(open dreamshare log) (muffled twilight zone playing in the distance)

[hackitude]

WHO: EVERYBOOOODYYYY (yeaaah) (rock your booodyyy) (yeaaah)
WHERE: DREAMSPACE
WHEN: The night of November 1st (slightly forward-dated to give people more time to play out threads mmk)
WHAT: DREAM SHENANIGANS (event info here!)
WARNINGS: None up here, but players please tag the subject lines of your dreams if they have NSFW or triggering content in them.

It's Saturday evening. What are you dreaming about, imPorts?

Some of you might find strangers intruding on your regular dreams. Others might find themselves suddenly in the dream of someone they've never met before. Or perhaps someone they're close to...? Either way. Seems like you're in for a bumpy night.

Comments

[crab]

[ It's standard enough for Karkat's own nightmares that his subconscious doesn't question it. Drowning? Blood? He's been here and died here and watched others die here time and time again; this is just more of the same. He can't swim to reach the surface, even if he wanted to, and kicking and thrashing only makes it worse. He knows from experience.

Catching sight of Kaneki, though, gives him pause; he does a double take. He doesn't recognize him. He recognizes everyone in his dreams, even the ones whose faces he's never seen. He opens his mouth for a question, momentarily forgetting the fact that he is underwater, only to choke and gag, releasing a stream of precious air bubbles, trading them in for the gulps of water that soak into his lungs. It hurts, and it breaks the illusion of tranquil surrender around Karkat; now he struggles, now he wants to find the surface, but it's a bit late for something like that.

He almost doesn't notice the encroaching darkness, the girl who emerges from it. The only thing he does register is that she begins to pull Karkat's quiet companion down into the depths. He does not want that. He doesn't want to be left alone here, even if his company is dead. He reaches out to grab him, too, pull back. ]

[anthropophagite]

[ when karkat manages to grab Kaneki, the woman (Rize) looks up at him. She seems to watch him for a moment, but because karkat isn't human, she stops pulling Kaneki and instead, all of sudden four red tentacles come out of her back and spread wide. And after, her "tentacles" move to cause a wave that would bring the two up to the surface, while Rize sinks back into the darkness.

hey, at least they'll be reaching the surface soon, and only when he feel the air touching his face Kaneki's eyes open. ]

[crab]

[ The moment Karkat feels air touching his face he's coughing, spluttering, swearing, and spitting up bloody seawater. It hurts, it hurts way more than it would if it were real, maybe because Karkat's subconscious exaggerates how painful it would be to drown. Now, he clings to Kaneki not out of fear of being alone, but fear of sinking back below the surface, drowning and dying, as he's done so many times in dreams.

Landdwellers do not swim, instinctively fear the sea, and what lurks beneath it. Karkat had screamed as well as you can scream underwater, when the woman had extended those... things, and sent them hurtling towards the surface, and any minute now he expects to feel something wrap around his ankle and yank him down below. He is terrified. ]

[anthropophagite]

[ kaneki looks to the side, surprised to see Karkat, and he instinctively tries to keep him at the surface ]

Hey! Are you alright?!

[ Kaneki looks around and then back at the water to see if something was there, since the other looked so scared. ]

Breathe, it's alright!

[crab]

Alright. [ Karkat wheezes, somehow managing to sound incredulous despite his fear. At odds with his panic, he shows very little sign of actually sinking. ] Fucking. Alright? You're in the middle of the Blood Sea, natural habitat of the elusive and highly dangerous holy shit that broad has tentacles, with no sign of land or any waterbound transportation vessels, and you-- think-- it's alright?

[ He is breathing, though, if only so he can chew out his unfamiliar companion slash flotation device some more. ]

What the fuck is wrong with you?

[anthropophagite]

C-calm down. [ don't flail around please, kaneki is still trying not to sink. He looks around and does find a beach - dream logic, there is none - and eventually starts swimming towards it and dragging Karkat along ] Tentacles?

