[??? 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]

[!!! that works, though the paint tends to be drippy till he focuses his will on it like he did the door.

while you're 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 coming, improbably, from the cord-cut hotel telephone in the pile of feathers.

the sound is impossible to ignore, hideously compelling - who's even calling? it would be very, very hard not to react to the ringing.]

[breachedwhale]

[ when the sound starts, it startles him, but he's not being one to be rude, so he won't actively ignore the call. confused, though, he picks it up with his clean hand, looking back at what he did with the paint ]

...Hello?

[quitplayinggames]

[picking up the phone does nothing right now - the cord isn't connected, so you can't get the message! THIS IS A TERRIBLE SYSTEM.

R I N G

is the cord in that mess of feathers somewhere?!]

[breachedwhale]

[ w h a t. what even.

this weirds him out, but he's going to start attempting to look for that cord... and yes, he's pretty determined about this.

big bucks, no whammies. ]

[quitplayinggames]

[your key 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 there.

what do you attempt to do with it?]

[breachedwhale]

[ looks at his key and, well... well, he did sort of tap his power a bit so he's going to take the phone over and try to heal the cut cord. though, he doesn't know if that'll work here ]

[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.]

[breachedwhale]

[ falls down with a sharp gasp, almost taking another mouth full of feathers, thanks.

this is a very confusing feeling, such conflicting emotions ]

[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.]