Event | Landfall | Dreaming

[ironwood]

Characters: Any and every!
Date: August 10th - 31, 2013
Location: The realm of Dreaming as accessed via Sinbrilee
Situation: Dreaming is but one of the three realms and here characters are subject to their fanciful thoughts.
Warnings/Rating: Please place content warnings in subject headers!

Sinbrilee | Dreaming | Death

Life. Dreaming. Death. Three realms overlaid upon one another and yet each distinctly their own. They dwell in Life and do so live upon the back of the great turtle as those of Sinbrilee did upon the shell of his sister. However, there stand numerous arches of marble throughout the ruined city that are inlaid with runes beyond understanding. Those that live and breathe which step through those whose runes glow with faint, iridescent light tread instead into the realm of Dreaming.

Here, there exists no single defining characteristic beyond the visitor's imagination. The landscape sculpts to their individual thoughts, the events to their dreams. From a drab gray nothing to the most brilliant of displays, the senses perceive all that they wish to perceive for all that nothing here truly exists. This far from Tu Vishan, the ability to shape their surroundings is all they have, for Sinbrilee's Dreaming does not have the energy to sustain powers, only the bodies of those that dwell here.

Should two parties near, then the Mesh begins. Dreams, you see, not only can be shared, but they strive to be. These visions sculpted into reality reach out for one another and blend. They begin an exchange akin to a linking of the minds, within which one visitor can learn the other's deepest thoughts. Their limitation is but compatibility, for two minds that cannot flow upon the same current cannot hold the Mesh.

Happiness or loss, the landscape and events play out memories and fancies with a most convincing air. The mood rises and falls with the tide of the visitor's mind, detached as they are from the soothing influence of a great turtle's mind. Nothing here, however, is real; 'constructs' simply fade if taken through the archways and even the greatest scientific minds or tools will reveal nothing of its source. This is an ancient magic of an ancient realm, long practised in concealing itself from any prying.

Note: Due to the fluid and highly individual nature of Dreaming, no official subheaders will be provided in the comments of this post. Feel free to post and thread however you like, so long as the rules of Dreaming are adhered to.

Comments

[jirk]

[Contemplatively,]

First time I drove a car I drove it off a cliff.

[That's... memorable, right?]

I'm also pretty sure you're way cooler than a regular nanny.

[jirk]

[He gives Kyle a helpless shrug.]

Some rules just need to be broken, Kyle.

[imaginate]

Stupid rules, yes.

[He sighs. Trying to change their captain's mind on something is an exercise in futility that they all leave to McCoy and Spock. Kyle looks out at the viewscreen.]

Where're we headed? We might get a better view from the observation deck.

[jirk]

No idea. Didn't look. Chekov's got the specifics, I'm just along for the ride.

[That's not right, though, and after a moment Jim frowns. The dream shifts. The colours become a little less vibrant, a little worn. Like something lived in.]

Archon IV. Completely routine this time, I promise.

[parallels]

See? There you go.

[She nods appreciatively at the story. Jim seems to have a curious past that she's not sure she should pry at. She understands not wanting to touch on those things. Besides, they're together on a ship in space. Why bring down the mood.]

I am pretty cool. Really cool. The coolest nanny.

[imaginate]

[The shift, however small, might as well have been accompanied by fanfare. Kyle goes from belonging there to himself (but still belonging there, still in red. That feeling doesn't go away, even if he retreats from it out of misplaced altruism). Wherever they are, it's taken the shape of Jim's mind - consciously or not. Kyle flexes his fingers. He nudges the viewscreen gently and it flickers: his stars show up, before vanishing and being replaced by the original image. He blinks, and his heart sinks.]

So this is her. The real one.

[jirk]

Do they give out medals for that?

[Wait, this is his dream, right? Jim wiggles his fingers and, tah-dah, there's suddenly a little case reminiscent of what one might purchase a necklace in, and he holds it out for her to open. Inside there's a little badge that looks suspiciously like a cup of tea. And there is definitely a mace involved in the design somehow.]

I have no idea what nannies even do. I figure tea and maces are probably involved somehow.

[jirk]

Real as it gets, I guess. I think I'm dreaming. Like that time last time with the sushi.

[Yeah that's basically all he remembers about Asti, sorry. He concentrates briefly, this time the viewscreen remains how Kyle'd meant it to be. The sky above Oa, brilliant green streaks and all.]

Haven't seen you in a few days. I guess I've got you to thank for the fact I didn't end up a pancake when I played with your ring, huh?

[alphatar]

[She could not contain herself any longer, his laughter pulled her own that was hiding just behind her smile.]

