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

[ She's surprised enough at the whole situation that she's no longer trying to wedge herself as far into the corner as she can. Her eyes dart up to his face for a second before she looks away nervously. Eye contact isn't exactly easy for her right now. ]

Y-yeah. For a while now. [ She rubs at her face. ] Thought it was just me. That I was hallucinating or something.

[ Certainly Sojiro had never heard it. ]

It happens sometimes, when... uh, when there's somethin' eating at ya.

[He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. How should he put this? He settled into the booth and hunched over it. They didn't get too far into what happened when it came to Futaba's mother, which made him feel a little angry that something was happening to play all of this out. What business was it of his?]

Guilt's always the worst. Beats us up for not bein' perfect. 'Why didn't I do better?' 'Why wasn't I there to stop everything from happening?' 'Why do I suck right now?'

[He lifted his head and frowned.]

For the record, I ain't here to ask. It ain't my place. But if ya wanna talk about anything else, right down to whatever it is you were doin' before I showed up, I'm here to hang out and listen, yeah?

[ He's... well not quite backing off, but giving her space. Moving into what feels to her like a less threatening position. It.... helps, some. Enough that if he were to glance over he'd notice she's no longer trying to wedge herself as far into that corner as possible.

A part of her wants to protest that it wasn't about being perfect, just about not being awful and selfish like she'd apparently been, but.... the rest of what he says just. Lines up. Fits a lot too closely for her to really deny it. Her shoulders slump and she ducks her head.

So he's just... here to listen? A part of her is instantly suspicious. Nobody her own age ever really wanted to just listen to her or hang out or anything like that. But there's another part. Another... that thinks that he means it. She doesn't know why, but it's enough to keep her defensive instincts from getting worse.

She looks at the ground, finger reaching out to trace some of the woodgrain in the wooden flooring in the kitchen area. ]

Was just... looking at stuff online.

[He slouched.]

Yeah? I ain't good at that stuff. I mean, I'm subscribed to this badass quilting site, right? But I don't really surf the internet like a lotta people do. I guess I just think about how big it is and it feels really overwhelming.

[He paused, canted his head thoughtfully. Likely couldn't bring that stuff up, seein' as it's a past thing. Or whatever it could be called.]

Except for cat videos. I'm always up for those.

[ Probably for the better that he keeps talking, because trying to get out of Futaba what she'd been researching would have been a tall order. She's... very protective of her attempts to find her mother's research. Or maybe she's just afraid of the world right now. Maybe the two aren't mutually exclusive either.

.... that being said she perks up a... little bit? Cat videos are the bridge that spans all chasms, apparently. ]

... I like the ones where they knock stuff off of shelves.

Those're the best ones! What gets me is that the person recording gets mad but they're the ones that whipped out their cameras instead of gettin' their cats off the shelves and tables!

[He leaned on the counter top.]

See, I knew you must be a cat video person. There's a kind've inter-gritty to a person who's into 'em. S'gotta be why we hit it off so well.

[But he gestured to his face as it fell a bit.]

...But I guess ya don't recognize me right now, huh?

[ Okay yeah that gets a quiet giggle out of her. Which is... actually an incredible amount of progress. When he asks that though, she... takes a moment to look at him, really look at him, and...

He's so nice to her. Nobody her own age was nice to her. Hardly anybody was nice to her since Mom died. It was just... just Sojiro. There'd been Kana too but... well, she'd messed that one up. The way she's easing up around him though... it's nice, but she's terrified to trust it.

And... yet... ]

I... I feel like I should... Like...

[ Next moment, there's a sharp ache in her forehead. She ducks her head with a small grunt of pain. And yet, somehow the sensation is familiar too, and not just like an ordinary headache. ]

This... happened before.

[He looked away, but nodded.]

I'm... where I got no right to be, and I'll get whoever's responsible for this shit. But I'm here to help ya, Futaba.

I ain't much of a negotiator or a guy who's got all the right words, but I've been lonely. I've felt like I'm all I got, even during the times where I didn't like myself at all.

[He looked around the cafe, still being set up. It wouldn't look as cozy as Futaba would remember it for another few days yet. The old man was the only other one here, huh? Did Futaba have anyone else? Was that it? Shit... then this was after...]

