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buttrinthum2023-06-30 11:42 am
TDM #4
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: honeysuckles & day lilies Time spent too close to the day lily invokes a state of forgetfulnesss. The longer characters stay in the garden, especially if they are close to the day lilies, they will begin to forget important things about themselves. What they forget is up to the player, but longer time spent in the garden can reduce them to a completely amnesic state. Better hurry out and try to find the way out while you can! Honeysuckles will have no effect on characters unless they decide to drink the sap from them. The honeysuckle nectar will give characters a temporary power boost. This applies to characters who have drank their potion or have regained their powers. This might be useful to salvage for later, especially considering the chaos that goes on in Somnius!
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. ]
Speaking of chaos, the current state of Somnius is.. not great. It's not by any other means than a natural disaster that is completely a coincidence and not because Dreamers rebelled against the Skeksis and didn't heed to townsfolk warnings, right? Right.
As the weather gets hotter and hotter, the obvious side effects become clear - most notably, the townspeople are closing up shop until the weather settles down. The usual markets don’t open in the wee hours of the morning and even the blacksmith has laid down his hammer during the midpoint of the days, trying to avoid the peak of the warm rush. Anyone trying to speak to the townsfolk about the sudden change in weather will find them oddly standoffish and almost rude - it’s obvious who they’re blaming for their predicament.
Another clearly dissatisfied group of society are the mermaids of Lake Omen, who may be spotted more regularly than usual across the span of the boiling hot heat. While still a rare sight, the warmth of the water encouraged a few more angry and bitter of their kind to poke their heads out and try and find the source of their woes - hand in hand with their usual siren call. It may be possible to have them leave you be if you offer them something a little on the cooler side, but with the weather as it is… It might end up being more of a challenge than anticipated.
The days go by and it doesn’t seem as though the heat is ebbing in the least, the sun blazing in the sky and the shops still kept under tight lock and key. Even some of the town staples - the bakery and the inn - have their doors close to strangers, trying to find some means of keeping cool. As the days go by, characters that have affinity to fire (or any kind of fire power!) may find that their powers are a little… Out of control.
With the sun high in the sky and blazing hot, some fire seems to be going a little haywire across Visium and not acting as it should. Be it burning a little hotter than intended, blazing out of control or simply refusing to work whatsoever, fire powers are acting with a mind of their own. Characters who have fire-related powers, be it their own or through potions, may experience the same hazards, on a scale of disobedience to refusal to work.
Finally, the heat does seem to die down and the townsfolk release themselves from their self-inflicted isolation, but they’re still not completely at ease with the strangers and keep them at an arms length: some things are not easily forgotten, and the damage seems to have been done when it comes to the skeksis. They may speak to characters once the heatwave is over, but will consistently refuse to talk about the Skeksis, the attack or anything to do with the taxes. You had your chance, you blew it.
Somnius has, from everyone's knowledge, always been nestled around a giant labyrinth built by The Almighty Lord Vaeros, as some townsfolk say. What's so good about a lord who seems to leave a town in shambles and doesn't seem to help? He's sus. Everything about this is sus.
However, one morning during the heatwave, both townsfolk and Dreamers alike will hear a crumble and a crash.. almost as if a wall is broken. The labyrinth has always been indestructible, but as Dreamers investigate, they will find a hole broken through the labyrinth, opening up to a new era. Should you go through the hole, Dreamers will see an area they haven't ever seen before...
Welcome to the New Location: Indigo Sand Grove. As the name implies, the sand here isn't white or.. well.. sandy colored, but instead a beautiful dark blue with the occasional glitter grains. It almost appears black if the scorching sun isn't hitting it just right. Any other foliage or trees seen here will be typical of Earthly tropical beaches with the occasional unidentifiable vegetation. All in all, Indigo Sand Grove and its beaches seem welcoming and not harmful at all. In fact, there are bamboo garden chairs sitting out, enticing people to have a beach party and sun bathe! As soon as characters touch their feet into the indigo sands, their clothing will change into a swimsuit from their home. The swimsuit is for keeps! Enjoy!
