metaverses | CRISIS ON INFINITE DREAMWIDTHS: EVENT END

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!event end

CRISIS ON INFINITE DREAMWIDTHS: EVENT END

AT THE END OF THE WORLD

The sound isn't unlike thunder when the universe begins to crack apart. Loud, thrumming thuds that tear the sky and the fabric of reality. The nexuses are being stomped out, engulfed back into the void one by one.

Characters may be in these nexuses as they're slowly engulfed by the cracks. Some may be saying they're final goodbye's to old friends, new friends, or simply watching as the apocalypse descends on whichever world they're in.

And then, just before they're about to fall into oblivion - they're snatched away.

IN CENTRAL CITY —

Outside The Alliance HQ, Chaos Gate and the Silent Mystic stand with their eyes tightly shut, hands linked together as one. Above you the sky has turned a deep crimson. The crack is a yawning chasm as buildings are torn apart brick by brick, falling into the abyss.

If something isn't done soon then you're all dead.

This world is a nexus and this can't be changed, but it can be pulled from the 'between' it has fallen into, and restored to its proper place. This will require an enormous amount of energy. The mystics bid the gathered to join hands: they ask you to remember their world, the one they left behind and tether this world to it. Your strongest memories may bleed out, giving the people around you a glimpse of who you are, what you were.

The universally displaced are here with you. This is a last mingle opportunity. The comm will remain open so people can continue to play any threads they didn’t get a chance to during the run of the event. They too can join hands and share their memories, but as they are not tied to this dimension, when it’s restored they will either return to their own worlds or the nexuses they left behind.

CONNECTION —

Everything goes dark.

It feels endless, swallowing your sight as well as all sound as it closes in. Slowly, glowing threads begin to appear, tying one person to the next, then to the next, and so on. Only those who are linked to Metaheroes are tied with these golden glowing threads. The threads flow down to their feet and then shoot up towards the sky.

There's a boom, different to the thunderous cracks of before. The sky rushes back into place, day and night speeding by as it hurries to realign itself to the proper date and time. It's dizzying, for a moment, before it begins to feel grounding. Right.

The air feels different. Fresher, somehow. The sky is brighter; the world seems fuller, like it has been allowed to become what it should have been all along. A cheer goes up. The people are elated, relieved to see the sun again.

Players may be troubled should they have ventured into other worlds. They have seen the nexuses that have fallen to ruin, know how they too once felt exactly like this.

THE WORLD CONTINUES TO TURN —

The world has been restored to its proper place. Interdimensional communication is coming through again. The Guilds, exhausted as they were putting fires out across the non-meta cities, are relieved. Perhaps this is finally over.

With the return of interdimensional communication comes the return of interdimensional travel as well. This technology has been used in this world before; it was only with the advent of the recent powerful Confluences that it all went dark. Now that it’s back, the Guilds start to make plans immediately. It will take a little time to organize everything, but once they have a system in place, it shouldn’t be too difficult to locate everyone’s home universes and return them there. They set a tentative date for September 4th to start trying to return everyone home.

That being said, the government is none too happy with any of this. The Guild Systems were put into play by two metahumans who wanted the best for the world, as a means to protect them from those who would do them harm. Years have been spent slowly wrestling control from those two and now there is an opportunity.

Behind the scenes a storm is brewing. If they can spin this to blame the Unaligned then perhaps they have no more need for the Guilds. The Society is a thorn in their side that they’d like to finally be rid of, but they’re essentially untouchable. The Unaligned, however, are flagrantly breaking the law. Constantly putting themselves in the spotlight, making it all too easy to yank the rug out from under the metahuman leaders.

How wonderful for them that these strangers from away have made such a wreck of the trust in the systems that protected the metahumans of this world.

Mechanima is all too aware that things are about to go to hell. The Society is welcoming all metahumans, regardless of moral alignment, to join them. It is heavily encouraged among the rumor mill that the Unaligned should start reconsidering their position.

As the days go on, things begin to change across Meta.

Excelsior has become vehemently anti-metahuman. While this outrage may pass, they’re passing new AI laws in rapid succession. Limitations on what AI can and can’t inhabit. Limitations on robot bodies, on mechanical prosthetics, on the research that can be done into what gives things the spark of life. Magic is essentially forbidden within the city. Any abilities that can be mistaken as magic are treated as suspect.

Sunset Falls is worse for wear. Yet the people remain as grateful as ever to the metahumans who stepped in to save them. That gratitude outweighs any fear that they could have caused this - Sunset Falls has disasters all the time that have nothing to do with interdimensional weirdness. They continue to be unbothered by the metas among them.

