Coming Your Way Next Week: A Blast From The Past!
Many, many a sleep ago in a Fandom by the sea -- July 2010 to be exact -- idontlooktired ran with a plot idea initially suggested by robinthefrog, and presented us with a glorious weekend of angst, catharsis, and brain-breakage galore. Now, both by request and because we love it, hug it, squeeze it, and have privately named it George R. Peabody the Third, we're happy to return it -- and your characters' absent loved ones -- to Fandom's shores: Field of Dreams, Fandom-Style, The Second Edition.
This will be open to all characters, Alumni and Expats included!
The Plot
At sunset on Thursday, January 31st, people whom the Fandomites have loved and lost will arrive to visit. They will not be ghosts or apparitions; they will be themselves, in body and mind, physically present, able eat and drink and sleep. They are as they were before they died, capable of physically interacting with others the same as any other living person (to whatever extent they were able to do that before they died, anyway). They are not the undead; they are the temporarily alive. (Unless they were the undead before they died, in which case they'd still be the undead. Just not dead-dead undead anymore.) They will have come voluntarily, in response to an invitation, knowing they have to leave again on Saturday, February 2nd at sunset. During that time they cannot leave the island.
How is this going to happen?
On Monday, January 28th, there will be a small tremor, originating from Ingvar (teething pains; no, you don't want to know where the teeth are) but spreading across the water to Fandom. That tremor will shake loose the rock and plants that have grown over the ancient stone, covered in writing, that previously brought the dead to Fandom to visit.
The stone has the power to do so again, but with a new crop of people on the island, it will once again have to get to know the dead before it can invite them in. It will do this through the Fandomites: by causing them to dream/daydream of those they have lost and by compelling those who can be compelled into coming out and touching the stone. They will also sense/hear the words: 'If you dream them, they will come.'
From the time of the tremor through sunrise on Thursday, the power of the stone will reach out to those Fandomites (and ex-Fandomites, on or off-island) whose players wish them to be affected, encouraging them to dream of lost loved ones, and to seek out the stone.
Off-island characters will be drawn to return to Fandom, and will be welcome to show up beginning on Wednesday, the 30th. (If you'd like them to show up earlier, you can use your 5 alumni days for that; everything from Wednesday through Sunday, however, is free-of-charge, as it were.)
The power will increase throughout the week until, come sunrise Thursday, it simply stops. At that point, the stone will turn the power inwards to open a path for the dead to come through.
I want to know about the stone and how it's going to feel to my character
Think of the stone as a bit like a big, calm, patient dog - one of those giant furry ones that herds sheep way up in the high mountains. Friendly, but with a job to do. The power it emits will not be frightening in and of itself; it will feel neutral to warm/friendly/calming.
This does not mean it won't frighten/worry/upset your character. The compulsion will feel like a friend at your shoulder, urging you to go forward and reassuring you - which may just make your character as suspicious as hell, if they're inclined to be upset by any weird feelings that seem to be coming from somewhere else. How they react is up to you. If your character has powers/abilities that relate to the dead, the stone's power/influence/compulsion may also feel/taste familiar.
What about these dreams, then? And this touching the stone business?
The dreams are the key to the stone being able to find your character's people. Your character will need to dream or daydream about them at least once, however briefly, during the lead up to the Thursday evening arrival - so by Thursday dawn.
Your character does not have to have touched the stone in order for the stone to find their people, so those characters who wouldn't be influenced by the compulsion, or would fight it, or ward against it, or have friends who would stop them going out into the woods will still be able to play.
My character would definitely go looking for the stone FOR SCIENCE, especially if people go wandering in the woods
Go for it! Go singly or get together in groups to hunt down the source of the power/dreams or track where people are going. However, unless your character is being drawn by its call, they won't be able to find the stone; it employs a dimensional phase shifting perception filter. If someone drawn by the call is also in an investigative mood, they'll certainly find the stone, but they won't be able to do anything to it; the stone can be neither moved, nor damaged.
