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songerein_ooc2023-05-02 02:08 am
dreamkeepers) wrote in songerein_ooc2023-05-02 02:08 am
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{ dream notes: #21 - may 1, 2023 }
DREAM NOTES #21: MAY 1, 2023
Did everyone have fun during the Flower Festival? We hope so because this month we're smacking the Story Eater around, and will probably give some mood whiplash with how serious things will get.
CALENDAR
The Official Calendar has been updated. Here is our current schedule for the month:
| 5/01: Plot With Me Meme |
| 5/05: Event Part I: Prep Work |
| 5/15: Event Part II: Story Eater |
| 5/29-31: Activity Check |
| 6/01: New Mod Notes, Plot With Me Meme |
| 6/05: EMP/ATP |
| 6/??: Event Part III: Aftermath/Recovery; TDM |
| 6/25: Reserves Open |
| 6/28-30: Activity Check |
| DREAM TREND: This month's dream trends may involve any of the following themes: epic battles or adventure; facing your greatest enemy |
| WEATHER: The weather starts like normal late spring/early summer weather with blue, warm skies. However, After the second week unnatural storms will roll in with strong winds, harsh rains, and red lightning ripping through the skies. |
IT'S BIG EVENT MONTH and then after this we will once again flood the game with various festivities and things to let everyone's guard down before we swing around with nightmare stuff again—
For June we just want to give a heads up that we'll have some Zelda related player plots that will occur, so keep a look out for info for that in the future! We're tying it in with the aftermath of everything so should be fun. We're also incorporating other player plots/submissions in the next couple months (another one for sure in July) so if you have any in mind for the rest of the year, please go ahead and submit so we can work out schedules. Just for the record, the ones we have on the docket are:
- Zelda (June)
- Saudade and Hiraeth (July)
- Permanent Residence (with a bunch of things happening in relation in there)
- How to limit world connections
So yeah, we're finally clearing up our backlog and will have a lot more room and flexibility for the rest of the year!
ACTIVITY CHECK RESULTS
Congratulations to everyone who commented on our Activity Check! The following characters were removed from the game:
Thancred Waters |
censorshipnutkinWendy Carter |
ectoherbologySolanaceae |
littletomatoDella Duck |
sos_pilotIf anyone was swept because they missed AC, you can reapply in the next cycle. Just fair warning, we will notice if this happens more than once and we may not allow immediate reapplication the next time.
This puts our player population to 74/75, which means our new player reserve/apps slots are at a maximum 1.
WORLD UPDATES
Be it new NPCs, creatures, places, or some other discovery or creation, the world of Songerein continues to grow! For official lists and information, refer to the World Directory and Bestiary. So here are a few things as a result of the Dream Board and other submissions:
NPCs:
- Katheryne (Receptionist) From Genshin Impact, Katheryne is the famous receptionist that stands behind the desk of every Adventurer's Guild branch in Teyvat--and I do mean every, as she's encountered in every region the player travels to, performing her same duty. Her primary role is to serve as the hub for all commissions and quests in the game, providing guidance and information, as well as rewards upon successful completion of said commissions, while her secondary task is to provide all secretarial work regarding the Adventurer's Guild and its roster of adventurers. In that regard, she can provide some central organization to the quest board, providing a convenient means for everything relating to rewards and details to come from. TLDR; we have a new NPC organizer for the Dream Board, huzzah!
Places:
The Wild Harvest serves various western and eastern style earth-based street food dishes. A special menu is rotated every month. Wild Harvest's specials for the month are:
Macarons of the Sea: Adorable macarons made in celebration of Leo Valdez's completed ship. They feature a turtle shape with shells which are shades of blue or green in colour, and a sweet cream filling.
Sea Bubbles: A refreshing variety of iced teas to cool you in the warming weather. The octopus-shaped jellies make each cup look like a slice of ocean life. How lifelike it appears will depend on the patron's natural dreamotion and affinity for the sea. Ask about what is available each week, including matcha and earl grey, and fruitier flavours like lychee, strawberry, or mango!
Floral Toast: The flowers may be gone, but the staff are still fans! Toasted bread with a spread of cream cheese and slices of fruit (patrons' choice) arranged into flowers. The slices are also available separately for those who have their own ideas.
Beef & Pork Ragu: A hearty, seasoned sauce made with braised pork and beef, finely chopped onions, and carrots, all simmered in pureed tomatoes. Meat can be substituted for mushrooms or other vegetables! Served with bun rolls.
FLOWER FESTIVAL REWARDS
Rewards for everyone! Because we can!
