sleep tight - the nightmare meme

[memeswearhouse]

the nightmare meme

"So on his Nightmare through the evening fog Flits the squab Fiend o'er fen, and lake, and bog; Seeks some love-wilder'd maid with sleep oppress'd, Alights, and grinning sits upon her breast." - Erasmus Darwin, "Night-Mare" Everyone has nightmares right? The dark thoughts lurking in the depths of our minds. Our fears out of our control. At least they only occur in our sleeping hours... right? This meme is designed to wretch that comfort right out from under you. Your character is stuck in their worst nightmare and worse yet, someone is stuck in there with them. Whether it's a familiar face, a stranger, intentional or accidental, you have to dig your way out. Good luck lost souls. And remember. The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.

Feel free to use the prompts below as a jumping point, or make up whatever you want. As a warning this meme will possibly contain TRIGGERS and MATURE CONTENT. Read ahead with caution.

Prompts: i. the WEAVER (the nightmare) 001 - waking nightmare - wake up. Wake up. Wake. UP. The only sure guarantee out of a dream. And yet when your eyes open, the fear still surrounds you. The nightmare has its hold. You've woken up to your own nightmare. Why hasn't it gone away? 002 - stuck - Slowly, you begin to realize this is all just a dream. But you can't get out. You're stuck to the whims of your subconscious, unable to escape. Completely aware that this is just a nightmare, but unable to escape. 003 - pursuit - You're being chased, endlessly, by something, someone. Maybe it's a boogey monster, maybe it's only a metaphor. But you're out of breath and places to run. 004 - the end of your world - The apocalypse. Brought about around you. Maybe it came slowly, like a slow burning fire-- or perhaps it was a conflagration. Your entire world is falling apart around you and you can do nothing to stop it. Or perhaps even worse, you're the cause. 005 - your greatest fear - Maybe your greatest fear is something common, like spiders, or something which seems completely mundane, such as the color yellow. Whatever it is, it's surrounding you. Keeping you in it's embrace. 006 - ground hog day - It starts out harmless. One day, not unlike any other. Except, it's repeated over. And over. And over. And over. Until slowly your mind just.... slips away. 007 - i have no mouth and I must scream - slowly, against your will, you're transforming. Turning into a creature unlike yourself. Perhaps a monster, maybe a pile of goo. Whatever it is, you're helpless to stop it. 008 - free style - take these prompts and throw em' out the window. Do it however you want. ii. the THREAD (why the other character is there) 001 - the devil on their chest. - Maybe the dreamer was someone in your way, someone who had done harm to you or someone you care about, maybe it’s just for shits and giggles. But you are the one who has stuck them in this nightmare, and you want to watch them fall victim to their own mind. 002 - mind link - for some reason you share a connection with this person. Perhaps it's just the passing of the stars, a jolt of electricity, or their mind reaching for yours. But now you’re stuck here, trying to get them out. 003 - experiment - Just a quick injection, maybe a little sting, it won't hurt. That's what the men in coats said. But look where that got you. 004 - save them - you've been tasked to save this person, no matter the cost. Maybe they're a stranger, maybe they're your closest friend, even your greatest enemy, but you have to save them. 005 - just following orders - It's a job, and you've been tasked to it. They may have some info you need. Or maybe you have to keep them in for the benefit of someone else. It doesn't matter. It's only a job. Right? 006 - we have ways of making you talk - They have something you need. And it's time you squeeze it out of them. 007 - free style - take these prompts and throw em' out the window. Do it however you want.

It's encouraged that you mention some of your characters specific fears/nightmares in order to make tagging out easier-- however it is not required. Blank comments will not be deleted.

