Basically a universe idea thing I've had for a while that only Lloyd knows about so far. It's essentially just worldbuilding practice.
How This Universe Works[]
The idea is that an event on the island rotates from future tense to present to past, but the variables are altered every time. If the event can no longer rotate after a certain point it is cut from existence.
Every event begins in future tense, then present, then past. Each "tense" is made up of stolen code from different timelines of the same event. When a rotation (all three Tenses get used) is complete, Timeline Control checks to see if the event can continue. If it can't, the event gets deleted. If it can, then it continues, unless there is an interruption.
Like the CONSOLE, the main device used here is something called Timeline Control, where all the commands are entered and whatnot. Timeline Control was created by Mastermind (I still need to think of a name for this guy so shuddup).
TCU Terminology[]
Event: The ongoing story. Usually made up of one or more rotations. TC can have up to two million events ready to be used. One million of them are categorized as priority events and the other half are in storage.
Tense: The parts of the story. Future Tense, Present Tense, Past Tense, then repeat.
Rotation: A rotation is made up of the three different tenses. An indefinite number of rotations can occur within an event.
Variable: The parts of a tense that end up different in the next tense.
Timeline Control (TC): The main device where commands are entered.
ENTITY: Same as the Libra's Scale universe.
Character: If a name is not given in the event, the main character will just be addressed as Character.
Timeline: Very inconsistent in its use, but ideally, timelines would refer to all the different ways a specific event can go. Each tense is made up of stolen code from a different timeline. Timeline Control has access to an infinite amount of timelines for each event, the only issue is that they are picked at random, meaning that TC has no control over whether the taken code ends up being the one to end the event or not.
Universe: Also inconsistent. Universes are mainly defined by the unique components found where the event takes place. For example, In EVENT 1 (below), there are strange monsters in every timeline, so that event's universe can be defined with those monsters, since they're unique to that universe. Additionally, the whole Timeline Control concept is unique to this universe, hence the name "Timeline Control Universe". It is possible for multiple events to take place in the same universe.
TBA
Mastermind (or a different name)[]
Mastermind is the one responsible for stealing all this timeline code and creating TC. His motives and appearance are unknown, and status wise, he'd possibly be just a couple tiers below ENTITY. He is human, or something like that, so it's not entirely impossible to take him down.
TBA
EVENT 1: Lamplight Lunatics[]
Rotation 1:[]
He’ll walk along the paths of Lamplight Town, wand drawn, like the other lunatics who would believe that it wasn’t safe at night.
Except it was not a belief- he would know of the danger that hid just under the veil, the monsters that would dance in front of the ignorant eyes, that would raise their mugs of otherworldly drinks in the same bars that wizards themselves ruined their lives at.
So he’ll walk and he’ll hold his wand out and he’ll ignore the strange looks he’ll get from others.
They wouldn’t know.
From behind him, the shadows will shift. A creature seemingly made of thousands of eyes and hundreds of teeth will reach a trembling claw out.
The street will be empty, all of a sudden.
The shadows will disappear.
So will the blood.
~~~~~
He runs along the paths of Lamplight Town, wand held tightly in his hand, afraid, like the other lunatics who believed it wasn’t safe at night.
Except it was not a belief- he knows that there is danger breaching the veil, monsters dancing in front of shocked eyes, cackling while they force their mugs of otherworldly drinks down the throats of wizards who mistakenly visit the same bars.
So he runs and he raises his wand and he doesn’t remember the startled looks he gets from others.
They know.
The shadows shift from all around him, creatures seemingly made of the bones of their prey and flesh of their victims clawing their way through.
He does not feel the strange, murderous intent of the monster holding the piercing sword he runs into.
The shadows disappear with a wail of agony.
So does the blood.
~~~~~
He scrambled down the paths of Lamplight Town. His wand was held tightly in his hand. He was afraid, like the other lunatics who had believed it wasn’t safe at night.
