InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "it unscrews the other way."

Dream (metamorpheus) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2010-10-19 14:54:00

Entry tags:

!open, *log, ariadne, dream

WHO: Dream & OPEN
WHAT: Yawns
WHEN: Nowish?
WARNINGS: n/a

Dream was bored. Even with zombies to unmake, nightmares to chase, and cures to inspire (or perhaps because of all these things) he was feeling a little...dejected. Given the pandemic, and students calling in dead left and right, his drama class was a wash until further notice. So he went wandering the halls of his apartment building, like a somnambulist with a camcorder, taking B-roll footage out the windows for an extremely low budget, film school horror movie.

Given his pale skin and listless, inscrutable expression, he could only hope he wouldn't cause any of his neighbors to panic should they happen to step out their doors at any given moment. Or perhaps he was hoping they would, just to see how they might react.

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labyrinthine
2010-10-20 10:24 pm UTC (link)

The pressure in her chest lifted, and Ariadne gave him a very small smile. "I'll try to bear that in mind. Not like I don't have enough object lessons to learn from." She paused, thinking over what he'd said. "The Dreaming? So - they're all connected? Is what I do dangerous? Like, for longer than the dream lasts?" Even if she wasn't sure she could stop, she might have tried if it was endangering something bigger. Ariadne had enough trouble with the idea that they might have wrecked Fischer's mind permanently; if there was something more connected, could she really justify destroying it?

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	metamorpheus 2010-10-20 11:51 pm UTC (link)
	"The Dreaming," he said, "Is a vast realm of dream space filled with a menagerie of...dreams. Creations of my own, stories that I have collected from others. It's where I govern and watch over the dreams of all living things." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	labyrinthine 2010-10-21 12:49 am UTC (link)
	"So they're not separated. We just think they are." She leaned against the wall, considering. "And the PASIV is more of a backdoor into the Dreaming rather than the thing creating the shared space?" Ariadne couldn't help but be curious. Even if she still didn't entirely believe that she was having this conversation. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	metamorpheus 2010-10-21 01:07 am UTC (link)
	"That's one way to look at it, I suppose," he said, "Though most individual dreamers never leave the realm of their own subconscious. And, yes, it can be dangerous to dissolve that barrier--as I'm sure you have experienced. It can be...a train wreck." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	labyrinthine 2010-10-21 01:12 am UTC (link)
	Ariadne wasn't sure whether to giggle or shudder. "That's one way of putting it. Is that why projections get violent? They resist the barrier being breached?" Now she was as tempted as Eames had been. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	metamorpheus 2010-10-21 01:24 am UTC (link)
	"Quite so. The dreamer senses the presence of a stranger in their mind, and the mind instinctively tries to protect itself. But this you already know." His expression was shadowed with concern. "That is why I have to remain so vigilant. To keep talented dreamers from driving themselves--and everyone around them--utterly mad." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	labyrinthine 2010-10-21 01:32 am UTC (link)
	"I always thought it was just about the invasion, not... that we're not used to sharing dreams." She had too much experience of just how badly a talented dreamer could go. After all, what was Cobb if not a warning and object lesson? "So should I be keeping an eye out for you when I'm under?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

metamorpheus
2010-10-21 01:49 am UTC (link)

"You're not used to it," he agreed, "But some say that dreams are the mind's subconscious way of sloughing off extraneous information and stimuli. To have someone inside your subconscious, altering things while you are dreaming?"

He shrugged. "It takes finesse to do it without causing trauma, and most people don't have that." He knew. He had the finesse to slip through unnoticed, or to turn someone into a slobbering, catatonic vegetable living one constantly recurring nightmare. "But don't worry. If I do look in on you...I promise I'll be...gentle."

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labyrinthine
2010-10-21 02:10 am UTC (link)

"Some say." One eyebrow raised slightly. "Do you think that's true, or do you not believe in psychology?"

Finesse. That was one way of describing the skills she and her erstwhile teammates had. Her mouth curled into a curious expression. "Thanks, I appreciate it. A lot." She might have sounded flippant but her tone was very serious. Gentle was probably the best she could hope for from whoever or whatever he really was.

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metamorpheus
2010-10-21 03:03 am UTC (link)

Dream shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I try not to limit myself to just one perspective," he answered, touching the front of his shirt as if feeling the absence of a certain pendant that used to hang there.

"After all, we could both look at the same gemstone and behold two very different facets." He smiled at the expressions that crossed her face. "I like you," he said frankly, referring to the whole team. "It gets lonely, wandering the dream space, passing through, but never touching."

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	labyrinthine 2010-10-21 11:41 am UTC (link)
	"I guess you probably couldn't," she countered. If he was really a god of dreams then that sort of limitations would be impossible, wouldn't it? The smile was more reassuring than it should have been. And yet still not comforting. "Is that good or bad?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

metamorpheus
2010-10-21 09:48 pm UTC (link)

"For now? I would say it is a good thing." For now, the dream team were only able to access the dreams of others through the help of their somnacin, or at his discretion with Sands of Sleep, which made them marginally less dangerous than other dream vortexes he had encountered and eliminated. He hoped he would never have such need to deal with them so . "If you ever find yourself in trouble...you may call upon me."

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labyrinthine
2010-10-22 02:05 am UTC (link)

"Thank you." She was surprised, and understood that this meant more than she could probably comprehend at this moment. But for now, it was enough to know that this was a very great honor. "I'll remember that." She nodded slightly, curbing the impulse to bow - how incredibly stupid would that have looked - and glanced away. What more could she say? This conversation had already turned her brain inside out.

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	metamorpheus 2010-10-22 03:26 am UTC (link)
	Dream smiled, knowing how awkward it must have been for her at that moment, and deciding to allow her some reprieve. "I should...let you be about your business. I was good to meet you in person." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	labyrinthine 2010-10-23 02:02 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah, I'm gonna.... yeah. It was good to meet you too." Ariadne gestured vaguely - good? Good wasn't quite enough of a word for what it was - and backed away before slipping into her apartment again, leaning against the closed door and fighting the urge to hyperventilate. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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