Once upon a dream... (4th Wall Event/TDM Combo platter)

[missrecalled_mods]

[((OOC note: This fourth wall is open to any character who would be game legal. If a character who posted here reserves or apps in September, these threads can be considered game canon as long as all involved agree. If a character doesn't app, for those in game already... wow that was a weird dream. Wait, what did you dream about again?))]


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For Jordan, still comatose after the magical mishap that had resulted in the first Misrecalled being summoned, it began with a dream. A dream so strong, that it had her stirring fitfully even in her current state; and eventually caused her to release an uncontrolled burst of magic.

For everyone else, unaware of what was coming, it began with falling asleep. Whether or not someone was tired before hand, whether they even could sleep, they simply fell asleep - or a reasonable facsimile - wherever they happened to be. Maybe they remembered falling asleep, maybe they didn't. But either way they suddenly found themselves in... a very strange place.

First all there was that they could see was a vast featureless plain in shining gold and silken draperies. But that was only a glimpse, for just by existing in this space, each dreamer warps it. Changes it. Not all at once, but bits, constantly changing between them and whomever they encounter. Each person brings with them bits of three places... where they had been last, a familiar place from memory, and whatever place they call home. But this is constantly changing and shifting, more so the more dreamers are present in any space. Before long, Bits of different landscapes, different environments, even different weather conditions will cover the landscape like some crazy patchwork quilt. Here a bit of a sunny, idyllic garden, there a section of shadowy, graffiti covered slum. To one side, a chunk of charming cobblestone streets under sunset tinged skies, to the other, a forest of towering trees, some of which seem to be moving. And glimpsed through the gaps between some of the odd terrain sections, some remainder of the poorly defined golden space, hung with colorful draperies could still be seen.

And the ground itself was not immune to the changes. While the ground on which they stood might seem stable enough, if someone walked more than a few paces in any direction, that could change. Solid ground could become shifting sand. Or water. Or a wall might suddenly appear to block their path. Doors might lead to places they definitely shouldn't or open to the edge of a sheer cliff. And if the complete lack of logic to the landscape wasn't enough of an indication that this was some sort of dream, then the unreadable signs would clinch it. Because any signs - or indeed, anything with writing on it that they didn't have on their person when they arrived - was covered with nothing but unreadable gibberish.

And it got even more surreal when a dreamer spotted anyone else in the dreamspace, or even looked at their own reflection - for each person appears in the dream in whatever way they see themselves. So someone with low self confidence might be short, someone with a huge ego might tower. If someone sees themselves as a horrible criminal who needs to repent, they might be in prison togs. If the change is dramatic enough people who know each other well might still fail to recognize each other within the dreaming.

Now normally such a bizarre dream might have been put down to stress, a meal that disagreed with them, or maybe indulging in some sort of illicit substance, but this clearly was no ordinary dream, if for no other reason than that in this dream, they weren't alone. The other people they encounter are not just figments of their imagination, and they too change the shared dream space.

Those already either on the Isle or in the kingdom of Auradon proper would find themselves all thrown together in the bizarre dreamworld. And that would have been strange enough. But more than the current populations of Auradon and the Isle could be found in this place. Maybe the faces where familiar. Maybe they weren't. But they definitely hadn't turned up in the physical world that was home to Ben and Mal. Yet anyway.

Given the extremely variable geography, exploring the area might be dangerous. At least as dangerous as anything in a dream could be. But investigating might help them find a way back to the physical world faster, for those who realize they are dreaming. Or they could just stand around and talk or complain about the latest bit of magical weirdness to happen to them and hope they woke up soon. Or they could go with it and enjoy the weird. It was their dream, after all. They could pretty much do what they liked. Or at least try to. Either way, they seemed stuck there for the present, for better or worse.

Comments

[under_the_raptors_wings]

"Oh... right." He'd forgotten about those. "Probably. I uh, I'm Æn'kae."

[under_the_raptors_wings]

His very first guess was Xion, given that even outside of this strange place she wasn't fully visible to everyone and often looked like someone else. So that certainly made sense to him. However, even if this was a Xion, that did not mean she was the Xion he knew. Therefore unless told otherwise, he'd treat this like a first meeting.

He gave a small smile as he focused on her. "Oh uh... Jolan'tru, I uh, I didn't mean to startle you... sorry." As he spoke the little not-Epohhir continued scurrying about and he sat down, taking one onto his lap to pet it. Even if it wasn't real, he felt better holding an animal than not.

