applesaucedream | Tender Lumplings Everywhere, Life's No Fun Without A Good Scare [Open to All]

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Tender Lumplings Everywhere, Life's No Fun Without A Good Scare [Open to All]

The woods are dark and deep, but not particularly lovely. If anything, they feel dangerous, as if something terrible might come lurching out from behind any given tree and tear into the nearest warm body. What that terrible thing might be is anyone's guess. A cat with hands? Slenderman? Stegosaurus? Actual cannibal Shia LaBeouf? All of the above in a horrible mob? It's anyone's guess. But every dreamer will be absolutely convinced that there is something unspeakable out there, and that it's after them.

The dreamers have two things on their side. The first is that there is actually nothing dangerous lurking in these woods (with the possible exception of other dreamers). The pervasive terror the dreamers are feeling is just that: a rift-given feeling, nothing more and nothing less. That snapping twig or rustle in the undergrowth is almost certainly just a squirrel or something else equally harmless.

The second is that no dreamer is alone. They all will be reunited with - or introduced to - their dæmons, a source of comfort in this dark, intimidating wilderness. However frightened the dreamers might be, at least they have someone with them who definitely doesn't want them dead.

[OOC: as ever, any and all are welcome! You don't have to be in the game to join the fun. Dreamers can remember or forget the events of the dream at the players' discretion. And the party only stops when you want it to; feel free to backtag forever.]

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"Exactly," Topher answers, making fingerguns at Daniel. Succinctly put. Topher doesn't really do succinct. Or at least not without using made up language and or completely losing whoever he's talking to. He needs to go the long way to actually bring people along, although he's pretty sure Daniel could keep up better than most.

At the request, he straightens up a little bit. "Oh, yeah, sure. Probably," he answers. Doesn't take much convincing for him to agree to do Daniel a favour, and it's something Topher spends a lot of time doing anyway. "Who is he, what's his name?"

That prompts a longer pause. Topher has been friendly and agreeable and Daniel...well, all right, he likes him. But he also knows Seth isn't exactly eager to broadcast his name on all channels, for very understandable reasons even if he's still a little dark on the details. And it isn't really Daniel's decision to make. He wishes quite abruptly he hadn't brought it up, at least not before actively consulting Seth. It's his mind, after all.

"I'll have to get back to you on that." He winces as he says it, restrained and apologetic. "Sorry. He's um, in a bit of a tight spot right now in terms of, well, everything. But, uh. Is there a way I can contact you once we wake up?"

Topher shrugs in reply to Daniel's apology. Topher knows very well the challenge of keeping a low profile, and he appreciates Daniel's loyalty in not doing or saying anything with his friend's permission. Even though Topher's very curious now.

"Give me your number and I can text you?" Topher suggests. He'd just give Daniel his number, but chances that Topher will remember something from the Dreaming is infinitely higher. "And, when you're dreaming, if you like, really want me to come find you, chances are I will notice. Especially if you have telepathic powers. But I don't think you do, do you?" he asks, frowning suddenly, like he's trying to figure it out. There was all that Ancient stuff of course, but...

"Nothing so overt," Daniel admits with a smile and relays his number, grateful for Topher's willingness to go along with it. No questions asked, probably in full understanding of the complicated relations between ROMAC and the rebels and everything that Daniel's only just starting to get a handle on. "Just office supplies. And some, um, sensory stuff. Telepathy's a bit out of my range."

As far as he can tell, anyway. He's only just starting to adapt to the fact that some stuff got left behind in his brain post-Ascension and can make his synapses fire off without much warning. He's not sure if this is natural - as natural as it can be, anyway - or something exacerbated by the Rift or if it's unique to him or if it's just the collaborative efforts of all of the above. It's so poorly defined that Daniel doubts he'll have a significant grasp on it anytime soon.

Topher repeats the number a few times in his head to make sure it sticks. And hey, he as Daniel Jackson's number now. He could like, call him up at any time. Topher's a hero to his younger self at this point. One day, one day, they will get some Star Trek up in here, and his life will be made.

"So, how have you been faring so far? What have you been up to since you arrived in Manhattan?" he asks curiously. Since, you know, so far they've gotten very distracted by simply nerding together. Which is fun and all, but he'd like to make sure Daniel is already and that he's not immediately going around getting involved with all the wrong people and getting himself in terrible trouble. Because that is of course exactly the thing Daniel would do, and Topher knows it well. He'd like to steer him a little away from that. And by the sound of Daniel already being familiar with literal Satan, it sounds like he kind of needs it.

"Just, you know," he says with an equivocal hand gesture, "adapting. To all of it. Might be used to some, uh, pretty strange things from before but aliens aren't exactly the same material as the angel-and-devil fare that's getting to be kind of a common thing here. Had some interesting dreams as well as some...less interesting dreams." He pulls a faint face. Hyper-realistic nightmares, no thanks. He just hopes the Rift stays out of his head when it goes about concocting its nightmare material, though he knows, sickeningly, that it's only a matter of time before it takes something out of his own life and builds him a little tortuous nighttime scenario in the confines of his head, possibly even drawing an unrelated third party in. It's a statistical probability.

