How far will you go for the chance to live forever?
Labyrinth OCT
is an Original Character Tournament on Deviantart. Zolteotl (or just Zol for short), the mysterious "master of the maze between worlds", is offering an opportunity for anyone to enter and traverse the titular Labyrinth, an ancient maze-filled city. There in the heart of it all lies the fountain of immortality: anyone who drinks the water from it will be rendered immortal, and no weapon nor illnesses will ever hurt them again.
Only those who have been deemed worthy are allowed to enter for a chance at the water, but they must also be able to survive the dangers of the Labyrinth itself. And any competitors within it that are also looking for the gift of immortality.
You can watch a small commercial for it here.
Labyrinth OCT contains examples of
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General Tropes
- Another Dimension: The Labyrinth is set in its own, one that connects to many other worlds but is different from them all.
- Anyone Can Die: It was forbidden in Round One, but from Round Two onward killing is permitted during matches.
- Art Shift: Given that artists are permitted to change styles during rounds, fairly frequently. Sometimes to highlight a particular story event.
- Elixir of Life: It flows from the Labyrinth's fountain once every thousand years, and then recedes. The winner will receive one vial of it to use however they wish.
- Extradimensional Shortcut: What the doorlets function as, being miniature portals to access the labyrinth. They also transport competitors to different areas within the maze itself.
- Immortality Seeker: The general premise of the OCT and what most of the competitors in it are seeking to get, but...
- Immortality Immorality: There are some that are also looking to get rid of the fountain of immortality itself because of this, and even prevent other competitors from getting it at all.
- Magic Antidote: Many competitors are seeking the fountain believing it to be a cure-all/made into a cure-all, hoping to either heal their existing illnesses, or bring a vital back home with them to help family, friends, or even their home/planet from some disease affecting them before they die.
- The Maze: The Labyrinth itself; it's basically a large city filled with mazes and doors, with the heart of it hosting the fountain of immortality.
- There Can Be Only One: There's only one vial, and even if a pair of competitors wins the vial, only one of them can actually use it or decide what to do with it.
Character Tropes
- The Ageless: Kelso.
- Aliens Speaking English: Forte, Kinsey, Nova, Whim, Limit, Okapa, Cextel, Scourge, and Peeq are all aliens of some sort, specifically coming from planets that aren't Earth or alternate versions of it. They all have no trouble communicating with the other competitors.
- In Nova's case, she's certainly traveled and been around long enough to justify knowing any number of languages.
- Artificial Intelligence: Man Project and Mr. Roboto.
- Lilith isn't truly an AI, but she has one in her head that she can allow to take over to do calculations.
- Artificial Limbs: Chorus has an artificial left leg built by his friend Mechs after he lost it in a freak accident.
- Lilith has four mechanical roots that she uses to perform various tasks.
- Attention Whore: Marquee's entire reason for existing.
- Bioluminescence Is Cool: Sphinx has markings that light up.
- Bird People: Forte, Dunnais, and Dahlion. Maestrale looks somewhat like a bird, but isn't truly one.
- Manfred sort of counts, being a dragon who was turned into a humanoid with scales and an owl's head.
- Blank White Eyes: Buddy, Maestrale, and Skogsfrun.
- Blessed with Suck: Hex has the ability to turn into stone and become invincible this way, but due to a rare disease he was born with he can be killed by it if he stays too long in stone form.
- Born of Magic: Rover and Calibre are both made of it, but cannot use it themselves. D'arr was also created via magic.
- Breath Weapon: Jiru in his inugami form breathes (or rather smokes) miasma, which also counts as a Deadly Gas.
- Being part dragon, Sage can breathe illusory fire.
- Maestrale can breathe a sort of freezing gas.
- Canine Companion: Pascal seems to regard Jiru as this.
- Cartoon Creature: Quite a couple of the competitors are this.
- Claustrophobia: Hex has this.
- Cheerful Child: Lola and Mosse.
- Cool Mask: Zolteotl's. Depending on the Artist it can sometimes be an Expressive Mask too.
- Oxalide has one that curls her petals in and hides her eyes.
- Cute Mute: Patricia. An adorable purple bat girl who can only screech instead of speak since her vocal cords didn't develop properly.
- Cute Witch: Alisa and Badb-Catha.
- Disability Superpower: Okapa is blind, but he has the ability to see other living being's body heat in a similar vein to the Predator.
- Expressive Ears: Many competitors have these. Of particular note are Kelso, Allzi, Skylla, Kinsey, D'arr, Sphinx and Zolteotl themself.
- Extra Eyes: Oxalide has seven inside the petals of her flower.
- Eyes Do Not Belong There: Tone has them all over her body. She tends to cover some of them by using a blanket.
- Calacoayan, the Door to the fountain, is a giant fanged mouth with an eye inside the throat. The doorlets are miniature extensions of it and have their eyes in the same place.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Sage is half dragon and half human. She looks like a human with a tail, small wings, dragon ears, and some patches of scales.
- Healing Factor: As an axolotl, Owl heals quickly and can regrow limbs.
