lifeaftr_mods: (Default)
The Mods of LifeAftr ([personal profile] lifeaftr_mods) wrote in [community profile] aftr_ooc2018-05-11 09:46 pm
Entry tags:

Exploration Event: Neverwere

EXPLORATION EVENT: NEVERWERE

By now, the news of the strange vines that frequent the island of Ziziphus will have doubtless begun to circulate in earnest. What initially may have seemed to be ordinary flora that one would expect to frequent a vegetation-rich island like this one will turn out to be something...rather different.

As you'll soon learn.

The Answer Lies With You

Come May 15th, the purpose of these vines will rapidly and unexpectedly become clear. Their examination of the travelers upon their turf will cease, and the forests and hills of Ziziphus will abruptly come alive.
Countless vines will writhe free of the soil and grass, of the bracken and undergrowth. They are, simply put, everywhere - a veritable network of rootlike appendages wound throughout every inch of the island itself - and today they're making their move. They seek to ensnare and coil around anyone and everyone in their path, winding around their arms and legs and pinioning them with remarkable alacrity. Those who are particularly agile may be able to fight their way free...but it's equally likely that they'll be overwhelmed by sheer, incredible numbers. For every vine that's lopped off, burned, or otherwise destroyed, three more spring forth in its place. Everyone on Ziziphus at the time of the 15th will be targeted.

They won't stop until they've wrapped around you entirely. And then...and then...?

Then, you'll start to feel incredibly, peculiarly drowsy. You can't seem to keep yourself from closing your eyes...
And All Your Dreams Are Still As New

Eventually, you wake, and when you do, it is to the most perfect world imaginable. Perhaps it's the world you belong to, having reached a point of peace, no matter how unrealistic. The changes can be as vast and all-encompassing as necessary, or as small as on one, key absence. The villain never existed in the first place. A character never died. A war never occurred, allowing the kingdom to flourish and thrive. Maybe it's a different world entirely - a blissful, ideal paradise, that white-picket fence you always dreamed about, a perfectly suburban house with two-point-five kids and a couple big dogs, just for kicks. No matter the world you're envisioning, there's only one limitation:

This is a world in which your character is earnestly and completely happy, no matter what shifts must take place in order to achieve it. This is a world in which your character has nothing to worry about, a perfect fantasy taken to its logical extreme. They are as successful as they want to be, with the home and family they always imagined.

When coming up with your character's ideal world, consider the following points:
[ ♆ ] If based on their canon, this world may be considered an AU. Conflicts have either already been triumphed over, or never occurred, leaving your character to reap the benefits of peace that come afterwards. What changes need to be made to ensure this blissful peace are entirely up to you. Ideally, your character has achieved everything that they wished to achieve. If they wanted to be a leader, find a cure for an illness, or stop a world destroying event, they have done so.

[ ♆ ] While these fantasy worlds can be based on your character's canon, they do not have to be. The only stipulation is that they must be something your character would feasibly consider their perfect world.

[ ♆ ] Other characters within LifeAftr will most certainly drop into your character's dream world at some point. For close CR, what is their role now? Are you a family? How do others fit in?

[ ♆ ] The mods have worked on a template to help people compose their world, with examples down below!
Of course, characters are hardly restricted to their own dreams. Much the same as the dreams characters would be exposed to during a normal sleep cycle, dreams that seem to expand over years can take place in a fraction of a second. Entire histories can be compounded down to mere minutes.

Additionally, the characters are connected through the very vines that have induced this fantasy, and will allow them to traverse each other's dreams. This crossing over may be purely accidental, or it may be a willful desire to see someone you know. The bottom line is that the more dreams your character takes part in, the more aware they may become that everything is not quite as it seems.

As the event progresses, those who are not on Ziziphus will not be immune. The dreamworld of Mu, bolstered by the intricate network of self-contained fantasies that have abruptly taken up residence in its landscapes, will seek to pull in anyone who falls asleep and trap them under the same spell. Hope you have some coffee on hand, or some other method of stimulating yourself so that you don't doze off, because you very well may not wake if you do.
And Happiness Is What You Need So Bad
As mentioned above, characters' best chances of escaping the vines is to regain awareness that what they’re seeing (and living) is false. There are multiple things that characters may pick up indicating this falsehood, and we encourage people to be creative!

