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

[forceofnature]

Guess I'm here because you don't want me to be.

[Viridi is unmoved by his jerk. Though she does allow him to take the sign, which, on closer inspection, looks hand-made and is covered in woodsy decorations and glitter.

She follows him into the center.]

So what's going on here? Your technological travesty breaking down all around you? I could have warned you this would happen.

[all technology is evil]

[blue_eyed_obsession]

If that were true- then you wouldn't be the only one I recognize.

[Look- there's a lot of people Kaiba wouldn't want here to witness this nightmare. He's not really surprised by her flippant attitude, that is how she came across in their prior interaction. Some of the glitter manages to shake loose from the sign, redecorating the right side of his person. He grimaces and grumbles before tossing the sign into the nearest trash receptacle.]

If I knew that, it would be over already.

[The crowd isn't letting up, and there's nothing he can do from here. Assuming his orders are being carried out he turns his focus to getting out of this mess. With a swift motion he activates his duel disk, and fusion summons his three-headed Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. The cacophony of roars erupt from the various maws, and even though it's a hologram the people in the crowd recoil back from the creature, intimidated by the sudden arrival. With this Kaiba is able to carve a path out. Not dismissing the monster, it flies overhead after him as he races out of there.

Viridi he has no concern for. The crowd wasn't after her blood, so she can stay put if she prefers, but he's not sticking around. He'll find another access terminal to try and get things under control.]

[forceofnature]

[Something else flies overhead after Kaiba! Because Viridi's milking every moment of this for all it's worth. She's somehow pulled out a carton of popcorn from somewhere and she keeps pace with him with relative ease, floating along while loudly crunching.]

Sooooooo?

What's your plan?

Is it to give up and dedicate this space to a future arboretum where you retire as a tree-growing monk?

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[The popcorn is irritating on two levels. The first is definitely the noise and the second is that some of the husks and kernels occasionally go flying threw the air threatening to join the remnants of glitter still clinging to Kaiba's person]

The plan...

.. is none of your business. If you're just here to observe and make wisecracks then get lost! [A tree-growing monk. Not likely]

[It was about at this time that one of the compartments off the ferris wheels crashed into the ground not far ahead of them, breaking the stone tiles and imbedding itself perpendicularly.]

I told them to turn off those rides! [He skidded to a halt as not to smack face first into it. Then despite the fact that something on it was smoking, he climbed up the side enough to peer inside looking for either survivors or ... worse]

[forceofnature]

Look, I'm the one stuck in your insipid nightmare. You should really be apologizing to me for making me suffer through this.

[Viridi sits cross-legged in the air and now slurps from a milkshake she's conjured while observing Kaiba. With a snap of her fingers, thick roots erupt from the ground and prop the compartment back up vertically.]

What is this place, anyway? Why do you have an amusement park?

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[It isn't until she calls the situation out as a nightmare that it starts to dawn on him that something about this whole scenario isn't meshing with his version of reality. The fact that Viridi was literally flying and yanking treats out of thin air for herself should have been a blazing red flag, but maybe he was a little more rattled by Kaibaland falling apart all around him than he realized.

The root work actually makes the task easier, and fortunately this compartment looks to be empty. The seat on the side of the impact is severely dented and warped away from the wall, some of the bolts have popped out completely. It's a total mess inside.

The three headed dragon, didn't see the fascination, finding a nearby building to temporarily land on. The odd thing is, as the talons affix to the roof they make indents]

It's Kaibaland. [The most creatively named place on Earth] Why does anyone have an amusement park? To make a profit. [.. and because it was always a dream of both his little brother and himself to make a place that underprivileged children could come to play- so it wasn't all about the money. If only he wouldn't withhold information.] It's themed around the game of duel monsters, and we were set to open in multiple locations across the world.

[forceofnature]

Ughhhhh. Not that I would give you the benefit of the doubt, but if I did, I retract it. Money, money, money. It's not even real! It's just a fake concept you all invented and worship.

[Once Kaiba's thoroughly inspected the compartment, the roots blossom into thick vines that snake their way up and all around the Ferris wheel, binding any loose-swinging capsules back into place.]

I'm guessing that is a duel monster?

[The dragon gets a vague wave. Viridi senses no life force from this thing - 0r any of the human manifestations in this dream. She'd be a lot more interested otherwise.]

Also who names an amusement park after themselves, yeesh.

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[To that assessment he shrugged, not really arguing with it. Essentially money was only worth as much as people ascribed to it, however that game was one of his fortes. It had been a manipulation of buying up stocks that got him in the position he held today, so sure.. currency was another game, but one he was winning]

Worship is a strong word- but it does make the world go round.

[After assessing the damage to this one section, the concern does drift to the others.. which he begrudgingly has to accept that she's taken care of]

Yes- it is. That the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon the most powerful creature in all of duel monsters.

[Somehow managing to boast while making his way over to the base of the ride. There could still be people trapped on there requiring evacuation- where the hell was the rest of his staff? Although he knows something is wrong here, terribly wrong, can he really risk not sitting idly by?]

It's named after the company... [Which is named after his surname... therefore.. it's all named after him now. Splitting hairs here] Look... [Hating to ask this] There are at least 3 other rides in this sector, would you be able to secure them? [This really couldn't be happening, not with all the vines and foliage moving rapidly at someone's command, but he'd sort that out later. Spotting some motion in one of the capsules he didn't wait for a response. He started scaling the ferris wheel, using the vines as additional handholds, as he pulled himself up.]

[forceofnature]

What, don't tell me to do something I was already doing! That's so annoying! What am I, your personal gardener?

[Kaiba has wisely already started to climb up the Ferris wheel, leaving Viridi shouting impotently.]

My vast control over all nature does not exist to suit the needs of a mortal!

If I secure the rides, it's only because I was already doing so out of the goodness of my heart and not because you told me to!

Are you listening?!

I want this sector renamed Viridi Zone!

[She doesn't move from her spot, but there are some perks to being a goddess. The out-of-control spinning teacups grind to a halt as thick tendrils ensnare their machinery, the death drop that is about to actually become a death drop lands lightly on a giant mushroom cap, and the rusting roller coaster tracks are propped up by a copse of quaking aspens.]