Adstringéndum Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
adstringendummod) wrote2012-11-22 02:55 am
adstringendummod) wrote2012-11-22 02:55 am
Entry tags:
The Curtained Sleep
(Like Dreamscape! But renamed...)
It's night (or early morning), you've closed your eyes and gone to sleep. Maybe you were already snugly tucked into bed, or maybe you just meant to give in the the weight of heavy eyelids for a few seconds, it doesn't matter.
You've fallen asleep, it's a new world.
When you wake, everything's as it was. You continue with your day: a walk in the park, an exploration of another part of this world, a conversation with an old friend, a cup of— Wait... That person's no longer around, you've never seen those buildings here before in the city, and this just isn't Adstringendum. Did everything shift again, or have you been returned home? But things aren't the same as when you left them. Wasn't time supposed to stop, and aren't you not supposed to remember Adstringendum when you leave? Why are people you recognize from that other place here? Why is it so hard to remember specifics from yesterday?
Nothing makes sense.
And then you realize you're not awake.
You're dreaming.
Angry and confused, Saeclumda Cinis was brought back into being when the cat lost his latest altercation with the orchid and shattered. A conglomeration of many of the gods Teleos had consumed on his rise to power, this newly birthed Animus is mad with hurt pride and the wounds of subjugation that they've nursed for what feels to be an eternity. It's time to take some of their own back from this accursed place. Furious and uncontrolled, Cinis lashes out and tries to engulf everything. Disoriented by the centuries they encompassed and once manipulated, this fledgling Animus has nothing more than a vague desire to destroy the stability of the city.
Ashes to ashes.
Dust to dust.
Still growing and bewildered, Saeclumda has yet to master their powers, but they are strong enough to mess with the already fragile fabric of time, even if they're not fully cognizant of it. Their out of control rampage is what has cast the city into this living death, even managing to pull the other Animus into this world of dreams and wrath and warped truths that floats through the ashes of time. Tangled in each other as they are, the Animus cannot undo time itself, not so quickly at least, and so the citizens of Adstringéndum must save themselves.
Similar to the previous Dreamscape events, every character has their own individual world. Unlike before, they are now trapped in this world— aware of it or not, there's no waking from this internal space. To return to the physical realm, characters must first escape from the dream world.
Similar to the previous Dreamscape events, every character has their own individual world. Unlike before, they are now trapped in this world— aware of it or not, there's no waking from this internal space. To return to the physical realm, characters must first escape from the dream world.
It's easier said than done.
Like a dream, these worlds have an unnatural reality to them that makes it hard to initially question, and time is even less linear in here than out there. You might be in your own Dreamscape, frozen in a past memory or protecting your deepest, darkest secret, while a later you is traveling through the maze of minds that make up this realm of dreams, helping others (or standing back and watching them flounder). Escaping the unconscious reality of thoughts, fancies and fears takes more than an individual though, and there's an outside limit to how long you have...
Back on the physical side, the city of Adstringendum is full of the comatose bodies of its citizens. Slowly starving, slowly drying out, fallen in heaps over their tables, collapsed mid-step in the middle of their streets.
Back on the physical side, the city of Adstringendum is full of the comatose bodies of its citizens. Slowly starving, slowly drying out, fallen in heaps over their tables, collapsed mid-step in the middle of their streets.
Around the city, the Great Wall falls.
The Wastes are impatient.
Time and space had long been ruined outside the border of the Safezone, and the presence of Saeclumda Cinis destabilizes everything. The shifting landscape quickens, and creeps forward. Meters of the city are reclaimed by destroyed worlds, by timelines crushed before they had a chance to be born. Its "citizens" are mutations, pathetic amalgamations of a hundred different forms of life. They barely live, and they crawl in, cutting through the helpless bodies in their wake. Out of jealousy, out of despair— they scream.
...But who is left to hear it?
THE DREAM WORLD
You're not awake. You're dreaming, wandering through the minds of acquaintances and strangers alike. Doors and passages lead to different thoughts and memories, or to another person's mind. Some areas may be barred or concealed, hiding a terrible nightmare or secret that even the owner doesn't know.
The world of dreams... What you see may not be what you know, and what you know may not actually be real. Up may be down, night is now day, and white appears black! The sky could be painted in yellow polka dots, yet everything somehow still seems normal. Because it's your dream, and in your mind, wrong is right. But be careful! In someone else's, right might be wrong.
