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

[obsessiveness]

[ the only reason why izumi’s being so casual is... well, not much reason, really. someone has to remain calm between the two of them, and as usual that job falls on izumi’s shoulders. just grabbing leo’s hand and dragging him along to god knows where, because even add and that catgirl don’t know about the layout of this place much. the world has warped it out of recognition, much like it has warped their shadows into taking forms of their fellow comrades.

and themselves too, in a way. while they didn’t do actual swordfighting back home, it was rather exhilarating to hold a sword like that. izumi didn’t know he had it in him to cut shadows down like that, but seeing leo back there reminded him all too much of their shared burden. he had to pull leo out of there and quick, and hopefully this far-off place wouldn’t let those things reach them.

his stare at leo hardens at that tone just now, but he’ll wave it off as he loosens his grip on leo’s wrist some. ]

I’m even more exhausted, you know. I’m never gonna be built for that kind of stuff? Even if that was all make-believe. [ forever a twink ] And it’s not like we have a choice. We can’t go back there, so we’re going to have to risk this path. So just hold on to me and don’t move around too much, okay?

[ the path is getting narrower and narrower, so izumi will have to go on ahead while tightening his grip on leo again. for all that bravado, he’s probably more scared that leo is. ]

[bachagain]

[ yeah, make-believe. leo had to remind himself of that occasionally, given the whole thing felt too real. it's not as if the very concept is new, or... unfamiliar, but something about the way it came at him so unexpectedly and so suddenly is disorienting. he'd said he wouldn't, ever again, but he ended up losing himself there, too... they both did.

good thing they have each other for support? maybe? and that sena's directing the both of them, even if "hold onto me" is a difficult task to do when his wrist is being grasped like that.

leo's still fighting those nagging thoughts in the back of his mind, and it feels like it's getting harder to push away, but he has to focus. a misstep means death, after all, but beyond that they'd said they'd support each other, so he can't-- be useless here. ]

We split up and covered more ground, but nothing ended up being safer than this, huh... What'd you run into out there, anyway? [ maybe that's half a distraction from the horrible death trap they're currently tiptoeing across, or maybe he just really wants to know. ] And, if you wanna shuffle back a little, Sena, we can swap and I'll lead.

[ not that he also isn't anxious and scared here, but heights are likely the least concerning thing for him here in this sea of terrible. ]

[obsessiveness]

[ he stops in his tracks, considering the offer. leo must've noticed that he's scared, and while it's a relief that he's here to take over... something is holding izumi back. whether out of fear or just his chivalric honor as a knight protecting his former king - he can't say. ]

...No.

[ it comes out as curt, and a little too simple. ]

And we've got no time to be talking about that either, Leo-kun. We have to get to the other side first. Just trust me on this.

[ believe in him, because he really can't count on anyone else here. while he was saved by a bunch of people earlier, he was too wound up, and it's human nature to seek the familiar in this kind of high-stakes situation.

so he presses on, the path getting more and more treacherous. he doesn't dare look down, nor even behind him, since he knows leo's there. ]

[bachagain]

[ why did the two knights cross the road? to get to the other side (like, the OTHER side)--

--anyway. izumi doesn't really need to tell leo to trust him. trusting him is as simple and easy to leo as breathing... on any regular day. they might be both drawn taut by their circumstances, but it isn't like they're going to snap. or rather... leo isn't going to. yet with izumi shutting down this conversation and leo being nudged to simply follow, it feels a bit as if he's expected to? again?

didn't they go through this already? he's fine. a little overwhelmed, exhausted, like izumi, but fine.

it's mutual, sena. or rather, it's supposed to be -- the bullshit they went through, the burden, the trust. he moves at izumi's pace, keeping his gaze on the one grasping his wrist and nowhere else.

there's not any space for there to be anything other than the image of sena's back as his focus, but even with that reasoning in his head, the sight still makes him uncomfortable. ]

Hmm? You forgot how to talk and tip-toe at the same time? I kno~oow you've got good balance.

