sixth entry ⊗ permanent residency

[flamekthunder]

Sender: Eustace
To: Everyone
Subject: A Method to Stay in This World

As everyone should know, the version of ourselves in this world is wholly separate from our originals that remain awake in our home worlds. What we do here has no effect there, and vice versa. Most won't care whether they are here for a temporary stay, however there are those like me and Tifa who have formed relationships that would be impossible if not for this world.

And I am determined to make it last.

When the Halloween Carnival arrived last October, we had the opportunity to speak to the tapirs and inquire about the nature of our existence here. In short, we are tethered to our home world which allows us to return, currently at random. However, the fae, creatures, and every other being that is not a dreamer like ourselves do not have such tethers. They either traversed into this world or were directly taken through other means.

This leads to the conclusion that if we want to stay in this world, we need to somehow break the connection, either by completely severing it or changing the tether to connect to this world instead. Perhaps we need to completely change the nature of our current "dream self." As the risk of being sent back is high if the tether is cut, I aim to focus on other means.

However, there is of course no known knowledge or means to do this, and the tapirs do not know, either. Thus I am sending this inquiry to:

1) ask if there are any others who would be interested either to help or in the results;

2) if there is anyone who is familiar with dimensional travel or strong magic that could give some clue as to what to look for.

Currently I am looking through the Tree of Stories to find any text or story that could be of use. My current suspicion is dreamotion will be the main component, however manipulating it for such a use will be difficult.

If you are interested, you can respond here or contact me privately.

— Eustace

[ooc: AND THUS MARKS THE BEGINNINGS OF A VERY LONG QUEST but yeah Eustace is trying to find a way to stay permanently in this world and is looking for anyone who wants to help, wants to benefit, or has ideas that they can look into and be possibly incorporated in the actual method. An additional sign-up post has gone up for an official head count. Those who sign-up will be able to play a significant role in finding a clue and/or piece that will lead to the final result. More details there!]

Comments

[flamekthunder]

Yeah. Sure you don't want any? We have a portion for you regardless.

[Even if Lyria had to stay in the bottom half of the house since there weren't any proper guestrooms on the upper floor, he would always let her use this part of the house whenever she needed, even give her some space to sleep if she felt lonely. He knows it's a big adjustment compared to having Gran and Vyrn with her all the time, as well as the rest of the Grandcypher crew.

But he is also pleased to see her starting to settle in.]

[flamekthunder]

That does seem the easier way. We don't even know who the leaders really are there, either.

[...Hm.]

How comfortable would you feel about trying to speak with them? If you feel uncomfortable on your own, we could have others investigate as well, cover more ground.

[And Hans.

No.

Don't make Eustace smack you—]

[removal]

Yes, of course.

I would be glad to assist in whatever manner you wish me to.

[flamekthunder]

I hadn't considered that approach, and it would be worth looking into.

You seem familiar with the concept yourself.

private

[removal]

There is also the matter of nightmare. It would be beneficial to our plan as well as mine own self if we could learn more about it, the mysterious force beneath this dream world.

I know my connection to it is a powerful tool, but I know not where to look, or to explore with it. I would dearly wish to avoid the necessity of observing our friends becoming noctaere.

[flamekthunder]

It's worth looking into and trying at least. But what would be the best way to test this? Inanimate objects?

[flamekthunder]

[He can't help but smile a little ruefully at her words.]

Perhaps. It would be kinder to leave them a letter or some message if the result is my complete departure from that world, and if that is possible I would. However my relationships and the nature of what I do wouldn't make it so odd were I to just make this decision on my own.

If anything, they would probably be more surprised if I did leave a message.

[He was still very much the "lone wolf" there, so any action that led him to be with a group still surprised everyone.]

[flamekthunder]

[Okay, that amuses him a little. Of course this person whom he doesn't recognize wouldn't know who he is, but if he did that would be the least of his concerns.]

They are all fair questions, so no offense taken.

[Okay but magic and telephone what—at least he knows what a telephone is or this would be even more confusing.]

How well trained are you?

[flamekthunder]

[He thought that was it.]

