TDM #1

[labyrinmods]

Arrival / Enchanted Garden

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: poinsettias and mistletoe. You’ll soon find out that being around the poinsettias give you an odd sense of joy no matter how confusing the situation may seem and the mistletoe, which is left over from the holiday season, gives you the desire to kiss or hold hands with the nearest person to you. 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?

Somnius / Snow Angels

With the influx of new life, the humble town a barkeep tells you is called Somnius seems to come alive as well, with new faces to join that of the resident fairies, goblins and other townfolk. There’s bustling energy to the land that the townfolk will tell you wasn’t quite there before, and some suspect that the presence of the new arrivals might be powering the world around them in some way - but that’s a question to be answered on another day. The quaint town of Somnius needs a little bit of care, that rustic feel to the mushroom houses, old shops and weathered castles too evident at first glance, but it’s not a bad place to live, as the locals will tell you. It almost seems like everything will be okay…

But of course, things are never so simple.

Whether you have been wandering around to get your bearings, talking to the locals or exploring your new humble (very humble) abode, you can expect to find mysterious ice sculptures - fashioned in the shape of snow angels, with blades in their hands - appearing in random places around the town. There are some that manifest in the middle of the street, some that sit quietly at the edge of an inn, and even some that appear right beside your bed, staring at you as you wake up. It’s unclear how these sculptures even got here, but close proximity to them will conjure up feelings of unrest, like you should not step any closer.

It’s smart to trust your gut in these situations. Step too close to a snow angel and it will come to life, moving with the grace of flowing water. They make a vague request and will spare only those able to heed it.

“Cold … so cold … Even the days of Visium are so cold. Have you any warmth to spare us?”

Some angels will accept an article of clothing as warmth. Others are greedy and keep demanding more, wanting to take everything that you have on your body. Heed their requests and they will spare you. Resist even just a little, and that’s when they draw their swords.

It’s not too easy to defeat an angel with brute force given that they reform themselves immediately. Running away or blasting them with fire could do the trick. Be careful not to get cut by their blades, however…

Characters who get cut by their blades will experience an inconsolable sense of chill and emptiness, right down to their bones. They will find themselves desiring ‘warmth’ from others in different ways - whether through physical contact, or affectionate words and gestures. There might be the few who go feverish in their desire for warmth. For those characters – the open fireplace is looking like a very tantalizing place to sit in right now (Yes, sit in, not by). They might even feel compelled to pull a friend in with them. That can’t be good for anyone…

The effects will only subside if the condition of receiving ‘warmth’ is met. This can be in the literal sense (physical warmth and intimacy) or figurative (feelings of love, acceptance and happiness).

Bonfire

When night falls, the temperatures only drop further, which does no favours for the poor souls who had to give up their clothing. The locals want to welcome the new arrivals and give everyone an opportunity to unwind from a busy and chaotic day of being hunted by snow sculptures. That’s why they’ve set up a gathering in the middle of town square. Food and alcohol is being generously supplied by The Cask & Anvil, and marketplace vendors have set up pop up stands to try and cajole the new arrivals into purchasing some fancy new clothes or a pretty gemstone they claim will ward off danger (claims not verified).

At the center of it all is a large bonfire that’s warming up the square. Everyone is encouraged to warm themselves by it after a long day, eat, and make merry. In fact, there’s a certain sense of enchantment to the crackling fire that seems to draw even the shiest wallflower in, pushing them to sit with others and make conversation. As the night goes on, the newly arrived dreamers will find themselves settling easily into the warm and bustling mood, any stresses and anxieties melting away. With time, they’ll start to find themselves without a filter, more than happy to talk about themselves and the life they had led prior to coming to Visium. In fact, they will feel compelled to share a story from their past - one that might be joyous, comedic, thrilling, or tragic. Whatever sorts of feelings come attached to their story, it will be one of emotional significance.

In the back of their minds, they might get the sense someone else is listening.

