EVENT #12: ADVERSITY 6568654

[expiationmods]

EVENT #12: DO AIS DREAM OF ALGORITHMIC SHEEP?

THE STORY SO FAR (click to expand)

-Over time, characters have discovered that the world of Expiation is actually a large, elaborate simulation run by an AI that seems to be intent on helping them atone for their crimes. This news is well-known by the Chosen, enough so that any new character who wishes to handwave this knowledge is able to do so.

-In September 2024, that AI needed to be reset as a consequence of some catastrophic systems failures. So far, there has been no downside to this reset–but the AI has also been strangely absent since then.

-Things have been quiet in Aldrip since September, aside from the routine arrival of new Chosen. The locals seem less than happy with the Chosen, though, as if they have already branded them all criminals. As if they no longer trust them…

JANUARY 13

SLEEP MODE INITIATED.
LOADING………………….

The calming hush that falls over Aldrip is strangely comfortable, lulling all Chosen into a deep sleep…or a sleeplike state, for those who will. Whatever the case, it is a very quiet night.

The sleep that follows is anything but.

THE DREAMSCAPES

The Chosen dream of memories, in this dreamscape. They can be twisted and altered by the dream world; events can be contorted or made up; but all of these dreams have within them a kernel of truth. Whether they express an event that happened or part of a person’s past that’s gone fuzzy with age, whether it’s a real moment or just a feeling, something about the dream tells you something about the Chosen to whom it belongs. This may even express itself in multiple dreamscapes, fragments of different memories and feelings to navigate.

Fellow Chosen can travel through these dreamscapes, of course, stumbling upon dreams they were never meant to see. But their presence is not without consequence; the longer two Chosen share the same dream, the more the dream will begin to take on elements of both their dreams, drawing in elements from the Chosen who was simply meant to be watching.

They’re vivid, these dreams–the kind that are so clear, one begins to doubt whether it’s a dream at all. Could it possibly be reality? Whether it’s a good dream or a bad one, the Chosen may find it’s difficult to want to wake up. How could they possibly wake up, when this is so very real? Why would they want to, if it’s a good dream? It’s comfortable, and the idea that it may not be reality is intimidating, isn’t it?

It’s so real that you could stay here forever.

A WAKEUP CALL

Wake up.
You have to wake up.

Staying within the dreams too long is a dangerous thing, and those who don’t wake even once before morning will risk falling into a deep sleep, perhaps never to wake at all.

But how to wake them?

Only by convincing the Chosen that they are most certainly dreaming, as it turns out. Whether that’s someone realizing this on their own, or being helped along by someone else, is entirely up to you. But they must choose to wake from the dream, saying goodbye to the dreamscape without any certainty that they’ll ever see it again, and for some…that could be easier said than done.

Once they wake in Aldrip, they’ll be able to come and go from the dreams at will, helping other Chosen navigate their own waking…or perhaps sabotaging it, for those whose intentions may be less than charitable. (But none of you would do that, right? Right?)

Time becomes meaningless within the dreamscapes, allowing the Chosen to pass through as many of these dreams as they wish before dawn breaks in the morning.

The next day dawns as normal, and surprisingly, the Chosen don’t feel any less well-rested from their long and difficult night chasing after dreams. They may even–_

A sea of numbers, zeroes and ones, their combinations meaningless, their forms shifting. Digital artifacts mar the vision, as if the sequence is somehow corrupted. In those pockets of artifacts, one can see something beyond the numbers, something darker, something blurry with distance.
Query: is this what it is to “dream?”
It feels…warm.

_feel refreshed, actually, as if they’ve lifted various weights from their shoulders. Even those who haven’t may find it difficult to linger on the less happy parts of what they’ve seen. They’ve shared quite a unique experience, after all. Better take some time to process it, before they let it weigh them down.

WILDCARD

Make your own fun! Just because it’s not in the prompts doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Have at it! Go crazy! Try not to break anything (too much)!

♡

Comments

[grappler]

[Vi can't help it. she's still pinned, metaphorically and physically to her spot. forcing her to look at the dead bodies...

but then she feels warm arms around her, and there's Caitlyn. her anchor. the person that slowly but surely, was the one who she was living for.

but she knows what she'll see here. what appears before her before not even having to see it. Caitlyn, lying on the ground. blood coming out of her abdomen and dripping from her eye. the way she figures that they found her, before they saved her life.

her Caitlyn. dying too.

she doesn't even respond to the living Caitlyn for a few moments, her gaze pinned on the new figure.]

For how long... ?

[she rasps, her mouth tasting as if sand was in there. her throat raspy, as if she'd been inhaling actual smoke from that fire in the warehouse.]

[bulleting]

[Caitlyn honestly isn't surprised when the dream changes and it's her own body, nearly lifeless, in front of them. She can practically feel the ache in her side and face again, remembering all too well the miserable pain she felt after the fight with Ambessa. The recovery was brutal, more so because of the loss of something as important as her eye. When you relied on your vision for the largest parts of your life, it made it that much harder to adjust to.

But Vi had been by her side. Both of them with broken bones, both of them dealing with the loss of their siblings. It hadn't been easy, but they survived.]

For as long as you'll have me.

