Dreaming and Awake

>But they thought you were—!

The reason I'm using the brown ferret as my avatar today is because that's my headcanon voice for him! Either that, or something like Sterling Holloway. I want him to have kind of a "beautiful" voice, if that makes any sense.

>OH GOD IT'S A GHOST!

The caterpillar laughs. "No, Carl, I'm just as alive as everyone here."

---

>"Are you...?"
>But they thought you were—!

"Yes, Carl, it's me. Lepido. I never really died. Come, visit my home! I'll explain everything there."

Burbank Frollo: the most hilariously ineffectual, unintimidating Frollo ever

Well, I gotta make the reference if nobody else will. "Lepido?!" "YES! I AM!!

>First, is Dr. White safe?

Long live the New Bev.

>First, is Dr. White safe?

Yes, Dr. White (and all of the party) is fine.

Burbank Frollo: the most hilariously ineffectual, unintimidating Frollo ever

>Well, go with Lepido, then, we've got to hear this story.

>Well, go with Lepido, then, we've got to hear this story.

Carl agrees to go with Lepido. He leads Carl and his friends through the thorns, until they finally reach a decrepit hole in the ground. It leads to a long, spiral staircase that goes deep underground. Finally, they reach Lepido's home, which is small, dark, and shabby.

"Please, sit down." Our heroes sit down on an old couch while Lepido sits on a chair across from them.

"Oh boy, where to begin?" Carl tells Lepido what Queen Oneira told him.

"Hmm... yes, I was at the castle one day. I wanted to give a speech to all dream creatures about how we could work together to make the Dream Lands a better place."

"But then... he came. He snuck right up to me, grabbed me around the throat, and tried to choke me and snap my neck." It's kind of hard to tell, since as a caterpillar, Lepido's whole body is flexible, but Carl notices that his neck does seem a little floppy.

"So what did I do, you may ask? I played dead. Like dumb wild animals, everyone fell for it. And so, Mr. Shadow, pleased with his work, ran away, and I was later buried in a room in the castle. And of course, once everyone left, I crawled out. I even took my own coffin as a little keepsake." Lepido points at one side of the room, where the coffin is leaning against the wall.

Forget the ferret, Lepido is really starting to give me Sterling Holloway vibes. Look at this or this.

edited 16th Dec '16 8:48:28 AM by DrNoPuma

Burbank Frollo: the most hilariously ineffectual, unintimidating Frollo ever

>Hug Lepido.

Long live the New Bev.

>Hug Lepido.

Carl gets up and hugs Lepido. Lepido flinches. "Watch the neck!" Carl apologizes and sits back down. Lepido sighs.

"You see? My life is ruined, and all thanks to that monster Oort!"

Carl says he doesn't know who Oort is. Neither do any of the other dream creatures.

"I'm not surprised. Queen Oneira hasn't told you a lot, huh?"

Burbank Frollo: the most hilariously ineffectual, unintimidating Frollo ever

>There's a whole conspiracy, isn't there?

Long live the New Bev.

>Yeah, there must be, or otherwise why would you have stayed in Bad Land, of all places? Who is Oort and why did you not come back?

edited 16th Dec '16 12:01:44 PM by ZeroL

My new plan is so secret that even I cannot understand its full scope!

>There's a whole conspiracy, isn't there?
>Yeah, there must be, or otherwise why would you have stayed in Bad Land, of all places? Who is Oort and why did you not come back?

Carl asks Lepido why he's staying in Bad Land. "Because I need time to plan. I need a base of operations if I'm going to find Oort and execute my plan. I'll tell you about it soon."

Carl suspects that Queen Oneira is involved in a conspiracy. Lepido laughs.

"Oneira isn't working with Oort! She hates him! But that's the problem - she doesn't do anything about it."

Lepido sighs. "I guess you should know that when I crawled out of my grave, I didn't leave right away. I hid in the castle for a little while. I snuck around in the shadows, and discovered things that Oneira has told no one. That's how I know about Oort."

"You see, Queen Oneira did not create the Dream Lands and the dream creatures - at least, not alone. She was assisted by Oort, a mysterious shapeshifting creature. Oneira created some things, Oort created others... but for the most part, Oneira focused on Sweet Land, Oort focused on Bad Land, and both put a little effort into Weird Land."

"Oort hated humans, and wanted to use the Dream Lands to frighten and kill them. Queen Oneira disagreed: She wanted dreams to be beautiful, so that people would love them. Their "relationship", if you could call it that, was not a happy one. They argued constantly, until Oort proclaimed that he would leave Oneira's castle until he had the power to destroy her and take over the Dream Lands for himself."

