hadriel_logs | Event Log: Dreamwalker the Second

Entry tags:

Event Log: Dreamwalker the Second

Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for the Dreamwalker part 2 event
Where: In your dreams
When: October 14th-20th (the second log will go up on Oct 23rd, please keep the two weeks of the event separate!)
Warnings: All different kinds of dreams falling under the umbrella of Delight, Rage, Sorrow, and Hope.

This time, the weird stuff doesn't happen when you're awake- as a matter of fact, your waking hours are the normal ones. That's because you're forced to sleep by some unknown entity, getting more and more exhausted by the moment as night falls. Better make sure you're always around a soft pillow.

Once asleep, it doesn't get any less weird- your dreams will be influenced by one of the four gods that make up the first week. Something to make you smile, something to make you angry- or something that reminds you of your deepest regret or most vulnerable hope, they're all things that you're dreaming about now for some reason, no matter how hard you may try to pull away from them.

To make matters more complicated, there are others intruding on your dreams who definitely don't belong there, and while they may seem like manifestations at first, it becomes clear that these others are actually the consciousness of other members of Hadriel, getting some top quality exposure to your angriest, happiest, most sorrowful moments. Hope it doesn't get awkward when you see them tomorrow...

► This log covers October 14th-20th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you die in dreams you don't die in real life, but if you somehow die in real life anyway, please let us know here.

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[The science is on lockdown because the science has teeth, Newt. Or a lack thereof. The science has a gaping void that he's gonna meet pretty soon. Regardless, Alphys just looks at the floor, hands knit together, not knowing quite what to say.]

I... I just. Nobody should see this. It's bad.

[A pause, as she takes a step inside. Newt can see her footprint in a layer of dust just beyond the door.]

I'm bad. What's back here is my fault.

[She looks back towards him, like she's going to say something else, but doesn't, stepping forward into the dim.]

[...Hm. He'd be lying if he said that all of this didn't freak him out a little. He's dealt with way scarier stuff, especially as of late, but the whole vibe here is... Unsettling. This place is creepy, how Alphys is acting is creepy, what she's saying is creepy... Creepy all around, really.

But, he's curious, and fear has never stopped his curiosity before. He follows her, albeit slowly.]

Right, uh... And what's back here, exactly?

[He swallows, wanting to cheer her up and assure her that, whatever it is, it can't be that bad. But, well, maybe it is.]

P-Probably nothing.

[That's how it should be. If what she suspects is true. It's the next admission she hates, but nothing can stop her now, emotion thick in her throat as tears push at her eyes.]

Monsters don't leave bodies. They just turn to dust.

[A nearby screen flickers on, displaying a flicker of a red =) before displaying text.]

The will to keep living... The resolve to change fate. Let's call this power... "Determination."

The bodies came in today. They're still comatose... And soon, they'll all turn into dust. But what happens if I inject "determination" into them? If their SOULS persist after they perish, then... Freedom might be closer than we all thought.

[All the while, Alphys trudges down the hall, pushing a door open gently as if she's afraid she'll startle something, as if she's silently hoping for signs of life.]

[Newt reads and rereads the text on the screen a few times, trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Alphys is supposed to be a scientist, right? This logic doesn't check out.]

What is that? [He points at the screen, although Alphys has moved on. He jogs after her.] Did you write that? Like, hey, call the "will to live" whatever you want, but you know that's not how the world works, right? It's conceptual. You can't inject a concept, dude. Same with souls. They're not, uh...

[Well, real, but that seems a bit harsh, even for him.]

And what's that about monsters? [People keep talking really vaguely about "monsters" in Hadriel. Monsters in the caves, in the coliseum... He doesn't like the sound of that, and no one will be more specific.]

[She looks over her shoulder to him, still downtrodden, not enough energy to truly explain.]

They are. That's how it works here.

[She looks back into the darkness, expecting something more than what it's giving her.]

Monsters are the name of our race. We're d-different from humans. Human SOULs are strong enough that they can exist outside their bodies. The essence of who they are. But monsters are mostly magic. Once we die, we...

[She brushes some dust from her lab coat, and onto her hand, closing the palm and feeling it on her skin.]

I needed to find a way to get monster SOULs to act like humans. So I could f-free everyone. So we could get out.

Oh.

[Well, truth be told, he's seen crazier things at this point. He was pretty sure alien invasions and portals to new dimensions weren't a thing either, but then Trespasser popped up out of the ocean and challenged everything humanity knew about the universe. It happens. So, fine, he'll accept this crazy science he is unfamiliar with. Why not?

He grimaces as she brushes the dust from her coat. That's... Dark.]

Um. Get out of what? [...] For the record, that doesn't sound like a bad thing to me. You, uh, want to save your people, right? Sometimes that's worth doing some unorthodox stuff.

[He can relate... He thinks?]

Edited (ty for changing to the wrong icon dw???) 2017-11-30 03:51 (UTC)

Out of the Underground. Where monsters have b-been trapped for generations.

[Her old home. The shift to Hadriel had barely been a change at all.]

We only needed seven human souls to break the barrier. I thought... I could make the last one. It's what Asgore wanted. It's what everyone wanted. I could have saved us.

[Suddenly, the howl from before ricochets through the hall, along with the sound of heavy, dragged footsteps-- but not slow.]

But I... it's...

[The words die on her lips, throat choked with emotion as if she's about to cry.]

...Wait, you... [Oh. That's why she's ashamed of this. He hesitates.] You had to, like, kill people?

[He chews on that for a long moment, not sure how to reconcile the idea of sacrificing innocent lives with saving an entire race, but the sudden howl startles him out of his thoughts.]

Um, Alphys? What is that? Is it, uh, as unfriendly as it sounds?

[But she's sad, not worried, right? This is probably fine?]

They were already dead.

[And oh, doesn't that sound great, Newt? Is that better than murder? Alphys sure isn't paying attention. The howl returns again, but it's weaker, and the steps seem to have devolved entirely into a shambling shuffle.]

They... were dead.

And I brought them b-back.

[She moves forward, towards the sound, and suddenly, a large crash emanates from down the hall. Suddenly, Alphys sprints forward, ducking around a corner to get to whatever caused the noise.]

[In his opinion, yes, it's totally better than murder!! He lets out a small huff of relief before turning his attention back to the spookies at hand. At least it's, uh... not sounding as scary...? His heart is still racing, but he's curious. This is so far beyond anything he'd ever thought possible. It's like when the first Kaiju attacked all over again.]

So, wait, you were able to--

[But Alphys darts off before he can finish, disappearing around a corner. He hesitates. It's probably fine, right? She never did answer the question about it being unfriendly, but then it started to sound a little less unfriendly... And Alphys did run after it, so it can't be too horrifying?

Aw, screw it. He's done way scarier stuff, and this is just a dream, right? What could possibly go wrong?

He heads down the corridor after her...]

[What he finds when he emerges is probably not what he thought. Lying on the ground, breathing ragged, is some sort of animal, whose body appears to be dripping as it literally melts onto the floor. The void of it's face is howling, but quiet, and bits of it seem to have been left down the hall where it came, it's feet now entirely too formless to stand.

Alphys, however, doesn't seem to hesitate when she sees it. She runs to it's side, and it seems to acknowledge her as she grabs onto it's goopy face, bits of it sloshing off on her clothes, her hands as it whines.

She's whimpering, too, as she holds it close, knowing what the end to this is.]

I'm sorry, I'm s-sorry, I thought-- I wanted to save you, I just wanted to save you, I never meant for this to happen...

[Oh, jesus christ. Newt stops short when he sees the thing smeared all over the floor. What the hell is that? Is this...? It's gotta be one of the things Alphys was talking about reviving, but, yikes, did it look like that before it died?

If it did, Newt doubts its body was in this sorry of a state. It would probably be less horrifying if it was all in one piece, right? Maybe? He shudders.

But clearly, he's interrupting a difficult moment for Alphys. He scratches his head awkwardly as she holds the thing. Should he go, or? Could he leave if he wanted to, even? He's not good at this.

After a moment, he takes a step forward, not sure what the best next move is.]

Is there, uh... Can I help somehow? [He pauses.] I'm sorry, man.

[She wipes some tears from her eyes with the arm of her labcoat, trying to think of some comfort or kindness, but being well past that now. All she can do is hold them as they die. All she can do is feel the consequence, deep in her SOUL.]

They... they were dying. I was trying to preserve their SOULs. The humans locked us underground with SOUL power, I thought... if I could use their SOULs, I could free e-everyone. I could save all of monsterkind.

[She pauses, a wet sniffle that echoes in the hall.]

But they couldn't handle it. All the b-bodies melted together. They became... this. And I never told anyone. I t-trapped them down here, and now they're...

[And just then, the beast lets out a low, distressed noise, it's head falls, and it sinks, like sand, into dust. Alphys is left in the middle, coated in it, and finally left speechless.]

Wait, so that's...? [He gestures lamely.] Like, it's a bunch of, uh, people?

[Newt grimaces. Wow. That sounds like a pretty catastrophic mistake in terms of the science he's used to. Stuff like this just straight up doesn't happen. Clearly, that's not the case here. Wild.]

It, um, it sounds like you were on the verge of some really groundbreaking stuff though, dude. [He can say that with confidence at least, even if he's not familiar with the laws of this world. It certainly sounds like she was wading deep into the unknown in terms of research.] That's respectable, even if it didn't work out. It's not like you could've known.

[He says all of this gently, watching as the creature dissolves with one final whimper. He's far from understanding the impact of all of this, but the implications are clear enough. He finds himself tearing up a little on her behalf. On the creatures behalf, too. This sucks.

Newt gives her a moment to herself before crossing the distance between them and patting her shoulder.]

It sounds like you were going it alone down here. Was anyone helping you with this stuff? This is like, a lot of ethical responsibility to dump on one person. That's not fair to you.

