{ final countdown }

[dreamposts]

FINAL COUNTDOWN

It's almost time to take down that Story Eater once and for all. The call to arms and preparations for the upcoming battle are made throughout town and to the fae in the Wildlands. Even the dragons are assisting.

More details on everything can be found here. PART II WILL GO UP ON THE 15TH. This log is just to provide a less tense and more relaxed opportunity for activity, particularly for those who may not be interested in the other log. We will request any thread submissions for certain prompts during AC and TDM threads will count. For more information, refer to the Game Notes.

Dream board prompts can also be used in this log.

I. FIELD WORK

In the fields just outside of the Observatory, several have been cleared and sectioned off for training. Training dummies, walled off areas, magical barriers—everything in place to help those who wish to use it to hone in their skill.

A. Dreamotion Training. With the upcoming battle heavily dependent on dreamotion, there are many who are skilled with various dreamotion techniques to help teach those still learning. Anyone is welcome to volunteer or learn from others.

B. Power of Nightmares. While it may seem dubious, there is no doubt that nightmare energy is part of dreamotion energy as a whole. There is also evidence even among the populace that it's possible to wield nightmare energy safely if with the right state of mind and practice. Only those who are strong of mind and have experienced nightmare energy, even becoming a noctaere, will be allowed to train but others are free to watch and observe. There are targets and training exercises for individuals to focus on using nightmare energy similar to how one uses dreamotion. The only clear difference is the effect and harnessing more negative emotions to produce tangible results, such as attacks, weapons, objects, barriers.

🤺 Mini Noctaere. Of course, there are occasional slip ups and small noctaere may spawn. Fortunately they are easily destroyed, and those observing can join in to help. Or maybe someone might want to try to control their little noctaere creations. Born of their own nightmare energy, it's not impossible as long as the creator can keep a strong mind and not fall into the nightmare insead.

👺 More Noctaere Problems. While it's true that nightmare energy can be more potent and destructive, it comes at a great risk to the user. Some are more strong willed while others succumb to the source of their nightmares, and this means on occasion someone will lose their mind and run the risk of the turning. Fortunately, there are a lot of experienced people around to help, and some even say it's "great practice" for those who will likely see others start to turn. Use this as a chance to bring the afflicted individual back before they turn—and if they do turn, purify them. (Note: this situation will also be available in Part II; this is just an option for those who want to do something like this but in a more controlled setting or may not be participating in Part II.)

C. Target Practice. Those who volunteer will be given a device that looks similar to a handheld RC controller with a control stick and several buttons for inputs. Several…creative painted wooden interpretations of the Story Eater are scattered about the large fields and there are several large mirror lenses that can be operated. WIth the controller, figure out how to turn the mirror and launch the laser beam that will obliterate the target. Caution, these are very difficult and harder to move than they look. They can be either very sensitive and swing easily or require a lot of effort to move. Even the aim can suddenly go off wildly. But with each iteration, it will improve to keep at it! And try not to hit someone else!

D. Crystal Moles. Crystals are needed from the underground caves beneath the town to help bolster the larger one, and while the caves are safe from predators, there are moles that will try to hinder their efforts: dirt suddenly falling from the ceiling into unsuspecting eyes, stealing collected crystals, the ground suddenly disappearing as holes appear at their feet, sending them falling to another level and needing to climb their way up. The moles will snicker and heckle, but perhaps with some coaxing and offering dreamotion to help them see, the moles could be pulled to be allies instead of pranksters.

E. Charging the Crystal. With the crystals in hand, now they need to be charged with various emotions, both positive and negative. One just needs to hold it in their hands and focus on an emotion for it to be absorbed. The crystaltei, crystalline creatures that had appeared with the crystal a while back, will take the crystals back to have it absorbed… But they might need a little help and they can be a little finicky about it.

✨ The green sprite needs to be complimented constantly for it to get to the crystal, or else it will feel jealous over the others and sit down without moving, or worse, try to steal the other crystals.
🐬 The pink liopleurodon gets distracted by either being too happy or too sad, and thus needs a gentle reminder or some cheering up to get it moving.
🐦 The orange phoenix will cling to those who are express their love and will follow them, but around those who are hateful it will suddenly peck at them.
🦄 When the silver kirin is more white, it will prance along without much issue, wanting to get the crystals in! But if starts turning black, it's feeling despair over the upcoming battle and starts turning into goop, requiring some hopeful words to get it back up and going.
🦀 The blue crab will constantly hide in its shell whenever someone new approaches (basically, everyone) and will guard the crystal like its life depends on it. Acts of trust will allow the crab to let others help it along, especially since scuttling on the ground can take a while…
🐳 The purple whale will float through the air calmly…but occasionally it will throw huge fits and splash freezing cold water at everyone. Calm it down to get it moving again.
🐲 The yellow dragon will charge right to the crystal…until it suffers an extreme case of fear and insecurity, curling up into a ball and refusing to budge. Telling it stories of grand adventures and heroes will get it back up.

II. FORTIFY THE TOWN

Reverein is also undergoing its own fortifications as it's very likely the Story Eater and its minions will try to attack the town despite attempts to keep it on the moon. Better to be safe than sorry! Efforts are being made to create special barriers, enchantments, bunkers, and gathering foods and supplies for use.

A. Morale Boost. While some holiday cultures from different worlds are similar or even the same, some are vastly different. But they all want to help boost morale so no matter what season or holiday they represent, they offer everyone a chance to decorate the town with special decor that will make even the grumpiest of people smile and work hard.

