A Day Late and a Dollar Short

[applesaucemod]

As far as dreams go, this seems surprisingly...normal. True, the dreamers of Manhattan and beyond will find themselves stranded in the middle of the ocean on a fairly deserted rocky island, but it's nothing so unusual as the labyrinth from last time, and no one appears to have become an animal or reverted to an insane past (or future) version of themself. Besides, well, rocks and grass, there's nothing here but an abandoned lighthouse, the doors and windows broken, and the spare furniture worn by the weather. You can go up the spiral staircase to look at the view, but there's nothing to see but the endless ocean. One might almost think tonight was a night for simple socializing via the telepathic current.

As if anything to do with the rift is ever that simple, you silly bumpkin. How quickly each person realizes what is unusual about tonight's dream will depend in large part on their personality. Some might go the entire night without noticing (except from the distress of others, naturally), but some will find out the instant they open their mouths to converse with another dreamer. You see, each and every dreamer will be completely unable to tell a lie for as long as the dream lasts. The truth might be evaded by omission, but any attempt to say that which is untrue will result in the corresponding truth emerging instead.

Good thing it's just a dream and everyone's going to forget in the morning, right? Right??


[Mod note: As usual, players can choose to have their characters remember or forget anything that happens in the Dreaming. As per usual party rules, both members and non-members are welcome to play any character in this post, regardless of whether that character is currently in the game. Unlike usual, tonight's theme is not optional; all characters will be subject to the enforced truth-telling. Have fun!]

Comments

[fucking_ebay]

....Okay, here's a problem. Thing is, Peter...well, Peter doesn't pray. Not since he was a kid hiding while a monster tore his parents apart. Sure, he's got his beliefs, founded mainly on discoveries of what seems to have an effect on the supernatural realm, but it's not like he's been joining those little grannies in church.

If Gabriel weren't compelled to tell the truth, Peter would think he was being put on. As it is, he lifts an eyebrow at the angel, then gives a little shrug. "Silently, I assume," he says. Because yeah, he's not that stupid. Feeling just a touch self conscious -- which is novel for him -- Peter bows his head and clasps his hands in front of him.

Hey, you! he thinks.

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel watches Peter get into praying position with some amusement. And then waits. And doesn't pick up anything from him. "Yeah, the imagery here is great, but I'm not getting anything." He grins, knowing that Peter probably didn't say his name, and that's what's holding it up. "Are you sure you're human?"

[fucking_ebay]

Peter opens his eyes and opens his mouth to tell Gabriel to go fuck himself, because obviously he's full of shit and this just doesn't work. The question gives him pause, though.

Shit. Shit, he went and got turned down in Jerry's basement. Fuck. Suddenly no, he's not 100% sure he's still 100% human, even if the stake blessed by St. Michael had seemed to turn all of them human again. Would that mean angels don't hear him pray anymore? Because that is seriously fucked up.

All this flashes through his head pretty quickly, but there's still a longer pause than there should be, and Peter's expression shifts for just a moment or two before he asks, in his best annoyed voice, "Are you sure you're an angel?"

[has_a_horn]

"Archangel, if you want to get specific," Gabriel answers immediately, because hadn't they just gone over this? Still, Peter's answer gives him pause. Does Peter think that he's not completely human? That's definitely an interesting tidbit of information, even if Gabriel is sure that he's human. Instead of giving away the game immediately, he asks, "What did you say? In your prayer."

[fucking_ebay]

At least Gabriel doesn't seem to have noticed Peter's faltering. If he had to explain about Jerry and the vampires (...and wouldn't that be a shitty band name?) he'd...well, not teleport, obviously, but follow Gabriel's example from earlier and beat a hasty retreat.

"...'Hey, you,'" he admits slightly sheepishly.

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel snorts out a laugh. "Think of it like a letter. No address? Return to sender. My name...and your intent, that's what gets it here." He taps the side of his head. "Just Angel might do it too, since I'm the only one here, but the name is the safer bet."

