Lucidstuck:swap!AU fanadventure (1)

> You might wanna make sure you get at least a refresher or more info on this world and its rules

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Show ChatlogAlice: I'd like a refresher on how to get around here.
DT: Where do you want me to start?
Alice: The very beginning.
DT: Well...
DT: This is the dreamscape! Or known to many as the imagination plane. You are in the Land of Mirages and Murder.
Alice. LoMaM, for short?
DT: Exactly!
DT: This is the world of lost souls. The glittering starlight attracts monsters into this realm and then the suckers get lost and stranded, which isn't great for Dreamers.
Alice: Like me?
DT: You're more than a Dreamer, you're a Guardian. Dreamers are normal people that occasionally drop in here while sleeping and if they're lucky also get to get out before a monster gets to them.
Alice: ...Derrick's been able to see shit for years, even when awake.
DT: That happens sometime, some people are more sensitive.
DT: Sucks to be him though. >w>
Alice: What about Guardians?
DT: Guardians are dreamers who are capable of very useful skills, like conjuring a familiar! that's step one if you don't want to find yourself forcefully evicted from your body.
DT: You just need to find some object or other that you really feel for and voila! You get your own creature or entity of some kind, that's friendly and is derived from some aspect of yourself.
DT: Nothing like a big buddy capable of slicing your enemies to ribbons when things get tough.
Alice: Why are monsters my enemies?
DT: They aren't, really.
Alice: But you said-
DT: (God, I feel like this will take a long ass time.)
DT: Simply put, there are "ghosts" running around in the dreamscape.
DT: They don't look like the conventional bed sheet ones though, they be monsters!
DT: They are souls of the living that have met an untimely demise. They appear here as they once were.
DT: But over a long period of time... They lose themselves, and become warped into the feeling that was most predominant in their life.
DT: And when they turn, they get stronger over time, and often wreak havoc around here.
DT: And sometimes, they can get so strong, they appear as ghosts to the living!
DT: Basically, they want out of this place, and Guardians or Dreamers are a one-way ticket. It’s not like it’s personal.
DT: So, if you get killed, you better get back to your body quickly, or you may find that someone else beat you to it and there's nowhere for you to get back to.
Alice: ...
DT: If you kill a monster they drop souls, and sometimes other goodies.
DT: You can give them to Raziel or me, and it'll make us stronger.
DT: The stronger we get, the faster we learn new skills, same as you.
Alice: I thought I couldn't 'take' souls.
DT: What do you think you're doing, when we do? ewe

> Alice: Ask the right questions and determine the cat's motives, rules and skills. Nothing you haven't done before.

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Show ChatlogAlice: Tell me more of what you can do.
DT: Well, from the start I can see into what makes a monster tick, and give you detailed information about things such as their names and stats.
DT: Think of it as... a perception.
DT: Lucky you, eh?
Alice: Yes... I'm very grateful to have such a magical kitty cat at my disposal.
Alice: Or a tricky one, I should say.
DT: I’ll take that as a compliment. ^w^
DT: I come with a variety of uses.
DT: Now, if you give me a weapon to hold.
DT: I can triple it! OwO
DT: You give me a sword. I make it 3.
DT: Which -ahem- by the way, counts as 3 strikes.
DT: Give me a club, I make it 3 times more powerful.
DT: Give me a gun, you can shoot burst shots of 3.
DT: Give me a bow or sling shot, and you get triple fire power.
DT: Get it?
Alice: That's extremely convenient.
DT: Just for you though! It wouldn’t work for anyone else.
DT: Also, I may appear this way, but I'm actually a shapeshifter.
DT: I can make copies of myself, but they're no good to interact with anything.
Alice: Like ventriloquism?
DT: Except all the dummies look just like me, and they can't really touch anything.
Alice: What else?
DT: Not much else for now. But if you give me more souls, I will learn new skills that will benefit you.

> Alice: Ask DT about what you remember about making a mark, since your brother was scolding you or at least stressed that you didn’t leave one or something.