Regain Bauble (x1). Within the first week of the month, everyone will find a special little bauble next to their pillow with a note that reads, "Thanks for the helping! Throw this into the Wishing Well to receive a special item from home. Just imagine the item and it will appear. (watch out for the glitter) Can also be used at the Observatory or gifted to others!" As briefly described, this bauble is basically the game's "regain token." With this item, characters can throw it into the Wishing Well and receive the item they think about. All regains are manifestations of the item rather than the original and are affected by the game's limitations so nerfs may need to be applied. All regain submissions may be posted to the Regain Wishing Well entry.
Item: Topiary Seeds. Everyone will be given a small bag of special seeds that once planted and watered will grow into a randomly shaped topiary. Could be abstract, could be an animal, could be anything at all! They will occasionally sprout flowers, and anything that resembles a living organism may also move around a little bit. These will be affected by dreamotion so take care of what kind of emotions are around it.
Item: Dream Egg. For those who participated in the dream egg hunt in the Nightscape portion of the event, their egg will have returned with them and will remain. It will still need some time to incubate, so expect to have it hatch in June. Just don't let the nightmare energy get to it! (Number of eggs collected: 12)
Item: Deer Charm. A small, gray clay deer figure that will gradually change to either white or black depending on whether it is near greater concentrations of overly positive dreamotion (white) or nightmare energy (black). If it goes to either extreme, the charm will crack to release enough of either to bring the area or person temporarily back to balance. It is a small effect, but could be enough for a start.
Item: Costumes. Regardless of how someone might have "disposed" of their costume, they will find a package waiting for them by their front door containing it. Fortunately, most of the enchantments were removed. Only a very low powered version of it remains.
EVENT PART I: PREP WORK
IT IS TIME. As you can see, we're splitting the event into two parts. This is because we recognize that not everyone would want to deal with the heavier tones of the battle portion, but may still want to be involved in some part of the event overall (or at least have something else to do for the month). This will also help give a better "narrative" of what's going on instead of us just going, "This all happened, now go!" So this first part is all about setting up certain parts for the later battle and to also have some "sillier" prompts so we're not just all doom and gloom the whole month.
Part I is all about getting ready for the upcoming big fight. This is where we'll highlight some things so we're not cramming it all in the second part. While we do have a set ending because we need to wrap this plot up, the how can still be affected by what characters do. The ending itself can also be affected. Story Eater will definitely be sealed, but will it be locked away for good or will something catastrophic happen and it might show up again later?
So we'll be requesting a lot of thread submissions for both parts!
Timeframe. Part I is slated to go up Friday, May 5, but ICly everything is happening for the first half of the month, up until the ~final battle~. Of course like always, players can continue threading or tag into it later even after Part II goes up.Dreamcatcher. The dreamcatcher from the castle on dragon island introduced in February and March had been brought down and taken to the Observatory in April. It's been mostly purified, but nightmares are still occasionally produced, which is a problem… Or is it? A mysterious "nightmare representative" has appeared and is suggesting that the nightmare energy from the dreamcatcher could be used to make up for any other power loss. Prompts for this section will be in relation to channeling and fostering dreamotion and nightmare energy. Dreamotion training may also be featured here.
The Crystal. The giant floating crystal from March has also been moved to float above the Observatory. It remains stabilized and now they plan to use the crystal as a giant conductor in tandem with the Dreamcatcher to use it as a giant laser against the Story Eater. Trouble is, they're still working out on how to control the aim so they don't accidentally obliterate the mountains or something. Target practice will be the main draw here, and the crystaltei, the crystal creatures from before, will also be involved to help gather up more dreamotion. For a more explosive result, negative emotions will be key, but it needs to remain balanced.
Tis the Season…?? Santa has been busy for the past year and has gathered assistance from various seasonal representatives of different cultures from around the world and multiverse. If you can think of it, it's there. The only one not available is anyone for Valentine's. Of course, that means there are a lot of new visitors that are appearing randomly all over, so it might be a bit hectic. This is where the sillier prompts will be as they focus on helping the various groups 1) prepare their weapons and other gear; 2) not clash against each other; 3) decorating the entire town.
Supply Run. And of course, the easy "supply run" won't be made as easy as it should be because that's no fun. They will also need to build barricades and create bunkers and safe havens for nonparticipants to take shelter in.
EVENT PART II: STORY EATER
Now for the big boy. We got a lot going on here, so carefully read through it all! As mentioned in Part I, the Story Eater will be sealed in the book. But there is still opportunity for things to change or be affected by what happens in both parts of the event. Thread submissions will be requested!