🍬 Sugar Rush. With all the candy and baked goods going around, there is actual sugar in the air, and one quick inhale will make anyone overly energetic and childlike. May or may not be useful to stay up long hours.
🍭 Spicy Spirit. Candy canes are hanging everywhere, but instead of making one feel sweet, they are made of special spices and being around them will instead charge up one's fighting spirit, making them grab the nearest, largest cane to challenge anyone to a duel. And if a cane is not around, they'll use whatever they can find!
👻 Spooked. There are a lot of ghostly charms, pumpkins, and talismans that are meant to keep away frightening thoughts and invoke bravery, but instead there's too much of them and the inverse is happening. Crippled with fear over the silliest things, these need to be taken down before one is able to do anything!

B. Bolster Defenses…with Sand? Sandman has dumped a giant pile of sand to use to build walls and barriers. This sand is magically bolstered to help resist nightmare energy and once enough water and dreamotion is poured into it, will be as strong as concrete. Of course the tools given are…less than ideal as they are all shaped like sand castle toys, but while it starts small, they'll expand and grow. Some folks may even get distracted and start making sandcastles and other sculptures, all of which could also (maybe) be useful. Just watch out for the cheese wheel! It's strong enough to plow through unfinished works or at least cause structural damage! (reference to dream board quest)

C. Sled Runs. To help quickly gather supplies, different styles of sleds have been constructed with just as varying steeds, from reindeer to dogs to bison to bears to reptiles. Flying carpets are also employed. To prepare for the eventual fallout, certain items are requested to be gathered:

🌹 Poppy Field. By either using special breathing masks or dreamotion, the poppies from this field must be carefully gathered and collected in special sacks. They still produce the sleep effect, so care must be taken to not succumb to slumber!
🍐 Emergency harvest. While it's still too early, farmers are afraid of their fields getting destroyed. To not waste what is available, all crops must be harvested and stored. The emoji fruit dream board task can be used here.
🌳 Cursed wood. A lot of wood is needed and fortunately the Wildlands has plenty. With the Ents helping, chopping down trees and taking what's needed is made easier, however some have accidentally ventured into some cursed woods. Now there are haunted trees that are casting curses and rotting the nearby wood supply. Destroy them by chopping or burning them so the curse doesn't spread! They will curse people, making them feel ill and weak with the potential to petrify if not taken away and cured (available in town).
🏁 Racing. Of course, races occur fairly frequently as sleds are being tested out to ensure their speed and sturdiness. Either join in or watch out as anything can turn into a track, even in the skies!

Comments

Wanderer | Genshin Impact | OTA

[threebetrayals]

Charging the Crystal

[Wanderer wasn't even really going to do anything with the crystalline creatures, but then he got splashed by the grumpy purple whale, and. Well...

A soaked, chilled Wanderer is glaring up at the whale, arms crossed.]

What are you, a child? Stop throwing a tantrum for no reason--it won't help anyone.

[This may not be how to talk to the whale but hey it's working sorta?]

Morale Boost...Only Not?

[He was going to take down some of the damn ghost charms because someone went overboard with them, but unfortunately it seems fate has different plans for the wanderer.

He's sitting curled into a small ball at the base of a tree, overcome with panic and terror at the thought of...anything, really. He doesn't really know what this Story Eater is--what if it's like Irminsul but not something controllable, so what if people are just erased for good? Sure, that's what he wanted not that long ago but now? For some reason that's terrifying. And no one can help him, can they? He's doomed...even his kitten Arashi is mewing in distress.]

Dream Board -- Catch the Lightning

[Random bolts of lightning? Eh, he can handle that. Wanderer goes around the city, replacing full jars with empty ones and gathering up the full ones to be set aside somewhere safe. Mostly pretty simple!

Of course, his hair is puffed out like a cotton ball thanks to all the static electricity but it's fine. Nobody say anything.]

Wildcard!

[This was already getting long, so a wildcard prompt! Wanderer can be talked into helping with the supply runs on top of everything else he's doing.]

Morale boost...?

[abyssbound]

[ Much can be said for the strength of Asura's Spiritual Entity, and at this precise moment in time, its resistance to mental attacks is a boon against the ghostly charms. He's able to burn a good number of them into ashes before they can affect his mind, and he ends up stumbling across the Wanderer in the middle of this work--almost literally. He has to stop himself from tripping over the curled-up ball of a kid who has managed to make himself nearly invisible in his terror. ]

Hey, [ Asura calls gently to him once he realizes the state of panic the Wanderer is in, kneeling a few steps away as if he's a frightened animal. ] can you hear me right now?

catch the lightning

[virtues]

Your hair is literally standing on end.

[He can't help but point it out, honestly. Chalcedony wants to help out too because it's not that difficult of a task. His hair looks equally ridiculous when all this is said and done.]

Allow me to help.

catch the lightning

[rotacalamitas]

[Wanderer isn't the only one handling the jars of lightning, as Bennett's hair is also standing on end, looking messier than usual. Though, he also looks like he may have been struck a few times as well... But he seems unfazed by it, more concerned by the Wanderer's state.]

Whoa, Hat Guy... Are you okay?

Crystal

[chocobosnap]

[ Nothing like getting splashed in the face to really wake someone up. He's dripping with icy water. ]

Astrals that's cold! [ He squeals a little bit in his words. ]

Why is it so upset?

Catch the Lightning

[kikuichi]

[The thing with having fluffy hair is that they stand out a lot more from the static. For such a fun looking task, it sure give a rather interesting experience. The experience of receiving static electricity.

Norimune looks up when he notice someone, spotting a young looking man putting aside a lot of full bottles. Hm...]

Oya, kid. You sure collected a lot of them.

Charging the Whale

[darkcharge]

I can see that you're being very effective with your methodology here.

[ Vanitas stands there, watching all of this go down. He just gives Wanderer some slow, soft claps that don't even really make a sound.

