buttrinthum | TDM #6

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TDM #6

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: holly and bluebells.

Standing too close to the bluebells for too long or smelling them will make a Dreamer unable to refuse requests. This can last for however long a player may wish, whether it be for a few days or just a few minutes. The holly, however, also gives off a strange effect when getting too close to it: Dreamers will feel compelled to be more helpful & outgoing, no matter how gloomy and closed off they are. This effect can also last for a few days or a few minutes-- it is up to the player!

Eventually, Dreamers will find their way out of the Enchanted Garden and into the city of Somnius, whether it be by following the alluring light or on their own.

Webby's Sleepover Extravaganza

It’s funny how if you ask for something, sometimes that’s all it takes to have it given to you. Maybe Webby is just that lucky, or Vaeros is feeling just that generous the day it’s requested but for two days and one night only in the beginning of the month of November, a large castle stands where one didn’t before. It’s grand in that it doesn’t need repairs like some of the available housing does, but it’s certainly nothing too awe-inspiring. But, it’s big enough for its purpose—a sleepover party for every inhabitant new or old.

During the night a few days before the party, EVERY person receives a handwritten invitation to this sleepover blowout. It doesn’t matter who, young or old. For those who wake up in Somius after the invitations arrive, they’ll find an invitation just for them in their pocket or satchel, like they were always meant to be invited from the beginning.
Decorations are bright and colorful, spanning the whole rainbow. One giant room full of cots and sleeping bags, blankets and pillows has been made to be the centerpiece of the whole affair. This is where most of the partygoers will mingle and play games, if they’re not too busy with one of the other activities located in one of the other rooms nearby. There’s plenty of room to wander, though any room that has not been decorated and made up for the party is locked down completely with no way in. There are, of course quiet spaces provided for those who need a quick getaway from all the partying. Or maybe going outside for a stroll in the night garden would be calming too?

For those who don’t have anything appropriate to sleep in, pajamas are even provided. But they might be a little silly, since beggars can’t be choosers. Who wants the unicorn fuzzy pajamas?

Games Galore - There’s plenty to play with, at Webby’s insistence (and by insistence we mean she gives you the biggest doe-eyes you’ve ever seen) and she’s more than happy to give you overly-detailed means on how to play the following -

🎉Twister - a huge sheet blotted with colorful spots has been laid on the floor, along with a square with similar colors and a spinny arrow. The rules are simple - one person spins the arrow, and where it lands you put your foot or hand. First to fall loses, so amp up the embarrassment - er, fun as you all get tangled up with each other.
🎉Truth Or Dare - Two options, one chance for chaos. Surely you’re all going to be mature individuals and not ask mortifying questions or dangerous dares.
🎉Pin The Tail On The Donkey - Yes, Webby’s sole guardian was a woman whose idea of fun was from the 1950s, how did you know? But she’s also put up optional sheets of different animals to stick their tail/bodyparts on while you’re blindfolded, including past threats like zombies and skeksis.

Bountiful Buffet - The best way to stay up late is to stuff yourself silly with sugar, which is why the dining room table is loaded with all kinds of desserts. Remy and Aurora have supplied some of their own sugary confections, and you’re more than welcome to have added your own creations to the buffet. Just don’t start any food fights. At least not where Webby can see it!

As though the castle (or whoever ACTUALLY owns it) wants to help assist the party atmosphere, those who partake of the food might feel a little more inclined to be friendly and amenable to party activities. You know, just for those gloomy gusses out there. There are no drawbacks to this little bit of fairy dust, just a little bit of social greasing, you know?

Makeover Makeover Makeover - Vil has ever so kindly offered his beauty supplies for those of you who want to experiment with some new looks, and you’re free to have brought your own. Test it out on one another or try it out yourself. Then again, when he’s not looking, what’s to stop you from trying to paint yourself up like a B-movie monster?

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark - Some of you may have had more than enough of your share of frights due to last month’s… fun, but surely you can handle a bit more fright? In a dark room with only one light torch, gather in a circle and share a spooky story from times gone by. Just be prepared for that one person who always sneaks up from behind and goes BOO at the right time. It’s inevitable.

Pillow Fight - Pick a side or be a lone warrior, grab a pillow and show no mercy! The last one standing wins! The only rule is your pillow is your sole weapon! In fact, there seem to be more pillows available than there are people here, so let the feathers fly! If the castle magically produces more, who’s to say? Shrug and keep the battle going!

