(OPEN) dream a little dream of me

[ohrlyeh]

WHO: Howard Carter and YOU
WHERE: His head, one prompt in Apprassage
WHEN: Throughout July
WHAT: the strange dreams of a strange man, and one prompt in the real world
WARNINGS: Body horror, Howard dealing with being a big squid monster, violence, probably murder, specific warnings are above the specific prompts!

I. DREAMSCAPES

- A. (cw: drowning imagery, death, body horror)

[This...is not land.]

[This is the opposite of land. It's water. Deep blue permeates every inch of your vision, the sound of your heart far too loud against the deafened sound of the world around you. Surprisingly, you can breathe, even talk, but when you do you can see bubbles. They're bright against the gloomy darkness of the ocean.]

[In front of you is an immense forest of seaweed, pitch-black as can be. The fronds rise so far up above that it's hard to even see how tall they go. When they shift together, as if in a breeze, it seems there's the sound of whispering. A fish darts out from the leaves - you can see, momentarily, that it has too many eyes. This place is wrong. You shouldn't come here. And yet...]

[There's the sound of sobbing - a deep voice emanates from deep within the seaweed forest:]

It can't be me, it can't be me, it can't be...

[Should you enter? Perhaps your common sense should tell you otherwise.]

[The fronds of the seaweed brush against your arms, like welcoming an old friend.]


- B. (cw: violence, body horror)

[You wake up in the middle of a clearing in a forest, the rapid sound of gunfire filling your ears. It must be mid-day, judging by the amount of light streaming through the leaves. There's the sound of men yelling frantically in the background among the gunshots - but you can't see anything around you at the moment, except...]

[There's a person lying down on the ground, dressed completely in black. A cursory glance shows no sign of blood or any visible wounds, and yet he's not moving. Get close enough, and suddenly the man's chest will heave with a low, disgruntled sort of noise.]

[He's snoring.]

[The sounds of gunfire are getting closer...]


- C. (cw: discussion of death and drowning)

[You're on a beach that looks like it's had most of the color sucked away from it - the sky is almost completely covered by light grey clouds, the sand almost completely white. Even the ocean itself seems murky and lifeless, a dull turquoise color that mixes with the dirty foam it laps up on the shore.]

[There are two figures here - one is a small child dressed in a old-fashioned striped bathing suit running up and down the beach, wet strands of shoulder-length black hair sticking to their cheeks as they bend here and there, collecting shells or occasionally letting the ocean lap up against their feet. They completely ignore your presence - the child looks sickly thin and pale, but they're clearly having a good time judging by the bright smile on their face.]

[The other figure is sitting a little further away from the ocean on the sand, long legs drawn up against him as he just stares over at the child. Howard heaves a long sigh - if you get close enough, you can see his hands, crossed over his legs, are trembling. He looks up at his dream intruder, but his oddly purple eyes slide back to the ocean.]

These were simpler times. [He finally states.] If only it could have...stayed that way.

[If you listen carefully, you can hear the sounds of arguing in the far distance, intermixed with the sounds of waves. But there's no one else around.]


-D. (cw: talking cats)

[This is a quaint little town. There are green cottages with overhanging stories and neatly-kept farms with cobblestone pathways in the middle of bright patches of green grass. The sky is blue. The air is fresh. There are a lot of cats in this place. A lot of them. Black, calico, ginger, old, young, fat, thin - it's hardly like every inch of the place is covered by them, but this is probably more cats than you've ever seen in one place (save for like, a cat cafe).]

[A pretty brown cat makes its way up to the dream intruder, long tail brushing against their legs in a friendly manner. A woman's voice can suddenly be heard - it's coming from the cat.]

Hm? Are you here to see Carter?


II. A QUIET NIGHT IN APPRASSAGE

[Perhaps these dreams are keeping you from really enjoying sleep, or maybe nighttime is just your time of day. Either way, the streets are practically empty - it's getting quite late. However, there's a man sitting on a bench, just staring at nothing in particular. The circles under Howard's eyes seem darker than usual. When he sees someone pass, he speaks up, slender hand resting on the space of the bench next to him.]

Come...sit, if you want. [There's a grim smile on his face.] It's nice to just...take a break, for a little while, don't you think? Even from dreams...

Comments

b

[maidofmistakes]

Oh, no... Uh, what do I do?

[Lina kneels down and starts shaking the sleeping body, looking around frantically.]

Mr. Carter? Is that you? C'mon, wake up!

[ohrlyeh]

...

