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[ OPEN ] do androids dream of electric sheep?
Who: Noel Vermillion and YOU!
Which: Open Log and Interactive Dream post
Where: Dreamscapes / Reverein Plaza
What: Catch-all for the first half or so of January, including a dream board quest and some nightmares that eventually lead to a very bad emotional breakdown.
Warnings: Blood, gore, torture, body horror and death in the dream prompts.
1. DREAM: Homecoming
[ At first, everything seems fine. The weather is warm and sunny, and the large meadow in surrounded by the forest is filled with the smell of flower blooming all around. In the middle of this idyllic scene there's a quaint little church, and three kids can be seen in front of it: two boys playing with a ball and a girl reading a book. All three of them have blond hair and green eyes, so it doesn't take a genius to make an educated guess they're related. An old nun walks out of the church and calls the children, asking them to come inside for dinner, although their names she calls them by seem to be distorted in some way and impossible to make out. The siblings run into the building, laughing happily. Overall, this couldn't be a more peaceful, enjoyable dream.
Then things take a turn for worse. Much worse.
Heavy, dark clouds loom over the area. What remains to the church is quickly burning to the ground, the heat of the fire and the smell of the burned wood so intesnse it would be easy to forget this is just a dream. The body of the old nun seen previously can now be spotted sprawled on the ground between the burning rubble, and the big, red splotch on her chest indicates there's no point in trying to help her anymore. Not too far from her is one of the young boys, lying on the ground with blood seeping out of the spot where his right arm used to be, quickly forming a pool beneath him.
Near the tree line stands the other boy with a katana sword in his hand, blood slowly dripping from its blade. There's another presence right next to him, but it's hard to register what it actually is; it seems to glitch in and out of existence repeatedly, making it almost impossible to fully catch the sight of it, although it's possible to notice it resembles a pitch-black, lanky stick figure with a sickening grin spread across its face more than a human being. The two contemplate the scene quietly and don't appear to notice any dreamwalkers who might have stublmed into the nightmare.
Finally, there's the young girl, standing halfway between the fiery wreckage and the surviving two. She watches the scene with a calm, albeit sad expression, almost like she's not surprised with this turn of events. When approached, she can be heard speaking to herself, her voice small and tired. ]
... Nothing ever changes. Nothing can be changed. It's always the same...
[ The girl turns around to face the dreamwalker, cocking her head curiously to the side. ]
You're new, though. Who are you?
2. DREAM: Surgeon simulator
[ The room is squeaky clean, almost sterile, filled with various machinery, wires and flashing lights the purpose of which can only be left to imagination. Without a doubt, it's some kind of laboratory, which is confirmed by the presence of numerous people in white lab coats. Their faces are blurred to the point of being obscured, but it's not hard to notice they're all very excited, chatting merrily and pointing to various computer screens. A big group of them is standing separately from the others, staring at... well, something. Whatever this machine is, it has tons of wires, tubes and needles connecting it to the blonde girl inside. The scientists point at her and let out gasps, laughs ─ someone even jumps in joy. They congratulate one another, and while it's hard to make out their words, there are some phrases that can be heard. ]
[ They laugh some more, then press some buttons. A dark substance flows through the tubes into the girl's body, computer screens flash with numbers and words that wouldn't mean anything to anyone. Amidst all this, a girl's voice can be heard, quiet and pained. ]
It hurts...
[ None of the scientists seem to notice the voice, or if they do, they choose not to acknowledge it in any way. They continue their work, chatting merrily and pointing at their screens. Some take a break for a short stretch and grab a cup of coffee, but no one as much as turns to look at the girl. ]
It hurts... It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Stop... please, just stop...!
