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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.
no subject
Stories are like that, aren't they? He'd always admired the heroes in them. He'd wanted to be like them. But... He'd thought about the other side too, sometimes, how hard it must have been... Though, well, he's never seen arguments about it.
Either way, he nods in response. ]
Yeah. That'd be great. I can help you too. [ He glances at the list again, tracing his finger down and stopping as he mentions the numbers, ] I can do 2, 7, 10, 12, and 13... The effects have been tested and all signs point to it being harmless, but I'm not sure how I feel about drinking a potion that no one really understands. I'd like to do some tests on it first.
[ Which is like, only half related and an unneeded justification, but that's never stopped him. ]
no subject
[ flat hands varian his paper in exchange for the other, resting it against the wall to scribble a messy signature.
returning it, there seems to be a genuine curiosity behind his eyes, bright like the sun. ]
Honestly, that’s probably the smart thing to do. I mean, I kept half of it to study, but I figured that while I was in a new place without friends that I’d be the best test subject for my experiments.
[ though that ship has somewhat sailed at this point. ]
What do you do, then? Are you like a mad scientist type or are you more into engineering and stuff? I’d love to hear about it, if you have time!
[ yes there’s a competition they should be returning to. but have you considered:
magicalscience? ]no subject
What? No, nothing like that!
[ Another little laugh, because it is that ridiculous. ]
I am an alchemist...
[ There's an equal amount of emphasis placed on the first and last word, and with a grin he does jab his thumb against his chest, puffing it out with a sudden pride. This is his point of expertise, after all! However much he's failed at it as of late. ]
I'm a man of science! In fact, I made a new compound recently, one that I've been using to fuel one of my newer projects - you know how there's water heaters here? And in other worlds? Well, there's none where I come from! But there's an underground tunnel system in my village, so I've built a handful of boilers, and a new chemical - Flynnoliam - that's going to power all of them, so the entire village will have heated water!
[ So, all of the above. He's a scientist first, but with engineering as a catalyst for that. ]
no subject
[ varian's pride seems to be contagious, as flat is clearly excited to hear the answer and the explanation that follows. he knows that it's not common for kids these young to be so skilled. flat and a few others were, but that was only because they were able to be guided by waver's patient teaching. he wonders who it was that could have guided varian down this path.
with his interest caught, flat decides that he would rather learn more about varian's inventions rather than focus on the games. he's sure that his teammates would understand-- isn't it important to take a break anyways? ]
That's awesome, though, you're helping a ton of people by doing that. What's the compound like? Did you make sure that it wouldn't pollute the environment? I have a friend that taught me about how important green energy is supposed to be, so I think that's a good thing to keep in mind when you're making stuff that's supposed to last a long time.
no subject
Well, yeah. I'm not going to make something that's going to damage the environment.
[ He rolls his eyes because obviously he did, and those words could almost be mistaken for sarcasm if not for the way his eyes fix on flat and the barely contained enthusiasm. It's that sort of display that's unique to children who are still learning to present themselves, mimicking what they see in adults they want to take them seriously without quite understanding what methods to use. But there's no malice behind it and no insult meant.
It's only so often that someone takes enough interest in his work to show off, after all. ]
It's perfectly harmless... I mean, as long as you only use a drop or two... Oh, and you don't want to touch it with your bare hands either. But other than that, it's perfectly safe! See, when paired with certain other compounds, it generates a chemical reaction that produces a heat. I was able to set it up so I can use it as a heating mechanism for the tanks - kind of like the ones they have here. But different. [ He waves a hand. ] There's no magic involved.
[ Very important to note. ]
no subject
and it’s not like he can see anything anyways. really, what good are normal eyes for other than seeing what’s in front of people? well, on second thought, maybe he shouldn’t be so hasty with his thoughts.
however, varian’s last comment makes flat raise an eyebrow in curiosity. ]
Obviously it’s not magic. Well, maybe someone who’s never seen anything other than a gas lamp might think it’s witchcraft and hang you for it, but that’s because they don’t know better. Lots of people are like that.
[ flat snorts, not giving much attention to his own comment as he dismisses it with a wave of his hand. ]
Is magic common in your world, too?
no subject
The sundrop and the black rocks, those unbreakable "magical" items in his world, are too nothing more than a scientific mystery waiting to be solved. He finds this place to be much in the same - a series of systems and properties that are waiting for someone who can understand them. ]
Nope. It doesn't exist. People think it does though. My creations have been called magic a few times, so now I have to give the disclaimer. There's nothing like what you'd see here.
no subject
[ and what does flat think? well, it doesn’t really matter one way or another. this is about varian, not him. ]
What do you think about this world, then? I mean, different world, different rules! And there’s people here from different worlds, too, all of them with their own way of how they see things. Maybe in their worlds, magic is a science of its own.
