TDM #1

[beautifuldreamermods]

TDM #1

Welcome one and all to the very first test drive meme for Beautiful Dreamer! 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 AU Planning meme to see what juicy ideas your fellow players are cooking up!

In order to not spoil the opening of the game for players, 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

It's a busy day just like any other in a town as big and bustling as Yumemigaoka. With the last days of winter finally at everyone's backs, spring has begun blooming in earnest and the cheery seasonal energy is pretty infectious. A number of events are taking place around the city, so why not take the time to look around and have fun?



⧖ The Tsubaki Department Store is beginning to hype up their upcoming Golden Week extravaganza with a number of small sales and promotions. Maybe this year you'll finally be able to snag that air fryer you've been eyeing?!

⧖ It's cherry blossom viewing season! Hina Flower Gardens are holding a free event with a number of special seasonal goodies and some absolutely beautiful scenery to take in.

⧖ 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, life doesn't grind to a halt just because it's nice and sunny outside. Now the city is getting busier and more touristy, the folks who keep things running are starting to get some pressure put on them! And if you happen to be a student, end of term exams are starting to loom on the horizon, with particular pressure put on those just about to graduate their respective schools... Not to mention with spring coming around, allergies are running riot!

Let's just hope you're not feeling too stressed. After all, with all this energy running rampant and regular life starting to really push down on everyone, who knows what those negative feelings could spawn...?!

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. Spring has sprung over on this side, too, with iridescent flowers and colorful trees growing right out of the streets and buildings all over the Slumbering City and the sky above turning a particularly pretty shade of pale pink to match.

That makes it especially bizarre that it appears to be snowing all over the Dream Sphere, no matter where you go but on closer inspection this snow is actually cherry blossom petals raining endlessly down from the sky. How pretty! Of course, for those of you with allergies, maybe it's just rubbing salt on the wound. Your nose isn't itching, is it? Achoo!

Pretty or not though, if you're on this side then you've got work to do! With the Waking World starting to gear back up after winter, some of the associated stress is starting to funnel into the Dream Sphere and cause no small manner of trouble. 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...


⧖ In the Vale of Sorrow, it's still raining and pouring despite the change of season and that combined with the dusting of petals across everything has turned navigating the place into a real task, even for a fully prepared Dreamer. The ground is even more of a wet and soggy mulch than before and to make matters worse, a group of particularly nasty Torments are gathering and seem to be made out of bristling vines and piercing brambles... they're unusually quick and vicious even for Torments so you better act fast and deal with them ASAP!

⧖ In the Reverie Necropolis, the season of spring hardly seems to have touched the place. If the sky has changed at all, it's hidden behind the bone white clouds that hang low and every single petal that touches the ground immediately shrivels and dies once it lands. Once you actually enter the labyrinth, frantic whispers can be heard and the scratching of disembodied pencils scribbling over papers can be heard echoing up and down all the halls. 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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Cynthia | Dreamer Platinum | Pokémon

[platinumdreamer]

[ -Yumemigaoka Aquarium- ]

[ As part of the Golden Week celebrations, Yumemigaoka Aquarium, and indeed the rest of the city's Botanical and Zoological Society were running a promotion. Throughout the week, the Aquarium and other locations would have reduced admission for students, as well as even further reduced admission for anyone attending as couples.

That wasn't all. The aquarium had debuted two new exhibits for Golden Week: a new otter habitat, and the green turtle habitat as well. Though Cynthia was the director of the entire aquarium, she had a very hands-on management style, and was on hand to provide any lectures or answer any questions about the animals. This was all in addition to the many other sections of the aquarium, which featured both freshwater and ocean creatures.

And of course, in the afternoon, there was the Aquarium's live nurse shark show. It coincided with their feeding, with Cynthia herself overseeing and providing narration. The sharks would respond to colors and positive reinforcement; and while they didn't do tricks like one would expect dolphins to do, they did display coordinated swimming to underwater targets and even allowing divers to pet their underbellies.

Aside from all this, Cynthia would be moving around the aquarium to get a sense of the crowd, and even approach someone in attendance from time to time. ]

Hello, there. How are you enjoying the aquarium?

[ -Dream Sphere- ]

[ With Torments running around in greater numbers, of course Dreamer Platinum was on hand to help deal with Torments. Though she was fascinated by the rain of sakura blossom petals and wanted to look further into the matter, she had a job to do, and was determined to see it done.

