The Big Applesauce Moderators (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
applesaucemod) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
applesaucedream2014-03-28 03:03 pm
applesaucemod) wrote in applesaucedream2014-03-28 03:03 pm
Entry tags:
- character: daine sarrasri,
- character: gabriel,
- character: johnny truant,
- character: peeta mellark,
- character: spike,
- character: sunshine,
- dropped: aglet bottlerack,
- dropped: aiden,
- dropped: alianne,
- dropped: almondine,
- dropped: andrew noble,
- dropped: charley pollard,
- dropped: dana cardinal,
- dropped: edgar sawtelle,
- dropped: gus fring,
- dropped: jennifer strange,
- dropped: jodie holmes,
- dropped: julian bashir,
- dropped: sandalia de rabiffano,
- dropped: the tardis,
- dropped: zagreus,
- party post,
- retired: peter vincent,
- retired: yuri kostoglodov
Far Side of the Aurora Borealis
Congratulations, dreamers of Manhattan - you get to go to Oxford! It's probably not the Oxford with which any of the dreamers are familiar, though. This one is a bit… different.
The dreamers will find themselves in Jordan College, the oldest and grandest of all the colleges in this version of Oxford, a rambling structure that includes dining halls, libraries, classrooms, chapels, courtyards, a botanical garden, and an extensive network of cellars and tunnels beneath the ground. There are plenty of places to explore!
Sharp-eyed dreamers might notice some subtle architectural quirks. Doors look larger than they'd need to be for solely human use, and every staircase has a little ramp built in - not large enough for a wheelchair, but large enough for, say, a small, scampering animal.
And speaking of - the dreamers are a bit different here, too. Upon arrival, they will realize that they now possess dæmons: physical manifestations of their souls. Be gentle with them; they're undoubtedly confused by being suddenly made manifest. They come with all the side effects and complications inherent with dæmons. They can't travel more than a few yards from their person without it being painful for both parties… and it probably won't take the dreamers long to realize they shouldn't be touching one another's dæmons, what with the shared sensations and all. Still, it's a rare opportunity for the dreamers to chat with their own souls - and the souls of others.
What could possibly go wrong?
[Mod note: you know the drill. All players and characters are welcome, regardless of whether they're current members or not. Characters will remember or forget any and all dream events at players' discretion.]
The dreamers will find themselves in Jordan College, the oldest and grandest of all the colleges in this version of Oxford, a rambling structure that includes dining halls, libraries, classrooms, chapels, courtyards, a botanical garden, and an extensive network of cellars and tunnels beneath the ground. There are plenty of places to explore!
Sharp-eyed dreamers might notice some subtle architectural quirks. Doors look larger than they'd need to be for solely human use, and every staircase has a little ramp built in - not large enough for a wheelchair, but large enough for, say, a small, scampering animal.
And speaking of - the dreamers are a bit different here, too. Upon arrival, they will realize that they now possess dæmons: physical manifestations of their souls. Be gentle with them; they're undoubtedly confused by being suddenly made manifest. They come with all the side effects and complications inherent with dæmons. They can't travel more than a few yards from their person without it being painful for both parties… and it probably won't take the dreamers long to realize they shouldn't be touching one another's dæmons, what with the shared sensations and all. Still, it's a rare opportunity for the dreamers to chat with their own souls - and the souls of others.
What could possibly go wrong?
[Mod note: you know the drill. All players and characters are welcome, regardless of whether they're current members or not. Characters will remember or forget any and all dream events at players' discretion.]
no subject
He turns, confused because he doesn't recognize the voice, but he's sure that he should recognize it. Which is about when the friendly-looking black and white dog jumps up to rest it's forepaws against him. "William," it says, in an accent that reminds him of his mothers, "would you like to go outside? It's a lovely day."
"No." Outside? It takes him a moment to remember that he even could go outside. He backs away, not liking that this felt right, and then not liking that backing away feels even worse. "No. No more talking animals. I'm done with talking animals for at least a year. A lifetime. Nice to meet ya. Come back never." He takes the remaining steps to open up the door from the hallway and slips through, shutting it before the dog can follow him. She shouts for him through the door, but he doesn't respond.