Timeframe. The log will go up Monday, May 15, but ICly the events won't occur until May 22nd. The battle itself would only take a few hours in the day, so characters would technically have about a week to begin recovery that will be focused on in June. We're also noting this for folks who may want to handwave things during the battle and focus on the recovery angst while it's still May. We won't have a designated aftermath log since we're doing that in June, so feel free to make your own logs or use the battle log if you wish.
Opt-in. For the most part, this part of the event is opt-in. While the town is still affected, there will be safe places made to protect those who can't participate, as well as serve as bunkers to help treat the wounded. So if none of this is your cup of tea, you can stick your character there and just have them aware of what's going on. Wildlands and other areas outside of town is also an option, but the entire operation will be obvious when there's a giant moon and the skies all red and ominous.
On the Moon and on the Ground. Since the Story Eater has been using the moons for its traveling, it will be lured back into Songerein with the two moons. However, the moons will be merged to create one giant mega moon, and it's there that most of the fighting will take place. However, there will also be skirmishes on the ground, especially around town. Everything listed below will be in effect for both those on the moon and on the ground.Story Character Aspects. A mechanic from
Story Eater. Instead of one giant behemoth, the Story Eater is going to split up into different forms, each one based on various villains and antagonists of various stories. Similarly, the powers each form has will be based on that character. They're basically like mini bosses, so while strong, they can be defeated, and each one will weaken the Story Eater as a whole. The number of encounters and number defeated will affect how weak the Story Eater will be at the end and affect how well the Book will handle it.Slenderman and Cupid. Of course, there are other threats to contend with. Along with Story Eater's minions, the noctasers (a blend of noctaere and Eraser), Slenderman from March will be on the prowl while Cupid will be insane and trying to inflict hatred upon any struck by his arrows. Slenderman will again be a tough foe to kill, so the best course of action is to fend it off and save any caught in its grasp. Cupid, on the other hand, is more unstable and will be susceptible to those who try to purify it with love and kindness. It is possible to purify Cupid, and we'll tally up the thread results to see if everyone's efforts worked.
- There will be two designated teams to try and take down each one. Ideally we'd like to limit this to at most 3 sets of 2 each, which would be a total of 12 slots, 6 each. As usual, our requirement for participation would be those who can reliably thread during the time period so that we can see progression and make a judgment on how the ending will be. Characters must also be skilled with dreamotion and/or nightmare energy, and while it's preferred they can't be swayed—that won't be fun so if a partner (or both) turns noctaere, it can definitely affect the result. Will Slenderman and Cupid be defeated? Or will they continue to exist to come back again?? Sign-ups are found here. Deadline is Saturday, May 10 to give us time to issue assignments to teams and allow players to plan.
- Teams will not be locked out of the event. Players will have to plan accordingly on where their character will be and what condition they are in, but dealing with both Slenderman and Cupid is loose and flexible, so a team could try at the start of the event or wait until near the end of the event.
Players can NPC Slenderman and Cupid for their own threads to allow quicker progression. We give full permission for the two to behave however players need them to so long as the main characteristic of "extremely hostile," "insane," and "will definitely try to kill you" remain the same. Slenderman can be more crafty and stealthy, utilizing shadows and nightmares. Cupid is the more unhinged one who will fire off his arrows and is susceptible to love, with his heart literally broken. Players are welcome to ask us questions on how these two will behave to help give better direction. (this is true for both the general prompts and the designated teams)
Face Your Antagonist. As if that's not enough, characters will find themselves encountering their own villains and antagonists from their world popping up. They are manifestations created by the nightmare energy pouring out from the Story Eater and will require characters to face them off with strong will and bravery to get through it. Purifying the manifestations can also work so that they help fight against the other minions and creatures that have sprung up. Monsters from canon worlds can also make an appearance and we have a submission thread for those who'd like to submit any creature, be it minor or even a boss creature, for the event. Some of these can also carry over to June, perhaps even become a permanent part of the world if that's something that interests you.Deaths. This will be our first event where deaths can happen. We've already introduced the concept that those who die will turn into wisps, so be sure to read up the information so you have a better understanding of it in general. For the event, should a character die, they will turn into a wisp and still be playable. They might be feeling a bit traumatized from the experience, and this is where things can get dangerous.
- Turn noctaere. If they have too much negative emotions and are unable to calm down, they can turn noctaere and fight for the Story Eater.
- Recovery. Fortunately, for this event it's a lot easier to purify and "revive" someone from their wisp form, either within the same day or the next. They just need a giant dose of dreamotion and their own personal will to revive to come back. This is only doable due to the high amount of dreamotion energy that's gathered around. It should be noted they will still need several days of rest as their dreamotion energy has been severely depleted.
