Catch-All Dream Event Log

[somnambulatory]

Who: Jinxie Tenma, Squid Girl, Chie Satonaka, Merrill, Lenna Charlotte Tycoon, and YOU
What: Five very different dreamscapes for five very different girls
When: First week of the event
Where: Dream World
Summary: This is basically just a big catch-all for five of my characters' dreams. I thought this would be easier and cleaner than making five separate posts. There will be five subcomments in this post, so just tag under whichever character's dream you want to visit.

[Jinxie's dream]

[Jinxie's dream is a chaotic swirl of battle. On one side stands a community of humans clad in robes, carrying prayer beads, magic charms, and other trappings common to spiritualists. On the other, there are all manner of Psychic, Dark, and Ghost type Pokemon. The Pokemon are agitated and angry, attacking the humans and destroying their once peaceful community with reckless abandon. The humans seem to be holding their own, at least until the appearance of a large bird Pokemon, several times larger than it has any right to be and wreathed in shadow. As it swoops down, the Pokemon seem reinvigorated and begin pushing back against the humans - some falling in battle as others flee their homes. And amid the chaos is one Jinxie Tenma, paralyzed with fear and unable to do anything but stare up at the horror threatening to engulf them all.]

T-Tenma... Tenma Taro...! It's back... it's come to destroy us all!

[Squid Girl's dream]

[Squid Girl's dream is much lighter in content. In her dream, she is simply sitting atop a golden throne, wearing a crown and seated in judgement of the humans who bow and scrape for her favor. She holds a scepter imperiously in one of her tentacles, her hands busying themselves with a nearly endless succession of delicious meals - Clauncher fried rice, Kingler legs, Corphish bisque... the list goes on. To her left, there is a large tank filled with Sharpedo wearing silly jester hats, and every so often she claps her hands and bids them to cavort for her amusement before throwing them one of the scraps of her meal.]

[Chie's dream]

[Chie's dream has her cast in the role of a brave medieval knight - shining armor, magic sword gleaming brightly in her hand, and accompanied by her trusty Aegislash as the two battle against a mighty Salamence in the shadow of a tall, tall tower. And trapped in that tower is a certain red-haired princess that the Dragon type has taken prisoner.]

Don't worry, princess! Your knight in shining armor is here!

[It's all pretty suggestive of some themes that have been building in Chie's life in the waking world as of late. Anyone who bothers to watch for long enough will see Chie and her entourage defeat the Salamence before catching the princess as she leaps from the tower into her arms, the two sharing a kiss together in celebration of her victory.]

[Merrill's dream]

[Merrill's dream is similar to Jinxie's, but even more bloody and violent. There are two distinct scenes to the dream, each separated by five hundred years of real time. The first depicts a peaceful race of people, living in a utopian civilization at one with nature and the Pokemon living in it, until they are brutally conquered by an invading army. The army has uncomfortable similarities to the people of Gigas, right down to their superior armaments and use of the forbidden Pokeball technology. The people who aren't slaughtered are pressed into slavery, and as the dream continues, it depicts the systematic destruction of their culture by the invaders.

Eventually, that scene fades into another scene of idyllic peace. The people, finally free from their captors after long centuries as servitors, set out anew to create a new home for themselves, eventually settling in a lush green valley. They build a much more modest home for themselves there, living off the land and once again bonding with the Pokemon there. And then... disaster strikes yet again. The scene that befalls them this time should be familiar to any Union scholar of history - the Cataclysm, in which the Pokemon rose up as one in defiance of humanity, cutting a swath of destruction even though Merrill's peaceful ancestors.

The rest of the dream is simply composed of the endless wanderings of a people twice ruined. Their culture destroyed, their homes in shambles - too disheartened to pick up and start over again, and too different to truly belong anywhere at all. And all the while, Merrill herself watches the scenes unfolding in front of her, unable to affect or change them in any way... and she weeps.]

[Lenna's dream]

[Lenna's dream is simple and straightforward, depicting a nightmare she has often had over these past several months, though it is one she scarcely ever mentions even to the closest of friends. In the distance, there is a man. A tall man with a regal bearing, wearing a cape, armor, and helmet in the fashion of a Dragonite, his profile silhouetted against a backdrop of flames as he walks slowly away. In the foreground, there is Lenna, running as fast as she can but never quite catching up as she calls out to the man.]

