I found this old excerpt from one of my earliest tomes, and I figured I'd share it now that I have no real use for it. May8e less inexperienced parties will 8enefit from it. Upd8 #8416 Status: Active ~ On the 8th 8ilunar perigee of the 3rd 8right season's solstice ~ As I've o8served, there hasn't 8een a significant change to the overarching structure of the afterlife, otherwise known as the dream 8u88les. The unceasing churn of Paradox Space has yet to 8e unveiled as nothing 8ut a ploy to amuse the higher powers in charge of their gyr8ing axis, 8ut I suspect that they may 8e the only audience worth impressing. Much is said a8out the intricacies of the timelines, how they are interwoven into one another, the uncaring needle that punctures the cloth of the universe, its unwavering thread following an invisi8le pattern that toes the line 8etween controlled chaos and frenzied artistry. However, not much is said a8out the legendary realm that expands far 8eyond the gaze of the ███████████. I don't expect these vague logs to 8e read, 8ut to the imaginary reader, I shall explain. Most are too occupied weeping over their own tragic 8ackstories to do the intellectual heavy lifting required, and I am always disposed to fill in the gaps. More often than not, it is 8elieved that the 8u88les serve as a cosmic w8ng room for the deceased, a sort of ghostly purg8ry where you can have tea with your fallen teamm8s and whine a8out your misfortunes. How quaint. How profoundly, insultingly WRONG. The outer gods would writhe in unfiltered disgust if they were ever to dignify this kind of careless comment that'd end in yet another needless tragedy with their wise acknowledgment, adding to the ever-growing percentage of Unworthy Ones falling from grace on their way up. 8ut I digress. The dream 8u88les are, in fact, the unfiltered, unconscious dreams of sleeping gods. Yes, plural. Specimens from the a8yss exceeding the comprehension of lesser players who scoff at the idea of someone gre8r than them. I, too, once misunderstood their vastness. How foolish of me. They are, simply put, only rivaled 8y the likes of the Lord of Time, Cali8orn. The horrorterrors are widely discussed and scarcely understood. The fear-wrapped nightmares from the Furthest Ring, the A8yss, the Depths. They aren't just in the Furthest Ring; they are its active, dreaming cortex, as fantastical as it sounds. Every 8u88le is a neuron firing in the pan-dimensional mind of an eldritch 8eing that finds our entire reality to 8e a mildly interesting 8ut ultim8ly forgetta8le daydream, or even a snack... Note: I've yet to see them performing the latter. When a noteworthy event happens in a universe (i.e. death, a 8irth, a doomed timeline's end, etc.), it sends out a psychic shockwave that knocks all the others, like a domino effect. In this case, the dominoes represent a catastrophic paradox. This shockwave hits the mem8rane of a dream 8u88le and POP!!!!!!!! A new one is 8orn. The 8u88le's interior can 8e considered an echo of that event, the muted notes of a death scream in its crescendo. It's not a recreation; for it can 8e warped and or modified depending on the thinker's recollection of events, a leftover psychic 8lip. The conundrum whether its inha8itants are real or not continues, 8ut one cannot affirm that they're entirely fake. They're the phantom of the (assumed) impression the event made on the fa8ric of reality. If you wonder why I compared the 8u88les to dominoes, it is 8ecause they are drawn to each other, and to the dreamers within them, 8y a force I call "narrative gravitas" (pending draft). Its function is to ensure that when two 8u88les collide and merge, their respective stories have enough thematic or character overlap to cre8 a "crossover", thus our constant sightseeing of deceased altern8s of ourselves or past acquaintances, friends, foes, etc. For example, a 8u88le containing a doomed player who heroically sacrificed themself for their friends will 8e inexora8ly drawn to a 8u88le containing another participant who witnessed the same sacrifice. It's like the universe is desper8ly trying to cre8 its most pusher-wrenching, flash8ack-ridden episode possi8le. It's as appalling as it is fascin8ing, perhaps even a little masterful. Su8jective temporality is the main reason why the likes of Cali8orn and his associ8s cannot peer inside them as if it were the frosted glass of a forgotten window in the Land of Leaves and Typhoons. Time inside a 8u88le doesn't exist in its traditional sense, it is a prettied-up lie concocted 8y our tormented (or unaware) pans. It's a reenactment of the dreamer's perception of time, not any actual temporal flow. In fact, I have taken the time to experiment with it, and my findings have 8een ███████████████ █████████ █████████████████ ████████████████ █████████. Last 8ut not least, we can take a look at one ultim8, singular truth: the entire system is held together 8y paradox. The 8u88les exist to allow the doomed timelines to matter. They are the ARCHIVE of everything that could have 8een, a silent, 8ypassed li8rary of failure and what-ifs. Don't we all wish for our timelines to have gone differently? Well, it's nothing more than a hopeless fantasy. This li8rary is the 8edrock upon which the "alpha" timeline is 8uilt. The alpha is just the one story the outer gods found most amusing, for it has also caught the gaze of their Adversary. What I've 8een trying to say is that 8u88les weren't cre8d for the dead. They are for the CONCEPTS of the dead. The place where ideas go to 8e forgotten, for that is how they give shape to the reality that remains. It's a gloriously counterproductive, tragic, and intellectually intriguing system. I will continue my efforts to gain a deeper understanding of them. Truly, next time a living player sees a ghost, they shouldn't go 8lu88ering a8out second chances or reunions or what-have-you. They're staring at the idle thoughts of a cosmic nightmare who finds those thoughts un8eara8ly pedestrian. Myself? Idiotically sentimental. 8ut the pusher does reign over the mind at times, so what do I know? I don't expect praise, ovations, or gratitude for anything that I've found, not even acknowledgement. My interest is purely academic, for what is a scholar if not ███████████ diligent?
࣪⊹₊˚{ oh, wow!!!! are you writing a book? this is all like.... REELY good stuff!!!! }@7@{ <3 }˚₊⊹ ࣪
Aw, Hicari! I've 8een writing for a long time. Forever, if we want to 8e dramatic a8out it. You're sweet as always. Thank you for your kind words. <3
࣪⊹₊˚{ hehehehe.... fourever! }@7@{ i think i can bereef that! }˚₊⊹ ࣪