Dream Plotting with Little Suou
General: Because I figured I'd make things Meta as hell, this is going to work a bit differently from "person observes memory, everyone has a good cry, etc". The basic gist here is that if you come into one of his dreams, you are Tatsuya, or at least playing the part of him. Like in the video game, see? There are obviously going to be exceptions to this, but it'll work differently, depending on who enters the dream.
-If they're a Dreamer and they're not originally in the dream in question and are linked to it through whatever emotion, they are Tatsuya. At the time, it will be like having a dream that, upon later reflection, clearly doesn't belong to you, but it never occurs to you when you're having it. For that moment, the dreamer fully believes that they're Tatsuya and think his thoughts and feel his emotions and have some of his memories and does whatever Tatsuya would do. Note that if Tatsuya himself isn't in the dream or if it's just too Symbolic for that, dreamers will come in as themselves.
-If they're a Dreamer and they're already in the dream (like if they're Jun or Eikichi) then they will play the part of their dream counterparts. For example, if Jun is dreaming and stumbles into a dream where Tatsuya is being attacked by the Joker, Jun will play the part of the Joker and fully takes on his role as such, complete with the utter insanity and lust for revenge and murder. (This also applies to dreams that have good memories, like them being cute in front of the bridal shop as kids.) If there are no "parts" for anyone in the dream or if it's too abstract, they will enter the dream as themselves and without playing a part.
-If they're diving and aren't in the dream originally and don't really know what they're doing, there's a 50% chance that they'll be sucked into Tatsuya's perspective, but are still aware of who they are. They're just hitching a ride in Tatsuya's head and are still aware of his thoughts and emotions, but more from an observational standpoint. He won't be aware that they're present. If the person in question is alien to the human psyche or emotions (Alcor, for example), the chance is high that they will become overwhelmed and fully take on Tatsuya's role (like actual dreamers) but for the most part, observation from a fixed perspective is what's happening. On the chance that they can observe normally, they can do so and interact with everyone in the dream as usual.
-If they're also supposed to be in the dream, they will take the place of their dream counterpart, but be fully aware of what's going on instead of being fully taken into the role.
-If they're diving and they know full well what they're doing (Xenahort, Nyarlathotep, etc), they can observe and interact with people in the dream as usual. Or fuck with them with wild and reckless abandon. You know, whatever.
With that out of the way, here are the dreams!
The Beginning: The shrine from before is on fire. There is a crazed teenager standing above a child while a girl is inside the shrine, pounding on the door.
"Tatsuya! Help!"
The teen is so far gone that he stabs the child in the middle of the back, laughing in his face all the while. If the dream continues, the child tries to get up and something emerges from him, something mechanical or engine-like, but still humanoid, and sets fire to the teenager's face. While he screams in utter pain and flees, the being fades and the child loses consciousness. The banging and yelling that was coming from inside the shrine is now gone and the sounds of police sirens are getting closer...
The Beasts: There are no humans here, but there is a big (huge) empty room with giant marble statues in the middle. There are five statues, four of them surrounding what looks like a Virgin Mary-like figure in a cross formation. To the west stands a bull; to the south, a roaring lion; the east has an eagle about to make a dive; finally, the north has an angelic figure, complete with wings and robes. It is completely silent, but if you approach one of the statues, they will speak with you.
It is said that the end of days will be brought about by these four beasts...
Reprieve: You are in a room. The walls, ceiling, and floor are all covered in a soft, velvet blue. Soft, gentle piano music is being played by a blindfolded man, who looks up at your presence and seems to notice you, despite being blindfolded. A woman begins to sing, and you realize that it's the woman standing next to the piano man. She continues to sing without end, forever, even when she "talks" to you. Another man, clearly the bohemian artsy type, is standing at a canvas, wondering what to paint next. Tatsuya is here as well, but he's sitting off to the side and staring into space. You won't be able to engage him at the moment. Finally, there's the old man sitting in a chair. Some people may recognize him. He is balding and sits hunched, with spindly, stretched out arms and legs. His bloodshot, unblinking eyes stare at you while he forever grins. His ridiculously large nose alone is the talk of legends. He is Igor, and he sits up a little bit straighter when you approach.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room."
