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.

▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲
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?

back to top

code bases by tricklet

Comments

[simulatio]

[The shriek doesn't faze Akechi at all as Ren's corpse crumples to the ground with a sickening thud that seems to echo through the cavern in spite of how the fleshy walls should absorb sound. Only then does he twist his neck to look at her, almost as quickly as he'd snapped Ren's neck. His eyes glimmer with a sickly orange-yellow light swimming in their russet depths, subtle enough to be missed at a distance.]

Yoshizawa-san, [he greets with all the false cheer he might have greeted her with a year ago, as if they'd merely bumped into each other at the train station.] You're too late, I'm afraid. I seem to be fresh out of victims.

[feale]

[ Out of victims? Could it be that even after all this time, he still thinks of Ren the same way he did before? He may not be from the same point in time that she is, but even back then, they were working together; he was channeling his chaos for the same goals as them. And when she met him here, he seemed content with the knowledge that the group - that Ren - had followed through with their plan to fight Dr. Maruki, despite knowing what it meant for him.

Has something changed?

Violet should hear the click of her heeled boots against the floor as she crosses to him, still holding her mask and rapier; instead she hears the squelch of the blood under her shoes, a noise that turns her stomach with revulsion. ]

Answer me. What are you—

[ But as she draws close enough, she recognizes the light in his eyes, and the revulsion in her stomach rolls into something more like fear. ]

Ella! [ It's a desperate shout, one made without hesitation, and the white pillars of Violet's Kougaon cast spiral into the figure in front of her. In the same moment, she lunges forward with her rapier, ready to follow the attack. ]

[simulatio]

[He dodges, body flaring with blue flame as his school uniform is replaced with a brilliant white prince suit. No need to play with Loki when Yoshizawa's specialty is quick attacks and Bless; Robin Hood is much more suited for this battle, and as a fake, he has no qualms about using the more "righteous" Robin Hood.]

Come now, Yoshizawa-san, [he calls, still full of cheer as a glowing laser saber materializes in his hand, and he parries her rapier strike.] You know you don't stand a chance against me.

[feale]

[ She's never really been one for cursing, but if there was ever a moment when she wanted to, it would be now. With Akechi - is it his Shadow, she wonders, or a cognition? - working with Robin Hood, Ella's Bless attacks are virtually useless, even if she does manage to hit him. That's the only thing she knows about his old Persona - that it's similarly aligned to hers.

That leaves her with her rapier, her gun, and the risk of expending her own energy on a stronger attack like Masquerade. But in a solo battle against someone so strong...

...it's not worth the risk. Violet jumps back from the clash of swords, pulling out her rifle and firing - once, twice. ]

I'm stronger than you know.

[ It's said through gritted teeth. She has to believe that, if she wants to have any chance. ]

[simulatio]

[The shots from the rifle connect, one after another, knocking him back with an agonized grunt. Rude, honestly, bringing a gun to a Persona fight, but after a beat, he just straightens and laughs as if genuinely amused.]

Oh, certainly.

[If the gunshots did any damage, it isn't obvious from the grin on his face and the lack of blood or any other visible wound. He whirls his laser saber in hand, then brings a hand to his face.]

And yet, my skills exceed yours. [He draws his mask away to summon Robin Hood, following up with an Eigaon as if to say that even with Robin Hood, he still can attack her weaknesses.]

[feale]

[ That's not good, she thinks. There should be some kind of damage, but he seems to shrug it off without even a thought, grinning at her with that strange, eerie grin he has right before he summons Robin Hood. Ella's warning comes, quick enough as always, but Violet fails to heed it, her body frozen in place by her shock.

Eigaon? But Crow— ]

Ngh!

[ She staggers, hitting the floor with a gasp of pain, Ella's voice a frustrated whisper in her head, the red of her gloves blending in with the blood pooling on the floor. That hurt.

As she struggles to get her bearings back, struggles for her hands to find purchase on the bloodied floor so that she can push herself back to her feet, the memory strikes her belatedly: Robin Hood can use both. ]

[simulatio]

[She collapses to the bloody floor, and Akechi laughs, the laugh of a madman sadistically pleased with his efforts.]

Come now, Yoshizawa-san. You know, you're one of the few people I don't actually hold a grudge against.

[He replaces his mask and allows Robin Hood to fade away, at least for the moment, though his sword remains in hand.]

After all, you stuck to your convictions and didn't become a "Phantom Thief," isn't that right?

[feale]

[ That laugh is enough to send a chill through her, but also enough to give her the strength to finally push herself off the floor, struggling back to her feet amidst the gore. ]

I...

[ Was it really a matter of sticking to her convictions, though? When she declined Morgana's offer, she was someone else entirely. If the question had come later, when Sumire invited Cendrillon into her heart...

Violet shakes her head, her fingers gripping her rapier more tightly. Her pride isn't what's at stake here. ]

But choosing to be Phantom Thieves was because of the senpais' convictions, Akechi-san. Will you hate them for that?