[Aysu]

✧ JUST A DREAM AWAY ✧

Tokyo, The Dream World Festival, 7:00 pm.

It happened so suddenly. No one was really sure what 'it' was, but people were dropping like flies around you, the entire Dream World festival affected by this mysterious phenomenon. People were falling asleep and many found their quirks to be swapped with others in an erratic manner. The dreams people found themselves in were hellscapes, but the others didn't fare much better in the waking world.

Not that the waking world means much of anything to you anymore.

Whisked away into a dream, your real body remains in the waking world, but you have arrived somewhere entirely different. With or without your quirk, with or without loved ones, the situation is dire.

Will you ever find your way back home? Is there even such a thing as a way back, or has your life in purgatory just begun?

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dream World?, 7:00 pm

A mist seems to obscure your vision for a moment before you find yourself... Back in Dream World? You may look around frantically and wonder what happened, why you are there, and who the people around you are. To you, everything seems the same as it was before: the lights of the festival are lit, music is playing, everything seems peaceful. Perhaps, it's a bit too peaceful; you don't hear the distant sounds of laughter or amused screams as your once did. The only people you see are those to the sides of you, as if they were placed there for a purpose along with you.

Over the intercoms, you hear a familiar voice. His voice was the same that you heard during the opening ceremony, as well as the one that would announce any changes to the schedule, as well as the events that were about to take place in the Grand Stage area. Aka Ao, the founder of this event, seems to clear his throat over the speakers before saying a word. "Ah, it seems that you all got the best one, what a joy!" He speaks candidly, but it is hard to know if this is just an illusion of the place that you seem to find yourselves in. "Welcome to Dream World! The real Dream World! My idea was always to make it different, to make it unique and ever changing, but sadly the laws of reality stopped that from happening." He'd sigh out to the participants, before making a pop sound. As he does, a map seems to magically appear in each person's hand; it's the same map that they would have gotten before, but the events seem to be crossed out for each area.

"Now, I want you all to participate in the activities I wish I could have implemented! Please please, go through them with care and caution. There will be simple rules to follow, so make sure you pay attention so you don't mess up!" He'd pause to give them all a moment to look over the map. It seemed that they were to go in a counter clockwise direction, ending up at the Grand Stage for the finale. First, they would go to the Amusement Park area, to do something called Bubble Pop. "Each one of you will have to pass 3 out of the 5 events to be able to leave here. If you do not, you will be placed in an endless loop with new activities until you do! Stick together, work together, and most of all, have fun!" With an echoing of his last words, it seems that the intercom goes silent. Instead, it is replaced with new music to carry them through to the next area.

As you approach the Amusement Park area, you will be greeted by a new ride ... Bubbles? That's right, there seem to be human sized bubbles for each of you to enter! Before entering, there is a sign that reads the instructions:

"Hello my guests! Please enter the bubbles, but be cautious! There are obstacles in your way to reach the Games and Leisure area! Watch out for them. If your bubble pops, no worries! You will harmlessly glide to the next area, but you will have failed! If you're extra brave, try to collect the red sparkles that are along your path, they will give you something special! Enjoy the view and the ride!"

Rules and Information: Whenever the participants are ready and enter the bubbles, they will be lifted into the sky and gently pushed into the direction of Games and Leisure. Just as stated in the message, there will be obstacles that could potentially pop their bubble, as well as rewards that they can gain! How do you move the bubbles? Figure it out for yourself!

Bubble Stats:
- The bubble can only pop from the obstacles on the course, not by quirks.
- The speed and movement can be manipulated as you see fit by whatever means make sense, preferably via quirks.
- The size, shape and color can be impacted by quirks.

TLDR; You are back at Dream World Festival, but it's different? Go through each of 5 trials and pass them! Each new mod post will be a new area! Here is the map again.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Welcome to Dream World Part 2! First of all thank you for signing up!! I'm so excited to tell this story with you all! Remember you have to post at least ONCE per round, but you can skip one round if you have to. A second skip will result in no tokens being given. There are going to be 8 - 10 rounds total and I will announce when we have reached the halfway point, as well as when we're nearing the end in our designated Dream World discord channel.

Remember to include a TL;DR at the end of your post! <3

Additionally, if you want to plan a cool character moment ahead of time, like making a heroic sacrifice or setting up a team attack, but want to keep it a surprise to the other people in the thread until it happens, feel free to sneak into my DMs so we can plan out the details! This is not mandatory, but I want to make sure every character shines and looks their best during this thread!

The next round will begin on 18/03/2024 @ 5pm PST

Music Mood:

tag: Jack Orion rin Bakiri Retsu

[Bakiri Retsu]

Sudden silence. Retsu almost let out a laugh. Yeah, everyone in an entire park just spontaneously deciding to shut up for a moment, how likely was that? She knew it'd been too good to be true. A place where everyone just could be? Her teeth grit. If it'd been that easy then...

Temper drained. Her anger left her giving her clarity not unlike suddenly being dunked into an ice bath. As if the metaphorical burning rage had been turned physical her left eye seemed have been to lit up, a burning sensation running through it that had her uncharacteristically rip her eyepatch off to figure out what was going on. A streak of fire left the eye and ignited her suddenly much longer hair. It should have terrified her. It should have made her rush to put it out.

Instead, it felt natural.



It felt natural to the point that anger blossomed within her once more before being subconsciously expelled through her left eye. The fire in her hair flared up. By all means it should have burned her, created a stifling heat on her back and set off her natural instinct to put the fire out before she got injured or killed. Yet none of that happened. She could feel a connection to the flame. Raising an arm she ran her fingers through some of the burning locks. They remained unharmed and not just that, she felt like there was more she could do with it.

It would have to wait.

