songerein | Saving Christmas

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Saving Christmas

✵ SAVING CHRISTMAS ✵

As the sun sets and the moon rises on Christmas Eve, a strange sound of jingling bells is heard high in the sky as the snow suddenly begins to fall heavily upon the town. A heavy weight of sleep slowly overcomes everyone, and just as their eyes close they'll hear a loud, raging bellow—

That damn bastard!! I won't let you ruin—!

Before the words are finished, everyone will suddenly jolt awake and find themselves scattered in a strange looking town called Whoville. Although it looks as if it's supposed to be festive, none of that holiday cheer is evident. The town is completely ransacked with torn up decorations, broken gift boxes and toys. Even its colors seem faded, music distorted and muted.

All through the town the Whos stare listlessly at their hard work now ruined, some crying openly while others remain indoors in their grief. A brave few young souls try to help clean and bolster some cheer, chanting, "It's not too late, we can fix this! We can't let that Grinch get us down!" But many just shake their heads, their eyes dim. No one seems to have noticed the sudden arrival of new faces.

In the meanwhile, the tapirs appear to inform the Dreamwalkers that they are inside another large dreamscape similar to the one during Halloween. This time, however, an entity called "The Grinch" had suddenly appeared and attacked it, stealing all the presents and leaving everything to ruin as they see now. The tapirs point to a meter floating high in the sky, and although it's not rock bottom, it keeps wavering and lowering as time passes. The Dreamwalkers must help raise the meter to save the dreamscape from turning into a nightmare.

"But the big guy is really angry now," the tapirs chatter among themselves. "If they help fix things, maybe they'll gain a powerful ally!"

Dressed in Christmas themed attire, it will be up to the Dreamwalkers to try and restore the Christmas spirit before the day is ruined forever.

I. HELPING WHOVILLE

The town is an interesting looking place with its unique architecture, bright colors swirling and curving about that it make it look like it could be made of cake or candy instead. It's supposed to be adorned with all manner of Christmas decorations and lights, and yet all of it is missing and instead everything looks so drab and dreary, the colors faded and nary a carol sung. Its tree has also been stripped bare, the presents pilfered, and the much too big Christmas Star gone.

A. Gift Retrieval. The Grinch has scattered all of the presents and decorations throughout the surrounding forests and they need to be returned before Christmas is over. Dog sleds big enough to load up found presents are provided to be used, and the dogs will help track down presents. However, those who enter the forests should be cautious. While there aren't any huge threats, there are present mimics, monsters that pretend to be present boxes only to attack any who approach. They will also eat real presents, so be careful they don't reach the sled!

» BONUS: PRESENT DELIVERY. The last objective is to deliver the present to their rightful owners. However, it's possible the Grinch may have tampered the presents, and this will only be revealed upon opening. Players must RNG 0-5 to determine if the recipient likes the present or not.

» BONUS: SPECIAL PRESENTS. There are some special marked boxes that are guarded by present mimics. Get past them to retrieve the present. However, upon touching the box, it will disappear in a poof of orange and be replaced with a pumpkin pie that will help amplify one's dreamotion abilities if eaten.

B. Fixing Decorations. With broken ornaments and torn wreaths and ribbon everywhere, a massive cleanup is in order along with repairing and redecorating. While anyone good at crafts can help, positive emotions and dreamotion abilities will be key to help brighten everything from its current dreary atmosphere. Creative minds can help produce the necessary decorations while the athletic can figure out ways to bolster their skills to reach those high, hard to reach places. Another RNG for rating is here as the residents will judge their work.

» BONUS: JUDGMENT. Anyone can throw up decorations, but will it be to the residents' liking? Players must RNG 0-5 to determine what kind of rating their efforts receive.

» BONUS: CHRISTMAS STAR. The original Christmas star was smashed to bits so a new one is in order. Although anything can be used, the Whos do have some preferences on what can be used on the star, even if those materials may be hard to find. Rainbow crystals found in the forest will surely help give the start that glittery feeling; they prefer to have it gold; and it needs to illuminate on its own so some kind of light source is needed.

C. Christmas Carols. Carolers are doing their best, but everyone is stumbling over their verses and instruments are out of tune. A bit of positive reinforcement and Christmas cheer will help sort things out. Those who are musically inclined can lead the way by singing and even creating new songs to help inspire others.

