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

Elias | OC (DnD)

[beigeacademia]

[ooc: OC information here (it's a wip but it's got the basics); tldr is that he’s a dnd wizard guy of the underpaid college TA flavor.]

I. Bookworms of the World Unite [Somnius]

The Raven's Quill: A library. [...] Nobody works here (yet) so enjoy how unorganized and out of sorts the library is. You wanted to find a book that starts with "C"? It's probably over there in the "H" section.
     —Locations page

[Nobody worked at the library yesterday. Someone’s working there now.

After a really rough twenty-four hours, with the contract he apparently signed, death, the whole works, Elias’ snapping point was going to the library and finding CREATURES OF VISIUM in the “H” section. No one needs to know the finer details of his mental breakdown in the Somnius library, but it’s over now, and he’s decided that his Coping Mechanism is going to be re-organising this disgrace of a library.

Anyone entering the Raven’s Quill will find a good quarter of the shelves empty, and all their books stacked in piling heaps on the nearby tables. Elias, a bespectacled man in his late twenties, is hurrying between the shelves and the tables like a mouse in a fairytale- but one of those fairytales where the mouse is a tallish white man- picking up a few books at a time and shelving them in the correct places.]

Please don’t touch anything, what do you need?

[To be honest, you probably won’t have a harder time finding anything now than you did before.]

[potentiae]

[ Being without her magic is a mixed bag, for Poppy. On the one hand, without any divinatory abilities, she's fairly certain her contract has become null and void. On the other hand, she (1) has no memory of signing any new contract, and (2) has lived her life so reliant on magic that being without it feels like she is a small child again, walking around unable to actually DO or ACCOMPLISH anything. It is endlessly frustrating, but she hopes that there is some end to the frustration in sight when she finds the library in town.

Walking inside, however, and seeing the place a complete mess... She isn't so sure. ]

What are you doing?

[ Forget what she needs, she needs to know what the hells is going on here. Bossy halfling girl is bossy. ]

[beigeacademia]

[He pauses at the sound of Poppy’s voice and turns to look. The almost-silver of her hair is what catches his eye first, bright against the wood and stone- she looks young, to him. He knows people at that age do make their way in the world but now that he’s older he can’t help thinking, like. Are her parents around? Or a mentor figure, someone who knows how to rent lodgings and what a scam looks like?

Elias is concerned enough with the likelihood that the young lady is alone that it would take a lot of rudeness for him to judge her bossy.]

I’m- re-organising the books here. Are you looking for a book on something? The A-F shelves are all on the tables, but the shelves are barely organised so you might have to look around either way.

[Her safety is not really his problem. He tries to sound open to helping her anyway, because if she is looking for something and keeps talking to him, he can be more sure that this is someone who can take care of herself and won’t get suckered into an MLM marketing scheme exploitative arrangement of some sort.]

[potentiae]

[ The utter chaos of the tables filled with books is somewhat frustrating, when she'd been expecting a neat, orderly library like the one she was used to at school. But it will have to do.

Unfortunately, the information she's seeking would not fall under A-F, so she starts walking around, scanning over the titles on the spines. ]

I'm trying to find something that will help me identify this. [ She holds up the vial she had found in the satchel she arrived with, filled with some kind of red potion. ] The only clue I have to go on is that whoever brought me here wants me to drink it. So I have to assume it's not poison, because why would they bring me here only to kill me, when they could have spared the trouble and killed me where I was?

[beigeacademia]

Oh- I got something similar. Maybe everyone has one?

[He pulls out his own vial from a coat pocket, and goes to hold it out near Poppy’s for comparison- they do look almost the same.]

That makes sense, but we know so little about the laws of magic here that it’s hard to say if that’s true. Or it might be nonpoisonous but turn us into more of the townsfolk. [Conspiracy theory!!] I didn’t see any book about these when I was browsing, but it’s worth a shot.

[He frowns as he says the last line, storing his potion away again. He’s not optimistic that the secrets of the world will be in these books, given how poorly-maintained the place is… but might as well keep an eye out, right?]

