Mission #13 - Plotting Post

[lucetimods]

WORKERS: Jack Holden, Silver, Leonhardt, Jack Sparrow, Serah Farron, Shikamaru, Haru Glory, Hyuuga Neji, Albert Silverberg, Helios Sprensonne, Saori, and Kotetsu.

We had a lot of volunteers this time around and the RNG picked a lot of mission regulars. So in the interest of getting more people involved, I bumped the mission roster up to twelve and added an additional two characters who were also chosen by the RNG. As explained before, this mission has a smaller roster than usual since it’s expected for everyone to be interacting with the main NPC on the log: the General from the Third Party.

First of all, there are some things to note: all of the interaction on this mission will take place entirely in the dream. Although the events before and after the dream will be described, they will not be played out in full.

Additionally, every character will have an opportunity to interact with the General within the dream. If they ask the right questions, he may give them some useful insight. We’ve created three conversation points and used RNG to divide the twelve characters across those points in order to give all of them the opportunity to speak with him. This information is listed at the end of this post and will also be on the log itself.

The dream will be divided into segments. It is these segments which will provide not only the conversational opportunities described above, but also outline the concerns, events, and twists that will provide threadable material for all characters on the mission. Expect these segments to be posted as separate thread-openers on the log itself, so that characters can thread amongst themselves during each portion of the mission.

Within the dream, characters will initially have no access to their powers or weapons. Instead, they’ll discover they have access to Filial Magic, regardless of whether they already made pacts in Luceti. This version of the magic will be much more potent than it is in either Luceti or on the drafts. An additional new type of magic will allow them create invisible weapons, much like the Elite cultists have been known to use. Upon reaching the last segment, everyone will regain their original abilities and weapons, on top of the Filial magic.

For a recap on the mission details, check out the signup post. The log will go up on the 27th.

TIMELINE
Please note that although the characters will be absent for four days, they should be incapable of discerning the proper passage of time once inside the dream space. Additionally, the below descriptions are bare-bones, intended to introduce you guys to the mechanics you’ll be playing with during the mission. We’re saving our grand descriptions for the log itself.

SIX HOURS into the caravan journey, the group is hit by a Cultist ambush. The battle’s barely begun when both MSF members and the Luceti volunteers suddenly pass out. Dream Shifters have arrived.

SEGMENT 01 - Similarly to what had taken place on the Space Draft, characters will find themselves sucked into an idyllic fantasty: a dream-world constructed out of their deepest hopes and desires. They will be unable to escape until either the General or an already-rescued character breaks them free of their individual Dream Shifter’s thrall. Serah Farron, Jack Holdon, Jack Sparrow, and Kotetsu will all be freed by the General and will have the first chance to hold a conversation with him. These four characters can, in turn, rescue four more. And so on and so forth until everyone appears to be free of their dreams. Do take this plotting post as a chance to coordinate rescues.

SEGMENT 02 - Although freed from their own dreams, they’ve only truly managed to escape into someone else’s: The General. Their journey through the General’s dream starts in a serene meadow where a group of school-children and playing with hand-crafted kites. But this dream will be interrupted by the sudden appearance of nightmarish apparitions. It’s up to the volunteers to at least try and protect the now quickly scattering children. Although this is a great opportunity for characters to learn that their abilities have been nixed and their Filial magic boosted, combat is essential deemphasized in this segment; the priority is to corral the kids and deliver them safely from the nightmares’ clutches and into the quaint one-room schoolhouse standing at the far end of the meadow.

SEGMENT 03 - After events at the meadow wrap up (and no, we’re not giving that away here -- you’ll have to wait for the log!), the volunteers continue on their path. However, the road is a dangerous one. Populated with nightmares now generated from their own subconscious minds, the volunteers will find themselves once again at risk of being dragged into Dream Shifters’ clutches. This time, instead of fantasies, the illusions are full of terror and dread. The volunteers will have to work together to free each other from these apparitions. In order to ensure that all featured nightmares are playable, please clear them in the below thread where we’ll ask you to outline the sorts of horrors you’re looking to drag into the mission. When they reach their destination, an ominous sight will be witnessed by Saori, Silver, Hyuuga Neji, and Helios Sprensonne. Additionally, they will all then have a chance to speak to the General about the events in the meadow, the current state of affairs, and what they’d just witnessed.

