![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
labyrinevents) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
labyrinthum2024-11-16 05:47 pm
- !modlog,
- ace attorney: dick gumshoe,
- attack on titan: petra ral,
- attack on titan: reiner braun,
- captain laserhawk: dolph laserhawk,
- dungeon meshi: izutsumi,
- dungeon meshi: kabru,
- final fantasy xiv: hythlodaeus,
- heaven official's blessing: xie lian,
- legend of korra: jinora,
- lies of p: black cat,
- mcu: loki,
- metaphor refantazio: basilio magnus,
- metaphor refantazio: fidelio magnus,
- metaphor refantazio: will,
- my hero academia: izuku midoriya,
- my hero academia: kurogiri,
- original: nao mizushita,
- the owl house: king clawthorne,
- twisted wonderland: cater diamond,
- witch hat atelier: qifrey,
- yu-gi-oh!: mokuba kaiba
November Intense Event 2024 [4th Wall Event]
It's not clear when it starts. It's subtle, with one new face appearing in one of the alleyways in Somnius, a gold cuff bracelet unremovable from their left wrist. Another appears a little while later, on the outskirts of the woods. Several more appear, as the hours go on, scattered throughout the neighborhoods of Somnius. It continues like this, a sprinkle of new faces with questions on their lips that becomes a steady stream. The natives do their best to accommodate these new Visitors, but it becomes clear quickly that they are different from the Dreamers, arriving all throughout Visium, rather than in the Enchanted Garden. Rumor travels throughout the city that these Visitors with the golden cuff bracelets must not have contracts, and may still have their native powers. They're treated just the same, encouraged to make themselves at home until Vaeros decides what to do about their lack of contract.
Vaeros remains suspiciously quiet, even from his castle beyond the labyrinth. There's something electric in the air, the atmosphere crackling in anticipation. What's on the horizon?
- šļø Making House
There's no end to the mushroom houses or hill houses available, and though there are fewer in existence, it seems as though the desire for a cottage means there will be one available. Visitors are encouraged to make one of these places their home, but some need a bit of TLC to be homeworthy. Roll up your sleeves to make these houses your home! Sweep out those cobwebs and find that the mushroom houses stand straighter and feel healthier the more their insides are cleaned. Other homes feel lighter, and the land around them feels more fertile the more tender care is put into maintaining them. Though many come without electricity and water, it may be found that, for Visitors only, these dwellings will self-connect if enough work is put in. Be careful not to get sprayed in the face by that hose or faucet you're currently polishing!- š Exploring Town
There's a myriad of places to discover in Somnius. Not only are there native run places like the Stone Dragon CafĆ© (which will, unfortunately, almost always misinterpret your order in some fantastical way - they just don't have the best grasp on Dreamer foods), and other businesses run by Dreamers themselves. There's Club Quartz - which is often open late, and always welcoming to those who want to visit - Bloom Boutique, the Dreamer run flower shop, Kuchel's Tea Shop, a long running standard run by a different Dreamer, and of course, south of the cottages, a few miles off the main road, there's a pretty white farm house with a swath of field behind it. There's also the Church of the Moon, ran by locals who fervently believe in the moon and her power to keep the world in balance.- šø Unruly Kidlings
Like any city with people dwelling in it, there's bound to be children. This particular week, the kidlings, both gelfling and goblin alike, seem to be extra naughty. They'll take slingshots to shoot dreamers and visitors with sticky gum, and they're putting soap in drinks that cause those who drink the syrupy concoction to hiccup soap bubbles out of their mouths. Nothing they're up to is particularly dangerous, but it sure is mischievous. It might even be fun to join in when groups of these children take to the streets to race on self-made rollerskates, skidding and rumbling down the cobblestone.
Dreamers and Visitors might find themselves as makeshift parents, having to guide these unruly children back to their actual parents. Those who take up this task will be given small tokens in thanks - simple items like pearl beads or glass baubles that, if are floated in glass jars with water and several others, will show pleasant memories from the person who last touched them.- šŖ© The Labyrinth
The Labyrinth, freshly reestablished has been quiet. Dreamers will find initially that they cannot enter, but that the labyrinth looks completely different to Visitors. Welcoming and warm, it comes across as inviting and somewhere Visitors seem drawn to. It will be up to Dreamers to stop them before they enter, or take advantage of temporary openings that WILL allow them to enter that only appear when a Visitor goes in, in order to chase after them.
