Master Xehanort (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
capax_infiniti) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
animus_ooc2012-07-25 02:47 pm
capax_infiniti) wrote in animus_ooc2012-07-25 02:47 pm
dream a little dream with me
Heeeey Animus. Mii here, with everyone's favourite loveable old man. He's been working on a few things in the background, including a month-long experiment in June that netted him some interesting results... so now he's ready to move on to the main event, namely the tower at large. The event itself will be running from July 31 to August 4... coinciding with the release of a game that certain key-related characters' players are looking forward to. Fitting, as some inspiration was drawn from that particular game... but no worries, there's no spoilers!
Spiking some of the "safe" (read: more palatable) food, those who opt in will be put into a slumber. While in this induced sleep, they will dream about themselves: memories, hopes, fears, whatever lies in their hearts just waiting beyond the veil of consciousness.
But that's not horrible at all! Where's the horror? you may cry. Sure, your characters can dream about happy fluffy things, that's fine. Just remember that anything they do dream about, good or bad, is something that Xehanort will know about them from now on. And he's not above using your past in any way, shape, or form if it'll assure him success in his goals.
EDIT NOTE: Because there was a bit of confusion, I'm putting this outside of the cut. Xehanort will only be watching your dreams. If you actually want to interact with him in the dreamscape you need to request a custom dream!
Dreamers:
Those who opt in will basically have been unlucky enough to eat "spiked" food. In-character, the selection is random, so it would have been a matter of chance. Perhaps an hour after eating, the character will begin to feel drowsy. It's recommended that they make their way to a bed, but if you'd rather they collapse on their feet, that's fine too! After the hour is up, the character will pass out regardless of whether they're in bed or not, no matter what they may have been doing.
The characters are technically in a magically-induced sleep coma, for all intensive purposes. The nature of the magic involved will keep their biological urges in check, so they won't starve to death or wet themselves or anything like that. They'll wake up in the same shape as when they went to sleep, albeit maybe a little out of it for having slept so long and having strong dreams. The spell is absolute, and can only be broken by specific factors.
The dreams themselves take on the forms of a sort of pocket world, as though the memories or ideas involved encompass a great space. Here they can traverse streets they've once been down, or a conceptual landscape of their desires. There's no visible boundary or anything like that, so if they keep walking they won't ever hit an end. If dreaming about a memory, the events of that memory will unfold in some fashion or another with the character re-enacting the event in its entirety. They may try to change things, but the memory will still hold absolute. If someone dies in that memory, they'll still die no matter how much the character may try to save them. If dreaming about hopes or desires, the world will weave itself in a way to foster that hope and make it happen, if only for that brief moment. Worlds based around fears or similar emotions will revolve around inspiring that terror or otherwise using the focus of that particular fear. Feel free to be creative when coming up with dreamscapes and such!
Dreamers don't have to walk alone! If more than one dreamer has similar dreams, they may end up sharing a dream world. This means that they can work together in that particular world, or even simply experience whatever the dream's pivotal focus is. Characters with mutual histories may find this happening, for instance, as they all relive whatever moment their mind weaves. Also, characters with very strong emotional connections - through the heart, as this is a Kingdom Hearts character's plotting - may be drawn into each others' dreams as well, even if they're not similar dreams. Shared dreams are not a constant, so if you share a dream, as soon as that dream ends, you're back on your own unless you happen to share another dream.
While in a dream world, each character has all of their powers intact. There's no dampening or anything, so they can feel free to just go about and demolish things if they really want... the dream will still play out regardless. The only powers that will be nerfed are those relating to dreams or reading minds, and anyone who tries to use those sort of powers will simply feel a kind of haziness at best, or be catapulted out of that dream into the next cycle. The corollary to this is that those in the dreams don't have any direct control over the dream environment. No, attempting to will things to happen in the dream won't do anything. You can't form weapons out of nothing or try to change circumstances or the landscape with your mind! Unless of course that's your character's power.
