![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
labyrinmods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
buttrinthum2023-09-01 08:21 am
TDM#5
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: morning glory and gladiolus. Time spent too close to the morning glory flowers invokes a state of intense obsession. Obsession over an event, a person, or things/objects are all possible, but the victim’s drive to be involved with their obsession is intense and all-consuming. Be careful, not all obsessions are peaceful ones. Pollen from the gladiolus flowers will find their strength increased tenfold. It might make day-to-day interactions a little difficult especially when gripping a pen or a cup winds up in a broken utensil or shattered mug. Of course, no amount of strength can affect the labyrinth walls, however…
CW: mood altering substances
It is time. Everyone knows it, and there is no denying it. It is time for the dragons to leave. No effort to keep the dragons from leaving will work, the dragons themselves inexplicably compelled to leave. It’s both a happy and a sad time for the pairs who have helped raise these dragons, but even the parents know somehow that it is time.
Dreamers and their dragons have one last night on Starlight Cliff before the dragon’s departure. It’s a simple gathering, put together by those who cared for the dragons and those who favored them. Picnic fare and simple decorations with glowing lanterns and soft blankets decorate the grassy flat portion of the cliffs. As the dragons leave, they leave a gift— one each for their adoptive parents. Gold dragons leave behind an item that reminds their parents of a loved one, red dragons leave behind an item that reminds their parents of their childhood, and blue dragons leave behind an item that reminds their parents of the wish they made when they found their way here.
It’s important to note that all are welcome to this celebration and departure. Some dragon parents have commissioned the townsfolk to create gift pouches for attendees. Each pouch has several packages of colored dust that when thrown into the air creates shimmering lights and effects similar to fireworks. However, if misused, like when thrown on others it can cause hair color changes, temporary sparks glittering from fingertips that can cause things to smolder, or even dye clothes that will all then affect the mood of the wearer. Red can cause tempers to flare, blue can create a morose mood, green will inflict an amorous feeling, and yellow will induce generosity. Luckily, washing off the dust will remove all of these effects immediately. Maybe throwing a glass of water on someone might help?
[ In the interest of fairness, each character who helped raise a dragon will get only ONE gift from them, even if they have helped raise more than one. In the case of multiple colors, it is up to player choice which gift they receive.
Items received from the dragons must be mundane in nature; magically powered or mystical items are not allowed. Weapons are allowed if they are likewise mundane and could have been received based on the 50 shard reward.
Dragon parents who received a magical tattoo will find that their tattoo persists even after the dragons' departure. ]
CW: spiders, tentacles
It happens in the middle of the night, a rumbling and tearing of earth that ricochets shaking throughout the land. Nothing is damaged, but even the air is awash with a new scent like something old has reappeared. Those who investigate the origin of the disturbance will find a small portion of the island has risen up out of the sea. It's land damp, still dripping with saltwater and half covered in seaweed, at first glance there’s little remarkable about this new piece of land. That is until wandering past craggy rock and slick ground lands the most daring explorers right in front of a large cave entrance.
The environment inside changes almost immediately. Gray crumbling stone gives way to more surfaces giving way to shiny dark obsidian the deeper inside you go. It’s hard to see, the lighting nearly pitch black past the entrance. As the cave twists and turns, something ahead seems to glow. As pools of salt water in the grotto appear, so too does the glow increase. Water that shimmers like a starry night blots a patchy, swampy chamber, crystals of deep watery hues jut from the walls and ground, reflecting glowing light that seems to zigzag across plant life that grows from every corner. Pools of dark tar-like substances are a hazard, creating a mess and potentially trapping explorers who aren’t watching their footing. Webbing that looks crystalized decorates the darkest corners, and those who wander too close might disturb crystalline spiders that will defend their nests with a vengeance.
The deeper the explorers get, the more dangerous the cave seems to become, like it is a trial that must be passed in order to see what is in its deepest reaches. Mist and fog hide deeper pools that house mysterious creatures who will reach out with large suckered tentacles in an attempt to pull in stray creatures no matter their size, almost as if they’re looking to sate a driven hunger. Those who make it past these creatures will find traps laid out that when sprung will loop adventurers into rope and twine cages, netting, and loops. Unfortunately, these traps only seem to be able to be cut by the sharp edges of crystal growing in the cave. Hopefully, travelers have considered picking some up on their way…
But those who are sensitive to magic and will might sense an urge to press forward, guided by an unseen force to see their exploration through until they come across a spiraling staircase to the exit. Just watch out for that slick stone, which could send you all the way back down to the bottom, luckily any falls will be softened by glittering moss surrounding the base of the staircase.
