TDM #2

[beautifuldreamermods]

TDM #2

Welcome to Beautiful Dreamer's test drive meme! If you're unfamiliar with the game, then you can check out the navigation to get yourself up to speed on all the relevant info pages then check out the most recent AU Planning meme to see what juicy ideas your fellow players are cooking up!

As the prompts in the TDM are based on events from the prior in-game month, the overall TDM is not canon to Beautiful Dreamer though players are free to treat individual CR/threads on this post as canon to their characters if both players are happy to do so.

Dreamers on the TDM will have access to all of their starter powers as outlined on the powers page as well as two unique abiliites to play around with as you please.

Some prompts and location details have been provided below for you to play around with but please feel free to go hog wild and have fun!

YUMEMIGAOKA

May comes rolling in full of blustery winds and heavy rain, blowing away the sleepy spring atmosphere with aplomb! While the second half of the month perks up a little and there's more sunshine to be seen, the first half of May is decidedly dreary and wet. Hopefully nobody's plans fall through on account of all this miserable weather...


⧖ It's Golden Week! The city is buzzing with excitement as the holiday brings in crowds of tourists and locals alike, all aiming to take advantage of sales and promotions or just enjoy some hard-earned time off. Of course, this unfortunately means the city is a little more jam-packed than usual and maybe it causes just a few traffic and transport delays... but it's better than being stuck in work, right? Why not go out and see what all the fuss is about?

⧖ Yikes, watch that forecast! A massive thunderstorm blows in just over Kihada, plastering the streets with rain and causing a blackout that lasts a good few hours. Some people might be upset, but there's nothing quite like a good storm to make things more fun and exciting... so long as you're viewing them from a distance, anyway. You WERE wise enough to find safe shelter as soon as it started bucketing down, right?

⧖ Moon Bunny Market are organising a stamp rally all around the neighborhood, with prizes on the line if you manage to collect them all. Just find the right stalls and speak to the right people and you could win a tasty prize!

Of course, even with the city being in such a jovial mood that doesn't mean things are all fine and dandy. With midterms and exam results on the horizon and the high-strung anxiety and stress of muddling your way through a major holiday it just makes sense that some of that might seep through to the other side...

THE DREAM SPHERE

The Dream Sphere might be a very different kind of place to Yumemigaoka but that doesn't mean it's any less busy. The weather is miserable over on this side, too – the usually pretty skies have turned bruise purple with low, heavy clouds that are swollen with rain. Thankfully, it seems like more of the places around the Dream Sphere are getting away with just a few light showers but things are still pretty cold and miserable over here. Good thing you've got work to distract you, at least!

As usual, the emotions stirring over in the Waking World have begun funnelling into the Dream Sphere and causing all manner of problems here and there. Torments and Nightmares won't hunt themselves so be sure to properly scout out all the available locations of the Dream Sphere you can access just in case - maybe you'll find a new teammate to work with while you're out there!

In particular, it looks like trouble can be found...


⧖ At Fury Peak, things are hotter than hot! There's no rain here but the volcano is steadily leaking a heavy black smog which has turned navigating the place into a real task, even for a fully prepared Dreamer. To make matters worse, a group of particularly aggressive Torments made out of volcano glass and black rock are gathering and ganging up on any Dreamer they see. Torments at Fury Peak are even more foul tempered than usual and they're hitting especially hard today so you better act fast and deal with them ASAP!

⧖ In the Reverie Necropolis, the sky is hidden behind black clouds that hang low and a horrible cold wild blows all through the inside and outside of the place. Once you actually enter the labyrinth, frantic whispers can be heard and the scratching of nails against brick can be heard running up and down the corridor. The vibes are absolutely rancid, is what I'm saying – made even worse by the fact that when you stumble into one of the open caverns, you come across a Nightmare just about to manifest?! Better hope you're not alone, because you'll need some good strong teamwork to keep things from escalating any further!

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Comments

[healthepast]

Oh.

The stranger says he's alright. But there certainly is a lot of rain. Finley tosses the idea back and forth in his head on whether or not to press on if Klaus needs a proper escorting home in this downpour. Some people do try to decline just to be polite.