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Show ChatlogAlice: What about the protection mark?
DT: The Mark of the Beast?
DT: So you finally decided where you want to put it?
Alice: Sorta, but I'd like a reminder of what it does and how does it work first.
DT: That's another thing your Conjuration can do for you.
DT: Once they figure out the right place, they will etch a likeness of themselves and then that places becomes camouflaged from monsters.
Alice: like my Wardrobe?
DT: No, that's completely different.
DT: Your wardrobe is exclusive to you and those in your party, a monster would not be able to enter, because to them the place would not exist.
Alice: So it'd be redundant to use the mark on it.
DT: That's right!
DT: You could, but what's the point?
DT: A mark just disguises a small area, so it' not like you can just hide a whole room.
DT: Just keep in mind the mark doesn't really make an area inaccessible, just invisible.

>Alice: Ask DT separately about why you should trust them, what their relationship with you is and how is it different than a familiar, what they get out of the relationship, what they want you to do in a long-term scale, and what they think you should do on a more immediate scale. Even if their answers are lies, the lies themselves could give you hints on what they're really after.

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Show ChatlogAlice: I've been reading on familiars.
DT: Yes? °w°
Alice: They're supposed to be demons enslaved to a witch.
DT: Hahahaha! You people will make up the most twisted things! ewe
DT: Words don't really mean anything here. Think of it as labels. Some things are bound to get lost in translation.
DT: Raziel didn't exist before you made him. He's 100% a product of what makes you 'you'.
Alice: ...
DT: Maybe not the usual 'you', but a core part that may not always be in sight.
Alice: So, deep down ...I'm a giant plush.
DT: How unlike you, to be distracted by cosmetics.
DT: But if you were worried about demons, Raziel isn't one.
DT: And besides...
DT: You're a Princess, not a Witch >w>
Alice: So, he helps me because he's me?
DT: He can't exist without you, so... In a manner of speech.
Alice: And what about you?
DT: Me?
DT: I'm the Realm's Attendant.
Alice: And what does being a realm attendant mean?
DT: It means that I... 'attend the realm.'
Alice: What does that entail, exactly?
DT: Oh, you know.
DT: Making sure everything's in its rightful place, working as it should, thriving as it's meant to.
DT: We usually flourish in the intelligence department, to help young guardians on their experience in this level of existence.
Alice: .....
DT: Basically, I'm like your sidekick.
DT: If you need to know something, just ask!
DT: But my level of understanding will match your level of thinking.
DT: It's a modest barrier to keep my kind from flooding you with confusing and detailed information that may not be relevant quite yet.
Alice: I see.
Alice: …Then why are you helping me?
DT: Why do you think?
Alice: Because it benefits you somehow.
DT: You're not wrong!
Alice: How?
DT: Realms aren't always 'active'. They go dormant when there's no Guardian around.
DT: From the moment you came here the realm 'woke up'.
Alice: But I didn't conjure you, did I? You were just there when I woke up, how does that work?
DT: Just like that.
DT: You didn't conjure me, but you did make 'me', as I currently am.
Alice: Explain.
DT: There's no easy way to!
DT: You woke up and so did I!
DT: And I'm like this because...of you!
DT: I can't have been made of something you don't care about, but what determines what matters, I couldn't tell you.
Alice: ...I would've never chosen for you to look the way you do.
DT: Choices made in emotion don't stop being choices just because they're good or bad.
Alice: I suppose.
Alice: What's next then?
DT: Clearing the house, I hope! >w>;;
DT: You know how important it is to keep things tidy.
Alice: I mean long term.
DT: How about not dying?
DT: You’re my first Illusion player, so I’ve got high expectations of you!
DT: You seem like a fast learner.
Alice: DT...
Alice: How can I know you're telling the truth?
DT: I suppose there's no real way I can make you believe me... But I can't lie to you about what I am and what I do.
Alice: ...
Alice: What about everything else?
DT: Not any more than you can lie to yourself. ^w^

You suppose you'll have to content yourself with this.

== >



You pull out your cutter and DT paps it carefully. Its colours change to gold and black.



You know well how dangerous Rotary Cutters are, but now this feels more like a weapon than a tool. You put it back into your weapon slot.

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Show ChatlogAlice: DT, if you are like this because of me, does that mean you’re different for other people?
DT: I’m always ‘me’.
Alice: What about when there is no Guardians or Dreamers around?
DT: Still me. =w=
Alice: So you are always the same?
DT: I wouldn't know how to answer that.
Alice: What do you mean?
DT: Well.
DT: Are *you* always the same, even when no one is around?
Alice: ...

You feel ready to venture out, what shall you do next?

1) Find the souls, decide who gets what.
2) Find Raziel, you did promise your brother to put the mark.