⇨ New Location: THE REALM OF DREAMS

[ringleaders]

PREPARATION↴ ► DREAMCATCHERS: Starting on S1:D8 the Ringmaster will be urging people to turn in any dreamcatchers they’ve made, as they’ll be needing them soon. (Which can be done here as a quick reminder!) To clarify, how long your activity sample needs to be in order for the dreamcatchers to count for the reward is entirely reliant on how many you want to turn in. To turn in 5-9 dreamcatchers, anything will do, even if it’s just one or two tags. To turn in 10-14, you’ll need a bit more, like in the 5-10 range. Any more than that (say 15 or 20, at a maximum) will require multiple valid threads adding up to at least 15+ tags from you. Most importantly, please do what is realistic for your character. The tag requirements are mostly just to avoid having people arbitrarily claim their character has made several dozen of them, when realistically these characters have other things to be doing. (Since IC rewards are on the table.) However, that doesn’t mean mod judgement is going to be super harsh, so don’t stress about it too much. ► THE NIGHTRUNNERS: As of S1:D7, Nightrider Mari and her crew will be sent out to the new world to verify its safety for the carnival. As the Ringmaster will explain to them, it’s not expected to be a problem - she is already familiar with the ruler of this realm, a being called Morpheus, and they have been expecting the carnival’s visit. The mission will be mostly based around checking things out to ensure they have not become unduly dangerous, and to meet with Morpheus and inform them that the carnival has arrived. All of the Nightrunners will be aware of the setting information in advance of anyone else. If you want to thread it out, you are welcome to make a log for it as well. If your Nightrunner character will be looking for anything in particular, you can ask those questions by any of the available mod contacts - these can be questions directly asked of Morpheus, as well. ► THE SCHEDULE: From S1:D8 to S1:D10 no patrons from the Dream Realm will be entering the carnival, and the only contact will be from carnival workers willingly choosing it tour it out of curiosity. There will be a gateway available near the main entrance of the carnival that can be crossed simply by willing yourself to. As of S1:D11, the carnival gates will be opening, and the inhabitants of the realm will be entering to enjoy the sights as part of the first Performance Week! Hopefully everyone is ready to perform their roles, because the time has come to put into action. SETTING↴ The Realm of Dreams is a place that makes very little sense geographically, and that is constantly changing in appearance and form.This is because it is not, in fact, a physical reality - instead it is a psychic realm made from the dreams of beings all across the multiverse. Not all beings dream here, finding this particular dream realm is actually quite rare, but with the endless possibilities of visitors comes a seemingly endless population. Completely different pieces of scenery can be seen blending together with little rhyme or reason, and for those unused to this kind of thing, just existing within it can be a bit of unnerving headache. “Dream logic” applies to all of the beings and objects that exist here - all except for the carnival visitors. That is, they will frequently say or do things that make little sense outside of a dream. Objects will turn into other objects with little provocation, and the creatures that wander its plains will suddenly become convinced that they know you, or that they are you, within a short time of you encountering them, and locations will meld into each other in sometimes incoherent ways. The longer you stay in the dream realm yourself, the more these logical rules will begin to affect your own thoughts, and the more actually “dream-like” it will all become. Be wary, however - despite being a place made of dreams, if you die within it you will die for real, unlike the phantasms within. Both Morpheus and the Ringmaster will warn visitors to be careful, as remaining within it for too long could result in them becoming lost forever. PATRONS↴ ► MORPHEUS: Morpheus is the god of the Realm of Dreams, and ultimately has some sway over everything within in, in subtle ways. Visually, they usually appear as a vaguely humanoid form will thousands of individual images and creatures pouring out of its head, instead of having anything like a face, though the Ringmaster will say they can functionally appear as just about anything because it isn’t literal, anyway. There is no reason anyone will need to talk to them after the Nightrunners have announced the carnival’s arrival, though it is possible to find them if you are somehow possessed to do so. They are a very neutral individual, with little personality of their own - their consciousness seems mostly driven by whatever dreamers are present at the time, and the minds that come along with them. ► DREAMERS: These are the consciousnesses of real people from around the multiverse - the dreamers dreaming the dreams that hold the realm together. At some point they will wake up and continue their lives wherever they come from, but for now they are having one hell of a night. It isn’t an unpleasant experience for them, not always, but it is probably more vivid and surreal than the average dream, if they leave the fragments of dreamscapes that they’ve brought with them. It is usually possible to tell that something is a dreamer because they are generally more reasonable than the creatures that are made of nothing but dream, and are usually physically consistent. They are capable of using sense, to some degree, even if it’s blurred by the “dream logic” that runs the place, and they are usually interested in making