The Tropical Vacation of Your Dreams

[applesaucemod]

The communal dreams of Manhattan have been downright pleasant lately, haven't they? Here's another sunny day for dreamers to enjoy in their sleep, though of course the tropical climate may prove just a little uncomfortable for northerners. The verdant jungle has its own sort of charm, though, teeming as it is with all sorts of exotic animals.

Make that very exotic animals.

Those who arrive close by any of the old buildings or fences will see that it's been a long time since the humans that made them disappeared. Everything here was once sleek, shiny, and state of the art. Now formerly electric fences stand bent and torn, automated SUVs sit rusting on their tracks or lie smashed to pieces where they were thrown by some enormous creature, and the jungle slowly works to reclaim a mildewy hotel and visitors' center.

Whether one finds oneself in the formless jungle that was once paddocks, in the aviary that would have housed a luxury resort, or even in the halls of what should by all rights be the most heavily fortified hotel in the world, one is always in danger here. The barriers that once separated human from dinosaur have long since fallen. Here dinosaurs have eked out a new ecosystem, the carnivores not particularly bothered about eating herbivores from entirely different epochs…or, for that matter, the funny little hairless apes that have appeared here on occasion. Here one is always in danger of running afoul of hungry tyrannosaurs, stampeding triceratops, or cunning deinonychus velociraptors (they're totally velociraptors, yup). Enjoy the eye-searing venom of that strangely undersized dilophosaurus, by the way, as well as the toxic bite of the swarms of compsognathus. Or maybe the dreamers will luck out, and the worst they'll encounter is an indifferent, bumbling brachiosaurus or an unassuming microceratops. Who here is ever that lucky, though?

Welcome to Jurassic Park.



[Mod note: Same drill as always. All players and characters are welcome, current members or no. Characters will remember or forget any and all dream events at players' discretion. Death in the dream does not result in real death.]

Comments

[wildmage_daine]

When Daine steps out into the meadow and sees the enormous bull triceratops, her vision blurs for a few moments. She fully expects the image before her to fade, revealing a prone, damaged skeleton lying in the ruins of the Emperor's palace… but then she blinks her tears away, and he's still there, basking in the sunlight. He's real.

Daine breaks into a run, then forces herself to slow down. She knows better than to approach a plant-eater at high speed, regardless of how large said plant-eater is… and for all her fondness for the creatures who helped her in Carthak, this isn't one of them.

Still, it doesn't take her long to befriend animals, and inside ten minutes, she's sprawled atop the triceratops's back, her head pillowed in the crook of her arm and her other hand tracing over the animal's pebbly skin.

[aly_brighteyes]

"Aunt," Aly says, her voice an absolute deadpan. "There's something very strange afoot."

She's made her way through by sneaking and waiting, not having the gifts that Daine possesses when it comes to animals. Luckily, her darking friends gave her a point in the right direction and she's not at all surprised that Daine's in a fine mood.

[mr_fring]

If you find yourself in the Safari Lodge, you should know you'll be in the company of one very pissed off former drug lord armed with a sawn-off shotgun. If he looks dirtier and much more torn up than usual, it's because he's just been in a fight with a horde of velociraptors -- and won.

Gus is not in a good mood. His nice shirt is in tatters and he's got blood staining his shoes. He is out of patience and has no time for fear. He's holed up in the lobby, and he's ready.

[rae_of_sun]

Oh gods oh gods what kind of carthaginian place is this?! Sunshine squirms through a gap in the fence surrounding the Safari Lodge and nearly stumbles into the grotty pit that used to be a pool. The building ahead doesn't exactly scream 'secure,' but it does scream 'too small to fit the thing you just saw,' and for the moment, that is more than enough. She bolts for the front doors, her little knife clutched in her hand.

[watchesthebeans]

Once again, the world has confirmed that Borrowers are 100% right to be afraid of everything. Aglet huddles behind the nightstand in a dingy hotel room, trembling as he calls on all his skill at silencing his breathing and pretending he's not there. It seems like hours before he hears the sounds of the monster he'd seen on the other side of the room moving away. He's pretty sure it didn't see him, since it didn't try to move the nightstand, but he waits a long time before he carefully and quietly shuffles over to where he can peek out.

[bagropa]

From his vantage point just behind the nightstand, Aglet may or may not hear a brief but loud clatter from the hallway outside the room, followed by the quiet twang of a quantum bow after the monster picks its way out of the room to hunt the noise, which is closely accompanied by what could perhaps be described as the whoomph and squeal of a velociraptor whose chest has been imploded by a techno arrow.