Bonfire of Growth

CW: memory share, character specific trauma

Some may be aware that harvest season is a season of growth and not just in the cultivating sense. Townsfolk take this time to evaluate themselves and really think about things in their lives that have potentially been holding them back from being their strongest and truest selves. With the newly accessible Indigo Beach providing plenty of room for multiple bonfires, Dreamers will see several bonfires stretched across the dark blue sand, logs and rocks assembled around each one, beckoning Dreamers near.

As soon as they step out on the beach’s sands, characters will find a slip of paper on their person (in their pocket, up their sleeve.. any readily accessible portion of their clothing.) On that piece of paper, they will have a personalized phrase catered to them, making them remember a painful memory that has held them back in some way. The phrase can be anything players want it to be as long as it jogs the memory back into the head of their characters. Those with a paper slip will feel compelled to sit around the bonfire and contemplate their memory; they also will feel encouraged to share that memory with anyone who is sitting nearby. If characters choose to throw the paper slip into the fire, those who have heard the story of their grief will have a very vivid visual of the event in their mind’s eye along with feeling the exact pain they went through as well.

Once these memories are shared and characters take a moment to grieve, they will feel significantly better about the past situation that caused them so much pain. This can be temporary or permanent, it’s up to the player.

Although refreshments won’t be provided, Dreamers are encouraged to bring their own. And yes, something adjacent to s’mores can be something characters may bring.

Suspicious Message #4

On the morning of the 1st, some dreamers will receive a message from an unknown user.

Who or what from home do you miss the most?

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. ]

OOC

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. Special thank you to Melissa for the player plot and prompts!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Blake had sat at her own bonfire for far too long, lost in the memories that her piece of paper had swamped her with. It wasn't just that one memory; with it came so many others, a tsunami of regrets that threatened to overwhelm her.

So she'd gotten up and had started wandering, and a familiar pale head of hair had caught her attention. She hadn't meant to read the words on his paper, and she'd only gotten a glimpse at them, but unfortunately they'd been angled perfectly as she'd approached.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to read over your shoulder," Blake apologizes softly. She sits down next to Essek, legs hugged to her chest, arms wrapped around her shins.

She can guess what his words must be about. Essek had explained to her about the deity of light that was worshiped in his culture, and the high honor of being chosen to reincarnate, and how new souls were regarded very differently. He'd already implied that he was viewed as a new soul, and that was why he felt a distance from his people, but the words on the paper confirm it.

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," she assures. "But... if you do want to talk, you know I'm here. And I hear that sharing helps, sometimes."

Blake's own words cut through his psyche and brought him back to the moment, he clasped his arms around his knees to draw them up closer to his shoulder; there is a sense of care there in his eyes-- that Blake had seen it, and she knew him now. She knew him perhaps the best here, aside from Caleb of course. He tucked his chin against the tops of those same knees. So that they were sharing a pose, two peas in the proverbial pod.

In that vision, it held all of the disappointment of a small child who had wanted to be something special, and to be relegated to something so low. Was it any wonder that he had done what he did? Once he had figured that he would always only halfway have their approval and so he did not bother to try.

And that is why when the Nein came along and suddenly he was faced with being enough, and what a heavy and beautiful thing that was, and the way he had felt like a child all over again when he had disappointed them, and Caleb specifically. A man who had really just wanted to be accepted for himself.

"You are perfectly fine Blake, I.. I suppose it is hard still for me to be vulnerable like that, but I trust you very much. Because you are a dear friend, I am not afraid to share myself like this to you."

"I have four ears for a reason, you know," she says, gently joking. "It makes me a really listener."

It's touching to know that Essek trusts her enough to talk to her about something like this. Blake hasn't had too many people in her life that she was close to -- Ilia had been her closest friend for a long time, before Adam had come along. And then her team became close to her over time, and she trusts them with her life. It's a surprise, she thinks, that she's made such deep friendships here. She's still not great at opening up to people, she's still exploring herself as she is now with her newfound confidence and openness and empathy. She hadn't expected to find friends while being stuck in a strange fantasy land, but she's so, so glad that she has.

Her own piece of paper burns where it's tucked into her palm, and after a moment of hesitation, Blake opens her curled fist, showing Essek her own piece of paper. Nobody will ever love you the way I do, it says.

"I'd... like to share mine with you as well, if that's okay," she says tentatively. This intrusive little piece of paper is, perhaps, a sign that she needs to talk about her memory. "Would you like to tell me about yours?"