[Well, the shaking is having some affect - Howard(?) raises his head, opening one eye blearily as he stares up at Lina. He lets out a low, annoyed groan.]

Stop...let me sleep...

[maidofmistakes]

But listen! You hear it, right? There's soldiers or something, we gotta move!

[ohrlyeh]

It's fine.

[It's...not fine. But he does open his other eye now.]

They can't...hurt me. [A pause.] Can you defend yourself...?

[maidofmistakes]

Uh... I have super strength? And I'm fast, but... Wait, are you bulletproof now?

A, more drowning talk

[thesettingsun]

[This is wrong.

Shuji's memories of drowning are crystal clear. He breathes without pain, but the pounding of his heart in his ears is deafening. He should swim up, up, before it's too late for him, before the water remembers that it should fill his lungs and slowly kill him-

But he hears Howard's sobs, and that makes his decision clear.

He swims forward into the seaweed forest.]

Howard? Howard, where are you-

[ohrlyeh]

[A hand brushes against his hand as he moves further in. It's stiff and cold. The fronds of the seaweed move, exposing what seems to be a dead body of some unknown man dressed in old-fashioned clothing, mouth frozen open in a look of sheer terror. It looks broken - the limbs are twisted like something smashed like a fly against the wall. Tangled in the seaweed, the body just hangs, hand reaching out for nothing at all.]

[The sobbing stops at the sound of Shuji's voice. Still distant, the sound of Howard's voice can be heard, sounding panicked, but relieved. He still can't be seen. The forest is too dense.]

Shuji...S-Shuji, are you there?

[More fish with too many eyes dash by. In the seaweed forest, one can see the outline of numerous other drowned bodies of random people, hanging like macabre ornaments in the fronds.]

[thesettingsun]

[There are too many drowned bodies here. Shuji wonders if this is what his - Dazai's - his body looked like, though he doubts that canal had any seaweed for his corpse to become tangled in.]

I'm here. You're not alone, I promise.

[Even if he can't see Howard yet, he'll keep searching, heading towards the direction he thinks Howard's voice is coming from.]

[ohrlyeh]

I'm glad, Shuji...

[He's so relieved. So relieved, and yet, in this underwater garden of horrors, it's unsure just what Shuji is going to find. There's a low, guttural groan - the seaweed forest shifts with the sound of it, like it's accompanied by a large gust of wind. Howard's voice continues:]

But you can't...you can't see me like this, it's not...

[Another groan. Something long shifts through the forest, as if searching for something. It's a giant green tentacle, mottled with suckers.]

This can't be me...

[thesettingsun]

[The tentacle seems like the ones he saw attached to Howard before, just bigger. Shuji reaches for it, to try to hold onto it like he'd hold someone's hand to soothe them.]

It's okay. Whatever you look like, you're Howard. You're my friend and I'm going to be there for you.

[No matter how many tentacles or eyes he has.]

B

[vitis]

[ john can't immediately piece together how he got here; he's wearing clothing that looks like his but they're not, he's dug a cut into his neck for vines to spill from it, and there's shouting and gunfire a bit too close for comfort. ]

Hey, Howard!

[ because what's by far the most alarming, however, is howard--or who he thinks to be howard--lying face down in the grass in the clearing here. oh lord. you know, the thought of "please just be sleeping" was a bit too good to be true; for once, it wasn't, as john's persistent attempts at rousing him are met with something akin to success. ]

C'mon, time to get up! [ his vines flare around him, just in case; hell, he's practiced a bit with blocking projectiles, but putting that to the real test is... disconcerting. he finds his usual bravado curbed, especially when its someone he cares for this deeply potentially endangered? ] We gotta move...!

[ohrlyeh]

Do I have to...?

[Comes the low whine from the figure. The man looks up at John with narrowed, unamused eyes, heaving a loud and very annoyed sigh.]

But if you say so. [He is pushing up himself onto his feet, gazing with little to no concern in the direction of the sound of gunfire. After a moment, he turns to John, scratching at his cheek. There's a few stains of dirt and pieces of grass in his hair.]

Where are we going, John?

[vitis]

[ absolutely. john wastes no time in attempting to drag howard into the cover of trees; once they're there, his relief is near palpable. not that they're safe yet, but the closeness of solid branches and trunks makes for a considerably easier time. he resists the urge to be fussy and swat the grass from the man's hair.

then his eyebrows furrow at the question: so howard must be as lost as he is, here.

that darn, meddling retrospec. ]

Back to the city, if it's not in shambles. [ any more than it was. he wouldn't be surprised. ] Your place. No clue what the hell's goin' on here [ one of his vines wind about a tree ], so I dunno if I wanna get dragged into it just yet.