[ Again, her pleas fall on the deaf ears, as the lab's employees ignore the voice and focus on their work. Some laugh. Some yawn. Some type a bunch of numbers on their keyboards and glance over to their neighbor to exchange info. But none of them appear to care about the girl's pain. ]
Hate... Hate, hate, hate, hatehatehatehatehatehate─
[ The lights go out in an instant, and the scenery shifts drastically. Instead of a sanitary lab, it's a dimly-lit, long corridor made of stone. The walls are splattered with dark red substance ─ you guessed it, blood. Its source isn't hard to find, as the hallway has multiple human bodies hanging from the ceiling and swinging lightly, blood still dropping from some of them, while the others appear to have been here long enough to start decomposing. The sight, combined with the foul odor filling the place, is enough to make even the bravest adventurers weak in the knees, but to make things worse, a loud, high-pitched scream rings across the walls, coming from farther down the dungeon's corridor. There, another room can be found, one that's a much better lit space ─ although given what is found inside, perhaps that's not an improvement. In the middle of the room is a steel operating table, where the same blonde girl is lying ─ no, she's tied to it with several metal restraints. However, unlike before, she's missing an arm, and blood is quickly pooling in the place where it used to be. Behind the table stands a masked man, holding the girl's severed arm in his hand and studying it curiously. ]
Fascinating... Yes, I believe this will work nicely.
[ Next to him stands a huge doll, around 7 feet tall, the fingers on one of her arms taking the shape of a circular saw with fresh blood dripping off it. It's her that takes note of a dreamwalker in the room with them, and pokes the man with her other hand to draw his attention to the newcomer. ]
Hm? Ah, you're here. [ He doesn't seem surprised nor perturbed by the stranger's presence; in fact, he appears to be wholly uninterested in them, moving to another table and placing the arm there, looking through the different tools and speaking without as much as turning around to the other person. ] I don't mind you watching, but do make sure not to interrupt my work.
[ And just like that, he gives the limb in front of him his full attention. In the meantime, the doll moves towards the girl again, the saw on her arm starting as she moves it down, cutting into the meat of her leg. The girl's screams echo across the walls again, but neither the man nor the doll seem to care. ]
3. QUEST: Peace was never an option
[ What better way to take her mind off your nightmares than fight against some stray noctaere? Noel certainly seems to believe this is a good idea, and she's currently facing one of those inside an underground cave. Being a skilled fighter and having a decent grasp on how the dreamotion works, she normally shouldn't have too much trouble dealing with it, seeing as it doesn't appear to be terribly powerful. But... that isn't the case this time. In fact, the girl seems almost distracted, and approaching her will reveal that she's more focused on mumbling to herself under her breath than the obvious danger in front of her. ]
─wasn't me.
[ She dodges an incoming attack from the enemy, but she staggers and almost loses balance afterwards, though it appears she doesn't even take a notice of that, focused on talking to herself instead. ]
It wasn't me. It wasn't me. It wasn't─
[ As the noctaere takes another swing at her, Noel quickly conjures a protective barrier of blue light, but it shatters easily the moment it's struck; the hit connects and Noel is hurled across the cave, hitting the nearby wall. But worst of all, touching the noctaere causes the images from her recent dreams to flash in her mind once again.
Fire. Blood. Machines. Loneliness. Pain. Anguish. Suffering.
The girl curls up on the ground, holding her head in her hands as if that could help her get rid of the pictures in her head. ]
Just─ LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY!
[ With her emotions running amok, the ground shakes violently, and several huge pieces of the cave's ceiling fall down, hitting the noctaere and trapping it beneath. Noel lets out a soft gasp, both confused and scared by what she's done. Might be a good idea to help her calm down before she causes a full-scale cave-in. ]
4. LOG: Reboot
[ If Noel looks tired as she walks across the Reverein Plaza, staggering and stumbling into other people and mumbling apologies, that's because she is; there's only so long one can escape their own nightmares by running away into the nightmares of other people, and Noel is quickly reaching a breaking point. But sleeping means seeing... things that she'd tried so hard to forget. Memories of Saya. Memories of Izanami. Memories of... herself. Every time she as much as closes her eyes, she can hear voices in her mind, some familiar, some completely new:
"Die." "If only you didn't exist!" "You're in the way." "Get lost!" "It's all your fault." "If it wasn't for you..." "Monster." "Just die already!" "It would be better if you had never been born." "You're an eyesore." "You should just disappear!" "It's all because of you." "Go to hell!"
