Visions.

[shimmermods]

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The further in you go, the thicker the calcification becomes.

The crystals on the walls are difficult to make out now, having been encased entirely by thick white growths encompassing the walls like spider veins, like roots; their energy, however, can still be felt if you wander too close to the walls, or if you spend too long recovering yourself after something sufficiently stressful has come into your line of view. This may be more for a problem for some of you than it is for others; some of you are holding up surprisingly well, all things considered.

It isn't a failing on your part, when it hits you.

It's hard to say precisely what "it" is - a sudden fatigue, a seizure, an abrupt swirling of the world beneath your feet; all you know is that you're here, and then you aren't anywhere, and it takes a moment to place what brought the feeling on, or even what the feeling itself is. It will come to you eventually, however, once your eyes refocus and the cavern comes into view again for you properly - it feels like that first week you were here. Like reawakening after a long stint asleep; like being disoriented after realizing that you're not where you should be.

The difference this time is that you are, for all intents and purposes, still where you should be.

You don't seem to have gone anywhere; it doesn't feel like you've lost that much time, even, if you've lost any at all. But the fact of the matter is that something feels different, and it feels wrong, and placing how proves to be difficult.

There's a bend in the path, and suddenly it becomes all too clear.

You aren't supposed to be here, are you?

This place can be anything and everything - the hallway in the upper floor of your house, the bar you frequent, that place where all your comrades are buried. What matters is that it's somewhere you weren't sure you would see again, but the fact of it is that you're seeing it here, and you're seeing it now, and perhaps some of the others with you are seeing it too. Perhaps there are others here, those that have been on your mind for the past few days; perhaps you're all alone outside of whomever is questionably fortunate enough to be experiencing this with you.

Whatever you're seeing, however, something remains present in your mind, driving you onward and encouraging you to move through this, and quickly.

You don't belong here.

You need to leave.


[OOC: Welcome to the first half of our week 5 event! For this portion of the event, the hallucinations you've experienced up until now have become far more thoroughly immersive, and can be seen or experienced by others in something akin to a shared dream-state. These visions are likely to delict something from your world that you would find familiar and would have some sort of attachment to, whether that attachment is positive or negative. Monsters or other people from your world can be present here and interacted with, to deal with as you see fit; fighting them or speaking to them are both fair game. Conversely, your personal experience may be exploring or revisiting an area of your world that may or may not be how you remember it...

Please note that the mods will not be NPCing any characters in your visions or answering questions specific to the environments that you create. However, you are free to create as you see fit; time and space have very little meaning here, and your only limitations to your character's personal illusion/dreamscapes are your own creativity. Feel free to post any prompts you may want to play with, and to tag out to others to experience whatever they want to show you. (However, it is worth noting that any physical items you find in the visions will not remain in their possession afterwards.) As always, if you have any more questions about how works, let us know!]

code by vuvuzela

Comments

[scythegun]

[The place you find yourself is a beautiful, elaborately-decorated room. The ceiling is high above you and if you look over the edge of the platform you're standing on, you can't see if there's anything down there. You stand in the center of that platform facing a large door, with a hallway behind you. Looking out the windows nearby gives off the impression that you're underwater - and maybe you are. It's hard to tell.

Welcome to Zaude.

It's quiet here, peaceful even. But this isn't where you're supposed to be, is it? So pick a direction and see what you find - will you head toward the door or take the hallway?]

[blunders]

[...This is...

Absolutely not a place that Felicia is supposed to be. This feels wrong somehow, even if the place is very pretty; she's not sure what this is, but...

Well, Felicia's going to try the door! Surely nothing wrong will happen there.]

Hello...?

[aokisouhei]

[ What about the hallway...? ]

[blunders]

[If there's one thing you'll immediately notice upon finding yourself in this place, it's that it's fucking cold. Bitter-cold, really; there's pretty much nothing but snow, snow, and more snow as far as the eye can see. Though if you do look out from your current position (the bottom right), you may be able to see a couple of houses in the distance...