I have to come clean, this is the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life. [A lot coming from the girl who's first love was bending. She walked onto the bridge, getting a small glimpse of the crew as she made her way over to Jim.]

So they actually did let you be in cha-

[She had been grinning when she talked to him, and her sentence was cut off when she looked to the view screen. The stars in space were right there before them, and they were moving. No, the ship was moving.

Korra's mouth went slack.]

[jirk]

[He stayed quiet at her wonder. There's nothing like it in the universe, seeing space for the first time. It's incomparable. It's so big and vast and bright and black it feels you could be swallowed up by it and spat back out on the ass-end of forever and he knows exactly, exactly what it's like.

It's still a marvel for him, when he stops to look. But he does it less and less the longer he's out in the black.

When he's given her long enough, he grins a bit.]

Yes, they actually let me be in charge. What kind of question is that? I did tell you I'm a 'Fleet captain.

[imaginate]

Told you to keep me informed; you probably had one hell of a migraine when you woke up, huh?

[Not angry. It's over, he shakes his head.]

This dream is different. Less... guided.

[Briefly he furrows his brow, and his uniform returns. He examines it, cautiously, and then he lets it slide back into red. Hm.]

I like it. What's it stand for?

Toph - warning: no sight

[dustonmyfeet]

A

It's dark. Completely dark, and impossible to see, though you may have the sense of someone sitting next to you. The ground is hard, unyielding beneath knees. There is not much sound in the space but the quiet notes of a little girl's breath beside you, though a faint, high-up sound of dripping indicates a ceiling lofted high overhead. The water drip echoes softly, bouncing against the walls.

Above all, though, there is the sense of anticipation. No fear, but excitement, barely contained.

Something is coming. It will be here soon.

B

It's dark. But something is wrong, as it isn't night; plainly you can feel the sun on your skin. It's warm, even hot, and the sound of cicada-like creatures drone in the trees.

Then you realize you're sitting in mud.

This may or may not be a pleasant discovery, given the weather. The mud is cool, squishy between your toes, moist . . . but it is still mud, and sticky. An insect buzzes near your ear in an intense, demanding hum. Cold water laps at your toes -- a pond, perhaps.

It's then that the other confusing aspect of this dream kicks in. There's a startling sense and awareness of vibration. It permeates through your body, no matter which way you move, extending around you in all directions. In some places, these vibrations cross one another, like ripples crashing in a pool of water.

If you concentrate with it long enough and don't start to feel sick, a map will emerge, incredibly detailed, and you can see everything, from a bee landing on a flower to a trail of ants marching up the bark of a tree about 30 feet away.

The strongest vibration of all is quite close to you and emerges into the figure of a little girl plopped beside you on the bank, playing in the mud. If you're careful about it, you may discover she's using more than just her hands; minute motions of fingers and toes create little figures and designs.

She seems to be happy, singing softly to herself -- an absent little nonsense song with no particular tune or words.

C

Coolness. Evening, perhaps. The air feels slightly moist, smelling faintly of oncoming rain. You can see nothing, but there's a strange awareness of the vibrations of earth through your feet. In spite of seeing nothing, you are aware of everything -- the footsteps in the house nearby to the waddle of a turtle-duck and her babies on the bank of a nearby pond. You can't see features; you can only see outlines . . . but you're aware of so much more than if your eyes were open.

There's a cough next to you -- a wet one, as though there were something deep in the lungs. There's a girl beside you; she's tiny, dangling her feet off the edge of the porch. You can almost feel the heat coming off her body.

Voices of children arc from over the wall at the far side of the garden. Suddenly the girl on the porch is up, moving, sliding from her perch and wading through the long grass towards the sound.



((ooc: Let me know if you'd like another specific thread starter/something from when she's older.))

[parallels]

[Clara takes it and holds it gently in her hands. Her fingers trace the design as she cradles the box in her hand. Sure, it's not real and only exists in a dream but it's the thought that counts. A nanny who makes tea and uses a mace. She likes that. Sounds a lot more interesting than "I don't know what I want in life". Her fingers close around the badge and she holds it tightly to her chest.]

You know how to flatter a girl. Thank you, Jim.

[She leans across him and presses a kiss to his jaw.]

[jirk]

Nothing a shot of whiskey didn't cure.

[Plus, Kyle left him a hot meal on his bedside table. That helped. Space. They'd both needed it, after the conversation they'd had, and the ship is briefly overlaid with Jim's suite.

No. Not here, not now. He needs the serenity. The ship bleeds back in fits and starts until the white overtakes everything once more.]

Engineering. Or security. At a guess I'd say you're probably supposed to be security. Guess I remembered your favourite colour.

[Then he nods at Kyle.]

What was that? Different from your usual.

