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

[lovetheme]

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!))

Comments

[lostinmyway]

"I'm just fine." She frowns at the man. "You shouldn't ignore them. You'll hurt their feelings."

[lostlegacy]

The liveliest kittens catch her attention first, and so they're the ones she plays with first. But she wants to pet all the kitties, so the black kitten isn't left out forever.

Kittens are great!

[dustless]

Grune is right; they look devastated, curling on on themselves. The man just looks more and more bewildered, looking between her and the window.

"All I see is you," he says uncomfortably. He points one long finger around the area above the child's head. "There's your hair. And lower's your eyes, and there's that choker. See?" He smiles crookedly, nervously.

[lostinmyway]

Grune sighs. She supposes it's not his fault he doesn't know how to look properly.

"Thank you. Where are your storybooks?"

She glances back to smile at her friend. She'll be right back.

[ofthehellguard]

"Not quite as often, I believe," Uriel said. She had never actually... spoken to a human, but their cycle of day and night was so short. "It's not hard to stay awake, anyway."

[lightofthestars]

"Especially when I understand there is little rest to be found in sleep this week."

A small frown mars her face. It feels wrong to leave her friends and her children to face the strangeness of their dreams alone. She does not like being so helpless.

[ofthehellguard]

Uriel scowls. "Yes, there is that as well. Does this sort of thing always happen here?"

She knew better than to think ill of others simply because they knew to use magic, but being surrounded by those who did not made it a little difficult sometimes.

[buttercup_eater]

Chara seems unsurprised by Frisk's disgusted gesture- in fact they don't really react until Frisk addresses them directly. Only then does Chara slowly lift their head to look the other child in the eye.

Chara looks... tired, more than anything else, though their mouth tightens into a thin line and they give Frisk a warning shake of the head. Then, after a quick glance at the door- it's a very solid looking wooden one, and firmly shut- they tap one finger against their lips in a very clear "Shh" gesture.

[dustless]

Frisk quiets, turning their head around enough that their hair whips. The door? There's something important behind that door, they're sure, but what?

They put a hand up to their own face, a curled finger resting on their chin in perfectly puzzled gesture. They take no notice of the fact their hand is encased in the Tough Glove, now.

a question bruce will be internally screaming a lot, i am sure.

[andthebat]

Batman looks up just before the guards do, tilting his head slightly in Grune's direction. There's a split-second of recognition before his eyes narrow in obvious displeasure.

(What is she thinking?)

But the guards are quick to notice Grune's approach too, and when she greets them they immediately shift towards her and hold up their weapons. Inside the cage, the Batman averts his gaze.

"State your business," one of the guards says- and oddly, when he speaks the mask over his mouth warps and splits unevenly, revealing a mouth full of pointed teeth.

[exuviiated]

"Alright. Then I'll do it and I'll show you so you can help with the rest, okay?"

He's making this kid an accomplice. Dear god.

[regalduchess]

Sophie can continue to play with the kittens as long as she wants, or until they all faLl asleep if she outlasts them; the rest of the room stays fuzzy and out of focus.

[dustless]

Is that really so strange in Gotham? At least they're not going to turn out like Prank. Their boss isn't as bad as Joker.

"Right!" They bound forward, despite not having anywhere to go yet. "When do we start?"

[sansational]

Judging from the way Sans bursts out laughing, he quite likes "Pie", too. Papyrus lets out a heartfelt groan, but he's grown too accustomed to "Pap" to hold out any hope of correcting her.

Besides, Sophie's question is curious enough in its own right.

"Well, because Undyne told me to! It is very important to her that we capture a human! So if I bring one to her, then she'll finally let me be in the Royal Guard, and all the other Royal Guardspeople will want to be my friend!"

"and i've mostly gotta capture a human because, well, what else was i doing today?" Sans shrugs expansively.

[sansational]

"doesn't matter." His fingers clench tight in the fabric of her skirt, clinging on fiercely as though the shadows mean to snatch him away. Just this once, Sans means it as a statement of fact rather than of despair. After all: "i always wind up in the same place. so...s-so don't take directions from me. i always lead us wrong." He always winds up right in front of her.

[antitemporal]

"yeah!" He nods enthusiastically. "they taste really good! this one takes like lemons." He nudges the star in question. "but this one takes like cupcakes." He nudges another, seemingly identical star.

"you can also pick some from up there, if you want." He nods up at the sky overhead, at the countless stars still surrounding them. "they're for everybody, so you won't get in trouble."

