entrancelogs | I'm Dreaming of a White Ewaymas

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I'm Dreaming of a White Ewaymas | OPEN

Who: EVERYONE
Where: Your dreams!
When: December 15th - December 25th, whenever a character is asleep.
Rating: PG-13 (Warn if Higher)
Summary: A catch-all for everyone's mysterious alternate Wonderland dreams!
The Story:

At first, it will seem like the decorations are the only change for the season. The days will proceed as usual. No other holiday magic to be seen. But when night falls and everyone is nestled, all snug in their beds, they will not have their usual dreams. Instead they will "wake up" in an alternate version of Wonderland - one where those white decorations are displayed on top of white walls, white furniture, white everything in the common areas of the mansion. Even when the holidays are over, this mansion would go back to a mostly white color palette. There are others in this pale place, your friends and loved ones, but something is not right. They are all nice enough and everyone seems content, but it will become apparent the more you speak to them - they do not remember anything outside of Wonderland. None of them do.

This alternate dream Wonderland is free for you to explore, and will be mostly the same as the one in the waking world, aside from the excessively white decorations. ALl of your belongings are there, all of your familiar locations are there, but there is just one room that is different. Deep in the basement, there is a room with the white Queen's symbol on the door. When asked about it, the people of the dream will say that it is always locked, and many of them are content to let their Queen have her privacy, after all that she has given them. Some might be more concerned, but either way the door is always locked.

Except when the person having the dream tries the door. It will open for them. And inside that mysterious (and evidently very large) room is row after row after row of jars, all faintly glowing in different colors.

Upon inspection, each jar is labeled with the name of someone in Wonderland and a series of numbers and letters. They are labelled by number and not name, but each person has hundreds of jars in this room. The dreamer might even see their own name mixed in among the thousands. They might want to take a jar, and if they do an alarm will go off to alert Her Majesty that she has been robbed. They will only be able to reason take one jar - the first one they pick up. The door will slam shut behind them and every time they try the door after that, it will be locked. No magic or lock-picking will open it.

If they take a jar with someone else's name on it and give it to that person, and that person opens it, that colorful glow will rise up and sink into them and they will regain one random memory from home. If they open a jar with their own name, they will remember a memory so vividly it is as though they're reliving it (since they already have all their memories) and if they open a jar with someone else's name it will drift off to go find its owner, and restore that memory to them.

EACH THREAD IS ONE PERSON'S DREAM-CATCHALL FOR THE WHOLE EVENT and the content will differ slightly from dreamer to dreamer based on what they do in their dreams (so just because someone has a memory restored in Character A's dream does NOT mean it is restored in EVERYONE'S dreams). Prose or [Action brackets] are fine and if you have any other questions or need to plot more with this new information, head over to the plot post!

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_{[Is this how Alice had felt, tumbling down the rabbit hole into a strange land populated by characters out of their goddamn minds? Alice had had the curiosity of a child in the books, however. Anders has the obstinacy of an adult and the banked anger of a career apostate; he tumbles into the dream world kicking and screaming the whole ride down.

The eye-searing white isn't the worst part, it's the people. It seems like just another quirky "alternate Wonderland" situation at first, something he can grit his teeth and endure, but then he gets talking to the others, really talking, and it becomes apparent this whitewashed dream is much more appalling than that.

No one remembers anything, and the Warden Cousland he picks up along the way like a stray dog insists she--and he--have always been here in Wonderland and wouldn't it be fun to go shop at the vendors'?

("Thedas?" she repeats with a wide-eyed, hopelessly oblivious look after they've spent a couple of minutes arguing already. "Is that the name of a new business? Did Lucifer open another club?"

The groan he releases physically hurts, that's how heavy it is. Someone put this mage out of his misery.)

Later comes the door in the basement. Finding it is a product of many hours loudly obnoxiously demanding to know where this so-called White Queen is, but as he quickly realizes after he turns the basement upside down in search of it, there's no queen to tear into behind the stylized door.

Just jars and labels. More jars and labels than he can conceivably count. Spotting one belonging to a familiar name, his sticky fingers remove it from the shelf. Wonderland takes its pound of flesh from them--their freedom, their memories, their lives--so why shouldn't he be allowed to take this one thing, he reasons. Screw the White Queen, and the Queen of Hearts, and all royalty that isn't Alistair, frankly. And screw this white mansion. He's going to throw a can of paint around before he gets out of here if it's the last thing he does.

In the end, Anders twists the lid off the container, because what else are you supposed to do with a mystery jar? There's a light, a floating light that drifts away from him...

And when he finally wakes in the morning, having stayed in the dream longer he has all week, Anders knows who he has to see first thing.]}

Hey, War--I mean, Robyn! Hey, wait up!

_{[Finally spotting her, Anders gives chase, one of the laces he'd missed on his robe flapping with his movement. It's not much of a pursuit. They both look too worn down to do more than a fast-paced walk even if they had a horde of darkspawn on their tail.]}

[ Anders appears and Robyn yawns, a hand in front of her mouth, clearly sleep-deprived (as much else of the mansion seems to be, these days. ]

A - Anders. [ The Warden stutters, blinking, but managing a smile. ] Thank you for using my n... name.

