TDM #1 - What Dreams May Come

[perchancetodreammods]

What Dreams May Come

Dream On

Welcome to the Dreamscape. A beautiful, endless dream where you and a bunch of other unique and interesting minds from across the multiverse have been gathered to connect, commiserate, and make the impossible... possible! There are many fantastical realms to explore and even more to come, and you are given your very own Nimbus Cloud to serve as your home. This puffy pink cloud will host a pocket dimension just for you where the only limit to what you can create is your own imagination. Missing personal items or locations from the waking world? No problem--- the only thing you have to do in order to earn feathers, the local currency, is make meaningful connections with others. In fact, making these meaningful connections seems to be the only task assigned to you by your mysterious host, the Outsider.

The only catch? You can't wake up until the Outsider wakes you. And it's not clear when that will be--- if ever.

Make your way in this ever-changing dream realm, find friends and allies to earn Feathers, and navigate strange and fantastical Dreamscape-wide events as you and your new neighbors try to unravel the mystery of what exactly the Outsider wants, and what it will take to escape the never-ending dream. The Outsider isn't just an NPC, either--- they're joining you on your adventures!

WHAT

The grand opening of Perchance to Dream!

WHEN

9/13/2022

QUICK NAV

Locations

Feather Info

The Outsider

I'm Only Sleeping

♫♪♩♬

When you go to sleep that night, it is like any other night. After a long day of living your life in the waking world, you dress down for the night, lie your weary head down, close your eyes, and begin to drift off, as you normally do. However, just as you are about to fall asleep, there is a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach that something has changed.

But you drift off nonetheless.

When you rise, you find yourself still in the same bed you went to sleep in, but that bed has been… transported, somehow, to a broad and otherwise empty room. Your feet hit the black marble floor, but even if they are bare, they don’t feel cold. Around you are tall arches, beyond which is a rich, pink, sunset sky, and fluffy clouds drifting lazily by, sometimes close enough that parts of them intrude on the room.

On one side of the room, there is a door. Tall and austere, it looms overhead, bearing a carving of a strange blue eye. You feel awake, yet you know you are dreaming. Never in your life have you had a dream like this, so breathtakingly lucid. You feel foreign here, but welcome, like a guest. It’s an odd feeling, but perhaps it is familiar.

At the foot of your bed, there is a note on a small black slip of paper, written in lavender ink. It’s addressed to you by name.

“If you want answers, come find me at the Torn Oak. Otherwise, make yourself at home. Welcome to the Dreamscape.

-The Outsider”

The only way out is through the door. When you exit it, it slams behind you, and is gone if you turn around. You begin to get the sense that you’re going to be here for a while.

The Dreaming Tree

♫♪♩♬

The first area that you come into contact with is a sprawling field of stark white vegetation under a deep purple sky. At the base of the hill upon which you stand, you can see a tree that is particularly large, that seems to be standing perfectly upright despite being torn completely in half just above the stump. A blue wooden door with a silver handle stands in the gap between the body of the three and the stump below. It seems this place has an interesting penchant for disembodied doors. Still, this is probably the “Torn Oak” referenced in the note from the room before.

Should you go in, you’ll find before you a fantastical structure that looks almost like a shrine--- four shimmering crystal pillars, a glass chandelier, and a pedestal with a glowing sphere swirling with light. And beside that, there stands a strange figure. A person with periwinkle skin and a long, slender body, draped in a cloak with golden eyes that moved and blinked. On their head, a pair of horns and a golden halo, and a pointed tail flicked around their ankles. They had three eyes, one seated up on their brow, all of which were that strange, eerie blue that the one carved into that large black door had been.

“Hello there!” They greet you cheerfully. “I’ve been expecting you. I’m sure you have questions!”

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

♫♪♩♬

The Outsider, your host, is more than happy to explain the purpose of this place. You are in the Dreamscape, a special pocket of the collective unconscious of the entire omniverse, and they’ve plucked the dreaming minds of a hand-picked selection of people out of their own dreams, to be here in this mystical place. They cannot tell you why, exactly, but they want you to make meaningful emotional, mental, and physical connections with other dreamers, particularly those who you do not know, and they’re willing to reward you for doing so.

