tabularasa_rp | 004 - Lucid Dreaming

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[While it may appear that Ann is fighting them alone, incinerating the Shadows closest to her as more seem to rise up from the tracks, their faces and figures drenched in darkness, another feminine voice echoes from above just as the dying wails of the Shadows fade.]

Hope you're ready!

[Among the red comes a bright white light as Tifa lands on the platform between Ann and the Shadows, and over her head emerges a flaming beast, shaking the station when his enormous feet hit the ground. He wastes no time in leaping up before coming down again on the wave of Shadows before they can reach the two women, igniting them in a second flood of fire. Ifrit turns his glowing red eyes on Carmen then, but doesn't attack, remaining wary of whether she's to be considered an enemy too.

Meanwhile, Tifa flashes a confident smile at Ann, recognizing her instantly as Ren's friend. The girl at the bar.]

Figured you could use a little help. Did we miss much?

[ The voice that rings out is familiar, but not the same as some of the voices that the Shadows had been trying to imitate. Ann's eyes widen as Tifa lands between herself and the enemy, and it looks like she's not alone. That creature -- whatever it is -- is hulking and large, enough so that when he lands she has to catch herself before she goes tumbling from the sheer force of it.

It's fortunate that he's on their side, she thinks, watching in awe as he easily takes out this second hoard of oncoming Shadows. He's bought them time, and Panther can't help but breathe a small sigh of relief, tossing Tifa a relieved, grateful smile in return as Carmen turns her own, unfazed gaze towards Ifrit, taking a drag off of her cigarette. ]

Thanks for the save, Tifa-san! Aha, no, but I think that the party's only just started!

[Ifrit simply continues to stare right back at Carmen, watching as she smokes her cigarette, and for a moment, Tifa has to wonder if they... understand each other? If something unsaid is being said between two summoned creatures that somehow mere mortals wouldn't see?

Well, whatever. No time to linger on the thought.]

Good. We're just getting warmed up!

[Pun intended.]

Any idea what these things are anyway?

[ Honestly, if it wasn't for the situation? Ann would probably laugh at the way the two creatures are sizing each other up right now. She makes a mental note that, once they're in a relatively... safer location, to ask about Ifrit. For now, though, it's time to focus. ]

That's one way of putting it. You could almost say we were on fire there.

[ It's almost scary how good they are.... ]

Yeah. Long story short, those are Shadows, and this place -- part of it, at least? Is from my world. It's called Mementos, and its sort of a culmination of the general public's desires. Unfortunately, its built around the... nastier desires of mankind. Not the good, fun ones.

[This is what Ren was talking about. A cognitive world built on the desires of others. Except this is far from what she saw or was expecting to see when she'd first heard about it. She had witnessed them running through a massive pyramid, and then a cat turning into a van, but nothing with a tunnel system and train stations made of flesh.]

Yeah, I got that last part.

[Nothing about this is good or fun.

More Shadows crawl up from the tracks, but this time... they're not made up of almost nothing. Instead, they have human-like hands that clutch at the floor of the platform, and when they pull themselves up—

They begin to shift into the form of humans. Two of them, in fact, while the rest appear to be nothing more than shapes with glowing yellow eyes.

One becomes clear to Tifa quickly—it's a child, dressed in pink with short hair. She blinks up at the women with wide, glowing eyes.]

"Tifa! Where's daddy?"

[Marlene...]

I'm gonna go ahead and assume we've all been dragged here, too... which isn't good. At all.

[ She can't imagine being a non combatant in Mementos, after all. Usually, in situations like this, people tend to awaken their Personas, and now she's half wondering if Tifa and anyone else trapped down here will have an awakening. It'll be interesting, to say the least.

That thought is suddenly pushed far, far off into the distance, though, as Shadows begin emerging once more. Ann's about to ready both her whip and Carmen once more, when they begin taking more human like shapes, specifically one -- a little girl that Ann doesn't recognize.

Her eyes widen, and she quickly glances back at Tifa, to gauge her reaction. ]

Hey, Tifa-san... [ ...She doesn't want to be insensitive here, but also, this place is trying to pull a fast one on Tifa. ] I don't think...

[ That's not who you think it is. Is what she'd like to say... ]

"Who's she?"

[Marlene turns her attention to Ann when she speaks, her orange eyes blinking wide at her as she approaches, slowly.

Tifa knows what she is—a manifestation of Marlene and nothing more—but it's hard to bring her fists back up, and even harder to order Ifrit to strike when the little girl's face begins to streak with tears as she cries.]

"She's not daddy! You told me he'd come home, Tifa!" [she reminds her, and Tifa looks over her shoulder to Ann, seeking assistance. Answers.]

Why is she here?

[ It's a shame, honestly. This little girl is cute, deceptively so, in fact. So Ann can get behind how difficult it is to take into account that this is, in fact, not actually a child and that at some point, they're either going to have to dispatch it, or back off.

It makes her heart ache, listening to those words. She doesn't know Tifa very well, has no idea how this little girl is tied to her, but it hurts. ]

It's not really... her. This is a Shadow, manipulating the form of your loved one to deceive you. She's... part of your cognition, too. Don't let that sweet face and those tears fool you, Tifa-san...

004 - Lucid Dreaming

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