songerein | 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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ She looks at the pie, and then tries to imagine keeping her grip on it while the sled is going.

... ]

I will certainly try. Let us keep moving, then.

[He doesn't have any better ideas!! He's open to suggestions!!]

Since we're in the trees we'll have to move slower so it should be easier.

[And whenever she's settled, he'll get behind the sled and command the dogs to continue onward, their pace indeed a bit more relaxed as they look for presents or crystals.]

[ It's fine!! She's got this!! At the very least, he is right, so as they keep up their leisurely pace, she keeps a look out, though it would certainly help if they knew what they were looking for. ]

Do you suppose the crystals could be buried in the snow? [ Or even the dirt? ] Maybe if we ask nicely, the dogs could help us look.

One would think they would stand out... But it's not impossible that they could be hidden.

[The idea of asking the dogs is a fair one, though would they understand?

...Worth a shot. He pulls the sled to a halt and whistles at the dogs before speaking out to them.]

Hey. Can you find the rainbow crystals?

[The dogs look at him and then at each other before barking and setting off forward in a different direction.

...]

I think they understood?

[ ......Dog whisperer.

Susato didn't exactly mean it as a serious suggestion, but of course this is a dream. Suddenly they start going a different way, and she's a little nervous about it, but continues along for the ride. ]

We are about to find out, I think. The crystals must have a unique smell.

[ With the way they reacted, they have to... right? ]

[Who knows how these dogs are tracking anything, let's be real. But it won't be too long before the lead dog raises its nose, as if sniffing the air before letting out a bark and picks up the pace to lead them towards a tree. It doesn't really look all that remarkable, but the dog will trot right up to it before starting to paw at the dirt, barking and then shoving its nose into the snow as if sniffing.

With the sled at a stop, Eustace hops off.]

They found something at least.

[ Susato doesn't want to risk leaving what's left of the pie in the sled. When it stops, she takes it with her, leaving the blanket still wrapped around her like a shawl. She just watches at first as the lead dog starts pawing, and then she'll get a little closer as it keeps barking and sniffing. ]

We should help.

[ One-handed, she awkwardly starts to dig into the snow a bit where the lead dog had been sniffing. No telling how deep they'll need to go, though! ]

[Seeing her struggle with everything, Eustace makes a complicated expression before stepping forward.]

Wait there, I'll handle it.

[He has both hands available to him, anyway. Regardless if she does or not, he'll crouch down to help clear out the snow. At first there's nothing, but then Eustace notices loose soil around the uncovered roots and something glimmers when he brings one of the lightning orbs closer for light.]

Hold on, I think there's something here.

[And just a little more before a small cluster of rainbow crystals are uncovered! The dogs bark happily as Eustace carefully extracts them out.]

[ She is eager to help, but he'll certainly step back for Eustace, because that makes more sense. She can't stand feeling like she's in the way, and the look he gave her in that moment doesn't help.

Regardless, the shine of the crystals is enough distract her, and she gives a small smile. ]

How wonderful! Surely once we take these back for the star, the meter will definitely go up.

[ She takes a moment to pat the lead dog on the head. At least she only needs one hand for that. ]

Is there a lot?

Just a small cluster, but enough to give the star a fair boost. We can keep looking for more if you wish.

We've come all the way here. If the dogs aren't too tired, we should see if there are any more in the area to be collected, before we head all the way back.

[He reaches into his side satchel and pulls out a small towel, using it to collect the crystals.]

They seem pretty energetic, so we can go for a fair bit longer. However if you get too tired or cold, don't hesitate to speak up.

...Thank you.

[ She watches as he collects the crystals in his small towel. She doesn't want to get in his way again, but the next time, she'll definitely lend a hand. Even if that means ditching their power-up pie in the sled after all. ]

I promise, if it comes to that, I will say.

[ No more recklessness, even in dream. ]

Saving Christmas

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