Dreamers and Visitors alike will experience moving walls and shifting pathways, and find themselves drawn to one place in particular: a tall clear crystal statue that seems to hum. Time spent around this statue compels anyone around it to tell the truth, but when night falls it compels confessions of desire or even love.
cw: natural disasters, potential dismemberment
There's peace for a while, even with the mysterious appearance of these Visitors. However, as time goes on, things start to feel a little off kilter. The ever present barrier around the whole of Visium shimmers ominously, cracks and sparks appearing along the sky, almost as if a bubble is trying to burst. Swirls of color splotch through the sky, only becoming more and more evident. The weather begins to turn cold, then colder still, but then turns warm again. Rain falls heavy and fat, only to disappear the moment day turns to night - which seems to be happening rapidly and without much warning, the day shifting several hours in only a few minutes. These erratic shifts between day and night only seem to further fuel the storms and dramatic weather patterns that dance over the island. Some parts of the island will experience dramatic environmental changes from other parts. While the city could be covered in snow, the forest could be experiencing a heat waves. Concequences from these weather patterns are possible, including forest fires, flooding, freezing of crops, and the dramatic rise of tides on the beach.
What's worse—the very ground beneath everyone's feet begins to rumble occasionally. It, too, starts off subtly, but as the days progress these rumblings cause small cracks, then fissures, and finally, craters that seem to radiate heat as though they reach deep into the earth, beyond the ocean and land. Echoes of cackling and ominous whispers filter up from these fissures, and those who stand too close might find themselves possessed with violent desire or the wish to sap the energy from others in any way possible. Time away from these fissures will make this behavior wane, but be careful!
All of this activity seems to be waking up adversaries and creatures old and familiar within Visium, so be prepared to handle them!
- š¾ The Fireys
It's no surprise that, even with the wild weather, the Fireys are making a reappearance outside of the deep recesses of the woods they call home. They're wandering into Somnius, large gaggles of them looking for something FUN to do to match the wild atmosphere and crackling magic all around them. They will party in their usual way, their strange bodies able to detach wherever they want. They have no care that not everyone's body works this way, and will relentlessly pursue anyone they think is playing too hard at being a wallflower.
When touched by a Firey, body parts do come off, much like dismantling the limbs of a doll. For most people, itās painless, but for the unlucky few, itās as excruciating as having it cut off. The Fireys, though? They have no concern for the well-being of others. They will run off with their loot, kicking it around and hiding it, forcing that unlucky soul to go on a morbid scavenger hunt.- š Shadow Wolves
Those shadow-like wolves have made a reappearance, traveling easily through the slithers of darkness as the moon and sun erratically change positions in the sky. The crackling energy rebounding through the atmosphere fuels them much as the blood moon once did, once again giving them solid form...
What once was a shadow becomes a ferocious direwolf as large as a tiger, blacker than the night itself, and with razor sharp claws and teeth. These wolves target the natives, who are the most defenseless in this chaotic situation. Adults and children alike are snatched and carried off with the intention of making a meal out of them. These wolves cannot be reasoned with and do not speak. They will attack indiscriminately if they are separated from their intended prey. Once again it is up to Dreamers to protect the native population and usher as many as they can to the new Healer's Conclave, a medical and healing safe haven for those less inclined towards combat.- š¦ Visium's IRS
No one likes it when government agents go rogue. But in the chaos of rebounding magic and crackling barriers, the Skeksis seem to be operating on their own. Instead of targeting the locals, as many expect once they first show up, the Skeksis target the Dreamers' belongings. They're vicious and will attack in groups when they happen upon a dreamer with items that they have regained. Your gun? Clothes? Any myriad of items you could be carrying on your person from home or gained by Vaeros' magic? They consider that theirs now. They have little regard for how they leave dreamers in the wake of their grabbing and snatching. Visitors will also be targeted for their golden cuffs, but the situation is dire for them; if their cuff is removed by the Skeksis' magical means, the visitor will begin to wither like a plant stricken with no water and a disease. The only way to stop this is to get the cuff back and place it around the visitor's arm again.
