i brought the dragon right to you [open]

[breakingvoice]

WHO: Lina Geteilt and you!
WHERE: Dreamsville, USA and neighboring areas
WHEN: July 10th through the end of the month
WHAT: Dreams! Dragons! Dysfunction!
WARNINGS: Discussion of dying but no actual death, some mild making out, will update as things happen

a. the dragon's breath was a blast from hell [dream, cathedral city]

Standing on the top of what she assumed was a cathedral, looking far too pleased with herself and surrounded by four others who all looked equally like they belonged more in one of Lina's Japanese animes than in real life, Lina (Two?) stared down the scene in front of her. She'd just... won something, but she wasn't sure what, and she knew that there wasn't any way for whoever she'd been fighting, down there on the ground, to retaliate now.

Until the visage of a great and powerful dragon (Michael, and that one she knew) appeared behind the person she was fighting. And he opened his mouth and began charging a blast of fire that looked like it would absolutely kill her, and—

The dream froze, the dragon hovering in midair with its fire ready to incinerate everything in its path. Lina's body shook as though she was finally taking control of herself, but she didn't know what happened next. She didn't know how this memory ended, but this was the first time she was ever able to do something as the inevitable death by dragon bore down on her. She looked around at the giant dragon and the people around her and the person down on the ground in front of the dragon, and Lina finally spoke, loud and clear.

"Holy shit!"

b. i fought through her army [dream, land of sands]

"TWO!"

Lina's head jerked up, a brief flash of recognition in her eyes, but she couldn't tell who was speaking to her. All she could do was listen to the words. Someone knelt down in front of her, but she didn't recognize their face.

"...Her mind's gone, isn't it." Is it? The hazy state she was in right now, where words were just happening around her... was that what the voice meant? "She wasn't fully developed. Her body couldn't handle the power of her song."

What song? What happened to her?

"Hand her over. I'll end her suffering."

Lina's eyes went wide. She... she didn't want to die! She just had a conversation about this and she didn't want to die and she didn't want to be killed and she could... she could handle life! It didn't have to be this way. She didn't want... she tried to protest. She tried to cry out to the person kneeling in front of her who she couldn't recognize, but her voice was weak. Almost dead in her throat. And her body couldn't move.

She wanted to live, but she was at the mercy of two other people. Somebody who'd already offered to end her suffering, and somebody who stood between her and death. What choice were they going to make?

c. let's go back to my place [real world]

Jesus christ. These nightmares were murder on Lina's already stressed-out psyche, and waking up in a cold sweat after one was only refreshing in the summer heat the first time. Still, the evening was pretty calm and cool (unlike Lina herself), so once she realized going back to sleep wasn't going to happen, she started taking walks around the city instead. Whether this was her first dream or her twentieth, it wasn't going to sit any better with her.

She didn't expect to see anybody out here at this hour, but foregoing her usual overshirt and cap in the interest of keeping cool, her blue hair and tank top were probably going to draw attention whether she wanted it or not. (She probably didn't.)

?. ninety million hundred fifty thousand hundred [future prompts]

((hit me up on roseward or on this journal if you want any more prompts!!))

Comments

a!!

[usurpers]

[ eren’s been to a cathedral like this one before. on another night, in another dream, he fought against the dragon zophiel, and the girl that looked very much like his sister . . . but that wasn’t his sister, that was four. when he comes to a certain sense of consciousness, eren has no blades at his waist, none of his more well known clothes, except for something to match the dream he visits: armor and stuff.

they are still right in front of the dragon’s fire and he does not want to wait for time to roll back in on them. whoever lina was, or two— it didn’t matter. ]

Get away from it!!

[breakingvoice]

No shit!

[Lina's already jumping off the roof of the cathedral before even thinking about whether she can survive it. it feels like it's the kind of thing she should be able to do even though she has absolutely nothing backing that up, and since this is a dream that she hasn't realized is a dream yet, she does at least manage to survive the fall. must be all the biking she does.]

[of course, now she's right in front of Michael and the person she's fighting whose face she can't see, and her head whips around behind her to the entrance of the cathedral itself, large doors surrounded by columns like it's some sort of classical architecture. she looks around for... for the armored man, the one who yelled at her to get out of the way, and shouts.]

