JERICHO ● SEPTEMBER 2025 EVENT/TDM

[uruz]

TDM & EVENT: JERICHO

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Prologue: New Characters

You've been plagued with a reoccuring dream, as of late. Every time you sleep, the dream returns to you.

It always begins the same way: As a breath held for too long. As a pressure at the base of your spine. A silence that presses against the skin like confession, like prophecy. A ripple moves through your bones. A tide builds and pulls at your feet, familiar by now. You dream of a black, soundless wave, thick like oil and starlight, swelling across the horizon line. You've seen the wave before, countless times, always rising. With every night, it never reaches you. You always seem to wake before it does . . . That is, until tonight.

The wave moves slow, deliberate— like something ancient and alive. And when it finally crashes, there is no harsh impact. Only warmth. Only submersion. Rather than drowning, you are being claimed with saltwater that's sweet with myrrh. The darkness embracing you pulses with desire. Then, a voice envelops you.

"Come home."
It dribbles with honey-like promise, like a truth you've always known, whispered now from within your marrow more like temptation than a request.

"You are mine. You always were."
The voice offers purpose. Worship. Belonging. And when you wake . . . You wake changed, with a mask on your face you did not choose. Elegant. Sacred. Too important to remove. You have been given a gift. A new beginning.

Welcome home, new Vessels.

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Sink Down Like Precious Stones

( content warnings: drowning, body horror )

Vessels awaken within the dreamscape as the black wave recedes from their skin like velvet falling off the bone, their masks in place over their eyes and left afloat in the watery expanse. All around them, the ocean stretches infinite and lightless— so still it mirrors the sky above, indistinguishable from the void. Far in the distance, massive obsidian walls curve inward, enclosing this vast seascape like a forgotten temple basin. And there, at the far horizon, one glow pierces the dark: a low-burning fire flickering within a half-sunken structure of impossible architecture— arched, ribbed, as though built from marble and cathedral glass.

This is a test, and it begins with belief.

Those with unwavering faith— whether in Sleep, another god, or even themselves— will find the surface beneath their feet holds firm. The sea becomes glass, and they may rise, and walk. But those adrift in doubt begin to sink. Precious stone creeps over their skin. Joints stiffen. Flesh cracks. Breath slows. It is not death, but it is close and might as well be hell. Your only salvation lies in your own conviction . . . Or the mercy of another Vessel who happens to walk.

Those who drown will not die. They will loop this moment— sinking, blackness, return, sink again— until belief takes root in some way. Alternatively, they may awaken in a later dreamspace . . . Changed.

NOTES:

• Pale white fish as well as glowing jellyfish may be encounted. The fish stare at vessels as they drown, and jellyfish may leave behind a shock that could temporarily stop the process of crystalization. But only temporarily— and their stings are excrutiating.

TOKEN EFFECTS:

• Magic becomes volatile— spells flicker, overcharge, or fizzle unpredictably when cast on or near the ocean.
• When you cast, your veins glow from beneath the skin, but not with light. It's writhing. Like something trapped under glass.
• When channeling magic, your mouth may fill with brine and blood.

OFFERING EFFECTS:

• The water responds emotionally— thrashing with fury or calming with yearning depending on the Offering's state of mind.
• The sea amplifies desire and instinct, making base emotions harder to suppress— rage, hunger, longing all churn just beneath the surface.
• The black water feels too warm, too alive, clinging to the body like memory; any stillness invites visions of Sleep's embrace, both reverent and consuming.

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You Taste Like New Flesh

( content warnings: body horror, psychological horror, compulsion, unreliable reality )

The ocean path ends at a palace carved of pearl and spun silk, impossibly perched where water meets nothingness. Whether you have traversed the black sea on trembling feet or simply awaken seated at an impossibly long table, it makes no difference. You are here now, and welcomed, suddenly in attire fit for a gala. Around this table sit countless Dream-Vessels, many silent and still, faces unreadable in the flickering candlelight wearing generic, six-eyed masks. The table stretches beyond sight, arching beneath creeping vines that twist like ancient veins overhead, blooming with strange blossoms that beat with energy. Flames dance atop dozens of candles— some burn on brass holders, others hover, like fireflies caught mid-flight, their shadows flickering and shifting with an otherworldly rhythm. Around you, phantasmal forms shimmer on pedestals: Sleep's ancient Guardians are eternalized through memorial, monstrous and magnificent, lost to time yet enshrined in reverence. On the highest pedestal stands a still living One, silent and watching the feast with somber eyes. Sleep's voice whispers in your ear, encouraging a glance to, perhaps, see what you may become.