"Found a place to stay," he continues. "Met Satan. Well, harassed Satan. Didn't know he was Satan at the time, just that he was something, something else but still, bad move on my part, I'll give you that. What about you?"

"Oh, I've been giving Satan a wiiide berth," Topher answers with a somewhat nervous smile. It's probably a good thing he doesn't go out much anymore. And he hopes he can manage to avoid Lucifer well enough that he never becomes even remotely interested in Topher. That would be preferable. It has definitely crossed his mind that if he'd arrived during winter, there is a very good chance Topher would be dead by now, since he spent an awful lot of time exactly where Lucifer decided to massacre a bunch of people. He's just glad no one he knows got killed.

"Clearly, most of my friends didn't get the memo! Friend of mine picked a fight with him just to provide a distraction, nearly got himself beaten to death. So, you know, please stop hrrassing Satan. It's bad for your health," Topher advises. He's not sure he can really call the Doctor his friend at this point, seeing as it's a brand new one and they haven't really met, but, well, it counts, right? At the very least, he's the friend of a friend.

"I didn't know," Daniel repeats, the good-natured high edge of insistence pitching his voice up slightly. "I didn't get that memo either. And I was lost. Long day, and no one would give me directions, and before I know it I've run into this other rifty and we're both at Wilmot's and there's Satan just there, I guess, getting drunk. Or trying to. I don't know if that's actually possible. Anyway, he didn't freeze my internal organs solid so I'm calling that little encounter a win."

He still doesn't know how he missed the arrival of something so big other than he must have simply been so distracted over the adjustment period of living next to a multidimensional wavelength that sucks things through and dumps them out on the other side, including but not limited to, apparently, the Devil.

"That's what they all say," Topher replies with a small grin, at Daniel's insistence he didn't know. He is very glad to hear that Daniel didn't get his internal organs frozen solid, though. That... would have been bad. And it also would've gotten Lucifer banned from Wilmot's, because not even the devil himself will stop Beatrice from enforcing her anti-aggression policy, of that Topher is pretty sure.

"So, you've discovered Wilmot's by now. Where are you staying?" he asks curiously. Because Topher's got some tips about certain places to avoid, but of course he doesn't know that several people have already gotten there before him.

"Pretty sure it's the rebel apartments? Friend's letting me stay in hers while she relocates. Even if I'm - undecided on the organizational policies."

Undecided is an understatement. Daniel already has reached a decision of sorts, and that is that he is going to avoid picking sides for as long as possible. He's doing his best to stay neutral in this conflict, at least until he has more information on what each group represents and to what lengths they're willing to go to maintain their respective, equally nebulous agendas.

Topher looks dubious at the mention of the rebel apartments, but then relaxes again at the elaboration. "Good," he answers with an approving nod. "Neither of the organisations are altogether trustworthy. Sort of honourable intentions on both sides, I suppose, but... Don't get involved lightly. Trust me."

"That's good to know." One eyebrow cants upward, a cautious acknowledgment. "I've heard they're both less than scrupulous so. Trying to avoid political involvement until I have a broader understanding."

It doesn't help that both sides are equally secretive about motivations and methods, which just leads Daniel to suspect that some serious moral degradation is at work in dark places they don't want people to have access to. The wisest thing to do would be to simply stay out of it, but Daniel lacks the kind of tactical wisdom that keeps people out of trouble; he's genuinely interested in dissecting ROMAC and the Rebels' intentions, "honorable" or not.

Topher nods approvingly again. Some actual caution involved here, that's nice to know. "I mean, they both have decent, well-meaning people working for them, and they do do a lot of good too, it's just... Shady underbelly and all that. Abuse of power here and there. People in it to win it. Best to be careful. Kind of dangerous to be too useful to them, you know?"

There may be a slight implication that Topher knows this perhaps a little too well. Topher doesn't have that kind of tactical wisdom either, not even slightly. Far too curious. But at least he has a self-preservation instinct that stops him from running headfirst at obvious danger.

Such seems to be the case with all faceless organizations. Even Rift-oriented ones aren't an exception. Briefly, Daniel can't help but wonder what kind of run-ins Topher might have had with either party to know this, but then again it could be common knowledge. As common as knowledge about these sorts of things gets, anyhow.

"If it's any consolation I doubt there's much I could offer them," he says with a noncommittal shrug. "Unless someone up the chain of authority happens to be a fan of Egyptology."

A tiny, cold thought occurs to him regarding his fairly open attitude toward his...resurrective tendencies, specifically Ascension. Daniel quietly resolves to be a little more selective over to whom he dispenses that sort of information in the future. His status as "he who formerly existed on a higher plane" has gotten him in trouble before and there's no guarantee it won't again. Especially here.

"I mean, you have saved the world on quite a few occasions, so I would think you had something to offer," Topher points out. "I've only saved the world once, so," he adds jokingly. Which he probably shouldn't talk about either? Maybe? Eh, as long as he's vague, it's fine. Besides, who knows. Gabriel might've told a whole bunch of people what Topher used to do back in his home universe. That thought's a little worrying, actually. But as long as Topher doesn't give anyone the actual science behind it, it's fine. Right?