Is this the real Velvet Room or simply a figment of Tatsuya's imagination? It's difficult to say, but those who come here are fully capable of speaking to the normal residents, and they will be very glad to chat with you. Yes, even the singing woman. All dreamers and divers will come in here as themselves and can speak with anyone they please. Everyone except for Nyarlathotep, anyway.
Crushing Weight: Tatsuya is sitting in a desk, confronted by a ghastly amount of school work. There is a very well-dressed man who looks a lot like him, wearing a brand-name suit and tie and prescription sunglasses, in his mid-twenties standing behind him with a very severe look on his face. He is silent until Tatsuya tries to open a book and do any school work. This causes the man to point out every single thing he's doing wrong, from not showing his work on a calculus problem to reading to slow. Every single thing. If you are Tatsuya, it's even clearer how the man's constant badgering isn't helpful at all; reading assignments look like nigh unconquerable walls of text, too intimidating for you to even start. Math problems are confusing to sort out and you're not even sure where to begin. You really do not give a shit about political science, so you can't even bring yourself to look at the textbook. Even the man's constant badgering dips in and out of your attention. Do this do that, then a bit of mental static, and suddenly he's talking about a completely different thing. It's unclear how much time passes.
The only way for him to shut up is to not do anything and if the nagging continues long enough, Tatsuya will toss all of his work onto the ground, refusing to do any of it. If you're not playing his part, then you are free to interact with him and he'll respond to you, but ignore the man behind him. The man will not acknowledge that anyone else is present.
The Call: You are Tatsuya Suou. You are eight years old and you might be having a dream, because you're standing in an unfamiliar place, but you feel very at home here. Sometimes dreams are weird like that.
There's a man dressed in black standing before you, wearing a weird butterfly mask. But he's very kind; you can tell. Your dad always said to never talk to strangers, but he doesn't feel like a stranger at all. He looks down and smiles at you.
"...Well. Such a young visitor. Can you tell me your name?" Yes! Your name is Tatsuya Suou, of course. Who else would you be?
That makes the man chuckle. "Very good. It is not often that those who come here remember themselves. My name is Philemon. You have...played the Persona game, correct?" It's a little hard to remember, but yeah, you did! Big Sis taught everyone how, but you didn't think it would work like this... It's still really cool though.
"Ahh, what do they say about it? That playing it will show you your future self?" You nod and think to yourself that you can't wait to see what you'll be in the future. "...I see. That is absolutely correct. However," He crouches so he can look you right in the eye, "I have a secret. Would you like to hear it?" Of course you want to hear any kind of secrets, and you step closer so you can hear this...
"The secret..." Philemon places a hand on your shoulder and leans in a bit to tell you this Very Important Thing, "Is that all humans choose their future selves. Never forget that simple truth, Tatsuya Suou."
...No way.
"Oh yes, it's very true. In fact, it might be the only real truth there is! Now," he stands and walks back to where he was standing, suddenly turning toward you a bit. "Tell me your ideal future self. Tell me your dream and you shall have it."
...What do you choose?
Memories: This dream varies. Sometimes, it's this scene starting at 5:08. Other times, Tatsuya is playing near a shrine with other children wearing sentai masks. Still others may have a younger Tatsuya getting along relatively well with a younger version of the well-dressed man from the previous dream, usually making simple desserts together. These dreams are usually pleasant and are mainly memories.
Closed Off: This dream is in a middle school, and Tatsuya can be seen walking around in a typical middle school boy's uniform. It seems like a normal school, and when classes let out, Tatsuya seems to make an effort at being stealthy or trying not to be seen. It doesn't work. He's cornered by some boys harassing him about his father. If you decide to intervene, there is a chance that they'd stop bothering him and the dream continues as normal, with you able to interact with Tatsuya and everyone else. If you don't intervene, a fight breaks out and continues until Tatsuya accidentally summons Vulcanus, burning all of the students around him. The police and hospital are called and Tatsuya will absolutely not engage with anyone until his father shows up to take him home. You'll be able to interact with Tatsuya's father, but the boy will be too shaken to talk to you.