That didn't stop some of this from being a teachable moment, however. She came to a small group of the bristling Torments who were running rampant in the Vale of Sorrow, keeping her distance from now. Instead of acting, she'd turn to any younger Dreamers before moving in, and asking a question: ]

Hm, and how would you approach this situation? Directly hand-to-hand, or attacking from a range?

[ Things are different in the Reverie Necropolis. The whispering and sense of foreboding that permeates this place creates a sense of unease even for an experienced Dreamer like Platinum. Her movements are cautious, at least until she reaches the great cavern and comes across the manifesting Nightmare. Immediately, she's going to take charge, calling out with an order to any other Dreamers nearby. ]

We have to subdue this Nightmare before it can manifest! Move in and attack, but avoid direct contact! We have no idea what powers this thing has!

dream sphere - reverie necropolis

[darcangel]

Whatever its powers, the day will be ours!

[ Dreamer La Pucelle prays over her sword. ]

Let those who prove themselves faithful servants of God have their sins pardoned, have their souls blessed -

[ She raises the sword and charges. ]

May this devout prayer reach Thee!

[ Dreamer Platinum will feel a warm swell of encouragement and fighting spirit rise within her. If the opposite of Nightmares is power to believe in yourself and your dreams, she now has that in spades. ]

[platinumdreamer]

[ Cynthia's eyes widened as she felt the rush of power and confidence. Grinning to herself, she rushed forward, slamming into the amorphous, manifesting Nightmare with a powerful punch, sending it hurtling back into the cave wall. Pieces of the Nightmare fell off, fading away like wisps of dark colored flame. ]

It can be hurt in this stage! The advantage is ours!

[darcangel]

Leave it to me!

[ La Pucelle swings her sword, sending a flock of doves made of light soaring through the air. They batter into the Nightmare one after another, exploding on impact with holy force.

And behind them, using them as a smokescreen, is La Pucelle herself, intending to try and spear the Nightmare's main body against the wall. ]

Haaah---

[platinumdreamer]

[The blob lets out...well, it's a sound, but it's more like a distinct rumble at being speared. It ripples, from the point of contact, and—]

La Pucelle! Get back!

[—and it suddenly shifts into the form of a large, nightmarish lizard, witch twitching, chameleon-like eyes. Roaring, it lunges at La Pucelle with its sizable fangs, even pulling itself along the blade to get at her, threating to swallow her arm into its darkness! ]

[darcangel]

Wha---

[ Oh! La Pucelle slashes sideways, projecting a golden shield around herself to repel the creature - but not before its teeth begin their descent, so while she's propelled backwards by the resulting forcefield she leaves a ribbon of red trailing behind her, her arm gouged.

She hits the ground, and while she recovers, the Nightmare rears again, eyes rolling, ready to slam down upon her the moment that shield can no longer hold - ]

aquarium;

[traceofeffort]

[Lisa's getting a student ticket, at least; she doesn't have anyone else to come here with, which is totally fine with her! Nobody to have to explain herself to. She can just walk through and enjoy looking at all the animals and fish. This isn't her first time in, but the new things are definitely worth the price of admission. So she's gazing at the otter habitat when the question comes in.]

It's great! The new exhibits are actually pretty interesting - I wasn't sure what to expect. The otters are pretty cute. [And saying that, she turns back to the otters and waves to them when she sees one looking at her.]

[platinumdreamer]

[ Cynthia nods, looking at the exhibit with a smile. ]

I'm glad we were able to bring them to the aquarium. Sea otters are difficult to breed, and they've almost all but disappeared from Japanese aquariums. But it's important to the species' conservation; they are on the country's red list, after all.

[traceofeffort]

Then I guess I'm glad to be somewhere with the resources to bring such an endangered species to my local aquarium! [The prospect impresses Lisa well enough; they're supposed to be rare, and they're here, and not just in some fancy American place? They're. They're just otters, right?

She blinks, looking to Cynthia again, before glancing back at the otters.] I guess I never really thought about not seeing stuff like this. I always just thought of aquariums as places to see cool and cute animals and fish whenever I wanted.

[platinumdreamer]

Well, as long as conservation efforts and public funding proceed apace, there's a good chance that they can continue to be exactly that.

[ Cynthia looked out at the exhibit, with no small degree of fondness. ]

It's human nature to believe these creatures will be here forever. But due to human action, it actually takes a great deal of effort. But you can't argue with the results, hm?