And then Klaus offers his handkerchief.

Finley stares at the kerchief for a second, processing what he's being handed. It's certainly pretty, he thinks.

"O-oh. I'm fine. There's... I'm used to rain. I see lots of it back home." He offers a smile. Speaking of declining just to be polite.

[timelostsong]

"Perhaps so," his companion speaks gently, a soft frown darkening the dawn of his eyes. "But it is reckless not to take the threat of rain seriously. There are many in the past who have been brought down by things so simple as the common cold." The handkerchief remains offered between them, just a little longer.

But the rain is still falling about them, and they will both have to step away from the awning at some point; to step lightly around the streams and ponds gathered in the corner of the streets, where the storm drains from the concrete. But Klaus is in no hurry; his thoughts lifted into the clouds along with the low rumble of far away thunder.

His lips move without a sound for a moment, plucking words along the notes of the rain that falls around them until his voice rises without him thinking of it.

"The gardens would glimmer in this light," he half-whispers to himself, still distracted. "Tulips and crocus would be in bloom; their petals pearled with glass." He glances at his companion, apparently not as unaware as he had been to him as he first seemed. "It ought to be lovely to see."

[healthepast]

Klaus seems to be very considerate, at least. Making Finley smile.

"Thank you. I do appreciate it. I don't think I'll catch a cold, though. Not this time."

Finley folds his umbrella a bit, stepping further under the awning to watch the rain with Klaus. Watching the rivers of water flow through the streets, carrying branches and leaves with their currents.

And Klaus practically speaks in poetry. It's as relaxing as watching the rain.

"Do you like flowers? You seem to know when some specific kinds would be blooming this time of year?"

Or maybe it's just common knowledge around here. Who knows? He doesn't. But still.

"I'd very much like to see the flowers covered in rain, too. You make it sound very beautiful. Pearls of glass sounds gorgeous."

[timelostsong]

"Like them?" Klaus wonders, his eyes straying again. It takes him a moment to speak, as he considers the question properly. Ahead of them, an awning shifts a bit, and the water puddled gathered in its cloth splashes down onto the street

"I suppose I do. They are lovely backdrops to paint to, adding colours to the pieces. And a skilled quill may as well make them of jewels," he adds with a gentle smile, his hand darting the bag at his side once again.

Out from it, he pulls a book; battered and fuzzy where the edges have frayed through the cloth covering it. It's green is mossy, and pale with age, and many pastel colours peek out from between the pages; pinks and blues and yellows, at varying heights along the fore-edge. The stranger slips through a few of them, glancing briefly, before he finds the one he'd been looking for, and his right hand cradles the paper to stillness.

"Gold of the daffodil, drawn
Out of the cup of the dawn,
Gold of the daffodil, born
In the bright mines of the morn,
Gold of the daffodil, spun
On the warm loom of the sun,
Flood through my spirit, and smite
Me with thine orient light!
I that am pallid and poor,
Wasted by winter away,
Be thou my succor and cure!
Quicken my questioning clay!
That I may rouse me and sing,
Touch thou my pulses with spring!"

"Daffodil Gold, by Clinton Scollard," he finishes, still caught up in the beauty that he has shared. His smile is deeper, glints into his eyes and the lilt of his head as he speaks, and the lyrical tone of his voice lends itself well to the words he's read from the pages.

[healthepast]

So, Klaus is a painter. He supposes that would make sense, the way the other man spoke of dewdrops and flowers. He wonders if it would be okay to ask if he could see that art sometime. Klaus seems like a pleasant person to be friends with. But then, Finley might be intruding, too forward, too. Some people may not like being pushed to friendship. And he can respect that. But then, maybe Klaus is the kind that wants friends but is too shy to say so. He gives himself a small mental debate between the two until Klaus retrieves a book from his pouch.

Oh! And he gets literal poetry read to him. This is nice. He watches the rain fall, his smile even brighter, as he listens to Klaus read the lines.