You can make it! We're going inside!

[which is going to be a bad idea for other reasons, but she doubts the dragonfire will make it in there and it feels safe. it feels like she's kept things safe in there.]

[usurpers]

[ at least this one isn’t laughing at him and trying to kill him.

so, following the will to survive and taking the only path he has to that final destination, he follows lina in her free fall. oh, he would wish for his maneuver gear right now, but jumping has come the same way as breathing does: instantly.

he’s right behind her, either way, taking the bulk of the impact with an ease only the dreamscape would allow, and dashing into the cathedral with her. ]

[breakingvoice]

[haha, yeah, Lina would never start laughing and killing people. totally safe here with her!]

[she rushes to the door as soon as she sees this other person is inside with her, then slams it shut and presses her back to it. on the other side, she can hear time return to its normal flow as the fire roars out of Michael's mouth and—doesn't hit the door? well, whatever. it's not her problem anymore.]

[inside the cathedral is something that's actually not very cathedral-like. instead, it's a long, dark stairwell with landings every hundred feet or so. from the top, Lina can't see very far down, but her mind is telling her that no matter how creepy this is, no matter how she can see the occasional skull lining the wall in the flickering torchlight, it's safe here.]

I. I never made it this far before. [her chest is rising and falling rapidly.] Did you do that? Did you give us enough time to get out?

[usurpers]

I didn’t do anything.

[ as far as he knew where his abilities stretched. it doesn’t quite intimidate eren, or unease him too much— there’s worse, like the fate they’d have if they stayed outside. for now, in here was the better option, he’d just have to keep sharp.

he’s still recovering from the run as well, coming by one of the torches lining the halls and taking it from its perch. ]

You’ve been around here before?

[breakingvoice]

In memories.

[she takes another second after that to finish composing herself, then looks down at her body. she's dressed exactly like Two, which means she's showing this person who just showed up with her this time way more skin than she'd prefer, but she's too tired to cover herself up with her arms and just kind of rolls her eyes and accepts it. this might as well be how her life goes today.]

We're always standing up there, on the roof of this place, and the dragon shows up and shoots fire at us, and then... I don't know what happens next.

[she could spend a lot of time trying to figure out what exactly is happening, but it seems like right now she's about to do some spelunking with... hm. is her brain playing tricks on her?]

Don't I know you from somewhere?

[usurpers]

[ it’s cool lina . . . a few moments of observation and she could tell right away that eren’s eyes don’t wander anywhere below the neck. there’s no refrained interest, he just doesn’t care. you’re good with this lad 👍

eren turns to get a better look at her face when she asks, though.

. . . has he seen her from somewhere? if so, it was— a really long time ago. now even he’s curious. ]

What’s . . . Your name?

[ not that he’s sure he’d remember a name, but maybe something . . . ]

[breakingvoice]

[maybe it is her mind getting the better of her. maybe she really is making things up. but she gives him her name anyway, because, well, if he's on this weird cave trip with her then she might as well put forth the idea of being polite. (especially since he's being kind enough not to stare at her outfit.)]

Lina. [she pauses.] Lina Geteilt.

[well, here's hoping that stirs up good associations and doesn't just make everything worse.]

[usurpers]

[ okay, so

that earns a very long stare, one of mixed feelings that seem as bright as daylight with the torch in his face. he hasn’t met all “sisters”, his memory of jasmine in the dreamscape comes and goes— he knew her, treated her as family, and so did clover, but . . .

clover was still his sister in his mind now, and jasmine was someone he had no ties with in the living world. as much as something tells him that information is a little oddly placed with the rest he had. she took his surname, but she still spoke of the bonds she made before she went home with them.

right? god, his head is so confused. ]

You’re . . . My sister’s sister?

c

[physix]

[AHEM. Akane's just walking by casually and noticing Lina in distress. She's a bit concerned for your sake, girl.]

Are you in need of assistance? I may be old but I can still provide you with some aid.

[Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it!!! ]

What happened to you?

[breakingvoice]

[she's fine, it's fine, everything's fine. Lina's head tilts up at the question.]