Comments

merida → brave

[myownhand]

[BEARS. Thunderstorms. Being alone. Oh my]

x3 COMBO GO i-003/005 & ii-002

[shepherdofthefrost]

[ He's soaked to the skin, the onslaught of rain is blinding (except when the occasional lightning bolt slices through it), and to make matters worse it's almost night. Jack's getting the impression that even in the realm of the subconscious, Scotland's weather is a capricious asshole. ]

[ The witch is also a capricious asshole for...whatever this spell is. The spell that's got him stuck in her head. He's pretty sure the witch - oh sorry, woodcarver - also said something about the possibility Merida's dreams could kill him, so yeah, that's great. ]

[ He's following a trail of wisps through the (dream?) woods - he can only hope they'll lead him to Merida. Her brothers said (more like mimed) something about a fight with mum, and then she disappeared into the woods to blow off some steam, and then the storm picked up and she hasn't been back since. Assuming the wisps and the triplets are just...a part of Merida's dream, he guesses her subconscious wants somebody to come find her. At least, that's what he thinks. He's Jack Frost, not Jack Freud. ]

[ Her subconscious needs to stop making it so damn hard. ]

[ Just as he crouches to inspect what seems like one of Angus' hoofprints slowly disappearing into the mud, he hears a low rumble from nearby that definitely isn't thunder. He spins around, catches sight of a dark shape lumbering through the trees, and shoots up into the lowest branches on instinct. ]

[ Yeah, okay, that's a bear, that's definitely a bear, so on top of all this her subconscious is generating vicious predators. Okay. It stops and sniffs at the vanishing hoofprint Jack was investigating moments before. The bear doesn't look like Mor'du, at least not the way he's heard Mor'du described. It's pretty average-sized for a bear, sleek, gracefully proportioned, not stuck full of spears like a furry Moby Dick on legs, so...oh. Wait. ]

[ There was definitely something about another bear. Another bear as in mum-bear. ]

[ Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit. ]

[ Cursing creatively under his breath, Jack darts to the next branch over, hopping from tree to tree as wisps start winking out of existence below him almost faster than he can keep up. He needs to put distance between himself and that bear. More importantly, he needs to find Merida before the bear does. ]

[ A thunderbolt cracks over his head. Stupid Scotland. Stupid rain. Stupid witch. Stupid princesses. ]

rosalina nurumi | original character

[kissfromarose]

[ Drowning. Kill or be killed fighting. SPIDERS... And, of course, being forever alone. ]

[sempiternally]

[OOC: I feel like these two should meet. Interested?]

toothiana | rise of the guardians

[memoryguardian]

[ Not being believed in! Shocker. Also, her parents, past, and issues with herself.

note; human!AU available on request c: ]

SORT OF i-002 & ii-004?

[shepherdofthefrost]

[ Jack feels very much like an intruder right now, because he knows he's not supposed to be seeing what he's seeing. ]

[ He sees a man and a woman surrounded by a screaming mob, and he sees Tooth hovering frantically overhead, trying and failing to find a way to rescue them. He wishes he could do something, but he already knows he's just as invisible here in Tooth's dreamscape as he is to most people outside of it, so all he can do is watch in horror from a hidden place in the tree branches. ]

[ The man and the woman urge Tooth to go - and she does, eventually, shrieking as she tears off into the night. The mob, enraged, attacks the two remaining, and Jack has to flinch and turn away. He clamps his hands over his ears to block out the noise. ]

[ A ball of golden sand in front of him grabs his attention - Sandy's only way of communicating with him while he and Tooth are trapped in this Nightmare (Pitch's doing). Sandy's already managed to break Jack free, but now they have to get to Tooth. ]

[ The dream sand forms an arrow and points in the direction Tooth went, then splits up into a dozen smaller arrows, all pointing frantically. The message is pretty clear: Jack needs to go after her. He bites his lip, avoids looking back at the carnage in the clearing below as he darts into the air to follow Tooth. The dreamsand takes Baby Tooth's shape and follows him. ]

Tooth? [ He bobs low over the jungle treetops, calling her name urgently. He exhales through his nostrils, brow scrunching with a pained expression over what he's just witnessed. ] Tooth, please come out. I don't...I don't know what just happened. But I need you to let me help you.

