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buttrinthum2025-05-01 10:11 am
May 2025 TDM
Whether it be sleep or death, you feel your eyes close, and as your body begins to let go, you see an inky starry nothingness spread out around you. 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.
Though there is nothing to prove it, you just know you have made a promise, a contract of sorts, with something and someone who remains but a shadow in your memories.
- 💐 Blood Weed is a sharp as razorblades. It grows waist high on a 6'0" tall person in places, but never less than 5" tall overall. Small paths wind through the grass, and those who find themselves waking up near the blood weed will have to carefully navigate through the paths in order to come out without being cut. The cuts themselves are painful, the sensation of pins and needles is accompanied with a burning that reaches deep to the bone. It's not debilitating, not completely, but it will make it harder to escape and more likely a victim will bleed to feed.... the blood weed.
- 🌸 Witch Hair is a strange plant, soft to the touch and with the scent of marshmallows. If eaten plain it can soothe the ache of blood weed cuts temporarily, but it is far more effective as a medicine when brewed into a potion. The strangest thing about Witch hair is that it only grows at the water's edge, and then weaves over the ground through the blood weed. It's almost as if it is encouraging a sacrifice to save someone else. A cut for a cure. The one side effect of eating the weed raw is that it can give those who ingest it a temporary ability to affect the weather in a small radius around them. Perhaps this too, could be a boon? The effect only lasts a few hours, 48 at most. Maybe there's a way to have fun with it in the meantime?
No matter your adventures in the garden with its many plants, before long you are found by a gaggle of inhabitants from both the City of Stellari and Somnius. They seem excited in general, and excited to see whoever it is they stumble upon without pause. They approach with handkerchiefs of varied colors and wave them about as they take new Dreamer's hands.
The chaos from last month has settled, leaving a celebration behind in its wake. Officials from Stellari explain that, every year, the city holds a massive event, meant to honor the spirit of competition. This year, they've decided to include Somnius in the competition as well. The crystal-clearing efforts have been fruitful, and slowly but surely, more of Visium is starting to become accessible.
To that end, Dreamers find both Stellari and Somnius transformed, dressed head-to-toe in festival stalls and decorations of red, blue, green, and yellow. Dreamers themselves are all divided into one of four color teams. They are selected automatically, and by traits inherent to their being.
A handkerchief of their team's color is magically fastened to every participant, and can only be removed when a game necessitates it, such as capture the flag. It's an important way of identifying who is on what team. You'll want to know who your teammates are, because teammates gain special benefits when interacting, such as increased strength and magical ability. As well as that, people can also communicate telepathically with others from their team for the duration of the event.
- Red team candidates are either extremely good, in a moral sense, or extremely bad.
- Blue team candidates are either extremely emotional or show very little emotion whatsoever.
- Yellow team candidates are either extremely powerful or extremely weak.
- Green team candidates are either extremely average or exceptionally special.
By the same token, however, being in close proximity with others who aren't on one's team cause negative effects. Different teams have different effects, depending on their color.
This is all, of course, in the interest of making the competition more interesting. Each team will also have a home base to work from, with team red's being the Amphitheater of the Mind, team blue's being Lake Termina, team yellow's being the (old) Church of the Moon, and team green's being The Stone Dragon.
- Red team members destabilize the emotions of opponents around them.
- Blue team members bring confusion and disorientation to opponents around them.
- Yellow team members destabilize magic/abilities of the opponents around them.
- Green team members bring bad luck to opponents around them.
For the duration of the festival, teams will meet to face off in various games and challenges, all earning points for their color team. The points are displayed on large scoreboards, stationed over the crystals in both Somnius and Stellari. Ribbons, medals, and trophies are offered as rewards during the celebrations and ceremonies that occur every night for the duration of the event. More than anything, though, the spirit of competition drives everyone, compelling them to dive headfirst into the games and give it their absolute best.
Some of the events are as follows, though pretty much any sport you can think of is offered - even ones one may recognize only from their own worlds.- 🤾Dodgeball
- 🚩 Capture the Flag
- 🏃♀️ Relay Races
- 🏊 A Triathlon
- 🙈 Hide & Seek
- 🫱 Tag
- 🪢 Tug-o-war
- 🥇 Obstacle Courses
- 🔴 Kickball
- ❓ Etc.