This felt very much like home, but not a home from a far away time but one more recent; filled with friendship and care-- something that he had not thought he deserved until the very moment it was offered to him freely; and because of that he would offer his own friendship freely to Blake.

There was a glance at the slip of paper and what it said; for a moment Essek was lost in how very presumptuous that sounded, and he almost felt angry on Blake's behalf. However, it was better to ask for her side of the story-- well after he addressed the question she'd poised his way.

?I told you that New Souls are not considered perfect, but what I did not tell you was that each child at a very young age is brought before a tribunal of Consecuted Ones, and then they scrutinize and pass judgement; they are either recognized or not." Essek shrugs his shoulders, "I was 12 years old when judgement was passed on me, and young enough to want positive attention, and to please my elders."

"You were twelve when they told you those things to your face?"

Blake sounds outraged, and how could she not be? They'd told a young boy, not even a teenager yet, that he was insufficient and and unremarkable. That's a horrible thing to say to a person of any age, but especially to a child at that age, who are so suggestible and easily swayed.

"That's awful," Blake seethes, fingers digging into her knees. "How could they say those things-- you were so young! What a bunch of judgemental--"

She takes a breath, because ranting probably won't help, although it sure does make her feel a little better. It might not be what Essek needs right now, though, she Blake shoves it down and makes herself calm, blowing out an angry little sigh.

"I can't imagine how deeply that must have hit," she says sympathetically, watching Essek's expressions. "That must have shaped so much of your self-identity at that age."

"It definitely fashioned me into a people pleaser, and for the longest time I did anything that they told me to, but also it propelled me to prove them wrong, that I was anything but unremarkable. I went to the Marble Tomes Conservatory and was the top of my wizard class, and then through hard work, I managed to become the youngest Shadowhand on record." and honestly, Essek was not sure that he would've striven so hard if not for those people in the room that told him that there was nothing special about his soul.

Though Essek was strangely warmed by Blake's indignance as it came from those flashing gold eyes, it felt nice to be protected in such a manner and very carefully, almost tenderly he reached over to rest a hand on the top of her hand. "It did hurt but I suppose I could say that every good thing that I have now comes from that judgement that told me I would never be enough." he was referring of course to the Nein and even to this moment, to Blake's friendship that was a warm blanket on a cold winter's day.

"Now.." he uncaps the thermos of hot chocolate that he has thoughtfully provided to this little bonfire. "Whom do I need to Gravity Fissure that told you that thing on your own slip of paper?" Man, how he could threaten in such a calmly detached manner, yet Gravity Fissure was such a serious spell.

Blake's not even remotely surprised to hear that Essek was at the top of his wizard class; he's meticulous and intelligent and hard-working, he must have been the kind of student that studied and practiced at every chance he got.

"You must have worked so hard to prove them wrong," she murmurs. "But you did, in the end. You're one of the most remarkable people I've ever met."

She's no stranger to pain causing growth, she just wishes that the people she loved didn't have to go through it. She understands, though. She understands how so much good can come from so much bad; she wouldn't have her team if she hadn't gone through enough pain to cause her to run away from everything she knew, and she wouldn't trade her team for anything.

His question makes her lips curl with a rueful little smile. "You can't. He's dead."

And she'd been seeing him everywhere last month. With the month's passing, she's now fairly sure she was just seeing things, but... well, no wonder he was on her mind. She's not surprised this piece of paper turned up.

Blake hesitates for a long time, her hand curling underneath the warmth of Essek's, before she adds: "Yang and I killed him."

It was a lesson to be learned, and it was always learned. For Essek was the sort that he persevered above all else, and he would come back leading the pack; and while he regretted what he had done to innocent people who had gotten caught up in his internal feud with those in power, he did not mourn the loss of their beacon for their sakes. It was also why he would not be held responsible by them of all people.

The next segue had him nodding in acknowledgement, this person sounded like someone whom Blake had possibly called a romantic partner. But immediately he could tell that there was no love there-- anyone who made a statement like that could be considered one even worthy of being loved.

"I am full glad that both you and Yang killed him, I am sure that he deserved it-- by those words alone, it tells to issues far deeper." and then even more quietly, "I can imagine that Yang took great joy in it; much in the same way that Caleb would take if the same thing were to happen to I."

Not the first time that he alluded to the fact that his relationship had parallels to Yang and Blake's, and it would not be the last.

Even with the bonfire so close, Blake's cheeks suddenly feel warm, her head ducking with a flustered little smile. It seems like everybody close to her has picked up on it now.

