TDM #6 - Planned Outage

[perchancetodreammods]

TDM #6 - Planned Outage

Pardon Our Dust

Things are a little odd in the Dreamscape at the moment! Typically, newcomers are met with beautiful scenery, a note inviting them to come speak to the Dreamscape's host, an explanation about where they are, and a handy Constellation pendant connecting them to the rest of their new neighbors. But this time, there is something odd afoot, and nothing here to help you make sense of your new surroundings if you've just gotten here. Don't worry, though, it will all make sense soon! Hopefully! Just hang tight. More details to follow... probably? Oh dear.

​

This is our second Crisis Event, and as such, things are a little different from our usual fare! Details for entry will be in the prompts below, as the rules are a little different from our standard TDMs. There's also usually pictures.

DATE

2/12/2023 (ICly intended to begin 2/15/23, posted early because I love you)

THEME

Crisis Event!

QUICK NAV

Locations

Feather Info

The Outsider

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programming

Valentine’s Day comes and goes, and the romantic atmosphere that the Dreamscape had taken on has dwindled after a good long month as the seasonal excitement begins to dwindle. Those who have been here for a while and are familiar with the Outsider’s antics will no doubt be wondering when and what the next big thing will be. They tend to begin a new and exciting project shortly after the previous one ends. However, regardless of how long you’ve been here, the announcement arriving today will more than likely come as a surprise.

A jingle plays from your Constellation pendant, and a stream of light pours from the little star. A suspended screen of light hangs in midair, displaying the Outsider. A video message.

To Bring You This Message From Our Sponsor

“Hello again, my friends!” The Outsider smiled, albeit a bit anxiously. “I hope that those of you who attended had a lovely holiday, however you chose to celebrate it. I do have a rather important bit of news to share, and it’s regarding a somewhat… unique… situation, so please listen carefully, as I will be starting the process shortly after this announcement.”

“Those of you who were here in early January might recall a certain mishap.” There were many words for the dream-shattering event that took place at the beginning of January. “Mishap” was certainly an interesting choice. Anyway, “Ever since that incident occurred, I have been working diligently to find the source of the problem and rebuild a stronger, safer, happier Dreamscape for all of us. While normally I have never fully lost control of my domain in that way, I’ve also never created anything as large scale or structured as this Dreamscape before, so all of this is new territory for me. As such, at this time, I think the best course of action would be for me to rebuild most of the Dreamscape from scratch, as much as I can without putting all of you into unmanageable conditions or giving you the boot.”

“What I intend to do is to shut down all non-essential functions. The outer structure that keeps the Dreamscape intact and separate from the Greater Illogic, the Nimbus Clouds, and parts of the Torn Oak will remain active. The rest of the Dreamscape will be--- well, a blank slate. You may find this alarming at first, but I assure you it is part of the process. While I am gone, many of the normal functionalities of the Dreamscape, including restrictions, will be non-operational. This means that in all communal areas of the Dreamscape, you all will collectively have as much control over the environment as you do your own Nimbus Cloud. So, feel free to experiment and paint the town, or lack thereof, red! Just be cautious with what you imagine, as I will not be available to correct any issues, and be respectful of one another.”

“Unfortunately I will need to be outside of the Dreamscape for this process, and thus will be unreachable, but I’m certain you all will be just fine. Have fun, be safe, and I will see you all soon!”

And then, without any further ado, the display cuts out, and the Dreamscape goes with it.

Have You Tried Turning it Off and Back On Again?

Before you can even process what’s going on, the world around you begins to break apart into tiny fragments and fall away like a dissolve effect on a bad Powerpoint. As promised, you are in very short order left standing in an empty white void. It’s a bit disorienting, hard to even tell what constitutes as the “floor” in this situation, though after a moment your brain adjusts. If you aren’t thinking too hard about it, you can almost see a flat plane of a slightly different shade of white that serves as your walking surface. The Torn Oak, with its blanched trunk and periwinkle leaves, and the cluster of fluffy pink Nimbus Clouds are all that remain. The Twisted City, the Barren Freeway, the Glass Lake, the forest, the sea, the mountain--- everything else is gone. Everything beyond the few remaining amenities appears to be just a blank, white void that goes on forever.