I'm sure there are others who are similar. If there was something pressing still in my world, I also would be a bit more hesitant. Which is why it would be ideal if we can somehow remain in both our worlds without complications.

[flamekthunder]

[It's cool, these are good points, really.]

The only assumptions I make are from what has been "confirmed" by the tapirs of this world and what I've been able to observe in the year and a half I've been here. Whether they should be taken in full confidence is a different matter, but it's the starting point we have to work with. The tapirs themselves have told us from the very beginning of what we are in this world—fragments of our souls made of dreamotion energy that are still bound to our original selves using that same dreamotion energy. They have also informed us that neither side is affected by the other.

The need to sever the connection is also not necessary, but it is an option to consider if others don't work. Regardless, as long as we remain tethered to our world, there will be the chance that we are suddenly pulled back to it just like it is now. If we keep the tether, we need to ensure that we are no longer subject to unwanted pull backs.

I have also had personal experience in leaving this world and returning. I had no memory of what occurred here in Songerein when I was in my world, but I kept the memories that transpired there when I returned. I'm not the only one. I have also been in multiple worlds, though I only remember one of them and was told of my presence of the other. I know I have suffered critical injuries in one, but my original self was unharmed and also unaware of my existence there.

Of course that is only one account and things can always be different. But it's proof that it's not impossible to have safe separation.

I also agree this will take time. I doubt this will be done by the end of the season, and may take several months, perhaps longer. But that's all the more reason to start. We're effectively living on indeterminate borrowed time in this world, and I'd rather do something to change it than just wait and do nothing.

private

[flamekthunder]

[Now this is something he didn't expect.]

I never considered it... While I'm a little wary, it would make sense to look into it as well as it is dreamotion energy regardless of its nature. I'm also not sure where we could look...but I suppose the Tree of Stories or the Observatory will be our best starting points for now.

Sender: Alisaie

[leveillpier]

I don't plan on staying here long term as I have unfinished business, but--If there's a way for me to assist with your future endeavors, I am more than willing.

I want to help in any way I can for anyone that wishes to remain here. However, what is the risks if you don't mind my asking?

[ Alisaie has too many responsibilities at home to stay here long, but she's determined to help others find their answers and happiness. Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to do the things they do. She still worries about what might happen to both versions of people, though. Something, she might want to look into. There's no accomplishment without risk, unfortunately. ]

[flamekthunder]

I can understand, and your assistance is appreciated regardless.

As to the risks, at this point it's all conjecture. It could fail and we're forced home during the attempt. The tether breaks and we can never return. Our original selves could be affected by whatever dreamotion energy we use. There's unfortunately a lot of unknowns, but that's why it's imperative that we look into as much information as possible.

[noblegarnet]

That, and I'd feel bad just cutting myself off from the rest of me, if that would be how it worked.

[Like, good fucking luck, I'll be over here living my life without all the problems we got into. Is it normal to feel bad for your theoretical other future self?]

But it would be nice to have the choice to come here and back at will. That's something I'd be interested in.

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[The fact that Eustace placed the word confirmed within quotation marks was enough to pique Kaiba's interest. That little bit of skepticism indicated that he just might be communicating to someone with some level of critical thinking. A rarity in his experience.]

At least you're willing to question the source of that intel. This isn't the first unusual destination I've found myself in either and let's just say the locals in previous location were not wholly forthright with their "guests". It's a possibility that should be taken into consideration here as well.

So essentially, you're just in the planning stages. You know what your desired outcome is but not entirely how to achieve it. At the surface, that seems rather innocuous but you're not operating within a controlled space. If you manage to alter the nature of this environment there could be radiating ramifications you can't fully predict or anticipate that would effect everyone here.

[In a way... this was added more for Kaiba's benefit than the person he was conversing with as he considered the quandary for himself. The risk might not be contained to one person, depending on how results were achieved. It's not as if he had any connection to the guy in question, nor his dearly beloved. But there is someone here he does care about, namely himself and Ann Takamaki.. by some.. small extension.. he'd include her friends in that category since she would be upset if something happened to them.]

... not that I've ever let something like that stop me before.

