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

[whofrownedthisface]

How helpful of her, to carefully curate their dream experiences, at least to the best of her abilities. Though he has to wonder if she doesn't take it a bridge too far at times, at least in his case. Who better to handle dream-disasters? She could stand to borrow less trouble, particularly when it's earmarked for him. What else is he going to do with his time? Well, probably too much. "Unsafe how? How unsafe do these dreams get?" he asks, already scanning their surroundings like the next bug-eyed monster will pop out any second. Has the TARDIS ever seen Jurassic Park? That's probably not worth asking. "It's all for show, anyway, isn't it? An experience. But how is it put together? Who puts it together?" The Doctor is seconds away from dismantling something and going off-road.

[theoldgirl]

Naturally he latches onto the first mention of danger he hears. It would be worth an eyeroll if it wasn't so unsurprising, and rather a bit endearing. "The dreamscape is projecting a sense of undefined peril and volatility at the edges," she explains what she meant by 'unsafe'. "I am not aware of the dreams themselves having ever caused physical or lasting psychic harm to the dreamers, but they are capable of enhancing their mental distress, and have been a projection of real, physical suffering before. Also, there have been instances of powerfully telepathic beings trapping other minds in theirs and... I believe they could do serious damage to smaller minds," she admits, incongruously hesitant. Because both she and Gabriel very nearly did exactly that while not being aware of their true situations. It's troubling to think that she could have crushed all those minds she had accidentally ensnared; Daine, Johnny, Ianto... Not an event she likes to recall, nor anything the Doctor needs to know in detail, beyond the bare data of their disastrous attempt to manipulate the rift.

"As for rift-generated dreams; I have not attempted to determine their exact mechanics yet." That's really more the Doctor's purview than hers, she is only concerned with influencing or escaping them. And she has a feeling he is about to hare off and do just that, now that she's confirmed for him that there is something to solve.