{ GAME OPENING LOG }

[dreamposts]

✵ GAME OPENING LOG ✵
Normally our TDMs serve as intro logs, but we have prepared a special character intro log for game opening! It is a massive, chaotic feast that can only be found in a dreamworld like Songerein. You can also use this to continue ongoing TDM threads, especially as it nears captcha. Reminder that any thread from the TDM can be carried over. Players are also welcome to make their own logs for things if they would rather skip this part. Be sure to read the Mod Announcement for other information and you can ask any questions regarding the log here.

I. THE FEAST

As the sleepy looking sun begins to set, the small little tapir fairies will buzz around to find all the new inhabitants and usher them to the plaza. There everyone will find several tables of various lengths, sizes, and shapes. Yes, that is a star shaped table along with a moon one. A special feast has been made just for them to welcome and celebrate their arrival. Some may even recognize decorations: leaves mottled and changing to an assortment of colors, festive streamers, popcorn strings, glittering garlands and bows, string lanterns, and maybe a few small gravestones here and there. Some areas might look a bit brown and withered while some of the trees take on a more cherry blossom look. It's a bit of a strange mashup, and yet the chaos seems to have a sense of harmony as well—especially when considering everything else that the feast has to offer. This is one divine feast that is going to be completely topsy turvy.

A. What's Your Sign? Everyone will find themselves mysteriously "tagged" with a special sticker and will suddenly gain special characteristics based off the animal: ears, tails, behavioral traits. They're mostly mild and to add flavor, but they may also feel different compatibility towards another, such as more attracted or opposed. The sticker will be hard to remove, but it is possible to swap with someone if they want to try a different experience.

B. Special Bowls. There are many tables and anyone can sit wherever they want. Just don't forget to pick up the special dinner bowl already personalized with their name on it. Of course there are some extra paints and decorations that can be added to it if one desires.

C. Wild Food. Every table has the same kind of food, and there is plenty to go around. Of course, that's only if the food can be caught and if one can keep an appetite for some of them. The boar's head is a bit talkative and might settle down if someone stuffs an apple in its mouth or tells it a joke. However, it might just get several laughs by the barrel of monkeys funnel cake nearby, monkey shaped pastries hiding within it to chuck out various candies and fruits. Not even the candy is safe, at least not the stringed ones. Licorice, chocolate coated taffy, and others will start slithering around and even hiss, sometimes wrapping around the arm of those who try to eat them. Playing some music might calm these sweet serpents so they can be eaten properly. How about that special carousel cake stand with the horse cookies prancing about?

D. Spice Up Your Li—Meal. However fear not. There is normal food around so it is possible to have a proper meal. However, some helpful little dragons may fly by to add a few herbs and spices to the dishes. They are quite friendly and will listen to requests, however if one is rude or too demanding, they may just dump a bunch of a hot pepper and other unsavory seasoning instead. Make a good enough impression and they might make house calls, even follow someone home. They live to spice up food, after all.

E. Drink Tea. Although there is an assortment of beverages, the prevalent one will be tea. They are similar to the ones found in the cafe and all will help bring out festive dreams and restful sleep later for everyone. However, someone is clearly making mischief as they have slipped in some rodentia tea. Drinking it will cause the drinker to shrink to the size of a rat. The only way to return to normal is to find the elusive cat cookies, which can be strangely hard to find; they seem to vanish and reappear at random, but only the ones with wide grins and “Eat Me” written on them can be eaten.

II. FUN & GAMES

Perhaps the food isn't up to one's tastes, or they just would rather have some fun. There are a few games around the plaza that everyone is welcome to participate in and they are encouraged to play to their heart's content. Just beware of the geese as they are being a menace not only at the tables but disrupting games as well.

A. Playing Chicken. A simple game, really, one that will test one's creativity and taste buds. There is a goat cheese fondue fountain surrounded with various platters of cooked chicken: grilled, steamed, boiled, baked, fried. This fondue fountain, however, is special. The flavor of the fondue can be altered depending on the kinds of emotions near it. Joy and love make it sugary sweet, anger and jealousy spicy hot, despair and distrust salty sour. And of course everything in-between including a chaotic mix. The challenge is one person will try and alter the flavor of the fondue, lather it on a piece of chicken, and then hand it to their opponent. The chicken must then be consumed. If not, the one who "cooked" it wins. If it is consumed, then the second person can now do the same to the other. This continues until one forfeits. It should be noted that the emotions of the one eating can also affect the fondue. (It is of course possible to take either the fondue or chicken without playing this stomach churning game.)