Shadow: You are in a dungeon-like maze. Where one would think to see water flowing in some kind of indoor moat, there is only lava, and it is hot in here, like an oven. If this weren't a dream, you would be boiled alive just from being in here. Regardless, in the distance, there's someone who looks like Tatsuya, but something is...off. He seems a bit too mechanical or robot-like. There is no emotion shown anywhere on his face...until he sees you. He then breaks into a psychotic, bloodthirsty grin and starts to come closer...
There is someone else here as well, someone dressed in a mostly white uniform with a flower motif and wearing an outlandish, almost clown-like mask. He will not help you. He will simply encourage the Tatsuya look-alike to destroy you.
Where are you going? How rude. They just want a little...chat.
(Dream perhaps guest-starring![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chaos_that_crawls and nemophila, oh nooo.)
Drifting: You are in Seven Sisters High School, which seems like a normal school at first, until you look at the students. Everyone is faceless except for Tatsuya and a couple of other people. Whenever these faceless students talk, it becomes meaningless gibberish. Tatsuya ignores them, but there's a chance he won't ignore you.
What will you do?
Knight: The most adventure-like or outright fantasy of all the dreams, you are stuck in feudal Japan, during the Warring States Era. It is a beautiful story about a maiden princess and her two loyal knights. What more could you want in a story?
The End: Maya dies and everything hurts and nothing is beautiful. Shit, let's punch elder gods.
Throughout every dream except the one that takes place in the Velvet Room, there is an undercurrent of murmuring. It's difficult to place what's being said, as it's being said by two people at once, a young girl and a young woman, and not at the same time.
Also it's in German:
Still ist die Nacht, es ruhen die Gasse,
in diesem Hause wohnte mein Schatz;
sie hat schon längst die Stadt verlassen,
doch steht noch das Haus auf demselben Platz.
Da steht auch ein Mensch, und starrt in die Höhe,
und ringt die Hände vor Schmerzensgewalt-
It ends there, a seemingly incomplete first half, before starting over again.
Nyarlathotep has as much free reign to mess with the dreams as he pleases except for the one in the Velvet Room. As long as his player lets me know things beforehand, everything else is smooth sailing.
-If they're a Dreamer and they're not originally in the dream in question and are linked to it through whatever emotion, they are Tatsuya. At the time, it will be like having a dream that, upon later reflection, clearly doesn't belong to you, but it never occurs to you when you're having it. For that moment, the dreamer fully believes that they're Tatsuya and think his thoughts and feel his emotions and have some of his memories and does whatever Tatsuya would do. Note that if Tatsuya himself isn't in the dream or if it's just too Symbolic for that, dreamers will come in as themselves.
-If they're a Dreamer and they're already in the dream (like if they're Jun or Eikichi) then they will play the part of their dream counterparts. For example, if Jun is dreaming and stumbles into a dream where Tatsuya is being attacked by the Joker, Jun will play the part of the Joker and fully takes on his role as such, complete with the utter insanity and lust for revenge and murder. (This also applies to dreams that have good memories, like them being cute in front of the bridal shop as kids.) If there are no "parts" for anyone in the dream or if it's too abstract, they will enter the dream as themselves and without playing a part.
-If they're diving and aren't in the dream originally and don't really know what they're doing, there's a 50% chance that they'll be sucked into Tatsuya's perspective, but are still aware of who they are. They're just hitching a ride in Tatsuya's head and are still aware of his thoughts and emotions, but more from an observational standpoint. He won't be aware that they're present. If the person in question is alien to the human psyche or emotions (Alcor, for example), the chance is high that they will become overwhelmed and fully take on Tatsuya's role (like actual dreamers) but for the most part, observation from a fixed perspective is what's happening. On the chance that they can observe normally, they can do so and interact with everyone in the dream as usual.
-If they're also supposed to be in the dream, they will take the place of their dream counterpart, but be fully aware of what's going on instead of being fully taken into the role.
-If they're diving and they know full well what they're doing (Xenahort, Nyarlathotep, etc), they can observe and interact with people in the dream as usual. Or fuck with them with wild and reckless abandon. You know, whatever.
