I'M TURNING INTO A MONSTER // nightmare *OOC Prompt 10/29*

[CAESAR CIPHER.]

YOU'RE ATTEMPTING TO BORE ME !

CAESAR CIPHER. MALE. THE TYPHOON. OFFICER.

//caesar calls himself the king of nightmares but what happens when he finds himself stuck in a bad dream he can't control? how does he go about trying to escape it? does he wake up screaming and crying? does he go back to sleep?
! Small trigger warning in the x paragraph for gore, as well as body horror in x paragraph !
TL;DR - Caesar passes out and finds himself in a dream, which eventually turns into a nightmare and he sees the Corrupted version of his brother, Vigenere. Vigenere almost kills his dream-self and Caesar wakes up, clearly startled by something.

The King of Nightmares - that's what Caesar calls himself. It was more or less a self-given title, seeing how much of an ego he has. But upon moving to Earth, Caesar lost all of his powers and they seemingly just returned at random. It was troublesome but the demon eventually learned to live with it (not that he much of a choice otherwise). His ability to manipulate dreams and such haven't returned yet, though Caesar didn't usually have much trouble with his own dreams. Although that might be due to the fact he didn't really sleep often, but unfortunately tonight wasn't one of those nights.

The demon was alone in his room, listening to the waves crash against the ship. Eventually Caesar found himself closing his eyes, drifting off into sleep. No matter how hard he tried, however, he couldn't stay awake and darkness soon covered his vision. His body had basically passed out, becoming too exhausted to stay awake anymore and it almost seemed to welcome the blackness that covered his vision now. Caesar was strangely peaceful in his sleep but of course, he had no idea what was about to happen.

Soon, the darkness seemed to fade away to reveal a scene before him. Caesar stood on the outskirts of The Typhoon's territory, soon walking across the railroad that lead to camp, though he was heading the opposite direction. The Officer found himself walking away from his clan, his gaze focused on the sights in front of him. His pawsteps were quiet, mostly due to the tension he felt in the air. Something's not right. Caesar didn't like the way the air felt around him, with it feeling as if something was looming over him; watching him. Flicking an ear, Caesar decided to continue on, trying to ignore the feeling as he moved along.

Eventually the scent of blood hit his nose and Caesar paused in his steps, blinking in surprise. Even if this area technically wasn't apart of The Typhoon, the savannah couldn't help but feel anger at the idea of somebody hunting in this area. With a growl, Caesar followed the scent trail, lowering himself to the ground as he walked. The demon soon came upon the body and after looking around to see if anybody was around, he began to approach it. The creature that laid before him was a deer, its throat slashed open in a violent way. Bright crimson pooled from the wound, though as Caesar scanned the prey before him, he realized that its horns had blood on them as well. However, the color of it wasn't a natural color; no, it was black. Black, like the blood Caesar had.

Caesar stepped back, his eyes wide as he continued scanning the creature's body and the area surrounding it, realizing that the deer and the surrounding area had drops of black blood. Caesar's heart stopped as he realized what this could mean but before he could do anything, the feline was tackled. The scent of decay quickly swarmed in his nose, causing the Officer to gag slightly. Caesar opened his eyes, looking at the being who had bowled him over and was now pinning him to the ground. Once again, the Typhoonite's heart stopped for a second, his fur puffing out in alarm as he realized who this creature was. Vigenere?

His older brother wasn't his normal yellow color. The former Guard was blue in color, his eyes black with white pupils and dripping blood. Caesar closed his mouth, trying to avoid getting the blood in his mouth. Vigenere's body was covered in holes, almost as if his body was decomposing. Caesar noticed that his brother's spine was exposed, though it eventually was covered by flesh and skin again near his tail. The Officer looked back up at his brother, swallowing saliva that was forming in his mouth. Vigenere opened his mouth to let out a snarl, blood pouring from his mouth as he opened it, covering Caesar in the black substance. Caesar wriggled underneath Vigenere's grasp but the bigger feline held on, digging his claws into Caesar's shoulder. If Caesar had the ability to manipulate dreams at this time, the demon would quickly change this to where he could escape Vigenere, however no matter how hard he tried subconsciously, Caesar found himself unable to do anything. Panic flared in the demon's chest as he tried more frantically to get out from under Vigenere.