Welcome to the Ice Tribe village.

It's very quiet and empty here for now, but there's no telling if it will stay that way. Be on your guard.]

[planetary_bonds]

[Yusei winces when he feels the chill of the winter village. He's used to staying through long cold nights in Satellite with little to warm him (sleeping in an abandoned subway station does that to a guy), but this is something else entirely. His thick riding clothes do little against the bitter cold of winter, especially not when standing for prolonged amounts of time in the wet snow.

This can't be real. It feels real. But there's no way he could have been transported from the middle of a cave to...wherever this is.]

Gh...and yet...

[If his brain believes it enough...maybe he could succumb to the cold here.

Time to head for the closest shelter - those houses.]

[instrumentalized]

[ Well. That's snow.

It wasn't long ago that Garma had loudly proclaimed he'd love to see it, but he's changing his mind very quickly right now. He is absolutely not dressed for the occasion and the cold seeps into every part of his body instantly, making him shiver. ]

What... where... where is everyone?

[ The cold is scary but being separated from the group is absolutely terrifying. Time to grab his rifle more tightly and try to move towards the houses? Walking in this snow is so hard... ]

[scythegun]

[He did not want to go to the Blade Drifts, why is it so damn cold here!!!! Well anyway, Yeager's off in the direction of the nearest house, he's not going to hang out here to freeze when there are clearly places over there to explore - are there any people inside?]

[klematis]

Ah, I was better packed for this weather before.

[ The perceived cold doesn't seem to phase Hugh, but he does absentmindedly pat his cloak in a vain search for his proper winter gear. Not that it would make much of a difference in this dream space, but.

He'll set off for the village with a weather eye if nothing else steals his attention. ]

choose ur adventurrr

[planetary_bonds]

[The walls are dark. Why are they dark? Wasn't the cave inlaid with bright white growths and sparkling crystals? This looks like some...abandoned factory, with cold steel walls and winding corridors.

It clearly hasn't been used in years, however, nor was this place simply shut down. There's a thick film of dust over everything, and the rooms themselves are in varying states of disrepair - destroyed cabinets, tables turned on their sides, scorch marks along the walls, broken shards of glass and ceramic...all of these can be found in every room. Most of them have nothing of value...but there's one office room that seems to be a little less dirty than the rest. It looks like someone was here before you - some of the glass shards have been pushed aside here and there, like someone was searching for something.

Another room, oddly enough, looks like it was occupied recently. Despite the large amount of spiderwebs lining the room - an unusually large amount of spiderwebs, actually, spread around the ceiling like some odd network, threads dropping from the ceiling here and there as if the spiders had just dropped to the floor for some reason, the room itself is actually relatively clean and free of dust. Despite that, there's very little to be seen at first glance - a long table, and five chairs placed around it. The room is dimly lit by a single candelabra placed at the very edge of the table, only clearly illuminating the empty seat placed at its head. If there's anything else on the table, it can't be seen from this distance - not with this amount of light.

Compared to the dimly lit rooms, however, the center circular room is absurdly bright - almost blinding. It's not that the building itself has changed, no. The walls are still that same dreary steel, and the room itself is several stories high, circular platforms on each floor acting as a observation point for the source of light in the center - a giant pit at the bottom swirling with bright rainbow lights. Lights swirling so smoothly they look like molten liquid at points, it honestly looks like something you'd find in the Shimmer. There doesn't really seem to be a safe way to get a closer look at this - none of the platforms are that close to the light, and there's no stairs around the edge that lead further down than about a third of the distance.

Around that height though, there's a wooden drawbridge that crosses the gap. It doesn't look like the steadiest thing in the world, if anything it looks...handmade. Like one of those rickety things you see in every action movie, ready to fall apart as soon as someone tries to cross it. It doesn't look like anything someone in their right state of mind would want to cross at the best of times.

Which, of course, naturally means that Yusei is there standing right in the center, looking over the edge with the intent expression of someone who's contemplating jumping right off.

