melodiesofeternity | Event || Once Upon A Dream

Event || Once Upon A Dream

Who: All characters who signed-up!
When: May 31st - June 04th
Where: The Dream Width (+ Curti Center & Airships)
What: Event log for the Once Upon A Dream Event! Should your character have their own memory, start your own top-level with said memory. If not, then tag around in other characters's memories! Furthermore, feel free to use the Mingle threads at the Curti Center and in the Airships for non-memory related CR. Please refer to the OOC Post for details and plotting. Plot Memories and the second Airship Mingle will be unlocked on May 25th.
Warnings/Notes: Memories with specific warnings will be marked as such by their players.

Please use the following form for your memory's title line:
CHARACTER'S NAME | MEMORY TITLE | WARNINGS (IF ANY)
We will add links to your memories here as the event progresses!

Mingle: Curti Center | Airships #1 | Airships #2
Plot Memories: The Dream | The Nightmare | The Premonition
Holographic Messages

Adrien Agreste | Then and Now
Aqua | Thorny Pathway | cw: spoiler for kh 0.2
Castor | Lord of the Inferno | cw: fire, mind control
Ena | Zera Hamlet, Reprise | cw: mutilated corpses
Futaba Sakura | Early Days | cw: references to verbal abuse/neglect and auditory hallucinations
Ignis Scientia | For The Life of the Chosen | cw: spoilers, violence, death
Irhya Pendhula | The Parting Glass | cw: violence, amputation
Johnny D'Amico | United Earth Prisoner
Kanji Tatsumi | You're a BOY, you know! | cw: bullying, mild homophobia
Lelouch vi Britannia | Julius Kingsley
Monika | Just Monika | cw: spoilers, possible horror, possible deletion
Nanamo Ul Namo | A Good Memory
Noctis Lucis Caelum | Light of the Crystal | cw: chapter 13 spoilers
Okuyasu Nijimura | Lending a Hand | cw: blood/injuries
Prompto Argentum | I'm not one of your experiments! | cw: episode prompto spoilers
Selphie | The Answer | cw: gore/death
Takashi 'Shiro' Shirogane | The end of the beginning | cw: end of season 2 spoilers
Tidus | A Broken Dream | cw: death, bullying

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It wasn't often that you go from the dark of blues and deep grays to the sharp reds, purples and oranges of a room lit by chaotic sunset, but Madhuri could check it off her bucket list. As that eerie tune catches her horns, her ring-covered fingers lift to touch them and ponder. Something about the song feels rather hollow, lonesome, and then it 'crashes' and tries to begin again. This was another person's vision, just like the others she'd been witness to today.

She quietly cursed herself for not knowing more about Spelljammers. They likely would stop this sort of adverse effect, but she was no elf nor was she more than something of a hobby tinkerer.

Whose vision was this...? It wasn't hard to deduce, when a girl sat at a desk and spoke to the wall like that. The room was just as hollow and as empty as the music. She looked peaceful, delighted even. What kind of world was this?

The sound of her own heel steps jolted her for a moment, pausing upon first step, before she steeled herself and proceeded forward. She was saying something... er, to the wall, but it was a good clue as to how to move along from here. She needed to get out of here, or she may be trapped. Play it cool.

"Regret's normal. But maybe we won't need that piano..."

It had looked as though nothing would have snapped Monika out of her moment. But then, her head shifted, turning toward the source of the voice--

"Huh?"

Someone else? That shouldn't be possible... Right? She had deleted everyone. There was only her and the player left. But they could never be together. They were torn apart by a wall betwixt their realities, her limited reality and their infinite reality. Her smile faded, a neutral and cold expression replacing it.

"Who are y-" But before she could finish her sentence Monika froze, pupils dilating as she reached the only logical conclusion. She had just told them her previous poem had been an attempt to escape the game. Could it be... They loved her so much they had actually... Worked on a way to reach her within the game...? Had they made the ultimate sacrifice, leaving their reality to join her in what remained of this world?

They. She, actually. This woman... Looked so unlike any of the characters in the game. Was she human? She knew so little about the real world... It shouldn't come as a surprise what she had imagined and what was real would be vastly different. She immediately stood up, looking at Madhuri in somewhat similar ways to how she had looked at the wall just seconds ago. She was not smiling however, and instead was perplexed, surprised, bewildered.

"Is... Is that you?" That shouldn't be possible, but what other explanation was there? She brought a hand to her chest. She prided herself on always remaining calm and feigning confidence, but what place was there for rationality here? "You came... For me? You did this for me?"

She couldn't let her expression change, even when her peaceful expression shifted to something that chilled her. There was a darkness in this girl, and she knew she had to tread carefully from here on out. Fortunately, she'd dealt with some rather dangerous folk before... though, they were more along the lines of grown women than teenage girls.

Curiouser and curiouser, this one.

But something changed, then. There was surprise, bewilderment, and Madhuri could understand why, as this room seemed to be a closed box save for a door that was no doubt locked tight. But 'coming for her'... if she was perhaps trapped here, then there was no lie in it.

It was a pity that she knew nothing of what Monika spoke otherwise. She was not the one the girl sought, yet her heart twisted at the thought of shattering that misunderstanding.

