Paprika (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
radioclub_jp) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
maskormenacelogs2016-04-30 05:08 pm
radioclub_jp) wrote in maskormenacelogs2016-04-30 05:08 pm
[semi-open] dreamgirl
WHO: Paprika + open to first 5 responders
WHERE: in the land of sleepy dreams
WHEN: late April / early May
WHAT: Paprika finally stops behaving, starts invading people's dreams. Nbd, right?
WARNINGS: none known
Ever since she'd been Ported in, Paprika hadn't had the slightest trouble falling or staying asleep. Maybe it was part of this expanded ability she'd acquired, or maybe it was a product of being here "by herself"... no to-do lists running through her head, no stray thoughts about office politics. The first night she'd thought excitement might keep her awake, but it didn't. The second night she'd thought apprehension might, but it didn't. The third night it was dread.
Dread! Imagine that, the dream detective, dreading going to sleep! But it wasn't for no reason, of course.
She'd lay her head on the pillow and close her eyes, but when she opened them she saw nothing. Even once she entered REM sleep, nothing. She was still lucid, she'd realized the first night, but not dreaming. It would have been a different story if she were simply dreaming about nothing; in that case she'd have been able to shape the dream herself. But she wasn't having a dream. It was as if her unconscious mind had been shunted off to a holding area and forgotten about for seven to eight hours, like an unclaimed bag at the airport. She knew her body needed the sleep, and so here she was, but there was nothing to do.
Or... no, not nothing, exactly. When she held still and quieted her mind, she would catch snippets of vivid color, far-off voices, faint smells... Even without looking too closely, she knew they were other people's dreams. Accessible without a DC Mini, floating there within reach, daring her to look, to touch, to open. Worlds of infinite scope and possibility. Therein lay the true power of dreams.
"It's too dangerous," she said aloud to no one, in the dark. "You know what happened last time." Her own voice sounded like Atsuko's.
Of course she knew. She couldn't forget something like that incident, still (as far as she knew) unresolved. Only a monster would want to see reruns of that. She didn't yet know if this power she had was safe to use. But how was she supposed to find that out if she never tried? Besides, she'd been wondering... what sort of dreams would someone from another world have, anyway?
In the end, it was too much. She couldn't resist after all.
The dreams drew into sharp focus as she approached, as if she were tightening the aperture on a camera lens. There were so many of them, she hardly knew where to start. But that was easy enough to resolve. Paprika closed her eyes and raised her pointer finger.
"Eeny, meeny, miney... mo!"
She opened one eye to peek, then both. Well, that looked interesting... "Yeah, that'll do," she said, and pulling the edges of the hole apart, she slipped through into the dream.
(NOTE: I plan to do the open dream logs on a regular basis, so don't worry too much if the slots are taken - I'm just limiting it to five people for starters so as not to overwhelm myself. Please fill out permissions here!)
WHERE: in the land of sleepy dreams
WHEN: late April / early May
WHAT: Paprika finally stops behaving, starts invading people's dreams. Nbd, right?
WARNINGS: none known
Ever since she'd been Ported in, Paprika hadn't had the slightest trouble falling or staying asleep. Maybe it was part of this expanded ability she'd acquired, or maybe it was a product of being here "by herself"... no to-do lists running through her head, no stray thoughts about office politics. The first night she'd thought excitement might keep her awake, but it didn't. The second night she'd thought apprehension might, but it didn't. The third night it was dread.
Dread! Imagine that, the dream detective, dreading going to sleep! But it wasn't for no reason, of course.
She'd lay her head on the pillow and close her eyes, but when she opened them she saw nothing. Even once she entered REM sleep, nothing. She was still lucid, she'd realized the first night, but not dreaming. It would have been a different story if she were simply dreaming about nothing; in that case she'd have been able to shape the dream herself. But she wasn't having a dream. It was as if her unconscious mind had been shunted off to a holding area and forgotten about for seven to eight hours, like an unclaimed bag at the airport. She knew her body needed the sleep, and so here she was, but there was nothing to do.
