Thread: Task OF The Year 2021!!

Checking in! My own attempts have been... lackluster. Maybe dimwit is defending justice night after night in dreams I never remember.

I've been avoiding this thread, until I could complete my next task, hoping my progress to match your dreams I read, but never mind that. With two months left, there can be no holding back! Congratulations to Tiktaalik for joining the ranks! And everyone else for your progress! I know we need to nurture an expectation of "I can do this easily" but this is HARD! I only got 1 task complete. So, reading each success and each incomplete attempt, I'm impressed and awed every time! But despite the long periods of (unremembered success?) non-superhero dreams, the take away is we've done it and we can do it again! Good luck!

I hope this qualifies!

Spoiler for Task 4 - Training with Teammates - Success:

As I'm falling asleep I feel vibrations. They seem to go on forever, I am not sure if I'm going to make it through the transition, or if I am going to lose the dream, when I realize I've been staring at the surface of the moon for a while. It's literally right in front of my face, and it's so beautiful. I can see every crater and crevice. I realize I am still in bed and get out. Outside, I fly around in a purple helicopter with a broken windshield, my lucidity going on and off. Eventually, I find myself lucid again, and stabilize. I find a wolf-dog, and it leads me by the hand with its mouth, gently. I think It's taking me to people! and use expectation. This works, and I am taken into a building with people.

In the building, I see a man there and talk to him for a little bit. I see his face is 75% in the shadow, 25% light. He looks like one of my gamer friends which I find odd. After asking him a few questions, I go back outside and start flying. I find another group of people in the back yard. We decide to have a friendly battle, girls vs. boys. At first I pick up a little baby and take to the skies with the baby in arms while they duke it out. Then I remember the task of the year and while in flight say "Light Girl!" and transform. The baby is no longer a baby and I drop some metal object to the ground. Me and one girl go off to battle by ourselves. She is blonde. I use light techniques like "Blinding Light!" and "Light spray!". She is doing sky-karate but missing me. After a few attacks with my light, she is stunned and dazzled, and staring blankly toward the sky. I call it a win and let her drift in the air. The dream ends shortly after.

Edit: DJ Link

I'd a number of chances at task V today, though I just barely fell short of succeeding. Since the experience was practically the whole DJ entry, I'm just gonna link to that:

Link to DJ Entry

I failed to meet any of the tasks because frankly I could not remember specifics. I did have a fun superhero adventure though!
Here is the dream.

Oh no, I ain't done yet!

Synopsis: FireFlyMan finds magic stones in a dangerous, chaotic realm. Later, his partner, Dryad, aid him in escaping through an enemy office building. After a close encounter, and some clever use of enchanted gems, the two heroes rendezvous in a safe location.

(Lol that rainbow text wasn't intentional, but oh well!)

Spoiler for TOTY 2021 Task V - Success!:

Warp. I was flying through a thick cloud in the night skies. After a minute of enjoying the moment, I recalled the TOTY. Swooping down, I looked around for any suitable place for such. Soon enough, I was hovering through urban streets. Around the corner of an apartment building, I stumble upon castle, of all things, composed almost entirely of carved stone. Good place to look as any. Leaping over the gate, I made my way into the keep's entrance. Things got laggy, and some force kept me from moving too close. Undeterred, I turned around, and let myself phase backwards through the structure's unfinished wood doors.

Inside, I was met by a long, empty, unlit hallway. I sped through it, when the surroundings changed into earthen tunnels. Eventually, opened up into a vast chasm. Much of this space was unnaturally rigid, much like you'd see in video games such as Minecraft. Wasn't too fond of that, but I didn't let that bother me. Anyway, I continued past it, and through even more tunnels.

An indiscernible amount of time passes in this underground . It's then that I arrive what could be described as pure chaos. All around, floating stone landmasses, up to hundreds of yards across, drifted about, slowly tilting, bobbling, and bouncing around at any provocation. Atop many of these planes were ruins and rubble, while others contained intact statues, trees, and even garden plots. Heavy clouds roiled in the horizon, a void of blue and violet, swirling ceaselessly, where the lands seemed to barely gravitate. This was quite a mesmerizing view, enough so, I almost let the dream slip.

Recollecting myself, I notice I didn't have a costume, nor a partner, for the task. With a gesture, I immediately donned my appropriate helm and jacket. Conspicuously, my gloves were missing. I tried forcing those gloves, and calling for Dryad. But ,I had enough difficulty keeping in state, as noted by my dimming sight, so I left those details be for now. Anyway, I jump from one island to another, bouncing off a broken pillar, then some debris. Only then did I notice the change in gravity for each landmass, not to mention how violently the void pulled me towards it whenever I was airborn. Thought it best to keep close to the tunnels.

I also noticed a green arrow at the top left of my view, an indicator of sorts. Guessed it was leading me towards my mark for the task? I jumped where it prompted, only to be pointed elsewhere at every other second. Eventually, I flew myself at one of the larger islands, a mound of sorts. On its slope were organized pots and troughs growing many kinds of plants, including orchids, palm trees, ferns, and herbs, among others.