» BONUS: A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS CAROL. In the designated thread, a new carol will be composed by the dreamwalkers. Each one will supply their own verse in response to the previous (click here for example). The thread is only for the verses, but there will be another thread where players can go ham for their characters to comment on the song as it goes on. Anyone can participate multiple times but must wait for another comment to be made first.

II. SANTA'S TOY FACTORY

Just beyond Whoville with just the Winter Forest to separate them is one of Santa's toy factories. It, too, has been attacked and smoke rises from the damaged buildings. With machines malfunctioning, toys are running rampant and everything is chaotic. If not fixed soon, there will not be enough toys for Santa to deliver.

A. Elf Rescue. The Grinch not only stole the presents and destroyed the toys, but they also sabotaged the machines running the factor. Now elves are trapped inside and are in desperate need of rescuing as toys malfunction and start to turn on them. The machines are even trying to box up the elves as gifts instead! Behaving similar to the present mimics, boxes, wrapping paper, and ribbon bounce around in search of anything to wrap up. Dreamwalkers must venture in to try to turn off the machines and rescue the elves without getting turned into a present themselves. The more elves rescued, the more allies gained to fix the factory and more favor earned from Santa.

B. Reindeer Games. The reindeer have been scattered all over and the only way to bring them back is to attract them with fun and games. In order to do so, dreamwalkers will transform into reindeer and will have additional abilities granted to them, such as flying and manipulating snow. As for what kind of games, they can choose from any of the following:

Ring Racing. High up in the air is a flying course with rings made of magical frost. Racers must pass through each ring to count, but they must fly quickly. As soon as they approach, the ring will start to contract, and if too late it will close and the racer will be disqualified.
Sleigh Pulling. This is a contest of strength! Sleighs will be piled high with presents and, if not enough presents are available, large rocks to weigh it down. Each reindeer must then try and pull their sleigh down a simple straight lane to the finish line. Just beware, rogue toys will appear on the track and will need to be dealt with somehow. There are no restrictions—each reindeer can use whatever ability or skill they can think of to help pull the overloaded sleigh. The contest can be 1v1 or 2v2.
Robot Reindeer. All the excitement does attract many of the reindeer back, but unexpected guests arrive as well—and they're not friendly. Sent by the Grinch, robotic reindeer will suddenly descend from the skies to ruin the festivities. It will be up to the dreamwalkers in their reindeer form to fight back against them—or try to convert them to help out instead.

C. Gingerbread Army. Giant gingerbread men occasionally appear and try to smash through the toy factory, hampering rescue efforts. Fortunately, they are only made of gingerbread and easy to fall apart. Unfortunately, they will not only regrow lost parts but grow from severed parts. Their weak point is the glowing gumdrop located among the many gumdrops on the body, and destroying it will destroy the gingerbread completely.

[Mod Note: Details can be read and questions can be asked on the Event Details post. Submit all special threads and ratings to the Event Thread Submissions form.]

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[ Though the conveyor belt is clearly broken, Susato finds herself fascinated with the machinery. How fast does it travel? How much weight could it carry? Could she put it back together? But unfortunately, now is not the time to think about such things.

When she sees the present mimic giving Sora trouble, she forms her fingers into an L-shaped gun and "fires" it at the mimic, resulting in a literal fire ball that burns it from its ribbons all the way to its mouth. Bang.

It's a good thing she's a little more practiced with that whole dreamotion thing this time around! She may be wearing something ridiculous yet again, but she's ready to get the holiday cheer thing over with. Plus, at least she's still wearing her boots. ]

Goodness, those fake presents are everywhere... Are you alright?

Ah?!

[The bang is what startles Sora off the bat! He practically flings the mimic away from himself as it explodes into fiery death and he hops back with a start]

Geeze?! Susato, you're picking up on this stuff super fast, aren't you?!

[That was kind of really awesome??]

I'm fine, I think! I don't know how many of those things we're going to run into. But if it's one thing we know, we gotta get to the good presents before they do. I dunno if they're gonna eat them or what!

[ Don't be too impressed, Sora. It took her nearly two months to get to this point... but Susato can't help but giggle sheepishly at the compliment, whether she feels it's true or not. ]

Th, Thanks. Actually, it took forever before I could finally control it. [ And it still isn't perfect! But you know, she's proud. ]

They're bad news for sure, but...I would be happy to assist, if you plan on taking the role of Santa?

