!★! Happy Halloween!

[beautifuldreamermods]

⭐ Who: The Dreamers of Yumemigaoka!
⭐ When: Forward dated to October 30th
⭐ Where: The Dreamer Union & the Slumbering City
⭐ What: The promised Halloween party! The DU

YUMEMIGAOKA

Thankfully for everyone's nerves, despite the increased activity in the Dream Sphere that's typical of spooky season, there's been no major emergencies for the Dreamers of Yumemigaoka to attend to for the month of October – which means that when the company Halloween party comes around, there's nothing to interrupt it!

Similarly to the anniversary celebration, the party is split into two halves, with the first leg of the party an all-ages event starting at noon and hosted at the Dreamer Union in Yumemigaoka, with an open invite to all employees and registered Dreamers. Everyone's encouraged to put together a costume just to get into the spirit of things, but while the HR department who set all this up might give you a woeful look of disappointment if you opt out, it is still technically optional.

Of course, with this many Dreamers in one place, things are definitely going to be a little busy, but the whole building has been decorated with some truly spooktacular vibes... and there's a few quiet rooms here and there that have been relegated to letting people catch their breath with some spooky movies if the scariest thing about this party is the prospect of socializing.

There's all sorts of candy and seasonal food to go around as well as a healthy supply of regular-ass food that's been dressed up and served to look spooky – riceballs wrapped with seaweed to look like mummies, crab dishes with the legs arranged to look like spider legs, spicy snacks with sauce globbed on to look like blood... someone was really having fun with this, huh?

For the most part, this is a pretty low-key event, despite the huge guest list – there's some chill games, like a beer pong setup with a fake eyeball and a pretty chonky pinata that's taking a shocking amount of blows before breaking open but for the most part, this just seems like an excuse for everyone to come together and blow off some steam. Of course, that's probably because for some of you, the party's only just begun!

THE DREAM SPHERE

The all-ages get together in Yumemigaoka was only one half of the Halloween festivities and once that party wraps at six, the real chaos begins! A 21+ only afterparty springs up over in the Dream Sphere, taking over the Slumbering City's DU office and spilling out into the plaza outside as well. Of course, this is just in the Dream Sphere, so if you're really determined to sneak in and see what the grown ups are up to, there's nothing stopping you...

Like Yumemigaoka, the DU office in the Slumbering City has been decorated nicely and the city itself is contributing with a nice and moody purple sky outside - though pleasantly enough, the weather is unseasonably mild so you can hang out in the plaza without freezing to death. While it is still a work party on paper, things are definitely a little rowdier by design. There's booze for one and a much more implicit encouragement to let down your hair and bust out a really goofy costume – this is the Dream Sphere, after all, so the sky's the limit!

That philosophy seems to have applied to the food as well and again, much like the anniversary, there's a whole buffet of totally impossible foods. Among other things, there's...


⧖ Cauldron-shaped cupcakes with bubbling 'potion' fillings that fizz and pop when you take a bite.
⧖ Cotton candy spun into intricate spiderweb shapes and adorned with gummy spiders.
⧖ A bubbling cauldron of some hot and savory stew that changes color with each stir and releases tiny puffs of smoke.
⧖ Pizza topped with ghostly white cheese and spicy phantom peppers that live up to their name and vanish from your hand once you're down to the last bite!
⧖ Corn on the cob made entirely of candy corn kernels.
⧖ A franken-fruit salad, with a number of confusingly flavoured fruits - apples that taste likes cherries, cherries that taste like bananas, bananas that taste like... salted caramel?!?


And if you're looking for games, the office itself and the plaza outside seems to have been set up with a whole bunch of them!


⧖ A number of apple bobbing cauldrons that look to be full of slime and various other unpleasant things... but if you're brave enough to go bobbing, you'll see it really is just water.
⧖ Enchanted pumpkin carving! Using anything they have to hand (maybe even their Sandglass??), Dreamers carve pumpkins that have unique properties, such as changing shapes when they're cut into or spitting sparks into the face of the poor person trying to carve them! You have ten minutes and a guide to follow, with the winner determined by whoever got the furthest along with their pumpkin fighting them the whole way.
⧖ A floor in the DU office has been turned into a mini haunted house walk! As well as traditional scares, a little trick of dream magic has been set up so that the floor will also pick on a Dreamer's own personal fears. For the most part, these will be pretty surface level and occasionally silly – a Dreamer with a fear of spiders might be faced with a room decorated with spider webs and the odd spider – but when multiple Dreamers pass through at once, the floor might dig a little too deep and show off something just a bit too personal...
⧖ Stuck without a costume? No worries! A floor of the DU has been set up with 'dressing rooms' to help you with that. Just step inside and your Dreamer costume will be reformed instantly into something more appropriate for the party and you can jazz it up however you like!


