33 - Sweet Dreams

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: A mysterious plague of dreams is sweeping through gods and shinki alike.
When: Jan 30 & 31
Where: Wherever the dreamers go...
Summary: A strange sleepiness is spreading through the Heavens. Those who succumb to sleep find themselves dreaming vividly, and even wandering into each other's dreams. Will they be able to escape the seductive power of their dream worlds and return to reality?






Waking World

Everyone in the Heavens, gods and shinki, new and old, seems to be vulnerable to this sleeping contagion. For those who remain among the waking, it's a frightening experience: people can be found slumped by the side of roads, white-robed shinki doze at their duty posts, and some people even fall face-down into their dinner plates or drift off in the bath and need to be rescued. If you're still awake, you'll need to help them out! Are you up for the challenge? Or is this a time to flee the Heavens before the sleeping bug bites you too?

Be careful -- touching the sleepers makes it much harder to stay awake. You might be dragged into their dream even if you've woken up once already. At least it'll be easier to realize it's just a dream the second time around....

Sweet Dreams

Some dreams are hard to wake up from, and some of the dreams that come with this mysterious sleep are especially hard to abandon. Friends and family, happy times, achieving your heart's desire, or maybe your best dream is living in a world entirely made out of giant ice-cream sundaes!

It's possible to wander into others' dreams whether you understand that you're dreaming or not; those who wander in not realizing that it's a dream will find themselves swept up into the dream logic in whatever manner suits their own subconscious. Those who know it's only a dream will have the unenviable task of convincing the dreamer that their ice-cream sundae world isn't real after all, freeing them to either travel into other dreams to save their lost dreamers or return to the waking world as they choose.

Shinki characters may have dreams that involve memories that they have not regained. However, when they wake from those dreams, they will not be able to remember any detail that hints at their past-- and although other characters who witnessed the dream may, any thought of telling the shinki what they learned from the dream will freeze them with a sense of impending doom.

Nightmare

Not every dream is a happy one. Those who find themselves lost in nightmares might be trapped in painful memories, pursued by terrible monsters, falling from a great height, or just called on to write the answer on the blackboard when they're not wearing pants. Whatever your nightmare is, this, too, has to be overcome before you can escape to the waking world, and while it's easier to accept that a nightmare isn't real life, it might be much harder to fight your way through it.

Those nightmare monsters might just be a dream, but any injuries that they inflict are real. And you know what they say: if you die in a dream, you die in real life.

Mystery Dreamscapes

It's possible for more than one person to wander into the dreams of a third, and among the many dreamscapes that a sleeper may travel, some strange ones appear.


• A vast, shining building of many rooms is hung everywhere with wooden plaques that rattle like dry bones in the breeze. Each one has an urgent and desperate prayer written on it, and they keep falling from the walls, only to catch fire and be reduced to ash as soon as they hit the floor. The sound of hurrying footsteps is audible, but the dream's owner never quite comes into view.



• The street is crowded, packed shoulder to shoulder with strangers who shove rudely and refuse to move out of the way. Their voices make it almost impossible to hear, and the crowding makes it almost impossible to move. Despite this, anyone who enters this dream will have the irrational conviction that there's someone or something at the other end of the street they have to reach. As they push through the crowd, though, the people around them grow angrier and angrier, and might even start to fight back.



• A giant crystal glows blue in the middle of a room, surrounded by dozens upon dozens of tiny straw dolls in intricate traditional clothing from all over the world. A middle-aged man is crafting small dolls on the far side of the room, muttering under his breath, "This one, this one." He can't be roused or distracted from his task, except if the room's door is opened, in which case he screams and flees outside into what appears to be an endless, dense, ancient forest full of strange shadows and ominous sounds.



• A huge lecture hall is filled with students sitting in folding seats. At the front, a vast man, easily eight feet tall and wearing a tweed suit with patched elbows and a traditional demon mask, is pointing out students in turn and forcing them to come to the board to answer increasingly bizarre, arcane or deeply personal questions. He turns to point at the newest arrival.



• A beautiful springtime meadow filled with fallen twigs spreads out around the visitor, who innately knows that picking up one stick in each hand will allow them to fly. Above, other dreamers circle and swoop in the blue sky. As they rise to join them, though, flocks of giant crows almost as big as people swoop in and begin attacking the fliers, trying to knock the twigs out of their hands and force them to plummet to their deaths.

In Summary:

• Help out the sleepers
• Have a good dream
• ...or a nightmare
• Explore others' dreams
• Have fun~

Comments

[erogappa]

[ Sanzo. He knows that word. It's not a name -- it's a magic spell.

Behind him, the bars crumble silently away.

Of its own volition his hand moves, pressing warmly onto the top of Goku's head. ...That's right. The boy's name is Goku. He knows this kid. ]

Goku.