OOC

Welcome to the labyrinthum TDM! 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. Yes, this includes the Labyrinth - though characters will not be able to clear the maze. Please comment here to request an outcome for your character's labyrinth exploration and a moderator will get to you shortly. (The longest a character can stay in the Labyrinth is 3 days.)

You can find more information about the game here. Any questions regarding the TDM can go under the comment below.

Comments

[beigeacademia]

If you’d like to help, I’d appreciate it greatly. Just start anywhere you want.

[This would go faster with more hands on deck, wouldn’t it?

Though as Elias returns to his own work, another thought occurs to him, spurred on by the young lady’s talk of potions:]

Did you get the other things, by the way? The parchment?

[callmeaprincess]

[That laugh is... mildly alarming. And confusing.]

You... eat it, then...?

[callmeaprincess]

They sound like wonderful relatives to live with.

If the chance arises, I would love to hear you sometime. If the wolves come close, I'm sure there are enough here to fend them off. [This is accompanied by a big smirk.]

Tama Mizumori | Hashihime of Old Book Town

[fuckdogramagra]

( Hello, this is the part where I direct curious onlookers to my warnings post. Also, you can use brackets or prose, I'll swap to match so no big! )

Somnius

After dreaming of so many small, boring conversations during his ordeal- a spot where his selective memory was already working it's magic -it was almost a relief to dream of somewhere with color and life to it. He'd bemusedly bobbed around the weird garden, critiquing the flowers for not being as colorful as his mind usually made, but they were quaint for it, he supposed? He drank the potion when it turned out delicious, and read and subsequently tossed the note tucked in to the satchel. In that moment of awakening, he was simply taken with the mundane fantasy before him, and enjoying what was probably a restful sleep while Kawase handled the heavy lifting of...what-have-yous with train derailments, and medical care for the passengers. He'd worked so hard!! He'd earned whatever rest this was, and he planned to enjoy it to its fullest, even if this dream was oddly drab!

It wouldn't occur to him that he'd done such a stupid thing for several hours. First, he had explored the town, poked his head in several shops and came away wanting. This was sort of a dull dream, for him! And no matter how he tried to inject color in to the world, nothing happened. Frog Man wasn't even there to lecture him about disturbing the peace or whatever, so unless the delusion was with Kawase somehow, this dream was being particularly stubborn. Tama knew how to handle this sort of creative stye though, how he'd handled every single other in his life- unceremoniously and with little regard for others, Tama spread his arms wide from his sides and...fell backwards. It wasn't as graceful a landing as he'd hoped- the ground happened to be quite solid, annoyingly -but he simply laid there with his head dizzy from clonking in to the earth. Even once the stars left his vision, he was stubbornly still lying there on the ground, glaring up at the sky as if daring the world itself to do something about his obstruction. Eventually, he gets to the point of gesturing his arms up at the sky.

"Do something else already...!!!"

(Yes, he's throwing a metaphorical tantrum. No, he's seemingly not ashamed of this fact.)

Re-Awakening

Eventually, Tama's boredom got the better of him. Homes? Wishes? That's all fake distractions, surely! The most eye-catching and wild thing about this irritating dream was the maze, so of course he ventured inside, harboring a growing unease that this was a trick instead of a dream. Hadn't he read something earlier? What had it said? He couldn't recall, and the potential of someone making a bland world to trap him in sounded just melodramatic and terrifying to be a possible revenge-

The ground gives way, and there's a feeling of both homesickness and familiarity from the tumble, then from this newly darkened form of the maze. When he notices a figure moving out of the corner of his eyes, he reaches out on instinct before processing who it even is, and it doesn't go to plan. His arm bumps a very real, icy blade as his mind tries to reconcile the delusion being cut down by a false one, and then he's suddenly panting awake again, sitting up in a rush and grabbing his arm tight to his chest.

The internal complaints about the flowers aren't as comforting the second time he recognizes the garden. It's all he can do to suppress his shuddering, and try to process what just happened around his gulps of air.