So, get out there and start battling it out - just not to the death this time!
Perhaps the largest event of all is a scavenger hunt in which the items are other Dreamers. Competitors are given a scroll with a list of descriptions, and are asked to seek out other Dreamers who fit those descriptions, and get a signature from them.
The list is as follows:
- 🔎 1. someone who can fly
- 🔎 2. someone who has never killed anyone
- 🔎 3. someone who has killed more than ten people
- 🔎 4. someone who can turn into something other than an animal
- 🔎 5. someone who betrayed someone they love
- 🔎 6. someone who saved the world
- 🔎 7. someone who wants to leave this place
- 🔎 8. someone who never wants to leave this place
- 🔎 9. someone who sacrificed their powers to Vaeros
- 🔎 10. someone who arrived after Vaeros' death
- 🔎 11. someone older than 30
- 🔎 12. someone younger than 15
- 🔎 13. someone who didn't drink their gold/blue/red potion
- 🔎 14. someone who has drunk more than one gold/blue/red potion
- 🔎 15. someone who has returned to their world, then returned to this place
Dreamers then sign their name next to the descriptor on the competitor's scroll. Magic compels them to be honest when confronted, and to give their signature even if they're unhappy to do so.
There is also a variation of this game, though much smaller in scale. Dreamers draw slips of paper with descriptions written on them, then pass them off to others who match that description. Some of them include:
- 💖 Someone you admire.
- ❌ Someone you hate.
- 😱 Someone you're afraid of.
- 🫂 Someone you trust.
- 😳 Someone you wish to know better.
- 😖 Someone you need to apologize to.
- 😊 Someone you're glad you met here.
- 😡 Someone you're angry at.
- 😨 Someone you're worried about.
- 🤕 Someone who hurt you.
Dreamers feel compelled to respond honestly, and genuinely give their slip of paper to whoever they think of first, even if it's something they wouldn't normally confess.
Both games last the duration of the festival, the Scavenger Hunt promising a massive amount of cords for anyone who can complete the entire list, as well as a medal.
Competitions can't be competitions all the time. Players need rest, the crowds need sustenance. But even though breaks are needed, parties never have to stop. Throughout the month-long Games, there's a Celebration along with it. Both Lumindeas and Stellari as well as Somnius are partaking in the celebration. No matter where dreamers wind up during this celebration, there's not a single location where Natives aren't doing their best to partake in a party that never ends.
The feeling and goodwill that comes with the games and camaraderie is infectious, and even the locals from Somnius are feeling more forgiving of Dreamers than they have in months. They visit Stellari while those who live in Stellari visit Somnius. It's the mingling and shared celebration that simply seems to warm up the town that has so long been alienated by crystal. With the glowing feeling of camaraderie in the air and the collaborative efforts to revive the land of Visium, everywhere seems to be in good spirits.
- 🪩 Dancing and Singing
There's music in the air and lights that shine on dance floors. It's hard to mistake the purpose of these portions of the celebrations, but everything is a game, even between the organized events. Every dance floor is a setup for a partnered dance competition. The genre is different in each location: romantic slow dancing, upbeat country music for line dancing, pop type music that thunders through the air and vibrates through the floor. The possibilities are endless, but the competition is stiff. Locals are paired with other locals, and dreamers with dreamers and everyone gets into the spirit, sweating and swaying to the music.
For more organized events there happens to be a cake walk, where dreamers and locals alike are encouraged to participate and win one of the many fruit flavored cakes. Be careful to not land on the same space as a competitor, or you'll both be eliminated and recieve a pie to the face! Don't worry though, towels and a change of clothes MIGHT be offered as consolation prizes.
For those that don't really feel the dancing beat, there's another way to compete for a little fun. Open mic is provided in some of these dancing locations, with magically powered instruments provided by Seravo himself. A simple request, a song title, and the instruments know the song to be played. Or perhaps in some cases a little poetry might be more someone's speed. In any case, the microphone is ready, the band primed to play.