Vale of Sorrows

[courageunforgotten]

[Spending a night in the Vale of Sorrows wasn't exactly top of the list of fun things to do, he was used to the outdoors and the bad weather that came with it but the wind and rain here always felt extra chilled.

But it was where the trouble was coming from and he'd agreed to come on this trip with Cynthia after a conversation while finishing up a job for the aquarium. He'd been on a few hunts like this, enough to know he could hold his own but also enough to know he still had some learning to do.

Following Cynthia's lead, he stopped and crouched down to study the Torments creeping around, the hood of his cape up over his head. He stayed silent for a moment, considering, before speaking up.]

We still have surprise... and the ground here would make charging them pretty rough. [He dug his fingers into the soft mucky ground and nodded.] Maybe we can scatter them. Pick them off in smaller groups or even alone.

[He glanced up, waiting for the more experienced Dreamer's input before carrying on.]

[platinumdreamer]

[ Cynthia listened to his suggestion, before bringing a hand to her chin. ]

Scattering them may make them less difficult to deal with, but that'd make them harder to all track down, because some are sure to get away. And I'm not sure we'd have the advantage in this quagmire we're in.

[ She smiled, then, though it was more of a grin. ]

But it's a good instinct, at least. I'll take a step further, why don't we try to sweep them into a trap?

[courageunforgotten]

It doesn't look like it bothers them much.

[Link agreed, straightening up next to the older Dreamer. His own appearance in this realm wasn't quite as... extravagant. Looking almost like something that could come off the cover of a fantasy novel. Brown leather boots and gauntlets with a sky blue tunic and a forest green tunic around his shoulders, the deep hood hiding part of his elfin features here.

It brought to mind images of open nature, at least to him it did.]

Hm. [He paused, giving the idea a moment of quiet thought and scanned the landscape again.] Okay. I'm pretty sure I can keep their attention, but where would I be leading them?

[Did he really just instantly volunteer for the dangerous part? Yep!]

[platinumdreamer]

[ Hm. That's a bit troubling. They'll have to talk about it later. ]

There's a clearing towards the west. If you can lead them there, I can make it so they're fenced in. But can you make it across the terrain quickly...?

Aquarium

[discretion]

[Franz had arrived with a few others from the high school, but as they've broken off into smaller groups or found their own amusements, he's alone by himself admiring a tank of jellyfish.]

Pretty nice, I'd say. Not sure I've ever seen a whole routine with sharks of all things.

[platinumdreamer]

[ Cynthia laughs a bit, before nodding. ]

It is sort of our aquarium's trademark. Thankfully, nurse sharks are quite trainable.

Tell me, are you interested in these jellyfish?

[discretion]

I never would have guessed. I guess most living things are trainable if given the right incentives.

[Franz glances up toward the drifting jellies.]

They're pretty. Relaxing, like... big doilies without brains.

[platinumdreamer]

[ Cynthia chuckled at the comparison. ]

You're actually right about that fact, you know. They do lack brains. The jellyfish's nervous system is distributed throughout it's body.

dream sphere

[tokencanadian]

[With such strife happening in the Dream Sphere, it would be foolish not to send Dreamer Victorious. In her flowing ribbons, tied to a dress and armor plating that somehow came together into something fashionable, she was a shining example of their trade.]

It's a good question. [She regards the Torments from a distance.] If we attack from afar, there's the chance someone gets caught in the fire. A small chance.

[But a chance.]

[platinumdreamer]

[ Cynthia nodded. ]

There's always a chance Figments might wander into harm's way, especially.

So, given that, what would you suggest we do?

[tokencanadian]

I imagine that chance is why I'm here.

[She's a skilled defender. No doubt about that.]

Well, [Ah...] I suppose if we go fast enough, we can take them by surprise. How are your reflexes?

[platinumdreamer]

My reflexes are fine. But I actually had a very different approach in mind, and it involves getting all of the Torments in one place.

dream sphere

[considergun]

They're right there. [ And here's Dreamer Gladiolus, showing admirable restraint on account of he got yelled at to stop fighting solo. ] Why not just engage?

[platinumdreamer]

[ Platinum shook her head. ]

They have the territorial advantage, and have no problem moving about, unlike us. We need to have a plan, or else some of them will escape.

[considergun]

They might escape while we sit here and think about it, too.

...What would you suggest?