For those who would like a few ideas, discrepancies may show themselves in the following manner:
[ ♆ ] The more dreams your character partakes in, the more confused their roles and identities in these worlds may become. They may assume the role of a soldier in a world that has no need for such things, or identify someone as family in a dream that they are not.

[ ♆ ] While the composer of a dream may have memories of someone close in their canon residing in this world, characters from LifeAftr cannot have memories of someone they've never met before. A large discrepancy could occur if, for example, a close family member does not recognize the name of your character’s life partner.

[ ♆ ] Clocks and numbers. One of the largest indications of dreams is often the inability to read time and numbers. Your character may have a watch, or attempt to read a train timetable, only to find they cannot.

[ ♆ ] A total lack of conflict, no matter how unrealistic, may give away the false nature of these worlds. For example, even little things like running out of food or needing to do an undesirable chore will never come to pass...ever.
The more your character can decouple themself from this false reality, the lesser the hold of the vines that keep them entrapped. As more gaps in the fabricated narrative appear, the fantasy world will start to decay - perhaps in a very visceral, physical sense, or perhaps in a more abstract sense - and flickers of reality will begin to creep in: the strong stench of rot, the sensation of being bound up in vines, the heavy sense of fatigue that weighs you into the ground. If you can rouse yourself from this dream utterly, the vines will not fight to keep you. You can claw yourself free without any barrier, save the extreme lethargy that will accompany waking.

It seems that the vines didn't expect you to be able to wake at all.
What Fun It All Would Be

Naturally, there's more at stake than some fun little dreams where no one wants for anything. As circumstances would have it, the vines that keep your characters trapped in their fantastical delusions are slowly sapping them of life, as evidenced by the incredible exhaustion that sets in, should you free yourself. The instant the vines put you under, they have begun to feed upon you, and your capacity to sustain them can only last so long. Likewise, those who are caught in Mu's pull will risk death the longer they are under - if not by malnutrition and dehydration, then by being slowly drained of life by whatever has commandeered the land of Mu.
Once trapped, characters have four days to free themselves through their own skill and cunning, or to be freed by an intervening party that forcibly wakes them or cuts them out of the vines' thrall. During that period, they will grow progressively weaker. For example, a character freed on the first day may only need a couple hours of recovery time. A character freed on the very last day may need a full day to shake off the soporific effects of the vines.

Those who die in the grip of those fantasy realms without being woken will suffer a death, and will need to submit the occurrence to our Deaths page. Their death penalties will not be reduced and must be endured for the entire period.
What Next?

On the third day of this onslaught, the Storyteller will attempt to contact those that are still conscious and free of the vines' influence - it will take them some time to reach those still awake without risking them being sucked into the fantastical vortex that has been made of Mu.

From there, questions will be answered...and a solution will be presented for those still awake to exact it.

Lastly, we would like to thank Michelle, player of our resident Mira, Akechi, and Noctis, for proposing this plot!
Event Timeline
[ ♆ ] May 15th: The vines make their move, ensnaring characters in ideal fantasy worlds
[ ♆ ] May 17th: The Storyteller will make contact with those they can, as well as issue information and a potential solution
[ ♆ ] May 18th: Those that have not freed themselves from the vines or from Mu will suffer a death
LOGSOOCSTORIESMAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )
catpiper: (at 10:15 in the morning kids tequatl)

[personal profile] catpiper 2018-05-12 03:07 pm (UTC)(link)
God sign her up. Merle's reality is so good, give her a virgin mai tai and let's call it a day.
buryyourfriends: (06)

[personal profile] buryyourfriends 2018-05-12 03:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh I hope so.

Ren is gonna get an interesting reaction from the other "NPC" students, after all :D
catpiper: (your brows will cut a man in half)

[personal profile] catpiper 2018-05-12 03:12 pm (UTC)(link)
HEAVY BREATHING NANI

She's gonna mess around with that flower too heck u
buryyourfriends: (94)

[personal profile] buryyourfriends 2018-05-12 03:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Well that's gonna end well.

