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

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

[((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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

For a creature whose very existence depended on their sense of self, whose very being was based around the concept of cogito, ergo sum, to say it would be second nature to Mallia to appear however she very well pleased would be laughable; it wasn't second by any measure. Nor was her ability to impose her will on her immediate surroundings; it was how her powers worked, because it was how she herself operated.

Which is to say, her appearance didn't differ from its usual. Which didn't necessarily mean she appeared as an adult; she was in a mood over this all -- not a poor mood, but a mood nonetheless, a bit confused and a little frustrated that waking didn't seem to be working for her -- and in exasperation, somewhere between deciding that she wanted to investigate further, and declaring, toss it all, may as well enjoy it! it was anyone's guess whether she was going to appear as an adult or a teenager just then.

And her portion of the patchwork dreamscape was surely something to behold indeed, and rather remarkably stable, too, around her.

On first glance, the dark castle present surely belonged in a creepy nightmare: the castle itself was all dark gray stone, with inky blackness reaching up from below to engulf its surface, a good few stories tall, its peak atop a tower with a pointed roof and balconies that reached out around it, an imposing monument to power that cut across the sunset sky.

A second glance, however, would prove that not all was as it might seem: the dark stones that made up the large structure seemed to sparkle, and moss dotted the cracks between them with green. The black lace that reached up was the darkness of her rosebushes, somehow trained to climb like ivy, so dark green as to only shine where the sun hit it just right. Deep, dark, brilliant colors peeked out here and there, impossibly-colored blossoms with the gentlest, sweetest fragrances. Stained glass windows broke the silhouette, depicting those same strange blossoms, all the way from the ground level to the tower, the balcony's railing similarly claimed by the foliage's enthusiasm. It may have been imposing, but the intent of the architecture seemed less to loom and more to reach, a door seemingly open up there at the top, a light on in that uppermost room....

There were no castle walls here to ward off defenders, there was merely what amounted to a beautiful stone mansion, itself more a work of art than a work of military defense. There was no drawbridge, no moat; off behind the castle, through the lush garden of roses and other flowers, the forest began, its trees looking vaguely reminiscent of figs, but larger, more hardy, a bit on the wild side themselves, rather than groomed and manicured things. This was a fairy's place; for as artificial as hewn stone was, there was a rawness to it all, nature itself invited back in to thrive, which permeated everything.

And then there was a village... if one dared call it that. On the other side of the castle from the gardens and forest, crudely made, very short little mud huts were clumped together in loose groups against one another, leaving wide walkways between them, unpaved dirt roads made by the repeated stomping of many feet. Little firepits were nestled here and there throughout the area, some simply smoldering, others seemingly inert. A few chickens clucked, wandering about freely elsewhere just out of sight, unperturbed and unafraid, and somewhere, a goat was making sounds to itself as it went about its business. There was a sense of life in the place, but it wasn't quite present at a glance, perhaps hiding... and past the primitive little village that looked as though it could hold none bigger than very young children, the fields seemed to be a messy patchwork of farm crops and attempts at gardening, where they weren't full of weeds and grasses and random flowers growing wild, patchily mowed where they were trimmed at all. Beyond that... the forest from behind the castle reached around to encompass the bit of land entirely, a solid backdrop of trees to hush the outside world.

It was peaceful here. Quiet. Protected. The late sun was warm, the air still.

But there was something a little off about it... another version of it, if one looked at it from another angle, focused a little differently: the castle was bare of its wildly-grown rose gown, stones glittering nakedly, missing even the moss, as though it were all fresh and new. The rose bushes were small, around its base, but lively. The miniature primitive village was missing, the area and fields beyond all combed over with barely even a few weeds peeking through, the area a mix of gray ash and pale brown dirt, tilled and evened out again, all the way out to where the forest didn't stand. Smaller trees of more expected Western European varieties stood out there in the distance instead, sparse and young, revealing the jagged landscape outside the castle grounds, the whole place built into something like a crater, a pit among the tips of mountainous crags, a perhaps artificially leveled little haven within a natural pen. The castle hadn't needed built walls with battlements, as nature had done that for it.

The beginning, perhaps, warring to be seen, versus the lush results of centuries of encouragement?

Mallia herself might not have been far from her castle's doors, wide open as they were, crouched to chat with someone just out of sight among the little huts. Or perhaps she was inside, her voice coming from that uppermost chamber in the tower as she sang something to herself....? She was rather good at singing, at least...

(TLDR under this cut)

Fairy lady's castle is tall, dark, subtly sparkly, covered in dark roses, and is more an artistic stone mansion than any kind of military fortress.

Said castle is surrounded by a very-small-child-height village of primitive mud huts and a wild garden. Past the crude little village, haphazard little crops and gardening happened in an otherwise wild meadow.