[ flat gives varian a lighthearted grin, clearly unperturbed by the boy’s statement. if anything, he seems to like it quite a bit, perhaps because he’s not all that different in some aspects. what he sees is far different from the average human, so there’s far more information available for him to break down and analyze. ]
Oh, but my world is a little different than what I’m talking about. It’s just been something cool that I’ve noticed here, since this is kinda like a crossroads for all sorts of people with all sorts of experiences!
[ and, for that reason alone, he loves it. it’s so much fun. ]
no subject
He wants his findings to be acknowledged, but there's only one person that he wants to acknowledge "Varian."
Though that doesn't preclude forcing the rest of the world to do so, and in that he has been successful.
He nods once. It takes him a few moments to collect his thoughts. Varian is someone who understands principals and laws, but the way to provide precise definition and distinctions to an outside party does sometimes elude him. It's one of the downsides to self-study. But, he's enjoying this conversation, and it's not often he runs into somebody like minded, so he'll give it a shot here. ]
Well, you're right. It's too simple to divide this world or others into "science" and "magic" in a place where they can overlap and intersections, or even be the same... Not that anyone knows what the former is. Since isn't simply an area of study, or really one at all; science is a process.
Specifically, science is an algorithm that when followed produces information relating to a question. It's a collection of methods and resulting theories aimed at creating thorough explanations and understanding of natural phenomena. To practice it, you derive a hypothesis, then prove that hypothesis with provable and repeatable experiments.
"Magic" as normally defined is the same as drawing on personal conjecture or experiences, rather than a consistent experiment. It depends on an inability disprove it. For example, we cannot definitively prove that breaking a mirror won't cause bad luck. People often attribute any poor experiences that follow to be "bad luck" caused by it rather than incidents with a definable and traceable cause. In fact, we we have no data that backs up the existence of the phenomena known as "luck" at all.
Anyway, I won't anything out, and other worlds have their own predictive models and observations. Maybe in some world bad things do happen when you break a mirror. It could happen here too. I haven't seen found any evidence of it yet though.
no subject
[ after varian's info dump, flat feels excited. energetic, even! it's incredible to hear so much passion behind those words, and said mood is contagious. ]
But you know, human sight's pretty poor in some aspects! That's why we created all sorts of tools to help us see...telescopes, microscopes, heck, there's even stuff to observe different spectrums of light, like x-rays, gamma rays, etcetera... and there's even more types of energies that humans probably don't know about and that they haven't even dreamt of making models out of.
[ mana, being one of them. flat can't help but yearn for the day that a common human starts making a predictive model on magical energy. maybe some day, surely. ]
In my world, just breaking a mirror wouldn't do anything. But, because lots of people believe that breaking a mirror causes bad luck, people can use that as a catalyst for something-- like using your Flynnoliam to catalyze an exothermic reaction! And that is what we call a curse.
[ he puffs his chest, prideful of his explanation. surely, his professor would be able to give a far better one, but flat's specialty is not in explaining things to others-- such is the downside of an education consisting mainly of self-study and seminar lessons. ]
no subject
Interesting - no, more than interesting. The idea is exciting. ]
In that case, are "belief" and "emotions" themselves forms of energy? Do they have a physical form?
[ Varian does have some guesses, but he still needs a bit more context here. ]
no subject
[ in other words, varian's almost right on the dot, though he's certain that the professor would have been able to give him a more thorough correction. ]
That sort of thing can make an energy of its own. We call it mana. Usually most people aren't able to see it, which is why people will think that it's magic... and I mean, magic is real, it's just that those things are stuff that can't be done by humans...yet! Probably. Humans are really good at innovation and perseverance, so I'm sure that one day they'll end up doing that...
[ flat hums. ]
I think this world has it, too. I mean, it's all about fulfilling wishes and stuff, so I'm sure there's some sort of system that I really would like to rip apart and study! [ there's a glint in his eye, the curious eyes of a scientist with an objective in mind and the will to dig into the guts of something to see everything. ] But since I came here I've had all my abilities nerfed. I'm as average as... well, the average person!
no subject
Varian is turning this over in his head. The more that he hears, the more that he realizes it's at once outside of his area of expertise and perfectly within it. It's no more fantastical than anything else in the world, and it's not entirely unheard of. The idea of "mana" and similar systems are common in fantasy books, ones which in and of themselves sometimes present the idea of complex systems and laws.
So, that just leaves one more question: ]
But it's another type of sixth sense, which means some people can see it, and... You're one of them?