You have a few options here. You could retreat to your Nimbus Cloud, or take this opportunity to visit that of a friend. After all, there’s usually too much going on in the Dreamscape to spend much time dawdling around at home, so this could be a good time to visit one another. You could also explore the Torn Oak. There’s not much to it right now, but the Outsider is away and this might be an opportunity to wander their unusual home unsupervised.

Or, if you’re feeling creative, you can take this once-in-a-lifetime chance to manipulate the Dreamscape--- with no restrictions. No wish required. Rebuild places from your waking world, create impossible feats of architecture or luxurious amenities, have an adventure of your own making, or just dream up nonsense. Truly the only limitation is what you can imagine. However, when shaping the Dreamscape, take care not to let your mind stray, as you may inadvertently create something out of a nightmare.

​

Aside from continuing to observe the blacklist and common-sense trigger warning guidelines, there is no restriction on what can happen in the Dreamscape. Create your own fun, or a disaster. The choice is yours. However, the Outsider will not be available to be contacted in relation to this event and will not return until March 1st.

Just Passing Through

Another interesting effect of this little procedure is that the barrier between the Dreamscape and the rest of the dreams of every sentient being in the multiverse is now far thinner. Normally, the Outsider hand-selects everyone whose consciousness is brought into the Dreamscape, but at the moment, it seems just anyone can end up here. Perhaps you are one such member of the unfiltered rabble. (No offense, of course.)

Instead of landing where most newcomers do, you’ll find yourself wandering through a version of a certain H.C Escher art piece that is done up in pink marble tile and wrought iron. Take a staircase or find a door, any door, to be released into the strange white void from a disembodied door perched on the stump of a blanched oak tree, while the severed trunk and canopy of blue leaves loom impossibly overhead. Without the normal orientation for new arrivals, you are on your own. No personal cloud, no instructions, no explanations. Just a beautiful, terrifying tree and a bright, blank world. Maybe someone here can tell you what’s going on.

​

New arrivals entering the Dreamscape during the Planned Outage crisis event do not need to abide by normal universe rules. They do not have their own Nimbus Cloud or Constellation pendant, do not require a plot reason to be here, and are not subject to normal restrictions. They can be doubles of existing characters, can ignore cast caps, and can wake up and disappear at any time. They don’t even have to ever figure out that they are in a collective dream. They may ask to remain in the Dreamscape after the event, get stuck by accident, or disappear entirely! Additionally, this is a great time to canon-update your characters by having them wake up and come back later in their canon.

Mod Note: Feather Leaderboard

Hello friends! Earlier I made an announcement regarding a Feather Leaderboard that we'll be launching next week, and the March 1st event, which will definitely benefit from folks knowing how many feathers their characters have. If you haven't read that yet, it's pretty brief, but the gist is that the feather tracker spreadsheet is available now and we'll be checking it on Feb. 22nd to establish the leaderboard and announcing the winners with the plotting post for the March event!

The prize for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place is a special RP prompt for just those characters and a friend of their choosing, plus bragging rights, of course!

UNRELATED NOTE: I am posting this TDM a few days in advance, meaning it slightly overlaps with last month's Valentine's TDM. I would like to note that while ICly the prompts here state that the event is over, the feather bonus that was in place for Valentine's day is still in effect until Feb 15th OOCly, so you can still collect on Valentine's day threads started between now and then!

Comments

Princess Peach || OTA!

[peachiekeen]

The Outsider had created a uniquely interesting situation here.

They had wiped the slate completely clear, taken away all restrictions, and given everyone--- but specifically, Princess Peach Toadstool, the opportunity to create whatever pleased her with no limitations or rules?

This Dreamscape will never know what hit it!

