brink: (Serious | Upset | This secret we have)
Topher Brink ([personal profile] brink) wrote in [community profile] applesaucedream2014-02-01 02:48 am

Hijacked dream party

Tonight's dream party is, unconventionally enough, not organised by the rift, but by Topher!

Thing is, he was sort of supposed to only pull in a few very specific, targeted people, and all of a sudden, this whole lot comes pouring in. See, he's working with someone with the power of ability amplification, making Topher's dream abilities obscenely powerful for tonight, and he's not quite used to it.

The dreamers will find themselves in an old mansion at nighttime. Lots and lots of rooms; several bedrooms and bathrooms of various sizes, studies, library, sitting rooms, kitchen, dining rooms, games/billiards room, even secret passageways... There's a fire roaring in every grate, everything is warmly lit, with lots of dark corners to sneak off to, comfortable couches, plenty of drinks tables. There's also a pervasive feeling that you're safe, that you can relax. That whispered secrets in the dark will be kept. And everyone will feel much less compelled to judge or mock upon hearing those secrets. A night for confessions. All of a sudden, it's hard to resist opening up...

Of course, the dreamers don't know there's someone listening in, seeing everything that goes on, sometimes even manipulating things to go the way he wants. Certain people with psychic/telepathic/dream abilities may eventually cotton on, though. But it'll take a while. But the secrets you tell in the meantime may not remain secrets for that long. Especially if those secrets are useful to certain other important players in the city, quite apart from the two factions our rifties have become familiar with.

[Mod note: Usual dream party rules apply. All players and characters are welcome, current members or no. Characters will remember or forget all dream events at players' discretion. Bear in mind that any events or information shared in this dream will be available to Topher, and, by extension, probably his bosses, such as Beatrice.]
antitimelord: (or don't you)

[personal profile] antitimelord 2014-02-03 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
He considers whether or not to answer, or how honestly to go about it. It's something he's been playing close to the vest, but keeping this under wraps just doesn't seem as imperative at the moment. And this strange person hardly seems like a threat. "It has, after a fashion. Mostly." There had been...interesting results, at times. But no matter what the ambiance suggests, he won't be mentioning those here. "Although, experiments aside, I would rather like to read some of these books."
wildmage_daine: (neutral - humoring you)

[personal profile] wildmage_daine 2014-02-04 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
Daine can't really think of any objections to taking the books; it's not as if they properly belong to anyone, since this is a dream. Considering some of the creatures she's seen in these dreams, though… she doesn't like the thought of some of them ending up loose in the city, as much for the animals' safety as everyone else's.

"Well, I'd leave any living things you find in here alone," she advises. "There are enough strays out there already."

But maybe she's being unfair. He might have a reason for wanting a dream-cat besides just seeing if getting one was possible. "Though if you wanted a pet, I could help you find one."
antitimelord: (glowing whatever)

[personal profile] antitimelord 2014-02-04 02:58 am (UTC)(link)
Honestly he'd expected more of a dressing-down for his plans than that, given what he remembers of Daine, which admittedly isn't all that much; she had seemed rather no-nonsense, all told.

"Ah. I appreciate the offer, but I do not think I am pet-owning material. But I'll keep that in mind." He absolutely will not, and hopefully her straightforwardness will shield her from the sarcasm. "It just seems like the sort of thing I'd want to know the limitations and capacities of, preferably before something more unpleasant than a cat follows me home."
wildmage_daine: (doesn't understand)

[personal profile] wildmage_daine 2014-02-04 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
Must be all those non-judgemental vibes permeating the air. She does furrow her brow a little at his explanation, though. "If that's what's worrying you, wouldn't you want to figure out how to stop things from leaving the dreaming with you?" That would probably be her main concern, if she had his power. But then, she's yet to run into anything in the dreaming that she truly wished to take back with her - except for Kitten, maybe. But she hasn't seen the little dragon in ages.
antitimelord: (or don't you)

[personal profile] antitimelord 2014-02-04 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
She's approaching this all wrong. This is a part of him, now. Doing the bare minimum to understand it is unthinkable. "And I do. I want to figure out how to stop anything untoward from happening, yes." From happening to him, anyway. "But what if I want something to be able to leave with me? I thought the cat was a dream creation, existing only here, since I don't believe proper cats have access to the dreaming. I'm not sure what the practical application of this would be, but it would have been interesting to find out, don't you think?"
wildmage_daine: (gonna fix it)

[personal profile] wildmage_daine 2014-02-05 02:07 am (UTC)(link)
Now she's frowning. The animals she's met in the dreaming have all felt real enough to her; they had minds and could speak to her without any trouble. Maybe they're just very good fakes, but either way, the thought of bringing one out of the dreaming and into the city is troubling.