sense of things, if they can. Start making too much sense to them, however, and they just might wake up. ► PHANTASMS: The figments of the dreamer’s imaginations, phantasms can take the form of literally anything, either mundane or mindblowingly exotic. It’s hard to know what creatures are real and what aren’t, considering they come from across the multiverse - much of what is seen could be normal somewhere else. Phantasms can be entirely made up, reflections of one’s actual reality, or even people they know in real life. Some are random, and some come from deep psychological issues. You may never know which is which. ► NIGHTMARES: Like phantasms, except essentially chaotic evil. Nightmares are rooted in, and thrive on, negative emotions, anxiety, and fear. As such, they like to cause those exact same emotions. While phantasms are more or less aimless unless given a purpose by design, nightmares want exclusively bad things, and for no particular reason besides it being what they feed on. They are not something Morpheus actually likes, and they prefer to destroy what ones they can - they are just an inherent reality of a dream that happen outside of their control. If you destroy some of them while visiting, Morpheus will be thankful - maybe even enough to give you something in return. DANGERS↴ Unsurprisingly, nightmares are one of the big ones. They’ll sometimes attack while you explore the Realm, or once they've entered the carnival, and your regular abilities can be used to fight them off. Empaths, telepaths, psychics, and dreamwalkers will have a much easier time navigating the Realm of Dreams than others, and will also be able to bend its reality to a much greater extent than those without it. Otherwise, the average person will only be able to change minor aspects of a dream’s reality, which will not aid them in combat much besides “VICTORY BY WILLPOWER!” becoming a much more literal concept than usual. Once the gates open to the carnival, things will get more complicated, and this is where the DREAMCATCHERS come in… Before the gates open, the Ringmaster will hand out one of the dreamcatchers that were made to every worker in the carnival. Whose craftsmanship they are doesn’t matter. She will ask them to hang them up nearby wherever they sleep at night, and ask that the remaining supply be hung up in public areas like the cookhouse and menagerie. The Ringmaster will advise that nobody sleeps for the entire duration of the performance week, but having been informed that that is unreasonable, she will amend that request to “only sleep with a dreamcatcher nearby.” She will be very clear and severe about this, casually implying that failing to follow this rule could result in your death. Whether or not your character believes her is their prerogative, and she will not go into the gruesome details, presuming that her direct orders should be enough. If your character abides by only sleeping with a dreamcatcher nearby, things will mostly be okay. Small phantasms and nightmares may escape from them after they sleep and manifest along with the others, but they were be relatively fragile and easy to dismiss if the character is capable of willing them away. These manifestations can be of anything relatively contained that the character may frequently dream about, and will not be able to cause physical harm, for the most part. If they don’t listen to the Ringmaster, the danger is very real. POSSIBLE BAD THINGS THAT COULD HAPPEN: Your characters bad dreams could manifest as an extremely powerful nightmare, given strength by the absurdly close proximity of the dreamer to the dream realm. It will wreak havoc, and unless it is dealt with your character will not be able to wake. (The player is expected to NPC the nightmare, in this case.) A nightmare or phantasm will possess your character’s body while they sleep, and proceed to take control of it. They will be able to bend reality to some degree within the carnival, and bend it to an even greater degree in the Realm of Dreams. Their ultimate goal will be to steal the body and run off into the Realm where their power will be greater, with the intent of keeping the dreamer’s body hostage forever. Without people going to find them and eliminating the dream in the process, that’s exactly what will happen. (The player can also NPC this.) If your character allows either of these things to happen, they were be permanently branded a knucklehead by the Ringmaster, for not being able to follow her simple instructions. They may be punished and/or publicly shamed. Also, practically speaking, this will affect their CR with the Ringmaster and make her less likely to trust them in the future. Please contact the mods before doing either of these things, so that we are aware and can give you more information. REWARDS↴ Morpheus will theoretically reward anyone who spear points an effort towards eliminating nightmares during their stay. This is not something that will be announced to the characters, and is more something Morpheus will give them if they end up doing it of their own accord. What the reward will be is a mystery. OOC, we will need evidence of your character putting a notable effort towards slaying nightmares, including an activity sample to match. We are looking for proactive plotting, in order to qualify for this reward, or at least two or three decently sized threads, turned in before the event ends. CHANGES↴ There are no automatic change catalysts for this event, though they may arise as as the result of player actions. Beyond that, this is a PLOTTING POST, which means you can use it to make plans! The game chat is also a great place to discuss plots, so we welcome you to pop on in if you haven't already! The big mingle log for the event will be posted tomorrow.

