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

sweet dreams

[gentilitea]

[ The vague similarities to Henir’s temple certainly convince Jakob that he’s stumbled into some strange new illusion, which is vexing indeed. The eerie silence and emptiness of the place certainly doesn’t faze him, though he does feel a tad irritated anyway.

He was sure he’d been…up to something or the other. An errand, perhaps. With a shout: ]

Apocalypse! Kindly present yourself and assist me with navigating this area!

EYEZOOMS

[abgrund]

[ The space a little to the left of Jakob begins to ripple a few moments later, though it is not Apocalypse who appears from the rift - instead, it expands to reveal Ain's form instead. His illusion is absent, leaving him in his crumbling form. ]

Jakob...?

[ He tilts his head ]

How did you come here?

[gentilitea]

Through the portals, of course. [ Or so he assumes. But in any case, his mood is hardly improved by Ain’s appearance—in such a place as this he seems more ghostly than ever.

It’s unsettling, and that annoys Jakob even more. With a sigh: ]

You’ll have to forgive me for not extending you the proper hospitality. Once Apocalypse arrives I will be sure to escort you to Add with no further delay.

[abgrund]

[ Ain shakes his head quickly, a frown creasing his brow. There's something he's come to realize after sitting in Elrianode's halls for what seems like a significant time - that he should never have been able to go back. ]

We are not in the void anymore... if we were, I would have been able to send you out immediately.

[ He is a greater master of the void than Add and his creations, but he doesn't know if he's mentioned it explicitly. ]

[gentilitea]

[ He hasn’t, but Jakob has no reason to doubt his abilities considering Ain’s strange nature. Being able to somehow teleport people out of here would be a perfectly reasonable thing for Ain to do. ]

Then where are we? At some strange abandoned temple in the Near Shore? If Add thinks he can just manipulate these portals without warning—

[abgrund]

[ He holds up a hand in a gesture to try and forestall Jakob's anger, though he's not sure how well that will go. Still, he waits for the other man to fall silent before speaking again ]

This is a fragment of my old memory. I find it strange that it exists here, like a human dream. I am not intended to dream, so I expect outside interference.

[ Yet, he seems rather tranquil about it. ]

No harm will come to you here, though.

[gentilitea]

[ He grudgingly shuts up as Ain speaks, his frown growing deeper with that final statement.

Actually everything about what he’d just said is way too loaded for Jakob’s liking. ]

“No harm,” indeed! [ He didn’t even think was going to come to any harm until Ain pointed out that possibility. ]

Are you telling me that this is not Add’s doing then?

[abgrund]

It is not.

[ Not everything is Add's fault. Some of it is Ain's, just that he's more conscientious about what he makes ]

[gentilitea]

Wonderful. [ He sure doesn't mean it. ] An ayakashi then? Or must we trouble ourselves with some new unseen force now?

[abgrund]

I would think of the latter. A mere ayakashi would not be able to affect me.

[ He is aware of the depths of power that his true body possesses, and that the Heavens have definitely chosen to only take part of the vast consciousness that he was transformed into. And for good reason, too - if he was at his full strength, he could probably obliterate the Far Shore.

Not that he wants to, though. ]

Do you want to leave this place?

[gentilitea]

[ Right. Good to know. At least this is one guy he won’t have to worry about in a fight.

But they’re not in a fight, are they? In fact, they’re in some strange new place that’s…well, strangely peaceful. And he doesn’t trust it one bit. ]

Well, it would be quite rude of me to interfere with your…memory, was it? I suppose I should see myself out.

[ Not that he has any idea how he’s supposed to do that. ]

[abgrund]

[ Ain closes his eyes for a moment, thinking. If Jakob wants to go, he wouldn't stop him, but... maybe, now that he has his identity back, he could tell the shinki about himself. ]

You're not interfering. If you are not in a hurry, you can stay here awhile. It is quite peaceful.

