castle_perrault | [mingle] what's the dream and what's the reality?

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@mingle,
mother 3

[mingle] what's the dream and what's the reality?

Lately the castle's nights have been very clear and almost warm, even up so high among the clouds as they are. But regardless of the weather, they are generally peaceful nights, and few things seem to stir during them...apart from the castle's inhabitants, be it with late-night roving or with sleep. The dreams, by extension, are at least undisturbed...if maybe not always pleasant. That sort of thing tends to vary by the person, of course.

But now--and for several nights, consecutively--the castle residents may find their dreams starting to take on stranger shapes: memories they've never had, friends that don't usually arrive, strangers they've never seen. These odd impressions might cling and continue to confuse even upon waking, vivid as they were; was it really just a dream, or maybe something more...? Does that newcomer in your dream remember you there too, in the daytime?

Either way, there seems to be an strange energy in the air during these nights. And it's bringing dreams together.

((ooc: And here's the catch-all post for the dream-sharing event! Feel free to top-level with your character's dreams here, or thread around in others! The event should only last about a week, but backtagging is eternal c: The ooc planning post can be found here!))

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"That can't be right," Chara insists.

They pause, their gaze flicking from the blond woman to the basket nearby. Chara lifts the blueberry pie and places it to one side, then pushes the basket towards the blond woman. "They're probably in there," they say.

Another pause. "Are you two... family?"

Lucas follows Sans dutifully, the promise and the brief flicker of eye-lights in blank sockets making for a tiny spark of hope in the darkness that presses all around. Being able to reassure Sans even just a very little bit is better than being unable to do anything at all--and in a place like this, Lucas has no doubt that every small bit probably counts for quite a lot. (He just hopes it'll be enough...)

Stealth never really was his strong suit, to be honest, and water tends to be noisy when you touch it no matter how careful you try to be. But Lucas still tries his very best to be as quiet as Sans, as they wade further and deeper into the shining marsh. He wonders if they'll need to swim, eventually, and if Sans is any good at that. He'll just need to try and help, if it comes down to it...but this train of thought is distracted by the soft and aimless song that filters to them from nearby, and Lucas stops at Sans' tug. He stares at the ghostly fish-like thing as it drifts past through the air, at its too-gaping jaw. It must like singing very much. He wishes he could help with mending its poor jaw. But from Sans' reaction, Lucas can guess that reaching out to the singing fish would be a very bad idea.

Sans' question manages to tear his attention away from the fish. Lucas blinks down to him. "...Yes," he whispers back, and his glance slides away to cast out over the water. "I used to wonder all the time. ...I still wish some things didn't happen the way they did. Or--that I had done some things differently in the past..."

Is that--a red mailbox, sitting at the edge of the water some distance away? Lucas stares at it for a moment, and then tears his eyes away, shifting to start moving again. Away from that direction. "But there's not a lot you can do, I don't think. About those things."

"Thanks." The pigtailed woman starts picking through the basket.

At Chara's question, Grune smiles happily. "Oh, yes, that's right."

The pigtailed woman, on the other hand, jerks her head up, then looks away with a blush across her cheeks. "No, not--not really. I mean, we just live in the same house."

She gestures off behind her, where a cosy single-storey home can be seen past the many, many gardens.

Grune doesn't seem offended, though. She smiles fondly and says, "This is Fenimore, and this is Stella."

Stella, the young woman with her hair in a bun, gives Chara a warm smile and a "hello."

"This is Walter" --she indicates the grumpy young man, who gives Chara a single nod-- "and over there is Norma. And you already know me and Sophie!"

She giggles.

Chara bites their lip, seeming almost amused at how flustered the pigtailed woman- Fenimore, Grune calls her- is. "I think I understand," they say. "I used to live in the same house as someone."

Still, they aren't very comfortable when Grune starts introducing everyone else, and they barely acknowledge the others with more than a brief look. It's a relief when it seems to be over.

"...You all seem so happy," they say. "Except perhaps for Walter."

The air smells of heated metal, and they drop the frypan by their feet, too. It's red-hot. There are marks in the shape the pan's handle seared into their palms, and they see blisters before they clench their fists, hiding it.

Me too, they say to him, though their mouth doesn't move at all.

The mold spores that stuck to their shoes start growing tiny tendrils.

A: Gotham City Skyline

Hopefully you're not afraid of heights, because right now you're standing hundreds of stories above a street full of rushing cars, on the side of a building lined with gargoyles. The wind whips at your hair and clothes. Streets and buildings stretch out beyond yours, dark deco skyscrapers and similar elegant, old style structures, electric lights that glitter like stars, the city extending as far as the eye can see. Even if you can't quite see them from up here, you have a definite sense of countless dark nooks and crannies and alleyways to be explored.

