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

[eliotwaugh]

Okay, so this took a turn. Eliot can tell that something is up, given the awkward silence and Sunshine's complete collapse of verbal skills, but he gets it, he's been there before. It's probably something to do with feelings. Feelings are the worst.

He pauses a bit at her question, because there are a few ways he could answer. Whether it's something about the quality of the dream environment or just that he feels like he can talk to Sunshine and be real, instead of snarky and world-weary, honesty seems to be winning out tonight. Go figure.

"Uh, much the same, probably, if we're speaking the same dialect of hrrrrgh." He pats her hair and sighs. "It's been...well, I'm glad this dream isn't horrendous and terrifying, let's just say that. How bad is your thing?"

[rae_of_sun]

Oh, gods, the kali awful dreams are catching. Sunshine lets out a humorless laugh and tucks her hand into the crook of Eliot's arm. "Look at us, twins in dream-based misery," she says wryly. But there's really no way for her to go into detail and maintain any pretense of dry humor, so she falls silent again, trying to come up with the most concise breakdown possible so she can get it over with as quickly as possible. Like ripping off a band-aid.

"It's… bad." But she can do this. If anyone's going to get it, Eliot will. She pulls in a breath. "I got dropped into some flashback nightmare of Spike's. From when he was all pre-soul. He, uh… didn't remember me, or recognize me." Eliot can probably guess what happened next, and she paints with the broadest brush possible: "So he attacked me, and I had to kill him."

Okay, that might have been too broad a brush. It sounds so absurd, put that bluntly, that she lets out a hiccup of laughter. But it doesn't last; the heaving of her shoulders morphs into something far worse than laughter, and she curls into Eliot in equal parts misery and embarrassment. Just crying into his chest, like a goddamn child, that is what's happening, now. "Gods," she moans, appalled with herself.

[eliotwaugh]

Oh, shit. Eliot remembers enough of those ye-ancient-of-days episodes to have some idea of the context, and for a minute he wants to ask about specifics, like was it the one in China? But questions, it becomes rapidly apparent, are not appropriate here. It's also becoming apparent that Sunshine is a complete mess, how long has she been holding that in?

"Oh shit," Eliot says, for lack of anything else to say. But it doesn't really matter what he says right now, because Sunshine is sobbing and helpless, and words aren't really going to make any difference. He wraps his arms around Sunshine and holds her close, letting her cry as much as she needs to. "I'm so sorry," he murmurs.

Privately, Eliot is a tiny bit glad that this is a dream, since he has no reservations about anyone getting snot on his shirt.

[rae_of_sun]

Sunshine would be tempted to classify this as 'the worst' if she didn't know just how much worse it could be. As it is, this will just have to be filed under 'really goddamn embarrassing,' and she lifts a hand to her face as if that will make any difference, like Eliot lacks object permanence and if he can't see her it'll be like she isn't sobbing into his shirt. He's being a hell of a trouper, though; gods, she owes him all the drinks. Just. All of them.

It's only a few nebulous minutes of dream time before she's calmed down enough to actually make words happen again, though she keeps her hand over her face. "He felt awful," she says, a flat statement of fact. Of course he felt awful. It hadn't made much difference, though. And when it comes to reassuring platitudes, 'he would never' loses quite a bit of power when accompanied by the sensation of fangs in your neck. Go fucking figure. "But I can't…" she trails off with a short, frustrated sigh. Can't let him touch her. Can't talk about it coherently. Can't, just in general.

[eliotwaugh]

"I get it, I think," Eliot says, once he's reasonably sure Sunshine isn't going to break down again. He's not going to tell her it's okay, because he knows how useless that can be if you're messed up enough. And it's not okay, clearly. She's not okay.

He gives Sunshine a bolstering squeeze, and addresses the top of her head. "Listen, you know you can always come chill at my place if you need some space, or just want to talk about shit. I promise it won't turn into alternate universe pop culture gossip hour."

It's a steep promise to make, but these are the things Eliot will do for his friends.

[rae_of_sun]

Gods, this is just unacceptably pitiful behavior. She wipes her face, a few impatient swipes with the heel of her hand, then curls her fist beneath her chin. "Thanks." Uncurling her fist, she gives Eliot a pat. "I might take you up on that." The getting some space part, anyway. She's not so sure about talking about it in any more detail than she just did.

Well. It's not like she can play the 'I don't remember' card on this one. She remembers everything. That, as per frigging usual, is the problem.

"What about you?" she asks, slinging her arm around him. It seems like the thing to do. "What godsbloodyawful trip were you treated to?"

[eliotwaugh]

"Uhhhhh well," Eliot begins, snuggling unabashedly because apparently this is just emotional cuddle hour. "It was a nightmare about a thing from my world, sort of, and this...monstrous body horror thing showed up and Johnny had the misfortune of sharing my brainspace at the time."

Eliot's also loath to talk about it in a lot of detail but after Sunshine shared her thing he owes her, and he can't just leave it at that. "He uh, he got eaten." He raises a mimed glass in a toast to their shared misfortune. "Not sure what it means to dream about dead boyfriends but I sure as hell don't want to go through that again."

[rae_of_sun]

"Ugh," Sunshine says, with feeling. "Gross."

Okay, so that wasn't the most sympathetic response in the world. "I'm sorry. Just… toxic kali nightmares all around, huh?" Poor Eliot. And Johnny. Poor everyone. She gives Eliot an encouraging squeeze. "We should start a club. It can be like drunk brunch, but... drunker."