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

They flitted back into the ship without even moving, standing just a fraction above the ground without even seeming to notice they weren't touching. The light with hints of code remained as a glow behind the yellow of their eyes. They turned their attention from the stranger, to space, and then back. "I cannot say I have heard it called that before, but that is not inaccurate." Not to mention much more poetic than just 'outer-space'.

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

Rren shifted to light their own and swirled over to the code as they focused on it. "It is... hmm. The heartbeat of the ship?" they replied, solidifying, just grateful someone else had showed up. It didn't even occur to them to find River's form strange. "It is not normally visible to others, I will admit."

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

Rren did not hold the hug terribly long, but it didn't seem like they had pulled away from emotional reactions at least. Instead they were too curious about the room. They would shift to light and code and that would swirl over to check something out, including up to look closer at the stained glass.

"It is amazing. I would love to see more," they replied with some enthusiasm, the light spiraling back to the floor and solidifying once again. "I do not know how I am here, but I will take advantage of it."

Re: This IS the void. What did you expect, camaraderie?

[surrender_and_die]

She barked a laugh. "Oh good! I get to kill EVERYTHING!"

And with that she moved the blaster like weapon in wide sweeping arcs of fire with a secret evil twist, hidden by the flames were arcs of electricity. Fight the weapon with water and you doom yourself. Her kind of toy.

[mal_contented]

"Think you can keep up with me?" she asked, the dark side of her face gaining a smirk. She grabbed a mic off a mic stand, that one eye flashing.

[gregorydeegan]

"I'd be lion if I claimed to understand everything." Pride, lions, get it? "But I can give you the mane concepts if you want."

[missrecalled_npcs]

"Exactly, what what. Tell you what, my boy. If you can't get along in Auradon, I suppose I can teach you until Arte and the king return."

[nobodys_puppet]

She hunched in on herself. "I hear you..." she mumbled, her voice a small whisper.

[nobodys_puppet]

Did she really have to answer? She looked for an escape, not that there was any visible evidence of that since she had a rounded cracked mirror rather than a head. She didn't see a way to escape. Her answer was reluctant and a whisper. "T...the Isle...."

[modified20]

"I dunno. Wailin acted like it mattered. Before I killed him." She grinned. That had been a fun day. She swung her lightsaber and watched the trail a moment before turning back to Cal. "Why? Does it matter?"

[professorsong]

Sounded close enough to one of the names she recalled that she presumed it was an accent issue. "So you know the others over in Auradon? I'm looking for a good man."

[nobodys_puppet]

She saw the creature and pointed her weapon at it, until it climbed into his lap, then she hesitated. "M... monster?" she whispered.

[professorsong]

"Wouldn't be the first time I've seen something like this..." her voice was amused and fond.

[queen_butterfly]

Her smile widened, watching the other's reactions. "Of course. ...I could show you things later as well, but... I'm afraid it's all far easier here and now. Let's...?" She stepped toward the stairs down, holding out a hand for Rren's, ready to lead on.

If one considered that a "proper" castle was supposed to house many dozens or even hundreds of people or more, then hers was quite small; it really was meant only for a handful, perhaps up to a dozen, to stay long very comfortably. But it was neatly built, the stones even, the rooms' shapes looking like something that might have been made more recently somehow, rather than laid out piece by piece by hand, as must have been done traditionally. A medieval building, with more modern construction methods? Closer inspection showed tiny specks of something, perhaps mica, embedded in the dark stone's polished surfaces, giving the blocks their subtle sparkle. There were few spots for lamps or sconces or anything of the sort; the stained glass let in quite a lot of light, and where it did not, she would absently gesture, and a small ball of a glow would start from wherever she'd barely indicated, a materially sourceless illumination that hinted at very real origins for old stories of will-o-wisps. They followed the two of them, or faded once left behind.

She led them both through the hallways, seeming completely at ease, even happy here... but as if that were a surprise? This was her home, after all. A giant work of art as much as it was a mansion, her castle had much that was to be expected: a few small places that would have to be a privy, a large bath room with a tub built several yards across in both directions, a kitchen area with doors that descended to the cellar by the pantry, with shelves and shelves full of bottles of wine and little actual fresh food to be found... an area outside that seemed to be a rather nice barn or stables, built onto the castle the way one might expect a garage to be, in more recent times, though it didn't look to be much used, past storing hay and dried grasses... a large hall, for who knew what, perhaps throwing a party? A ballroom of sorts? A large courtyard, full of even more roses.... There were bedrooms, for guests, all of them fairly large....