Outside all that, encircling the area, is a big thick forest of large fig-related-looking trees.

Past the surrounding forest, there's mountaintops. The place is isolated by the landscape. It's cozy and peaceful here. ♥

...And there's another, alternate version of this place, if you look carefully: the castle is new-looking, its rosebushes are small... the overgrown garden, village, farming patches, and the forest around everything are all missing, and the land inside the crater-like area is freshly tilled and leveled, like it's ready to be planted in or built on.

Mallia still looks like her usual self, but may or may not be a teenager here just because. She's probably either somewhere nearish the castle's front doors or up in that high tower. She's not hard to find. She may or may not even be singing. Go pester her? Explore her home?

Edited (minor details/rephrasing, forgot the tldr (oops! sorry....)) 2023-09-08 10:24 (UTC)

After spending some time trying to understand the situation, (Not panicking, nope.) Rren ventured out from the shifting area of their own making. Sometimes they walked, looking almost like they had previously, just with shorter hair. Their outfit shifted designs periodically but was consistently colorful. Sometimes though, instead of walking, a wisp of light and faintly visible code danced through the air, reforming into the figure some distance later. When the landscape around them shifted to the castle they froze, shimmering in the air, half between light and physical form.

Why did this make them think of Mallia? They tilted their head ever so faintly, the code swirling about them as they stood there processing. And then it occurred to them. Because of the roses! That was why. "Mallia?" They shifted entirely to code again, the light dancing the rest of the distance to the castle before materializing back. And then they heard the singing. They could have ventured through the castle, but they were anxious to see a familiar face, so the light and code flitted in a straight line up the tower.

When they materialized again, it was sitting on what there was of the windowsill. The light and code shifted behind the yellow of their eyes, adding a faint glow. "Mallia. I'm so glad to see you!" Somehow it was easier to express emotions like this, they felt less drive to fight it than they did in a human form. Perhaps because it was obvious they weren't human even while expressing emotions so it didn't feel like they were pretending to be something they weren't? Like they were betraying who they were?

She'd paused in whatever it was she'd been singing to herself -- something in elvish, a fairly happy tune -- and turned toward the doorway to the balcony as the greeting registered. She only paused barely even a second as she looked her visitor over, still surprised, but then stepped more quickly over, putting out her arms... hugs? Hugs seemed to be in order here!

"Rren? How did you come here, poppet? I didn't know you could share notions like this as well!" She certainly seemed pleased with this, at least?

Rren shifted from form to light and materialized again a couple steps away from Malia, more than ready to accept that hug. Only after easing back away from the hug did they respond to the question. "That's the thing. I cannot. I am uncertain how I came to be here, but I am glad I found you." They paused, looking around the room. "Is this your home?"

Rren would get however much of a hug they wanted, honestly; she was in no hurry to let go herself.

"It is! Or it was. It's been rather the worse for wear for a while, but a friend and I rebuilt it just a bit ago. I've yet to remake what was in it, but... I'm enjoying the glimpse into what had been." She didn't sound entirely upset about it, though. Resigned, perhaps? She certainly hadn't lost her smile. This wasn't so much a tease to her, as it was a chance to revisit it despite events, and she appreciated it for that.

"Would you like to see around a bit?" She gestured in further, in clear invitation.

That uppermost room was apparently some kind of observatory -- visible now from the inside, the roof wasn't actually as opaque as it might have seemed. Rather than being done all in stone or wooden shingles or any other such common thing, it was finished with stained glass coming up to a point in the center, up over the few rafters, curtains that could've formed a canopy tied aside instead, to allow the sun through. There weren't any lamps on inside at all, the hints of shifting hues caused not by simple refraction through clear glass, but by a myriad of small panes fitted together, overlapping to somehow result in near white by the time it reached the floor.

There was a large table present, with papers spread out over it, and ink and quill. Someone had been noting down star positions... and it was further explained by a large telescope of some sort that sat just inside the door to the balcony, off to one side, out of immediate sight. A pile of books were sitting on the table as well, and pots of plants sat near the other huge window-like doors of the room, and hung in pots from the rafters as well, their tendrils hanging low, covered in little flowers.

It was a beautiful room, really. And offset from the center, there looked to be a stairway down, a thin, decorative wooden railing mostly enclosing the recess in the hole where it went down, more flowering plants taking advantage of its presence to use it as a trellis, decorating it as well.

"You'd be quite welcome to...."

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."

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....

Mallia ~ Open to all! ~ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ʚїɞ εїз ྅༏༊ 🦋

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Re: Mallia ~ Open to all! ~ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ʚїɞ εїз ྅༏༊ 🦋

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Re: Mallia ~ Open to all! ~ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ʚїɞ εїз ྅༏༊ 🦋

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Re: Mallia ~ Open to all! ~ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ʚїɞ εїз ྅༏༊ 🦋

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