"Feast, My Dear Vessels. Until you taste like New Flesh."

The foods before you don not come unmeddled with. Each bite pulls memories from your bones to the surface— moments buried or erased, but these are not just yours. The banquet feeds on shared history, stirring secrets tangled between you and the others here. To eat is to open a door: to risk awakening something dormant, to invite others inside your buried truths, to forge bonds or betrayals that can never be unseen.

Eton Mess: Crushed meringue, tangled cream, and berries that bleed like bruises when bitten. Sweetness melts quickly, leaving your tongue cold. As you eat, a memory rises— but you don't experience it alone. The person nearest you sees what you see, hears what you hear, feels what you felt. Together, you can alter one key detail, and that change ripples outward, shifting how you both remember the event.

Deviled Kidneys: Spiced and seared, the metallic richness clings to your mouth, as if tasting old blood. Eating summons the echo of a painful or violent memory, but your partner experiences it with you.

Roasted Lamb in Mint Sauce: The sweetness of the meat is cut by mint sharp enough to sting the throat. Your act of consumption awakens a craving, but not in you— in the Vessel sharing this dish. They feel an inexorable pull toward your memory, even without knowing what they seek. The bond persists until the craving is confronted.

Honey Scouse: A thick, golden stew heavy with warmth, but beneath the sweetness, something cloying curls around the edges. Every shared spoonful spreads a slow, creeping influence between you and your partner: intrusive visions, subtle compulsions, small lapses in agency. Neither of you can tell whose thoughts belong to whom.

Starpit Fruit: Plum-sized and faintly glowing, the juice leaves your fingertips dusted in silver, like handling starlight. When bitten, the fruit releases the memory of a forgotten wish, not to you but to the person beside you. They see it clearly— and know exactly what you once wanted most, even if you had buried it.

Marigold Brandy: A golden spirit served warm, glowing faintly as though sunlight has been trapped inside the glass. When lifted, it releases a soft, floral scent. The first sip draws you and your partner into a shared burst of joy— a memory that makes you swell with happiness. The sensation is so immediate, so electric, that when the memory breaks, your bodies ache to move, to speak, to draw more positivity to light. You may feel an irresistible pull to get up and dance on the wide palace floors, even if no music is playing . . . And if others nearby drink as well, the effect multiplies.

Saints Breath Chalice: A dark, wine-thick cordial served in tarnished silver cups etched with symbols that shift when stared at too long. The liquid smells faintly of frankincense and something sweeter— blood-warm and alive. Drinking it floods you and your partner with the overwhelming sensation of being inside someone else's celebration, a memory that belongs to neither of you: a vast mass of black, with branching antlers and six, glowing red eyes. It reaches to sink its claws into your chest as she sings: One. Beloved. We were meant to be. It is impossible to tell whether you're witnessing joy or manic worship. There is chanting you cannot understand but somehow already know, drums that sync with your heartbeat until you can feel nothing else. Your limbs begin to twitch, then sway, then move without conscious thought, drawn into a dance you do not remember learning. If more than two people drink, your movements synchronize perfectly, your breath matching theirs, until the room seems stop to watch.

The table awaits.

NOTES:

• Feasting becomes addictive. The more a character eats, the harder it is to stop. Gluttony may cause physical consequences: nosebleeds, twitching fingers, warping speech, uncontrollable confessions, or dripping nectar from their mouths.
• Those who refuse to eat at all begin to starve in a dream-sense: they lose color, smell burning, and feel the weight of Sleep's gaze. Her wrath isn't immediate— but it grows the longer you reject the feast. She takes offense.

TOKEN EFFECTS:

• Each spell cast after eating releases parasitic energy— manifesting as flowers, thorns, parasitic insects or rot— either from their own body or from someone they recently touched.
• Casting warps your limbs temporarily: too many joints, fingers curl the wrong way, nerves burn like wires.
• Touching others leaves sigils burned into their skin. These will briefly carry over into the waking world during next month's event. Runecasters will get the innate feeling that this symbol has a meaning summed up as "The Night Does Not Belong To God". How they interpret that is up to them.