They won't stop at simple possessions either. Those who have wished for homes, castles, and home improvements will also find their homes targeted. Normally places of safe haven, there is no such unspoken rule this time around. Skeksis will wield wands made of purple crystal that seem fused to their hands to rip home additions from their foundations, to crumble standing buildings and pull out plumbing. They can be ganged up on should they get singled out, and should dreamers break their wands their homes will return to the way they were before the Skeksis began their nasty work.
At one point, the sun sets from its point at high noon, the day rapidly descending into night and giving way to the moon. Shimmering along with the stars, something else appears in the sky. A magical shimmer ricochets through the sky before the image of a large white barn owl flies through the night sky. A screech echoes through the air, cutting through the crisp, stunned silence coming from the natives and the land itself.
"If you do not wish to see the complete unraveling of this place, then I suggest you give back what you have been given. If I am not given this power back, the island WILL sink, it is no longer my choice. Pray at the crystal and return my power to me."
An ominous rumble of thunder echoes through the sky as soon as the image of the perched owl—Vaeros— disappears from the sky in a shattered shimmer. The natives look towards Dreamers especially - expectantly - as they clamor for the help that only they can give. Vaeros is doing his part! You must do yours! Help us all before we no longer have anywhere to live! Give back to the crystal! GIVE BACK TO VAEROS! Ultimately the decision to give back to Vaeros is up to the dreamers themselves, but the consequences seem to be quite dire to the gelflings and goblins that make this place their home.
- ā Returning Magic
Those generous enough to be willing to sacrifice their regained powers will need to get to the Crystal to do so. When there, they will need to join hands in prayer with other dreamers willing to sacrifice, as well as locals who are there to bolster the wish. This action won't take long, but it does take significant concentration.
Interruptions or wavering resolve might result in electric shocks that sap energy. Those who do make it through the prayer and give up their power will feel significantly lighter, and a little weaker but they will find a deluxe potion in their pocket when they stand. These potions will replace the returned powers for now, and at full strength. Those who already have red or yellow potions can obtain a second to gain a second elemental power or a second transformation.- ā Refusal
Wait a minute. They want us to return our what?
So, Vaeros is urging Dreamers to relinquish their regained abilities back to the crystal in order to stabilize the crumbling world. Those who do sacrifice their abilities will notice that anomalies nearby begin to calm - some, however, are surely opposed to this idea.
What's the right call? Perhaps your character wants to advocate for sacrificing abilities as requested, or, perhaps your character is dead set on doing the opposite. Dreamers who disagree with Vaeros' requst might attempt to reason with others, speak out to the population at large, or even go so far as to interfere with others praying at the crystal to return their abilities. Locals will try to deter these dreamers from interfering, but the natives are generally much weaker than the contracted Dreamers.- š® The Crystal
Those who visit the crystal at this point in time may find that it feels like a safe haven. Besides the Healer's Conclave the effects during this time seem minimal the weather stays steady though the time of day still reflects the same fractures as everywhere else. Huts and tents are set up for those injured by the fireys or shadow wolves, and despite these creatures wandering around everywhere, they can't seem to get into this area. It's a welcome safe haven in all the chaos, and it allows those who wish to pray and donate their regains to do so in...relative peace.
With their world and status quo once again thrown into chaos, the natives are growing restless with frustration. Those who are not cooperative with Vaeros are shunned from businesses that are native-run. They might even have a hard time seeking help at the local Healer's Conclave, a new establishment meant to replace a previous Dreamer establishment. Dreamers and Visitors alike may find themselves ushered unceremoniously out of buildings or even public spaces in the town if it's clear they've refused to help the situation. Those who do seem open to helping are greeted warmly and actively sought after with gifts and healing balms. A large contingent of locals have also hastily erected a large board near the Crystal, decorated with gems and carved creatures in its poles. This newly erected Quest Board is how they've chosen to organize their new desire to facilitate tasks that the dreamers and visitors can do to supplement the magics at work to save the island.
Quests appear on the board which insist that connection is vital to repairing the deteriorating world. The locals plea with Dreamers and Visitors alike to seek each other out, and find what connects them.
