The Tomato in the Mirror

[applesaucemod]

Spring is in the air, and monsters are in your head. It will be hard to run from your fears tonight, though -- for you see, you are the thing lurking in your nightmares. Whether it's something that goes bump in the night, a ferocious animal, or even a person you find intimidating, you have become that which frightens you. Anyone who encounters you in this dreamscape will see the shape of you nightmares, and should you look into a mirror, well....

Dreamers will find themselves in an oversized funhouse whose twists, turns, and intersections turn it into a maze. There is no entrance and there is no exit, only branching hallways, tunnels, and ladders that divide and rejoin in baffling combinations. By the look of it, the funhouse has been here for years, slowly falling into decay as its lights burn out one by one and the bright paint chips and fades. The machinery, however, is still working, still ready to surprise these new guests. Hallways end suddenly in long, steep slides back down into the depths, floors lurch under dreamers' feet, and entire corridors spin horizontally. Elsewhere, dreamers might become lost in the mirror maze or get dropped into a vast ball pit.


[Mod note: Usual dream party rules are a go: apply the dream's transformation to your character(s) as you see fit, and decide for yourself whether they will remember these experiences in the morning. Both members and non-members are welcome to play all characters on this post, including those which are not currently part of the game's cast. Have at!]

Comments

[fucking_ebay]

At first sight, Peter doesn't look like he's changed at all. He's pale, sure, but he's been pale for years -- it's kind of part of his theme, and he has the sense to buy and use sunblock for appearance's sake if not for his health. Something's just a little...off, though. Something feels off, too, but he can't put his finger on it, vaguely familiar and discomfiting though it is. Of course, he doesn't realize that he shouldn't see so well in the dim light as he does, or that his heart has stopped beating, or that a smile would reveal teeth just a bit too long and pointed to belong to a human.

"No," he says sourly to himself (or perhaps to the rift), looking down at the steep slide opening up in front of him, then back at the corridor behind. "Fuck -- I'm not doing this tonight. I'm fucking tired, alright??

[has_a_horn]

After the initial shock at showing up as the face of Death, Gabriel's had some actual fun in this fun house. When he hears Peter's voice, he's slid down a slide and is now sitting in a huge ball pit.

"Peter?" He yells back up the slide, "That you?"

[fucking_ebay]

A voice Peter doesn't recognize drifts up the yawning opening of the slide, and he peers fruitlessly down to where it turns and the view is cut off. "Who's there?" he calls testily.

[has_a_horn]

"Gabriel." And, right, his voice sounds different too. Better explain that. "The dream made me into someone else. But you should toootally come down here. There's a ball pit!" The balls are a little grimy, but he's not bothered by it.

[watchesthebeans]

Aglet, who has so little experience with these kinds of dreams, has become a hell-beast, that which haunts his dreams and reminds him never to venture out of whatever little patch of safety he can find in life. He has become a monster. He has become...a cat.

There's an unholy yowl from the hall of mirrors as he appears in the dream and abruptly comes up against his reflection. An orange and black projectile shoots away from the mirror in front of which he appeared only to crash into another pane of glass. The cat he fled is already there, staring wide-eyed at him, ears back, hissing and spitting and fur standing on end as Aglet gibbers in terror and backs away before fleeing in a panic again. There again -- and again! Everywhere he turns there are cats, the cat, all the same cat in infinite replication.

[bluesuit_handy]

Andrew appears in darkness. Ahead of him and behind him is open air, the walls and low ceiling of a corridor hemming him in. Curious and confused, he rolls forward --

Wait. Rolls? He looks do--

"Agh!" comes the cry of a mechanical voice as a trap door abruptly opens underneath the Dalek in blue armor. Still disoriented, it never occurs to him that he might have thrusters to fire, and he topples unceremoniously into an enormous ball pit. Brightly colored plastic balls made dingy by the passage of years go flying, and he comes to rest entirely buried apart from his glowing eye stalk. "What?" he asks, bewildered. Hearing the sound of his own voice, he asks again, more urgently, "What?!"

[wildmage_daine]

Daine isn't even close to being over her panic attack when she's interrupted by the sudden appearance of a... thing. She's managed to haul herself up onto the netting that surrounds the ball pit, which - surprise, surprise - is far easier for her spider limbs to deal with than the balls themselves. There she clings, a sorry, not-so-little ball of terrified teenage girl and surplus curled legs.

