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.]
bagropa: (red plains)

[personal profile] bagropa 2014-02-14 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
"If only I have been taken..." Croach shakes his head, unsuccessfully attempting to identify and process several emotions at once. "Bagropa. I do not understand." He paces the small confines of the kitchen, then sits on the strange ceramic chair, a series of movement he has seen Sparks enact when conflicted. He is unsure if it helps. "Have I been transported one thousand Earthen years away from my native time to avert some action that will have far-reaching effects into the future and the universe? I am under further onus to you for your continued explanations, yet I fail to grasp the purpose behind them."

He stands and paces again. The movement always appeared to soothe Sparks' distress - "Distress. Yes. That is the feeling I am experiencing. Bagropa." Did he verbalize that aloud? To the extent that one can produce sound in a telepathic current? Whoops.
theoldgirl: (concerned)

[personal profile] theoldgirl 2014-02-14 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah, not quite as stoic as she'd thought, though she doesn't see what's not to understand about her explanation. And that is a very specific reason he assumes for having fallen through the rift. It almost sounds like the sort of thing she does to the Doctor, taking him places where he can try to bring about the most favorable possible time line. By now she has plenty of questions for Croach, but she still wants to help him cope with his situation first.

"My pilot and I have been stranded here for several months, but we are close to making a first attempt at manipulating the rift. If we are successful, we will offer to send back anyone who wishes to return to their home universes before leaving ourselves." That's pretty reassuring, right? But he's behaving a little strange, at least to her understanding, so she takes a few steps into the bathroom to signal that she doesn't intend to leave him to his own devices. "Are you not accustomed to experiencing the feeling of distress?" she asks with a concerned frown. It's just that he seems a little confused about it.
bagropa: (general help)

[personal profile] bagropa 2014-02-14 09:50 pm (UTC)(link)
"I did not intend to vocalize that," Croach admits with some degree of confusion, "or the words that I currently and shall continue to speak. My people are familiar with the concept of emotion, but do not experience them. We are neurophysically more complex than humans and processing such autonomic functions as simple as feelings would be... akin to a human attempting to comprehend the complexity of what you designate a comet bug.

"... I, however, in my experiences with humans, have gained a comprehension of their autonomic functions and thus possess the limited ability to identify the... feelings I experience. I believe I am experiencing distress having been displaced from the humans that I consider... friends." Croach stops, finally, brow furrowing in displeasure. Were he conversing with Sparks Nevada, he might place the marshal under onus for being present to hear that embarrassing admission. As he is however currently conversing with and under onus to the stranger, it would be ineffectual in relieving his shame.
theoldgirl: (attentive)

[personal profile] theoldgirl 2014-02-14 10:29 pm (UTC)(link)
His explanation is both fascinating and a little bit insulting. After all, she is the most complex being around and she experiences plenty of emotions. "I think feelings are rather more complex than you give them credit for," she replies with a note of disapproval, but then has to admit, "...which makes coping with them difficult when one hasn't experienced them to a strong degree for one's entire existence. I can sympathize." Especially recently. Wanting to avoid strong emotions is part of why she's been staying away from people since her fight with Gabriel.

"Perhaps the telepathic current is interfering with your neurological processes? This particular setting feels quite pleasant to me, but the psychic energy responsible for it could very well have a different effect on some species." Which is just unfortunate for him, on top of being taken by the rift, and she feels sorry for him. "Is there something you would find comforting, besides being returned to your friends? I'd like to help."
bagropa: (the greatest quantity)

[personal profile] bagropa 2014-02-14 11:39 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yes," Croach agrees readily, seizing upon an explanation for his unplanned emotional outburst, "Something of this place is unpleasant to two of my twenty-eight senses. I cannot yet identify it." ... "I am certain that, given a larger unit of time, I shall."

He appreciates her attempt at comfort, but he fails to see what would appease him short of returning to G'loot Praktaw. "I am under onus to you for the offer, but I do not require cheering. Though I would inquire as to the presence of exits in this telepathic current? And also why it is shaped like the food preparation area which humans designate a kitchen."
theoldgirl: (knows it all)

[personal profile] theoldgirl 2014-02-15 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
She has to wonder what exactly his experience with humans is, if he's friends with them and is familiar with English and their calendar, but doesn't know what a kitchen looks like. "It's a bathroom, actually," she corrects him helpfully. "Sometimes the telepathic current creates settings shared by many minds, and tonight it is in the form of a human mansion. It can be interesting to explore these settings even though they lack physical substance."

But she can understand why he isn't eager to stay. "The current is similar to a dream in that you leave by waking up. I could likely reach into your mind and awaken you if you can't do it yourself."