Once someone who has been affected by the stone has visited it, they won't be able to find it again later, nor will it show itself if someone hearing the call tries to bring along an unaffected person as a witness. Basically, it keeps itself hidden and its location forgotten so that no one ever tries to use it to bring back the dead at a time when it's not ready to do so, because that could be a bad, bad, thing.
Will characters affected by the stone remember its existence and be able to talk about it to others?
Absolutely! The stone protects only its location, not knowledge of its existence. Those affected by its power are welcome to talk about any of it: the dreams, the weird urge to go out into the woods, actually going into the woods and touching a stone, what 'if you dream them, they will come' means. Anyone still around from the previous visitation can recognize the feeling and/or the stone and discuss what it means with others.
Basically, your characters can do anything you want them to do in reaction to what's going on with the exception of stopping the stone from broadcasting.
Enough about the island, I want to know more about how the visitors will feel
The stone issues an invitation to come through. This means that the dead who come to visit have come willingly, knowing that: a) their time is limited to forty eight hours, and b) they know who they are coming to see. Where the dead were before turning up in Fandom (in terms of an afterlife or some other state of being) is up to each individual canon or, lacking canon details, each player. The dead may simply refuse to say or may remember it only vaguely. The important thing is that they chose to come in response to the stone's invitation, and they are accepting of the short time they have - they don't have to be happy about it, they may be downright pissed, but when it's time to go, they will go.
Do I have to play? Is the stone's energy going to come busting down my door?
No. All the effects are opt-in only, to whatever extent you choose to have your characters experience them. If you want them to feel the power and have the dreams, but not have anyone come through, go for it. If you want them to feel nothing, have no dreams, have no character come through, that's cool, too. If you want them to ward their mind, or a room, or their friends against the stone's influence, also cool. (With OOC permission when it comes to protecting other people, of course.)
The characters who come through will not look any different than they did before they died, so unless your character has the power to tell that someone walking around alive was recently dead, they can simply spend the two days wondering where the heck all these extra people came from.
Shared canons, shared fandoms, shared relationships: the apping rules
All potential characters must be apped using the form over here, very much as happens on Parents' Weekend. As with PW, the admin team will get back to you with any potential problems, and issue a later all-clear that the apps are good unless we've specifically contacted you.
APPLICATIONS CLOSE SUNDAY JANUARY 27th AT NOON PST. (And we'll get the all-clear posted before the stone starts its work on Monday.)
Who can I app?
You can app any deceased character from your canon that your character had a strong positive bond with: BFF, parent, sibling, lover, mentor, student, partner, etc. If the relationship was love/hate, frictiony, or otherwise mixed in its tone, that's fine; it just has to be someone your character has some positive connection with and could find catharsis by meeting again; no vendettas from beyond the grave need apply.
It doesn't matter if the character never actually appeared on-screen. You can app them even if they were only ever mentioned or only existed pre-canon. It does have to be someone your character has knowledge of, though, because if they can't dream about at least the idea of this person, the stone can't find them. (So a long-lost mother you've never met is fine, as long as your character can dream about their images, vague memories, stories they've been told, etc.)
The deceased character does have to be played by a current FH player, unless there are extenuating circumstances. (Specifically, if that character has been played for you in the past by a former FH player and they're willing to come back for this plot, we'll most likely be cool with that.)
Who can't I app?
You can't app any complete enemies, or anyone your character hates/was hated by. This is all about the characters' loved ones having one more chance to see them, not about the continuation of old enmities.
You can only app sentient, communicating-type people (of whatever species, including AI's), not pets.
You can't app a non-canon original character that you created, even if it's someone you've previously introduced into text at FH. It's got to be someone who existed or was at least mentioned or implied in canon.