Perhaps you want to get started on collecting right away. The Outsider has kindly informed you that the best way to do this is to go and make some new friends. The likelihood that you’ll find another dreamer or two walking around the grassy knoll outside the Torn Oak or heading up or down the colossal escalator leading up into the sky itself is pretty high. Perhaps you’ll even find someone who wants to walk with you over to the Glass Lake, where the water’s surface can be walked on to get a better view of the Rainbow Koi. For some reason, no matter how many people go there or how inviting it seems, no one else besides you and the person or people you went with ever seems to be anywhere around, making it surprisingly private.

Sleepwalking

♫♪♩♬

If the immediate area doesn’t strike your fancy and you’re looking for some other options, you might consider heading to the Barren Freeway. The long stretch of paved road is oppressively isolating and terribly eerie, but it can lead to so many other places, be they strange, temporary locations from the corners of your mind that disappear when you leave, or the Twisted City itself.

Bustling and full of life, there is always something to do or see in the Twisted City. Restaurants, shops, night life, libraries, parks--- and it almost looks like a normal town, if you can ignore the bubbles in the sky, uncanny structures in the street, and the fact that nothing ever seems to stay in the same spot. Though if you get lost and need to get back to the Freeway, the Submarineway has a stop right by there. Maybe in the process of finding your way, you can find a friend.

Comments

[fromtheoutside]

"Is that so? I shall consider this, when deciding if I feel particularly bonded with," they teased, heading back toward the entrance. "Come on, let me show you to your Nimbus Cloud."

[flippantwizard]

Ugh. More walking. Taako sighed loudly and theatrically, but still followed along. "Oh boy, my own personal cloud. You got a fully stocked kitchen on that thing?" THEY BETTER.

[fromtheoutside]

"You'll see!"

Once they left the Torn Oak, the Outsider hung a left, down a short hill to what was very clearly a great expanse of absolutely nothing aside from a comically enormous escalator that led up into the sky, not connected to anything in particular. They gestured to it. "After you."

[flippantwizard]

Taako huffed, sending hair aflutter as he did so, and while he was very clearly grumping and groaning the entire way, he followed because, fuck, what else was he gonna do? This was the most interesting thing happening around here.

"Oh no, I insist, after you." He said, giving the escalator a suspicious look. "I'm not walking face first into a trap. That's Magnus's deal."

[fromtheoutside]

"If you insist," they agreed, stepping onto the escalator completely unfazed.

[flippantwizard]

If he stepped onto that escalator and got eaten by the stairs or something so help him the Outsider would never hear the end of it even while he was being gobbled up. Taako stepped onto it after they were on, gently tapping his umbrella against the step. "So we all live on clouds, huh? You know, I've been to the realm of the gods and they do the same shit. You sure I'm not just dead?"

[fromtheoutside]

"I wouldn't be able to talk to you if you were dead," they said. "I can see and occasionally act in the waking world, but the realm of the dead is beyond my reach."

[flippantwizard]

"Oh good. Dying in my sleep is ideal, but definitely the most boring option. Taako has to go out with style." He waved his hand in the air, arching like a rainbow above his head. It should be said, also, that he was totally checking out the Outsider's backside while ascending the escalator. Not bad. At least the view here was nice. "So, like, what's the point - you get off on watching people bond or something?"

[fromtheoutside]

The Outsider frowned lightly at the question, pausing to try and figure out how to answer that. "It's... data collection," they replied vaguely, before turning to a particular cloud.

"This one is yours," they explained. "Step inside and it will show you your dreams."

[flippantwizard]

"You're going to need to be more specific, puddin'. Data collection for what? Because I don't appreciate identity theft." Of his own identity anyway.

Taako hesitantly stepped inside. And if it really was his dreams, he'd be seeing a king size canopy bed with silken sheets, shelves full of books, and a fully stocked kitchen that borderline looked like the set of a cooking show. Also, like, a treasure chest full of jewels or some shit.

[fromtheoutside]

It would be so inside, but the cloud let out into a lawn area, which would allow Taako to see the exterior of his new home. Perhaps a glamorous cottage with a stunning garden? Whatever the case may be, the Outsider used this opportunity to distract Taako from the question. "Shall we go inside?"

[flippantwizard]

"Cottagecore. Nice. I'll have to update my pinterest." He would use the excuse of having an extravagant and hearty garden for fresh vegetables, obviously, but he knew deep in his heart it was some homage to Merle. Maybe the cottage was Magnus inspired, even. Rustic. Gross he was going to start getting sappy if he thought too hard and before you know it his new home would ignite in honor of his sister or some shit.

