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

River Song | Doctor Who | OTA | Spoilers!

[professorsong]

"When a girl says she wants an hourglass figure next time, this isn't what she generally means," she commented to no one in particular. She wasn't particular about who. Because this was probably a dream. And a weird one a that. Because she was an hourglass. A very ornate hourglass to be certain, but an hourglass.

She also knew that it was a dream because absent any mirrors - or, you know, eyes - she could see herself. She could also see where she was, not that it made much sense. The chaos of the Tardis interwoven with the thorn wall of the Isle. If that were not enough, here and there she caught glimpsed of part of a jail cell block.

She supposed she'd had odder dreams, but at the moment she couldn't quite recall what they had been....

[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."

[queen_butterfly]

"Hello...?" Mallia stepped around the corner, trying not to touch anything, about as confused by this new setting as one might possibly expect someone wholly unfamiliar with such things to be. She'd actually taken to gathering a bit of her skirts in her hands, pulling them up a few inches out of an abundance of caution as she'd stepped down the stairs, peering this way and that, as curious as ever. What was this place?

But she could have sworn she'd heard someone a moment ago....

[professorsong]

"Hello, I should apologize for how you find me, but I'm not sure you have yet," River said, sounding amused.

[queen_butterfly]

"I don't suppose I have either," she said, still looking around, a hint of a smile starting. "Are you likely to give me a clue?"

Why not? This could be fun, right?

[professorsong]

"This time? Perhaps? Then again, you've had your clue already."

[queen_butterfly]

She paused, silent, considering it. She looked around the room again carefully from where she stood, and then stepped around to another part to look from there... where had that voice come from? And then stepped around another way, and finally spotted the hourglass. Another hesitation, and then she tilted her head, a hand going up to her chin, taking a few steps toward it....

"You don't mean to tell me....?"

[professorsong]

"I didn't tell you, you figured it out." She chuckled.

[queen_butterfly]

"Oh my... I see that I'm not the only one who can shift countenances, then? But I don't think I've heard your voice recently." Her smile returned a little more, and she gave what seemed between a nod and a hint of a bow, some little dip of her head in recognition of who she was meeting. "I'm Mallia. And you would be...?"

[professorsong]

"Something like that. I'd love to hear more about how you do though. I'm River. Professor River Song. Archeologist."

[queen_butterfly]

"Arch... what?" She tilted her head a bit, trying to make sense of the word. "I've... been doing well enough, I suppose. I'm still working on figuring out something of a puzzle, though, where I've found myself. I'm certain it ought to merely be a matter of time, though." How she did had been misinterpreted as well, but maybe that was a little more understandable, given that she looked like she'd stepped out of some sort of period drama or fantasy-and-medieval themed convention? Or maybe just a gothic fashion show...? Oh, who knew.

"What of you? What were you doing, before you were here?"

[professorsong]

"A matter of time?" she asked amused. "Lucky for us both I like puzzles. What clues do we already have?"

[queen_butterfly]

Well, if this hourglass-person wanted to help with ideas, she wasn't about to object!

She took a breath, not quite sighing as she gestured, bringing her hands apart by sliding them around the edges of a sort of board she absolutely had not been holding just a moment ago. On it was a part of a map... of Auradon. Most of it was darkened and inked-looking, as though someone had quite literally sketched it out by hand with pen; the areas accessible to those on the mainland were colorful, even in three dimensions, in miniature, to help give a much clearer view of what was known so far for certain.

"Myself and a few others have found ourselves trapped here," she said, gesturing to the main bubble, the one that held the castle and school, "surrounded by a barrier of entangled objects. We're trying to get to here," and she pointed to a shape off to the side, the Isle, sans labels, "and so most are working to pull the mess apart to dig through, over here." She pointed to the edge of the barrier, where the efforts had been focused. "However, there was enough of a gap between items that we were able to climb through, once found, and that path turned into... well, an actual path." She frowned, indicating the little extension into the shopping plaza. "I've been working to try finding alternate routes rather than toiling away at creating a path that seems not to want to be created, but I've found precious little so far. Everything seems to resist being climbed over effectively, at the edges, though that may just be me... and I've never been skilled at flight. ...I don't suppose you've any notions of things to try, or other ways to perhaps approach this?"

No, she really had no clue that she was talking to someone currently on the Isle about how to get to them.

[professorsong]

"Hmm... well do here and there have names? Just for the sake of easier communication..." she considered. "What sort of items, and tell me more about the gap that was found?"