004 - Lucid Dreaming

[tabularasa_mods]

Lucid Dreaming Event Info Pt.1 ▲ Event Info Pt.2 ▼ Comments Please see the two info posts linked above for details on the nature of the event, the nightmares within, and the setting it takes place in. You may ask any unanswered questions in either post. If your character dies at any point during the dream event, please leave a comment in the death report thread to notify the mods.

As a final reminder, all characters will fall asleep for the full duration of this event whether you decide to take part or not. You may continue tagging threads that take place before the event, but everyone will fall asleep simultaneously.

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Falling Asleep, Waking Up
The shift happens without warning, much like the first time people appeared in the world. Perhaps you remember what you were doing in the last moments before a strange feeling of exhaustion overwhelmed you - or perhaps you remember nothing at all. Whatever it may be, you've appeared somewhere new. A seemingly ordinary train station, if not for the bizarre walls of flesh blocking the only exits. The only path forward is down into the pulsating depths, a humid breeze pushing at your back.

There may be others here with you, or you may be alone. Could there be more people trapped in this strange place? You won't find them just by standing around.

Nightmares
The screeching of a distant train will echo through the tunnels on occasion, shadows flicking through the translucent flesh of the walls. Sometimes, however, instead of fading away the noise will only grow louder, closer, until it sounds like the train should be upon you. It never appears, but something else always will.

The train is a siren call for nightmares, and you're unfortunate enough to be their victim. The shadows turn alive, twisting and growing as they rise up from the ground and begin to transform. What form they take varies, but the shadows of the mind know the true fears of those who walk among them. Are you prepared to face the darkness?

Volcanic Panic

The shadows congeal at the edges of the floor, and soon after a hot orange glow begins to fill the room - molten lava is pooling in from the other end of the tunnel. It rolls slowly forward, devouring everything it touches with an unquenchable searing hunger, leaving behind only the charred bones of its victims... although, strangely, the tunnels themselves appear to be completely unharmed.

Outrunning the flow of lava shouldn't be a problem, but there seems to be no end to it. How long can you run from something that never stops? Or worse, what happens if you find yourself surrounded? You'll need to find a way to higher ground before that happens.

A Radiant Plague

The shadows rise up into familiar shapes, and at first glance it'd be easy to mistake them for people. They may even share the faces and voices of people you know, stumbling towards you with wide, open arms... and empty, glowing eyes filled with an orange light. Something smells sickly sweet, and it's only once they're close enough to grab you that they begin to attack.

These are not your friends, and they'll do whatever it takes to make you one of them instead. Unfortunately, it's not an experience you'll be able to survive. Your only hope is to fight back before the plague can take hold, lest you become another mindless husk that knows only to further spread the infection.

Trust No One, Not Even Yourself

The shadows stretch and fill the air, choking everything in a thick blanket of darkness... before dispersing just as quickly as they'd appeared. A few moments pass and nothing else seems to be happening. You must've gotten lucky this time!

... Or did you?

Surely it can't be that simple. Nothing else here has been, so something must have happened just now. It's only you and the person you're currently traveling with... but are you sure that's really them right now? How do you know they haven't been possessed by another nightmare, waiting until you let your guard down to stab you in the back? Should you interrogate them to be sure, or start with restraining them and ask questions later? Wouldn't it be better to just kill them before things get out of hand? The sooner you strike, the safer you'll be when their true form emerges.

Yes, that must be the real explanation. It has to be them that's been possessed by a nightmare. What else could it be?

Joker’s Wild

There’s no limit to what form the shadows can take. The world may have its own perception of fear, but your nightmares are something only you could understand. What darkness lurks in the depths of your heart?

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code bases by tricklet

Comments

2

[obsessiveness]

[ being a normal-ass human even in dreams, izumi's doing all he can to evade the hordes of shadows in his wake, particularly the ones that look eerily familiar to him... but he can only run for so long, and soon enough he's surrounded. he was so sure he's done for, had it not been for the catlike phantom thief calling forth her--

okay, what the heck was that. izumi watches as carmen blasts those shadows away with fire and flames, speechless as he comes face to face with panther. ]

...Thanks, I owe you one. [ but has he even seen her before? hm. ]

[menaretrash]

[ This. This is what she'd been most concerned about in this place: non combatants getting caught up in all of this bullshit. Even people with powers and crazy animals that have powers are having problems keeping up in here. But non combatants? Are sitting fucking ducks.