Finding herself a nice big plot of nothing, Peach set her imagination to work. No one she'd ever spoken to here had ever seen a world quite like her own, and one of the most frequent comments she got was that others would love to see it. So, she'd let them do just that! With no limits to what she could dream up, she could even create dozens of little dream-Toads to fill the space, and gladly did so, turning a gaggle of guards and citizens loose as the red-roofed ivory towers of Castle Toadstool began to emerge from the stretch of bright and freshly-manicured grass she'd created as a base. A stained glass window of her own visage adorned the center of the castle, a gift from her parents when they'd left her in charge of the kingdom. Marble tiles and filigreed wall panels adorned the halls of her palace, with pastel pink floral decorations on as many surfaces as appropriate.

Beyond that, Toad Town began to take shape, with mushroom-shaped buildings and tudor-style houses with brightly-colored roof shingles beginning to crop up along cobblestone paths. All manner of creatures roamed the streets--- more Toads, Koopas, Bob-ombs, even a few friendly Goombas. The crystal gate, with a big gold star encrusted into it, was propped open, allowing direct access from the town into the castle courtyard. The town was ready for visitors! Only one thing left to do.

Anyone with a Constellation pendant shortly thereafter received a message to their inbox from Princess Peach, whether they knew her personally or not, inviting them to a tea party at her castle. With cake! Care to RSVP?

Beatrix @ Peach

[wildfirecatcafe]

It's not every day a literal princess invites you to a tea party. How could Beatrix possibly turn that down?

Easily.

It was a rhetorical question, Jo! Anyway a real tea party with real people is gonna have way more depth than playing with our sister's dolls when we were five did. ... Probably. ... And if not, at least there'll be real cake.

Or dream cake.

Still realer than the plastic toy cake!

And 100% less likely to send us to the hospital. ... oh wait, real food can still do that sometimes. Well, 99% less likely at least.

Do they even have a hospital in this place?

Presumably it's out of commission at the moment like everything else, but I'm sure someone will dream one back up if it's needed.

... this typical mental conversation of tangents upon tangents continued in this vein as Beatrix texted back a quick We'd be absolutely delighted to attend your party and dreamt up... oh, let's go with a pair of roller skates today.

You've tried roller skates before. Are we also dreaming up an improved sense of balance?

Obviously~

And thus they skated off to Peach's patch of dreamspace.

[peachiekeen]

Thankfully, the smooth round hills paved with warm brown pathways leading up to the castle were just perfect for a pair of roller skates. The tricky part would be dodging all the Toads! The cute little mushroom-folk milling about town and going about their business clocked in at about waist height for the average humanoid and seemed to be very invested in their own business (seeing as they were dreamed up and not really alive in this case), so it was easy to run into them.

Peach herself was sitting at the fountain just inside the castle grounds, waiting to greet her earliest guests, and smiled as Beatrix entered the gate, waving. "Yoohoo! Hello there! Over here!"

[wildfirecatcafe]

Beatrix is weaving smoothly through the Toads... well, almost smoothly. She does look a tad unbalanced --

-- and then her concentration is broken by Peach's call. Beatrix turns toward Peach to respond, and the moment she looks away from where she's going she runs into a Toad she hadn't spotted and tumbles end-over-end, landing in a tangled heap.

"Ahaha, ow."

... I was skeptical, but that managed to work even less well than I was expecting.

Yeah, yeah, you told me so. Beatrix stands up and brushes herself off. "Hey there!" she calls, not quite sure the 'correct' way to address Peach.

[peachiekeen]

"Oh my goodness!" Peach clasped her hands to the sides of her face at Beatrix's fall, rushing over to help her up. "Goodness me, are you alright? That was quite a tumble!"

[wildfirecatcafe]

"Oh yeah, I'm good," Beatrix says, accepting Peach's assistance gratefully. "We dreamed up some immunity to fall damage earlier, since apparently people can just dream things up at will right now. Also we tripped over cats a lot back home, so we kinda got used to the occasional pratfall.

"... usually not quite as spectacular as that one was, admittedly."

[peachiekeen]

"Oh, I know how that is," she agreed. "I can be pretty clumsy myself, so I tend to take small steps so as not to step on my own petticoat and fall on my face in front of the whole kingdom!"