[ kaneki didn't see Rize, so he doesn't know. But he also doesn't dare to look into the water, as if he knows what is there. ] Come on, we are almost there.

[ and the moment he says that, suddenly he can feel the ground under his feet ]

[crab]

[ Kaneki doesn't have to tell Karkat twice, to get him to start kicking toward the suddenly-materialized shore; that much, at least, is instinctive. ]

I spent-- three protracted years in the company of a bunch of eldritch squid gods, I can recognize tentacles when I see them. Fuck. Fuck. Hurry up! [ The moment Karkat feels sand under his feet, he releases his desperate vicegrip on Kaneki and scrambles for shore, potentially leaving him behind, if he doesn't keep up. ]

[anthropophagite]

[ kaneki reaches the shore too, but he does turn around to look back at the ocean once again. That is before he turns to Karkat curiously ]

Was it a eldritch squid god?

[crab]

[ Karkat is already halfway up the beach, and would have kept going, if not for how Kaneki seems disposed to linger.

Karkat is still on edge; he still doesn't want to be alone. ]

Only if the eldritch squid god in question recently had a hell of a makeover. It was a woman. As you should have seen yourself! What were you doing back there? Taking an underwater nap? You do know breathing doesn't really happen underwater?

[anthropophagite]

[ A woman.

Kaneki looks at the ocean one last time before he heads towards Karkat, finally ]

I don't know. I had a date. [ that's what he remembers, he had a date. What happened next, he isn't sure ]

What were you doing there?

[crab]

Obviously, I was there to advise you how shitty your date was, and what you were doing wrong. [ Right? Yeah. Clearly. ] Hint: the bottom of the ocean is generally not viewed as prime romantic real estate, whatever Titanic may have fooled you into believing.

[anthropophagite]

I didn't ask to be there...! Of course I know it's not a good place, we didn't have swimming suits. [ dream logic DO NOT QUESTION IT.

And actually, if Karkat looks behind him, at the ocean, a purple head pops out. The woman is staring at them both, black and red eyes. There are no tentacles, but she is there, watching, waiting for something ]

[crab]

You didn't have any suits! See, you're terrible at this. This is exactly why you need me. [ Before he can go on, along this exceptionally rational tangent, he catches movement out of the corner of his eye.

He turns, and meets those red irises with red irises of his own-- although, his aren't quite that vibrant yet.

That is not what he wanted to see. ]

She's back.

[anthropophagite]

You should have told me suits were a must from the start, so I wouldn't look like an idiot. [ of course.

when karkat looks back at the ocean, Kaneki's eyes follow... and they eventually show just how terrified he is of the sight. His hand quickly reaches for Karkat's and he tugs the troll to move ]

Run!

[crab]

[ Kaneki's fear is infectious; it sends a jolt of adrenalin through Karkat's system, and he obeys the sudden command out of instinct.

Not without questioning it, though. ]

Run-- where? [ He gasps, between breaths. ]

[anthropophagite]

Anywhere!

[ he doesn't know where to. But that doesn't stop Ken from just running off, bringing Karkat along. They run through the sand a couple of minutes and eventually the background changes into something else: the streets of Tokyo, at night. There are no cars and no sounds, but there are so many lights that it makes it a bit confusing to know where they are headed. ]

[crab]

[ He doesn't turn to look behind them, and he can't hear pursuing footsteps, but something has Karkat totally convinced that if he or Kaneki slow their pace for even a second-- a moment-- even just long enough to look behind them, the woman with the purple hair will be there.

He thinks if he looks behind him, she'll have them for sure. But how long can they run? And where are they going? The chaos of lights flashing by and in front of them is disorienting, headache inducing, and for all Karkat knows, they could be running in a circle.

How long can they run? ]

[anthropophagite]

[ they can run long enough until they do come up to a house. It's grand and luxurious, all brand new and clean, and it'd belong to some rich guy for sure, by how beautifully kept it is. It's actually very familiar too, but kaneki goes ahead to open the large house door anyway.

of course he waits for Karkat to enter, too, so both of them will be safe.]