The voices never truly leave, not even when she's wide awake; they're always somewhere at the back of her head, playing quietly on repeat without giving her a moment of rest. ]
Stop... Stop, stop... please... just stop... I don't want this...
[ She covers her ears and shuts her eyes closed, as if hoping that could block the voices out and make her forget about them, but it only makes things worse. Without the sounds and images of the town to distract her, they get louder and more clear than ever. Eventually, the girl falls to her knees, shaking uncontrollably and screaming at the top of her lungs: ]
I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER!!
[ Suddenly, she becomes engulfed in bright blue light, and once it fades, the girl's appearance has changed considerably. She's hovering a few inches above the ground, and speaks up in a cold, robotic monotone. ]
Loading... Loading... Loading... Load complete. All systems normal.
[ Her eyes snap open, but instead of Noel's usual green, they're the color of deep blue. ]
Murakumo Unit is now active.
wildcard
[ important note: for the dream prompts (1 & 2), I will be replying with alternative journals,![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
godmodeon and/or highlandering! As usual, if you're interested in doing something else or have a different idea in mind, feel free to come up with your own scenario or drop me a line over at ![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
psychelocks or ping me in the discord server. ]
Which: Open Log and Interactive Dream post
Where: Dreamscapes / Reverein Plaza
What: Catch-all for the first half or so of January, including a dream board quest and some nightmares that eventually lead to a very bad emotional breakdown.
Warnings: Blood, gore, torture, body horror and death in the dream prompts.
1. DREAM: Homecoming
[ At first, everything seems fine. The weather is warm and sunny, and the large meadow in surrounded by the forest is filled with the smell of flower blooming all around. In the middle of this idyllic scene there's a quaint little church, and three kids can be seen in front of it: two boys playing with a ball and a girl reading a book. All three of them have blond hair and green eyes, so it doesn't take a genius to make an educated guess they're related. An old nun walks out of the church and calls the children, asking them to come inside for dinner, although their names she calls them by seem to be distorted in some way and impossible to make out. The siblings run into the building, laughing happily. Overall, this couldn't be a more peaceful, enjoyable dream.
Then things take a turn for worse. Much worse.
Heavy, dark clouds loom over the area. What remains to the church is quickly burning to the ground, the heat of the fire and the smell of the burned wood so intesnse it would be easy to forget this is just a dream. The body of the old nun seen previously can now be spotted sprawled on the ground between the burning rubble, and the big, red splotch on her chest indicates there's no point in trying to help her anymore. Not too far from her is one of the young boys, lying on the ground with blood seeping out of the spot where his right arm used to be, quickly forming a pool beneath him.
Near the tree line stands the other boy with a katana sword in his hand, blood slowly dripping from its blade. There's another presence right next to him, but it's hard to register what it actually is; it seems to glitch in and out of existence repeatedly, making it almost impossible to fully catch the sight of it, although it's possible to notice it resembles a pitch-black, lanky stick figure with a sickening grin spread across its face more than a human being. The two contemplate the scene quietly and don't appear to notice any dreamwalkers who might have stublmed into the nightmare.
Finally, there's the young girl, standing halfway between the fiery wreckage and the surviving two. She watches the scene with a calm, albeit sad expression, almost like she's not surprised with this turn of events. When approached, she can be heard speaking to herself, her voice small and tired. ]
... Nothing ever changes. Nothing can be changed. It's always the same...
[ The girl turns around to face the dreamwalker, cocking her head curiously to the side. ]
You're new, though. Who are you?
