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

Oh, he goes by Dr. Doom. He's kind of a supergenius-slash-dark-wizard-slash-dictator, it's a whole thing. I didn't know any of that back then, he was just some jerk in a tin can with an airship who liked to monologue.

Figures. They always like to monologue. It's a great indicator of how cocky they're feeling. Perfect time to make your escape too.

Gosh, right? People love to hear themselves talk! It usually works against them in the end, too. You'd think that after a while they'd realize 'hey, while I was talking about how great I am and how futile their efforts are, they stopped my plan!'

They're so easy to wound up if you poke at their ego in the middle of their monologue too. That's usually when your rescuer takes advantage to sneak in.

Oh yeah, the bigger the ego, the harder the butt-kickery. It's always good to have backup! Do you run with a crew back home?

[Dryly]

Yeah, I'm a real team player.

Sarcastic, but not a no! But yeah, you do have a whole grouchy lone-wolf thing going on.

[Snorts]

Good. I worked to make this look work, you know.

Yeah, big scary helmet's a good start. How about you, though? Do you fight monologuing bad guys on the regular?

I usually try not to give them a chance to monologue at this point. It's faster that way.

[ ... RIGHT, HE USUALLY CARRIES A GUN. THAT'S A THING. ]

Soooo... do you, uh... take the same hands-on approach to supervillains as you do to muggers?

Naturally and more so than muggers depending on the villain.

[He answers in a tone that's way too casual for the subject]

[ Yeah, okay, Doreen has no pokerface, she can't hide a wince here! ]

Haven't given my whole 'try disarming them and then talking things out' speech from earlier more thought, huh?

[Dryly]

I've heard it all before long before we met.

[ Man, he didn't look that much older than her without the helmet, how long has he been taking the 'hands-on approach'? ]

Well, I'm glad we agreed that the non-violent, 'rescue people in danger' approach is the best way to deal with things right now, because I'd hate to break any more of your guns.

[He's been using that approach for a depressingly long time

Jason scoffs]

Well yeah. I might be using two guns but I know they're not to solution to everything. People are afraid enough already. No need to add gasoline to that.

You know I can't let the violent approach slide once things calm down, right?

I'm well aware. Also, get in line. You're not the only one who's got a problem with that.

You ever think that if multiple people are making the same argument, there might be some weight to it?

You act like I haven't tried other approaches before. I have. They don't work.

See, I didn't know that you'd tried other methods! That's new context.

I'm not the sharing type when it comes to my backstory. I prefer to be solo.

[Not that it was always like that. Things used to be so different for him.

At that thought, this memory plays.

An early-teens Jason dressed in a suit much different from his current vigilante outfit is high up on top of an art deco-style building. The view of Gotham from this spot gives him some comfort. It's beautiful and one could almost forget how corrupt and crime-ridden the city is. Meanwhile, Jason seems pensive and downcast. No one could understand the position he's in. So tonight, he decides to be alone with his favorite gargoyle and contemplate.

He's Batman's second adopted son and the second Robin. Batman's the world's greatest detective and one of the founding members of the Justice League. He's saved countless people. Meanwhile, the first son and first Robin had left such a great legacy and is still doing remarkable things as Nightwing. Batman and the first Robin. They were the original dynamic duo. Sometimes, Jason feels incredibly lucky to have been adopted into that family. Other times, he feels intimidated by the pressure to keep up them. Tonight, it's the latter.

To Jason's mild surprise, Batman finds him. But then again, the man has had years of experience as a vigilante detective, so it wasn't that difficult for him.

Jason listens and to his surprise, Batman... his adopted father isn't asking him to be just like him or Nightwing. He just wants him to do his best, even if it means making mistakes along the way. It's comforting to hear from someone as accomplished as Batman. It's enough for Jason to feel cared for and to stand tall again alongside his father. They're supposed to be a dynamic duo after all]

[ ... Huh.

Doreen bites back her first reaction, which is to exclaim 'hey, it's the Bat-Dab guy!'. She doesn't want to interrupt this memory... whatever it is, it seems important, or at least fairly calm and sincere. She's never really done the whole 'sidekick' thing, apart from a brief, unfortunate stint on her first team, but she figures this kind of support is what those arrangements are supposed to be about.

The colourful outfit and lack of weaponry is a pretty stark contrast to Jason's Whole Current Deal, though. What the heck could have lead from this to that? ]

... You had a favourite gargoyle?

[Jason's helmet is hiding the scowl he's making at having another one of his memories broadcasted without his consent. It's far from the worst memory to be shown to anyone but it's still his time with Bruce is very personal and not something he likes to talk with most people]

Yeah. A favorite gargoyle and a favorite perch back home.

[The word "perch" slipped out naturally and with almost no thought. It's appropriate given his former codename]

[ Man, she can practically hear that scowl, no need to see it! Doreen kinda gives him an apologetic shrug, because yeah, this is pretty damn intrusive! She wouldn't have peeked into his memories if she could help it. ]

Sorry, didn't mean to snoop. But, uh... your town looks pretty cool! You guys are big into the gothic architecture over there, huh? Kind of explains the bat guy, if not the colourful bird theme.

[ And then, a second later: ]

... You can't talk to birds, can you? It's always worth asking, with animal-themed code names.

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