[wildfirecatcafe]

"I could take small steps and avoid falling, but then I wouldn't be able to try out these cool skates!" Beatrix tilts her head thoughtfully. "Though I suppose it's different when one has an entire kingdom watching."

Simon Torquill

[uselessdandy]

While recent events had left Simon feeling even more raw than he had after showing October why he'd done what had to her and that was quite a feat (although, he supposed, that may well have been because he didn't have the need to keep his guards up so much against a vindictive First here), and the message and wiping of the world send hi fleeing back to his Nimbus to bury himself in entirely pointless alchemy practice, the invitation that lights up his pendant makes him smile. Even if it is from a stranger, old instincts from what feels like another man's life make him inclined to trust anyone who's first thought when allowed to remake part of the world to their liking is inviting the land to tea.

Taking more care than he had in decades with dressing himself in one of the finer charcoal gray suits that had materialized in his room in recent weeks, actually bothering with tidying his hair so it didn't look like he had been dragged through a succession of rosebushes, he set out the way the message had indicated, the tension in his chest seeming to grow looser with each step.

When he came in sight of what he could only compare to a pixie colony grown large (although the..creatures? Inhabitants? were like nothing he had seen in Faerie, which was quite a thing in itself), he felt himself breaking into a grin in a way he hadn't in…well, no matter, his delight only growing as he followed the path through the grounds.

"Oh, this is magnificent work," he spoke mostly to himself, but his voice was loud enough that the creator and holder of this place could likely hear if they were near.

[peachiekeen]

"Thank you!" Peach had been sitting on the ledge of the fountain in the front garden of the castle, close enough to hear his musing as she got up to greet him. She offered him a gloved hand. "Welcome! I'm so glad you could come by. I'm Princess Peach! And you?"

[uselessdandy]

Simon's eyes widened for a brief moment, shocked not by her voice or appearance but how casual the woman before him seemed in contrast to her title. His dealings with his progenitor and the puppet she'd installed in the Mists had almost made him forget that nobles higher than himself could be people.

He gathered himself quickly though, "But of course; it would be dreadful manners to decline an invitation to tea if I didn't have anything truly important to attend to." He took her hand, inclining himself in a short bow. Perhaps it wasn't strictly necessary here, but he wouldn't shame his parents' memories by treating her title without respect. Then, societal obligation filled, looked about again as he rose, "And--ah, are these all representatives of your subjects, then?"

[peachiekeen]

Peach smiled at the bow. How polite! She personally wasn't particular and was happy to let others decide with what level of formality they wanted to greet her.

"They are!" she replied. "They're just little dream people right now, sadly, but this is a replica of the castle town within the Toadstool Kingdom, my home! I'm sure you can see where the name comes from." She giggled at her own joke.

[uselessdandy]

Simon laughed--short, but true, a thing he was still surprised he was capable of even in a dream. "Indeed. It does make quite a lot more sense than the names of many holdings where I'm from. I don't think anyone in Angels has actually ever seen anything of the sort." Well, it was possible in Faerie, but not likely.

He tipped his head as he continued to examine the ideas of her people. "I must say, it's a pleasant thing to see a ruler who thinks so well of people who are so different in appearance if nothing else that she would want to have even just the idea of them around her when given the ability."

And if he's making cutting comments about the nobility of his own home--well, none of them are here to defend themselves, or at the very least defend their bigotry.

[peachiekeen]

"Oh, yes, I know things like that are quite prevalent elsewhere," she agreed sadly. It hurt her heart to think of such things. "But considering I'm actually a minority here, I think it'd be hypocritical of me to judge my people on such differences. There are very, very few humans where I live. I can name all of the humans I've even seen without much effort."

Re: Princess Peach || OTA!

[crystalmaster]

Radley comes, of course! He looks around in fascination as he arrives. "Wow, this is quite a place," he greets. "It's beautiful. What are all these animals called?"