[schmisse]

[ The library has got to be a good place to look for answers, yes? Because that is where Weiss goes to, determined to learn more about this potion, if there's anything on it, and the history of this place. She could very well be dead for all she knows, not completely trusting what she'd read upon waking up.

Walking inside though, and seeing that the library is in the middle of an overhaul? Her sense of urgency is slowly put away and replaced by a need to fix things and put everything in order. ]

Hi. I was... going to look for a book about magic, but I feel like I won't find it here any time soon.

[ Totally sideeyeing the stack of books on the table right now, because, wow. Messy. ]

Is this a bad time?

[beigeacademia]

Sorry, [is his instinctive reaction to the slight passive-aggression.] The library’s just- nothing was in order, so I’m trying to re-organise things. To be honest, you’ll probably have just an easy of a time finding things now.

[Not that he disagrees with the disapproval over the state of the library. It’s pretty bad! But working on this solvable problem is a good distraction from all the other, more concerning and less solvable, problems. Elias pauses to nod in greeting at the newcomer, but then continues picking out books starting with “C” from the pile.]

The shelves after F haven’t been taken out if you’d still like to take a look. [You'd think a magic book would still be under "M", but you know. Don't bank on it.]

[schmisse]

[ Whether or not he works here, Weiss just can't sit idly by and let a place be untidy and unorganised! Especially if it is a place for learning. ]

Are you just alphabetising all the books, then? I can help.

[ She can go searching for magic books later! ]

[beigeacademia]

Yes- just following the old system.

[He gestures to the wooden signs marking out the alphabets on various shelves.]

It’s not the best for nonfiction, come to think of it, but… it’s the quickest for now. Thank you for your help.

[It’s some relief to have like-minded company; something familiar in such an unfamiliar place.]

My name is Elias, by the way. And you are?

[nagano]

...A ledger, maybe.

[ The person he had entered with quickly shuffled her way out upon seeing the library in such disarray, but Kaito just kind of wanders his way in and begins picking up books at random. He's also tall-ish, but the easiest first impression folks tend to make with him is the fact that the rest of the world's colors have abandoned his wardrobe. It's almost completely black, save for some gold and white accents here and there. ]

This place looks like it hasn't been cared for very well, which is a shame. I was hoping to learn more about the world through some texts.

Are you a worker here, or just similarly appalled by the state of this mess? And if it's the latter... do you want a hand?

[beigeacademia]

What kind of ledger?

[Elias takes note of the all-black dress but doesn’t comment on it. It’s just another style, emos and necromancers do it, you know? What Kaito says, on the other hand, does make him pause with a sigh.]

It really hasn’t. There’s some basic information as far as I can tell, but nothing that answers how and why we’re here. And yes- I asked around if I could do some re-organisation of the place. The locals don’t even remember when the last librarian stopped working here!

[Can you believe it???? Okay, Elias can, but he’d rather complain about this than the whole woke-up-in-completely-unknown-world thing. It’s also a better conversation-starter.]

Help would be great. Though I won’t impose if this isn’t your kind of work.

[nagano]

Ah, just a joke in the vain hope that someone would have left some sort of encyclopedic text highlighting all the other books kept here.

[ While the other is talking, Kaito has started his own process of sorting whatever hasn't already been sifted through. His back is turned to the other, but he's nodding his head. ]

Back where I'm from, my clan has been maintaining a library for some thousand-something years. Granted, it was much bigger than this, but they had magic and familiars to help out. Doing all this work by hand will be a real pain in the ass, but someone's gotta take care of it or the cobwebs will simply keep growing.

[ Turning, he's got two fairly tall stacks of books cradled against his chest. His face just barely beeks out between them, a casual smile spread on his visible features. ]

Besides, even if there's nothing really useful as to how we wandered here, I plan to read everything. I like books.

Name's Kaito, by the by. Who are you?

[beigeacademia]

Pft. That’s a nice pipe dream.

[It takes so much paperwork to ask for new books in the library because his college just wants to fund more unethical wizardly experiments. Lmao.

