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

[scruffy_mcjackass]

Dustin executes an almost perfect heel-turn, complete with a slow, dramatic stare cast over his shoulder. This is not the answer he was expecting. Demands for elaboration? Scoffing and pointing out a better route? Maybe. But not attacking an obvious threat? Granted, there is logic in what he says, but it's not good logic, not by Dustin's standards. His standards, not--goodness this is getting confusing.

"You wouldn't?" That's a good place to start, he thinks, though this quickly spirals out of control. "Whatever is in control of this mess isn't going to be friendly and it sure as hell isn't going to be interested in negotiating. Who the hell has time for that? Who the hell has time for trial developments?" Dustin squints in confusion. "We make what works and we take care of the fucking problem. What is there to discuss?"

[ambassadorgrump]

"We make what works right and lasts," Dustin snaps back. "Fucking waste of resources and time, otherwise." He rolls his eyes, unwilling to waste his own time on his counterpart while he's not multi-tasking. Instead, Dustin turns to start looking for his wire-lined ribbon. He spots a parcel a little ways away that seems promising and heads for that.

He shouldn't have to explain this to the other him. This is seriously basic. "Not friendly doesn't mean fucking mass murder everything as soon as it sees us. It brought us here for a reason. That means that if it turns up, it's probably going to be interested in talking." Dustin casts a withering glance as his counterpart before beginning to test the ribbon he's found - wire is a check. Not too big, either. Even better. He sets his foot against the package and begins pulling to get the ribbon off. It's more effort than he thought it might be, but he's not going to ask for help. "Talking gets us more answers than stabbing first, or did wherever you were turn everyone into zombies and ghosts you could interrogate after you finished?" It's a dismissive question, though it does present several interesting possibilities for why his counterpart would think his idea is worth anything.

[scruffy_mcjackass]

His counterpart has a point--no use standing around arguing when they could be preparing, and as annoying as it is to be dismissed by his own alternate universe reflection (seriously, Dustin can't even get himself to agree with him? Can't ever catch a fucking break...) his plan is one worth carrying out. Dustin huffs in frustration and limps after him.

"Don't be so melodramatic," he hisses, rolling his eyes at the glare the other Dustin shoots him. "We don't have to kill it--we don't even know if we can kill it. It's the Rift, it's a spatiotemporal anomaly, it might not even have a physical form that can be--" Too late, Dustin realizes he's rambling. He grits his teeth and runs a hand down his face. "--ah, fuck. Look; the point is, outside information has implied that the Rift is an extremely volatile and dangerous entity that can't be reasoned with. Not preparing to defend ourselves would be stupid." Dustin abruptly holds up his prosthetic arm. "I've made that mistake and I'm not going to make it again."

[ambassadorgrump]

"If you have any ideas on how to actually defend against a spatiotemportal anomaly when we're the size of dolls, let's hear them." Dustin only casts half a glance over at his counterpart when he holds up his arm. Clearly he hadn't been fast enough. It's an uncharitable thought, particularly about himself, but it's something to consider for the future... and for now. Limp says slow. He'll need to stay out of the way when Dustin sets off the electricity.

The ribbon starts to come free, and Dustin hauls it over toward the nearest electrical outlet so that he can snake it into one of the holes for the socket. He pauses momentarily when the ribbon catches and he had to pull harder. "No physical form would mean there's probably fuck all we can do to it, anyway. Unless..." He's suddenly eying his counterpart's prosthetic. "What else can your arm do? It's not just an arm." Please tell him he wasn't dull enough in whatever reality this other him came from not to make himself multifunctional.

[scruffy_mcjackass]

Dustin opens his mouth to protest but quickly cuts himself off. It's just an arm. It used to have an electrode in it, and he's never really had the chance (or the guts) to add anything else. But rather than explain the embarrassing details of why that's no longer the case, Dustin awkwardly avoids the conversation altogether. If he examines the room for possible weapons, then maybe his alternate self won't realize that he's just looking away.

...Of course he'll notice, it's him. Maybe he'll be sympathetic, then. Doubtful. Goddammit, this is such a pain in the ass.

"This location is of the Rift's choosing--more than likely it's own creation," Dustin explains instead, at the same time clambering on top of the box so he can help loosen the knot in the ribbon. With his metal arm. See, totally useful, it does...arm things... "Damaging the surroundings should disorient it, at the very least. The surroundings might be the only things that can hurt it, in whatever form it chooses to 'negotiate' with us in."

[ambassadorgrump]

Fuck. Dustin resists the temptation to slap a hand to his forehead and ask himself, 'Really?' He can't fathom why he wouldn't at least maybe equip himself with an array of various simple tools he could uncap his fingers to reveal. Then again, he's not sure whether this other him would take the time. Maybe he hadn't had the time. That's a slightly more charitable thought, and Dustin grudgingly clings to it in lieu of assuming he'd actually turned into a moron a multiverse or two over. The loosening is helpful, anyway, and he allows the change of topic without comment.

"I wonder how permanent the dreamscape is now that it's set it. We could maybe form a trap for it with the boxes." Dustin pulls a bit of a face. He really doesn't want to try setting something so haphazard up, but it would be a compromise between them. If there's one thing the Incipisphere taught him, it was how to do that.

"You want to take care of figuring something out there, I'll get the wire out of the ribbon." He's intent on that task now. He'd rather not start a fire with this trick, after all, and that means pulling the fabric away and getting the length that he was off. A highly localized and concentrated electrical burst should be able to generate enough heat to melt the wire where he wants to pull it off.

[scruffy_mcjackass]

Dustin is silently thankful for the understanding. He'll explain later, if they have the time--but they both know that there are more important things to discuss right now.

"Potentially." Now that he's up there and his alternate self has the ribbon, Dustin carefully stands on top of the box to get a better look around. The vantage point isn't great, but it's helpful in spotting key points of interest from a taller perspective. The tree and the field of other boxes beneath it is definitely a good place for organizing ambushes, but also an easy place to get lost. The table next to it, if they could get on top, would make a much more secure point of attack. That is, for anything shorter than the table. Options for anything human-sized are more limited. "Or the tree," he suggests, scratching his chin. "I got some idiot to start tearing apart the trunk a little while ago. I'm not sure how tenacious he is, but if he hasn't given up from boredom we might be able to force the tree over if we can draw assailants towards it, using the boxes as a distraction."

But that wouldn't get rid of multiple attackers, if that becomes a problem...requires more thought. What his alternate self is planning grabs his attention first.

"You're going to need a stronger conduit than just the wire to short out the entire house," he points out, with a slight raise of his brow. Not that Dustin doubts he would have a plan, but all obvious options for what it would be haven't been addressed. If Dustin didn't know better, he would think that he's trying to use the Element to draw and route the house's electricity. But that would be ridiculous. "The tree lights?"