Panther keeps an eye on the disintegrating Shadows, making damned sure that none of them try to get up again, before she turns her attention back to the young man. She doesn't recognize him, which means either he's new or she's been such a shut in that she hasn't seen him around (Spoiler: she's been a shut in). ]

Yeah, no problem! Are you okay, though?

[obsessiveness]

[ it's a bit of both - with the mix of being new here and with the ever-changing world beneath their feet, it's hard to meet everyone in one go. still, izumi can afford to be grateful to the one who rescued him, seeing as he's practically defenseless after splitting up with leo...

maybe doing that is a bad thing after all. ]

I don't think anyone here's really okay, but thanks for asking.

[ if he can't slide in a smartass quip, he'll die. ]

Where... are we, anyway? I remember passing out?

[menaretrash]

[ She's quiet for a moment, listening to see if she can hear anything else coming down the hallways -- and she can, but they're not close enough to pose a threat. Not yet, at least. ]

I know... this is a lot to take in, huh?

[ She offers him a small, sympathetic smile, before she places a hand on her hip and considers the best way to answer that question. ]

This place is partially from my world. It's a place called Mementos, and... essentially, at home, it's sort of a culmination of people's desires. The... crappy, desires, not the good ones like world peace or anything nice like that.

[obsessiveness]

Can't say I heard that before. How many times am I supposed to "take this all in", anyway?

[ he huffs. now that he thinks he's marginally safe for the time being, he can finally vent out his usual frustrations to anyone who's unfortunate enough to be nearby. but it's his way of thanking ann, so. ]

Mementos, huh. [ he looks around, swearing that the walls are throbbing like a heart. yeah, he can never get used to this. ] I'm not even sure if what I've been seeing is something I wanted. But I guess this world fucked up that part too?

[ since nothing is consistent here compared to the originals back home. ]

[menaretrash]

Well, if the Void has anything to do with it... a lot of times, I think.

[ Ann places her hands on her hips and sighs, listening to the poor young man vent, all while keeping her eyes and ears peeled for any sounds or actions that may or may not be trying to head towards them. ]

Yep, Mementos. I wish I could say it was based on the good cognitive desires of mankind, but... well, it's not. I don't really even know if these are the desires of the people of my world, or like... here, you know? I'm not sure what's carried over or why. This world has fucked up a lot of things, yes. Totally agreed.

[ Unfortunately, they're not going to be alone for much longer -- she can hear the moaning and hissing of Shadows coming down the tunnel. ]

Hey, we should move. This place, at least at home, has layers. The higher up you are, the safer. The lower, the more shitty things get... so, let's try and see how high we can go for your sake.

[obsessiveness]

Maybe there's someone here who kinda twisted the meaning somehow? Someone who's terrible enough to turn this place into... you know.

[ because none of the things izumi has seen in this place so far is desirable. from the disgusting interiors, to the shadows attacking him and his peers. he's starting to get the hang of how things manifest around here but goddddddd.

but he mulls over ann's other words just now. she's got a point - maybe going higher would be safe for the both of them. he'll tell leo about this later, but for now he follows ann's pace as they make their way outta here. ]

Anyway, mind telling me who you are for starters? I thought heroes like you tend to proclaim to the world who you are before you vanish into the night or something like that.

[menaretrash]

With this place, nothing would surprise me. I swear, it gets weirder and weirder the longer we're here. I mean the Void in general. This is just icing on the already sort of shitty cake.

[ Heaving a sigh, her hip cocks to the right and she crosses her arms just under her bust. ]

Mm? Oh, you can just call me Panther. [ Hero... if only the cops saw the same thing. Eh, it doesn't matter. ] Um, I'd tell you who I am, but that sorta goes against the rules... likely, when we meet outside of this place, you'll figure it out on your own, though.

[ Kinda hard to miss the blond pigtails that she never really changes up, after all. As a few Shadows decide to rear their ugly heads, Ann has to make a choice here: calling upon Carmen means taking the mask off and making identification that much easier. There aren't many, and so she opts instead to reach down to her hip and use her whip to deal punishing, finishing blows, sending the small hoard back into nothingness. ]

...Hey, you don't have any weapons, right? Do you know how to use a gun?