Two of the bedrooms turned out to overlook the front of the castle, mirroring each other in their placement on either side. One of them seemed unoccupied; the other was half library, with shelves full of handmade, probably handwritten books covering most of about half of it. In the unoccupied room, the littler room just past that end was a sort of en suite bathroom, but in this room -- Mallia's own, Rren could guess -- that smaller adjoining room was a storage of some kind, shelves full of crystals and jewels, many cut and polished, many others not. Some were set into staffs, or set in jewelry of some kind, be it a pendant or ring. Most were still loose, simply sitting in place in a nest of twigs or string, to keep them in place. She'd collected shiny objects, apparently...?

But perhaps also interesting was what wasn't present: there was no throne room at all. The large ballroom didn't have a clear singular front or back, at least not as it currently appeared. The chairs throughout the castle were all of similar builds, not all identical, but clearly enough nothing intended to create a sense of higher stature. Artistic carvings or paintings over them were simply that, decoration....

And even had Rren been looking for it, there was no crown to be found here. She seemingly didn't hold herself up as any sort of ruler, even here in her part of the dreamscape, simply the owner of the rather impressively pretty stone mansion, her playground, her safe haven full of flowers and stained glass, and things collected over many centuries....

[windslept]

Right. We got each other's backs. But if I just showed up, then this means....you've been here alone?

[He is taking time to try let this all sink in. For him to really start piecing this all together. How long had she been here before he showed up? Was there a way to figure bringing Terra with them? Or for them to get back to him together? He isn't sure, based on what she had said earlier, the hub worlds or whatever. But he is trying to follow along as best he can.]

[aquawayfinder]

She smiled softly, but shook her head. "I was not alone, Ven. I have missed you and Terra both, but there are other friends here. People I also love, people I think you will love too. I can tell you about them, if you want."

[logic_in_unity]

He arched an eyebrow upwards. "Curious. I am unfamiliar with this place," he admitted. Certainly it could just be a part of another planet he wasn't familiar with, but that only raised its own questions. Namely, what had caused a shared dream-state amongst strangers across multiple worlds?

[jedi_scrapper]

Cal rested his hands on his weapons, not drawing either, since she didn't seem to be attacking, but certainly ill at ease. The only reassurance he had was that she didn't seem to understand why it might matter, so he opted to see how she might react to an explanation. "That red color only happens if a Force user deliberately hurt the crystal that powers it."

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Æn'kae smiled softly and shook his head. "No they um, they're friendly. I uh, I don't think they're even real but manifested from my memories by whatever caused this place. So if you wanted you could even pet one without any risk." He shrugged and continued petting the Epohh in his lap.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Æn'kae replied with a nod before speaking. "I do, at least those who showed up in the same place. It's always possible others showed up somewhere else we can't reach." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "So uh, who is this good man you're looking for?"

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

Rren gave a faint head tilt. "It is... about how I see any computer system typically, just in varying levels of complexity. Where have you encountered something like this before?" They could not keep the curiosity down. Look, it was rare to encounter any being who had encountered the universe in the same manner and they were excited.

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

Rren took Mallia's offered hand to explore, but each time they entered a new room, they would flit away to check out whatever caught their eye. This tendency didn't seem to be deliberately acted on, just part of their nature to disappear and re-materialize where they could actually look at something more closely.

They didn't think to question many things. For one, with what they had seen that Mallia was capable of, the construction method could easily have involved assistance from those abilities. Or been entirely modern, as she'd mentioned it being rebuilt with help. Or both. They also did not even know enough about castles by and large to expect a throne room. While the one they knew now had one, it was also the only one they had ever encountered and for all they knew, it could be the outlier.

And to be honest, even if they knew, they would have been more surprised to see either it or a crown. Mallia just did not seem like the sort to have either.

What they did notice was that Mallia seemed happy here. And in a way, that felt somewhat... sad? This was her home, and here she was stuck in a completely unfamiliar place normally. The next time they re-materialized by her and took her hand they gave it an extra squeeze. "Your home is very... welcoming."

[nobodys_puppet]

She gave a small shrug, looking around again for an escape. She gasped catching the sight of the sky that had once been outside her window. She shrunk away from it, pulling her Keyblade close to her chest. Defensively.