At least he's amused, if nothing else. ]

percy jackson | percy jackson and the olympians

[judoflipped]

i. sugar rush

[well. maybe you weren't really expecting an even more hyped up version of a 16 year old demigod, but here we are. he's here. he's throwing candy everywhere, "decorating" with it. who knows when the last time he slept was.]

Let's go!!

[as he sticks more candy up on a wall as decoration. it's a jellybean. maybe he'll put another jelly bean. and then a piece of licorice underneath to create a smile.]

Smilebean.

[he grins like an idiot and props his hands on his hips, clearly proud of himself.]

ii. it's coarse, and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere

[well, Percy's definitely gotten distracted while making sand fortifications. he's currently making a sandy replica of the sharktopus that they'd fought and gotten rid of on the ship while they were sailing. it's something that's pretty damn hard to forget, and he's currently drawing out the tentacles with sand and dreamotion before he looks up.]

Horrifying, isn't it?

[the shark's mouth is open behind him, ready to bite a bitch.]

iii. sled racing

Go Mrs. O'Leary, go!!

[Percy might be racing by you, with a mask on still from when he was collecting stuff from the poppy fields. maybe he was still a little worried about falling asleep after saying I CAN HANDLE THIS and then immediately not earlier.

we're not going to talk about it.

what we are going to talk about is the slightly bigger than normal standard sized poodle is running by with him on the sled behind her, and they both look like dogs who have their heads out the car window in pure joy.]

Race you! I bet we'll beat you!

II

[grandduchess_anya]

(Anya is in the middle of creating her giant nesting doll out of sand. While its face does look innocent and it is still a work in progress, this sand doll creation is carrying a staff in its hands. Yes, a nesting doll carrying a staff is nothing very alarming at all.

Either way, she does get a look at the sharktopus sculpture Percy’s making and she is quite amazing that it looks so scary enough for any nocteare to run into.)

Oh yes, it sure looks quite horrifying that any nocteare would be very scared of it.

|

[itsgunnabe_mei]

[ And as someone who is desperately trying to suppress all her negative feelings, the sugar inhalation is doing a bang-up job! She stands at Percy's side, judging his candy creation. ]

... You know what it needs?

Eyebrows. Stat.

Leo Valdez | Riordanverse

[morsecodes]

i: field work

[Considering Leo's only just recently mastered making his sword shift into the battle hammer of his dreams, he definitely needs practice. Those hanging around the training area will see him trying his best. He's got the shifting part down, but the scrawny demigod is not fighting inclined. All the same, he's practicing making his sword shift, as well as working on his swordwork, and even attempting (and failing badly) at trying to summon elements other than his fire as he swings his sword or hammer.

When he gives up on that (or his arms do, more accurately), Leo can be found playing with the RC car and working on this "target practice" training. It's a breeze for Leo, who quickly adapts to the controller and use of the RC car. He's at it for a while, and of course, when he finally successfully takes out the target, he's going to drop the controller and punch the air.]

Boo-yah! Yet again, nothing is a challenge for the RC Wizard himself! [someone shut him up please.]

ii: bolstering defenses

[Leo is no artist, but when it comes to building, he's your man! Or normally, anyway. Building with sand? Now that's a different story.

Still, it's challenge accepted! Only....he totally gets distracted and forget what he's supposed to be building (especially since he absolutely saw Percy's attempt at building sharktopus). So here he is, making....Shrimpzilla. Out of sand. It's actually a skolopendra, the half-shrimp, half-crawfish creature. And Leo makes sure to add all the nasty details, and most definitely makes sure it's bigger than Percy's sculpture.]

iii: dream board

[As it gets into the second week of preparations, the storms move in and the red lightning starts. It might be frightening to some, but it's an opportunity for him. It's different, it's weird, and --- there are already jars laying around to use to capture it, and all he can think about are the different uses for the lightning.

Anyone around town during any of the storms may find the dumb demigod out and about, without an umbrella or a rain jacket of any kind, wearing goggles and carrying around some empty jars, some already filled. Other times, you may catch him with chattering teeth where he hecked up and got shocked.

Help the dumbass kid?]

iv: closed to lyria

[Leo had already been plotting making Lyria something special after talking to her at the cafe launch, but when he found out it was her birthday last month, and then things in town started to escalate, he knew he had to get to work.

He waffled around different ideas, sketching and making prototypes, before he finally settled on an idea. He got an extra boobie at the beginning of the month, so he had just enough supplies to make his vision happen.

He sends her a message to meet at the fountain at an agreed upon time, and he anxiously gets there early, mostly because he was so eager to give her this gift. He's going to be twiddling his thumbs, playing with gears, and doing all his nervous ADHD quirks until she arrived. He worked so hard on it, he really hoped she liked it!!!]

[azuresong]

[ To say that Lyria was a little too excited to get a message from Leo was a bit of an understatement. She had always found it so enjoyable to spend time with him, and getting the opportunity to do so again was something she couldn't possibly pass up!

He did always find so many ways to make her smile, after all...

So, after hurriedly getting ready and planning to meet the boy at the appointed time, she was surprised to find him there already twiddling away when she approached. ]

Ah, Leo! Hello there...! [ She called out, still a bit of a ways away from the fountain when she noticed him sitting. ] Helloooo!

Shinjiro Aragaki || Persona 3: FES || OTA

[mortal_son]

I.D. Holey Moley

Shinjiro's not intending to involve himself in the fight, considering his own difficulties with nightmares lately. Based on what little he understood this place - it just seemed too goddamn dangerous for everyone else. Not to mention his power was basically worthless, that had been hammered home recently.

But it seems like this place was determined to include him anyway - because as he wandered through the streets of the town, hands deep in his pockets, turning over what his options were to fix - things -

A hole opened up beneath his feet, and he fell through into a cave. "Aaagh!"

