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

[queen_butterfly]

"I don't suppose the how would matter much regardless. As long as we eventually do, I'm certain it'll work out. Though, it ought to be easier, if it happens later." She gave a little nod back off toward the doorway, indicating that idea she'd tossed up recently for them of Sia. "I'm told by that friend of mine that the humans have learned more about kindness as time goes on, so I suppose that trend is alike, between where we're each from...."

"Easier, then, to lower one's guard," he agreed, quiet, confirming that for them.

Mallia barely paused, glancing back; she seemed to've been only somewhat expecting it, as she'd opened her mouth to say something before he'd spoken up. She didn't seem to even really notice consciously that it was an interruption, as she was just brushing it off without another thought, as she smiled a little and gave Rren a little nod. Having joined in like that was clearly entirely in line with how her friend was. "And be found in the first place, for it.

"Of course, if you should find yourself in my world, much before the now... it might be in your best interests to find one of us, due to your nature, as well. ...And your friend's. But my home would be yours, while it stands." Another little gesture, to the castle... Rren wanted to go explore around some more, maybe?

[goldfishmind]

"Louis. Louie to my friends." The youth said, offering a hand covered in a too-long sleeve briefly before retracting it with a sigh to pull his hand out from the silk and cotton cloth. "And if I had to guess, some sort of messed up consequence of last night's stew or something, because I swear this island doesn't stop at punishing us with the bland food, it has to go the extra mile and raise every specter it can." The boy groused, his attitude a bit raw after the last few days he'd been suffering through.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Æn'kae managed not to show his relief when Louis pulled his hand back to deal with the excess fabric. He didn't feel like explaining that he didn't care for contact if he could help it. He frowned then as the young man continued. "I'm not on the Isle, so there has to be more to it than just that." But he'd freely agree, that place was miserable and just the fact it existed rubbed him wrong.

"Someone else described this as a shared dream state, but had no explanation. But uh, if anything could cause it, the magic in this reality certainly could." He shrugged, rubbing at the back of his neck.

[logic_in_unity]

Skisan raised an eyebrow at the trees moving, but didn't question it. Even without this being a dreamscape, there were so many possible species out there. His focus mostly remained on the stranger. His best guess was that they were referring to telepathy. "I have limited telepathy, yes. Not enough to instigate a shared dream with strangers, however. So I am certain there is another force at work."

[cheep_soongbird_knockoff]

Rren considered all of that quietly, flickering as they did. They finally nodded, agreeing it would be best to find Mallia's people. When outside of this place, they hardly stood out from humans, but Khell certainly would. "However it works, if it ever happens, I appreciate it," they said with a smile, missing the gesture offering to explore.

[elvendryad]

Another pause as he considered it, frowning faintly as he did, and eyed one of his trees for a little pause.

"...Unicorns...?" A glance to Skisan, still considering it. "....No.... No, they mostly see into others... they don't talk much." A small sigh, frowning more, still trying to puzzle this out, even as unfocused as he still was. He put a hand up to rub his eyes in a way that suggested either that his biology was far more mundane in some of the ways that it worked than its appearance would suggest, or that he was actually a more conventional, less plant-based species in the waking world after all. That, or it was simply proof that ending up with tiny bits of annoyance in the inner corners of one's eyes after sleeping was just one of those seemingly universal experiences.

"But I haven't seen them for...." Another pause, frowning more. "....For....."

He glanced aside at one of the trees that'd come up to join him, looking entirely unsurprised by its approach... maybe if he included it in the conversation, it'd volunteer him some answers somehow? But if Skisan were listening himself, it didn't seem as though the trees were truly there, assuming they had compatible minds in the first place. This odd figure had suggested that they did, with how he'd spoken of them and sharing, but... these were probably dream-figments, rather than also-present dreamers themselves. "They stopped visiting.... and then someone else came to stay...."

Another pause. "I think I knew her... but.... Mmh....." Nope, not yet awake enough to pull up specifics. Maybe if he had coffee. Then again, he probably didn't actually know about coffee yet.