Anyway. Taako noted the distinct lack of an answer and filed it away to ask later. Multiple times. "I suppose I should be a decent guest and check it out. Make sure everything's in order." He opened the door, ready for some kind of ambush, and when he found none, he just sort of stood stupidly in the doorway for a second. "Huh."

[fromtheoutside]

"Do you like it?" they asked, eager despite how difficult Taako had been. Even with their previous bickering, it was clear that their desire to please was genuine.

[flippantwizard]

Taako rolled a hot 7 on his insight check, so he totally believes it! "Yeah." He said almost absently, catching himself a second later as he strode over to the kitchen to run his fingers along the surface. "Mm. I mean, the lighting is alright, pantry looks stocked..." He turned to face the Outside, hands on his hips. "Yeah. Yeah - this'll do."

[fromtheoutside]

The Outsider's smile widened, pleased by this. "You like cooking very much, I take it."

[flippantwizard]

"You could say that." he said haughtily, a hand on his chest. "I just had a little show you might have heard about - Sizzle It Up With Taako. You know, the one on TV? Greatest chef in all of the planes. Not to brag or anything." He said, while bragging. "Want me to whip you up a nice Quiche Lorraine? Hm. Actually, you strike me as more a Potatoes Dauphinoise type. Am I right?"

[fromtheoutside]

"To be frank, I don't often eat at all. No need, after all. But there's nothing stopping me either, I suppose," they mused, humming with thought. "Well, regardless, I've never had either, but I'll be happy to try anything you make. If your cooking prowess is what you say, it should be a treat."

[flippantwizard]

Taako set a hand to his forehead and seemed to wobble, almost like he was on the verge of fainting. "Oh, darling, you haven't lived! Sit. Sit!" He flapped his hands at The Outsider to encourage them to sit down. "I usually don't do this for free, but the kind, generous Taako will let it slide this one time. Now watch a master work."

[fromtheoutside]

The Outsider chuckled, surprisingly warm. They couldn't recall the last time any being went out of their way to be kind to them. It was... nice. Nicer than they knew how to express.

Taking a seat at a nearby island counter, they perched their chin on their hands. "Alright, alright. I shall just sit here and appreciate the spectacle, then, shall I?"

[flippantwizard]

Wow. The bar sure is in hell, huh?

"Yes. Sit back, relax, and watch a master at work." With that, Taako put on an apron and set to work, making quite the spectacle of chopping potatoes, grating various cheeses, and sprinkling in plenty of spices like rosemary and thyme and -- "The secret, darling, is a hint of nutmeg. Just a little, mmm, dash to really heighten the cheese profile." He said as he spun over to the Outsider, making a show of adding said nutmeg. Skipping the boring baking part, he eventually produced a savory, cheesy potato dish and served them a hearty helping, leaning over the counter to watch them eat. "Welllll?"

[fromtheoutside]

The Outsider leaned against the counter while they waited, though when he got into the intricacies of seasoning, their floating midsection raised a few inches to give them a better view. They were an appreciator of art, and while they had not thought of it as much before, cooking did resemble art in some ways. As well as science. As a being with no need for food, they had never seen fit to take an interest in it, but perhaps they could be persuaded.

Then, before too long, the dish was in front of them. They lifted their fork and took a bite, eyebrows raising. "Mmm!" They nodded their approval. "This is delightful! What did you call this?"

[flippantwizard]

"Potatoes Dauphinoise, darling." He said, elbows propped on the counter, palms on his cheeks while he watch them eat. He knew it would be amazing - he was Taako, after all. "So what would you say? 5 out of 5 stars?"

[fromtheoutside]

The Outsider breathed a laugh at the pose. "Maybe even six! Thank you for this, Taako. I do believe you've earned this."

Reaching out their hand, they produced the feather from earlier, along with a second. "Technically you should only get one, but I can give out bonuses if I like."

[flippantwizard]

"Oh, hell yeah!" Taako exclaimed excitedly as he reached for the feathers. "That's what Taako's talking about." If cooking bomb ass meals was the best way to earn feathers, he was going to be rolling in em.

"Come here, boo. I got something else for you." And if the Outsider leaned in closer, Taako would hoist up on the counter and kiss their cheek.

[fromtheoutside]

Amused and curious, the Outsider did lean in, and upon receiving a kiss to their cheek, looked back at Taako in surprise. A warm smile and a slight blush rose to their face, and they laughed. "What was that for?"