January Event Details / Plotting

[soulmods]

January Event Details

It's the time of new beginnings. The veteran magi of Nyoi-cho may find themselves inundated with gifts from the townsfolk, a celebration of the arrival of all their friends. Early risers on most days will see some hustle and bustle in an empty storefront, though the only outward change is a sign that says 'COMING SOON' and a sweet, almost nostalgic scent rolling from an open window. The night of the 6th the nights take a turn. As weary magi return to their beds and lay their heads to rest, it's not familiar comforts they see behind closed eyes. You are running through a corridor, your heart pounding loudly in your chest. Another pounding sound, arrhythmic, sounds in your ears and you find yourself looking back towards its source. A man is pressed against the door there, sweat glistening on his brow as he throws the entire weight of his body against it, trying to keep it shut. He spares a brief glance towards you, the corner of his lips upturning in a small but comforting smile. You are overwhelmed by the desire to stop running. To turn towards him, to embrace him, to not let him out of your sight; but there's a hand tugging on yours, propelling you forward and away from the scene. "Don't worry," the voice of a woman is saying. "Your dad is strong." But there's a tremor in that voice, and it pleads of someone trying to comfort themselves. In the wake of that ever-intensifying pounding, it sounds so weak, so frail. You make a turn, and a door is being shut behind you. You focus on that sound, on the click of a lock and the creak of hinges; you try to let it engulf the unmistakable sound of a cry ringing out, of wood being splintered. You run and you run and you run, and before you know it, you're being ushered into a closet. The hand that had been guiding you all this time - the fingers entwined so closely around your own - retracts, and before you can plead for it to stay, you're left all alone in the darkness. Thump. Thump. Thump. For the second time, you hear the sound of something giving away, of wood splintering to pieces. Then you hear a woman's voice, frantic and pleading. "No, no, please--" A thud, a floor vibrating as some great weight is dropped onto it, and a gasp that manages to escape your throat before you can slap your hands over your mouth to try to silence it. Footsteps approach your hiding spot, and you resist the urge to squeeze your eyes shut and recede into your mind, into someplace far away where no one can hurt you. The creaking of a door being opened snaps you out of your thoughts, and a ray of light breaks through the darkness. A man leers cruelly down at you, giving you time to take in the sights as your eyes readjust to the light. You see a knife glistening threateningly in his left hand, and you see the blood dripping from it. You see the slack, motionless body of a man who had tried his best to protect you, being held up by the scalp in his murderer's right hand. You look farther behind it all, and you see a woman who's been knocked cruelly to the ground - a woman who still has a single hand outstretched towards you. Your eyes flick back and forth between these faces, and suddenly they're changing before you, morphing into the faces of others that you know all too well. "Kleine, kleine stouterik, zoudt ge moeder tergen?" A girl with a bat is charging towards some terrible force, trying to hold it at bay, trying to buy you time. Another - her flower brooch glistens as it hits the sunlight - puts her hands on your shoulders. "Listen, you have to get out of here," her voice is saying, always evoking strength and confidence. "Wacht ik zal hem roepen, ik, uit de zwarte bergen." "B-But..." You hesitate. "Now!" Her voice is harsh, leaving no room for argument, and she pushes you roughly back - away from this scene. You stumble backwards, and before you know it, your feet are moving, gliding across the dirt as they try to carry you to safety. You can still hear her voice ringing out from behind you, calling to you. "Sachiko will know what to do!" "Grijp, grap, grimmeland, zonder lip of zonder tand..." You purse your lips, and something inside of you begins to come to a boil. When you crane your head back, you see that the girl with the bat has fallen. The girl who'd told you to flee is barking out orders, and... Sachiko. Always Sachiko. Why, even though you were the one who fought alongside them on the battlefield? Why, even though you were the one who always shielded them from harm, who tried to protect them? Something hot stings the corners of your eyes, and you're running towards the girl with the flower brooch again. If you leave her now, there might not be anything left to do by the time you manage to get ahold of Sachiko. You can't leave her. You won't. You throw a barrier out past her, a defiant smile tugging at the corner of your lips. "Grijp, grap, grauw! De bietebauw!" She's shouting something at you, you think, but you can't make out any of it. Everything seems so far away all of a sudden, and you blink, trying to keep your heavy eyelids from succumbing to unconsciousness. When you do, you find that you're back in that closet again, two cold corpses at your feet. The man leers down at you, his lips curling into a predatory grin, and then suddenly his face isn't that of a human anymore - suddenly it's grotesque, ursine in appearance. You scream. A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes Come morning, they recall the vivid imagery as if it were many memories viewed through many different eyes. They may even feel as though they did not experience it alone. But a dream just is a dream, isn't it? It's certainly no Nightmare; there is no damage to be found on their body and they have not left their homes. Dawn has come and it's time to start the day. Setting the dream aside, they go on throughout their day. Yet, should they feel inclined to speak of it, they may be surprised to hear that the dream was not theirs alone. I'll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours As the month wears on, they may find that feeling pressing at the back of their mind every time they sleep. As happy memories turn more sour, they may find themselves wishing that they could weather this with another. That's all it takes. Magi find themselves in dreamscapes - not a Nightmare, but a dream. The space is mutable, reacting to emotion, thought, and memory. The dreamer may not be able to control their subconscious, but it's easier to face the unknown with a friend at your side. And in the early light of dawn... But the mind is not the only thing the magi will have to battle. When they wake on the early hours of the 21st, they find an enemy has been drawn to the sweet scent of their dreams. The month has been hard, the magi are sluggish - will this challenge prove to be too much for them? THIS PORTION OF THE EVENT IS TIME-SENSITIVE. IT WILL GO UP ON THE 21ST AT 12:00 PM EST AND WILL END, AT THE EARLIEST, ON THE 23RD AT 11:59 PM EST. In Summation... » This month, the magi will find themselves sleepier than usual and will feel compelled to sleep at night. » On the 6th the magi will have a strange dream that feels more real than most. » A new shop will also appear in a previously empty space, though it is not open for business. » On the 13th, the magi will fall asleep and be plagued with odd dreams - or nightmares. They will find themselves able to travel to or summon other magi into their dreams. » The dreams themselves can be benign or dangerous. Damage taken will be to the subconscious and will drain on the soul gem, but it will not transfer to their physical body. » There will be a boss battle on the 21st. If you have any further questions about this event, please leave them here.