The pile of dirt he landed on was soft, at least - Shinjiro saw some little creatures (were those moles?) laughing at him before the scampered away into the darkness of the tunnels. There's really only one thing to say to this.

"What the fuck."


II.C. Snow Dogs (2023)

Shinjiro might have gotten a little distracted as he passed by the sleds. Crouching down, he offered one of the dogs his hand to sniff, and then scratched behind their ears. He offered the animal a small smile, despite everything. Their - his, hm? - fur was thick and dense, a little bristly. Used to snow, probably.

He found himself saying aloud, forgetting he's in public, "Hey, boy. They're even puttin you to work too, huh? Think I should finally pitch in some, or am I just gonna make a mess?"

The dog thought a helpful response would be to lick his face.


WILDCARD!

(( ooc: feel free to come at me with anything! these are lighter options considering the dream he just had, but if you want to do something different, just let me know! plurk or discord are both open for plotting! ))

Holey Moley

[grandduchess_anya]

What should have been a nice day to unwind and relax from practice gets even weirder for Anya while she is taking Pooka and Mashka for a walk. It should be a simple thing: make sure that two animals don’t run off without her watch and stay as close to them as possible.

Except that she didn’t expect to stumble upon a hole on the road and Pooka tries to sniff it out only for the little dog to fall over followed closely by Mashka who also did a similar thing. Panicked over their safety, Anya jumps into the hole and finds herself jumping into the dirt ground to find her pets.

Luckily neither animal is harmed when she finds them but ho boy Pooka is barking mad at some noises that are not human echoing out from the tunnels. Hoping to see a little better in the dark, the Grand Duchess summons a fireball infused with dreamotion to hopefully find a way out. But she didn’t expect to run into Shinjiro cursing in vain at the hidden creatures. Maybe those are the same ones Pooka was mad at earlier.

“Oh gee. I was going to say a similar thing too except that my dog managed to beat me to it as he was barking at those things a while ago,” Anya speaks up to him.

Ienzo || Kingdom Hearts || OTA

[lightresearch]

I.C. Stay ... on ... target ...

Ienzo didn't feel confident about using his own abilities - given both his currently limited understanding of Dreamotion and his the nature of his current powers. But he could use a controller and remotely pilot the mirror, surely! It would be like ... a video game. He's done those before.

He stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth as he wiggled the controls, concentrating. He missed! He missed! He - struck!

Jumping up, fists raised, Ienzo had to cheer, "Bulls-eye!"

Which, admittedly, he felt embarrassed by immediately after, blushing. This wasn't supposed to be fun, this was serious!


I.E. Imma Chargin My Crystal!

Now this seemed like a way to better understand Dreamotion without possibly tapping into his current abilities, didn't it? Ienzo knew there were a lot of crystals that needed to be charged with emotions - and at least he understood emotions. All right, then - he would need to concentrate. This should be straightforward.

This was before he was splashed with icy-cold water from the purple whale floating above his head. Ienzo sighed deeply, wiping his sopping-wet hair out of his eyes. "It's been a while since anyone's splashed me like that."

What sort of emotion did this sprite need?

WILDCARD!

(( ooc: feel free to come at me with anything! I'm pretty much down for whatevs with Ienzo, he's a very helpful nerd. plurk or discord are both open for plotting! ))

WILDCARD

[your_best_friend]

Four months. It's been four months and Flowey's seen people arrived later than him do dreamotion better than him. He's seen people arrived later that did dreamotion at ALL. Four months and Flowey still hasn't improved a single bit in using dreamotion.

He would say he's frustrated or jealous, but those would be lies. He can't feel emotions yet.

Still, Flowey aims to act a little frustrated as that seems like the logical thing to happen to someone with emotions. He's tried going to classes, he's tried forcing himself to feel things... and other things, too, but none of them worked at all. It's time to try attacking this from a different angle. And the way Flowey decides to do so is to look at things from a scientific perspective. After all, he knows the last digit of pi. He's memorized the scientific formula to determine what a person's Level Of ViolencE is.

He's certain that, with assistance, he'll be able to finally crack the code of Dreamotion. And the best person to ask is...

"Howdy, Ienzo! What's up?"

Yep. This flower just popped up from the ground unannounced. Have fun, Ienzo.

Gen Asagiri || Dr. Stone || OTA

[fun_thementalist]

I.A. Training Montage!

Gen was very, very excited to begin learning how to use Dreamotion. He's not sure how he feels about fighting. ... Okay that's a lie. He's very certain how he feels about fighting. He's probably going to run in the other direction as fast as he coud.

(Okay ... that's also a lie. Deep down Gen knew he wouldn't be able to turn away if someone was getting hurt. But look at him! He's as weak as a sparrow! He's not going to be good at this! Why couldn't he just run? Uuugh.)

But, magic! Learning real magic! Even if it's only in his dreams, which, frankly, tracked. He's going to seek out someone who looked halfway like they knew what they were doing, and then bow to them respectfully. "Hello, my friend! I'm hoping to make a humble request - I'm very interested in learning how you did - that. What you just did."


II.B. I Hate Sand, It's Coarse and ...

Why. Why. Just how did Gen always get roped into these kinds of ... projects? Not that it wasn't fun to build sand castles. It's the manual labor. Endlessly making brick out of brick with sand, using the silly tools made of flimsy plastic to sculp them into shape, sculpting even more sand ...

... it's kind of fun.

... He's still going to complain about it. "I'm not cut out for this, truly. Look at all this and-say! It's getting under my nails! Into my robes! I'm going to find sand in my shower for da-"

Gen cut himself off, blinking. "Is that a wheel of cheese?"

It's coming right for them.

WILDCARD!