Comments

QUESTIONS↴

[ringleaders]

If the information above isn't enough, ask your questions here! This can also be used for all purpose theoreticals, like "If I do X, what will happen?"

[spaghettimonster]

Not that Papyrus is in any danger of it, but how literally are we talking "branded a knucklehead? Could that result in fae tattoos that make anybody who can read them giggle because it says something demeaning re: the person's judgement?

[fortuneglass]

How close is close for the dreamcatchers to work?

Also, assuming we have some other soul passengers around, could they potentially boot out any unwanted nightmares and phantasms trying to take over a sleepy body?

[coinsforlockerrooms]

1. Are all nightmares only vulnerable to directly physical strikes and hostile magic? Given the nature of dreams, would the environment be affected by changes in emotions And likewise, would white magic and things such as Yukine's minor charms of her canon have an effect, which do things such as calming people down/remove anxiety/get luck in romance?

2. How easy is it to read in the Realm of Dreams? In most peoples' dreams, things such as digital clocks always end up changing and newspaper texts can end up with gibbering nonsense. Would anything readable be possible to get and return to the carnival at all (provided it is lawfully gotten, though, particularly with such weird dreams).

NIGHTMARES↴

[ringleaders]

If you are fighting nightmares somewhere, enough to potentially warrant the reward, let us know here.

VARISS FELBRUSH | WARDROBE MANAGER

[yellbrush]

FINALLY SHE CAN GET PAID FOR HER ACTUAL JOB

The moment Variss hears about the nightmares, she's going to announce her intent to go eliminate them anywhere near carnival grounds. She will likely do this for as long as her body can physically handle, on a daily basis.

To anyone who needs a design approved/tailoring help/makeup approved: I am so, so sorry, but you may need to go talk to the whirlwind of screaming death outside. (She will stop long enough between kills to review your work. Don't expect high marks.)

If anyone would like to come with Variss's impromptu murder crew, you're free to plot something out here - or on the radio post, when it goes up!

CARLY

[fortuneglass]

WORK TIME

So Carly, being a SCOUT is going to be heading off on Day 7 to do her thing (and if any other scouts or mercs want to thread that out, I'm all for it); going through the Dreamland before anyone else really gets there gives her an added desire to Not Heck Up on the dreamcatchers, so expect her to be giving off fair warnings when she can. ...Not to mention when she can make sense. Carly's already kinda flighty on her own, but between that and her dreams-not to mention Aslla himself-she's going to be saying some things a little unfiltered!

Aslla as well is going to have a rare moment of Vocal Shenanigans, varying between brutal honesty and borderline ridiculous. It'll probably depend on what's the funniest at the time.

...It'll definitely depend on what's funniest, actually.

For the most part Aslla will likely be chasing off any tiny phantasms Carly brews up in her naps, but every now and then you miiiight get harassed by a swarm of fortune fairies. Cute!

GREG

[fragileandsoft]

So let's be real here. Greg's a napper. He'll doze off in the middle of doing stuff if left unchecked. Of course, with a warning like the Ringmaster's, he may become anxious enough to try and avoid sleeping, but... this just increases the odds of unexpected dozing off later. This could obviously be a problem.

HOWEVER, Greg is also not a complete idiot. He has a lot of paranoia about screwing up magic stuff, and it's not like the Ringmaster hasn't given fair warning. He'll be doing his best to keep a dreamcatcher with him at all times--in a pocket, tied to his work belt, etc. Just in case. He's got enough complexes already.