The sea is safe to swim in, filled with typical fish that would come from Earth and crystal clear waters. Characters will feel a sense of joy on the beach. It's not a forceful kind of magic, but something about this place really wants you to have a good time, so why not take advantage of that?
CW: bugs, beetle imageryAlong with a swimsuit, characters will find a bamboo net, designed for hunting beetles. You may see that there is a bamboo forest neighboring the sandy beach where characters will find insects to capture with their net. If capturing beetles isn't your forte, maybe just go up to the person you have a close bond with and hit them over the head with your net. The choice is yours.
Among the typical insects, there are three types of horned beetles. Anyone familiar with beetle fighting may see this as an opportunity to find their new pet, but those with money on the mind may find out that the townsfolk will purchase beetles for bonus shards. Here are the types of beetles and their values:
CLICK FOR BEETLES!
Horned Dynastid (Red): 5 bonus shards.
Horned Atlas (Black): 10 bonus shards.
Horned Hercules (Gold): 15 bonus shards.
There will be a ruined down, old sign on the main path in the bamboo forest that lists these types of beetles and their price. Team up together and enter the forest to find a fortune!
On the morning of the 1st, some dreamers will receive a message from an unknown user.
Who or what has broken your heart before?
They will feel compelled to respond with a truthful answer, as if their brains had gone into a trance, and before they know it, their response will be there for everyone to see. It cannot be deleted or changed. The user will not respond personally, but you get the sense they are definitely reading. Characters who are disinterested in romance can also mention familial or platonic heartbreak. It can also be a devastating event or anything else.
[ This is an additional network option for characters to interact with. Feel free to add a network prompt into any of your top levels. If you do not want to interact with this prompt, simply assume your character did not get the message. All threads are public unless actively privated by characters. We generally encourage threadjacking and engagement, so feel free to mention if threadjacking is fine with you so that others are aware. Note that the NPC will not be actively responding. ]
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 and Old characters are welcome to top level on the TDM. Please state in the header if you are a new or old player! Also, new characters may link their top levels under the new character comment so they are easier to find. Thanks for your cooperation!
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.
Unique to this TDM, we have a beetle hunting event. Be sure to comment under the RNG Beetle Hunt to see which beetle your character finds in order to exchange later for bonus shards! One RNG per character, please.
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[He's pretty sure.]
[Then again, what the fuck is "normal" anyway?]
I like partner too, because partner in crime. [Okay hands are getting doused. Weeeeeee!] Arigato, love. [Bows his head to Klaus!]
I forget what blue does. Klaus and mine and my second in command's were all red. So elemental powers. Fire, water, electricity, or the like. But gold makes you turn into a monster. One of my generals became a kitsune, and another woman became a dragon. I wanted to be Godzilla.
[THE DREAM LIVES ON! And he's got a distant sort of sparkly eyed gaze. ONE DAY HE WILL TRAMPLE YOU TOKYO!!!]
And yes, the Alice in the Wonderland reference made me a bit leery -- except as I said, I wanted to be godzilla, and I already saw my general foolishly drank his. [Pretty much on a "fuck everything, why not?" moment.]
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[Klaus also doesn't know what blue does, but Shiranui had blue. That much they do know.] And it's okay, Tanya. You didn't know.
You always want to be Godzilla, babe. [There's a laugh at that.] I am gonna have to use my phone in a moment, though. I have someone to reach out to really quick.
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I suppose I'll ask around to see what I can expect from it.
[After that, she looks up, and her eyes dart between Klaus and Nobunaga. This is surely the correct move.]
What... Who is Godzilla?
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[This is a joke, because it's well out of his own time, and she's not from his world and Nobunaga hasn't even seen the movies???]