"Well, if they aren't real animals, then you've got some sort of weird dream creature on your hands that you don't really understand," she reasons. "And if they are real animals, then you're no better than the rift, just hauling them out of their homes and into the city because you can."
antitimelord: (a decent grumpy cat impression)

[personal profile] antitimelord 2014-02-05 03:58 am (UTC)(link)
If Zagreus isn't the sort of person who wants to be known for conversing with woodland creatures, he definitely isn't going to be the sort to forge psychic links to them, or any other sort of nonsense. He hadn't encountered any dream animals before that he can recall, but if he had, he definitely wouldn't have felt for their minds. It's a weird sort of notion; and what happens when he runs into a dream-person, not an animal? That might be dreadful, what if they're hollow, like cheap chocolate Easter bunnies. It's not like there isn't some precedent. He frowns deeply.

"There's a purpose to my actions, though. I certainly hope that isn't the case where the rift is concerned. And if I find out otherwise, I shall have to have words with it. I rather expect we all would." He hadn't missed that she had not only spoken of the rift as though it had some personal agency, but even spoken of it in moralistic, perhaps even antagonistic terms. "How about this. Going forward, I promise to be responsible for anything I bring out of the dreaming." And the more bloodshed it causes, the happier he will be to take responsibility.
wildmage_daine: (not an idiot okay)

[personal profile] wildmage_daine 2014-02-07 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
"That doesn't make it better." Daine shakes her head. She's already dealt with the messes made by folk who decided it would be a good idea to bring creatures from one realm into another, and she doesn't see how it matters if the purpose is causing havoc or just answering a question you're curious about. It's the same poor result for the dream creature - and quite possibly for everyone else.

"Anyway, that's assuming whatever you bring through would let you look after it. Half the creatures I've seen in these dreams have been immortals, and they wouldn't answer to you." Her, maybe, depending on what they are, but she doubts anyone would give her a chance to try and calm down an angry griffin before it was shot by the police or something equally unpleasant. "And the animals in Manhattan are my responsibility, which means anything you brought through would be, too." And she has enough on her plate, Zagreus. Do you have any idea how many pigeons alone are in need of her help on a daily basis?
antitimelord: (through it)

[personal profile] antitimelord 2014-02-08 08:47 pm (UTC)(link)
"Immortals?" What on earth kind of dreams has she been having? He can't recall running into a single immortal dream creature. Maybe he ought to try harder. "What kind of immortals?"

And, hang on, "And how did the animals of Manhattan come to be your responsibility? Surely immortal ones wouldn't fall under your purview?" That seems like a lot of responsibility to be self-assigned, but as a being that has more than dallied with the notion of taking over the Dreaming, he probably shouldn't question it too much.
wildmage_daine: (neutral - warrior)

[personal profile] wildmage_daine 2014-02-08 09:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Daine shrugs. "I've met at least one griffin. And there was one big shared dream that was just an immortal menagerie, with winged horses and coldfangs and suchlike." Things that definitely don't need to be brought to Manhattan, for their sake and for everyone else's.

"All the People - animals - are my responsibility," she says, quite seriously. "I'm a wildmage. And animal-shaped immortals count, too. No one else can talk to them all." She was the only one who could strike a balance between the humans, animals, and immortals in Dunlath, and while she doesn't exactly relish the thought of having to do the same in New York, she's also not about to turn her back on any displaced creatures out of the dreaming.
antitimelord: (the most intelligent face)

[personal profile] antitimelord 2014-02-10 05:55 am (UTC)(link)
Well, Zagreus can hardly find fault with that logic, what he understands of it, anyway. It's sort of the opposite of the distinction he would draw--an animal is a senseless thing, regardless of shape. The thing in the park. An immortal is probably no such thing, no matter how it looks. But what does Zagreus know about anything? He's barely a real creature himself. "I suppose all that comes with the shapeshifting territory. But you're no animal, even when you take one's shape. I heard you speak, in my mind."
wildmage_daine: (Default)

[personal profile] wildmage_daine 2014-02-11 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
"Well, yes. That's how animals speak to me - and me to them, especially when I'm in a shape, myself." It's not a skill she associates with two-leggers, though she's met some who can manage it, like James. "If this wasn't a dream, you probably wouldn't have heard me."