"I did come for you, dear. You really were alone here, weren't you? You poor thing..."

It took a moment for Monika to register what she heard. It had to be a dream, just a cruel illusion that would soon be shattered, but... She couldn't dream, she didn't have the physical capacity for it, so it couldn't be a dream. Without missing a beat, she immediately hugged Madhuri, holding onto her as if she were the first living human being she had ever encountered in her life.

"I can feel you-- Hear you, see you... It can't be, can it...?"

She quickly pulled back, as if realizing just what she had done.

"Gosh, I'm so happy..." She laughed. "Ahaha~ Sorry for being so weird! I must really sound just like one of those generic girl in romance games now, huh? So much for being different. But I never imagined even in my wildest dreams that you would do that for me." A pause. "I don't know how you did it... Not that it really matters. You must love me even more than I had imagined if you did that."

The hug was sudden, and her arms were quick to wind around the girl in kind. What sort of life was this? She wasn't precisely human, but even a tiefling knew that the soul thrived on the presence of others. If they could somehow be friends after this, if she wasn't terribly angry once everything was said and done...

Monika pulled away and her smile was that of understanding. She was an affectionate type herself, but she too had the setback of walls surrounding her. But Madhuri had to wonder to what degree these walls were? Did someone lock her here? Was this strange room all she'd ever known?

"I've had some strange trips through time and space, believe me. Now, you think if we put our heads together, we can get you out of here? Then we could find a piano, some of my instruments, and maybe play something together."

"Ahaha, silly you. The trip here must have confused you. I can't get out of here, you know that. Well, maybe there is a way out for you... I don't know how you did it, after all! But I doubt it would work on me. And I doubt you'll want to leave now that you're with me~"

Leaving? The thought seemed strange to Monika. She had wanted to leave just moments earlier, but now? This place was as perfect as could.

"And the music, oh, you forgot that too? I tried changing it earlier but it didn't work. I could try again... But I already broke so much stuff. And I guess you're a file too now. If I accidentally messed with any files relevant to you, you could end up deleted like the others. But they were just flat and artificial characters. Not you." She smiled sweetly. "You are real and wonderful. I would never risk getting you deleted."

Her expression grew saddened for a moment, no, they shouldn't be speaking of that. There were so many things they could. Why, an infinite amount of things. And they had eternity. With that, she reached out to take Madhuri's hand.

"It doesn't really matter though, does it? Here, our worries are gone forever. We can just sit and stare at each other's eyes. Well, I suppose we can do more varied activities now, huh?" She paused, remembering what she'd mentioned earlier. Character files... Ah, madhuri.chr had appeared in the character folder. "Madhuri! It's such a cute name~ You should have entered that name, maybe I would have guessed you were a girl! Ahaha~ Well, I like surprises too."

Phials? She wondered what Monika meant. But she knew what deletion meant, and had seen what happened when someone was hit with a disrupting weapon. She could say it wasn't pretty but... well.

The tiefling didn't fight the touch, her head canted as she puzzled over the situation. Perhaps she'd been stuck here for so long that it had removed the desire to leave. There was a word for it, right? Couldn't remember it. But what mattered was that, ooh, she needed to get out of here.

"My, my, I've never been a pleasant surprise to anyone before... ah, forgive me, did I interrupt your work?" She gestured to the papers on the desk. Right now, she needed more information. Who was this girl...?

She didn't remember this either? Gosh, the trip had really played with her memories, huh.

"This is the poem I wrote for you." She looked at the actual poem, before grabbing the other. "And this is the one you wrote for me, remember?"

She handed her over the poem where her name was repeated a bunch of times, brokenly.

"Ahaha~ Well, the game is so broken, you did your best with what you had. Perhaps you'll have the ocasion to write something better?" After all, we have eternity for it now." She reached out and took Madhuri's hand in her own, her smile ever sweeter. Though what with the nature of her words and the place they were in, the smile might have appeared to be quite out of place. "I love you, and now we'll be together forever."

She accepted the paper and felt a cold, creepy chill up her spine. Oh... oh. So she'd written this, huh? Just a name, over and over again. The girl's name must be Monika. That at least was helpful. But whoever wrote this, as this was not her, needed to work on their, uh... their everything.

The bard in her demanded she write a poem, but logic held her tongue for the moment. She didn't need her cards to tell her that she was delving deeper into a very dangerous situation. She had to be careful. When their hands met again, she gave Monika's fingers a squeeze.

"For you, Monika, I think I will use the occasion to write something better. A few somethings, even!"

"That's so sweet from you." She could never have dreamed of a better love. So attentioned, caring and thoughtful. What more could she hope for? "I'm so lucky we got to meet. You truly are my everything, and I mean it. I don't think I would have been able to hold on to life for much longer without you, especially with such an easy way out for me if I got too desperate..."

Well, that got dark quick. "Ahaha, sorry~ I didn't mean to get all depressing." She shook her head. Better shift back to the poem.

