yumemigaoka | second flame 🔥 January catch-all

[Don't mind him, Olly, he's going to be basking in those warm, toasty vibes you're sending his way, floating lazily in the air and soaking up those cozy beams like a cat next to a radiator. It was the kind of warmth that made him want to curl up and take a nice, contented little nap... if he could nap here, anyway. Instead, he pulls out a (thankfully tame!!) magazine he found in one of the surviving shops in Slumbering City, cracking it open so he can snuggle under the figurative toasty covers and enjoy a good book. Not that one can really read anything in the Dream Sphere either, but at least there were pictures...!

... but wait, that old guy was saying something just now, wasn't he?]

Hmmmm...? What was that? I didn't quite catch what you said.

[HANAKO.....]

[Can you believe the sheer audacity of this child...?!]

[it's sort of tempting, in a very petty, irresponsible way, to set that magazine on fire. He could do it, his specialty is fire after all, but what would that accomplish? That's right, the answer is that it would accomplish nothing. Torch refuses to let this besmirch his professional name...!

So he does the next best thing and immediately stops healing Hanako. No toasty mode for you. In fact, he goes as far as to cross his arms, a disapproving look on his face]

If you're well enough to lounge around reading magazines, then you're well enough to head back out there, don't you think?

[The abrupt halt of that warm, toasty air makes the following cold snap feel like a hammer to the back, and the shock of it all gets Hanako to plummet to the ground in shock.]

WAGH--!

[Thankfully, he's met with a faceful of snow instead of something a bit more painful, but it's still a rude as heck wake-up call!! (Although probably not as rude as ignoring Olly while he heals you, Hanako!!!) It takes him a second or two to regain his bearings, glancing up from the pile below just in time for the older man's rebuke. Oops. The jig was up, wasn't it...?

Still, he can't help but turn on the soggiest, saddest, most pathetic expression he can muster, turning those big ol' eyes of his beseechingly up at the man looming above him.]

B-But... it's so cold. You wouldn't send a young boy like me out there to freeze, would you...?

[Never mind the fact that Hanako's managed just fine under these conditions in the past, but-- this was different!! Let him be roasty and toasty for once during these winter hellscape months!!!]

Edited 2025-01-25 02:34 (UTC)

[without missing a beat]

Luckily for all of us, this is just a dream. If you find it is too cold, you can simply wake up in your warm bed.

[he's really not pulling any punches, is he? Maybe the pathetic meow meow act has the reverse effect with Torch... Or maybe he's thinking about how some of the people in his hometown had no real way to get away from the cold. Either way, it's his problem to deal with and not something he's going to share with a child]

You were managing just fine before coming by. And if you're well enough to try and use puppy eyes on me, you're well enough to go out there and do your job. So go on then.

[... dammit. Was he losing his touch here or something? It feels like the soggy cat look wasn't working as much as he'd like these days. Then again, he was a full-fledged teenager now, so maybe the schtick was on it's way out for him...

He pouts as it becomes obvious that Olly wasn't going to budge on this one, and he sits up, dusting the snow off of his jacket.]

Booooo-- you're no fun, old man.

[HANAKO... AND YOU WONDER WHY TORCH HAS ZERO TOLERANCE FOR YOU AND YOUR BULLSHIT???

He floats back up into the air, stuffing his hands into his pants pockets and kicking his feet about idly. Clearly he didn't seem to be that much in a hurry to leave, despite his cozy fix being cut off from him.]

I do my job plenty around here. Sometimes you wanna just relax a little too, y'know? Maybe you oughtta try it for once.

[Don't let Nikki catch you saying that, Hanako, or else you'll never hear the end of it--]

[Nikki is peeking from around the corner in the middle distance with the smugcat face as they speak...]

Old- [he grimaces before shaking his head, annoyed] Ugh. Why do I bother?

[maybe if Hanako combined his efforts with Yorishiro, the quantity of the pathetic cat energy would be enough to overwhelm Torch. He is used to dealing with young Dreamers, so he's built up some level of resistance to the puppy dog eyes. Hanako being a little shit probably helps him resist too]

It's called 'New Year' because it happens once. We can relax when the Torment level is back down to normal levels.