This room is huge, some sort of dining hall, but something is keeping him from exploring it just yet. He leans his back against the door, not exactly sure what to do.
no subject
The sound of the door distracts her, and she glances over to see Spike leaning against it and looking perturbed. She wonders, idly, if there are more giant bees on the other side (and thinks: leave it to a vampire lite to be afraid of bees). "Hey," she says, pushing herself away from the chair and wandering toward him. The bee bumbles along after her, but she finds herself not minding its company. So long as it doesn't get stuck in her hair or something, it can buzz around all it likes.
no subject
"Hey." He answers, ignoring the feeling that he should open the door. Instead, he pushes himself away from the door to walk towards her. There's a whine from behind the door, and he barely has time to notice the giant bee hovering after Sunshine before he collapses to the floor in pain.
no subject
The bee lands on the closest chair. She doesn't know how she knows this, because it's happening behind her, but she just knows. A quiet, unfamiliar voice says, "Oh, damn. He doesn't look good."
no subject
From the other side of the door, there's the sound of a pained yelp, followed by a female voice yelling "Open this door!" After that, there's only frantic scratching and whimpering.
no subject
Except the possibly-Were sounds like she's hurting, too. Acutely aware of how absurd she's about to sound, Sunshine nevertheless calls out, "Who is it?"
no subject
The dog slips through into the room, brushing against Spike's legs as she does. "I think I'm a part of you," the dog says, and Spike squats down to better look at it. When he does, the dog licks his face.
"But dogs don't even like me."
She smiles a doggy smile when he lifts up a hand to pat her awkwardly on the head. When she speaks again, she sounds fond. "The name's Fausta, you twit." Spike spares a very confused glance towards Sunshine before he walks back, the dog trailing behind him.
no subject
"So… you have a talking dog," she observes as they both walk back towards her. To her credit, she's not grinning as broadly as she could be. But, come on. It's pretty adorable.
The bee leaves the chair, hovering curiously in the air between Spike and Sunshine. There's just a rash of talking creatures here. "Where do you think we are?" she asks, watching the bee.
no subject
no subject
"Gods!" she says, and she can hear the bee cry, "No!"
Wings flapping, the bee manages to right itself and reverse its trajectory, zipping back towards Sunshine. It hits her square in the chest, right in the little crescent formed by her overlapping scars, its legs pricking her skin through the fabric of her shirt - and it is an unspeakable relief to have it there, where it belongs. She cups one palm over its fuzzy little body, carefully, wanting to keep it close but not wanting to crush it. Her other hand grabs the back of the nearest chair, and she stares right through the polished wooden table while she tries to catch her breath. Shiva, she's shaking. What in the hell was that?
no subject
Meanwhile, Spike is connecting some dots. Sunshine must be connected to the stupid bee as much as he's connected to Fausta. Which means that slapping it halfway across the room was probably a very bad idea. He frowns at the realization that he'd hurt her without thinking.
He pulls out one of the chairs, offers it to her, and Fausta asks "Are you alright?"
no subject
So she sinks onto the chair, then lets her hand drop so the bee can crawl up onto her shoulder. Each little prick of its legs is a small comfort, and she sighs. Fausta's concern is somehow more palatable than Spike's (maybe because the dog didn't do the swatting - go figure), and Sunshine manages a small smile for her benefit. "Yeah," she says, "I'm fine."
"We're fine," supplies the bee.
Sunshine isn't really thinking about the intricacies of the connection between Fausta and Spike - isn't really thinking anything except that there's a sweet dog in front of her who looks so worried. Reaching forward, she gently brushes her knuckles down one of Fausta's silk-furred ears.
no subject
It's a nice feeling, but maybe a little bit too nice without Sushine realizing what she's doing. "Sunshine. Ya might not wanna do that. It...uh. I can feel it."
no subject
And, okay, it's not like she hit the creature… but that might be a mixed blessing. What would a gentle touch feel like as compared to a slap? Gods and frigging angels, is he…?
Nope. Delete that thought.
"Sorry," she says, an embarrassed flush coloring her cheeks as the bee (her bee, apparently) creeps around the back of her neck to hide in her hair. She tries to focus on her total comfort with the bee ending up in her hair, after all, tries to find that more interesting than the mortifying fact that she may have just… what, indirectly felt up the vampire next door? So much for deleting that thought. Shiva wept.
If the floor were to just swallow her up right about now, that would be spartan.
no subject
Her tail thumps against the floor as Spike finally manages to pull out the chair and sit down. "Yes, I do mind. Come here." She obliges, and goes over to rest her head against his leg. He sinks his fingers into the fur behind her ears almost without thought. It doesn't feel at all like what Sunshine had done, but it is comforting. For some reason, he doesn't correct her calling him William.
