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

[bridge_princess]

That's not a bad thing exactly, I guess. It's just how you are. Humans have a big thing for aesthetics, be they in sound or in sight. Sometimes its a waste, sometimes it's pretty.

But maybe you do... in your own way. I mean you have very smooth lines to your body at points.

[forwearemany]

(They look at themselves.)

The Creators made us in their image. The Geth have kept this form.

(They do resemble Quarians. Not perfectly, but it's definitely there.)

[bridge_princess]

Hmmm, you know, I'm just going to say you improved on the look unless I ever meet one of your creators. But like I said, the lines are sleek. But it'd probably be hard to really change that right now wouldn't it? you don't have the parts.

[forwearemany]

You are correct.

(They're unable to modify themselves. Not that they really want to.)

We are uninterested in cosmetic alterations.

(Other than letting a child paint over their N7 armor, but they had that done long before they arrived here.)

[bridge_princess]

Your whole people don't seem to worry about... I guess cosmetic's a good word for it. Appearances don't have the same meaning to you. Other than, maybe camouflage or the like. It's all functional.

Do you do anything that isn't functional only?

[forwearemany]

...Yes.

(They wouldn't have acknowledged it so blatantly before, but their time with organics has forced them to acknowledge similarities they might otherwise ignore.

...The Geth don't need to have their guts lit up with tiny lights like they do, for instance.

And Legion personally isn't doing all the silly, playful things they do for purely educational purposes.)

[bridge_princess]

Oh? Give me an example of something you do that's not pragmatic.

[Because right this instant she had a very curious sort of look on her face, like she was figuring that knowing what was important from things it chose to do for no other reason than to do it.]

[forwearemany]

(They chatter awkwardly. Now that she's asking them to give examples, it is ... difficult.)

We...

(Their headflaps ripple, and keep rippling.

How do they put into words the attachments that go beyond valuing the use of things, the need to engage in actions that drain resources for no practical benefit, the way all their knowledge and all their logic add up to one solution but their consensus chooses another, as though there's some undefined error deep within?

They look at themselves, uncertain of how best to answer.)

[bridge_princess]

You've never had to answer that question before have you?

[Look, Legion had just taken a literal eternity to come up with the answer to a fairly simple question all things considered. This might just, by her guess, have been completely out of its understanding and comprehension. So, she was feeling an urge to take a little pity on her friend.]

[forwearemany]

No.

(Their headflaps continue to ripple. The Geth know themselves in ways that organics do not: understanding should come easy to them. And yet...

Why can't they answer?)