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]

Æn'kae liked to believe he was inured to the strange by this point in his life. He really thought he could take anything in with a shrug. But a talking decoration caught him mid-step. "I... uh... Jolan'Tru?" This was a person? Yes. He knew she was a person because she had a presence. But oh he was confused. Fortunately the confusion at her appearance kept him from picking up glimpses of the cell block amidst the overall chaos and pieces that he recognized as from the isle.

[professorsong]

"Ah, no, sorry Sweetie, the name is River, River Song," she seemed amused. Other people being on the back foot often did that.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

"Oh, uh. Jolan'tru is uhh like... hello?" He shrugged, rubbing at the back of his neck. Well, once again his tradition greeting caused confusion, not that he could say he was surprised.

[professorsong]

"Ah. I will add that to my list then, though I still have my favorite greeting I will probably stick with."

[under_the_raptors_wings]

"I mean uh, all it ever seems to do is confuse people these days, so you may as well stick with whatever your favorite is," Æn'kae mumbled, rubbing at the back of his neck.

He shifted his weight from one foot to another. "I... uh... I guess you've been on the Isle?"

[professorsong]

She chuckled. "Well that just makes it sound more fun. And yes, that was what the last place was called."

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Æn'kae nodded, not sure why he'd asked, all knowing meant was he no longer knew what to say. 'We're trying to get there?' How long had they been trying and only recently had made any progress? He wouldn't believe that if he were the one stuck there. "I uh, I ended up on the mainland," he mumbled then. That was about all he could manage.

[professorsong]

"Then perhaps I've heard your name on the broadcasts...?"

[under_the_raptors_wings]

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

[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."

[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?"

[professorsong]

"He goes by many names... but mostly he calls himself The Doctor."

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Æn'kae considered each person he'd met, but none of them had ever referred to themselves as 'The Doctor'. At least not to his knowledge. "I uh, I haven't met anyone using that moniker." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Sorry."

[professorsong]

"Oh don't worry about it. He'll show up when things are at their most interesting. Or perhaps exactly before that moment. With him it is a toss up, really."

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Æn'kae snorted on a laugh at that. "I've known people like that... ...actually, huh I kind of feel like I became a person like that." And he did not sound pleased about it. But his time stuck in an alternate universe had been his only rest in... years. Even when he and his friend had gone somewhere intending to rest, they'd found trouble.

[professorsong]

"Well then, keep down that path...." you could hear the grin in her voice though you couldn't see it "I may have to marry you in the future."

[under_the_raptors_wings]

The reaction was a visible toss up. He choked, the flushed green undertones casting a bronze hue on skin, but he also arched an eyebrow upwards in a sort of skeptical amusement. "And uh... how many conspirators have you ended up with that criteria?" he asked after recovering enough that the skeptical amusement won out. Something about the word conspirators held a different weight than it might normally.

[professorsong]

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

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Æn'kae snorted on a laugh at that, shaking his head, well, at least she seemed to understand the term enough. "However many you count them as, I suppose?"

[professorsong]

"Most of the time one. Two on one of my brithdays though."

[under_the_raptors_wings]

That earned a raised eyebrow. Huh. "Well then... they count as at least one, occasionally two conspirators."

[professorsong]

"Alright then, so he does," she said, clearly not answering the rest of the question, clearly amused.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

Æn'kae chuckled, shaking his head. Honestly, not getting an answer was more amusing (and expected) than getting one.

[professorsong]

"So, tell me more about you," she all but purred.

[under_the_raptors_wings]

He was entirely certain she was just trying to make him flustered. Unfortunately that didn't stop it from working. He rubbed at the back of his neck. "I. Uh. There isn't much to tell. Pretty sure I'd be more interested in hearing about you and your conspirators." He did not normally pry, but it worked as a means of deflection.