She turns her head sharply to look at the little eye stalk poking out of the ball pit, but she doesn't offer a word. Whatever it is, it'll probably try to kill her if it has any sense. Holding very still, she tries to get her breathing under control. It's not very bright in here; maybe it won't notice her if she doesn't move.

[bluesuit_handy]

Andrew tries to kick, but there's only the whirring of wheels and a slight lurch as a few balls shift position under and around him. Reaching his arms out doesn't result in any greater success; indeed, he finds that he can only seem to move them at the shoulder, and that they stick stiffly out on front of him. On the surface, a few balls dip and roll in response to his flailing, but that and his frustrated mechanical grunts are the only signs that anything's happening. He stills again and looks around, the blue glow of his eyestalk a light in the relative darkness.

"...What?" he asks again forlornly.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine blinks. Underneath the weird mechanical distortion, that voice is familiar - as are the repeated 'what's. She turns her head a bit more, the small movement enough to set the net swaying gently. She tenses, curling herself into a smaller ball, then ventures, "... Andrew?"

[antitimelord]

Zagreus is stalking down a dark corridor, experiencing a vague and ever-increasing sense of unease. It's the familiar feeling of a dream about to take a sharp turn for out-of-control wrongness, where you would count yourself lucky to be woken up by even the most catastrophic of real-world intrusions. Unfortunately the intrusion that presents itself is of the dream-world variety--a startling hiss of wind at his ankles, with enough force behind it to feel like a solid threat. Already keyed to a higher state of alarm by inchoate dream distress, Zagreus jumps and lets out the standard issue dramatic yell, only to be greeted by a much more horrifying and grating bellow. It takes him a moment of panic to identify the source, which is not, as is his first suspicion, directly behind him.

His shock and horror as he examines his newly Jabberwockified claws is a pitch perfect rendition of the what-have-I-become moment, as played by a screechy metallic trainwreck. And yet, somewhere underneath all that, coexisting with the terror in a way only possible in dreams, is a sort of tired outrage. Of course. Just...typical. He proceeds to execute a metaphorical backflip off the fucking handle.

not entirely unlike this

[stronglikebear]

Did someone say 'Teddy Bear Picnic'?

No, no they didn't. Whatever, Zagreus is getting a new bear-shaped friend anyway. Yuri has been looking for someone to rend limb from limb play with, and while he would normally hesitate at approaching enormous flailing dragon-things, the puff of air that just hit him in the butt really did not do much for his mood or his already limited rationality. He comes gamboling out of the darkness of the corridor to find a screeching monster in his path, and fight or flight instantly kicks in. Give him a moment to digest and he might change his mind, but just this second he's going to go with 'fight.' One shaggy paw comes up, and Yuri takes a hefty swipe at Zagreus.

[antitimelord]

It's amazing how expressive, how eloquent even, shrill metallic roaring can be. The sound that jabberwock-Zagreus makes after his initial involuntary whiffle of pain sounds nothing like "How dare you!" And yet it is completely identifiable as such. He whirls on his new ursine friend, whiplike tail lashing, still just as rattled by his new form but quite thankful for the outlet. Is this part of some kind of quest? Fight a dream bear? Surely he'd remember having embarked on something like that. He hopes dream bear inflicted injuries aren't a thing he can bring back from the dreaming, since a few deep scratches to a scaly monstrosity would likely be much more serious when applied to his actual form.

Claws that catch, right? That's the idea, anyway, and Zagreus is nothing if not faithful where poetry is concerned. He lunges at Yuri with gross spidery claws outstretched, hoping to catch and subdue. Is that what jabberwocks do, try to subdue struggling prey and then eat it? Whatever, it is now. It's not like he was ever going to be anything but a rubbish jabberwock anyway.

[stronglikebear]

Yuri begins to see his error when the thing -- and he has no idea what it is, wouldn't even if he wasn't in Kill and Destroy Mode -- turns and reaches out for him with enormous claws. For a second he skitters backwards, but then he pins his ears back and bellows as he stands on his hind legs, hopelessly outmatched in size but maybe a little less so when he draws himself up to his full height. Stupidly, he lunges right back at the jabberwock, right into its clawed grip...with, of course, mouth open and paws swinging, trying to take a chunk out of the other creature any way he can.