B. Gravity of Luck. There is a special wheel lottery set on a table decorated with rabbits. In fact there are a lot of rabbits congregating here and would love a few carrots. Anyone is free to spin the wheel one time per round to determine what kind of special "gravity" effect they receive. Each time the wheel is spun, a ball will drop and the color will indicate the type. A gold ball will cause them to lose all sense of gravity, their bodies starting to float away and although they can fly and float around, they'll need help being tethered down. White balls allow them to jump higher, small mushrooms appearing at their feet so others can follow. A black ball will cause them to be stuck in place, even fall flat all the way to the ground and need help standing up. Those imbued with the power of the different balls can help balance each other out until the effect wears off in half an hour.

C. Ox Go-Kart. For those who really want some speed and action, there are ox driven carts stationed by various streets. Two people can partner up with one driving and the other serving to help try to slow the other cart down. In this race, all non-lethal, non-destructive abilities are allowed to try and disrupt the other racer. Perhaps utilizing dreamotion based abilities may fare better. Just beware of other obstacles, especially any random crying dodos that create giant pools of tears as water hazards.

D. Tiger Fishing. There are special colorful ponds filled with sparkly gummy koi fish. At each one there is a little round tiger(?) with a pair of tiger mittens. In the same vein of fish scooping games, players must wear the tiger mittens and catch the gummy fish with them. It won't be easy as the gummy fish are even more slippery than normal. Perhaps some other skills could be used...but the little tiger will be watching and will latch onto anyone's heads who try to cheat. But if caught, they will make for a delectable treat—or interesting pet.

Comments

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[ Noel nods slowly, furrowing her brow. The state of the town is... not impressive, to say the least. And while most of the creatures, like the tapirs and the fairies, are rather cute, it doesn't explain why they seem to be the first guests this place has seen in what seems like quite a while. ]

Y-Yes... I must admit, it's a little unnerving how empty it feels... But! It's reassuring that we're all here together, and we can support each other.

[ The girl claps her hands with a smile, determined to make that reality. It probably comes across overly idealistic, too, but Noel has been blessed with the presence of her best friend here. What are the odds of that? The least she can do under these circumstances is to believe that things will work out. Or so she keeps telling herself, at least.

Any further thoughts on the Power of Friendship are interrupted by their furry host, so Noel turns her attention to it. ]

O-Oh! A feast...? For us? Thank you so much, Mr. Tapir! You're too kind! You really shouldn't have!

[ She bows politely to the tapir, which makes for a rather hilarious image, but self-awareness isn't Noel's strong suit. Once she's done expressing her gratitude, she looks back to Kainé with a questioning look on her face. ]

Ah... Um, how about it, Miss Kainé? W-Would you like to see what they have prepared?

[shithogs]

[Well, if this kid ain't full of goddamn sunshine. There's something about her that reminds Kainé vaguely of Emil; optimistic despite how bad a situation might seem, and even if her initial response is generally to be coarse, it's almost a little endearing.

Almost.

Girl is trying her best, right?]

A feast?

[She echoes the word herself, knowing full well what it means, but unable to really picture it in her head due to the fact that food was so often something that was hunted or scrounged for where she comes from.

... could be nice, actually.]

... sure. [She'll leave the wilderness for later.] But I haven't forgotten about what's outside the town. I'm only agreeing because I'm hungry. And I'm gonna eat way more than my fair share.

[She gives the tapir a pointed look before turning her attention back to Noel.]

Have a feeling that if I said no, you'd just keep asking anyway.

[It's what Emil would have done, probably.]

[bulletic]

[ It's just like they say: the way to a person's heart is through their stomach! ... Well, it's a little hard to tell if Kainé is actually happy with the idea, but progress is progress. ]

I-I don't mean to be a nuisance...

[ She's probably already made herself into one by bothering her in the first place, but they seem to have reached a peaceful solution, so she'll count it as a small victory. Their hosts' wishes not to leave will be respected (at least for the time being) and they get to attend what's shaping up to be a really nice welcome party! ]

So, um... Shall we head back into the town...?

[ Noel feels weird just leading the way, especially since it already feels like she might be pushing her luck here, so she figures it's better to ask. ]

[shithogs]

[Happy is usually going to be a stretch, Noel. You're doing great, sweetie.

She sighs heavily, shaking her head.]

No— you're not.

[Even if she'd just implied otherwise. Persistence is, at least, a pretty admirable quality, in her opinion. This is definitely as peaceful a solution as they're going to get, but all in all, things could have been much worse.]

Let's go— they damn well better have roast boar.

[She'll start to unceremoniously head back towards town, her body language rigid as she leaves it to Noel to keep up.]

[bulletic]

[ So she's not inconveniencing her? That's a relief. Noel barely has the time to celebrate that, however, since Kainé moves past her and towards the town. The girl fumbles a little, giving a final goodbye bow to the tapir, before following Kainé, though she chooses to stay a step or two behind.

... But now she's faced with another conundrum. It's not that the town is that far away, but it's still quite a distance to cover... in silence. Walking like this without saying anything is extremely awkward. But actually saying something feels awkward, too. Noel goes through about 50 different conversation starters in her head (thankfully scrapping the idea of classics such as "do you come here often" or "have we met before"), before finally arriving at something that doesn't sound completely ridiculous. ]

Miss Kainé, um, if you don't mind me asking... what did you do before coming here?