SEGMENT 04 - Time is not on their side as the volunteers rush into an ornate temple which vaguely resembles the ruins that once sat in Luceti’s desert, before it became an ocean. This is where their road has taken them. Upon entering, events will conspire to separate the volunteers. In pairs or in threes, they must work through a maze of booby-trapped corridors. All the while, their own nightmares will once again be hunting them. Eventually the twelve volunteers will convene at the center of the temple, where they and the General will be ambushed by Cultists. Leonhardt, Albert Silverberg, Shikamaru, and Haru Glory will have the chance to be with the General when he finally locates and confronts his Dream Shifter in order to end the entire ordeal.

AFTERMATH

- When they awaken, the volunteers will have already been recovered by the Malnosso. The General and his remaining forces will be long gone. With the caravan destroyed, the volunteers will be debriefed on the situation and then escorted back to Luceti. They will still be awarded their mission points, despite the caravan having been a failure.

This mission is a little experimental on our part, so we recognize it might come across at first blush as being a tad complicated. Please, if anything’s unclear do ask for clarification below in the questions thread.

Comments

MOD QUESTIONS

[lucetimods]

[screw_fate]

Will characters only see their own nightmares during segments 2-4 or will they see others' nightmares too?

[chikaidestroyer]

Is the nightmare one specific thing from a character's nightmares, or can it be something meshed together from multiple nightmares?

[eyesofstrength]

If they would see a person who could be appable in their nightmares, while I get that the other characters may not see them, could our characters still see it? Or would it also be allowed to see their corpse be all right since it cannot speak?

[endgames]

Can the environment be toyed with in nightmares too? To use the fear of clowns example: for a moment they see a circus before the setting returns to what everyone else is seeing, or they're shaken out of it.

EDIT: Actually another question. It's noted that everyone has their own individual Dream Shifter, but how are they dealt with in the first segment? On the space draft, the Dream Shifter had to be killed to leave the dream, but since this is a shared dream I'm confused at how they're being handled.

[changethepast]

So, if I'm understanding things correctly... in segment 1, the only threading those four 'first' characters will get the chance to do with their own ~perfect fantasy~ is with the General, right? Therefore Serah (et al) won't be sharing with any of the class her own dream first hand.

NIGHTMARE SIGN UP

[lucetimods]

Your character will be pursued throughout the mission by something from their worst fears and nightmares. Something that will shake them up and truly upset them throughout the experience. This could be something like a monster from their canon, something they’ve always imagined and been scared of (like the Boogieman!), or something that might even seem unusual (like clowns!) It may even be a villain or person from their own past.

If you select someone that might be considered an actual character that could be played in Luceti, then they’ll be veiled in shadows and will not actually speak with the group. While they might cackle or growl, they won’t actually speak. They’re there only to unsettle the character and distract them. Do note that even if your nightmare is a harmless clown, they can’t be defeated until the final segment.

So please reply to this with a few sentences describing what you intend to use.

[windandrain]

Saori's greatest nightmare is a demon known as Hatsu, a nominally humanoid creature that shifts it's form. A beastie from her past, and the source of a great deal of anguish in her early life.

Generally, Hatsu would appear to be a vaguely 8 or 9 feet tall, heavily muscled, with an extra set of arms. But like most demons, the form is somewhat nebulous. Chitinous armor, hooked claws, boars tusks, even fox-tails and eye-stalks, though one constant is that his skin or chitin is always more or less a ruddy-reddish brown. He's not got any magical abilities, he relies entirely on brute strength and the element of surprise.

Hatsu is somewhat cowardly, despite his frightening shape, and wouldn't ever attack anyone that was part of a group except for from ambush. I don't really have a picture of what he looks like though, and for that I apologize.

If there are any questions about him, I'm happy to answer.

Re: NIGHTMARE SIGN UP

[all7seas]

I'm thinking of taking Jack back to his earliest nightmare: his Grandmama. Canonically she beat him nearly to death 3 times as a young child. Her history and information is here.

[folklorist]

Oh boy. Well Helios' nightmare will come in the form of himself except he'll be possessed by that snake god sealed away in his soul. Apep Helios will be making a coming back. But thing is, is that Apep is really nasty and mean. He's also got no qualms about attacking people in groups. He's powerful too and his appearance will be exactly like Helios' except his eyes will have deep black sclera with a red iris.

Apep Helios has a lot of magical firepower on hand so there's also that. Including darkness and shadows (which is his greatest power).

But if you guys have any other questions I'll more than happily answer them~

[wildkotetsu]

Considering Kotetsu's greated nightmares right now are some of his literal ones, I'm gonna say his are more than likely the infected citizens from the last draft--and one of those infected being himself of course. The number of them is up to what you think it's okay, but I was thinking ~5 of them, in a pack mentality? Since it highlights how hopeless and overwhelming the draft had been for him. If you're only wanting just 1 single body, the infected Kotetsu would be the thing I'd go for.

