day zero

[guestcontrol]

dreamland day zero 42 players remaining. [You wake up in a temporary barracks set up behind an amusement park. The weather is chilly but pleasant, and there aren't any lines for the rides - in fact, it seems you have this place to yourself. The entire park appears to have been abandoned some years ago, and though everything is in working order, it is overgrown with plants and seems rusted and unsafe. As for you, something has happened, though you aren't sure what. There's a throbbing pain in your head, and you can't focus, as though you're coming off heavy pain medications. However you think you should look, you look like a human now. Under the bandages wrapped around your temple, old and smelling like blood, you'll find a recently stitched up scar wound and the inability to focus on your memories. You have no knowledge of how you came to be here; you may even have forgotten certain aspects of your life, or feel confused about them. The fact of your missing memories is obvious, a dark blank spot. Under the bandages around your wrist, you'll find a brightly colored bracelet, decorated with the face of the smiling cartoon animal on your wall, embedded into your flesh. It beeps a merry tune and welcomes you to DreamLand Fun Park. Just then, a voice comes over the loudspeaker.] "Good morning to all of our new guests! The park is now open! We'll get started later, but for now, have a magical day with your new friends! Oh, and there may be a few nasty side effects to your medical condition. If you meet someone having trouble adjusting to reality, please be polite!" [In your room, you'll find a small box containing several personal items - no weapons, magical items, or technology advanced beyond the early 21st century, and nothing dangerous, but otherwise anything you would ordinarily find on your person is there. Of course, nothing with cell reception or internet connectivity can manage to pick up a signal. If you swipe your bracelet against the steel door, it unlocks. You may now explore your accommodations, or venture out into the park.] profiles character statuses setting This is an IC mingle covering the first day! Night roles will go up Monday at 4 PM EST, but you are welcome to continue to thread here once that happens. Make sure to follow any updates on plurk!

Comments

Miko Toyosatomimi | Various

[shoutoku_administrator]

-A- (Kitten Barracks)

[ In the early morning, an odd character with a cape and elaborate-looking headphones (?) can be found sitting cross-legged on the front porch (such as it exists) of the barracks. Eyes closed, facing the rising sun, she is muttering something strange under her breath.

She does not seem to have any awareness of the world around her. ]

-B- (various rides)

[ After that's taken care of, it's time to explore! Never having been to an amusement park before, the whole experience is very alien, but the decor and atmosphere provide some clues to what the heck all this stuff is for. She's talking to herself softly as she looks over each ride in turn, each one stranger and more dangerous-looking than the last. ]

It's all for children... entertainment? Or at least, it was, at some point...

B

[glasshole]

Admiring the rides?

[Nearby, checking out the area, giving her a polite nod of the head.]

You have it right, most are meant for children, a few for older thrill seekers. I imagine when it was running, this was quite a large operation, but it seems to have been abandoned for some time.

[shoutoku_administrator]

[Nodding in response, slightly shallower.]

All quite unfamiliar to me, I'm afraid, but it says something about the world if such a large number of people were willing to work for the sake of bringing happiness to children.

Of course, it says another thing that it has fallen into such disrepair.

[glasshole]

That's a rather nice way to think of it!

[And another way would be that a large number of people were willing to work to make money off those children.]

There are plenty of places like this in the world, and most not in such a dilapidated state. I would imagine the failure of this particular park is only significant to us in that it's a large, abandoned area suitable for containment.

[shoutoku_administrator]

Perhaps. Still, there may be some significance to it.

I assume you don't know the reason for which you were brought here?

[glasshole]

So far, I haven't met anyone whose circumstances differ from the basic model. Waking up, no memory of being abducted, surgical scars, a small box of personal belongings...

Do I have everything right?

[shoutoku_administrator]

All the same.. then nobody you've met admits to being involved with what's happening?

[glasshole]

No, though that's hardly surprising. If someone here was involved, they'd hardly admit it with us outnumbering them. It seems their system is set up for fairly simple remote control.

[shoutoku_administrator]

Which leaves two likely possibilities: That the one behind this is watching from afar, or that they're here among us, acting as another victim.

[Like, for instance, you, mysterious glasses fellow.]

Which do you think is more likely?

B

[edealistical]

Children?

It seems more like contraptions for torture to me. See here - the straps they use to keep you from escape.

[She's pointing at the giant teacups.]

The faster you spin them, the more information they cough up. The bright colors probably cause more nausea, too.

[shoutoku_administrator]

If you wanted to torture someone, there are much simpler and more discreet ways to go about it. Children enjoy running wild.

[edealistical]

Do you really think someone would find this kind of thing to be enjoyable?

[It looks like the kind of place where dreams go to die.]

...Anyway. I'm sure there's going to be some kind of torture involved for us. We weren't kidnapped for the fun of it.

[shoutoku_administrator]

If we're here to be tortured, then why would we be allowed to walk freely about in such a large area?

[edealistical]

It's the psychology of it. The illusion of freedom will be all the more crushing once we realize it's exactly that. A prison with a large common area is still a prison.

Our best chance is to escape before they actually 'get started', but it's all so unfamiliar right now...

[shoutoku_administrator]

There appears to be a fence surrounding the area, but I haven't checked its full length for weaknesses.

[edealistical]

This beeps whenever I get close.

[She points to her bracelet.]

It's some sort of tracker, I'm sure. It would be useless to flee with them - no doubt that's why they've embedded it inside our flesh.

[ewch]

[shoutoku_administrator]

[Miko looks at her own. Ewch, indeed.]

Is it supposed to control us, somehow? And if so, why would they need a fence at all?

A

[murimurimuri]

[He peers out the front door and takes pause at the sight of someone there. Well, she seems distracted enough. Maybe he can sneak around.]

[shoutoku_administrator]

[If she's noticed you, she gives no indication of it. Dare you sneak past?]

[murimurimuri]

[I sure as hell try!]

[shoutoku_administrator]

[One eye opens as Simon passes by. Off come the headphones.]

I'm not alone, I see.

[murimurimuri]

[Busted.]

Ah! N-no...

[shoutoku_administrator]

It's just as well. I have quite a few questions at the moment.

[murimurimuri]

Okay...? I don't think I have any answers, though...

[shoutoku_administrator]

I take it, then, that you don't know why you're here?