Bonfire

After the nasty second awakening, Tama's taken to avoiding looking at any signage. Everything in his bag is combed over for details, but he never does find the tossed-aside letter he'd been so careless with. His arm's not even really scratched, but the faint red line is cold in a way he hasn't felt in...a long, long time.

The bonfire feels like it's seemingly all that's keeping him from his usual bouts of sickness. He's a little too close to it, still trying to weigh out his earlier experiences, and their likelihood as simple delusions, or a malicious trap. It's alarming he can't tell the difference, but if that discomfort were enough to stop him then he wouldn't have survived as long as he had. Really, the issue is that he's getting drowsy from his exhaustive day- every so often he sort of lulls to the side, then has to snap back to sitting upright. At this rate, his very flammable hakama and kimono setup are going to turn him in to kindling, so maybe someone should shoo the guy away from the flames.

[callmeaprincess]

[They are very rich in red and green, aren't they?] You're right! And look at the pink streaks on the petals, the yellow speckles... like they're different varieties! Maybe they really will get up...

[Wait, that doesn't sound right once she says it out loud. She finds herself cautiously backing away from the nearest batch of the plants.]

Do, do we actually want them to dance?

💖

[illustro]

[It is still a thing that Noctis needs to process on the global spectrum and accept that there are people ready to die for him without blinking an eye. He still can't handle that fact, can't accept that some of his closest people are ready to jump in the fire just so he can live- sure, for a purpose, but it doesn't sit well with him, it never will.

And Somnus' statement, passed through the action of drinking that rather than words, is also something he still needs to digest. True, the Kings of Old were always there to help them out and support and guide and whatnot (according to his dad), but he didn't expect it like this.

The knot in his stomach does ease up a little when Somnus calls him Noctis- while he's proud of what and who he is, there'll be time to carry the King of Kings title- after he dies, like everyone else.]

...I know. [He nods.] I have your- I mean, I had your sword. [He flexes the palm of his hand and where usually sparks of his armiger would come, there's nothing.] I didn't lose it! [He's not sure if he even can lose it,] I just think- this place, I think it cut off my access to it.

[callmeaprincess]

[Wow, he really does have a crude mouth. Still not saying anything about it, though, because the rest of his statement is true. She stands up with him.]

If they're anything like the last one that took me to a garden, then we'll have to be sure to not tamper any of the...

... Are you all right?

[greatairplane]

[He blinked at her, clearly confused, for a long moment.]

I don't find it tedious??? I- I like to write. I just... I don't like having to change my ideas to satisfy the readers just because I have to eat. If I could write my stories and not have to worry about the basic necessities of life, it wouldn't matter if only one other person ever liked them. But writing for the love of writing doesn't pay the bills.

That doesn't mean I don't like to write.

[greatairplane]

None of the teachers at Cang Qiong have pets like that. I don't think any of them have a proper pet, period. I sure don't!

[He hefts one of the dogs up and does a little mental math on its weight.]

I wonder if I could get away with keeping a couple of these. I mean... taking them with me when I leave this room... It would have to be two, right? If I only took one, it might get lonely.

Ah, but if I took two, then they might still miss their friends and I don't know that I'd find this place again. Maybe it's better to leave them here.

[greatairplane]

[Having experienced both death and literal life after death, he feels he can speak on this and be considered credible. Of course, his life after death involved being transmigrated into the last novel he'd written and into the role of a two line, throw away villain meant as little more than footnote cannon fodder. But details, details.]

Anyway, near-fratricide. And it wasn't you doing the attempting murder, but your brothers?

[greatairplane]

My King easily lifts me one-handed, how can I be heavy?

[His king is an overpowered second-in-command to an overpowered protagonist. And his king is also an ice demon and could crush a skull without blinking when he was still a teenager. But explaining all that would take too long and ruin the perfectly good shade he just threw.

Which made him giggle. Which made him feel marginally warmer, oddly enough.]

I feel a little better. Keep talking. It's helping.

[forhire]

I'm not buying that. If they wanted you dead we would not be talking now.