You can't bring back any former FH characters who have died in-game unless: a) their player is still a current FH player, and b) there is at least one character in-game who would remember, dream, and draw that person back. Because the presence of deceased FH characters could affect a wide field of people including those who might want to avoid the plot, we ask that if such a character is approved, please respect any OOC requests to avoid meetups. Any former FH characters will also be listed in the all-good announcement from the admins, so that those who wish to make arrangements can do so before they appear.
You can't app a character from your canon who is currently in game, even if the character in game is from a different timeline than your character. For example, Kennedy's player can't app the deceased Tara from her own universe.
What if my deceased character is from a completely different version of the canon than the FH character?
By this we mean not just separate timelines for FH purposes, but separate canons, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe vs. Marvel 616 comics, vs. Ultimate Marvel.
In that case, we're theoretically cool with it, but: if you are going to app a canonically-different version of a character currently in game, you still need to get permission from the player first to make sure it's okay. For example, if your character had a canon connection to the Kitty Pryde from X-Men: Evolution (presuming she was deceased), you'd need to check with the player of the Marvel 616 Kitty currently in game.
What if my character shares a canon with someone in game?
If there's another character(s) in game from your canon and the deceased character you want to app could possibly have been known to them, you will have to check with their player(s) and get their okay before apping.
For example, if I wanted to app Jenny Calender for Xander, I'd be jumping far afield for the example when there are dead people closer to him, but work with me here need to check in with at least those Buffyverse players whose characters ever came in contact with Jenny. However, if I want to app Bo's Tragic Dead Boyfriend Kyle, I wouldn't need to get Kenzi's player's permission, since Kenzi didn't know him.
Can we share our dead people?
Absolutely; if everyone from the canon is good with the character being apped and you want that person to visit more than one Fandomite, go for it. Just like with AU!Kids, one player will take the responsibility of apping the visitor and it will count against that person's limit.
What is this word 'limit' OMG? How many characters can I app?
Each FH character may have a maximum of two deceased characters who count against their personal total, and both must be played out of a single 'visitor journal.' If you have a plethora of canonmates in game who share relationships with the same deceased characters, you might want to get together, decide who you're going to app, and just share them out amongst you.
Where do I sign up?
There is an application form right over here, stolen, like much-but-not-all of this post, from our beloved idontlooktired. Sign-ups will close SUNDAY JANUARY 27th AT NOON PST.
[ Plot | Player Recruitment | Sign-ups]
This will be open to all characters, Alumni and Expats included!
The Plot
At sunset on Thursday, January 31st, people whom the Fandomites have loved and lost will arrive to visit. They will not be ghosts or apparitions; they will be themselves, in body and mind, physically present, able eat and drink and sleep. They are as they were before they died, capable of physically interacting with others the same as any other living person (to whatever extent they were able to do that before they died, anyway). They are not the undead; they are the temporarily alive. (Unless they were the undead before they died, in which case they'd still be the undead. Just not dead-dead undead anymore.) They will have come voluntarily, in response to an invitation, knowing they have to leave again on Saturday, February 2nd at sunset. During that time they cannot leave the island.
How is this going to happen?
On Monday, January 28th, there will be a small tremor, originating from Ingvar (teething pains; no, you don't want to know where the teeth are) but spreading across the water to Fandom. That tremor will shake loose the rock and plants that have grown over the ancient stone, covered in writing, that previously brought the dead to Fandom to visit.
The stone has the power to do so again, but with a new crop of people on the island, it will once again have to get to know the dead before it can invite them in. It will do this through the Fandomites: by causing them to dream/daydream of those they have lost and by compelling those who can be compelled into coming out and touching the stone. They will also sense/hear the words: 'If you dream them, they will come.'
From the time of the tremor through sunrise on Thursday, the power of the stone will reach out to those Fandomites (and ex-Fandomites, on or off-island) whose players wish them to be affected, encouraging them to dream of lost loved ones, and to seek out the stone.
Off-island characters will be drawn to return to Fandom, and will be welcome to show up beginning on Wednesday, the 30th. (If you'd like them to show up earlier, you can use your 5 alumni days for that; everything from Wednesday through Sunday, however, is free-of-charge, as it were.)