🍔 Food and Socalizing
It's a bit of a task to get nourishment as well. There are food stalls installed in both cities, though every one comes with a bit of a game or competition in order to get your delicious sustenance. Those who approach the stalls of different kinds of food will be asked to win a compliment war with the guest next to them before their order will be fulfilled. Offer a compliment before the timer is up to win the competition against your chosen competitor. Each round you only get a certain amount of time to think up a compliment, with each round decreasing until no time is left. It might take several rounds before the attendant of the food stall feels inclined to hand over their delicious creations. Of course, once the game is over a plate or drink will be offered. If you want seconds, however, you're going to have to fork over another win.
Other ways of getting your tummies filled include participating in eating contests, several of which are set up throughout various locations. Burger eating, hotdog eating, even ice cream and cake or drinks themselves, the varieties of things offered are endless. Lucky dreamers might even find foods that are unique to where they come from. ...if a bit off. Its hard to make things exactly the same when the ingredients might be scarce.
If you're looking for a spot to relax while eating, there are tables and chairs aplenty. There is one catch, though. In order to sit and eat, one must play. Play what, you ask? Musical chairs. Both Dreamers and locals alike are encouraged to participate in a game of musical chairs with their tablemates, while eating of course. The winner will be given a small ribbon to remember the game by.
Well, perhaps even celebration can all be a competition after all.
Expand to see our Event Summary
Garden of Dreams
The Spirit of Competition
Living Scavenger Hunt
The Gametime Jubilations
A note that teams are ICly selected automatically for characters, but OOCly, we will not be assigning teams. Simply choose whichever team you think suits your character best.
Feel free to ask questions underneath the correct header! We also request of current players that most playing with the event happen on the event post so that those looking to TDM have a chance to play in all of the varied games and competitions we have provided! Overflows will be provided when and if needed.
( c )
(Please don't tell her that was made out of the mailmice!) ]
Oh, um... I'm just here to observe the festivities. Did you need help with something?
no subject
Did you know about this scavenger hunt? I’m sure a lot of people came and asked you weird questions already but I don’t know how to make sense of it.
no subject
I think I heard a little about it. You have to find specific items, right?
[ Or something else? Who knows in this world. She had to poll people when she first arrived and did a poor job at it, honestly. ]
no subject
[She made a face as she looked at the list. Aurora was all into playing games while everything seemed fun and safe until the weird stuff all seemed to happen. Now she just had a weird list and a weirder feeling in her stomach. Like so much had changed and yet something remained that was unfortunately familiar.]
They want you to find someone who has betrayed someone they love. And killed more than ten people.
cw: dead body mention
April is long past now, but the events that transpired weigh heavily on Haru. She is still finding the nights burdened with images of her father's lifeless body, and before that, violent behaviour that she doesn't believe could have ever truly come from him.
No, that thing was... something else. An imposter, but enough to have her rattled after all these weeks. ]
... that's quite the questionnaire for a scavenger hunt. [ And then, without missing a beat: ] But I can help you with the former: I've betrayed someone I love before.
[ Her hand reaches to cover her mouth, but instead, extends it out to offer her signature. ]
Popcorns
Like instinct, she took a step back. Of course, Aurora learned nothing. Just because a girl seems nice and beautiful didn’t mean they didn’t do something reprehensible.
…Aurora was also guilty of this. But hypocrisy didn’t really matter much when survival instincts kicked in.]
…Why tell me?
[Not that she knew there was a power forcing Haru yet but she was so flabbergasted anyway at the confession it was all she could say.]
no subject
Because it's the truth, although a complicated one.
[ That was truthful; without context, it sounds like Haru did harm to someone undeserving.
Father didn't deserve his fate, but he had pushed Haru to her limits. Targeting his heart was the only way to escape her own dreaded fate. ]
Um... [ It feels like something has stopped seizing on her throat then. She gasps. ] W-What is going on?
no subject
She didn't feel like lowering her defenses but she had to acknowledge something was off.]
...What do you mean? You just said you told me the truth.
no subject
[ She can't shy away from it now, but Haru isn't pleased this was forced out of her, especially before a stranger.
She clasps her hands, pressing them to her chest. ]
... but it was not my intention to. [ This world and its bizarre magic... Haru tilts her head at the paper Aurora holds. ] Um, this might be strange, but may I take a look?
no subject
[Aurora really looked at Haru as she said it. She grasped at the wicked evil scavenger list a moment before looking back at the other girl a bit softer now.]