Seeing that Kaito has turned away from him completely, Elias similarly goes back to sorting.]

You can call me Elias. I’m fond of books too. Your clan has a thousand-year-old library? That sounds really… [Elias glances up, meeting the other’s eyes; though his expression is neutral, it’s hard to keep the awe out of his voice.] -extravagant.

[fairfortune]

Oh–! So somebody does work here. [ Annaliese beams at him. ] I'm so sorry to interrupt – I was just hoping to browse rather than looking for anything in particular.

[ Maybe it says something about her own priorities that the library was one of her first stops here after arriving – yes, things are kind of wild and out of wack, but you can usually rely on a library to give you some idea of what any given place is like. Maybe she just wants something familiar to anchor her a little... or maybe she's just sticking her nose into everything. You decide, dear reader. ]

It seems as though you have your hands a little too full to be worrying about a patron, though. Has our sudden arrival put you out of sorts?

[beigeacademia]

[He’s already gotten misidentified once, he’s got to correct this immediately-]

Oh, no! I don’t work here! I mean-

[Elias is not sure why he’s so insistent on setting things straight. He’s basically doing a librarian’s job right now, even if it’s just to hold books in his hand to calm down find comfort in solving a solvable problem. He just doesn’t like being called the library’s custodian when he’s not calling himself that yet- it reminds him of the other agreement he doesn’t remember signing. Elias cuts himself off and sighs, leaning his weight on a hand against the table.]

I’m a recent arrival like you are. I just wanted to fix the library.

[Now the mood is kind of down and that’s not good. He’s trying to make this into a comfort place!]

Things are in a great state for browsing, honestly, I’ve come across a lot of interesting titles. Please feel free to browse.

[fairfortune]

Oh! So you're one of us, then. [ Her polite smile turns a little warmer and a little more casual. ] I suppose our arrival would have put you out of sorts, then.

[ Annaliese is enjoying herself about as much as one could reasonably enjoy a situation like this, but that doesn't mean she isn't a little unmoored by it all. She came here to the library for a bit of familiarity, after all – and she can't help but wonder, looking at him, if she's not the only one. ]

Would you like a bit of assistance? I'm sure it'll be in much better condition for browsing once everything's back where it belongs.

[emyoji]

[ He is absolutely exploring everywhere. It makes sense to investigate the library, because if any place should have accessible records, it would be there, right? But the initial visit is sadly disappointing. There are books, but all in disarray and he with none of his usual help to go through them. So Seimei gives in that first try.

He only happens to pass by again after a day or so, surprised to find an actual occupant scurrying around and looking very fixedly at his work. After a few minutes of silent watching, Seimei goes to one of the tables stacked high and picks up a random book. ]

Well, it wouldn't hurt to find some records on this place and its history. Do you live here?

[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.

[emyoji]

Oh? [ He looks surprised by that denial. ] But you're so familiar with it. Did you put all of these books out here?

[ And isn't he acting like he owns them already? It's just like a ghost carefully counting and sorting his possessions from life. ]

I suppose records like that would be in a restricted location. Ah, what a shame. Have you found any sort of textbooks in your excavation?

[watermemory]

[ There's something timeless about a library. Even if this is a dreaming fairyland, he'd come here to ground himself in something familiar. All that being said, Minato stops in his tracks at the disarray, looking less like a patron and more like a sheepish kid caught sneaking onto school property he shouldn't be in. ]

Ah... uh, no, I'm only browsing -- is this a bad time?

[ The (European? Do such descriptors matter in a dream?) man's frazzlement isn't lost on him, after all. ]

Hello!!!!! My tagbacks might be slow, my inbox is flooded aaaaaa

[beigeacademia]

[At least this adult’s frustration is clearly not directed at Minakami. Elias pauses what he’s doing to respond- more conversational rather than accusatory, because this is just a fellow person, and he’s had enough positive interactions with people coming in to feel more comfortable with having others around. He hasn’t seen a troublemaker yet. This is a booklover positivity zone.]