Good luck Ren :D
catpiper: (you finally came into my house)

[personal profile] catpiper 2018-05-12 03:19 pm (UTC)(link)
catpiper: (rather not gamble on an afterlife)

[personal profile] catpiper 2018-05-12 03:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay but after googling medieval court structures i found out there's someone called a 'cup bearer' who legit just fills cups and that's ren's new job in laurent's world.
hyperlit: (until the piss runs down my thighs)

[personal profile] hyperlit 2018-05-12 03:42 pm (UTC)(link)
YES PLEASE!!! just this. this cute human child that the drifter loves VERY MUCH!!!
postictal: (i needed more uke icons ok)

[personal profile] postictal 2018-05-12 03:43 pm (UTC)(link)
this would be so dumb and i kinda wanna do it now. fuck.
postictal: (say fucking what)

[personal profile] postictal 2018-05-12 03:46 pm (UTC)(link)
sol reunion!!!!!!! Except Bad!!!

oh fuck
catpiper: (your brows will cut a man in half)

[personal profile] catpiper 2018-05-12 03:46 pm (UTC)(link)
do it so ren can be one of his young garage band fans that buys all his singles and supports every concert and knows the lyrics to all his songs
postictal: (howdy. bang)

[personal profile] postictal 2018-05-12 03:57 pm (UTC)(link)
THATS SO FUCKING CUTE OH MY GOD

YES ABSOLUTELY
postictal: (perfecting the art of the side eye)

[personal profile] postictal 2018-05-12 03:58 pm (UTC)(link)
i'd be interested in tim potentially being a teacher hero with, wait for it

fire powers

for Bonus Hijinks
catpiper: (but damn i look good)

[personal profile] catpiper 2018-05-12 04:32 pm (UTC)(link)
ren, singing along in the crowd, and just so PROUD OF HER BOY TIM
catpiper: (rather not gamble on an afterlife)

[personal profile] catpiper 2018-05-12 04:33 pm (UTC)(link)
SHE LOVES THEM BACK AND THEY'RE GONNA PLAY ALL DAY!! ALL!! DAY!!! LONG!!
lightlessfuture: (i heard a nostalgic song) (Default)

[personal profile] lightlessfuture 2018-05-12 04:44 pm (UTC)(link)
the knight's gonna humor the drifter for a while because they're clearly happy here but they're gonna get more unsettled about being in the role they're in the longer they're in it (probably a fellow drifter in this case, they might be a roomie??) so SORRY BUD, THEY CARE MORE ABOUT DISENTANGLING YOU FROM THE DREAM SO YOU DON'T LIKE DIE IN REAL LIFE

Also they're gonna look a little different. Still unable to talk though.
catpiper: (Default)

[personal profile] catpiper 2018-05-12 04:47 pm (UTC)(link)
ren could be an eccentric traveler that trades garbage she collects to the residents of risembul?? and ed??
hyperlit: (◈ ᴏᴠᴇʀᴡʜᴇʟᴍɪɴɢ ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀs ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ)

[personal profile] hyperlit 2018-05-12 05:57 pm (UTC)(link)
OMG YES A FELLOW DRIFTER GOD i love this so much they can absolutely be a roomie

they can absolutely help get the drifter out tho THANK YOU FRIEND !!!!
flyfisher: (Default)

[personal profile] flyfisher 2018-05-12 06:51 pm (UTC)(link)
ok! thank you 😊
flyfisher: (Default)

wrong account but

[personal profile] flyfisher 2018-05-12 06:55 pm (UTC)(link)
hell yeah little sister lets kick it
deathfindsaway: (« [Smile] his eyes light up when he sees)

Kravitz

[personal profile] deathfindsaway 2018-05-12 07:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Character name: Kravitz
Character canon: The Adventure Zone

Briefly explain what their ideal world is like - how has it changed? Kravitz' world is already a little dark and dreary, but this one is a lot more relaxed than his current uptight demeanor; he's kept his job as (essentially) the grim reaper, but he's also found a family in the people he's surrounded himself with. He and Taako are still together, he's a lot more accepted by his family, also maybe he doesn't have some lich inlaws? They're still there, but nobody's undead. It's fine. People might also catch a more hidden desire of his where Taako has joined up with him to fight for the Raven Queen. He has a little house and a garden and can sip tea on his porch. He's a pretty simple man sometimes.

