lifeaftr | Exploration Event: Neverwere

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Exploration Event: Neverwere

EXPLORATION EVENT: NEVERWERE

Who: Everyone!
What: Your wildest dreams come true!
When: May 15th to May 18th
Where: Ziziphus, those still on Ensō...and Mu
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Then Know That My Life Was Just a Killer Dream
You can find most of the information you need in the OOC info post! In the meantime, feel free to use this log as a catch-all for your dream worlds, as well as detailing your efforts to free one another. Whether they're on Ziziphus or Ensō at the time of the dreams' capture, your character is free to access as many dreams as you like, as the interlocking mental landscape allows for that sort of crossing over apropos of nothing. And time, of course, is very fluid in dreams - many days, months, and years can transpire in a matter of mere minutes.

Will you fight your way free from Ziziphus's vines or Mu's thrall, or are you content to die in your sleep?

Remember to let us know if your character dies during this event!

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] May 15th: The vines make their move, ensnaring characters in ideal fantasy worlds
[ ♆ ] May 17th: The Storyteller will make contact with those they can, as well as issue information and a potential solution
[ ♆ ] May 18th: Those that have not freed themselves from the vines or from Mu will suffer a death

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

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He's apprehensive about this.

It was strange enough being taken from his own fantasies, finding his way back and figuring out what was going on. It was stranger still to find out this was some sort of attack, though not something that left him afraid or otherwise incapable of doing. He's more worried about what exactly he'll find. Kravitz knows what he thinks of Taako, made possibly more clear by his subconcious putting him on blast recently, but Taako is not the type to be clear with his emotions or show off exactly what he thinks of him. He has some confidence that it'll be okay- Taako wouldn't be the type to string him along, he thinks, if he wasn't feeling it or them- but how that might manifest is entirely unknown. And Kravitz doesn't like things that are unknown, undone variables he can't track and plan for.

It's not hard to find him, after a bit of asking around, and he pushes into the restaurant quietly. "Taako? Are you here?"

It's a quiet time in the restaurant, a peaceful afternoon stretch that doesn't see much in the way of patronage, well suited to prep work and catching one's breath. That must be why Taako, normally so at ease, feels a flash of something at having it interrupted, called out by name. Irritation, alarm? It's too fleeting, and either one would be unfamiliar anyway, so he doesn't pin it down.

He sets all that aside and makes himself known, wiping his hands with a rag. He's got nothing to be wary about, here, plenty of people know his name. Well, a normal amount, and he usually remembers them back, but still. No reason to be unfriendly. Even if this guy looks like he maybe saw half a ghost. He smiles agreeably, if a little impatient; he's got things to do.

"Yeah, man. What's up?"

There he is.

Kravitz still hasn't gotten used to the little way his heart flips when he sees Taako, every feeling made so much more potent when he has the body to back it up. It's an adoration garnered from something he can't explain, some bond he may have forged too quickly but he won't stop clinging to. It's intoxicating. He hasn't felt anything like it for so, so long.

It is, however, worrying that Taako doesn't seem to have the same recognition. But he can do this. He can get him out. Kravitz smiles, tries to wait until it comes, until this dream slots him into place so he can really proceed.

"I heard you'd be here." He starts, and then realizes he sounds utterly ridiculous, trying to scramble for proper words. "I mean, of course you would be, I-- nevermind, that's not important. I'm so happy to see you."

Ridiculous isn't quite how he sounds, and there will be no slotting into place in this dream construction. These words are greeted with confusion, incredulity, and something that is only threatening to become wariness. He sets the rag down with an excess of care, one ear canted like he's listening for a sneak attack.

"Uh huh, that's-- nice." It's a testament to the strangeness of this situation that he hesitates in his words. Taako doesn't have fans, can't be bribed out of his common sense with attention from an admittedly very handsome man. He sincerely hopes this isn't going to be another guy-asking-for-rocket-fuel situation. That kind of thing makes for a good story (told by someone else) but is less fun to deal with in reality, in person.

He'll try his gentle prodding for information again, maybe a little more pointed this time. "What specifically can I do for you?"

