Monthly Post & CR Meme #25: Paradise Protection Protocol

[beautifuldreamermods]

MONTHLY POST

Happy May, Dreamers - and happy anniversary! This marks our second year running and we're still going strong! The usual OOC anniversary celebrations will unfortunately have to happen in June, however, as I'm away on vacation for the first two-ish weeks of May! This means our May schedule is a bit different. The AU Plotting and TDM will both be posted on May 20th and apps will open on the same day. I can't promise I'll be able to attend to minor mod tasks immediately but if anything explodes I will do my best to unexplode it!!!

Other than that, no major OOC updates... for now anyway. As previously mentioned, this month's event essentially marks the end of the first 'season' of the game's story. Some mysteries will be revealed and a few facts of life in both Yumemigaoka and the Dream Sphere will change forever...

EVENT INFO & TIMELINE

Another Disturbance, so soon? ... well, really, was anyone surprised?

Learning their lesson from the last few years, the DU has everyone on high alert going into the anniversary, with requests that Dreamers not travel to the Dream Sphere on the days surrounding it... but as time passes, it looks as though things might be getting back to normal this year.

Note: seems like.

In the last week or so of May, however, a particularly unusual Disturbance manifests and things in the Dream Sphere take a very strange turn...

As a recap for those just joining us since our last event: Disturbances are surreal dreamscapes draw directly on the struggles, fears and emotions of a single character, similar to the TV world dungeons in Persona 4 or the Heartscapes in Blue Reflection Second Light. These large-scale dungeons will tie into the overarching plot of the game as we progress and must be tackled in order to prevent a negative outcome on both the Dream Sphere and Yumemigaoka itself. Scary stuff!

In addition, Disturbances are unique among other Outlying Locations in that they vanish once resolved and incubate extremely powerful enemies at their core who must be defeated to save the person at its heart. This where BD's turn based mechanics come in! Disturbance boss battles are where our Boss Tier Combat system finally enters the picture and will require signups beforehand to help keep things organized. In this Disturbance, participants are capped at four Dreamers with at least one Experienced Dreamer with a Signature Move. We will also be prioritizing folks who were not picked or otherwise did not participate in the first dungeon's boss combat. Slots are otherwise open to as many Novices who would like to give things a try!

Sign up with the form below – just fill it out and reply to the signups toplevel. If our signups exceed our number of slots, characters will be selected via RNG. Please be aware that if you are selected, you will be expected to be active and present during the event to ensure things can conclude!

Signups will close on May 19th.

Boss Combat Signups:
<b>Player Name:</b> <b>Contact:</b> <b>Character Name:</b> <b>Archetype:</b> <b>Powers:</b> <B>Anything Else?:</b>



!

EVENT TIMELINE

⧖ May 2nd: A minor earthquake will shake Yumemigaoka.

⧖ May 16th: A hailstorm will pass through the city, causing a surprising amount of damage for such a minor squall. It becomes clear in the aftermath, though, that the hailstones are not ice but seem to be chunks of iridescent crystal.

⧖ May 22nd: A major earthquake will shake the entire city and is followed shortly after by the DU publicly confirming to all Dreamers that they have confirmed the presence of a Disturbance manifestation - or rather, that a Disturbance has just now manifested and a call is made for all available Dreamers to make their way into the Dream Sphere and investigate.

⧖ June 7th: The OOC deadline for the clearing the Disturbance.


CR Planning Form:
<b>Player Name:</b> <b>Contact:</b> <b>Introduction:</b> <b>Character Name:</b> <b>Canon:</b> <b>About:</b> (Give us a quick outline of your character! Think of this as a brief introduction to get everyone on the same page.) <b>Short Term & Long Term Plans:</b> (If you have any, of course! You can also use this section to pitch the general shape of The Vibes you're shooting for in your arc and see if anyone else can help you brainstorm it.) <b>Desired CR:</B> (This is the big one! If you're looking for particular CR, pitch it here!) <B>Anything Else?:</b> i fully expect this to be meme central but i'm adding it anyway

WORLD UPDATES

May is supposed to be the pretty, picturesque transition between spring and summer, but Yumemigaoka clearly missed the memo. The whole month is a hot, blustery mess with temperatures regularly hitting the mid-20s and with the sky hidden behind cloud cover pretty much constantly. Between the gusting winds, constant rain and deeply unpleasant humidity, every outing feels like getting blasted by a damp hairdryer. Any remaining traces of those pretty spring blossoms have been thoroughly blustered away.

Over in the Dream Sphere, things are even moodier. Heavy rainfall and sharp, sudden thunderstorms are menacing pretty much every dream and with this being the Dream Sphere, it's got an unpleasant edge to it - static in the air, weird shadows, strange sounds. And yes, Fury Peak is still miserable, with frequent eruptions and smoke plumes visible... even from other dreams? Since when has that been a thing?



!

WORLD EVENTS

!★! All Month: The DU will continue to see increased calls and attempts at correspondence from media outlets wanting the scoop on Dreamer Ai-Doll, especially following her disappearance into the Dream Sphere.

⧖ May 1st - May 5th: Golden Week continues! Students are still off, but the people working retail and customer service have returned to the battlefield, ready to deal with any sales that are coming up in these first days of the holiday.

⧖ May 5th: It's Children's Day! In keeping with the festivities, Kokuhaku Tea will be serving kashiwa mochi and chimaki, with a discount for any parent-and-child pairs who stop by for some of their delicious traditional tea and treats!

⧖ May 6th: An all-day thunder and lightning storm will hit Kihada, temporarily causing a small blackout that will last for a few hours around midday.