Yang had had her own reasons for killing Adam, not just for Blake's sake. But that's something that's very personal for Yang, and so, Blake will probably skim over the details there.

"I've told you before about the Faunus and the place in society we occupy," she says at length, cheek resting on her knee. "My dad founded a group called the White Fang, a group of Faunus to champion peace and equality. I was holding a protest sign as soon as I learned how to read, so you might say that I was born into it. We started small. Protests where humans spat on us. By the time I was ten or so, the adults were doing stealth raids into Dust mines to free the Faunus slaves there."

"When I was eleven, I was at a speech where the raid leader was updating the people in Menagerie about the latest mission, and... I saw this boy." Blake's lips curve in a sad little smile. "He was in his late teens. He off to the side of the gathering, sobbing. Punching a wall. He was so-- passionate, so full of fire. I was spellbound. He told me that he'd been in that raid, and human mercenaries had killed three of his friends. His name was Adam."

Blake pauses, unable to help the faint sigh that escapes her.

"At first, he was my mentor. My parents left the group when I was twelve, and I stayed with the White Fang full time. Adam looked out for me, and taught me everything he knew. Later, our relationship turned romantic. He was so smart and capable, we could spend hours talking about ethics and philosophy and ours dreams for the future. I just... never anticipated how he would change."

Truth be told, Essek cannot imagine being so passionate but he was likewise drawn to people who were passionate, such as Caleb and the Nein. He could see how it was easy to become embroiled in things that were complicated at best and convuluted at worst; but also how it was perhaps easy for the passionate the draw in those who were not. His hand rests lightly on the palm of Blake's.

"The thing with time is that it changes, it is impossible for things to remain the same. I understand I will not be the same person in ten years, I am hardly the same person I was ten years ago, but.."

And here he pauses. "Substantial change is not.. normal nor is it organic."

"The thing is, I'm still not sure if Adam changed, or if he just... hid who he always was, and only revealed it later," Blake admitted.

She's fairly certain it was the latter. But she still can't really be sure, because a part of her thinks back to that boy she found sobbing over his friends and can't reconcile him with the spiteful man he became.

"He was so gentle. And then he... wasn't," Blake says ruefully. "At first it just little incidents. And he always had an excuse. He got caught up in the moment, or it was self-defense, or it was an accident. He didn't mean to beat an human nearly to death, he swore. And I believed him. I made so many excuses for him. I believed in justice for our people, but not to the point of murdering innocent humans for it, but Adam didn't see the difference. To him, justice was violence. And for a long time, I was so caught up in how much I loved him that I justified his actions to myself.

But he'd come back from a raid with blood on his hands and he'd get mad that I didn't want to cuddle. He'd demean me for not wanting to go as far as he did. He'd pick holes in my ideas and mock them under the guise of just trying to ensure the best for me. He had a way of making me feel so small."

But she supposes she should probably get to the specific memory the paper mentioned.

"One day, when I was sixteen, we were freeing some slaves from a Dust mine together. He'd set the whole place on fire, and everything was so cramped, and hot, and we were trying to shepherd the poor Faunus toward the exit. I got jumped by a mine guard who, and Adam shot him in the head."

Blake still doesn't believe in the death penalty, but she does find it hard to mourn the deaths of humans actively contributing to the slavery system. That hadn't been her problem that day.

"He picked me up and reassured me, and made me feel so cared for, and-- he always wore this mask that covered his eyes, he never let me take it off him, but I reached up to it because I just wanted to see him properly for once, and he finally let me. I told him I wasn't scared of him, but... I was, a little. Not because of his scars, but because of his actions. And I think he picked up on that, because that was when he said it. That nobody would ever love me like he did. And I believed him."

This was so very hard to hear but he knows exactly how it feels to be belittled and demeaned, perhaps not in the same way but just enough that strands of empathy comes coursing through to twine around the two of them, and then his arms are soft and deceptively strong as he wraps Blake up and gives her a hug.

It's not something that he is given to doing sporadically, but in this moment he feels that it's right to do so.

"I am sorry that you ever felt that way, that you had to sacrifice your ideals because of love." he murmurs that within close confines of her space. "You were right though, you were right in the long run for something like that was never going to be good for you-- you should always be true to yourself and anyone who does not understand that does not need to be in your life, though clearly he is not anymore."

Blake leans into Essek's hug, her cheek resting against his shoulder. "I ran away, in the end," she sighs. "Away from him, and the White Fang. And it was amazing, because I met my team and they became so dear to me, but-- Adam was so furious with me. He nearly killed Yang, just to get back at me."

