outofshadows | Player Plotting Post

Is it wrong that I kind of want this hallway thread to turn into a dream thread?

Oh no, that's the least wrong thing ever.

This can totally happen if you want it to happen--just let me know how you want it to happen or what you want to have happen. And I'll just sit here saying the word "happen" a few more dozen times until it loses all meaning. Happen, happen, happen, happen, happen...

Yes please! I guess we could eventually end the hallway conversation then do a time-cut to sleepy time for Zoey? Then dreaming and weirdness and maybe dream conversations (I have no idea how Flagg's dreamwalking ability actually works and whether or not the conversing could happen but it'll be interesting as hell regardless of what happens).

Sure, that works for me!

/pulls up hoodie hood. Now I'm going to tl;dr ~~a little~~ at you so we can work out a means by which to accomplish this:

What I'm going on for this is basically what happens in the sort of early-middling (wow, what a description) part of The Stand where pretty much everyone who's still alive starts dreaming of either Flagg or Mother Abagail or both and it's kind all about choosing your side in the fight. For at least some (maybe all) of the characters, these dreams are more interactive than just purely visionary (that is, there's interaction with the figures in the dream, not just images of places or things; they have visionary dreams too, though, conveniently). It does seem like Flagg gets up in their heads to at least some degree in his efforts to win people to his side and to terrorize the rest (I'm sure this could be up to some interpretation).

Together with these dreams is the massive vision extravaganza that he drops on Roland at the end of The Gunslinger. And those visions seem to operate sort of like dreams, but also...not. They're dream-like, shall we say, but they're sort of like religious ecstasy. Anyway, it's pretty well established in canon that he can send dreams or visions to someone--which is probably how this would work best.

It seems like he's kinda-sorta nominally in control of these visions, though not entirely (characters in The Stand reject him and escape the dreams, for example). He also seems to be sort of aware of what the person experiencing the vision is feeling or doing inside the vision, but not perfectly (Roland gets to a point in his vision where he basically sees God [I'm not even kidding], and Flagg proceeds to press him on what it was he saw or understood at that moment because he himself is extraordinarily curious about it--which is a detail that could be interpreted in a couple of ways, but that's getting a little complicated for this). Suffice to say, it's kind of like an open channel between him and whoever he's shoving visions on and the messages can go both ways.

Blah blah blah. That's what I'm going on here as background to make this happen. (IDK if you know the manga X/1999 but there are two or three characters in that series that do kind of the same thing: send participatory visions to other characters and/or observe the visions those characters experience. It's referred to in a lot of translations as "dreamwalking" so I think I adopted the term from there. Whoops.)

Based on all that, what he could do here is send a relatively simple dream/vision (not a pleasant one, though, natch) which would give him at least something of a view in Zoey's head, even if it's an imperfect, incomplete view (the range and quality of the view would, of course, be up to you). It's better than nothing and might tip him off as to why she got his name so wrong that she got it right or what's going on with this girl that's making him itch (heck, even the relative ease or difficulty of sending that vision could be a clue, if you want to play it that way).

In these dreams, he usually appears with something covering his face, under a hood, in shadows, or like the shadowy image Zoey saw in the hallway. My initial thought was a vision of a hallway with someone stalking behind her, but I don't know if that'll open the interaction and weirdness you're hoping for. If we start it that she's dreaming and he interrupts, there could be more overlap in imagery. With your permission, if he gets into her head, he could pull out certain images or memories of things that could be weirder or more worrisome than others.

But lemme shut up for a while. What kind of dream weirdness would you like? I can make it work.

Wow. That is a LOT of information. This is going to be fun.

I think the hallway would work rather well, especially if it was mirrored. There was... sort of a major incident with mirrors in her last game that would definitely make for an interesting time for her. And the someone stalking her would be interesting, too, because I don't know how long she'd actually flee/run away from it; I think eventually she'd attempt to turn the tables and face it head on. Which could lead to interaction maybe?

I would love it if he had a harder time sending her a vision. Or else maybe she was aware of the fact that it wasn't entirely a dream of her own making? ~~Or both? I don't know~~

As far as what he'd learn of her... he could learn that she's had some training in the occult (her tent-mate at the Carnival was a demon hunter/exorcist type. He was also a ghost, but that's beside the point). And she might very well be writing wards on said mirrors. With that, he might also pick up on the faintest memories of the Reflections (which are basically twisted, warped reflections of the person they belong to, with sharp teeth, breath smelling of blood, clawed hands, black eyes, with red and white spirals comprising the irises), I was thinking maybe just a quick flicker, because Zoey locks down those particular memories FAST; they're not exactly pleasant.

Um... he might catch a glimpse of her dad (who looks like Ed Quinn, basically) due to the rescue mission bringing up memories of him (he sort of disappeared before the games she's been in started, and her quest to find him was what ended up putting her in the Carnival).

Could she attempt to eventually follow the dream back to its source? I don't even know if that'd be possible, but she totally try if it was.

I made a post, full of some stuff for Rory. Also context links, so it makes sense. http://cordelisse.dreamwidth.org/5927.html

Yeah, sorry about all that |D I kinda wanted to line up how this could work, given what's known or shown in canon. Anyway--

It's not at all unusual for characters to realize that, hey, this freaky dream with this shadowy dude in it is not a normal dream. So, yes, she could totally realize that it's not a dream of her own making. Totally.

Oooh mirrored hallways can totally happen. Either the walls all mirror or like the mirrors in a funhouse or like a hallway in a manorhouse with lots of mirrors for decoration... He'd be inclined to go for funhouse mirrors, probably.