"WMMF. ZZREHRC. XDOVESD."* Vigenere snarled in a garbled voice, his tone much deeper than normal. Caesar blinked at his littermate, unable to decode the cipher in which Vigenere spoke in due to not having a key - which was required when coding and decrypting the cipher in which Vigenere was named after. In that time, Vigenere leaned forward and grabbed a hold of Caesar's neck, causing the demon to cry out in pain. Instinctively, the Officer raised his paws and placed them on Vigenere's chest, digging his claws into the corrupted version of his brother. With a growl, Vigenere pulled back and -

Caesar jerked awake, letting out a yowl of alarm and stumbling backwards. The demon fell from his bed, hitting the floor with a thump! The savannah found that his heart was still pounding, his body flashing between being hot and cold as he tried to calm himself down. The demon look spooked, terrified of something, with his fur puffed out and his eyes wide. His claws dug into the wood of the ship instinctively, almost as if he was trying to clutch something.

//* - For mobile users, this says LIAR. MONSTER. TRAITOR. in the vigenere cipher! The key is LEMON.

#psychosocial.

[PINCHER]

CAPTAIN PINCHER ROUX | resides in the typhoon and is the demigod of rough seas. he is a muscular dark gray panthera hybrid with frigid glacier blue eyes, marked with scars and glowing tattoos. he is the head of the roux family and is currently single. he is known for being a charming strategist with dark secrets. be cautious around him. —— ⚓

❝ A MODERN GOD IN A TAILORED SUIT — WHO'S LIPS TASTE LIKE FORBIDDEN FRUIT ❞

Everyone had nightmares. Everyone suffered from fear. What would a world without fear be like? Would it be heavenly and peaceful, where no one would feel like the darkness was out to get them and bite down on their throat? Pincher had once wondered if he had experienced his worst nightmares in real life or in the dancing tangled binds of the dreaming perspective. He held so...many. And with the constant traveling he had with his nomad group of cutthroat gangsters, the young child was filled with fears from all kinds of cultures. Beasts. Tall Tales. Legends. So many disgusting details of powerful beings that could rip limb by limb of their victims. But the nightmares that Pincher had always had were focused on the real world and he realized why. In the real world, he had full control of his actions, of what he would be able to do and react. In a land of fantasies and the superstition, there wasn't the burden that you had the power to run away or stand your ground. That was why his worst nightmares were always ones based on real life, about his family and his friends. How in the end, he was never ever truly in control.

Pincher wasn't able to sleep or well...wasn't letting himself sleep. He had plenty of sleep when he would...fade away from this world and into the one he was meant to be in. His vibrant cyan blue eyes fluttered closed as he looked down at the weapons he was sharpening in eerie silence on the deck of the Tempest, her dark outline glowing silver as well as him as the hybrid tipped his head up to glance up at the stars. They suddenly made him remember Marina and his hollow chest tightened, realizing that he was falling for her. He swallowed shakingly, knowing that he shouldn't let himself become blinded by love especially at a time like this. Still, the thought of her brought him hope. Maybe the omen wasn't true. Maybe he would be able to live with his crewmates until his true time came. But the burning pain of his tattoos were obviously not easing and he knew it was only time that would tell him what he was destined to be.

His attention was raptured when he heard the yowl from Caesar's private Officer room, his paws instinctively dropping the blade he was sharpening to the ground. It vibrated softly against the jet black wood planks and Pincher stepped over it and rushed towards the room where the scream had come from, his long claws unsheathing as the muscular lean figure of the Captain as he pushed the door open quickly, his muscles tensing up to prepare to fight whatever was attacking Caesar or had frightened him. Except when he opened the door, all he saw was the trembling form of the savannah on the floor, gripping at it onto dear life. "Caesar? The fuck happened to you?" The demigod questioned with a fictional eyebrow raising as he lowered his head to inspect the mortified Officer.

❝ THE TYPHOON — CAPTAIN — IMMORTAL — DEMIGOD — FATHER — THE HERMIT ❞

© LEXASPERATED

[CAESAR CIPHER.]

YOU'RE ATTEMPTING TO BORE ME !

CAESAR CIPHER. MALE. THE TYPHOON. OFFICER.

Of course nightmares were natural, everyone had them. But Caesar always believed that was because of his species; that dream demons were the ones that created all dreams and nightmares. Good demons, like Atbash, created dreams whereas an evil demon like himself would create hallucinations and dreams. To Caesar, nightmares were only natural in the since that if there were good dreams then they should have the exact opposite. Unfortunately, most demons in the Seventh Tier didn't really use their mind-warping abilities and instead tended to crops but that didn't mean Caesar couldn't practice the art of being able to change such things with a flick of his tail.

