Better to Receive than to Give [open to all]

[applesaucemod]

Somewhere in the cosmos, there is something bright, and young, and playful. Somewhere, this being watches over their little flock and does their best to make those people safe and happy. Somewhere, that godling and their flock celebrate the winter holidays in the happiest of dreams.

And somewhere closer at hand, a sleeping giant stirs.

The bright tapestry of dream threads gathered by Zephyr is suddenly yanked hard enough to pull it from its temporary mooring. Something entirely unlike the little godling reels in the dreamers so neatly gathered and packaged up for it, bringing its own toys back to their proper place and taking all the others it can with them. Unsatisfied, it reaches out again and again, dragging in dreamers from all across the multiverse. It will snare them, all of them, and then it will possess them completely.

Perhaps it's fitting that when the stolen dreamers arrive in this new shared mindscape, they'll find they've been designated the Rift's Christmas gifts to itself. Each might awaken inside a dark box, or cocooned in…is that tissue paper? When they claw their way out they'll be greeted by the sight of an enormous evergreen tree laden with twinkling lights and kitschy knickknacks looming overhead. Beyond the shadow of the tree the rest of the world -- that is, the living room -- is just as large. Or is it that the dreamers have just become very small? Giant packages wrapped in bright paper form an obstacle course, but the wooden floor of the room is wide open between the tree and the hearth where an enormous plate of cookies and glass of milk await a cataclysmic Santa Claus.

All in all, things are fairly normal as far as the rift's dream gatherings go…at least on the surface. The more telepathically sensitive among the dreamers may notice an undercurrent of something darker, more urgent, and more possessive than normal. The rift isn't just sampling the wares of other worlds tonight; this time it means to play for keeps.


[OOC: This is the second part of our crossover with wethelost! Part one can be found here. Usual dream party rules apply: all players and characters are welcome regardless of whether they are currently in the game, and characters may remember or forget the events of the dream party at the discretion of their players.

For reference, characters of average human height are roughly four inches tall according to the scale of their current surroundings. There is an entire giant house beyond the living room; characters will find a kitchen and dining room on the same floor, a staircase outside the door of the living room that leads up to a second floor with two bedrooms and a bathroom, and another staircase off the kitchen that goes to an unfinished basement. Feel free to add details as needed!

This event takes place on evening of August 8th/morning of August 9th in Applesauce time, and December 31 in WtL time.]

Comments

[chalicejoker]

Hajime's still transformed and prowling around the area trying to figure out what's going on here. He doesn't know where he is or what he's supposed to be doing there, but he does know he doesn't like it. Investigating the gigantic tree seems to be a good idea, though Hajime wasn't expecting to see any kids sitting up in said tree on a candy cane.

The Kamen Rider stares up at this spectacle for a moment before calling out to her. "Do you need any help up there?"

[all_the_gifts]

… What is that?!

Melanie tenses, surprised both by being spotted and by the appearance of the spotter. It's human-shaped, but… is that armor? Is he some kind of soldier?

For several long moments, she just stares at him with wide, wary eyes. Then, in a slightly strained tone, she says, "No. I'm okay." She doesn't sound okay.

[chalicejoker]

"You sure?" Because even if he can be emotionally dense at times, Hajime's aware that something has this kid a little spooked...

...and then he looks down at himself and has some idea of what the problem might be. "I'm...uh...not going to hurt you or anything." This is accompanied by an open-handed gesture he hopes is nonthreatening.

[all_the_gifts]

She certainly hopes he won't; even her wounds are weapons. Whether he has any weapons is harder to determine; with a suit like that, a gun could pop up out of anywhere. She eyes him warily, but her tone is a bit more controlled when she says, "Yes. I climbed up here on purpose; I'm not stuck."

[chalicejoker]

That's not a bad bit of caution on her part. Hajime's never produced a gun out of nowhere, but pulling a longbow out of thin air is a thing he does often. Still, he's always been a softie where kids are concerned, and he's not quite sure how to deal with this situation. "You see anything from up there?"

[all_the_gifts]

"Just the rest of the room." Which, depending on your perspective, is either not much or quite a lot. "It's very big. Or we're very small." She considers it a moment, then hazards, "I think we must be small. Otherwise the room couldn't be this big without more support."

[chalicejoker]

"So it really is just a room, then?" Hajime isn't really sure how he feels about this. "If whoever or whatever is behind this is powerful enough to bring a bunch of people here like this, shrinking everything likely wouldn't be much more of an effort..." Probably easier to contain, too.