[awareofvacuity]

[ Goku presses his face into Gojyo's side, sniffling audibly. Tears stain the cloth there. ] Sanzo...

[ It doesn't matter that the bars are gone. If Sanzo isn't here, Goku's still trapped. It's the feeling of a hand on his head and the sound of his voice that quiets Goku's tears. ]

... I was too scared to go near it back then. [ Goku's voice sounds a little less childish now. A little more resigned. ] Even if it was open... Going outside on my own was just... too scary.

[ Goku moves his head to look out the cave opening at the white world outside, still resting against Gojyo's side. ]

I have to go alone this time, don't I?

[erogappa]

[ No, he wants to protest. Never alone -- I'll go with you. But that's not the right answer. That's Gojyo's answer, and he's not really himself right now, is he? ]

That's your decision. I'm not going to make it for you. [ The hand on Goku's head, however, doesn't budge, heavy and warm, and Gojyo's heartbeat -- here, his heart actually beats -- is stubbornly steady. ] But I'm also not going to stay here with you.

[awareofvacuity]

[ Goku's heart jumps up into his throat at that last threat- because that's what it is. The only thing worse than spending forever in this cave alone would be doing so while he can remember how it feels to sit next to someone else. ]

That's not fair.

[ And now he's whining. Goku keeps staring at the snow while somehow managing to edge even closer to Gojyo. ]

... I wanna go.

[erogappa]

[ Gojyo? That's not Gojyo. There's no stupid, empty-headed perverts here. Gojyo's watching the scene unfold from somewhere near the roof of the cave -- that's him, but that's not him. There's somebody else in his body.

This is turning into a kind of a nightmare!

Goku! he tries to shout. Goku, can you hear me? But there's no sound. He can't move, can't speak... what the hell is going on?

The person in his body leans over, bringing his mouth right next to Goku's ear. Gojyo can't hear what he says, but Goku certainly can. ]

Then wake up, monkey.

[awareofvacuity]

[ Defining characteristics of that person are hard to detect. There's light and warmth there, carved into the shape of a human being. This person has hands, eyes, mouth and voice and yet they're made almost entirely out of light.

A solid light, enveloping Goku even as it encourages him to break free. Goku curls up closer next to it, ignoring his name being called from above.]

I want to. [ He wants to go outside, he wants to see the sun, he wants to be with all the people who will call him by his name- ] I want to stay with you.

[erogappa]

[ The light person's arms wrap around Goku, warm and safe. But it's a trap. This isn't a hug -- this is what's needed to reach into one of those long hanging sleeves.

The sharp blow of the fan on his head should be a familiar sensation. ]

I said wake up!

[rockthemonkey]

Ow!

[ Goku sits up with a snap, rubbing his head and sitting in a snowbank outside Huitzilopochtli's temple. Nearby birds react to the loud noise by flying away in a panic and the yell echoes throughout the trees. ]

Sanzo, that hurts!

[ He's awake. ]

[erogappa]

[ He's awake.

Gojyo blinks, and the cave (and the back of his own head) fade away, replaced by the ceiling of his room in Goku's treehouse temple. Usually, his dreams fade on waking -- if he can recall anything about them by the time he stumbles into the shower, it's usually because they were horrific scenes of watching all his loved ones die... or, worse, watching his loved ones turn away from him.

But this dream was different. It was... well, weird.

He doesn't smoke, but he finds himself craving a cigarette. He pads down the hallway (careful to avoid the hallway that goes past Hokuto's room -- he doesn't want to mess with that girl when she's been woken unexpectedly!) and heads for the back balcony. His too-small sweatpants aren't really enough to block out the wind -- it's been a cold night, and it's looking like it'll be a cold day -- but he puts the cold aside, breathing in sharply biting air and blowing out clouds of steam. It's like smoking! Kinda. ]

[rockthemonkey]

[ He's outside. Why was he sleeping outside? That's so dumb- he's freezing now- and not like him at all. If he focuses, Goku can remember waking up, having breakfast, heading off to begin his day, maybe visit Nia and then...

... He was in the cave. Not a very unusual dream for him, but it hadn't felt like a normal dream. It hadn't followed the same script. He was there and it was snowing and there was a light- ]

... Sanzo!

[ Goku's indoor voice isn't great and his outdoor one is pretty damn loud too. Everyone in the area can probably hear him shouting. But who cares about that when Sanzo was here?]

Where- Oi, Sanzo!

[erogappa]

[ And just like that, it's not just the wind that's making Gojyo's blood run cold. How can...? But it was a dream.

Wasn't it? ]

Goku!

[ He can hear the kid, but can't see him yet. Gojyo leans out over the railing, scanning the grounds. ]

Oi, shrimp! Up here!

[rockthemonkey]

Huh- Gojyo?