[fucking_ebay]

Well, great -- now he knows he was doing it wrong, but he can hardly try it again while Gabe is watching. If it doesn't go through now, the angel will know something else is up. And maybe it'd go through just fine, but maybe Gabe joked about him being human because things like temporary vampirism really do count against you.

"And it's just for humans, huh?" Subtle like a freight train.

[has_a_horn]

"Humanoid, maybe. It sort of worked for the TARDIS." ...he didn't mean to add in that 'sort of'. "She has trouble with volume control."

Still, yes, he's very aware of what Peter's getting at here. He could pull more information out of Peter, but he might just be trying to probe a point about friend not dragging up giant secrets here. "But you're definitely human. It should work."

[fucking_ebay]

Does Gabriel know? Admittedly, Peter has to be more human than a freaky time ship thing with legs (and less evil, too), but he's not sure if he should worry that Gabriel is wrong about him being human or if he should worry that Gabriel is right and has done the mind probe on him to find out why he was asking.

Raising an eyebrow, Peter goes back into prayer pose (hey, it's how he was taught to do it). 'Gabriel,' he prays silently, then has to think what to say. '...Midori me!'

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel doesn't know anything more than what he's observed about Peter's fear of the paranormal, so this sudden interest in verifying his humanity seems odd. Still, he'd just told him he's human, right? That's the truth.

When he receives the prayer, he chuckles. "Despite the mess I left at your place, I'm not actually your own personal booze-delivery service." Nonetheless...might as well cement that it works. He materializes a martini glass full of Midori and offers it up to Peter.

And no, he's not going to tell Peter he doesn't have to do the pose to get a prayer through.

[fucking_ebay]

"And yet here it is in my hand," grins Peter, taking it. He's quite pleased -- and relieved -- that he got it to work. He doesn't know if that actually counts as proof that he's free of vampiric influence (if he asks a specific question, Gabe absolutely will know what's eating at him), but decides that it's close enough. Also? Free booze.

[has_a_horn]

"I think you'll find that your hand is in your bed across town." Ha! So there. Two can play the unnecessary pedantry game.

And, well, might as well indulge himself if he's indulging Peter. When he materializes himself a drink, it's not booze at all. It's hot chocolate in a warm mug with marshmallows. Just about the perfect thing for this glum scenery, in his opinion, and he's going to feel smug about it. Enjoy your melon liqueur, Peter.

[fucking_ebay]

Peter snorts into his drink (and he will enjoy that, thanks). Midori is appropriate for every occasion.

"This Midori is in this hand," he clarifies. "Even if they're both imaginary. Maybe I should pray more often."

[has_a_horn]

No you shouldn't. "Yes, you should." Gabe rolls his eyes. He's not sure if that's even truth, or just his own assumptions. "I'm not a heavenly bartender. You can find your own booze." He takes a sip from his hot chocolate and, actually, yes. This is excellent.

[fucking_ebay]

"Finding it usually involves opening a cupboard. Or tripping over a bottle, do you realize how much you brought me? Not that I'm asking you to take it away or anything." Definitely not that.

[has_a_horn]

"Yeah. That was..." Yeah, he's trying to search for a gentle yet true adjective here. Inadvisable? He rubs his free hand against his jaw. Stupid? "Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking. I probably should take some of it back." Not that he will.

[fucking_ebay]

No, you shouldn't. "You probably should." Peter sets his mouth in an unhappy line for a moment, then takes another sip. "Don't," he requests simply.

[has_a_horn]

"Chill out, I won't." He takes a sip from his own drink and wonders if he wants to say anything else about that night. He's already apologized (or as good as did), so he decides to let it go.

"Just remember, if you wake up in a pile of your own vomit, that's a sign to dial it back a notch." He would feel a bit guilty if Peter gave himself alcohol poisoning.

[fucking_ebay]

Peter opens his mouth to shoot off some remark about how he's a grown man and can look after himself, then wisely closes it again without saying a word. "I could pray to you if that happens, how about that?" he chuckles.