[ohrlyeh]

...Aren't we on a mission?

[Says the man next to him, tilting his head so far that his ear almost reaches his shoulder.]

[His eyebrows are furrowed together, his expression practically saying "I thought you knew what was going on, here".]

You went ahead to do something and told me to wait for your signal over here...and I was very tired, so I slept. I'm sorry if I missed it.

ii

[1620]

[ gamzee recognizes the man from the time he delivered him a pie— he’s finished street performing for the day and is now bouncing into his night time activities, flipping his hood up despite the summer weather (evening isn’t too hot), burning the tip of a cigarette until it kindled with color and followed the flow of smoke from his lips and nostrils. gamzee’s drags are deep, terrible for the lungs but light on his stress, his face mellow as usual and painted rather nicely.

he stops a few steps away from howard, playing with his lighter and snapping the lid open and closed. ]

You smoke?

[ohrlyeh]

Hm? Oh. No, I don't. [He's still a bit upset that he ate a pie with DRUGS, THANKS, but...well, he knows he should have seen the signs. Besides, he's too tired to bring it up, just shaking his head as he continues with his answer.] I tried a bit in college, but it's not for me.

[His shoulders shrug as he lets out a huff.]

What are you doing out this late?

[1620]

I gotcha’.

[ those were good drugs.

but gamzee is considerate! with the answer, he takes one more drag before easily complying, nodding as he breathes smoke like a chimney and taps the tip of the cigarette onto the strap of his guitar case. he rubs the light out and puts it back in his box, in his pocket (yes, he’ll put away a half lit cigarette to use later, can’t throw away sweet nicotine he paid for), before finally walking over to take a seat.

no second hand smoking for you, buddy. ]

Anonymous street art, my friend. Just lookin’ for a wall to dye.

[ in other words . . . more illegal activities ]

[ohrlyeh]

[FRATERNIZING WITH CRIMINALS: SCANDALOUS.]

[But Howard appreciates the gesture, even sitting a little more upright from his slumped, lazy posture from before. He hates crowds, shudders at parties, but being one-on-one with this with people? He kind of wants that more than he thinks he does.]

[He looks over at the other, tapping his fingers together in his lap.]

Street art, huh? What do you draw...?

A

[smothershadow]

[Underwater? That was new. Amelia's next breath was sharp, but there were no difficulties breathing here; no heaviness in the lungs, no resistance greater than air.

Peculiar. Amongst several peculiar things, it seemed. The older woman's gaze followed the many-eyed fish a moment, before fruitlessly trying to peer further into the seaweed grove.]

Who is there?

[The shadow she cast against the distant surface was strange, something with too many limbs and too many spines, all out of sorts with what her current form looked like.]

[ohrlyeh]

...Who are you?

[The voice replies. The sea floor trembles as something big shifts, the fronds of the seaweed blowing as if with an unseen gust of wind. It calms down. The voice, deep, questioning, continues:]

Who are you? Why...why have you come here...?

[smothershadow]

[Something changed. The seaweed billowed from a current she couldn't feel, stretching towards her like fingers before they subsided.

Something had noticed her.]

I am Amelia. Straying here was not my intention. But I am here regardless.

[ohrlyeh]

Amelia...I do not know this name.

[The voice ponders to itself - it still sounds upset, though Amelia's more than distracting it from...whatever it's so worked up about.]

[There's a low thump of a noise - a school of fish, some bizarrely missing their heads, swim out of the forest with a hurry.]

Are you lost, Amelia?

a

[yakan]

[ Kiyoshi is pretty sure that he never was a great swimmer, and still he's perfectly fine right now. That's so strange. He puffs out air with small pah sounds as he looks around-- the bubbles are pretty cool. He's far too relaxed in a strange situation.

And then he hears a voice and he pauses his little melody. ]

What now? Heey, hellooo?

[ That voice... wasn't that Howard's? ]

[ohrlyeh]

...Who...who is there?

[Says the voice, almost stumbling over itself as it answers Kiyoshi. The seaweed forest continues not to betray who (or what) is speaking, its fronds flowing in the movements of the water around them.]

What...Kiyoshi? Is that you...?

[yakan]

[ Kiyoshi aims for the direction he thinks the voice is coming from, making his way that way.

It's strange to not immediately being able to see Howard - because he's more sure that it's him now - since normally he stands out quite a bit, like the stick man that he is. ]

Kiyoshi- yes, that is me~ What are you doing over there? Did you learn to turn yourself invisible?