He had prepared himself for roughly three scenarios. One, that Taako was still just his enemy. That it might come to a fight, an argument or convincing, but he just needed to wake him up. It wouldn't be good, but he could do it. Two, that Taako was in fact as saccharine and kind as his dream was. He'd do a great job of tempting him to lay down and take a nap or start kissing him and Kravitz' brain would do that thing where he forgets the rest of the world exists. Also complex, but doable. And three, they might just know each other. Just an-- associate. Another person. And it would sting, but he could handle. He reasoned that these were the three most likely options.

But as the hesitation creeps into his movements, the questions and the confusion, Kravitz is forced to confront the fourth scenario he didn't want to even think about.

Taako doesn't know who he is. He doesn't seem to recognize his face, his voice, and it clenches at his throat. He thought he'd have to be more smooth with this, work himself into the dream and then pick it apart. But the dawning horror of this is encompassing, and it shows on his face.

"Taako..." He starts, feels his anxiety building in his joints and buzzing into his head. "Do you... do you not know who I am?"

Oof, now there's a face journey he's pretty sure he doesn't want to be party to. Whatever this is, it's looking not great for this guy. Awkward, and unfortunate. But probably out of his league to fix. What's he gonna do, lie? Teleporting away from this situation doesn't even cross his mind.

"I uh. Really don't." He answers lamely, rubbing at his wrist like this situation is something he can remove physically from his person. It's nothing personal, is the thing. Which is probably part of the problem, he's guessing. And maybe his native instincts to evade things like this are still in there somewhere, because he'd suddenly much rather be doing literally any chore than this. Smells like someone forgot the trash for awhile, for instance, and--

But that's no good either. He feels just terrible, and doesn't even want to blame anyone else for it. "I'm usually better with faces than this, I don't know-- I'm sorry." Worst of all, he definitely, sincerely is.

Maybe the fact that he is really is the worst part. Taako looks at him with sympathy, with apology, and everything feels pointless. In the moment, it's almost not even about the man in front of him. It's about-- it's about the life he lead before Taako. The life that seems meaningless and empty when he thinks about it now, a thousand years of which he remembers maybe ten, blips of time in an ocean of repetitive horrors. Nothing in his life had been so-- wild, so new. The first time he got to be a person again in so, so long.

He's realizing, now, that perhaps falling into whatever this was so quickly was a mistake.

He takes a measured breath, trying to regain some composure. It's fine, it's-- it's fine. Maybe this is a trick by that god, a knowledge that he would be pulled out too easily. But the idea that he could be removed from an ideal world with a snap of someone's fingers--

No, no. Stop. Not now. He has a job to do.

He straightens his back, puts a hand on his jacket for some form of stability. "It's-- quite alright. I believe we met rather... briefly, regardless. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? Some... strange things have been happening lately."

Well, okay. If he says so. It pretty obviously isn't quite alright, but who is Taako to pry? He can't quite keep the concern from his face, but he tries, for politeness' sake. It's just that he's pretty sure he's seen people do a better job concealing literal stab wounds than this. Though he's also pretty sure he's seen no such thing.

Still, that was a pretty weird lead-in to...what, an investigation? This went from awkward high school reunion to crime procedural a little too fast for understanding. He's not so much suspicious, as just...confused. But whatever the case, it's a welcome subject change, and he visibly relaxes a little.

He has no reason to decline, even though he's pretty sure he's not got any helpful information, and yet he still feels...just the slightest urge to go on the defensive. But he's already been, not rude exactly, but...disappointing, maybe. This is probably the least he can do for the guy, whatever reluctance he feels.

"I mean, if it didn't happen here, I probably won't know anything about it, but--" He shrugs, ambivalent. His eyes stray to the clock on the wall, but when it refuses to resolve into something sensible they turn back to his weird guest. Guess he's got time for this after all. "Sure, knock yourself out, I guess."

Kravitz swallows, trying to build this lie in his head, some world of a person he would be if he didn't meet Taako and the course of his life veered inexplicably sideways. What reason could he have to be here? He didn't talk to mortals he wasn't there to collect, and this world is peaceful. Besides, he needs to be making Taako realize this isn't real, somehow. He doesn't know how he's going to do that, even with the Storyteller's instructions in his ears of rip it apart, but he doesn't want to do that unless he absolutely has to.

He doesn't want to hurt him. Not more than he already has.

Kravitz clears his throat, tries to finish collecting his thoughts, and speaks. "Well, it may have, which is why I ask. I've been investigating some, uhm... temporal oddities, as it were." He can't just say it's not real, he has to lead Taako there, get him to understand the situation. "My name is Kravitz. I'm, uhm, looking into these issues and people who may have been affected."