Re: NIGHTMARE SIGN UP

[tsuntrader]

So Silver's nightmares will have his father! The details of him/his character will be obscured (especially since Silver barely even knows him outside of "loves him but also Team Rocket Boss" and "I read stuff in his book,) but who he is will be defined by a giant red R on his back (which is just symbolic emphasis of Silver's fears) and a small one on his chest (like in the picture.) He's less of his character and more of the embodiment of everything Team Rocket stands for. Stealing! Experimenting on Pokémon! Cruelty! World domination! And so on. Along with his dad will be some ground type Pokémon that Silver's read up on in his dad's book since he doesn't know exactly what his dad's team is and just associates all of them with his father anyway. ...Also a Beedrill.

The second big thing (and also more nightmare fuel) will involve Moro. Or rather Moro around her death, for those who remember reading/threading that. The short version is "our favorite gigantic forest wolf god in all of her glory was infected and it gradually drove her mad until she turned into a demon. Her blood started boiling over and out of her skin and turned into nasty tentacle tendril things that ripped the life out of everything they touched. The smell of her rotting flesh and blood and sounds of her roaring and pained and angry screaming tie together the effect.

TL;DR some dude with a red R and ground Pokémon; alternatively gross god demon nonsense.

[chikaidestroyer]

Albert's nightmare will actually be the culmination of two fears: an utter lack of control over himself and Moro's curse gnawing at his arm.

What does this create? A nightmare version of himself that has completely succumbed to Moro's curse and has become unrecognizable as anything other than a human-shaped demon of rage and pain, complete with the burned, cursed visage and the blood that takes on a life of its own and attaches itself onto other living things like leeches. In addition to the unnatural endurance and strength that the curse bestows, the nightmare will also be commanding lightning magic and capable of summoning numerous monsters (provided additional nightmare embodiments are allowed).

Plotting?

[all7seas]

[all7seas]

OKAY so thus far, Jack is going to rescue Saori in Segment 1. MAYBE FROM THEN ON IN I WILL PLAY IT BY EAR unless anyone has anything they want to see happen?

Plotting!

[windandrain]

Okay so. Saori's fantasy dream is basically her actually having had the opportunity to lead a normal, human life without ever having become a god. The Shifter would take the form of her best friend, a young woman around her own age called Yuuna. She'd need convincing and be fairly resistant to people trying to mess with the dream, but telling her what she is would shake her enough to snap her out of it. Jack Holden volunteered to pull her out, so that's taken care of!

Her nightmare in contrast would be something a bit more...odd. Hatsu, the demon, stealing a mirrored locket that she wears around her neck. The locket is a physical representation of her soul, and without it she loses her memories. Pulling her out of it could involve stealing back the locket, killing the demon, or something like that. Jack Sparrow's going to be pulling her out of that.

Other than all that? I'm wide open to have her help people out of their nightmares, wrangle kids, or whatever you might want, particularly for the final segment!

Plotting?

[wildkotetsu]

I am down for whatever, man. Kotetsu's initially happy dream would be him and Kaede and his [totes dead] wife having a happy normal life and stuff back home; the General's gonna bust him out of that, so no intervention needed elsewhere.

In terms of the children, Kotetsu will do EVERYTHING in his power to protect them, even getting hurt, though it won't carry over obviously into real life. |D Meanwhile, his nightmare will probably be a blend of the Jake fight from his canon and the infection draft, as both were intense moments of hopelessness and failure in his life.

I am open to anything at this point I AM SO EXCITED

Re: Plotting?

[all7seas]

LET'S DO SOMETHING TOGETHER WE NEVER DO THINGS WITH THESE TWO Maybe with the kid-helping thing?

plotting!

[tsuntrader]

GOT NOTHING PLANNED, BUT-

Silver's gonna have that nice and pleasant dream of having a nice warm house with all of his Pokémon and he's got the big family he made for himself in Luceti and his father is there (and the big presence here) and they're being a happy family and everything's okay! He's gonna need someone to pry him out of that.

His nightmares will be the terrible demonic Moro he witnessed on the Vaskoth draft- it's gross, it's gruesome, and on top of that, it's filled with an emotional piece to him.

But let's be real, protecting children's gonna be the most important thing here. He'll protect those kids no matter what. It's a protag thing. (I can be a good dex holder! A good dex holder like you always wanted!)

BUT YES as mentioned before I have absolutely no plans and am open to anything and everything by all means I am so pumped for this- new CR! plot investment! encountering your hopes and fears in a dream world!