CW: potential death, emetophobia, body horror
Past the Mystic Grotto, beyond the carved exit and dangerously thin path that stretches along a cliffside that drops straight down into the waters below, is a small outcropping suspiciously connected to the Labyrinth itself. Those who look closer will notice that the outcropping is home to an entrance into the labyrinth. Unfortunately, thorough investigation reveals that this older, more run-down section of the labyrinth does not connect to the one that is more familiar, almost as if it was cut off purposefully. Those who want to get to this portion of the labyrinth only have one option, and they will need to tread along the cliff path carefully, Falling from this path will only end in death.
Twists and turns will eventually lead to the main chamber of this section, wildly overgrown with greenery and inhabited by fireflies of different shapes and sizes all with a pleasant, soothing glow. Most important is the tall stone fountain, still somehow functional despite the apparent overgrowth and decay. Perhaps it is because the fountain is encased in something clear and glass-like, preventing anyone from actually touching or entering the pool of water. From each of the 5 spouts different colors of water pour down into the main pool to converge in an almost oil slick like appearance where the colors blend and mix together in places. Next to the fountain, a stone and wood contraption sits, levers still intact. Should a visitor decide to investigate the device, they’ll find that it is magically enchanted. Any attempt to harm the device will result in the character being blown back with force, enough to shove them off their feet or send them airborne into the walls of the room.
Pulling the lever, however, activates a groaning sound, and the exposed gears of the machine clamber into life as the sound of something opening and clattering echoes through what must be an empty stone chamber. Eventually, a small potion bottle filled with one of five colors (Purple, Brown, Teal, Chartreuse, Navy) rolls out of the ground and toward the operator’s feet. The colors seem misty inside, sparkly but dull, almost as if their mixture is incorrect or incomplete somehow. Upon opening the bottles, the scent that wafts out is foul: overly sweet but spoiled. But perhaps this is the way these potions are meant to be? Those brave (or stupid) enough to drink the potions they receive will struggle with stomach cramps moments later, others might feel the need to regurgitate the potion forcefully. Characters’ sight may blur and they may feel dizzy or ill at ease, but should they hold the potion down one of several things may occur.
⚗️ Teal potion drinkers will find themselves crying, unable to stop no matter how hard they try. Their tears will not stop flowing, and the fireflies in the area seem oddly attracted to the tears that drop from their eyes. It makes catching these creatures easy, but also an annoying hindrance to anyone who is subjected to crying their eyes out.
⚗️ Navy potion drinkers will find themselves feeling lighter than air. Though the effect is slow in the beginning, the longer they are in this part of the blocked-off labyrinth, the more they are affected. At first, it’s like walking on the moon, then they slowly find they have a harder time landing… until they wind up floating up slowly, up and up and up. But instead of winding up in the heavens, or seeing anything useful of the main labyrinth, they find themselves mysteriously floating back toward the garden. Once there they find they stop moving but will need to hold hands with others who are affected in order to land safely onto the ground again.
⚗️ Purple potion drinkers will find themselves consumed by hiccups that cause bubbles to float out of their mouths. These bubbles, when popped by anyone other than the owner, will release a secret said in the character’s voice.
⚗️ Brown potion drinkers will grow the sickest initially, but will also feel better the fastest. However, they may find that as they walk, mushrooms and other fungi grow in the wake of their steps, the kinds varied and assorted and not at all safe to eat or touch. It might be best for those who didn't drink this potion to avoid eating, touching, or spreading this fungal growth.
⚗️ Chartreuse potion drinkers will find that much like some species of frog they have become incredibly sticky. Not only do they stick to other characters, but their skin will stick to anything they touch. It’s best to be careful when under this effect unless you want to become a living katamari ball!
Perhaps it might be best to investigate what this fountain actually is and leave it alone for now, instead? By the time afflicted and nonafflicted explorers make their way back to the mouth of the grotto, they will find the effects of the potions drunk by characters have weakened to nothing.
[ Anyone who tries to take a potion with them will find the potions mysteriously absent the moment they leave the fountain chamber, their containers dry and void of any liquid that may have been inside. ]
On the morning of the 1st, some dreamers will receive a message from an unknown user.
What is it that you are most thankful for?
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.
[ 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.