From the dreamer's end, they will essentially jump from one dream to another. When a memory ends, after certain triggers in conceptual dreams, whenever is appropriate, the dream stops and the character simply finds themselves in the next dream. There is no downtime discernible to them. They're in a state of continual dreams, even if the dreams don't typically connect to each other (such as going from a dream about giving a speech at high school and tripping and falling off the stage to a dream about cute puppies).
Those dreaming can be somewhat affected by things going on in the real world. If they're caused any discomfort (i.e. pinching or other methods to wake up) it will carry over into that dream in a diminished form, such as a vague phantom pain. If someone tries to yell in a sleeping character's ear, they will have the feeling of someone trying to call to them, but the voice will be muffled and indistinct, as though being yelled down a really long and noisy tunnel. None of these things will rouse them from their sleep at all, and may be easily forgotten with the jump to the next dream.
The content of dreams will not harm dreamers. If they're wounded in the dream, their sleep will become restless (but not enough for them to actually wake up). If they actually die in their dream, however, they will wake up completely, freed from the sleep spell and out of the dreamer portion of the plot. There is no physical damage from such a death, though being mentally shaken or otherwise affected is expected. Their dreams will have felt especially vivid, and they will remember them if you wish. If they go back to sleep after this point, they will only have normal dreams. They cannot re-enter the spell of their own desire, nor can they be pulled into someone else's dream through the dream-sharing mechanic. If they want to continue with the plot, they'll have to participate as a non-dreamer.
If you were particularly lucky (or unlucky), your character ate one of the "super special" spiked foods, and gets a bit of a treat. Xehanort will take on a dream form, and come talk to your character for a while in a specially-crafted dream. This is largely to learn more about them, and create a positive subconscious image of himself in their mind so that they'll be more likely to be well-disposed to him. If you want your character to have one of these chats, reply to this post so we can hash out the details! This is a bonus opt-in, and you have to sign up for it so I know who to look for and what to plan.
Regardless of circumstances, all remaining dreamers will wake up on the 4th at various times depending on when their last dream ends. If all dreamers are awake through other circumstances before this, then the event will end early.
Non-Dreamers:
For those who don't want to opt in, or who wake up due to dream death, there's still things that can be done. Perhaps someone you care about is trapped in slumber. Perhaps you have a bit of magical acuity. Perhaps you know someone with magical acuity. Maybe you're just really, really, really stubborn.
Your dreaming friends aren't suffering, nor do they need to eat or drink. They're just sleeping, perhaps fitfully at times. No matter what you do, however, they will not awaken. Shake them, slap them, pinch them, throw water on them, electrocute them, whatever you want. The spell keeping them asleep will only terminate when one of three things happens: the dreamer dies in a dream; the spell runs its course (at the end of the event); or if Xehanort decides to end the spell early for some reason.
Do you have dream powers or related magic? Good on you! If so, you can attempt to break into the dream of a dreamer and interact with them. Doing this puts you in a "drop", where you weave your way through the tenuous boundary of reality and dream, the hazy magical field tying the two together in this case. Think skydiving through an obstacle range, and you've got the idea. If you make it through, you'll land in the dream and are considered to be a dreamer for the duration of that dream regardless of whether you find the dreamer who created it or not. When that dream ends, however, you're kicked back out into reality and will have to re-drop into the next dream. It should be noted that killing the dreamer will end their dream and send them back to reality the same way that a normal dream death would. However, anyone who dives into a dream and kills a dreamer will be stuck in the blank void left behind after the dreamer leaves for the duration of a day.
Those who try diving into dreams will soon realize that dreamers aren't actually constantly dreaming. They're in a specific cycle of dreams and inactivity - this is a background effect to make the process of monitoring the spell and dreams easier on Xehanort's end. Thus, sometimes dream drops will fail because the dreamer isn't actually in a dream world. They're in a sort of limbo, essentially floating in a bubble in a dark storage realm. This is where all those in-between dreams will go, so someone who manages to penetrate into this realm may be in for a bit of a shock. This realm does not operate via a drop, as it isn't a dream, and must be literally broken into magically. The bubbles serve to protect the dreamers, so they cannot be harmed in this place. While they cannot be woken up, anything said to them will carry over in their subconscious and may flavour their next dream in some fashion. One can only remain in this limbo as long as the dreamer they used to access it is there. When they are sent along to their next dream, the interloper will be ejected back to reality.
