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Dreamscape



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Fri Apr 10, 2020 5:18 am
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AlyTheBookworm says...



Minra stopped and turned to the figure, though she longed to keep going. Time was running out, slipping through her fingers like water in a sieve. If they were delayed any longer, she'd be too late again. Her parents would die.

And it will be my fault.

"Who are you? Show yourself," she growled.

The figure began to approach them from the darkness. Whoever it was decided to take their time, strolling rather than walking.

We don't have time for this.

Minra was about to turn and leave when she saw the glow. A little pinprick of light, like a smoldering coal. Followed by a puff of smoke.

A young woman with shoulderlength brown hair stepped into the light cast by the streetlamps, holding a lit cigarette in one hand and a raincoat in the other.

Minra felt a sinking dread as she recognized the girl. Her childhood friend. "Sera."

Sera flicked ash off the cigarette, then turned to look at the three of them, her eyes dark and glaring.

"Where are you going, Min? Leaving us again?"

Minra looked away and screwed her eyes shut. I can't do this right now.

"You're not real," she said weakly.

There was silence for a moment, and then Minra opened her eyes to meet the girl's gaze again.

Sera was standing still. As Minra watched, her black eyes seemed to expand, her face verging on grotesque as its expression of rage was exaggerated past the point of realism.

"Not real," she whispered. "None of us were real people, in your eyes. You left us. When I needed you, you left me behind and ran away."

The jacket fell from Sera's limp fingers, followed by the cigarette. The girl's slim figure rippled, her face distorting and her limbs growing too elongated and too angular. Her mouth sagged, a gaping hole beneath sunken black eyes. Bones jutted through her skin, fingers becoming talons, teeth turning to fangs.

"I..WON'T.. LET YOU LEAVE ME.. AGAIN.. MIN."





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Fri Apr 10, 2020 10:07 am
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soundofmind says...



Carter wasn't sure how to take the new development. Minra had seemed pretty positive that the goal of this dream was to save her parents, but this diversion seemed to be pretty demanding of her attention. Carter had been wrong about how to deal with James (he really, really would've preferred something like this - James turning monstrous like Minra's past-friend, or whatever she was).

He assumed the monster wouldn't let them get very far to run to Minra's parents, so someone had to stay and face it. He drew his sword, ready to strike if the woman-turned-creature stepped forward, but something in him felt unsure.

This was Minra's dream. Carter could defeat her monster, but if Minra was the one who was supposed to face her fears, he didn't know if he was supposed to step in for her.

Of course, she needed his help, and it was right to keep her from harm, but... wouldn't Minra have to slay her? If they killed the beast, and even saved her parents, but Minra was still overcome with fear and failed, then they all failed.

But it wasn't like Minra knew how to use a sword.

"Minra, you need to stand your ground," Carter spoke firmly, with a sense of urgency. "Keep talking to her. I won't let her touch you."
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Fri Apr 10, 2020 4:57 pm
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Mageheart says...



"I won't, either," Second promised, suddenly feeling as small as he really was when he moved to Minra's side. He didn't know it, but he was having the same train of thought that Carter was - Carter's dream with James hadn't gone as planned.

Did that mean Minra was wrong in what she needed to do?

"Who is she?" he asked.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Fri Apr 10, 2020 7:27 pm
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AlyTheBookworm says...



As Carter and Second stepped forward, the creature that had looked like Sera ignored them and continued to approach Minra, moving agonizingly slow- as if it was in pain. Its glare bored into her, full of a burning hatred that was almost tangible.

"Minra, you need to stand your ground. Keep talking to her. I won't let her touch you," Carter said firmly.

"I won't either," Second said. "Who is she?"

Minra looked at them in shock. This wasn't the objective- she shouldn't have to face the thing. It wasn't Sera. It was a monster created by the dream to keep her from reaching her parents. The true goal. The goal she'd failed to fulfill in reality, the one that had haunted her for over two decades.

Time is running out. They'll die again.

"She.. Sera was my friend," she tried to explain. "But after my parents died, I couldn't stand being in this city. I had to leave. I had to-"

"YOU LEFT US A NOTE."

The creature's voice was horrible. Guttural, twisted, dripping with venom and hatred and contempt. So loud and piercing that Minra couldn't ignore it. She couldn't escape them- the words reverberating in her head, worming their way into her brain. Louder than her own heartbeat in her ears. It would drive her insane.

"ONLY A NOTE..."

She felt herself begin to shake, staggering backwards, the familiar urge to run taking hold.