- Psuedo-death. Another option is for someone to not be killed outright, but instead have their dreamotion essence (or something like their "soul" in this world) directly knocked out of them. For example, if Slenderman punches someone and instead of dying, they immediately lose their physical form and turn into a wisp. They will be more emotionally stable and can use their dreamotion abilities, but still run the same risks as those who die. It is also easier for them to recover as they can also use more of their own willpower to recreate their physical form. This option may be easier for both players and characters to handle.
- No permadeath. We just want to make it clear that there is no permanent death and that everyone who does die will be revived within a day or two after the battle, unless a player wants to play it out a little longer.
- Plan accordingly. While we're highlighting this option, try not to take it too lightly. There are definitely characters that will be able to shrug it off, but others and their CR might not. If you plan to have this happen, make sure to communicate with those who will be affected and be prepared for whatever fallout or recovery that will occur.
We will definitely be checking to see how many "die" during this event. Prompts will also incorporate NPCs so that those who wish to interact with wisps without dealing with CR deaths can do so.
Phew that's a lot, and we did warn it'll be a lot heavier than usual.
LOOKING AHEAD
After this, we'll have finally completed the Story Eater arc and after an interlude will start shifting gears. Here's a quick look at how the upcoming months will be:
June: recovery, Zelda shenanigans, TDM
July: apps, BEACH EPISODE with a new discovery…??
August: tdm – in the works
September: apps, SECOND YEAR ANNIVERSARY, dream faire again most likely but with some other stuff
October, November, and December will have the usual holiday themes, but we'll also be introducing some new fun stuff for the game. Like nightmare stuff. In a fun way. And then we get to see what 2024 will bring 👀
Some other things we'll be looking at getting back to include dreamscape events, or at least incorporate large dreamscapes again. We'll also look into incorporating fairy tales and stories into events as despite the Story Eater now gone, it's still a part of the game's themes. New places, new things will be popping as we expand the world in a new way.
In terms of "big plotty events" like this month, we will probably not have another one anytime soon, if at all this year. Remember, Songerein was never a "plot" driven game, so while we do have some basic narrative beats and arcs that are part of the game's growth, it's still pretty loose. But we'll see how things shake out!
DREAM BOARD
How the Dream Board works:
- This is all optional, the quests are just extra content for players and while they can sometimes relate to upcoming or current events, they're just kind of "filler" stuff. Some will be set out in Songerein proper while others may involve dreams.
- The Dream Board can be found at the Plaza and quests will automatically appear on it like a bulletin board. Some will also appear in the journals. Anyone can accept them and rewards automatically generated upon completion of the task. It's a dream world, it's full of magic, it just knows.
- Quests can be done as many times as a character would do them and rewards will be delivered to the character upon completion.
- If you have any questions, comment to the designated subthread.
| 501 | Cheese Wheel. Someone had tried to make the largest wheel of cheese, and now it's on the loose! At a staggering height of 20 feet (6 meters), it's crashing through everything in its path and breaking apart! Stop it and help with the clean up. Eating it may be questionable, but no one will stop you. | Free cheese |
| 502 | Honey Badger. The bees from the Flower Festival were safely returned and moved to various fields and orchards to continue collecting nectar and pollinate. New hives were also created to help adjust to the increase in colonies. However, a new species called the honey badger bee has appeared and has been breaking into the new hives to steal and eat the honey. They are otherwise harmless, so please help beekeepers in shooing them away, preferably by creating a different source for them or creating special barriers to protect the hives. | Jar of honey |
| 503 | Emoji Fruits. The orchards are brimming with new fruits this year, and one particular new orchard is bearing different fruit that will only ripen if they absorb certain dreamotion based on the expressions on their surface. The fruit are not sentient but will react to only that particular expression. Regardless of their expression, they will be extra delicious…although it might also influence the person to have those same emotions. The greater the concentration/amount eaten, the stronger the influence. | Fruit Samples |
| 504 | Catch the Lightning. Oooh that red lightning is so pretty!! Bet they would be great for…something! Electricity source! Night light! Who knows, but let's find out, shall we~? There are special jars left around town that should be able to attract and contain the lightning. Let's catch as many as we can and see what happens~ (Note: The jars will indeed work, though sometimes the lightning will bounce to hit whoever is close by instead. If struck, there will be severe burns and disorientation, but they will also have the side effect of unwittingly shooting static electricity for a while. The jars containing lightning will also be a bit unstable and explode if not handled carefully. We'll be collecting tallies for this at the end of AC!) | Lightning Master Achievement |
END NOTES
And that's it wheeze. A lot is happening so if you have any questions, be sure to comment to the designated thread here!
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