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[crittersheep]

WHO: all
WHERE: all
WHEN: Day 9, evening into night

[the sun goes down; the two moons rise.

it all looks...quite different. the laundromat lengthens and transforms the silhouette of Woolietown in the distance. the lighthouse beacon comes to life for the first time, throwing strong, brilliant light and stark shadows across the meadow and into the barns. the lazy river encircles the pasture in a glittering band, the bobbing shapes of the pool toys a little bit eerie until they drift into full view.

perhaps some of you are winding down. perhaps some of you are just gearing up for a wild adventure in the shadows. perhaps some of you, regardless of if you sleep or stay up, find your dreams and nightmares crawling out beyond the bounds of your own head tonight, drawing others in...

the night is full of possibilities.]

Comments

[debug_mode]

We're kind of low on members so I'm hoping you'll join.

...Just kidding!

We don't need to pretend anymore.

We can just talk face-to-face now. There's no more distractions.

[endsjustified]

I do favor a direct discussion over pretense.

Your feelings linger. How long have you been here?

[debug_mode]

It's so weird though. It's not like you can talk back. I don't even know what you look like...

[ There's a flash of light, soft static, and... it occurs to him that the unbreakable glass now exists between him and the girl. Only he's the one out the outside. ]

But, that's okay. I know you'd like nothing more than to stare into my eyes.

[endsjustified]

[...

can he put a ghost sheep through the glass. makes the attempt]

[debug_mode]

... What are you doing?

[The sheep pops into view on the other side, but immediately the 'view' of her starts to obscure.]

This... this isn't supposed to be here.

[She starts to pixelate and glitch like the .jpg she is.]

Please, stop!

[endsjustified]

[...withdraws the ghost to his side.]

My apologies. I did not intend harm; only to make a point.

Though you may not currently remamber it, you now operate under different rules.

[debug_mode]

The... the engine doesn't know how to handle what you did. You created a corruption error. I deleted everything else, so the only thing left to corrupt was... me.

...Did you do this on purpose?

Oh, God, the program is going to collapse. I don't know how to fix this!

[endsjustified]

Do not. It is not worth fixing emptiness. Consider that corruption may free you.

Come with me.

1/3

[debug_mode]

...I... I can't fix this. You can't save me like this. You can't load me afterward either.

It's already too late--

[ The screen goes blank. ]

[ The void is truly empty now. ]

[ nothingness ]

2/3

[debug_mode]

...

[ A tension starts to rise. Like fog rolling in. He can feel it in his lungs around his eyes, creeping into his thoughts. ]

[ Despair. ]

[ True, eternal, despair. ]

[debug_mode]

...

[ Then, there's a soft creaking sound. Like a hatch being opened. ]

[ A rope, clearly visible, and very real, unlike anything else he's seen yet in the world, creeps down. A tug indicates it's tied to something tight. Tight enough to hold his weight if he were to scale it. ]

[ It... it looks like an escape route. ]

[ ...or, he could remain among the despair and hope for something else. ]

[endsjustified]

[he might have taken the rope, if he a) hadn't just seen girl hung by the neck and b) if everything else he'd taken at relatively face value in this dream hadn't turned out to be something else. as it is, he scans the darkness instead.]

Miss.

Come back, please. I do not believe you are gone.

[debug_mode]

...

You're not going to take the only escape route?

[ Her voice is indeed there, but nothing else. It's a void. Even the sound has no distinct direction in its source. ]

There's just despair here for me now... that rope is the only lifeline.

[endsjustified]

If it is the only escape route, the only lifeline, why do you not take it yourself?

[it is the obvious question.]

[debug_mode]

I did take it.

[...the rope emits a 'hiss' sound. Like a snake.]

[endsjustified]

[ah.]

Your lifeline will poison me, miss, though that is no fault of yours.

I would speak to you in waking, regardless.

[debug_mode]

[ And despair slowly, soundlessly, engulfs him, like a fog... even the rope disappears and is no longer visible. ]

[ But eventually the feelings level off, until he knows he's found the one true remaining thing left in the dream: ]

[ Regret. ]

[ . . . ]

[ dreamscape end. ]

[endsjustified]

[well. that happened. he jerks back to awareness under Lily's tree, his eyes stinging unpleasantly with the feeling.

he saw Monika, so he will keep a look out for her at some later date.]