OFFERING EFFECTS:

• The act of devouring awakens an overwhelming desire, often physical, but sometimes emotional or spiritual. This desire clings to another Vessel at the table, creating obsessive attachment or aggression.
• The more they eat, the more their monstrous traits subtly emerge.
• Consuming another Vessel's memory (if shared or touched) grants a brief glimpse of their deepest fear or weakness.

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There's Something In The Way You Lay

( content warnings: sexual content, voyeurism, body modification, omegaverse traits, loss of agency )

Beneath its pearlescent halls, beyond the banquet of flickering candles and dream-Vessels who eat in hollow silence, a spiral staircase winds downward. Its steps are damp and velvet-slick. The further you descend, the warmer the air becomes— humid, cloying, thick with the scent of sweat, salt, and incense. The sounds reach you first: Slaps, gasps, the wet chorus of bodies and perverse intimacy. Laughter, muffled sobs, the echo of whispered names long forgotten. At the base lies a corridor of "private" rooms. Their doors swing open with dreamlike invitation. Inside, the scenes unfold: past dream-Vessels lost in tableau— arched backs, bitten lips, mouths open in prayer or obedience. Some are alone, coiled in worship. Others tangle in groups, indistinguishable where one body ends and another begins. Vines bloom across the ceilings, watching. The walls glisten with breath. You see their faces, but you can't quite distinguish what or who they are. You may not remember choosing a role, but the dream has chosen for you. α or Ω— and with the naming, your body changes. There is no shame here, only devotion made manifest. This is how Sleep is worshipped now: through cruelty and surrender, through the giving and the taking of flesh.

NOTES

• Masks may optionally offer a sort of glamour for Vessels who wander into these chambers— they will not be able to recognize each other. How much of that, whether it be appearance, voice, and so on, is up to you.
• Past dream-Vessels perform for no one, eyes vacant, movements perfect, as if only a ghost of a memory. Player characters may interact with them and even partake in intimacy with them, but be warned: they are emotionally absent and may cause symptoms of succumbence that could be remedied with a proper, player-character tether.
• Tools hang on the walls: Rods of all sizes, slick with heat. Collars that hum with low, seductive voltage. Blindfolds that intensify physical contact, There's no need for cuffs or chains when there are vines that seem to respond to the α party's mood— tightening, flowering, or reaching for skin. You are free to come up with your own items.
• α perks:: Instinctive claiming (done through biting, rubbing, branding, etc), an almost predatory focus and obsession for those who interest them, pack gravity (the ability to attract one or more vessels at once), emitting a scent that ignites heat/rut in others, darker urges surge and a commanding voice.
Ω perks: High pain tolerance, instinctive yielding, emotional synchrony with those being watched, self-lubricating, hypersensitive, scent tracking, intense need to please or be filled emotionally, physically, and spiritually. When touched, glowing runes bloom across the skin.

TOKEN EFFECTS

• Spells cast during acts of intimacy may provoke a heightened sensation of euphoria for both caster and whoever is affected by the spell.
• Magic may manifest as misty appendages— extra hands, tongues, eyes, etc.
• Divine energy becomes volatile when passed through the body— ecstasy may border on agony, or vice versa, and Tethering becomes impossibly euphoric.

OFFERING EFFECTS

• Flesh becomes malleable mid-act— bones bending, jaws unhinging, skin blooming open, etc.
• Animalistic traits emerge: tails, claws, growls, tentacles, scent glands— all begging to be used.
• Feeding and Tethering are indistinguishable— hunger becomes worship, and worship becomes need.

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I am not worthy

( content warnings: body horror, violence, gore, parasitic/invasive feeding, death )

Wherever you are, the palace begins to rot. First slowly, then all at once: vines swell with black fluid, splitting at the seams. They burst from beneath marble tiles, coil up pillars, slither across frames and vacant thrones like arteries choking a heart. The candlelight flickers. One by one, the flames throughout the palace float upward . . . And die. No smoke. No warning. Just wet silence. Then the Dream-Vessels begin to fall. They do not scream as they do. They collapse like marionettes, limbs askew. Their flesh splits open along wounds that should not exist— a rip at the neck, teeth marks prying open the ribcage, a bite that swallows half a torso. Bones jut like sculpted ivory. Entrails slither across the floor like garlands. Some burst mid-air, as if the dream demands spectacle. Others fold in on themselves until all that's left of them is a mound of flesh.

"I am not worthy."

