Beast Boy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thebeastwithout) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
recolle2018-08-18 08:14 pm
thebeastwithout) wrote in recolle2018-08-18 08:14 pm
Entry tags:
[open] 006: The Human Zoo
WHO: Beast Boy and You
WHERE: Dreamdive
WHEN: August 20th
WHAT: You know what
WARNINGS: Some mild body horror, violence, can definitely opt out of anything that you'd rather not see.
[He hasn't wanted to make a fuss over it. The timer on his hand... The timer that everyone else had... Of course it didn't feel quite right. It would probably end with the detonation of a bomb that leveled Recolle or something horrible like that. So he ignores the pulsating feeling... ignores the increasing tension and pressure...
Until it is too much to bear.
He collapses in the middle of a street and the world around him vanishes.]
[I: Admission]
[You are in a zoo.
A dark, dilapidated place, falling to pieces. The sky above you is blanketed with billowing, purplish-black clouds. The cages are rusting and all of the animals inside are restless, uneasy. There is not enough space to maintain these exhibits. There is no bedding, no food, no habitat. Just... an empty steel cage.
The animals are commonplace, at first. Raccoons and squirrels and chipmunks and finches. One animal to a cage, every one of them staring out warily at those who pass by. But as you progress, the animals become... more exotic. Cassowaries. Leopards. Caimans. And then... and then you turn a corner and you are face to face with a Tyrannosaurus Rex, barely constrained within a cage in which it can barely move, its razor sharp teeth mere inches from your own.
But it does not attack. It simply glowers... And you are free to move on. ...There is much to see here, if you care to linger. Every animal you could possibly imagine. Maybe some you can't.
...Is that a unicorn?]
[II: Feeding Time]
[The path through the zoo is circular. A wide subtle loop, so that it might not be obvious that you are going around in circles. But as you clear the outermost loop and you progress further into the heart of the zoo, the exhibits change.
Monkeys become apes. Apes become unidentifiable simians. And then...
Humans. Humans in masks. Masks and costumes, each of them standing stock still as if they are made out of wax. There is a boy in a domino mask wearing red and green with a cape billowing out behind him. A tall man, perhaps still a teenager, half his body made of mechanical parts. There are more like this, people who look... exactly like one would imagine superheroes to look. Superheroes... and supervillains. You can take a closer look if you'd like.
At the end of this path, one of the exhibits glances up as you approach. And without any provocation whatsoever...
The figure draws two swords, casually slices through the bars of his cage like butter, and begins to walk straight towards you.]
[III: Special Exhibit]
[You've escaped Slade. Or perhaps you managed to miss his exhibit altogether. You're through the second loop and you're closer to the heart.
And now, the cages become few and far between, but as you approach the first one, you can see that trapped inside... is Gar.]
H... Hello?
Hey... Who is that?
[But if you begin to speak with him, you might find that it's not quite the same Gar you know. For each person who comes by, they'll find someone a little different in each cage...]
[IV: The End]
[You've satisfied the various manifestations of Gar's anxieties and hidden desires and needs and longings. Perhaps they were a little too needy, but... they've let you on towards the end. And it really is the end, at last.
At the very center of the zoo, sitting cross-legged on the ground, Gar is contemplating a thick, tangled knot.]
...Hey, dude.
It's me.
Like... really me. [...] You can tell 'cause I said 'dude'.
WHERE: Dreamdive
WHEN: August 20th
WHAT: You know what
WARNINGS: Some mild body horror, violence, can definitely opt out of anything that you'd rather not see.
[He hasn't wanted to make a fuss over it. The timer on his hand... The timer that everyone else had... Of course it didn't feel quite right. It would probably end with the detonation of a bomb that leveled Recolle or something horrible like that. So he ignores the pulsating feeling... ignores the increasing tension and pressure...
Until it is too much to bear.
He collapses in the middle of a street and the world around him vanishes.]
[I: Admission]
[You are in a zoo.
A dark, dilapidated place, falling to pieces. The sky above you is blanketed with billowing, purplish-black clouds. The cages are rusting and all of the animals inside are restless, uneasy. There is not enough space to maintain these exhibits. There is no bedding, no food, no habitat. Just... an empty steel cage.
The animals are commonplace, at first. Raccoons and squirrels and chipmunks and finches. One animal to a cage, every one of them staring out warily at those who pass by. But as you progress, the animals become... more exotic. Cassowaries. Leopards. Caimans. And then... and then you turn a corner and you are face to face with a Tyrannosaurus Rex, barely constrained within a cage in which it can barely move, its razor sharp teeth mere inches from your own.
But it does not attack. It simply glowers... And you are free to move on. ...There is much to see here, if you care to linger. Every animal you could possibly imagine. Maybe some you can't.
...Is that a unicorn?]
[II: Feeding Time]
[The path through the zoo is circular. A wide subtle loop, so that it might not be obvious that you are going around in circles. But as you clear the outermost loop and you progress further into the heart of the zoo, the exhibits change.
Monkeys become apes. Apes become unidentifiable simians. And then...
Humans. Humans in masks. Masks and costumes, each of them standing stock still as if they are made out of wax. There is a boy in a domino mask wearing red and green with a cape billowing out behind him. A tall man, perhaps still a teenager, half his body made of mechanical parts. There are more like this, people who look... exactly like one would imagine superheroes to look. Superheroes... and supervillains. You can take a closer look if you'd like.