[ Another yawn. She smiles sheepishly now, shaking her head. ]

I'm sorry; these dreams have been taking their toll on me. [ She glances up at the mage, head tilted slightly with vested interest. ] Are you all right? I hope you've been able to manage a little sleep, despite all this...

Oh no, quit that. Quit that right now. You'll get me yawning, too.

_{[Having been looking for her for part of the morning, it's with satisfaction that Anders closes in on his yawning quarry. It gives him an excuse to slow down, matching his strides to hers to join her in a fatigued crawl. Expending energy is a tall order when you have none to spare.

He's getting too old for magically-induced insomnia.]}

You insisted on it--actually, the both of you insisted on it. You and the other you in that... _{[He twiddles his finger in a vague and unhelpful description.]} You know, the Fade dream that's not a Fade dream. I've been getting plenty of sleep. If by sleep you mean spending time over there.

_{[And given the events he'd just walked away from--or more like, snoozed away from--he's returning her inquisitive look with one of his own, a searching scrutiny as if expecting her hair to have turned purple overnight.]}

How do you... feel? Feel any differently this morning?

_{[Just asking, no big deal or anything...]}

Too late! [ She laughs, having already yawned a number of times. ] I will absolutely not accept the blame; this time, Wonderland and its magics are completely at fault.

[ As far as she can tell, no one has been getting enough sleep. Not with these... dreams, if they can even be called that. ]

Oh - Yes. [ 'The other you.' She's glad he isn't talking about her Mirror who, apparently, is positively awful. ] I do know. I've been spending a lot of my time with your 'double,' too, actually.

[ The one who insists they'd known each other for much longer than they have, who seems certain that they'd always been in Wonderland. ]

Differently? [ She questions curiously, quirking a brow at him. ] ... Besides exhausted, I don't think so. Why do you ask?

Are you sure you're not just doing that on purpose?

_{[He hadn't been kidding, all this sympathetic yawning makes his jaw itch with the urge to stretch it out and announce to the universe he feels like death warmed over with a jaw-cracking yawn. He doesn't look much better than Robyn, but his saving grace is that he already sported an impressive five o'clock shadow before all of this started.

The moment the younger Warden confides she's seen him in her dreams the way he's been seeing everyone else, his eyebrows make a leap for his hair line, unable to hide his apprehension from his expression.]}

... Really.

_{[What are the chances his dream self is twice as handsome and charming and talented, and had made him look better by comparison? Hm, what was that? Slim to none? Hm, figured.]}

I'm not sure I want to know. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about--what's been happening to you and I in these dreams. Last night, while I was over there, something... strange happened. For a relative definition of 'strange'. I think other you started to... I don't know. Recover memories from you-you.

_{[Or a memory, to be specific.]}

I really can't say. [ But she's grinning, happy to tease him and to joke around with him. What else are fellow Wardens for? ]

Ah... yes? [ Right, not everyone has the same experience. Her smile melts into something a little softer, something almost sheepish. ] Is that strange?

[ Maker, admitting to dreaming about someone in another context might be... misleading. Anders isn't the type to misunderstand something so silly, though, and so she listens as he continues with interest. ]

... I'm not sure that I follow. [ She says finally, frowning. ] The me in your dream began to remember some of my memories? I wonder why...?

_{['Strange' honestly doesn't begin to cover it. It's almost a pity the White Queen's regime change is so damn creepy because those jokes of sexually-charged dreams are going to waste.

Alas. Business first.]}

Well, there's a bit of a story behind that... Were you after some breakfast? We can talk while we eat.

Of course. [ To the suggestion of having a conversation, not to breakfast. Though, she isn't going to say no to that, either. As such, Robyn walks alongside the other Warden, stealing curious glancing toward him as they proceed. ]

You're very much more enigmatic than normal. You know that. [ Robyn playfully nudges the mage in the side. ]

_{[The nudge earns a huff of uncertain laughter. Enigmatic? Maybe.

He doesn't mean to be cryptic and bury the lead, but perhaps it comes off that way with him skirting around the details. It's just that he doesn't think it's something they want to casually chat about in the hall where anyone could walk by. Normal dreams are personal. Wonderland's artificial, whitewashed dreamscape where everyone except him seems to have drunk the koolaid is something else entirely.

He sets the pace toward the dining room, bringing last night's adventure in the room with the containers of bright light into focus in his mind's eye. Another way these "dreams" differ from their normal counterparts is that the experiences don't fade from memory as quickly. He can still recall everything with crystal clarity.]}

I stayed a while in my dream, trying to get a sense of what Wonderland wanted to show us, you know. Maybe see this White Queen for myself. No such luck. But I did find an interesting room in the basement.