One voice. Ten. A thousand—layered, glitching, sweaty. It echoes from the walls, the bodies, the seams in the floor. The corpses twitch in time with the chant, jerking violently. Some snap backwards, eyes wide, jaws unhinged. Others explode— blossoming in gore, raining viscera. From the heaving pile of ruined Dream-Vessels, something forms.

It lurches into being: stitched from tongues, teeth, torsos. Weeping. Wailing. Worshipping. A monstrosity of raw flesh and faith: all failures made meat. Its eyes (are they eyes?) blink out. Arms claw outwards, too many to count. Its scent is of copper, sweat, and sorrow.

When The Abomination chooses to feed, it seeks not flesh, but the softest rot inside you. An appendage uncoils from its writhing mass and unhinged jaw— veined, slick, and trembling like a violated root. It drives itself into your mouth, splitting your lips with obscene tenderness, and sinks deep into your throat, locking you still.

What it draws out is not blood. It siphons your doubts, your fears, your most secret self-hatred. Your inadequacy. Every buried shame. Your hate. Your negativity. Every flinch of unworthiness. Every moment you believed yourself unlovable, unseen, too small. It gorges on what you hide from even yourself, and the more you try to resist, the sweeter your sorrow becomes. The last thing it takes is your life force, and then your viscera, leaving you wilted and shrivled like a hollow log.

This death is violating and feels painfully slow. You're drained raw of your vitality until you're but a brittle husk that breaks to dust in the wind. It seems near impossible to destroy, always reforming into bits and pieces left smudged behind. Perhaps your best bet it to run, or attempt to wake yourself up from this nightmare.

One's voice repeats in choked sobs: I am not worthy.

NOTES:

• Wounds from the beast linger. You may wake bleeding or marked.
• If devoured, characters will awaken the following month extremely fatigued during the first 3-5 days of the month. They may also sporadically rigurgitate black sludge. Characters who die and are already in the game may requesta plot clue, that will be a vision your character will dream of before awakening.

TOKEN EFFECTS

• Magic recoils violently when used on The Abomination, backfiring with psychic screams or ripping into your flesh.
• Your hands glow uncontrollably, burning what you touch— even those you love.
• Magic becomes hungry; it demands pieces of your body to function. A tooth. A nail. A rib (and so on).

OFFERING EFFECTS

• The rage it stirs in you is monstrous. You begin to shift uncontrollably— flesh blooms, bones crack under strain.
• Your body begins moving before you decide to. Twitching toward The Abomination, and toward the scent of despair.
• During the chaos, you may develop a fixation with another Vessel's flaw. You can smell it on them. It entrances you . . . To the point that you may feel the urge to feed them to The Abomination.

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OOC NOTES

➤ Welcome to Somnia's second TDM, which doubles as our third gamewide event!

➤ This TDM is considered game canon. You are free to have your character remember as many details as possible.

➤ Only new characters are free to experiment with the Vessel options to your liking; this is a dreamscape, so multiple/different situations for you to really test which option you like most is possible. Current characters must remain as their chosen Vessel type unless you requested a switch, which can be done on the Taken page.

➤ All TDMs take place within a dreamscape, meaning characters can interact with the setting without needing to apply. Come have fun with us!

➤ Veteran players, I ask to please refrain from making post-event threads for the time being! We have some important information to take into account in next month's event when characters are slated to "wake up". At the very least, please wait for the information to be offered on the next plotting post. Thank you everyone for your patience!

➤ Please comment on the TDM's INVITE TL if you are a new player interested in joining the game, but don't yet have an invite. Current players or the mod may reach out to extend an invite. Once you've got one, please don't forget to comment on the Invite page so you may properly link it in your reserve and app.

➤ Questions? Please direct them to the designated questions comment linked below!

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Theseus | Hades | Current Player

[deltastrike]

[CYOA but with Theseus' fate: he can be Sinking or Swimming, a Damsel in Distress or your Knight in Shining Armor.]

1. Sinking

[ Theseus realizes that he is drowning before that he is dreaming. It was far from a foreign sensation in the seas that made up the lifeblood of the world he knew. Sailors would beseech Poseidon to bolster their chances of returning to port so that they may see their homes and loved ones again. But no matter if they prayed, or how hard they begged, when it came time to show its true enormity, the ocean would show no mercy.

So Theseus instinctively recognizes this for what it is. A test of faith. It's do or die, the moment when his willpower will pull him through, or fail. This, too, is not an unfamiliar feeling. Theseus can feel his body do the minute adjustments as it reflexively prepares to take action, like an old routine. He knows how to do this.

