{ Saving Oz }

[dreamposts]

SAVING OZ

After a month of increasingly windy weather, it all comes to a head when a giant book appears right above the town of Reverein. It opens its pages facing the town and a large tornado emerges, descending down to cover the entire town. Miraculously, no buildings are destroyed, but the entire population is sucked up into the air and into the pages of the book. It's a wild, twisting ride until everyone crash lands into a strange city all in emerald green. The tapirs make their usual rare appearance and look around before gasping, "Oh! It's the Emerald City from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz! Looks like a mess though… And so do you!"

As pointed out, everyone will find themselves dressed or transformed into some semblance of one of the five main characters: Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Woodman (Tinman), and the Cowardly Lion. They could be wearing authentic costumes, have an almost complete appearance change, partial transformation, and anywhere in-between. While they are mostly stuck in whichever "role" they've been initially cast in, they can temporarily change if a different role would work better. They gain additional abilities fitting of the character, such as the Scarecrow unable to bleed as they are now made of straw, the Tinman always wearing or made of some kind of metallic armor, the Lion have wind blasting roars and the strength of a real lion, Toto able to become a real dog, and Dorothy has their charisma stat shot up through the roof. Everyone will be able to use their dreamotion and original abilities as well, so they can be even more creative. While there are no complete personality changes, some may feel some "adjustments" to fit their role at times. Some roles will be more effective for certain tasks and objectives, and they will receive additional buff bonuses to help clear it.

With the help of local citizens who have formed their own rebel force, everyone must now help push back the nightmare force that has taken over this story and lure out the mysterious new "Wizard" that is the source of all this chaos. If they can fill a giant emerald with positive dreams and launch it at the "Wizard," then it'll be a mission success.

For any questions, refer to the Game Notes and comment there.

I. HELPING THE CITY

Emerald City is a mess, but not lost. The rebel force has a base set up to help direct everyone and serves as the main camp for aid and rest. There's plenty to do, and now that they have "Dorothy and her friends" again, they may be able to win back their proud city. Oh, if only they could find the Princess Ozma...

A. Porcelain Rubble. Aside from the usual physical destruction, large portions of the city have turned into porcelain and broken apart. A special glue is available and becomes more potent with dreamotion infused into it, and as soon as pieces are glued back together the structure will return to its original form. However, there is a risk of someone turning into porcelain the longer they remain in the area and will need to be glued back together if broken (fortunately no one can die, just lie helplessly in pieces). Perhaps those who are cast as Toto can help sniff out trapped individuals, while the Scarecrow's straw would make for excellent padding for those broken pieces.

B. Statued. Many citizens have been turned into statues, scattered all over the city and outside the walls. They need to be moved to safety first before a cure can be used as it takes time to fully work. Special sleighs fashioned after the Gump are available to help carry any statued citizen to safety; just be careful when driving it as they are very unpredictable. Once in a safe spot, a few drops of the potion will start the curing process. The many witches that cursed everyone to begin with are still out and about, ready to turn anyone unaware into statues. Strangely, the spell bounces off metal, so those cast as the Tinman will be great in offering support and could even try and reflect the spell back onto the witches to turn them to statues instead.

C. Into the Poppy Field. The dangerous poppy field known for its ability to lull any who are flesh and blood to sleep until their dying days has been inching closer towards the city, perhaps drawn by the nightmare energy flowing out from it. To make matters worse, they now can move their roots and leaves to try and ensnare people. A special plant killer diffuser has been developed, but it requires anyone cast as Dorothy, the Lion, or Toto to take the diffuser and run into the field as deep as they can before they succumb to the pollen, which will activate the diffuser. Either the Tinman or the Scarecrow must then make their way through to fetch them. Those who volunteered to run in can use their ability to dreamwalk and appear as a little wisp to help guide their would be rescuer to their slumbering body, even give them some help with the snares. (Mod: for threading purposes, characters can either partner up as the sleeper and rescuer, or both can be rescuing an NPC that served as the role of sleeper instead).

