(open) rough seas will be calm

[scythegun]

WHO: Jaeger (eventually) and you!
WHERE: Dreamscapes.
WHEN: 8/25.
WHAT: Dreamdives!
WARNINGS: Suicidal implications, threads are warned accordingly.

[You find yourself on a grassy plain. It's nighttime, and while this whole thing is probably incredibly surreal, the scenery is at least peaceful. You can see a dark building ahead of you.

If you look behind you, you'll notice that there's a large, thick forest. Listening for a moment will tell you that there's plenty of wildlife there, and it doesn't sound happy to see you. It's probably not a good idea to head that direction. But hey, if you really want to, there's nothing stopping you.

If you choose to approach the building, you'll hear the distant sound of waves crashing, but otherwise all is silent. It would almost be serene, if not for the ominous look of the building. It appears to be a very large manor. There are plenty of lights on inside despite the late hour, which gives you a little more light to see the building itself. For some reason there are massive chains decorating the left side of the building that don't actually seem to be there for any specific purpose, and above that are flags for... some reason. The whole thing is kind of an experience, and the gloomy atmosphere and isolated nature of the house probably aren't doing much to make you feel at ease.

Since the manor is most likely where you're headed, you might want to get a bit closer to the front door to check it out. Be careful, though - you won't be able to get too close without two guards spotting you. They're dressed in yellow uniforms complete with masks that hide the upper halves of their faces. They don't exactly look friendly; one of them has a crossbow in hand and the other has some kind of large daggers that look like they're attached to the back of his hands.

You'll find that there's a solid wall around the perimeter of the manor; you can hide here for a moment if you'd like. Climbing over the wall seems to be out of the question given the height of it and the spikes on top.

How do you want to proceed?]

Comments

[scythegun]

[When you turn to leave you'll actually see that there's one more painting on the wall a little further away from the door. It's of a older man, but unlike the other paintings in the room, this one's been defaced. Like the picture from the woman on the opposite wall, this one is drained of color, but there are also several slashes through the painting. It looks like someone took a bladed weapon to it?? You can still get a good idea of what the man looks like, but that's probably still a little jarring considering the condition of all the other paintings.

Even more pressing are the feelings - they'll come easily and they're a bit stronger than most of the others in the room. Frustration, anger, fear... and beneath all that, acceptance.

Back to the hallway and the last door, then?]

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji's going to go out on a limb and say Yeager didn't like this guy. Yikes.

Still back to the hallway and last door!]

[scythegun]

[Once again, the guard does not seem to care that you're wandering around here, so time for the final door on the left side of the hallway!

Immediately you'll notice that something is off here, like the room that led into Leviathan's Claw (the shop), this room doesn't seem like it fits in with the manor at all. In fact, it seems way too big to be housed within the manor? The ceiling reaches high up and everything else is blue in hue and it looks sort of like you're underwater.

The room itself seems to be empty beyond the various arches and architecture of the room. There aren't any other doors than the one you entered from.

There is an item in the center of the room, though. It's shiny and not very large, but you can't tell what it is from over here.]

[thesettingsun]

[This is very #aesthetic, but it doesn't look like Yeager's aesthetic. Or Jaeger's for the matter. Something else in his memories...?

Ooh, shiny. Time to approach the shiny thing... cautiously.]

[scythegun]

[Don't worry, it won't move or react to your presence!

The shiny thing is a red gem encased in a golden centerpiece with pieces that arc up and down. The gem and the center are a big bigger than the size of your hand, but you could presumably pick it up, if you wanted to. It may be made of metal, but it doesn't look all that heavy.

Something about it is definitely going to set you on edge, though. In fact, the longer you're in this room, the more anxious you'll feel.]

[thesettingsun]

[If video games have taught him anything, it's that large gems are important. Sometimes they destroy the world or similar, but they're always important. That's a valid reason to be anixous.

So with great trepidation, he's going to try to pick up the jewel.]

[scythegun]

[You can pick it up, don't worry! The moment you touch it, the red gem starts glowing and the floor beneath you begins to shake. A panel opens up in the floor somewhere ahead of you and a spiral staircase slowly rises, eventually connecting with something in the ceiling with a click.]

[thesettingsun]

[That seemed important! Video games have never steered him wrong.

...He's putting the gem down now, because this anxiety is really kind of unpleasant, before going to climb the staircase.]

[scythegun]

[That's fine, the stairs will stay there even if you're not holding the gem, and it's still glowing even when you set it down.

