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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Comments

[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 - ]

[platinumdreamer]

[ Before the Nightmare can slam down on her shield, a massive energy shark plows into it, biting into the Nightmare's neck, struggling with it...just before a streak of black, silver, and gold rushes out and kicks it to the side, using the momentum of its construct's power to send the dark beast reeling. ]

Get the hell away from her!

[ Platinum then turns to La Pucelle, eyes full of worry. ]

La Pucelle, can you stand?!

[darcangel]

[ The answer is both demonstrated and voiced simultaneously as the younger girl pops back to her feet: ] Yes!

[ She might have to wield this sword two-handed for the time being, but she'll manage. She cannot afford to do otherwise. ]

It has taken shape. We must attack in unison.

[platinumdreamer]

[ The look on Platinum's expression is pained. She doesn't want to endanger her charge any further...but she knows she can't leave this Nightmare to run amok, either. ]

Fine then. But you follow my lead, alright?

[darcangel]

[ La Pucelle's response is to adjust her grip and fix her stance, prepared to leap forth at a moment's notice. ]

I am ready!

[platinumdreamer]

[ Time—and Nightmares—wait for no man, or Dreamers in this case, which is shown by the Nightmare now surging toward them. Platinum narrows her eyes, holding steady, waiting until the last moment... ]

MOVE!

[ She rolls to the side, hoping and praying that La Pucelle can manage the same, and lands in a crouch. She holds one arm steady by grabbing her wrist, and fires a perfect sphere of dream energy at the Nightmare as it crashes into the cannon wall. ]

[darcangel]

[ La Pucelle hurls herself out of the way, momentum sending her twirling. She lands in time with Platinum, on the opposite side of the Nightmare, and fires in time as well, drawing a cross of light in the air with her sword and thrusting it at their opponent. With this, they should it it from both sides simultaneously!

Yes her non-finisher is "conjure religious symbols and then ram them into the enemy" what of it. ]

[platinumdreamer]

[ The Nightmare screams as it's struck from both sides, but it manages to pull its head free from a lizard head-shaped hole made in the cavern wall, sending out a spray of rock and rubble. The massive beast lets out a blood-curdling hiss, and whips its body around, sending even more debris flying and forcing a situation where the two Dreamers must leap clear.

For the most part, Platinum is successful, leaping clear and literally punching the rocks out of the air. But what of her companion...? ]

[darcangel]

[ La Pucelle slices any offending debris as she lands, then offers a silent prayer. She bows her head over her hilt -

And sends the result to Dreamer Platinum, boosting not her fighting spirit this time but her actual abilities. Platinum will find her speed and her attack strength have both gotten a boost. ]

Finish it!

[platinumdreamer]

[ Cynthia nods, and narrows her eyes. She concentrates, focusing all her power and attention, creating an aura around herself...then, she leaps forward, or rather flies at the Nightmare, her aura taking the form of a massive shark with a star between its eyes. The "shark" opens its "jaw", and bites through the beast ravenously before coming out the other side of it, upon which Cynthia lands. ]

It's done!

[ The Nightmare, torn through and now frozen in place, suddenly explodes. Cynthia stands there as it does so, gaze steely and set forward, not looking back as the Nightmare meets its end. Moments later, she fades out of the Dream Sphere, manifesting back in Yumemigaoka. ]

[darcangel]

[ Dreamer La Pucelle remains a moment. She prays over the spot where the Nightmare met its end - Lord, may those afflicted by these doubts sleep easily - and then dissolves her own connection to the Dream Sphere.

It's a matter of moments before she's clattering down the stairwell of Domremy Apartments, mounting her bicycle, riding off in the direction of the aquarium. All had seemed well, but she must make sure - !

(A window drape on the first floor ripples, as if it - or someone behind it - watches the cloud of dust she kicked up. How gallantly you ride, Jeanne.....!) ]

[platinumdreamer]

[ Cynthia doesn't wait for Jeanne to arrive...in fact, she's calling the girl's phone within minutes to ensure she's alright. If Jeanne were to answer it, she'd hear: ]

Are you alright? How's your wound? The cavern didn't cave in, did it?!

[darcangel]

[ Ah! Someone is singing a hymn -

No, that's her ringtone. Jeannette pulls over to the side of the road, because it does not do to drive distracted. Even if one is "driving" a bicycle. ]

All is well! The mission was a success.

I am headed to you now.

[platinumdreamer]

[ Hmn. That's...she doesn't like this. She knows Jeannette is the type to put herself second. But there's also nothing she can do right now... ]

I'll meet you outside the aquarium.

[ And that's indeed where she can be found when the girl finally arrives, a stern expression on her face and her arms crossed. ]

[darcangel]

[ Her arm looks fine as she pulls up on her bike, cheeks flushed with the exercise. If anything's hurt, it hasn't interfered with her ability to ride.

Jeannette disembarks with a bounce of her curls. ]

You are all right! Praise God.

[platinumdreamer]

Yes, I am.

[ Her voice is stern, and her gaze as steely as when she took out the Nightmare. Once she reaches Jeannette, she states, plainly: ]

Show me your arm.

[darcangel]

It was a mere scratch....

[ But show she does. And, indeed, there's the remains of a cut there, but nothing that will be causing her current acute distress. ]

[platinumdreamer]

[ Cynthia assesses the cut, before letting out a heavy sigh and releasing her arm. ]

Very good. You had me worried for a moment, there.

[darcangel]

Do not worry.

[ Jeannette puts her fists on her hips, gallant. ] Even were my head to be struck from my shoulders, I would defend the Dream Sphere from harm!

[platinumdreamer]

That's all well and good, but one can't be too eager to be self-sacrificing. Please...know your limits, Jeannette.

[ Her words are firm, but her tone is full of concern. Cynthia herself looks at Jeannette pleadingly, her eyes full of worry. ]

[darcangel]

[ Limits? What are those? And why should one pay attention to them...

But Cynthia's concern makes Jeannette's stomach do excited little flip-flops, not unlike when Angel-sama looks at her with those same eyes. She's gonna do what she's gonna do, but it does sadden her that impacts others.... ]

I am sorry to have made you fret.