If you were, you wouldn’t look like you’re in pain admitting it.
I’ve seen people do things and not care who they hurt.
[…That took a lot out of her. In a flood of her own memories, morals, and demeanor, she couldn’t claim to understand all of the world. Just the parts she grew to hate. People that did bad things that didn’t care were the wicked ones. It felt right to say it. Her eyes were now planted on the ground as she handed the list over.]
no subject
[ The smallest of smiles draws across Haru's face; even if she can't articulate it well right now, she appreciates Aurora's candidness and acceptance. It's a lot to ask of someone who you've met a few minutes ago.
She takes the list, glancing it over curiously. What an... interesting list she has to complete. ]
Oh! I can answer this one easily: I haven't drank my potion yet. [ She hands back the list, then gestures to herself: ] Um, my name is Okumura Haru, by the way. What is yours?
no subject
[And she was sure signing her own name would be cheating. Still though, this was all a lot and she felt like she needed a break. Finding the grey areas in situations was so new to the smaller lady. Survival tended to do that, and people doing bad things at times didn’t mean they were bad people. Jane did things that were necessary, and soon Aurora did.]
What a pretty name. My name is Aurora.
[A beat.]
I’ve hurt people too, so I understand. Things aren’t easy. Even when you really want them to be.
no subject
[ Sounds like a princess name from home, if she could remember from where or when. Definitely not from Japanese folklore, but that blonde hair gives it away, too. ]
... please don't feel you need to share anything you don't want! I think maybe this world's strange magic might have done something to me for a moment.
[ But, she can't ignore that statement either. ]
Though I've learned sometimes these actions are not born from malice or hatred. Sometimes, you do what you can to free and protect yourself.
no subject
[She couldn't help but be a little bashful when someone pretty complimented her. Still.]
Yeah, the magic around here. I get it now anyway. It's already affected me too.
no subject
I'm starting to guess you might be new to this land?
[ What's with this place and the strange quests it sends Dreamers on? ]
Were you in a garden previously?
no subject
[It never got easier no matter how many times she tried to explain it. She felt like a crazy person.]
A forest though? Yes. It was a big and magical place, to me it was. But this place has magic too, and I know it changed me.
no subject
[ Haru isn't sure what she means for now, as most Dreamers seem to awaken in the garden before meandering their way into the city. ]
Yes, the magic here is somewhat... confusing. I am not exactly an expert on it, but from what I've seen and heard, it can sort of do random things... like just now with making me answer something without me being in full control.
no subject
That seems…concerning. And cruel. Bad magic ripped me and my old friends from home, and everything just seemed like it all just happened.
Even coming here and meeting all of these new people.
[Sullen.]
It’s too much.
no subject
[ Not too long ago, someone wearing the face of her father, terrorizing her both emotionally and physically.
She still isn't sure what the lesson behind it was. If there was one. ]
You'll be okay. There are many kind people here. People who will protect you and offer shelter, if needed.
no subject
[She seemed to trail off a bit at that. She wanted to believe Haru deep down, and yet the people she thought were kind just weren't. It was hard to believe life was kind when it entirely wasn't.
Thankfully, Aurora is very resourceful. But that only means so much when people actively want your downfall.]
Miss Okumura? What about unkindness?
no subject
I do need you to be realistic - what could you have possibly done to save yourself?
The words seared into her mind, left for her to tend to when she sits alone in her damaged apartment, the splintered floor and walls another stark reminder of the dangers of unkindness. ]
There will be unkind people. [ The truth can't be sugarcoated; if this world can bring a figure from her past to torment her, it can do worse. ] But you will manage, I'm sure of it.
no subject
[A sigh. She expected that answer. But Haru's demeanor changed and it alerted her something serious.]
But I'm glad I met so many kind people so far, even you Miss Okumura.
no subject
[ Sure, it's a little direct and informal, but it seems in this world most people are accustomed to giving each other's first names. ]
Do you have to finish this scavenger hunt? There will be more people toward the center of the festivities being hosted.
no subject
[She shoved the paper in her dress pocket.]
...Don't really feel like playing anymore.
would you like to start wrapping?
That's alright. Should we maybe go somewhere to get some food and drink?
Yeah!!!