[She feels far from herself until he touches her, eyes coming back into focus enough for her to realize she's crying. They're gone. They're gone now, she can just-- she can move from it, can't she? Can she finally--

Alphys heaves a breath, hands shaking, unable to move from where she sits.]

No one else knew. I... I d-didn't tell them. I couldn't. Not after everything happened. They were believing in me. They... they t-trusted me to make it right.

[And she failed. She failed, ultimately, and completely.]

I left the Underground. I left them down there. And they died, alone, and never knowing.

Whoa, hey. [He kneels down next to her. He doesn't like where this conversation is going, especially because it reminds him of what he's left behind at his own home. Yeah, they managed to stop the Kaiju, but that's not the end of it. There's still so much to learn, so much to do... He left his Earth when it needed him, too. At least they won the war first, he figures. If the Door had snapped him up even a few hours earlier, there'd be no home left to go back to.

It's a frightening thought. He's glad it's not true for him, but it sounds like it might be true for Alphys. Not that her entire race was under attack or anything, but like, this is still pretty bad. It sucks to think about.]

It's not your fault that you got pulled to Hadriel. Like, yeah, that's some crappy timing, but it's not your fault. How could you have known?

[But even he knows that's not really the issue here. It's not like all of this can be blamed on the Door. He sighs, and tries again.]

It still sounds to me like you were put into an impossible position. Okay, you messed up a bit maybe, but you did your best with what you had, didn't you? [Is this comforting? He's going for comforting. Maybe Alphys has a reason to feel super guilty over all of this, but, well. It's hard for him to look past the here and now at the larger implications of all of this.]

Someday, you're gonna make it home, and then you can fix all this stuff. Until then, there's not much sense in feeling bad about it.

[She sniffles, helplessly. In better times, she'd keep the next bit a secret. Even now, she doesn't intend on telling the full truth, just enough to make him understand the helplessness of all of this. But she feels like she's drowning in these realizations, and he should know. He should know how bad she is, how her mistakes can never, ever be redeemed.

She shakes her head, still looking down at the dust on the floor.]

You don't understand.

I died.

[She reaches out, touches the pile of it in almost a caress.]

I'm never going back. I can't. And n-no one will ever know what happened to them. And what I did to them.

[He's quiet for a long moment as he processes what she's just said. She...?]

What do you mean you died? [He shakes his head.] But you're here. You're alive in Hadriel. Whatever happened back home, you can still go back.

[He tries to say it like he means it, and some part of him really does, but there's something too ominous about all of this for him to shake. It's not that simple, he knows. If it was, he wouldn't be having such a hard time wrapping his head around all of this.

Can people show up in Hadriel if they've died back home? He's not sure. That doesn't sound like something that should be possible, but then again, he's sharing a dream with a lizard scientist from some underground world. None of this should be possible. Which means science as he knows it is virtually obsolete. Which... is terrifying.]

I'm sorry, Alphys. This, um... This really sucks. The position you're in, I mean. I still don't think you're a bad person.

How can you not?

[The response comes maybe too quickly, as she tilts her head towards him, looking pained and a bit confused. The sound of rushing water, off in the distance, flows a bit stronger, a bit more insistant.]

I did... I did a-all this. I ruined all of their lives. And I kept it all secret so people would like me. How is that... how can I be good?

[Newt sighs. Okay, she has a point. But it can't be that simple.]

It's not like the world is neatly divided into good and bad people, Alphys. [He doesn't know her world, sure, and it seems pretty different from the setup he's used to, but that kind of thing has to be true across the board.] Maybe you're not that good, I don't know, but you're not bad, either. Bad people don't feel bad about making mistakes. You're clearly pretty upset about this, ergo you're not a bad person. Not in my opinion, anyway. [And he considers his opinion to be fact, so.]

Look, if you really want to make things right, there has to be a way to do that. You're smart. You'll figure something out.

[You'll figure something out. Will she? Has she ever?

She wants to. She wants to believe in that part of her. But can she?

She'll try to believe in him. That's easier. Believing in him means something.

Alphys sniffles a bit, letting her head drop again and wiping some tears off with her sleeve.]

I... I'll try. I want to make it right for them. I d-don't want to forget. They deserve that much.

Yeah, see? There you go. [It's good enough for him. He claps a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.]

You can turn this around. Or, yeah. At least try. You just... You just do what you can, y'know? And you're capable of a plenty.

[He has enough wherewithal to know it's not a great time to point out that she's already accomplished this much. Yeah, it went horribly south, but... The amount of know-how it would've taken to get here in the first place? That's damned impressive.

But, uh, Newt has a feeling she's not in the mood for compliments on the matter. He'll just leave it at that.]

[Alphys doesn't quite have the power to smile. But she feels it. His support. She has to move forward, somehow. So she nods, and as she speaks, the sound of rushing water builds louder, and louder.]

Hopefully, it w-won't all... be forgotten.

[And out of nowhere, a wave crashes through the side of the hall, filling everything with cold, dark water. And as soon as it hits, the dream ends, the both of them waking up in their respective beds.]

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Event Log: Dreamwalker the Second

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cw: body horror

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