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

[i_jones]

Ianto resolutely avoids looking at the Doctor, bringing his feet up onto the couch and wrapping his blanket a little tighter around him. Regret catches up with him in waves. He knows he's being childish. He's the most well-aware that every time he confronts World Eaters or weird beaky-headed aliens or cannibals or memory creatures (that he can't remember) he utterly fails and people get hurt and die. Or he gets hurt and dies. Or both, frequently Is this a terrible argument? Yes. Should he have punched the Doctor for the reasons he did? Nnno. He just has a lot of feelings and no one to punch about it, okay.

He leans back against the couch and stares at the knotted wood above the windows. He takes a measured breath. Why does he ever fall asleep? "I traveled with you. In another universe. You tried so hard to fix me." The rest of his breath leaks out in an irritated sigh. "Ianto Jones."

[whofrownedthisface]

And there it is, that's better. Well, it was always going to be something like that, wasn't it. The Doctor crosses his arms sullenly, leans against the bricks of the fireplace, now absorbing radiant heat rather than nearly setting his sleeves on fire. He doesn't seem that keen to look at Ianto either, but does so anyway, as though coerced. He had a feeling it was something like this, but that doesn't make it any less strange or unfortunate. What's the protocol for being angry and regretful about something you didn't actually do, but probably would have done, if the opportunity presented itself? "And let me guess. I didn't." He doesn't sound like he needs any confirmation. "Which one was it?"

[i_jones]

Ianto rolls his eyes. "Does it matter?" Is any one Doctor more likely than the rest to treat companions like pets rather than people? Would it be more understandable if it were one of the rude, abrasive ones? Or is it not so bad if it's one of the nice ones, like good intentions could ever justify the decisions the Doctor made for him. He turns his head to give the Doctor a shrewd look. No, he can't be asking because he cares. "You're want to know if it was you."

[whofrownedthisface]

Despite his most recent thoughts about how strange it is to both have done and not have done the thing he's being attacked for, Ianto's response is still somewhat shocking. Since this iteration of this incarnation hadn't traveled with Ianto, clearly none had, was his unconscious assumption--which is completely unfounded. It could have been him only once removed rather than twice. And that hadn't been why he asked at all. "No. Well yes, now I do," he revises truculently. He hesitates on the edge of another question. Does he even want to know? Why borrow trouble, when he already has such an ample supply? Ianto is rude but not wrong, what's the point now? "I wanted to know who to blame. See if that would let me guess what happened." A fun puzzle for all ages. Okay, so he wants to know, he just doesn't want to ask directly. But after being punched in the face, he deserves at least a little information.

[i_jones]

In another universe, maybe, Ianto met this one instead of that one and maybe that Ianto is nice and dead somewhere, but this Ianto just had to go and make friends with the clingiest fucking Doctor this side of the multiverse. He folds his arms on top of his knees, which only serves to make his blanket enclosure that much more turtle-like. Why should he tell? Because the Doctor is curious? Because maybe he wants to have a body to pin this mistake on, so he can assure himself it's nothing he would ever do in this universe or incarnation?

"It was your seventh regeneration." Well, not his. Someone's. Are the Doctor's bodies multiversal? Maybe there's a reason he's never met this one before. "Erm, he had curly brown hair and a frock coat and a... steampunk aesthetic." He drifts off and shakes his head, dismissing this description even as he gives it. What good does that do if it's a version this Doctor has never known? A little wearily, but with bite, he adds, "I've had enough Doctors guess at me. I'm not a game."