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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 ventured rather tentatively, "Do you think that this could be such a situation as that? At least from the brief time you've been here?"
It felt better of course, to be able to converse with Caleb like this-- to hold their minds together like so and gain some sort of mutually defined clarity, he still remembered the thrill of their collaboration and how good it had felt to work out something between, to find a obstacle and attack it head-on. "Granted, I know we have not been here very long at all and we have yet to find our footing."
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He offers Essek a smile. "You are right, of course. We have much to learn still. But I feel more reassured that we will learn it together."
Caleb remembered their collaboration too, how they'd worked and created something entirely new, something that had eventually led to helping his dearest friend.
no subject
Off came his sunhat and his shades which he allowed the brim to float on the waters, alongside those purple prism shades, and then he slowly lowered himself into the water until he was submerged.
This was like a bathtub, he reminded himself-- a big blue bathtub. However he did not spend more time then necessary, his fingers finding something ridged but surprisingly smooth. And then he rose back up; normally perfect hair now waterlogged and hanging in his eyes, but within his fingers he held a clamshell somewhat cracked, the glimmer of something within it's depths. He recognized this nearly instantly-- these were.. pearls.
He made his fingertips colder, and then gripped around the shell-- there was the brief pressure before a give and then he peered within it to see a perfectly formed saltwater pearl set upon a greyish pink bed of oyster flesh, a pearl that glimmered with soft hints of opalescent pastels-- creams in different pastel hues. He recalled Caleb pushing pearls into his hands in Aeor, with the 'they go so fast'. A memory, a beautiful one-- one that had happened perhaps a week ago but now felt so distant.
And then he held the clam out to Caleb. "They go so fast, Caleb Widogast." an offering rife with meaning.
no subject
He couldn't help a smile as Essek emerged, that always-perfect hair wet and delightfully out of place. Curiosity drew his eyes down to the object in the drow's hand. A clamshell?
Looking down as it was pressed into his hand, he saw the pearl lying therein, looked back up with wide eyes as Essek spoke his own words back to him. Oh. He closed his fingers around it. Pulling it back to his chest. "Ja. They do. Best to keep this close."
He stepped forward almost unconsciously, but his foot hit upon something as well. Now it was Caleb's turn to slip beneath the water, to surface with an oyster shell likewise cracked by impact with some stone, showing the pearl within -- this one tinted just a bit darker than cream, as if it wanted to verge into something more lavender, a softer gray.
With another smile, he held it out. "You should, as well."
no subject
Change and Time--
Two things that they were the best at, were their specialties.
Instead Caleb was leaning down into the water and he too pulled out an oyster and then it was Essek's turn to be surprised, and then he was fond as he held out his palm to accept it but his own hands were reverent. A soft shyness flutterer across his features and it was clearly viewable due to his lack of hat and shades. "Thank you for this.. it feels meaningful, this exchange." This was not a pearl he could use for magic-- he already understood this clearly. The pearl was symbolic, it felt rife with possibility the sorts of which had underscored their current trip to Aeor.
"I will treasure it."
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"I will too." Always.
He stepped closer then, maybe too close, only catching himself at the last moment before he went and did something too foolish, too bold. Instead he glances down to the pearl in his hand.]
no subject
But it existed.
It was there such as those oysters had been. He slowly took the pearl that he gave to Caleb and the very softly pressed the pearl for a moment to the center of Caleb's forehead. Fortune's Favor.
Essek's favor.
It was a powerful move, but so very subtle within it's intensity. There was no somantic save for that, but rather a memory and a pact of their goals, to get stronger-- together. And then after he whispered the verbal components, he dropped the pearl right back into that roughened and calloused palm with his own smooth and delicate fingers.
"We should enjoy the waves and the sand, yes?" to have a carefree afternoon for once while the sun set in the horizon beyond them.
no subject
It softened, after a moment, into a smile, gentle and touched as he felt the pearl pressed back into his hand. Fingers curled around it, accidentally -- or perhaps with all intention -- brushing along Essek's as he did.
"Yes, we should. It would be a waste not to."
no subject
A smile, one that was neither forced nor enigmatic. It was a smile that hit his eyes along with the tender nuances of orange twilight, the tingle of fingertips with the anticipation with hours left of swimming and talking, of a moment shared between the two of them.
It was nice not to be alone, even though for years Essek had reconciled him with the concept of loneliness. When had the thought become so untenable? Or perhaps, it was not the absence of company, but rather the quality of company that lit a longing inside of him. No matter, it would be kept as close as the pearl was, held within his own palm-- and a symbol of a reuniting.