Croach steps over the tail of the creature to enter the room, another arrow nocked, but he senses no additional immediate danger. He can, however, sense pheromones indicative of fear, although their intensity (or lack thereof) makes it difficult to assess if the being excreting them has already left or was already found. Still, he knows that Sparks Nevada would not leave any being without aid.

"You are safe presently," he announces to the room, voice rising at the end. Then, "Please note that the pitch of my speech does not indicate uncertainty regarding your current safety, but rather of your presence."

[fucking_ebay]

Peter has just stepped in shit. He's not particularly concerned with what kind of shit (and how would he know, anyway?) so much as the strong smell it's imparted to his boot. Disgusted, he trudges up the steps to the Visitors' Center, pausing to scrap his foot on a step and get the bulk of it off. It doesn't look like anyone's been here in years, but hell if he's going to stand around in jungle heat if there's a chance he'll find shade and a respite from insects.

[insatiamy]

There is a very confused young lady here. The dreaming is shielding her from most of the realisation that this makes absolutely no sense, but she's still pretty confused about how she got here. It's... very noticeably different from the middle of the desert or the flashy big city, and she can't remember planning a holiday.

She's just hanging around the inside of the rather dilapidated building, when she sees a familiar figure. A moment later, she also smells him, and she can't suppress a bit of a smirk.

"Trying out a new perfume?" she asks to get his attention.

[heysoulsister]

Oh, fuck.

Jodie vaults over a wall of a tree root and presses herself into the crevice between it and its neighbor. The air is thick and humid, and it feels like she isn't getting any oxygen - but she keeps her breathing quiet and steady. If she starts gasping, it might hear her.

There's a low rumble from behind the tree, and the ground shakes as the tyrannosaurus steps forward, head swinging from side to side as it seeks out its prey. She can't outrun it, and she can't climb this tree fast enough to get out of its reach.

Aiden, do something! she thinks desperately.

Aiden swoops around the dinosaur, frustrated at his lack of options. He can protect Jodie if the creature attacks her, but only for so long, and there's nothing here for him to throw - nothing large and heavy enough to do real damage. He presses in on the beast… and realizes with a jolt of surprise that its mind is open. Possessing people hasn't been an option for some time, but dinosaurs, it seems, are fair game.

The T-rex rears its head back as if it's been pushed. When it lowers its head, the eyes are milky white. Aiden, for the moment, is in control.

Jodie cautiously climbs out of her hiding spot and stares up at the dinosaur. "Okay," she breathes, still thrumming with adrenaline. "Thanks." It's still eerie as hell, but at least she's not in immediate danger of being devoured anymore. "Just, uh… stay in there, okay?" The dinosaur remains still, which she takes as a 'yes.' Pushing her hair off her forehead, she starts to pick her way through the jungle, the possessed T-rex lumbering along behind her.

[johnny_truant]

He's dreaming. He's dreaming.

"Oh no no no no," he whispers, crawling along the ground. He can hear some kind of animal nearby, hell knows what kind, but he's not waiting around to find out. "Goddammit not again, not this shit again."

He curls up at the base of an enormous tree and takes a minute to breathe. Okay. He's gonna be okay. As long as Zagreus isn't anywhere near him, he can just ride this one out and wake up like normal, right?? Maybe if he just stays absolutely still and doesn't think about anything, Zagreus won't find him.

There's still some rustling going on around him. He stays as still as possible, holding his breath. Whatever it is, it'll be out of the brush and onto the path soon enough, and it'll see him, and then he will die, or he won't. He wonders what happens if he dies in a dream. Will he wake up or will he just die?

Then it shows itself, and his heart drops deep down into his stomach, and for a moment he can't breathe at all.

"Oh god no NO NO NO." Fuck stayng still. Fuck Zagreus. Zagreus is the least of his problems. He gets up, his feet scrambling in the dirt. It is unlikely that he can outrun whatever the hell kind of fucking DINOSAUR this is, but the entire rational part of his brain is totally gone. He runs. He runs like hell.

He's not in any amount of shape and the thing is pursuing him and he knows it'll catch him any second now--

--which ends up not mattering, because when he sees what's up ahead he skids right to a stop and falls down.

"Hhhhhhhhhh," he says shrilly, staring up at it, its immensity, its complete towering dominance over him. It's a t-rex. It's real.

His smaller pursuer has changed its mind, naturally, but that's only a tiny blessing, because the monster has already turned, already seen him.

[frank_doyle]

Well, this is perfectly jolly. Nice island getaway, lovely tropical weather, miles of jungle to explore... and just LOOK at the size of this kitchen!

"There's got to be a liquor cabinet around here somewhere," declares Frank. "Sadie dear, be a love and help me find it? It's been almost FIVE MINUTES since our last drink!"