And then, as you're standing there, the wind picks up and suddenly an enormous, bat-like monster is swooping past you.

B: A Bat In A Cage

You appear to be in some sort of abandoned underground car park, gloomy and musty smelling, full of large wooden crates containing who knows what. Despite the flickering overhead lights, the distant stretches of the car park are shrouded in darkness, giving the impression of infinite space. At least there's a cement wall to your left that you might be able to orient yourself with.

Still, you'll need to be careful: You're not alone here. Patrolling in between the crates are numerous heavily armed men in strange uniforms that consist of dark tactical armor, masks that cover their entire heads, and goggles that give each guard the appearance of three glowing orange eyes. What's more, a few of the men are guarding a large metal cage a few feet away from you, in which a possibly familiar beast is crouched. None of them have spotted you yet- but you may need to move out of sight quickly.

C: Some Montage Music and You'll Be Set

How do you feel about obstacle courses? Because that's what you're looking at right now. It's a bit crude looking, consisting of mostly wooden equipment that's clearly been homemade- though it all appears sturdy- spread out in a lap over a large patch of dirt. The area beyond the obstacle course appears to be some sort of park or massive garden, and looming over the trees in the distance you can see a big fancy house.

Then you hear a whistle, and a moment later three beastly people drop out of the sky around you. The first is the Batman himself, landing a few feet in front of you. The second lands to your left- they're another bat person, like the Batman, except they're a bit smaller, girlish looking, with less of a mane and reddish fur, and they're wearing a shabby purple dress. And to your right lands another person, but this one resembles a red breasted robin, though they're about the size of a human being and dressed in eye catching bright clothes. Luckily, all three of your new companions seem to be in a good mood.

"Okay," Batman announces, "Here's what we'll do. You three will start at the monkey bars, and do ten laps around the circuit." He holds up a stopwatch. "Let's see if any of you can beat the old record."

D: Little Boy Lost

Fog surrounds you, engulfing the cobbled street and buildings in a chilly haze. It's probably sometime in the evening, because there's a reddish glow in the area like the sun's setting and the street lights are on, though the lamps don't seem to be doing much for the gloom beyond brightening up whatever cone of fog is underneath them. The street is empty and silent, but for the distant tolling of a bell.

The bell tolls once... twice... nine times in total before stopping, and then small, frantic footsteps can be heard racing down the cobblestones. A shadowy figure emerges from the fog and before either of you can stop it, it barrels straight into you.

"Ooof!"

It's a boy. A human boy, with dark hair and large blue eyes, which are now staring at you frantically. "What are you doing here?" he asks, confusion and worry clearly evident in his tone.

"This is a waste of time," Walter complains.

"Walter...." Stella chides; now it's Walter's turn to look away, this time with a quiet "hmph."

"He's just shy," Grune explains to Chara.

That has Walter turning his head back to them, and quickly. "I'm not shy!"

"Of course you aren't, dear."

Grune shares a look with Chara. They know better, don't they?

Grune looks about at the new place she's standing in. It's very interesting and very big, and there are so many people about! And--oh! It's one of her friends! But...why is he in a cage?

Rather than ducking out of sight, Grune walks directly toward the people in front of Batman's cage. "Hello."

"Oh, my."

Grune's hands drop to the shoulders of the person who ran into her--oh, it's a little boy. And he's asking a question that's a little difficult.

Her head tilts to one side. "Hmm.... What am I doing here?"

Their hair goes wild, buffeted by the wind streaming from his wings.

"Are you in a rush?" they call after the bat beast, stepping to the edge. "I wanna come too!"

So saying, they grin and leap off.

That's fine. They can keep up with her better that way, anyway.

When she gets there, the child seems to be standing on the windowsill, pressing their forehead against the glass. There are less people to knock into Grune in front of the bookstore, too, though a few shadowy people inside turn from the bookshelves to look at her quizzically.

Sans has the pile of forms he's busy working his way through stacked uncharacteristically neatly, the better to leave as much table space as possible for S-4 to work. There's always paperwork, it's a part of science just as much as the test tubes and the chemicals, but that shouldn't interfere with S-4's routines any more than necessary. Art therapy is an important part of his day, as necessary as the agility tests. He considers it more important, even if Sans has given up having that argument with his colleagues.

When S-4 taps his shoulder, Sans looks up, smiling in encouragement of whatever his charge has to say. "sure thing, bud. what'd you come up with?" He leans over to see with visible interest.

