Chao was confused as Alice started speaking. What did she mean by waking her up and it’s a dream. If this was somehow a dream Chao thought it was rather nice. Original me? What was that supposed to mean. She was the original her wasn’t she? “What are you talking about?”
Then she felt it, it was like waking up but she was already awake but slightly groggy. Slowly she noticed memories that she hadn’t remembered before. Of a different life, one where she wasn’t a hunter. She was a student at Amityville Academy. A reaper with a twin, she wondered if Caden was stuck in this dream too.
Cadence had to admit though, the outfit Conquest her was in was pretty cute. Even if it wasn't rocker enough for her, But she did have some ripped human cloths in her closet that she could change into instead of the horseman robe.
She also remembered this wasn’t the first dream she had like this, the memory wasn’t fuzzy and it had felt so real, wonderland. That’s where she first met Alice.
“Alice is Dorothy the one keeping us here?” She tried to ask the AI. But Alice had already disappeared. It was frustrating she was hoping to get a bit more info on what was happening but then again, Alice had all ways been a bit mysterious. Cadence wondered how to get out, was the exit the same as wonderland? She had gotten out of a weird dream like this once before, certainly she’d be able to do it again, they just needed to look for the source
Find the cage, find a way out. Avoid Dorothy. That was Cadence's plan.
Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 12:27 pm
[ part three ]
Well s**t.
He breathed out slowly, allowing the information that had infiltrated his mind in a split second to muddle just about everything up to settle down. This sucked. That was all Milo Hale could muster as a thought at first as he closed his eyes tightly. It was one of these things again. Alice again but... different of course. They hadn't been in control - not like they were then - and they had been changed. He wasn't of War (though, the outfit wasn't awful, he felt rather awesome), he was Sun and human and seemed to only live on islands. Another breath.
- Koume.. where was Koume, he could use her naggy voice right about now, telling him to snap out of it but there was just a void where the familiar tingle of the tengu should have bee settled in his head.
The brunette tried not to allow panic to settle in, it felt like it would be completely useless to; like where would it exactly get him besides probably knocked out by someone or creating more problems and a headache. And that seemed like it would be even less fun. No, he had to remain calm, maybe seek some people out - one person in particular, one he didn't even know if she were here. Figure out something. What, he didn't know. It was hard even to tell if this was reality in itself or just another dream or simulation like before. It felt real, he could flex his hand but it felt different and wrong even with so many other memories in his head. Would a contingency plan be useful, like in those movies where someone wrote a note to their self? He didn't know what that could accomplish and his brain was still in a fog, too unable to think of some sort of Power Ranger reference at the moment.
Urg, this was an annoying mess of a thing to be found stuck in yet again.
name: Meelo journal:A link! clan: War (Soldier) arcana: Hermit description: Tall, tanned, lean, toned and tattooed. His brown hair is pulled into a man bun with part of the sides shaved. Eyes are green, clothes are barely there, a smile always present and wings are large, tan with red markings.
chirigami
Swashbuckling Sentai
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nessy
Cuddly Hunter
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Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 1:56 pm
[ Part Three ]
The dream was terrible, alright, but not in the way Camille thought that ALICE wanted her to think of it. Drowning in memories her eyes closed, slowly, and she tried very hard not to cry...and lost.
This was, very possibly, the worst thing that had ever happened to her. Two sets of memories warred with each other until the brilliant memories of a junior Seer, learning her craft, safe in the warmth of her hive and her family, were sublimated by the truer memories. Memories growing up on a island paradise with a mother who was fierce and more than a little cold. Nine -- Caroline -- as well as Mimsy were unchanging constants but the Nothing? Loki? Ven? None of these people existed to her.
Tears began to track their way down her cheeks leaving little trails in the dust from sand and insect that lived always on her skin. Within minutes she was blasphemously howling. "I don't want this! I don't want to go back to that stupid island! I want to stay here! I want to be with my mom, and my mama, and my sisters, and my mentor! I want this life!"