With that out of the way, here are the dreams!
The Beginning: The shrine from before is on fire. There is a crazed teenager standing above a child while a girl is inside the shrine, pounding on the door.
"Tatsuya! Help!"
The teen is so far gone that he stabs the child in the middle of the back, laughing in his face all the while. If the dream continues, the child tries to get up and something emerges from him, something mechanical or engine-like, but still humanoid, and sets fire to the teenager's face. While he screams in utter pain and flees, the being fades and the child loses consciousness. The banging and yelling that was coming from inside the shrine is now gone and the sounds of police sirens are getting closer...
The Beasts: There are no humans here, but there is a big (huge) empty room with giant marble statues in the middle. There are five statues, four of them surrounding what looks like a Virgin Mary-like figure in a cross formation. To the west stands a bull; to the south, a roaring lion; the east has an eagle about to make a dive; finally, the north has an angelic figure, complete with wings and robes. It is completely silent, but if you approach one of the statues, they will speak with you.
It is said that the end of days will be brought about by these four beasts...
Reprieve: You are in a room. The walls, ceiling, and floor are all covered in a soft, velvet blue. Soft, gentle piano music is being played by a blindfolded man, who looks up at your presence and seems to notice you, despite being blindfolded. A woman begins to sing, and you realize that it's the woman standing next to the piano man. She continues to sing without end, forever, even when she "talks" to you. Another man, clearly the bohemian artsy type, is standing at a canvas, wondering what to paint next. Tatsuya is here as well, but he's sitting off to the side and staring into space. You won't be able to engage him at the moment. Finally, there's the old man sitting in a chair. Some people may recognize him. He is balding and sits hunched, with spindly, stretched out arms and legs. His bloodshot, unblinking eyes stare at you while he forever grins. His ridiculously large nose alone is the talk of legends. He is Igor, and he sits up a little bit straighter when you approach.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room."
Is this the real Velvet Room or simply a figment of Tatsuya's imagination? It's difficult to say, but those who come here are fully capable of speaking to the normal residents, and they will be very glad to chat with you. Yes, even the singing woman. All dreamers and divers will come in here as themselves and can speak with anyone they please. Everyone except for Nyarlathotep, anyway.
Crushing Weight: Tatsuya is sitting in a desk, confronted by a ghastly amount of school work. There is a very well-dressed man who looks a lot like him, wearing a brand-name suit and tie and prescription sunglasses, in his mid-twenties standing behind him with a very severe look on his face. He is silent until Tatsuya tries to open a book and do any school work. This causes the man to point out every single thing he's doing wrong, from not showing his work on a calculus problem to reading to slow. Every single thing. If you are Tatsuya, it's even clearer how the man's constant badgering isn't helpful at all; reading assignments look like nigh unconquerable walls of text, too intimidating for you to even start. Math problems are confusing to sort out and you're not even sure where to begin. You really do not give a shit about political science, so you can't even bring yourself to look at the textbook. Even the man's constant badgering dips in and out of your attention. Do this do that, then a bit of mental static, and suddenly he's talking about a completely different thing. It's unclear how much time passes.
The only way for him to shut up is to not do anything and if the nagging continues long enough, Tatsuya will toss all of his work onto the ground, refusing to do any of it. If you're not playing his part, then you are free to interact with him and he'll respond to you, but ignore the man behind him. The man will not acknowledge that anyone else is present.
The Call: You are Tatsuya Suou. You are eight years old and you might be having a dream, because you're standing in an unfamiliar place, but you feel very at home here. Sometimes dreams are weird like that.
There's a man dressed in black standing before you, wearing a weird butterfly mask. But he's very kind; you can tell. Your dad always said to never talk to strangers, but he doesn't feel like a stranger at all. He looks down and smiles at you.
"...Well. Such a young visitor. Can you tell me your name?" Yes! Your name is Tatsuya Suou, of course. Who else would you be?