At the end of this path, one of the exhibits glances up as you approach. And without any provocation whatsoever...
The figure draws two swords, casually slices through the bars of his cage like butter, and begins to walk straight towards you.]
[III: Special Exhibit]
[You've escaped Slade. Or perhaps you managed to miss his exhibit altogether. You're through the second loop and you're closer to the heart.
And now, the cages become few and far between, but as you approach the first one, you can see that trapped inside... is Gar.]
H... Hello?
Hey... Who is that?
[But if you begin to speak with him, you might find that it's not quite the same Gar you know. For each person who comes by, they'll find someone a little different in each cage...]
[IV: The End]
[You've satisfied the various manifestations of Gar's anxieties and hidden desires and needs and longings. Perhaps they were a little too needy, but... they've let you on towards the end. And it really is the end, at last.
At the very center of the zoo, sitting cross-legged on the ground, Gar is contemplating a thick, tangled knot.]
...Hey, dude.
It's me.
Like... really me. [...] You can tell 'cause I said 'dude'.
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[He looks slightly baffled as he backs away.]
I just... It's all kind of... cloudy. I just... it feels like I've been here forever. You gotta help!
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[She's going to try and force the bars open with super strength.]
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[Gar stumbles back a few feet, seemingly taken by surprise. But Kara is easily able to bend the bars apart and in no time at all, there's a sizable hole. Quickly, he forces his way through.]
Yeah! Finally. I thought I'd be stuck in there forever.
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...My head?
What's wrong with my head?
[It doesn't seem like he understands how exactly this situation had come to be...]
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...Sure.
[He gives a dismissive shrug as he begins to turn away from the cage.]
Anyway, the important thing is that we gotta get outta here. Which way did ya come from?
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[Gar turns a rapid about face.]
Man, I can't wait to -- nngh!
[Without much warning, he suddenly stumbles forward and clutches at his head.]
((Heya! How OK are you with body horror/fighting? Just want to make sure I don't give you anything you'd rather not play.))
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Hold up! Gar? [She reaches out a hand.] Oh, man... what'd they do to you?
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[He continues to groan as he kneels on the ground.]
I dunno what's -- aaaaugh -- stay... stay back...!
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It takes too long for the change to complete, but when it is over, there is a massive, green... chimeric thing in front of Kara. It is not entirely clear where one animal ends and the other begins.
It growls to itself for several moments before turning unsteadily towards Kara.]
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[She steps back and thinks. Wait. It's a dream, like Mr. Tsushima's. Why would the actual Gar be inside when everyone in the last one was just the person's impressions? So this is...]
Gar, hold on. Come on, it's okay. You're still my friend, all right? It's okay... Oh, this is so not gonna work.
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just a manifestation of Gar's mind... Certainly, nothing good. Perhaps, one of his fears or the demons that haunt him.
The creature growls, its eyes maddened, before it lunges forward towards Kara, seemingly deaf to her pleas.]
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[She runs to the side and stands between him and the wrecked cage.]
Hey, wake up already!
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The monster lunges again, snapping forward with vicious teeth.]
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Look, I don't want to hurt you, but if I gotta do it to save you...
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The monster is shrieking and growling beneath her hands... its form, too, doesn't seem entirely stable. It's just... mutating.]
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[Uh, okay, just gonna let go and leap back, flying up into the air.]
Look, this isn't you, and I know you know that! Even if you...
["And then Earth would be safe."]
...don't wanna be a superhero.
[Now, she thinks she can guess why.]
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...I don't know what I want.
[There is a voice, now. It is not coming from the monster - or from anywhere at all. It seems to be speaking straight to Kara's mind.]
I just know I'm a monster.
...Look at that thing.
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Look, I... I get it. Being scared because people are already gonna pick on you, and on top of that, you suddenly have these weird powers and it's tough to control them. But you're already learning how to manage, even if it's tough without anyone to teach you. You're gonna do fine. Trust me.
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You can't say that.
That's what people just say... because that's what they need to believe. But no one knows.
It's not going to be fine. It's already... not fine.
[The monster shrieks hideously.]
...Destroy it.
You have to destroy it.
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[In a panic, she meets the monster's lunge with a powerful punch.]
Gar, listen, I know it feels like no one knows how you feel. And sure, I'm not a bunch of animals, and I'm sorry! But my sister and I are aliens, and that's terrifying. I have to barely touch anything, from my perspective, or else I break it. It's like if the entire world were made of paper mache. I do know!
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There's now an obvious crack running down its body.
As if it were made of... glass or something.
Up in the sky above Kara/Lina, there is a sudden flash and a very similar crack runs through the ominous purple-black clouds. She might not have the time to look through, but... If she does, she'll see something that perhaps she won't find familiar.
It is a moving image - like a video - ...there is a red-headed boy and Lina herself, and it is displaying a memory of winter time. One of the first days together - that day when they had stuck to one another.
It had never happened here - this world's Gar never would have been bold enough to invite Kara to his house.]
You don't know! That's what I'm saying. None of us know if any of this is ever going to be OK! It doesn't matter how many times you say it...
I'm scared of what's happening, and I don't know how to not be.
I'm not brave. I never have been.
[The cracked monster comes back. Its head is now that of an alligators and its jaw cracks open wide as it snarls.]
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