tabularasa_rp | 004 - Lucid Dreaming

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

"Not bad."

Melinoe has found an audience in the form of a young girl sitting cross-legged upon some the leaves of some sort of enormous vine.

"10/10 for atmosphere. I can tell divine power when I see it, and you are the closest thing I've seen so far. What are you supposed to be, goddess of the haunt?"

See, it's funny because there's a goddess of the hun -- never mind.

The talons are not a hinderance to her playing, and at song's end when the fellow Goddess's voice drifts over to her, Mel does not stand, does not take a bow. She simply cants her head to the right, observing Viridi with a curiosity that contains a hint of reverence beneath the surface. She can smell the divinity coming off her, causing Melinoë to question what, exactly, has kept her from seeking these fellow Godly ones out.

"Close; Goddess of ghosts, nightmares, and insanity, daughter of Persephone and Hades, and as such, an Underworld queen." There is no boast to the latter, it's stated factually. She sets cello and bow aside, remains sitting. "I'm Melinoë. And you?"

Viridi chokes despite herself.

"Hades?! Hades has a kid?!" The vine extends out rapidly until Viridi is only about ten feet from the stage staring at Melinoë in shock. "Someone wanted a kid with Hades?!" This is the most unlikely thing she's heard so far in this topsy-turvy dimension.

"OK, OK, I know you mean a different world's manifestation of the God of the Underworld, but eesh. Tell me your dad isn't harvesting human souls for his underworld army, at least."

The vine retracts so she's not up in her face.

"My name is Viridi. I'm the Goddess of Nature, Ruler of the Earth and All Life. ...I guess you take them once I'm done with them."

At the approaching vine, she draws herself up, tensing in the event it's an attack that follows, but it seems to have been driven out incredulousness and shock. If anything, that causes a small blanket of pride to spread within Melinoë.

"Aren't the Gods almost always bickering with one or another?" she teases, setting the cello aside to shift upright at last. She comes to the edge of the stage, the long train of flowers and fabric fluidly following, and with hands clasped before her, Mel inquires, "I am unfamiliar with a Viridi, though my world has a Rhea and a Gaia. May I ask who your divine parents are?"

How very curious this alteration is, though Mel is excited by it, and hopeful a kinship might be possible.

"I mean, there's bickering, and then there's, again, harvesting masses of human souls for your underworld army." Viridi responds with some disdain. "It's really not done."

She sniffs, as if she hadn't set off the equivalent of an atom bomb and nuked a small country.

"I don't claim any parentage - I govern all life, so I came into being to seed the Earth out of the void of Chaos. 'Gaia's' probably your closest bet. I read Metamorphoses. Tell me more about your mom, though. I seriously need to hear more about this gal."

In turn, Mel merely lifts one shoulder, neither confirming nor denying the business of Hades. He hadn't been at the academy, and as such, she hadn't been in contact with him since this most recent reincarnation. It'd been on her list, only something or someone deemed it more fitting to ~~kidnap~~ deposit the Goddess here instead.

"There isn't a Persephone where you're from?" A beat, wherein lips purse thoughtfully. Seems safe to conclude that she herself is also nonexistent, which is slightly unnerving. "Well, Persephone is the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. She is the Goddess of vegetation, grains, and the like, and she's allowed to leave the Underworld during the Spring, but must return in Winter. It's for her that I've started helping Aerith and Merlin with the flowers."

"Ooooogh." Viridi purses her lips. "You know, I think I've got her general spheres of influence covered, which probably explains that." A long pause. "...So in your world, the Goddess of Vegetation shacks up with the God of the Underworld." A longer pause. "...Let's not pursue that line of thought."

Persephone, Demeter, Antheia, Artemis, Gaia. Though they might have embodied more specific aspects, 'Nature' was a kind of equivalent amalgam entity.

"You sound like you mostly take after your dad, though. I mean, 'goddess of ghosts and insanity' isn't exactly on the same wavelength as vegetables. But you're a union of two opposing forces - life and death. How curious!"

The vine sprouts another, larger leaf, and it snakes around and begins to fan Viridi.