Except it was not a belief- he had known of the danger that breached the veil, monsters that danced in front of terrified eyes, that cackled while forcing their blades of otherworldly metal into the hearts of wizards that had tried to meet them in battle.
So he scrambled and he raised his wand and he'd forgotten the surprised looks he’d recieved from others, now long gone.
They had known.
The shadows had shifted in front of his eyes, creatures seemingly made of the magic from their books and the purity of their souls had emerged, and their pale, ghostly fingers had closed around his heart.
The town was suddenly- finally empty.
The shadows melted away.
So did the blood.
~~~~~
<CONTINUITY_ERROR_DETECTED>
<INITIATING_EVENT_REMOVAL>
<SELECTING_NEW_EVENT_RANDOM_FROM_1_-_1000000>
~~~~~
Notes[]
This is an event that ends immediately after one rotation. This is because of the line, "The town was suddenly- finally empty." which will contradict with the next rotations' Future tense, since there are no other wizards for Character to receive strange looks from. That means that one of the variables will then have an error, and the next rotation is no longer possible. The event cannot be continued, so it is removed to free up space. All the stolen timeline code has been deleted from existence, so now three different timelines in this universe are missing a chunk of their code.
EVENT 2: Elemental Overpowering[]
Rotation 1:[]
She will reach for the eye in the jar and then recoil.
Her hands will start trembling uncontrollably.
She will back away, sitting on her chair, and then she’ll turn to the door, and an odd knocking sound will rise from behind it.
She will hesitantly stand up and approach the sound.
The doorknob will twist.
The threshold will be revealed.
She will stumble back, eyes frantically searching for an exit in her lonely, little, windowless abode, while the other approaches slowly. A smirk will appear on the inhuman face.
The eye will scream, a loud piercing noise that will be familiar, yet also different and there will be an unexpected bright violet glow surrounding the stranger. The woman will sob in desperation and wish that she would be different to herself and same to others.
That she would be born with the power of a thousand stars, all scattered across the universe.
The otherworldly hand will reach out and the wisps of shadow will touch her skin.
Flesh will melt as glowing purple acid will accumulate in the room.
Her screams will fade away, unheard.
Her dying wish will go out to all the other unfortunates that weren’t born with the privilege of the stars.
~~~~~
She reaches for the crystal in the jar and then flinches away.
Her arms start shaking uncontrollably.
She backs away, sitting on her chair, and then she turns to the windows, and an odd rapping sound rises from behind it.
She hesitantly stands up and approaches the sound.
The window pane lifts.
The threshold is revealed.
She scrambles back, eyes frantically searching for an exit in her lonely, little, escapeless dorm, while the other approaches slowly. A smirk appears on the monstrous face.
The crystal shines, a loud glaring colour that is familiar, yet also different and there’s an unexpected bright blue glow surrounding the stranger. The woman sobs in hopelessness and wishes that she will be different to herself and same to others.
That she will be born with the power of a thousand suns, all shining bright in the sky.
The otherworldly hand reaches out and wisps of cold brush against her skin.
Her body freezes over as sparkling, blue spikes of ice accumulate in the room.
Her tears are frozen over, unseen.
Her dying wish goes out to all the other unfortunates that weren’t born with the privilege of the flames.
~~~~~
She reached for the ring in the jar and then pulled away.
Her body started shuddering uncontrollably.
She backed away, sitting on her chair, and then she turned to the balcony, and an odd rapping sound rose from behind the doors.
She hesitantly stood up and approached the sound.
The tinted glass entrance was pushed open.
The threshold was revealed.
She jumped back, and her eyes were frantically searching for an exit in her lonely, little, suffocating suite, while the other approached slowly. A smirk appeared on the terrifying face.
The ring resonated, and released a loud humming noise that was familiar, yet also different. There was an unexpected bright starry glow that surrounded the stranger. The woman sobbed in fear and wished that she was different to herself and the same to others.
That she was born with the power of a thousand mountains, all holding up the land.