What this amounts to is, while Greg hopefully keeps out of the worst of it, he's likely to be spawning an entourage of phantasms and mini-nightmares (his sleep has not exactly been peaceful lately). A tiny spectral menagerie.

koltira deathweaver

[respired]

Koltira is undead; as such, he neither needs to sleep, nor is he in the habit of doing so (he's capable, but sleep was forbidden while he was enslaved/later imprisoned).

What he DOES need is to fight, so he'll be eagerly seeking nightmares of any kind to slay. He's an excellent tank, and would be glad (for a very gloomy value of the term) to help/protect others in this endeavor as well.

[hoasen]

yeah but is he going to be put on sleepwatch duty just to kill the nightmares /waggles eyebrows.

ZECORA

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Zecora will be passing out energy brews to those who are trying not to sleep. They'll work, but you have to agree to drink the restful brew afterwards to balance yourself out.

Zecora has the ability to put disasters to rights, so her role here is to OOCly facilitate huge disasters by being able to undo them! If you need someone to unpossess your character or ward them from nightmares or fix their dissolving body, she's your mare!

[coinsforlockerrooms]

Yukine hasn't met Zecora yet, but given the world they're going to be in, I wondered if she could help Yukine with learning a little white magic, either through rituals or especially brews, as it's part of Yukine's contract.

She's going to be careful, and only sleep with the company of a dreamcatcher, but she also wants to help against the dangers in the world.

Yuugi

[toogoodtoopure]

Yuugi's a high school student studying for college and a gamer. He's totally got this not sleeping thing down.

THAT BEING SAID party in gamer trailer he will be staving off sleep for as long as possible, though even with a dream catcher nearby there may be the potential for nightmares. He's kind of a pacifist (unless of course someone is in danger, then he just has to help, because that is the protagonist way) so while he'll be keeping out of most fights, he can provide backup of...some description look trading cards are sharp in universe.

When he won't be working he'll be teaching how to play DM so if ur interested in sleep deprivation, he will split his deck and show u ain't nobody touching Atem's ceremonial deck and downing coffee like a man in a desert.

Re: Yuugi

[sweatysometimes]

points at you, points at self

This is gonna be the best all-nighter EVER

Hinawa

[sunflowerfields]

/deep breath

SLEEPOVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

So in an effort to PROTECT THE CHILDREN, Hinawa will suggest a big group sleepover. Blanket forts, bedtime stories, making s'mores, all within a safe force field of dreamcatchers! Strength in numbers is the name of the game here! Of course, adults are invited too!

She proooobably won't go exploring the dream realm, unless she gets it into her head that Lucas and Claus might be asleep and dreaming and she could see them again!! Any phantasms that come from her dreams will appear in pairs for the same reason. :U

[cuckooed]

Oh god yes Koel will help set that up in between cooking and killing

BROOK

[swordfishtrombones]

Carefully heeding the Ringmaster's warnings, Brook will tuck a dreamcatcher safely away in his skull -- where it will probably end up stolen because what is life. I'm also weighing having one of his most prized possessions (a musical recording made by his now-deceased former pirate crew) stolen instead.

Either way, he'll be making a valiant effort to BEAT UP NIGHTMARES AND STEAL BACK HIS STUFF the only problem is that they're really creepy and scary and he'd rather not...... If anyone with a high (or extremely low) tolerance for silliness would like to help, let me know!

Brook is prone to spawn various nonsense while sleeping, to include a) babes, b) ghost ships, and c) baby whales.

[spaghettimonster]

Who would steal something out of a skeleton's very own skull??? D: D: D: If Brook announces that this happened, Papyrus will surely help him catch the skullprits. The only thing ruder than stealing somebody's bones is stealing things out of them. Ugh. Terrible.

Also ghost ships are scary and Brook should be double banned from sleeping if he's going to talk about them

PAPYRUS

[spaghettimonster]

Did anybody ask for wake-up assistance?

Because they've been not-quite-ordered to not sleep, janitor Papyrus has decided that sleeping people are messes he's responsible to help clean up! And so he'll be loudly interrupting any naps he sees going on anywhere outside of the trailers, and hanging spare dreamcatchers up on the doors or windows of every single trailer he sees without one.