- Hell Is That Noise: Skogsfrun's scream is described as this.
- Illness Blanket: Forte carries one around his shoulders, which is useful given his pressing need for sleep.
- Intellectual Animal: Sphinx, Camden and Tobias, Psyche and Kosei although the former is actually a god who merely looks like a bird, Koi and Liore, Darling Star, Holly, Ollie, Calibre and Rover, Bebo and Tone, Kuwee-Ko, Adeline, D'arr (though he is an artificial creature), Pascal and Jiru, Brightflame, Nitro, and arguably Jebric and Noral. Suffice to say, plenty.
- Intelligible Unintelligible: Most people can't understand Skogsfrun's language made of bird noises and screams, but Mosse and Zolteotl have no problems with it.
- I Should Write a Book About This: Pascal's main motivation for entering the Labyrinth.
- Light 'em Up: As the demigod of sunlight, Anatolius's powers revolve around this.
- Literal-Minded: Wormy, who also has No Social Skills.
- Living Emotional Crutch: Allzi and Skylla are this to each other.
- Living Forever Is Awesome: The reason why several competitors want immortality, though some simply don't want to die of otherwise incurable diseases they're afflicted with.
- Make Them Rot: Mirihim's power, though he used to have the ability to heal himself and others before he fell.
- Mama Bear: Skogsfrun to Mosse. Could also apply to Adeline and Meggy.
- Manipulative Bastard: Okapa uses this to make people do things for him.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: Quite a few, though Adeline in particular stands out as one of the more stranger ones, looking like someone's imaginary friend.
- Marquee can eventually take on the aspects of what they eat.
- Lymon was made from daffodils and alien dna, plus some sort of cat.
- Never Learned to Read: Apparently being part dragon means Sage can't read. Mosse never learned, being raised in a forest by a guardian creature.
- Non-Action Guy: Seth "doesn't care for the fighting", in his own words. Zolteotl lightly mocks him for it. Kinsey also takes a (mostly) observational role and vehemently protests when Zolteotl asks him if he wants to be a fighter.
- Our Monsters Are Weird: Skylla and Allzi are Bermuda Monsters, a specific kind that originates in the Bermuda Triangle and have specific rules about their levels of power and abilities. They also have crystals inside them, and were once humans.
- Playing with Fire: Brightflame.
- Really 700 Years Old: Zolteotl certainly doesn't look like they've been around for at least a millennium. Skogsfrun does, a bit. Nova chooses to dress like a child and her age is vague, but she's definitely much older than she seems.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: There are many, but arguably Wormy is the most notable, having a simplistic design and personality to match.
- Scars Are Forever: Anatolius has a big nasty one on his back. Forte has some on his body as well, most notably the one where he lost his eye.
- Second-Face Smoke: Jiru in his inugami form uses this as a means of attack, though with miasma rather than tobacco smoke.
- Secretly Dying: Averted; Sage is dying of spirit rot, and she doesn't want to tell Seth, but Seth already knows and is researching it, but doesn't want to scare her.
- Semi-Divine: Anatolius is one of the many sons of Zeus, but his mother was mortal.
- Mirihim is a nephilim, part divine being and part rat person.
- Shapeshifting: Quite a few; Jiru can turn into an inugami, and Adeline can transform into a butterfly.
- Sleepyhead: Kelso and Forte. Both suffer without enough sleep; Kelso will be weaker if she doesn't sleep ever 3 hours and will die in less than a day if she does not sleep, and Forte falls asleep from exhaustion frequently due to his disease, Eversleep.
- Smug Smiler: Okapa, nigh constantly. Jiru in his inugami form.
- Squishy Wizard: Seth is capable of performing some spells, but is physically weak and freezes up easily.
- Superpower Lottery: Zolteotl can have a variety of abilities Depending on the Writer, and it can go from being major to mundane.
- Tagalong Chronicler: Kinsey to Forte as it's part of the former's job as a kurri.
- Also applies to Pascal, who is looking to record a little bit of everything for his writings, but Jiru is more of his tag-along rather than the other way around.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Forte and Kinsey don't like each other at all, but recognize that cooperating is in their mutual best interest. Rover and Calibre don't get along much either and only work together because they were ordered to.
- Third Eye: Sphinx and Mirihim both have one on their foreheads. Eloa has two on one side of her face, a third on the other.
- Urban Legends: Some competitors regard the Labyrinth and its fountain as such.
- Was Once a Man: Skylla and Allzi were both humans before they became monsters.
- Maestrale was a human before she turned herself into a homunculus.
- Jaw is still partially human, but an encounter with some arcane refuse warped him into being part monster.
- Weak, but Skilled: Forte is this among his people, as one of the few Rozenich adept at building traps and the like but physically less powerful than average thanks to his disease.
- Weakened by the Light: Zolteotl, though they can hide in even a small shadow. Maestrale as well.
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: Aengus is of this opinion, and actively considers immortality a curse.
- Wound That Will Not Heal: Any wound Rover gets, since he's old enough that he's stopped healing on his own.