Like a great many of her other concerns she put it aside for later to focus on the matter at hand. Making sure to keep an eye on the two remaining people next to her she listened to Aka Ao's intercom broadcast. His words left a bitter taste in her mouth as the map popped into her hands. They told her nothing she didn't already know.

The continuation sent another smoldering pang of anger through her. Follow the rules or you'll fail? Hah! When had that ever worked? Oh, she'd pretend to be following them that was for sure. In the meantime Retsu would be doing her damnedest to find every advantage she could get. This fooker that thought he could command her like some kind of tool would get what's coming to him in time. Her fists began to clench until another spark escaped her left eye. She let out a long breath.

Panicky people died, calm people lived.

The corners of her lips twitched. She'd see how long the prick could maintain his composure once she got going. Oh, she'd be having fun alright.

Holding up the map to take a proper look at it she took a moment to memorize the most important looking details and differences from the normal amusement park map after which she promptly shoved it into one of the pockets of her cargo pants. Which reminded her of another detail she didn't like. While she had her grenade harness, knife and pistol hidden under her jacket and a few more grenades scattered throughout various pockets -she'd be caught death trusting an advertisement over ensuring her own safety- she was still not quite as heavily armed as usual. There was only so much you could hide on your person without it being obvious after all and she'd intended to make it through the day without her safety measures being spotted just in case the park's ad wasn't full of shit.

"Roite then," Retsu said to the two people near her. They seemed vaguely familiar in the same way one often sort of recognized people they saw in a dream but she couldn't place why that was. She shelved the thought in favor of more important matters, pretty sure that if she'd actually met someone that short she'd have remembered. "Nah point standin' around, aye? Let's get a move on. Fooker said each a' us 'ad ta pass three a' the things. Ah'm willin' ta bet none a' us are getting outta 'ere till all a' us did so."

In Retsu's experience anyone that prepared something as elaborate as this had a tendency for hiding a second interpretation in their words just so they could be smug about it later when people thought they'd won. She'd done the same once or twice.  Turning towards the path she started the walk over there. Time's a-wastin'. They could talk on the way over. 

By the time they got there her eyes were twitching and she'd discovered irritation wasn't instantly channeled away like anger was. They hadn't exactly faced an active threat on the way over but that didn't make the journey any less nerve wracking. Tapping her foot while Aka Ao did the next part of his speech she leaned forward to properly read the ride's instructions. Standing and thinking was unlikely to solve anything so the moment she finished reading -and listening- Retsu confidently stepped into one of the bubbles, only barely sparing a moment to address her newfound allies with a motivating speech.

"If either a' ya try ta fook me over ah'll make sure y'r corpses'll be finishing the challenges."

---

TL;DR: 
Upon entering the dream Retsu quickly discovers her newfound quirk and how it's activated (but not its applications). Internally swearing vengeance against Aka Ao she tells Rin and Jack that they'll likely all need to work together before she sets off towards the Amusement Park area. Once there she gives a motivational speech before stepping into one of the bubbles.

New Quirk: Blazing Hair
Changed Appli: Dream World Retsu

------

Tags: Aysu, Arataki Noa, Jack Orion
 

[Jack Orion]

Ugh...where am I...?

Jack groaned a little bit as he sat up in a stupor. Rubbing his head and his eyes, but feeling a weird texture on his face as he did so. He blinked, looking at his hands and seeing...skin. Not even just that, but white, fluffy fur and black pads, not dissimilar to what you would see on a fox or a dog. Bright blue claws were still there, but...what happened???

He stood up, feeling himself up and down. More white, fluffy fur covered him in certain areas, and instead of human ears now were more pointed, foxy ears on the top of his still fluffy hair. Swishing his tail around would also reveal it to be, shocker, also a fluffy fox tail. And...oh, DAMMIT. He was even shorter than before! What the hell?!

Wait. Was this- THIS WAS JASON'S QUIRK?! WHAT?! What the hell even happened?! Where was Jason?! Hell, where was HE?! Was Jason okay? Shit, did he have Jack's Quirk? What even was all of this?! He had to get out of here, had to find his cousin! Hearing a voice from above, explaining everything that was going on, Jack would reply with a curt snarl, looking up at the sky in anger. "CUT THE BULLSHIT! WHERE IS MY COUSIN, ASSHOLE?! I WANT OUT, NOW!" he exclaimed, outrage and confusion fueling him as he would bear his fangs and claws. At least he still had those to claw the culprit's face off.

However, all he would be met with was a map, and a bubble appearing in front of him and the other people with him. Speaking of, he would only really notice them now, all things considered. One of them he vaguely recognized - probably another student from UAU. The other - oh, GOD DAMMIT. Her hair was longer, but he would recognize Bakuretsu's ugly mug anywhere. He said nothing as she would spew how they would have to work together, taking a more defensive stance for a moment. He would regain his composure after a second, a grin forming on his face.

"Ah, yes, let's work with the psychopath with a sparkly new Quirk. Talk about a bad hair day, right Betsu?" he goaded, his tone probably giving away who he was pretty quickly. He had no intention of using his new appearance to hide, especially from this coward in villain's clothing.

Nonetheless, she unfortunately had a point. It didn't seem like they had a choice in the matter, anyway. Stepping into the bubble, he would glare at his enemy, grinning maliciously at her threat. "Pretty sure that would just fuck you over more than ever, wouldn't it?" he said, before turning to the other person in their group. "Let's be careful. Can't be too sure what's going to be waiting for us, yeah?"

[Arataki Noa]

Today was a day when Noa had a rare break. While she wasn't usually partial to things like sightseeing, there was a peculiar event happening in town called the Dream World Festival that was all the buzz recently. So much so that she felt she had to see it for herself at least once, and only once. As luck would have it, the one day she had to visit was also the day that some unknown mysterious incident would occur.