(( ooc: feel free to come at me with anything! Gen needs to make friends here and learn some magic, don't hesitate to put him to work. plurk or discord are both open for plotting! ))

II B

[10billionpercent]

[ Is he even listening to Gen's complaining? It's possible he isn't, not really. Gen complains all the time it's like white noise.

Senku is in the middle of creating a replica of The Great Wall Of China something no one has seen in thousands of years. ]

Cheese?

[ Yep that is certainly coming right for them and in his frustration at the fact his work is about to be destroyed, Senku reacts.

He holds up his hands and the giant cheese wheel bounces off of an unseen shield, wobbles, and falls over. ]

....Huh.

Dr. Senku Ishigami | Dr. STONE | OTA

[10billionpercent]

I. Dreamotion Training

[Senku is the curious type, being a nerd and all and it’s far more cemented today because he’s wearing his labcoat under his cape again. The opportunity to learn how to wield dreamotion with direct instructions seems like step one really.

Early on, he’s really struggling to make things happen. So far he’s been able to somehow manipulate his living quarters into what he needs, but this...then again Senku doesn’t seem like he’s putting much emotion into his efforts. He could use a little hint.

By the end though, Senku does manage to get ahold of how it works and is on the way to accomplishing dreamotion magic!

In fact, Senku wipes his brow and looks very satisfied.

What he’s accomplished is not clear, but approaching him to ask might find someone walking into an invisible barrier that shimmers on contact.]

Oh, sorry about that. [It will disappear a moment later.]

II. Sled Runs

[Senku may work hard, and he does, but he also plays hard, and encouraging his dog sled to go as fast as possible, barely hanging on lets him tap into that reckless side that drives everyone crazy. He has the most wild grin on his face.

Crossing his path might be dangerous, except he’s more than willing to sacrifice his safety to avoid a collision. Maybe it looks like fun, and someone might want to go with him back to the emergency harvest.

Once the work is done however, he’ll happily turn to whoever’s with him.]

Race you back!

III. Dream Board

[How hard can catching lightning in a bottle be? Senku is about to find out.

He’s out in the storm, holding bottles to the sky. The first one, he manages to collect without issue. Carefully the tucks the bottle into the same bag he carried around the festival to collect snacks with.

Will Senku’s luck hold out to collect more jars?

He notoriously has the worst luck.]

IV. Wildcard

[I’m literally up for anything!]

||

[itsgunnabe_mei]

[ Mei... doesn't exactly seem to be jazzed about racing back. If anything, she looks a little exhausted, because... ]

Dude, I just got winded WATCHING you get here. You tried to use yourself as a human airbag wayyy too many times!

Prompto Argentum | Final Fantasy XV | OTA

[chocobosnap]

I. Target Practice

[Come on, something video game-like and Prompto wasn’t going to be there? Of course he volunteered.

It becomes really apparent, really quickly, that there’s more to this than meets the eye.

Prompto seems a little more lighthearted until he realizes that, then he looks like he’s concentrating. He’s taking a deep breath before moving and angling the mirrors just right and releasing the controls before he releases his breath.

Sniper’s trick, working like a charm too. Maybe he’s someone that could be hit up for pointers.]

II. Blue Crab

[The poor creature hid the moment that Prompto approached. That’s kind of a mood, he understands that feeling.

Prompto crouches down, speaking softly.]

Hey buddy, how’s it going? [It doesn’t matter if the crab can understand him or not, it’s the soothing tone in his voice that he’s really offering. Poor skittish thing, he could probably use a hand though. All the help they can get.]

III. Spicy Spirit

[Look he’s definitely not immune to childish behaviour, and having a playful duel with giant candy canes?

Right up Prompto’s alley.

He grabs one and points the end at the nearest person, speaking in an extremely overdramatic tone.]

En garde! I will defeat you to eradicate all of the evil that has befallen this day! [Nerd.]

IV. Wildcard

[I’m up for anything – but be aware that Prompto is going to attract negative energy like crazy. He probably should be learning to wield nightmare energy.]

1

[luciing]

[ He's come to see what preparations the locals have developed. Who knew they would entrust powerful lasers to anyone and everyone. At least there is one who is acquainted with firearms behind the mirrors.

Whether or not Prompto has just unleashed one of the lasers or is continuing to make adjustments with the lasers, Somnus steps into view. ]

Hail, Crownsguard.

Demyx | Kingdom Hearts | OTA

[melodiouspacifist]

I. Dreamotion Training

[Surprisingly, or not, if anyone knows anything about Demyx and learning – he’s not listening to any lessons about how to do dreamotion. He might be a newbie, but he’s figured out what he needs to know.

He’s going to learn by feel.

What he happens to be learning, apparently sets a nearby bush on fire.]

Ack! [Quick, quick, put that out with a big splash of water. No one saw that right?]

II. Sandcastles

[Once he gets the hang of it, adding water and dreamotion energy, who needs the so called tools?

Clearly the point of this is to build some kind of fortress, right?

Demyx is not necessarily talented in sculpting, but he’s got a clear vision of a castle and he’s going to fuss over it all day until it looks exactly right. It’s going to be fun.

Why this castle? Don't worry about it.]

III. Wildcard

[You know what to do.]

i

[oathkeeper]

[Guess who totally sees Demyx biff it and light a bush on fire? That's right- it's Sora! The fizzing bush gets so ruined that it looks charred and sad. Poor bush.]

Demyx! Geeze?!

[Sora doesn't really need the dreamotion lessons himself since he's been here so long that he's learned almost everything that he could learn. All that's really left for him to learn is how to push his dreamotion past its limits and that will probably take some considerable effort.]

I know we talked about using fire before but maybe you need a hand? Want some tips?

[There might be something Sora wants to talk to Demyx about too...]

