applesaucedream | I'll See You in My Dreams [WIDE-OPEN PARTY THREAD]

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I'll See You in My Dreams [WIDE-OPEN PARTY THREAD]

Sometimes the rift only gives the denizens of Manhattan strange dreams. Sometimes, two people will find themselves together in the Dreaming. And other times? Other times, the Dreaming takes hold of dozens of people at once, throwing them all together into one shared mental space while they sleep.

Tonight is one of those nights -- what's more, the rift has outdone itself this time, telepathic tendrils reaching out through the rift into other universes to pull in even those who haven't been physically transported to this world...yet. You might meet a stranger from another world, or you might run into your next-door neighbor. You might notice right away that this isn't the waking world and that you are not alone, or you may drift through blissfully unaware that anything is out of the ordinary. You might not even remember this in the morning at all.

And that's probably going to be fortunate for at least a few people, because what you will notice is the overwhelming desire to get cozy with someone. It's chilly in this big house where you've found yourself, but luckily for you, there are beds, beanbags, and blankets galore, all of them just perfect for getting cuddly with your new friends. Consider yourself lucky that dream-world cameras can't upload photos to the real-world internet.

[It's a Dreaming party, and everyone is welcome! Tag a friend, tag a stranger, whatever! Everyone who's been pulled in will be feeling unusually friendly and cuddly, so get a-snuggling. Some characters (particularly those with strong telepathic defenses) may not be as strongly affected as others; the extent of the Dreaming's effect on each character is up to the mun's discretion.

Also, when we say everyone, we mean everyone. Non-members are welcome to tag into this post, so feel free to voice-test new characters here, and to invite friends who aren't in the game to come do some meeting and greeting. If you've come upon this post and aren't a member of this game, you are welcome to tag into this post.

For those who are familiar with the brbG parties, this is basically like that. Post a tag with your character's arrival and await replies. Time is bendy in here, so each character can have multiple replies/threads. Have fun!]

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Her Aunt Daine wasn't old when Aly had last seen her by any means, but seeing her now they might be taken for the same age.

"And you're so..." Aly bites down and rides into her own composure again. "This is a very strange dream the god's sent me."

The strangeness of it all hasn't escaped Daine's notice, either, but she's too happy to see someone from home to care. "How is everyone?" she asks eagerly. "How's Numair? What did you think had happened to me?" She could keep going, but she cuts herself off.

"Happened?" Aly repeats, canting her head to the side. "Last I saw, you were in Tortall." About to have a baby, but that seems like a bit much to say at the moment.

"Unless you've gone somewhere."

For a moment, Daine is profoundly relieved. Aly's telling her she hasn't really gone anywhere, so the whole rift business must have just been a strange dream, and she'll wake up and everything will be back to normal.

... But that isn't right. She never goes to bed anymore without hoping that she'll wake up back home, and every morning, she wakes up still in New York.

"But I did go somewhere," she says, looking lost. "I've been trapped in another realm. I think I still am."

"It sounds as if the gods are meddling, but I can't say why or how." And she has had some rather personal experience about it of late. "And I think Uncle Numy would notice if there was some kind of simulacrum of you."

Daine's dealt with her fair share of meddling deities these past few months, too, but she's not sure that's what's happening, now. She sits herself on the pouf beside her niece, still clinging to one of her hands. "So I haven't disappeared?" she asks. If it's true, it just might be the best news she's had in weeks. It means she makes it home.

"Not that I know of, and I do try to be aware of such things," Aly replies, chewing lightly on her thumbnail. "What is this funny place?"

Daine looks around at their surroundings as if noticing them for the first time. "I'm not sure. Probably something to do with the rift. That's what brought me here."

"The rift?" It seems a funny way to describe the gods at play, though she can't help but think Kyprioth would be delighted by such a title.

Daine nods. "That's what folk around here call it. It's like a hole in the sky, but you can't see it. It takes things--or people--from other realms and then dumps them here."

Aly ponders that, sucking her lip a little. She has plans, a whole revolution that needs orchestrating. This puts rather a troublesome knot in her schedule.

"Well that's rude of it."

Daine snorts a little at the understatement. "It doesn't seem too eager to let anyone go back home, either." Frowning at Aly, she adds, "It hasn't got you, though, has it? You're still at Pirate's Swoop?"

"The Copper Isles, actually. It's a rather long story, Aunt Daine." She can't help the nickname, even if they're practically the same age. "And with a god meddling on top of it all."

That's a bit surprising, but still, it's a relief to hear that Aly's in the right realm, at least. "When you wake up..." she hesitates, because it's a bizarre request, but she has to get the word out somehow, "can you tell Numair I'm here? I really thought he or the Badger or Kitten would have found me by now, but you're the first person from home I've seen."

It's that request that saddens Aly the most and she shakes her head, frustrated more than ever with Kyprioth's particular level of trickery. "I can't reach anyone back in Tortall. Not even Mother knows where I am..."

Daine tries not to let her disappointment show--honestly, what would have been the use of telling Numair that she was stuck in another realm when as far as Numair could tell, she was fine and still in Tortall?--but it's still not what she wanted to hear.

At least she can focus some of her worry on Aly instead of herself. "You're cut off, too? Your parents must be having fits."

"If there weren't a war on with Scanra, I'm sure Mother would have charged across the ocean with a small army. And no telling what Da would do."

Aly nods, making an ugly face, "I don't think I need to tell you how meddlesome the gods can be."

"War with Scanra?" Goddess, is Tortall ever going to be allowed some peace?

Daine wrinkles her nose as well. "No, you really don't." It'll be a while before she willingly lays hands on a skeleton again. She runs a hand over Aly's hair as if she's still the little child Daine remembers. "Be careful, but don't take too much of their nonsense. If they need you, then they can stand to do things your way."

Aly nods, sighing, "Not as long as King Maggot thinks he's due a bit more land."

As for Daine's advice, Aly laughs, wrinkling her nose in mimicry. She thinks she'd love to have Daine on her side next time Kyprioth comes to call. "I've no intention of letting the Trickster, my supposed patron or no, push me around."

Daine's wince is half-sympathetic and half-amused. "And here I thought having the Graveyard Hag was bad."

It feels a bit strange, being allowed to talk about it without an invisible hand clutching at her throat. It probably would have been the same back in Tortall, now that the messy business in Carthak is over, but Daine still feels uneasy. It's less like she's being allowed to speak and more like the Graveyard Hag just can't hear her.

"Oh I imagine she's no frolic either, but I like to hope she's at least a little more straightforward than Kyprioth."

She's fairly certain that she and her own da combined are more straightforward than the Trickster and would still have less jewelry to boot.

"Tell me he hasn't given you any gifts, at least." Some might think a gift from a god or goddess would be a fine thing (and maybe they are, sometimes), but Daine knows better.

Aly laughed, remembering Aunt Daine's stories about her time in Carthak. She dearly hoped that she was never to earn the Hag's attention.

"Not yet. Just wagers."

Daine makes a face; wagers aren't much better. The Graveyard Hag had been fond of those, as well. "You haven't taken him up on it, I hope."

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I'll See You in My Dreams [WIDE-OPEN PARTY THREAD]

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