[ Help, huh? She really did need help, didn't she? With these freaky not-quite-hallucinations dogging her, getting more and more scared to leave the house. Only she has no real idea where to even st- Almost idly her eyes fall on the bug she'd just planted. Wait. That was... that was important too, wasn't it?

There's a persistent image in the back of her mind. It just won't leave her alone, but... but why....? ]

's okay. It's not the first time for that, either.

[ Not knowing the right words. People seeing a lot more of her past than she ever wanted them to see. Except. What made her so sure about all of that? There's a part of her that's yet more terrified of this feeling, wanting to pull away. And yet there's another that wants to push forward. Like her own voice, distorted-

'Futaba Sakura, remember!' ]

Edited (i hate trying to dl wiki images they always size so weirdly) 2018-06-02 02:18 (UTC)

But y'know what? Souji-senpai and the others happened to me. ...Maybe like Ren happened t'you. Somebody with messy hair rolled up, said 'Futaba, I like the you that you are, even if sometimes you don't yourself.' And all the black n' white starts turning into color. It has enough colors that ya knock on the door or pop in silent as a ghost for curry made out of a hell of a lotta love and a touch'a science. That's 'cause, even for people like us who pushed people away for our own reasons, we had holes in our hearts, right?

But now we're full. Or... y'know, workin' on bein' full. Gonna have to work on ourselves some more, and the rest comes down to curry nights.

I've had that curry, too. It's badass. But we can't have any more until we get outta here. All of us.

[ Ren.

Ren, Makoto, Yusuke, Haru, Morgana, Ann, Ryuji. Her Palace. Her Shadow. Her mom. How she'd hid in her room for months. A deal that fell through then didn't, because the others refused to give up on helping her. All of them helping her through her first stumbling steps back into the world again. Who swore they'd help her find the truth.

Kanji, too. Naoto. Hunk. Connie. Ira. Even Amanda, Shiro, and Elly.

She didn't need help, she'd gotten it.

She's crying now, she knows she is. Ugh, damn it. This is kinda embarrassing. Although if anybody had to see this, Kanji isn't the worst, she supposes. ]

I told myself I wouldn't let others' voices lead me astray again. I'm gonna find whoever stuck me back here and kick their ass.

[ Scrubbing at her face, she pushes herself back to her feet. She's back to her full height and weight again. She takes a deep breath and... looks up. ]

I don't know what this is supposed to be, but I know it's not real. Let us out.

[ There's a concerned voice from upstairs- 'Futaba? What's going o-' and for a moment she falters, glancing over at the stairway with a modicum of distress because dammit she missed Sojiro-

But the spell's already been broken, and the memory's already begun to dissolve around the two of them. ]

[Oh god. Oh no. Kanji was distraught, wondering why the hell he keeps making people cry and he was never sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. It was enough to make his heart skip uncomfortably, tongue scrambling to start forming the apology. Stupid, he was stupid to try and do the thing everyone else was good at-

O-oh. Oh, fuck, thank god. He'd reached out to her, even in his own clumsy way, and when she stood and looked the way he remembered he had to breathe a sigh of relief.]

That's the Wizard I know!

[But he was startled, opposing Futaba's coolness with this whole thing. The world was beginning to dissolve, nothing like what happened in the TV world, and he was never much of an idea guy.]

Uhhh, what? Wh-what's happen--

[ Oh stop you're making her blush.

Hopefully he doesn't mind her reaching out to grab his arm to steady herself as well... everything... starts falling apart around them, showing the barely-rainbow-tinted blackness of the Dream Width between the gaps. She's been through a collapsing Palace before so this isn't... the worst? But uh. Only just the once. ]

I uh. I think it took me literally. W-we should probably try to get to a ship?

[ Since they're uh. not on one anymore. ]

R-right!

[Okay, everything crumbling and possible death. This was a first for him. He steadied her and sought a direction. Oh god, do they die if they get stuck in space!? Why didn't they die when they were found, now that he thought about it-

It didn't matter what ship was attached here, he just needed to get them onto one and where, y'know, air is. No questions, no doubts, he'll just scoop this nerd up and start hauling ass where his gut hopefully steered him. He came from this direction for the memory, so this had to be the way out.]

