+ Why, you're only a sort of thing in its dream! | MINGLE LOG +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: EVERYONE (Reals AND Mirrors!)
Where: D R E A M S I D E
When: June 6th - June 12th
Rating: PG-13, warn if going higher!
Summary: Mingle log for the Dream Side event! After the girls’ seance, every single person in Wonderland, no matter what they were doing at the time, will black out. When they awake, they will find themselves in a strange and twisted world outside of time - a different one than usual.
The Story:

After the girls’ seance, every single person in Wonderland, no matter what they were doing at the time, will black out. When they awake, they will find themselves in a strange and twisted world outside of time - a different one than usual. Elements may seem familiar, but it's clearly a different place.

Welcome, Mirrors and Reals, to DREAM SIDE. The sky above is dark and speckled with far-off stars but the world below is unnaturally lit and bright. There is a mansion at its center, but it is warped and unusual, as though someone stretched it like taffy, but if you try to enter it, you'll find that the door is not just locked - it appears to be painted on, as though it is just static scenery. It isn't a mansion that can be entered, just a cartoon-ish mansion cobbled together from dozens of memories.

Dream Side, as you might have guessed from the name, is not a static place. It is built from the scraps of dreams of those who cross into that side of Wonderland. Characters on this side of Wonderland are not asleep, but the world they are in is shaped by the contents of their dreams. Unlike the glass between Real Side and Mirror Side, there does not seem to be an obvious thing connecting this Side of Wonderland to the other two - at least, not something visible.

They are not alone in this world either - because the girls were conducting a seance, they have inadvertently called upon the dead. For each time your character has died a mansion death, there will be a ghostly copy of them wandering Dream Side. They will look as standard ghosts do - pale and translucent, looking as they did the moment they died. They will have a tendency to haunt their current living version (and those who care about them), but they will not be able to speak directly with them. For Mirrors, these ghosts can be Unmade versions of themselves, if they were ever Unmade. Some ghosts might be hostile and some might just gently haunt from a distance - it will depend on the character and what they would do if they were a ghost how they behave.

Behold, the world your dreams have built!

NORTH

• Mabel Land Castle


• Sparkly Horse Library


• Clementine's House

NORTH-NORTHEAST

• Fabletown

NORTHEAST

• The Unknown


• The Milano


• Avengers Tower


• Hala / The Supreme Intelligence


• Vault 111

EAST

• Main Street


• Holiday Star - Lighthouse


• The Amagi Inn

SOUTHEAST

• School University


• Secret CDC Lab

SOUTH

• Trost


• The Abattoir


• The Hanged Man

SOUTH-SOUTHWEST

• Dead End Flats


• Prime Kindergarten


• The Man Cave

SOUTHWEST

• Craigh Na Dun

WEST

• The Casino


• Flooded City

NORTHWEST

• Spooky Murder Bridge


• Rokkenjima


• WYBS 89.3 FM

For more details, and for the FAQ thread for this event, please see the plot post! We'll be periodically checking the location thread so we can add to this log as needed.

Comments

[entreats]

[ Ange assumes him glancing out into the hallway and saying nothing means he didn't spot anything, but just to truly make sure she sneaks in a quick glance as well before looking back at Souji. ]

Let's go then.

[ She has to suck in a deep breath to steel herself, but she manages to shove the constant dread far enough back into her head that she can will herself to start moving-- no, running through the hallway. Then up the stairs in the main hall, then up another set.. Ange glances behind her to make sure he's still there, but then halts next to a big door - a slight bit out of breath, but not too much. ]

In here.

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji follows after Ange, wishing he had a weapon other than his Personas, but ready to summon any time he needs to.

He comes to a stop just behind her at the door, and nods, looking back the way they came to make sure nothing followed them. He reaches to pull the door open.]

What is this room?

[entreats]

My grandfather's room.

[ It seems like a very spacious bedroom and study combination. There's a bed, sure, but there's also big bookcases and a chessboard in the room. ]

The witch supposedly can't enter here, although I'm not sure I believe that. [ But it's better than nothing. ]

[eatsyourscience]

["Better than nothing" is Souji's thought, too. Ange knows more about the mansion than he does, obviously and if she thinks this room is safer than the rest, he'll believe her.]

The witch?