"But before he left, he stole a clock..."

I guess, in a way, Oneira and Oort are the opposites of Asgore and Toriel.

edited 16th Dec '16 1:23:22 PM by DrNoPuma

Burbank Frollo: the most hilariously ineffectual, unintimidating Frollo ever

>Oooooh we see where this is going. Mr. Shadow works for Oort?

Long live the New Bev.

>Oooooh we see where this is going. Mr. Shadow works for Oort?

"Yes, Oort stole Jonathan's clock. He secretly contacted Jonathan and made a deal with him. In exchange for serving him, Oort would share his power with him. He told Jonathan that he would gain his first bit of power soon, but only if he refused help from any creatures who might try to help him."

"So... Jonathan was never afraid? He ran away from me on purpose?" "Exactly."

"And now Oort, Mr. Shadow, and that blob guy are working together to steal more clocks and drain their power. If they gain enough, they will be able to destroy Queen Oneira and take over the dream worlds."

Burbank Frollo: the most hilariously ineffectual, unintimidating Frollo ever

The more time passes, the more I realize how Wilfre-like Mr. Shadow is. And I love it.

>So if they're so powerful, how do we stop them?

Long live the New Bev.

>So Jonathan becoming Mr. Shadow was Oort's doing? So, does that mean Oneira is causing my transformation?

>Also, is it possible that either Oneira or Oort used to be human, and the other is their dream creature?

My new plan is so secret that even I cannot understand its full scope!

>So Jonathan becoming Mr. Shadow was Oort's doing? So, does that mean Oneira is causing my transformation?

"No, no. It seems that the transformation is a natural thing that happens when your clock goes missing. Oort simply told Jonathan to let the transformation happen."

---

>Also, is it possible that either Oneira or Oort used to be human, and the other is their dream creature?

"That's the one thing I couldn't find out: their origins. It seems as though they're as old as time itself."

---

>So if they're so powerful, how do we stop them?

"I am devising a plan. If I am to stop them, I think the only way is to steal clocks too. The problem is, I don't know how many I'll have to drain in order to defeat Oort and his goons. And then there's the problem of Queen Oneira..."

Burbank Frollo: the most hilariously ineffectual, unintimidating Frollo ever

>So we'd have to damn even more humans? This doesn't sound right.

Long live the New Bev.

>So we'd have to damn even more humans? This doesn't sound right.

Get ready for "Well that escalated quickly: The Post".

Lepido suddenly gets angry.

"Doesn't sound right?! I'll tell you what isn't right! Being a weak ruler who lets monsters run around, who lets their subjects die! You think I'm only after Oort and his minions? No, Queen Oneira must pay too!"

"A horrible queen like her doesn't deserve to rule this land! I'll do whatever it takes to get her off the throne, and begin my own reign, one where nightmare creatures finally get the respect they deserve!"

Lepido calms down. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's not your fault. But please, tell me you understand. Tell me that you will help me make the dream lands perfect."

Burbank Frollo: the most hilariously ineffectual, unintimidating Frollo ever

>Can we think about this?

Long live the New Bev.

>Can we think about this?

"Of course. Take as long as you need." Lepido leaves the room, leaving Carl and his friends.

Carl wants to ask his friends for their thoughts, but who should he ask? There is no limit to how many you can choose. You can ask all of them, if you want.

Burbank Frollo: the most hilariously ineffectual, unintimidating Frollo ever

>Ask each person:

Do you think we can trust Lepido?

Do you think Oneira is a good ruler?

Assuming Lepido is truthful, do you think his proposed plan is a good one?

Do you think Mr Shadow and Oort can be defeated without stealing clocks?

And finally,

How nice of a place, overall, is Dream Land to live in?

>Then ask Lepido if he was the one to steal our clock, and who stole Ophelia's and Dr. White's clocks.

My answers, for the record, are no, no, yes, maybe, and pretty nice, given that Bad Land is a World Half Full and Sweet Land is a flat-out Sugar Bowl. I'd like to hear other players' thoughts, as well.

I also think that before taking a side, we should go to weird land, find Ophelia and Dr. White's dream creatures, and, crazy as it sounds, speak with Oort, somehow, and hear their side of the story.

>Then try to call up Oneira and, without mentioning Lepido or his plan, say that Dumblob mentioned someone called Oort and ask her about him.