Briefly explain your character's role in this world: He's still keepin' on! Except he has like... friends, and a family, and can do his job without people getting revived left and right and the world collapsing in on itself.

Other roles characters might assume in this world: Obviously, his canonmates are around, probably being heavily focused on Taako, Lup, Magnus, Merle, and Barry. He hasn't formed many super strong attachments yet in LA but his general world is your standard D&D high fantasy, so there's still The World existing at large out there- there's adventurers and shopkeeps and work always to be done. There's also opportunities for other people who know the people in his circle to slip in- he's a very solitary guy but not necessarily by choice, so people he can believes he cares about might not stick out as much.

Potential discrepancies others may pick up: This is like... going to be pretty jarring to him, frankly, and just about anything out of place (even the presence of people he doesn't know) is likely to be warning flags, especially since he knows damn well that the world back home right now is an absolute nightmare (and might not even exist anymore). Still, he's not going to necessarily... want to leave, so much, until he figures out it's killing him and then Yes He'd Like To Leave Right Now Immediately Thank You.
deathfindsaway: (« [Confused] why is this happening)

dont reply here this is 4 plottin

[personal profile] deathfindsaway 2018-05-12 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
plooot commenttt for editssss
flyfisher: (9)

MYIA

[personal profile] flyfisher 2018-05-12 08:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Character name: Myia
Character canon: Original

Briefly explain what their ideal world is like - how has it changed? So some people might look at Myia's canon and be like, "The best way to make this a utopia is to get rid of the cannibalism and the capitalism and dismantle the harvester state". And you wouldn't be wrong. But you would also completely miss the mark of what Myia thinks would make it a utopia.

Meaning the world revolves around Myia. Instead of capitalism we're now in feudalism. There's a giant golden castle in a quaint little village of majority-bug people. Everything is Myia-themed. All love Myia.

Briefly explain your character's role in this world: Myia is a queen sitting on her throne in Bugtown while her loyal forager-type harvesters collect fruit and plant people for her to eat. She eats lingonberry crepes every day and plant steak every night.

Sapre is her best friend rather than her enemy, and Emet has confessed their undying love for her. Maybel steals beautiful golden and gem encrusted jewelry for her from, like, wherever, where Myia keeps it all in a treasury akin to the Cave of Wonders. Carmine is her butler and follows her every word.

Other roles characters might assume in this world: Myia needs loyal subjects to worship the ground she walks on and foragers to??? kill plant people for her to feast on. Can you fucking believe Myia is not an antagonist in her story jesus fuck

Alsoooooooo anyone getting in on this has the option to be not human, if you are. In other words some kind of animal, mammalian or otherwise. You can be a weird mermaid or something and be a fish, it'll be great. This includes plants so like get weird with it.

Examples:
1 (from left to right, top to bottom: fruit fly, namaqua rain frog, crow, venus flytrap, flesh fly)
2 (better view of the frog)
3 (better view of the venus flytrap)
4 (red paper wasp)

Potential discrepancies others may pick up: Yeah there is no way anyone could possibly look at this world where everyone worships and loves Myia the stinkbug and be like, "Yeah, that seems normal." It's eerie how everyone just goes along with what she says, even as she insults people??? She'll call Carmine hideous and Carmine will just be like "sounds fair, good judgment queen myia". Basically the glaring weak point in this is Myia's awful personality horribly clashing with the dream world.