The power will increase throughout the week until, come sunrise Thursday, it simply stops. At that point, the stone will turn the power inwards to open a path for the dead to come through.
I want to know about the stone and how it's going to feel to my character
Think of the stone as a bit like a big, calm, patient dog - one of those giant furry ones that herds sheep way up in the high mountains. Friendly, but with a job to do. The power it emits will not be frightening in and of itself; it will feel neutral to warm/friendly/calming.
This does not mean it won't frighten/worry/upset your character. The compulsion will feel like a friend at your shoulder, urging you to go forward and reassuring you - which may just make your character as suspicious as hell, if they're inclined to be upset by any weird feelings that seem to be coming from somewhere else. How they react is up to you. If your character has powers/abilities that relate to the dead, the stone's power/influence/compulsion may also feel/taste familiar.
What about these dreams, then? And this touching the stone business?
The dreams are the key to the stone being able to find your character's people. Your character will need to dream or daydream about them at least once, however briefly, during the lead up to the Thursday evening arrival - so by Thursday dawn.
Your character does not have to have touched the stone in order for the stone to find their people, so those characters who wouldn't be influenced by the compulsion, or would fight it, or ward against it, or have friends who would stop them going out into the woods will still be able to play.
My character would definitely go looking for the stone FOR SCIENCE, especially if people go wandering in the woods
Go for it! Go singly or get together in groups to hunt down the source of the power/dreams or track where people are going. However, unless your character is being drawn by its call, they won't be able to find the stone; it employs a dimensional phase shifting perception filter. If someone drawn by the call is also in an investigative mood, they'll certainly find the stone, but they won't be able to do anything to it; the stone can be neither moved, nor damaged.
Once someone who has been affected by the stone has visited it, they won't be able to find it again later, nor will it show itself if someone hearing the call tries to bring along an unaffected person as a witness. Basically, it keeps itself hidden and its location forgotten so that no one ever tries to use it to bring back the dead at a time when it's not ready to do so, because that could be a bad, bad, thing.
Will characters affected by the stone remember its existence and be able to talk about it to others?
Absolutely! The stone protects only its location, not knowledge of its existence. Those affected by its power are welcome to talk about any of it: the dreams, the weird urge to go out into the woods, actually going into the woods and touching a stone, what 'if you dream them, they will come' means. Anyone still around from the previous visitation can recognize the feeling and/or the stone and discuss what it means with others.
Basically, your characters can do anything you want them to do in reaction to what's going on with the exception of stopping the stone from broadcasting.
Enough about the island, I want to know more about how the visitors will feel
The stone issues an invitation to come through. This means that the dead who come to visit have come willingly, knowing that: a) their time is limited to forty eight hours, and b) they know who they are coming to see. Where the dead were before turning up in Fandom (in terms of an afterlife or some other state of being) is up to each individual canon or, lacking canon details, each player. The dead may simply refuse to say or may remember it only vaguely. The important thing is that they chose to come in response to the stone's invitation, and they are accepting of the short time they have - they don't have to be happy about it, they may be downright pissed, but when it's time to go, they will go.
Do I have to play? Is the stone's energy going to come busting down my door?
No. All the effects are opt-in only, to whatever extent you choose to have your characters experience them. If you want them to feel the power and have the dreams, but not have anyone come through, go for it. If you want them to feel nothing, have no dreams, have no character come through, that's cool, too. If you want them to ward their mind, or a room, or their friends against the stone's influence, also cool. (With OOC permission when it comes to protecting other people, of course.)
The characters who come through will not look any different than they did before they died, so unless your character has the power to tell that someone walking around alive was recently dead, they can simply spend the two days wondering where the heck all these extra people came from.
Shared canons, shared fandoms, shared relationships: the apping rules
All potential characters must be apped using the form over here, very much as happens on Parents' Weekend. As with PW, the admin team will get back to you with any potential problems, and issue a later all-clear that the apps are good unless we've specifically contacted you.