The world of dreams... What you see may not be what you know, and what you know may not actually be real. Up may be down, night is now day, and white appears black! The sky could be painted in yellow polka dots, yet everything somehow still seems normal. Because it's your dream, and in your mind, wrong is right. But be careful! In someone else's, right might be wrong.
Or maybe it's the other way around...
No matter, no matter, come right on in! Are you the spider or the fly? Oh, do be careful where you step, wouldn't want you to fall down a rabbit hole now~ You'd end up in an entirely different world, someone else's dream, and its owner might think it rather rude of you to come barreling in like that without so much as a 'by your leave'. Not that you could help it— that door just sucked you in, gobbled you up and spat you back out here! Where in the world is exit? How do you get out of here? Why can't you wake up?
Best to team up in the meantime, you think. After all, there's safety in numbers, and some of these obstacles can't be gotten past alone. Of course, you could always try to go it alone! We wouldn't suggest it.
Best to team up in the meantime, you think. After all, there's safety in numbers, and some of these obstacles can't be gotten past alone. Of course, you could always try to go it alone! We wouldn't suggest it.
Might get messy.
You could die~
But who knows... You may wake up. Are you that desperate to get out of here? Are you willing to take the risk? Keep in mind, refunds not accepted! No one likes broken goods, too hard to sell again. Not worth the trouble. Besides, you'll miss the show~
Sometimes, you'll stumble across several strange spaces that don't seem to belong to anyone. They're odder, more surreal and otherworldly than anything you've seen so far. Fish swimming in flames that lick at broken, stained glass while flutes and harpsichords play in the background. Hundreds of voices echo through the air, speaking in different tongues, suffocating and welcoming at the same time. You recognize some, others are completely foreign, unknown despite the knowledge you hold. These are timeless worlds balanced upon hours on minutes on seconds, poised on the brink of the eternal and the transient.
Hark!
The
Animus.
Each individual Animus has their own Dreamscape, but you may only pass through them upon joining a group that meets the requirements. And what odd requirements they are... 'Party of six' is easy enough to understand, but 'look through new eyes'? What about this 'find new faces' directive? One thing is clear though— the Animus' obstacles can't be gotten past by yourself, nor is it possible to reach the exit without going through their doors. Whatever the requirements, working together is the only way to escape, and not always with your usual allies. Some of the challenges need conversational skills, others knowledge, or a mix of strength and frailty, idealism and cynicism— combinations are the only way to escape.
Dare you peek at your gods?
THE FINAL DREAM
Welcome to the Final Dream.
NAVIGATION
Character Dreamscape Plotting 1 || Character Dreamscape Plotting 2 || The Animus Gates || The Final Dream
THE LOGISTICS
1. By necessity, this is a city-wide event, but players who don't want to take part in the Dreamscape aspect can have their characters remain conscious in the city. There's a whole lot of bodies in the city at risk of dying sooner rather than later, and if someone is literally pulled apart and scattered among the Wastes, who knows how they'll ever revive? Someone's got to try to watch over them.
3. Interaction between characters in Dreamscapes will occur in logs as they are all offline and 'in person'. One log will basically equate to one character's Dreamscape (unless otherwise specified). Because this is a very nonlinear event, continuity is thrown even farther out the window than usual. We also encourage muns to branch out their CR as well! This would ICly make sense since memories of 'B' in 'A's Dreamscape would act as a portal for the viewer to go to 'B's Dreamscape. Mods may even come around to logs to encourage log/dream-hopping.
4. Think of your character being inside the Dreamscape as if he or she were in an RPG game. You start in one map/area (Dreamscape) and different portals (memories/doors) on that map take you to even more maps/areas to explore. Along the way, you need to fight monsters/solve puzzles/do quests with a party in order to continue on.
After wandering around so much, it’s frustrating to find yourself back in Teleos’ Dreamscape, but at least you’re with others from the city. Only this time, you can’t see Adstringendum from the windows. The view from them is empty space, as if you were standing at the edge of the universe, looking out at nothingness.
Absolute nonexistence. Can your mind handle it?
You don’t have time to worry about the fate of the city though, not when all the ground up glass around you is suddenly whirling in the air, glittering and somehow dangerous. Faster and faster they spin, shimmering sand cutting into your skin, slowly growing duller and duller until it is no longer glass that’s surrounding you...
...but rather stifling ash.