Anastasia Romanova | Anastasia (1997)

[grandduchess_anya]

Dreamotion Training
(Much to no one’s surprise, if there is something involving dreamotion, Anya is bound to be there to train and help. Having been in the world for a long time now, she hopes to lend a hand to help anyone struggling to use their dreamotion abilities while learning from others to improve her existing ones.

You can find her trying to creating elemental weapons with conjuring small daggers and knives or she could be showing you how to cast light, fire, and ice magic at the training dummies.)

Sled Racing
Okay Pooka, are you ready to test out this sled?

Bark, bark, bark!

(Anya is about to get Pooka into racing mode as they are among the people testing out the sleds for their durability and speed. The little dog barks in eager as he prepares to get it started as much as his master is.

Hoping that the person next to her is ready, she turns to them and checks in with them to make sure if they will be alright.)

Hi there, are you ready to ensure that these things are ready to go?

Training

[helluvaboss]

Heeey, I know you! You were there when we were fighting the literal furnace.

[He almost didn't recognize her with her human mug! Blitzø trotted closer, already having come over here to get some lessons in about dreammotion.]

You're tutoring today? You got a course for people that've never done magic once in their lives?

Isabela Madrigal | Encanto

[senorita_perfecta]

Dreamotion Training
(Isabela is definitely wanting to sharpen up her dreamotion abilities so she has a big itch to get into training and learn how to use dreamotion as a refresher. So there she is, trying to use wind magic to knock out a practice dummy except that she may have put a little much into it that it caused a tornado to show up than the intended breeze and possibly cause a bit of damage.)

Um, oops!

Charging the Crystal
Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa!

(And she had to cross paths with a very spiteful jealous green sprite trying to get into a fit as she tries to beg them not to let the jealously rule over them. The sprite would not want to do anything with her let alone help her in powering up the crystal. She knows how being jealous is like as she used to feel jealous over Mirabel for escaping the town’s excessive attention over her.

But right now Isabela is in a loss of words as the sprite doesn’t want to listen to her or even move a muscle. Which is why she is running towards the first person she could find and asking for help.)

Hi there, I’m in a big pickle right now. This sprite I ran into doesn’t want to listen to me whenever I beg them to help ignite the crystal. Can you help me on what to do to get them to be cooperative?

Poppy Field Sled Runs
This should be a simple run to grab some poppies.

(Isabela muses on as she straps on her breathing masks to hopefully lessen the effect of the poppies’ magic. She wasn’t near any of the poppies when she went into the Oz dreamshift but she does want to be very careful when handling them. To her it was like having to handle more delicate plants and the poppies might ring a bell to her.)

I do hope that we’ll be able to gather as many as we can before the final battle can begin.

Charging the crystal

[ribbonbon]

Oh! Um, I can totally try! Let's see what we can do!

[Until now, she hasn't had much experience with the crystaltei but she's never been one to turn down someone asking for help.]

Did anything happen to make to stop cooperating with you?

Shionne | Tales of Arise | OTA

[nevercravetherose]

1. Training
It's not too shocking to see Shionne out training. Her flashes of dreamotion are still a little too unpredictable for her liking; that much is clear with the way her fire sparks oddly and goes through different colors...

...Including a rather unsettling purple, once or twice. Maybe it's just because she's too close to the nightmare training. Someone needs to be on hand to offer healing in case of accidents, after all. But Shionne still gives the fire a quick glare before snuffing it out.

"I wish it would stop doing that. Looks too much like my..." Come to think of it, this is also a good time to flinch away from anyone getting a little too close. Thorns, and all that.

2. Storytime
...Why oh why did she volunteer for this. The little creatures are already too unpredictable for Shionne's tastes; she's already had to dodge out of contact range with them a few times. But now she finds herself looking down at a gold dragon curled up into an unhappy ball, and... Well she can't leave it alone, right?

And it's supposed to like stories, right? Shame she's never been much of a story teller, or a conversationalist. So Shionne finds herself frowning, shaking her head as she looks over the dragon, and finally settling on something that might work.

"Okay... How about this; I know a story about a pretty fearless, and gentle...And kind of dense swordsman, who never gives up on people. And a fire sword that he wields (dragons like fire, right?) to protect those same people..."

At least she's getting a little bit of a reaction out of the dragon, with those little eyes peeping out from behind its tail. And she might as well keep talking about said dense brave swordsman. It makes for a good enough story.

3. DOGGO SLED
This is the worst idea. Shionne has pretty much been placed right in front of a dog sled, tossed a mask for the poppy field, and told to do her best. Shame no one told her how to handle a dog sled. Or let her talk about how this is a terrible idea because she doesn't understand dogs.

Because the dogs have already taken it into their head to start running, and pulling Shionne after them. Heedless on how she's yelling at them to slow down, or for other people to please GET OUT OF THE WAY.

4. Wildcard!
((OOC come at me with anything else, and will match my style to other people's responses!))

1

[refire]

"Shionne?"

Alphen's walking over to her with a hint of concern in his voice. He wonders what she could be up to at this hour. Of course, he always knows that she's working hard and she's kind towards other people. Sometimes he wonders if she remembers to be kinder to herself too. It's something that lingers on his mind as he checks out what she's doing over there.

"Do you need help with dreamotion magic?"

Alastor | Hazbin Hotel

[lonelysmiles]

Dreamotion Training

Normally, Alastor wouldn't be doing this. His magic has both light and dark aspects but typically he used it for dark purposes. He made the choice to do so. Teaching someone else to walk that tightrope with a heavy lean towards the dark side was only for those who were old enough to understand the risks to their soul.

However, there is an aspect of his magic that can be applied to dreamotion that comes with no risk to the soul at all.

