[02] three lies, one truth

[judicialassistant]

Sender: Susato Mikotoba
To: Everyone
Subject: Passive dream recording
Warning: Descriptions of death (specifically: falling/burning, stabbing, freezing, drowning) and the crippling fear that comes with that.

---

When Susato is first seen, she is nigh unrecognizable. There's only a glimpse of her. Her hair is frazzled, long well past her shoulders, and the white dress she wears, accented by pinks, does not match the grim darkness of the cage she is in. Seconds later, there's a loud metallic clang as the cage is shut.

There's movement like a shaky camera, and you... no, Susato is looking into the eyes of one man who looks almost surprised to see her. As if he hadn't been the one to put her there.

"Mr Vigil?"

The voice is small and cracks like glass over the flames below.

Before he can respond, there's the sound of a lever and a deafening scream as a feeling of terrifying weightlessness takes over your body.

You're falling, and you don't know when you'll stop.

* * * * *
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

When the dream spits you out, you can taste a mixture of blood and dirt as you blink your eyes open. They sting like you've been crying, and when you bring your filthy hands up to look at them, you can see the pink of your kimono sleeves. The loops in your air feel looser and messier than usual as you can feel the terrifying glare of a man before you, bleeding and in chains, and yet no less threatening.

All around you are corpses. You just barely manage to struggle to your feet when he moves to strike you down with alarming quickness, his blade and scythe at his call. Something hard and sharp pierces your stomach as his voice booms:

"You will not tarnish... my brother's memory...!"

You were so close. You can see some of the broken chains you worked so hard at; he was almost free.

But it's too late.

A laughter seems to be coming from the noble in the portrait behind the Reaper, and an eerie red glow bleeds out from the canvas as your consciousness fades.

* * * * *
The laughter transforms into something else, another voice. It is almost pleasant; and the scene is entirely different now. A gorgeous ballroom surrounds you with an air of celebration, you are humbled, taking the man before you in a dance. Here is the face that everyone says you can trust, and yet you can hear suspicious whispers coming from the walls.

Something is wrong.

You feel cold in a way that is inexplicable. Your very core is frozen, and it feels like you will never get warm. suddenly it's a struggle just to move with the music; but eventually you stop listening to that, too.

"Don't struggle." The king pulls you close in what is most certainly a threatening manner. Beneath your gloves, your fingers have already become ice. "Your death is inevitable now. Accept it with grace, and don't scream."

But even if you wanted to, you can't.

Pathetic gurgles escape your throat as ice travels up your chest and your neck. A piece of your white hair falls across your face, but when you go to brush it away, your hands won't move. Nothing will.

There is stillness. For a moment, you have hope, because you can still move your terrified, wide eyes, but soon that too is gone.

* * * * *
In that moment, you're not able to look at anything else.

Your neck is craned upwards and suddenly, the dream has shifted one final time. You're staring at the surface of the freezing cold water from below, unable to breathe, but the Gods above have mercy on you, and it doesn't last long. A glaring white starts to creep into the corners of your vision, filling everything in haze, and the dream ends as suddenly as it began.

* * * * *

[ Back in the comparative comforts of her home, Susato awakes with a start. She gasps for breath like she's just been held underwater, sitting up and gripping at her blankets. For all she knows, they are her lifeline. She is shaking, the faded memories of dreamscapes past rushing back to her, and she feels her arm knock something off the bed she's on.

......All she can do is breathe. ]

---

(( ooc: tl;dr, just a fun throwback to the fun deaths i've been able to put her through this past year. <3 please assume delayed responses where appropriate/etc. ))

Comments

Sender: Kainé

[shithogs]

[Kainé may not have had them broadcast, at least not to her knowledge, but she's all too familiar with dreams like these. For awhile, she considers not saying anything at all— but she knows what kind of a toll these kinds of things can take, regardless of whether they're based on memory or not.

Finally, she scribbles a quick message to Susato in her own journal.]

Hey.

You doing okay?

[It's a stupid question. She's probably not— but that's what people ask in situations like these, right? Kainé is still new when it comes to the 'comforting' part of friendship.]

[judicialassistant]

Hello Kainé

[ Susato's strokes are still pretty shaky, but at least she's stopped crying. That said, she really doesn't know how to answer the question. She should be doing okay, she supposes, but should doesn't count.

... ]

Thank you for asking.

[shithogs]

It’s okay if you’re not.

[Who the hell would be, after all that?]

Dreams have a lot of goddamn power. Especially here.

[judicialassistant]

[ Dreams have a lot of power. Unfortunately so do nightmares. She has seen what it has done to people, and she has always known that it's possible for the same to happen to her. It was just easy to ignore on most days.

Not tonight. Not even with the book she's reading by the light of a special bookmark. She'll set the book aside for now to respond. ]

I am not hurt

[ That's the important part, isn't it? Yet the thought does not have the finality that she maybe wanted it to. ]

It will take time, but I did not have much luck getting back to sleep, and I grew bored of staring at my ceiling.

[shithogs]

Being awake is probably the better option right now.

[She knows she wouldn't be trying to sleep anytime soon after a nightmare like that.]