⧖ May 12th - 16th: With our condolences to all students, it's midterm week! Instead of classes, students will be taking their midterm exams in all subjects, so make sure you've been working hard and studying in advance!

⧖ May 14th: It's the Dreamer Union's 52nd anniversary celebration! After the, uh, everything that went on last year things are significantly less jubilant, but there will still as usual be an outdoor event with stalls and music in Yumemigaoka. Nobody seems to be entertaining the idea of an after party in the Slumbering City, unfortunately.

⧖ May 19th: The live action adaptation of the popular novel series 10 Centimeters and Everything Else begins airing. Fans of the novels describe it as an honest and raw story about a former bully attempting to make up for the harm he caused to one of the girls in his class and warn newbies to the series that they should have tissues ready for the bittersweet finale.

⧖ May 20th: Midterm results are released. How did you do?

⧖ May 22nd: Hikawa Shrine has reopened its doors! Now the repair work is done, the public are free to visit once again. If you have the money to spare towards donations, now's a great time to do it!

⧖ May 30th: Yet another rainstorm blows through a number of residential and commercial districts across the city. It doesn't cause any damage thankfully but may interrupt power in parts of Akabeni, Kihada and Asagi.

AC RESULTS

gamers i'm gonna be so real w you i'm not doing ac on vacation you can have a freebie

code

Comments

(frozen comment) BOSS COMBAT SIGNUPS

[beautifuldreamermods]

Olruggio | Dreamer Torch

[olruggio]

Player Name: Kuu
Contact: PM or Discord
Introduction: Bro/Sis, April was so fucking busy at work I wanna die.

Character Name: Olruggio
Canon: Witch Hat Atelier

About: A sleep deprived man who's bad at deadlines and has a plethora of overworked artist problems. Rough on the outside, warm and snuggly on the inside, is good with kids but refuses to admit as much.

He's signed up with the Dreamer Union's Europe branch and is an Experienced Saver in the Dream Sphere and an often-in-high-demand graphic designer in the real world. He's actually known for architectural light features with a whimsical flare but his own projects tend to lean towards more practical effects; in Europe, one of his more famous installations is the light-up pathways leading into the DU's European headquarters.

In the Dream Sphere, he's a Saver whose spells focus on fire, both offensively and defensively. He was something of a prodigy in his youth, but an unfortunate Nightmare attack caused him to pivot from being a Striker to a Saver. He stays off the frontlines and tends to prefer helping other Dreamers as their support these days. His sandglass forms into a quill-like pen and a little handheld notebook. Contrary to his fire affinity, the sand in his sandglass is a deep blue.

Short Term & Long Term Plans: OKAY

SO I DIDN'T GET TO POST ANYTHING LAST MONTH BECAUSE BY THE TIME I HAD THE ENERGY TO SPARE FOR IT it was like... Already too late to say anything lol also dropping threads because what energy i'm sorry gang

But Olruggio would have submitted a report near the end of March on behalf of Figment Turo about what happened to the Professor. It probably got sidelined because the fallout from the Media Frenzy that Ai's situation was much more immediate and it seemed like they still had time to handle Area Zero afterwards. However, some people might have come across it! It just mentions the doctor's research (trapping people in the Dream Sphere) and the circumstances around his disappearance. He does mention the Figment, using Turo's Dreamer name of 'Miraidon' as a placeholder.

Olruggio will be staring off into the middle distance, wondering why Deadlines haunt his every conscious and unconscious moment. #feelsbadman

He'll also be putting his IRL commissions on hold temporarily to focus on his Dreamer work! He said he would help Figment!Turo and so help him he's going to do his best to help. >C

Desired CR: Olruggio is my medium spicy CR character! Grumpy but warm, he's just nosy enough to poke your character if you need someone to nudge them towards doing a thing, hmu! lmao. Ask not what you can do for me but what my losers can do for you.

Anything Else?: RAHHHHH TERA FIRE LIFE ORB FLARE BLITZ--

Junna Hoshimi | Dreamer Sage

[thestarknows]

Player Name: Tex
Contact: I'm on the Discord! Easiest way is poking me there or Discord DM.
Introduction: I'm Tex! Last year, I fell into Baldur's Gate 3 and played it for hours! This year, I fell into Baldur's Gate 3 and played it for hours! The wheel of time turns, ages come and go, and what was may yet be again!

Character Name: Junna Hoshimi
Canon: Revue Starlight

About: A freshly graduated high school student! Junna is taking a semester off after a very stressful winter -- she had a Disturbance, graduation, and exams all at once. She is figuring herself out; she's still very hard working, but she is learning to relax and not do everything herself, bit-by-bit. She is also Dreamer Sage.

Short Term & Long Term Plans: Junna is in a play, which debuts in early May, I Wanna Be Your Canary. Despite its name, it's a somewhat serious story (and it's from Final Fantasy IX, shh). This is going to take a lot of her attention and time up in the first part of the month. It runs until shortly before the Disturbance starts.

I'll have a mingle log up for opening night. Junna got tickets for pretty much any friend or friend of a friend who was remotely interested. She... also has her parents in town for opening weekend, with an entire Thing that comes with that. They've got an overdue talk, which will involve some heavy stuff, and I might do some threads about how that goes.

She's also moved in with Lisa... and she is hoping they can get an apartment squared away in June or July. She is looking for apartments. She'll also be starting as a production assistant at the Riverside Theater mid-month, part time, to help pay for said apartment.

Desired CR: Friends! People to bother! Everything and anything. Seriously, I love her CR and I'd love to make more. Hit me up! And if you need an "in" to the play, please let me know, I'd be happy to help.

Anything Else?: