![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
labyrinmods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
buttrinthum2023-02-25 07:43 pm
TDM #2
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: bluebells and daffodils. When characters wander near the bluebells, they will suddenly feel their body shrinking, becoming small enough to fit into a palm. The daffodils offer less dramatic effects - standing too close to blooming daffodils will encourage a strong desire to be impulsive or try out something they never would have otherwise tried (whether it’s a wild new hobby, or shaving their entire head, or something else). It is said that witnessing a daffodil droop is an omen of death, however. Any dreamer that sees one wilt or droop is slated for death. Whether it’s within the next few days, in a few months, or in a few years - nobody knows when. They will be met with pitiful glances when they finally reach the town and will need to live with the knowledge they are cursed.
It looks like there are plenty of others who are just now waking up from their dream-state as well.. why not go ahead and say hello?
[ The arrival aspect of this prompt is reserved for new characters, but anyone can interact with the garden flowers. The effects will last for a few hours or days. For players that choose for their characters to be cursed to die, there will be many opportunities within the game to traumatize and kill off your character, so feel free to play it out when you want to (or not at all). ]
Somnius, with its weathered cottages and rustic shops, was never a sight to behold, but the effects of the blood moon has left the humble town worse for wear. Houses and shops have been torn down, locals and dreamers alike have been injured, and the makeshift relief area in the church is packed full with survivors being frantically tended to by the limited amount of healers and medical personnel available, their agonized groaning echoing through the town as they recover from their injuries. Who can blame them? The direwolves were trying to eat them alive. If it’s any consolation, all characters have been cured and returned to their original forms, and all direwolves have been wiped out. The damage is done, but the danger is over (for now).
The calls for help continue. All hands are needed to clean up and rebuild the town, heal the injured, keep an account for all the residents, and bury the locals who have perished. A mass grave and funeral has been organised and anyone may attend. Anyone with the capacity to sing, dance or entertain (bards, essentially) would be especially valued in this time, given the low morale.
Despite the clear chaos in the street, the Overseer Vaeros is nowhere to be found, almost like he has abandoned his people in their time of need. If asked about him, the people stay devoted, believing wholeheartedly that their ruler must have had more important matters to attend to.
As spring approaches, the ice and snow finally starts to melt away, and some creatures begin to emerge out of hibernation. The most notable (and cutest) would be the mailmice, a group of small creatures - led by their leader Sir Matthew Mousefield - who manage the mail delivery in Somnius. How they do it is through using an intricate system of underground burrows, ranging across the city and feeding into some homes (in classic ‘mouse hole’ fashion). How did the townsfolk manage their mail before these mice emerged from hibernation? The answer is not effectively.
There is one problem, however. Climbing out of the earth only to be met with a giant direwolf is definitely a stressful experience. The mailmice have lost a few of the early risers, and they are terrified, choosing to hide from perceived threats within the bulbs of flowers.
As cute as the image is, they need to be coaxed out to get the postal system working again. There are several ways to do this:
✿ Gentle handling, soothing words and face nuzzles.
✿Telling the mice an interesting riddle or calming story. Reading a book to them helps also.
✿Entertaining them with a performance. They enjoy a duet or lovely waltz between two.
✿Enticing them with a shiny object or food. They can be quite specific about what object or food they want, so several attempts will be needed.
Characters who have been shrunken down by the bluebell’s effects will be even more successful at coaxing the mice, as they are less of a perceived threat. While yanking them out of the flowers is possible, they will squeal and bite. Any cat-like being is also likely to be bitten. Mousebites are slightly poisonous and will compel the victim to be subservient and people-pleasing for a few hours to a few days.
Characters may choose to fill in as mailmen if they wish. Sir Matthew Mousefield will reward them with a generous wheel of cheese and the tiniest thank you letter (with a seal!).
There’s one group of creatures particularly unbothered by all the mayhem. With the weather warming up, the Fireys have started to party within the forest, their carefree song echoing through the trees. While the gelflings have been devastated by the wolf attacks, the Fireys are completely fine. With their immortal bodies and the awful taste to their flesh, the direwolves took no interest in them, and the ones that did learned quickly that trying to eat a Firey is futile (and more of a funny game to them, than anything). The gelflings are not too fond of those party-loving, untroubled creatures, warning any dreamer to avoid them if possible. They would be right. Anyone who stumbles upon their little party will witness first hand the way they pull out their own eyes and eat them, the way they behead themselves and dismember their limbs and kick those body parts around like playing football. It’s all a game, and no one seems to get hurt, until they decide to force any onlookers to join in.
”Hey, your head don’t come off? What’s with that?!” “I know what we gotta do! Take off that head!”
They will chase any unwilling participants through the forest and try to grab for heads, limbs, noses, eyes and whatever they can get their hands on. The interesting part? When touched by a Firey, body parts do come off, much like dismantling the limbs of a doll. For most people, it’s painless, but for the unlucky few, it’s as excruciating as having it cut off. The Fireys, though? They have no concern for the well-being of others. They will run off with their loot, kicking it around and hiding it, forcing that unlucky soul to go on a morbid scavenger hunt.
It gets to a point the Fireys decide it might be a great idea to spread their idea of fun to the rest of the town (as if Somnius hasn’t been hit with enough already). There is no actual way to kill them, but they can be dismembered and trapped somewhere, and they get bored if their victim evades them for too long.
They will get bored and return to the forest after they’ve had their fill, but not before leaving some chaos in their wake, with this person’s eyes being left on the countertop of that person’s home, or that person’s head being left on the tavern mantle.
Welcome to the labyrinthum TDM! 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.
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. There is an ATP/EMP here for those interested.
no subject
How strange! That should make delivering to one all the more interesting!]
I don’t.
[…]
What’s a bath house?
no subject
But not knowing what a bath house is? That's weird. It's in the name, even. Chuuya gives the Kabukimono a strange look but... okay, maybe this kid is somehow both extremely sheltered and under-educated. ]
It's a business where anyone can go to wash themselves off. They don't have those where you're from?
no subject
Unfortunately, he couldn't think of anything related to bath houses... aside from perhaps an onsen, but those were for soaking not for washing. Important distinction.
So he simply shook his head.]
I... I am not sure. I did not go outside.
no subject
Sounds rough. Come on, I'll show you where it is.
[ And since he's committed to helping this kid out, he may as well give him a little lesson along the way. ]
I'm pretty new here myself, but it looks like all the businesses are near the center of town. Wellspring's not hard to find, either; I guess most of the houses here don't have baths.
no subject
[He did not exactly have any context how his life would be perceived to others, nor did he know about the lives of others the gauge what might be considered a difficult life. It would require more thinking on later.
For now, he wished to learn more of how humans lived! This seemed like something good to learn as humans thus far had been very kind!]
Alright! Is it normal for many houses not to have baths?
no subject
[ Chuuya has plenty of first-hand experience in having to start over in figuring out what a normal human life is like. This kid's got a long road ahead of him. ]
Depends. Where I'm from lots of older or cheaper places have a shower but nowhere to soak, and some of 'em don't even have that much.
[ And sometimes you're unlucky and live somewhere where you don't have a bath, shower, or public bathhouse nearby. No need to worry the kid with that part, though. ]
I haven't had a chance to look at the houses here, but it's probably similar if they've got a bath house that's not a luxury spa.
no subject
So that means my... situation is no longer rough then! Because I am here!
[That gets a happy little smile out of him, because that meant things were clearly going to be better now! He was excited to learn what that would be like!]
Baths must be very important to humans then! Maybe I should try one.
[Good thing he was learning where this bathhouse was then! Not that he would likely require many baths being a construct and all.]
no subject
Yeah, baths are pretty important to humans. No one wants to spend time with someone that stinks.
[ Though depending on what type of not-human this kid is, that might not matter. ]
What's your name, anyway?
no subject
[And faulty discarded things had no names. He doesn't sound upset about it, though the situation did bother him, he didn't quite know how to express it well. So he spoke it as fact.
And he was quick to go back to the interesting topic of baths.]
Do I stink?
[Lucky for him, no, he does not. At least not as an unwashed human would. His clothes, however, had gotten rather dirty and he did have a muddy smell to him.]
no subject
[ Ugh, of course. Why does every mad scientist have to pull shit like that? Why can't more of them be like Mary and be happy with their robot son even when he's a little wonky. The kid doesn't seem too bent out of shape about it, sure, but that doesn't mean he's not. ]
... Well, if she got rid of you then she doesn't get to decide what you're called. Pick out your own name if you want.
[ And on to the apparently more pressing subject at hand: ]
You smell like dirt. It's not bad, but you're gonna wanna wash yourself and your clothes soon.