(cloud pauses and looks at his own satchel. some note and a dubious yellow potion, can't mean much but there must be a reason for it. there's an audible huff as cloud looks romelle up and down. she doesn't appear to be armed or anything, but that doesn't mean much when his best friend could more than likely suplex a giant with her bare hands.

and then suddenly cloud smothers a burst of laughter with one hand, unable to contain whatever it is the plants have done to him. this whole thing is stupid and deadly serious, a kidnapping of multiple people and yet here he is, barely able to contain himself. even his eyes are beginning to water with mirth.)

What was in your satchel that makes finding it so i-important?

arrival

[gorigori]

(OOC: lmk if you're okay with same va shenanigans! if not i'm more than happy to change my tag.)

Ah!

[ she jumps in surprise when she hears the voice from behind. she nearly drops the potion in her hand, grabbing the neck just in time before it hits the ground. his voice sounded different from before -all wrong, the back of her head supplied- but maybe it's just the situation they both found themselves in. ]

Geez, now's not the time for surprises, Haya--

[ her voice dies in her throat when she turns around and finds a completely different boy in front her. she musters up a half-hearted smile. ]

... oh, forgive my manners. 'thought you were someone else.

3

[scourged]

(Ardyn had been spending his own time trying to navigate and understand the pathways through the town with the shockingly terrible name. Even in a new world after some odd and strange kidnapping, he can't seem to escape that man.

And, it seems, there's someone else Ardyn can't seem to avoid, though at least with this one he's more than happy to entertain. He watches for a short while, taking note of the snow angels that seem to want some kind of warmth and laughing to himself that Noctis has none to provide. Standard for the Lucis Caelum line, truly. Ardyn clears his throat before calling out, tone mirthful for now.)

Oh, I wouldn't trust him to buy a new jacket. He still owes me one!

[watermemory]

Eh, "usual"?

[ Wow ok. There's not much opportunity to sleep in at Madam's -- between the telephone ringer that practically rattles the walls, and the whole "supposed to be keeping a student's schedule" part. But: it's Kawase, so his protest is barely more than token. ]

...Is it really? Sorry. [ He raises himself up on his elbows to look around, letting the petal flutter to the ground. There's a calmness settling in him, that could be from the poinsettia's magic, but could just as easily be from the assurance that none of this is real. ] I've never had a dream-in-a-dream before. And I don't recognize any of these people. Couldn't it be one of theirs?

[mahoraga]

[ That someone ... will not be telling him. At least, not immediately, because he first needs to figure out what's going on and whether sharing that information would be a good idea or not. Megumi will be thinking about this, and it probably will come out at some point. Just not right now, because ... there's something else grabbing hold of both their attention.

He's used to being peered at by this man but that doesn't mean he likes it. It's especially annoying when he has this silly appendage stuck to his head. There's a very obvious bristling when he hears that comment about them being cute, and Gojo can probably hear the unsaid complaints going through his head. What part about this is cute? ]

You're making it sound like I was trying to become part-cat on purpose ...

[ That said, though, he doesn't find it too bad, given his love for animals. He just would have preferred something more canine, like a wolf. Anyway, he can already read his teacher's train of thought. He's curious about the potions. ]

Yellow. It's an animal transformation potion.

[illustro]

[Wow, excuse you Ardyn, he's already given up his jacket to one of the angels earlier for the said warmth. Unless he starts to completely undress, which is inappropriate as it is middle of the street, he needs to find some other way to placate this angel.

There is a brief pause as Noctis catches sight of Ardyn, frowns, then turns to the angel-] You know what, he's right. I'd rather go shirtless than be in debt to him, [he ducks as the angel tries to swipe at him again and finally, with deep sadness because that's the best (only) shirt he owns, takes off the garment and tosses it at the angel.

They stop- angel mid-swing with Noct's shirt in his hand and Noct, half-crouching, ready to sprint if the angel changes their mind suddenly. They do not, as they put the sword away and leave the street.

...and now he's shirtless. Fuck.]

