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

[hotheadwarmheart]

Observing the figure's actions, Lea began to wonder if he needed to be all that worried. From what he could tell what the person was doing looked deliberate, not accidental, so maybe they were some kind of acrobat? It would explain the tight rope anyway. Either way, there still wasn't much he could do besides observe, so he continued to do so.

[soraing]

Finally the figure made it partway down the pole and called again. ".... For Sora," the voice called down again. "Did you.... for something?" The figure was still slowly descending.

[hotheadwarmheart]

"I just wanted to talk to you!", Lea called back up. "But I can't do that when you're so high up and the music is so loud!"

[soraing]

"....h.... ond..."

The figure pushed off of the pole and did several flips and twists before landing neatly on her toes right in front of him. She was covered in sweat and breathing hard. Her hands were in leather fingerless gloves that were tight, but somehow not as tight as the rest of her high necked outfit that clung to her from ankle to wrist to almost her chin. The bottom of her feet were bruised and bleeding, and he could see what looked like a healing broken finger in how purpled one of her hands was under the gloves.

She bounced a bit on her toes absorbing the impact of the landing. "Tic," she said, then she bent herself all the way backwards, catching the floor in her hands. She pulled her feet up and moved backwards that way, her feet hitting the ground behind her. She picked up a remote from the small table that put her near and she used it to turn off the music and the flames started to slowly die, the gas cut off.

The silence was almost deafening after all that sound. She set the remote down and walked back to him more normally, wincing a bit as she caught a stone in a cut on one of her feet. Then she caught herself and swapped the wince for a Sora bright smile.

"Are you here to see the show?"

[hotheadwarmheart]

Yeah don't think Lea missed that wince, or the other injuries. He did take a moment to twist a finger in either ear to help his ears adjust to the sudden silene before responding though. "Given that I didn't know there was one, it's safe to say no," he said. "And given the state of your hands and feet, I doubt your should be putting on any kind of show."

[soraing]

"Huh?" she asked, looking at her hands, then bending all the way down, grabbing the back of her ankles from the front to see her feet. Then she popped back up. "All things.. Oh! Right, the audience usually can't see this close, huh? Sorry. Everyone I know at Kaleido Stage works harder than this, so this is nothing," she said, waving her hand cheerfully, to show him hit is all fine. "For your smiles, it is all worth it!"

[hotheadwarmheart]

"It's not 'nothing'," Lea said. "You shouldn't be hurting yourself like that to put on a show. If other people can work that hard it's probably because they've built up callouses in the right places over a long time so it doesn't cut them up like that any more." He'd heard that was a thing with musicians, at least, and his dad had had callouses in specific places on his hands from his jewelry work too.

[soraing]

She chuckled a bit. "How do you think that we build up those calluses?" she asked with a bright performer's smile.