{ 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

[starshower]

[It's wound up pretty badly, and Tifa constantly moving her head out of sheer stubbornness and restlessness is not helping her untangle it. Not to mention that the string is completely covered in popcorn, as is she now as more falls out.]

I guess there's no harm in trying that...

[But then, as he takes a step forward, something else happens. Something so unexpected that it makes Tifa jump, which only makes it worse.

There's a small popping noise near her ear, and a piece of popcorn flies off the string right for Vanitas' face. All of the anxiety and frustration that's come from this has manifested itself into dreamotion magic that's making the popcorn pop...]

I'm sorry—!

[And then it happens again, and again, and again...]

[darkcharge]

[ Um excuse you why are the kernels of popcorn being launched at him!? The first couple of times, Vanitas jut tolerates it. But when it keeps happening, he makes an irritated sound in the back of his throat. ]

Enough. Control yourself and reign it in or no one is going to be able to get near you.

[ Normally he has no problem "feasting" on someone else's negativity. It tends to give him an edge in battle. A power up more than anything else. However right now? Well now it's just getting in the way and Vanitas does not tolerate that either.

Now there are Floods starting to congregate because of the both of them. They are twitchy little things, but maybe they can draw the popcorn's ire instead of Vanitas... ]

[starshower]

[Tifa's more concerned and curious about why the hell popped popcorn is popping like it hasn't already been!? But then those strange creatures are starting to move in around them, and she wonders for a moment if this is also her doing...?]

What— [pop! One comes up and hits her in the face.] —are those!?

[HELLO?? She doesn't like them one bit! They're small and twitchy and don't say a word to either of them while they move.]

[darkcharge]

Ignore them.

[ They are just creatures born from irritation. Nothing more. The more that she gets worked up, the more that they will be... As they are creatures of negative emotion that prey upon it in turn. ]

Focus on calming yourself down first.

[ Because those Floods do have claws. Sharp little things that can cut away at the string. But only if Tifa can get the popcorn to stop popping and to stand still. ]

[starshower]

[It would be a lot easier to calm down if it weren't for the things closing in on them, and she'd almost rather just fight them off on her own if her nerves are only going to make it worse. New world, new magic—again!—and she has horns and popcorn popping in her face still, calming down is the last thing on her mind. Especially when the magic seems to be able to read her like an open book, and the more she tries to stifle it, the worse it gets.

The ground starts to shake under them, a small quake at first before the glasses and plates on the table start to vibrate and clink against it, but she keeps her own expression straight, convicted.

The popcorn eventually stops, but the rumbling persists.]

I would, but I can't think of a way to stop this.

[darkcharge]

[ Lovely... Not only is he getting popcorn tossed at him, there's also the ground shaking. Vanitas has to spread his feet a bit. Brace himself better so he doesn't fall over.

Even though the popcorn stops, the ground still shakes. At least the Unversed can make due with crawling around and trying to cut the string off of those horns.

...They are also good for something else. Soaking up negativity. ​]

Do you not realize by now where the source of all this stems from? You can't possibly think of a way to "stop this," hmm?

[starshower]

[The more she thinks about it and the more attention is brought to it, the worse it becomes, and she knows that, and there's another, more powerful rumble before Tifa snaps back.]

Just... talk about something else!

[That isn't helping! Earlier, when she had to stop it, the only way she could was to pull her mind away from it, so...]

Your favourite food. Favourite movie. Favourite anything...!

[darkcharge]

[ Talk about something else... Like what? There's really nothing that he would want to say? Vanitas isn't the most helpful nor is he someone that even desires it. Yet here he is anyway, using his Unversed like so. They actually are succeeding in getting the string free though.

But this lady supplies some topics instead. It trips him up a little since no one thinks to ask him his favorite... Well anything. Sora and Mira don't count ]

Chocolate... Never watched a movie before... And I don't know.

[ Don't put him on the spot? ]

[starshower]

[She is putting him on the spot, but at least whatever it is she's trying, it's working. The ground's shaking starts to fade, and the glasses clinking on the table have steadied from their swaying, and... whatever these things are aren't making her feel so nervous with something else for her mind to focus on.

She blinks open an eye to peer at him, but her expression remains stiff.]

Wait, you've never seen a movie before? Ever?

[ ... ]

You're missing out.

[darkcharge]

[ Now that things are calmed down, the Floods easily free up the girl from those strings. While this is not normally something that they do, Vanitas is not who he once was anyway. Once it appears that there's no more red string connecting her with anything but her own horns, they just simply jump down and well. Find their way "home."

Which is in within Vanitas himself. ]

You can't really miss something you've never experienced.

[ A movie... Is a moving picture, right? ]

[starshower]

[It's a little strange to watch these things move around, but... can she really say much of anything when they're the ones that helped free her from the confines of the strings and popcorn? Besides a quiet "thanks", she's more silent in astonishment than anything else—a good enough distraction to keep the popcorn from popping anymore. There are still the rogue kernels that lightly pop, but nothing as violent as it was before that... Thank Gaia.

Tifa's able to smile at him now, at least, warm and encouraging.]

Well, there's a first time for everything, isn't there? I'm sure there're plenty of ways to watch movies around here.

[Can they just dream up a movie theatre!?]

[darkcharge]

[ Those sorts of smiles always are off putting. He doesn't know what to do with warm smiles. Doesn't know what to do when someone is being genuinely friendly. Thus Vanitas stands there a little awkwardly.

"First time for everything," hmm? There's been a lot of that for a while now. Chances are there are always going to be opportunities for Vanitas to experience a "first" moment. ]

Why is that something I should really care about?