2. DREAM: Surgeon simulator
[ The room is squeaky clean, almost sterile, filled with various machinery, wires and flashing lights the purpose of which can only be left to imagination. Without a doubt, it's some kind of laboratory, which is confirmed by the presence of numerous people in white lab coats. Their faces are blurred to the point of being obscured, but it's not hard to notice they're all very excited, chatting merrily and pointing to various computer screens. A big group of them is standing separately from the others, staring at... well, something. Whatever this machine is, it has tons of wires, tubes and needles connecting it to the blonde girl inside. The scientists point at her and let out gasps, laughs ─ someone even jumps in joy. They congratulate one another, and while it's hard to make out their words, there are some phrases that can be heard. ]
We ────── run tests ──────── collected data ─────── beautiful. It ──── beyond our imagination ───── power ──────── destruction ─────── absolute peak ────── human potential. No, ──────── rival even gods! We ────────── gods now!
[ They laugh some more, then press some buttons. A dark substance flows through the tubes into the girl's body, computer screens flash with numbers and words that wouldn't mean anything to anyone. Amidst all this, a girl's voice can be heard, quiet and pained. ]
[ None of the scientists seem to notice the voice, or if they do, they choose not to acknowledge it in any way. They continue their work, chatting merrily and pointing at their screens. Some take a break for a short stretch and grab a cup of coffee, but no one as much as turns to look at the girl. ]
[ Again, her pleas fall on the deaf ears, as the lab's employees ignore the voice and focus on their work. Some laugh. Some yawn. Some type a bunch of numbers on their keyboards and glance over to their neighbor to exchange info. But none of them appear to care about the girl's pain. ]
[ The lights go out in an instant, and the scenery shifts drastically. Instead of a sanitary lab, it's a dimly-lit, long corridor made of stone. The walls are splattered with dark red substance ─ you guessed it, blood. Its source isn't hard to find, as the hallway has multiple human bodies hanging from the ceiling and swinging lightly, blood still dropping from some of them, while the others appear to have been here long enough to start decomposing. The sight, combined with the foul odor filling the place, is enough to make even the bravest adventurers weak in the knees, but to make things worse, a loud, high-pitched scream rings across the walls, coming from farther down the dungeon's corridor. There, another room can be found, one that's a much better lit space ─ although given what is found inside, perhaps that's not an improvement. In the middle of the room is a steel operating table, where the same blonde girl is lying ─ no, she's tied to it with several metal restraints. However, unlike before, she's missing an arm, and blood is quickly pooling in the place where it used to be. Behind the table stands a masked man, holding the girl's severed arm in his hand and studying it curiously. ]
Fascinating... Yes, I believe this will work nicely.
[ Next to him stands a huge doll, around 7 feet tall, the fingers on one of her arms taking the shape of a circular saw with fresh blood dripping off it. It's her that takes note of a dreamwalker in the room with them, and pokes the man with her other hand to draw his attention to the newcomer. ]
Hm? Ah, you're here. [ He doesn't seem surprised nor perturbed by the stranger's presence; in fact, he appears to be wholly uninterested in them, moving to another table and placing the arm there, looking through the different tools and speaking without as much as turning around to the other person. ] I don't mind you watching, but do make sure not to interrupt my work.
[ And just like that, he gives the limb in front of him his full attention. In the meantime, the doll moves towards the girl again, the saw on her arm starting as she moves it down, cutting into the meat of her leg. The girl's screams echo across the walls again, but neither the man nor the doll seem to care. ]
3. QUEST: Peace was never an option
[ What better way to take her mind off your nightmares than fight against some stray noctaere? Noel certainly seems to believe this is a good idea, and she's currently facing one of those inside an underground cave. Being a skilled fighter and having a decent grasp on how the dreamotion works, she normally shouldn't have too much trouble dealing with it, seeing as it doesn't appear to be terribly powerful. But... that isn't the case this time. In fact, the girl seems almost distracted, and approaching her will reveal that she's more focused on mumbling to herself under her breath than the obvious danger in front of her. ]
─wasn't me.
[ She dodges an incoming attack from the enemy, but she staggers and almost loses balance afterwards, though it appears she doesn't even take a notice of that, focused on talking to herself instead. ]
It wasn't me. It wasn't me. It wasn't─
[ As the noctaere takes another swing at her, Noel quickly conjures a protective barrier of blue light, but it shatters easily the moment it's struck; the hit connects and Noel is hurled across the cave, hitting the nearby wall. But worst of all, touching the noctaere causes the images from her recent dreams to flash in her mind once again.