D. First Aid. For any who prefer to stay out of combat and help the wounded and scared, the base camp is stocked with medical supplies, food, and other necessities to help weather out the attack. They do need to be resupplied, however, so those more daring to venture either into the city or outside the walls to get items should take someone capable of defending just in case. Some places include an orchard of lunch pail trees that grow fully stocked lunch pails filled with various foods. Lions will be great at climbing them while Scarecrows can shoo away annoying crows. Another is gathering wood in a cursed forest where the trees have become Fighting Trees. The Tinman's ax is lethal against them and will chop through them easily.

E. Yellow Brick Road. The famous golden yellow brick road has been broken apart and needs to be repaired so additional support from neighboring areas can come in. Because it's a magical road, it needs to be fixed in a magical way—which is reliving the whimsical, iconic, song and dance of Dorothy and her friends. The Munchkins have created special silver shoes that anyone of the cast can wear and it has the magic to inform the wearer how the musical rendition goes. It will also "help" their movements to skip and dance along the broken spaces. Should they be successful, the broken and missing bricks will be repaired and the road will start to shine. So partner up, link arms, and belt out those vocal chords because they're off to see the Wizard!

II. FIGHTING FOES

There are numerous enemies attacking the city, but while some are original to the story, many are abnormal creations or noctasers, the unholy union of noctaere and the Story Eater's minions, Erasers. Of course the Story Eater would have a hand in this! But with the advantages gained by the roles, they can be defeated.

A. Wheeling Monkeys. The Wheelers and the Winged Monkeys have been ensorceled and are creating havoc within the city. However, instead of violence their actions are more…goofy. They're throwing rotten eggs, colored water balloons, creamed pies, and other strange pranks to hinder everyone's movements. They're relatively easy to capture and even prank back. The more aggressive ones, however, are actually noctasers and will need to be destroyed via dreamotion. Those cast as Dorothy will be able to distinguish those who are original to the book and the disguised noctasers as well as inflict extra damage to weaken the noctasers. Everyone in the cast is strong against noctasers.

» BONUS: THE GOLDEN CAP. The Winged Monkeys were once free but after the Golden Cap was ripped apart to steal its magic and now many are once again enslaved. Dorothy can convince the originals to join their side, if they have some Golden Cap fragments that appear when a noctaser is defeated. The more noctasers defeated, the more fragments collected and the more Wheelers and Winged Monkeys will join their side!

B. Meeeelllttiiiinng! Those witches are causing the most problems, and they are abnormal creations that need to go. Because they were fashioned after the Wicked Witch, they are weak to water, especially dreamotion infused water. The trick is actually getting to them as they are often found flying high above. There are numerous small hot air balloons that can be used to fly up and to either hose the witches or dump giant buckets of water, both tools already attached to the balloon basket. Just be careful because it just takes one giant tear to pop the balloon and send everyone into a crazy spinning crash to the ground. Having a Tinman to help deflect spells off their armor will be a great help.

III. SWEET DREAMS

The Projector of Dreams has been set up and several beds with the magical headsets are available to those who wish to volunteer and produce positive dreams that will be used against the Wizard. These dreams will be funneled into a giant emerald that will be launched from a cannon at the Wizard once lured out.

A. Positive Dreams. To help the Projector, positive dreams are needed. These dreams will briefly be projected onto the emerald so those nearby monitoring things may catch a glimpse of the dream. Perhaps those who are dreaming will have theirs be more interactive to try and get others in and create a stronger positive experience.

B. Luring out the Wizard. The Wizard is holed up in the Throne Room of the castle and needs to be lured out before the dream infused emerald can be hurtled into it. The methods to do so might seem a bit unorthodox, but it will work and may give a hint on who the "Wizard" really is. Everyone is told to play various children's games within the Emerald City's castle. Tea parties, hide and seek, tag, games—whatever they can think of. As they play, a strange shadow that looks like a young princess will emerge to either watch or join in. Players can either incorporate the shadow playing or just focus on their characters, but the shadow will always be happy and laughing. The goal is to produce happy, positive fun feelings, so there are no dangers. Unless someone wants to throw in a noctaser or something to spice things up.