(He's not going in anybody's rooms without permission, that's rude. Unlike... shouting at sleeping people...)

Papyrus basically never sleeps, so unless there's something that can cause people to sleep, he's unlikely to be generating any manifestations. Or killing them. But picking fights with them...? Maybe!

[sunflowerfields]

PAPYRUS YOU NEED TO SLEEP

What if Hinawa sees that he's been working himself to the bone and slipped him some chamomile tea? >:)

ilyas sachairin

[starpact]

Ilyas is sadly very mortal and in need of sleep, but he is also very big on protecting others and following sidequests. As a patrol, he'll be actively walking both the grounds and the realm to make sure the peace is kept, and will stop without hesitation to help anyone who remotely looks like they'll need it.

If anyone is in need of a buddy (or, hapless meatshield) while they're out and about, here's your guy. (☞ﾟ∀ﾟ)☞

KOEL BABIC

[cuckooed]

Aside from killing Nightmares and saving the kiddies, Koel will actually have some difficulty in the Dream Realm. While she does sleep (albeit not on the same level as a normal human might), she's not a dreamer, at all, and the constant non reality of it is going to make her stumble around and be overwhelmed like a drunk on varying levels. It'll be worse at the beginning than at the end, so if you see granny stumble, help is appreciated!

Her menu for players during their time here will be a carbohydrate and protein-heavy to help with energy, so expect a lot of rich pasta, grains, meat and energy drinks!

Goku

[solaris9]

Any fellow scouts out there? :) He's going to be really excited to check out this whole new world.

Back at the carnival, he's going to take the Ringmaster's warning very seriously. He'll try hard to stay awake but will inevitably fail. But hopefully he'll keep the dreamcatcher close? I'm open to letting him inadvertently fall asleep somewhere outside of their protection.

Otherwise, he'll be cutting down nightmares and fighting the good fight. If you need a strong guy to protect you, he'll be happy to help!

Archer

[anti_altruisms]

Soooo Archer here is a Mercenary. c: He's also a Repairman (hi, tech people!!) but the former role will be more in play here!

Archer doesn't really need to sleep so he's going to be exploring the new world, slaying nightmares, and generally looking out for anyone who might need it. He's a little rough around the edges (and by that I mean a lot), but if your character is in trouble, he'll rescue them, more than likely.

I'd love to plot with people he'll be working with job-wise and everybody else, of course!!

Yukine Miyazawa

[coinsforlockerrooms]

Since Yukine Miyazawa is rather versed on minor magic, she will take the warnings regarding dreamcatchers very seriously, and thus will bring a dreamcatcher with herself and hang it whenever she's on a room, and just have one with herself at all times. Kind of like carrying a bottle of water when you go around in a hot city during summer. She can be there to help your character for it! Maybe bring over one extra as some sort of "safety kit" for others. She will need to sleep, but she'll be very careful about this, and try to measure herself so she can sleep in safe spaces.

Right now I'm not sure if Yukine would go around exploring outside of the Carnival, although to be honest it is something I'd love to write, the menagerie of dreams and whirlwind of things changing around her, with the same logic working on.

Similarly, due to the nature of dreams, Yukine will help making a handful of spells for others to control their own emotions, and since it IS part of her own contract, study white magic with anybody possible in order to try to help others in case they find themselves against any nightmare. You could think of her as your group's bard if she learns more of this stuff.

[linkedpenumbra]

Shadow is totally and completely nocturnal. When he's not on constant roustabout duties, then he can definitely be around to harass people into waking up. Oh and he still has his powers, so blasting away all the baby nightmares can be another thing he does on the side.

Daytime however is probably a different story... well he could probably wear a giant cloak for the sun, but assuming he fell into a nap, then maybe you'll get assaulted by tiny nightmare bats, dragons, and teeny knights.

Someone please entertain him during the day.

junko

[cutcrease]

Junko is pretty much going to do whatever she wants (sadly), so for the most part she's going to be doing... uh everything.

Everything being: exploring the new area, experimenting with what she can and can't do (messing w ''dream logic''), killing nightmares, maybe saving someone if the mood strikes her etc. She's just....eager to know how everything ticks so she's going to make things difficult for everyone :'^) including herself if need be

Like her probably dozing off where ever and when ever she wants, with the possibility of not having a dreamcatcher on her. She might try and spook some of the sleep deprived people wandering around, try and up the paranoia maybe along with getting them to sleep when they shouldn't.

