[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

For everyone who doesn't sleep. :P

[lightofthestars]

It has been a strange week. The air does not feel right, and Tauriel's friends have spoken to her of odd dreams. For one who does not sleep--not as mortals do--it confuses her, and though she offers what comfort she can, there is only so much she can do.

Surely she cannot be the only one so perplexed...?

[notsogrimreaper]

Definitely not the only one. Ryoji is finding all of this a little bit odd, and even though he often stays up during the night because of his bad nightmares, he's been finding that the feeling in the warm air makes him even less inclined to sleep.

So he goes for walks by himself, slowly pacing through the castle, occasionally finding books to thumb through to stave off boredom. A friend, however, holds off the mundane better than books, so when he spots Tauriel, he approaches with a small smile.

"Good evening."

[lightofthestars]

Tauriel smiles back at once. It is good not to be alone at night. "Good evening."

...Of course, her smile is followed by a small frown. "Should you not be asleep?"

[notsogrimreaper]

"Not really, no. I can sleep if I want to, but it's not really necessary for... something like me."

He raises an eyebrow at her. "Do elves not need sleep either?"

[lightofthestars]

She frowns when Ryoji calls himself "something." Twice now since coming here, she has been called a "creature" or a word alike. Such terms being used for a person leave her unsettled, even when the person themself is the one using those words.

Her frown does not ease as she answers his question. "We do not sleep as mortals do. We stay aware and are able to carry out simple deeds as we rest. The way others sleep seems very dangerous to me."

[notsogrimreaper]

Person is hardly the word for him, and she should know that, but he isn't about to comment on the matter if she doesn't ask. It's become a normal thought for him. He's not someone. He shouldn't pretend that he is.

"I understand entirely. I could sleep if I wanted to, but it's unsettling. I feel better just staying awake."

[lightofthestars]

She frowns. "Yet do you not need rest? Surely you must weary sometime."

It is strange to think that he might not sleep at all.

[notsogrimreaper]

"Very rarely. I don't think I've ever really slept because I had to. If I did, it was only for an hour or so."

Before nightmares woke him up, anyways.

[lightofthestars]

"Then it seems your fortune is good this week."

Yet as she speaks, she is frowning.

[notsogrimreaper]

"Judging from the frown on your face, it doesn't seem like you believe that."

His voice is soft. He doesn't want to accuse her, but he's good at reading people.

[lightofthestars]

"Though I do not sleep as mortals do, I still take rest when I can," she says. "It stills my mind and refreshes my soul. I do not think I would be happy without it."

She does not ask if he stays truly well without sleep, but...she wonders.

[notsogrimreaper]

"Well, I suppose it works differently for different... beings. I don't think my mind really 'stills' when I try to rest, at least, and it doesn't usually feel refreshing."

Not with the constant fear and nightmares he suffers.

[lightofthestars]

"I am sorry." That must be difficult to bear.

She is quiet a moment, and then she says, "The next time I take my rest, would you like to sit with me? Maybe you would be able to find some brief peace."

[mediadarling]

Mettaton hates being left out of the loop. He's a star--he's supposed to be at the centre of everything! But apparently, the drama and the action are happening while everyone is asleep. Considering he's never slept a wink for as long as he's existed, the chances of him getting in on that action are, in fact, zero.

Anyone running into him around bedtime will find him in a rather grumpy mood. Being a ghost in a robot's body can be a real drag sometimes.

[ofthehellguard]

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.

[lightofthestars]

Tauriel meets the winged woman for the first time in weeks in the halls of the castle, as she is on her way to her own night watch. At first, she frowns, for their meeting was not a good one--but even if this woman's manners are poor, it does not mean that her own must be as well.

"Good evening."

[ofthehellguard]

Uriel meets Tauriel's gaze-- and mirrors her frown, because she remembers, but she's in a slightly better mood now and...

...Well, knowing her reputation meant nothing here put some things in perspective.

"Good evening. Avoiding sleep?"

[lightofthestars]

"I do not sleep as mortals do." She looks over the other woman. It is clear she is no human. And so she asks, "Do you?"

[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.

[lightofthestars]

She shakes her head. "I have not seen its like since I was first drawn here. I hope that this will be the only time we are so afflicted."

It is plain to her that her friends are suffering, and yet there is nothing she can do to relieve their pain. That has left her in a poor mood.

[ofthehellguard]

Uriel hasn't made any good friends yet, so these happenings are merely an annoyance for her. "What reason could anyone possibly have for inflicting this upon the residents?"

[lightofthestars]

"That, I do not know. I do not think anyone does."

It makes little sense indeed to her.

[ofthehellguard]

"If there is some master of this castle drawing people here and afflicting them, I wish they would show themselves already."