Small fists pummeled uselessly against the mound of pillows and sheets of random fabric that made up her nest. "I am happy here! Damn it, Alice, you're supposed to be on my side!" Hadn't that been what Mimsy said? Alice was always going to do what was best for them. Was this what was best? Reminding a teenage girl that her happy life where she was succesful, and ambitions, and somebody was nothing more than a dream?
For a long time she cried and cried until she cried herself out and then, hollow and aching inside, Camille Ryland sat up. Shoulders squared she made a resolution. She had to wake up? Fine. But there were others here that had 'woken up' too and they would tell her what to do next. Perhaps if they all wanted to stay here...perhaps they could...
Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 2:15 pm
[ PART THREE ]
There was a sudden stillness in the back of Ever's mind -- the buzzing and whirring calming as memories of another world leaked through the world of this dream, overlaying memories of another world over the quiet greyness of the Dusk. The saltwater scent of the bahamas filled his nose; memories of vodka and cigarettes washing rough over his tongue; the dull ache of mending fingers inside a battered-and-worn blue plaster cast. His name wasn't who he was, nor was his identity as a hunter. It was these small things that, in the end, pulled together to form the reality of Ever.
The visuals, though, were gone.
He navigated this strange dream world with the memory of sunlight, but instead he was cast into a strange almost-darkness. Shaky, he brought the hands up to the glasses on his nose, rubbed at his face underneath. Slowly, he tried to dissect which memories came from reality and which only had roots in this strange, lucid dream.
Shaky and off-balance, Ever pushed himself up to stand and tried to grasp the easy confidence he'd had as a horseman -- listening to sounds bouncing off surfaces and gauging distances based on the echos. He'd been so good at this until about thirty seconds ago, but now he was hesitant and wobbly. He had to settle a hand against the wall to figure out where he was, tipping his head down and cursing creatively.
He couldn't stay like this. The cage was the key, but he didn't even know where he was, let alone where it was. Frustration sparked a thought, and slowly, he began to pad his way toward the rooms he'd shared with -- Zyk.
OOC
Character's name: Ever Character's clan: Famine Character's journal link:xxx Character's arcana The Fool (group F) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER Pale on pale, left to his own devices Ever tends to wear shades of ivory and sand. Venturing into the human world, he wears every article of clothing he's picked up, all at once. His hair is long and tousled, pulled into a fluffy tail at the back of his neck; his skin is pale and washed out; the only pop of color is black, like sickness, that creeps dark from the tips of his fingers up his arms. Covering his eyes is a pair of cheap, mirrored shades.
Tanita had been in her rooms, meditating, when Alice's connection to her occurred. The feeling of all of her personal, real memories suddenly returning was overwhelming, and nauseating. Oh gods, what was happening? She wasn't Tanita the Conquest Horsewoman, she was Tanita the Dragon, who had been in her second attempt at her first year at Amityville... She didn't know what to do, who to try to contact. No one felt familiar, but then who would? She'd been called away from school originally, to deal with family issues, and had only recently been able to come back. Everyone she'd known in her first attempt had changed, and Mother of Dragons, she was all alone. Here, even more then at the school because she not only didn't know anyone... She didn't know who might be safe to know in this horrible dream. And she didn't have her wings. Her wings... Her back suddenly ached with the need to feel them, the need to fly, and yet she couldn't. She was trapped on the ground...
She stood up, and, ignoring the fact that Conquest-Her would be HORRIFIED by her actions, grabbed a brush, a pot of black ink, and went to her one empty, white wall. She began to write on it. "Your memories are false. Don't trust Dorothy. Don't trust anyone, they might be Hunters." She shuddered, thinking of her friend Liya, that 'Conquest-Tanita' remembered, adored as a good friend, and wanted to trust. How she wished real her had friends like that, but what was she going to do? Did anyone she had met, and made friends with during this time, have connections to her real self? What about the heirs, the Leaders? Were any of them safe? She did not know, had no way to tell. She stared at her painted words, and under it, drew an image of a dragon, as close to how she saw her true self as she could, and painted the word 'You, TRUE you.' under it, before putting it all away... and going out to see what she could at least try to find.
Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 2:57 pm
[ENTER] [ REHAB CENTER - LOBBY - PART 2 ]
Coming back from her last part time job, Azodel looked in the direction of the red crystal, high up in the sky. But suddenly she realised that there a little itch somewhere in her mind, warning her that something wasn't right.
Now that the ghoul thought about it... Wasn't the crystal brighter last time she saw it? And were those cracks line already there before? Sure the war-clan member realised that she wasn't the most observant but surely she would have noticed THAT. Probably....
Azodel's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as the light in the Dusk brutally went out. In a bit of shock the winged ghoul watched some people start to panic and run in every direction like headless chickens. Fools. Of course the lights would be coming back on in a few seconds.
Over a couple minutes later Azodel was still waiting for the lights to come back. Some of the panic movement had slowed down as apparently the world wasn't ending.
At least after a moment more some luminosity came back to the tower. The horsewoman slightly relaxed, having been proven right. There, she knew the darkness was only temporary. Okay, maybe the red flickering lights were not really what she had in mind but still. She'd been right.
After reading the text message everyone seemed to receive she went in the tower, stumbling a bit as she did NOT have night vision. Heading to her clan's representatives she got a crystal for her Fear collection.
Seemed like it was tome to move along.
OOC
Character's name: Azodel Character's clan: War Character's journal link:xxx Character's arcana Strength BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER Looks just like my avi. Quite easygoing, absentminded, but tough in a fight.
Bjorn blinked and--no, Dawson. Dawson Grace, yet graceless. A buffoon whose family had not been there since time immemorial, but whose mother had left him to be taken in by someone else. And--And--
Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 3:56 pm
[PART 3 - Otto]
Dreams were never just dreams. They always meant something. And when Alice showed up in one, even briefly, it meant something had happened outside the dream to make this happen. Otto looked down at himself, still clad in the appearance of a horsemen of Death. "How fitting.." Because of course he'd be a Death Horsemen. The only other clan that would prove more ironic would be Famine.
Regardless, he felt as if he'd been given a breath of fresh air. He had his senses again, his own memories.
Whatever program that had tried to recover the jostled dream self seemed stuck. He hoped for good. Dorothy just seemed like a copy of Alice. Did that mean everyone in this dream had a real world counterpart? Or was he stuck alone again, in another dream that asked him to choose to keep his life or give everything up in exchange for some idea of rest and freedom. The latter of which gave him a chill. He'd overcome the last Alice dream he'd had, choosing a life and memories full of suffering in the name of love. Had he chosen wrong, and that was why he was being forced to choose again?
No. He shook his ever present doubts from his mind. He'd been given no such choice. This was all just echoes of his own weak self consciousness.
All that was left to do was figure out how to wake up.
- - - - -
[PART 3 - Kiki]
Kiki blinked as the weight of her own true mind filled in the blanks and coloured the world anew. Despite what ought to be a blessing, Kiki felt cursed. In this world she was a princess. Or as close to one as she'd ever been. What vindictive god had she pissed off to be reminded of her dirty common bloodline? Perhaps she didn't have to wake up. Horsemen or not, she was true nobility here.
If she slept forever, like Briar Rose herself, perhaps she'd never have to accept the truth. After all, what good was she if she wasn't a Princess?
Bittiface
Sarcastic Hunter
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Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 7:49 pm
[part 1 - rehab center]
there were the usual questions, when reine realised she was quite conscious again - why, when, how, where, what the actual ********, and honestly, dorothy, if you could just shut up for a moment that would be really great. she scratched the side of her head, as if it would help, somehow with the headache, that low, throbbing pain that felt like it was on the left side of her head, somewhere behind her ear, or beside, it was kind of hard to tell really.
