songerein | { bite sized problems}

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{ bite sized problems}

BITE SIZED PROBLEMS

This log is open to everyone and doubles as a "Character Intro" for new characters who were just accepted this round. As a reminder, new characters are welcome to carry over their TDM threads backdated to Gingerbread event and after (27-31) so that they're not really "new" if players wish to do so! Starting fresh is also acceptable.

I. AROUND TOWN

The curse from the witch may have been dispelled, but the magic was strong and remnants of it still remain. A bit of clean-up is required.

A. Gingerbread Revolt. By now many people are likely tired of gingerbread after having to live as one for a little while. However, the witch's magic still lingers and has brought all baked gingerbread to life. While some live out their running trees, others have armed themselves with forks, knives, toothpicks, and—are some wielding a nail gun?? They've begun to rally around various food eateries. While most of them are bakeries, they're also going up against restaurants and even local houses. One might think it would be easy to deal with them, but here's the catch—not only are they fast and can use magic, if one of them is broken they immediately reform into another cookie. That's right, they're just like hydras, and the only way to destroy them for good is to destroy the red candy ball embedded somewhere in their body. It's different for each cookie, and it will change locations if a part of it is broken. They do taste delicious, though.

B. Oven Malfunction. Stoves of all shapes and sizes are also having a rebellious phase, with many malfunctioning in different ways. Some are light and just won't turn on or spit out smoke in people's faces. Others have decided to choose violence and release their fire; throw whatever pots, pans, spatulas, and knives that are nearby; spit out coal, logs, or fire cores; or even explode. Some are even baking out those gingerbread cookies, so stopping the ovens will help fix that problem. While completely destroying them is one way to do it, dreamotion will also go a long way. Using water or ice to douse their flames will help simmer their tempers. Praising the ovens for their hard work and trying to show utmost care will also help. Perhaps some ovens are cranky for being overworked. When was the last time they were cleaned? Just don't sing it Christmas songs—they'll go berserk.

C. Candy Forest. With many requests for fresh new ingredients from the newly formed section of the forest, many will make the short trek over to check out what all is there to find. And yes—everything, everything is made of candy and sweet treats. From taffy grass to peppermint bark lollipop trees to flying marshmallow peeps and snickerdoodle badgers. The problem is, a lot of the "flowers" produce a pollen that permeates through the air and will give anyone who passes through a severe case of sugar rush. Overly excited, faster than usual movements, inability to think straight. The only way to counter this is by eating vegetables of any kind. Eating anything directly in the forest will produce an even greater effect, to the point where someone might start hallucinating and get the giggles. Some folks may need to head in there to help those stuck inside. At least there's nothing dangerous in there…yet.

D. Jumping Snowflakes. Jack Frost briefly stopped by and decided to leave a little gift for everyone to have fun with: giant snowflakes that start at the top of the Tree of Stories and ascend and circle around the town from high up in the sky. Some snowflakes form a stationary pathway for people to walk over. Some will move around and can be controlled by one's will and dreamotion, similar to a magic carpet. Then there's a "challenge" where participants are to jump from one snowflake to the other before it disappears. This trail will lead up to a giant chest that contains a random drop of one of the following:

a special ice crystal that can be used to keep anything cool no matter how hot it is outside and will never melt (perfect for ice boxes)
magic winter beans that will grow any vegetable of one's choice through any hard, frozen soil (but will not grow in warm weather)
a mini snowman that will not melt and will bounce around the house to help keep it clean and add a little bit of snow for fun; will be great when it gets hot as it will produce cooling air
The challenge can be run as many times as a person likes, however they will only be able to receive each special prize once. So after receiving all three special items the first time, their only reward is chocolate silver coins.

II. SHORT STORY HELP

As requested by William Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe, the libraries in the Tree of Stories have gathered various books that everyone will be able to dreamwalk into. Even the books themselves look a bit tattered and more worn than usual, showing signs of the Story Eater's nightmarish corruption. A set of objectives for each chosen story will be given out so everyone will have some guidance, as well as a special amulet to wear that if snapped will immediately eject the dreamwalker out of the story back to Songerein. The Story Eater's minions are in a few of these, and any injuries sustained will carry over. The problems will arise several times so repeat visits will be necessary. For each objective attempted, a unique energy will be generated and captured by the librarians for the writers to use. Completion of an objective is not necessary, but it will give a bigger boost.

A. Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Upon entering the story, everyone will be inside the three bears' house…dressed as Goldilocks, regardless of gender. And the three bears are not happy. The original Goldilocks has already gone mad and tore through their home, scaring the baby bear with nightmares. The objectives for this story are:

Help repair the damage by: 1) fixing the kitchen and preparing new dinner for the family (not porridge); 2) fix all the broken chairs; 3) get new pillows and blankets for their beds.
Grab a partner and perform a puppet show for baby bear, preferably with a lighthearted, fun story (players can decide if they are successful or fail in their attempt).
Track down Goldilocks in the woods just outside the house and capture her. Her corruption is mild and casting a sleeping spell or using some kind of sleep aid will help calm her down. Channeling positive dreamotion energy will also help.

This story will increase the Book's proficiency in healing and purifying the Story Eater over time.

B. Three Little Pigs. Upon entering the story, everyone will find themselves in a large brick house and be turned into pigs. Not costumes, not partial, just full blown pigs. Fortunately, they can still "walk" and talk and move around. Clothes are optional (one can either appear completely without, with the clothes they were wearing upon entering, or find some in the closet). The objectives for this story are:

Reinforce the brick house and turn it into a fort. The original pig brothers left behind instructions on how to build cannons, barricades, and traps outside of the house. This can be done magically via dreamotion or through physical labor. Handling a hammer with hooves will be surprisingly easy, as if they all now wield anthropomorphic magic…
The defense is to keep small black wolves made of ink at bay. They will charge at the house without mercy to try and destroy it. Fortunately, they seem to lack much control and can be easily fended off, especially with the traps and weaponry installed.
There is only one big bad wolf, and it looks like the Story Eater is trying to corrupt it. It keeps mumbling about being on a diet and tired of blowing buildings down, yet it staggers on and controls the black wolves that try to attack the house. Help purify the wolf by preparing a special porridge for it to eat. It'll take several bowls and some additional positive dreamotion energy channeled into the wolf.

This story will increase the Book's external sturdiness so that it will not break from external forces.

C. Humpty Dumpty. Upon entering the story, everyone will find themselves dressed as a knight of some kind. There is only a giant, crumbling wall and the ground is littered with eggshells, so be careful walking around. Some eggshells are white but many are an inky black that appear to be melting on the ground. There's far too many to have come from the eggman himself, but said eggman is missing from his perch. The objectives for this story are:

Find the large egg pieces that have bits of clothing and face on them and piece Humpty back together. He'll try to help by calling out and he'll promise he's fine—happens all the time. However—
The Story Eater's minions are around, and they'll form from the black eggshells, create hideous versions of Humpty to try and attack and explode on them like rotten eggs. Handle with care as they are quite dangerous and can inflict severe damage. Better to take them out with ranged attacks.
The minions are coming through the many gaps and cracks in the wall, and one can even hear them scratching through the other side. If the wall goes, this entire story is finished. There are some native knights and other people trying to repair the wall, but dreamotion will help reinforce it. The broken eggshells can be used as bricks and mortar as they will immediately expand and cover the missing areas.

This story will increase the Book's internal defense so that it will not break from the inside.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Riku happens to be passing by the third time Ira's shoveled the snow out and asks the question. he remembers him, even though they'd been transformed at that point, as one of the people who knows Sora.]

Not in the last couple of minutes.

[a beat.]

You'd think they would've gotten the hint they're unwelcome at this point.

Their determination to be helpful seems to be outweighing that realization.

[He sighs, leaning on the shovel.]

Hopefully they're still in the area though. I'd like to get them to stop.

[he looks up and around the area, trying to catch movement. he does, of course, because it's a city -- but not the movements of a bothersome snowman.

but wait--]

There. [he points at a snowman that's hop-sliding through the streets.] You think that's your culprit?

[Ira follows the point, considering a moment before nodding.]

Most likely that's him.

I should probably talk to him before continuing. Otherwise that might be another mess to clean up.

I'll go with you...just in case you need backup.

[which he feels absolutely ridiculous saying, but everything has happened So Much since he's gotten here, he doesn't exactly trust anything right now.]

I would appreciate that, actually.

[He smiles.]

While I'm fairly certain, I can handle a snowman, I've found that this world can make the unexpected happen. It's good to have backup.

[Riku shrugs. it's not like he has much else to do, anyway, and maybe if they resolve this he can talk to Ira for a little bit longer.

he's curious about him.

he motions for Ira to follow and then makes his way towards the snowman, keeping his senses sharp in the case it tries to run or something.]

I didn't know snowmen could make such a mess.