She hated it. She knew she would. Amusement parks meant crowds, and this one was no different. She could understand why some people would enjoy this sort of thing but it was not for her. After staying for a period of time that she felt was fair for the price of the ticket, she decided it was about time to head home and actually enjoy her rare break. Or not. A strange mist suddenly crept in out of nowhere, obscuring the view. It was all so fast that the water manipulator didn't have the chance to make it go away with her quirk.

When the mist finally dispersed on her own, the crowd that had been bothering Noa all this time was nowhere to be seen. If not for the two other strangers being awfully mean to each other, she might have thought she was all alone. She listened attentively to the announcement and understood that they had all been unwillingly taken on a ride by the enigmatic park owner. At least it didn't sound like the option to just go home was on the table. The pair she was stuck with came to the same conclusion.

The change in the environment and the strange announcement wasn't the only thing bugging Noa however. She was feeling unusually warm. It wasn't a fever. It was a comfortable warmth, that immediately struck her as weird because she was a cold weather type of person. Overhearing the two still bickering, the little one said something about other lady getting a new quirk. Was that really possible?

She aimed her hand at a nearby puddle and focused. Instead of the water splashing up like she intended, a stream of flames shot out from her arm, boiling the tiny pool in seconds. She repeated the gesture at least a couple more times, recalling the feeling of using her quirk and attaching it to this newfound discovery. It took a few seconds for her to realize that her random actions might have startled her companions.

"Oh I'm sorry. This is all new to me and I couldn't resist trying it out first."

There was nothing that remained from the puddle besides scorched earth at this point. She might have gone a tiny bit overboard. Chuckling to herself, she stepped forward and followed them to the bubbles.

TLDR: Noa enjoys using her new quirk a little too much. Then joins the two in boarding the bubbles.

Jack Orion Bakiri Retsu Aysu

[Bakiri Retsu]

Retsu raised an eyebrow at Jack's outburst. What the hells was his problem? He was shouting at her like she'd killed his family. She shrugged. It was possible she had. Someone like her could hardly be expected to keep track of everyone she got rid of.

"Keep it up and it'll be a bad 'air day fer you," Retsu grumbled, instantly reminding herself why she didn't do one liners. As if instinct were trying to save her from embarrassment she took inspiration from Noa's actions -which she acknowledged with a shrug and a small wave to let her know it wasn't a big deal- and pulled a clump of flames free from the rest of her hair before throwing it at another puddle. It flickered the moment they were pulled free of the rest of the mass. Before she could find out if it'd blow up in her face she tossed it at another puddle. The resulting explosion, while nothing impressive, did put a smile on her face. It seemingly not growing back however made her scowl. Wouldn't it be just her luck to get a quirk that'd run dry for a few months after she used it a couple times?

When they'd entered the bubbles she snorted at the human chihuahua's words and gave him a pitying look. Clearly he was hiding his anxiety and fear behind anger and brash words. 

"Sure, so long as y'r cooperatin' offing ya would fook me over. If ya start gettin' in the way killin' ya will just remove a hindrance. Watch y'r fookin' actions 'fore ya become more trouble than y'r worth."

With her incredible sense of self awareness it was a miracle Retsu could see herself in a mirror.

---

TL;DR: Retsu replies to Jack and acknowledges Rin's apology with a shrug and a wave to let her know it was no big deal. Also punctuates her one-liner to Jack by throwing a bundle of flames from her hair into a puddle much like Rin's test.

------

Tags: Arataki Noa,Jack Orion,Aysu

[Aysu]

✧ JUST A DREAM AWAY ✧

Dream World?, 7:00 pm

AH, it seemed that some of them were a bit feisty. With Aika Ao only being in the intercoms, he didn't have much to say when it came to the public freak-outs or swear words thrown in the air. He expected a reaction like this and trying to restrain it would just lead to more upset individuals. He'd ignore them for a moment, knowing that the initial shock of it all would no doubt have them upset. Finally, once everyone entered their own bubbles, he would speak again over the intercom. "Do not worry about your friends or family, only about the games we are going to play! Thank you all for entering the bubbles..." he'd cut himself off, the bubbles slowly lifting into the air. Inside of the bubbles, it would be quiet and peaceful, the floor feeling like jelly. "... take your time adjusting to them." They'd go up on their own, rising higher than the Ferris Wheel and into the sky. As they raised up, the three of them would most likely notice that Tokyo was not visible; instead, the festival area was surrounded by an endless sea, as if the festival had been set on an island in the middle of the ocean. A beautiful sunset was slowly starting to be made in the horizon, the flocks of birds joining their adventure. As they raised to the right height, they would also notice something quite funny- there were golden rings in the sky now, and little coins to collect. Out of what seemed like the air, his voice would boom. "I'm sure you all can do it, just make it to the other side!" It was a simple task, but how hard will it be to complete?

Rules and Information: Whenever the participants are ready and enter the bubbles, they will be lifted into the sky and gently pushed into the direction of Games and Leisure. Just as stated in the message, there will be obstacles that could potentially pop their bubble, as well as rewards that they can gain! How do you move the bubbles? Figure it out for yourself!

Bubble Stats:
- The bubble can only pop from the obstacles on the course, not by quirks.
- The speed and movement can be manipulated as you see fit by whatever means make sense, preferably via quirks.
- The size, shape and color can be impacted by quirks.

TLDR; Everyone gets into the bubbles and are told that all they need to do is get to the other side of the field. There are obstacles so how easy will it really be?
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Welcome to Dream World Part 2! First of all thank you for signing up!! I'm so excited to tell this story with you all! Remember you have to post at least ONCE per round, but you can skip one round if you have to. A second skip will result in no tokens being given. There are going to be 8 - 10 rounds total and I will announce when we have reached the halfway point, as well as when we're nearing the end in our designated Dream World discord channel.

