The House was Awake with Shadows and Monsters [Open to All]

[applesaucemod]

This might not be the first time a given dreamer has found themselves at a fancy party in a large mansion, and dressed in something they wouldn't typically wear. If the architecture is more gothic than usual, well, that could just be a coincidence… but it's probably no coincidence that the dreamers are all wearing Halloween costumes that they decidedly did not pick themselves. 'Tis the season! They might look fancy, they might look slapdash; either way, it shouldn't be too difficult for the dreamers to figure out who - or what - they're supposed to be.

The evening's festivities are centered around a grand ballroom. Music is emanating from somewhere or other, and numerous chandeliers are aglow with warm candlelight. Tables line the perimeter, and they're piled with seasonal snacks and bowls of punch. If dancing isn't your thing, there's a whole mansion and extensive grounds to explore.

Those who venture forth will notice that the farther they wander from the party, the less friendly things seem. Tidy rooms with fires in the hearths will give way to dark, dusty corridors and neglected spaces. Manicured lawns grow into tangled hedges. As the music fades out of earshot, the house's settling groans and the hiss of the wind through the ivy will be impossible to ignore.

(It was just the house, wasn't it? Sure it was. It was probably your own footsteps that made that floorboard creak, too. And that rustle on the other side of the hedge was just a rabbit.)

All things considered, it might be more comfortable to just stay in the ballroom, where it's warm and cheerful and there are plenty of snacks. A note about the snacks, though: the dreamers will find that the more punch they consume, the more their own identities seem to fade away in favor of a persona more in line with their costumes. A dreamer dressed as a tiger might find themselves inclined to hide behind a curtain and pounce on passersby. A dreamer dressed as a mummy might adopt a stiff-legged gait and dole out a curse or two. A dreamer dressed as a robot might start speaking binary.

At least no one will actually turn into anything. That would just be embarrassing.

The good news is that eating any of the available food will counteract the punch's effects, so it's possible to have a fine time and still keep ahold of yourself. But what's the fun in that?


[ooc: the usual dream party rules apply. All are welcome, whether they've been apped to the game or not. Characters can remember or forget the events of the dream at the players' discretion. Any punch-drinking dreamers will take on the personality characteristics - and potentially the magical/supernatural capabilities - of whatever or whoever they're dressed as, though their physical appearance will remain the same.]

Comments

[apidae]

"It's not his fault," she insists quietly, but she goes silent after that, letting Daine comfort her a little. Gradually her breathing slows and the panic dies down; she draws herself into back into calm. She wipes her eyes and looks at her friend.

"What are you dressed as?" she asks curiously, looking at the paint on her arms. Eager to move on, away from the issue of Tim.

[wildmage_daine]

"I know," Daine replies mildly. It's nothing Tim can help or control - certainly not outside the dream, and she doubts there's much to be done about whatever is happening inside of it, either. At least she assumes any harm Tim does here won't actually stick, which makes it easier to excuse not rushing right off to try and put a stop to it.

She looks back down at her arm when Bee asks after her costume, turning it a little to examine the paint job more closely. Her nails are still painted silver - repeated washings hadn't been able to remove it. "I think I'm supposed to be a basilisk," she says with a one-shouldered shrug. "We have them in my realm, but the one I'm friends with is a lot taller. He'd probably think I look silly."

[apidae]

"Ooh." Bee sits up a little straighter, examining the costume more closely. "That's really cool though. I've never seen one, we only have them in stories where I'm from." She looks down at her ridiculously floofy gown and lets out a little nervous giggle. "I'm a character from a movie... it was one of my favorites when I was a little kid. Glinda the Good Witch." She smiles faintly at Daine, starting to feel a little more stable. "I just did one of the things she can do in the movie. That's how I got away from Tim, got here. It was weird."

She digs her fingers slowly into the scratchy fabric of her skirts. "That's happening to everyone, but it's different. I still know who I am. So do you. I don't know what's different for us."

[wildmage_daine]

Daine smiles faintly. Not many folk back home would use 'witch' in a way that meant 'good' (though hedgewitches are considered harmless enough). "You look fair pretty," she says, "though this is a lot of dress."

Bee's explanation isn't exactly encouraging. "So it's not just happening to Tim?" Similar things have happened in dreams before, but it might be a problem if this dream is making people dangerous on top of making them forget themselves.

Daine purses her lips for a moment, then gets to her feet. "Why don't we both go back together? If it's just in the air or something, and one of us starts feeling off, the other can get us out. And if it's more complicated than that, maybe we can figure out how it works." She holds out a hand to help Bee up.

[apidae]

"Oh, thanks." She grins, embarrassed by the compliment as well as the dress, and takes Daine's hand, hoisting herself up to follow Daine. "My power is working better than it usually does in dreams and... I can feel everyone's identities getting all mixed up."

She doesn't let go of Daine's hand even as they walk out of the bathroom together, back toward the ballroom.

"Everyone's... fluctuating," she whispers, looking around at them all with big eyes.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine gives Bee's hand a comforting squeeze, then scans the ballroom, brow furrowed. As far as she can tell, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. She can't see anyone acting noticeably out of character. "Can you tell if it's especially bad for anyone?" she asks. "Maybe it's only affecting folk in a certain spot, or ones who are doing a certain thing...?"