Nightmares.

[what a helpful answer. she looks this older woman up and down and doesn't immediately get any bad vibes off her, so maybe she can have a real conversation. as soon as she asks something that she's never gonna get used to asking out of the blue like this.]

Are you on the app?

[physix]

Why, yes. I'm using Retrospec and so are my sons. That app brings nothing but misfortune, young lady.

[She lowers her voice because Retrospec isn't exactly a fun topic to discuss. ]

My name's Akane Kurashiki. What should I call you?

[breakingvoice]

[it sure as hell isn't, but at least now she knows she can... well. trust is a strong word because Akane's still a complete stranger, but. trust more easily than somebody who isn't on the app.]

Lina. And yeah, the app fucking sucks.

[the mouth on her!]

It's definitely doing something to give people nightmares. Which is great. My life is going so great normally. Guess they needed to take me down a peg.

[physix]

I am sorry to hear that. Retrospec was never kind from my knowledge.

[Akane frowns and gives Lina a sympathetic look.]

Nightmares are a reflection of a person's psyche. May I ask what your dreams are about?

[It's..a personal issue so she understands if Lina doesn't want to talk about it.]

[breakingvoice]

[Lina holds back a bitter laugh. poorly. it sounds like that noise that happens when something you're drinking immediately makes you start coughing. when she recovers, she's almost smirking.]

Dragons. Psychoanalyze that.

[physix]

Dragons. I won't claim to be an expert on dragons or beasts. I may have a book or two with general information on them.

[IT'S FICTIONAL, but hey anything helps.]

Would you like to read it?

[breakingvoice]

I know everything I need to know about dragons.

[she doesn't, but she can extrapolate. they don't exist, so why should she bother being too concerned about them?]

They breathe fire and they kill people. I don't need to know anything else about them to know that they're not something I want to dream about anymore.

B as in 🅱OI

[burndownforwhat]

[ to quote some sister she apparently has in another life: "oh my god it's happening again" Jen, clad in the same clothes she wore to bed that night, was standing in some unfamiliar space, with strange people, in an obviously uncomfortable situation, and felt more out of place than she looked. there's only one individual here she recognized at all and it was clear that Lina (what did they call her?) was in a bad way. orienting herself to the feeling of being here - wherever "here" was - Jen stepped forward and spoke up, her voice carrying with it as much uncertainty as it was anger. ] Hey! What do you think you're doing?

[breakingvoice]

[and Lina? Lina doesn't know what happens next. she can guess. she knows that Cent is probably here to protect her and Zero is here to mercy kill her, and she doesn't know how she knows those names but right now she does now that something has shattered and this isn't just a memory anymore. her head tilts up at hearing Jen's voice, and—because things don't know how to play out anymore—the faces of the two others flicker and turn to solid blocks of static.]

[the one at her side says "lost in her d░▒▒ms" in a distorted voice, but doesn't move. the one below them, Zero, repeats herself. "end her s▓▓fering." they both have swords. the same sword. she doesn't remember Cent having a sword here and their faces are unreadable.]

[Lina's eyes flit to her roommate. Two's eyes flit to the stranger. her lips part but she can't make words happen. her fingers twitch at her side like she's trying to break out of something.]

[burndownforwhat]

What the hell...? [ the way the dream was glitching out was unnerving, to say the least. Jen stepped closer to the figure on the same level as her, stopping in her tracks only once she realized that she was holding a fuck-off huge sword in her hand. odds are good that she'd know how to use it, too. Jen cannot draw upon her own dream experiences to know how to deal with it and, furthermore, she appears to be unarmed. figuratively and half-literally. did that stop her from piping up? no, that would be the smart thing to do. ] What's going on? Who are you people?

[breakingvoice]

Cent.

[Lina's voice is so, so weak, but it draws the attention of the person next to her. "l░dy two."]

Ze... ro.

[and the other one, down below with Jen, shouts out "▓▓▓!" in the same tone except it's not her name it's just a burst of static because this isn't how the memory went there wasn't another person here things are wrong and Lina's brain doesn't know where to take it from here and how to make this right.]