Remember to include a TL;DR at the end of your post! <3

Additionally, if you want to plan a cool character moment ahead of time, like making a heroic sacrifice or setting up a team attack, but want to keep it a surprise to the other people in the thread until it happens, feel free to sneak into my DMs so we can plan out the details! This is not mandatory, but I want to make sure every character shines and looks their best during this thread!

The next round will begin on 25/03/2024 @ 5pm PST

Music Mood:

tag: Jack Orion rin Bakiri Retsu

[Bakiri Retsu]

Retsu hadn't been worried about any of her friends or family to begin with. A snort left her when she imagined what was going on with the Bakiri household and how they were dealing with all this. Probably pretending it wasn't their problem and ignoring its existence, she thought while spitting in disgust. Instead of continuing that train of thought she sent a glance at her allies of convenience to see whether they were affected by what the ringmaster was saying. It'd be an absolute pain if she had to drag them along. At that point she might as well just try her chances at seeing if finishing three challenges by herself would get her out after all.

She tensed when the bubble rose, her feet seeking solid ground and finding naught but the bounds of the bubble. That was bad. A fight on the ground she was confident she could handle if things went wrong but she didn't exactly have a jet pack in her back pocket. Sure, the ringmaster had claimed they'd be safe even if the bubble popped but given that he'd also seemingly dragged them out of reality Retsu didn't exactly feel like taking his word for it.

"Oh, great." Retsu exclaimed when she saw that there was nothing beyond the bounds of the festival but water and more water. The vast majority of her experiences with or near water had been terrible so far. There was the time she tried to attack a ship and nearly ended up dead. The second time she tried to attack a ship where her helicopter crashed and she nearly ended up dead. That time she went to the beach and nearly got eaten by a giant sea monster. The bike race shortly after that ended with her narrowly avoiding the jaws of death once more and left her dangling from a traffic light, not to mention the time she tried to get some fired chicken and got hundreds of cans thrown at her face. Her ribs twitched painfully at the memory. Rui's healing only seemed to go so far back and she'd once cracked a rib in the exact same place a can had struck during that fight. Remembering either always seemed to send a phantom pain through her. But she digressed. It was funny where the mind went when trying to avoid reality -or whatever this was-. Retsu clicked her tongue. Water and heights. Her two favorite things.

The sight in front of her as the bubble came to a stop was surreal. Not the sunset, as much as she didn't want to think about how looking at it somehow didn't make her left eye sting today and even gave her a slight understanding as to what all those poets saw in it. No, what she meant was the floating rings and golden coins. It almost looked like that Kart Kart game Rui had made her play once.

Now if only she could figure out how to make the bubble move. A sardonic smirk worked its way up her face. Who knew, maybe if she flapped her hair like a set of wings it'd let her fly forward. Retsu's eyes widened and she nearly fell over when the bubble began to move, her quirk having responded to her commands without her realizing. Her eyes twitched. Thinking about video games made her recall that one time an old gang leader had put Angry Birds on her phone and told her it was 'the perfect thing for a little chirp like her'. The flames in her hair flared as another plume of fire left her left eye.

It didn't matter. She knew what to do now. Sure, it looked silly and she only had moments of practice with a quirk whereas most people that had one had years but would that stack the odds against her enough that she'd be beaten?

Nah, she'd win.

With a newfound instinct she clenched her fists and spread her fiery hair like a pair of phoenix wings. Disdainful eyes stared down on the course. That prick thought he toy with her like a piece in a game and get away with it?

She'd show him.

---

TL;DR: Retsu, who's absolutely not afraid of heights don't listen to what the fact checks say, takes a moment to collect her bearings while the bubble rises. Once the bubble reaches the right height she tries to figure out how to move it and accidentally figures out using her new quirk like a set of wings makes the bubble fly. The realization that it can fly without the bubble too isn't quite there yet. Swearing vengeance with fire in her eyes she looks down upon the course to find a way to win, determined to hit back hard for putting her here.

------

Tags: Aysu,Arataki Noa,Jack Orion

[Arataki Noa]

Noa entered her own bubble without questioning it too much. She figured the mastermind of the event had some sort of goal in doing all this and the less they deviated from the plan, the more they could assure their own safeties. Since she lacked information herself, she could exactly advise the other two on a proper course of action so she refrained from speaking much at this time and decided to focus on herself. She still didn't understand why she suddenly had a different quirk but rather than be nervous about it, she actually found the experience very interesting.

While she was entertaining her thoughts, the bubble began to rise to a height where they could get a better view of the area around them. It seemed the festival venue that was previously in the middle of the city was now an island in the middle of the sea. She tried to analyze the situation for a bit. As far as she could tell there were no gaps in her memory nor did it feel like she woke up from being unconscious, so being transported into an entirely new location seemed low in terms of probable explanations. In that case, what exactly was this foreign scenery she was seeing? An illusion? A dream? Considering this place was called Dream World, that was pretty on the nose. If it really was a dream, how much of it could they bend to their whims? And what sort of rules were in place?

Well, she wasn't getting anywhere just thinking about it. The bubble seemed to be slowly moving by itself to a predetermined location. She wondered if she could change it. She would attempt to physically push the bubble's boundaries from inside in different directions to see if she could steer bubble this way. Unlike the other stranger, Noa was not too keen on applying her new flaming quirk on something that common sense would dictate was 'fragile' especially at the height they were at. At least not until it became necessary. If pushing worked, she would keep practicing doing so since she had a feeling the trip wasn't going to be so easy.

TLDR: Noa would step into the bubble and try to push it around from inside in an attempt to steer it to her desired direction. If it works, she will continue practicing moving the bubble around.