[ He sounds just a touch unsure of his own observation, but it would tie everything together quite nicely. There are people who claim to be attuned to the spiritual world, to be able to see things that others can't - a type of sensory input that others don't have - and this seems to him the same. ]
What else can you do?
no subject
[ there is no one that flat knows who can see the way that he does. hell, he's not even sure that he could explain to varian what he sees... though he could perhaps explain what he doesn't. the world is less vibrant, visually, though any missing shine from the visual input is more than made up by the vibrancy that come from the connections that he has made.
the light in his smile returns to its usual brightness when varian continues asking question, however. flat cups his chin with his fingers, humming in thought. ]
Here I can't do much, so far. Just heal, and that's thanks to the potion you get at the beginning. [ he shrugs! ] But in my world, I'm something that's known as a mage. And we're able to do something that's called magecraft! It's super hard to explain, but think of it like... I don't know, kinda like a few levels below magic, and related to science but not exactly what you'd learn if you went to an average university. Yeah! It's kind of like to the left of science and very few people know about it. Very few people should know about it.
[ he pauses, and then adds, as if to clarify himself. ]
Oh, but it's alright if people know here. I'm pretty sure this has a different foundation and rules, so it probably doesn't matter what I say. I specialize in something we call Chaos Magecraft! Which is... [ is... ] ...kind of really hard to explain... I guess, it's kind of like if you had this machine that you could take apart and re-arrange a bunch, and then each rearrangement had a different function.
[ good luck deciphering that one, varian! ]
no subject
But he didn't, and he doesn't, and instead he thinks...
His father had carried that look too. That look, as though he were gazing at something only he could see. That distant look, as though the rest of the world were separate.
As though he were alone.
That look, which always disappeared when he grew close, and his father would ruffle his hair and smile at him, and act as though the world were fine and normal. The one that made Varian want to be closer to him. One he'd never received an explanation for, and he might never now.
It's not the same. But it feels familiar. It's the feeling of going back to an empty house, the lights off, the door locked, entering to find a dusty foyer - but it's just that illusion of the young and old woman, where a tilt of the head shows it to be warm and full of light and filled with people.
He's not from the modern era, so he has no term to use of it. He's heard of the phenomena of being able to "hear" colors, though. There's old writings that focus on the senses. But people who "hear" colors exist separately from others. They might hear bells in blue. But even if they run into another person with the same condition, they can't connect; that person can't hear the pleasant ringing of bells in blue. They hear record scratching, something grating and offensive to the ears.
Maybe it's something like that.
Varian frowns faintly, these complicated thoughts running through him even as he listens to the explanation. He can't fully understand of that, but most of that is because he has nothing to compare it to. He's completely self-taught, isolated from everyone around him for his genius, the age of intellectualism having come and gone long before his time. But he understands the basic concept well enough.. ]
Oh... I was trying to make something like that. Well, I sort of did, but I haven't figured out how to make it so the parts fit seamlessly together once it's rearranged yet. They can move independently, but they're drawn back together, and they have to take their original form.
[ He cants his head, thoughtful. If he lived in the modern era, he might have some comparison. He doesn't though, so... ]
Kind of like how you can make different shapes using building blocks? But more complicated, and more functional.
no subject
nonetheless, it is interesting. flat feels like he's being watched and while he's not feeling uncomfortable about it, it is a curious thing. it's not every day when someone trying to observe him back.
flat hums, thinking what he would do about it... and then snaps his fingers when the lightbulb in his brain turns on. ]
I'd probably make the shapes like a pattern! I guess you gotta think something between like tetris, puzzles, and patterns. Well, I guess they're all kinda related right? Actually, tetris might not even be good. But you just gotta make sure that the shapes tessellate in a 3d space. It might be hard, but I'm sure you could find a way to do it!
[ easier said than done is what most people would say. actually, most people would probably not even think that a full-fledged mathematician could do that, let alone a 14 year old. but flat will happily give the 14 year old the seemingly insane task... because he doesn't see why he shouldn't. ]
no subject
He's already done the impossible plenty of times, so what's one more? Varian perks up immediately, his grin widening as he claps his hands together before rubbing them, then wringing them as he ]
Oh, that's genius! You're right. I thought about making it so that the linkages could automatically switch themselves out to fit, but that didn't really work out. [ Too limited. ] But I would've never thought to do it that way.
[ He is absolutely going to be muddling over and experimenting with this. It would have implications far beyond what he's doing now. ]
I'd like to try it here, but... Losing my lab is to make working on it kinda hard. I have to start from scratch here.
[ He lifts his hands in a helpless gesture now. That is what it is though. ]
ok i think we can wrap this soon...free from these geniuses...
[ there is genuine sympathy in flat's expression, along with a shrug of his shoulders and a lighthearted smile.
he's never really shared his atelier with anyone and, while he theoretically doesn't mind, he's not sure if he could adapt to anyone else's quirks. most likely they'd end up butting heads and going their separate ways. ]
But, if you ever want a second opinion, you can contact me whenever! Even if your science is different from mine, it's still fun to find another science buddy to hang out with. I really hope you can get your lab back, somehow!
yeah, it hink we're at a good point to wrap up!!
[ Varian waves his hand with a grin. It might be a little difficult, but to give way to his lamentations and sorrow is to be swallowed up by them. He has far too many other matters of importance to allow that. ]
But, I'll give you a call next time I get stuck on something.