Jack Frost ❄ Rise of the Guardians

[shepherdofthefrost]

Fears:
❄ Isolation
❄ Drowning
❄ Rejection
❄ Being invisible

No smut please!

i-006, ii-007

[motherofthesun]

[It's the day when Jack is outright rejected and on repeat. Easter Sunday, the day he entered Pitch's Domain and was trapped, staying there long after the Nightmares razed all the Easter eggs for the children's hunt. Every single one was smashed and none of Bunny's sentinel eggs remained functioning. The look of disappointment on the other Guardians' faces. All, but Sandy who had been lost the previous day.]

[And Easter happens again and again and again. It's a nightmarish loop where Jack is always gazed upon in such disappointment and utter betrayal. Bunny wants him gone, Tooth believes he gave away her fairy, and North - old Saint Nick who believed in him so much - could only turn away. The sky turns grey and leaves the spirit to linger alone in Antarctica. Pitch never comes, but that's because the nightmare then loops back to his lair, the moment where the rejection is initially hammered in.]

[Wisps of white light and heat manage to slip into the nightmare and follows. It's always a moment behind and unable to linger and wait. It takes the form of a wolf before thinning into smoke to follow again as Jack moves. In order to stop the loop, she has to catch him, stop him from running long enough that he doesn't go back to Pitch's and hear again how he's not really trusted.]

Nancy Holbrook | A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

[microsleep]

( Nightmares typically include her old preschool, dead friends, and, of course, Freddy Krueger. Y'know, the usual. )

Makoto Tachibana | Free!

[legskins]

[ Fear of the ocean is canon, but the death of a loved one is pretty much a given. ]

[skinny_dipper]

[His legs tread through cold water, ankles prickling like he's just been bitten by something. But he can't look without risking to be swept away by the next wave -- it crashes over him before he can finalize the image in his hand of him being pushed around underwater, possibly into the mouth of a hungry shark.

Nagisa is getting tired, slowly but surely, and he looks up into the sun burning down on him, wishing it would vaporize the ocean around him. It's not going to happen, he knows as much, and he takes a shallow breath. His head is growing lighter. He knows that drinking salt water is dangerous, but at the moment he's seriously considering it.

If only he wasn't all alone. No matter where he turns to, there's not a single ship or shore in sight. He could swim there, he's a good swimmer, he could save himself. There's nothing to swim towards though.

He closes his eyes for a moment and it seems like the ocean calms down somewhat. It cradles him like his mother used to. Nagisa smiles and sighs, opening his eyes again.

He gasps at what he sees right before him.]

Mako-chan!

Will Graham - Red Dragon/Hannibal Lecter series - OTA

[eidetikerwill]

[Fears/nightmare fodder: Hannibal Lecter, losing his family (again), Francis Dolarhyde, the reactions of others to his face, being trapped in an inescapable place, crime scenes, his own failures and really generics ones most people have. A lot of things can be scary if presented right.]

Sherlock || Sherlock BBC [brokenverse AU] || all options

[desecrated]

[Loud noises, being rejected, darkness, blindness, claustrophobia, hypothermia, oxygen deprivation, waking up missing any body parts, especially his eyes or fingers, etc.]

colette brunel ♛ tales of symphonia

[spiritua]

[ death, losing her friends, being useless, loss of speech/feeling/sleep/etc ]

E. Aster Bunnymund l Rise of the Guardians l OTA

[easterkangagroo]

[Last of his kind, watched them all being killed, thousands of years old, take your pick.]

Runner Five | Zombies, Run!

[quintuscursor]

[ZOMBIES. Being unable to escape. The death of close friends. Isolation. And death.]

James Bond l Bond Films l OTA

[007_bond]

[One word Skyfall.....be careful when you wake him up.]