.. oh.
it was probably just a caffeine headache, now she thought about it, nothing strange or out of the ordinary. reine's phone buzzed insistently, that familiar pattern of vibrations and beeps that could only come from one person, and she reached for her pocket, pulling it out to check her messages.
good god. the screen was bright, too bright, and her vision swam, the little tiny hieroglyphic shapes or faces or whatever on the screen blurring together. shakily, she turned the brightness down on her screen, then tried to focus on deciphering the messages; hard work, with the pain still thundering away in her head.
the only really important thing was galaxybucks; it didn't matter so much when or which one, they could sort out all those stupid trivial details later. all that mattered was that coffee (beautiful, dark roasted coffee) was in her near future.
in a rare moment of vitriol, reine snatched up the note on the table, and scribbled a few words on it, before leaving the room.
optional survey
gaia_star How was Dorothy’s performance? no
gaia_starWould you recommend her to anyone else? no
gaia_starOn a scale of 1 - 10, 1 being the least, how well would you say your memory rehabilitation process is going? no
[exit to galaxybucks to meet tria & co]
Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 9:19 pm
[ part 3 ]
She awoke and she was not Asuna.
She never had been Asuna.
Ashanti was trapped in the body of a horseman, trapped within a dream she could not find her way out of. The abyssal dragon could not remember how this came to be, but it did not matter. All that mattered was getting out. This state this... lucid dreaming would not last. She knew of such states from holding vigils at the Pyres, and they were never infinite.
A Pyre.
She needed a pyre, it would tell her true.
Yet... doubt and worry filled Ashanti's mind. A rare visitor for someone who kept tight control on her emotions and thoughts. Too many questions drew up in her mind, and too few answers were given. She made her way from her perch among the trees to the floors above.
Who were ALICE and DOROTHY, really?
And why was she here?
OOC
Character's name: Asuna Character's clan: War Character's journal link:[ x ] Character's arcana Wheel of Fortune BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER
Azodel woke up just as she was leaving to collect fear for the Dusk.
The ghoul slowly came to the realisation that she remembered more than being a horseman... Actually, she had never been one at all. The only positive point being that she still had her wings... And not much of her personality, the original her, was different than the horsewoman she was in the simulation. Still she didn't like being played against her will, and she couldn't remember how she came to be in the simulation in the first place.
Plus the Valkyrie wasn't sure she liked this new AI, Alice, very much.
And, okay, maybe realising that she had been quite a slacker at the Academy wasn't pleasant either. She really should work more seriously at becoming a year 2. But that was for another day.
At the back of her mind she could feel something, vaguely, like remorse. For what she had no idea, and maybe it wasn't her feeling it. Anyway she would need to find a way to go back to Halloween, even if it meant fighting against this pull to stay. It was as if something powerful wanted her to remain.
The first AI that "helped" her when she woke in the dream, where was it? Because it certainly didn't look like she had done anything to truly help the ghoul remember anything useful or about who she really was. Speaking if Ai, the voice that had cut 'Alice' mid speech had said 24 hours. Did that mean that she was only in a lucid state while still dreaming? And what would happen in a day if she couldn't find a way to properly wake up before then? Would she forget again?
One thing was sure : Azodel wouldn't go down without a fight. Now what cold she do to help herself remember if she was to forget? Write herself a note? She had no paper of even a pen... While the young Valkyrie tried to find a way to either wake up of leave herself a sign that she wasn't who she was supposed to be time passed and the 24 hours came to an end. And so, without even noticing, Azodel slipped back in the simulation.
OOC
Character's name: Azodel Character's clan: War Character's journal link:xxx Character's arcana Strength (rank 2) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER Looks just like my avi. Quite easygoing, absent-minded, but tough in a fight.
Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2017 5:07 pm
[ Part Three ]
The sound of glass shattering filled the relative quiet of the comfortable apartment Zyk shared with Ever. A jar falling from suddenly loose fingers to smash against the hard floor beneath the alchemist's work bench. Frozen there, mossy eyes impossibly, horribly wide, he clutched at the edge of the table. An anchor against the flood of images that came crashing over him. Drowning him in sights and sounds and memories a different life in a different place. Still sunny and warm, but humid and surrounded by crystal clear water.
Deus ex Machina. Memory provided. His home, and his life. He was content there, happy even. He was happy here. A small handful of fondly familiar faces that cared about him, that he actually cared about in return. Where was Ever?
Where was..."Lagertha?" There was no answer, and the quiet in his mind that had been so peaceful mere moments before was suddenly horrifying in a way that wasn't immediately comprehensible. Fear gripped his heart, sent his pulse racing with such force that it was deafening.
It excited the beetles...
Buzzing, always buzzing. He could feel them, tiny feet crawling over his skin, tiny wings shifting beneath the hardened outer shells of their body.
Tiny black bodies swarmed across the silver blade of one ax, buzzing angrily. There was a crack, a stab of pain, and then the horrific sight of that shining blade shattering. Zeke had had time to scream, body gripped with agony, before falling to his knees as the world went black.
There was a bubble of hysteria rising up the man's throat as that so vivid memory slid to the forefront of his mind, a high, keening sound that started quiet, but grew as he suddenly smacked at one of the jeweled beetles that was crawling over him. Everywhere. He screamed as he felt another, and another. They were everywhere. He couldn't smack them away fast enough. He was covered in them. He was...he was...
The hysteria reached a peak at the realization that the beetles weren't just on him, but came from within, and another terrified scream tore from his throat as he dropped to his knees. Nails tearing at his own body, trying to dig them out. To rid himself of their little glittering bodies.
OOC
Character's name: Zyk Character's clan: Famine Alchemist Character's journal link:xxx Character's Arcana: Chariot BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER: Tall and thin with dark skin, dark rimmed eyes of mossy green, and a shaved head. His hands are blackened, long fingered and thin,with the darkness creeping up his arms in running veins. Here and there, glittering beetles in blues, greens, and iridescent blacks. They scurry here and there about his person. He doesn't wear much, but what he does wear consists of fine silks and glittering jewelry.
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Everyday Blob
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Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2017 8:34 pm
[Part 3]
He jolted, the ability to focus on anything suddenly swept away by an insistent buzzing sensation in the back of his skull. It rose in loudness and pitch, like a humming static that made his brain itch. He rubbed the back of his head, as if that would make it stop and, when that didn't work, he found himself pressing on either temple with the heels of his palms. He was with the other horseman, and he went to ask him if he was having the same problem, but the voice in his head caused his voice to die in his throat.
When he looked back up, how alien everything was immediately struck him. This wasn't where he was supposed to be, who he was supposed to be... His hands felt along the horns along the top of his head, and he felt a sinking feeling to go with it. Something was wrong, something was very wrong, and he had a very bad feeling about it. His breath was heavy in his chest. This was all wrong. He wasn't a horseman. He was him.
"My name," his voice was shaky as he began the whisper to himself, as if reaffirming to himself, "is Arrakis Dismth." He remembered the cage, and stopped, squeezing his eyes shut a moment. He needed to get back to that cage, he knew that. He had to. No option.
Dorothy's voice in his mind was a memory, this time, and he felt a cold chill pass over him. If he could he had to avoid her. He wasn't sure, really, what she was or if she could even be avoided, but it was something he felt very strongly he needed to do. It was almost as strong as his desire to get to that cage to get his true self back.
"My name is Arrakis Dismth." Arrakis. Arrakis. He had two parents. He had several brothers. He was a student. He had homework to do, exams to study for--
He pressed his hands to his temples again for a moment, eyes darting to the other horseman--no he wasn't a horseman!--with him. A third time, his voice stronger and louder this time, he repeated, as if reassuring himself:
"My name is Arrakis Dismth."