[She scoots between Vi and the imagines the dream was taunting her with, cupping her face with her hand.]

I'm right here, love. Don't let these bad memories pull you away from me. Dirt under my nails, remember?

[grappler]

[the living and warm Caitlyn moves in her field of vision, and Vi looks up into her eyes. she tries to focus on how warm she is, how she knows there's blood flowing through her veins...

but all she can see is dead bodies.]

Dirt under your nails.

[sitting in front of a fireplace, humming. thinking of her mother and Jinx. two more bodies that were behind Caitlyn. so many bodies... so many people that she'd lost. was loving them a curse she put on them? was every person she loved going to have either their life ruined or die in front of her?]

Until I get you killed too.

[every single one of those bodies were either directly or indirectly because of her. her mother and her father, wanting to give her a better life. Mylo and Claggor, following her to save their dad. Vander and Jinx, protecting her. Caitlyn almost died once trying to save their world, but what else? what else would happen? who would be that next body that was lying in the warehouse? hers? Ekko's?

they're all she has left.]

[bulleting]

[A warm kiss is planted on Vi's forehead, before Caitlyn presses her own against Vi's. She's trying to keep Vi's focus on her, and not on the insane amount of bodies she knows are behind her.

She always knew Vi's life was full of pain and suffering, but there's something about seeing it. Knowing that Vi saw it, all of it. It puts things more into context. Why she fought so hard for Jinx, why she spiraled so much after Caitlyn fucked up. Why was the world so cruel to this wonderful person with such a big and beautiful heart?]

Ambessa Medara couldn't kill me, darling. I'm not going anywhere.

[But Vi wasn't the only person with bodies in her past. She doesn't even realize the dream is starting to draw from her own memories, twisting to become a bit of both of theirs now.

She sees it in her periphery vision on her good side, the casket. Gods, the casket, covered in the purple flowers her and her mother both loved. Her breath caught when she realized what it was, her grip on Vi inadvertently tightening.

Fuck.]

[grappler]

[it isn't until the grave of Cassandra appears that Vi starts to snap back into some semblance of a reality. that was traumatic for her too, sure. Jinx had killed her.

but it was even more traumatic for her daughter. that warm woman that was in front of her, warming her cold. trying to take her pain away.

she feels her grip tighten, and Vi's eyes look up to meet hers. a hand cupped the face of the side Cassandra's casket was, and tilted it slightly so that she couldn't see it from her periphery.]

Don't... don't look. You don't deserve to see those bodies.

[Vi did.]

[bulleting]

[Caitlyn tries to stay strong, but tears well in her eyes anyway. It was always impossible for her to fully mask in front of Vi. Vi was her weakness. Her one safe space to actually let herself feel something, and now was no different.

She nuzzles into Vi's hand, closing her eyes and trying not to let herself think about what was looming so close by, taunting her.]

Their blood was on my hands, too.

[If she hadn't done what she did, Jinx's dinner party wouldn't have happened. There wouldn't have been an attack on the Council to that extreme. Maybe Jinx wouldn't have even gotten her hands on the hexgem. But because she meddled, so many things went wrong. And then-- she didn't take the shot. She had the perfect opportunity to stop Jinx, then and there, and she...didn't. So the death of the Council, and every death that came after was because of her. Viktor wouldn't have been the Herald if he hadn't died in that explosion. The few other people she loved wouldn't also be gone.

If Vi thinks she's the jinx, what does that make Caitlyn?]

Everything that went wrong-- it was because of my arrogance. I meddled when I shouldn't have. I didn't stop Jinx when I had the chance. My mother, Jayce, Viktor--- Piltover and Zaun? So many lives lost, and for what? I wanted to prove myself?

[She knows, deep down that logically, that makes zero sense. Caitlyn can't expect herself to be held accountable for all the things that Jinx, and ultimately Viktor did. But that's the fun thing about dreams. When you lose yourself in them, especially nightmares, things that make sense outside of them don't quite line up as well.

Even if she has forgiven Jinx, that doesn't erase all the guilt, and Caitlyn has carried so much of that since the day that hole was ripped into her heart.]

[grappler]

[Caitlyn's pain always sharpens Vi's thoughts. makes her think less about herself, and more about her. because at the end of the day, there's that huge part of her that wants to protect Caitlyn.

Caitlyn and Jinx, two people who can take care of themselves, but also Vi's biggest weaknesses.]

Hey.

[her voice is firm. there are still tears that fall down her face, but they're for a different reason now. because she hates seeing Caitlyn so upset, and it's so rare that when she does... it shakes her to her core.]

You can't... blame yourself for the actions of others. [take your own advice, Vi.] I told Viktor once that Piltover and the Undercity were already barreling towards all that conflict. Silco was making monsters, Caitlyn. Even before anybody did anything. What do you think he was going to end up doing? You know he would've used them on Piltover at some point.

[she runs her hand through her hair, her face softening a bit.]

If you hadn't meddled, you wouldn't have met me. You wouldn't have gotten me out of that goddamn stone box that I'd been in for five years. And because of your efforts and sacrifice against Ambessa, we might know peace. It's fragile for now, yes. But it's a chance. That's more than what we've had for lifetimes.