Or... no, not nothing, exactly. When she held still and quieted her mind, she would catch snippets of vivid color, far-off voices, faint smells... Even without looking too closely, she knew they were other people's dreams. Accessible without a DC Mini, floating there within reach, daring her to look, to touch, to open. Worlds of infinite scope and possibility. Therein lay the true power of dreams.
"It's too dangerous," she said aloud to no one, in the dark. "You know what happened last time." Her own voice sounded like Atsuko's.
Of course she knew. She couldn't forget something like that incident, still (as far as she knew) unresolved. Only a monster would want to see reruns of that. She didn't yet know if this power she had was safe to use. But how was she supposed to find that out if she never tried? Besides, she'd been wondering... what sort of dreams would someone from another world have, anyway?
In the end, it was too much. She couldn't resist after all.
The dreams drew into sharp focus as she approached, as if she were tightening the aperture on a camera lens. There were so many of them, she hardly knew where to start. But that was easy enough to resolve. Paprika closed her eyes and raised her pointer finger.
"Eeny, meeny, miney... mo!"
She opened one eye to peek, then both. Well, that looked interesting... "Yeah, that'll do," she said, and pulling the edges of the hole apart, she slipped through into the dream.
(NOTE: I plan to do the open dream logs on a regular basis, so don't worry too much if the slots are taken - I'm just limiting it to five people for starters so as not to overwhelm myself. Please fill out permissions here!)
no subject
Mitchell stopped, dumbfounded by the sight of someone in the apocalyptic wasteland that was the City. He looked around, before he shot off a few more gun blasts at the pigeons, which forced the rest of the flock to veer off, before he dashed after her. Because if someone else was here, there were a few things he had to keep in mind.
First off, he needed to avoid the source of all of this. Secondly, he'd need to keep them safe, too. No easy task, considering...
Well, these dreams were violent enough as it was. "Who -- " he gasped, when he stopped, hands on his knees, before he doubled over to gasp more air, even if it felt more like he breathed sludge, from the pollution and smoke. "-- the fuck are you?" he asked, through pulls of air, before he finally looked up at her, and wiped the sweat from his face, dark hair plastered to his forehead.
"This isn't a place for you."
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Which, considering Mitchell Hundred's health? He's winded as soon as they begin, and he looked around, being drug around was probably not on the plan for his brain -- or his benefactors -- tonight. He grimaced as he did so, when an explosion ripped close by, the building on their right shuddered.
"Fuck -- Careful! Where are we going?"
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"Home? Shit --" he coughed. "DC? It doesn't fucking matter, they're everywhere."
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Ahead of them, the alley narrowed, blocked off by a half-rotten wooden fence. Paprika slowed to a stop and let go of Mitch's arm, narrowing her eyes at it. "Ah... that's no good." To be honest, she wasn't completely sure if it was her mind or the dreamer's that had put it there. But, nothing she couldn't handle.
"Welp. Only one way through here, I guess," she said. Without waiting for protest, she darted forward and bounded up the fence, one, two steps, and then her arms were over. From there she pulled herself over, heavy combat boots scrabbling against the wood for a second until she could get her legs over. With a grunt, she disappeared behind the fence. The thunk of rubber on concrete followed, and her voice calling back to him, "It's clear! Hurry up!"
no subject
"Ah..." he said, his voice hesitant. "I'm not sure..." he added, and he was winded, which really said all it needed to, about how likely it was that Mitchell Hundred was going to be able to get over this fence alright. He looked back again, and hoped that he could...
"Alright, here goes," he started up, his feet slipped more, and his feet slipped on the fence, while he tried in vain to hoist himself up, and he finally managed to clear it with another few moments of struggling, and a few 'fucks' that filled the air. When he got his legs over, he didn't so much jump, as he did fall on his ass, before he stood, practically limping from the damage.
"Shit, sorry, I don't know why you're here -- or bothering with this."
no subject
The environment had changed, too. Behind them, on the other side of the fence, the storm kept raging, dark and furious, but now the sounds of thunder and explosions had gone muted, distant. On this side, it was quieter, the sort of calm that comes right before dawn. And indeed, the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon.
And ahead of them, its dome just beginning to come into the light, stood the U.S. Capitol building. Paprika knew basically what it looked like; it was up to Mitch's memory to fill in the more specific details.