"If there's magic where you're originally from, I assume it has very strict rules to how it is performed. Throw that out of your mind with dreamotion. Dreamotion works very similarly to voodoo in that it follows loose guidelines with very few hard and fast rules. It's less about learning what works and more about what works for you."

As he said this, he slowly shuffled along to soft jazz, using his magic to make the dreamotion he was manipulating visible as it curled rhythmically around his limbs almost as if it were dancing with him.

Power of Nightmares

Dreamotion, like voodoo, was a neutral force. True, the term "dreamotion" applied to the positive effects and "nightmare energy" to the negative, but the truth was both were the same energy with different driving forces behind it. It was a magic that was balanced by the will of the user.

Alastor could feel the golden threads binding the energy that had poisoned his soul before. A weapon to only be wielded when there was no other choice for once he unleashed his full demon side, he would likely never be welcomed back into Reverein society. However, he needed to learn some semblance of control so that he didn't target his companions and neighbors in the rampage.

He took a deep, slow breath. None of his usual tricks. Reach out, take the darker aspects, and use them instead of the other way around.

His eyes became radio dials as his antlers branched out, horrible snapping accompanying it. He reached out his hand and focused on the target, flicking his wrist almost casually.

The head fell off, its neck cleanly sliced through.

Motivating the Crystaltei

Charging the crystals? That was easy. Thoughts of his bayou home when he was alive filled crystals with positive energy while thoughts of Hell filled them with negative energy.

The real trick was getting the little Crystaltei to keep moving.

"Ah, there it is! A smile really does enhance your radiance, my dear!" Alastor complimented the little green sprite. "As if you didn't already outshine the rest!"

The little sprite, now perked up, took the latest crystal.

Alastor's ears twitched as he looked about. He really could use some water. He'd been all chatter and songs to boost the little magical creatures' morale for quite some time.

Wildcard
((OOC: Toss a prompt my way!))

Motivating the Crystaltei

[senorita_perfecta]

Meanwhile Isabela have not much luck in her motivation skills as the grumpy whale she is stuck with splashes cold water on her as it grumps on to no end. The poor lady is shivering in the cold as she tries (and fails) to calm it down. Chilly water temperatures are a very alien concept for someone who is used to living in a town surrounded by tropical jungles.

But she does have some extra water to spare if she is able to get over her reaction to the icy water.

Kratos Aurion | Tales of Symphonia | OTA

[flamberge]

ie. charging the crystal.

[dreammotion remains something kratos still wants to learn more about. when the chance presents itself to do so by charging up these crystals, he doesn't hesitate with going over to assist. all that needs to be done is focus on an emotion and it will charge the crystal, right? so he does and the crystal is charged up quickly enough. nothing to difficult.

as soon as that crystal is charged up, a yellow dragon starts to rush over only for it to stop feet away from kratos and curl up into a ball. kratos blinks, confused. that's... unexpected? it was about to take the crystal so why had it stopped? is something wrong? kratos waits a moment for it to do something --anything-- but all the dragon does is remain curled up.]

Are you alright?

[kratos doesn't expect an answer, but at least a reaction. when the dragon fails to do even that, kratos can't help but grow concerned.]

I'm not entirely sure what you need here...

[does anyone know what's wrong with this creature or how to help it?]

ii. spicy spirit.

[what an impressive display of candy canes. small ones, large ones and bigger ones than kratos knew existed. why someone would need a candy cane quite that large is honestly a mystery. he hadn't been planning on lingering here too long but, while venturing through, stumbles upon a nice display of candy canes that are essentially sword-sized. huh. curious.

something compels him to pick one about the length of his sword up. he rotates it in his hand and the more he studies it, the more an urge to test out this candy blade grows. tosses the cane up in the air and catches it effortlessly when it falls back down. a teeny smirk crosses his lips as he turns to whoever happens to be nearby.]

I'm curious how sturdy these are. Mind sparring with me to test it out?

[it sounds ridiculous, testing the sturdiness of a CANDY CANE, and kratos logically knows this but fails to care. right now, he just wants to have a sword fight with a candy cane.]

iii. cursed wood.

[helping out with a few sled runs to pick up some wood isn't something overly difficult. while he'd never had the chance to use a sled led by some very enthusiastic dogs, kratos manages to do so without much difficultly.

the tasks starts out smoothly and continues to be so up until he arrives at his destination. he immediately notices something is wrong here. what even are those trees? to say they look cursed would be an understatement. if fact, they actually seem to be casting curses that are afflicting those working nearby and the wood supply that has already been gathered. whatever these trees are, it quickly becomes clear that they need to be dealt with.

kratos leaves the sled a distance away (can't risk having the dogs be needlessly hurt by these trees, after all) before drawing his blade as his approaches. time to cut some wood, he supposes, and hopefully without getting cursed himself.

so thus he's fighting to cut down some cursed trees while narrowly avoiding their curses. anyone wanna give a guy a hand chopping some trees?]

wildcard.

[let me know if you wanna plot anything else or feel free to add me on plurk Shaorune for any plotting!]

I-E

[chippedsoul]

[The looming battle has gotten Kazuma a little on edge. With who or what is involved, he's concern a certain someone might rear his ugly head again during the battle. It has been effecting how much dreamotion he can put into the crystal, mostly negative. He decides to walk for a bit, clear his head when he comes across Kratos and the yellow dragon before him.]

Problem? [The dragon hasn't moved when he approaches, watching them bother warily.]

Azula | Avatar: The Last Airbender

[itstillhurt]

I-a. Bring Me A Dream (Dreamotion Training)

[Azula has been... well, 'helping' may be a strong word, but she's certainly been working with the dreamotion instructors. She seems to have little patience for working with anybody else, and what little advice she does offer- invariably focused on nightmare energy manipulation- is impatient and rude. She spends most of her time observing rather than actually doing, as if scrutinizing the locals for some knowledge or secret she might have missed.]