[crab]

[ Kaneki doesn't have to wait long; Karkat throws himself through the door with enough urgency to lose his footing, sending himself sprawling onto his hands and knees. Why this place would be safer than any of the others they'd run past, he isn't sure, but it's Kaneki's dream, and if Kaneki thinks it's safe, Karkat doesn't have much choice but to perceive it as the same. ]

What... [ He looks up, taking stock of their surroundings, while he staggers back to his feet. ] Who is she? Who are you, for that matter.

[anthropophagite]

[ Kaneki closes the door behind them, and after offers karkat a hand so he'd get up. ]

Kaneki. [ he is introducing himself.

The mansion is huge and apparently deserted. Red tapestry everywhere with gold-like colors on the accessories that fill the house gives it an elegant feel to it. There is a lot of light, so there is also no reason to particularly fear the place; though no photographs will be found, and all the paintings on the walls never show a face directly but they always show parts of the human body; a woman's back white and wide, a beautifully drawn hand with long fingers, hazel eyes, a petite foot.

kaneki looks around for a second, that familiarity coming to him as if he has been someone similar before. ]

Rize- she is... [ he looks back at the door, expecting a knock, or someone banging, but there is nothing. ] ... she is my date. [ wellp. ]

[crab]

[ Karkat looks at Kaneki. Then at the door. Then back at Kaneki.

The skepticism on his face is so heavy it's a wonder his neck can support it. ]

Your date. [ He draws out the word date when he says it, raising his eyebrows at the same time. ] Okay. Now I definitely know why I'm here.

[ Pointing directly at Kaneki's face; ] You are literally the worst example of horrible romantic decisions I have ever had the deep displeasure to encounter. Because I'm a maganimous soul, I'm going to give you a few tips, to hopefully improve your future prospects. Here is tip number one. Do not date presumably murderous psychopaths unless you have determined without a doubt that their murderous inclinations are not directed at you. Seriously! This is important. Almost as important as the suits.

[anthropophagite]

Wah- I don't even know your name, how come you were brought here. And I didn't know she was a presumably murderous psychopath until she tried to eat me. [ How is this his fault seriously bro.

but that's not all. That's not what worries him. what worries him is that she isn't supposed to be alive ] ... she is also dead...

[ Kaneki looks around the mansion again, because that's also something that is worrying him. He knows this place, he knows it well. And when he last glances back at the door, it's suddenly made of steel and in case Karkat tries to open it, it's closed. The ceiling has changed too, just like the walls around them, that quietly changed into cold stone. ]

[crab]

Man, you need to get with the times. Being dead means approximately jack shit. Half my friends are dead.

[ Not overly perturbed by the revelation that Rize is dead, Karkat goes right on talking. He doesn't even seem to notice the scenery change, at first.

It isn't until he turns back to point at the door, to emphasize another point regarding all this being Kaneki's fault no doubt, that he realizes this is not the same room he originally threw himself into. ]

Okay. This can only go fantastic places. I'm positively shitting my drawers with excitement at the prospect of immersing myself in whatever fresh hell the house you picked has in store.

[anthropophagite]

[ he has no idea what the alien is talking about, but that's exactly how Kaneki will take it: it's an alien talking. So it makes a lot of sense. Somehow.

When he blames Kaneki for the scenario change, Kaneki looks back at the other ] it's better than to stay outside with Rize-san.

[ no, it's not. Actually, all of sudden bright lights are on and a voice can be heard: ] Ladies and Gentlemen: tonight's dinner. [ and as lights come up, above the tow of them, staring down from balconies there are people wearing masks, chuckling and staring down at both karkat and Kaneki.

And yes. They are there for tonight's dinner: troll and half-ghoul are on the menu.

Well. Maybe not troll. Ghouls can only enjoy human flesh, after all. ]