A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

[these_balls]

Who: The participants of the Dream Plot!
Where: A mysterious dream castle far away!
When: All day and night on April 19th!
Summary: The journey is over, and at last you've arrived. Looks as though there's a reception waiting for you, too; maybe it was worth the trouble, after all...
Rating: PG, and please warn for threads that may go higher!
Log:

[After a period of dreamlike travel, the journey has finally drawn to a close; at last, you've arrived at your destination for the next twenty-four hours...

...a Majestic Dream Castle™ filled with light and music, standing out like a gleaming jewel amid a light white mist.

And it looks as though you're just in time! There's a party underway, and when you look down you may just discover that you're dressed for the occasion as well. So go on in, have a ball, and dance the night away; there's no telling what lies beyond tomorrow morning, after all!]

~
THE VENUE


KEY:

• AREA A — the Fountain Garden.
The obvious object of note here is the pretty fountain bubbling merrily away, nestled in the center of this odd little patch of indoor flora; it's made of white marble and is your standard three-tier affair, surrounded by a modest "courtyard" of grass and wildflowers. Something of an oddity to come across in the middle of a castle, but if you're looking for a quiet place to unwind, to sit with someone you're fond of, or even just to cast P10 into the waters to make a wish, this is probably the place for you.

• AREA B — the Grand Ballroom.
While there's music audible all throughout the areas that fall within the boundaries of this dream, this is the part of the place that's going to look the most like a traditional ballroom. The floor is polished wood and the decor is classic; there are chandeliers overhead and plenty of room for mingling and making merry with your fellow dreamers. Good luck not chipping those glass slippers!

• AREA C — the Pristine Palace.
The least-defined and most freeform part of the dream, this wide expanse of the dream castle is consequently the most likely to become subject to the whims of the people wandering through it. Though the general size and shape won't change much, the way it looks may well vary from person to person. Is that grass beneath your feet, or is it concrete? Hardwood? Rose petals? The details are in the eye of the beholder; here's hoping that won't lead to too much confusion!

• AREA D — the Terrace.
Accessible solely by the not-so-secret passage marked on the map in brown, the Terrace is pretty much exactly that: a big open patio ringed with mist and fairy lights along the railings that run along its perimeter. Occasionally, a gentle breeze seems to waft by; though it's impossible to see further than a foot or two into the mist, this part of the castle feels more like it's legitimately outdoors than any of the others.

If you decide to hop the fence off the terrace, you will find yourself returned to the Fountain Garden in the blink of an eye. Don't you know it's impolite to go wandering off when there's party taking place?

• AREA E — the Banquet Hall.
Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you...aren't likely to be here, anyway! This area of the castle is entirely dedicated to meeting its guests' demands for food and drink; it's filled with buffet tables piled high with just about anything you could dream up, and those platters never seem to empty no matter how much the guests take from them.

Oh, and there's no need to BYOB; age-appropriate characters in Route will be able to find alcoholic beverages, though underage characters cannot. If an over-age character attempts to give an alcoholic beverage to a minor, they'll quickly find that it's turned to water instead.

• AREA F — the Overgrown Bower.
Watch your head as you enter this room; the ceiling is surprisingly low, and the dangling vines might give you a fright if you walk into one without paying attention! There isn't much of note in this room, outside of the plants seeping through the cracks in the cool gray stone and the delicate scent of flowers lingering in the air; that said, if you're tired of all the merriment and are looking for a quiet place to wind down, this is a pretty little alcove that's just perfect for some solitude — or some quality time alone with a special someone.

Comments

[envy_the_sinners]

"There are flat formal shoes, I've seen them." He didn't mean to be contrary, it just seemed ludicrous for her to put herself in pain just for the sake of being a few inches taller. What was the point?

"Especially if you're going to be dancing. You'll break an ankle."

[a_sin_for_him]

"Then the next time we end up at some otherworldly, fantastical dance, I'll try and have you pick my shoes." Lust gave up and leaned back, leaving her feet bare.