Father...! Father, please come back!

[In some iterations of the dream, Lenna does manage to catch up, only to find her father collapsed and barely breathing as she cradles his dying body, tears streaming from her eyes.]

Why didn't you take me with you... I could have helped...

Comments

10/19

[brandnewshoes]

[Estelle came into Merrill's dream part of the way through it, in time to see the second round of devastation. She bites her lip, then; for a moment, she stands behind the fellow Seeker and watches her weep. She doesn't know what to do or say. She always knew where she came from, who her people were. The neighborhood in Caldera was a community for her, and always a constant.

[But even if she doesn't know what it's like, she can offer some comfort. She walks over to Merrill, standing behind her; she kneels down, to put a hand on the other girl's shoulder.]

...Hey.

[bleeding_heart]

[Merrill scarcely even reacts to the hand on her shoulder or the sound of Estelle's voice, still very wrapped up in her own private nightmare. It's only after several seconds that she reaches up with her own hand to place it atop hers.]

[brandnewshoes]

[Estelle keeps her hand there, but she sits down next to Merrill, still frowning. She looks down, contemplating what could be said in this situation. Not much else comes to mind.]

I'm sorry. They're... what they lost is out there, somewhere.

[bleeding_heart]

So much was lost, so very long ago... maybe the Keeper was right. Maybe I am only chasing shadows.

[brandnewshoes]

Even if you are... a shadow means something used to be there. And if there's a shadow after all this time, think how brightly they had to shine to still cast one.

[She looks back at Merrill.]

That means whatever's there, even if some of it was lost, is big. It's important.

[bleeding_heart]

You're right... as the light grows, so too grow the shadows. The Keeper used to say that. But I think she always meant it very differently...

[brandnewshoes]

How did she mean it?

[bleeding_heart]

Seeking knowledge can sometimes be dangerous. Sometimes, you may learn something you'd rather not know.

...Something like that.

[brandnewshoes]

I guess it's true, but... who'd want to stay ignorant, either?

[bleeding_heart]

That's exactly how I feel. Unfortunately, that opinion didn't make me very popular...

[brandnewshoes]

I guess... people are scared sometimes? And they try to hide. But how do we change anything or get better if we do that?

[bleeding_heart]

Exactly. My clan... they're afraid. Afraid of loss. Afraid of looking back. Afraid of trying again. But I don't think we gain anything by allowing ourselves to be trapped by that fear.

[brandnewshoes]

Yeah...

[She looks down, thinking about it for a moment.]

They might not understand until they see what's out there. That there's good things in the past, too, you know?

[bleeding_heart]

I know. I think I do, at least. I'm sure they're just afraid of finding out why our clan was nearly destroyed twice. That maybe there was a reason for it. Maybe our people had done something to deserve it. Let the sins of the past stay buried. I'm not really certain what the reason is.

[brandnewshoes]

Even if there was, it was a really long time ago. I don't think what they did means it would need to happen a third time.

[bleeding_heart]

The gods of this world have seen fit to allow us to continue to live and thrive here. I'd think if they changed their minds, we would know. Whatever bargain Union's Savior made, it must have been a good one.

[brandnewshoes]

I still wonder what it could have been. To stop the wars...

[She's not so sure. They didn't see things like that in Caldera; this is a foreign faith to her. Even if it has a certain ring of truth.]

[bleeding_heart]

Something incredible, I'm sure.

[brandnewshoes]

[That prompts a smile.]

Yeah. Must have been.

[bleeding_heart]

I don't suppose we'll ever really know. The Savior herself most likely took that secret to the grave, and I don't think the gods are going to show up anytime soon to tell us either.

[brandnewshoes]

I wish we could know. But... I guess that one's okay, if it has to stay a secret.

[bleeding_heart]

It's keeping us safe, so it's probably all right.

[brandnewshoes]

Yeah.

[She smiles; then she puts her hand back on Merrill's shoulder.]

And we'll help you find what happened to them, okay? That's what the Seekers are for.

[bleeding_heart]

[Merrill smiles back.]

Ma serannas, Estelle.

[brandnewshoes]

[She grins and nods, but leaves it at that; it seems like enough to say that she's with Merrill; anything more feels unnecessary. Plus, this time... she remembers what it means.]