A Setting I Made

[Guest Coda]

So this is a thing I made a few years back. It's probably bad. What do you think?

In this world, the realm of dreams and creativity is called the Mindscape. The "real" world is called the Outside by Mindscape denizens. Outsiders find their way into the Mindscape when they dream. Every fiction ever dreamed exists in the Mindscape. There is an ongoing debate on whether Outsiders create the Mindscape worlds by dreaming or simply dream of worlds that already exist. 

Each Outsider can see some worlds and no others, though they will usually see fewer than capacity. Each Outsider also has a private area of the Mindscape that's similar to a landing pad, a place where they dream into before ending up in a world. No other Outsider can access the private area, and this area is generally free of Mindscape denizens. Egos have a similar area, which is where they go when they dream. It is unknown if Egos go to a deeper Mindscape or just relocate in the Mindscape when they dream. 

The Dreamer can sense things in the Mindscape but cannot move them(or make footprints). The rules of the world are what the Dreamer believes they are, so if the Dreamer thinks they can fly or walk on water, then they can. When the Dreamer wakes up, the events of the Dream are vague and generalized. This causes misinterpretation and different versions of the same world to be written and published(Alice in Wonderland book vs movie). People can choose to stay if they want, entering a permanent coma. Usually there will be a note left explaining the decision. Outsiders that do this gradually forget the Outside in favor of the neverending Mindscape. 

Mindscape denizens can be divided into 2 categories: Egos and Figments. Egos are dynamic characters, more like real people. These are usually POV characters and main characters. The protaganist, the antagonist, everyone characterized with a personality. Figments are like movie extras, existing to flesh out a world without having any depth themselves. These are the nameless, faceless, voiceless people. The check-out person, the man on the street, everyone who would never get attention. 

Imaginary friends(IF) are a special case of Figments. They are found by a young child and befriended, however the IF will not be able to know anything the child does not. The IF has the illusion of sentience, but it is an empty shell pantomiming. Once the child stops believing and remembering, it loses all semblance of sentience, though it still has form in the Mindscape. Imaginary friends can be brought back from being forgotten, though the relationship will often be soured because of the Outsider's guilt over forgetting.  

Tulpas are a special case of Egos. They are "manufactured" Egos, created by an Outsider devoting time to create a Mindscape denizen in their private area. Tulpas are as variable as the Dreamer. Egos and tulpas can also create tulpas. This can lead to "Tulpa-ception" where tulpas make tulpas who then make more tulpas and on and on. There is no limit to the number of tulpas one can have, though tulpas that are not actively thought of tend to go the Mindscape. 

[danox46]

As Hoid said “What is it we value? Innovation. Originality. Novelty. But most importantly...timeliness..."

[+ILuvHats]

On ‎11‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 10:08 AM, danox46 said:

As Hoid said “What is it we value? Innovation. Originality. Novelty. But most importantly...timeliness..."

You talking about Tel'aran'rhiod or something else?

@Coda I think it's pretty interesting, though as danox already mentioned, dream worlds have been done a lot before. I think it is original in some ways, but could use a bit more expanding to make it stand out as unique. Of course, depending on the story you want to tell, the world could be fine as it is. The world doesn't have to be super original and unheard of as long as the story's unique and interesting.

Edited November 25, 2019 by ILuvHats

[danox46]

 

 

 

1

23 hours ago, ILuvHats said:

You talking about Tel'aran'rhiod or something else?

I was actually referring to What Hoid (Wit in that setting) said at the end of the way of kings. What I meant is that someone publishing a story you thought about first might take admiration away from your story. But, it doesn't take skill away from you. Keep trying and next time hurry to publish XD

[+ILuvHats]

4 hours ago, danox46 said:

On 11/25/2019 at 10:24 AM, ILuvHats said:

You talking about Tel'aran'rhiod or something else?

I was actually referring to What Hoid (Wit in that setting) said at the end of the way of kings. What I meant is that someone publishing a story you thought about first might take admiration away from your story. But, it doesn't take skill away from you. Keep trying and next time hurry to publish XD

I got that part. I mean, I have read SA lol. My impression was that you were using that quote to express that you thought the OP’s idea wasn’t the most original or timely. So I was wondering what you were comparing their dream world to in particular. And in case you didn’t know, Tel’aran’rhiod is

(mild spoilers for Wheel of Time)

Spoiler

a dream world in WoT. Course there are a lot of other examples in literature of dream worlds, so you could easily be thinking of another or just of the idea generally.

 

Edited November 26, 2019 by ILuvHats

[Halyo_Alex]

Oooooooooh baby, I love dream-world concepts! Especially with stuff as interesting as the Tulpas. Arguably my best friend has a couple of those right now, which is pretty cool to see that someone else has thought about that sort of thing.

I do also love the concept that all the things we dream of are already real somewhere, and all the minor discrepancies are due to memory fuzziness rather than actual differences. One question I have though, is it possible for two Outsiders to be in the same dream together, and interact? This could mean there's a way to transmit information through the Mindscape, if the memories aren't fuzzed to heck when they wake up.

[CahiraCelosial]

A couple of questions: are people with multiple personality disorder just people who are closer to the mindscape and switch between themselves and a couple of egos/figments? Is your imagination a minor doorway to the mindscape? And if an author writes something, does that become/is it a world in the mindscape? I love the setting, and I think it has a lot of potential! Good luck!

[Guest Coda]

On 12/5/2019 at 3:23 AM, Halyo_Alex said:

I do also love the concept that all the things we dream of are already real somewhere, and all the minor discrepancies are due to memory fuzziness rather than actual differences. One question I have though, is it possible for two Outsiders to be in the same dream together, and interact? This could mean there's a way to transmit information through the Mindscape, if the memories aren't fuzzed to heck when they wake up.

It is possible, see "Last Christmas" from Doctor Who. Basically, the people in the dream can interact, but they usually have a history in the context of the dream, don't know each other in real life, and don't remember specific details well enough to find each other. Finding a person you know in a dream is very rare, but information sharing is theoretically possible if a person has a really good memory.

16 hours ago, CahiraCelosial said:

A couple of questions: are people with multiple personality disorder just people who are closer to the mindscape and switch between themselves and a couple of egos/figments? Is your imagination a minor doorway to the mindscape? And if an author writes something, does that become/is it a world in the mindscape? I love the setting, and I think it has a lot of potential! Good luck!

Psychology is very split on this topic. Some say that the other personalities are just fragments of the mind and are not other, but some say that the other personalities are manufactured egos made for protection. The manufactured egos side is winning in the general populace because no one really wants to think that they are broken. The imagination is a doorway, though the connection is weaker since your senses are still attuned to the Outside. There is an ongoing debate on whether authors create worlds or dream about worlds. Not even the Denizens know. The Denizens prefer the dream theory while the Outsiders prefer the creation theory.

[Ripheus23]

This is a great setting idea, but see THE WAKING ENGINE or PALIMPSEST (or Lovecraft's Dream Cycle) for analogues that you can learn from in other ways (e.g. comparison/contrast).

Edited December 30, 2019 by Ripheus23