[There's no denying that a further conversation needs to happen, and Ira is preparing himself for that. But first things first.]

Neither did I. Typically I don't expect snowmen to move.

But this is a world of unexpected things.

Yeah, I'm getting that. But you could say I'm getting too used to unexpected things.

[he has been through A Lot]

Just not sure that a snowman was one of them--[he interrupts himself as he gets closer to the snowman, stepping in front of it so it can't just run so easily.] Being a little too helpful, aren't you?

I'm afraid this world won't change that.

[Said with a small laugh. He has seen his fair share of weirdness.

While Riku makes the initial confrontation, Ira will move around to block the path the other way.

The snowman squeaks, waving its stick arms as if to indicate that that's what it has to do!]

[he looks over at the snowman when he starts waving his arms, and puts his hands on his hips.]

You're causing more trouble than you're worth, you know. Ira's been trying to clean up after you guys, and you're not helping.

[The snowman seems to sink a little bit, obviously feeling bad for it's actions. It really just wants to help. In an animated sort of way, it's kind of endearing.

Ira looks thoughtful.]

Is it possible that there might be a task it can do that won't cause trouble? Or we could take advantage of the mess somehow?

[hmmm...

he considers for a moment, looking at Ira and then the snowman.]

Maybe you could help out where they're sledding or something. Make sure that there's still a lot of snow on the ground?

[The snowman seems to light up at the suggestion, stick arms waving in appreciation.]

An excellent idea. I think I saw a small hill being used just outside of town. That would be a good place to go.

[Riku's starting to look a little relieved that for once, he doesn't have to use his keyblade to run something off or chip at candies from gingerbread men.]

If you promise to behave...then there you go.

[he's going to step aside now, to let the snowman pass if it decides that he's going to take Riku and Ira's advice.]

[There's a bunch of enthusiastic nodding, and then the snowman takes off in the direction that was pointed.]

I think I'm going to follow it, just to make sure it gets to the right spot. If you would like to come along?

[There's a chance the snowman might get distracted after all.]

[Riku nods.]

I'll go with you.

[maybe this would give him the opportunity to learn more about Ira...]

I'm glad.

[He sets off at a quick pace, mostly to catch up to the snowman, but slows down once that's done.]

I'd been hoping to speak to you, properly.

Me too.

[it's weird, considering that this person is a Master...

he brings a hand to his chin, thinking.]

I've been told you're a Master, but no one really knows where you are in the timeline. I guess...if we're separate enough, it'd be kind of difficult to predict.

I am. I suppose to use my full title, I am Master Ira, leader of the Unicornis Union.

[And maybe he can continue to use that, since he technically has two members again.]

By my own reckoning, I come from a period of time well before yours. I was involved in the Keyblade War.

[keyblade war...

he'd heard of it vaguely, but not many details about it at all.]

So then would you happen to know anything about the Keyblade Graveyard?

[it's still such a confusing thing for him, thinking about all those deserted keyblades in the middle of nowhere...]

[Ira's expression turns somber at that. While it probably wasn't know by that name in his time, he has a fairly educated guess what it might be. But there's always a bit of reluctance in bringing that up.]

I am, not familiar with a location by that name, but if it is the location I am thinking of, it was the site where the Unions of myself and my fellows clashed.

A barren, rocky landscape?

[there's a chill that runs down Riku's spine. was he really speaking to someone from that time? it had actually been a thing that happened, and Keyblades were so much more common than they were in his time?

he nods.]

Yes. There were so many Keyblades there...I wasn't sure if they were accumulated there, or if it was a battle of some sort.

[he pauses.]

There really were that many wielders in your time?

[Ira nods, and despite the fact that his eyes are hidden by his mask, he manages to look sad, and faraway. Especially at Riku's confirmation.]

There were. Daybreak Town used to be full of wielders.

That place was the site of the Keyblade War. Though, based on what I have been told, unfortunately the first.

[Or so he reckons. He knows his Master was fighting the Darkness before then.]

[......Riku can't help but look upwards and close his eyes for just a second. even if he knew it was ridiculous to begin with as he grew older, but the problems from back then really were a sham, weren't they?

it still makes him feel stupid.]

And here I was told in the very beginning that only one person at a time could wield a Keyblade.

[he fights the urge to laugh about it, because he knows it's not appropriate, given the subject and the tone that they were talking with right now. he looks back down at Ira, thoughtful.]

It makes you wonder how much time has passed between our times, and why the facts weren't well known. Had there been that much time between our lives?

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