This is actually kinda like Devil Survivor 2's factions: Lepido is Ronaldo, Oneira is Yamato, Oort is the Anguished One (created demons, created Bad Land), and Daichi's equivalent is probably a Chekhov's Gunman in our very party.

Okay. I missed a few pages at the beginning, so I guess I wasn't here for that.

edited 18th Dec '16 4:08:54 PM by ZeroL

My new plan is so secret that even I cannot understand its full scope!

Bumping this to see if other players will answer Zero's questions. I'm working on the next post right now. It's going to be long, you should know. :P

Also, Bruno is Ophelia's dream creature.

edited 18th Dec '16 2:59:15 PM by DrNoPuma

Burbank Frollo: the most hilariously ineffectual, unintimidating Frollo ever

I don't think I missed anyone in the question portion, but please let me know if I did.

>Ask each person:

Carl has some questions for the party. He asks each one the following:

Do you think we can trust Lepido?

• Ophelia isn't sure what to think, and Dr. White is a little suspicious.
• "Yeah! He seems nice."
• "I feel bad for him, but I don't know if I would trust him."
• "Well, he certainly acts friendly. Maybe we can..."
• "I kinda like him, but maybe I'm just biasssed because we're both insssects."
• "Absolutely not. I can't believe he would say things like that!"
• "He gives me the creeps, but maybe we should give him a chance..."

Do you think Oneira is a good ruler?

• Ophelia says yes, and Dr. White supposes so.
• "As long as I get to do my job and scare some people, then I'm happy!"
• "Of course! She was so nice to me when I visited her after the incident with Jonathan."
• "Well, she tries her best."
• "I'm gonna go with Matilda's anssswer, but with more emphasisss on 'triesss'."
• "Yes, certainly."
• "I haven't met her since I was created, but she seemed really sweet!"

Assuming Lepido is truthful, do you think his proposed plan is a good one?

• Ophelia doesn't think so, and Dr. White isn't sure.
• "Well, yeah, it's very well thought out! ...That's what you meant by "good", right?"
• "Well, I don't have a better plan, but it seems a little extreme."
• "Maybe not, but he's certainly intent on it."
• "He's crazy, that's for sssure. But who knowsss, maybe he's right...?"
• "Absolutely not!"
• "I wish there was a more peaceful way..."

Do you think Mr Shadow and Oort can be defeated without stealing clocks?

• Ophelia isn't sure, and Dr. White is a little skeptical.
• "Well, duh! There's gotta be some other way!"
• "I don't know how we'll ever stop them... but we've got to find the best way, whatever it is."
• "Well, those clocks must contain a lot of power. I don't know..."
• "I kinda doubt that, but doesss it really matter how we do it?"
• "Yes. I feel like we can defeat them if we work together."
• "I don't really know how the clocks work, but there must be some other way."

And finally, how nice of a place, overall, is Dream Land to live in?

• Ophelia and Dr. White don't live there of course, but they think it's pretty nice based on what they've seen.
• "Great! Bad Land is the best part, of course!"
• "I rather like it."
• "Bad Land could use improvement, but I like it."
• "Meh... could be better, but it's not like I'm ssssuffering or anything."
• "You know... I never really appreciated it until I came along with you and your friends."
• "Wonderful!"

---

>Then ask Lepido if he was the one to steal our clock, and who stole Ophelia's and Dr. White's clocks.

"Certainly not! Even if I wanted to steal clocks straight from Queen Oneira, I wouldn't do it one at a time like Mr. Shadow does. I want my return to her castle to be big."

---

>Then try to call up Oneira and, without mentioning Lepido or his plan, say that Dumblob mentioned someone called Oort and ask her about him.

Carl takes out his crystal ball, calls Queen Oneira, and tells her about Oort.

"Oort? Oh no..." Queen Oneira tells Carl Oort's backstory, and Carl pretends not to know already.

"So, Mr. Shadow and his friend are working for Oort, it seems... You have Dr. White, correct? Can you please come back to the castle? I'm afraid... for all of you."

edited 18th Dec '16 6:02:17 PM by DrNoPuma

Burbank Frollo: the most hilariously ineffectual, unintimidating Frollo ever

Currently reorganizing the answers with bullet points.

edited 18th Dec '16 6:02:27 PM by DrNoPuma

Burbank Frollo: the most hilariously ineffectual, unintimidating Frollo ever

Could you give us a key to which character corresponds to what color in case we forgot?

Long live the New Bev.