What about attempting to decipher the magic itself? The spell is fairly innocuous, and those able to decipher magical weavings will see that at its core it's a powerful sleep spell that has been modified. Keyblade wielders or those who use a system of magic similar to Kingdom Hearts (I think FF cast maybe?) can probably determine it's in the Sleep line, specifically Sleepgun. Trying to determine the trigger to end the spell will determine that either the caster ending it, or the spell running its course are the only ways to lift it. The magic itself is very tightly, artfully woven in order to prevent tampering, and capped off with a lock keyed only to open for a very specific magical signature - that of Xehanort's keyblade (though this fact would not be easily determined). Specific questions about things should be asked, as it may need to be handled on a case-by-case basis due to the variety of magic at everyone's disposal!
A keyblade wielder with a strong arcane background may be able to detect the underpinnings of the opening of a channel to the heart in the spell, as a means to direct the heart's leanings into the dreams themselves to colour them. Any keyblade wielder is welcome to attempt to unlock the spell's lock, although this will result in the one trying succumbing to the spell itself and becoming a dreamer for the duration of one dream.
Mechanics:
It's going to be impossible to come up with the full variety of dreams that would happen, so obviously any posts made will be about significant dreams, shared dreams, or dreams broken into by others. In the plot post itself there will be a section for abbreviated summaries of dreams that are had that don't bear going into the detail a post requires. That way those who still want to bear their inner selves can without needing to throw up huge dream posts everywhere.
More to come as things are determined.
EDIT: LINK TO EVENT ORGANIZATIONAL POST (FOR MY REFERENCE)
Last updated: 2:30pm July 27 (my time)
Tally: 40 Dreamers, 7 Declared Non-Dreamers, 5 Customs
If you have any questions, feel free to post them up here, or leave me a message on AIM or plurk if nothing else. I'll hit things up as I am able, so if I don't get back to you right
Spiking some of the "safe" (read: more palatable) food, those who opt in will be put into a slumber. While in this induced sleep, they will dream about themselves: memories, hopes, fears, whatever lies in their hearts just waiting beyond the veil of consciousness.
But that's not horrible at all! Where's the horror? you may cry. Sure, your characters can dream about happy fluffy things, that's fine. Just remember that anything they do dream about, good or bad, is something that Xehanort will know about them from now on. And he's not above using your past in any way, shape, or form if it'll assure him success in his goals.
EDIT NOTE: Because there was a bit of confusion, I'm putting this outside of the cut. Xehanort will only be watching your dreams. If you actually want to interact with him in the dreamscape you need to request a custom dream!
Dreamers:
Those who opt in will basically have been unlucky enough to eat "spiked" food. In-character, the selection is random, so it would have been a matter of chance. Perhaps an hour after eating, the character will begin to feel drowsy. It's recommended that they make their way to a bed, but if you'd rather they collapse on their feet, that's fine too! After the hour is up, the character will pass out regardless of whether they're in bed or not, no matter what they may have been doing.
The characters are technically in a magically-induced sleep coma, for all intensive purposes. The nature of the magic involved will keep their biological urges in check, so they won't starve to death or wet themselves or anything like that. They'll wake up in the same shape as when they went to sleep, albeit maybe a little out of it for having slept so long and having strong dreams. The spell is absolute, and can only be broken by specific factors.