"It's a very lovely poem. Thank you so much for sharing it with me." Looking at Klaus, that smile on his face after having read it. He's sure that Klaus is just as happy to share that part of himself with him as Finley was to hear it.

He's going to go for it.

"If you don't mind, it sounds like you enjoy painting, too. Would I be able to see some of your art sometime?"

Offer: You receive Friendship. Finley receives Also Friendship.

[timelostsong]

He's slow to return the book into his satchel, drifting between the waking world and the world of dreams he's heard so much about. He has never stepped foot within its confines, and the blond isn't entirely sure the feelings that are borne in his chest for such a denial of his nature. His hands reach up, out of habit, but pause at his chest, and tighten around the strap that holds his bag. It's the first time that he turns to see his companion fully, and his eyes are soft and pale.

Not quite blue, an almost lavender. Like the dawn.

"Oh. I-- thank you. I appreciate your interest." The edges of his cheeks are ever so slightly dusted with red, as his gaze turns away again, perhaps embarrassed by the request. It takes him a longer moment, to find what he is trying to say, underneath this.

"I would not bring out my art book in this weather though, or the humidity would catch between its pages. Does your offer for an escort still remain, sir?" Might he be too bold? But Klaus swallows it back, stretches his left hand out to point to a street corner, not too far away.

"There is a coffee shop nearby that would accommodate us sitting down into a drier environment."

[healthepast]

Wow, Klaus' eyes sure are pretty. (Finley, that's your eye colour, too.) But he doesn't particularly notice the slight blush that just-so-faintly tints Klaus' cheeks. But the turn away, well... He hadn't meant to make him feel any sort of way. He hopes it's not a negative feeling.

But, then, to Finley's surprise, Klaus offers to show him in a nearby coffee shop. He hadn't expected it today of all things, but at the same time, Finley's excited that he gets to so soon.

"Yes, of course!" Even if Klaus had wanted to head home this instant instead, that offer would have still stood.

He unfolds his umbrella, extending it out from the awning of the direction they intend to go.

"After you."

He'll hold the umbrella best as he can over both of them, but he'll certainly favour Klaus more than himself. For one, Finley is used to wet. It rains all the time in Wales. For another, Klaus deserves to be dry. But even more that he wants to protect Klaus' pouch and the contents within. He'd be devastated if Klaus' beautiful art got ruined because of this storm.

"Ah, I'm Finley, by the way. It's nice to meet you."

[timelostsong]

"I assure you, the pleasure is all mine," it comes to his lips without a thought, but the corners of his mouth lift in a faint smile that reaches all the way to the edges of his eyes. The gentleman even bows a little from the waist, a hand over his heart and the other tucked behind him as he goes on.

"And my name is rather perilously long, so I pray that you merely call me 'Klaus'," he adds, rising from his half-bow. There is still just the edge of mirth in his smile, but he allows it to calm as they take their first steps into the watery streets, avoiding puddles as they walk.

"If I may," the blond manages as the clatter of their footsteps interrupts the sashaying sound of rain that surrounds them and the gurgle of the nearby streams. "I am unaccustomed to these-- to such talks as these, so I am unsure how to ask. That is to say-- do you--" he hesitates, clinging tighter to the strap across his chest-- "enjoy making art yourself? Or find yourself enraptured in creating things with your hands?"

[healthepast]

"Klaus it is, then," he says, more than happy to oblige. "Although, if you want, I can try for the long one, too. We have some pretty long words in Welsh." Ones that he's used to foreigners coming up to him and asking him how to pronounce by now. Another perk of moving to Japan, he supposes. No one asks him how to pronounce Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch here.

"Hmmmm. Well, I do enjoy the occasional art project. I like doing finger paints with the kids when I babysit or volunteer at daycares. Or teach them paper mache, or noodle art. That's a lot of fun! I also like to cook for others, usually baking. But when it comes to being by myself, I do like making little nooks in jars. Little places that you can fall into your own little world."

Something about creating them is peaceful, and he can make whatever he wants in them. Based on real places or fantasy. It's a nice way to escape, he thinks. It's the one craft that's for him and no one else.