[sadie_doyle]

Sadie steps into the kitchen, empty martini glass in hand, and wrinkles her nose. "There's scarcely a bottle to be seen," she laments indignantly. And at the moment, that's far more concerning than the overall state of the place, which is rather alarming. A resort ought to have a higher standard of cleanliness. After a moment, though, she brightens. "But just look at all these cabinets! Most of them are bound to have liquor in them." What else are cabinets for, after all?

She pries one open, then pouts when it reveals nothing but platters. "Boo," she declares before moving on to the next.

[stronglikebear]

Yuri finds himself on a road long overgrown with weeds and ferns, the asphalt cracked in so many places that no vehicle could traverse it even if any were present that could run at all. It's still easier than pushing his way through the jungle, but something about this whole situation makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It's still a few days too early for him to be feeling this edgy just from the upcoming moon, and he pauses again and again on the road to listen, trying to pick out any threatening noises from the constant chatter of jungle birds and bugs, or to glimpse whoever -- or whatever -- he's not entirely sure he can feel watching him.

[aly_brighteyes]

"Well, this is all rather new," Aly observes and interested despite herself. She's got her knife and wits sharp, but even she can't outrun every creature out there, so prudence is better than panic.

It's with that in mind that's got Aly up in an empty tree, watching the strange beasts pass by.

[stronglikebear]

Another strange beast is on its way. Yuri thinks he's following the remains of a dirt road. Maybe he is, in a way, but what he's really found is a game trail. He doesn't realize he's following in the wake of a gaggle of herbivores, nor that something worse might come up behind him. He picks his way past Aly's tree, failing to notice her. He's failing to notice a lot of his surroundings, actually.

[peeta_mellark]

Peeta is in the jungle again.

There's a familiar hint of salt in the humid air, and both the heat and the shadow of dense vegetation hang heavy about him. He can feel his pulse quickening, his breathing becoming shallow as panic tries to rise. Focusing his swimming mind, he tries to remember the last thing that happened, but his memories are a jumbled mess.

He was in the water, then he was in the trees. Then he was fighting - something? He shakes his head, and a thought clicks into place that erases all others.

Katniss.

He pivots in place, eyes searching the undergrowth, half expecting to find her lying there, bleeding and dying - or dead. He can't fully explain why he expects that, but they're in the Games and she isn't here with him and that's enough to add up to death.

He has no idea where he is, but he picks a path that looks clearest and starts running. He's going full-tilt, glancing back over his shoulder, when he plows into a fence. It isn't an invisible barrier, like in the arena, or electrified, like the District fences. In fact, the wires of the fence are far too widely spaced to have been built with the intention of containing people.

"Muttations," Peeta mutters, and a shudder rolls through him as he looks back over his shoulder again. He hesitates, wondering what side of the fence he is on - the "in" or the "out" - but a closer look through the wires reveals that there is a road not far away from the fence. He frowns at that; there aren't roads in the arena, are there?

Confused, but sure that the road side of the fence is the better side, he easily slips between the fence wires and walks toward the road. There's a track of some kind in the middle of it that reminds him a little of a single railroad rail. Following the track with his eyes, he starts when he spots a car not far away. Even as hurries toward it, he can see the rust that lays heavy across the body. It's sitting on the track, but that all it's doing; it clearly won't be moved. Not that Peeta would have any idea how to move it, but at least he could have tried.

He's staring forlornly at the useless vehicle when a sound unlike anything he's ever heard before rends the air. Head snapping up, he spots - are those birds? - taking flight from trees somewhere much closer to the horizon than he is. A faint tremble ripples through the ground and, without giving the instinct a second thought, Peeta turns in the opposite direction of the noise and, following the road, he bolts.

[interndana]

Dana had been walking through the house for a long time, perhaps, but without windows or doors there is no way to tell. The floor beneath her feet sounds different now, somehow, and for a moment her heart races at the thought of being outside, out in the world again. For the first time in however long it has been, Dana feels excitement.

No, not excitement. Concern. The floor is metal, her footsteps echo ominously, and the stillness of the air around her is not the soft lonely dust-caressed stillness of a house without occupants or perceivable purpose; it is a stagnant, underground stillness thick with rust and rot. Still, at this point in her displacement, Dana cannot help but look forward a little to a change in the scenery.

The hallway resolves itself into a maintenance building of some kind, though the pipes overhead are cracked and the walls of circuit breakers are being slowly consumed by vines. No one has been here for a long time, and judging by the sinewy remains of the human arm hanging from the ceiling, Dana is right to be concerned. Whatever happened in this place, it was very very bad.