[notdreaming]

A

The sky over Krypton is a greenish blue, and with the red light of the sun comes a sense of great peace and happiness. Kara and her parents sit on a blanket stretched out over the lush purple grass and talk about all manner of things, from Kara's progress in school to the usual disagreement about whether or not gene-matching is still a necessary process and ending, also as usual, with an agreement that they were here to relax and not argue.

Here, with her family, Kara is at peace. Her father is a serious looking man with short-cropped blonde hair, sideburns down nearly to his chin and day-old scruff forming the beginning of a proper beard over his mouth. Kara takes more after her mother's softer but still angular features, and the straight blonde hair that flows down nearly to her waist. All three of them are dressed casually in light pastel-colored suits that stretch from neck to foot, molding themselves to fit the bodies of their wearers in perfect comfort.

Kara lays down and watches the light shine through and reflect off of the crystal structures that give the Crystalline Forest its name: juts of crystal bursting naturally from the ground into shapes like jagged trees and bushes, sparkling blue with hints of just about every other color she could name.

B

Without warning feelings of peace and happiness fade into a deep and crippling despair. Around Kara looms a city built in high fashion with tapering spires, parking platforms jutting out at sharp angles to create an artistic yet natural feel. The city is beautiful, as is the bright orange and red sunset that puts half of it in shadow. The cause of despair isn't clear until out of the dark shadows of twilight loom cracks, and a great rumbling shakes the whole world. An iridescent forcefield shimmers at the edges of the city as great spouts of fire and lava shoot from the ground outside the border, large enough to be seen clearly from the hill-top home of Zor-El and his family.

Kara screams as the world outside of Argo burns and crumbles away, and she keeps screaming as the world inside the walls begins to crack and crumble as well, shattering like broken glass even as the red sun grows smaller and smaller in the distance.

Shortly a great blue sun looms overhead, and what was once fire turns cold and dark and dusty. The city is not just empty, it's dead. The blonde falls to her knees, kicking up a whirlwind of dust, and sobs.

C

The sense of fear is dull background noise behind a growing anxiety and annoyance. The streets of New York are full to bursting with people, and every one of them seems to be shouting to each other in a different language. Lights flash overhead painfully bright and animals with sharp, jagged teeth scamper around in the corner of your eye. The air is suffocating, everything is suffocating, and nothing can stop it. Stress, pure and undiluted, runs like a river through the streets in Manhattan.

[jirk]

[He smiles, reaches out to tug her closer so he can kiss her hair.]

You are very welcome, Admiral. Now how about that view, huh?

[imaginate]

Always did like red.

[You have great rage, and his clothes briefly flicker but he forces it back. He reaches up to wipe his lip, tasting ash and blood. No. Not here. This was a good place, and they both needed the serenity.]

[His serenity. His Ion uniform returns and his smile is pure, and bright. Power and joy radiate off him, so different from the way he usually hides himself, and tries to be unseen.]

This old thing? This is fit for an angel.

[jirk]

[Jim's silent for a moment. Then,]

Space whales.

[imaginate]

[=.="]

Way to ruin my moment.

[He waves a dismissive hand, and he's wearing the red Starfleet uniform again.]

So, do I get a proper tour, or what?

[parallels]

It's beautiful.

[She looks at him with a grin and then out at the stars. She keeps the badge held tightly in her hand.]

[alphatar]

[During the entire moment, Korra did feel so much smaller than she ever had in her entire life. This ship was gigantic and when she looked out there, it hit her that it was barely a speck. Quite a realization for a girl that had been put upon a pedestal her entire life.

His words bring her mind back from the outside and to the bridge.]

Yeah, and you also told me that your [She cut herself off for a split second when her eyes settled on his neck. The very thing she was about say. There weren't any scars there. She quickly recovered, her sentence just having the briefest of pauses.] ship was the most gorgeous one in the fleet. Any way to get a look of the real deal, Captain Kirk?

[There was no way she wasn't enjoying using his title.]

[jirk]

[Jim grins, and then gestures.]

No, no. I mean, if you want a moment who am I to deny you one?

[You deserve it. Sorry I ruined it.]

[imaginate]

[He pecks Jim briefly on the cheek.]

Nah, that's not me right now. C'mon! Show me the ship.

[jirk]

My dad died in space.

[Sometimes, he's okay talking about it. Kyle knows, but when it came up between them it was a gauntlet, a challenge. A barb. Was he the one that beat you, or left you? It's not like that with Clara.]

He was the captain of a Starship for twelve minutes. Just a couple years older than I am now when it happened.

[jirk]

You've already seen most of it. Unless you care about the crew quarters and our showers.

[Eyebrow raise...]