Far Side of the Aurora Borealis

[applesaucemod]

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.]

Comments

[theoldgirl]

That's a somewhat startling admission, and the TARDIS frowns slightly at them both, though it also makes Cosima more trustworthy (not that she had doubted the girl). "I am sorry to hear it," she says sincerely, but doesn't linger on the topic.

"I am a space and time ship. This isn't my true form, only the one I take to communicate with others." She's quite curious to see how excited the girl is going to get about that. "My pilot is called the Doctor."

[semioticallyspeaking]

It hadn't been meant as any kind of great admission, just a more or less casual, yeah, I get that. This is a dream, after all-- or at least, some kind of experience so incredibly far outside the norm that bothering overmuch with caution kind of seems pointless.

And she forgets about it entirely when the TARDIS introduces herself as a time and space ship. From atop her head, Palinouros lets out a shriek of surprise, and then leaps down to the floor, making excited little clicks in the back of his throat as he bounds about the TARDIS's feet, sniffing at her and the Unicorn, striped tail whipping behind him

'Dude,' says Cosima, unable, just for the moment, to find any more appropriate words. 'Dude, that's-- you're a ship? A sentient fuckin' time machine? Oh my god, that's--' Her hands flap in the air in front of her, like she wants to touch, the most primitive instinct of exploration, flying occasionally back to touch at her own face in disbelief.

'That's amazing.'

'That is so cool,' echoes Palinouros, getting up on his hind legs. 'And they smell of-- man, I don't know what it is, like the air around them's been ionised or something.'

'Ok, so I have to ask-- I mean, did you evolve? Or, wow, biomechanics is totally not my thing, but if you're a ship, were you engineered by this Doctor, or is there, like, a whole race of living ships, or-- how does that even work? You must be, I mean, it's probably entirely beyond my comprehension, but man, I don't even care.'

[theoldgirl]

It doesn't take long for that amused smile to return to the TARDIS' face, though she's also feeling genuinely fond of Cosima now. "I am largely beyond your comprehension, but that oughtn't to stop you trying," she says approvingly. "My kind was grown and engineered by the Doctor's race, and I have been travelling the universe with him for several millennia. We share a symbiotic bond." There's more she could say, but she has the feeling the girl needs a moment to absorb even just that and think of new questions.

The Unicorn, equally amused by Palinouros' excited display, lowers its head to sniff at the lemur and then nips his ear teasingly. "It is called Time," it says more or less in response to his comment about their smell. "You should come for a ride."

late tag is v late >_>

[semioticallyspeaking]

'Time has a smell?' Palinouros asks incredulously, just as Cosima gabbles, 'Ohmygod, seriously?'

Simultaneously as they'd spoken, they both shut themselves up, and Palinouros shoots Cosima a teasing little look. She draws a breath and reminds herself to calm down, despite the fact that she's talking to a millenia-old, sentient time machine. 'I would,' she says in a much calmer voice, the sort she'd used to address the board when proposing her thesis. 'love to come for a ride. I've got--' she laughs a little, 'so many questions, I don't want to pepper you with them all at once.

as is this one <_<

[theoldgirl]

As much as she's enjoying Cosima's enthusiasm, she hates being reminded of her limitations, of how trapped she is, and her smile fades from her lips. She gives the Unicorn an unreadable look, thinking it should have known better than to offer something she is woefully incapable of providing.

"I don't mind your questions," she says, returning her gaze to the girl. "But I cannot take you on any journeys. I am... stranded." A kind word for her current situation and the trauma she went through trying to escape it, but she doesn't feel like expanding on it. She lowers her eyes back to the Unicorn miserably, who notices the shift in mood and whinnies uncomfortably.