Comments

QUESTIONS

[soulmods]

[lapidarius]

madokami in technicolor heaven where to begin

-are the girls with the bat and flower brooch recognizable at any point in this as cyborg xpress (or...anyone else we should know, just to have my bases covered)
-are the dreams from the 13th on specifically that of the nyoi-cho magi because HA HA OH BOY
-i think that's probably it but i bet i'll come up with something else

[noplan]

So I see the note about dreams not really doing any physical damage and only draining the soul gem. What does that mean for someone who takes fatal damage during a dream?

[oathshackledbird]

What would be the best way to explore said new mysterious and totally 'innocent' smelling shop if someone wanted to do more than just knock on the door to see if anyone answers? (If it is possible to do more than that at this time, that is.)

[relieable]

may i ask what this cyborg xpress everyone keeps talking about is? 8D;;;;

[crosslaced]

do the unusual magi dreams go on from the 13th to the 21st, or do they have Dreams once-off on the 13th and never again?

[mttbrandlegs]

MTT doesn't usually experience The Sleep, being a a robot and all. Is the sleep still compulsory? I'd really like it to be but also still wanted to ask because IC

Re: QUESTIONS

[loveedition]

If someone were to go looking for one (or more) of the remaining Cyborg Xpress magi in the school, would there be any point to them asking questions, or would they just kind of shrug it off?

lmfao i replied to the wrong section

[crosslaced]

How big is the shop's window? Can the average adult climb through it?

[loveedition]

To someone who frequents the school and, maybe irrationally, may have peeked around into different classrooms every so often to check on certain people, would they recognize the classroom the strange seed popped up in? Or would it just be a nondescript classroom in the school?

[oathshackledbird]

Okay lets see if I can get a coherent question or to in before this sinus headache KOs me.

1.) Is the new shop still around?

2.) Did it and the girl not have anything to do with the event?

Feel free to say 'go finish the break in thread' if that will help. I think we all just got caught up in the boss fight and everything else got pushed to the side.

[lapidarius]

Clarification question because idr if it's ever been covered:

do the egg-shaped probably-not-grief-seeds clear soul gems?

[mttbrandlegs]

Ahaha these may be answered and I'm just missing the cue but.

Do any of the negative effects from the battle remain once the magi wake up? Not just being exhausted, but physical effects.

Also, do the soul gems retain their taint from the memory shenanigans?

[lapidarius]

slides in here one last time for post-event shit i should have asked

were someone to investigate the labyrinth under the school again, is anything different or is it still empty as as far as the accessible floors go

[dokkans]

So I'll probably plan more later tomorrow so watch this space, but I can say with great certainty that I do plan to have a dream for Bonnie and a dream for Karamatsu.

I'll write more on these more, but Karamatsu's in particular will deal with his Latent Pain, so please look forward to that.

Also, who's going to go track down Cyborg Xpress after the dream.

[lapidarius]

sup I KNEW I'D THINK OF ANOTHER QUESTION

[lapidarius]

so yeah who wants More Vampire Trauma Feat. Survivor's Guilt

'cause i can twist this into some shit.

[flickeringfortunes]

You know who hasn't gotten to meet Mr. Vampire Trauma since jumping out a window to escape him? This guy.

Raise your hand if you think that should be corrected.

o/

[oathshackledbird]

I am still working out details, but here is what I am thinking of so far!

I've already done this kind of dream stuff with Diarmuid so he is going to be investigating this strange new building with an interesting smell. The mods have said knocking won't get an answer, so breaking an entering it is.

Shhh...it's only unknightly if he is doing it for selfish purposes. Since when is he selfish?

Just because he's not going to have a dreamscape, doesn't mean he's not open for being pulled into one, so if you want him to stumble in, let me know!

On the other hand, I have not done this kind of thing with Abdul before, so dreamscape it is! I am still working out what exactly I am going to use, but yeah, he's from Jojo's so no matter what I use it's going to be a trip and probably a fiery one at that. LOL!