Bakiri Retsu Aysu Jack Orion ,

[Jack Orion]

Jack's eye lightly twitched a bit at the mastermind's pretty dismissive answer at his outrage. "Aight, so what if I don't wanna fuckin' play then, jackass?! What, you think you can just *drag* people in here, switch their damn Quirks around like it's Yahtzee and expect us to be *fine* with it? I don't got my regular Quirk but YOU BEST HOPE I DON'T GET MY CLAWS ON YOU WHEN I SEE YOU!" he snapped, fur standing upright all over his body, the fox boy quite literally shaking in anger. At least Kupo's high pitched voice didn't seem to carry over, even it it seemed a little weird.

God, he was praying his cousin was ok and not currently blowing himself up. Instinct would at least help with Quirk Control, right?

Nonetheless, it seemed like he had to play along, at least for now. Glaring back at Retsu's threats, at least her complete dumbassery cheering him up just a little bit. "Yeah, cuz tryin' to kill me worked so well the first time, yeah? Wonder if the little dream world dude knows how to kick up some tunes like last time," he retorted, looking up and down at his bubble, still trying to figure out how it worked.

Poking at it a little bit, he quickly realized that at least his claws, or maybe even just his Quirk in general wouldn't pop the thing. Makes a little bit of sense, given it's seemingly a literal dream world, but still wack. Backing up a little bit, he would lunge forward, making the bubble shoot forward like a rocket! "WEWWWW!!! OK, LITTLE COOL, CAN'T LIE!" he cheered, his tune suddenly seeming to flip a 180, mainly just due to the adrenaline of the situation.

...Can you get adrenaline in a dream? Eh, probably.

---

Tl;dr
-Snaps back at the Mastermind, basically telling him he didn't really want to play along.
-Retorted at Retsu's threat.
-Clearly having no other choice, tested the bubble.
-Realizing it's durability, would lunge forward, making the bubble launch forwards into the air.
-Cheered a little bit, the adrenaline at least getting him excited and more cheerful for the moment.

Arataki Noa,Bakiri Retsu,Aysu,

[Aysu]

✧ JUST A DREAM AWAY ✧

Dream World?, 7:00 pm

"Then you lose, and like I said earlier, you'll stay here until you win!" There would be clapping in the intercom, but Aika Ao wasn't going to play around with the antics of Jack for much longer- he was either going to do it or not; frankly, Aika had all say to wait for him to make a choice. He had made it very clear what they were meant to do, so it was up to them individually to make that choice themselves.

As everyone got into their bubbles, the music from before would follow them, as if each bubble had its own stereo system. They would move at a gentle pace, probably due to the fact that this was supposed to have been a leisure ride for people to enjoy the view of the park. The coins would spin, making a slight humming sound as someone gets closer to them. They were as big as a person was, and they seemed to have Aika Ao's face plastered on either side.

Upon closer inspection, there were three paths to go:
- The highest path, which had the most coins, but would most likely take the longest to get done due to the high arch this path takes. The only obstacle here are birds, who can pop your bubble if they run into it.
- The middle path, which has a medium amount of coins and seems to have a few areas where the wind picks up and may be able to boost you. You have to worry about the birds and floating heads, that seem to shoot out fireballs.
- The low path seems to have the least amount of coins, but has many wind tunnels that can make you get there fast. You have to also deal with the birds, floating heads, and spikes that will try to pop your bubble.

As they started to move, the contestants would be able to see that there was a landing zone in the next area. Though they were far enough away from it, it seemed that they would be landing it what was the petting zoo area. Who would get their first? How would they get there? It was up to them to either work alone or work together so that everyone can go onto the next section!

Rules and Information: Whenever the participants are ready and enter the bubbles, they will be lifted into the sky and gently pushed into the direction of Games and Leisure. Just as stated in the message, there will be obstacles that could potentially pop their bubble, as well as rewards that they can gain! How do you move the bubbles? Figure it out for yourself!

Bubble Stats:
- The bubble can only pop from the obstacles on the course, not by quirks.
- The speed and movement can be manipulated as you see fit by whatever means make sense, preferably via quirks.
- The size, shape and color can be impacted by quirks.

TLDR; The bubbles start to move, and they are all presented with a path! Which one will each of them take?
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Welcome to Dream World Part 2! First of all thank you for signing up!! I'm so excited to tell this story with you all! Remember you have to post at least ONCE per round, but you can skip one round if you have to. A second skip will result in no tokens being given. There are going to be 8 - 10 rounds total and I will announce when we have reached the halfway point, as well as when we're nearing the end in our designated Dream World discord channel.

Remember to include a TL;DR at the end of your post! <3

Additionally, if you want to plan a cool character moment ahead of time, like making a heroic sacrifice or setting up a team attack, but want to keep it a surprise to the other people in the thread until it happens, feel free to sneak into my DMs so we can plan out the details! This is not mandatory, but I want to make sure every character shines and looks their best during this thread!

The next round will begin on 02/04/2024 @ 5pm PST

Music Mood:

tag: Jack Orion rin Bakiri Retsu

[Bakiri Retsu]

Hearing the fox mutant and the ringmaster argue Retsu clicked her tongue and shook her head. Of course she just had to quite literally be the captive audience to a shouting match like this. Ah well, if nothing else it distracted her from the height. Not that she minded it, of course. Not at all. Any allegations to the contrary were lies and slander.

"Do ah know you?" Retsu asked Jack with a furrowed brow. His words seemed to imply that they'd met. Had he gotten caught on the edge of an explosion caused by one of her grenades once perhaps? Yeah, surviving that seemed like just the kind of thing a shrimp like him would get all righteously smug about.