Hm.]

center room

[pr159]

[ ...Well, he thinks he can guess what this is, actually, and seeing Yusei's presence there confirms it.

He's not about to walk out into the middle of that thing, because fuck that, and also fuck bridges in general, but he'll get close enough to be heard, at least. ]

I gather this is what you were talking about before.

[abysstery]

[You awaken in what appears to be a library, illuminated only by light filtering in through windows on its high ceiling. Flanked by large marble columns, rows upon rows of bookshelves extend as far as the eye can see, disappearing into the shadows beyond. Tables are stacked high with selected tomes as if someone has been perusing the selection only just recently, but only an ominous emptiness remains.

Things only become more ominous as soon as you take your tentative first steps. The entire landscape seems to distort and shift under your feet, disorienting you enough to threaten your stability. But as you begin to process the situation, you realize you can walk perfectly fine. This is but an illusion within an illusion.

As you venture through the dimly-lit halls, you hear the first sign that you're not alone in here. Voices echo from in the distance- one of them recognizable to you. It's Heinwald.]

...and that is the condensed version of it.

[Who is he talking to? As you follow his voice and round a corner, you'll find out. But it might not be what you're expecting.

The first thing that comes into view is a massive dragon...or something making an attempt at shaping itself into one, at any rate. It speaks to Heinwald, who is still out of your view but likely just beyond it.]

One abyss could not satiate you.
So you sought another.
Quandaries upon quandaries.

[Its voice rumbles through the library, though it would be more accurate to say voices. It is as though multiple people are speaking in monotone unison...all of them entirely too familiar to you for one reason or another.]

A prismatic force beyond the stars.
Not of Us. Not of the Ancient One.
...
Previously.

I figured as such. If only I had the time to spend scouring your...

[Heinwald's voice trails off as the dragon shifts to stare you down. Or it would, if it had eyes. But it is very much aware of you.]

[me_underfire]

[At first, Grace is really digging this library. Less so, however, when it starts to warp around her, and a lot less when she rounds the corner and comes face to face with this giant nightmare. She can only stare as it turns to look at her. It can talk, so maybe it's not going to try and eat her immediately.]

I, uh, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?

[blunders]

[You know, there's a lot of things going on here, and it just seems like no matter where one goes, there's no way back to the cave where they should be. But this library definitely takes the cake for the oddest place so far, and...

...Well let's be honest, you may very well hear Felicia before she shows up because that illusion is absolutely making her eat shit on one of the tables--]

Ow--what on--

[Grumble, grumble, let's...get up and go follow a familiar voice, and the...mish-mash of voices, ones that seem entirely too familiar, and she's...

Well, not expecting to see this. Much less watching the dragon shift to...stare her down? Gesture towards her??? Felicia isn't sure, and she yelps a bit when the dragon does that much--]

W-wait, I'm sorry, I mean no harm! I just...thought I heard a friend here.

[...HI, HEINWALD, SORRY ABOUT THIS. But also, hello, she...supposes...]

[scythegun]

[Well, this is A Lot, but you know what, at least Heinwald's here. That's probably a good thing, right? Even though there's a horrible giant talking dragon that sounds familiar in all the wrong ways, at least there's a familiar face here.

Of course, the horrible giant talking dragon has definitely noticed Yeager, so he holds up a hand in greeting. It can probably sense him, at least so this is... probably fine.......]

Hello! My apologies for interrupting, it wasn't my intention. I seem to have ended up here somehow.

[me_underfire]

[At first you may think you're still underground, as the walls around you are reminiscent of a cave. But a closer look reveals that everything here is artificial, and an opening leads to an elaborate sitting area. In fact, the further you explore, the more it becomes apparent that you're in a fantastical castle, like something out of a fairy tale, with carvings, murals and gilded decorations everywhere. There are plenty of windows to let in the light, and if you glance outside you'll find pristine mountainside as far as the eye can see. It really does feel like you're in a storybook. Is this real? Or is it a dream?

There's someone else here, too. Someone you've never seen before. A man dressed in full regalia rushes past you, clutching some folded papers in his hands. Follow him, and you'll spot him hiding them in secret compartments all around the castle. He doesn't seem to notice or care if you see him, as if he's just a ghost reliving his actions from the past. Finally, he'll retire to a chapel, where he kneels at the altar to pray. He still doesn't respond to you at all... maybe he's not the ghost here.]

[instrumentalized]

[ The splendor of the castle doesn't impress Garma as much as it might impress many others. His family is not this rich, has never lived this fantastically, but he could still imagine it with ease. He likes it here. Would like it far more if he knew how he got here or where anyone else is.

It's the chapel that makes him frown. ]

And in church again...

[ He half expects there to be plants again, coming at him from all over, but nothing yet... Garma clutches his rifle and walks over to the man - if there is no acknowledgement, he'll actually just try... poking him with it. ]

[instrumentalized]

[ You're in front of a wealthy-looking mansion. That in itself is pretty regular. Nothing much of note if you're used to Earth-like society - unless you look up to see... part sky part... more city. Welcome to Zum City main banchi of the space colony Side 3. And in this, welcome to the Zabi family home.

The door opens and a woman steps out. Garma, who is next to you, instantly tenses up. He is not quite standing to attention like a good soldier would, but it's coming close. ]

Kycillia!

[ Why is she here? No for that matter, why is he here? Neither of these questions seem to matter to Garma just yet as his eyes rest only on his sister, anxious and yet full of reverence. ]

Garma. You are home early. Did you not brag you'd only return with an exploit to your name? And who is this unannounced guest?

[ She inclines her masked head towards you and it makes Garma glance over as well. ]

Why, that's--- [ ... wait. His eyes look at you with recognition and confusion. ] How did you get here?

[planetary_bonds]

[Where the fuck is this and what the fuck are you wearing, woman.

Yusei glances back.]

Funny. I was thinking about asking the exact same thing.

[He doesn't look like he thinks this is funny.]

[alchemicals]

[The room you find yourself in is nowhere near as grand as some of the others; if anything, it seems to be aiming for the polar opposite. It's small to the point of feeling oppressive, dark and cramped and longer than it is wide. There's a bed set up in the corner that seems to serve the bare minimum function that it can to still be considered a bed at all; everything is threadbare, and there doesn't seem to be any light source in the room itself.

There's a heavy metal door that's cracked open against the far wall; given the weight of it and the barred observation window in the door itself, it gives the impression that it really, really shouldn't be left open like that normally.

It's obvious what this is, when you take it in. It's a prison cell, and not a very nice one at that.

You aren't alone in this place, however; Kimbley is here, leaning up against one of the walls near the door. Maybe he's waiting for you; maybe he just has no real desire to attempt escape. It's difficult to say. Either way, he's currently ignoring the most obvious route out of here in favor of just sort of studying the empty space a few inches in front of his face.

He'll come around once he notices there's someone else who's come in here with him, however. He still doesn't seem right when he does.]

Hey. Welcome to solitary confinement, I guess. I'd show you around, but from where you're standing you've already gotten the grand tour.

[scythegun]

[Wow, this is depressing. All of it, but perhaps especially Kimbley over there.]

Well, this is my first time being imprisoned, and I'm already not particularly fond of it. Let's leave while we have the chance.

[He's not staying in here, and Kimbley's not either, so let's just ditch?? That sounds great.]

[notjustawriter]

[The change might not be noticeable at first. You're still underground, of course. But it doesn't take long to notice that you're not in the mine anymore, you're in something that's been carefully carved out and built.

There are roots hanging from the ceiling from cracks here and there, hanging down low enough to be claustrophobic.

Despite the age of the place, it's clearly well-maintained if the lack of grime and dust are any indication. Oh, and the still-lit torches are a good indication that this is something else entirely.

You're in a crypt.

With how crypts are, you could go through the doorway immediately and risk getting lost, but there's always the strange symbols on the wall. Gabriel is inspecting them, his expression more tense than he usually looks, something akin to rage slowly growing on his features.