[ that's a gentle aside, a half joke meant to fill the space that sena already said didn't need to be filled.

and, before a comment can be made about that, leo-- ]

I do trust you, Sena. D'you trust me?

[ --says that, a little more worn than he means it to be. they're moving away from the nightmares of their past, but if izumi continues at this pace, this is gonna end up being another nightmare of leo's own. ]

[obsessiveness]

[ leo's not wrong about the first bit, what with izumi's talent in ballet, and if he can just imagine this thinning path as a catwalk he'd be able to sashay down it with relative ease. it's just that leo couldn't even do that.

(but does that mean leo's only a burden --)

no!! izumi had to shake that insidious thought of his head. but he has to stop in his tracks - slowly, carefully, so as not to catch leo off guard - and responds as calmly as he could. ]

...Not like I have a choice. I don't have anyone else here but you.

[ in any context, that would've come out as a snarky remark that izumi usually spits out. or maybe even something more romantic, as all knights would say to affirm each other.

but -- ]

But at the same time, I still have to keep an eye on you. What happened back there was...

[ -- shit, should he even mention that? leo is probably aware of how unhinged they were earlier, so: ]

Forget it. That wasn't your fault but mine. Let's just keep moving.

[bachagain]

[ --well, yeah. it is.

it's easy for that to pop in from leo's subconscious again when izumi invites it himself, but leo swallows it down. partially. it's more like it's stuck in his throat, right beside a whole lot of other phrases that are rising up from their past.

it's scary how easy it is to take a couple steps back, huh. when izumi prompts them to move forward, leo-- doesn't.

there's that unnecessary anxiety bubbling up in the pit of his stomach, and just hearing all that is like a double-edged sword. seeing sena's back with all of this would make the wound deeper so he'd rather avoid that, thanks.

he'd rather avoid all of this, actually-- ]

Not yet. So, you have to trust me...? Just like you have to keep an eye on me? Why?

[ --but he can't. ]

What happened to "shared burdens"? You didn't just nod along and agree to let me carry some weight to get me off your back or something, didja?

[obsessiveness]

[ okay no, he's going to have to turn around for this ]

What? How the hell did you arrive to that? I may have worded it wrong, but--

[ he can feel it - the inevitability of this conversation. the both of them are so spent in all aspects that they're just airing out their frustrations at the flesh void around them.

oh, if only the mouths on the walls would speak for them instead. ]

I mean, fine. Let's talk about it. [ izumi??? ] What was that fight from earlier all about, then? Didn't you realize you were going back to who you were before? I don't want you to pave a path for me anymore!

[ they've gone through it so many times already that it's getting tiring? how many times should they have to affirm to each other that they've got the other's back?

izumi can feel himself going into hysterics but he has to bite the most of it down. but he'll say one more thing: ]

I trust you. I want to trust you. But if you're still going to think like that, then...

[bachagain]

[ hey.

hey, don't say that. don't say that. because leo knows izumi's right. except he had realized it (too late, unfortunately), so there's nothing he can say to defend himself. leo can blame the void for it all he wants, but ultimately he was the one who picked up the sword, regressed, and no amount of trying to push that aside and say it's okay, it's okay, will ever change that fact.

which is why the "then" there hurts so much? and it feels like a bit of a betrayal, too, because wasn't it izumi's job to make sure he didn't get to that point in the first place...?

ah, wait, no...

that's not right. or maybe it is? just-- whatever it is, either way, he can't find the words to respond to this. everything is a mess in his already frazzled mind, the worry and annoyance that sena's treating him too much like glass making way for the sheer guilt in the face of really, really fucking up.

or-- ]

Mm... I get it, I get it. Are you a nightmare too, Sena?

[ wouldn't stabbing him in the gut this much be blair's this place's modus operandi?

or maybe that's just leo tsukinaga finding an excuse to run from his issues again. ]

You're saying aaall the stuff that hurts me the most, even though I already know it! Even though you were right there holding a sword with me!