Welcome back to the manor! It looks like you're on the upstairs floor now, complete with the same sort of decor as before. There's also a giant painting of Yeager over the stairs?? Who does that.

Once again, the hallway turns and leads further back into the manor, mirroring the layout from the previous floor. Keep going?]

[thesettingsun]

[Keep going, because if he doesn't look at it he can pretend that Yeager doesn't keep a giant painting of himself in his own house. Love this tastefully decorated and not at all ridiculous manor, mm-hmm.]

[scythegun]

[Please judge Yeager, he deserves it.

Anyway, like the lower floor, the hallway is lined with doors - there are more of them this time, but more importantly, there are also two guards. They're identical to the ones you ran into blocking the front door, though they might not be the exact same pair, it's hard to tell.

There's also a fancier-looking door straight back. If you listen closely, you can hear voices coming from that direction.

Now what?]

[thesettingsun]

[It is really hard to tell, how do all these guards have the exact same figure on top of wearing the same uniforms and the same masks...

Shuji is going to rely on looking like he totally is supposed to be here - the uniform will help. He walks past the guards at a relaxed pace, not even sparing them a glance as he heads towards the fancy door.

Does he get shanked on the way?]

[scythegun]

[~video games~

You won't get shanked, but the guards will stop you before you can pass them.]

You're not supposed to be here. Why'd you leave your post?

[thesettingsun]

Yeager reassigned me.

[He hopes he sounds casual enough about it to be convincing.]

You must not have gotten the update yet.

[scythegun]

What, you didn't get your new uniform yet?

[The second guard speaks up:] We've been told to stay out of the room, surely you got that update?

[thesettingsun]

You've been told to stay out of the room. Now, if you'll excuse me.

[What happens if he tries to just... continue walking...]

[scythegun]

[The guard with the knives brandishes them.]

Nice try, but no one's supposed to be in there. No exceptions. The girls are with him, no other guards are required.

So, who are you?

[thesettingsun]

[Siiiiiiiiigh. If they didn't confirm where Jaeger was, he maybe could have thought about backing off, but since he definitely needs to find him...]

A friend of his. If you'll excuse me.

[Walking with one hand on the book in his satchel, because he definitely expects to get stabbed about a second from now.]

[scythegun]

[Yep, you're probably going to need your book-scythe. The guard with the knives is pretty fast, he'll try to slice you while his buddy tries to aim a shot. Good luck, Shuji...]

[thesettingsun]

[He's gonna get stabbed, there's pretty much nothing he can do about that except be thankful these clothes aren't his so he can ruin them with ink stains if he wants. Unfortunately for knife dude, Shuji is fairly fast himself - that whole 'not technically human' thing - and with how quickly his book turns into an actual weapon, he's definitely in range to whack the guy on the back of the head with the scythe.

Does crossbow dude have a reaction to him bleeding ink from a stab wound?]

[scythegun]

[Just like the other guy, he's kind of startled by this because who does that. It takes him a moment to actually start aiming his crossbow, so you'll definitely have time to get close!]

[thesettingsun]

[Yeager has weird friends, apparently!

Yeah he's also going in for the back of the head whack.]

[scythegun]

[Aaaaand down he goes. These guys really aren't all that tough, but that's what you get when you're a mid-game boss.

Are you continuing on toward the room in the back, then?]

[thesettingsun]

[He's going to take a moment to de-transform the scythe and also drink some more ink to heal, because he's not sure that the girls will be super friendly. ...Or Yeager, if that's Yeager in there and not Jaeger.

After that, yes, he'll try that room.]

[scythegun]

[The door opens into a large bedroom - there's a nice looking bed underneath a window, but more alarmingly are the weapons displayed on the wall in patterns. They're definitely decoration, but who does that.

The stuff in the room probably isn't nearly as important as the people, however. As soon as you open the door, the red and green-haired girls from that painting will approach you. They're clearly standing in the way of the rest of the room and both are holding out swords like they're ready to fight. They don't move to attack, at least.

Behind them are two more people - the giant white-haired man from one of the paintings, and Jaeger. Yeager? It's kind of hard to tell, but he's dressed in Yeager's clothes. Both of the men have weapons: the giant has a massive greatsword and Jaeger's got his scythe.

All of them turn their attention to you once the door's open.]

No one's supposed to interfere. [That's the red-haired girl.]

Yeah, you shouldn't even be here! [The green-haired girl.]