Pestilence: Horsemen of the Apocalypse Log #1 - 1st to 3rd of June

[slightlyoffchilt]

WHO: Pestilence AND YOU
WHERE: All around MoM's America and beyond
WHEN: 1st to 3rd of June
WHAT: Part One of the Horsemen Plot, this is the time for Pestilence to take hold. Pestilence will spread randomly, like an illness born by thought, as well as pass by direct proximity with the ring, held by Frederick Chilton, and those who become affected will swiftly fall into a death-like sleep. After that, characters will find themselves in a shared Dreamscape (see text of this post) populated by their own and other people's psyches, dreams and nightmares. Outside of this Dreamscape, others will try to wake them - but short of waiting for the illness to subside, there's really only one cure: sharing their true feelings about the affected person.
WARNINGS: Warning for everything here in advance, sex, violence, death, gruesome images, etc. If you have any specific warnings for your thread please add them to the comment headers.

When you do succumb to sleep, whether violently, immediately, or beneath the slower snowdrift duress of cognitive slurring, you will soon wakened to an onyx dark landscape. Bright, searing lights above will pinprick as you look upwards, even while the darkness disorientates you. This is the Dreamscape. Intuitively, some small part of you will know that you've been brought here because of a disease. Some part of you might ever vibrate with the whisper of Pestilence.

As you think within this atmosphere, your thoughts conceive manifestation -- the environment you witness swirls and shifts to your subconscious. You build your setting, and your setting may clash with other dreamers. This Dreamscape was born from the inclinations of Frederick Chilton, and the subconscious is its crowned king. That conceptional influence gives you a mountain of power, along with a corrosive fault line of responsibility. Every passing idea in your brain serves to flesh out the Dreamscape of Pestilence. It is highly likely that your darker fears and cruelties will find their opportunity to breathe, and they are just as "physical" in this astral plane as you are.

Because your environment is ultimately the subconscious creation of a pestilence Chilton, there are three stages that the Dreamscape can become -- though it's all according to your emotional and mental state. Morpheus is the mildest of the three. This level concerns the people in your life, and their cruelty or kindness you interpret. Phantasos is the middling range. The victim will suffer surrealistic fantasy dreams that are weird and absurd. This is the strangest of sleep, the unnerving nature of your mind. It can go dark, or funny, and the setting of a Phantasos level will involve woods, caverns, mountains, and other natural settings. And Phoebetor serves as the nightmare level. This is where catastrophe comes true. Everything you most dread, every little horrific whisper in the back of your mind, that's going to happen with a Phoebeter severity.

Sweet dreams.

Comments

Falling asleep (Closed to Honey Lemon)

[maglevflash]

[It happened as she was walking back to the teleporters in Heropa, heading towards home. Her head suddenly felt light and her vision swam, and she had to stop and lean against a light post before she fell over.

Figuring she was just a little tired, she gave herself a minute to rest before continuing, but she only took two steps before she had to sit down.

Confused, she fished out her phone and called Honey.]

[honeyxlemon]

[ Honey is currently in De Chima and cooking up a batch of cookies. She was in the middle of stirring a gloppy mixture in a large bowl when her phone began to buzz away on the kitchen counter. It takes a few seconds more than usual for her to answer, but she reaches it right before the call goes to voicemail Seeing that contact name, she smiles widely and answers with her usual perkiness. ]

Hey Gogo!

[maglevflash]

[Gogo pulled her knees to her chest and shut her eyes, resting her forehead against them. She wasn't the type to get vertigo, but what else could it be?]

Hey Honey. You busy?

[honeyxlemon]

No, not really. [ Just a little cooking. She wouldn't classify that as being busy, especially when she's hearing Gogo's tone right now. It sounds somewhat off. ]

Is something wrong?

[maglevflash]

I don't know? [She lets the weariness show in her voice.]

I think I might be getting sick. Can you come get me?

[honeyxlemon]

Of course! [ For Gogo to admit that there's actually something up with her is enough to alarm Honey. She'd be worried for any of her friends in general, but this isn't exactly common with Gogo, so the worry is tenfold at the moment. ]

Where are you?

[maglevflash]

I'm about a block away from the Heropa porters. Sitting near a bus stop.