Fire. Blood. Machines. Loneliness. Pain. Anguish. Suffering.
The girl curls up on the ground, holding her head in her hands as if that could help her get rid of the pictures in her head. ]
Just─ LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY!
[ With her emotions running amok, the ground shakes violently, and several huge pieces of the cave's ceiling fall down, hitting the noctaere and trapping it beneath. Noel lets out a soft gasp, both confused and scared by what she's done. Might be a good idea to help her calm down before she causes a full-scale cave-in. ]
4. LOG: Reboot
[ If Noel looks tired as she walks across the Reverein Plaza, staggering and stumbling into other people and mumbling apologies, that's because she is; there's only so long one can escape their own nightmares by running away into the nightmares of other people, and Noel is quickly reaching a breaking point. But sleeping means seeing... things that she'd tried so hard to forget. Memories of Saya. Memories of Izanami. Memories of... herself. Every time she as much as closes her eyes, she can hear voices in her mind, some familiar, some completely new:
"Die." "If only you didn't exist!" "You're in the way." "Get lost!" "It's all your fault." "If it wasn't for you..." "Monster." "Just die already!" "It would be better if you had never been born." "You're an eyesore." "You should just disappear!" "It's all because of you." "Go to hell!"
The voices never truly leave, not even when she's wide awake; they're always somewhere at the back of her head, playing quietly on repeat without giving her a moment of rest. ]
Stop... Stop, stop... please... just stop... I don't want this...
[ She covers her ears and shuts her eyes closed, as if hoping that could block the voices out and make her forget about them, but it only makes things worse. Without the sounds and images of the town to distract her, they get louder and more clear than ever. Eventually, the girl falls to her knees, shaking uncontrollably and screaming at the top of her lungs: ]
I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER!!
[ Suddenly, she becomes engulfed in bright blue light, and once it fades, the girl's appearance has changed considerably. She's hovering a few inches above the ground, and speaks up in a cold, robotic monotone. ]
Loading... Loading... Loading... Load complete. All systems normal.
[ Her eyes snap open, but instead of Noel's usual green, they're the color of deep blue. ]
Murakumo Unit is now active.
wildcard
[ important note: for the dream prompts (1 & 2), I will be replying with alternative journals,
godmodeon and/or highlandering! As usual, if you're interested in doing something else or have a different idea in mind, feel free to come up with your own scenario or drop me a line over at
[Wildcard]
So he spends most of his time skulking around in his riverside warehouse, preparing what he can with what little resources he has.
There's five signs around the perimeter now, ranging from "no trespassing" to "off limits" to "danger". He hopes that would be sufficient and he can sleep soundly, knowing he won't be pestered. Still, the moment he peers out the window into the darkness of nightfall, he sees something vaguely humanoid moving around near the warehouse's outer wall. Not even half a minute later, he's stomped his way out the door on the two bottom tentacles, their maws digging into the fresh ground as he hopes to tower over the trespasser.]
Who's there?!
no subject
She takes note of the signs, but otherwise pays them no mind; those are obviously aimed at humans, after all. A weapon like her cannot possibly be "trespassing". And yet, there's now someone emerging from inside the warehouse, apparently intent on addressing her. Mu regards him with a cold, indifferent stare, though she finds herself a little perplexed at the back of her mind. He's certainly human, yes, and yet... those tentacles are most definitely artificial in origin. According to her database, it is unusual for people to turn to mechanical enhancements of themselves unless absolutely necessary, so that's... illogical. But then again, so are humans.
After a moment of silence spent analyzing him, Mu finally answers his question. ]
This unit's designation is Dimensional Boundary Interface Prime Field Device Number 12 - Anti-Sankishin Core Unit "Mu".
[ That's a mouthful for most, but she recites it with a steady tone devoid of feelings. Now that she's replied to his inquiry, it's only far that she makes one of her own. ]
Requesting identification.
no subject
"This unit"... It couldn't be, could it? Well, only one way to find out.]