Plotting!

[ravelt]

Don't have anything planned, so time to crank out some ideas!

During the first segment, Haru's dream is going to be a fairly simple one. He's going to be back on Garage Island, living with his family; his father Gale, his mother Sakura, and his sister Cattleya, and his girlfriend Elie. To him, it's going to be utter bliss, living in peace with his family. You know, except for the part where both of his parents are supposed to be long-dead. The Dream Shifter will take the form of his father Gale, preying on his wishes to have been able to spend more time with his dad. Haru's going to need rescued from his dream; Probably the easiest way to do that would be to try and show him the grave that would still be on the island with his parents' names clearly inscribed on it. If you have other ideas, I'm all ears though!

For the nightmare portion, I've outlined that here. If possible, it would be a good idea for someone to try and help him keep it together, because if those nightmares can take their toll on him, it won't be good for him or his mental state.

When he's done being scarred for life, though? He's gonna be all over trying to get to the end of this, doing whatever he can to save everyone. I'm all for getting some plots going on this. He's a strong, capable fighter, so it might be a good idea to team up with him during the combat segments.

[endgames]

'Sup! Want Shikamaru and Haru to fight Cultists (and/or nightmares if they haven't stopped by then) together towards the end of it? Since they're two of the people who will end up near the General when he finds his Dream Shifter, I assume they'd be in the same vicinity, so it might be a thing to do?

[endgames]

Okay, so! Gonna put some more specific plottings here first, and then notes at the end.

Segment 1: Shikamaru's dream world is a peaceful one, back at home. Konoha's not a crater, the war (which has been looming over his head but he's yet to experience) was won and no one died. He'll be hanging with his friends and playing cool mentor to his Sensei's child. Or babysitting, really, since it's an infant. Too bad the baby's the Dream Shifter.

Segment 2: Because of promises he made about children, they're also going to be his first priority. Since planning is his schtick, he'll probably immediately start with trying to direct anyone he thinks would listen to him so they can corral the children more effectively, with a few of them fighting the apparitions as a distraction. If not with any results, then at least to maybe ease the mind's of the kids? I don't know. Depends on how that works.

Segment 3/4: Shikamaru will for the most part try to move on from his nightmares himself for a while and distract himself from them by helping everyone else early on. The more they persist and develop though, he'll start failing in this.

Nightmares, now. If you want the more detailed version check my comment to the mods above. There will be a lot of phantoms - dead and living, his world and Luceti - for starters, one or two of which he might try to follow if they leave.

There will also be these nasty monsters. They're gross to look at and have strong element powers that might be fun to fight with filial magic when everyone's dreams start bleeding over.

SO TL;DR, STUFF I NEED I GUESS
- Currently have no one to get him out of the initial Dream 8|a
- Any interest in a plan to save the kids/distract the apparitions and which characters would be interested in that. We can talk details when we know what happens.
- Insert our nightmare shenanigans here, your character's and/or mine's
- MAZE PARTNER FOR SEGMENT 4?
- ???

[windandrain]

Hey Go-buddy, want to explore a maze together? Or be chased by monsters?

Plottans!

[screw_fate]

Segment 01 - Neji needs someone to break him out of the dream
Neji's idyllic fantasy will be a garden -- the immediate vicinity where he is will be beautifully landscaped, with bright flowers all in perfect bloom. Beyond the edges of the garden is open meadow in all directions, a feeling of total freedom. There's no walls here, no constraints, not even proper borders to the garden paths.

The Dream Shifter will take the form of his mother, who will be with him in the garden.

Segment 02 -
Neji's not much of one for kids, generally, but he's also a good guy and wants to help out. He can run interference for anyone who has to pick up and carry a child, or he can do his own corralling if need be.


Segment 03/04 - Neji needs a maze partner(s)
Neji's nightmares are going to be pretty crippling for him if he gets caught up in them -- so obviously the best way to avoid them is going to be taking on other nightmares as best he can, and focusing away from his own. He's going to have... let's be honest, pretty limited success with this. But he'll try.

He also needs a partner through the maze. I am wide open!

[endgames]

Firstly, that thing about his mother in the garden made me make a sad face.

Secondly, I alas can't offer Shikamaru as a maze partner, but they can be limited-success-in-ignoring-nightmares-bros before that maybe? Since they know each other, Neji will be one of the ones Shikamaru's keeping an eye on anyways so he might notice sooner if he's acting weird. On the opposite side, I have a couple nightmares in mind for Shikamaru that Neji might have a better understanding of than some of the others around.