"I'm done dancing, anyway. It's getting on in the night, it's lots of slow dances and such." She wasn't going to dance intimately with any other man besides Scar. And she'd already been over that in her mind.

"I'd rather just sit here with you."

[envy_the_sinners]

"I am only saying that there is a simple solution..." He trailed off awkwardly. Scar wasn't doing anything of interest under here, and he was too awkward about physical contact to attempt it just for touch's sake.

He sighed uneasily. He had such vague ideas of what couples were supposed to do as these things wound down, but anything of that sort was either far out of the territory of what they usually did together or just... uncomfortable to instigate.

So he sat still.

[a_sin_for_him]

"I have a closet full of flats at home," Lust assured him. "You know how much I value comfort. One strange night in heels isn't going to do me any damage beyond what I feel right now. Especially not here. Sore feet are a very small complaint in the grand scheme of things."

For her part, she was content just to sit and talk with him about nothing of any importance. Despite what had led to this evening, she had pushed it deep enough to bury it for the moment.

"If you're that concerned, you can rub them for me." Her tone made it clear she was only teasing.

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar was thankful for the darkness to hide the likely flush that had come to his face when he shot Lust a frown. He wasn't going to do that.

But he would be lying if he said he hasn't thought of it.

"I am not concerned, I am only explaining why I think it irrational."

[a_sin_for_him]

Lust laughed. This was ridiculous, arguing about footwear. She wasn't even certain what they were arguing about it for.

"And I agree with you. Oh, don't give me that look, I wouldn't seriously expect you to rub my feet." Though he did have hands likely well suited to it.

"I don't even want to do it for myself."

[envy_the_sinners]

And yet she did it anyway! Why was this woman so illogical?

"I never know what I'm supposed think you would expect." Though her expectations so far could easily be summarized as 'low.' Out was the only way this could actually work, sadly.

[a_sin_for_him]

"I expect you to be you, nothing more. If I expected or wanted anything different, I wouldn't be with you."

Acknowledging that they were together was becoming easier and easier, at least for Lust. She'd known the man she was getting involved with. He wasn't going to fawn over her or rub her feet or bring her stuffed animals when she was having a poor day. That was fine. He had his little ways to show affection.

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar only made an ambiguous grumble at that. He still didn't understand what it could possibly be about just him that made her want him so, but he wasn't about to outright ask.

She would just start listing things off again.

"We are a bizarre arrangement of coincidences..." he muttered, more to himself than to her. Scar shifted, moving away from the small puddle that had formed on his seat.

[a_sin_for_him]

"That's life, isn't it? A bizarre arrangement of circumstances and coincidences. Sometimes, if luck and fate are kind, it brings people together." Again and again and again, in their case. It had to mean something.

"And I'm still not certain how much I believe in coincidence."

She reached into her clutch and pulled out a cloth napkin and offered it to Scar. She always liked to have a proper napkin on her, in case of Pokemon accidents.

"Here."

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar could only at are at her with cynicism at if luck and fate are kind. When had anything ever been kind to them? When had anything ever been easy? This was the first reprieve they had been given in well over a decade, and it could end tomorrow.

"Don't be romantic about it," he grumbled as he took the napkin. What good this could possibly do, he didn't know, but it was easier to just take it than risk her getting contrary.

[a_sin_for_him]

"I'd rather be romantic about it than depressing. We've traveled a very rocky and dangerous and miserable road to be where we are, but we actually ended up somewhere at the end of it."

And with so recent a reminder of just what had been lived through and lost... Lust had to see this life as some sort of culmination of it all. Reward after suffering.

"I can't simply dismiss the fact that I died and woke up in this place, with almost everything important to me I believed beyond my grasp just given to me. All the things I didn't have any desire to live without, right here waiting..."

She shook her head. How could that possibly be nothing but some random coincidence?

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar stared down awkwardly, well aware by now that he was on that list.

"I don't know what to think of this anymore. Why anyone would choose me for any of this."

[a_sin_for_him]

"Because you're a good man at heart, and you were cheated out of any chance at a good life."