"I should have done that instead of slapping the thing across the room." By which he means that he's sorry for that.
no subject
Well, there's nothing bad or dangerous about Blaise, either - not in this universe - but she's avoided bandying that name around all the same. So, fine. She's in no position to tease, even if that was her inclination. But it's not; if anything, she feels a bit guilty for being made privy to such information by Fausta, who seems to be taking 'easy-going' to a whole new carthaginian level.
"It's okay," Sunshine says as her bee cautiously crawls out onto her other shoulder, antennae quivering. "You didn't know. And bees aren't very, um… inviting." Unlike dogs. But that's probably for the best; now that she's aware of how - how goddamn bonded the two of them are, she'd prefer that no one go poking at her bee at all, regardless of how gently they went about it.
No one else, that is. She lifts a hand to her shoulder, allowing her bee to trundle onto her palm. "I don't suppose you've got a name," she says.
Bee faces are pretty inscrutable, but there's a hint of sulk in his tone as he replies, "It's Modomnoc, Raven."
Sunshine opens her mouth, then shuts it, then opens it again and mutters, "You little shit."
no subject
Fausta seems just as amused, but her amusement is more directed at the bee than at the woman. "Nice to meet you, Modomnoc. I'm sorry, William can be a little rash in his actions."
no subject
"Mom shortened it to Rae," Modomnoc clarifies, and Sunshine scowls down at him in mingled indignation and confusion. Okay, so she and the bee have some kind of weird bond thing going on, but how does that translate to him talking about her mother with such familiarity?
But of course the damn bee doesn't want to elaborate on that. Instead, he rises up off of her palm and buzzes over to Fausta, landing on her snout. "Nice to meet you, too," he says, crawling up between the dog's eyes and picking his way through the longer fur on top of her head. Sunshine gapes a little at the brazen display - haven't they been through this? - but somehow it's… different… with just the two animals interacting. It's still really goddamn strange, this vague but persistent awareness of… what? A connection? A sort of… closeness? She throws an uncertain look Spike's way, wondering what he's making of all this, but before she can call Modomnoc back, the bee says, "Sheer. We're fine."
And the really kali goddamn weird thing is, he's right. That's how it feels. Fine. Well, hell.
no subject
"So." He starts, then pauses, thinking. "Why a bee?"
no subject
Besides, the truth of it is probably even more ridiculous, because it hadn't even been a deliberate pun (though that's what she'd taken it as at the time). Charlie had just called every kid who came into the coffeehouse 'sunshine,' and since her mom started working there, she'd been there the most often. By the time she realized it hadn't started as a special nickname for her, it had accidentally turned into that very thing.
Well, whatever. At least she didn't earn her nickname by torturing people, so she's still got the moral high ground, here.
His next question throws her, and she blinks. "… What?"
no subject
From under the table, Fausta huffs out a doggy laugh. "Does she look like a dog?" When her head emerges again, she hops over Spike's feet and turns around to look at him. "Can we go outside now? It's boring in here."
no subject
"Maybe they're all different," she guesses as Fausta emerges from beneath the table, Modomnoc once again perched near the front of her snout. She thinks, fleetingly, of those tricks some dogs do where they balance a treat on their nose and catch it in their mouths… but Fausta's been nothing but sweet. She wouldn't hurt her bee, regardless of how close to her teeth he chose to hang out. Right? Right.
Sunshine stands and stretches, then pushes her chair back in. "I'm for going outside." More sun, for one thing.
no subject
The hallway out isn't very long and soon enough they're viewing a large lawn split up by stone pathways and dotted by trees. Spike instinctively pauses before the light starts, and leans against a column there, in the shade. Fausta takes a few more steps than that before turning back to him, brushing up against him, then looking up at him, wondering what's keeping him.
no subject
It takes her a moment to notice they've left Spike and Fausta behind. She turns back to the doorway, absently twisting her hair aside so the light can reach the back of her neck, and furrows her brow at them. "What, did your immunity run out?" she asks. Gods, what if it has? Does it apply to his dog, too? She takes an uncertain step back toward the doorway as Modomnoc alights on a large, stone planter between them - still in the sunlight, but within a yard or two of Fausta, just in case. "Need help?"
no subject
He asks incredulously, "What do you think you could do if it did run out?" Summon a wool blanket perhaps? In his experience, there's not much he can do to work around it.
Fausa trots around in the sun happily before returning to Spike, and shoves her head up under his hand - a comforting gesture for both of them. He scratches her idly behind the ears before she wanders off again in the direction of Modomnoc.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)