Japan got bombed in World War 2 and the nuclear fallout used for energy turned a lizard into a giant plasma ray breathing monster and he fights aliens and the Defense Force tries to kill him but all the rockets bounce off of him harmlessly! And sometimes he goes to America because there's more nuclear fallout there, because they're the ones who bombed Japan -- they're friends now, and he wrecks the cities stomping around crash bang!
[All the enthusiasm and story telling of a 5 year old.]
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[And that's the short of it. They take both hands in one hand, reaching for the phone. He looks for the Doctor before sending a quick message.]
Heeeeeyyyyyyy. How's it going? Are you busy right now?
[But back to the in person conversation.] I'm sure he could go on for hours and he, no doubt, will.
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That's fine with me. I don't have anything else I need to be doing, so...
[She shrugs, and turns back to Nobunaga.]
Why does Godzilla go around destroying cities, then? [At this point, she's asking just to see how he can butcher the next explanation.]
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Because they're in the way.
Oh, and to punish puny foolish humans for destroying the world and encroaching in on his mighty territory!
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Is it really punishment, though? In the first situation you described, it wasn't the population that he attacks that caused the "nuclear fallout," whatever that is, which agitated and empowered him in the first place. That sounds more like an animal lashing out than a purposeful defense of his territory's borders.
[She's also fulfilling her orders to bother this man.]
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That's true. But the cities existed before him? I think. [Thinks harder. Godzilla is a mystery.] He might be a dinosaur. Do you know what dinosaurs are? [He's not being patronizing, literally the field of paleontology only came about in the 19th century, some 250 years after Nobunaga, so...]
[It was sort of like when Clarke told him there's an entire fucking continent no one in Japan knew about called Australia.]
[Like. What the fuck.]
[And then everyone was like "How are you going to take over the world when you didn't even know Australia existed?"]
[Jokes on them, he can do it even without knowing so there.] There is also mecha godzilla, Klaus won me his plushie at the fair. He wears armor like me. [Nod nod. Totally knows the plot. Totally.]
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Klaus doesn't know the plot of Godzilla either, so it's not like he can say anything, but it's definitely funny to watch.]
You're cute when you ramble nonsensically about Godzilla, babe. [Just a little forehead kiss. Keeping in PG for the children.]
Maybe we'll get a Godzilla movie sometime and you can watch it and know what happened.
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Hallo.
[He beams and looks at Klaus and Nobunaga before looking at the smaller being in the area.]
Hi, I'm The Doctor, who are you?
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Ta- [She snaps a salute, staring at him (well, the dragon, really) with wide, stunned eyes.] Tanya von Degurechaff, sir Doctor! An honor to meet you!
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On the other, she's not really in a position to leave a bad first impression on this guy. He's her ticket to living in an actual castle. She lucked out with the salute not seeming to affect him, but turning him down outright is a whole other matter.
On the third, mutant hand, dragons are pretty cool, actually.
Having considered all the relevant positions, Tanya steels herself and approaches Rose, reaching a tiny hand out to be sniffed.]
Hello... Rose.
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[Not that Klaus understands how dragons grow. It's just a weird adventure at this point. They do make a mental note that Tanya seems less like she's jumping at the possibility of a dragon, but that's probably fair.]
Sup, Doctor? How's it going?
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Seiryuu is only wolf size I think?
[He was blushing furiously at Klaus forehead kissing him! HE IS NOT MOE DAMN IT!!!]
[But the distraction helps.]
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[Ten beams] Brillant! I am loving the beach! Blimey! I don't know why I haven't whuts the term beached sooner? Mind you, I've been to other planets with beaches just haven't done - nothing on them.
[The Doctor raises his brows, that could be flirting or could be 'what's the danger?']
You rang?
And how are you - Nob?
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Tentatively, she will attempt to pat Rose, gently. She's just going to stay off to the side and let Klaus explain things, for now. That's the point of having a negotiator using their contacts for you, it's basic business sense!]