Central City, having witnessed all the off-world metas stepping in to save them, is oddly grateful for this - but they haven’t forgotten what happened. The disappeared are among them again and are unharmed despite their sojourn through the universe, but the fact that it happened at all is cause for concern. Confluences are a problem. They want answers, they want solutions.

Little Love remains untouched and unchanged.

I DREAM A DREAM SO PRETTY —

Two days after the apocalypse is averted, every off-world meta will find a pillow lying on their doorstep. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live - one of these pillows will find its way to you.

If you’re quick or wary enough, you may be able to catch a glimpse of the being that placed it there: a figure clad in blue robes. They’ll appear seemingly out of nowhere and lay the pillow down before vanishing into dust. Should they happen to notice they’ve been spotted, they’re clearly started, and lay a finger to their lips before departing.

Atop the pillow is a note: an invitation from the Dreamers of the Willow Maiden. You would have undoubtedly heard of this group: they have a presence in this world, though their reputation’s benign. They’re oddballs and weirdos, but ultimately harmless. They believe in the power of a good night’s sleep - literally.

If the note is to be believed, then the Willow Maiden herself has requested an audience with you, and this audience can only be granted in the world of dreams. Should you accept this offer, the note explains, all you need to do is lay your head upon this enchanted pillow. Sleep will come to you quickly.

Your dreams will be extremely vivid. There are recurring themes bleeding through them: your greatest accomplishment juxtaposed with your greatest failure. The moment you could have acted but stayed still. Highschool embarrassments. Falling. Flying. Here in your own dreamscape, you’ve got more control than anywhere else; you feel as though you can do anything. But beware: these dreams grab for you, both the nightmares and the fantasies. It can be easy to lose yourself and forget what exactly is real.

Luckily, the dreams grab for others as well. Sleeping metas may find themselves involuntarily wandering into one anothers’ dreams. Visitors to a dreamscape don’t have any powers outside of what they normally would, but they can reach out to the dream’s host, should they want to.

If no one else arrives, don’t worry. She is patient and waiting, and doesn’t mind that you stumble. Fall too far into the abyss, and she’ll reach out her hand to steady you.

THE WILLOW MAIDEN —

As you find your way out of the haze of your subconscious with uour allies at your side, the Willow Maiden greets you. She is a massive tree nymph, long-limbed and wooden. She is curled against an enormous tree, looking like a statue. At your approach, she lifts her head from the crook of her arm and extends a hand in greeting. Her smile is warm and motherly. You may feel distrust, but that feeling of safety and protection that guided you home radiates from her.

“You from a far away land, come to this world and made its own.” Her wooden lips don’t move, the words echo through your soul itself. “I can do little for you now but issue warning. Danger is waiting in the dawn, in the shine of her sword. You won this battle, your strength and the strength of all those you have touched has saved you… but she is coming.

She is coming.

“My time is short… your words cannot reach me as you are now. Carve yourselves a new future. One in this world and all others. Dream, and in those dreams, you shall become more powerful than even she can stand. My gift is the gift of new life, new lives, new futures… I have shielded you from her gaze until I could no longer bear it and now… I must rest. May the next time we met be true conversation.”

The Willow Maiden lays her head back down on the curve of her arms. Within moments, she’s asleep.

You wake. Not with a start, but as though you’ve been gently roused from a deep and restful sleep. The dreamsharing effect lingers, and can reoccur off and on throughout the month of September, but you will not find your way to the Willow Maiden’s realm again.

IN SUMMARY.

The fourth wall ends in a near apocalypse. Characters will have a chance to say goodbye while the metaphorical walls are closing in. They will be pulled back from the brink at the last second.

Through the collective effort of metaenergy, Metaheroes will rejoin the multiverse, tethered to the worlds which playable characters come from.

As a result, there's tentative optimism that characters will be able to go home

Anti-meta sentiment is growing across Excelsior, and within governing bodies. Government officials will begin looking to blame Unaligned heroes for various crimes and disturbances.

It's a good time to pick a side. Or don't.

Amidst all this, The Willow Maiden invites players to Meta's first dream share event. The dreaming effect lingers and characters may find themselves intermittently sharing dreams throughout September.

However pleasant this is, however cathartic - it doesn't change that things are tense in the waking world. The Willow Maiden's warning will ring in your ears, too: who is coming?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The memory comes to him even though Mark wants absolutely nothing to do with what is going on in the minds of other people. It isn’t his place, and he was often thankful not to be a telepath unless it was around other telepaths, mostly because he didn’t want to invade privacy like that. And yet here it came, fully formed, a memory. At least, he thought it was a memory. Not that he was sure one way or another. Maybe it would be better if this was just something Mark was making up in his own mind, because he didn’t want to imagine anything like that from another person.