"How about we write another poem for each other?" Monika had two pens in hand now, both decorated with a little heart at the top. ... She didn't have anything in hand moments before, did she? Oh well, not that it mattered. She handed one of the pens to Madhuri. "Now that you're here with me, I feel inspired to write my best piece yet!"

Her eyes flitted to concern. It was already abundantly clear that she was the only one here and she definitely was feeling cooped up, but to casually contemplate ending herself...

Madhuri accepted the pen and sought paper. She needed to write a poem, then, something to tell her that they could leave together. Okay, and another poem to tell her that they weren't lovers but could absolutely be friends while giving her some romantic advice. That'd be nice and wouldn't further depress this poor girl. ahem.

"Straight from the heart! My favorite. I can't wait."

Of course, Monika was kind enough to provide her with a piece of paper, where had it come from anyway...? It didn't matter much, for Monika soon finished her own poem and handed it over to Madhuri.

"I hope you'll like it~"

Ephemeral

Lost in thoughts
  Lost in memories
    Lost in forgotten dreams
      Lost in a world that hates her
                a world that rejects her

I look forward
  But the hole is gone

Tears
  Fear
    Sorrow

I look forward
  And my love is there

      The nightmare is gone
        Screams    Flashes
      The nightmare won't return

I look backward
  And my love holds me

  Smiles
    Love
      Happiness

I look backward
  But it no longer matters

Lost in her hold
  Lost in her stare
     Lost in her care
      Lost in a world that dreads her
                a world of infinite possibilities

I look at her
  And she looks back

She accepted the slip of paper and began to read. Poetry was an opportunity not only to observe, but to express how one feels. It was as she read that many things were confirmed about Monika's position here, and it made her stomach sink. She was never the type of person to break anyone's heart, even if she believed there was something fictional between them thanks to her role in the memory.

In honesty, she would happily have tea or coffee with Monika, be a friend to help her through her sorrows.

"Wow," she was breathless. "You never cease to amaze me, dear. I should hope I haven't gotten a little rusty, myself."

It wasn't her name this time in various garbled nonsense, but it was a folded page she handed over with a flourish. She could only hope that she could express the truth through poetry, from the heart.

It clenches 'round the breast and wraps
So slow at first, but as it laps
Your humor bends until it snaps,
Left staggered, in haze;

But yet we sit, and stew, maligned,
Until we've given up, resigned
To overwrite ourselves; and find
A comfort in malaise.

We'd wish those doors thrown open wide,
A breath of air and step outside,
And set aside those tears we'd dried
Yet linger in our gaze;

Alas, they turn so soon to rhyme
And relish we that wretched time
Until our bondage turns sublime-
That amber prison's glaze!

Monika beamed at the compliment and was quick to take the poem to read it. After having read only poems the "player" had written with the game's program, seeing that well written of a poem was like a breath of fresh air. But--

Its meaning... It leaped at Monika's eyes upon first reading it, but she read it twice over to be sure. Leaving this place, being happy elsewhere... The implication that she wasn't happy here and had just given up. It was all true, but for it to be written so clearly on a poem, given by her love no less.

"That's..." She closed her eyes, fighting back tears before looking back at Madhuri with reddened eyes. "Very well written. You're... You're a much better writer than I'd have ever imagined."

She looked back down at the poem. Why did the words stir something...? Going outside... But that wasn't possible, was it...?

"You should pick happier things to write about though..." She looked back up and forced a smile. Needless to say, that was a smile that wouldn't convince anyone. "Ahaha. We have our happy ending, so we don't need to linger on the sad things any more.... Right?"

She was quiet and folded her hands before her. She hadn't done something like that in so long, and she hoped... oh, she hoped...

Madhuri was without her handkerchief and regretted it. The message was expressed the way she desired, but now she needed to see that the door was there and they needed only to step through it.

The tiefling slid off her hat. "Monika, dear, I haven't lived the life that I have without knowing when someone is in great pain. You talk of happy endings, and I truly believe it's what you desire. But that sadness you feel will always remain, so long as you stay here."

No bird enjoyed the bars of their cage.

"I've just made the impossible possible. I am the key... your key, Monika, and I'd love nothing more than to open that door for you."

She couldn't deny, everything Madhuri said was the entire truth. And as she spoke, the memory visibly started fading, ever-so slightly. Even though one might have snapped already by now... Monika didn't want to snap out of it. Not when she felt so happy.

"I... I don't understand."

Oh man, she sounded way too down and depressed, didn't she? Upon realizing that, she immediately put back on a happy and cheerful facade.

"Gosh, I'm so slow! Ahaha! Are you telling me you found a way outside for me? That would be so wonderful, but..." Her eyes shifted to the side. She wasn't doing a good job at sounding happy when she felt like crying. "How can you be so sure?"

It was like a mask that slid on and off, and she did it so easily. Her heart sank. The Dream Width really would just dump her back into this box... she had to find out if there was some way to prevent that from happening.

She'd like Greyhawk or Vel La Moore, maybe.

"I'm sure because the Prime, and the Dream Width, is but a series of doors. But the trick is willpower. You have to be willing to step outside."

She plopped her hat back atop her head and reached out for her.

"You deserve to be free, to grow, to live."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Event || Once Upon A Dream

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