"Well, hey." He raises his dream-manifested coffee mug in a mock toast and smiles crookedly. "To saving the world."

And since he supposes Topher would know, him being apparently privy to most of the developments in his life, he continues:

"I'm guessing I should try to keep quiet about the Ascension thing, huh?" That'll mean no more divulging details to the people he meets in dreams, no matter how friendly or interested they seem in the matter. That's not a terrible stretch, at least. It just seems the sort of thing some of them are interested in and he won't fault them for that, but he doesn't want to be attracting the attention of higher-ups who might have a curiosity in cheating death and gaining knowledge of the universe's many workings.

Topher raises a spoonful of sugared pineapple in toast, which might not work quite as well, but get the point across.

"Probably a good idea, yeah," he agrees, nodding thoughtfully. "I mean, it's probably not the top of the list of things they'd be interested in? You not currently being Ascended and all. But probably best not to shout about it?"

"Yeah, I um. I figured." He...might have been a little slow on the uptake there. Hopefully the few people that do know of his sporadic run-ins with his own fickle mortality will have the sense to stay quiet about it. Daniel doesn't like the philosophy of assuming mistrust in others, as he typically makes it his own policy to do the exact opposite in contrast. "I just think maybe the death avoidance thing could interest them. And the, uh. Universal knowledge. Even if I don't really..."

He lapses into silence and doesn't know what else to do with his hands, so he drains the coffee that has helpfully remained pleasantly hot this entire time. He wonders if caffeine has an effect in dreams. Maybe if he consciously wills it, but he doesn't feel particularly tired, nor interested in running experiments over dream-manifested caffeine and its effects on the sleeping human mind.

Bored of the pineapple already, Topher lets it disappear again. And then he reaches over and moves his index finger in a swirly motion (which is of course entirely for show) over Daniel's mug, refilling it in case he wants more.

"I think they've got plenty people to ask about death avoidance, to be honest. And your universal knowledge may not even apply, because, you know, different universe," he says. Also, Topher's doing a really good job in restraining himself from talking about show plot holes or trying to fill out backstory or ask about details that were left purposefully vague by the show. He's just trying to remind himself that his nerdery is actually about the life of an actual person. (It's not easy.)

"Knowledge of the universe wasn't exactly restrained to a single universe," Daniel replies seriously, looking at Topher halfway over the tops of his glasses. "Time and boundaries worked differently up there. We might not have had complete free reign and our access was restricted but there was definitely...crossing."

He shivers a little as he says it, almost imperceptibly, and looks away and hunches his shoulders a little more securely around himself. It's still not the most comfortable thing to talk about, ambiguous as most of his memories of it are, and he's unclear how much Topher knows about it either way. Ascension would be a difficult thing to depict on the visual medium, what with a higher, often undetectable plane and all.

"Knowledge was always the motivation there," he says, quietly. "If there were ethical objections to multi-universal breaches they wouldn't have cared one way or the other." Morality was also different up there, after all. And extremely centric on a set of foreign, non-interference principles.

"Sounds familiar," Topher comments darkly. Of course, nothing on such a scale, and quite different, but knowledge and progress over ethics is definitely something he is familiar with. He's pretty guilty of that himself, even if he slowly learnt, slowly became more aware of the consequences of his actions.

It's weird to hear Daniel talk about it though, because really, he doesn't know much. And even the stuff they showed, well, it has after all been many years since he watched it. And it wasn't one of those where he'd have regular re-watches or anything.

Daniel looks back at him at that, eyebrows lifted in curiosity, but there's nothing about his tone that would imply Topher wants to talk about his own presumed brush with immorality.

"I'll just stay clear from both of them, then," says Daniel, vaguely cheerful in an effort to steer them away from the somber route their conversation abruptly took. "Rebels and ROMAC. That seems a safe enough bet for now."

Topher nods in approval. "Sounds like a plan," he agrees. Staying clear can be surprisingly easy, really, but it rather depends on whether you run around getting involved in, uh, current events. Big, Rift-y current events. Which he can easily see Daniel doing. So he'll probably have to face them at some point.

"You might want to, yanno, find a new place to live as well. Living in their building probably doesn't count as 'staying clear," he points out. Not an immediate concern, since Topher doesn't think they look into it that closely, but. It does put him in very close vicinity to them, which can be risky.

"That's - a really good point," Daniel admits. "Though I'm not technically registered in that building so much as just kind of staying there." He's not sure how permanent that residence is going to be, especially if the rebels ever find out about their intended tenant having left that particular apartment. He's not fully comfortable living in an illicit space.

"Anyplace you can recommend in terms of moving?" he asks, a fair blend of genuine curiosity and simply making conversation. "I haven't even worked out a steady source of income yet, so."

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Tender Lumplings Everywhere, Life's No Fun Without A Good Scare [Open to All]

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