He'd nearly killed her, too, but in Blake's mind, that part of that confrontation is so much less important. She may still have a scar on her abdomen, but Yang lost her arm.

She doesn't think she has it in her to tell Essek the rest of the story right then; she's already feeling so exhausted just from telling him the first part. She was a coward in the second part, and part of her worries that... Essek might look at her differently.

"A lot happened, after that. But in the end, we killed him. Yang and I." Blake doesn't sound proud, but nor does she sound regretful at all. "He shaped so much of how I thought about myself, it's... still difficult to break away from that sometimes."

"Good.."

The word comes from Essek's mouth unbidden as he indulges in a cuddle with Blake. This is rare for him to let anyone close like this; he allowed perhaps three other people this close into his personal space: Caleb, Jester and Verin. But Blake felt like a sister to him, much like Verin was a brother-- it was hard not to be impossibly fond of her and to want the very best for her.

So he would not resist, she had his loyalty and it was unflinching. It was as strong as the Shadowhand and as gentle as the vulnerability that lay underneath.

"You are the better for it, however when something that has gained your trust betrays you-- I can imagine that it hurts and it is hard to get over; no matter how toxic the bonds.. they were still bonds."

And chains of any kind were wholly familiar, the weight of them after a while became second nature and you learned to adapt to them, to understand their balance and how they threw you off kilter. "I can imagine that Yang was rather glad to see him go, for all the pain that he caused you."

"Yang had her own reasons for confronting him," Blake replies, grimacing. "He hurt her too. But... she was glad for my sake, too, and I was for her."

Essek's not wrong; the bond she shared with Adam was strong, and no matter how toxic or dangerous or manipulative of a bond it was, it was a bond nonetheless. She was at his side for five years, five of the most formative years of her life, and that means he's not easy to forget.

But perhaps she shouldn't forget, but... learn. Keep the memory of him in a place where it can't bother her, and make sure she never makes that kind of mistake again.

Blake withdraws from the hug a little, but she stays close, leaning up against Essek's side, her head resting on his shoulder. She sighs quietly, lost in thought.

"If you'd met me two years ago, we probably wouldn't have gotten on as well," she admits. "A lot of people called me emo and moody, and they weren't wrong, honestly. I was so tied up in everything in my head that I could barely engage with the world outside."

Essek has to chuckle at that last statement, even as he rests his cheek against the top of her head. This was the most he would cuddle with anyone save for Caleb and Jester, it was definitely a very fine line but one that Blake was well within the confines of. That chuckle is low and husky, in Dynasty timbres.

"Two years ago, I could say the same of you. I was unapproachable and unreachable, selfish and caring only for my own ends and ambitions; and did not care who I stepped on to get it-- so I think that we were probably still the same side of the coin."

He leans back to look at Blake, those eyes warm and filled with that sort of platonic love that is between two very dear friends. "I do like the person you are now, not only like but I care very dearly before her. I would say do not change, but as a wise man once said-- change and time go hand in hand; so I can only hope you change like fine wine so that your nuances become deeper and better as the vintage grows."

"It's probably a good thing we didn't meet two years ago, then," Blake says wryly. "All of our flaws would have grated against each other."

There's a quiet sense of pride that pools in her heart when Essek tells her likes the person she is now. She's worked hard to get here, after all, and she likes who she is, too. She's finally at peace with herself for the first time in years; she feels okay being honest and open with some people, she feels more confident than she used to, she's better at engaging with strangers. She stays instead of running away when things get hard.

She's still go work to do. But she's getting there.

"I like the person you are, too." Blake smiles against Essek's shoulder, because she's not the only one that's worked hard to become a better person. "I think there's a lot I could learn from you. Not just about magic, but that's definitely a bonus."

Essek was on the fast track to becoming sentimental especially when Blake nudged his shoulder and said that right back to him; it felt like conversely years since he'd been who he was and also just yesterday-- and wasn't it true that time was a wierd soup?

As it were he reached over to locate the stuff for s'mores. As much as he was going to become emotional, he knew that s'mores were just the thing and would help them focus on better times as well as chocolate marshemllow-y deliciousness.

"Now, that we have suitably had a moment of vulnerability-- I think that we deserve some s'mores, yes?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TDM #6

bonfire

oh no I'm crying because friendship

😭

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oh gods I love them

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I think this is a good wrap up for this, don't you?