todoroki now. Uraraka and Kaminari were both here for a while but they're gone now. So was Mirko. Ah... Hawks is here, Dabi and Shigaraki... Kurogiri... Toga but I haven't seen her for a while... We... have a sort of truce with the villains. If they don't cause trouble, we let them be."
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"Slow down." Todoroki is there. Uraraka and Kaminari were but aren't. Apparently he was and wasn't and is again? But has no memory of it at all. And he doesn't like that one bit.
Mirko. Hawks.
Villains.
"Shigaraki is here? But wouldn't he be..." Dead, he assumes, if not saved. Dead.
"Hold on. You mentioned before I was 'further along' before? You mean when I was here before I remembered more things back home or... are you saying there's some time bullshit going on alongside the inter dimensional travel?"
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"It sounds like you're from right at the start of your fight against All For One... When you were here before, you were from the end of it after it was over. Well... When I got here about a year ago, the last thing you remembered was when..." Izuku falters for a second, looking down at the ground again. "When you jumped in the way of Shigaraki's attack at Jaku City. And the last thing I remembered was getting brought back to U.A. by everyone after I left... You said you'd been here for almost a year when me and Todoroki and Uraraka showed up. I think about six months ago, you disappeared for a few days and came back really hurt from the end of that fight. Then I disappeared not long after my birthday then came back having gone through the fight with Shigaraki. The last thing I remember was passing out after it was all over with. You've been gone... maybe about a month this time."
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If he's understanding it right, he's lost a year of time here. A year and half? That's insane.
"That's a lot of shit to forget. Maybe something to do with somehow coming from a different time point?" An earlier one. But even then...
"Anything important I need to know? About my time here?"
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He still puts on a happy smile. "Maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part... but if you don't remember, that's okay. I'm just glad you're back!"
Important things, hmm... "Some people might recognize you from when you were here before but you probably won't know who they are so you'll probably have to let them know that. There's a big house we live in you put a lot of work into renovating! I've been doing my best to take care of it! Electricity, running water, air conditioning in the summer... I got a console and some video games and some movies recently so there's fun things to do. There's a garden in the back so we can grow some of our own foods."
And then something hits him. "Oh. ... Wait. I... Okay, don't freak out about this but... I want you to try to use your quirk. Just a little bit! And if it doesn't work, don't worry about it too much! Everyone who shows up here at the start loses any power they have but I promise you can get it back after a while! I think it has something to do with interacting with people... It took me some months before I was able to get all my quirks back so it might take a while but... Just... try and see if you can but be prepared for it to not to work..."
If Bakugo wasn't able to use his quirk, Izuku thought the chances of him remembering anything about his time here were more unlikely... almost like he had been reset somehow...
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Slowly that look melts into realization. Then horror. His mouth feels dry. His quirk is... gone? Maybe for months?? No. No no no.
"The hell?" He chokes out. "You mean to tell me we got villains running around here and I don't even have my quirk?"
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He's got his theories but they're not really going to help Bakugo right now. They'd just have to wait and see if he ever remembered being here before... Izuku would give it a few days.
"And besides! Even without your quirk, you're still a strong fighter. I know it's really weird not having it anymore but it'll be okay, I promise. You'll get it back. It just takes some time."
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Even if he's grown and changed a lot since middle school, the way he used to treat Izuku for being quirkless...
He flexes his fingers a little more as if that might bring those sparks forth. But nothing happens and he lowers his hands.
He doesn't want to talk about his quirk. He needs a different topic.
"Icy-Hot is still here you said? He staying with us?" Let him get his bearings. Figure out what's familiar in this strange land. He's strangely grateful to have Izuku here. Not that he'll voice it. But that's a comfort. And if Todoroki is here too, then that's two familiar faces. It's something.
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"Yeah! It's just the two of us now, Uraraka and you used to live there for a long time too, Kaminari was there for a little bit. But there's plenty of space for you to come back! Oh! And I have a cat now! I named her Yuki." Naming a white cat snow was only fitting!
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Although he's also wondering if those memories just... don't exist for him. If he's really from a time before he was when he was last here, then maybe he's the 'him' from a time before this place at all? Not worth getting himself mixed up over.
"Surprised you didn't name her All Might." His lips pull into a smirk at the corners as he taunts Izuku.
"Alright. Let's get moving. I should check out this house and get settled in."
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And he will lead him back to the house so he can introduce him to Yuki!
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He falls into step with Izuku to go back to the house.