"Well, full disclosure - your dad and I hate each other, but I have nothing against your Underworld, per se. Heck, if you're tending flowers, you're pretty much serving my needs."

Edited 2020-10-25 02:23 (UTC)

Considering that Hades and Persephone met through less than savory means, Mel is quite content not pursuing said line of thought, and so, she dips a nod, albeit gratefully.

She remains fascinated by the vines' movements, the feeling driven from the longing of divine beings, of their presence and conversation. With how very few new people that are brought into the world, doubt has outbalanced hope for family, her own or some other universe's flavor. Damien was right; she should explore more than just the beds and haunts of her two lovers.

"Nothing else felt fulfilling or entertaining, and in some ways, it lessens the loneliness. However, if our abilities are being returned to us, there may very well be purpose for me yet. Are you familiar with Professor Samuel Oak?"

"Can't say you're going to get too many ghosts in a place that barely has any living things in it at all." This would be condescending, except that it's a pretty serious limiting factor on Viridi's power as well. "...Well. Living sentient things."

The fanning continues as Viridi reaches behind her and pulls out a glass of something or another that seems to have manifested from thin air. If nectar and ambrosia are also pink and faintly neon in Mel's world, she might recognize the divine delicacy.

"Haven't heard of him, but he's named after a tree - which I guess isn't a bad sign. I don't work well with humans."

"In time, perhaps. If the Ones who brought us here are slowly giving things considered to be normal, if not expected, back, then I need only practice more patience."

As she recognizes the beverage, Melinoë grins, no further confirmation needed than that in regards to Viridi's validity.

"I get on well enough, being reincarnated at present. I've been in my host for twenty-some-odd-years now. But I've also been assisting the professor, learning under him about the similarities between the creatures of his world called Pokémon and the ones cropping up in ours." It's also good practice for those who actually value personal space. And not being flirted with. Or overly teased.

"Oh -- "

The grin of recognition does not escape her.

"You want some? This has got to be one of the best parts of being a god -- I can make ice cream, too!"

With a snap of her fingers, a jugful of the drink of the gods appears and gently decants into a glass that hovers in front of Mel.

"Almost out. It replenishes itself overnight. But hey -- I know that word. Pokemon! I've met a few of those weirdos here already, and can I say, I'm so jealous. Why didn't I think to populate my world with cuddly creatures and make looking after them the entire focus of all existence? It's genius!"

If it's possible for a death deity to be childlike, Melinoë claims it, lightly gasping with a bright smile. "Ice cream; truly. Well, I will not object to tasting some of that once we're out of here, should the offer stand. . .?" She's never had Ambrosia ice cream, for Gods' sake.

And as she's accepting the drink, consuming it with a heavenly sigh and rapturously closed eyes, Mel chortles at Viridi's reaction. She sort of adores this Goddess already.

"Do you mean that the creatures are weirdos or the ones they keep company with?" Perhaps both. Both works.

Oh -- the ice cream is just normal ice cream. But it does have the divine property of not getting gross and scummy even if it lands on the floor.

"I'd better do it now. No telling if these dream effects will last once we're out of this mess. ...Besides, I want some now, too."

Another swirl of divine power and a plate with a single ice cream bar manifests next to Mel. Viridi doesn't feel like explaining the whole 'floor ice cream' thing.

"I mean the human weirdos, of course. Alright, that's a little unfair, since they're weird in a way I tolerate. Most of my humans just go around setting things on fire and murdering indiscriminately. It's a problem. So it's nice to hear from people who you know, aren't totally irredeemable earth-killing monsters."

Alas; she still finds enjoyment in the tasty, cool treat, mindfully eating between speaking.

"Thank you, Viridi. Do you claim a pantheon as your own or do things operate differently in your universe?" She's sitting off the edge of the stage now, cheerfully swaying bare feet. Just because the fellow Goddess mentioned Hades didn't mean Grecian was the only flavor.

