THE NIGHTMARE MEME

[memespiration]

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.

In order to make this meme a bit easier when it comes to tagging out we have written up a short little form. If you could fill it out and stick it in your characters opening comment, along with the usual character name and series header, it would be helpful to everyone in order to find someone appropriate to tag! Plotting is more than encouraged!

<b>Possible nightmares/preferences:</b> <b>Quick History:</b> <b>Quick Personality:</b> <b>Triggers/things you'd like to avoid:</b>

Comments

[onegoodman]

[He nods agreement. That should be quickly enough that even Moriarty shouldn't be able to do much with him. Gruesome, but they have to be practical now.]

Right. So. We know we can't trust the police or the government, as a whole. Where do we start? Trying to find people we know?

[mycroft_holmes]

[Mycroft makes a lame gesture between the two of them. On home soil? Greg is all that is left.]

Are there others you know?

[onegoodman]

[Greg nods slowly.]

Yeah, some. Trick's how many of them got out alive. And of those, how many we can trust with our an their lives.

[Part of the reason that Greg had been able to bring Sherlock in in the first place had to do with the network of people he'd worked with, been mentored by, and fostered over the years. It wasn't something he went out of his way to cultivate--he hated politics--but it was something that happened; you recognized talent when you saw it. And many of those people he'd have said he'd trust with his life. But the reports had still shaken him, and there was a note of uncertainty in his voice.]

[mycroft_holmes]

[Mycroft nods thoughtfully. Then an idea hits him. It's a long shot, but that's all they have left.]

Do you have any connection to Sherlock's Homeless Network?

[onegoodman]

[Greg frowned a bit, thinking.]

I've met a few once or twice. Enough to know some of their names--or at least, the names they use. A few of them have carried messages to me once or twice, but they don't really trust me. Copper--not to mention that the Yard isn't always as good as they should be about hunting down cases if the victims were homeless.

[Wasn't as good. God. That was a mental shift.]

Might be worth a try, though. Not likely Moriarty will have thought of them.

[mycroft_holmes]

No, indeed. They're not the commonwealth. It's partly why Sherlock stayed in touch with them. Have you any cash? They only respond to bribes.

[As he spoke, Mycroft was taking out several sheets of paper and a pen. He tore the paper into note-sized pieces. He then started to write upon them. The same note on each one, "His killer reigns - Your time has come. 221B Baker Street. Noon Wednesday."]

[onegoodman]

[Greg smiled grimly.]

That, I do. Managed to empty out my accounts before I got out--probably frozen by now, of course.

[He looked at one of the notes and his eyes widened a little.]

You sure about that location? London's a war zone--and I've got to think they're watching Sherlock's old flat, if he wants you.

[mycroft_holmes]

[Mycroft shrugs.]

Why would they? Moriarty has me exactly where he wants me... I'm...

[He takes a breath, but it sounds more like a gasp.]

useless.

[onegoodman]

[Greg looks at Mycroft for a long time, trying to figure him out. And then he just asks it point blank.]

Are you suggesting this because it's the best thing to do, or because you don't want to live?

[mycroft_holmes]

I'm suggesting it, because I don't see any other way - do you?

[onegoodman]

Suppose I don't.

[This still feels stupidly dangerous, but then again, anything with a prayer of being effective against would be.]

God help us.

[mycroft_holmes]

[Mycroft sighs and leans back in thought.]

If there were a god, do you think this would have happened?

[That's actually a serious question.]

[onegoodman]

[Greg thinks for a minute and shrugs.]

Lot of killing and fighting in the Bible, seems to me? Not to mention Christ getting killed as a criminal.

I don't know. Maybe there isn't.

But I'd like to believe the criminals I can't catch get their justice eventually.

[His voice is soft, and he feels a bit awkward discussing something like this. It's not the kind of thing he normally talks about.]

[mycroft_holmes]

[Mycroft chuckles softly as he lights up a cigarette.]

You take my comment in quite a .... philosophical manner, Inspector.

[onegoodman]

[He shrugs again, but there's a slight hint of sharpness in his voice.]

I might not be a genius, but I'm not blind. You're going to be a policeman, you're going to see a hell of a lot of bad stuff--problems you can't solve, people you can't save, bad judgements you can't change.

You find a way to deal with it, you give up, or you quit the force. Simple as that.

[mycroft_holmes]

[He offers Greg a cigarette as he puffs on his own.]

Or you die trying...

[Mycroft has no illusions about what the results of this will be. He doesn't seem to care.]

Do you have anything left to die for?

[If they're going to be philosophical, may as well go the whole way.]

[onegoodman]

[He shoots Mycroft a slightly annoyed look. All these years, and Mycroft still doesn't understand him at all? Even Sherlock knew this much--for all that he thought it was sentiment.

(God, that still felt like a punch in the gut, every time Greg realizes again that Sherlock and John have been killed.)]

Yeah. About eight million reasons.

[That was the population of London, and those were his people. The people he'd sworn to protect. He wasn't a genius--he wasn't even all that clever, but he believed in that oath with all he had. It was the only thing that kept him going, especially now.]

[mycroft_holmes]

[Mycroft nods. He gets the implication.]

And I have one reason to die.

[Honestly, he loved his baby brother - even if he never would admit it out loud.]

That settles it, then. Wouldn't you say?

[onegoodman]

It does, yeah.

[Greg knows Mycroft loved Sherlock, even if he doubts either of them had said it openly since they were very small--if they had even then.]

I'm sorry--about Sherlock.

[Maybe Mycroft will dismiss it as sentiment, but it ought to be said.]

He was a good man.

and time to move things along?

[mycroft_holmes]

I suppose he was, wasn't he... in the end at least.

[Well, he can't give Sherlock too much credit. He makes an odd expression as he looks at Greg.]

This is.... We've never talked like this before.

[Mycroft isn't sure what to call this.]

[onegoodman]

In the end, yeah.

[He wasn't perfect--he was far from it. But by the end, Greg would have called him a good man, as well as a great one.]

[He snorts slightly at Mycroft's second comment.]

Funny thing, everything falls apart, it changes a few things.

[mycroft_holmes]

[There's a heartless smile.]

You speak as if I haven't been through this before.

[Which he has, sort of, just not without Sherlock.]

[onegoodman]

[He shakes his head.]

Not like this. It's different when it hits close to home.

[It was one thing when an operation blew up; it was another thing entirely when it blew up and a good friend (or family member in this case) got killed.]

[mycroft_holmes]

[Mycroft is about to answer, when he looks down at himself. This was new and his expression is one of near horror.]

Inspector, I need you to remain very calm right now. I don't know what's going on... But I'm sure this isn't 'normal' by anyone's standards.

[He pauses and then gestures to himself.]

But do you ever recall me wearing sweats at any time?

[onegoodman]

[Greg blinked and squinted, looking at the outfit. It was odd, come to that--but Greg's clothes weren't exactly the height off fashion, either...

Wait, hadn't his jacket been khaki before?]

Wait, hang on a minute--

[He looks up at Mycroft, his mind trying to work out some way to make this make sense.]

'S this a dream?

[Because he has had pretty vivid dreams before, but this might just take the cake.]