Sweeter than the First Time [Open to All]

[applesaucemod]

Hello, dreamers of Manhattan. The Rift knows that things have been kind of rough, lately. The last dream didn't go as well as it had hoped. Consider this an apology of sorts, and a hearkening back to the good times you've shared.

It's a grand old (and potentially familiar) cabin house that the dreamers will find themselves wandering. The furniture is plentiful and comfortable, the floors are strewn with cushions and blankets, and there are cheerful fires burning in the grates. It seems a little odd that the house still manages to be on the chilly side despite looking so warm, yet it is.

Oh, well. You'll just have to find another dreamer or two and spoon up and fall asleep like little baby cats get cozy. It shouldn't be difficult; most of the dreamers (excepting those with strong telepathic defenses or deeply ingrained cuddle-averse personalities) will find themselves feeling friendlier than usual, along with an almost overwhelming desire to snuggle up to someone. How convenient that the house seems designed for that very purpose!

And if some of the cushions are Hello Kitty themed, well, that's just coincidence.


[OOC: Standard dream party rules apply. Characters will be affected by the dream-whammy to whatever degree makes the most sense for them, and will remember or forget the events of the dream at the player's discretion. Backtag into infinity.]

Comments

[peacefulexplorer]

"Johnny wrote a book?" That's Daniel's first takeaway, the second being: well, shit. So Seth's been tossed into one of his more haphazard, morally reprehensible memories before, but the unfortunate bit is that wasn't even the worst possible memory the Rift could have chosen, as he now knows too well. And he doesn't want Seth - or anyone, really - rifling around in the more private sections of Daniel's past. Particularly if they involve Ascension.

Daniel's tensed up again despite the general calm air of the dream, rubbing one hand over his chin in pensive agitation.

"Honestly, wish there was a way to safeguard against this kind of thing," he mutters, and pulls off his glasses briefly to scrub said hand over his eyes. "My brain's really not one that should be exposed to the masses, especially when we've got, y'know, Satan running about." And especially considering the unnerving amount of interest Lucifer had displayed in Daniel's head, rife with memories of another plane. Crap.

[powerdealer]

Seth gives a half-shrug to the first question. It's not like Johnny would let him read it. From what he could tell, there was a pretty good reason for that. And also somehow connected to his power. Somehow. Seth may have experienced that power, but he sure as hell doesn't understand why it did what it did to his brain. He doesn't think he wants to understand, really.

"Yeah..." he answers with a sigh, unconsciously rubbing Daniel's shoulder with his thumb, a small comforting gesture he's not really aware he's doing, just a reaction to the tension in Daniel's body. He doesn't have any solution for that.

"And, um, he didn't write it, really, he found it and finished it. At least that's what he told me. But, um, I probably wouldn't mention it to him?" he says awkwardly, frowning to himself. "I dunno, I think it really fucked with his head, and.. I think it's connected to his power somehow? Not sure..."

Seth doesn't want to say more than that about the book or Johnny's experience surrounding it though, since Johnny didn't seem to want Seth to know about it either, and he certainly wouldn't like Seth to go around talking about it. He just wants to make sure Daniel knows not to bring it up. Being confronted with it did absolutely nothing good to Johnny's head, as far as Seth could tell.

[peacefulexplorer]

He understands the not wanting to mention certain subjects well enough, and nods his acquiescence. If it's a sensitive topic, Daniel doubts it'll crop up in casual conversation anyway. Anyway, he's a bit distracted by how Seth is sort of kind of - massaging his shoulder kind of? With his thumb? Just a bit, but now that he's noticed Daniel doesn't know what to say about it. Seth doesn't seem to be doing it consciously, and maybe drawing attention to it might make it awkward. Besides, they're already more or less curled on this chair-couch hybrid under a blanket together, so it's not really - oh my god, why is Daniel even worrying about this? Whatever, it is really not a big deal and really not something he needs to be concerned about? It is a thumb.

