Okay, let’s get this LC going! As always, stupid story stuff is put in spoilers so that the people who liked it from the past LCs can read it and everybody else can skip right past it.
[spoiler]“Okay, so you all know what you want to be?” Thorn says. “Great, then if I can have you all step into this dark room with no windows… no, I’m not following you in there! I, er, want to be surprised when you come out as your new shapes!”
Seeing as you don’t really have a choice in the matter, you and the other LC participants enter into a dark room as the door shuts behind you. A sound that can only be described as a “rawr” comes from some unknown spot, and a second later, you feel odd, as if you became what you imagined in an instant. The door opens behind you, and you all head back out.
Thorn stands by the door, waiting to see what everybody has become. “Okay, hopefully everybody’s happy with what they ch- WHAT HAPPENED?!?” You look around and get a glimpse of the other participants. You see a Disney princess, a few aliens, and some cat-people. Thorn continues, clearly in shock. “You were supposed to try to blend in! You were supposed to make characters you could develop with dream powers and personalities! What are you people?!?”
One participant counters with a question of his own. “What happened to the wings I wanted? I don’t have them!” Thorn, seemingly expecting the question, answers immediately. “This is not the Monthly Quest. You don’t get to say, ‘I think I deserve wings.’ Here, you earn them. I’m thinking you can have them after earning… let’s say 300 points? That goes for all of you, by the way.”
“Anyway, your tasks for this first week of the competition all involve exploring Elcedia on your own, since I assumed you’d all look like natural Elcedians. Check out the task list and then get going!”[/spoiler]
Week 1: Welcome to Elcedia
The goal for this week is to explore an urban dreamscape. You’ll be doing some exploring through the streets as you expect, but I’ll also challenge you to explore above and below the streets as well as find specific locations within a city. Some tasks will also have subtasks attached to them; if you complete a subtask in a way that also completes the task it’s tied to, you’ll earn more points than if you had done the task by itself.
There is one thing from the story that will work its way into the LC: wings are earned, not given. Flight tasks throughout the LC will be available for people who have earned at least 300 points. Hopefully this spurs you to get some tasks done for the sake of your character, since everybody craves flight!
Wander around a bustling city: A simple task to start off the LC. Explore a bit! 20 points
Drive a motor vehicle: Yet another easy task to start off the LC. Go somewhere exciting! 20 points
Work out in a gym: You have a brand-new dream body, so find a place to start toning it! 30 points* Visibly put on muscle from your workout. 20 points
Eat in a nice restaurant: It wouldn’t be an LC without an eating task. McDonald’s doesn’t count as “nice”; go somewhere decent with waitstaff and good meals! If you have to ask me if your dream restaurant counted, then the answer is probably “no”. 30 points* Fatten up from your food. 20 points
Visit a carnival or amusement park: Find some fun in this city! Personally, I’d suggest riding a slide, water slide, or roller coaster (without the coaster car if you think you can pull off a wicked sweet grind), as letting the dream lay out a track for you to follow at high speed is actually quite exhilarating. 30 points* Ride a slide, water slide, or roller coaster. 30 points
Explore a sewer: The dream world doesn’t just make water appear from faucets, and water doesn’t simply disappear when it goes into the drain. Explore the sewer system underneath Elcedia and see what you can find! 30 points* Encounter a sewer gator, mutant goldfish, or other sewer urban legend. 30 points
Find a library and read a book: What knowledge may lie within? See if you can learn something about the dream world. 30 points
Become your character: While I’ll give a 5-point bonus for every task done as your character, it’s also a standalone task so that you get some extra points for your first time being it (not stacking with the bonus, of course). If you haven’t posted a character yet, then you cannot earn points for this until you do so; you are not allowed to dream of a character and then decide to use it after the fact. 40 points
Interact with an anthropomorphic creature: As a fantasy world, Elcedia is full of them. Why not strike up a conversation with one? 40 points* Interact with a participant’s character (non-human characters only) or the host’s character. 40 points
Available after earning 300 points:
Fly through a city: No, not “over” a city; you can fly high without me telling you to, I’m sure. Just above the street level or high up between skyscrapers will do. 40 points
Your points will be tracked here. The small, square boxes will track if you’ve earned the bonus for being your character for each task that allows it (subtasks do not replicate the bonus from the source task), so between the character bonuses and subtasks, you have incentive to either do each task to its fullest the first time or to give tasks a second go if you’re not satisfied with how you completed them the first time.
Best of luck to all of you!
which was a medium one. I struggled with my character transformation.
, there’s a voice in my head reminding me the challenge is ultimately 