He looked back down again, rubbing over that thin scar, and brought up his other arm to check it over next. Did those plates slide out after all? ...Yes, and into a nice shield of sorts... with more of those thin scars, on closer inspection. He'd definitely been in a serious altercation before ending up in some sort of suspended state, and had healed -- or been healed? -- while he was out. And it had been a good job of it, too, though not entirely without evidence afterward....

"....I don't feel her nearby...."

[gregorydeegan]

The lighting didn't really weird him out that much. He was used to magic, and it was a good catchall for "understanding" things that otherwise made no sense.

What did come close to confusing and disturbing him, however, was being able to tell if the voice was from behind him and outside, or from further in. He paused, unsure which way to go. Thought about how his brother would handle this... the brother who hadn't tried to kill him, anyway. And immediately got a headache. Alright, then how would his dad....

Ah!

He swing a guitar off his back. Had he been wearing that a minute ago? Did it matter? "This castle might be made of stone," he said to no one in particular, grinning. "But I'm made of ROCK!" And with that he drew his hands down on the first intense chord of a loud rock song.

[kaylinneya]

"Look, whatever the actual happinesses you are," the Hawk snapped, falling on the adult but not bright edge of the coin. Of course if she learned later this was some sort of child, she was going to hate herself for, oh, forever. But if she allowed the precedent that size decided it, the Norinaar would all consider her a child. If it was intelligence...

She cut that thought off sharply. It did not lead flattering places. And if she had more or less come to terms with how the immortals in her short grubby mortal life saw her, she sure as happiness did not need it inside her own ocean walled head. Unless those immortals came with it. Might almost be worth it in one or two cases.

The small glass dragon whacked the Hawk in the face with a wing, bringing her attention back to present. She snarled what should have been a swear word, but wasn't. But it did sound oddly... feline... to be coming out of a bird.

She focused on the goblin again after a moment. "Is there anyone here who speaks Elantran?" she asked. And hoped the answer to that was yes... And Leontine was a no. Getting caught out swearing in Leontine wasn't embarrassing. Usually. Failing at cursing, however...

[queen_butterfly]

Well, he'd probably gotten her attention; the singing had most certainly paused. As the echoes of the guitar's notes quieted, were he listening, he might well hear her footsteps echoing softly from the stairwell ahead.

[mal_contented]

Oh she was not pleased. "I can breathe fire, you know," she snapped at the trees.

Then smacked herself with her free hand. She could breathe fire. What was she doing plodding around like this? Her eyes flashed green as dark purple circle swirled around her, obscuring her, hiding her... Cocooning her. What emerged... was a dark purple dragon. Large wings swept as she tried to break out of the tree line... by going UP.

[professorsong]

"Ah, but was it truly alive without you?" she asked, sounding amused and interested. "Still, I'd hardly be one to speak about an atypical body at the moment..." A chuckle.

[queen_butterfly]

The little creature tilted its head, making a curious sound at the two, eyeing the hawk again for the continued sounds she was making. Words, yes? Yes. It could make words too, see? "Ah? ....Num num?"

It reached into a sort of crude bag hanging discreetly at its hip, blending in with the raggedy cloth it wore, and came back with a handful of berries. They looked... edible, at least? They weren't especially squished, either. It held them out to the two. Maybe these new littler friends were hungry?

Okay, yeah, this creature wasn't exactly the brightest. Or was perhaps just ignorant, clearly not understanding what sorts of things a hawk and a small dragon might potentially want to eat... but it was trying!

Fortunately, the fruit offering wasn't the only thing the two could turn their attention to; there was a cry from a ways away, from... just inside the castle's doors? It sounded like another of these goblins. And another chicken, because of course there was another chicken involved. The bird hurried out the doors and took off into the little footroads between the huts, making sounds to itself, and then another voice came from inside the castle, one that definitely wasn't one of these creatures, but perhaps a more intelligent person. A lady, if one had to guess. She sounded to be asking the other goblin, the one still inside around the corner, if it was all right, and getting rather ineloquent replies: Owwie and uh huh being among the most comprehensible tidbits. But though the sound didn't carry well at that low volume, it was at least clear enough that whoever the newcomer to the scene was, they were using a lot more developed a language than the goblin here was. Tone said they were trying to get the goblin to calm down, which... explained the softness, too, really....