[Hadn't he been dabbling in some questionable tech himself lately?]

I'm familiar with that phenomenon of memory loss upon departing a "world", for lack of a better term, and returning but I haven't experienced it for myself.... as far as I'm aware. I have a theory that the memories are never really lost however just suppressed. As for physical damage, there wouldn't be any since these encounters have all been while we're not in a physical state.

[Ie. Mind games]

Why you want to remain here is beyond me.. but I would be lying if I said the theoretical side of it didn't appeal to me.

[nulland]

Fine. But I am handwriting this so it's gonna take a while.

Elmore isn't real. It still exists technically. It's where we all live. But it's not an actual place. It only exists to be a show that's broadcast to people in other places. It's an "amazing world" and it's got its so-called hero and everything centers around him.

Anyway, barely anyone else realizes this and it's pretty much impossible to change that. I only know because I was removed before because I was a mistake. The world has a mind of its own pretty much and there's probably other forces controlling that too. As I was saying it gets rid of anything it thinks is a mistake and leaves it to spend eternity rotting in a dimension with all the other mistakes.

Last time I remember being there, I was seeing signs that the world was getting ready to end the "show", and that's gonna send the whole town into that place. I've been trying to stop it. Pitching other shows, trying to change the future, but since practically no one else sees it I can't get anything done! And then I got a vision of the future last month that confirmed that all of Elmore really is just going to collapse into that void and probably be stuck there forever. I already know how horrible it is to go from thinking you're living a normal life to everything just stop

[There's a very long pause.]

Sorry, cramp. Basically everyone and everything will still exist but it'll all be stuck in that place instead of being able to have normal lives. As normal as it gets in Elmore at least. It's really weird there, probably one of the reasons the world thinks it's all a mistake. I still don't want that to happen even though it doesn't want me. But I don't have much to make me want to stay in Elmore either other than thinking my only choices were living there or being trapped in that other place again.

tl;dr it's complicated. Like I said.

[removal]

Aye. This world will never be free from nightmare; best to learn how to manage it rather than aim to remove it altogether.

That sounds like a promising lead. I shall look into it as soon as I am able.

[azuresong]

Huh? Ah, but you didn't have to—! [ She was genuinely a little shocked to hear, but considering she didn't eat all of her food downstairs, there was certainly some room left for some more. This time she'll make sure the dogs don't get all of it!! ] But thank you, I'd love some!

[ To make such accommodations for her...

It was only when she was seated at the table across from him did the small redness of her cheeks become apparent from this distance. Behind a freshly washed face the subtle puffiness of her eyes remained. ]

Have you been to this library that we are going to before?

[sleightofhans]

[Being tossed to the dragons here...]

I can certainly try. I'm at least confident I won't sour our relations. Although, I might feel a little more comfortable with someone that has some experience dealing with dragons before.

It wouldn't hurt to cover more ground, as you've said.

[flamekthunder]

Indeed, you've proven that when managed and kept in control then it's no different than any other dangerous but useful matter.

But I may have to have you take the lead on this. I'll help when I can, but my time has become more limited.

[flamekthunder]

[That's.............................. Wow. That is definitely a lot. A world that only exists to entertain other people... And with the potential to just collapse and disappear. Even if the people inside still "live" in a void, it's not really much of living.]

Is there no way to change the void or trick this world that it isn't a mistake? Is the world actually sentient or something else?

[flamekthunder]

[He just smiles when she accepts, standing so that he can fetch a bowl of the soup Tifa had made for her. It won't take him too long to reheat it, especially when he has his dreamotion to help power the device, and soon he has it set in front of her with a spoon. He's about to get her a drink when he notices that redness and bit of puffiness...

...]

Did something happen?

[flamekthunder]

[Karma.]

I don't know anyone offhand so you may need to ask. But I can also inquire as I speak with others.

[That wouldn't want to murder them sorry Trahearne]

[removal]

No worries, I shall keep you updated if I discover anything important.

[ Eustace is married now, he's going to be busier, all things considered. ]

[flamekthunder]

We'd have to be able to retain our memories in the other world. But having different options isn't a bad idea, either.