The Exploding Rink #fate_ic 7/24/2017

DiscoDude: **---BEGIN SESSION---**
DiscoDude: **Session logging commenced**
Pins: So a little background.
Pick-a-Puck: (Who's GM?)
Pins: The dreamscape is full of all sorts of beings.
Pick-a-Puck: And all kinds of places.
Pins: Some are friendly to dreamers, others hostile.
Pins: These latter are generally categorized as what dreamers call "nightmares."
Pins: Some are just mindless beasts wandering the void between dreams in search of prey.
Pins: Others are *clever,* and worse, *motivated* to get what they want...
Pins: ...that being, the energy from the waking world that dreamers unwittingly leak into dreamspace.
Pins: Some would call it "emotion," but the fact remains:
Pins: in the end, everything in the dreamworld is made out of it on some level.
Pins: Stronger emotions - joy, terror - naturally confer greater potency in the dreamworld.
Pins: So a nightmare's general MO is to terrify dreamers into releasing their sweet, sweet fear into the dreamspace and scooping it up, growing stronger in the process.
Pins: (I think this is pretty much what we were discussing earlier, wasn't it? 😉 )
Pick-a-Puck: (Some are even good folks turned bad through temptation, happenstance, or more extraneous reasons. Some aren't beyond hope of rehabilitation. Emphasis on *some*. It's why complete annihilation is often a last resort.)
Pins: Exactly. Not everyone becomes a nightmare out of malice. Some creatures in the dreamspace simply don't know any better.
Pins: Entities like us - Dream Patrollers - are often born out of a desire to protect, or see others become better people, or both. Hence our ranks are comprised of beings concieved of as guardians by the waking world, or former nightmares given a second chance.
Pins: Pins personally tracked down Pick-a-Puck and saw to his reform; the rest of you are free to come up with your backstories as you see fit. 😉
Pins: So let's see here.
Pick-a-Puck: These Dream Watchers hail from all sorts of territories, right?
Pins: Yep!
Pick-a-Puck: For instance, Pins and Pick-a-Puck both hail from the magical land of toys and children, the Kingdom of Whims-a-lot, ruled by the white rabbit King Whimsey.
Pins: Most entities do have a "home" of some kind. Either the dream they were born in, or a replica thereof, or some other corner of dreamspace they find themselves comfortable in.
Pins: And yeah. Whims-a-lot is one of those "collective" spaces, not created by any one dreamer, but sort of a...well, a collection of related thoughts which drifted together over time.
Reality Glitch: ((A section of the human collective unconsious?))
Pins: Once upon a time it was all carved wooden horses, tin soldiers, dolls, and other low-tech playthings; now there are bright lights and sounds and things that spin...
Pins: It hasn't lost its character even as its scenery grew more varied, though some dream-denizens complain about the strange gadgets and pixilated people who have begun appearing in places. 😉
Pick-a-Puck: There are other "faction" spaces that support the Dream Watchers, even if they aren't agreeable with each other: The Fields of Vallhalos, The Lavender Lounge, The Archivists, The Nursery, The Weard-Lands... and several others.
Pick-a-Puck: (BTW, we're making half of this up as we go along, so feel free to jump in with your own ideas.)
Scratch: (ah okay)
Pick-a-Puck: (But then again, do we want to move to some actual gameplay?)
Pins: Pins once wandered into the Redglow Dens by mistake. She didn't understand a thing that went on there but was really, really uncomfortable and never went back.
Pins: Anyways!
Pins: Last patrol turned up a few hotspots. No immediate signs of nightmare activity, but hints of their presence in the air - drifting emotion, like faint trails of blood in the water.
Pins: Too faint to tell what kind, but certainl suggestive of *something* going down.
Pick-a-Puck: Puck pranced across the brightly lit stage. There were mindscapes to check here too; floating islands are just one of the places playing host to them. He hopped down onto the stage below it, and the one below that. This final one had but a single door. "Honk!"
Pins: "Yeah...this one's pretty ominous. A single door in a dreamspace? That's a bad sign."
Pins: Pins, again, is palm-sized but has absolutely no trouble keeping up with the others.
Scratch: Scratch's ears perked up at Puck's honk. "Let me take care of this..." He spoke, suddenly scritching and scratching a lot more than usual. "I can sense something behind that door."
