buttrinthum | May 2025 TDM

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May 2025 TDM

Garden of Dreams

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.

Will you drink it or not?

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.

"Please, come with us. The games begin soon! You have a team to choose. Don't worry, it'll be exciting!"

The Spirit of Competition

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Living Scavenger Hunt

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.

The Gametime Jubilations

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.

OOC

Expand to see our Event Summary

Garden of Dreams

Dreamers arrive in the enchanted garden, after making a wish in their sleep / at their time of death
Blood weed grows, as sharp as razorblades. Dreamers must move through the thickets, avoiding being cut; the cuts are extremely painful.
Witch hair also grows, and can be used to heal the cuts from the blood weed. Ingesting it also allows the user to control the weather for a short period of time.

The Spirit of Competition

A festival is being thrown across both Visium and Lumindeas, celebrating the spirit of competition.
Dreamers are all divided into four color-based teams, red, blue, green, and yellow, depending on certain traits they possess (see section for list - players choose which team their character will be on).
Members of the same team can communicate telepathically, and increase each other's physical and magical abilities when they are close.
Dreamers will experience negative effects when interacting with members of other teams (see section for list).
There are several events for Dreamers to participate in (see section for list), and all feel compelled to compete and give the competition their best effort.
Rewards are medals, ribbons, trophies, and sometimes cords.

Living Scavenger Hunt

Dreamers are all given a list with descriptions befitting of other Dreamers. They must locate these other Dreamers, and get their signature next to the descriptor they match (see section for list).
Dreamers may also participate in a game where they draw a slip of paper with a descriptor on it, and hand that slip of paper to someone that it describes (ie: someone you like; see section for list of suggestions)
All feel compelled to be honest in their selections, or if they are confronted

The Gametime Jubilations

For the duration of the competition, there is a 24/7 festival, offering games, food, dancing, etc.; in every corner of Visium and Lumindeas, people seem to be participating in this festival.
There are various competitions like dance competitions, a cake walk, open mic/karaoke competition, etc.
To be served food, Dreamers must engage in a compliment war against each other, offering compliments within a time limit to win enough points to eat. There are also several eating contests (pies, hot dogs, etc.)
To sit with your food, you must play musical chairs (while eating)

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Were that but true. For his greater purpose, the details mattered little. The intent of the Empire was to chaos, disruption, and destruction across the star, in one form or another. In truth, I would even hesitate to state that it exceeded his expectations, for he was a magnificently-talented man in that respect.

[Acknowledging a former foe's skill is not weakness, but wisdom. Venat has made that point before, and continues to abide by it.]

Would you really go so far as to give a man credit for all chaos that followed in his wake, regardless of whether he had any direct hand in it? Surely you overstate his influence.

[Her smile does not change, but her eyes sparkle unmistakeably.]

I assure you, I cannot overstate his capability, his influence, or the fact that he exerted both in the following millennia to continue causing as much chaos and destruction as possible, often by relying on Allag's legacy. The tale of his and his comrades' efforts spans twelve millennia, ending but recently.

I suppose I don't know your history as you do. It only seems to me that one ought not take credit for factors that simply happen to align favorably with one's plans.

Ah. I am not certain I understand the distinction you are making, which may be my own responsibility for telling but a piece of the story.

[Venat curls the fingers of one hand in front of her, considering how to reply.]

To put it as I see it, to the best of my ability... His goal was to achieve calamitous destruction and chaos. He founded the Allagan Empire to accomplish that, and then manipulated it from within to see it done. That, therefore, was a success to his merits. The remnants of Allagen technology were, I believe, an unexpected benefit, but ones that often required the active intervention of he himself and his comrades in this endeavor. Thus to my view, though the factors fortunately aligned to favor him, they would not have accomplished nearly so much towards his goal without his continued effort and intervention.

Yes, that does speak more to his active influence.

I suppose by comparison I might posit that if I were to kill a king, I would only have killed a king. Even if it were my intent to destabilize the nation, I could claim nothing more than foresight were it to then fall into ruin. I would not be responsible for creating the conditions which made it so precarious, only for seeing them.