Now with less comment fail...

[folklorist]

Plottans let's do this!

Okay, so, for Helios' happy fantasy dream it will probably just be him and Elise (dead fiancee for those unawares) living happily together in his castle. I figure the dream shifter will take the form of Elise. Helios will...need convincing that either Elise is dead or that this isn't real and they have other people that need saving. Saori is going to be helping him out of his fantasy setting.

Once he's out of his own dream I figure he'll do anything he can to help anyone else out that still needs helping. I'm open towards all sorts of plot ideas so we can go with anything you have in mind! I just know he'll need help tackling his nightmare. Also if anyone needs a maze partner I don't really have any preference for that. Helios will help in whatever way he can. So if there's any openings I'm sure we can work something out~

[windandrain]

Yes, all the rescuing.

[chikaidestroyer]

Segment 01
No plans for rescue yet. Albert's dreamscape would take place in a palace of crystal and marble, aptly named Crystal Palace. The designs are very clean and intricate, belying the fact that the architecture is centuries old. The corridors are quiet and numerous, but point to a central dais where several blond men in dark blue religious robes can be found standing against the walls. Albert will be standing at the bottom of the dais, dressed in a uniform that resembles what the men are wearing. On the topmost level of the dais is a boy who appears to be a teenager who is clearly in charge (and is also the only non-blond besides Albert). He is also the Dream Shifter.

Segment 02
Albert's not going to be much help in the actual chasing of the children if they get very far away, but he will try to keep them corralled in the vicinity of the schoolhouse. Huzzah for boosted Filial magic?

Segment 03/04
No plans for Dream Shifters of the nightmare variety yet; if anyone's interested in dealing with Albert's nightmare, let me know. The most disturbing part of being chased by the nightmares in a maze will always be the urge to look back. :| No plans for partner(s) yet!

[folklorist]

Helios doesn't have any maze partners yet either. Perhaps these two could join forces?

Plotting!

[eyesofstrength]

Segment 01 - No plans for rescue yet, and it's going to be somewhat difficult as well because of what the fantasy is and the fact that he'd actually think he was sent home. It takes place in a quaint little village in a mountainous region. This girl will be with Leonhardt (and yes, the boy in the picture is Joshua, feel free to note the resemblance if whoever rescues him met Joshua while he was here). One thing of note, he'll actually be smiling for once. Other people will be going out and about in the village, but it is noteworthy that there wouldn't be any children seen around and everything seems perfect and pleasant.

Segment 02 - Leonhardt would be more likely to want to help with keeping the children in the vicinity of the schoolhouse. He adores kids and is very good with them.

Segment 03/04 - No partner for the maze yet, but Leonhardt is very good at dealing with stuff like traps so he could help someone else with disarming them. Still working on the details of the nightmares for him.

Plotting

[250mhzwabl]

Will also be tagging around to other plot posts, because yessssss, new CR! However, this is what Jack will be up to.

Segment 01: An idyllic post-zom vision of his world getting back on its feet and twuu wuv. The General will kindly be dispensing with the idea of anything that awesome being real. Additionally, Jack is kicking down the door of Saori's happy bubble, so this slot on the dance card is filled up.

Segment 02: Jack can chase down frightened kids, sure! He has some limited work experience in dealing with terrified unaccompanied minors. Any partners in child-wrangling are super welcome.

Segments 03 and 04: Jack's nightmare is outlined here, but the tl;dr is "everything is ruined, abandoned, and full of dead bodies. also the survivors are paranoid, mostly infected with zombie plague, and probably about to shoot you." No partners in the works right now, so anyone who wants the grey-morality crisis of killing frightened civilians is welcome on this adventure!

[thirdparty]

The General will be rescuing Jack from his dream state. He'll be doing this in a far less gentle way than others will, possibly by killing the Dream Shifter himself. is there any preference for how you'd like this to play out?

Child wrangling

[endgames]

So how 'bout a simplish plan to corral the kids? Guessing in that there's maybe 15-20 of them, you'd want:

- 2 people distracting the apparitions
- 2 people to keep the kids in the schoolhouse
- 4 people to get the kids that scatter too fast and bring them back

This leave 4 free slots for either of those categories.

We can say there's more direction going on here (I know Shikamaru would try anyways) so everyone's not smacking heads into each other, but it's easy enough to pick out who's doing what and assume the rest.

[endgames]

And to keep track of that, here's a spot I'll make up a list to edit.

Distractions
Haru
Albert

Schoolhouse
Leonhardt
Helios
Serah

Wranglers
Neji
Kotetsu
Silver
?