[She is still doing great at this stuff! Sora is still so reliant on his own skills and magic that he hasn't gotten the best at dream magic at all yet. Yet! The best he's done is make a storm of sunflowers bloom by accident!]

That was still really awesome! You should give me some pointers.

[He grins but then tucks his arms behind his head naturally.]

I think I can handle being the Santa bait. If they keep coming at me you can shoot them down, right?

Oh, w-well... [ Susato really doesn't think she would make a good teacher for this, not when her best advice so far is "get really mad." Still, something about Sora's face is so very hard to say no to, so she just...kind of trails off, until he says something else. ]

I, I can certainly try. We don't want the presents to be damaged any more than they already have.

[ Or else childrens' dreams will be crushed all over Whoville! ]

[Hey- That would be great advice. Sora needs to get really mad more often. He's too nice for his own good. He should get a little mean to see what happens!]

Yeah, that's right. Let's keep our heads up for that.

[And the conveyor belt is not going to wait for them either! It suddenly lurches forward and they better be careful they don't lose their footing! Sora jumps up and another two boxes get hurled out of the toy machine right at them! One will be a mimic and one will be a proper present! Sora will try and grab the mimic out of the air again!]

Here we go!! Get blasting away!

[ Luckily, there are only two to start. It is easy to tell which one is the real one in this case, but they need a plan. First things first, she shoots at the mimic. She has to shoot at it a second time though to hear that familiar shrill scream as it burned to ash.

Augh. Still needs more training! ]

Q, Quick, grab the real one! We need to find a safe place for them until we take care of all the fakes!

I've got it!

[Sora wastes no time in bursting forward in a splatter of light. Dream magic and emotion create this burst of sheer light at his feet that acts like a mini boost as he leaps into the air and catches the real gift in his arms before the ash of the dead mimic can even litter the floor. When he touches down he gives a cheeky thumbs up.]

That's one down! We'll keep them in a safe pile!

[On the given wooden sled, of course! That's where he puts it before turning back to the conveyor belt for more.]

Perfect!

[ Susato does a little fist pump of approval, his cheekiness slightly contagious. Regardless, she gets serious again when Sora turns his attention back on the conveyor belt. This time, three come out, only they are sadly they are all mimics.

Susato is trying real hard to light up the two on either side, meanwhile the middle one may occupy Sora for a few.

In the midst of everything, a real present or two are lurched off to the side, as if an afterthought. ]

Ack! Hold on! You're not going anywhere!

[Not a stray mimic in sight for these two if Sora has anything to say for it! He'll throw a hand out and an explosion of what appears to be ice magic appears and freezes the mimic to the spot before it can chomp down on Sora's ankles.]

How about that deep freeze, huh?!

[So far so good! The machine that kicks out gifts is going to start making lurching noises. This time... a really big mimic comes out! And it takes a gift and swallows it! Cue the boss music!]

Oh crap?!

[ WAIT HOLD AWHN......this kind of slaps???!?! Can they have a dance off with the mimic--

Okay, just kidding. Before Susato can be too impressed with his ice magic, the present is gone and everything starts happening very fast. She gasps and has to take some steps back, without time to even worry about what present it just swallowed. ]

No!

[ She has to get it back, but she's too scared now and that is decidedly not the emotion she wants as she tries to summon her fire. What was it again...? Anger???? Anger--!

WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO BE MAD AGAIN SHE DOESN'T REMEMBER ]

Watch out, Susato!

[It's the general rule that the angrier you are the more damage you can do!? Right?! Sora isn't exactly angry right now but his protective side can get just as riled up! Ice sparks almost like fireworks at his fingertips as he puts himself in between Sustato and the new giant evil-looking mimic!]

You catch whatever gifts go flying, okay!?

[And with that he's charging in head first! Throwing a blast of ice at the mimic's face so rapidly it squeals in pain!]

[ She doesn't know if that's specifically true, she just knows it makes it way easier for her to harness fire specifically! And now they've somehow swapped roles? It occurs to her then that the thing must have eaten a lot of gifts to get that big. So it must not be just the one that they saw it eat--there are probably several.

She thinks of all the children in Whoville, and while the mimic is reeling from the ice attack, she decides it's her only opportunity to try again. She makes a circular motion with her hands, and this time the fire sparks. She sends a ring of fire into the mimic boss, and as it writhes, it spits out two presents.