Comments

[everblooms]

[ While Tifa is cooed over by the Honeybee Inn girls, Aerith is making her way through the door again, for some reason she can't quite place. It seems like she might have had some kind of problem getting in, but she knows moments before she had been out there with Cloud, hadn't she? It's hard to place, the memory that's stressing her now, making her wonder what exactly's going on, but it's glazed over by the one track minded insistence on moving forward. Like a sunflower, she has to face the day, always soaking in the evermoving presence of time.

So the doors to the performance room open up and Aerith stands, searching, before she makes her way across to the very same girls she had seen earlier. Settling in for the show between them all, she watches as Andrea starts his routine, but Cloud... stiffens.

He stiffens in a way that betrays awkwardness and shyness and something a little bit too much unlike himself, doe-eyed and shock-still in the gaze of a crowd that all seems poised to see him doing his thing. An wave of awkwardness ripples through the unsuspecting audience but this is the moment where something starts to click for Aerith, and as she thinks about it... she can't place Cloud anymore. In fact, that hadn't been him moments before, covered in girls, it hadn't been him awkwardly asking about Andrea, or Aerith coming with them. He never would. When it came to saving her, Cloud would jump in the way of anything, willingly. Aerith knows this, would happily use it to her advantage when she can, even! As the pieces start to click into place, one by one, each of the images in her mind losing the fogginess, only one thought sums it all up.

Hadn't it been Tifa she was speaking to moments before?

The spell comes undone. Aerith stands up, leaps into action with a cry. ] Tifa! [ I'm coming! She bolts for the stage and because this is all a dream, no one really bothers trying to stop her. Why would they, when she wants so dearly to be with the scared looking young woman on the stage. Aerith runs right up the stage, holding the skirt of her dress up with both hands, and she makes her way right onto the stage, next to Tifa, and she looks her arms around her's, and it's like the whole world has moved for them to be together. ]

Sorry about that. Almost left you hanging high and dry! Okay, let's get this show on the road...

[ Moving this awful gaudy dress is going to be terrible, sure, but does it matter? Andrea picks up the slack, moving with the beat like it's part of him, and Aerith tries her best to pick it up too, even if she's far less coordinated about it. Her hand meets Tifa's, and she tries to take control—

Really, it's not so bad once she gets going. ]

[starshower]

[Over the music, she hears her name being called. Aerith—she wants to call out, or maybe she does, but her voice is drowned out by the music, and the faces in the crowd disappear when the spotlight shines down on her. She's completely blindsided by Aerith's arm suddenly looping through hers, and just like that, the spell on the dream has crumbled. While Aerith is in her long red dress, Tifa is still in Cloud's SOLDIER garments, but they fit more to her form now...]

What show?

[The answer comes immediately after in the form of Andrea starting his dance, and Aerith following suit, her hand taking Tifa's as she drags her into the routine with her. She falls into step easily, mimicking the moves that she and Andrea lead for her, and she tries to ignore the onlookers in the crowd that have begun to cheer for them as the music picks up and her face begins to flush with colour.]

Aerith...! What's all this for!?

[As she twirls her, spinning her so that her dress flares outwards like a flower, only to pull Aerith back in to catch her. Andrea looks on with his approval, and the crowd goes wild!]

[everblooms]

This show!

[ It's part of a show, at least. Aerith dances with a sort of awkwardness that only someone used to working with their hands might have, but she's wholly into the whole thing. She can't match Tifa's natural, watery sort of elegance; she's a brawler, with full control of her body, after all. What she can do, however, is lose herself to the music, bringing a sort of chaotic sense of fun to the whole ordeal. In some odd way, they match: Aerith's lack of control mixes well and contrasts with Tifa's tight grip on control. Andrea's interest is piqued, the mix of the two an unfamiliar but interesting taste to him, but skyrockets when Tifa pulls off a classic move— Aerith twirls and twirls, laughing excitedly, before colliding with Tifa.

Smiling bright as the sun, she speaks in a low and soft voice. Her whisper is conspiratorial, but sweet and playful, even if it's a request. ]

Just keep going, okay? Follow his lead. I know you can do it.

[ So they dance. The lights dimmed, the spotlight on them, they dance. The crowd is a blurry mess of unrecognizable faces: The spotlight casts a brilliant white light over them both, following Tifa and Aerith's every move, which does half of the heavy lifting. The other half is simply that Aerith's memory can't quite place every face in the room.