The dreams themselves take on the forms of a sort of pocket world, as though the memories or ideas involved encompass a great space. Here they can traverse streets they've once been down, or a conceptual landscape of their desires. There's no visible boundary or anything like that, so if they keep walking they won't ever hit an end. If dreaming about a memory, the events of that memory will unfold in some fashion or another with the character re-enacting the event in its entirety. They may try to change things, but the memory will still hold absolute. If someone dies in that memory, they'll still die no matter how much the character may try to save them. If dreaming about hopes or desires, the world will weave itself in a way to foster that hope and make it happen, if only for that brief moment. Worlds based around fears or similar emotions will revolve around inspiring that terror or otherwise using the focus of that particular fear. Feel free to be creative when coming up with dreamscapes and such!
Dreamers don't have to walk alone! If more than one dreamer has similar dreams, they may end up sharing a dream world. This means that they can work together in that particular world, or even simply experience whatever the dream's pivotal focus is. Characters with mutual histories may find this happening, for instance, as they all relive whatever moment their mind weaves. Also, characters with very strong emotional connections - through the heart, as this is a Kingdom Hearts character's plotting - may be drawn into each others' dreams as well, even if they're not similar dreams. Shared dreams are not a constant, so if you share a dream, as soon as that dream ends, you're back on your own unless you happen to share another dream.
While in a dream world, each character has all of their powers intact. There's no dampening or anything, so they can feel free to just go about and demolish things if they really want... the dream will still play out regardless. The only powers that will be nerfed are those relating to dreams or reading minds, and anyone who tries to use those sort of powers will simply feel a kind of haziness at best, or be catapulted out of that dream into the next cycle. The corollary to this is that those in the dreams don't have any direct control over the dream environment. No, attempting to will things to happen in the dream won't do anything. You can't form weapons out of nothing or try to change circumstances or the landscape with your mind! Unless of course that's your character's power.
From the dreamer's end, they will essentially jump from one dream to another. When a memory ends, after certain triggers in conceptual dreams, whenever is appropriate, the dream stops and the character simply finds themselves in the next dream. There is no downtime discernible to them. They're in a state of continual dreams, even if the dreams don't typically connect to each other (such as going from a dream about giving a speech at high school and tripping and falling off the stage to a dream about cute puppies).
Those dreaming can be somewhat affected by things going on in the real world. If they're caused any discomfort (i.e. pinching or other methods to wake up) it will carry over into that dream in a diminished form, such as a vague phantom pain. If someone tries to yell in a sleeping character's ear, they will have the feeling of someone trying to call to them, but the voice will be muffled and indistinct, as though being yelled down a really long and noisy tunnel. None of these things will rouse them from their sleep at all, and may be easily forgotten with the jump to the next dream.
The content of dreams will not harm dreamers. If they're wounded in the dream, their sleep will become restless (but not enough for them to actually wake up). If they actually die in their dream, however, they will wake up completely, freed from the sleep spell and out of the dreamer portion of the plot. There is no physical damage from such a death, though being mentally shaken or otherwise affected is expected. Their dreams will have felt especially vivid, and they will remember them if you wish. If they go back to sleep after this point, they will only have normal dreams. They cannot re-enter the spell of their own desire, nor can they be pulled into someone else's dream through the dream-sharing mechanic. If they want to continue with the plot, they'll have to participate as a non-dreamer.
If you were particularly lucky (or unlucky), your character ate one of the "super special" spiked foods, and gets a bit of a treat. Xehanort will take on a dream form, and come talk to your character for a while in a specially-crafted dream. This is largely to learn more about them, and create a positive subconscious image of himself in their mind so that they'll be more likely to be well-disposed to him. If you want your character to have one of these chats, reply to this post so we can hash out the details! This is a bonus opt-in, and you have to sign up for it so I know who to look for and what to plan.
Regardless of circumstances, all remaining dreamers will wake up on the 4th at various times depending on when their last dream ends. If all dreamers are awake through other circumstances before this, then the event will end early.
Non-Dreamers:
For those who don't want to opt in, or who wake up due to dream death, there's still things that can be done. Perhaps someone you care about is trapped in slumber. Perhaps you have a bit of magical acuity. Perhaps you know someone with magical acuity. Maybe you're just really, really, really stubborn.