Eda Clawthorne | The Owl House | current player, new character
[Eda stares at the potion in her hand with a skeptical look. She holds it up to the light, lets it slosh back and forth in the bottle, brings it down to face level, uncaps it and sniffs at it. Her nose wrinkles and she recorks it before going back to staring at it.]
Right color... wrong smell. Definitely not one of my bottles. Way too fancy. Who's wasting snails on fancy bottles?
[Not this witch, that's who. She frowns at it skeptically before tucking it back into the bag she'd found.] Eh. Maybe later. What else do we have in here?
[Oh hey bread. Really... boring bread. Not a single eyeball. Another frown and she shrugs before stuffing that into her mouth, chewing on one corner with the rest hanging out while she sees what else she's got in here. That's when she finds the note.]
A wish? [The bread nearly falls, but she catches it and stuffs it back in the bag for later.] What sort of nonsense is this. Who's just giving out wishes? That's suspicious. All of this is suspicious. Where am I?
[The note is getting crumpled up and chucked as hard as she can in a random direction. Sorry if it beans anyone right off the head.]
[ 2. Mystery Revealed ]
[She can't stop crying. It's very annoying. For one things, tears aren't her thing. Nope. She's not a fan, and tries her very best to be way too grumpy and/or cool for feelings, especially when anyone is looking.
The teal potion is in her hand, still mostly unconsumed. Look, she was just taking a little taste to test it out, but apparently a little goes a long enough way that it's got her deep in its effects. Her shoulders are shaking with the sobbing even, and for all that Eda projects a larger than life persona most of the time, aside from her hair, she is a relatively slight woman (at least in this form), and crying her heart out only makes her look vulnerable.
Ugh. She hates it. All of it. If she hears anyone approach, she'll hold up a hand and through the tears -- and a swatting at the overly interested fireflies -- mutter a,] Don't look at me! And don't drink the potions! They're terrible... awful things.
[Sniffle. Sniffle sniffle. Sob.]
[ 3. Network - un: badgirlcoven ]
My kids. Of course I'm most grateful for those little monsters. And I know they're not actually my kids, but they're also definitely MY kids. They just showed up in my life and wrecked all my carefully cultivated solitude, filled my life with chaos and complications, ruined my naps, and made me happier than I've been for as long as I can remember.
[And then when she comes out of whatever weird trance that was and reads what she wrote, well. It's true, and she knows it.]
Whoa. Hey. Who let the sap steal my keyboard. I meant to type apple blood.
[ 4. Wildcard ]
(( ooc: seriously feel free to find here out and about anywhere, or if you'd like to plot something specific out, hit me up at
1
As she's sort of just wandering, she pauses a moment when what looks like a ball comes flying towards her. As she manages to catch it, she realizes that it's the parchment that the notes they were all given were written on. She heads in the direction that the crumped up note had come from, and stops short in surprise. ]
Eda?
no subject
Willow? What're you doing here? Did the weird wish granter snatch you up to?
[Not a good sign.] Is Luz here?
no subject
Yeah, pretty much. I've actually been here for a couple of months.
[ The last question has her shaking her head. ] No, she isn't. [ At least not yet, with new people arriving there's a chance that Luz could show up too. ] The only other person from home who's here is Hunter.
no subject
[Give her a moment to gape about that because well, it's been a bit since she's seen Willow, but not months, that's for sure. She's not entirely sure whether Luz not being here is good news or not -- it'd be nice to know for sure the human girl is safe, but, well, she doesn't know what to make of this place yet. It could be dangerous.
At the mention of Hunter, her eyebrows lift.] Huh. So the sad blond boy's here too.
[Hmm. What's the correct thing to do here to reassure a child? Awkward head pat/hair ruffle? Yeah that'll do. Sorry, Willow. She's trying.] The two of you doing okay?
no subject
[ The head pat does surprise her a bit, but Willow manages a smile anyway. ] Yeah, we're all right for the most part. It's just been...a little tough without my magic. But we've been managing.
no subject
[A heavy sigh. It's not directed at Willow, of course. The teen witch is only the messenger. Eda does manage a sympathetic nod.]
Believe me, I get what it's like to have to figure out suddenly having no magic. It's crap. But you do get used to it. More or less.
[Of course, sometimes you also cheat and learn how make use of Luz's magical glyphs. But that won't work here. She apparently even turn into her harpy form here. Lame. Super lame.
no subject
[ She can't help a frown. All that she knew about Eda's curse was what Luz had told her, but she'd heard when the older witch had lost her magic. ]
I guess so. I'm trying to use the magic I got from that potion, but that hasn't been working out too well either.