If Pincher made any noise coming to his room, the Officer didn't notice. Instead, the feline was more focused on the nightmare he had, utterly perplexed that he hadn't been able to control it. Sure, he might not have his abilities on Earth just yet but surely he could control his own dreams? The feeling of being pinned under Vigenere was terrifying and the fact that it was the Corrupted version of his brother was even more horrifying. All dream demons knew that Corruption was basically a death sentence for them and seeing Vigenere in such a state - whether or not he was truly in said state - was absolutely nerve-wracking. Caesar felt true fear at the sight of the Corrupted version of his brother and the mere sight of it shook his body to the core. Was that why he had seen the spirits of his siblings? Had they both Corrupted and became too far gone to save themselves?

Caesar jumped at the sound of Pincher bursting through the door, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at the Captain, almost as if he wasn't sure what he was seeing. The demon still clutched at the floor as much as he was able too, trying to calm his beating heart and make his fur fly flat. His head was swaying if he was honest, though he tried to shake off the dizzy feeling as he spoke towards the leader, "N-nothing." Slurred speech. Caesar shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind, which only seemed to make things worse. Slowly, the demon lowered himself to the ground, closing his eyes. "Nothing happened. I'm-I'm fine." So why did it seem like he wanted to vomit?

#psychosocial.

[Grey]

Bakugou used to be afraid of sleeping. His death in his old world had startled him - startled him enough to realise he wasn't unstoppable, he was mortal like everyone else. It was sad how lives were all so fragile, far too easy to tear apart and shred. The fragments of life that strung them all together could not only be undone but cut, snapped and broken like a masterpiece set alight. He experienced the same fearful sensation after awakening from his coma, cold sweats and night terrors the moment he fell into deep slumber. Death, in his experience, was frighteningly similar to sleep. It was because the main thing they shared in common, he realises, was the fact that it deactivated the conscious mind. It was the mind that was the only thing that could interpret the sensation of being along but unlike the heart, it was capable of tiring. Sooner or later, he would pass out only to wake up and feel an overwhelming sense of grief that he was alive, always paranoid that he would close his eyes and never open them. Maybe the main reason it was so horrifying was because death seemed so...peaceful. Nowadays, Bakugou realises he isn't even afraid of dying anymore. He doesn't want to feel the pain, doesn't like the idea that it can suddenly dawn on him, but he realises that when it sweeps over him, it was the longterm that mattered. He will no longer have to think. It was just the anticipation that death was waiting to strike him down at any moment that made the Reaver shudder.

Well, no matter how hard he's tried to convince himself that he'll be okay with disappearing, his heart says otherwise. It flutters in discomfort with the waves, rocking him as if he too were sleeping within The Typhoon's ship. Unfortunately, he wasn't in the safety of his own blacksmiths hut. No, he was outside and sitting on the cold sands of the beach, eyeing the stars quietly. He's had dreams in this world before but they were no dreams he could control. Usually they were so real, so full of emotions, that he was fooled that he was awake. There was always inconsistencies, irregularities that glitched within the system of his mind, causing him to realise he was asleep and forcing him to awaken. One time, he had a dream he was human again. It was the dream he woke up crying from because the memories were abusive, breaking him down because they were flaunting what he desired so much and would never be able to reach again. He just wanted his old life back but at the same time he felt troubled. For once, he felt a serenity in this world that he couldn't quite experience in the other. It all hurt too much.

The yowl wasn't difficult to hear when the night was so quiet, filled only with the sounds of the ocean and The Tempest's gentle movements. He feels immediately concerned, suddenly leaping onto his paws, standing bravely. He doesn't hesitate to move swiftly towards the ship, worried that there was some kind of intruder, a murderer in the midst. Bakugou refuses to allow such tragedies occur within the island. He had failed so many times, it was frustrating him. It made him feel useless. His steps are hurried now, paws pattering against the wood of the ship, ears folded back against his cranium. He doesn't stop to think that whatever it was that it must have been some bad dream. Sometimes he forgets that everyone else had their own fair share of angst, pain that defined them. He's heard it so many times, all those cheesy lines of others sharing pain - heroes who understood each other because they came from rough beginnings. It all felt too cliche to him but sometimes there was a truth to the words. Words lost meaning over time but the feelings were real and blooming. That was perhaps the problem of any world. There was so much suffering that they had all become desensitised, allowed themselves to normalise such tragedies that they didn't hurt so much anymore. Maybe it was because everyone was sick of being empathetic.