That's...somehow not what he's expecting. He doesn't know WHAT he's expecting. But 'temporal oddities' is putting this a little back into Mr. Rocket-Fuel territory. Even if Taako himself did just heartily beef a clock-reading roll. He doesn't look outright disbelieving, but he's getting there.

The guy seems painfully earnest about it, is the thing. He's not sure if that's points in favor or against this being crazytalk, but it doesn't seem like an obvious lie, anyway.

"Alright, Kravitz, I'll bite. What temporal oddities?" Still sounds fake, or at least...not a problem a respectable eating establishment should be having. "What's that mean? Who..." He struggles, verbally and a little physically, to voice the question, squinting and waving a hand. "Like, who's in charge of that?"

A thought, and he frowns. A prank isn't a lie. "Are you one of Lup's science buddies? Did she put you up to this?" Not bad, if so. But can't she just try and set him up with guys in like a normal way, jeez.

All things considered, Kravitz is incredibly good at bullshit. He's hunted all kinds of people, been in all kinds of situations, adapted all sorts of personalities. He can do this... probably. If he can get past his own psychosis to do something properly.

He forces a laugh at the last line, but it's not as strong as he wants it to be. "No, no, I'm... I've heard of her, but that's not my profession." He has no idea what she's doing in this world, but if Taako doesn't know him, the chances of them knowing each other are slim to none. Best not to worry about it, he thinks, as if he isn't worried about fucking everything right now. "No, this is more like... we're looking for things like lapses in memory. Like remembering things that never happened, or realizing things don't... quite line up like they should."

He knows he needs to do this gently, more than he probably is, but he's pushing forward. He needs this to work. He needs this to be over. Will Taako hate him for shattering this? He'll-- no, he'll forgive him. Taako wouldn't want to die for this. "For instance, do you remember how you came to this place? What day it was? Or how you came to live here, in this specific place?"

"Gonna be real for a sec, that still sounds fake as hell my dude." Taako levels him a Look. He doesn't get up to as much shit in this reality, but you can't play a player.

But fine, he can humor this goof a bit longer. "I've been here about a year, I came specifically for the job, I don't remember the day because I'm not a fuckin, calendar robot or whatever." That...almost answers his questions, right? He feels a little...off. A little less sure this is bullshit. A little more defensive.

Looking for lapses in memory, discrepancies, is it? "Look, my memory kinda does its own thing, but--" He runs aground there, because despite what some ingrained reflex thinks, his memory is actually pretty reliable. "But I don't think it's something to call the cops about."

He has no idea if this is working. Taako's answering him, but he always keeps himself hard to read- any vulnerability from him is unexpected and can be far between. He needs to think of a more direct way to do this. Kravitz nods, puzzling through his mind on something that might break it.

"I'm not expecting you to be perfect, of course-- there are very few who've never forgotten anything, I'm sure." He cases his options in his head again- if Taako doesn't remember him, asking him things about his previous life is likely useless. But perhaps, if more is fabricated, it'll be easier to break. "Where did you live before you moved here? Were you with your sister? Did you move around much?"

The worst part here, as well, is that Kravitz hasn't the slightest about Taako's past, so this is more spitballing in the dark. But if he can keep Taako talking, he might hit something.

Weirdly, the sticking point in all of that is his age. Taako wants to snap back with an answer, opens his mouth to do just that, feeling increasingly put on the spot, but-- he can't pin down his age. He'd just wanted it as a point of reference, for his education, for his life prior to living here, and it's jarring that he has to think about it, that he suddenly feels so displaced in his own life's timeline. He closes his mouth, and looks almost hurt.

He just-- is very, very tired, is all. Maybe sitting down will help. "I wasn't with Lup, no. And I didn't-- I mean, the normal amount of moving, I guess?" Actually, what would help most of all is not answering any more questions.

"Hey. What happens if you find a, an oddity? What's step two?"

He can see that face, and it hurts him to be doing this, to be picking this apart like a thousand little papercuts, but he has to. Kravitz puts his hands together, a more uncertain motion than he wants with his palm gripping the back of the other.

Kravitz sits down across from Taako, closing the gap but not how he wants, moving his hands onto the table and forcing himself not to touch. "Well... step two is to figure out exactly what's missing, or at least, what around it in the world is wrong. The trick is that these things haven't, haven't gone somewhere exactly, more than it's more like... the world itself has moved. We have moved away from that."