[ It was like trying to do Abomination magic all over again. ]
no subject
[This was her best attempt at optimism. She was doing her best anyway.]
The potion? It gives you magic?
[She reaches into her bag and pulls out the gold potion she'd stowed away.] What sort of magic?
(no subject)
Mystery Revealed
He also got lost more easily than he'd care to admit. Although as he nears the chamber and hears someone crying, he wonders if maybe he'd rather still be lost... If this person needs help, well-- Comforting people is not something he's great at. Sometimes it feels like he tends to make things worse...]
Owl Lady?
[He can't help blurting the title out when he sees Eda. Seeing that she's the one crying raises far more concerns and complicated feelings than before, but it also simply stuns him. When did she even get here, and what would she have to say to him?]
no subject
That's the opposite of not looking, blondie. That's definitely looking. Shouldn't you be better at following instructions?
[Like isn't that emperor's coven lesson one? And yeah, sure, former and all. But still. Eda scrubs her hands over her eyes, but it doesn't do much at all to stop the tears. When she lowers her hands, several fireflies decide to land on her face, giving her an even more wild look than usual.]
Hunter, right? [She's just going to try to have a normal conversation while actively weeping. It's fine.] So you're here too. You look like you're in one piece at least.
1
Bronze scaled leathery looking wings are folded against his back. A lizard like tail with the same color scales sways behind him as he unfolds the paper. He crumples it back up and beckons.] It’s not great to linger here.
This garden has some strange effects. Let’s have a chat. I got a few answers and they’re about all we got here.
no subject
Whoa, hey. No one told me it was a harpy party. Hang on.
[She tries to change her form, and nothing happens. A frown and she tries again. Harder. Now she's visibly straining.] What the heck is going on?
[She looks at Vax and points a finger.] Why can't I change forms? Also what do you mean strange effects? Also who are you?
no subject
[He changes fully into a dragon and sits with his feet tucked under his scaly body.] That's the result of my potion that came with the welcome kit. Everything we can do vanishes when we get here. No one knows why. It's a pain in the backside.
All our stuff is missing too. You have to regain it. Like I said, pain.
no subject
[A shrug. That's a pretty good shift, really. And then he goes and does it.]
The potion, huh? Am I gonna turn into a dragon too if I drink it?
[She's not really sure how she feels about that. But this does answer the question about why the gold potion she found doe snot seem at all like the one she's used to using to keep her curse at bay. Huh.]
Well, yeah, that all sounds like a major pain in the you know where.
[She's clearly not thrilled.] I'm Eda Clawthorne.
no subject
I’m shocked I’m not a giant raven. How fucking apt that would have been.
[He smiles without teeth. His tail tucks around his feet.] So, here are the things I do know. Shit gets weird here. I’m not a magic user, I threw around the divine light and daggers.
Something happened to this land. Dragons vanished from history. Some deal was made between two beings of great power. And I know fuck all else and so do other people. We’re at the start of a mystery. What happens next? No idea.
That’s ahead. I heard about werewolves and undead when I got here.
no subject
[At the mention of a raven she can't hold back a brief cackle.] That's Lily's thing, the raven beast. ...titans she'd really hate it here.
[She tries to listen to the abridged history lesson, and gets that it sounds mostly like questions with no answers. The worst.]
Right, so. Who's the jerk in charge of this place and how do I lodge a complaint?
no subject
So my twin sister can put as many arrows in him as she likes.
(no subject)
(no subject)
3 un Merlin
no subject
Luz and King. And I guess the rest of Luz's weird little friends count too. They're all good kids, even the ones who think they aren't.
no subject
no subject
She wandered into the Demon Realm through a portal from the human world and decided she wanted to learn how to be a witch. I agreed to teach her, even if humans can't use magic. She figured out how to do it though.
no subject
Oh, well. We have some inter-dimensional travelers. Definitely don't meet those every day. Not surprisingly, she seems very clever.
no subject
Yeah, we don't get a lot of humans in the Boiling Isles. Luz is sort of a unique case. And she is, very clever, very bright.
text to action
Boiling Isles! Someone else mentioned that place. Willow is her name. Don't 'uppose you know her?
[Meanwhile, The Doctor has Luz on his shoulders in either human form or otter. With Jack and/or Rose following and shouting up.]
Eda!