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

[omnomnom_feels]

Rashad bounds up to the black-clad figure, the hood of his pink hoodie flapping. "Have you tried the punch?" he exclaims in a rapid falsetto. "Because it's amazing!"

[singthesong]

...well, this is unusual. Luckily the Balladeer is extremely difficult to put off!

"Nope!" he replies, equally cheerful if not quite as energetic about it. He's pretty energetic in general, but he's not that up all the time. "Just got here a few minutes ago!"

[omnomnom_feels]

"Ohmygosh! That means you probably haven't even talked to anyone yet, or done any dancing, or seen the decorations --"

He can't stop. Really, he can't stop. Rashad grips the Balladeer by the arm and tries to steer him toward the snack table. "You have to try it, it's the best!"

[singthesong]

The Balladeer is entirely willing to be steered. "Sure!" he agrees readily. What a nice guy! Twisting a little, he offers his free hand. "I'm the Balladeer!"

[omnomnom_feels]

"I'm Nhodd!" beams Rashad, shaking his new friend's hand with gusto. "But you can call me Rashad Durant. Everyone else does!"

Wink. "Maybe later I can introduce you to all my friends! I just have to..find some friends...."

[singthesong]

"Good to meet you, Rashad!" The Balladeer returns the handshake with equal vigor. He's one to easily get caught up by enthusiasm, and it's definitely happening now.

Obviously such a friendly and outgoing person must have a lot of friends; the conclusion's obvious. "I'm sure they're somewhere around. There's just all these dream people - honestly it'd be easier if they didn't even show up." He'd have rather had a party with just the dreamers, where they could all find each other easily and hang out. Nothing against dream people; they're just not really people at all. Not great for conversation.

[omnomnom_feels]

"You really think so?" Well gosh, if the nice man thinks there are people waiting around to be Rashad's friends, it must be true! This place is not full of strangers and enemies; it is full of friends he just has not befriended yet!

"Well, it does make it seem more like a party when there are more people," Rashad points out. "Even if they are not real people."

[singthesong]

"True!" The Balladeer shrugs. "I really haven't been to all that many parties. I did see a parade one time..."

God, he really wishes all his stories didn't end in murder.

"They had a band! It'd be neat if they had one here too." He glances around for the source of the music, but nothing's visible. They must just be piping it in. Either that or it really is just coming from nowhere - dreams and all.

[omnomnom_feels]

"Oh! Ooh! I bet we could make a band!" Rashad practically bounces up and down with the force of his brilliant idea. Scratch that, he does bounce up and down, with no sign of stopping. "We just have to find instruments! And people! Real people, though, not the dream people. Unless you think they could play instruments...."

[singthesong]

"Maybe?" The Balladeer looks around speculatively. "If they were meant to be...dream musicians or something. But I can play, if we find instruments! I'd rather have one of those than this." He holds up the scythe a little, careful to keep an eye on the blade. That thing looks way too sharp for comfort.

[omnomnom_feels]

"I am pretty sure I can play an instrument," muses Rashad. He eyeballs the scythe, then gasps with sudden inspiration. "I know! We could make that into an instrument! Come on, let's find some string!"

[singthesong]

"You think?" The Balladeer looks up at the scythe doubtfully. That doesn't really sound like it would work.

Well, dream logic maybe? It's something to do. More than that, he hasn't the heart to quash Rashad's ideas. "Sure, let's look around! Maybe some of these decorations? They won't miss a few of the smaller ones."

[omnomnom_feels]

"I do think!"

It will not work, of course, unless they do manage to apply dream logic. It might work for the real Pinkie Pie, but what the Balladeer has on his hands is not a reality-bending pink pony, but a neurotic fallen angel who thinks he is a reality-bending pink pony.

Rashad turns and begins eyeing the directions up and down. "That one!" he suggests, pointing at a rather nice tapestry. "You can cut it up with your scythe!"

[singthesong]

In ordinary times, the Balladeer would be a lot more hesitant about slicing up a random person's wall decor. But this is just a dream house. No big deal!

"Oooookay, let's see here..." Reaching up, he holds the scythe as high as he can get it and starts dragging it across the top of the tapestry. It cuts instantly with a faint ripping sound. "Geez!" He jerks in surprise, slicing a diagonal slit into the tapestry. "That isssss sharper than I thought it'd be."

[omnomnom_feels]

"...Wooooww," says Rashad, eyes going wide at the effectiveness of the weapon. Something stirs in him, some feeling that would it not be good, would it not be right for him to wield such a worthy weapon capable of making such clean and perfect cuts?

But that is just silly. Weapons do not make music and they do not help make friends, and those are the two things he is here to do. He steps forward to tug on the tapestry, ripping the part the Balladeer missed and pulling the whole thing down. "At least we got the tapestry?" he points out.

[singthesong]

"Yeah..."

The Balladeer's still staring up at the blade in faint unease. He's never really held a weapon before. At least it isn't a gun? "There really should've been some kind of cover on that. Or I could just have a plastic one." Who needs their Halloween costume to be that realistic?

Still, it's in good hands. He knows he'll be careful with it. "Okay, does it need more slicing or something?" He steps forward to look at the tapestry in Rashad's hands, reaching out to touch it lightly. "I don't think this thing's going to be any good for delicate stuff."

[omnomnom_feels]

"Uh..." Rashad looks down at the tapestry, brow furrowing in concentration. They needed threads, did they not? For instrument strings. "If you cut a strip and string it tight, will that not work?" he asks, some small measure of dubiousness perhaps creeping in.

[singthesong]

The Balladeer shrugs. "I guess it's worth a shot."

It'd be a lot easier if Rashad held it while he cut, but he's not confident enough with this thing to let somebody put their fingers near it. He just tries to take it slowly instead; luckily, the scythe is sharp enough that he doesn't have to exert much force. The cut's a little wobbly, but soon enough he has a thin strip of fabric.

"Uh..." He bends down to pick it up, looking at the end dubiously. "Let me tie it. I don't want you to cut yourself."

[omnomnom_feels]

"If you are suuuuuure," says Rashad. "I am going to go look for some drums while you do that. Also, an accordion." He is almost entirely certain he knows how to play the accordion, and that an accordion is an ordinary thing one might expect to find around a lavish mansion such as this one. "And when I get back, we can start playing music!"