Pick-a-Puck: (To be clear; the space on the outside of the doors aren't dreams themselves. Sab had the right idea with collective conscience, but the space doesn't belong to anyone in particular.)
Reality Glitch: I urge the tall one to display caution as they breach the portal.
Pins: (oh, whoop 😉 )
Pins: (also it's "consciousness" 😉 )
Reality Glitch: ((I said unconscious; there's a difference.))
Pins: (talking to <@!Pick-a-Puck> )
Pick-a-Puck: (But we can totally keep the idea of "door on its own = bad news bears". ;3)
Pins: (anyways, let's say zones like this are "dreamspaces" as opposed to the actual "dreams" which branch off them)
Pins: (yeah. if a dreamspace is empty save for a single dream, that's...ominous.)
Pick-a-Puck: (Well, there are other doors in the area, but this one has this particular stage to itself. ;3)
Pins: "Nothin' for it but to open it up and find out."
Pins: (when you say "stage," you mean like "this area is a collection of theater stages"?)
Pick-a-Puck: (Yeah.)
Pick-a-Puck: (Layered like rice patties.)
Scratch: Scratch then began to bare their hand on their needle on their back, and without hesitation flung open the door.
Pins: As you might guess from the dreamspace, you can see a large auditorium on the other side.
Pick-a-Puck: "Honk?" He shades his eyes at the spotlights. A girl can be made out in the center of the stage, facing an empty panel of judges.
Pins: The judges' seats are full of nothing but shadows, yes.
Pins: Mocking, cackling shadows.
Reality Glitch: I slip in past the tall one to scout out the human figures.  I can make a safe bet the one on the stage is the dreamer, but there are never any guarantees.
Pins: "A recital gone wrong," Pins says, fretfully. "These are always tricky."
Pick-a-Puck: (I'm gonna roll Clever on that panel.)
Pins: (back up)
Pick-a-Puck: (Does +2 sound right for Pick-a-Puck?)
Reality Glitch: 4df+2
Pins: (what are you trying to *accomplish* with that roll.)
Reality Glitch: !r 4df+2
DiscoDude: <@Reality Glitch> rolled 4df+2 for 1 [4df = [-][-][ ][+]]
Pins: (same with you, Reality Glitch.)
Pins: (don't just roll, explain what you're gunning for!)
Pick-a-Puck: (I came up with a cool detail, but realized it'd be actually kinda hard to notice.)
Reality Glitch: ((Exactly what I was asked: insepecting the judges to make sure none of them are the dreamer.))
Pick-a-Puck: (It's obvious that the judges are the Nightmare's influence, but we need to know more.)
Pins: There's not a lot you can tell from outside the door. You're just seeing the gist of things: the girl with her violin in hand, trembling at something you can't quite perceive. It might be that the seats are truly empty, and only we can see the vestiges of nightmare influence, or she might be seeing something else that's appearing to us as shadows.
Pick-a-Puck: (So can I roll?)
Pins: (sure)
Reality Glitch: ((I said I went in.))
Pick-a-Puck: (And does +2 Clever make sense?)
Pins: (sounds good to me)
Pick-a-Puck: !roll 4df+2
DiscoDude: <@Pick-a-Puck> rolled 4df+2 for 2 [4df = [+][-][ ][ ]]
Pins: (also, okay, Reality Glitch; same outcome, though)
Pins: (Let's call this a tie. You want to fail outright, or succeed at a small cost?)
Pick-a-Puck: (Hm... Succeed, but grab the Nightmare's attention. Lose initiative?)
Pins: (that was exactly my thought.)
Pins: (:3)
Reality Glitch: I bite my figurative tounge as the 'toon's gal blows our cover.
Pick-a-Puck: Puck lets out a rough sigh through his teeth that sounds like an untuned push of the accordion, as he clods into the room; why don't they stick to good old fear nowadays? Shame is just... uncomfortable. Maybe that's just him. He perks up, however, when he notices a series of strings leading from the backs of the shadows.
Pins: "...fish truck car nails grapes. House stomach air road question flower rail train..." You, on the other hand, can detect a man's voice, Pick-a-Puck. It's saying nonsense, but its intent is clear: the girl has tried before, she has yet to impress, and there is little hope of her succeeding tonight. A woman's voice "mmm-hmm"s, followed by a different man's voice grunting its own assent.