Turn and run. Run away, like you always do.

Sera's voice was in her mind now. Unescapable.





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Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:11 am
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soundofmind says...



Minra had abandoned this person, whoever she was, sometime after the bombings - or before it. Carter wasn't clear on the timeline, but what he was clear on was this:

"I think you have to face her, Minra," Carter said.

She had been so eager to encourage peacefully reconciling when he was with James, and he was still in denial about it - but she'd been right. Carter reached out and grabbed Minra's hand.

He could only imagine the desperate pull she must be feeling towards her parents. This dream had given her a chance to save them and do something she hadn't had a chance to do - but maybe that wasn't the point of all this. Minra probably knew, dream or not, that she would never get her parents back. And of course she'd want to see them. Carter had been desperate to see Anne, and to hear her voice again...

But these dreams weren't about wish fulfillment. It was about facing your fears.

He squeezed Minra's hand, insistent. Stern.

"You have to face her."
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:26 am
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Mageheart says...



Second decided to go out on a limb and say what he was suspecting.

"I think she's what you have to overcome," Second softly said - looking up at the monster before them. "You might think it's your parents that we need to help, but I think a part of you hasn't been able to overcome you leaving her."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Sat Apr 18, 2020 10:22 am
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soundofmind says...



Spoiler! :
@AlyTheBookworm *insert pleading face* owo?
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:25 am
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AlyTheBookworm says...



Spoiler! :
Sorry- this week was busy, but I'm still here


Minra felt herself begin to turn. Some part of her knew that she was about to run away. It was inevitable, the only option. The only way these things ever went.

She'd always known that it was impossible to face her demons. They'd tear her to shreds. The only way to keep going and to continue to function was to avoid thinking about them. To stuff them in a box, run and hide.

Then Carter grabbed her hand, his expression stern and unyielding.

"You have to face her."

Second spoke. "I think she's what you need to overcome. You might think it's your parents that we need to help, but I think a part of you hasn't been able to overcome you leaving her."

Their words tugged her back to reality. She stopped. Carter squeezed her hand, not letting go, and somehow the mind-numbing fear began to recede somewhat. She swallowed the lump in her throat, forced herself to breathe evenly.

It suddenly made her feel deeply ashamed that Second and Carter could see how fragile she actually was. She felt exposed and vulnerable, torn open for others to see the worst parts of her, the fear and guilt and self-hatred, all the ugly things that she'd never shown to another soul.

What Carter just went through, she realized.

Before she'd left the city, Minra had always been seen as the "brave" one among her friends, the one who kept a cool head when they got in trouble, who stayed stoic when the others were scared.

The truth was that disappointing them had always been more terrifying than the risk of physical harm.

The monster came nearer. It no longer resembled Sera.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," Minra managed to say. It sounded like an excuse, even to her.

"YOU LEFT ME."

That horrible voice made her wince. She gritted her teeth, unconsciously balling her fists. After a moment, she realized she was probably crushing Carter's hand and tried to calm herself.

"Sera. Please.. After what happened, I needed to leave," she pleaded. "You don't understand. What happened that night- I have a chance to stop it from happening again. Please let me go. Let me save them. I can fix this."

Sera's eyes seemed to burn.

"YOUR PARENTS ARE DEAD, MIN."

Fear abruptly gave way to desperation and anger. Minra tore her hand from Carter's grip and started forward.

"They will be if you don't let me go!" Minra screamed at it.

The creature that wasn't Sera recoiled, shrinking back into the shadows. For a moment it waited there. As they stared at eachother, the hatred and anger seemed to drain from its distorted features, and the sunken eyes became vacant. Neutral.

"Choosing the dead over the living again," it whispered. "Good luck with that, Min."

The monster didn't wait for a response. It left silently. When she was sure it had gone, Minra let out a shaky sigh of relief. She turned around to face Second and Carter, avoiding their eyes.

"We should get going," she said quietly. "There isn't much time left."





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Sun Apr 19, 2020 6:08 pm
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Mageheart says...



Second nodded.

They needed to do what Minra thought was right. Maybe his suspicions were right; maybe they were making a mistake by going to her parents instead of staying with her friend. But Second knew it wasn't his battle to win. He'd follow Minra's lead, and support her in whatever way he could.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Mon Apr 20, 2020 11:07 am
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soundofmind says...



Second was being supportive, but now, Carter wasn't so sure. Choosing the dead over the living sounded like a valid challenge, and Minra wasn't really stepping up to it.

"Are you sure?"
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.









Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.
— Francis Bacon