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buttrinthum2023-01-01 04:59 pm
TDM #1
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?
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).
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.
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.
Bonfire
She's used to the cold of the mountain, but she's still wearing shorts and short sleeves, so she huddles close to the fire and remembers to breathe. Everything is strange, but when isn't her life? Thankfully, Yuri normal gloomy expression (some people have resting bitch face, and then there's Yuri with resting 'about to break down sobbing at any moment' face.)
The man's question startles her a bit from staring into the fire and contemplating her entire life, though the question is a bit baffling.]
I... It's hard to choose. [She's done many things wrong, she feels, though most of it objectively wasn't on her. Still--] I...watched someone die. I wasn't able to save them. I wasn't strong enough to, at the time.
no subject
that ain't happenin' out here, is it? at least they aren't going to freeze to death while they divulge what could potentially be their deepest, darkest secrets.
of all the questions he could have asked and all the answers she could have given, she gives one that's … on the more positive end of the morality spectrum, because not being strong enough could be a matter of opinion, a matter of circumstance or both, and all of that in itself is a matter of perspective.
still, he chooses his words carefully. ) But you weren't the direct cause of their death, were you? ( ke asks, carefully objective. ) There's a pretty big difference between being unable to help someone and opting not to.
no subject
There's more nuance to this all, but it's better to stick with the more simple explanation]
Mm... I live at the base of a pretty infamous mountain. The people that go up there... they don't usually come back. Sometimes people came to my mentor asking her to find people that were-- lost up there.
One time, she'd been gone for quite a while. The girl who'd asked my mentor to find her friend came by and decided she couldn't wait any longer. She'd go up on the mountain herself too.
I... should've done more to stop her. But I wasn't particularly good with people, and I didn't know what to say. By the time I resolved to go after her, I was too late to save her from that place. [She pauses and then adds, as if in explanation:] It's cursed.
no subject
he listens to everything she gives over, allows it to roll around in his head for a moment before he bothers speaking up again. for once … he isn't immediately giving over some quip or some other thing to take the some of the edge off the severity, and we're proud of him for that. ) You can't … save everyone, no matter how much you might want to. ( he knows this from very personal experience, so you might want to trust him on it. ) And … as much as you might want to think it is, it isn't your responsibility to save someone from their decisions. ( hey. think about taking your own advice for once, would you? )
She probably would have gone no matter what you did or said, if she was that set on finding her friend. That you tried at all is commendable. At least to me. Who was she to you? You didn't have to try in the first place. ( he finally pauses to take a breath. )
It just makes you a good person for trying in the first place, and you should be proud of that.
no subject
But even when she failed, she still forced herself back up again. She had to, after all. She rests her forearms on her knees, locking her fingers together and rubbing her thumb over her knuckles.]
...Thank you. [She's been doing her best, but she needs to do better. Maybe if this place really can grant her wish...
Yuri looks up at him, quiet and contemplative. The blindfold he wears isn't even that strange, though she finds it-- amusing, sort of. It reminds her of the priestesses and the ability she shares with them. Would a blindfold stop them--or her? She's not sure, and she can't even tap into her power if she wanted to. Not that she usually wanted to.
It was surprisingly quiet without everyone's thoughts and feelings slamming into her head all the time.]
It's part of the job, however. But, even so... I've managed to grow since then. I'm not so afraid that I'll let it stop me from doing what I need to help. Though I'm afraid I'm a bit useless now... [She says this not to get sympathy, but as a rather matter-of-fact, er, fact.
She was, more or less, completely normal now.
Funny how she always wanted that.
Yuri shakes her head to clear it.] You're right though. It's not my place to change a decision like that. But I'd still like to be there for it, so they don't have to face their decision alone. [Whatever that might be.]
no subject
that's what life is all about, isn't it? falling, failing and getting back up to try again, to make yourself stronger so there's a chance you might be able to save one more person, or at the very least seal up a crack to keep even more from falling through.
( if only he'd been able to do that in time to save suguru from himself … ah, is he ever going to stop thinking of it like that? ) ) Just telling it like it is. ( as he very frequently … doesn't, because he has a penchant for being purposely cryptic and voluntarily leaving out key information, but she's being genuine, and so is he for a change.
in the stretch of time that has spanned between waking up in the garden and finding himself here, being bereft of his jujutsu and everything attached to it means that he doesn't necessarily need the blindfold, but he's gotten so used to covering his eyes that even without the advantage of knowing pretty much all things at all times and wanting that covering to sharpen everything just a little bit more, it's … a comfort, of sorts. makes him more difficult to read if he wants it to stay that way.
maybe he'll take it off and leave it off, one of these days. you'll just have to stay tuned and see.
he waves a hand, not so much dismissively as an acknowledgment of what she's said. ) As soon as you stop trying to make progress … you might as well be hitting a dead end of your own making. ( he muses, almost as though he's talking to himself and not another person. ) I prefer to see it more like … a temporary handicap, or something like that. You're never useless unless you choose to be. ( look at you, sounding like a whole ass teacher like you're supposed to be.
he turns to face her fully at the last bit she gives, and he lifts one edge of the blindfold to get a good look at her face, the sincerity in her expression, and in turn she'll get a vibrant flash of blue. )
You have a good heart, you know that? What's your name?
no subject
She rubs her thumb over her knuckles and makes a 'mm' noise of understanding, nodding.] That's true... [No one's ever useless, everyone plays some part, some role.
The compliment makes her look up in alarm, less because she doesn't believe it, but more like she's not sure what to do upon receiving one.] Oh, no, I just... [She begins, protest trailing off weakly.] It... just should be normal, shouldn't it...?
[Though she knows it's not, not really. But still.
Right, introductions. She shifts a little to face him more, bobbing her head in a brief polite greeting] Kozukata Yuri. Pleased to meet you...? [She trails off and looks expectantly for his name]
no subject
there's a great deal of difference between words like useless and helpless; he thinks, in their situation, they're more the latter than the former, because none of them opted to have their powers taken away from them. they don't know they'll have the chance to earn some of their powers back, but that's neither here nor there, so we're just going to move right along.
he chuckles a bit under his breath at her reaction to the compliment. ) Well, yes, but it isn't, so I like to point certain things out when I see them. ( he's being a little bit cheeky on purpose, because of course he is, and if they cross paths after this, she'll find that out pretty quickly. )
Gojo Satoru, at your service. ( he extends his hand to give hers a brief shake, if she obliges him. )