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]

Well, you're very much in luck--- Our commencement festival is just about to begin. You may also travel to the Twisted City, as many of your new neighbors are exploring there. If you turn left out of my home, it is a ways in that direction.

[ They smiled, thankful for his understanding. Sometimes introductions could be... a bit of a battle. ]

[intelinside]

Great, thank you. [That about the festival, and Mason works on finishing up his coffee as the Outsider gives their suggestions -- he doesn't want to potentially overstay a welcome, and also the coffee is frankly very good.]

I'll take a look around and see who I can meet. I appreciate the explanation. Are we going to be seeing you around, too?

[fromtheoutside]

Of course! [ They beamed at the question, pleased to feel wanted. ] And you can typically find me here, if you need me, and I am capable of receiving messages, should you choose to keep a computer in your personal quarters. As I'm sure you would prefer to. When you're ready, I'll gladly show you where you'll be staying.

[intelinside]

I thought you might. If you want to learn about connecting with people, that's a good plan. [Either the Outsider was an amazing actor (not impossible, he knew more than one amazing actor) or he was lonely, because he was certainly responding to patience and friendliness that way.] I would like a computer -- you're obviously on top of things, so I assume the Dreamscape has ways of providing for us. Is there any kind of currency here?

[He gets up, setting down his empty cup as he says that.] I'm ready now if you have the time.

[fromtheoutside]

The feathers I showed you earlier are the primary currency. You won't need to buy necessities, of course, and you'll be well accommodated in your Nimbus Cloud.

[ They stand, making their way to the door and talking as they walk. ]

Due to it being a dream, you do not need to eat, but doing so will not harm you either, and as such food will not need to be paid for, and your personal Nimbus Cloud can be manipulated to your desires, though most objects cannot be removed from it.

[intelinside]

So they're currency as well as magic? [Or, well, Wishes. Dream manipulation. That made a certain amount of sense.] That's a lot more generous of you than the world I come from.

[He follows them, a bit behind to let them lead, to the side once they're out the door to make it feel more personable.]

And I'm guessing we won't need to sleep while we're asleep? [He smiles at his own phrasing.] So our Nimbus Clouds are our homes here. Are there any limits to the ways they can be manipulated? Other than not taking things out of them.

[fromtheoutside]

You can if you like! But no, there is no need. Some may like it for a sense of routine, though, and it does still have the benefit of allowing the mind to rest.

[ They began leading Mason the short distance from the Torn Oak to the main escalator--- a preposterously tall and seemingly under-supported structure leading up into open sky. ]

No, there are no real limits to how the Nimbus Cloud can be altered to your liking, aside from being completely self-contained. You'll also find that specific personal items from your waking life will need to be earned with feathers. Other than that, however, there are no limits. Not even physics.

[intelinside]

Right, I'll keep that in mind.

[Routine and rest are good arguments but in all honesty, not having to sleep is sounding like a major perk. More hours in the day is always good -- and thinking about it, that's what this entire experience is, if the way the Outsider has described the passage of time is true. A lot of hours in the span of one night. Hopefully he'll be able to remember this dream when he wakes up.

...And so long as the escalator has solid steps and a handrail Mason can hold onto, the height of it isn't going to be a problem, either. He even grins as they continue!] Now that sounds promising. Are there any methods to altering these things? Does it tend to come naturally to people?

[fromtheoutside]

It should come to you quite naturally. You'll find that in your Nimbus Cloud, you are functionally as powerful as I am for your own particular pocket. If you can imagine it, you can make it so.

[ The escalator went up and up and up to--- apparently nothing. No platform existed on the end. But the Outsider hardly seemed concerned. ]

[intelinside]

Interesting. I'll have to see what I can do with that. Are we able to give others permissions to make adjustments to our personal clouds, or is it locked to us?

[Mason had quite a few questions, yes, but he was honestly enthusiastic. He... also did notice the way the escalator seemed to lead to nothing, though, and took a careful step back, slightly more concerned than the Outsider. They had a great deal of power here, after all, and likely wouldn't be bothered by a drop.]

Uh... Does this escalator lead anywhere?

[fromtheoutside]

Presently it's locked to you, simply because the idea of giving permissions like that did not occur to me. But perhaps I will change that.

[ At his latter question, they laughed. ]

Of course it does! Why would we be on it if it did not?