ASANO KEIGO | BLEACH | OTA

[loudmouths]

[ isolation, being forgotten, his friends getting injured/killed/etc. his own death, for the most part. ]

Kain Highwind | Final Fantasy IV / Dissidia 012

[dragoon_pride]

[MIND CONTROL, or any other situation where he's powerless/helpless. Enclosed spaces, being so injured he's unable to fight, or dying dishonorably.]

North ⟡ Rise of the Guardians

[naughtyornice]

[Fears: disappointing the children...losing his friends, either to battle or time...Pitch winning...not being believed in...the destruction of his beloved sleigh...]

I feel the need to apologize for the length ^.^;; Tell me if you want a rewrite

[morethanadream]

[Sandy doesn't quite remember what happened after he was hit by an arrow.

He knows that Jack screamed, and that he felt foreign fear sinking into his bones, and that he was disseminated. It hurt. The rest was a mash up of cold laughter, pain, and grief--what was left of his immortal self was so black, but his mind stayed together, always aware, because Pitch wanted him to suffer. He existed in the black sand and all the nightmares it caused.

His first concrete memory is snapping into stark awareness as he swirled through the air as a black cloud, ready to dive and destroy the last believer as the Guardians lay defeated. He was able to scream then.

You need them alive just as much as they need you! had echoed through the sand into the Bogeyman's mind. Silent to anyone else, even as he put all his strength behind the words. Without them, no one will care enough about life to be afraid!

He didn't know when his words reached his new master. He didn't know when his path suddenly changed and he consumed his friends.

After that, he fell away, and he thought he would fall into nothingness.

Then the sharp taste of candy canes. The smell of pine and wrapping paper. Sandy doesn't know how long his nightmares gripped the Guardians, but he felt North. He felt the warmth of a fire and eggnog in his stomach.

Immediately, Sandy reached out, and he burst into the prison he himself had been used to create.

Sandy wakes up, his chest heaving and his breath raspy, and the first thing he notices is that it's freezing cold but no snow is falling from the sky.

He stands up, holding his side. Black sand inks a chunk of his torso and most of his left arm, sending pulses of pain over and over. After a moment, he sees that he's in the Globe Room of the North Pole, except there's no globe. There's no buzz of activity. There's not even a roof. The Pole is in ruins.

And there's blood on the ground.

Sandy floats off the blood as soon as he notices it, not caring that he can hardly manage an inch with the pain he's in. Scattered around the ground are brilliant green and purple feathers, tufts of gray fur, and the splintered remains of a shepherd's crook.

Sandy holds his stomach, trying to tame the nausea. Nightmare. It's a nightmare. North's nightmare. The others aren't gone. The Pole isn't destroyed.

He shakily floats through the ruins, searching desperately for North. It's his nightmare. It'll only go away once he has the strength to make it go away.

Please just let him find that strength before Sandy dissolves into nightmares. Please. He can feel the black sand spreading through him.]

Sherlock Holmes | Sherlock (BBC)

[consulting_freak]

[Specific fears: his friends dying, losing his mind, losing control, Jim Moriarty, unsought solitude. (Not limited to these options)]

3 | 4 if you're cool with a massive fanboy >>

[glassesbrat]

[ Thirty-six hours. He was told that the new antidote should work for up to thirty six hours which was twelve more than usual. Unfortunately, it really does seem that a high fever affects how well the drug works, if it works at all. Clearly it didn't work this time as he's not any taller than the doorknob on the door he'd just walked out of. Or maybe he's dreaming...? The thought occurs as he stares up at what he recognizes as Big Ben. He certainly doesn't remember traveling to London or going through international customs so the dream theory is certainly looking good. ]

[ He's yanked very suddenly out of his own thoughts by a loud crack that slices through the relative silence of the London night. A gunshot? Before he's even full aware he's doing it, his legs are carrying him as fast as they can hope to go while trapped in their seven year old state towards the gunshot rather then away from it, as would be a normal person's reaction. ]

Nabuca | NTHT

[hopelessdream]

[ Nabuca is a kidnapped child living in a warship who is forced to kill people. Sometimes those people are his friends or his fellow soldiers. There's plenty of shit to work with. ]

Dextera XIII | Baroque

[bisection]

[ Fears: his separation from his conjoined twin, the world ending, killing the people in the outerworld. ]

Molly Hooper || Sherlock | Open

[wealldosillythings]

[Loneliness/dying alone, autopsied while alive, Glee going downhill OHWAIT Jim Moriarty.]