The otherworldly hand reached out and wisps of light scalded her skin.
Her body burned alive as gleaming, yellow stars accumulated in the room.
Her resistance was shined away, unfelt.
Her dying wish went out to all the other unfortunates that weren’t born with the privilege of the strength.
~~~~~
<EVENT_CONTINUITY_ACCESSIBLE>
<CONTINUE?>
<Y/N>
<OVERRIDE(DIA): N>
<CONTINUITY_ACCESS_DENIED>
<INITIATING_EVENT_REMOVAL>
<SELECTING_NEW_EVENT_RANDOM_FROM_1_-_1000000>
~~~~~
Notes[]
Character is a wizard who was born without magic in the timelines selected. One of the variables is the magic she desperately wishes she had, and the other is the element of the being that attacks her. This event is one with the potential to go on forever. The only thing that can end this event is if Character ends up being born with an element that can overpower her enemy, and while that's not unlikely to be selected, it's also not unlikely that TC will select code from a timeline where she wasn't born with the right element, or any at all. There are also mild connections to the Void that's seen in the Libra's Scale and Return of the Wardens roleplays (the screaming eye, the crystal, the ring), but this is still very far apart from those universes.
The code at the bottom is an example of Override, the only command that can be entered into TC by entities. Since I (Dia) don't plan on writing out more than two rotations for each event, Override is used to end the event for convenience. The stolen timeline code is still deleted, and the timelines will still be missing code.
Commands[]
Most of the time, TC will automatically manage all the in's and out's of the events and whatnot, but if necessary, Mastermind and other entities can input commands, most of which are listed below.
<OVERRIDE(entityname)>
Gives entities and other characters access to manual event removal. Only command that entities can access on their own. Characters can go through a difficult time while trying to learn the other commands, and when they do learn them entities unlock them too. But only after a character finds out about them.
<EVENT_PAUSE>
Pauses an event rotation.
<EVENT_RESUME>
Resumes an event rotation.
<EVENT_REMOVE>
Command used by Mastermind to manually remove an event.
<SELECT_NEW_EVENT_RANDOM_FROM_1_-_1000000>
Manually selects a new event randomly out of one million.
If Mastermind gets bored of a certain event, he can use this command after <EVENT_REMOVE>.
If they don’t use this then after an hour this command will go off automatically.
(which gives our potential protagonist a window of time to do protagonist things)
<EVENT_CREATE>
Adds a new event to the list of 100000, but it gets put into storage.
When an event is removed, the first event on the storage list is bumped up to the millionth event on the event list.
<EVENT_RESET>
Resets the current event by selecting a different beginning event. Must be done in the middle of the current event, or directly before a continuity error is detected. The event does not change, but the variables still do.
<EVENT_MODE_(inputmode)>
By default, the event mode is set into a rotation of Future, Present, Past, but this can be changed if Mastermind so desires.
<EVENT_MODE_DEFAULT>
Default rotation of Future, Present, Past.
<EVENT_MODE_FUTURE>
Sets mode to future tense only.
<EVENT_MODE_PRESENT>
Sets mode to present tense only.
<EVENT_MODE_PAST>
Sets mode to past tense only.
<EVENT_MODE_ FUTURE_-_PRESENT>
Alternates between future and present tense.
<EVENT_MODE_ PRESENT_-_PAST>
Alternates between present and past tense.
<EVENT_MODE_FUTURE_-_PAST>
Alternates between future and past tense.
<CREATION>
The command Mastermind used to mess with the universe's code in the first place.
<OVERLOAD>
A secret command that is used to overload and ultimately destroy the Timeline Control. Mastermind has made sure that he isn't even able to use it, but this command still exists.
Additionally, if this command is used, the stolen code will just be deleted, not restored to their original timeline.
<RESTORE>
If Mastermind has filled up his storage and is feeling merciful, he can use this command to restore the stolen code. Most of the time he'll just hit <EVENT_REMOVE> though.
TBA