"I'll do that," he says, dimly recognizing that talking is a thing that is still happening and so dropping out of verbal register might be a little odd. "I mean - I won't do that. You know." He knows. He absolutely knows.

[powerdealer]

Daniel's reply seems a little distracted, but Seth assumes it's still just because he's thinking about the dream, so he doesn't inquire about it. The point is to make him stop thinking about it, not to remind him. Seth just nods a bit in reply.

Actually, does Daniel know what Johnny's power is? Seth knows they've met. But the details and how well and whether they've met again later, Seth doesn't know. Or whether they discussed Seth, for that matter. He wonders what either of them would say about him to the other. But he's not entirely sure how to inquire about that.

"You met Johnny, right?" he asks, a more general prompt even though he technically knows the answer.

[peacefulexplorer]

"What? No, I have." He goes back to gnawing his lip, like that's some adequate form of distraction to the thumb gymnastics occurring on his shoulder. Is Seth just not aware of this? He's not really the most tactile person out there unless Daniel's basing his perception of him off those bizarre and frankly not-entirely-discernible dreams he's had in the past, and he is not going there right now, he doesn't have the brain capacity for that. "Um, the last group thing? We tried to get out of the house and, um, there was this thing with this cat, which, uh." Which probably neither of them want to remember.

But Daniel gives himself another little shake and continues. "No, he, he told me a bit about the thing with the power, er, his power. And how there was this whole disparity in trying to transfer it between the two of you, but he didn't really get into specifics."

[powerdealer]

"Oh."

Well, at least that put an end to the unconscious thumb gymnastics. In fact Seth pulls his arm back, not really because of anything Daniel did so much as the reminder of that whole event - or rather the fact that Daniel is aware of it, is not altogether pleasant.

"Yeah, it..." he begins, looking down and rubbing awkwardly at his right hand - the one he generally uses for power transfers. He's not sure where to go with that sentence. He lets out an annoyed huff of air.

[peacefulexplorer]

That definitely had an effect, though Daniel doesn't know if it's really the effect he was looking for. It put a stop to the...confusing stuff with the thumb why is he worked up about a thumb and Daniel's bizarrely torn between confusion and relief. Why relief? Why confusion? Ah, help.

"You don't have to get into it," he amends quickly. "Really, it's, um, fair to say that it probably wasn't a pleasant ordeal, as, as far as I can tell."

[powerdealer]

Seth frowns, considering. He's not sure if he does want to get into it, but he's also not sure if wants to simply brush by it either. It, well... It's sort of the reason his claustrophobia has gotten so much worse. After being locked up, the sensation of being trapped was definitely one of deep unease, but it didn't really drive him into such a state of panic as Daniel had been witness to in that same dream Johnny mentioned this to him.

"To be honest, I'm not sure what happened. I don't remember much of that day," he says after several moments of silence. "I just remember it was like something was watching me. Just this.. intense paranoia." He gives another shrug, staring into the crackling fire in front of them, not really seeing it.

He's not entirely sure why he's sharing this either. Except he hasn't really spoken about it to anyone. Gabe knows about it, and of course Johnny knows, but Seth hasn't actually shared it. And, well, maybe just letting it fester in him isn't the best idea.

"Anyway, by the time Johnny got back, I was completely out of it, I'd been shrinking the house around myself. Almost crushed us both..." he finishes quietly, looking at his hands, not at Daniel. He doesn't remember the details of what exactly had happened, just that he'd been scared shitless.

[peacefulexplorer]

"Oh my god." No wonder Johnny said the power was dangerous, and no wonder Seth is so clearly, violently claustrophobic. Daniel can't guess the reasons behind why that would happen - the power is too intrinsic to Johnny, it's somehow different in comparison to the other powers Seth's transferred, the Rift wanted to add its own cruel twist - but whatever the internal reasoning, it sounds utterly horrific.