She gasps, trying to react quickly and catch them so that they don't inadvertently come in contact with the fire. ]

[It seems that the mix of fire and ice is a good thing. The searing fire and melting ice makes quite an explosive reaction. With two gifts getting spit out Sora lets out a cheer.]

Whoa! Alright, Susato!

[But the mimic seems to keep withering! It withers so much that it suddenly throws up a bunch of- christmas glitter... all over the place and probably all over them too.]

Eaagghhhh?! What the heck is this? A glitter bomb?!

[ Naturally, she catches the presents in a super cool manner just in time for the mimic boss to explode into glitter all over them. Surprisingly, she doesn't let out a screech, probably because she was too focused on the presents, but once the shock has passed, she spits some out of her mouth. ]

Auugh. It's very pretty, but it doesn't taste very good, I can tell you that.

[Did they seriously just get Christmas throw up all over them... Sora shakes his head and glitter showers from his hair. It's gonna be so stuck in his hair. Probably for days and wash after wash.]

Ugh... Gross...

[He points up at mimic with a frown. Ice magic sparks at his hands.]

We better finish this guy off fast.

[ Susato will not think about how much of it is in her hair. When she notices the ice sparking at Sora's hands, she tosses the presents she caught so that they can be with the rest of them they've gathered, and she starts snapping her fingers--just once to start.

It takes a couple tries, but a flame appears at last, at least in one of her hands. ]

Together, then?

[He glances at her and catches the sparks of flames at her fingertips and he grins even with all that glitter stuck to his face. He then lifts a hand like he's going to fistbump the air.]

Yeah, let's do this together and get rid of this hunk of junk for good.

[The power of teamwork!! Sora will look up at the busted up mimic and ice magic sparks harder at his hands. Giving her a second to charge up!]

Ready?!

Three...

[ The flame flares a little harder, and if she waits much longer, she fears it'll burst, so she doesn't drag it out too much. ]

Two.

One...

Hyaah! [ She releases the flame, and it meets Sora's ice in a super fancy explosion of friendship and light! There is smoke, and immediately shields her face to react, fearing more of the glitter.

Did they do it...? ]

[KABOOM! The reaction of fire and ice magic is a glorious explosion! It sizzles and snaps and explodes in a flash of power, fireworks and most importantly! Friendship! The flash of powerful magic even has Sora shielding his eyes for a second.

But in the aftermath of smoke and magic... Sora opens his eyes to see that the machine and giant mimic that had been threatening this place are destroyed in the center of the factory and all is quiet as mimic glitter seems to fleck down onto the ground. Defeated! They did it!]

Whoa!? I think we did it! Haha! Awesome! We really showed those mimics who's boss around here! Christmas is saved!

[And as the smoke clears it will reveal a small collection of saved gifts for the collecting! Success!]

I, It is? [ Susato had kept her eyes closed, only opening when she hears Sora's cheerful voice. She opens one eye first, peeking carefully, before she gasps, clapping her hands together joyfully. ]

It is! Look at all those presents!

[ She dashes over to the pile, picking them up just to examine them. None of them seem to turn into mimics, this time. ]

Time to pack them all up, I suppose.

[Sora follows her with a laugh on his lips! It does seem like every present is in good condition and none of them have any teeth to chomp with!]

Right! Let's get these gifts packed up and ready to be sent out as soon as possible! [He grins at her.] Thanks for the help, we really make a great team, Susato!

[That explosion of dream magic was amazing!]

[ Susato wastes no time in loading the presents onto the sled. Upon closer inspection, she notices they're all labeled with addresses, which is convenient. She didn't know if Santa would require such a thing. ]

We do, but don't thank me yet. Maybe once we get some of these presents delivered, that meter in the sky will finally start to go up.

[Santa is a very diligent man! With magic to boot! But even he needs a little help and uses address labels.]

Haha. You're right about that.

[He pulls his black santa hat snuggly on his head and finishes loading the rest the gifts.]

Let's get these out, huh?

[ Susato nods. Seeing Sora pull back on his hat makes her jingle the one that's on her own head, and once the last gift is loaded, she pumps her fist in the air with determination. ]

Yes, let's!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Saving Christmas

was just about to start a new thread with you anyways :) b!

❤️!!

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we can end it here if you like!