That's when Theseus remembers that he forgot how to swim.

Now he's flailing. His limbs futilely windmill the surrounding waters, to no effect. Kicking and paddling doesn't change or slow his descent, and he continues to sink ever further. ]

2. Swimming

[ If anyone has fallen deep enough into the ocean that light becomes scarce, the chance of finding another soul around becomes increasingly unexpected. But someone does venture into that darkness, even if he has to dive in deeper from the sanctuary of the illuminated surface. Strong arms wrap around what they find, and when their hold is secure, legs kick for the propulsion to rocket up toward the surface till it breaks. ]


Breathe! [This may not be necessary advice.]

3. Damsel in Distress
[Theseus hates monstrosity in all forms, wherever it may appear. He never faltered in his will and spared it, whether it be in others, or within himself (which is why he loathed the changes that have taken hold of his body, and still desired to destroy it at their root).

But now in the face of the abomination, with what may be the most grand and terrible monster yet, he regards with an eerily calm curiosity which is so uncharacteristic of him. His gaze is unbroken, as if to admire the fleshy amalgamation's horrible allure to the fullest. Everything else, the chaos and carnage, recedes as mere trifles, unimportant for now. He's so captured by its charm, that it begins to draw him in, and he takes the first step in its direction. Like a willing thrall, he walks toward his doom, his sole focus. ]

...This is...all a dream.

4. Shining Knight

[ This is not the ruined city which Theseus has spent the last several weeks in. While the palace's opulence now lies in pieces, he is no longer restrained by which kept him unarmed, and though he is still not with his signature spear, for once Theseus is empowered. Eyeing the monster leaving gory wake down another hall, Theseus does the final steps to ready himself, willing for every last bit of aid to be summoned to him in this moment.

It is a dark flame that responds to his call. There is no time left to gripe, for in that time the abomination has already covered most of the hallway's length and is closing in. Theseus can only express a grimace before embracing this power and setting off.

A blackened scorchmark on one of the monster's makeshift limbs announces Theseus' entrance to the fray before him. ]

If this is what you want, have at it! It's all yours.

damsel in distress

[inverseye]

Oh come on!

[ Theasus's will to die is interrupted not by the timely intervention of a good hearted passerby, but instead accidentally blocked by someone fleeing who nearly slams into him.

The (much shorter) man in front of him pulls up with a strangled cry and flails his arms. Saheon barely has time in his panic to look from the monster behind him to the athletic man in front of him. He's got nothing but a ballpoint pen on him, and he's not even sure that would take this guy down, no matter how hard he hit him. Ahhhh, he's got the worst luck in the world...! ]

Yes. Yes, its all a dream! A great dream, I'm really enjoying it. Now could you move...?

[deltastrike]

[So fixated Theseus was on the view straight ahead, it's only when the obstacle starts yelling that he realizes that he didn't hit a table or other knocked over piece of ballroom furniture. It's only now that Theseus has a good look at who he bumped into.

It's none too encouraging of a look. No suggestion to be found of any likelihood of moving out of the way. What is there instead is the same unnerving fascination that Theseus regarded the abomination with. An expression of enchantment, like Theseus is seeing a hitherto undiscovered novelty.]

And you are? A part of this dream? Or a nightmare here to mar it?

[inverseye]

[ Saheon's none to fond of that look, which strikes him a little to much like religious euphoria. He really doesn't have time for crazy people. It feels like home which puts him in a worse mood then the monster.

Crossing his arms - there's a bit of a chill, or maybe he's just still jumped off adrenaline from being chased? ]

I'm sure I'm just a forgettable part of your big important dream. [ Bitter. He jerks a thumb behind him at the chaos erupting around the monster. ] Marring it would be a bit beyond me, so I'd like to get out of here now!

[deltastrike]

[Such a gesture would work to remind Theseus if he had forgotten the subject of his trance, but it has never left his mind this entire time. Rather, having the two in his sight gives him an idea. The dark look from how he sees at Saheon with renewed clarity implies something sinister about its nature.

Theseus smiles and lays a hand on the other's shoulder like there is still time to schmooze and the party didn't just end in a shower of gore.]

Beyond you? If you are to amount to nothing regardless, how do you feel about an opportunity to be more?

[inverseye]

[ Why??? Is he being touched??? ]

Er...