"It's why he said he couldn't get rid of it." That additional understanding is a slow and subtly terrifying retroactive realization. Daniel can only shake his head for a minute and quietly process it. "That sounds - I'm sorry."

[powerdealer]

Seth inclines his head a little in silent acknowledgement, feeling like there's not much more to say about it. He's fairly certain Daniel understands it wasn't Johnny's fault, or at least no more than it was Seth's for letting it get out of hand. They'd been naive and over-confident. Johnny had tried to warn Seth, but he'd been certain he could handle it.

"Was abou' two weeks before we met," he adds, giving Daniel some context on the timeline. "Yours was actually the first power I took after that." So if Daniel had noticed any nerves on Seth's part surrounding that particular event, well, that would be why.

[peacefulexplorer]

"Well, geez, you didn't have to do that," he answers, jostling Seth lightly with a nudged elbow. It's light and playful and without any real judgment whatsoever, but the look he gives him is good-natured, raised-eyebrow reproach. "Honestly, it's, it's paperclips and staplers. If it was uncomfortable or anything you didn't have to." He'd get it if power transfers became something of a personal taboo after that.

[powerdealer]

Seth smiles a little at the playful nudge, glancing up at him at last. At least they're both trying to make sure the other one doesn't stew in their own memories and misfortunes.

"Well, I wanted to get used to it again," he answers with a tiny shrug. "Paperclips seemed pretty safe." And Daniel seemed pretty safe, though Seth doesn't mention that bit. But it had been nice and easy, which was just what he needed. Even if it wasn't for profit, it had been very helpful in reassuring himself getting back into it wouldn't be a disaster waiting to happen.

[peacefulexplorer]

"A good point, a good point," Daniel concedes with a partial grin. "Pretty sure 'death by paperclips' is a bit of a difficult achievement." That'd be one for the record books, probably. It's a morbid crack, but hopefully it'll lighten their collective low mood a bit.

"And, you know, it's actually not that bad a power. Pretty sure I got a couple people out of those, uh, giant present things with some scissors." Though he hasn't tried manifesting them in reality yet, or at least he hasn't succeeded. It came easier in that dream. Maybe powers are just easier in dreams in general. Something about the more relaxed state of mind, maybe.

[powerdealer]

"It has a pretty specific area of usage though," Seth answers fairly. "Though, you could've made a bookmark for your book," he suggests. He actually needs office supplies and then declines to make them? Missed opportunity, clearly.

[peacefulexplorer]

He shrugs, glancing at said book with limited interest. Most of the words feel like they've bled out of his skull at this point, in the jumbled, nonsensical way words in dreams are often arranged.

"Eh. Dream book. Not like I'll be able to get back to it once I wake up." But the idea of using his self-generating supply of post-its for bookmarks isn't one that's actually occurred to him before. Daniel's still stretching the limits of the ability itself, testing how long things last and whether object mass has an effect on longevity, but post-its are some of the easiest and longest-lasting since they require so little concentration.

And on that note, Daniel squints at Seth for a minute and pictures a neat stack of them, post-it notes in the standard office yellow, tongue stuck between his teeth.

"Check your pocket." He sounds more curious than anything, to see if a trick like that is possible. Manifesting things at an increased distance from his person has been an interesting challenge.

[powerdealer]

Seth gives Daniel a dubious look at the way he's squinting at him, unsure what's going on and why he's looking at him like that. But at least he gets an answer to his question pretty quickly. After just a bit more confusion.

He checks one pocket; just his keys. Then the other one; his mp3 player and... a small stack of post-its. Seth smiles with amusement. "So you're doing party tricks now?"

[peacefulexplorer]

"I am practicing," he replies with mock primness, angling his chin at the neat stack with a pleased grin. "Still figuring out if I can manifest them with stuff already written on them, but I'm definitely getting, you know, more control and such."

