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

[Demyx isn't the only one who got turned into a pig. Roxas has been here a while, and so he's used to being turned into all sorts of weird forms for the sake of the story. A pig is new, though.]

[As he's getting used to walking around on all fours (again, not a new experience for him thanks to his time in the world before this), he notices another pig who looks to be a little lost. Not immediately recognizing who it is, but recognizing them as someone new, he trots over.]

It's a little weird at first, but you'll get used to it. This is my first time as a pig, though.

[ This form is totally different from the others he's been in before, and there's always a bit of a learning curve. As it is, Demyx is wobbling a bit on his hooves, padding back and forth as he tries to find his centre. ]

It's a new one for me too. [ There's something familiar about this voice. ]

[Meanwhile, Roxas is rather comfortable on all fours, even if the hooves are a little weird. Turns out spending a year as a were-dog in another world had its benefits.]

Try to walk with two legs at a time; one front, and the opposite back. Like this. [And he tries to show the other pig his own little pig-trot; right front hoof moves with left back hoof, then left front hoof moves with right back hoof.]

[However, he pauses, looking at the other pig.]

Hey... you sound pretty familiar.

[ He's done the four-legged creature thing before, on at least one of the mysterious worlds he's been to, but never a big and hooves seem so awkward to balance on. Trotting is much easier than whatever Demyx was trying to attempt and he happens to manage that quite easily. ]

Yeah? I'm- ah! You're Roxas! [ That's where he knows that voice from. Well that's a bit awkward isn't it? ]

Demyx.

Yeah, I-- Demyx??

[Roxas-pig jolts in surprise, nearly losing his footing. A familiar face! Who would have thought??]

When did you get here??

Not very long ago. I don't really know what's going on. [ Yet. It's always yet with him. ]

Kind of a weird place, but not really weirder than any other world.

Wow... well, welcome, I guess.

[He says it with a grin.]

Yeah, uh... normally things aren't like this. Normally, it's actually pretty similar to what we're used to. You aren't always turned into an animal.

Hey thanks!

[ Unlike his lukewarm reception from Sora, Roxas maybe seems like he's happy to see him? That's kind of a strange and novel thing. Maybe only Ienzo would react that way, but it's not like he's seen anyone in a little while. That's the thing about making enemies on all sides, at least, he's convinced that's what he's pulled off. ]

It's not that bad. I've been to worlds like this before. [ Look, he's got the trotting around thing down okay, that's something. Roxas gave him good tips. ]

[Well, of all the Organization members, Demyx wasn't the worst to interact with. Plus, he was a big part in getting Naminé her body, so he's more agreeable to Demyx.]

You too? I was in another world before this one, too.

[That's a big thing. He's one of the few who went to another world before Songerein, and there are others who say they remember Roxas from worlds he doesn't remember. It's been a bit of a ride trying to get everyone's timelines in order.]

[ Naminé, and Roxas, and moving Ansem around...Demyx has had his fingers in a few things, running errands for Ienzo. However, once a spy, always a spy, he's not gonna bring it up. After all, people knowing means he's likely pissed everyone off in the Organization - and the Light never liked him anyway. ]

Yeah, of course, all the time. All kinds of missions, you know?

[ He's just assuming this is another place he's wandered into, he'll get the lay of the land, poke around and probably leave at some point. It's not like anyone's looking for him. Unfortunately he's not like Roxas, but he doesn't seem too concerned. ]

Well, yeah, but…

[Roxas pauses, wondering if he should bring up the other strange world like this he’s been in before. But then he decides that maybe it doesn’t really matter, especially if Demyx isn’t concerned about his arrival here. So he shakes his piggy head.]

Yeah, you’re right. Anyways, when we’re done with this story, I could show you around town. There are others we know here too, and they might wanna know you’re here too.

[He means it in a good way. He’s hoping, at least. It’s not like they’re at war anymore.]

Yeah? Sure. [ He won't turn down a guided tour, since getting the lay of the land is kind of part of what he's usually up to, and probably important to his survival in this place however long he's there. He already knows he can't leave, he's figured that much out. ]

I met Sora. [ Just...yeah, that went about as well as he expected. ] So he knows at least. [ And just from his demeanor he could probably guess Sora would tell everyone. Not that he knows the kid particularly well. ]

Lucky I got away unscathed! [ Is that a joke? Kind of. But to him, Sora seems to be incredibly suspicious and wary of him, especially when he talks about not wanting the Organization around and it's not like Demyx wants them around either. He felt as though he's made enemies all around, but those were the choices he made. ]

Yeah? That bad, huh?

[Roxas may not always be the most observant Nobody, but he can see the way Demyx's countenance droops at the mention of Sora. Maybe it wasn't a positive meeting... he'll have to talk to Sora about what happened.]

Well, I'm sure Sora will come around eventually. I mean, it's Sora we're talking about.

Can't say I really know him.

[ That bad? Maybe, maybe not. It's hard to say. Demyx is maybe a little wary on his end too. He didn't exactly go making friends, did he? ]

I'm not planning on picking any fights.

Honestly, I think as long as that's the case, you'll be fine.

[And worse case, Roxas can vouch for him. Demyx was one of the ones he got along with.]

So how about we fix this story so we can get back? I might be used to four legs, but I don't know if you are.

[ He's always liked Roxas well enough, more than most, and Roxas rarely tried to take shots at him like Larxene and Marluxia which has always been more appreciated. He can handle himself, obviously, but he's just so sick of those two he could scream. ]

Yeah, great, let's do that. I mean. I've been a few places, like the Pride Lands, but I wouldn't say used to it. What are we doing here anyway?

[Roxas didn't have to deal with Marluxia and Larxene very much, but even his short time with them made him frown. Nah, he'd pick Demyx over them.]

Here? Well, I think we have to help keep these houses from being destroyed. Think you can manage that?

Huh...yeah I think so!

[ Demyx smiles a little bit and trots around in a circle one more time. Used to it. ]

Let's go.

[ It can't be that hard to do, can it? ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

{ bite sized problems}

III - Three Little Pigs

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