[he looks around, making sure there isn't any neglected Dreamer before adding;] Hopefully clearing out these Torments helps stabilize the area too.

[~~BEGONE, RODENT!!!~~

He pauses in his feet kicking for just a moment to look at Olruggio, a clearly puzzled expression upon his face.]

... but New Year's happens every year, though? [Is he being deliberately obtuse or did he genuinely just not get it... a mystery, for sure] These specialty Nightmares sure pop up around the same time, anyway.

[He shrugs at the mention of cutting back the Torment level, however, before adding:]

But I mean... if that's what it takes for us to get a break, we'd probably be working overtime for the next month at this rate. The Torments seem to be popping up more and more these days in the weirdest places, so it's been tough cutting them back to their usual numbers. [Quite literally, in Hanako's case--] And then there's Fury Peak freezing over too, on top of everything else...

[So with all of that going on, could anyone blame him for wanting to take a break?? Sure, maybe it was a bit at Torch's expense, but still...]

[~~I'M NOT A RAT~~]

... Now I know you're well enough to go back out there, if you're able to talk back that confidently.

[though, to Hanako's credit, there's a lopsided smirk on Torch's face as he says it. And in spite of what he says, he doesn't bother to chase the younger Dreamer off. The Dreamers were doing well enough at the moment that it wasn't needed]

Hmm... I thought it was odd how many there were. But I had chalked it up to the Japanese being more superstitious overall. There's a spiritual aspect to the culture here that isn't as deep seated in Europe... [he makes a face] Though you still run into the little pockets of Spiritualism anyway. Two or three people holding a belief isn't nearly as powerful as an entire country anticipating something though.

[well, China probably has a New Years' Nightmare themselves... Torch looks exhausted just thinking about fighting one of those]

What happened at Fury Peak?

[Hanako, why are you mentioning overtime work for next month?! You can only make these sorts of jokes with Sonic, where such cursed words are apparently neutralized by his own chaos energy... Around Tycoon and Torch, it just becomes foreshadowing!!]

[~~True, that's Tsukasa--~~

He cocks his head a little at Torch's observation, however, face curious. ~~But also blithely ignoring that comment to return back to the action, oops~~]

... really? But you guys are like... more into Santa and stuff around the holidays over there, right? Wouldn't you have a wave of Santa-related Torments or something during Christmas too?

[Not that there isn't a belief in Ol Saint Nick here in Japan as well, but one would think that he'd have a bigger foothold in the place he actually originated from... (although Hanako's had enough of those themed Torments after the hassle back in November, tyvm)

His curiosity only grows at that last question however, and he sits up a bit in midair.]

Hm? You haven't heard? The whole volcano's frozen shut. That's pretty weird for a place that's all fire and brimstone, don't you think? Some of us are probably gonna check it out to see what's going on, but it's not usually a good sign when these locations start getting out of whack.

[BUT DON'T WORRY, OLLY... THAT'S GONNA BE SONIC AND ZEKE'S FUTURE PROBLEM, NOT YOURS]

Ah yes, Santa. Funnily enough, it doesn't usually appear as a Nightmare unless you're in a certain country around Christmas time... If anything, the environment tends to change itself more; chimneys on all the buildings, plates of milk and cookies set out, random Yule Logs burning and so forth.

[he hums quietly, thinking about the girls back home]

Probably because all the kids are expecting Santa to show up to drop off presents in the Waking World. He can't exactly do that if they're dreaming about him after all.

... Which sounds mild compared with the scale of change happening in Fury Peak.

[actually a point of concern, because all the changes he's ever seen have only ever been cosmetic or minor annoyances... Except for Halloween, where Torments are more likely to gather into Nightmares on top of the previous changes. But such a large scale change? Bizarre]

Well, if you have a team heading out, there isn't much left to it. Take care of yourselves out there.

