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

[capthardness]

Normally, the lack of any outright rejection would have Jack pressing the guy about what other kind of costumes he would be interested in seeing Jack try on for him. But this is…well, okay, it would be pretty normal by Torchwood standards, but that wasn't saying much. Still, he shuts Captain Innuendo away for the moment as he listens.

When Neil finishes, he lets out a low whistle. "Boy, can't imagine what that must've been like to deal with when you were younger. Hope you had someone to help you get some kind of handle on it. Good to know you're not using it for evil, though."

Of course the guy could be lying, but at least for now Jack's going to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Okay, long story short--and this is really not an expert explanation, I'm probably going to miss a lot--we're all in…a collective dream. Usually--or at least I think it's the usual protocol, I've only been around a bit myself--we all get a personal invite. But the person in charge is doing some kind of cosmic reset on the place right now, guess something pretty big broke pretty bad a little while back and they're doing clean up. My best guess is a couple doors that usually locked up got let open during the reboot, making it easier for you to just slip in."

[itsjustabaddream]

Piecing together what he knows about dreams and his access to them with Jack's explanation, he nods slowly as he begins to understand. "I'd say your theory's probably spot on," he agrees, beginning to light up. "Oh, this is just fascinating! I've never come across anything like this before. An interdimensional collective dream run by an accomplished dream-weaver. Absolutely amazing." As he enthuses, he lets his eyes wander, like a little boy just turned loose in FAO Schwartz, but they snap back to Jack. "Do you think they'll let me stay if I ask?"

[capthardness]

Watching Neil's expression as he takes in his words, Jack can't help thinking for a moment of Toshiko whenever she figures out what something that's come through the Rift actually is and how it works, that brilliant mind that still thinks their job is exciting and some things in the universe are still beautiful despite it all.

That can be a real dangerous mindset to stick to, as Jack knows too well, but he'll take optimism and excitement over…well, what Suzie turned into.

He laughs, not unkindly, as Neil starts to look around more. "Well, I don't know the person who runs things all that well beyond what they call themselves--'the Outsider', not sure if that's a name or title, or maybe a translation of a name or title--but they seem to welcome all types, and seeing as they're the ones who left the door open, can't see why they'd kick you out if you want to hang around." His smile softens to something a bit less flirty, thinking of the times it's been quiet and he's been able to talk with someone on the team about the culture something relatively harmless came from, maybe even a letter or piece of art.

"Besides, it'd be a real shame if you didn't get to see this place when it's not an almost literal blank slate. There was this gorgeous garden when I got here, more like a big park really, had plants from…everywhere, maybe even places that don't actually exist."

[itsjustabaddream]

"Outsider," he parrots, bringing a hand to his chin. "Outside of what, I wonder? A name like that implies they must feel terribly lonely. Perhaps that's the reason for this place to exist. A butterfly net in which to capture and collect friends."

Well-meaning, but inadvertently creepy.

[capthardness]

Jack had considered all kinds of things about the Outsider's motives in their brief exchange before he arrived--being Torchwood, heck just being a paranoid ex-con man, he couldn't not. But also being someone who had traveled with the Doctor and tried to reform at least one part of Torchwood to be kinder when it had the chance, he had tried to give the benefit of the doubt.

"Well, I don't know if it's the case with everyone, but I at least got a…offer, I guess. But then again, I was kind of dying at the time."

Of course, Jack doesn't see the need to go into that, and he's gotten damn good at not going into that. "But if I understood the spiel I was given, they're mostly looking for help building this place up. Picking our brains a bit more literally for decorating tips. But think given the unusual nature of your arrival, they'd be happy to send you on home if you wanted. Which would be understandable, most folks don't handle unintended trips to pocket dimensions that well. Definitely up to you, but" he puts The Captain's grin back on, "you definitely won't hear me complaining about getting the chance to see more of you if you do decide to stick around."

[itsjustabaddream]

"Leave?" Neil seems appalled at the idea. "Why would I want to leave? This is fascinating! I'm a dream-walker, by nature and by trade, this is--- quite literally a culmination of my life's work. It would be an honor to stay, even if just to observe!" He's emphatic--- he wasn't offended by Jack's suggestion, but it has sent him into an impassioned rant, which he curtails when he catches himself, laughing.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to get so riled up. I'm just very, very interested in this sort of thing," he explains. "What I mean to say is, I would call this a happy accident, and I would love to stay. Besides, I believe I owe you a drink."

[capthardness]

Jack just stands back with a faint warm smile while Neil's gushing. It makes him think of the best days with all of the team and with the Doctor, when they'd found something new and beautiful that they knew more about than anybody else and could go on for hours about.

It's the kind of thing that keeps him believing, no matter how many awful things the Rift and the rest of the universe tosses out, that the universe and most of the people within it are good. It's stuff like that that has kept him from just shutting himself in the vaults sometimes.

"Hey, don't apologize for getting passionate about your work. Unless your work actually hurts other people, that's the kinda stuff I love to see in people. I'm sure at least two of my coworkers back home would have been picking your brain for hours if they had a chance."

Then he tips his head, the smile growing a bit more lecherous. "Well, considering I didn't even have to get rid of some nasty nightmare for you, not sure I've done much to earn it, but I am the absolute last person to turn a good looking guy offering to get me a drink."

[itsjustabaddream]

"Oh, no, my work isn't to harm," Neil explains. "I'm a dream therapist. I use my dream-walking abilities to help people overcome fear and trauma that plagues their dreams, to help them sleep better and heal. If that makes sense."

His own mouth quirks into a similar smile. "Oh, so you think I'm good-looking. That's good to know," he teases. "I suppose all there is to do now is imagine ourselves a good bar, no?"

[capthardness]

As Neil explains his work, Jack feels a small, terrified thing he has spent over a century keeping so deep in the shadows of his mind that he can't even see it most of the time try to take a step out of the dark. But he knows better than to prod at Neil, let alone bring up the possibility of setting down something he deserves to carry for eternity if that's how long the universe decides to keep him around. He shoves the memory of a crying teenage boy back where it belongs that dazzling smile that has kept so many people from trying to figure out what it's hiding.

"Think? Oh, I know you are, and if you don't, I've got some serious concerns for the eyesight of everyone else you've been hanging around. Now, the only question is if you're more comfortable in a pub or a big band kinda place, because I've got enough of both knocking around my head to help get either of 'em in place."