Pick-a-Puck: But then, what appears from behind the lights on the ceiling makes him regret the loud sigh.
Pins: The girl begins to cry; she doesn't notice as three heads you can't quite see suddenly snap in your direction.
Pick-a-Puck: (Heh, we were going in slightly different directions. XP)
Pins: (no, let's say they work together :3)
Pins: (i'm fine with the judges being "fingers" of the real threat :3)
Reality Glitch: Dissipate into a "cloud" of semi-existant shadow.
Pick-a-Puck: (And yeah, I'm prompting you guys to come up with the actual appearance of the Nightmare.)
Reality Glitch: !r 4df+3
DiscoDude: <@Reality Glitch> rolled 4df+3 for 2 [4df = [-][ ][ ][ ]]
Reality Glitch: ((Placing the ***Hidden*** boost on myself.))
Pick-a-Puck: (I'm thinking "clockwork vermin," but it can be whatever.)
Pins: The strings lead up to the ceiling to what can be best described as an entire orchestra, all jumbled up. It wheezes an angry accordion sound of its own, and remains stubbornly clinging to its perch.
Pins: (you know the bit at the end of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" where Oogie gets his burlap sack ripped off and it turns out he's a great big cluster of bugs underneath?)
Pins: (think that, but...elephant-sized, and made up of musical instruments, all a dark bluish-gray, surrounded by a mist of shadows.)
Pins: The man's voice clears his throat, and the shadow-judges return their attention to the girl, who looks just about ready to collapse. "Ahem. Pierogie earmuff lemon gelato VCR abracadabra..." His excoriation continues.
Pick-a-Puck: "Honk!"
Pins: (so, bottom line: he knows you're here, but he's not about to interrupt his feeding time unless you do something stupid like attack him)
Pins: (gonna be a roll to get the girl's attention, Pick!)
Pick-a-Puck: (So what does the **Hidden** boost/aspect do?)
Pins: (also throwing this out: the default difficulty for *everything* is 2.)
Pins: (let's say it's a simple fact: Sab has one advantage, and it's that he's dispersed so that the nightmare can't track him.)
Pins: (speaking of)
Pins: (the nightmare has the -Eyes on You- boost right now)
Reality Glitch: ((I can invoke it when going unnoticed would be beneficial.))
Pins: (*unnoticed)
Pick-a-Puck: (Also, I'm taking last initiative as the cost of my tie.)
Reality Glitch: I drift over to the judge speaking as though they had a concusion and try to take control of dream construct from the nightmare.
Reality Glitch: !r 4df+3
DiscoDude: <@Reality Glitch> rolled 4df+3 for 0 [4df = [-][ ][-][-]]
Pins: (oh wow)
Reality Glitch: (([SAD TRMBONE]))
Pick-a-Puck: (Wanna spend a FATE point on an aspect you totally didn't pull out of your "new character" ass? XD)
Pick-a-Puck: (Or will the boost you already have apply?)
Pins: (i don't think being -Hidden- will help)
Reality Glitch: ((Sure; invoking my trouble: ***Corrupting Presence***.))
Pins: (oh that's nice. XD)
Pins: (are you +2ing for a tie, or rerolling?)
Reality Glitch: !r 4df+3
DiscoDude: <@Reality Glitch> rolled 4df+3 for 2 [4df = [-][ ][ ][ ]]
Reality Glitch: ((Doesn't matter.))
Pins: (okay, so, fail or succeed at a cost?)
Pick-a-Puck: (Doesn't the fail come with a silver lining?)
Pick-a-Puck: (Or is that not how it works in FATE?)
Pins: (the silver lining is you don't face the cost 😉 )
Pins: (and yeah, for the record, the "cost" last time was that the nightmare got a boost)
Reality Glitch: ((Overcome doesn't allow for failure on tie, so Success at minor cost.))
Pins: (oh, okay, whoop)
Pins: "Lollipop USB drive? Breath mint sabotage cold medication..." The man's voice becomes uncertain as you step into his shoes.
Pins: Okay. Now you're in your role, and you can perceive things clearly.
Pins: There are indeed two other "puppets" present. You've replaced one; the nightmare has one less minion in play.
Pins: One's a middle-aged blond woman; the other a short, squat, balding man. Both have curiously red eyes and fanged maws but exhibit no other unusual characteristics.