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Is Nob his new nickname? [That earns a little snicker.]
But yes. I did ring. I was kiiiiind of hoping you either knew where Tanya could live or see if you had space for her at your place? I'm kinda out of space and like I figure you're responsible enough for kids. [More responsible than he is anyway.] She's eleven and willing to do chores or whatever to earn her keep. Her words, not mine. She's pretty serious about doing something to help out.
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[He points a finger to Klaus.] Only Klaus gets to give me pet names. [And then back to his usual smugness.] Or Simba if you're willing follow Klaus' lead and resign your claim to the title.
[To clarify to Klaus:] He thinks he is the true lion king, but I know he is wrong.
[And then a beat. He probably should talk to Klaus in private too. They could get a bigger place. He's mentioned this problem before but --]
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[His eyes narrow. It's not inaccurate to say he "trusts" the Doctor -- beyond not trusting ANYONE (except Tayrey, long story) rather he trusts motivations -- but the Doctor fought to end an even larger war than Nobunaga ever dealt with, and succeeded. So he "trusts" that the Doctor would definitely mean well, strive to protect her, and help her in this new world. But that's not always want someone wants.]
Understand, [Slowly. Carefully. Because he knows Tayrey. Tanya might be only 11, (debatable) but Tayrey had her reasons for child soldiering and it's something of a trigger for Klaus. Meanwhile Nobunaga isn't immune to his own issues remembering Oichi, and as close as he gets to regret there. She wanted to be a princess, but was it only because he wouldn't let her be a general? She'd have made a great general, if he could have allowed it.] You are not without autonomy. [Not the usual word choice for an 11 year old, but she's already expressed more vocabulary than Klaus usually does -- minus the 21st century slang or pop culture references.] Nothing that happens is happening to you. You get to happen on the world, okay?
The Doctor is not a military man. [Total opposite. Intense civilian, anti-weapons, and chaos personified. Like Klaus. Nobunaga might like it, Tayrey would hate it, and Hideyoshi would also... not enjoy it.] If you wish to be a princess in a castle, definitely join his side, he will enable that to a very large degree. If you wish a more rigid training environment, because it's familiar and less unknown, or to get stronger to make your way independently here, Klaus and I will work that out for you, okay?
[He holds up a hand, supreme commander, clearly a general of a huge army from birth and reflexively giving troops orders even now, silencing all the adults, and pausing everyone before they can react.] It is your decision, your paths, your freedom. And it is perfectly okay to try something out and change your mind later, understood?
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She nods at him, stops, and then bows instead, eyes fixed onto the ground.]
Understood. For now, I... would like to go with this. [She rises, and her eyes slide towards the Doctor.] If it's possible. Like Klaus said, I have no intention of being a burden.
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We do have room, yes.
[Ooops hit a nerve by calling someone Nob.] Sorry. No, can't resign the title, sorry. Because I am her, Simba.
[The Doctor is quiet as Oda rambles. There's nothing wrong with giving her a choice. But The Doctor would disagree with Oda on her playing princess. He doesn't want her to not be able to defend herself. He just doesn't allow guns. He does encourage his companions to use their brains and to use the environment to their advantage but he also isn't looking to train an army. However, he remains silent and keeps his face neutral because it is her choice.]
Oh, I'm sure you won't be. You'll be brillant!
[The Doctor beams and offers his hand to her.]
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Thank you, Doctor. I have every intention of exceeding your expectations of me. [She'll just need to figure out what those are. She somehow doubts he's going to be like a standard landlord, and that's not just because of the extremely nonstandard situation they're all in.
She lets go of the Doctor's hand, and turns to Klaus and Nobunaga, smoothing her smile out into something more serious. She inclines her head at them.]
And, thank you too, Klaus, Nobunaga. I'm not sure what I would have done if I hadn't met the two of you.
[Always thank your negotiator, and whoever they brought along! Basic business, again.]
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