[ Matters of occupation and employment are a staple of small talk, right? Surely this is better than saying nothing throughout their little trip back. ]

[shithogs]

[This poor, poor girl. She couldn't have chosen a worse conversation partner to try and make small-talk with, but Kainé gives her a sidelong glance as they walk and opts to have some degree of mercy on her. Normally, she would go stone-faced and blow someone off if they asked too many questions, but it's almost painfully obvious that this girl is trying.

She'll play along. It's not like it'll kill her to be nice, either— much as she hates to admit it, it could actually be a good thing all-around, to actually make herself engage with people instead of shutting down any potential interaction, good or bad.]

I hunted Shades— monsters.

[Shades, she'd learned some time before this, aren't universal.]

There's not a lot of jobs for people to do where I'm from, but that's a big one. You do what you're good at, right?

[It was a bit more complicated than that, for her, but there's still something to be said for playing to one's strengths.

They take a few more steps in awkward silence before she realizes that customarily, someone who was asked a question like that would show interest in turn. ... right.]

Uh... how about you?

[bulletic]

[ A sense of relief washes over Noel once she gets an answer. It... it worked! Well, it's still slightly awkward and maybe a little forced, but they get to exchange a few words on their way back, and that was her goal in the first place. ]

Oh, that sounds like a dangerous job... You must be very strong.

[ It's not hard to imagine, either ─ she certainly does come across as someone who could throttle monsters with her bare hands. In the most flattering way, of course.

In all honesty, Noel didn't really expect any interest in her in return, and she wouldn't have minded it. But receiving it means she can carry on with the conversation, so that's definitely a plus. ]

Ah, I'm a soldier ─ a lieutenant, to be precise ─ in the Novus Orbis Librarium! [ Her status there might be questionable at this point, but that's neither here nor there. She also remembers that since they don't have those so-called "Shades" back home, chances are Kainé isn't familiar with the NOL, so she follows it up with a short explanation: ] It's, um, the biggest military organization that upholds peace in the world... my world, that is.

[shithogs]

[It worked!]

I do alright for myself.

[More than alright, but she's not really inclined towards bragging— not that she's had many opportunities to do so in the past, anyway.

She doesn't know what she expected Noel to answer, but it certainly wasn't anything even remotely like being a soldier. She considers, for a moment, that she really should know better. People can surprise you, and appearances don't mean anything. She nods; the name doesn't mean anything, but upholding peace? She can put it together well enough.]

Sounds like a big job. ... you like it?

[Some people do like their jobs, right?]

[bulletic]

[ Noel nods, figuring someone who was dropped in a middle of a dreamworld separate from their own and immediately attempted to check out the wilderness out there would surely have no trouble getting by, no matter the circumstances. She can only wish she had that kind of confidence.

The question actually catches her off guard, and she finds herself at a loss for words for a moment. ]

Oh! I-It can be, um... very... complex at times.

[ A diplomatic answer if there ever was one. Even setting the fact her enlisting was somewhat forced aside, being accused of treason, sentenced to death and defecting all within the span of a week has kind of soured her perception of the organization. Although she's aware that there are good people in the NOL, too, so... "complex" probably nails it. Noel tries to give Kainé a weak smile in an attempt to make her comment seem more light-hearted than it actually is, though she ends up letting a deep sigh anyway. ]

... Truth to be told, there are times when I have to wonder if I'm cut out for it...

[ Not because she lacks the combat skills, but her abilities to maneuver the complex world of politics and power struggles leave a lot to be desired. She's not entirely sure if she'd like them to improve, either. ]

Ah! I-I'm sorry, that really isn't any of your concern...

[ The girl falters a bit, embarrassed that she went off a tangent and started talking about her personal feeling to... well, a complete stranger. That's probably not going to win her any favors with Kainé, she imagines. ]

A-Anyway! I... I was hoping you could tell me what your favorite dish is!!

[ If it comes across as more of a demand than a question, that's because it's just the first thing she could think of to change the subject and prevent further awkwardness. Though given how she approached it, she may not be very successful at the latter. ]

[shithogs]

[Clearly, the kid's got something on her mind. Kainé at least has the self-awareness to know that empathy isn't really a part of her skillset— at least not expressing it in any meaningful way— but it doesn't feel right to tell Noel to save it for someone else, either.]

... it's okay.

[A minimal answer, but definite acknowledgement.]

Sounds pretty tough. [An understatement.] I guess shit is complicated no matter where you go.

[That's about as good as she's got, for any kind of counseling— but talk of food is a little closer to her comfort zone.]

Favorite dish... been a long time since I've had enough options to really think about it. I like fish, when I can get it. Had shark, once— that was weird.

[Why is 'shark fried rice' a thing...?]