It’s as bad a time as ever, to be honest.

Uhm, feel free to browse, just don’t- put anything onto the wrong shelf, basically. It’s supposed to be alphabetical…

[He says, squinting at a book filled with large unlabelled diagrams of fish. Where does he put this?? There’s no title????]

no rest for the TA on his volunteer hours. ic.

[watermemory]

I see...?

[ He skirts gingerly around one of the towering stacks of books; but despite his efforts, he bumps into the corner of a table. Minakami manages to catch a hardcover before it slides off and smacks on the floor. He thinks, wryly, that of course if he's dreaming a library, it's only as muddled as his thoughts. ]

Is this a new shipment? There must be a catalogue or something, no? [ A pause, before he adds hurriedly, ] I-I don't mean to sound like I'm criticizing. Would you like a hand?

when you are both deeply sympathetic but also deeply unhelpful (you knew i was coming)

[fuckdogramagra]

[ Dream-worlds with deep, rich colors, but not quite enough colors, and cute spiraling streets that still obey some sense of logic. Everything is almost chic in a "rustic" way, like the illustrations from a Western book of fables.

It is driving him absolutely insane. These are not the sorts of things Tama dreams about; there's too much order under the layer of quaint, charming "chaos". It won't bend to his superior aesthetic sense, so maybe it's a bit childish to assume his delusions would be stronger in a library.

It's the sight of the emptied shelves, no doubt from the hell of an impromptu organizing, that strikes the right balance for him. This is familiar. He's at home here. An exhausted, soul-reaching sigh leaves him before he finally processes- right, person talking. Even a dream person- one who looks quite plain, this is such an odd dream for him!! -should probably get a response, or Frog Man was liable to cause an upset. ]

If you read in a dream, you wake up.

[ He's down his glasses, disheveled looking and hugging his arm to his chest, and he just wants to exert control on reality for this brief, shining moment. If only his assumption was completely true. ]

So, I'd like one wake-up, please.

(HELLOOOO! AND SORRY FOR THE DELAY i am too slow for my inbox;;) sympathetic but unhelpful:a musical

[beigeacademia]

[People have unique experiences and emotional breakdowns in college- or maybe just in wizard college, where everyone is blatantly breaking the laws of physics without any regard for the toll. Elias actually isn’t sure. But the point is that he finds the glassy-eyed quality of this newcomer’s stare familiar. It makes him think of students on their third consecutive all-nighter. It makes him sympathetic, but also very aware that what they want is likely just what they’re asking for and then to be left alone.]

...okay. Give me a moment.

[He shifts away two of the smaller stacks near the edge of a table to make space, then briskly hunts for the first titles that come to mind. He'll set two books down for Tamamori's consideration.]

Here’s a non-fiction pick.

[Field Guide to the Birds of Vermont. Nice book about birds, with colorful photos and maps of this Vermont place. Calming, hopefully.]

Or if you want fiction-

[Besides the first book, he sets down a comic book titled ONE-SNEEZE MAN (VOL 14).]

dw dw i will always wait for your tags uvu ......also sorry hes Unhinged

[fuckdogramagra]

[ The first thought that enters his head, of course, is what the heck is Vermont, but he picks the book up anyway because of my state bias; the little bird on the cover is cute, but also unsettling. Photogravures certainly didn't render in color in his time, and yet he can easily make out the crisp, minute feather details...was this a future-book?

It's only as he stands there and quickly thumbs through the book that the red line on his arm is made apparent- it's little more than the kind of thing someone would get from scraping against furniture, but still puffy and red. The cold of it hasn't completely sunk in to his bones, though, and the familiarity of the library setting is warming enough to keep it at bay.]

Oh. [ Right. He was trying to wake up, and yet...read the cover as if it were nothing. The thought only occurs when he glances down at the comic book, then back to the librarian(?). ] ...then it isn't a dream, just a delusion. Okay. [ Very unhinged things to say to a stranger, but...yeah also very all-nighter student who's melted their mind on their thesis sort of thing to say. ] Do you remember existing before now?