He'll probably recognize her wards, if she draws them (or at least the intention of them). That'll actually make him more interested, alas. I'll go poke through your post too because, mmm, that is some tasty stuff in there. Lots of good creepy stuff to pick up on and remember and throw back out there. For the moment, the dream he'll send will be sort of a combination of "Why do you know what you do?" and "Hey, I wonder what this trigger does..." So both recon and antagonizing. Fun.

For the moment, if possible, can we hold off on her following it back to the source (that is, him)? I mean, give it a try, for sure, but can we hold off on her actually connecting him and it for now? For one thing, he's a pretty seriously magic guy and while sometimes he can't hide it, he's still reasonably good at hiding and guarding himself (this is some of the reason for the "heyhowyadoin? :D" farmboy Rory persona). For another, if we hold off, there's more potential for plot and drama later (also because when/if she mentions this stuff to Bert, it'll make him scramble more and, ngl, we do so love that).

And now I'm going to go reply to the actual tag. Yeah.

Ahahahaha he's going to find out just how well she can compartmentalise and control her fears and shit.

I'm actually wondering if she could manipulate the dream (basically instead of having to write the wards on every mirror just... manipulating the dream to put them there, very "This is going to take too long"). I've never actually thought about it, because the only dreams I ever write for her are of the vision fashion, and those aren't really changeable.

Oh, I wasn't actually planning on her finding out WHO it was when she followed it back to the source. I just figured it suddenly being turned around and she was in his head/touching HIS mind for a second before waking that it might kind of freak Flagg out (as much as he gets freaked out, anyway). She'd still be clueless as to it actually being him ~~Until there's talking with Bert and Alain, anyway; THAT'S going to be interesting.~~

HA HA HA this is a good skill to have.

I think she could totally do that--it's up to you, of course, but I don't see why not! I had an idea earlier, just to throw it at you, that she could look at or into the mirrors and see that same grinning shadow thing creeping up behind her in the reflection (animal-like movements). If she drew a ward on that mirror, the shadow would move to the next. Warding all the mirrors would effectively push that shadow/him into, say, the shadows behind the mirrors (or whatever) and therefore into the hallway with her, which could lead to confrontations or conversations. Just a bit of an idea to play with as you please!

Ohhhhhh man!!! Finding someone else in his head or reaching his mind would freak him out so bad, actually. He was dealing with that very problem on a serious level immediately before he got dropped into the game. Like...no, seriously, it was a bad scene, okay? He had someone in his head and, yeah, no. Bad. All over, bad. But the point is, that makes it doable. It would of course take a little skill, but given how strong Zoey seems with her abilities, she could do it--ordinary people don't seem quite like they can get in his head like he can get in theirs, but magic ones can (and "Touch"y ones can at least pick up on him nosing around--he kind of unintentionally broadcasts things; the evil just rolls off him, you know?).

If she were to touch his mind at all and he were able to detect it, I can guarantee you that that would be the end of that dream. He'd shut that connection down but fast--because he does not want a repeat of that earlier ordeal. He's got his guards up as much as he can get them and he's hyper-aware of anyone getting in his head. Don't get fooled again. So, yes. Let's have a little of that happen.

Anyway, I can't imagine reaching his mind would be a pleasant experience at all. That's bumping up against the brain of a human-looking monster who really just wants to destroy every world in existence as painfully and horribly as possible. Just...because.

It has served Zoey well so far. And probably will again, what with Flagg nosing around. =D

She might start out writing them, and then decide, "You know what? This is my head, there should be a better way to do this", and poof! Instant wards. Well, sort of. More like ripple effect wards, just spreading out from her both ways in the hallway. Ooh, that could be interesting. I'm torn between having a confrontation/conversation, or postponing that for another dream and keeping this one all stalkery and not-so-confrontation-y. Would he try another dreamwalk at another time when she manages to touch/reach his mind this time? He's in for a hell of a surprise.

Oh hell no. She'd probably wake up and quite possibly hurl. Not to mention be haunted by the sensation for days.

If you want ripple effect wards, go for it! I just thought I'd throw out the idea because it was cool in my head. If you'd like just stalkery stuff this time and conversation/confrontation another time, that's also awesome. If she manages to get to his mind and he manages to get some details from her mind that could be used for future dreams, he would very possibly try to get at her again--with a different scenario, maybe. It's as much about bothering her (psychological warfare, man!) as it is about getting at who she is or what her abilities are.

Mmm, Flaggmind: get the sensation. Have fun with that, Zoey ;~;d

Oh, it's definitely a cool idea. I just don't know! Both would be awesome and fun. Hm... there could be confrontation without conversation, if she pushes him into the corridor with her via the use of the wards... There's so much that could be done with all of these. But, if he'd very possibly try and get at her again, then maybe we ought to save the conversation and confrontation for the next try?

He's going to learn that she's stubborn and a hard person to bother (at least noticeably/visibly bother), and that's going to be hilarious. XD

Pardon her while she vomits into a trashcan. And then gargles with booze, and then brushes her teeth like twelve times. ~~And then repeats the gargling and brushing.~~

Sure, we can save actual confrontation and talking for another time. This go-round can just be stalking and creeping and creeping on (him creeping on her, of course). I'm all for drawing this out for a bit.

Now I just have Ke$ha in my head. "Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack, cuz when I leave for the night I ain't coming back..."

And here's a random question (because I've been pondering things for future dreamstalkings). Can Zoey wake/release herself from his dreamscape, of does that have to be all Flagg?

Edited 2013-03-11 01:15 (UTC)

Ponder away! I owe you a tag and need to go reread things to write it well...

She can absolutely wake up and/or release herself from the dreamscape. That's how several characters get themselves out of similar Flagg-induced dreams. So, yeah!

Player Plotting Post

no subject

no subject

no subject

This is really tl;dr because I wanted to get my thoughts together--I'm really, really sorry D:

Ramblings ahead!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject