bakerstreet | the dream generator meme

the dream generator meme

The Dream Generator™ is an exciting new device that allows the user to select from a list of dreams that he or she wishes to experience as they sleep. No more random fluctuations of the subconscious, no more repetitions of the same dream, no more nightmares to shake you from sleep - only the dream that you wish to see!

...or that's how it's supposed to function. Unfortunately it seems that some of the Dream Generator™ units have shipped with a few minor bugs, but it's nothing that can't be worked out or repaired. Simply call the toll-free number and the technicians can send a replacement unit!

Unfortunately, you have to finish the dream first.

These things do happen when an uncertain technology is released to the public when it isn't quite ready, so even if the majority of Dream Generator™ users get what they're looking for, there are a handful who experience...glitches. They might get a dream they didn't request, or the dream might turn into a nightmare instead. Some get so drawn into their dreams that they forget it isn't actually real. And every now and then there are reports of people who are somehow drawn into another's Dream Generator™ dream even when they don't have a unit of their own, a phenomenon that has yet to be explained.

Still, the only way to find out if your Dream Generator™ is one of the defective ones is to use it, and should you be trapped in a dream not of your choosing (or one of someone else's choosing) there's nothing to do but wait for it to end.

OPTIONS

1. Defying Gravity: You're falling, flying, or simply floating just above the ground. If it's a pleasant dream you might enjoy swooping about in mid-air, but if you've found yourself in a nightmare you might be grasping desperately for anything to break your fall.

2. Trapped: You're locked in a room, trapped in a box, or simply unable to find the exit from the building no matter how hard you look.

3. Sudden Nudity: Your clothes just vanished in the blink of an eye and you're in a public place. Hopefully you can sneak away before someone notices. Or are they all staring at you right now?

4. Rise to Power: You're the king of the world! Literally. Or maybe the CEO of a corporation, or the most famous celebrity in the world. Would you enjoy your newfound power, or does it terrify you?

5. Searching: There's something terribly important that you have to find, but no matter where you look it eludes you.

6. Chased: Something is following you. Something terrible and frightening, but you don't dare look back to see what it is.

7. Alternate Universe: This is your life as it could have been. What if you'd made a different choice way back when? Or are you now back in high school, ready to take a different path than the one you originally followed?

8. Metamorphosis: There's something different about you. Maybe you've been genderswapped, or maybe you've turned into an animal? Or you're suddenly fifty years older and dealing with the effects of aging. This could be awesome, or it could be the ultimate in body horror.

9. Paralysis: You can't move, for whatever reason. If you believed in folklore it could be that there's a demon sitting on your chest, or maybe there's another reason for it in your dream.

10. Sense Distortion: You could be more or less sensitive to touch, or perhaps one of your other senses is malfunctioning. Maybe you're abruptly blind, trapped in darkness, or every sound is suddenly painfully loud to your ears.

11. Illness: You're sick or badly injured, possibly even near death. Will you enjoy being tended to by your nurse, or will you have a heart-wrenching deathbed scene?

12. Catastrophe: Something terrible is happening, whether it's a natural disaster or a manmade accident.

13. Supernatural: Either you're surrounded by the strange and bizarre, or you now have supernatural powers. Will you use them for good or for awesome? Or will your power destroy you?

14. Wildcard: Pick a dream option not listed here.

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[It worked, though perhaps a little too well; in his desperation Chris might have shoved her too hard, sending her stumbling backwards.

Off balance and disoriented, she cries out sharply as she hits the wall behind her, then slumps to the floor.]

[His eyes widen and he stumbles backwards, shocked at what happened. Then his teeth, fanged and too many in number, clench before he paws furiously at the ground. The shadows "splash" under his hooves and he rears his head back, letting out an unholy screech.

On his chest, the paw pad flared brightly and then cracked, right down the middle. The darkness making him up split and pulled apart, stretching back out into fetid light and curling mists. It seemed to be too much, lingering too long at the limit, and then--

With a snap everything abruptly ended, the room returning to a normal, if slightly shaken state. Chris stood there as his human-looking self, head hanging and tail limp on the floor behind him. In either hand was one half of the creature power suit, still crackling feebly.

Looking up suddenly with teary eyes he dropped the halves and ran across the room to her.]

Fluttershy!!

[Even as he ran up to her, she didn't move. Her body was nearly completely still as she lay on her front, save for the very faint, very shallow breaths that her body seemed to struggle to take. The back of her head was matted with crimson streaks that ran down through her hair, staining her skin and clothes with the little life essence that was left.

Because even without that...the amount of energy drained had been too much, more than her body was able to function without. With barely anything left, her body was shutting down.

One could almost feel her slipping away.]

[This... this had to be a nightmare, right? C'mon, wake up. Wake up.

Please...

Chris knelt beside Fluttershy and looked over her, his breath coming in shallow, broken gasps. He swallowed thickly and then reached out, taking hold of her shoulders, looping one arm under her, on the verge of outright tears.]

[The slight movement seemed to jar something, and with a soft, raspy groan, Fluttershy's eyes opened.

But there was barely anything there; the usually bright light was too dull.]

[Chris leans up when she moves, but everything crashes down with despair at the lightless look in her eyes. He cupped a hand behind her head, ignoring the unpleasant wet feeling he found.]

F...Fluttershy...

[The breaths she took were few and far in between, but the sound of her name had her looking up at him with pain-filled eyes.

But it wasn't the physical pain of her injuries that was the source. Instead it was that of the question that seemed to burn into him, the look clear in her eyes as tears began to fill them.