The party lasts through the Dream Sphere's night, with everyone dropping back into the real world just as sunrise tinges the Dream Sphere's sky. Of course, it's still the middle of the night back in reality but it's probably in your best interests to just head to bed... you can't get a hangover from alcohol you only dreamt about, right? ... RIGHT???

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Comments

[noonecandestroythemetal]

I guess the definition of "hero" is pretty subjective, when you get down to it, huh?

[And she gives herself a light swat in the forehead, eyes widening in a 'why didn't I think of that?' gesture. They've definitely got a point, and a good one.]

You're right. And I don't really do what I do for others, I do it for me and because I feel good doing that. That doesn't just count for being a Dreamer, either. [It definitely counts for her music, too. Why couldn't that apply in both cases?]

...I'd shake your hand, but if you are who I think you are, that'd be a bad idea here. I'll save it for later. But I definitely owe you one!

[Sure, Cinnabar might not think it's much, but Sam tries to remember her friends...]

[hgs]

[Cinnabar wrings their hands uncomfortably. At least Sam already knows who they are, so there's no need to explain why they can't shake her hand... even gloves might not be enough to protect her from being poisoned. Still, it feels somehow wrong to be standoffish when someone is so unabashedly friendly, so they offer a small, awkward smile.]

...You probably know more about being a hero than I do, then. I'm only doing this because I have a hard time saying "no." But if I'm useful to someone... that's enough for me.

[noonecandestroythemetal]

[The hero comment has Sam fidgeting a little, and she laughs--it's a nervous laugh, but she does smile back at Cinnabar.]

I don't know. I just try to do what I think is right--and I really want to help. I don't do it for the fame...whatever there is of it.

[Really, she'd rather the fame come with Creeping Mendacity than Dreamer DropD-Tune, but it is what it is. Her brows furrow, though.]

You weren't forced into this, were you? I think there's more than a few of us who'd take offense to that...you shouldn't have to if you don't want to...

[Her expression grows concerned, then--somewhat sad and almost angry, too. Her current coloring--the browns of autumn, save for lavender eyes--pales, fading to icy white hair and silver-blue eyes, her hands clenching into fists. Still, Sam takes a deep breath and seems to steady herself.]

I'm sure you're more than 'useful' to most people. Then again...I know some people can be jerks, too. I can't blame you for attempting to avoid them. I would, too.

[There's friendly, and then there's being a pushover, and Sam tries not to be the latter...]

[hgs]

[Cinnabar blinks, momentarily confused as Sam's appearance shifts. Is it part of her Halloween costume, or... does the fierce new look mean that Sam is actually upset on their behalf, even though she has no reason to care about their problems? Her idealism is such a contradiction to Cinnabar's own passive acceptance that for a moment, they don't know how to respond.]

I...

[They duck their head beneath the brim of their enormous black hat, thankful for the cover their witch costume provides.]

...I never wanted to be a Dreamer. The power I have is more of a curse than a gift... I usually end up hurting the people I try to help.

[noonecandestroythemetal]

[Never wanted to be a Dreamer...

There's a part of Sam that Cinnabar's admission pains. But she also completely understands that--she doesn't particularly share that desire, but what if her power was as...alienating as theirs? If for example, her lightning powers weren't channeled through her axe, but something she had no control over? What if she just casually shocked everyone, regardless of what Sam wanted?

That sucks, hardcore. She can't blame Cinnabar for not wanting that.]

Becoming a Dreamer made my life easier, I guess. I had very little direction before that...so this kind of saved my ass from obscurity. I didn't fit in back home. I'm not entirely sure I do here either, but it's better than I expected...

[A pause.] I'd probably clap you on the shoulder to be reassuring, but I suspect you'd hate that for so many reasons. But I do understand why you might not want this--and I know you probably hate hurting people. Especially with the way Dreamers are supposed to be presented as helping people...

[Sam shakes her head, then.] I'm not shocked by how you feel. I'm not horrified by you not wanting to be a Dreamer. With the way things are for you, even with the little I do know, this is probably more like a bad dream than a good one. And it sucks. But if you need a friendly ear...

[Yeah, the implication here is that Sam would be more than willing to listen. She's friendly and idealistic, sure, but she realizes that's not everyone's cup. And Sam does try to dial it down from 11, when necessary...

Sam shrugs, then.] I know this is probably a lot since we just officially met, but I mean. I give a damn, no lie. And not just because we've got mutual friends. I want to be friends. I mean. If you want another one...you know?

[Well aware she's stumbled into awkward territory, D-Tune promptly clams up.]