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

[mal_contented]

"What....? You're a... Oh just what we need. Look, start from the beginning and try and speak sensibly, kay?"

[elvendryad]

He sighed, taking his hand back, offer apparently refused. She confused him so much!

"I was asleep in my forest. And one of my family came. A brother. He was very happy...." He was hesitant, apparently having some difficulty in remembering. A little pause, and he turned to look back to the bigger trees near him, behind him. "Show us the brother that came?"

The ents didn't seem to react to this request visibly themselves... but only a couple yards away, what could only have been an illusion cleared up into a form: a man that looked like he was used to smiling, with light blond hair, the ice blue of his eyes bigger than a human's were... and if Mal looked, she'd be able to spot that slight point to his ears as they helped hold his hair back out of his face. He wore browns and greens, and held a staff, a long twisted thing, a pretty one with a bit of a blub in the top of it, where the twist's lengths were held apart from one another just enough to reveal something shiny within it, something that glowed softly in the color of his hair. Definitely some kind of magic staff... but who this was wasn't clear yet. He wasn't dressed in a flashy sort of way... he didn't look all that old. But he was rather obviously of the same apparent species as someone else she'd met, and seen others of their kind in her memories, too....

As if she needed confirmation of which world Chell was from? But that's about what it amounted to.

"He came, and asked the trees to get up, and follow him. And we-- They--" He paused, looking down... that little tree had snuck up behind him and was trying to climb up onto his foot. He reached down and picked it up gently, letting it grab onto his left hand, its short little roots wrapping around his fingers, and looked back to her to continue, as though this were normal. "They followed him from where they had been, for a very long time, to... your castle? ....I think?" He nodded to the dark structure behind her, glancing back to her again. This was hers, wasn't it?

"It's very pretty. ....It suits you...." He looked back to the castle again... well, he wasn't wrong that it matched at least half of how she currently looked better than not....

[mal_contented]

She gave a rude snort. "This is not any of the castles I've ever lived in, thanks." the word thanks had probably never sounded so rude.

"I came here to investigate it. If it isn't mine and isn't yours... who is it and what is it doing here?"

[elvendryad]

....Well. He looked between her and the castle again, unsure what to say for a moment. It wasn't hers...?

He turned to crouch and set the tiny tree back down near the bigger ones, and then stood again to walk right in through the courtyard toward the large doorway within. He didn't seem to be hesitating any, no wariness in his stance yet, just curiosity, head tilting higher as he went from looking over the lower stained glass windows to the upper ones while he stepped through the wide paths.

Behind him, the image of that blond elf wavered and disappeared into a puff of black shadow which dissipated swiftly. Mal had seen that sort of thing happen before as well, hadn't she? Not that it would add anything here; she already knew Chell was from Mallia's world....

"This is probably the castle that the brother led us to. ...I think...? He... was thinking something about one that was dark, and shining, but... I don't remember it being covered in roses." A little more of a confused frown as he looked back down, eyeing the door, heading for it. Was she going to go with him? Because if she let him, he'd take the lead.

[mal_contented]

"Ugh. I can pretty much guess whose castle it is, and me? I'm going the other way." She rolled the eye on the dark side. The light side eye looked unsure and almost pained as she turned away.

[elvendryad]

He paused at that, and turned to look back to her again. "Whose is it?"

"You should come join the party," came a voice from the castle... sort of. It was someone standing between Chell and the door, closer to the door... but he hadn't stepped out of it while they weren't looking, had he? It had happened too quickly, and there hadn't been any sound of it, or time for it... but the door was standing open now, the hallway lit up behind him. It certainly looked like the same blond elf that the trees had just shown them, down to him holding the same clearly-magic staff... but he was dressed slightly differently. It looked as though he'd simply changed his clothes... but why would that have happened? ...Unless he were here now, maybe?

Chell looked back at that, eyes a little wider, not expecting him to be there. Well, this wasn't his doing this time, it was clear....

"You came this far; why not?" He looked between Mal and Chell, addressing them both.

[mal_contented]

"She's proof. And I'm the mistake. I'll see myself out." She shook her head.

[elvendryad]

"The more the merrier! Please, we've far more than we could eat ourselves. And we'd love to hear your stories as well...."

"Who are you?" That might have gotten Mal's attention: something in Chell's tone wasn't as relaxed as he'd been so far.