At this site, the arrow remained transfixed. I brushed through a few pots, when I happen upon a mysterious blue powder. This must've been the artifact I was looking for, but I feared I might've broken it... So, I sift around some more, to find a rough gemstone of similar make, and perfectly intact to boot. That's a relief! Curious if there was more, I dig through a trough. There, I find a small plastic bag filled with even more uncut gems of many colors. All things considered, they were remarkable only in how mundane they appeared. Oh well, who was I to argue? Anyway, I fly through a tunnel (different from the one I'd arrived from, as I lost sight of that), and get warped out.

Now, I find myself in an underground hallway. It's then I call for Dryad once again. She arrives surprisingly quick, rushing from a corner. This dream depicted her exactly (and quite aptly) as a spriggan from Skyrim, from their twig-like "antlers", to their glowing aura of wind-blown leaves.

"Hey! I got it!", I exclaimed, holding out the bag to show her.

"I know. We have to move."

Dryad snatches my arm, then pulls me with her down the hallway. Soon, we arrive at a subway tunnel. At the far end and to the right blinked the faltering sign of a fire exit. My partner takes us through that door, only to end up in another hallway, this time for what seemed to be an office building, furnished in minimalistic white. We go to the first left, to happen upon a wide, sunlit foyer. A great line of people, under the leaves of huge indoor ferns, were waiting to be serviced at the reception area. Wasn't expecting there to be this many witnesses... er, other people. "Act casual", urged Dryad. I sauntered alongside her past the reception desk, then barged through a conveniently unattended security gate. A number of folk were giving us odd looks, but luckily, nothing came of this.

We were then walking through a different hallway, one with green tiled floors, and potted plants at every entrance. Colorful text could be seen hanging on the walls. I figured this must've been the structure's daycare. Anyway, at the far end was yet another fire escape, where I was being guided.

We make it halfway there, when suddenly, a klaxon blares. Oh crap! Reacting quickly, my companion and I hurry to an opening in the left, a play area, it seemed, of which had a patterned blue and red carpet for flooring. Anyway, I dart towards a small desk, where I shrink myself to fit right under. A bucket filled with some powdery matter happened to be there, so, as a precaution, I shrunk myself further to fit in it. As this occurred, Dryad phases into a small potted tree a few yards away, hiding seamlessly. What's more, the encounter theme from Metal Gear Solid sounded in the background, just to fit the mood further.

Half a minute later, a figure peruses the area, a guard lady. Seemingly exasperated, she barely made an effort to glance around, then quickly lost interest. Similarly, a random French maid investigated the place, perhaps far more suspiciously than the former, but she too gave up in time. With their dispersal, so too did the alarm (and song) end. Still, I figured we'd need to find another way out.

"What now?", I whispered at Dryad.

"Use a black stone. You'll get out that way."

Doing as told, I pulled out the like stone. Light glistened off its surface, as would be expected. Staring at it, I paused in thought. "Wait, but what about you?"

"Leave a black stone for me. I'll be fine."

Sifting through the bag, I pulled out another stone, and, after restoring its size, left it for Dryad's use. I then concentrate on the one in hand. Suddenly, the stone dissolved, and with it, I was pulled into a black void. "Mission accomplished", I thought, as I floated safely in nothingness. But, no, not quite yet. There's no guarantee Dryad escaped as well. Such doubts causes the dream to collapse immediately.

I struggled to visualize a dream, and to keep from muddling my mind with anxiousness.

...

Dream re-entry. I was at a restaurant's dish cleaning area. Touching the steel surface of a nearby countertop assured the dream state. Quite surprising, as I'd assumed this was just wishful thinking. With baited breath, I anticipated for Dryad to appear. And, lo and behold, she popped right around the corner. "Told ya I'll be fine!", she teases. Couldn't help but laugh in celebration.

So, by a strict reading of the task, some objectives weren't prioritized in the correct order. Namely, that my costume and partner only appeared halfway through, and shortly before and after I'd extracted the marked artifact. Don't suppose there'd be much harm in overlooking such technicalities?

Link to DJ Entry

This was a fun set of tasks and I’ve enjoyed participating and reading everyone’s entries throughout the year. Sadly I only reached the end of task 2 but feel it’s time now to hang up my cape, feeling satisfied to have at least found my identity and discovered my powers. Who knows, I may become Tiv-Hind again in future dreams but for now it’s time to rest up and prepare for the 2022 TOTY! See ya next year!

Congrats! RelicWraith! I will try to get to the voting booth as soon as I can. Sorry, it's taking so long. Been saving the world... You know how it is.

~Humbledreamer.

Hey guys. Just an update. As you know, the new year is coming and so is our new Task of the Year theme. These tasks will officially close on the same date the new tasks open (Jan. 5th, 11:59 pm EST). Any entries submitted after that time will not qualify for TotY wings. However, I encourage anyone who wishes to continue completing these tasks to do so, and you may continue to post in this thread with your updates. I know I plan on it. This does not have to be the end of FireflyMan, Dimwit, Light Girl, or even Butts. Thank you for participating in DreamViews' Superhero Training Program! Long live our dream heroes!!!