[ Goku freezes in the middle of searching his surroundings for- for something. Yes, it was a dream, maybe, but it felt realer than a dream. There was someone else there with him. It'd be really weird if it was Sanzo, but lots of stuff here is weird. Now he's suddenly been reminded by Gojyo's voice that other people exist. He quickly runs around to the other side of the treehouse to look up at Gojyo.]

Gojyo! Gojyo, I saw Sanzo! I mean, I didn't but I did and- and something happened!

[erogappa]

Were you in a cave?

[ This is a strange conversation to be shouting at one another, but since when have either of them been concerned about things like that? ]

When you saw him just now. Was it a cave in the snow?

[rockthemonkey]

[ How are they supposed to hear each other if they don't shout? Hokuto is probably up and about by now, it's fine. That or she's in a magical sleep anyway. ]

Yeah! It was the cave!

[ Not just a cave, the cave. There are normal caves all over the place; there's only one the cave. ]

An' Sanzo was there but it was different this time!

[erogappa]

[ This isn't possible. How is this possible? ]

That wasn't Sanzo, that was me! you were in my dream!

[ Wait, did he say the cave? Not a cave? Like he knew that place? ]

How th'hell were you in my dream!?

[rockthemonkey]

[ Goku scowls up at Gojyo. ]

How can it've been your dream, dumb kappa? You weren't even there!

[ He hesitates- no, Gojyo wasn't there, was he? He definitely wasn't ever at the actual cave and... he doesn't think he was in his dream... ]

It wasn't right though...

[erogappa]

I was too there!

[ Sorry Hokuto. So sorry. The temple is full of loud idiots, sorry. ]

I climbed all the way up that damn mountain!

[ He remembers that part -- it was cold, and he was tired. But then things got weird, didn't they? Or were they weird from the beginning? Ugh, it's so hard to remember dreams! ]

And then... then you were there, in a cave. [ And then what? ] But there was somebody else there too, wasn't there?

[rockthemonkey]

[ Maybe Hokuto should just gently encourage them to move back in with Hakkai. At least he's used to this shit. ]

There was... a light...

[ That's always meant Sanzo. But now Goku thinks of it, wasn't it as if there were two lights in his dream? The sun and... a burning warmth... ]

... But why would ya be in my dream?!

[erogappa]

[ They’re going to come home one day to find all the locks changed, and Hokuto scolding them from the balcony. And it’ll be nothing but what they deserve.

Gojyo braces himself against the railing, leaning further over to try and see Goku’s expression better. The kid’s not messing with him, right? ]

If that was your dream… are you sayin’ that was a real place?

[rockthemonkey]

Well, yeah, it-

[ This really is an inconvenient way to talk about something like this. Goku bends his knees and jumps up, just barely managing to grab hold of the edge of the balcony. Not bad for a monkey with frostbite. ]

Didn't I tell ya? [ Starts pulling himself up over the railing. ] I was locked up for ages. But I haven't been back there since Sanzo found me.

[ He knows he's mentioned this before. But it doesn't occur to Goku that there might be a difference between hearing that he was locked up while looking at the semi-adult Goku is now and getting a glimpse at how it actually was. ]

[erogappa]

[ He’s a jumping shrimp! Very impressive, short stuff. ]

I didn’t know you were just a kid, though! [ Does Goku need a hand getting over the railing? ] Who th’fuck locks a kid up in a place like that!?

[ It’s easier to be mad about something like that than it is to worry about why he was apparently playing the role of Genjo Sanzo. His gut twists at the thought, and he carefully puts it to the side – that’s not something he’s allowed to think about, apparently. ]

[rockthemonkey]

How should- [ Goku falls off the edge of the railing and lands with a thud on the balcony. Whatever, he made it. ] How should I know?

[ Goku rubs his head and moves to sit crosslegged on the floor. He was so sure he felt Sanzo's fan. It hadn't been like a dream- it had actually hurt. ]

When I woke up in that place, I didn't remember anythin'. Just my name and- [ And the feeling that he'd lost something. ] ... and that was it. There was no one there to tell me anythin'.

[erogappa]

[ That’s right – they have talked about this. Gojyo drops to a sit next to Goku – and shoves the kid, because he has to – then leans back against the railing. ]

Man, that’s so dangerous! If you’d been dreaming about somethin’ else, poof! I might’ve turned ayakashi in my sleep!

[ That’s... that’s actually kinda terrifying. He almost died, and it wouldn’t have even been his fault! ]

[rockthemonkey]

Don’t be dumb, no way you would’ve! It’s still just a dream!

[Goku punches Gojyo back- because, yeah, he has to- and then slumps forwards. ]

I dunno why I was dreamin’ about that. I haven’t for ages. [ He thinks. He doesn’t normally remember his dreams. ] And that’s... not how it’s supposed to go anyway.