It didn't confuse Lust at all, why Scar would be given an opportunity like this. He'd done wrong, but he'd been done wrong against first. He was a creature forged by circumstance and abuse at the hands of an unfair world.

"I think the rules are mostly the same, in any world. You're given what you pay for. We both paid very high prices, and were given little in our former lives. We deserved more, for what we gave."

[envy_the_sinners]

"And what of the rest of my people?" There was an edge of anger in his voice, now.

"The ones who peacefully waited to be saved when nothing was coming for them?"

[a_sin_for_him]

"I don't now. Maybe in some other world, those that fell have their reward. There are thousands, from what I understand. The rest will rebuild and go on. But you're one man, Scar, you can't carry the burden of an entire people all your life. Survivor's guilt is irrational and unfair. Some greater power chose to give you this." Lust gestured around them. Her voice was soft, that honest tone she used almost only with Scar.

"You've suffered enough."

[envy_the_sinners]

"You wouldn't understand," he muttered, looking dead ahead to avoid eye contact. Regardless of her origins, Lust didn't have a lifelong allegiance the way Scar did. It wasn't survivor's guilt, to him. It was personal duty. They were his brothers and sisters, regardless of whether or not he had a right to share in their lives anymore.

"I didn't ask for any of this. I wouldn't have, if given the choice. I haven't 'earned' anything."

[a_sin_for_him]

"We don't get to decide that for ourselves. If this experience has taught me anything, it's that we can't hope to comprehend the workings of the universe greater then ourselves. In the eyes of whatever makes these choices, you did." Lust shrugged. Thinking about it only led to headaches and more questions.

It didn't matter what Scar felt or believed. He'd been given this second chance, there was nothing he could do about it. But her tone stayed calm and soft, by now used to Scar's passionate reactions to sensitive topics.

"And no, maybe I can't understand. I hardly know anything about the people I first came from. But I know suffering. And I've been told we can't let the past poison our minds. It's good advice."

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar's frown deepened as he grew more uncomfortable. His shoulders slumped as he retreated inward, subconsciously making himself smaller.

"It's not the past. And it doesn't matter how I reconsider, I'll never be at peace. I haven't spent the last year trying to dwell in anything. This is just the way it is." It wasn't going to change. It wasn't going to get better, and neither was he.

[a_sin_for_him]

"For now," Lust agreed. "But I don't think a man alone can pull himself from the depths in which you've been driven in a single year."

She wanted to lay her hand on his shoulder, but she hesitated. He was so strange about touch. But one hand lifted part of the way anyhow, before dropping to her lap. It was such a difficult course to navigating, speaking on these things with him.

"You're closer to some sort of peace than you were. A small and faltering step is still a step. It isn't as though I've made great strides either."

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar only continued to stare ahead, his fists curled tightly around the cloth Lust had handed him.

"You have." Anything to stray this away from himself, and he wasn't lying. She was much different now than she had been.

[a_sin_for_him]

"I recently told a small child I hoped he broke every bone in his body. An evil, evil child, but the point stands. I have a long way yet to go."

They both did. But they had the chance to change, to grow, to heal. At least to try. Maybe Scar never would, completely, but he could come closer. He would, even if he couldn't see it.

"I did apologize," she added. "A few weeks later."

[envy_the_sinners]

"...That boy is a special case," he grumbled. Scar didn't like how Lust treated Wrath (he assumed it was Wrath) but it was damn near impossible to keep patience with him on the best of days.

[a_sin_for_him]

"You have no idea." Lust shook her head. "I know I should be more patient with him, but I can't help myself sometimes. Maybe if he hadn't been the one to cut short my last life I'd be more amenable. I know it's not really his fault, and he doesn't remember it, but...."

She still remembered it too clearly. It wasn't even a year gone since it had happened.

If Scar had hoped to turn the conversation away from him he'd done so.

[envy_the_sinners]

"I've been speaking with him, on and off. We'll figure something out. The boy needs proper people to take care of him, but there is no one to actually do that."

Proper people. Scar wouldn't dream of suggesting that they put him in the house with all the homunculi.