It's a beautiful hillside, and so it probably isn't too surprising that every so often, another family camps out on it. At least the trio of newcomers have been pretty good neighbors, all things considered. The older brother has been helping mind the fire and keep the campsite tidy. The two younger brothers have been playing with Neil - one shows more interest in the telescope, the other in valiantly battling against the evil Dr. Watts.

Though when the call that dinner is ready goes up, Papyrus is off like a shot back over to the fire. Sans lingers at the edge of things instead, following Neil over to the telescope. He stays there for a moment, rocking back on his heels, staring up at the stars, but finally he reaches over to tug on the other child's sleeve.

"come on, neil. pap's gonna eat all the hot dogs!"

And he wants a turn with the telescope.

Sans doesn't so much as blink at the presence of the shortcut. But he does give Frisk a nod of acknowledgement, looking impressed. "hey, nice job, kid. might have to start leaving these to you in the future."

When Toriel calls out to them, Sans beams at the sound of her voice before calling back. "sure thing, toriel! we can keep each other busy!"

Then he leans over to reply to Frisk, his voice a conspiratorial whisper. "ooh, i don't know. could be too obvious. now i'm thinking cake."

"y'know, the usual." Sans waves a hand airily. "switch puzzles, mostly. couple of spike puzzles. but i think he might have finally gotten the invisible electric maze up and running. man..." He laughs to himself. "that should be fun to test. and normally i'd be all for leaving it a couple more days, but, uh...we're kinda short on time." He shrugs helplessly, smiles apologetically at her. "you know how it is."

Frisk claps. "Haven't got to try her cake, but she's the best best best at food, so I hope so."

They look down the hallway, opposite of where Toriel's voice is coming from, and then dart away. Sans said they can keep each other busy, so that's what they're gonna do.

Memory of what they do is immediately lost, but then they're there in front of Sans again, holding up a pot full of water sausages proudly. "Lookit what we have!"

That is a red mailbox, sitting at the edge of the water. The color stands out especially sharply, in this dim, blue place. Sans stares at it fixedly for a moment, head slightly tilted. A part of him very much wants to open it. He even knows that there will only be something terrible inside. But the itch is there to open it anyway.

In the end, it's Lucas' obvious hesitation that holds him back. He owes the kid that much. That thought comes clearer than a lot of things here, and so is even harder to ignore. Sans carries on instead, alongside him.

"but even if you can't fix what happened before...shouldn't you try to stop those bad things from happening again?"

Maybe it's just part of the strange harmonics of the cave, but other sounds echo around them, sounding as the ripples spread around them. The sound of something tearing, the sound of something being chopped by a knife, and something like a distant explosion.

"and if you were partly responsible for the bad things happening in the first place...shouldn't you be punished?"

The lights up above grow a little dimmer.

A: Meal Time

The dining room looks like something you'd see in a furniture catalog, all neat and tidy with tasteful, yet somehow indistinct decor hung up on the walls and scattered on nearby shelves. And the food on the table's so shiny and nice looking it seems like it has to be made out of wax or something, or even if not, like it'd be a crime to despoil it by eating it. Only, it's strange- even though everything will look alright if you examine it, everything in the room that you touch feels somehow wet and furry, like it's covered in invisible mold. It smells like it too, a pungent, sour odor that makes it hard to breathe.

Chara's here too, sitting stiffly at one end of the table, and they're the only thing in the room that doesn't look nice, their hair a mess and their sweater coated with dried blood and dust. They don't say anything to you when you appear, they just stare blankly at the empty space on the place mat in front of them.

B: Law of the Jungle

The elementary school is like a maze. Doors are everywhere, leading through classrooms, closets, cafeterias, corridors, lockers, gymnasiums, auditoriums, everything and anything that you can think of, except for outside. Litter is scattered wherever you go, and bright murals are painted on the hallway walls, depicting cheerful scenes of stick figure children and animals romping about, playing in emerald green grass, wide smiles painted on each and every face.

And of course, what is a school without real children? They're scattered here and there too- although maybe "real" isn't the right description for them. No matter how tall you are normally, they're all around the same height as you, and while they all move and sound like ordinary human children there's something about their faces and clothes that remind you of baby dolls. Much like the murals they're all smiling, though they're also ignoring you.

And then you see Chara just up ahead. They walk calmly through the room, clutching a bright blue backpack in their arms. They're smiling too, but there's something very grim about how their jaw is set...

C: Ashes to Ashes

The Underground is... wrong.

You seem to be in Snowdin, mostly. Paths that would normally lead to Ice Wolf or Waterfall now head to other parts of the Underground entirely; you can see New Home just to the North, for instance, and echo flowers flicker in and out of existence all around you, even though they wouldn't normally grow out here in the snow. The messages they whisper don't make any sense, things like "Z" or "LEFT" or "C" or "ATTACK."

