thebeastwithout: (Unsure)
Beast Boy ([personal profile] thebeastwithout) wrote in [community profile] recolle2018-08-18 08:14 pm

[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'.
destiny_key: (Oh...)

II. im here to chew bubblegum and kick slade in the teeth

[personal profile] destiny_key 2018-08-19 05:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[This place definitely looks like a Halloween exhibit, but there are no decorations, and all the costumes and masks look more real than fake. Too scary to be fake. There's no sense of temperature here, but Sora still can't help but rub at his arms to try to warm the goosebumps springing up. This entire place sets him on edge, but there's no way to go but forward.

He's had enough experience with dreams to know what this place is, but that doesn't do much to ease his worries. If anything, it makes them worse, because what happens if you die in a dream?

Looking up and around at the exhibits, Sora slowly reaches the end of the path and the last cage in the line. The figure inside reminds him of those trick paintings where the eyes follow you. He's only barely thought this when it suddenly moves, prompting Sora to yelp in surprise and stumble backwards, away from the very dangerous looking man.
]
maidofmistakes: Sad and serious. (You really need to tell him that)

iii

[personal profile] maidofmistakes 2018-08-20 07:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[Lina runs in and stops when she hears Gar's voice.]

What's going on? Gar, is that you?
fiddlestick: (what the frick)

III

[personal profile] fiddlestick 2018-08-20 07:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[Yeah okay, this zoo is awful and Elliot wants out. He's been wandering around, trying to figure out how to get of this place and avoid the creepy mask guy. But he's pretty sure...he's very lost. Man. what he'd give for a map.

Its by chance he comes across a cage with Gar. He gasps when he notices it, running over to the bars]


Gar?!
maidofmistakes: Self-conscious. (Oh boy I hope we come out of this alive)

[personal profile] maidofmistakes 2018-08-20 11:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[Kara again. Lina shakes her head and runs up to the cage.]

Why is everyone -- Hold on, let me help. What do you last remember?
fiddlestick: (elliot093)

[personal profile] fiddlestick 2018-08-20 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Y-Yeah, I've noticed that...

[This place SUCKS. Elliot stands in front of the bars]

I'm not leaving without you though. There's gotta be a way to get you out of this cage.
maidofmistakes: Explaining. (then you are not really living yet.)

[personal profile] maidofmistakes 2018-08-20 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Don't worry. It's gotta be one of those mind things. Here goes!

[She's going to try and force the bars open with super strength.]
fiddlestick: (mild concern)

[personal profile] fiddlestick 2018-08-21 12:15 am (UTC)(link)
What?

No, don't say that. You shouldn't be in this cage either! I'll get you out, and then we can get out of here together.
maidofmistakes: Flying up carefully. (Please let me buy the coffee.)

[personal profile] maidofmistakes 2018-08-21 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
This place is kinda creepy, isn't it? I mean, no offence. It is your head and all.
maidofmistakes: Reading, unsure. (If you binge-watch Bill Nye Saves the)

[personal profile] maidofmistakes 2018-08-21 12:57 am (UTC)(link)
It's a Retrospec thing. We're randomly ending up in these places. I guess it put you in a cage, same as those other people and all the animals.
maidofmistakes: Unsure. (She just kept pointing at the cows)

[personal profile] maidofmistakes 2018-08-21 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
That way. It's kinda creepy, it's got these people standing still in cages like statues on display.
maidofmistakes: Trying to explain. (I shouldn't have to tell you to stop)

[personal profile] maidofmistakes 2018-08-21 02:39 am (UTC)(link)
(Go right ahead, it's fun!)

Hold up! Gar? [She reaches out a hand.] Oh, man... what'd they do to you?
maidofmistakes: Annoyed, lifting something. (Why are you in my phone)

[personal profile] maidofmistakes 2018-08-21 02:52 am (UTC)(link)
What? No way, I'm not leaving you behind in here!
maidofmistakes: Surprised with Bumblebee. (All I have are vague memories of)

[personal profile] maidofmistakes 2018-08-21 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, man...

[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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