[Ange's mentioned witches before, or at least magical beings, but Souji doesn't have the details.]

[entreats]

Did you see that weird portrait in the main hall? That's the witch. [ Although whether she's really a witch or not is still a Complicated Matter, but this is no time for nuance.

Ange nervously fidgets for a moment before sitting down on a chair next to the chessboard in an attempt to seem a little calmer. ]

She's what killed my family here. Those other creatures were just doing her dirty work. [ She looks away for a moment and sighs. ] Guess being here won't do much though if whatever is after us isn't her.

[ But honestly, what else would make her this instinctively nervous? ]

[eatsyourscience]

[He comes to stand across the chessboard from her.]

And it might not be. Wonderland has a lot of tricks it could pull.

[Hell, it could be zombies, though that probably wouldn't cause this feeling of dread.]

It could be nothing at all.

[entreats]

I'd almost be more annoyed if it was nothing at all at this point. [ Of course she would also be relieved to know they're not being chased by some monstrosity, or the witch, or worse.. but on the other hand, Ange sure isn't appreciating the idea of her emotions being manipulated for no reason. ]

At least it should be over soon, right? [ There's a bit more doubt in her tone than usually, despite her words. ] These things usually are.

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji nods, glancing toward the door.]

They always end eventually.

[He forces his tone to be encouraging. He really should qualify his statement by saying that they always end eventually in his experience, but he doesn't want to make it sound like he isn't confident that things will turn out fine.]

[entreats]

[ It's the same thing Ange has told herself ever since she started feeling so paranoid out of the blue. It always ends eventually. Just a bit more. ]

I talked to a guy here who was super convinced this was different. That it wouldn't just end. [ She didn't put much stock in his words back then since she still felt as calm as ever, but it kind of gnaws at the edges of her consciousness now. ] I have no idea why though. This is just the same as always.

[ Ange manages to keep her voice fairly even, but there's a hint of a tone in it that makes it sound like she's mostly trying to convince herself of that rather than Souji. ]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji catches that tone and looks over at her quietly for a minute, thinking over what to say. This paranoia is messing with them both and it's clouding his thoughts in a way he doesn't like.]

I can understand how he feels. I worry about it sometimes too. Wonderland breaks sometimes, and it's always possible that this time it won't fix itself.

[Well, that wasn't as encouraging as he'd hoped it would be.]

[entreats]

[ At least he tried. Ange is quiet for a moment as she seems to think over those words, but then she looks at him and speaks up again. ]

Aren't you ever tired of it? Of being controlled by something you have absolutely no say in?

[eatsyourscience]

Of course. [He sighs.] It's the kind of thing I would have fought at home. But I don't know how to fight it here, if it even can be fought.

[entreats]

...

[ There's a slight moment of hesitation. For how blunt Ange can be, she doesn't want to dig into things people don't want to talk about. But with what he said, the road to the question is so open, and she truly is curious. ]

Did you fight something like that back home? [ Or, more importantly.. ] Did you win?

[eatsyourscience]

Something like it. Someone who was manipulating things in a situation we weren't supposed to be able to win.

[It's been a long time since he's really talked about any of this. Given how long he's been in Wonderland, it seems like forever ago. He sounds almost nostalgic as he talks about it.]

But we did win.

[entreats]

[ Something about that specific wording makes Ange look slightly thoughtful as well for a moment. "A situation we weren't supposed to be able to win." Now that seems familiar, although also in that very faroff way. ]

Maybe we can find some way for you to be able to fight it here too. You have the credentials. [ There's no hint of deadpan at all in her voice for once. She genuinely means that suggestion. ]

[eatsyourscience]

I keep being reminded that I should be fighting this place more. So I really need to come up with some way to do it.

[He smiles a little despite the tension and paranoia.]

Will you help me?

[entreats]

[ Her first reaction seems to be surprise, like she didn't expect him to ask her that. It makes her pause for a moment. ]

I.. sure.

[ No deadpan here either. Maybe it's the weird feeling this place is giving her, or maybe she just was caught that much off guard. ]

I can't promise much, but I can help look into it.

[eatsyourscience]

[He's a little surprised by that response, having expected a deadpan comment. But he's pleased, too, and he smiles a bit more.]

You'll probably be more helpful than you think.