[ He's not enjoying this look in the slightest. He gets what you're putting down, Theseus. It's hardly unfamiliar...and he doesn't even have some helpful idiot to throw in its path. He really needs get out of here fast. ]

I'd rather not? I don't think thats necessary for me.

[deltastrike]

Don't be so humble. Besides, I didn't ask. [Theseus starts walking around, but without lifting his hand it's not exactly the freedom that Saheon requested. He makes a circle until they swap positions, with Theseus now facing Saheon and the pursuing monster at the same time.]

I'm not a small-minded tyrant. I think of the greater good for all. If I am to uplift a worthless wastrel, that adds to a net gain. [Theseus grip tightens, signaling the last chance for Saheon to argue his value.]

[inverseye]

Ack-! [ There's a jerk as he attempts to pull away. The spinning roulette in Saheon's mind is spitting out fight/flight/freeze in any combination that might get him out of here. He struggles. No dice.

Lacking those immediate options, Saheon does what has always worked best, and abandons his pride as a human being. ]

I'm sorry! I am....totally....totally worthless! Aren't I? I was to embarrassed to say it before! [ He isn't focused on making sense as much as he's frantically scanning Theasus's face for signs of what he wants to hear. Anything to keep the two of them from walking into death! ]

But just giving up on improvement now isn't right! I c-could be...better? I will be. I'll do whatever you want, but if you do this now, I'll just drag everything down! There's no net gain in that. If you're not a tyrant, you get that, right?

[deltastrike]

[Even an almost completely ensorcelled Theseus is not past the reach of flattery and brazen sucking-up. With unusual patience, Theseus hears him out to the end. He cocks his head as he considers the idea.]

A redemption of a lowly reprobate, to bring light to where there was once none to be seen? Ridiculous, but it is by that same audacity that I cannot dismiss it as merely trite pabulum. You are absolved for now, but will be under my supervision. I shall see to it that your progress stays on the right course.

[Theseus waxes on, but the monster has not stopped or slowed. At this rate it may not matter that he spares him.]

3.

[sorte]

[ Theseus isn't going to get very far before he's going to get a rather strong yank on his tail from behind. ]

Hold it! Where do you think you're going?!

[ If the Abomination wants Aventurine's cow, it needs to enter a business negotiation just like anyone else. There's no way he's just letting the monster eat Theseus— whether Theseus wants to go get eaten right now or not! ]

Pretty sure this isn't that kind of dream, friend.

[deltastrike]

[Normally Aventurine would have had a very interesting time if he attempted to physically force Theseus to go anywhere. But Theseus is still unused to having a tail which extends several feet behind him, and the sheer unexpected shock from the pull is enough to stop Theseus in his tracks.

It's not long, however, before Theseus recovers from the feeling of surprise and begins to protest. He turns around, only to recognize who is holding the end of his tail in their hand. ]

Aventurine! What are you doing here, my virescent patron?

[sorte]

I'm stopping you.

[ kind of... as in: if a five foot seven twink can do any kind of stopping of someone that's Theseus's size.

yeah. ]

So stay away from that thing, you're going the wrong way!

[ he's holding onto that tail like he owns it. ]

[deltastrike]

[Theseus' first impulse is to argue back against his being the "wrong" choice, but the more he tries to figure out what to say, the more he realizes that his justification is not something that can be expressed in language. He simply knows it, an instinctual need that was planted since birth and just now flowering. It's his purpose to behold all of its beauty.

Pride won't let him pull his tail out of Aventurine's hands and move away without at least confronting his point. His revelations have not made it any easier to be persuasive.]

Can you not feel [Theseus waves his arm around vaguely] it? Calling out to you?

[sorte]

[ humoring Theseus (or at least trying to,) Aventurine puts one hand on his hip as if trying to take a moment to listen (but how much listening can one really bother to do when the Abomination is doing its thing?)]

I don't know any you, but I really don't make it a habit to listen to anything that forms out of smashing a bunch of gored corpse pieces together.

[ also he doesn't sense or hear any of it, unable to feel what the offering is experiencing. which only makes him all the more determined to not let Theseus go, even if the king could easily just drag him along for the ride. ]

That thing is bad news.

[deltastrike]

[Theseus is as likely to drop a position as a carnivorous animal is to abandon a carcass. No matter how tenuous or illogical his argument may be, he'll fend for it like he staked all his pride. His mouth hangs; he had opened it to lash out some frustrated and likely angry comments, but for once he's come up dry. He so badly wants to say that's he's right, but he won't fight if it doesn't convince Aventurine. Because he does care if he comes to his side willingly.