 Seeing him shoot ahead before she managed to get a move on made her ball her hands into fists. She was allowing herself to get distracted far too easily. A choice had to be made. Her first instinct was to just ignore all three paths and get to the finish line her own way. Had she not been so high up in the air it'd quite likely have been the choice she'd gone for. Not that being up here was affecting her, of course. No, it was the fact that she'd planned to pretend to play along with the whole charade that had her pick one of the three. 

Her eyes went to the lowest one. It was practically riddled with obstacles, which in Retsu's experience meant pushing through them was the way to get ahead. If anything went wrong it was also the one that placed her closest to the ground, which was a plus. Her teeth grit. Who was afraid of heights? She wasn’t. Absolutely not. Nuh-uh. That settled it then. Another spark burst out of her left eye and added to the crackling fire that was her hair. The lowest one was right out and Retsu wasn't gonna accept second best. The top path it was.

It seemed to have a lot of birds. Retsu scowled at the reminder of an encounter most fowl. A manic grin settled on her face. Perfect. She was just in need of some stress relief. A flap of her hair carried her towards the top path and more importantly right at one of the larger coins. The ringmaster had mentioned extra rewards and if the games of Kart Kart she'd played had tipped her off to anything it was that the coins would be key. Extending her hand she reached for the first, wondering whether it'd shrink or vanish and be added to some kind of invisible score when she or the bubble made contact.

...It would do either of those, right?

Another flap of her hair attempted to slow her down again so she wouldn't slam right into it, pop the bubble and go falling to her death. It was too little too late. The coin arrived all the same. A fun little tune like an electronic chime marked her success, albeit it was possible a memory of her past gaming session caused her to hear it and that the sound wasn't really there. Before she could think about it any further a feathery foe flapped fiercely with fangs flourished her way. Her hand acted before her mind did, pulling loose a chunk of flaming hair and tossing it at the bird. The resulting explosion swallowed it before her bubble could get popped. A relieved sigh left her. Too close.

Were anyone looking at her at that exact moment one thing in particular would have stood out. Retsu was smiling. It was wide smile -more of a grin- and on the verge of turning into full blown laughter. Her eyes shone as she took in the rest of the flock. Without looking away from them her hands pulled two more fireballs free and with a flap of her hair she was off.

"Eat this, you fooks! Ahahahaha! Ahahahahahahaaaaaa!!!"

Orb after orb flew out and detonated as Retsu flew from one coin to the next, laughing uproariously all the while. Was this what people with a quirk felt like all the time? She should've been angry about it. For some reason she wasn't. Her smile simply widened as she continued throwing more and more fire at the enemies. It didn't take long for her to reach the apex of her climb, the very top of the path. Taking in a deep breath she inhaled the crisp air up so high before turning to look at Rin and Jack in turn.

"See y'all at the finish line!"

She couldn't keep the glee out of her voice nor did she care to try. Her emotions bubbled to the surface and escaped as cackling laughs. Yet the bubbling was more like that of a jacuzzi, pleasant and freeing, than the normal fiery wroth that was like magma sizzling to burn away at the world. She threw and threw and threw until her hands grasped empty air. Panting for breath she calmed down as the speed of her flight slowed to a crawl. 

Ah. That might be pretty bad.

Patting her head down Retsu noticed little more than a bob cut remained of her once elongated hair that had gone all the way down to her knees. With it went her ability to steer the bubble. Unless she was willing to sit tight and wait for however many months it'd take her hair to regrow she had to find an alternative. She shrugged. Hair didn't grow back instantly but flames had a tendency of swelling when stoked. So far only her anger had done so but perhaps she could do it manually as well.

It almost came naturally. As if an instinct that had laid dormant all this time had awoken the moment she ended up in the Dream World and guided her hand; Or in this case her eye. A plume of fire practically burst forth from her left eye before curling back and setting what little remained of her hair further alight. The process was far from instant but as if she had a connection to the flame she could feel it swell more and more by the second. It took almost a full minute for her hair to grow back to its full length, undoubtedly setting her back massively in their little race to the finish line, yet despite starting it Retsu couldn't find it in herself to mind.

The experience had been -if she allowed herself to be so sappy- almost magical. She couldn't help but wonder just how much she'd yet to learn about this quirk. Her smile widened even further. She'd find out in due time. First she had a race to finish and birds to punt out of the sky.

---

TL;DR: 
Due to not at all being afraid of heights nor having a tendency of lashing out at things she's afraid of Retsu picks the highest path. Taking as many coins as she can along the way Retsu declares a war on bird-kind that goes far better than the Australian version and makes her way through most of the course before running out of hair. Along the way she shouts back at Jack and Rin that she'll see them at the finish line. After her boast her progress is massively delayed due to having to manually regrow her quirk-boosted hair, ensuring she'll secure nought but last place at best.

New Quirk: Blazing Hair
Changed Appli: Dream World Retsu

------

Tags: Aysu , Arataki Noa , Jack Orion
 

[Jack Orion]

"I swear to God, when I get my hands on you..."

Jack swore quietly at the mastermind's curt tone towards his reluctance. 'Gee, I wonder what would happen if I just dragged people into a literal dreamscape and make them play my stupid games! I'm sure THAT would just go lovely!' Bah. In any case, he decided to bite his tongue for the moment. But if this guy thought that Jack would just take that hands down without doing things his way, they had another thing coming. He plays by HIS rules, no one else's. Certainly not some halfwit that thought this would end well.

Nonetheless, he would glance back at Retsu as she asked him if she knew him. His trademark grin crept back onto his face, giving her a look. "What, I get a bit of a fox makeover and suddenly ya don't remember the last guy who kicked your sorry ass before you pussied off like a coward?" he said, knowing in the back of his mind that the fight was more than on equal footing - though he loved giving pieces of shit like her a hard time anyway. Made things more fun, at least for him.

Then, that would just be the point, wouldn't it?

