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

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A Goddess? [ That's...potentially very helpful. Aerith glances from Viridi back to the lava behind them, biting her lip as she goes. ] Makes sense that you wouldn't be a big fan of the fire, then...

[ If only they had someone with water abilities. She doesn't have any such materia for herself, and huffs out a sigh into the warm air. ]

I think all we can do for now is to try and block it off - like you're doing now, if you can keep it up. [ And maybe in the interim, she can identify some kind of exit...? ] ...What did you mean by more direct help, though?

I can totally do this forever.

[No she can't. The lava is eating through her rock walls faster and faster.]

I can give you superpowers. Like... flying. But you don't have wings. Unclear how that works.

[Her clipped tones may or may not be due to the fact that the lava is close enough that she's definitely feeling some kind of first degree burn happening.]

Look, sorry, I'm gonna fly off in like ten seconds because this stuff is not slowing down. You see another path or you wanna try the powers?

Say 'Viridify me, Captain' if the latter.

[ With the lava getting closer, and no exits appearing, the options are feeling...pretty limited. Fear grips her heart, but Aerith isn't one to just roll over and give up.

"Nothing ventured"...right? ]

Viridify me, then, Captain! Let's see if this helps...

[ It might have horrifying results, especially since she doesn't know this person especially well, but...what else is there to try? ]

Gotcha. Your funeral, either way.

[It isn't much fanfare. Viridi holds out her staff horizontally and a burst of light surrounds Aerith briefly before she is borne aloft by two wings of light that suddenly sprout from her back.

They immediately push forward with much greater speed.]

Wow! Alright, that went better than expected. I was half-thinking a human might just... you know, explode.

[It's a good thing Aerith isn't totally human! ...It's also a good thing that her true lineage is probably as close to angels as her world is getting. That probably helps. Not that Viridi knows any of this.]

OK, this is called 'the Power of Flight.' I mean, obviously. I control your flight path, but you have room to maneuver within the general constraints. Don't push forward too fast - you'll hit a wall and give yourself an impromptu nose job.

How are you feeling? Any internal organs feeling burny?

[ This could apparently go quite badly, but...well, what other choice does she have? Fortunately, things seem to be pretty okay after the glow fades and she's airborne, gasping with delight and surprise as she begins to fly - sort of not of her own accord - ahead alongside Viridi. ]

Whoa...! This is-...! [ Well, how can you describe flying fo the first time? Her expression is bright and awed, and she turns to beam at Viridi as they zip along. ]

Sure beats exploding! [ Aerith remarks, amid a few happy laughs. It's a learning curve for sure, and she's unsteady as she tries to get the hang of it, but it's at least helpful to have a guide present. ]

Feeling okay so far! I'll let you know if that changes... [ Strangely, the effects seem to be limited to the fact that she's grown wings. At least, at the moment. ] ...Thank you. That might've been the end for me, otherwise.

[Viridi seems to be murmuring something quickly under her breath.]

...ffects may include headaches, indigestion, sore throat, runny nose, diarrhea, gout, confusion, spontaneous combustion, and falling from the sky to your doom. The Great Goddess Viridi is not responsible for any injury or damages that may result from sustained usage of attunement to the Great Goddess's power. Consult your primary care physician if wings
do not fade after 24 hours.

...Other than that, you're all set!

[...]

Sorry, what? Oh, right, yeah, of course, I'm amazing, don't mention it. Let's go!

[And Viridi will crank up the speed on the both of them as they flit away. The lava is left behind pretty quickly - Aerith will find that she can move around fairly freely, but she can't stray too far from Viridi. And every time she veers too close to a wall, she'll auto-correct.]

So! While we're getting along so swimmingly, let's discuss payment!

[ Viridi is not making it easy to completely forget about how badly this could go for Aerith, but the flower girl is making the most of it, anyway. She breathes a sigh of relief as they leave the lava far behind them, looking with an amused trepidation as the mention of cost arises. ]

Guess you should never expect something for nothing, huh? What kind of payment were you thinking?

[ Considering there's no money in their world. Maybe Viridi is interested in flowers? Considering?? ]

Oh, I have thoughts.

Undying loyalty... your first born child... a tattoo of my name on your forehead...

[That one seems the easiest to manage.]

Or we could do an I.O.U. for some demand I have in the future.

That sounds fine to me... [ Though it still makes her, understandably, nervous. ] The last one, I mean.

[ She may come to regret it, but...also, Aerith isn't much one for regrets. ]

I agree to your terms!

Perfect!

[Viridi pauses for a moment to take a deep breath, then begins to cackle in an alarming way.]

...Sorry, it just felt like the right thing to do. You know, beautiful maiden making a deal with a magical creature.

I'm sure you won't regret it!

Sure... [ Doesn't sound fishy at all! ] Well, let's hope not, anyway!

[ As if she'd had much other choice, since the alternative was "lava." ]

Even flying, we'll need to find a way out... See any tunnels that lead up to the surface yet?

No.

[She gives a shrug.]

I don't think we're getting that lucky. I suspect we have to make our way deeper into the heart of the maze.

That's the way this kind of thing usually goes.

I also suspect the lava will give up once we've outlasted it long enough.

[Viridi plays a lot of video games.]

"Give up?" You make it sound like it's alive. [ Gods forbid. ] Well...let's try and outlast it, then.

[ And maybe make it to the alleged heart of the maze, if such a thing exists... ]

Just keep an eye out for anything else we should worry about!

Not 'alive,' exactly - but there's certainly something about this place that can respond to us. After all, it only set the lava on you after you appeared, didn't it?

And it's not like this is the kind of place that should have lava at all.

It's definitely some sort of magical trigger.

[They continue to flit down the passageways until Viridi stops her -- ]

Like I said. Over there.

[A big ol' hole in the ground leading down.]

I guess you're right about that... [ It's true that the oddities of these tunnels had only really started in response to her presence, but that fact doesn't make her feel better.

What does help is the hole in the ground, and she sighs with relief. ]

You think it'll funnel down, then? Hopefully there isn't any more... [ Then, they could work on finding a way back to the surface...if it's possible at the moment. ]

Eh. Either way, we're going down. Come along.

[Aerith will find her path being routed down through the hole as Viridi slips in first - the Goddess lands lightly on her feet at the bottom and stands well back away from the hole.]

Aaaaand let's just get rid of that.

[A large stone pillar rumbles and moves upwards to seal off the path as tightly as possible.]

Also, you should get on the ground. It's almost been five minutes.

Right...! [ And she'll land on the ground next to Viridi, exhaling as she does. ] Glad that's over...

[ Not the flying - that'd been cool - but the having been chased relentlessly through tunnels by a hungry mass of lava.

Aerith turns to her companion, expression...maybe a little pale, but grateful. ]

Thanks for all your help. I would've been in some serious trouble without you.

I actually suspect you probably would have been fine in the long run as this seems like one of those retryable mini-game kind of situations, but not a problem!

Just remember that eternal life debt!

[Viridi will never let that go.]

Also let me know if you experience any weird side-effects later; it will be handy to know.

Right... [ Not gonna worry about that or anything! ] And - I will. Hopefully there's no need, though?

[ Only one perilous situation at a time, please! ]

Oh, don't worry. I'm sure lots of people will be crawling all over themselves for my wondrous powers soon enough; you won't be alone!

[that's not what aerith was worried about
probably]

Well, try not to die. Call if you need anything. I'm going to continue on.

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004 - Lucid Dreaming

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