Just felt dizzy all of a sudden.

[honeyxlemon]

I'll be right there! Don't move, okay? [ The call disconnects, and, Honey quickly drops everything and sprints to the nearest transporter. ]

[ True to her word, Honey arrives quickly. She stands with an expression of mild confusion and absolute concern, while she scans the areas. As soon as her eyes fall on Gogo, she jogs over to her friends and kneels by her side, her hand falling gently on her shoulder. ]

Hey..

[maglevflash]

[The bus stop had been merely ten feet away, but Gogo was still sitting on the sidewalk, hiding her face. She looks up at Honey; blinking like she'd been dozing off. There's confusion, as if she hadn't quite meant to.]

Thanks.

[She tries to stand, using Honey for support, but her limbs feel like jelly.]

I don't know what happened. I was fine an hour ago.

[honeyxlemon]

[ She slips an arm around Gogo's back to her side to keep her steady and from collapsing back down to the ground. ]

Do you think we should go to the hospital?

[maglevflash]

Let's get back to De Chima first. I'm just...really tired. Maybe I stayed up too late.

[She didn't, she knows she didn't. She was making good progress on the adjustments to her Maglev and already working on the designs for something new. There was no reason to push herself too hard.

But she can't explain the exhaustion any other way.]

[honeyxlemon]

[ Right. Best not to jump to conclusions. Everyone gets headaches or feels awful once in awhile. Honey just simply believes her at the suggested reason, and nods in understanding. She takes a step forward, and while Gogo isn't heavy, the other is at the point where Honey feels like she'll just be dragging her around. So, she kneels down just a bit more. ]

Here, I can carry you back.

[maglevflash]

[Gogo looks like she's about to protest for half a second, but she knows that she will never make to the bus stop, much less the porter and home.]

Okay.

[At least she still has the energy to wrap her arms around Honey's shoulder and grip her waist with her knees so she won't slide off as Honey stands.]

[honeyxlemon]

[ To adjust to the added weight on her back, Honey slowly stands, and, once she is upright and confident that Gogo won't slide off, she heads in the direction that will lead them home.

Throughout the short trip, Honey keeps her close by to ensure that is feeling okay and that her state isn't declining. Occasionally she'll ask if Gogo feels nauseous and if she wants to stop to sit down and take a break in case the movement is getting to her.

Even when they get to De Chima, Honey continues to carry her friend until the are past the doorstep and into the living area - a place where Gogo can immediately lay down. ]

Can I get you anything? Water? Medicine?

[maglevflash]

[Despite murmured reassurances the entire way, Gogo's condition had been worsening with every passing minute. She didn't...feel any worse? But she was so tired, and by the time Honey got her down onto their couch she could hardly keep her eyes open.]

....water?

[She lays down with a yawn, grateful to rest her head.]

[honeyxlemon]

On it! [ She springs towards the kitchen, her hair whipping behind her at the sudden movement. Clatter erupts as she swings open a cabinet and sifts through the inside to grab a glass. She fills it with water, and promptly hurries back to the living room. As she's walking in, she says, ]

Got it! Maybe you just need some fluids, so let's hope this helps, even just a little!

[maglevflash]

[Gogo was asleep before Honey had even left the room, her breaths evening out into a deep, and slow rhythm that wasn't quite natural to her.

She doesn't react to Honey's voice, her skin paling quickly, and if it weren't for the faint breath she'd almost look fatally worse.]

[honeyxlemon]

[ If it had not been for the ghostly pale skin, Honey would have been, perhaps, less worried. But to see her friend suddenly passed out and sporting an awful tone of color to her face, Honey rushes over and quickly hunches downwards, her knees hitting the floor with a thud. ]

Gogo? [ She whispers at first, her tone steady. But with no reaction, she speaks again, this time shaking Gogo's shoulder. ] Gogo? [ And the panic begins to set in. Even though she is sick, it should be easier to rouse her. Why isn't she waking up? ] Gogo!

[maglevflash]

[Gogo should have stirred by now. She's wasn't exactly a light sleeper by any means, but she wasn't dead-to-the-world either.

This? This is dead to the world. Her body remains limp at the shaking, and doesn't respond even subconsciously. Gogo is well and truly out.]