[theoldgirl]

The TARDIS is also stalking down a corridor, seeking distraction from the fact that she's still the Doctor's dilapidated tomb a few doors away. If she can't escape, perhaps she can find someone who will make this at least a little more bearable until the dream dissipates.

She wouldn't have expected that diversion to come in the shape of an angry Jabberwock, but there it is when she rounds a corner. In the same moment she's painfully struck by Zagreus' disgusting over-active influence and she flinches, but quickly realizes just what a terrible thing the transformative nature of the dream has done to him. When she does, she can't help a malicious smirk settling on her face, and she takes a step closer. "Why all the whiffling and burbling, Zagreus? Do the jaws that bite, the claws that catch not suit?"

[antitimelord]

Unsurprisingly, his first outraged instinct is to just attack her outright, and he snaps his tail in anticipation. But he's had a little time to come to terms with the unsettling transformation, and it's a little easier to think clearly, at least for this stretch of dream. Sure, this form could probably run her down without breaking a sweat (do jabberwocks sweat? That would be disgusting.) but if anyone had the wherewhithal to dream up a vorpal blade, it's her, and he's still got qualms about dying in dreams. Just in case.

The jabberwock lets out a bubbling hiss of annoyance. Oh, laugh it up. Perhaps the next time I'm in the dreaming and have hands I'll bring you back a gift. He can probably dream up TARDIS poison, right? Can he make something vague and let the dreaming fill in the details? Why does the thing he's envisioning say 'ACME' on the box? Stupid dreaming.

[has_a_horn]

He seems to be in a back room somewhere. He can see the ends of several different mechanisms that occasionally activate with a pneumatic whoosh or the grind of gears. Not much to rave about. He's definitely not liking the trend of the last few group dreams. There's definitely been a lot of spooky goin on.

When he first arrives, Gabriel immediately knows that something is up. His hands, when he looks at them, are older. His frame is a little bit taller, narrower. Curious about what form the dream has thrust upon him, he adds a mirror to the room. He starts back for a brief moment, his heel bumping into discarded papers covered in dust and grime. It's not everyday that you see Death itself. After getting used to the idea of seeing Death in the mirror, he leans in to examine himself.

[watchesthebeans]

If there's a back way to be found, a Borrower will find it. Aglet has emerged from his sojourn in the mirror maze more than a little shaken up, and he crams himself through the first crack in the wall he finds, not even realizing that it's a formerly hidden door that has fallen halfway off its hinges. He pauses in the reassuring darkness for a moment to get his bearings, then lets out another yowl of panic as something moves nearby. Bolting forward, he emerges into a room full of moving machinery and runs headlong into the man standing there. Flailing in incoherent fear, he sinks his claws into the man's leg.

[has_a_horn]

Ow. That's...yeah, that's definitely hurting. "Fucking ow. Can we....lets take the claws out of my leg, if you don't mind." He reaches down and picks up the cat, gently pulling it away from his leg. Only, now that he's got his hands on the thing, the mind behind it doesn't feel like a cat at all. "It's okay," he adds, in case whatever it is can understand him. "You're fine. Cat shaped, but fine."

[erratic_hematic]

Spike is trying to get out of this room. The floor is shifting around, bits sliding back and forth or up and down in unexpected ways as he steps forward. It's definitely hindering the effort, but not preventing it, so he makes his way forward slowly. He's not in a hurry, and this is kinda fun.

With his focus on his surroundings, he's failed to notice that his own face doesn't look exactly human.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine lands in the ball pit without being quite sure how she got there. She doesn't even remember falling from anything, just a sudden impact and a scattering of plastic balls. She's completely buried, balls blotting out the dim light from overhead and rolling over her back, and she lets out a small noise of protest and tries to brush some of the balls away with her arms.

The balls rattle as they're stirred by eight long, spindly limbs, and Daine freezes. Is someone else here with her? "Hel--" she cuts herself off mid-word, then tentatively touches her tongue to her teeth once again. They've gone all pointy, and she furrows her brow in confusion. She's not trying to take any carnivorous shapes, so her teeth ought to be normal. Willing them back to their usual shapes makes no difference, though; they remain stubbornly sharp and even.

Something is very, very wrong.

Moving as stealthily as she can, she pulls an arm up, the better to brace herself against the bottom of the ball pit. When a distinctly arachnid - and distinctly large - foot brushes past her face, she panics. Spidren! She tries to scramble to her feet, and seven more giant spider legs flail around her. Goddess, it's right on top of her! Screaming, she rolls onto her back so she can at least face the threat - but there is no monster above her. The flailing limbs are hers.

"Oh, no," she gasps, staring down at her grey, furred, bulbous abdomen. She's the spidren. She's somehow taken spidren shape, and a new panic swamps her: if a human takes an immortal shape, they can't change back. She's stuck like this. Forever.

Daine proceeds to hyperventilate.

[prince_loki]

Loki is fortunate that he hasn't seen himself in a mirror yet. He is in full Jotun form, even looming a foot or so taller than he usually does. He roams the funhouse, a bit amused. He's even tempted to use some of his own magic to liven things up even more! On the other hand, his elven keepers would probably disapprove.

[theoldgirl]

When the TARDIS slips into the dream, she finds herself forcibly integrated into the funhouse before she even has time to resist or brace herself. One of the corridors now opens into her console room, but it is visibly sick and decaying. Everything is covered in dirt and dust, the railings are rusted, the glassy surfaces milky white and blind. The only light comes from a shining white column of pulsing energy that is winding upwards through the carcass of her console. Its source is the withered dead body of her pilot, curled around the roots of the console like a child seeking shelter. The writhing energy casts unsteady, ghostly shadows on large stone arches protruding from the walls like bones.

She's become the Doctor's tomb, and in her own slow death her interior dimensions have collapsed until only the Console and Cloister Room remain, merging grotesquely. When she realizes this, she wants to recoil and flee, but she only succeeds in letting out an unearthly howl and a gust of wind that rattles the dead ivy leaves on the ground. In her horror and panic, the dream has her trapped.

[fucking_ebay]

To say that Peter is not thrilled with this dream would be an understatement. Yeah, it's got good atmosphere; something like this could make a brilliant theme for a show...if it didn't also make him feel like he's about to contract tetanus just from walking around. Add in the part where he's become one of the walking undead, and he's more than ready to wake up and be done with this. Somehow, though he'd meant to ask Gabe to wake him up, they'd got separated before it could happen.

He stuffs his hands in his pockets and strolls along a corridor to nowhere in particular, minding his step after a section of the floor yanked itself out from under him a few minutes ago. When he comes upon a room glowing with a different kind of light, it doesn't occur to him that this might be something different from the rest of the funhouse...not, that is, until he's wandered inside and spotted the dessicated corpse on the floor.

"...Well, shit," he says after he's gotten over jumping and gasping and so forth in surprise. Glancing around uneasily, he turns to make a hurried exit. It's just a dream, but that doesn't mean he wants to stick around.

[theoldgirl]

As caught up as the TARDIS is in her horror, she can't fail to notice the other mind entering, and that makes her come to her senses somewhat. She's still too dismayed by everything else to be upset specifically about the identity of the intruder, or care at all that he's here, and she makes another, a little more collected attempt at fleeing the dream.

When that fails, an almost inaudible wail of frustration rings through the room. Why can't she just leave, why is she forced to be confronted with this, to feel the Doctor's death in her walls and in the broken down heart of her console? Seeking any escape from this at all, she tries to go for a humanoid projection, and at least that works.

She appears by the door, the dream thankfully not messing with her usual physical form as well, though she can't make the effort not to make it look as drawn and harrowed as she feels. Though now she probably does have to acknowledge Peter, so she gives him a look that's too weary to be effectively condescending.

[stronglikebear]

It seems Yuri is nothing if not predictable. He at least has the advantage of not being particularly surprised to find himself four-legged and shaggy, as it's not exactly a new experience for him. On the other paw, it's not just the physical form that frightens him...and it's not just the physical form he has taken. The bear that lurks inside him is groggy and confused, dragged out of hibernation when the moon isn't right for him, but he's able to shove aside that niggling human worry over the fact that he's loose and might hurt people, and focus on the good news: that he's loose and might hurt people.

He snuffles his way through the corridors, stale scents filling his nose and teasing him with impressions of people and other bits of food long since departed. Eventually, he comes up against a hallway shaped like a tall, skinny barrel turned on one side and stands with his head poked inside its end, watching it spin. Beyond it, another stretch of the hallway spins the opposite way, and beyond that is solid ground and branching corridors. Huffing to himself, unsure about his prospects, he reaches out one paw and lets the claws scrape against the moving floor.