Also, if your character has been transformed for the dream, this might cause?? confusion. Was I always a weird bug? Similarly, if a human character slips through unaltered, Myia will be like "wtf" because she's a big speciesist. About this species she just discovered recently. Rude.
tenthstreetbred: (Serious)

Commander Shepard

[personal profile] tenthstreetbred 2018-05-12 08:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Character name: Commander Shepard
Character canon: Mass Effect
Briefly explain what their ideal world is like - how has it changed? Shepard's ideal world is a world where the Reaper war was won. Because of the war, all of the alien species live in relative harmony- there's still some tensions here and there but through the fire and strife of the Reaper War, galactic politics no longer has the chance to lead everyone into a war with each other. Rather, there is more cooperation and camaraderie than before, even if there are still sour moods here and there. Technology has also advanced so highly that synthetic and organics also live in harmony, both of their needs addressed and cared for.
Briefly explain your character's role in this world: Shepard is a hero, and recognized as such throughout the galaxy. That being said, she isn't given much in the ways of special privileges- rather, she's more a welcome friend in many places, even as she still travels the galaxy working for the Alliance and the Citadel Council in keeping the galactic peace. Her crew on the Normandy still travel with her from world to world and they still get into shenanigans and adventures, but no one dies and they all come out of it ok.
Other roles characters might assume in this world: Shepard has more a found family than anything and close CR will find themselves as either members of her crew on the Normandy, or as trusted advisors/friends she meets on different planets. Other CR that isn't that close or new will find themselves as people who live on the Citadel, the big spaceship hub of almost all life in the galaxy that Shepard is happy to talk with and help out with whatever they need, small or large.
Potential discrepancies others may pick up: If anyone asks how long ago the Reaper War ended, anyone they ask, NPC, Shepard, one of her crew- they will all have differing answers as to when. If pressed to ask how it ended, no one will be able to give a solid answer- after all, only Shepard knows, and even then, she may never know the consequences of her actions in real life.

Past that, despite the fact that the War absolutely killed billions of people, somehow the populations of planets and of the Citadel itself are booming and healthy and many families are together and whole. Somehow not one person lost someone immediately close to them to the Reapers.

Any other discrepancies would be ones that stick out to anyone who knows Shepard and her history personally- which, unfortunately, isn't a lot since she's so tight-lipped, but Anderson, Kaidan Alenko, Mordin Solus, Legion and other close friends of hers who gave their lives during the war are alive and well in this world and if pressed on how they survived, will not be able to give a solid answer. Another discrepancy in this line of thinking is that Shepard has a significant other named Garrus Vakarian who won't recognize anyone from LA as Shepard's friend despite her recognizing them all and, in her mind, having already introduced them to him.
tenthstreetbred: (Smile)

DO NOT REPLY; This is for plotting!

[personal profile] tenthstreetbred 2018-05-12 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
ROLES THAT CR WILL TAKE:

Ren- A sweet human girl that Shepard met on the Citadel that wanted ice cream once and ever since Shepard bought it for her, whenever the soldier is back on the Citadel for shore leave she makes an effort to visit her and check up on how she's doing since apparently Ren has imprinted on her now.

Muffet- A lab experiment turned into a sentient being, Muffet is the combination of Asari and Rachni Queen DNA that, after being "born", two scientists smuggled out of the Noveria lab and raised her in secret. She ended up still having a connection to the Rachni Queen and, in this alternate world, aided Shepard in saving and freeing her. Then she joined up with her crew and fought by her side during the Reaper War. Now they enjoy peace, but perhaps this story doesn't line up with everything Shepard knows...

Lup- Another member of Shepard's crew whose position there hasn't been hashed out yet, but is a definite romantic interest that developed over their time together on the Normandy. For some reason this doesn't conflict at all with either Garrus or Kaidan, but it may spark more of a clue in our dear Commander's mind that not all is what it seems.

PLOT PAST THE IDEAL WORLD:

Shepard will break out pretty quickly from the grip of the vines due to not falling easily for this sort of thing and will be on the hunt to help and save other people from being eaten. So if you need a convenient hero to swoop in and get your character out of hell and who will do her best to support the emotional fallout of it all, Shep's your gal.
Edited 2018-05-12 22:26 (UTC)
tenthstreetbred: (Question)

[personal profile] tenthstreetbred 2018-05-12 10:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Idk how Shepard would translate in Chara's constantly shifting world but she'll be doing her gosh darned best to break them out of it. I think we could have a lot of fun with Chara LOADing and SAVEing all over the place and Shepard fighting to try and remember, if you're cool with that?

Page 3 of 7