[ Futaba squeaks slightly in surprise at being picked up suddenly, but yeah, no time for protests.

That being said, if his gut is steering him outside, that's a good start. If not well, Cafe Leblanc isn't exactly big. There aren't a lot of places to go. Should he head out there, though parts of it are already dissolving into nothingness, what can be seen is a narrow urban street, lined with small businesses and houses, along with all sorts of things like bikes, plants, signs, and so on.

Either way, once she's over the shock of being scooped up, Futaba turns to what she does best: navigation. And there's flashes of something between the dissolving bits of world that isn't just space. And what's more, it's not too far to the right from the LeBlanc's entrance. She points at it. ]

That way!

Okay!

[Hoo boy, he didn't need to ask twice. He shifted gears to where she pointed and hoped they wouldn't have to shift again to swimming through space. Could... could they swim through space? He wasn't eager to find out.]

If, uh... if we end up swimming or whatever, are you good!? I mean, at swimming?

[ The ship thankfully doesn't seem to be too far away, but still. Futaba gives him a horrified look at the question, though. ]

N-no! Not good! Not good at all!

[ No swimming please ]

Okay, well, if for some reason it becomes a problem like ever, just kinda grab on and I got it, yeah!?

[Because PRECAUTIONS! But he'll make a beeline for the ship and thankfully not in space. Which left the question of 'why did the Dream Width do this' and 'will this happen again?'.]

[ Yeah she will... definitely keep that in mind. Kanji does in fact know how to swim, got it. Thankfully that's not an issue for now.

Once they're inside though, she'll kick her feet a little. Not enough to hit him or anything. More of a "let me down, I can walk" gesture than anything. And whenever she actually is down... proves that no, she's not ready to walk yet after all, because she just. flops down on the ground. Why was this kind of thing always so tiring? ]

Th-thanks.

[He knew the sign, and set her back on her feet. But back on the deck of the ship, with the last fragments of that world fading away, Kanji had to hunker down and sink into a crouch just as she flopped.]

Yeah, no sweat... the hell's with this trip!?

Right? Why didn't they warn us?

[ A logical part of her wonders if this has ever happened to them before. But she ignores in in favor of feeling indignant, which is better than feeling embarrassed and exposed, which she will if she lets herself think about it too much. ]

[He wanted to feel indignant. But-]

I mean... they would have, right? It'd have everybody better prepared.

[He forced himself upright again. His skin was crawling.]

Shit, it's too quiet in here. What if everybody else is stuck in other people's memories?

[ Yeah it is too quiet. It sounds like it's just the two of them and the pilots. ]

Then... we'll probably need to find them. [ Dammit. ] If I could just...

[ She cuts herself off with a frustrated grunt, before she lets slip something compromising. If she only had Necronomicon, finding other people out here would be so much easier. She could've just scanned for them. ]

... we should probably ask the pilots, at least.

[He nodded, looking only mildly relieved. He'd met so many people here, he could only imagine what memories they must be traversing through.]

Okay. I'll go ask the pilots and bring some info back. I think... I think you should sit tight and kinda wind down from all that, yeah? Ya look like hell and probably feel like it, too.

[ Yeah. Yeah she does. Man she really wishes Ren was here. She really needed some Key Item vibes. It wasn't as bad as it could have been but... ]

Y-yeah. Go on, I'll be here.

[ Yeah, she's not going anywhere anytime soon. In fact she's going to curl up into a ball and just. Think. Which may not be the best thing in the world right now but it's what she's always been good at besides hacking, so what else is there to do?

Ugh she... she really had come a long way, and she knew that. But to really be able to see it by being thrown back into that state, being trapped in that cognitive labyrinth all over again... Even if it wasn't as bad as it could have been, it still had sucked. a lot.

Still... what Kanji had said in the dream handn't been wrong. She'd had friends who risked so much to help her out then. And she has friends here now. She's not alone anymore. She just... has to remember that. ]

Edited (this seemed like a better way to end it) 2018-06-10 16:28 (UTC)

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