And you can’t help but breathe it in, no matter how you try to protect your nose and mouth. It’s like Pompeii, only without the fire and heat, and you’re suffocating, feeling your throat clogging up as you desperately try to draw in air even while knowing you’ll only take in more of that ash. Over the pounding of blood in your ears, you can hear bodies hitting the floor before you too join them in blissful unconsciousness and sink down into the darkness.
Deeper and deeper you fall...
Down a bottomless pit.
Lower and lower you tumble...
Towards an unfathomable emptiness.
Then you jerk awake, drenched in cold sweat, gasping for breath. It all just seems to be a bad dream, yet though your eyes are open, you still haven’t truly woken up. There’s still one more Dreamscape to get through—that of Saeclumda Cinis.
And not everyone is with you.
Character Dreamscape Plotting 1 || Character Dreamscape Plotting 2 || The Animus Gates || The Final Dream
1. By necessity, this is a city-wide event, but players who don't want to take part in the Dreamscape aspect can have their characters remain conscious in the city. There's a whole lot of bodies in the city at risk of dying sooner rather than later, and if someone is literally pulled apart and scattered among the Wastes, who knows how they'll ever revive? Someone's got to try to watch over them.
- a) If someone is "killed" or otherwise ejected from the Dreamscape before the end of the event, they would awaken to the Wastes-invaded city around them. Re-entering the Dreamscape would be impossible at this point— there's only taking care of the unconscious, and hoping it all ends soon.
- b) Oh, and trying to fend off the mutated amalgamations.
3. Interaction between characters in Dreamscapes will occur in logs as they are all offline and 'in person'. One log will basically equate to one character's Dreamscape (unless otherwise specified). Because this is a very nonlinear event, continuity is thrown even farther out the window than usual. We also encourage muns to branch out their CR as well! This would ICly make sense since memories of 'B' in 'A's Dreamscape would act as a portal for the viewer to go to 'B's Dreamscape. Mods may even come around to logs to encourage log/dream-hopping.
4. Think of your character being inside the Dreamscape as if he or she were in an RPG game. You start in one map/area (Dreamscape) and different portals (memories/doors) on that map take you to even more maps/areas to explore. Along the way, you need to fight monsters/solve puzzles/do quests with a party in order to continue on.
- a) The contents of each Dreamscape are determined by the player. The setting, the dangers, the obstacles, what memories or experiences are available is entirely up to what you want to do with it!
You've given us all this information about the event, but when is it, exactly?
January 9th, 2013 - January 23rd, 2013
What is the purpose of this event?
To promote branching of CR, cohesive gameplay through necessity of IC teamwork and interactions with the Animus. In other words, Adstring's been a bit quiet these past couple of months, so it's time to shake things up!
Can I opt out?
Of course! Keep in mind that if you do choose to opt out, your character will not be able to enter the Dreamscapes at any point in time afterwards.
Do character deaths in the Dreamscapes come with a death price?
Nope! Their only penalty is that they wake up in Adstringendum and are unable to access the dream world again.
Will characters remember everything that happened in the dream world?
That is entirely up to you! Your character can remember every single detail and know the event to have happened, think it was all just a really, really lucid dream, or only remember vague details. Think about your own dreams! Some stick with us forever while others just... fade.
When you're in someone's Dreamscape, are they aware of it?
Again, that is up to player discretion. The only obvious case is if the dreamer and the person whose Dreamscape they're in stumble upon each other in that Dreamscape.
January 9th, 2013 - January 23rd, 2013
What is the purpose of this event?
To promote branching of CR, cohesive gameplay through necessity of IC teamwork and interactions with the Animus. In other words, Adstring's been a bit quiet these past couple of months, so it's time to shake things up!
Can I opt out?
Of course! Keep in mind that if you do choose to opt out, your character will not be able to enter the Dreamscapes at any point in time afterwards.
Do character deaths in the Dreamscapes come with a death price?
Nope! Their only penalty is that they wake up in Adstringendum and are unable to access the dream world again.
Will characters remember everything that happened in the dream world?
That is entirely up to you! Your character can remember every single detail and know the event to have happened, think it was all just a really, really lucid dream, or only remember vague details. Think about your own dreams! Some stick with us forever while others just... fade.
When you're in someone's Dreamscape, are they aware of it?
Again, that is up to player discretion. The only obvious case is if the dreamer and the person whose Dreamscape they're in stumble upon each other in that Dreamscape.