Anyways, with that little remark Jack would shoot forwards towards the middle route. "Yo, brown-hair! Race ya to the finish line!" he taunted at Noa, at least trying to stay upbeat despite being royally pissed off. He didn't really know her that well, but at least it was better than acting like strangers, yeah?

As he bounded towards the middle path by jumping against his bubble, Jack would eye the coins that they kept passing by. Were they supposed to collect those? His eyes narrowed for a second. Was the ringleader here treating this like it's a video game? He pushed that thought to the side as he would start paying attention. There birds and flying heads floating around, all aimed at Jack's little bubble. Maybe it was just the Dream World giving him Kupo's instincts with his Quirk, but Jack could already feel his body responding naturally to the threats around him.

The fox boy would aim his bubble downwards, ducking under all the projectiles heading his way. He could see Retsu going haywire with all of her fireballs. Sheesh, and he thought she was crazy before the Quirk. He then directed himself onwards, not getting too distracted by all of the shiny coins, focusing solely on getting to the end first. No time for dilly-dallying, after all.

As a result, getting past the obstacles wasn't too hard. He had to make a mental note NOT to lunge at them and eat them, but skirting around them at the speeds he was going was more than a cakewalk, along with the weird floating heads shooting fireballs at him. He jumped and dove, bobbed and weaved, as if his body moved on it's own. Something about Kupo's Quirk...it was definitely stirring something up inside the once-dragon. A wild grin formed on Jack's features, letting his instinct take full reign for the first time in his life.

Bouncing to and fro, it would become apparent that he basically blew the other two out of the water if this were a race. Bounding towards the platform, he would let out a high-pitched howl, his tail shaking wildly. "HOW YA LIKE THAT, YA FUCKIN' WANNABE GOD! MEET ME IN PERSON AND I CAN SHOW YA WHAT I CAN REALLY DO!" he howled, grinning wildly at the sky. Presumably speaking, trying to touch or redirect Jack's attention would probably not have one of the greatest experiences at the moment. He was jittery, like he was suddenly an energy ball waiting to explode. 

---

Tl;Dr
-Grumbled to himself towards Aika's dismissive reply.
-Taunted Retsu more, recalling he was probably the most recent opponent she had.
-Playfully taunted Noa with a race, at least not wanting to act like strangers towards a fellow student.
-Questioned how Aika was viewing this whole experience.
-Through letting his instincts take over, leapt and bound through the middle path, not paying much attention to the coins.
-Reaching first, Jack would howl towards Aika, goading him into actually fighting him.
-Seemed a little wild at the moment.

[Arataki Noa]

One thing's for sure, neither of the two strangers she ended up on this trip with were keen on any sort of teamwork. In fact they both would rather compete with everyone else. That suited Noa just fine. Well, except for the competition part, she wasn't planning to initiate any suggestion of cooperation herself if it wasn't necessary. So far their host did not require or even push them into doing so.

There were three paths ahead. Each one had a varied amount of obstacles as well as what appeared to be coins. It reminded her of a certain video game. She figured it was safe to assume they had to collect coins along the way to their destination. The two picked different paths so Noa decided she would settle for the third one. The rules were still too vague to accurately say which path was the best anyway. Also it seemed like the low path had the most obstacles to deal with which for her was a plus. If she was gonna get used to her new quirk, it would take more than the bit of practice she had earlier.

From watching the other two, she learned that using quirks did not damage or pop the bubbles. That was good. If she could attack or veer away from the obstacles with her quirk, this game would be a lot more challenging. Her approach to clearing the course was very cautious and strategic. She would prioritize grabbing coins as she made her way. When a bird or two approached, she would shoot them down with fireballs. It took a few shots at first but eventually she was able to reach a level of accuracy she was satisfied with. Whenever her bubble ventured close to any spikes, she would release a stream of fire like a jet and change her direction to avoid touching them. As for the heads that shot fireballs, well she intercepted them with her own fireballs. As a result she probably had the flashiest and most 'explosive' journey through this course compared to the other two. She also appreciated the presence of the wind tunnels. Whenever it looked like she was lagging behind in the race, there would be a convenient tunnel she could use to just zip on ahead at high speed.

In the end, Noa found that she was actually enjoying the challenge a bit. She reached the finish line without really knowing who of them made it there first. Maybe their ever present announcer would make the call. If she had any regrets, she felt that the path she took didn't really have much coins. She probably should have took that into account before choosing.

TLDR: Noa goes for the low path. She uses the entire course as quirk practice, dealing with the obstacles as they come with her flame quirk while prioritizing grabbing every coin she can. She waits for Aika Ao to announce the winner of this round.

Jack Orion ,Bakiri Retsu ,Aysu

[Aysu]

✧ JUST A DREAM AWAY ✧

Dream World?, 7:00 pm

It was very amusing to see everyone trying out a different path for themselves. Whatever way they wanted to, it seemed that they were really making the most of each of the experiences that they were going through. Though it seemed that not everyone knew what to do, Aika was surprised that they all picked different paths. "Good work everyone!" He'd boast on, making it clear that in some regard, he was proud of them. It was much too easy for greed or impatience to take over, but it seemed that they all went through it at their own pace.

Aika didn't pay much mind as to how they got to the ending area, but that they did. For each, he would give them a message:

Though Retsu was very sure that she was going to get there first, perhaps the most prideful of us were the downfall instead. Many times, it was too easy to think that things would go your way, and not give yourself room for failure. "Good try Retsu, I could see your resolve- don't think so little of those around you, they aren't so different than you." These words would be heard for Retsu only, as a message for her completion in last place.

For Noa, he would give her a much more hopeful message. "I am proud of you to take your time and figure yourself out. Most of the time, the middle position in things like this is the best; it shows that you are consistent, and are not gloating like the others you are stuck with. I envy your passion and kind heart." Much like Noa's, only she could hear this.