The magic in Somnius is currently unstable. With Dreamers sacrificing their regained abilities to the crystal in the interest of stabilization, many are left with only the power granted to them by potions. Even if one does still have their regained abilities, locals implore Dreamers to use their potion-granted powers to complete certain cleansing rituals.š± Shared Scares
Dreamers and Visitors, you must find what bonds you! Sometimes weakness is louder than strength. Seek someone out who shares your greatest fear, and share it with them fully. Honesty is essential. The world will not repair unless you expose your most vulnerable anxieties.š Drive & Desire
Dreamers and Visitors, strength lies within you still! What is it that you want? Seek someone who shares your greatest desire, and share it with them fully. Honesty is essential. The world will not repair unless you reveal the heart of what drives you.
šŗ Wolves at the Windmill
The White Windmill has been overtaken by a pack of shadow wolves, prowling inside and out. The magic surrounding the Windmill has become extremely unstable, but nothing can be done to cleanse the space until the wolves are done away with. Locals warn that only using animal transformation magic, granted by the gold potion, will successfully run off the wolves and regulate the area.š Lake Oh-no-men
Erratic weather near Lake Omen is causing massive waterspouts to form. The area has become extremely dangerous, but locals warn that only using elemental or healing powers granted by the red and blue potions will calm the phenomenon. Dreamers must work together and lend their magic in order to regulate the area once again.
Expand to see our Event Summary
Visitors Arrive
Control Slips
Returning MagicOOC Note: Linked TDM plotting posts are for reference of these mentioned creatures only.
Working TogetherOOC note: The rewards that can be sacrificed can ONLY be powers or high-stakes items that facilitate character abilities. Regains to housing, mundane items and similar are not valid. Anything that is voluntarily sacrificed during this event will be returned at a later time via another event and cannot be regained with shards in the meantime.
Welcome to our November 4th Wall Event! Please keep all event activity to this post and subsequent overflows. We have provided a couple of headers for both Visitors and Dreamers to post their top-level links should they want to! We are also including a third header where we will have a form to fill out regarding donated regains. Please see our plotting post for any event related questions.
An important note about Visitors! All Visitors still have their canon powers. But they can not donate them to Vaeros. Have fun with that!
The Healer's Conclave is our new "clinic" location! Located in roughly the same place the clinic once was, it is a building molded from the trunks of ancient local trees and old pieces of labyrinth wall for protection. Inside, it is much the same as the clinic with a magical healing wing and a traditional medicine wing. This is a well staffed and NPC run "business", though Dreamers can work here. A location entry will be added for the Conclave no later than January 1st.
A State of the World post will be put up on December 10th, based on activity within this event, so look forward to it! Have fun Dreamers AND Visitors! A special welcome to our Visitors coming to us from outside the game!
shadow wolves
Logic tells Reiner that the transformation isn't a comrade. He knows Eren is here. If he follows that crack of lightning, it won't lead him to an ally.
But ā¦ what if it does?
Reiner is running long before he makes up his mind. He has no plan for when he reaches the Titan; he just moves. His arms pump at his sides, and deep down, he hopes.
He skids to a stop as he rounds a corner, golden eyes wide. There are huge wolf-thingsāenemiesābut that's not what holds Reiner's attention.
Porco, Reiner screamed at the end, helpless to do anything but watch. Here and now, his lips start to form the same wordāa name he normally avoids, Galliard coming to him just as easily. But he doesn't get to finish saying the name, because at that moment, his instinctive reach for transformation finally bears fruitā¦
And in Reiner's place is a rhino.
A big, burly rhino that unleashes a deep, bellowing grunt before charging forward to join the fray, his horn ramming into a wolf.
(It's not his Armor, but at least charging still works.)
no subject
The animal isn't a total mystery to him. He's seen rhinos before; fleeing from the oncoming Marleyan military, snorting and stampeding in absolute panic with all the other strange and beautiful animals that got crushed under their war machines if they went too slow. He's never seen one like this, though, one that isn't afraid of his titan and is attacking the wolves like it's trying to help him.
He's reminded, almost immediately, of Reiner. The damn thing even looks like the Armoured titan, albeit smaller and greyer. But it's not the physical similarities that get to him. It's the way the animal ran right in and started fighting alongside him, completely ignoring its own safety.
In any case, he's got an ally in this fight, and Galliard crouches down before leaping into the air. The titan twists and contorts before landing next to the rhino but facing in the opposite direction, swatting away a wolf that was coming for its flanks. All right, rhino... you cover his back legs, he'll cover yours?