[ Robyn waits, allows Anders to take his time in explaining. Clearly, there's something on his mind: that's become more than obvious. He isn't usually so contemplative, though, which has her even more curious than usual about what the bottom line might be. ]

An interesting room? [ She hadn't ventured into the basement and, as such, frowns even more deeply as she tries to suss out where he's going with this. ] Is that what you think Wonderland wanted us - wanted you - to see?

[ Which begs the question: what was in the room? ]

_{[In the dining room, the first thing Anders wishes for with all his sleep-deprived heart is coffee. Of the things it does right, Wonderland has quick and timely coffee delivery down pat, at least.]}

To put it lightly.

_{["Interesting" and also kind of disturbing. He imagines entering the lair of a serial killer with organs in jars would look much the same--only in this case, their contents had been memories, not body parts.

Pouring himself a steaming cup, he frowns a little to remember the events of last night.]}

I don't know about want to see, but I sure saw it. There were jars inside--I'm talking thousands of them, all labelled with our names. As soon as I picked up one with your name on it, an alarm went off, I'm guessing it's not a place her color-allergic majesty wants us rifling through.

[ Anders isn't the only one who opts for coffee. Robyn dreams up a cup - black, no cream or sugar - and then settles into a chair nearby. ]

Mine? [ ... Oh. Hmm. ] I'm flattered that you took it for me, whether out of curiosity or otherwise. I'm only sorry it got you into trouble.

[ Nothing he couldn't handle, though, she assumes. ]

Do you still have it? Or... was it taken back?

_{[He shrugs, one side of his mouth kicking up in a small, roguish smile. It hadn't been anything so noble as what she's thinking.]}

It was the first name I saw that I recognized. _{[He would've looked at more if he'd had the time, but Anders has a finely-honed sense of when to get when the getting's good. When a warning alarm is blaring, that's a pretty clear indicator.]} Wouldn't be the first time I've broken into a place, and I doubt it'll be my last. Locked doors means something valuable's usually waiting behind them--I'm just not certain what this White Queen was intending by this.

_{[The steaming coffee goes down just a little too hot, but the burn in his mouth does the intended trick of waking him up.]}

The jar? I left it in my room on that side, we'll have to stay tuned to see if it's still there. I don't plan on returning just yet. _{[Though if given the chance, he's sure he certainly could fall fast asleep right here on the table.]} Whatever was inside it... flew away? It was like a light that knew to find its way back to the other you. I think they're memories, because after that you weren't quite your empty-headed Tranquil self.

Well, in that case, I'm deeply offended. [ Not. ] I'm only glad that your roguishness didn't get you into any worse trouble.

[ As to what the White Queen intended... well, maybe the rest of his story will help to clear that up. ]

Flew away? [ As if it was alive, or because something drew it from the jar? ] So... those memories, if that's what it was, left after you absconded with it and went back to... the Robyn you saw in your dream?

[ What memories, she wonders? What did the imagined version of herself have to face, and how much of it does Anders know now? ]

_{[He'd hardly been worried about himself at the time--it's the dream people he's concerned about, more than he's willing to let on. What if there's some kind of link between them and their real world counterparts? What if what had happened affected the Robyn here?

She'd said she felt fine, but Anders still watches her over his coffee.]}

Yeah, exactly like-- _{[Curling his fingers into a loose fist, he flicks them outward in a poof motion.]} Out flew this little light like a firefly on a mission. Since it was your name on the label I had a feeling I ought to check on you, and when I found your twin she was...

_{[How to put this? Anders is uncharacteristically gentle in how he chooses the word.]}

... distraught. You're sure you don't feel any differently this morning?

[ Distraught. She'd thought she'd imagined that little feeling upon waking, that... strange, unsettling stir. Robyn swallows, looking increasingly more puzzled and nearly concerned as she reflects on it. ]

I can imagine a number of things that would make her distraught to remember.

[ Where to even begin, with the past year or so of her life being... what it was? ]

I'm touched that you're so worried about me, Anders. [ She says lightly, with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. ] It... may be that I felt strange earlier. You think this is because of the jar, then? Of the memory?

How would I explain it if my sticky fingers caused the brains of one of Ferelden's most celebrated Wardens to turn inside out?

_{[That's a joke. Sort... of... It's closer to the truth than he'd like when she admits she might have felt a little differently after all.]}

Strange... how? _{[His gaze is probing, the question careful. Seriously, he doesn't want to be responsible for breaking you, Robyn, tell him he didn't break you.]} I don't know if they're connected or not. It could be possible, like the Fade?

[ 'Most celebrated Wardens' has her wrinkle her nose distastefully, but there are more important things at hand. ]

I'm not sure that I could... put words to it. [ Had she been sad? Felt some connection to the dream-Robyn once she'd been told about Highever? ] It may have just been... something lingering from my sleep. [ Then, quickly: ] You didn't do anything to me, Anders. Don't worry.

[ As far as she knows, anyway. ]

It's possible there's a connection. I wonder if any of the others had similar experiences...?

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I'm Dreaming of a White Ewaymas | OPEN

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