I-b. I Know, It's Everybody's Sin (Mini-Noctaere)

[Azula will absolutely help out if any small Noctaeres spawn- and may even inadvertently spawn a few herself.

Rather than try to kill those she spawns, however, she seems to be doing something else to them- shackling them with a dark and indistinct shape she creates with her own nightmare Dreamotion. For a few moments, she seems to struggle with it- not physically, but mentally, as the tiny Noctaere seems to buck and struggle against the device. If she's not interrupted, the creature eventually stops struggling and obediently slips away.]

II It's Just Another Day, When People Wake From Dreams(Sled Runs: Poppy Field)

[Dangerous supply runs aren't something she balks at, not in the least. Azula seems to have found none of the steeds to her liking, but the flying carpet seems to agree with her. She's not looking for partners, but she'll certainly help where she can.

First, the poppy fields. She's got no dreamotion techniques for this, so she's relying on physical discipline, self-control, and a gasmask to defend herself against the sleep effect, and she knows none of those things are infallible- so she's being cautious, but not so cautious as to impair her usefulness.

More prominently, however, the haunted woods clearly cater to her challenge. She's using her combat skills and- particularly- her firebending to great effect here, burning away the haunted trees that threaten the supply lines. She'll even protect her fellow villagers from danger if it's not too inconvenient. Isn't that nice of her?]

III. Wildcard!

(Or hit me up with another idea! If you have something specific in mind or just want a custom starter, you can DM me on this account, hit me up on the discord or my plotting post comment, or my find me on plurk at yonfellow)

Haunted Woods

[helluvaboss]

[Supply runs, sure, whatever, anything to do SOMETHING productive - he hadn't anticipated the spooky woods to happen, and he didn't actually bring his guns because he didn't want to spook the cute little donkey that was tugging the sled he was using.

Things were hairy at first, but then fire happened - and after cackling at the hissing and popping sound of the shitty trees' sap boiling and their shrieks, Blitzø now had something to do!

He could run right into the fire and scoop up supplies that were caught in the blaze, running them in and out of the blaze and dodging the roaring flaming trees on the way out.]

Keep the fire comin', cranky pants!

[Oh yeah, he absolutely remembers Azula, he'll have to think up a funny joke about her burning wooden creatures and the irony later.]

closed to vanitas 🌹

[oathkeeper]

[There's some big news coming their way. With everyone prepping to protect the town of Reverein it's no surprise that Sora wants to do his part too. While usually, he would prefer more hands-on tasks like combat or magic training he has come to appreciate how important supply runs are too—collecting some special poppies? He'll bring back a whole mountain of them!

With Vanitas in tow, two of them go towards this mysterious poppy field. They are equipped with masks and unique bags to collect the flowers in. But Sora doesn't seem all that concerned about the "special effect" these poppies have.]

There it is! Just up ahead! Pretty cool how those giant bears took us all the way out here on those sleds.

[The smell of flower pollen is already very strong...]

💕

[darkcharge]

[ Vanitas should be used to wearing masks. He's worn one for a huge portion of his life. Has preferred it over exposing his face. And yet, ever since Sora BROKE IT and RIPPED IT OFF, Vanitas hasn't worn one. It's been years now since anything has really covered his face. So wearing one now? Feels awkward. Doesn't feel right. Puts him in a place that he really... Really doesn't much care for.

Not anymore anyway.

But he doesn't want to give this opportunity away either. He wants to be here and present with Sora and just do something together. His eyes drift towards the bears. The sled ride hadn't been bad at all either. ]

Wonder why bears. It's not like they'd move as fast as other animals.

[ Vanitas is adjusting that mask yet again. He feels like he's fussing with it too much. ]

Stolas ☆ Helluva Boss ☆ ota

[noctuagoetia]

1-A ☆ Training Montage

Come one, come all!

Standing off to one side of the training ground, it was hard to miss the enormous owl. With his new grimoire in hand, filled with the knowledge he had acquired during his many months in this dreamland, Stolas gladly volunteered his assistance to any who approached him. Not everyday that you can learn magic from an Ars Goetia. The prince wasn't much of a fighter, but teaching was one way he knew he could give back to those who can.

Along the way, he had picked up a few new tricks. The goetia needed to hone his own abilities as well. The air around him was electrified by magic as he took aim at the training dummies.

1-B ☆ Welp... That's Not Good...

With this new threat that loomed before them, Stolas knew he might have to rely on his full demon form. Since he had arrived in Reverien, it had been difficult to control. Fueled by negative energy, Stolas could only manage to hold it for mere minutes before the toll of harboring such darkness inside him was too much. He didn't want a repeat of what happened in the desert when he held it for far too long and fell pray to the nightmare creatures that lurked amongst the sands. He needed a safe way to maintain his full form without exhausting himself. Or worse... completely losing himself in the dark.

On the rare occasions where he had resorted to transform, it was out of fear or anger. Closing his eyes the goetic prince focused his thoughts with an out stretched claw. Crickets. Eyes fluttered open to stare at his unchanged talons with mild confusion. This... hasn't happened before. No, surely it was a mistake. Again he closed his eyes to dig deep to find something dark to cling to... but nothing.

Well... shit.

Eyes opened once more, turning his hand over to inspect it. "... This might be a problem."

1-C ☆ Wild card!

See anything else that caught your attention? Honestly, a lot of the prompts Stolas could easily be involved with so if you have an idea, feel free to hit me up here or on my plurk at goddessofsugar

1-B

[strawberryredgrave]

"Something wrong, big bird?" Dante casually chimed in, making light of the situation in the way he usually does. Something was bothering Stolas, but it couldn't hurt to joke about it, probably.

"Or are you just thinking of becoming a hand model?"