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'.
no subject
You know why.
I cannot let you interfere with my plans.
[Crash. Crash. Crash. His progress continues.]
no subject
Plans? What plans?! I was just walking in a zoo, what plans could you have with a zoo?!
[ He looked around and darted quickly behind a new cage, crouching down and catching his breath as he listened for the man coming closer. Even then, his eyes wandered, trying to find a new route of some sort. Maybe on top of the cages? He could climb and jump fairly well, after all. ]
no subject
[...And then things fall silent. No more crashing. No more sword slices. ...Not even footsteps.]
You don't understand what you're doing. In here... nothing can save him. I've made very sure of that.
no subject
[ Boy? What boy? Well, whatever boy it was, by the sounds of it, he was in trouble! Scary as this was, if there was someone in trouble, he should help... He steeled himself and spoke up again, a little more iron in his voice. ]
What boy? What do you plan to do to him?
no subject
[The voice speaks very pleasantly. ...It also speaks from right behind Yogi as Slade leans over from the top of the cage on which he stands.]
...Hello.
no subject
[ Yogi's head jerks up. He lets out a cry, but instead of scrambling away, he lashes out, fist balled. Not that he thinks he can really do anything, but it's more instinct than anything. ]
Leave us alone, you crazy!
no subject
Naughty.
[And he lifts a sword.]
Dude.
[There is suddenly a second voice ringing through the dreamscape.]
Do you like, even know how to fight?
no subject
Of course not! I go to school for fashion design!
[ He shoved away from his position, rolling and easily rounding himself up into a flip out of the way. Gymnastics was good for something at least! ]
Wait - ? Who said that?
[ He recognized that voice. He remembered it, from somewhere. ]
no subject
[The voice does not sound very enthusiastic.]
I mean, you probably can't, like, actually die or anything, but. You really shouldn't be in here.
[The man in the mask... also flips as he follows Yogi, beginning the chase once again.]
Weren't you fighting before?
no subject
In a dream! In a memory I had!
[ Clearly it doesn't carry over! Wait - before? ]
Are you Gar?
[ Eeep! He keeps running, going parkour on this business, which he hopes gives the man some pause. ]
Where are you? What is this guy? Can't you get him off my tail?
no subject
[There is a short pause.]
Yeah, probably.
[It sounds fairly cavalier about its identity.]
That's Slade. He's one of the strongest baddies that the Teen Titans went up against. He can fight with his fists just as well as with a sword. He goes after 'em over and over and over.
You really need to beat him somehow.
no subject
Okay, well, I might need some help with that!
[ He huffed as he spied a cage and ran do it, gripping the edges and shimmying his way up. Maybe a taller vantage point would help. He's heard being higher is an advantage. ]
Since he's not really listening to reason!
no subject
[The mercenary is forced to sheath his swords as he begins to climb up after Yogi, at least.]
...He likes talking about his evil schemes or whatever. You can probably distract him.
no subject
What, like a Bond villain?!
[ Okay, okay. He continues to run and leaps to the next cage. ]
Um - mister! What is it exactly you plan on doing? I mean, you look like you don't really need help or anything, so why do you need a kid?
no subject
I don't need him for anything.
[He continues to speak in his unsettlingly conversational voice.]
Nobody needs him for anything. But he has been a thorn in my side for quite some time... He and his little friends. And so I fear it is time to say goodbye.
no subject
Come on, there’s always a better way to solve your problems than violence!
[ He should try and find a weapon, just in case, but there wasn’t much and he couldn’t do much besides swing. Still better than nothing. ]
Maybe you should stop doing whatever bad thing you’re doing! Then the problem would go away!
no subject
[When he speaks again, he sound faintly displeased for the first time.]
That... is the most convincing thing you have to say?
[He is unimpressed. For failing to be even remotely convincing, Yogi gets one of the swords thrown at him.]
no subject
[ Yogi, at least, is good enough to dodge that. Flexibility for the win. His cheeks flush though and he glowers at the man. ]
Well what do you want me to say? I'm certainly not going to suggest you kill them! And besides, the only person in the wrong here is you!
no subject
[He seems unfazed by Yogi's easy sidestep of his attack, simply leaping up into the air instead, landing heavily behind Yogi to close the gap.]
If you are so keen to help him... shall we make a deal, then?
If you wish to be the White Knight... then you wouldn't mind holding on your morals, hm? Your life for his.
no subject
[ Yogi twisted, gasping as he did. He managed to keep his feet rather than stumbling back, his whole body tenses as he watched the man. He wanted to say the man wasn't serious, but... but... well, why wouldn't he be? He'd been chasing him with a sword this whole time, uncaring. And besides, if this... was a really a dream, then... Yogi's lips pressed into a thin line. ]
What assurance do I have you'll actually keep that promise?
[ After all, if he was dead, he couldn't help Gar. Couldn't help anyone. And he didn't want to leave him alone in here. Wherever here... was, or wherever Gar was. ]
no subject
[And Slade advances with a pleased expression gleaming in his eyes.]
Dude, what are you doing?! This isn't what I meant by 'distract'!
no subject
[ Well he didn't have any better ideas, Gar! He was pretty much out of options, because running was getting him nowhere, and he obviously wasn't going to best this guy in a fight. So he stood his ground as Slade advanced, hoping he hid his tremble. ]
Suppose I'll just have to have faith then - but not in you. No sense having faith in cowards and bullies.
no subject
[But like a switch, Gar's voice suddenly cuts out as if someone has snipped the wire connecting him to this situation. Slade advances.]
((Hey -- just want to double check OoC that you're really OK with dying in the dream!))
ooc
I figure it will be okay, since it's a dream, and that shouldn't effect him real world - right?? I see it as he'll "die" and then wake up sharply in bed (and also be worried about the nice green boy).
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
[ Yogi gulped, continuing to stand firm as the man advanced. He wondered why he could be so calm about this. Anyone should be running and yelling and trying to preserve their life, right? But, this was a dream, and - and.. and he didn't know what. For all he knew this was a bluff. His hands balled into fists as he stood his ground, glaring at Slade as the man advanced, refusing to show fear. ]
Whatever it is you're doing - you won't win.
[ That was a heroic, princely thing to say, right? Dream logic said something should dues ex machina it's way in now, right? ]
(no subject)
ooc