Then again, he's never really cared. Bakugou himself was self-centred. He worried little about the struggles of others, yelling at anyone who frustrated him. It was too self-destroying to feel the sensation of guilt rise within him. This world was changing him, remolding the thoughts of his mind. He doesn't know how to feel. The universe was unhappy with who he was and sought to recreate him. To feel himself becoming soft, weakened by his emotions, only made him angrier. It was how he had always been. His feelings always poured through the flames of his fury, his rage consumed all those horrible thoughts away. Now it was as if everything had been extinguished and he no longer felt like himself. The Reaver takes an extra breath, pushing his thoughts aside when he too bursts in. He was about to ask what had happened, not there to hear the brief exchange between the Captain and the Officer, when he hears the last few words uttered by the dream demon. The ragdoll's fur relaxes from its bristled state. "I thought someone was gettin' fuckin' murdered or something," the Reaver mutters, about to leave when he noticed the savannah cat's state. "You, uh, don't look too fine.

[CAESAR CIPHER.]

YOU'RE ATTEMPTING TO BORE ME !

CAESAR CIPHER. MALE. THE TYPHOON. OFFICER.

Caesar wasn't afraid of sleep at all, he just didn't really feel the need to. After all, he was a dream demon and it was practically their job to create dreams and manipulate them. But unfortunately since he was possessing a mortal body, he had to sleep or else the body became sleep deprived and ended up passing out on him. Just as it did earlier before his nightmare. Since he woke so suddenly, he probably wouldn't be going back to sleep tonight unless the body passed out again, but at this point Caesar didn't know if he even wanted to try sleeping again. If his body passed out, he had no choice obviously but he was going to try his damn hardest to stay awake.

Bakugou's voice behind Pincher made Caesar's gaze snap towards the other firey male. I was being murdered. The Officer thought bitterly to himself. It was only a nightmare of course and nightmares don't reflect real life (usually), but still... Everything seemed so real to him. "Something startled me is all. Probably a fuckin' fish hitting the window. I dunno." Caesar responded in a gruff tone.

#psychosocial.

[Grey]

His eyes lock onto the savannah's in return, daring the male to fight him with no more but a displeased expression. Bakugou hadn't said anything wrong, it was likely others might have heard the yell, fearing that there may have been a killer on the loose. The Reaver had every right to be concerned. With The Pitt and their number of captures, picking pirates as if they were ripened berries, thinking that the shout was the result of a member being kidnapped was justifiable. He hadn't known the cry came from none other than Caesar, too groggy and tired himself. He's never even heard the other in so much panic and fear. "Paranoid." He let the words slip, tumbling the moment it appeared in his mind. Sanguine gaze stays fixated on the Officer before the ragdoll draws his attention away, not wishing to look at the shaken form of the usually grumpy male. It was concerning that the simple splatter of a fish could cause such a bloodcurdling cry, brows furrowing slightly but deciding not to push the other any further. He doubts he's needed here anyway. The Captain was capable enough and Caesar didn't need to be babied.

"I'm going to sleep then," the ragdoll mumbles, not caring to announce it loud enough. It was quiet enough to be heard if one wanted to pay specific attention to him, otherwise his words were lost with the wind. The male, calming himself, turns around and exits through the door. He doesn't understand the Officer. Heck, he hardly knew anything about him because he never took the time to understand his character. As far as he was concerned, he was trusted enough to be his superior, the closest thing to a leader considering they didn't have a quartermaster. His nose scrunches as the sound of his pawsteps echo through the ship, the male walking down the platform and rekindling with the sensation of sand beneath him. There were aspects of Caesar and Bakugou that were similar, but they were the aspects that would never get along with each other. Somehow, though, just somehow, they were able to live on the same island together. When he had first met the Officer, he genuinely thought him to be the worst of his problems. He was wrong about that, the two often sharing opinions. It bothered him but he let it happen. He would rather be accompanied by the likes of Caesar than one of the ferals.

[CAESAR CIPHER.]

YOU'RE ATTEMPTING TO BORE ME !

CAESAR CIPHER. MALE. THE TYPHOON. OFFICER.

To Caesar, a scream was nothing to worry over. Sure, if it had been somebody else instead, he likely would have decided to investigate as well. Though it was likely he wouldn't be too concerned over it and rather would have investigated merely to see what was going on. "I'm not paranoid." The Officer growled back. "It just started the hell out of me, is all." That was definitely one way of putting it, even if he was lying about the subject. Caesar watched as Bakugou turned around and walked off and he let out another huff.

"Leave me to sleep." Caesar spoke towards Pincher now in a grumbling voice, getting to his paws and shakily making his way towards his bed. He likely wasn't going back to sleep, but he also didn't want the Captain - or anyone, for that matter - hanging around and pestering him about what happened.

#psychosocial.