[??? Day 465]

[quitplayinggames]

[you wake up.

the first sensation you feel is your key, warm and alive against your chest. you know immediately that this place is responsive to this power, the power of your will applied to magic. if you've started to experiment with what your special ability is, or if you want to, that realization might be easier to find here as well - though it's not strictly necessary. all you need for sure is a question: what are your desires. . .?

. . . you're in a blank white room. the walls and ceiling are featureless. the floor is covered in a million feathers and scraps of cloth, which drift up in muffling gales around you if you so much as move.

up in one corner high off the ground, you glimpse a splash of bright electric blue through the drifting airy debris. the only other thing of note in the room is the door on one wall: it's white and featureless as a piece of paper, and you get the sense that it will vanish into the wall again if closed. undifferentiated noise pours through the place where it's cracked open, unbearably loud. even with the feathers in the air shutting out the noise a little, it's hard to hear yourself think.

there's something hard and clanging underfoot too, hidden by the feathers. you trip over it immediately because of course you do; ow! what is that?]

((This is a short, individual, play-at-your-own pace plot explore, which will run until 11:59 PM EST on Tuesday, June 2. Anyone jumping in before then is welcome! This is not directly connected with heartgames, so people are free to jump in regardless of whether they've played or run another heart this round.))

Comments

[quitplayinggames]

[your key glows as you move it, brightening as you put more and more of your energy into what you're focused on. the door slowly shuts, moving smoothly.

you can no longer tell where the outlines were by sight, but you can hear the roar of noise from the hall still; at least it's mercifully quieter. the process of applying your will to the space around you with your keys is more familiar, now; it's not the same effort of mere imagination as it was in the cloud realm, but this is still a power you can access.

you can't open the door again, though you can feel the seams of where it was under your fingers.]

[sunsight]

[exhales once the door is closed, taking in the (relative) silence and using this moment to actually properly focus.

she walks back to where the phone is and picks up the receiver just to verify there is no dial tone]

[quitplayinggames]

[there isn't, but while you're standing there with it contemplating the results of your actions, you hear a tinny sound, somehow cutting completely through the noise each time: it layers itself on top of all the other voices rather than removing them, so now it's really loud in your head.

it's also earsplittingly close, because it's coming from the telephone in your hand.

the sound is impossible to ignore, hideously compelling - who's even calling?]

[sunsight]

[whaaat??? actually stares at the receiver before speaking]

What—who? Hello?

[quitplayinggames]

[picking up the phone does nothing right now - the cut cord is sparking a bit, with no indication of where - or if - the other side is in the mass of feathers. THIS IS A TERRIBLE SYSTEM.

R I N G]

[sunsight]

[BUT WE WERE DOING SO WELL WITH LESS NOISE.

sets the phone on the ground again and picks up the paint tubes, but doesn't do anything with them. rather, she's going to walk towards the splash of electric blue to examine that (assuming it's still there)]

[quitplayinggames]

[the phone ringing does not want to be ignored. it gets louder with every step you take away from it, blinding.]

[sunsight]

[OKAY NEVERMIND RETREATING BACK TO THE GENERAL PHONE AREA.

she takes a deep breath and stares down at the phone, wrapping her free hand around her key and focusing. "I want to take this call, I want to speak with whoever is on the other side..."]

[quitplayinggames]

[the cord sparks further; your key can't make something out of nothing, but the energy reacts to your urgency, blowing the feathers aside. there-- the cut cord disappears into the floor over that way, hanging loose. there's a couple of feet of slack.]

[sunsight]

[this is probably something children shouldn't try at home, NOT WITH SPARKING CORDS, but Hinata is going to reach for it—her mind still focused on reaching whoever is on the other side.

she is also going to take a minute to examine the end]

[quitplayinggames]

[the ends are cleanly cut. normally, it shouldn't be fixable, but with your key glowing with your effort to pick up...

if she had her Hyuuga eyes back, the useable energy flows might even be visible, but this is still something that can be sensed. will she try putting them back together?]

[sunsight]

[alas she does not yet. :(

but what she can sense is enough that she will try anyway. carefully tying the ends together to see if that helps]

[quitplayinggames]

[this is a weird way to fix a phone, but your key keeps glowing on your chest. . . and eventually, your Red Green bullshit succeeds.

the phone comes off the receiver as you finish. there's a moment of silence. . . then a click. they've hung up.

you feel a powerful emotion, hard to identify. . . mixed hope and dread. . .? it hits you so hard that you physically double over.]

[sunsight]

[this is... somewhat success? not pleasant success though, ughhh]

[quitplayinggames]

[ah. . . the noise is dimming around you, as if it was drowned out by that shock of emotion; perhaps this is all for today. You hear Dream's voice, a little uncertain, as the noise finishes fading out.]

"Well, that's one way to do it. . ."

[. . . you wake up. don't forget how your key worked here; you can keep using that.

don't forget any of this.]