It would seem your Emperor saw clearly the conditions of his world, and took repeated advantage to steer it along his desires. I might not call that chaos, under a guiding hand, though it would seem it to others.

Ah, to clarify two points. To the first, Emperor Xande was a pawn in this game as well, though by no means an innocent one. To the second, chaos was the literal and stated goal and desire.

[Venat laughs, brightly, stretching her arms out as if she's preparing for physical exertion.]

The history is lengthy, but I shall attempt to sum it up succinctly: Etheirys consists of the Source and reflections of it called Shards, all of which are parts of a sundered whole. The Ascians, of whom the man I have spoken of was paramount, sought to rejoin the Shards to the Source. Their method to do so was by causing a great imbalance in the aether of the land, which would cause the Shard biased to that element to merge with the Source. Such imbalance comes from chaos and destruction. And so when I say that chaos was the stated goal in creating the Allagan Empire, that goal was itself in service to a larger one.

[Sephiroth shrugs.]

I believe we may be at a semantic impass in our understanding of the meaning of "chaos." Never mind it.

What would happen if all of these Shards were to merge with the Source?

[A fair-enough statement, and one she does not mind abiding by. ]

With the fourteen parts of their souls rejoined, mankind would become as it once was: living as long as each one pleased, gifted with creation magics, able to shape the world as it will. The price of doing so would be, of course, the murder of all other beings. Twice over, for once they regained that world, they would sacrifice all the life that remained to restore those who once sacrificed themselves to preserve those who remained. They would recreate a paradise that once was, building it on the bones and souls of others... and then they would die, in time, one way or another, for such a society cannot persist eternally.

Hmm. I would hesitate to call such a world a paradise.

[Of course he sought that kind of power and had no qualms about its price. But the thing is...

Humans suck.]

[To that, Venat must nod.]

I use their words. The truth of it is that we were spared suffering for a time, but 'a time' is not 'all time', and the lack did more to rob people of their resilience and determination to continue forwards than it did to help them grown and develop. They wish to live in the past, but that is not possible.

No. It's a foolish notion, to live in the past. All you can create of it is an illusion.

Just so. And such a return would not banish suffering forevermore, but rather, beg for increasingly terrible means to preserve that lack. Unfortunately, this was not a truth our society could embrace...

[Long ago as it might have been, that fact still brings her grief. The more so with others of her people here, each of them touched by that truth in different ways.]

[He studies her for a moment.]

So, where is it that you fall within this history?

[Ah. An inevitable question, with an answer that perhaps sounds like braggadocio. All she can do is state the simple truth.]

I am the one who sundered the world, and watched over mankind thereafter until the day came when it could find its own way.

...you are the one who broke these Shards from their Source?

[It is quite a claim, but he won't discount it. He is the son of a being millennia old, after all.]

I made the choice to do so, and by my will was it done.

[In other words: it's slightly more complicated, but don't worry about it.]

Hmm.

Well, I think I ought at least to know the name of such a person.

My name is Venat.

[To accompany this introduction, she merely touches her own chest in indication and inclines her head slightly. No bows, handshakes, or other formalities to be seen here.]

[That's fine. He prefers it this way, and will incline his head slightly in turn.]

It is good to make your acquaintance, Venat.

Likewise. I delight in meeting new people, and even more in hearing what tales they have to share. Your world sounds worth knowing of, and I would hope to hear more in time.

[He can hardly say he delights in meeting people, but...]

Indeed. It does present a unique opportunity.

Unique in some respects, but not in others. As fascinating as a new world is, any world we know is too large for a person to take it all in, no matter how long their lifespan. New and wonderful stories will ever keep coming.

True, a single planet holds quite a lot. But it's only in knowing multiple worlds that one can draw connections between them. Otherwise, certain things can only be speculation and hypothesis.

Indeed so. But one must be cautious of drawing parallels without a full understanding. Which is not to say that one must never draw parallels, for a full understanding is something to be reached for but never accomplished -- it is but a note of caution.

Philosophically, one might say that each person is a full world of their own, for the same object or event will be seen differently by each, inevitably.

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