Pins: (apart from the babble-speaking, obviously)
Reality Glitch: "I know this must be frightning, miss, but we are patient; take all the time you need."
Pins: The girl stops her quiet sobbing for a second and looks at you with a start.
Pick-a-Puck: (Scratch? Pins?)
Pins: (BTW, Pick-a-Puck, I forgot to say but you could roll to try and get her attention)
Pick-a-Puck: (Alright.)
Reality Glitch: Actually speaking with a voice is such a strange and alien experience.  I don't know how others do it.
Pick-a-Puck: !roll 4df+3 (Flashy)
DiscoDude: <@Pick-a-Puck> rolled 4df+3 for 2 [4df = [-][-][ ][+]] (Flashy)
Pins: ( <@!Scratch> you still there?)
Pins: (fail or succeed at a cost?)
Pins: (oh wait)
Pins: (overcome, so succeed at a cost automatically)
Reality Glitch: ((That's another tie/success at minor cost.))
Pick-a-Puck: (I'm thinking "fail" this time. Sab's got this, anyways.)
Pick-a-Puck: (Oh.)
Pins: Okay. So.
Pins: Between the two of you, you've managed to snap the girl out of her nightmare.
Pins: She looks around in confusion.
Pins: First at the violin still in her hand.
Pins: Then at the man in the judging stands who has suddenly sprouted tentacles from the top of his head.
Pins: And then at the clown who just "honked" at her out of nowhere.
Pins: This has officially changed from "getting ragged on at her recital" to "being pursued by freaky shit," and she proceeds to scream and run down the stage.
Pick-a-Puck: (Guys? Mind giving us two a little support?)
Pins: The nightmare above *grunts* with the sound of a dozen tubas and begins to give chase along the ceiling.
Pins: "Good work, guys!" Pins says earnestly, running after...the girl? the nightmare? both? "Now that he's distracted, we can subdue him!"
Pick-a-Puck: (Who's turn is it?)
Reality Glitch: ((I went then Puck, so that leaves Pins and Scratch left.))
Pins: (well, I think <@!Scratch> must be asleep/distracted, so)
Pins: (hang on while I give Pins a new Stunt :3)
Pins: (okay, now she gets a +2 when Quickly overcoming to cross a large vertical or horizontal distance - y'know, on account of her {Needle Grapnel} :3)
Pins: !roll 4dF+2+2
DiscoDude: <@Pins> rolled 4dF+2+2 for 2 [4dF = [ ][-][-][ ]]
Pins: (ahahahaha XD)
Pins: With swiftness that in any non-dream context might be considered superhuman, she throws her needle at the nightmare and winds up the string rapidly with her tiny arms. Perhaps a little *too* quickly - she closes the distance in a flash, but the nightmare shifts its bulk in an unexpected fashion, and with a tiny yelp, she ends up [Stuck Headfirst in a Tuba].
Pick-a-Puck: (Pfft.)
Pins: Okay, so, folks. The girl is fleeing and the nightmare is giving chase. You might note, Sab, that the other two judges have poofed out of existence.
Pick-a-Puck: (So is <@!Scratch> not coming back?)
Pins: (i got no idea)
Pins: (i pinged him via DM but he didn't respond)
Pick-a-Puck: (Wait until the hour, then call it?)
Pins: (i think we can keep going without him?)
Pins: (it's been going fine so far)
Pins: (unless we're legit uncomfortable with continuing with a player AFK)
Reality Glitch: ((I'm am "legit uncomfortable" with abandoning Scratch.))
Pins: (welp. hour then, then call.)
Pick-a-Puck: (Which is in two minutes.)
Pins: (it is.)
Pins: (i've pinged him one last time.)
Reality Glitch: ((No, one hour from now.))
Pins: (it is.)
Pick-a-Puck: ("On the hour" not "in an hour." XP)
Pins: (i've pinged him one last time.)
Reality Glitch: ((No, one hour from now.))
Pins: (i've pinged him one last time.)
Pick-a-Puck: ("On the hour" not "in an hour." XP)
Pins: (i've pinged him one last time.)
Pins: (i've pinged him one last time.)
Pick-a-Puck: ("On the hour" not "in an hour." XP)
Pins: !end
DiscoDude: **---END SESSION---**
Reality Glitch: ((No, one hour from now.))
DiscoDude: **Session logged to https://pastebin.com/B595RTFF**
Pick-a-Puck: !end