[antitemporal]

"but i'm not making him be anything! that is who he is! he's me!" The blue Sans genuinely doesn't seem to understand. He even looks a little upset at the idea that Grune is upset.

Sans-Serif, however, seems momentarily galvanized. He screws his eyes tightly shut, and yells loud enough to be briefly heard over the storms outside. "no i'm not!" he cries. "i'm me!"

With an almighty effort, he wrenches both his hands free. The force of the tug is enough that one of his arms pops off at the shoulder, to clatter pathetically on the floor. But both of the other Sanses vanish in a flash of lightning, and Sans-Serif slumps forward to cling tightly to Grune.

[antitemporal]

The strings are quite twisted and tangled, and thin enough that even Grune might feel them biting sharply into her palm as she works. At least the doll makes no move to continue barring her way. How can it? She isn't a human, but it was only made to kill humans. What else is it for?

It's Sans-Serif who inadvertantly speaks on its behalf, as he stares up at Grune with wide eyesockets and dim eyelights. "y-yeah," he stammers. "it does. that's...th-that's all it is."

His small fists clench. He glares at the other him. It just stares back. "i don't like it. can you make it go away?"

[lostinmyway]

Even when her fingers begin to bleed, Grune keeps working. The blood makes it harder to hold onto the strings, but it's all right. Once S2 and the other skeleton are free, she can look after herself.

She looks up at S2 when he speaks, back at the other skeleton, and then to S2 once more.

"No, dear," she says, softly but firmly. "He deserves a chance to grow, too."

She goes back to untangling the strings.

[lostinmyway]

"Oh!" Grune says softly when S2's arm comes loose. But then S2 is clinging to her with the arm he has left, and so for now, she only folds him into a hug.

"It's all right, dear. They're gone now. I won't let anyone hurt you," she murmurs to him as she curls herself around him.

[antitemporal]

Sans-Serif seems to visibly bristle at Grune's reassuring words, his fists clenching tight, his eyelights blazing brighter with the force of emotion, with the force of his hate. "he can't! he's empty inside and he can't grow..." He presses a hand against his own ribcage. "this is all he'll ever be, and..."

The doll reaches out quietly, and takes hold of the strings, too. Immediately, blood wells up between its thin fingers and drips surprisingly loudly onto the floor. But it dutifully sets to work anyway, trying to help Grune untangle them. The other (real?) Sans-Serif finds that he can only stare, mouth agape, words failing.

[lostlegacy]

"Cupcakes?"

Suddenly, it doesn't matter whether they're hard to eat or not--if they taste like cupcakes, they gotta be good, right?

She reaches up and catches a star in her hands...she thinks. They aren't pointy like she was expecting, but more like trying to hold the head of a dandelion after it had gone to seed. She scoops it in her mouth and tastes....

"Milk."

She wrinkles her nose. Not cupcakes? And how can she eat milk, anyway?

[lostinmyway]

Grune smiles at the other skeleton and sets a blood-damp hand over his. "Thank you, dear. Be careful."

She looks back at S2 to make sure he's all right for a moment. She's almost got one of the knots done--she just needs to work a little more.

[antitemporal]

Compared to earlier, Sans-Serif's voice is a mumble, muffled against her dress. "they'll be back. or...someone else will be. someone worse." There are a lot of people in his head, a lot of souls crowding his and screaming. And not all of them are nice. Even the ones who mean well, he's finding that he doesn't like terribly much.

"i'm not loud enough. i'm not strong enough. not like..." The other me, he wants to say, but which other me? Sans-Serif finds that he can't remember, anymore.

At last, after what might be minutes or hours, he makes himself pull away, wiping his eyesockets clear and blinking furiously. "i need to find my brother. it'll be okay if i can find him, i know it will. he's tall, like you're tall. so i can't lose sight of him. you'll...you'll still help, right?"

[antitemporal]

"oh!" Sans-Serif gasps aloud, his eyes shining as brightly as stars as well all of a sudden. "you found the milk ones! i was looking for those!"

Without making any apparent move to do so, he manages to direct his cloud to float a little nearer to hers'. Then he reaches up past her, though the apparent distance is a bit of a strain, and plucks a couple more stars into his hand. Immediately and happily, he eats those, too. Then he holds out his palmful of stars to Sophie. "do you want the rest of mine? those were really the only ones i wanted."