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applesaucemod) wrote in
applesaucedream2013-08-30 07:33 pm
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The Fortress of Many Turnings [open]
Welcome to Caerdroia. Though at first glance this world seems calm, even idyllic, closer inspection will reveal a startling lack of linearity. A doorway in one place can suddenly lead to another entirely, the locals going about their business seem totally unaware of your presence, and you may find reminders of home that are less than welcome -- and less than safe.
The countryside seems almost designed to set one at one's ease. Gentle, rolling hills overlook a town in the near distance, and herds of friendly cows cluster here and there (with unknown intent).
The Garden of Curiosities is a walled-off park. Inside, streams and paths wind through beautiful landscaping, and animals can be found on the loose everywhere. For the most part, these creatures are friendly (or at least indifferent) toward visitors, though their appearance might perturb. One might see an animal one has never encountered before, or one might find the garden inhabited by creatures from one's own world that are somehow changed, whether in size, color, or behavior. And, of course, one might find something rather more predatory has taken up residence….
The town hall never seems to be in the same place twice. Finding your way through the streets to any one particular building is an exercise in frustration, as the town seems to shift and change whenever part of it is out of your sight. The hall itself isn't much better once you get inside; stairwells have a habit of appearing on the ceiling, hallways turn into dead ends while your back is turned, and floors are liable to open up into fathomless pits.
The Labyrinth is where many journeys seem destined to end. The way out is, more often than not, the way in. Try to leave one part of Caerdroia, and the doorway might very well open into the labyrinth. And, like any good labyrinth, this one is home to a Minotaur. And, like any good Minotaur, this one would be more than happy to tear you to pieces.
[OOC: Once again, the shared dream is open to all characters, including those not currently in the game and those belonging to players who are not currently members. Once again, too, players are free to choose whether their characters see the dream for what it is, whether they are forced to abide by its rules, and whether they will remember this in the morning.]
The countryside seems almost designed to set one at one's ease. Gentle, rolling hills overlook a town in the near distance, and herds of friendly cows cluster here and there (
The Garden of Curiosities is a walled-off park. Inside, streams and paths wind through beautiful landscaping, and animals can be found on the loose everywhere. For the most part, these creatures are friendly (or at least indifferent) toward visitors, though their appearance might perturb. One might see an animal one has never encountered before, or one might find the garden inhabited by creatures from one's own world that are somehow changed, whether in size, color, or behavior. And, of course, one might find something rather more predatory has taken up residence….
The town hall never seems to be in the same place twice. Finding your way through the streets to any one particular building is an exercise in frustration, as the town seems to shift and change whenever part of it is out of your sight. The hall itself isn't much better once you get inside; stairwells have a habit of appearing on the ceiling, hallways turn into dead ends while your back is turned, and floors are liable to open up into fathomless pits.
The Labyrinth is where many journeys seem destined to end. The way out is, more often than not, the way in. Try to leave one part of Caerdroia, and the doorway might very well open into the labyrinth. And, like any good labyrinth, this one is home to a Minotaur. And, like any good Minotaur, this one would be more than happy to tear you to pieces.
[OOC: Once again, the shared dream is open to all characters, including those not currently in the game and those belonging to players who are not currently members. Once again, too, players are free to choose whether their characters see the dream for what it is, whether they are forced to abide by its rules, and whether they will remember this in the morning.]
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"Hey!" he protests, taking a step back when the TARDIS backs up into him, effectively knocking him off a less than pleasant train of thought. Resentful that she won't acknowledge that what Gabriel did was at least a little bit fucking awesome, he still has to agree with at least part of her sentiment. "Could we?" he asks, meaning it less in terms of whether Gabriel's willing than in terms of whether it's possible now.
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Maybe Peter will kiss him instead.When Peter backs up her request, he sighs, and the labyrinth disappears entirely, replaced by a grassy hill with a few cows roaming around. This is still one of the dream settings, he can tell, but the structure of this dream makes it difficult for him to completely replace it. He sighs and looks around at the (much more boring) environment. "Better?" He addresses both of them before tilting his head to the side to address the TARDIS specifically. "Might need some help pulling down these weirdo dimensions if you feel like heading anywhere else."
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But at the same time she's finally realizing that she is being unnecessarily unkind to him. He did try to accommodate her, it's not his fault the dream is so recalcitrant, and she is glad for his company. Taking a calming breath, she tries to rein in her unease and schools her features into something less angry. "You remember the timeless universe I mentioned? This is a memory of it. This world is where I was trapped, held hidden from the Doctor." Though thankfully the dream is incapable of replicating the horrors of the actual Divergent Universe, her senses too rooted in reality to be fooled into thinking there is no Time here.
The moment the TARDIS shows up on the hillside, the cows suddenly take an intense interest in the group. The animals quickly converge on them to investigate, the clear ringing of their bells changing pitch and tone until they sound rather angry and menacing. She isn't doing this consciously, but her mind, her memories are already attuned to the dream and affecting the projection as she had done on the real Caerdroia.
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"What the hell?" he asks as a cow brushes against him and makes him stumble.