By the time the song closes out, she's sweating, but smiling, and Andrea's thoroughly charmed. The light go back on, flooding the room with a warm golden hue again, and Andrea chuckles as he approaches. He flashes Tifa heart, made with both hands, just to announce she's thoroughly curried his favor, and that he's going to make her into a vision of beauty. Immediately, there's all kinds of commotion; a throne is brought onto the stage and Tifa's pushed back into it, all while the crowd cheers and cheers. Aerith flashes her an apologetic smile, as if to ask her to bear with it for the moment.

After all, this is the part where Cloud got doted on. ]

[starshower]

[The two of them contrast and balance one another in so many ways. Where Aerith has little control over her body, Tifa can carry them through as they follow Andrea's steps and wow the audience. Where Tifa is far too shy, Aerith's confidence lights up the stage and helps to pull Tifa out of her own shell. It takes two, but they seem to have turned Andrea's head and caught his attention, just as planned, and as the confetti sparkles over them in a rain of glitter, Tifa grins at Aerith, face flushed with colour, before she's being whisked away...

And tossed into a chair.

She only manages a single, helpless look at Aerith before she's being surrounded by both the honeybees. The girls dote on her, stroke her—Cloud's—arms, and one of them reaches out to apply lipstick and blush while others unstrap the pauldron, and urge her to remain still while they lower the fans and don a dress that she recognizes, and braid her hair... All while the music drowns out the sounds of cheers from the crowd, and Tifa tries to look past them in pursuit of Aerith, but they all block her vision.

"You were born for this."

And the lights shine down again on her as the fans come up for the big reveal, the screams in the crowd loud again. The platform rises, the sparks go flying, and never one for being the center of attention, Tifa wishes for nothing more than to run.

And she almost does, before Andrea takes her by the hand for one last dance, and then a dip.

"Perfection."

He says something else to her, but Tifa is far too busy looking at Aerith. Her smile is crooked, and her eyes scream all of the things that she can't bring herself to stutter out loud. And after it's all over, Tifa's feet carry her off the stage, and she avoids the honeybee girls on the way down, and it's only with a single look over her shoulder to Aerith that she begs for her to follow to someplace quieter—!]

[everblooms]

[ Even if every beat of the moment is as she remembers it, just with Tifa in the center, it's still exhilarating. It's fresh, and new, and it's more than it's ever been in the back of her mind. Recreated with someone she cares about by her side; it's more than she could hope for, and when the whole ordeal ends with a massive spray of color and glitter and celebration, it feels even bigger. She doubts this is what Cloud was feeling at the time, but when Tifa smiles at her, she knows the difference between him and the pair of them is he's a total stick in the mud. Giggling, she waves out to everyone in the audience, basking in the afterglow of a job well done with Tifa when.

Well, the show does on. Tifa's doted on, immediately, while Aerith is shuffled away to give room. Not impolitely, and with a bit of flar; she, too, gets swallowed up in the shadow of a giant feather fan. A lot of commotion commences, then wrapped around Tifa as she's dolled up with the Honeybee Inn flair.

So when the reveal happens, a part of Aerith's brain is on pinpricks as she tries to remember...

But not for long. You see, when she's flashed that smile, shown that gaze, she can't help it. She goes to Tifa's side, and once more, it's like the sea parting for her to do so. She takes the other woman's hand in hers, and smiles, nodding. ]

Don't worry. I'm here with you.

[ Turning back to the crowd, she waves, and then... they're gone. From the stage, at least; people are cheering and clapping still, and the room is going back to a shade of pink-purple, cool and relaxing. ]

Well... You recognize it, don't you? The dress. [ Holding onto Tifa still, Aerith explains with a light tone as they walk through the room, both dressed to the nines. A few clients turn, and stare, watching with interest. It's not every day you see someone get the Andrea Original Treatment, you see, or perhaps it's just the level of interest Aerith imagines that dress and experience should be getting. It's not much quieter, but it's away from the stage, at least. ] If you don't, I'll tell you the truth, Tifa... I'd be very surprised.