Galliard wishes, not for the first time, that his titan was capable of speech. This would be a lot easier if he knew for certain that he and the rhino were on the same page.
no subject
And for all their many issues, Reiner and Porco have never come to serious blows. They've never used their Titans against each other. The idea of being attacked by Porco's Jaw is utterly alien to Reiner.
So when the Jaw leaps and twists in the air, Reiner doesn't move to defend himself. He whips his head to the side and slams another wolf-creature with his horn, bellowing again. Protecting the area as Porco lands beside him.
Unfortunately, Reiner finds speech as impossible in this form as it is in his Armor. But they've fought silently side-by-side for years, the Armored's strength and durability matched by the Jaw's speed and agility.
This form doesn't feel as sturdy as a fifteen-meter tall Titan. But it still seems pretty damn sturdy.
Reiner plants his feet and snorts; if he were in his Titan, steam would hiss through his teeth. Between the two of them, there may be a decent chance of just scaring these creatures awayā¦
Reiner attacks another one anyway, ramming into it as it makes a move toward the Jaw's rear.
no subject
The wolves are starting to rethink this; one of these creatures on its own could be worn down, exhausted, by repeat attacks. But with two of them guarding each other, it's going to be a much harder, nastier battle. A few of their brethren have already gotten hit and limped away, either slashed by titan claws or gored by a rhino horn. The largest wolf makes a snapping attack at the titan, simply to prove that he and his pack are no slouches, then makes a judicious retreat.
First law of combat: don't get yourself bogged down in battles you can't win.
Galliard stays crouched and watching as the wolves skulk back into the shadows. When the last one has melted away, he lifts himself up from his protective stance and turns around so he's near the rhino's head. He tilts the titan's head, the gesture almost puppyish; who're you, buddy?
no subject
Apparently, Galliard judges it safe right around the same time. The Jaw turns to him, tilting its head in a questioning way. Doubtless confused by the hulking ally that isn't the Armored.
Reiner tries to speak again; it comes out as weird rhino noises. He tries to pull himself out of the rhino as he would his titan; it winds up as a sort of shimmy, which may look either happy or like he's really itchy.
Dammit, how the hell does he get out of this thingā¦?!
Reiner takes a few steps back, wiggling harder. Distantly, he knows he looks ridiculous, but he doesn't care. He needs to have arms again. He needs to have hands. He needs to be able to speak.
āAnd all at once, he can.
There is no flash of lightning. Between one blink and the next, there's just a man in place of a rhino. Reiner looks up at the Jaw, breath coming quickly, his expression filled with too many emotions to name.
(Hope. Grief. Relief. Regret. Longing. Pain. So many, many more.)
"Galliardā¦"
1/2
Galliard is lifting an tentative titan paw off the ground, ready to offer his claws at rhino-back-height for scratching purposes, when the rhino suddenly disappears. It doesn't crumble, or turn to dust, or run away; it's just gone, and the man standing in its place is someone Galliard would recognise from a mile away.
His paw thumps to the ground, and then there's the hissing, the tearing, as Galliard rips his way backwards out of the titan. It doesn't occur to him to imagine that this might be a trick, that it could be a similar magic to what the wolves used. Reiner, for all his flaws, only lied to Galliard once.
2/2
"Reiner!" He staggers forward, and collides into Reiner, into sudden, shocking closeness. With one hand, he grips Reiner's arm; with the other, he takes a swing at Reiner's jaw.
"You better not be dead, you asshole! I didn't give Falco the Jaw so you could go and die!"
lost this email beneath the sea of holiday promotions, sorry!
āThen slugs him in the face.
Reiner takes the hit. He doesn't try to defend himself; he just lets himself get punched, too stunned to do anything else. Knowing he doesn't deserve to do anything else. It's expected and confusing at the same time, just as Porco rushing toward him is expected and confusing.
There's so much to say. So much they never got a chance to say, Galliard's last actions speaking louder than any words. Yet his newest words ring in Reiner's head all the same. Confirmation, as if he needed it.
"I'm not," Reiner says, still reaching out, finding a grip on the same arm that holds his.
His cheek fucking hurts, and it's probably swelling already. It doesn't matter. Galliard is warm beneath Reiner's hand, his fist solid when it slugged Reiner's face.