"Oh my," Dana says to herself. "Oh my goodness."

She gingerly edges around the arm, giving it a sympathetic grimace as she picks her way down the hall. There is a glimmer of light, now, and fresher air. When Dana emerges, finally, Outside, her face falls as she realizes that she is not home. She is in a jungle. This is nothing like Night Vale at all.

There is a noise in the humid distance, the sound of something alive. Alive and large. She reconsiders her assessment. Maybe it's something like Night Vale, but most likely lacking in functional municipal organizations. She will try to prepare for anything, as a good intern should. Dana picks a direction away from the sound, and walks a little faster.

[wildmage_daine]

From high above the jungle canopy, there is a delighted whoop that sounds distinctly human. Daine, it so happens, has made another friend… and this one can fly. The pteranodon banks carefully so the teenager clinging to its back doesn't slide off. In slow, wheeling circles, it descends into a clearing. Then it lands, limbs thudding into the grass.

Daine tumbles off the dinosaur's back, flushed and grinning, her hair a complete mess of windblown curls. "Thank you, wing-sister," she says, running a hand over the creature's long bill. "That was fun! And your island is beautiful." She giggles as the pteranodon gives one of her curls a playful tug, then steps back to give the creature room to take off. It rises into the air with a loud cry, and Daine shades her eyes, watching it depart until it wheels out of sight.

Well! She turns about, listening for any other nearby dinosaurs, and blinks in surprise when she sees a two-legger at the edge of the clearing, instead. "Oh! Hullo."

[alwaysalright]

Oh goodie. Ten has the good luck of arriving right by an adorable group of Othnielias. At least he thinks they're adorable. Apparently they think he's adorable too, because he soon finds himself running away from them -- probably a bit more exited about it than he needs to be -- until he reaches a fence that he can throw himself through, where they don't seem to either be able or want to follow him through.

[bluesuit_handy]

Hey, Andrew remembers this scene! He can currently be found perched in an enormous tree, laughing like a schoolgirl as he pokes a leafy branch at the face of a brachiosaurus. It nearly pulls him off his feet (and out of the tree) when it accepts the offering, but he fortunately has the good sense to let go of the branch and steady himself. While the dinosaur chews, Andrew turns to locate another smallish branch he can break off for it.

[edgar_sawtelle]

Edgar meanders through the unfamiliar vegetation, Almondine at his heels, toward the sound of breathing. It's a very loud breathing, but he feels more curiosity than fear. Circling a tree trunk thicker than anything he's every seen before, he comes to an abrupt stop when he spots the source of the breathing.

That's a dinosaur. A living, breathing, eating dinosaur.

Edgar feels an elated smile spreading across his face, and he gives Almondine's head a rub. /A dinosaur!/ he signs to her.

At the sound of laughter, Edgar glances around, eventually spotting Andrew in a nearby tree. Stepping away from his own tree, Edgar waves his hands to get Andrew's attention. Almondine adds in a helpful bark.

[bluesuit_hoofy]

"What?!"

This is not Ponyville. This is not even Cloudsdale (and hasn't that been wild?). Andrew peers through the foliage, flinching when a frond drips water on his nose. Something about this place gives him a bad feeling -- call it equine intuition. Is that a thing? It's probably a thing. They're herd animals, after all, even if the ones with whom he's been associated have since built an oddly humanesque society for themselves.

Frowning, he turns and moves off as quietly as he can, favoring one of his front legs and searching for some sign of other people.

[frank_doyle]

"I say, Sadie, look there!" Frank says in hushed tones, and between pours. He deftly hands her a fresh helping of whiskey. "Unless mine eyes deceive me - and if so they're no doubt in some dastardly allegiance with my liver - that's some sort of little blue cartoon horse!"

Now that he's said it, this does sound exactly like the kind of thing his eyes and liver would conspiratorially concoct. "Do you see it too?" he whispers.

[modern_alpha]

"Bother, this won't do." Biffy does not refer here to the presence of rampaging dinosaurs. Unusual though they are, and perhaps dangerous, it is the lack of appropriate fashion that bothers him. Really. Waking up in an exotic and savage land without so much as a pith helmet; it's almost too absurd to bear.

Hopefully, his presence in the dreaming means a certain amount of forgiveness for his sins of the wardrobe.

Only in dreams does he get to enjoy the sunlight.

[johnny_truant]

"Uh... hey, guy." Johnny frowns, only a little startled to see what looks like another goddamn socialite wandering around. He gives Jodie a glance and a shrug - at least this time Aiden's not inhabiting something corporeal. Maybe the introduction will be smoother this time. As well as more sober. "You, uh, you okay?"