I am also up for him visiting other dreams and such. Just poke me if anyone is interested in planning anything with either boy!

[noplan]

Ryoko's definitely up for checking out Abdul's dream, though part of me also wants Karamatsu to somehow wind up getting strung along in what Diarmuid's doing. Why? Because I Don't Know, that's why.

He won't turn down a way to show that he's a good magi, no siree.

[cyclicalconcept]

Madoka's dreamscape is going to be fun! Aside from nightmares about the past year, and strange dreams through the memories she's regained, and everything in between being manipulated by those who end up in her dreams and effects from waking! People who get pulled into her dreams will have to be careful about the ginormous literal gaps of memory in her dreamscape.

So, uh, mind the gaps everyone? XD;

[screwballkoopa]

did somebody say giant gaps?

[pleasereset]

Asriel's dreams are gonna be a combination of things. I was thinking about having one dream take place when Asriel was a little younger, before his life goes to hell. He'll be a cute, innocent child who's never seen a human before. Anyone that shows up in this dream will be greeted by a small goat child who will try to take them home with him.

The other dream contains Undertale spoilers and involves...

Asriel leaving the Underground and taking Chara's body to the surface, and then getting murdered by villagers. People who end up in this dream could possibly intervene before Asriel dies or... they show up to late and Asriel ends up dying.

I've been toying with another dream idea where Asriel dreams that he's going Witch and asks for help crushing his soul gem, but I'm not sure if I want to go that route since it's pretty depressing.

[mttbrandlegs]

on the one hand, cute lil goat baby.

on the other, I want Mettaton to see that attack happen and lose his shit. inherently, he'd be losing his shit on account of Frisk. gg, going to rip the humans' heads off.

If you do the Witch thing, i will also probably want in on that. Darkest shit ever.

[scythersergeant]

Shinoa may or may not dream. If she doesn't, she's off dreamhopping! She might also call a meeting after the 6th, to help theorizing along.

Laurent.... haha Laurent
I might be giving him a canonpoint dream, since he's still fairly new and all? It's gonna send him very off-kilter since that point was a Bad Time, I wouldn't recommend popping in for the faint-hearted :,3

[mttbrandlegs]

Alright so here it is.

Mettaton isn't used to having dreams or sleeping, so he'll attribute it to the only experience with sleep he's had--going Nightmare. Therefore he's going to notice that something's fucky and probably be really twitchy about it, as well as attempt to talk out his unease with the vividness of the dream.

He'll also be having some dreams of his own. Several ideas I'm toying with include but are not limited to:

--> Fighting against a small murderchild from his world. It's a losing battle, but it won't be as RIDICULOUS as the actual in-game fight because Mettaton doesn't actually think he's that shitty in a fight. Feel free to interject and help him win??? (fair warning, Small Human is strong and full of LOVE. =))

--> QUIZ SHOW!!!!!! That's right, answer the questions and be rewarded...with MORE QUESTIONS! Naturally, Mettaton's quiz will be affected by his own despair, and he'll probably slip out of his TV persona based on how the dream goes.

--> Nightmare Mettaton NEO returns!! Only this time, as is prevalent in most dreams, the negativity is a projection of what Mettaton believes is the worst part of him, and while it won't be harming him directly, there's definitely a mental aspect of watching yourself shooting apparitions of children you met in Nyoi-Cho who only want to help. Pls shake him out of it if you find him watching that all unfold in an all-too-vivid replay? Also, this prompt, if I go through with it, may involve suicidal ideation and violence.

[relieable]

for Osomatsu's dream, i'm thinking it will be about his brothers. it'll be a very normalish dream, filled with weird humor and men that look the same. there will also be snippets of places from home, like the bridge, or Chibita's oden stand. maybe Iyami's there. there will probably be a lot of brothers, but only one Osomatsu. his world revolves around him. it's a relatively nice dream for him, though, even if you may be confused.

[screwballkoopa]

I honestly think I'm just gonna have Lemmy hop from dream to dream and annoy the dreamers like a rainbow-haired mosquito. So, business as usual!

[makeadragonwannaretire]

Azula: Azula's got plenty of nightmares, usually of a frigid and helpless variety. Imagine The Fire Nation Palace except covered in snow and ice. Our Princess will be on the throne, frozen there as various faces from her past mock her for being imperfect, call her a monster and laugh at her attempts to change.

Sandy: Happy Hunger Games! Sandy will be reliving her time spent in the arena and now you get to join her. You'll start by arriving on a platform, any who dare step off the platform before the countdown finishes will be blasted by land mines. And all the other opponents? Versions of Sandy who are very clearly dead. Some of them missing limbs, or zombified, or wearing Creepy masks or with monsters crawling all over them (Spiders, Rats) The landscape will change reflecting the different arenas so you could be anywhere from a dinosaur island to a shopping mall.

Harley: I might just have Harley jump around psycho analyzing other peoples dreams, but if she does have a dream, Welcome to Arkham Asylum which for the purposes of Harley's nightmare is populated with people she's fought with, aliens, other criminals, and monstrous versions of Amanda Waller and You know who.