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It shocks him that the TARDIS knows this place, that this is a place picked out of her nightmares specifically. He understands, now, why she'd reacted so harshly. Instinctively, he reaches out to touch her arm, but he drops it immediately after, realizing that she probably doesn't want that sort of comfort right now. "It doesn't feel-" He's about to say that it doesn't feel timeless, but it's just a copy after all.
His further thoughts on the TARDIS's emotional state and the likelihood of dream settings being gleaned from her mind are derailed by the sudden gathering of menacing cows. He holds out his hand to balance Peter as he stumbles. "Uh-" Yeah, he's got nothin.
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Similarly, she's already getting impatient with Gabriel again for what she can guess he is about to say. Obviously it doesn't need to feel timeless in order to be plenty upsetting anyway. Before she can say as much, though, she's bumped rather harshly in the back and stumbles forward into Gabriel's free arm. She immediately rounds on the offending animal in short-tempered anger and makes it disappear with a glare, but the more irritated she gets, the more cows join the mob seemingly out of nowhere. The ringing of their bells is starting to rise to an uncomfortable volume.
"This isn't what they should be doing!" she finally admits after resentfully trying to thin the growling crowd some more, raising her voice to be heard and pressing close to Gabriel to avoid being trampled. Now there's a note of fear among her indignation. She can't understand why the cow constructs would behave in this way, dream or not, since she isn't actively trying to send any kind of message. Instead she's broadcasting her emotions, but without realizing that she can't do anything to curb it.
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"Fuck!" squawks Peter as he loses his balance and goes down amongst the cattle. As one is about to plant a hoof on his chest, though, a little spout of flame shoots up between the bovines and Peter reappears at Gabriel's feet, for once ending up nearly where he meant to go.
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Then it clicks for him. If this dream has been taken from the TARDIS's memories, it's entirely possible that she's a little more connected to it that she might normally be. He shoves a cow away by its head and it snaps at his hand. In response, he shoves it harder. It falls over, then disappears entirely.
"TARDIS, you're doing this. Could you...y'know...stop?" He concentrates on getting rid of the rest of the malicious cattle, but it's like she's fighting against him at it. He presses a little harder against the constructs and a few of the cows disappear and the rest are, for the moment, pushed to a safe distance.
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His suggestion is so ridiculous that she stops staring at the cattle to stare at him instead, not quite baffled enough to not also be indignant. "What? I'm not-" But even as she's denying it she's feeling his influence push against her, and then she realizes that's him trying to dismantle the constructs, and that he's right. Her utter dismay at having manipulated the dream against her will and without her knowledge really isn't helping to calm her down, but she manages to withdraw into herself, tamping down on her emotions and her mind until they're only felt by her. Now lacking direction and power, the cows quickly fade under Gabriel's will, though the TARDIS continues to look aghast and vaguely ill.
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"You're doing this?!" he asks, just as the cows start to fade around them. "What the hell?"
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He brushes some nonexistant dirt off of Peter's jacket in what he hopes is a reassuring gesture before turning to check in with the TARDIS. He has the strange and sudden urge to check her for fever, but that would be ridiculous even if they weren't in a dream. "Are you alright?"
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"I'm sorry," she says, addressing both of them equally, too shaken right now to remember her intense dislike of Peter. There's no telling what her powers could do to others if they went unchecked in the telepathic current, so for once he had every right to be scared. "On the real Caerdroia, I used the cow bells to relay part of a message to the Doctor, because I was barred from reaching him directly..." Somehow she feels the need to justify herself, to rationalize what happened to herself as well as to the others. But her explanation is disjointed and non-linear, partly due to her underlying distress, and partly because she can never tell which details of a story might be more important than others.
"The entire world is always the labyrinth; that is why it is so difficult to dismantle its dimensions, because removing one wall simply reveals another. But it was hidden behind projections taken from the minds of the Doctor and his companions. The cows weren't the only thing I influenced..." Recalling the whole thing in detail really isn't helping her composure, or her ability to think linearly. The sound of an incongruous cuckoo clock tower rings across the hills, much closer than the view of the town would suggest.
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He's definitely interested in hearing the rest of this story from the TARDIS, but now isn't really the time. Instead of asking, he nods to her. "Maybe you should wake up." It would definitely help, having her not exerting so much influence. "Knowing the dreaming, this place isn't gonna be here the next time around. Take a break." He smiles, "Next time we can explore. Remember, you promised me space tours. I'm definitely holding you to that."
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Besides, the rest of his words is sincere and reassuring enough; she can hear his fondness for her without even sensing his mind, and returns his smile a little shakily but gratefully. "I haven't forgotten," she reassures him, trying to focus on looking forward to their next meeting. "Take care, dear." She spares Peter an unreadable glance without saying anything, which is still better than any disparaging remark she could have made, and then retreats from the dream.
It's not as easy as usual, having to search for the right angles at which to escape the dream's twists and turns, like dragging her feet out of a swamp. But soon enough she's back to herself and waiting for the Doctor to wake up so she can find comfort there.
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When she goes, it's weird to watch. Peter sort of expected her to fade out, or walk away, but all that happens is she's there one moment and not the next. It's not even like she's disappeared, exactly; she's just...not there.