[fine. she can handle this. if Lina can't... okay. okay, Lina knows this isn't right. she knows this isn't right and having Jen here only proves it. she's not Two. she's Lina. and if she can't move her body... maybe she can control something else. Z▓ro's body glitches out, flickering out of existence and turning to face Jen. her head is still tilted upward like Two is still in her line of sight.]

[the words out of Ze▓o's mouth come in different inflections. volumes. a different voice entirely, in spots, all mashed together into a coherent and hard-fought plea. "i'm dream░" and then "try ove░power" and "inter░upt".]

[but she's only able to say a few words before another blast of static comes from ▒ent and his body glitches down to Jen, too. they aren't brandishing their weapons because she doesn't know how they fight and her brain can't form something that complex on the fly when it's already trying to figure out how to make this all happen, but they are going to try to get in her way. the platform Lina is on has a small stairway glitch into existence so she can be rescued, but there's no guarantee what will happen after that.]

[burndownforwhat]

[ things just keep getting weirder and weirder. each change, each sound, causes her to startle or gasp. it's clear that things are coming apart even if she cannot understand how or why. when the woman closest to her speaks it's hard to make out everything, but Jen gets the gist of it. ] Uh, okay. Okay! If you'll just stay... right there... no one's got to get hurt. [ a weak threat, but it's out all the way. the weapons are gone. that's good! Jen's feeling better about being able to get past the two, or push through, if it comes to that, but for now she's got her hand up to signal to them to respect her space as she strafes a wide circle about them and heads for those stairs. ]

[breakingvoice]

[nope, sorry. they have no desire to make life quite so easy for Jen. C▒nt flickers into existence right in front of that stairwell, the one right on the edge of what appears to be an open pit with no bottom, and he starts monologuing in that same broken way, using the only words Lina's brain knows can be used here.]

["try not to interrupt. her dreams can▒t end her s▒ffering. isn'▒ lady two l▒st."]

[christ, even Lina would think this is melodramatic, but it's taking too much energy to keep things stable as her head tilts towards the action and her mouth forms Jen's name in vain. for now at least Z▓▓o is staying away, speaking her lines in the background as static seeps into every one. Ce▒▒ isn't moving, but he's planted himself close to the edge.]

[burndownforwhat]

[ man, this guy really is starting to act like a c▒nt. or at least a major inconvenience. Jen's hearing keeps having her looking over her shoulder to make sure she won't be sandwiched in an awkward position. the geography of the room is not appealing to her whatsoever, and the only way up the stairs seems through this guy. also, is his entire torso stitched up and scarred? gross!! ] Ew, okay. Look mister "hardcore open heart surgery" don't make me put you back in the hospital. Because I will! [ that isn't... the most biting of insults. but maybe if she can egg him on to come forward she could slip around. she doesn't want to push him over the edge or, even worse, risk falling herself. Jen beckons him toward her. ] C'mon, tough guy. If you think you can stop me I'd like to see you try!

[breakingvoice]

[Lina isn't sure what C▒▒t's deal is and knows she doesn't ever want to find out. Two certainly knows, but she's not telling. he responds to the bait, flickering forward in a jerky motion, like when a video game knows where something should be, realizes it isn't there yet, and forces it there with no transition.]

["yo▓ can't ▓▓ndle the power of ▒▒▒ dre▒ms." the further off-script this goes, the more dialogue needs to be chopped up and reworked from the same few lines, the worse off ▒e▒▒'s voice seems to sound. behind the two of them, ▓e▓▓ is still repeating her lines to nobody, following the script in the background while all the metaphorical processing power goes to the confrontation between Jen and the man only three inches taller than her.]

[▒▒n▒ brings himself as close to Jen as he can, his body seeming to walk normally now and his hands reaching out, on occasion, to touch someone who isn't there. Lina, up on the platform, knows what he's acting through. they're the same height, she and Jen. he must be confused, but he might be locked into it. he isn't talking clearly, but she recognizes the cadences and hears him slipping into the back and forth with ▓▓▓o.]

[god she hopes she understands what's going on. being locked in this nightmare is terrifying and frankly just... bizarre. she wants Jen to rescue her.]