His mouth closes in a grimace, accompanied with a noise from his throat. The repression of someone who still thinks they're right.]

Nggggh! I... shall heed you again, if you promise to release my tail.

[sorte]

[ Aventurine enjoys the mild tantrum and seeing Theseus try really hard here to compromise. Aventurine doesn't care what Theseus thinks, actually just that Theseus does what Aventurine wants. ]

Deal. [ Aventurine strokes the tail briefly as if to smooth it out from his previously tight hold like it's crumbled paper before letting it go. As much as the gambler would love to be smug about this for a few minutes longer, there's a very huge and distressing issue with that giant flesh thingy they need to worry about. ]

I can't hear what you are hearing, but it looks like those of us that have the shapeshift ability are being siren-called by it. As far as I can see, it's not affecting the rest of us like that.

[ have they seen what it actually does to kill people yet— ]

( 1 )

[offseers]

Hey!

[ noah's voice punctures the dream as he reaches out for theseus. ]

Grab my hand!

[deltastrike]

[All of Theseus senses are dampened by the water. The darkness robs him of sight, and his sense of feeling can only make out water (which envelops him with an odd warmth which only increases the ease to be lulled into a cloudy haze). Even Noah is only heard through wall of water which makes him sound distant. For a moment Theseus is struck by the fear that this too is another capricious element of the dream, materialized to taunt him. But with no other leads, there's no choice for him to make.

Theseus reaches for the outstretched arm with his own, but he's already too far out to get them to meet. If he continues to sink, the chance will disappear entirely.]

[offseers]

[ spark! what was he supposed to do? noah hesitates only for a moment before plunging after theseus, diving into the water in one smooth motion. he pushes through, grabbing theseus by the forearms and kicks his legs to pull them both up. ]

[deltastrike]

[Theseus is quick to go along, assisting Noah as much as he's able by holding back with his hands on Noah's arms. Unfortunately, they're about to find out that Theseus fell not because of a catastrophic lack of swimming ability, but a malign power inhabiting this endless sea. No amount of kicking and good form is enough to resist it.

Theseus' face stiffens with shock, seized by the terrifying remorse if he is the cause of another being dragged to their doom. His hands loosen, signaling that Noah can leave him.]

[offseers]

[ no. his face tightens. he could never do that. he could never abandon someone. noah shakes his head and insists, driving against the force pulling them down. he won't relent. not for anything, not for the world.

everything for life itself. ]

[deltastrike]

[If they weren't both underwater, Theseus would curse him. He does in his head, a word ringing to himself. Fool.

Now it's not an option for Theseus to stop trying to live. Not when there's someone who will refuse to give up on him for their own good. Theseus holds on again when Noah refuses to let go of his arms, joining in with the kicking from his end. It's as fruitless as before. And yet, something has changed. Noah's belief has moved not just Theseus, but also the sea. ]

[offseers]

[ he's always been like this. even when the world threatens to push him down, lower him to his knees, he's fought. almost as though he was made for that, for the act of rebellion. to push back, over and over. a thousand years, a thousand lives, embedded so deep that even noah isn't completely aware of its existence.

but they pull him up. along with theseus. until they break the surface of the water with a gasp. ]

2

[sculptedash]

[Ash for her part had pretty much given up on any chances of getting to the surface. Her faith had been mostly shattered- She had spent the last couple months slowly picking up the pieces but those hadn't really shaped into something tangible yet.

She's down so far that she can hardly see any sign of light. It almost reminds her of her descent into Invictus' domain. Except before she could leave any trace of light behind she felt an arm wrap around her and suddenly she was shot upward.

It's jarring to go from no movement to suddenly this and her hair whips down hard against her face as the break the surface.

Don't mind her. She's just going to sputter and try not to barf from the motion sickness she's feeling.]

Ugh...

[deltastrike]

[The one perk of dealing with a surreal nightmare ocean is not having to be concerned with real seafaring practicalities like getting the bends from rapid depressurization. With one arm holding Ash's body steady, Theseus scans the axis of the horizon for any patch of solid ground where they can both take a break. But the sea is infinite and uninterrupted; the firmness of the water disappeared when he went into it.

They'll need to get the water to freeze sooner than later, but at least Ash doesn't seem to be sinking again. That gives them some time.]

Excellent job! [Theseus is delighted at how well his instructions were followed.]