He looked down at his hands, noting their familiar colour, but not the way they... felt. He could not feel his magic, the magic of his family. There was no music humming in the back of his mind. That must be with the rest of "him" in that cage, he reasoned, eyes staring into the distance ahead of him as his mind went deep into thought.
How could get out of here? How long until it all came for him, again? How had he gotten here? He didn't remember agreeing to any of this. He wouldn't have agreed to any of this, anything like this. How could he get out? How could he find that cage? He didn't know his way around this area. If there was an actual exit, he had no idea how even to get to it. Taking a deep, shaky breath, he looked up.
Okay, one step at a time.
(535 words)
Aran's Journal Clan: Conquest Arcana: Wheel of Fortune Description: Aran is tall and lithe, with vivid oceanic blue-green eyes and a pair of moderate-length black horns sweeping back from his head. His auburn hair is bound tightly back on his head in one large plait. His posture is generally attentive and his movements full of youthful energy.
Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2017 9:00 pm
[ Part Three ]
Alice's words felt distant, but he heard them. An "original you," which he didn't understand initially but understood in short order. A him that was different, a him that was who he actually was, because he wasn't a horseman.
Yildirim had never been a horseman at all.
He was Yildirim. But he wasn't just Yildirim. That wasn't the correct name, not fully. He was Yildirim Ignatius Svarog, and he used the middle name, not the first. Yildirim always felt too long and stodgy to him, whereas Ignatius felt a little more ... in tune and also a little more prone to nicknames. He was Ig, he wasn't Yild, and he didn't have wings, he didn't have this odd tanned skin, and he definitely was not a creature of War.
He belonged to Halloween, went to a school called Amityville Academy, at least for now. He was close to graduation, he knew that much. Had a few more requirements to fill, a few more exams to take. Why was he here, and not doing that? This wasn't right. This definitely wasn't right.
Ignatius no longer wanted beautiful wings. That patterning belonged on his skin.
That Dorothy had been useless for sure, his instinct had been correct. She recovered nothing. He remembered nothing from her. But now he remembered, and he felt upset. It rang in the back of his mind, but he couldn't figure out why. It was clawing at him. Maybe figuring out how to wake himself up from this lucid nightmare would help him lessen the pain.
OOC
Character's name: Yildirim Character's clan: War Character's journal link:Journal Character's arcana Chariot BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER Yildirim is a freckled, dark War Clansman with bright blue, speckled wings stretching over the back of his body. He appears to be a young adult. His hair is dark, almost a navy colour, and is kept down to brush his shoulders.
Seiana_ZI
Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Seiana_ZI
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Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2017 9:48 pm
[ Part Three ]
The first thing he thought was why another AI and the second thought was wait, why another AI?
She was talking something about dreams, and first it did not really make sense to him. He didn't feel like he was dreaming. This was real. Too real, in fact. This was a situation in which, "Pinch me, I'm dreaming," would likely result in a significant amount of pain. At least, that was what it seemed.
But Za'riah also knew that he was not Za'riah, suddenly. The original him was not a Horseman of Death, but a Hunter of Life, which to him in some ways would always be hilarious irony. But yet, he was currently in a body that clearly did not belong to him, that of a Horseman of Death, but it didn't feel like it didn't belong to him. He felt like he belonged there, more than anything, but he also knew he did not belong there, more than anything. He was a human, tasked to defeat the very thing he was.
Zachariah needed to leave. He didn't belong in the Dusk.
Za'riah wanted to remain. He did belong in the Dusk.
Part of him wanted to embrace Za'riah. Things felt better as Za'riah. But being Za'riah was not a solution. He needed to figure out how to break out of this dream. Perhaps he should look around. Maybe he could find something to assist him.
OOC
Character's name: Za'riah Character's clan: Death Character's journal link:Journal Character's arcana The Lovers BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER Za'riah is a pale Death Horseman of a fairly average build, though on the taller side. He has dark hair kept short to his head and pale blue eyes.
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