Round 1 Tropes
- Beast in the Maze: A common hazard of Round One. Several competitors had to somehow defeat or trick maze denizens to find their doors.
- Booby Trap: Oh so many. Dart traps were particularly common.
Round 2 Tropes
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Some ahuizotls fell under this category. Others were more naturally colored.
The Characters
- Zolteotl, the host of the tournament
- Cuahcoatl, another judge of the tournament who assists Zolteotl
- Calacoayan and the Doorlets, the door of the Labyrinth and the fountain of immorality
- Celote, a vendor NPC within the Labyrinth
- Adeline and Meggy, a mystical Sarephalon and her human companion
- Aengus and Cethlenn, two Fomorian, demonic gods of chaotic aspects of nature
- Alservorde and Ceviere, a pair of Helions looking for a cure
- Alisa and Cora, a witch joined by a ghoul
- Allzi and Skylla, a pair of Bermuda Monsters
- Anatolius and Chrysanthemum, a Grecian demi-god and an undead sorceress of Hades
- Ararat, a Rabicae fearful of the unknown
- Astera and Novaline, king of the Linnias and queen of the Elegantis respectively
- Austen Rudges and Dahlion Adarna, a human paired with a white Phoenix
- Badb-Catha, a young witch from a magical family
- Bebo and Tone, a Hyphalum and a Spindle teamed up
- Brantley Fletcher and Rosalba Moonbreed, an assassin and a swordswoman
- Brightflame, an orange cat from a forest colony
- Buddy, a selectively mute demon
- Calibre and Rover, a pair of Berans, an old race slowly going out of existence
- Camden and Tobias, a pair of Arvóles
- Cextel, a Dragon/Alien hybrid in search of any treasure or trophies he can get his paws on
- Chorus Jone and Mechs, a Kirubian human science professor and his mechanic friend
- Cooper B739, a Fochi piloting powered armor from the Happy Bot: Arms and Armaments Company
- Darling Star, a Minor Season Idol born from a wish on a frosty night
- Dunnais Ruthbord, a Raltophes looking to outlive his rival/enemy
- Eieal and Alvoi, a half-spirit creature and his full spirit half-brother
- Eloá, a three-eyed, anthro-cat like monster
- Forte and Kinsey, an old, frail Rozenich being researched and documented by a less-than-kind Kurri
- Gwen and Lola Yong, a pair of Conomas
- Holly, a German shepherd and wolf dog mix ghost
- Jaw, a human then turned crocodile-dragon-like monster
- Jebric and Noral, two Razbas, a bandit and a spiritual speaker
- Jun’Dai, a Kitsu swordsman
- Kahhl and Amari, a knight and a heiress Sahtanian
- Kelso, a Vima warrior
- Koi and Liore, a cat demi-god and a sea goddess/ siren
- Kosei and Psyche, a Raptor Cat accompanied by a space god looking to regain her power at any cost
- Kossleit and D'arr, a human of Ucerian royalty accompanied by a "familiar" of sorts
- Kuwee-Ko, a Mist Walker inflicted with the Mad-Hungering Disease
- Lilith, a triform creature that looks like a little girl
- Lumos, a moth-person trying to save her home city of Verenia
- Lymon, a wandering, experimental grass-like creature
- Maestrale, an artificial homunculus/construct of a past mage
- Manfred Tanzer and David, a former dragon who is a "harbinger of knowledge" and his servant friend
- Man Project and Mr. Roboto, an arduino board and their soul's physical manifestation
- Marquee and Puiss, an aquatic, xentilian slime accompanied by a Decorator Crab
- Midoris, a sphinx king in charge of a kingdom
- Mirihim and Rael, a Nephilim rat and a Wolverine
- Nate and Kate, a half human and a half ghost
- Neb and Hex, living gnomes from a forest known as the Garden
- Nitro, a canine who is his town's medic apprentice
- Nova, an Aelion who wants to be a robot forever
- Okapa, a manipulative Sharelonon known as the "Prince of Nothing"
- Ollie and Wispy, a soay sheep and wisp duo
- Owl and Clayton, a young Axolotl and old Grizzly Bear duo
- Oxalide, a former human turned Guardian flower creature
- Pascal and Jiru, a traveling patch rabbit writer and a seemingly ordinary dog/inugami
- Patricia, a purple bat creature
- Peeq, an unknown species only known as Watchers
- Ritzy, a "Bust-a-Bouts'' creature and a member of the underground mafia
- Sage and Seth, a half dragon and a human who studies magic
- Scourge, a strange synthetic life-form turned into a human
- Skogsfrun and Mosse, a motherly (yet monsterous) forest guardian and her adopted human child
- Sludge, a Monster Bat creature commonly called Wraiths
- Sphinx, a Mimoselt constantly being hunted by hunters
- Stone, a genetically created cat/beta fish abomination
- Whim and Limit, two alien species, a Landrian and a Northern Deliver, teaming up
- Wormy, a strange worm creature with four legs