It's useful. Maybe not life-saving or tremendously utilitarian, but handy in a pinch if he needs to write anything down. And the scissors really did come into good use in the last dream.

[powerdealer]

Seth nods, and flips through them. It's good though, practicing his power. Who knows, at some point it might be very useful. Like sending secret messages without appearing to, if he can manage to make them appear with writing. Or a call for help if he's in trouble.

"Or you could make one of those little flip-book comics," he suggests, flipping rapidly through the blank pages.

[peacefulexplorer]

"I feel like that might require more precision than I actually have so far." He makes a halfhearted attempt to generate some post-its with writing on them but comes up with another blank stack in his own palm, which he pockets with a disappointed grunt. "I'll make it a milestone. Maybe start my own flipbook business. There's probably a lucrative market for this sort of thing, right?"

[powerdealer]

"Think you may be overestimating the monetary value of your power. And I should know, I used to attach monetary value to powers for a living," he answers, pulls off a post-it from the stack, and sticks it on Daniel's shoulder. Would be funnier if he could write something on it, but Daniel hasn't materialised any writing utensils yet.

[peacefulexplorer]

"And here I thought that'd be easy money." Though as soon as he says it he quickly tries to steer his mind away from the subject. He still hasn't worked out what to do about a more permanent living space or even a job, and for two very high priorities it's embarrassing how lost he feels in scoping those out. But it's such a bizarre shift, going from saving the world twice a week to something so much more mundane. He has no idea what it is linguist-archaeologist-intergalactic-explorers who are pretty much honorary members of the USAF are meant to do with themselves without a literal galaxy to save.

Maybe he should take up bookkeeping.

Not to be deterred, Daniel peels a post-it off his own stack and presses it firmly on Seth's forehead, utterly deadpan. "Watch it. I've got a seemingly infinite supply of these things and I'm not afraid to use 'em."

[powerdealer]

Seth smiles, eyes crossing a little as he tries to look up at the post-it on his forehead. Then he sighs defeatedly.

"I didn't want it to come to this, but I can't back down now," he says, peeling off another and sticking it onto Daniel's glasses. But if Daniel tries to return the favour again, he won't find Seth as solid and tangible as he usually is.

[peacefulexplorer]

He pulls off the offending object and tries to stick it back but his arm passes straight through the other man without resistance. Disgruntled, Daniel leans back and folds his arms.

"Well that's just not fair." He almost makes a joke about Seth always resorting to that little party trick before quickly recognizing that the last time it happened hadn't exactly been a shared experience. Whoops.

"I take it you're, you know. Still...?" He simply trails off meaningfully with a vague gesture at his arm.

[powerdealer]

It's always a pretty strange experience to see someone pass right through you, but it's kind of worth it for Daniel's expression and "winning" the post-it contest. He grins cheerfully and peels the post-it off his own forehead.

His cheer doesn't last quite that long though. "Oh. Yeah," he answers, glancing down, then looking cautiously up at Daniel again. He's not entirely sure how Daniel feels about that. Pity, presumably, but...

[peacefulexplorer]

For a minute Daniel's fingers drum incomprehensibly over his own crossed arms as he tries to communicate some meaning he hasn't yet delineated to himself. In the end he doesn't settle for eye contact at all. There's such a turbid slew of emotional associations there for both of them, and sorting through all of it is still something of a work in progress. Daniel's still conflicted over how he feels about being the one Seth apparently decided to entrust with this information over Gabriel, not to mention the idea that Daniel is now more or less keeping secrets from the archangel without honestly meaning to and despite not truly knowing him all that well.

"Is there," he begins, then stops, frustrated. Then again, "do you know where you're going with that?" Awkwardly phrased, even more awkwardly said aloud with Daniel's arms crossed and his shoulders creeping a little higher in his private, muddled indecision and a small, ridiculous aversion to meeting Seth's eyes for fear of what kind of judgment or disapproval he might unintentionally communicate.