[ even when he knows he deserves the shit being thrown at him

even more so now that those words come out of his mouth, ah, ]

[obsessiveness]

[ him, a nightmare? if we're going by definition, sure. izumi's a nightmare to deal with on worst days, and even on normal days he's just too much of a killjoy to have fun with. which is why leo is there to balance them out.

but right now the scales are starting to tip. this path is looking less like a catwalk that izumi can walk down with sheer confidence, and more like a tightrope that they're both struggling to stay on. and leo just knew where to hurt him with a couple of words, but izumi would expect no less from someone who can make weapons at a drop of a hat. ]

Do you hear yourself just now? Or did you already forget what happened earlier? You went too far, Leo-kun! We both did! And now that guy--

[ he wonders if cole made it out okay, now that this world's effect on him has subsided. but did it ever leave him?

he swallows around the bile that's building up in his throat. he's so sick. ]

I know you didn't mean it, but... You have no idea how scared I was. [ and, relunctantly, he lets go of leo's hand despite his words. ] I still am.

[bachagain]

[ nope. nope. nope.

they still hadn't run into cole. the guilt from that is enough to choke him, the fear of thinking that cole is hurt, out there, and it's his fault... izumi letting go of his hand, admitting he's scared, is just the cherry on the piece of shit sundae.

it's not undeserved. leo-- doesn't know what to do. what to say.

after all, he was scared too. scared that it was that easy to cut down someone he loved again, even through the hints of hesitation he can recall. so, how would it feel to be witnessing that? to be on the other end of that blade?

he's scared now, with the thought of seeing sena's back combined with cole's back and just being alone in the aftermath of his mistakes. but what was the source of that? it was sena, it was sena, it was sena, and this time he really can't shut that wrong, wrong thought up.

he already wants to actually vomit from recalling the feeling of his sword in cole's flesh, but here's the word vomit: ]

... You think I wasn't scared? I thought maybe we understood each other a little better after Requiem... but maybe we didn't, if you think I didn't know that was too far. Man, who knew you could get hurt this much without a blade?

[ no, he already knew that. ]

Anyway, are you gonna act like just a victim when that's what you wanted first? It must be really convenient, to have a sword you can swing around, blame... then still have it come back like a boomerang!

[ he can't get hurt if he hurts first, right? no, no, nope. horrible, horrible, horrible.

releasing those words sure lessens the effect of those whispers in his mind, though, and he regrets that they got loose almost immediately. no, maybe he's the one that didn't learn after requiem-- ]

Ah, wait...

[obsessiveness]

[ ow.

like, that wasn't a simple slash from a sword anymore. they've both gone beyond that. leo's words just now resonated like bullets to the heart, and all of a sudden izumi couldn't breathe. no, he feels disgusted and hollow and for the first time in his life, he couldn't bear breathing the same air as his old friend.

the hand that was holding leo's until now grasp at his own chest, his face stricken with so much hurt and betrayal. this is just like that one time at the corridor, isn't it? only worse, because yumenosaki may be a rotting hell of an instition back then, at the very least they only had to deal with some powerhungry student council president. now, they've got no one else to blame for their shortcomings but themselves.

izumi's mind starts to shut down, as it does when he faces a lot of pressure, but the first thing he's got to do first is to get out of here, now, and he takes a step back while shaking his head. ]

...!

[ he isn't too quick to react to a deadly misstep, unfortunately.

it's as if everything's happening too fast and too slow at the same time (which can be blamed on the lack of sense of time in this world, really), with izumi letting out a gasp as he extends a hand for leo to take once more out of sheer instinct than anything else -- ]

Leo-ku--

[ but it was too late. the tightrope they call their tumultuous relationship has finally snapped, and there's no other way to go from here but down. izumi doesn't even scream when he falls into the chasm, too shocked and hurt to even do that, but it's only for the best; leo wouldn't be able to handle it if he does stop yelling when he reaches the bottom. if there even is one.

all that remains now is leo, and utter silence. ]