Not hurt's good. Not the same as being okay, but good.

Was any of that stuff real?

[judicialassistant]

[ . . . Is it? Is any of this real? Their entire time on Songerein... She's decided that it is. But that makes these experiences real too. ]

If you consider dreamscapes real.

[ And then there's the one that is more real than the rest... but she decides not to get into that right now. ]

Have you ever died in a dream?

[shithogs]

They're real enough. I'd seriously doubt anyone who thought otherwise.

[They feel things there. They get hurt there. It's real. Those experiences matter.]

But yeah, I have. Lots of times.

[judicialassistant]

[ She doesn't know whether that should be comforting or not, but it does make her feel less alone. ]

Have you ever wondered what it means? There are books on the subject, the meaning behind dreams. Yet I've never really thought to read them until now.

[shithogs]

[Comfort isn’t usually Kaine’s strong point, admittedly, but there’s something to be said for solidarity.]

I always heard that if you die in a dream, you die in real life, but that’s clearly bullshit since we’re both still standing here. Not really sure WHAT it means, but yeah, I’ve wondered about it.

People write books about that?

[judicialassistant]

[ They're still here, but what about the selves they left behind in their own respective worlds...? She can feel her heart sink deeper at the thought, but she doesn't feel there's anything to be gained by bringing it up. ]

There is even a field of study dedicated to dreams, called oneirology. It must be fascinating. [ from a psychological standpoint. ]

Most books that capture my attention are mysteries and detective novels, however.

[shithogs]

Never heard of it, but that's not too surprising. Not a lot of studying of anything happening where I come from. Does sound interesting.

[Dreams do a lot more than tell stories. There's a lot to be studied there.]

Sounds like you know what you like. Not a bad thing. Might be able to dream up some of those dream books here, though. Seems like there's not much we can't get our hands on if we really want to.

[judicialassistant]

[ It is here that Susato would nod, hum in agreement. She is not in a position to display such unspoken language, however, there ends up being a pause before she responds: ]

Were there not many books where you are from, Kainé? I believe Nier once told me of a grimoire that could speak, but I admit, my memory of the conversation is fuzzy.

[shithogs]

You heard all about the floating magazine, huh? He's a real piece of work.

We've got books, but not a whole lot. There's a library in Nier's village with books that are still in good enough shape to be read, but most people don't have any to call their own. Some can't even read.

[judicialassistant]

Oh, how dreadful! Did they simply wither with age, or perhaps something worse?

I had to do a lot of reading for my studies back on Earth, but after a while, I eventually came to enjoy reading for my own pleasure. I have a friend who did not have the pleasure of learning how to read, so I have been helping her little by little using our journals.

[shithogs]

Think it's mostly age, or things getting lost. When people are doing whatever they can to survive, some stuff gets forgotten, but the lady who takes care of the library does what she can. Friend of mine has a library right in his house, too. Those books are probably good as gold to someone.

You have, huh? That's real good of you. I don't do a whole lot of reading, but I'm glad I can. Bet she's real grateful to learn. These things are probably real helpful when it comes to teaching.

[judicialassistant]

[ Hmmm... Kainé is probably right! Though it is probably hard to tell with someone like Gina... Still, the idea of books being gold is certainly something she can relate to. ]

I like to think it has helped enrich her life here in Reverein, though it has not always been easy. English is terribly tricky...

[ Thank Gods Gina already speaks it. Though with that, she wonders if Kainé has ever had to learn a second language. It sounds like her world was difficult, and she's still trying to get an idea of what it was like. ]

[shithogs]

Yeah? What makes it so hard? Any language is probably tough to learn, but I've only ever known the one, so never really thought about it.

[Are they even speaking the same language right now, or is Reverein simply taking care of translation for them? She's always figured it must be something like that, but if there's a definitive answer somewhere, she hasn't cared enough to look.]

Sounds to me like she's lucky to have you, either way.

[judicialassistant]

[ That sort of thing would've been useful to have at home and would have saved her a lot of headache. Susato can't be sure either it's all wibbly wobbly dream world stuff, but she's certainly not complaining. ]

Thank you.

Well... it is mainly a lot of little things. English is inspired by a variety of other languages and cultures at its core. Words that are pronounced the same are spelled differently and mean different things...

I had to learn it as a second language, so I suppose I think about such things more than most.

[shithogs]

That sounds like a real headache. Wouldn't know it was a second language for you, though. You speak it pretty damn well.

I think. Who knows how language really works here. You always sound real put-together to me, though. Smart.

[judicialassistant]

Hehe. That is a relief to hear. In court, we were required to present arguments and evidence, and it wouldn't do for a language barrier to further complicate things.

[ People's lives depended on it... She wonders if there was a legal system, where Kainé is from. ]

[shithogs]

Court... that's where people get sentenced for crimes, right? Sounds complicated.

[She's pretty sure the king and his men handle everything themselves in Facade, and if any of the other settlements had any kind of real legal system, they're long gone now. Everyone is just doing what they can to survive from day to day.]

[judicialassistant]

It can be. Sessions lasting days, sometimes... But yes, it is where we shed light on the truth when it comes to crime.

Have you ever seen a courtroom before?