"A pantheon? Sure, there's a bunch of us. Me, Palutena, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus... We have our allies and demigods that support us - I've got Phosphora, Hades gets Thanatos. I definitely lucked out. And a few unaffiliated like Dyntos. Most of the time, we leave each other alone. It's dangerous when gods go to war."

As irreverent and brash as she was, Viridi had some respect for order.

"If you're asking if there are other gods -- " She clears her throat slightly. "We don't talk about them."

Only a few names register, which is curious and interesting in and of itself, but learning that the other deities aren't quite acknowledged is saddening. Mainly for the fact that they flourish in her own universe, that she went to an academy with them, learned under them, took some on as lovers.

Drinking before speaking, Mel nods. "I cannot relate to that, but I could possibly understand. Before I was...hm, pulled here, I was at an academy that acted as a safe haven to any myth that required or wanted it. Deities, creatures, demigods, though they all exist, not all accept us."

"Ooooooooh."

Viridi gives a nod as if she suddenly understands.

"You're a spin-off!"

Well, that's a little rude.

"'The teenaged school years'. Popular amongst multiple demographics. Lots of crossover opportunities. Lots of crossover shipping. That makes sense! Is it mostly children of gods and demigods?"

A slight frown forms and she corrects the fellow Goddess. "I am reincarnated. The form you see before you is not the one I wear when we're awake; the mortal I've returned as was born in Italy, adopted and named Dulcinea Diāo, and then promptly shipped to an academy so that her parents might avoid the embarrassment of having a mythological being for a daughter. Just because the body is in its twenties, does not change the fact that I myself am ageless."

It's still a great spinoff setup. Viridi listens as patiently as she can to this before deciding that her description was almost as good.

"What, does that happen often in your world? Reincarnation? The gods just mostly disguise themselves as human if they want to walk among the mortals. Being human sounds awful."

She considers this and finds herself lacking in enough evidence. "My time at the academy wasn't long enough to offer proper feedback, but there were a good handful. Set mentioned being reincarnated frequently, so if we're going off his experience, I suppose.

"But there were also deities as themselves. That could have been for the safety the academy provided." Hm. Curious. And Mel has no one to ask, being the sole person from her universe.

"The restrictions of a mortal body before being Awakened were, indeed, awful. So far as I gathered, I, it, was susceptible to death."

"Appalling!"

Viridi sips from her nectar with the air of somebody listening to a soap opera.

"Completely unacceptable. You need to complain to the general manager if this is how they do things in your world. Who would ever want to be reincarnated as a mortal? How did it even happen?"

With a furrowed brow and a moue, Melinoë sets her own treats aside for the moment, considering this. "That part's still hazy." Looking back on Viridi somewhat apologetically, she merely offers a one shoulder shrug. "I'm sorry, I don't even know how it's determined; who goes when, how many times, the length between reincarnations...damn. If it means talking to Zeus, and here features collect into a look of distaste. Fuck that?

"Well, you clearly deserve better. The next time you're up on the list, just boot some other random shmuck into the reincarnation portal."

That's probably how it works.

"But you speak like you've pretty much regained your divinity?"

She sniggers at that, resuming consumption of the edibles. "I'll keep that in mind, Viridi, thank you." If such a thing can be accomplished. Otherwise, Mel is all for advocating that a choice exist at all; reincarnation may be enjoyable for some, but not all.

"Yes," Mel sighs contently, eyes briefly closing to relish the feeling. "I've not felt this powerful in some time and I do not want to lose it again. It's effortless, contorting and conjuring. Do you feel it as well? Has entering this dreamscape given you your abilities back?"

"Oh - I meant back in your world, after you figured out your reincarnation deal. But yes, this is literally divine."

Viridi leans back as a carpet of wildflowers spreads out around her in every direction, culminating with a little ivy vine that offers a dark purple lily to Melinoë.

"Obviously, I have none of this in this world. It's very trying. And no one understands! I mean, I'm super biased against humans, but how can you expect them to sympathize with, "I used to feel the heartbeat of all nature and now all I feel is revulsion at having to upkeep a physical body.' So you can't even really blame them."

004 - Lucid Dreaming

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