[peachiekeen]

"Hi Radley!" Peach was, of course, pleased to see her friend. "Oh, these? They're not animals, they're people! These little fellows walking around the castle are called Toadstools, or just Toads for short. The turtle-folk are called Koopas, the round black ones are called Bob-ombs, and the little brown mushrooms are called Goombas."

[crystalmaster]

"Oh, really? Cool," Radley smiles. Walking toadstools and mushrooms ... and sentient bombs?

"Do the uh ... Bob-ombs explode?"

[peachiekeen]

"Sometimes!" she replied cheerfully, failing to elaborate. "Would you like to come inside?"

[crystalmaster]

Radley stares in shock. Yeah, he'd probably rather not know more, unless he's in danger.

"Sure," he smiles, going to the doors.

[peachiekeen]

Peach happily followed him in, allowing the Toads at the entrance to draw back the doors. Inside, she had the foyer all set up with delicately decorated tables and flowery china tea sets. A few guest had already arrived, including some of her own little dream friends. She led the way to the largest table, and two of her staff pulled out chairs for herself and for Radley.

"Do you know what kind of tea you like? I have a selection!" She was clearly a practiced hostess.

[crystalmaster]

Radley wasn't a huge tea fan, but he did like raspberry and was open to trying other kinds.

"What kinds do you have?" he asked with a smile as he sat down.

Harry Du Bois

[deadmansdisco]

Scared nearly half to death by a charm he hadn't even known was there (or hadn't yet been observant enough to notice), the message was read, loud and clear. Of course, in a dream, there would be an invitation from a princess to a tea party. What sounded about normal, as far as he could tell.

Sure, Harry was still getting his bearings, and could probably stand to figure things out like where he was staying, if he knew anyone here, what exactly brought him here, etc (having been awfully busy, he still hadn't even met the host! Awkward!).

But then again, who could turn down a tea party?

Having straightened himself up as much as possible, he wasted little time hurrying along until the starkly empty landscape gave way to a brightly-colored town, and the equally-colorful castle peering over all of it.

He would've been a liar if he said he wasn't giddy at the opportunity, no matter how bizarre, but he tried to play it as cool as possible as he drew closer, spotting a tall woman in what may have been the pinkest dress he'd ever seen in his entire life. Meeting the royalty right away! He was really moving up in the world.

A short wave, and he hurried over, the grin on his face turning a bit sheepish as he approached.

"Hi! Are you Princess Peach, from the message earlier?" (Did he feel ridiculous asking? Absolutely! But considering there could've been other royal family members, better safe than sorry and all that.)

A hand offered to shake. "Harry! Nice to meet you," A short pause, and the gears visibly turned a notch in his head, before he quickly tacked on, "Your Highness."

[peachiekeen]

Peach would confess to... a little bit of surprise when she saw Harry enter the gates--- a haggard man that she didn't recognize, looking profoundly worse for wear and dressed like someone from New Donk City had lost a fight with both a Chain Chomp and several bottles of liquor. He looked, for lack of better words, happy in a sad way. She quickly brushed off her surprise in favor of being welcoming, rising from her seat on the edge of her white marble fountain to accept his handshake graciously.

"That's me!" she replied to his question. "Nice to meet you, Harry! You must be new, I don't think we've met before. When did you arrive?"

[deadmansdisco]

The surprise she wore wasn't anything he was unused to, at this point, but at least it didn't come with any concerned questions. Maybe he'd finally gotten himself straightened up well enough after all! (Absolutely not, but a man could dream.)

"Just got into town!" He grinned, but mulled on that, taking a glance to the sprawling nothingness that spanned outside of her little kingdom.

"Well... not just, but recently," He elaborated. "Enough that I'm still trying to catch up on meeting everyone and seeing the sights. ...Since are a little different than they were when I got here, though!"

[peachiekeen]

"Oh yes, this outage is quite strange, isn't it?" Peach mused. "But it's for the best, and it's quite fun, isn't it? Anyway, come on in!"

She waved him into the castle, and just inside, the main foyer was full of tables, each with a tea set. Several other dreamers had already come to join her, but she ushered Harry to her own table. "Do you know what sort of tea you like?"