And yet, as he took a deep breath and focused himself, as the spell ran it’s course… Well, Mark looked and found his hand in that of a familiar figure. Ah. Well, that explained the illusions that were allowing him to hide himself.

“Sephiroth,” he said. He didn’t know how to change his voice with the illusion, maybe that would be enough for the man to know just who it was talking to him, even if the face was different.

The entire thing is a jarring experience. Reliving memories he prefers to avoid dwelling on and finding himself witnessing those of others. Whatever this collective magic is, it's powerful, and it's successful, but it leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

He jerks his hand free with more force than necessary and looks sharply at the man whose voice he recognizes, but whose face he doesn't.

"Are you doing that on purpose, this time?"

Youch that’s a lot of strength to jerk away with. Strangely enough it doesn’t topple Mark. Perhaps his own powers are clinging on to Sephiroth’s at the moment as a point of familiarity. A way to be in control of himself.

“Yeah, actually. Some of us have to live here after this is all done, and it’s not like Metas are popular right now.”

"I don't think you would have been particularly memorable, amid everything else."

Sephiroth doesn't particularly begrudge him the disguise, he's just irritable.

“Ouch,” Mark said, rolling his eyes at that. Dude, are you really going to be like that?

“Let me guess, you don’t like how this whole thing opened our minds.”

Yes. Yes, he's going to be like that.

"Would anyone?" Brilliant observation.

“Nope. Though I guess it’s a touch easier when you’re used to dealing with telepaths like my friend Chloe. She doesn’t read minds so much as surface thoughts, and sometimes memories if you’re holding onto them deeply”

So she might have been able to pick up on some of it, but never in that sort of detail. Which of course meant Mark was not used to it in that sort of detail either.

'Chloe' is officially the most common name on Earth, from Sephiroth's perspective.

"And does she do so without warning, whenever she pleases?"

Was it? Wow, that would be impressive. But probably also wrong.

“She can’t turn it off. I know she’s trying to learn to, but it’s sorta like… I don’t know, can you turn off being ridiculous levels of attractive?”

The absurdity of the question does throw him for a loop, and he just stares at Mark for a second. Mark, who is supposedly using Sephiroth's own power to disguise himself.

"...theoretically, yes, if you're being honest about your mimicry."

Okay, that is a totally fair point. But Mark’s not going to admit to that point. Double down!

“I mean, in that case you’re just hiding how ridiculously attractive you are, and you WERE the only one close to me when it happened the first time. So clearly not lying.”

"Perhaps what you're seeing now isn't my true appearance."

Two can play at this stupid argument.

Now that? That’s a fair argument. Or would be if Sephiroth knew he had his power.

“Keep telling yourself that, man. You aren’t the sort that screams ‘I want attention’ and thus I can’t imagine you’d decide to look like a model.”

"I choose this appearance for myself. What others make of it is no concern of mine."

He really doesn't understand the level of attention it gets.

“There is a power to be had in being a hot guy who doesn’t realize he’s hot I guess.”

Mark sighs and shakes his head. That was just hte way of things he supposed. But was wasn’t going to push further.

“Listen, I… wanted to apologize.”

Can his power not come from just being really tall?

His expression grows guarded.

"...for what, exactly?

Well there is power in being tall and strong too, of course. That’s a major ‘duh’ thing man. But that’s not as important as the apology if he’s being honest.

“The things I said, back there. In the mall.”

Sephiroth thinks for a moment. Does he mean the part where he pretended not to be a meta, or the part where he called Sephiroth's powers 'messed up'? Perhaps it's a blanket apology.

"You said a number of things."

“The stuff about… things I’d been through. I’m sorry.”

Sort of a ‘I didn’t mean to trigger you because I didn’t get that you’d understand.’

Does Sephiroth know what a trigger is or believe that he has them? Absolutely not.

"That was simply not the sort of thing one confides to a stranger."

As much as he wants to argue for the healing value of sharing one’s experiences, he knows he’s not going to do it. It’s not okay to force it.

“Yeah, well I’m apologizing anyway.”

He's already had that argument with one of the Chloes.

Sephiroth remains somewhat baffled by this. "Just don't repeat it. I don't really care."

“Like I would ever do that,” Mark sighed, rolling his currently green eyes. He really didn’t like the idea that maybe it would be something he’d share. Geez.

“A little more faith, please.”

"This is the second time we've met. Why would I have faith?"

He's such a trusting person.

“Because it’s either that or you assume tha worst of all of the people around you, and from experience, that is draining as a way to live.”

And sure, he can’t make the man not feel like that, but it’s something he can try anyway. Try his best.

Memory Bleed I

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