....Not that this elf seemed to pick up on, anyhow. "A winemaker," he said cheerfully. "Co-host of this reunion. Tree-wrangler! Oh, how about--"

"No." The wooden knight took a step backward, away from him. "You're not that brother." He glanced back to Mal. "Something isn't right, here."

"Who else would I be?" He looked more amused -- and confused -- than anything.

The trees stirred again, shifting their roots to stand, readying to move as Chell took another step back....

[mal_contented]

She stiffened. Torn. Part of her felt obligated to turn and help. The other part of her wanted to get as far from here as she could.

[elvendryad]

"You're not him! I can't feel you!"

"....What?" Well, that had the elf baffled.

"Something isn't right." Chell took another step back again, turning his attention to the castle itself, looking up at that tower and then back down over it. "What is going on here?"

[mal_contented]

"UGH!" She stalked back. "I'm not actually helping you," she snapped at Chell. "I'm just here to beat the spit out of a villian."

[elvendryad]

He huffed a little, frustrated now himself. "This looks like that brother, but I don't feel him!"

The elf, for his part, didn't know what to make of this, and gestured as if giving up on dealing with him for now. "You're not even touching me!" He looked to Mal. "And what villain? What are either of you two talking about? The only thing wrong here is that it's been several centuries since there's last been a proper gathering of any sort!" He gestured to the castle's door, which was open behind him. "And now there is one!"

[mal_contented]

"Look, if you're not really who you're pretending to be just drop the act! I don't have patience for this!"

[elvendryad]

"What act?" Yep, he was going with exasperation; the only thing he was dropping was his humor, for now.

"He was open before," Chell said quietly, not looking at Mal due to not taking his eyes off the blond man there. "It was intoxicating."

"Are you friends, or not? You got past the forest somehow, so one would think, but--"

"I am the forest!" Well, sounding like a bad line or not, he was actually serious about that statement, and it showed, so there was that....

The guy rolled his eyes, lifting his hands briefly as if about to raise them in surrender. Yep, that's it, he's giving up on this ridiculousness, after that statement. Just does not know what to do with it. Chell wins. He sighed. He looked like he'd say something, and didn't, shaking his head to himself instead, at a loss.

[mal_contented]

She didn't trust the seeming surrender and was tensed for an incoming spell.

[elvendryad]

She could just be further confused, then, when he took his staff again, absently, from where it'd fallen against the crook of his arm... and, rolling his eyes, turned to walk right back into the castle. "Come in, don't come in, just don't damage anything. We only just finished cleaning the place up...."

Chell, still confused, gave her a glance... what now? He still didn't trust this... this... other figure? This situation?

"Something is very wrong here," he said, quiet. "I can feel you standing here, but not him."

[mal_contented]

She rolled her eyes at Chell. "This is a nightmare and you expect logic?" Of course now she was tempted to level the castle, just because she was told not to.

[elvendryad]

"I was more asleep before, and it made sense enough then," he protested. He didn't argue further, though, taking a step toward the castle again. He didn't look down as he clenched his left fist, and his shield's segments slid out from his forearm, more an absent expression of him being frustrated and upset by this situation overall than having anything to do with him expecting a physical attack....

Maybe she ought to take the lead?

[mal_contented]

That would not be a good idea... Chell probably would not like where she would lead, given how she was eyeing the structure.

[elvendryad]

Well, he was hesitating. On one hand, he wanted to know what in the world was going on here. On the other hand, he was disturbed enough by the lack of presence that the elf had had -- or that he hadn't had? -- that he was no longer all that eager to head right inside.

Another few seconds' pause, and he sighed heavily, finally turning to head out of the courtyard, back toward the forest. At least it was close by; he stopped there near the trees, eyeing them, then looked back to the castle. Turned back to the trees.... Apparently something else was wrong here as well, given his frown. "The forest doesn't feel right either...."

That shield of his was staying out, for now. Just on general principle.

[mal_contented]

"What part of nightmare did you miss? Or do you think I normally look like this?" she snarked.

[elvendryad]

"You can look how you want," he said, not even glancing back at her. He raised a hand, put it on a tree trunk... the tree moved to lean into it, but he only frowned more about whatever it was he was trying to figure out now.

[mal_contented]

She snorted. "And you think anyone chooses to look this unbalanced?"

[elvendryad]

He turned his head to peek back at her again at that, raising an eyebrow. "I've seen stranger." Consider who you're talking to, Mal. He might not have been all that asymmetrical, his shield aside, but....

[mal_contented]

"Ugh. You and Mallia are both irritating, you know that?"