Whatever this is, you have a feeling something terrible must have happened here.]

[scythegun]

[Oooh, this place looks absolutely fascinating. This is definitely a dungeon, and they can be pretty fun to explore... Listen, he spent a long time posing as Regaey and he didn't fake a love of archaeology for that long, he's legitimately interested in all of this.

So up first are the symbols and Gabriel! What's up with these symbols?]

What is this place, Gabriel? It seems like you recognize it.

[He won't comment on just how mad Gabriel looks, but he's paying close attention to that as well as the strange symbols.]

[pr159]

[ You've landed in the dimmer and more desolate part of an old city that's seen better days, in front of a somewhat questionable looking bar lit up with neon.

Welcome to downtown Duval.

If you head into the bar, you'll find that it's nicer inside than it looks outside, and that Rideaux seems very much at home at its counter. ...Or this version of Rideaux, anyway, who looks almost a decade younger, and is wearing a black and red agent's uniform, with his hair tied up in a high ponytail. Next to him is another young man of about the same age, with glasses and short, dark blonde hair -- who, if anyone managed to catch the figures he was seeing throughout the week, might look a little familiar.

If you decide to take the scenic route and wander the streets, you'll be passing by buildings with worn paint, peeling siding, and rust, some broken windows and fences, and some down-on-their-luck people sitting out in the streets. There's a tunnel with eerily flickering lights, a one-room back-alley inn, a cheap curry shop, and, leaning against the wall of a run-down apartment building somewhere, the Rideaux you actually know. He's looking up at the sky -- which is, come to think of it, a little dark -- and if you follow his gaze, off in the distance you'll see...

Well. That's a thing. ]

street;

[aokisouhei]

[ ...You know, this was a very nice breath of fresh air, considering everything. But, he's not going to be really complaining.

And then he followed Rideaux's gaze to see.

That. ]

...What the hell is THAT thing up there?

[atrueheroine]

[You've found yourself in a place that is very different to the mines you've been living in for the past week. It's an opulent ballroom containing a strange metal wheel, low lit, with a number of people silently observing you from a platform raised above it. Almost as if they're an audience, intending to view you as some manner of entertainment.

Odd.

Thankfully, you don't seem to be alone; there's a woman beside you, masked and dressed in the same manner of luxurious clothing as the people on the platform. If you weren't sure who she was....]

What the bloody hell is this?!

[...well. If you've spent any time around Page over these past five weeks, you'll probably be able to recognise her voice. The mask hides some of her features but she's clearly distressed, and it doesn't take long for her to rip it off, along with the ornate wig.]

Not again...I can't do this again...!

[The distress quickly makes way for rage, and if looks could kill the man at the centre of the group would be long dead; it seems Page is eager to try and make it a reality - regardless of how unrealistic this entire situation is - and she quick points her automatic handgun in his direction-

...

...oh. She's pointing a pistol at him, all right, but it's...far from the advanced technology she's been using in the Shimmer. If anything, it looks like a relic from the industrial age, and it doesn't help her mood.]

This is....no, where is-!

[...ah. It seems she's finally noticed you.]

Quick! The game will start soon! Do you have a weapon?

[You certainly do, but you're in the same situation as Page; hope you're good with a sword and a similarly old-school pistol, because that's all you're getting and it's all you have.

Up on the platform, the man in the centre of the group starts to grin.]

[scythegun]

[Hi, Page. This sure is a situation we've found ourselves in, and boy is it one you really don't want to be in, isn't it.]

It really is unfortunate that I don't have my weapon. But I suppose I can make do!

[One of his weapon's forms is a sword and he's pretty damn good with it, so sure, he can roll with this.]

What exactly do we need to do for this game?

[Fighting something, from the sound of it, but what should he be expecting here...?]

[crestological]

[...the location you're at isn't unpleasant, really. Garreg Mach has certainly seen better days, but even with the rubble scattered around and scaffolding up for reconstruction work, it's kind of cozy-looking! All the facilities are open to visit, but... there are some... that are a little weird.