Newt Geiszler >< Pacific Rim

[redeyekaijublue]

[kaiju, friends/family/rangers dying, dying himself, failure.]

John "Pyro" Allerdyce | X-Men Movieverse | OTA

[ex_outofcontrol435]

[On a larger scale, abandonment and powerlessness. Scaling down a bit, mutant failure and either capture/improper use by humans or genocide (or if taken from X3, the Cure). On a much smaller level, he's uncomfortable with telepaths for obvious reasons, and not that fond of the army for just as obvious reasons.]

Koenma | Yu Yu Hakusho

[holypacifier]

oo2 {stuck} | oo4 {save them}

[calledshotgun]

The skin under his fingers is soft. Soft like Egyptian cotton and white like the finest ivory. His thumbs press in, testing the suppleness, the give. Vertebrae like eggshells and flesh like that of a ripe fruit: easily bruised. He cradles a neck in his hands, deceptively gentle, fingertips buried beneath the strands of chestnut hair. The pad of his thumb caresses a line from pressed beneath the chin over the Adam's apple and against the hollow of the throat. He presses there, beneath the vocal chords that reverberate with a voice so sweet.

He can feel the blood, the life, pulsing in time with his own, and it's intoxicating. His mouth curls into the cruelest sneer, and he leans in as if for a chaste kiss. His lips whisper against those lips. "Just like him. Aren't you proud?" He kisses those lips, then, passionate in touch but vile in intention. Both thumbs press to the hollow of that throat now. His own voice whispers an echo. "Aren't you proud? Koenma." His own voice which sounds like a snake, and that name like venom.

It's a peculiar sensation, like the physical manifestation of the conscience's angel and devil, super-ego and id, trapped not on his shoulders but within himself. Perhaps he was the angel and ego, but the devil, the id had control of his body, his mouth, his hands. Hands that were closing in on that delicate throat, graceful and beautiful as a swan's. White as finest ivory. Soft as Egyptian cotton.

"Koenma."

tear grants | tales of the abyss | ota

[selenia]

killing her brother, watching her brother kill loved ones, failing, land crumbling beneath her, rpg apocalypse

Sam Winchester | Supernatural

[hellunbounded]

[His brother dying, the goddamn devil and Hell being the big ones. And clowns. Because clowns are evil.]

england (arthur kirkland) † hetalia

[unionjackass]

[Having absolutely no control or a say in things; not of anything, even himself. Being alone/abandonment. Betrayal. Confinement. His nightmares usually include these, as well as: Drowning (in the Thames), being dragged underwater by vengeful spirits, and winding and crooked unlit streets; and air clogged with soot. If you've read War of the Worlds imagine that tone and setting and you wouldn't be far off (just without the aliens). Isolation. Industrialization. Powerlessness. UnDead things.

Default is modern times but I can go for another time period, just ask!

Cross-canon is always loved.]

hiiiiii

[bootsmadeforkilling]

[ ooc: I'm not sure how familiar you are with D.Gray-man, but there is a nightmare in canon that haunts Lenalee, and quite a few elements in it are on/can fit with Arthur's list here ouo

Lenalee's nightmare is pretty simple. She's sitting in the flooded rubble of her organisation's headquarters, with the corpses of comrades, her brother, everyone floating in the water below her. I imagine this easily fitting with England, via dead bodies reaching for them, English colonies (or you know, young!America, Hong Kong, etc) being among the bodies, anything you want. Mind Link can work here cause the Black Order is headquartered in England somewhere. It's set in the Victorian era though. O:

y/n? ouo ]