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

[peacefulexplorer]

"Well, you're in luck," he says, forcing a bit of cheer into his tone as he withdraws. "Seems I'm, uh, pretty transparent at the moment. Not a play on words, either, really. I'm - I'm literally see-through, here."

Upon closer inspection, he really is. Daniel holds up one of his hands and he can see the curtain right through the skin of his palm.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he adds. "Sorry about that."

[starlightcalliope]

There do not seem to be any attempts to unmask her forthcoming, which, after a moment, takes the edge off her panic. His claims to transparency are quite a bit distracting in their oddness as well and there is something in his tone of voice as he apologizes for being scary, a sort of dejection that she suddenly and fiercely sympathizes with. His voice itself is also familiar, come to think of it, though she can't put a claw on why.

"It's, um, it's quite alright," she attempts to assure him, though she can't banish the fright from her voice entirely. "I was simply spooked because I did not see you." Well, that's about half of it, anyhow. "Are you, erm, always transparent?" He'd sounded strangely surprised by it himself. Naturally, she's itching to take a peek now, but that would risk exposing her visage and she isn't ready for that.

[peacefulexplorer]

"Not...generally, no," says Daniel, slowly. "Well. It's complicated, actually. I think I was. Or, er, I used to be."

'Complicated' doesn't really even begin to cover it. She sounds pretty young, kind of like a kid. Maybe he should skip right over the whole 'died for a little while' thing. He doesn't even know how typical something like that is for other universes. He backs up a bit, turning partially aside to try and inject some kind of casual air into the whole debacle.

"I didn't see you either. And, uh, I wouldn't really blame you if you didn't see me." He tries for a halfhearted chuckle, a valiant attempt at levity. "You can come out now, if you want."

[starlightcalliope]

She thinks she can sympathize with a complicated sort of backstory, though she's never had to struggle with transparency before. Wouldn't always go amiss though, in her case, being invisible. At least he did not spot her before she was able to hide, that's quite a relief. Self-consciously, she shifts a bit to tuck her legs in under the curtain as well.

"I'd rather stay here for a wee bit longer," she assures him awkwardly, but it hasn't escaped her notice that he sounds shaken by the encounter as well, so she hurriedly adds, "Not because you spooked me, though! Um." Bloody well done, backing herself into a figurative corner as well as a literal one, now. Time for some clever conversational navigating. "What made you invisible, d'you think?"

[peacefulexplorer]

"I dunno," he says thoughtfully, then looks down and immediately amends his answer: "Actually, um, I think I might have a theory. I'm wearing a ghost costume. And, uh, I'm guessing this is one of those Rift dreams, yeah?"

Yeah, that makes sense. Well, in the convoluted logic of this whole dreamscape, anyway. Something turned him into the costume he was wearing, though he...thinks he might not have chosen this costume if he had any conscious choice in the matter.

"Did you, ah, maybe, turn into your costume too?" he asks politely.