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

Kyoko Mogami | Skip Beat | OTA | CW: angst, self image issues, trauma

[souls_of_roles]

Kyoko's image of who she was... was in a constant stat of flux. But when she started out in the dream she looked.... she had no curves. At all. Her face seemed to vanish whenever someone wasn't looking directly at it, and even when they were it was plain and forgettable. Unlike her outfit, which was still eye searingly pink. It was like a curse, a pink that bright, and it seemed to leak from the clothing into her skin where it touched. And from the knees up she was... see through. Like she was a glass that was mostly empty. A dark aura surrounded her as she moved, clinging to her like an ominous second skin.

She was puttering around an odd kitchen, seemingly unaware that anything was odd as she cooked. It was a restaurant kitchen from the size of everything - including the meal she was cooking - with tatami floors, oddly, and the coffee machine from Farbucks. Kyoko was humming to herself as she made a large serving portion of a fancy noodle dish.

[not_42]

At least the being that wandered into her kitchen was no less odd looking. They were humanoid and rather tall, but most any distinguishing features beyond that were concealed by a dark, hooded robe and birdlike halfmask. And in this place, even the parts of their face that would normally have been visible were blurred and indistinct.

Hermes simply stood and watched her work for a moment. Though the girl's features kept shifting, that... very bright clothing remained. He privately wondered what the one who'd come up with the color had been thinking and what the girl had been thinking dressing in it, but felt it would be rude to open the conversation with that. "Greetings," he said politely. Though it was impossible to tell just then whether or not he was smiling, his voice gave that impression. "I hope I'm not intruding on your work."

[souls_of_roles]

She turned and her hair darkened and lengthened as she gave a bright smile, wok in one hand, long chopsticks in the other. "Welcome! Please have a seat and I'll take your order in a moment, all right?" she said in a bright and cheerful customer service voice.

[not_42]

"My... order?", he said, sounding a bit confused. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. I didn't come here with the intention to give orders, and my authority doesn't extend beyond Elpis in any case. I merely wished to speak to you for a while, if you have the time."

[souls_of_roles]

"Speak... to me?" she asked, seeming confused. Then another small smile. "I'm sorry sir, if you want, I can get you some tea to drink? But I have to see to the other customers." Another customer service smile as she presumed he was just a drunk. After all, why else would someone want to talk to her?

[not_42]

Hermes looked around, but saw no one else in the area. "There doesn't seem to be anyone else here at the moment," he said. "Perhaps a compromise? I will have a cup of tea, so long as I can drink it while we talk. And if any other customers enter, I won't interfere with your work."

[souls_of_roles]

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

[not_42]

'Get into trouble with whom?', Hermes wondered, but didn't say aloud as he'd already pointed out that there was no one around. Perhaps the young woman was unaware that they were in a dreamspace? "Thank you," he said instead.

He'd seen nowhere to sit down when he looked around, so considered this an opportunity to test whether or not creation magic functioned in the dreamspace. A gesture off to his side and a chair appeared next to him, seat at the perfect height to allow him to sit at the counter. He sat down and watched as she went about making the tea. "May I have your name, at the least?", he said pleasantly, giving a polite nod as he introduced himself. "I am Hermes, Chief Overseer of Elpis."

[souls_of_roles]

What an odd name. But of course she couldn't say that. That would be rude. So she gave another smile. "My name isn't really important," she said. "But I am Mogami. Kyoko Mogami." She set his tea down. "Anything else, sir?"

[not_42]

"Kyoko Mogami," he repeated. It was an unusual name, to be sure, but to say so aloud would likely come off as rude, so he refrained. "A pleasure to meet you."

As for any other food or drink he might like, he considered briefly before asking a tad sheepishly, "I... don't suppose you have any candy apples available?"

Paid ran out, sorry

[souls_of_roles]

"I can see what we have in the kitchen!" she said, offering a smile. "Just one moment?"

LOL sokay. X3

[not_42]

He nodded politely, watching as she busied herself in the kitchen while he waited for his tea to cool to a drinkable temperature. As he watched she shifted between several different faces, and he wondered if she was even aware of the fact that her features kept shifting. She certainly didn't seem to be reacting to it at all, though that could be because she was simply used to it as well.

"Forgive me if this is an odd question," he said after a moment, "but have you noticed that your facial features keep changing?" And yet, that shockingly bright attire remained

Re: LOL sokay. X3

[souls_of_roles]

"MY facial... oh! You mean... my expressions? Doesn't everyone's?"

[queen_butterfly]

"Oh... oh, what is this? It smells lovely!" She looked around, taking in the setting as she made her further in, and then finally settled on looking the young lady over.

"...Kyoko?"

It was the pink, honestly. Rather a dead giveaway, that.

[souls_of_roles]

She blinked, confused, but then shook her head a moment and offered a bright smile. "Welcome, Mallia, have a seat, I'll be there in a moment to take your order. Taisho isn't here, so please don't blame him that the food is plain and bland. But it should be filling."

[queen_butterfly]

"My order...?" She took a seat as directed, looking around again. She'd been in restaurants before, though she wasn't exactly used to it. "Well... um.... all right...."

Kyoko seemed busy; she'd simply wait and take things in in the meanwhile. What an odd place this was.... Not that she knew much what to compare it to, but still....

[souls_of_roles]

She finished what she was making and plated it up, then she came over with a note pad and pen. "Welcome to Daruma, what can I get for you?" she asked as a giant daruma with only one filled in eye appeared behind her.

[queen_butterfly]

She was silent a second, looking between it and Kyoko. "If I might inquire...?" A gesture to it, holding a hand open toward it. It could easily have been a request to know its name, there, but... really, she just had no clue what in the world it was, or what was going on, or... much of anything right now, to be honest. It looked rather a lot like some sort of very strange and somewhat offputting doll or statue....

[souls_of_roles]

"Yes?" she asked, her eyes emptying some of personality.

[queen_butterfly]

"Would this, perhaps, be a friend of yours...?" Look, dolls being people wasn't anything new to her. One floating only raised that probability; one had to be a someone, generally speaking, to use magic. Unless someone else were playing with it...?

[souls_of_roles]

"Friend...?" Her eyes emptied a bit more, but then a bit more of her returned as she looked around. "Moko?"

[queen_butterfly]

"Is this Moko, then....?" A little gesture to the daruma again.

[souls_of_roles]

"Moko is here? Where?"

[queen_butterfly]

Well, this was heading nowhere fast. She sighed, putting on a bit of a smile... she'd try again anyhow. Kyoko wanted to bring up Moko, whoever that was, so... "Tell me about Moko?"

[souls_of_roles]

A bright smile bloomed over her face and she looked more like herself, though still oddly empty.

"Moko is my first best friend ever! She shares the same curse as me, and she works very very hard! And she trusted me with a secret even her family doesn't know! And she and Hio are a lot of fun to spend time with, though I don't think she realizes how Hio sees her. It's really cute! And she's cool and perfect at everything she tries!" Yes, she was gushing now, glitter and sparkle surrounding her. "She can memorize a whole script in less than five minutes and play any role, and she saved me at the Momiji audition, and she's amazing and brilliant and one of the best actresses of all time! And she stamped my book after the Curara audition and everything!"