"I'm still alive. Iā"
I was ready to go. I was ready to die. It should've been me.
Reiner's face twists, grip tightening. His free hand seeks the arm with which Galliard slugged him; if Galliard wants to do it again, he'll have to avoid what is perilously close to becoming an embrace.
(Well, if 'gripping someone by the upper arms and dragging them closer' counts as an embrace.)
cockblocked by ads!
He doesn't try to punch again. Once was enough to convince him that yes, Reiner is here, and he's not dead. His jaw felt far too solid and familiar under Galliard's knuckles to be a ghost or an illusion. Tiny scratches on his hand from Reiner's beard have already steamed away to nothing.
Instead, Galliard
lets looseloses his tenuous control over his legs, and collapses forward into Reiner's chest. He leans against him, knowing Reiner is strong enough to take his full weight, and lifts one fist to thump it weakly on Reiner's chest, next to his own face."Good. Good. Bring those kids home. Bring them back."
If Reiner lets go of him, Galliard is going to slither to the ground in a heap.
no subject
Except for into this: his hold on Galliard, tight as anything. Refusing to let him go again.
He didn't want to let Porco go in the first place. He'd screamed, unheard by anything save for his Titan. He hadn't even had time to grieve beforeā¦
"They're safe," he says, throat feeling choked but the words clear. "They're both safe. I promise."
Both safe. It didn't used to be that. It used to be all.
They lost so many of the kids. Zofia and Udo. Countless children in Liberio. Even Colt, who refused to leave his brother.
Fuck, does Galliard even know about Colt? Reiner squeezes tighter, resolving to say nothing unless asked. The Warrior Unit already broke apart one set of brothers; Porco doesn't need to know that another set has broken, too.
no subject
"Okay. Okay, good."
All right, that's enough of that; Galliard takes a step backwards, although he could be trying a lot harder to escape Reiner's clutches.
"So where are we, then? It's not the afterlife if you're here."
no subject
Reiner doesn't have his Titan here. But Galliard does, and he's as hot as he should be. As they both should be. For that moment, Reiner feels the heat they ought to share. He feels rightāand he knows it's not because of the Titan.
It's because it's Galliard. Porco, somehow alive and well.
The moment might just last a few seconds, or it could be longer. Reiner isn't sure. Too soon, however, Galliard starts to pull back. Reiner reluctantly allows it, but he keeps a hand firmly on Galliard's bicep, unwilling to relinquish his hold entirely. As if by hanging on physically, he can prevent this impossible moment from ending.
"Would you believe me if I said it's another world?" he asks, no humor in his voice. "Because that's what it is. There are people from all different realities; most have never even heard of Titans. Time works differently, death doesn't seem to matter, and ā¦ there's magic."
He pauses, knowing how utterly insane he sounds. Then, with a frown: "I turned into a rhinoceros, didn't I?"
no subject
"Aren't you freezing?" Reiner still has ahold of his arm, so Galliard reaches up with the other hand and rubs it briskly back and forth on Reiner's shoulder. He does it without thinking; it's something Pieck used to do to him, back when he didn't have a titan, and she said leaning on him was like leaning on a piece of frozen beef. It took him years before he realised that was, in Pieck's own way, a compliment.
"You did." Galliard is going to temporarily ignore everything else Reiner said and focus in on that. He makes the dry, coughing bark of a sound that serves him for laughter, and keeps rubbing Reiner's shoulder, like he could use friction to push a titan back inside him. "And then you wiggled like you needed your back scratched. I was going to hold my claws so you could get under them, but you figured it out."
He makes the dry barking sound again. For as upsetting as this day has been, at least there's someone here he knows. "I guess it's a little different than getting out a titan, isn't it?"
no subject
He doesn't manage a belly-laugh now, either. But he does laugh, and it's more far than a low chuckle. It's relief, and joy, and a fair bit of embarrassment that might've bothered him once, but doesn't now.
He shimmied and wiggled like mad as a rhino. He must've looked ridiculous. It was frustrating.
And it was perfect, because it's making Galliard laugh.
"I couldn't find my hands," Reiner admits, his smile feeling easy on his lips. As if he isn't freezing, just as Galliard said. As if the horrors of their world could melt way, just for a moment.