[starshower]

[She's going to need Aerith to keep her still even for a moment as she gets over the stage fright jitters, and... tries to breathe in this dress. This blue corset is tied a bit tight, and the fabric is a little too heavy for her tastes.

Tifa does look down at herself however, and of course she recognizes it! It's hard to forget the image of Cloud Strife in a dress, but that isn't what's the most shocking about this whole... situation.]

I do... but... [She looks back at the stage and shrinks away from a couple of male patrons who admire them both as they wander by.] I had no idea... Is this really what happened? Before you both showed up at Corneo's?

[She's having a hard time imagining Cloud up there like that!?!?]

[everblooms]

[ It is an extravagant dress, isn't it? Royal blue and purple, an elegance that's hard to really carry, and not to mention the corset— neither of these girls are used to things like this, but perhaps Tifa even less than Aerith, who just beams as she takes the sight in.

She leads her away, off the stage, past the crowd, to a corner of the whole room that looks a bit private, but isn't away from everything. It's a good vantage point for people watching. ] That's right. Pretty crazy, isn't it? But Cloud did it all— you know, for you. We couldn't leave you to do it on your own, Tifa. You needed the both of us to make sure your plan worked.

[ That's only about half of the deal in her mind, but it's not at all a lie. ]

[starshower]

[Well, that much she knew, but as she realizes she's still a bit breathless from all that dancing, she... laughs.]

I'm gonna be honest... I'm a little sad I missed this part of it.

[Even if she got to live it herself, seeing Cloud up there on that stage would have been a sight to see, indeed. And knowing the amount of work he went through for her...

She ignores that flutter in her chest.]

Remind me to ask him about it next time I see him.

[everblooms]

[ As she says that, Aerith smiles wider. Her nose crinkles with soundless laughter. It's not untrue, of course, that Tifa missed out on it originally, but but she holds onto Tifa's arms with a reassuring grip before shrugging it off. If anything, it's Cloud who is missing out now. ]

We'll both get him to go down a trip on memory lane with us. I think he deserves it, leaving us to take care of everyone around here. Don't you?

[starshower]

[And once again, Cloud has no way of protesting or defending himself against their antics.]

I couldn't agree more. Remind me to get him to tell me all about it when I see him.

[If she ever sees him, but she can imagine the pink in his cheeks if she ever gets the chance to bring it up. It's a missed opportunity, that one. Why did she never think to ask him how he ended up with the dress!?]

So, now what? Guess it's time to go rescue... me...?

[everblooms]

[ It isn't like Cloud gave any room for conversation about the dress, admittedly. She's sure he would have pushed it aside, forcing them away from it. Still, hadn't it been so cute? He hadn't lied at the time, they really had nailed it. ]

Hopefully sooner than later! This whole "Oz" thing has me wishing he was here with us!

[ She's sure it'll be worse even later on, but in the moment, she takes Tifa's hand, admires the make up for a moment, and then starts leading her out. Away from the stage, from the Honeybee Inn, over to Corneo's place. ]

Sure, I guess. You think we could change the dream...? Maybe kick his butt sooner?

[ Or maybe they could start to wake up, soon, really, but the prospect of kicking his ass before he has a chance to react is so tempting, isn't it? ]

we could prob handwave the asskicking! make room for new thing hehe c:

[starshower]

I could go for a little Corneo ass kicking.

[Tifa lifts her feet and shows off the heels that she's been put in, and the spins halfway to the left and then the right, taking a moment to admire the whole get-up. It looks better on Cloud, she thinks, but...]

You think I could in something like this?

[Might as well test it out while they're here.]

🎀

[everblooms]

[ She can think that all she wants. To be fair, it was tailored to Cloud, chosen to fit him in all the right ways, so while it might a bit awkward, it's still pretty on Tifa.

It helps that she knows how to move in it, and without that awkward gait of Cloud's, you can really see how it flutters and sways... ]

Sounds good to me. I need the practice...!

[ After a few awkward practice swings with her fists, Aerith takes Tifa again by the hand, and the pair disappear into Wall Market. Don Corneo might be a memory here, a recollection of an awful experience, but Aerith relishes the idea of getting him to pay for all that they went through before and after their trip to the mansion. ]