the return of 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.

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

[cruciverbalist]

These women. What did they do to deserve it. Was being objectified for payment not enough? Did no one understand the psychological distress a person, man or woman, goes through with this type of job? They weren't high end. They weren't well paid or well looked after. They were scrounging up money to feed their bodies; their habits too by the looks of it. Patches you could see, around the nose where skin clung. Corroded. Cocaine.

People don't become whores like this for pleasure; people don't become addicts for fun. It's fun, until this happens. He's only noticed Blake here now as he tried to make something different, anything different, but he can't. He turns to face her.

"Yes," there's distress, clearly. "This is the first violent homicide I worked on; it made the papers, I remember. Something of an unveiling for me. I can't remember how I caught the man responsible. The clue wasn't here."

A moment. "I've seen this twelve times already. Have you been here this whole time?"

[animator]

She narrowed her eyes as she took a moment to make sense of that explanation. The first violent homicide he had worked on. A re-enactment? Stranger things had happened, she supposed, than visiting the past. Finding yourself trapped or haunted by past deeds was not entirely unheard of. Magic and manipulation usually played a large part in such things, and she was no stranger to either.

This, however, felt different. Why was she here? To bear witness to some crime that had already been committed, already been solved?

She frowned. "No. None of this is familiar. Twelve times? What is it, exactly, that you've seen?"

[cruciverbalist]

The first idea that came to his mind was dream but then her whispering thoughts of magic resounded in his own head and made him stop to think. Yes, and New Moore was more than capable of such a thing and so there was really no telling what this was but what he saw.

He unfolds a hand toward the victims and then turns back toward the scene. Slowly, he'll walk her through it the same way he did the Yardy's. How it happened. When it happened. Who likely did it. Then, almost abrupt, he asks:

"Typically you are armed, hm?"

[animator]

She was silent throughout his explanation, noting every detail presented, filing each item away for later use. The abrupt change of subject did nothing to throw her off-course; she looked at him with her arms folded across her chest, the rest of her body still squarely facing the victims in question.

"I make a point of not leaving the house without a weapon," came the confident reply, and she slid her hand down to her left hip to feel for the inner-pants holster she favored. She drew the Browning fluidly, passing it to her right hand. Whatever was happening to them, it felt plenty real. Solid.

Good to know.

"Looks like I'm travelling light this time, but I'm not about to look a gifthorse in the mouth."