... Postpone that request. Define your purpose.
[He's not specifying whether he means her purpose here or her purpose in general, just to see what will happen. He doesn't know much about the specifics of robots or androids, but he does know computers and artificial intelligence.]
no subject
... Understood. Request postponed.
This unit's primary functions are combat and exploration of the Boundary. My main purpose as the God-slaying Sword Kusanagi is elimination of the Sankishin Units.
[ She has no way of knowing whether those terms mean anything to him, but even if she realized those aren't exactly common outside very few people from her world, she still wouldn't care. But on the bright side, she'll provide information on her current whereabouts, not just general duties. ]
Current status: unknown. Accessing mission parameters... Error. No mission parameters found in the database. The unit is currently in standby mode.
[ That's about the best she can give him at the moment. With all that out of the way, she figures it's a good time to go back to her own question. ]
... Repeating request. Target, identify yourself.
no subject
All four of his mechanical limbs perk up, clicking and snapping near his face. With the confirmation that the person they're facing is not quite a person, they're honing in on a sort of kinship. They're curious. He turns his head to shoot a light smile the tentacles' way before staring the trespasser down again. There's no problem with giving her his name; he hasn't exactly been hiding it.]
Dr. Otto Octavius. These are my assistants. [One of the tentacles moves a bit closer to Mu, angling itself to view her from the side.]
3
Noel? Are you alright?
[ His voice is heavy with concern. She looks so scared and it's hard to ignore what's going on around them.]
Please hang in there....!
1. I see what you did there with the dream names. XD
[What most people didn't realize was that one of the roots of Louisiana Voodoo was Roman Catholicism due to the heavy Catholic influence in New Orleans. The burning of the church and the death of the nun struck a dark chord in Alastor. Demon though he may be, he left those who served the Supreme Creator alone out of mutual respect and the Sunday lessons he'd grown up on.]
[He walks up to stand beside the little girl, casting a glance down at her before looking to the still-living boy with the sword and the glitching figure beside him. (Reality-warping powers? My, my, my. Seemed he wasn't the only one blessed/cursed with the trick of those even if they didn't work in Reverein.)]
A curious party. Nothing more.
[He then looks towards the corpse of the nun.]
What do you plan to do?
I try to be funny lol
... I might need to start over, but... not yet.
[ The girl lets out a small sigh and links her hands behind her back as she looks back to the wreckage, scanning it until she finds the bloody figure of the boy on the ground. ]
I'm sure... my brother will come for me eventually.
It was!
But then, I doubt you're the average child.
[He looks down at the girl.]
And until he arrives?
no subject
Mmm, no, not like that. If it comes to that, I'll... start this world over.
[ She says it like it's the most natural thing and not what sounds like a delusional notion, especially coming from a kid. In response to his question, she looks down at her feet, her voice quiet but determined. ]
... I'll wait. I've always been waiting, anyway.
[ Far, far longer than she can even remember, as a matter of fact. ]
no subject
[So reality-warping is somewhat commonplace in this dreamworld. That was guaranteed to cause nothing but trouble.]
And what are you waiting for? Not just your brother, obviously.
no subject
The girl looks up at him, her eyes widening in surprise. ]
Just for him, yes. What else would I be waiting for?
[ She seems genuinely confused by his statement. What else is there to wait for, really? ]
no subject
Do you mean to tell me you've no other things you've been wanting and waiting for? That's awfully peculiar, my dear!
no subject
Is it weird? I hope it's not weird... It's been like this for as long as I can remember.
[ If there was ever anything else she had wished for, then she's long forgotten it. ]
no subject
no subject
... I guess humans always want something, yes.
[ She isn't entirely sure why the idea makes her a little annoyed to think about, but it sure does, so she decides to focus on something that gives her a peace of mind instead. ]
But I just want to see my brother again. I'm sure... he'll come and save me.
no subject
[Though her statement pointing out humans specifically was curious. She didn't seem like either angel or demon.]
Save you from what exactly, my dear? And if you can simply start your world over, why would you need to be saved in the first place?