Aw, that's pretty nice, though. All we really get here 'round Christmas is like-- sparkly lights, the occasional tree, and a lot of Torments born from loneliness and grudges, for whatever reason. Cakes too, weirdly enough...

[But that's maybe thanks to Christmas being Valentine's 2.0 in Japan, so is anyone really surprised there's an uptick of salty feelings cropping up that day...?? Milk and cookies and toasty logs sounded much better in comparison than fighting off Yamada-or-whomever's bitterness over being single!!

... but. Right. They have a much more important line of conversation going here, don't they?]

Mm... well, I don't think it's the weather or anything seasonal that's affecting Fury Peak, which makes it all the stranger. I mean... I think this is the first time this has happened, like... ever, so it's kinda concerning.

[He gives the other man a grin at his concern, however, before adding:]

Ahaha... we'll try, though! At least we don't have to worry about getting roasted like a bunch of sweet potatoes if the whole place is frozen solid!

Ah, I suppose that's the cultural divide for you. Though - and you didn't hear this from me - I'll have to admit that the cake Torments are probably global. There's no helping it, when everyone's selling panettone and buche de noel everywhere...

[... he would mark the holidays by their desserts]

... Hmm... Ah, that's right. It probably wouldn't be so alarming if this happened every year due to the cold.

[no, they have to worry about Sonic's gung-ho attitude. But it's okay, everything turned out fine at the end... Not that Torch is aware of that. He waves Hanako off]

Yes, yes... If everyone's an experienced Dreamer, then it shouldn't be a concern. [pause] I assume you have the wherewithal to take only Experienced Dreamers on this excursion.

Oh yeah...? Wonder what's bothering people so much about cakes that they gotta manifest as Torments over here, though... [A beat, and then:] Calories, maybe...?

[Not that he would know anything about that, what with his black-hole-eat-all-the-fried-things teenage boy stomach and all!! ~~It's fine, all the calories are being put towards his inevitable growth spurt anyway~~

He ignores Torch's gesture to wave him off, as usual ~~the menace~~, but he does pull something of a face at the Experienced Dreamer remark.]

Well, yeah. If there's anything funny happening over there, it'd be pretty dangerous to send newbies, wouldn't it? They're more likely to freak out and get hurt, and we're low on Savers as it is. [Hanako, just say you don't want to put Novices in danger like a normal fucking person--] I dunno who's coming along just yet, but I'm sure whoever's putting it together has that much sense.

[... never mind the fact that Miraidon technically isn't even a Dreamer, let alone a Novice, so he's an extra liability but like!! NOBODY ON THE TEAM KNOWS THAT]

Edited (oops html how do I do it) 2025-02-14 02:10 (UTC)

It could be people wanting to eat one... Or the calories. Both sound like nightmares to contend with.

[he's thoroughly unimpressed... And then the flat look he gives Hanako at the Saver comment would have probably killed all the plants in the area]

...

[sigh]

Good. At least everyone's sensible enough to recognize danger when it's presented. [c-cut straight through the bullshit? He's used to dealing with ~~Agott~~ some rather headstrong girls, so Hanako's coy act does nothing for him] Running into unknown scenarios is par for the course, but it would be a weight off everyone's shoulders if more people would understand what makes something a calculated risk and just a risk.

I dunno what the big deal about it is, though-- if you wanna eat some cake, you should just do it.

[Then again... there were a number of things Amane couldn't partake in thanks to his health, like heavily caffeinated drinks, but that was something else entirely. It's not like the people who usually complained about such things were sick or anything...

He can't help but flinch at the flat look Torch sends his way (hey, he's only human, after all!!), twiddling his fingers a bit once the storm seems to have passed. At least he seemed to be good at reading between the lines, anyway...]

But most of us are, yeah. There's still a few who sort of do their own thing and don't really think it through too much. [No doubt Sonic and Tsukasa are probably sneezing at the moment--] It's fine for the Novices to break out of their comfort zones and all, but you don't wanna send them to the secret boss fight if they still haven't leveled up their starter abilities, right?

[Bold of you to assume Olly might get the gaming references, Hanako]

second flame 🔥 January catch-all

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