APPLICATIONS CLOSE SUNDAY JANUARY 27th AT NOON PST. (And we'll get the all-clear posted before the stone starts its work on Monday.)
Who can I app?
You can app any deceased character from your canon that your character had a strong positive bond with: BFF, parent, sibling, lover, mentor, student, partner, etc. If the relationship was love/hate, frictiony, or otherwise mixed in its tone, that's fine; it just has to be someone your character has some positive connection with and could find catharsis by meeting again; no vendettas from beyond the grave need apply.
It doesn't matter if the character never actually appeared on-screen. You can app them even if they were only ever mentioned or only existed pre-canon. It does have to be someone your character has knowledge of, though, because if they can't dream about at least the idea of this person, the stone can't find them. (So a long-lost mother you've never met is fine, as long as your character can dream about their images, vague memories, stories they've been told, etc.)
The deceased character does have to be played by a current FH player, unless there are extenuating circumstances. (Specifically, if that character has been played for you in the past by a former FH player and they're willing to come back for this plot, we'll most likely be cool with that.)
Who can't I app?
You can't app any complete enemies, or anyone your character hates/was hated by. This is all about the characters' loved ones having one more chance to see them, not about the continuation of old enmities.
You can only app sentient, communicating-type people (of whatever species, including AI's), not pets.
You can't app a non-canon original character that you created, even if it's someone you've previously introduced into text at FH. It's got to be someone who existed or was at least mentioned or implied in canon.
You can't bring back any former FH characters who have died in-game unless: a) their player is still a current FH player, and b) there is at least one character in-game who would remember, dream, and draw that person back. Because the presence of deceased FH characters could affect a wide field of people including those who might want to avoid the plot, we ask that if such a character is approved, please respect any OOC requests to avoid meetups. Any former FH characters will also be listed in the all-good announcement from the admins, so that those who wish to make arrangements can do so before they appear.
You can't app a character from your canon who is currently in game, even if the character in game is from a different timeline than your character. For example, Kennedy's player can't app the deceased Tara from her own universe.
What if my deceased character is from a completely different version of the canon than the FH character?
By this we mean not just separate timelines for FH purposes, but separate canons, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe vs. Marvel 616 comics, vs. Ultimate Marvel.
In that case, we're theoretically cool with it, but: if you are going to app a canonically-different version of a character currently in game, you still need to get permission from the player first to make sure it's okay. For example, if your character had a canon connection to the Kitty Pryde from X-Men: Evolution (presuming she was deceased), you'd need to check with the player of the Marvel 616 Kitty currently in game.
What if my character shares a canon with someone in game?
If there's another character(s) in game from your canon and the deceased character you want to app could possibly have been known to them, you will have to check with their player(s) and get their okay before apping.
For example, if I wanted to app Jenny Calender for Xander, I'd be jumping far afield for the example when there are dead people closer to him, but work with me here need to check in with at least those Buffyverse players whose characters ever came in contact with Jenny. However, if I want to app Bo's Tragic Dead Boyfriend Kyle, I wouldn't need to get Kenzi's player's permission, since Kenzi didn't know him.
Can we share our dead people?
Absolutely; if everyone from the canon is good with the character being apped and you want that person to visit more than one Fandomite, go for it. Just like with AU!Kids, one player will take the responsibility of apping the visitor and it will count against that person's limit.
What is this word 'limit' OMG? How many characters can I app?
Each FH character may have a maximum of two deceased characters who count against their personal total, and both must be played out of a single 'visitor journal.' If you have a plethora of canonmates in game who share relationships with the same deceased characters, you might want to get together, decide who you're going to app, and just share them out amongst you.
Where do I sign up?
There is an application form right over here, stolen, like much-but-not-all of this post, from our beloved idontlooktired. Sign-ups will close SUNDAY JANUARY 27th AT NOON PST.
[ Plot | Player Recruitment | Sign-ups]