Kerubim Crepin

[fortunesfavorite]

As a Patrolman for the carnival, Kerubim is going to be fighting nightmares, waking up anyone he finds napping, and generally watching out for any major disturbances. If anyone needs help or wants to assist with nightmare hunting or needs assistance nightmare hunting, Kerubim is your guy.

He will be wearing a small dreamcatcher on his necklace along with his lucky dice in case he falls asleep, but he's not planning on sleeping. Sleep is for the weak. He is probably drinking more of Zecora's energy brew than is entirely necessary.

This will also be the first time he is performing as a daredevil, which is probably not a thing you should be doing on minimal sleep. Someone should probably help make sure he does not kill himself or the audience.

Peridot

[periphrasing]

Peridot hates this place.

She will NOT be going out to explore the dream realm, tyvm. She's going to stay right here where things (mostly) make sense. SO, she'll be available in and around the carnival for various shenanigans if you require her presence for anything! Mind, I'm technically open to potentially sending her out into the dream realm for other plot related reasons, she's just not going to have any reason to do so on her own.

She also doesn't require sleep so I guess she's available for anti-slumber efforts, too. If you've got a character that needs yelling at or w/e.

Spyro

[smellslikebarbecue]

Spyro is definitely absolutely going to be exploring the dream realm whenever he isn't on bouncer duty. In fact he's probably going to be really whiny about having to stay in one place to do his job??? Staying in one place when there's exploring to be done is really not his idea of a good time. He might even be tempted to shirk his duties in favor of going to hunt some nightmares! Exploring new lands and fighting enemies are his absolute jam.

The concept of a dream realm really isn't that weird to him either. Where he's from, there's an entire sub-culture of dragons known as the Dream Weavers who literally conjure this kind of nonsense for a living, so he's completely unfazed by the wackiness of this place.

Anyway if you need a nightmare fighting buddy or exploring partner, Spyro's your dude. Also, he's going to be giving Sparx a dream catcher to hold on to, so naps and the like should be a non-issue for him! It may not be immediately visible when Sparx is holding it though because ~dragon magic~, so I'm expecting he'll be getting yelled at plenty for appearing to be sleeping without any kind of dream protection.

Amethyst

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst doesn't need to sleep but she does love her a nap...... honestly it's gonna be TEMPTING but she's going to be inclined to take the Ringmaster seriously on this one, especially now Steven's here! She kind of doesn't want to look bad in front of him? And also doesn't want Greg to have more reason to think this place is bad. SO as mentioned further up she's also going to be fighting nightmares wherever she can get her hand in during the daytime! At night she'll be doing a bit more of that and also snooping around some other people's trailers to make sure they're sleeping OK. Especially Steven and Greg. NOT ANYTHING INTENSE YOU KNOW LIKE IT'S NOT LIKE SHE'S PEARL OR ANYTHING... buuut... just checkin in now and then. No big!!!!

let me know if you'd like to fight nightmares with Amethyst or get snooped on in the middle of the fuckin night or put up with her groaning at you about not being able to take naps in the middle of the carnival, or, you know, anything else!

[fortunesfavorite]

Amethyst and Kerubim should definitely fight some Nightmares together.

Ginko

[dontpokethat]

Ginko is going to be pretty fascinated by this world as a whole and will probably spend a lot of time watching the phantasms and taking notes on them and stuff, both on and off the carnival grounds, because he's a big nerd.

He will also be inclined to take the Ringmaster's orders seriously (especially given his own past experiences with dreams becoming real, because mushi can do some weird stuff) and will, in fact, be avoiding sleeping as much as he can get away with. If he has to sleep he'll make sure it's near a dreamcatcher, but just not sleeping if he can avoid it simplifies things anyway, right?? On a related note when he does sleep, even near a dreamcatcher, it may spawn some Weird Shit because that's how Ginko's dreams tend to be. He also may be going around and pestering people who are sleeping without dreamcatchers.

He won't be involved in nightmare-fighting because he can't fight, like at all, BUT on that note I'm totally cool with him ending up in trouble if anyone wants to help him out.