[thefifthchild]

[Either he doesn't care about her reaction or he hasn't noticed it (it's the former, he's an asshole), he just walks closer and brushes his hand over one of the flowers.]

The fact that they're even remotely recognizable would indicate we're at least still... Earth adjacent. Or the plants were introduced into this world's natural ecosystem.

[Given he's met aliens who dressed up like him specifically because they only had his planet's tragedies for entertainment, he's not sure he can rule that out.

Suddenly, he plucks the rose she was talking about and puts it in his satchel.]

Are you a botanist? [Because that's the reasonable conclusion to come to.]

[watermemory]

[ It takes him a moment to focus on the stranger, although the kindly words do break through to him. Minato doesn't push past -- almost the opposite, drawing into himself when Seimei reaches to check his forehead. For what it's worth, he's not feverish, but given the melancholy state of his mind before he arrived here, being surrounded by basically magic flower serotonin may have ticked the balance over the other way. It's. Fine. ]

I -- yes. Sorry, I... sorry. I'm not usually... I must look absurd.

[ Deep breaths. Right. Yes. Equilibrium. He has that. Somewhere. ]

"We"... Are you not the one who wrote that note?

[scourged]

(Ardyn isn't sure what he'd expected, but the result is better than he could have hoped for. Before he can a sarcastic retort, Noctis is taking off his shirt and handing it over to the snow angel. For one glorious moment it seems as if the angel is debating the options and then suddenly it's over. Apparently dark and dirty royal shirts are all the rage for snow angels, who knew?

It's the best outcome, Ardyn would have had to intervene if the angel had truly made another move. Someone else taking down the "king" isn't acceptable in any shape or form to Ardyn and he gives a smile at just how bizarre all of this is. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought there was a chance Noctis Lucis Caelum would be killed by an angry pile of snow.)

Well you'll have to do something about that cold, Noct. I can tell you from experience that it's a killer.

(Walking over and looking helpful is too much effort, it seems.)

[frogmarched]

Well it's not mine. [Again, there's no way his imagination would conjure up something like this.] So it must be yours.

[Then again, he hadn't really accounted for any of the other people around. There's a few, so maybe it was someone else's dream... within a dream?] I don't recognize any of them either. Wouldn't it be more ridiculous to be in a complete stranger's dream...? [Genuine question, but given how strange it all was... he wasn't entirely taking it seriously either.]

...Are you gonna sit on the ground forever? [It's filthy!!]

[mahoraga]

[ There's a nod. Surely there has to be a town? The overseer had written on parchment, so it's not like they are in a land with no civilisation. They clearly have paper and ink, after all. He'll put the potion back in the satchel for now and continue walking down the garden path, keeping an ear out for any signs of other life around.

Megumi can't shake that odd vibe of a feeling around him, however. Like he'd like to be just a bit closer. Like he'd like to take her hand. It's not characteristic of him at all. Best to suppress it for now ... ]

Keep an ear out for signs of smoke or the sound of water. [ That usually means there's a village nearby. ]

We also don't call it that anymore, where I'm from ... [ It seems like an old word he would find in history books. ]

[watermemory]

[ At Tieria's response, Minato raises his eyebrows in turn: ] "Timespace?"

[ Still, he keeps talking in a casual tone: ]

It needn't mean anything. Anyone can write a publication date on a frontispiece and say it's five, ten, ten thousand years from now. Perhaps not the best for a reference library's credibility, I'll admit...

[trenchdoting]

No way! It- it ain't that bad! [He quickly protests.] I actually got a raise for once right before I got here, so I might be doing something right! Besides, what else would I even do? Detectiving's practically in my name, pal!

[beigeacademia]

[Elias glances up long enough to see who it is; enough people have come in at this point that he’s used to the sound of foreign footsteps in the building.]

No, I don’t live here- [why does everyone keep assuming this…] -no one does for now.

There aren’t many records that we’ve found here, I’m afraid. A few people have looked. If you manage to find anything interesting, I know a few names that'd be interested to know.