When it came to Jack, Aika would sigh in the young boy's head. "I feel as if you do not get the point of this challenge at all, do you? I was never looking for you to become better than the others, but to realize your own potential. If you feel that first is all that you can do, then you should try harder to be better than some weird expectation of talent." They were harsh words, but some people needed to get it. Of course, this message is also inside of Jack's head.

Along with their messages, they would all be granted something special. For Retsu, a small bird token would be given to her. For Noa, a small drill token. For Jack, a small fireball token. The bubbles would pop around them as if they were never there and they would realize that they were surrounded by.... animals? "Congrats on the three of you all making it! No one failed this mission so..." Like something out of a video game, they would see a line appear above the heads of their peers. "You all get one point! And those tokens... Well, you'll have to use them to see what they do!" Aika would giggle through- a goat? Aika was talking through a goat? The goat had the same red and black color palette as Aika in its fur, and would stare at the three of them to the best of its abilities. "For your next task, I want you all to pick an animal. Once you do, I'll let you know your instructions!" Around them were farm animals that seemed to not pay them too much mind, but were friendly enough.

Rules and Information: Pick one animal! Please tell me what animal you are picking in your post!

TLDR; Everyone lands safely! Everyone gets a secret message in their head, and a token once they land. Each person gets one point for completing the first task, and through a goat Aika Ao, is asked to pick an animal from the animal farm.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Welcome to Dream World Part 2! First of all thank you for signing up!! I'm so excited to tell this story with you all! Remember you have to post at least ONCE per round, but you can skip one round if you have to. A second skip will result in no tokens being given. There are going to be 8 - 10 rounds total and I will announce when we have reached the halfway point, as well as when we're nearing the end in our designated Dream World discord channel.

Remember to include a TL;DR at the end of your post! <3

Additionally, if you want to plan a cool character moment ahead of time, like making a heroic sacrifice or setting up a team attack, but want to keep it a surprise to the other people in the thread until it happens, feel free to sneak into my DMs so we can plan out the details! This is not mandatory, but I want to make sure every character shines and looks their best during this thread!

The next round will begin on 09/04/2024 @ 5pm PST

Music Mood:

tag: Jack Orion rin Bakiri Retsu

[Bakiri Retsu]

Retsu's brow stayed furrowed. He was probably just bluffing or exaggerating to get to her but even so it annoyed her that she couldn't quite place who fox boy was. He seemed to imply the fox mutation was new so who knew what he looked like before? She let out a hum as she thought back. Takotsu maybe? She'd baited him into a monologue and then left while he was rambling so it wasn't impossible he saw things that way. Akimichi senior? No, that one was probably dead. The quirker that threw cans at her in a convenience store? Nah, that was far too long ago. The dragon quirker from the parking lot? It wasn't impossible that one had gotten events twisted up to make himself feel better afterwards. Silhouette Swordsman? Her lip curled. It'd be just her luck if this were him.

Whatever. She wasn't getting anywhere so she put the thought aside and focused on what mattered. Winning the race. While her attempts at doing so were about as successful as her attempts at trying to figure out the previous matter she didn't care in the slightest by the time that she made it to the finish line. Her nerves were singing and her smile was so wide it threatened to tear her cheeks. 

Only when Aika Ao spoke up did it slip off her face once more. Not so different, huh? Was this truly how quirkers felt all the time? With the adrenaline of the moment beginning to fade it left a sour taste in her mouth. Letting go like that, going wild with just the powers her own body had provided her...

...it felt right.

It felt like she could face the world and come out on top. No wonder all those heroes and other do-gooders were so confident and brash in their final moments whenever they tried to stop her, she thought with a sardonic chuckle. Perhaps it was good she never had a power like this.

Even as she had that thought it felt like a lie.

Shaking her head she put the thought aside. Retsu had long grown used to rolling with the punches. Thinking about could be's was a waste of time. 

Her eyes twitched upon receiving the bird token, mentions of 'angry birds' once more coming to mind. Glaring fiercely she raised her head to the sky and inhaled deeply.

"Da fook do you know ya invisible piece a shit?! Wanna come down 'ere and see 'ow alike we all are, haaaaaah?!"

Her threat was made far less imposing by the fact that she flinched right after when the bubble popped. Her teeth grit in outrage. That prick had to have done that on purpose! Through her left eye her anger leeched out and caused the blaze on her head to crackle briefly before the fire faded and turned back into normal, albeit incredibly long, purple hair.

She'd save her anger for when it had a target. There was no point in lashing out now. Looking around her she looked at each of her temporary allies in turn before focusing on the mass of animals around them. She blinked in confusion when one of them started speaking in the ringmaster's voice. That wasn't what she'd meant. 

For a brief moment she considered selecting the Aika goat. She was truly tempted. Another had drawn her eye however. A fiendish creature from the very depths of hell. One the likes of which she was hoping she'd never cross paths with again. She could see the malevolence in its gaze. Its posture radiated malice. The very air around it seemed to twist and roil as if the world itself could not bear to witness the evil of its existence, albeit that might just be her imagination. She didn't even realize she was holding her breath as it stared up at her with empty eyes.

"Honk!"

The full weight of her glare settled on the goose and she nearly growled back. Retsu was never one to back down. When faced with problems beyond her she doubled down and struggled her way through. Any other choice here would have been better. Retsu didn't make any other choice. With one hand in her pocket she turned sideways and pointed the other right at the fowl creature.

"I choose you!"

---

TL;DR: 
Retsu still fails to remember who Jack was, shrugs and goes 'oh well' putting the matter aside. She then finishes up the race and throws a self-pity party before lashing out at Aika Ao. For the second challenge Retsu chooses a goose.

------

Tags: Aysu,Arataki Noa,Jack Orion