You'll probably be arrive in the empty marketplace area, and Hanneman is standing in front of the front gate, looking... perhaps a bit perturbed. Honestly, despite the coziness, there are a few things off about it; namely, the unsettling liminality that comes from a location that's very clearly well-traveled and inhabited being completely empty aside from you. So it's pretty easy for Hanneman to notice you, and he will pretty quickly flag you down.]

...Ah, I must ask you to stay beside me while we're here. I know the layout of this location extremely well, but... I can't say I know what's going on here.

Certainly, we will have to investigate, but I don't know what awaits if you go off on your own.

[scythegun]

[Oh, well this is nice. Sure, it's empty and that's a little unsettling, but it could be infinitely worse, right??]

Ah, Hanneman. What is this place?

[He gestures for Hanneman to lead the way; we can walk and talk, surely nothing bad will happen here.]

[klematis]

[ White, white, white everywhere you can see. The snow blankets you, covers you, nary a glimpse of something else in the distance. Two somethings, whenever the wind ceases and you can see farther than a finger's length in front of you.

A tall, spiraling stone tower lies due east, and to the south lies a grove of trees arranged in a circle. Both will offer shelter from the snow, and perhaps something else. ]

[scythegun]

[This sucks, snow is awful. At least it's not the Blade Drifts, he supposes.

Anyway, the stone tower is what catches his interest first, and that's the direction he's heading in! Hopefully it's not too long of a walk in the snow...]

[skelkro]

[Welcome to The Manor! Whose manor? There doesn't seem to be an answer for that indicating who this building belongs to, but as you walk around, it becomes clear that this building has probably seen better days. All the clocks have stopped, and there's a layer of dust on top of some cabinets and tables, and the staircase in the entrance hall is lined with rotted wood. But otherwise, it still seems good enough to stay in at least temporarily, given that there are at least three people that can be found coming and going around the building. Either exploring, talking to one another... or in the case of Kreacher, attempting to spy on others in the group sometimes without being noticed, especially Emma in particular, who can be found in the garden when you're looking for her...

... And for all the world not even noticing anyone else around her, as her attention is on a peculiar scarecrow taking residence within the garden. Momentarily attempting to speak with it, as if it's an old friend.]

I've missed you so much, Mr. Skelkro. I know it hasn't been that long since I last saw you, but it feels like it sometimes, the longer I spend time away from you and our wonderful garden.

[... Right then. So hey, what about attempting to leave the Manor? If you try to open and step out the front door... the scenery has a sudden, very drastic change. Now you're standing in what appears to be the grounds of an abandoned arms factory, judging by the dilapidated sign. The manor is nowhere to be found, and at first there doesn't seem like there's any signs of life around this place given how yellowed the grass is and the broken equipment... except, there are definitely signs that something is here among you.

On the walls, there are some very... potentially pants-shitting words in large letters in hopefully paint that reads "I WILL FIND YOU". This message is in a lot of places here, but what exactly is it that is apparently trying to find you? There is one message however that isn't those words that reads "Lydia will always stand by Lisa forever and ever", but what is probably going to draw your attention the most is a bright light that suddenly sparks to life not too far away from this message.

Approaching it, you'll find... Mr. Skelkro, that scarecrow from Emma's garden. Except now it's on fire, and definitely gives off an unnatural smell of burning flesh somehow. But if Mr. Skelkro is here, then where is Emma? She isn't here with the scarecrow, but there is someone else now that suddenly lumbers into view... someone who doesn't look like a good idea to make contact at all with really, judging by his appearance and the groans he makes in lieu of words, like some kind of zombie...]

arms factory

[me_underfire]

[Grace approaches the burning scarecrow, but claps her hands over her nose and mouth as the odor hits her. It's just like the tree. She's distracted, but not enough to ignore the other figure lurching out of the darkness.]

O-oh... oh my god... stay back!