[ And empty too. He wonders if Jakob has an opinion about that. ]

[gentilitea]

No…I don’t suppose I’m in a hurry… [ And it’s not like he minds Ain’s company—or the peace and quiet, however suspect it may be. At the very least, he trusts Ain enough to know that he really won’t come to any harm if things get really bad for one reason or another. ]

Was this your previous home? It appears so… [ not dark and gloomy like Nohr. Huh. ]

[abgrund]

[ Balanced, in a way. Ain nods, gesturing to the sky outside. It's split evenly between a normal blue sky and the strange lights of Henir's Time and Space. ]

The goddess Elia ruled over the material world. Henir and Elia's domains existed in harmony here.

[ He had wondered how the people here would have treated him. But they were all gone now. ]

Tell me... what do you think of gods?

[gentilitea]

[ He frowns at the sky, unable to fathom both Henir and someone seemingly more benevolent ruling in harmony. It seems so unlike Add’s nature, given that he’s such a solitary creature by nature.

And yet…it’s hard not to wonder. ]

The gods, eh? [ He raises an eyebrow at that, before sighing. ] Truth be told, I’ve never questioned their existence all that much. So I suppose…I think they’re only natural.

[abgrund]

[ There's some kernel of truth to that. The gods create the world. Mortals are usually their playthings. He expects most people to at least have some resistance to that. ]

They are. But they are also inhuman.

[ He cups his hands together. When he opens them again, a black butterfly flutters out and away. ]

It was here that I learned this fact. Gods that were never once human, will never understand humanity. They try to care for us and it ends up being a worse fate than intended. Or perhaps they don't care in the first place. You cannot rely on that kind of gods.

[ Now, contrast that to the new gods of the Far Shore... ]

[gentilitea]

[ That’s some magic trick, Ain, but unfortunately Jakob isn’t too impressed. He’d venture to ask why he’d bother to summon such a thing, but decides against it—there are more pertinent questions at hand, after all. ]

But such gods would be infallible. [ It’s hard not to think of Add and his blunders here. ] There is some comfort in knowing that they would at least know what they’re doing.

[abgrund]

[ The answer to that is very simple. It is to emphasise his statement. ]

How would you consider them infallible? Would you, even if they do not care for the welfare of their creations?

[ There's no resentment in that question. Ain tilts his head, merely curious. ]

[gentilitea]

[ Had he remembered Corrin’s quest, he might have responded otherwise. But here? After everything they’ve been through? ]

Is it truly our place to question them? I am merely a shinki. I cannot fathom what must above me. [ Maybe lighten up on those lingering Add issues a little, Jakob. ]

[abgrund]

[ For the first time in quite a while, Ain has to suppress the urge to sigh. ]

You are a shinki, but you are also a person. Value yourself more.

[ Maybe, that was why Ain fell, because he gave in to doubt in the end. But who can say whether remaining a thrall would be a better fate for him? ]

[gentilitea]

[ Jakob stares back at him with surprise. People have told him that—or at any rate have heavily implied that—but to have it stated point blank feels like he’d been gutted alive then and there.

But he just as quickly composes himself. ]

Hmph. What does value have to do with it? [ Uh, everything? ] I understand my place and my purpose. I have no need to aspire any further.

[abgrund]

[ Ain isn't good at being subtle. ]

It has everything to do with your role. You have the capacity of emotion. You need to then take care of yourself on that front, like with other forms of health. It would not do well for you to neglect that, for it will impact your ability to fulfil your duty.

[ For more reasons than one, really. ]

[gentilitea]

[ …Duty? Now you have his undivided attention. ]

And how will it affect my duties, exactly? Keeping my head down and attending to my master’s needs is what defines me.

[abgrund]

[ See, they speak the same language! ]

Surely you must have feelings as to how your master acts, even if you try to repress it. Do not do that. The more you do it, your feelings of frustration and what you hope to happen - they will fester in your heart and hurt you.

[ Add is far from perfect, honestly. Ain considers saying more, but he has a different perspective from Jakob so it would not be that easy to explain. ]

Only robots and machines do not have a sense of self. Of personhood. You are not one of those things.

[gentilitea]

I… [ He sighs, rubbing at his temples. For some reason he feels very very tired right now. ]

If you mean that I should not succumb to guilt and teach my master right from wrong, then I am doing just that.

[ And he’s paid dearly for it, with a microchip now embedded in his arm courtesy of Add’s paranoia. ]

But you aren’t, are you? This is something more than that. And I am not entirely sure that it is your place to speak of it.