So, time to ignore the generous offer of small fruits, and go the last couple of yards to the still-somewhat-open front doors?

[missrecalled_npcs]

"Well, not much of a school at the moment, but when it is running, must admit it isn't a bad one, what what. At least when it isn't being attacked by the forces of evil anyway. Biscuit?" he asked, offering a cookie tin. It appeared to be empty.

[nobodys_puppet]

"Overthinking?" she repeated again, a hand lifting to her head. The one with the giant key in it. Not that she didn't know the word, for once she did. But then she knew the word dream too. More specifically she understood nightmares were bad dreams. She wasn't quite sure what a good dream was however.

And she wasn't sure what any of this meant here and now. She just... wanted to get back to Axel.

[modified20]

"Not much to understand, even if INT is your dump stat. We did a Jedi one shot. I killed all the brats, killed what was left of my party after they killed the red dude with the horns, and I guess they wanted revenge or something, so here I am again. Just point me at who I get to kill and we'll both be happier."

[professorsong]

She chuckled. "Depends on how many people you count one of my husbands as."

[nobodys_puppet]

"Yo...you'll let me leave...?" she asked, not quite trusting it.

[nobodys_puppet]

"How... how do we... share nightmares?" she asked in a whisper, hunching in a bit.

[mal_contented]

"Do you?" she asked, grinning a bit. She hopped up to sit on a desk that appeared when she did. She blinked and looked down at it. "Okay that was way weird." Half the desk was well polished and new looking wood, perfect except for a small carving that looked almost like a spiky heart made of dragons. The other half was almost more splinter than surface, tagged up with spray paint. Sitting on it looked dangerous and foolhardy. Mal didn't seem bothered by it though, she actually ran her nails over the scarred surface, idly carving something into one of the small spans of flatish surface.

[elvendryad]

The odd trees weren't trying to trap her, at least -- simply form a barrier themselves, to try keeping her from the figure on the other side of them. And with her latest move, that had quite thoroughly failed. They weren't the biggest trees ever, hardly more than two or three stories tall on average here, so it wouldn't take too much, for Mal to be able to see right over their defensive lineup....

And there was the figure that'd ducked away, the trees themselves getting up and stepping aside to clear a path for him as he moved, heading toward what looked like another entrance to the castle, around the side, to a back area, something of a more secluded garden or courtyard. From behind, Mal would at least get to see a very nice view of the odd cape that hid his torso, all dark greens, but for a few little points of brighter green here and there, and... more little tidbits of brighter green behind his head, on the back of whatever odd helmet he wore.

Unless that wasn't a helmet, but superbly messy hair. It might've been; whose hair didn't catch a few leaves, when mucking about in the woods like he was?

There was probably room for her to get into that courtyard and cut him off, if she wanted to hurry and try it; the trees didn't seem to be thick there at all, out of respect for... whatever those smaller plants were. And he wasn't yet running, interestingly enough, having apparently missed seeing what she'd done to change form. He was just... getting away from her.

[gregorydeegan]

He laughed. "We could perform instead."

[souls_of_roles]

"Oh I'd get in trouble, but thank you anyway, sir. I'll get you that tea now!"

[utauhoshina]

"Yeah, that's not so much been my experience," she said, brushing herself down. Then she sighed. "But thank you," she added, the words sounding grudging.

[modified20]

"Okay, really funny. But that stuff doesn't happen in the real world. Besides, wasn't that the name of one of the characters in that star dork thing? The one with the lightsabers? Pretty sure it was Leia something, was pretty sure it was Oregano, though."

[kaylinneya]

"A... dream? Wasn't the whole ocean walled point of Nautilus that only that was being awake or some something?"