How could you?

Then her eyes closed; the tears falling free was the last movement from her as her body fell slack in his arms.]

[His voice caught in his throat, the tears coming unabated now, falling on her cooling skin.

No. No! This... this couldn't be! This just...]

Fluttershy...

[He leans over her, holding her close, even as he felt utterly loathsome at the final look in her eyes.

Then the strain of the transformations, the dual plane habitation and the eldtritch creature, and finally crashing into the valley of despair and lovelessness seemed to take its toll on him. His thin body shook and he dropped his head, moaning a little in pain that was both physical and not. A sudden cough, and another, and blood flecked his lips.

He was going south fast, he knew it. His limbs weakened but he held on to Fluttershy as best he could, even as the world closed in around him. A skipping, failing heartbeat sounded in his ears, slowing...

Slowing...

....thump.]

Flutter....shy....

[With a loud gasp Chris sat up in bed, breathing deeply, frightened eyes staring out into the darkened bedroom. Almost immediately he scrambled backwards, hitting the headrest with a solid whump and a whimper of lingering fright.]

Edited 2013-08-09 08:15 (UTC)

[Beside him, Fluttershy stirred, murmuring sleepily as she rubbed her eyes and glanced over at him.]

Chris...? [She says his name around a yawn, waiting until it subsides before trying again.] You all right...?

[The sound of her voice makes him jump out of his skin and he scoots sideways, hand lurching off the side of the bed. Catching himself he slid off proper and backed up like a frightened animal, not stopping until he hit the wall.

Whatever was affecting him still showed in his eyes, a look of deep haunting.]

[She blinks, a little more awake now as she sits up.

When she speaks again, her voice is soft, trying to be as soothing as possible.]

Chris...Chris, it's okay...Everything's all right.

[He stares at her, he wants to believe it...

But the nightmare was still too vivid, the emotions in it still too real. He looked over himself, at one clawed hand before it grasped the wall behind him again and, turning his frightened eyes back to Fluttershy, he shook his head.]

[She sits on her knees, ready to move closer to him if she needed to, but for now keeping some distance between them and let him breathe.]

Chris...what's wrong? What happened?

[It was many, many long seconds and several false starts before he was able to find enough of a voice to answer her.]

N... nightmare...

I. [He cringed, scrubbing his hands in his hair and sliding down the wall until he hit the floor with a muted bump, shuddering at the memory of it. He could feel the transformation affecting him, still remember it crawling his skin.]

....I don't want to talk about it..

[She follows him, sliding off the bed and onto the floor. Though she still keeps a comfortable distance, she's close enough that she can place her hand on his knee; very lightly, very gently, just a small touch of reassurance.]

W-we don't...have to talk about it. But...you know it wasn't real, Chris. It's just a dream...Everything's all right now.

[He starts, and jerks as if to pull away but stops himself before completing the motion. However he refuses to look at her, keeping his eyes shut and his head turned away.]

N-no, it... It could have been though... I w-went haywire, and.. and you...

[He takes a shuddering breath and looks up at her, searching out her eyes and staring at them long and hard. In them he found what he needed, and her love starts to act like a calming balm, bringing down his breathing to a more normal rate if nothing else.

And in his eyes? Well... Maybe she can find the answer, the unsaid words.]

[She could, perhaps, if she had been looking. But too concerned with his fear, his worries, she didn't care to look. All she knew was that he needed her right now.

Scooting closer, she wraps her arms around him, holding him close to her. There was a strength that belied her small form; a firm and solid point that this was reality...and that she wasn't going anywhere.

But the hug was still warm, still welcoming...still very much loving. And if nothing else, she wanted him to know that much, at least.]

[He immediately took that hug, wrapping his arms tight around her and burying his face in her shoulder.

The warmth of her body and the tightness of her grip were an anchor, a very real thing that could chase away the remaining dregs of the nightmare. That's... that's all it was. A nightmare. The more awake he was, the more ridiculous the sane side of his mind was finding it. He would never put on a transformation-enabled power suit like this, would never transform into that beast...

Would never be abandoned at the last...

But still it had cut him deeply with some very real fears, and it would take some time to get over it. He took a shuddered breath and only tightened his hold, nuzzling his face in a little deeper.]

[Her hold around him tightened as his did, and she gently combed through his hair to further soothe him. She could almost feel his distress; whatever he had seen in his nightmare had shaken him up badly, and she couldn't help but worry a little for him.

So she held on, placing a gentle kiss on the top of his head.]

I love you.

[She blinked as she glanced at him; she had almost missed the words, but when realizing what was spoken she gently nuzzles the side of his head.]

I love you too...always.

[That.

That, more than ANYTHING else, was what he needed to hear. The hug had spoken the same thing, true, but it needed to be said out loud.

He adjusted his hold around her, still hugging her firmly but without the near-deathgrip he'd had before. Though he still trembled, he did seem to be calming down at last.]

[As she felt him relaxing, she nuzzled him a little more before pulling away, just enough that she could rest her forehead against his while the hug was maintained.

Looking at him, studying his face for a moment, she then managed a gentle, reassuring smile; a silent promise that she was there for him, for anything.]

[He looked at her face as soon as he was able, his eyes flicking over every feature and then staring directly at her, drinking her in.

Finally there was just the slightest of smiles, a little quirk to one side of his lips that lasted only a heartbeat and was gone. But it had been there, and that was good.]

the dream generator meme

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At this point, a few TWs might be good

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