Your dreaming friends aren't suffering, nor do they need to eat or drink. They're just sleeping, perhaps fitfully at times. No matter what you do, however, they will not awaken. Shake them, slap them, pinch them, throw water on them, electrocute them, whatever you want. The spell keeping them asleep will only terminate when one of three things happens: the dreamer dies in a dream; the spell runs its course (at the end of the event); or if Xehanort decides to end the spell early for some reason.
Do you have dream powers or related magic? Good on you! If so, you can attempt to break into the dream of a dreamer and interact with them. Doing this puts you in a "drop", where you weave your way through the tenuous boundary of reality and dream, the hazy magical field tying the two together in this case. Think skydiving through an obstacle range, and you've got the idea. If you make it through, you'll land in the dream and are considered to be a dreamer for the duration of that dream regardless of whether you find the dreamer who created it or not. When that dream ends, however, you're kicked back out into reality and will have to re-drop into the next dream. It should be noted that killing the dreamer will end their dream and send them back to reality the same way that a normal dream death would. However, anyone who dives into a dream and kills a dreamer will be stuck in the blank void left behind after the dreamer leaves for the duration of a day.
Those who try diving into dreams will soon realize that dreamers aren't actually constantly dreaming. They're in a specific cycle of dreams and inactivity - this is a background effect to make the process of monitoring the spell and dreams easier on Xehanort's end. Thus, sometimes dream drops will fail because the dreamer isn't actually in a dream world. They're in a sort of limbo, essentially floating in a bubble in a dark storage realm. This is where all those in-between dreams will go, so someone who manages to penetrate into this realm may be in for a bit of a shock. This realm does not operate via a drop, as it isn't a dream, and must be literally broken into magically. The bubbles serve to protect the dreamers, so they cannot be harmed in this place. While they cannot be woken up, anything said to them will carry over in their subconscious and may flavour their next dream in some fashion. One can only remain in this limbo as long as the dreamer they used to access it is there. When they are sent along to their next dream, the interloper will be ejected back to reality.
What about attempting to decipher the magic itself? The spell is fairly innocuous, and those able to decipher magical weavings will see that at its core it's a powerful sleep spell that has been modified. Keyblade wielders or those who use a system of magic similar to Kingdom Hearts (I think FF cast maybe?) can probably determine it's in the Sleep line, specifically Sleepgun. Trying to determine the trigger to end the spell will determine that either the caster ending it, or the spell running its course are the only ways to lift it. The magic itself is very tightly, artfully woven in order to prevent tampering, and capped off with a lock keyed only to open for a very specific magical signature - that of Xehanort's keyblade (though this fact would not be easily determined). Specific questions about things should be asked, as it may need to be handled on a case-by-case basis due to the variety of magic at everyone's disposal!
A keyblade wielder with a strong arcane background may be able to detect the underpinnings of the opening of a channel to the heart in the spell, as a means to direct the heart's leanings into the dreams themselves to colour them. Any keyblade wielder is welcome to attempt to unlock the spell's lock, although this will result in the one trying succumbing to the spell itself and becoming a dreamer for the duration of one dream.
Mechanics:
It's going to be impossible to come up with the full variety of dreams that would happen, so obviously any posts made will be about significant dreams, shared dreams, or dreams broken into by others. In the plot post itself there will be a section for abbreviated summaries of dreams that are had that don't bear going into the detail a post requires. That way those who still want to bear their inner selves can without needing to throw up huge dream posts everywhere.
More to come as things are determined.
EDIT: LINK TO EVENT ORGANIZATIONAL POST (FOR MY REFERENCE)
Last updated: 2:30pm July 27 (my time)
Tally: 40 Dreamers, 7 Declared Non-Dreamers, 5 Customs
If you have any questions, feel free to post them up here, or leave me a message on AIM or plurk if nothing else. I'll hit things up as I am able, so if I don't get back to you right
Page 1 of 2