That makes the man chuckle. "Very good. It is not often that those who come here remember themselves. My name is Philemon. You have...played the Persona game, correct?" It's a little hard to remember, but yeah, you did! Big Sis taught everyone how, but you didn't think it would work like this... It's still really cool though.
"Ahh, what do they say about it? That playing it will show you your future self?" You nod and think to yourself that you can't wait to see what you'll be in the future. "...I see. That is absolutely correct. However," He crouches so he can look you right in the eye, "I have a secret. Would you like to hear it?" Of course you want to hear any kind of secrets, and you step closer so you can hear this...
"The secret..." Philemon places a hand on your shoulder and leans in a bit to tell you this Very Important Thing, "Is that all humans choose their future selves. Never forget that simple truth, Tatsuya Suou."
...No way.
"Oh yes, it's very true. In fact, it might be the only real truth there is! Now," he stands and walks back to where he was standing, suddenly turning toward you a bit. "Tell me your ideal future self. Tell me your dream and you shall have it."
...What do you choose?
Memories: This dream varies. Sometimes, it's this scene starting at 5:08. Other times, Tatsuya is playing near a shrine with other children wearing sentai masks. Still others may have a younger Tatsuya getting along relatively well with a younger version of the well-dressed man from the previous dream, usually making simple desserts together. These dreams are usually pleasant and are mainly memories.
Closed Off: This dream is in a middle school, and Tatsuya can be seen walking around in a typical middle school boy's uniform. It seems like a normal school, and when classes let out, Tatsuya seems to make an effort at being stealthy or trying not to be seen. It doesn't work. He's cornered by some boys harassing him about his father. If you decide to intervene, there is a chance that they'd stop bothering him and the dream continues as normal, with you able to interact with Tatsuya and everyone else. If you don't intervene, a fight breaks out and continues until Tatsuya accidentally summons Vulcanus, burning all of the students around him. The police and hospital are called and Tatsuya will absolutely not engage with anyone until his father shows up to take him home. You'll be able to interact with Tatsuya's father, but the boy will be too shaken to talk to you.
Shadow: You are in a dungeon-like maze. Where one would think to see water flowing in some kind of indoor moat, there is only lava, and it is hot in here, like an oven. If this weren't a dream, you would be boiled alive just from being in here. Regardless, in the distance, there's someone who looks like Tatsuya, but something is...off. He seems a bit too mechanical or robot-like. There is no emotion shown anywhere on his face...until he sees you. He then breaks into a psychotic, bloodthirsty grin and starts to come closer...
There is someone else here as well, someone dressed in a mostly white uniform with a flower motif and wearing an outlandish, almost clown-like mask. He will not help you. He will simply encourage the Tatsuya look-alike to destroy you.
Where are you going? How rude. They just want a little...chat.
(Dream perhaps guest-starring
chaos_that_crawls and nemophila, oh nooo.)Drifting: You are in Seven Sisters High School, which seems like a normal school at first, until you look at the students. Everyone is faceless except for Tatsuya and a couple of other people. Whenever these faceless students talk, it becomes meaningless gibberish. Tatsuya ignores them, but there's a chance he won't ignore you.
What will you do?
Knight: The most adventure-like or outright fantasy of all the dreams, you are stuck in feudal Japan, during the Warring States Era. It is a beautiful story about a maiden princess and her two loyal knights. What more could you want in a story?
The End: Maya dies and everything hurts and nothing is beautiful. Shit, let's punch elder gods.
Throughout every dream except the one that takes place in the Velvet Room, there is an undercurrent of murmuring. It's difficult to place what's being said, as it's being said by two people at once, a young girl and a young woman, and not at the same time.
Also it's in German:
Still ist die Nacht, es ruhen die Gasse,
in diesem Hause wohnte mein Schatz;
sie hat schon längst die Stadt verlassen,
doch steht noch das Haus auf demselben Platz.
Da steht auch ein Mensch, und starrt in die Höhe,
und ringt die Hände vor Schmerzensgewalt-
It ends there, a seemingly incomplete first half, before starting over again.
Nyarlathotep has as much free reign to mess with the dreams as he pleases except for the one in the Velvet Room. As long as his player lets me know things beforehand, everything else is smooth sailing.