He wants to laugh, to make light of this, but he just can't with that expression on Taako's face. "It's a lot of remembering. Putting things back together. Realizing, perhaps, that the world isn't the right... one."

That sounds like a lot of work, is what he doesn't say. A daunting, distressing amount of work, that just doesn't seem likely to pay off. He doesn't like the sound of any of it, to be honest, in a visceral and personal way, that doesn't feel like it's about this situation at all. And what's wrong with this 'situation,' anyway? "Seems alright to me," he mutters, ears flat, but it's anemic compared to his usual argumentativeness.

At least this Kravitz is patient, which is a thought with an odd resonance. Doesn't seem like he's about to haul off and put Taako in Continuity Prison at all, honestly. Doesn't seem so much like a lunatic off the street anymore either, perhaps unfortunately. Either way, not easy to dismiss. Patience is a double-edged sword.

What happens if I don't, is another thing he doesn't say, drawing on a skill for deflection he probably shouldn't have. "And what about you, what's your angle? Are you this hand-wringy with all the oddities?"

He knows he's making Taako nervous. Which is-- good, for the situation, but not good for him. Besides, it's obviously showing on his end too as Taako comments on it, and he has to take a steadying breath. It's not time yet, is it? He isn't working with him. He just needs him to cooperate, go on a little bit more.

"Well, it's-- it's a nerve-wracking thought, isn't it?" He tries to think of a way to explain this, to justify this behavior. "To think that reality itself doesn't exist as we know it. That we may indeed be trapped somewhere with only our minds and our knowledge to fight with. I know I'm not presenting something particularly appealing, but it is important."

Kravitz refocuses on Taako, trying to keep his face steady, his heart from beating too hard. "I need you to think about this, Taako. And I mean really think about it. For m-- for a lot of people's sakes."

Yeah, no kidding. It's nerve-wracking as hell, but that's not really gonna do it for Taako. That was all very heart-felt and, if he's being honest, which he's more inclined to than usual, not entirely unmoving, as appeals go. But he doesn't miss that it wasn't especially informative, as explanations go.

That verbal stumble in particular stands out, and Taako hones in on it, eyes narrowed. There still isn't anything in Kravitz' face but sincerity and poorly hidden urgency; for all he's not being entirely forthcoming, he's not spinning a detailed tall tale, and that's not. Not great, actually, is what Taako is forced to conclude, and he looks away again, shaken.

"You don't seem very good at this. No offence," he quickly adds. "That's pretty much-- Well, I haven't thrown you out, yet." It's not the only reason, but it's up there.

But it's a lot easier to say rude-ish things to hot if crazy strangers than to think about reality not being real. Easier than he even realizes, to borrow a stream of nervous nonsense chatter more suited to someone he isn't. "But I can't stress enough, you still sound like someone who went to Philosophy 101 stoned, with all this. If you start telling me my red is actually your green, I'm throwing myself out."

Look, he's circling the idea, alright? As much as he doesn't want to. The reluctance is nearly tangible. But he's still quick to carry on, albeit quietly, even if he doesn't ask what he really wants to know. "Are you trapped, too? Didn't quite say."

He resists the urge to say that he's sort of making this up as he goes, because he well and truly is running without a plan here. And maybe that's his fault, for assuming that Taako would trust him so easily, assuming that there would be the connection he's tethered himself to perhaps too strongly. But of course it isn't as much to him. For as long as Kravitz' existence has been, he has essentially no bonds. Taako, Taako has many, and assuming his importance was perhaps the mistake in it all.

"In a sense." He's trying to outright lie as little as possible, despite how the scenario has sort of forced his hand. "I can't return until this is complete, I would say. Whatever the results may be. But I don't think it's something so drastic, it's just..."

Kravitz is still struggling, but since he made it out of his own, perhaps it's time for more truth. "I speak of this only because I was trapped once, as well. In a fantasy of my mind's creation for a much happier world than I truly existed in. And it was nice, and kind, but it wasn't real." He looks up to meet Taako's eyes again. "So I know what this feels like. The uncertainty, the thoughts and worry. I go back to make sure others do not suffer the same fate."

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Exploration Event: Neverwere

dabs, uhh let's go with b basically

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