Dust lightly coats everything, and the temperature is neither cold nor hot. Everything feels distant and slightly static-y.

You're not entirely alone here, but that's probably not a good thing. There are monsters wandering about, some of them flickering in and out like the echo flowers, but they aren't like the friendly sort you might be expecting. They're all grey and dissolving, and a few of them make angry sounding sobs.

Chara is wandering around too, and whenever they get close to one of the monsters, strange flat boxes and glowing images appear in the air around them, disappearing whenever Chara stabs the monsters with their knife.

D: Your New Home

This time, the place you find yourself in is... nice. You're in the living room of a cute, tidy house. A fire is crackling happily away in the fire place, and a large white monster in a purple dress sits in a comfy chair by the fire, reading a book out loud to a little white monster, and an even bigger monster with a blonde mane. Both of them are listening to her with rapt attention.

They aren't the only ones. There's a table at the other end of the room, and seated in one of the chairs, watching the monsters, is Chara. They look nicer than you're probably ever seen them, and it isn't due to what they're wearing or how their hair looks, but due to the small, happy smile on their face.

The cupcake Frisk picks up at the seat beside them squishes in their fingers. They've eaten actual garbage that was better than this.

"...ew."

The food is hastily shoved back into its place on the serving platter. But when they set their hands on the arms of the chair, they sink into the wood in the exact same way. In fact, their entire body is sinking into the chair, and they scoot forward until they're barely sitting on the very edge.

Frisk glances towards Chara. "Bad cooking," they say, tone conversational.

Uriel has never seen this skyline before, but she has seen one like it-- a century ago, before Earth was ruled by demons.

Normally she'd be confused as to where 100 years of damage went, but this is a dream, and when an enormous bat-like creature flies past-- well, her mind fills in the blanks.

With a cry the angel summons her sword and takes off after the "demon".

After one mishap with a dream Uriel has lost her taste for sleep. The White City was never dark and as a result the angels had rather little need of it, but after a hundred years of being constantly on guard the respite would have been welcome...

Nothing to do about it now. Uriel spends her nights wandering the castle, as a sort of patrol like the ones she occasionally participates in herself on Earth.

Chara raises their eyebrows. Of course.

Once Walter isn't paying attention to them though, they'll scoot a bit closer to Grune, their expression growing more serious. They lean over and ask in an undertone, "What does he have to be shy about? Don't you all like him?"

There's a knife on a nearby table. It looks sharp enough, right up until the point Frisk picks it up. Then it will reveal itself to be just a well-crafted toy. Which is probably a strange enough thing to find even outside of a lab. You don't see many toys like that, nowadays.

Sans is awake, at least, even if he's not trying to move much. He's at least conscious enough to glower up at the machine. "hey," he says, as sternly as he ever can. "you got what you wanted. behave."

The machine grumbles at him, its beak creaking, but slowly falls silent once more.

Gaster appears beside Frisk, as though he's been there the entire time. "It's all right," he says, resting a hand on Frisk's shoulder. "There's a trick to it." Which he shows by reaching out and undoing the straps for them. Or at least, he moves his fingers over them and they simply vanish. But it gets the job done anyway.

"i don't want you to."

For a moment, the entire cave - flowers, shadows, everything - falls entirely silent. Sans stares up at Grune, feeling something hot and sick pulsing in his skull, and tries to breathe enough to speak through the tears gathering in his eyesockets. The words surprise even him, for a moment...and then they're the least surprising words he could ever say.

And when he speaks again, they come tumbling out like rocks down an avalanche. "don't...don't hurt them. they're my friends, they're just mad, they don't deserve it, i deserve it...i d-don't know how to leave, grune..."

The answer comes from everywhere at once, in the crowd of scientists around them. "Ours'. Everyone's. His time is not his own. It is not his to waste." The other scientists follow Frisk after the two skeletons, with the slow inevitability of the tides even if they remain at an indistinct distance.

The Sans-Serif who can talk, meanwhile, has exhausted his screaming and has mostly been left a sobbing, whimpering mess, trying in vain to tug on the strings and slow down the doll. Frisk is the only one with a face. Frisk is the only one with a face that he can see. He stares pleadingly up at them, as he's dragged along.

"wh-where's my brother? i want my brother. what did you do to him? he's been r-really good, you don't have to put him back there..."

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[mingle] what's the dream and what's the reality?

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B - Grune why.

D

A rn \o/

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A.

A

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A for now

A - I wish to say that Uriel may intend violence but I don't. XD;

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