( OPEN ) PAST AND FUTURE FLOOR 🌠

[fixtures]

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: Floor [REDACTED], the Timey Wimey floor
WHEN: Early April
WHAT: Floor that takes you to the past and future... literally!!
WARNINGS: None, will update if necessary!

TIMEY WIMEY FLOOR

While there have been floors that have caused changes to characters… there’s never been one quite like this. Upon visiting Floor [REDACTED], characters will find themselves amongst hundreds and hundreds of doors. But that’s not all — look hard enough, and you might find a door that looks extra familiar to you!

It could be the door to your house, the door to your room, the door to your favorite coffee shop, the gate to a garden you used to love. But what matters is that once you walk through it, you’ll be transported somewhere else entirely…

INTO THE PAST

Walking through a door with a partner will take you to an exact copy of a place from your home. It’s not the real thing, but it’s damn close. Won’t it be nice to have a look around and reminisce?

The one thing that's different about these spaces is that they're interlinked with other spaces; where one character's copied space ends, the other half of the pair's begins, allowing characters to visit both theirs and a companion's homes in one fell swoop.

There will be no other living creatures in each “copy,” other than those that walk through with you. The space can be as large or as small as you like — and it can even be outdoors! It’s a nonsensical pocket dimension, don’t worry about it.

Characters will also find that walking through these doors may cause them to appear younger than they really are, as if they traveled back through time. It’s up to each player how this manifests — how young characters become, if they retain their memories and/or personality or revert to how they were at that age, etc — and of course, some characters may not be affected at all.

Finally, you'll notice that the door locks behind you as you enter. Engraved on the door, there's a riddle to how you can leave:

a piece of the past, you'll bring to me,
you'll find that only that can be the key

Bring the door an item from each of your pasts, and the door will unlock once more. Sadly, no souvenirs, so the items will disappear once you walk through!

INTO THE FUTURE

But that’s not all! Because each door doesn’t consistently send you to a place from your past nor transform you to your younger self. Some of them do the exact opposite.

Stepping through may cause you to appear older than you really are, which, similarly, is up to each player.

But, where do these doors lead to, if not a place from the past?

The future — specifically, what the future will look like for you if your deepest wish is granted. Characters need not have a specific wish in mind for this to manifest — it could appear as if one of their more impulsive, fleeting, nonsensical wishes were granted, too (ex: wishing the whole world was made of ice cream). On the other hand, characters who have a wish in their heart to see someone again, or to accomplish a specific goal… will see just what the future could look like.

These spaces are more dreamlike, and less structured than the replicas. Think of it as being like watercolor — shifting and impermanent. Again, both characters' wishes will be blended into one space, which players are free to interpret as they like.

Another riddle will be on the door, for your escape:

speak each other's wishes aloud to me,
and only then will you be set free

Characters will need to investigate the dreamlike space and figure out what their partner's wish is in order to be freed! You'll each have to literally say each other's wish out loud to get out. Have fun!

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Comments

[vecna]

INTO THE PAST

001:

[The very dilapidated door with a stained glass rose can lead to more than one place. If you're lucky (though perhaps the term's used lightly, in this case), it opens up to reveal the hallway of a home. The interior of this house is distinguished by warm, wooden hues, amber lighting, and the natural sunlight let in through the glass.

There's a grandfather clock resting against one wall, ticking, ticking, ticking, ticking...

There's also a young man here, tall and dirty blond and lanky, no older than thirteen. Maybe you've walked in with Henry as an adult and now you're met with this sudden change, or perhaps this is how you find him. Either way, the door closes and locks behind you both.

He turns his head to look at you, brow furrowed. There's something less reeled-in about his expressions compared to when he's an adult, as though he hasn't quite mastered how to always look so pleasantly calm. In fact, the way he fidgets with his sleeve lends him a bit of anxious nervousness to his demeanor.

Henry clears his throat and says, a little awkwardly:]

Uh, hi. Who are you? No one's home yet, so...

[Right, apparently, he didn't get to keep his memories after delving into the past.]

002:

[This time, the door leads to a more different corridor. Wherever this is, it's far less homey, much more sterile. Cold, clinical. Cameras in each corner, dimmed lights sometimes buzzing overhead.

It's hard to tell, being indoors, but there's the distinct feeling that it's the end of the day. Schedules and exercises having run their courses. Most everyone's retired for the night -- but retired where? Who knows, really.

The corridor itself possesses many smaller rooms, and when you pass one, you hear someone banging a fist once, twice, on the steel door.

Henry's voice (still young-sounding), is muffled on the other side. You can hear him, but you can't see him for now.]

Hey... can you open this door for me?

INTO THE FUTURE

[Whatever your perfect future might be, in any myriad of dreamlike forms it might take, when it shares a space with Henry's own...

It's dark. It's cold. Your idyllic future is now invaded by endless pulsating vines, slowly festering across the floors, the walls, the ceiling, anything they can grab hold of and wrap around.

The air is mottled with motes of thick dust. Light sources flicker. Cracks strain to appear across flat surfaces, throwing out eerie, red light. All in all, it's not a great time, unless your future already looked like something out of an eldritch horror scenario, in which case, I just can't help you there.

Somewhere in the shadows, there's movement. Maybe someone should pin down Henry and ask him what the fuck.

Feel free to specify if you want human Henry or squishy lichy Vecna for this prompt. I will default to human, otherwise!]

future! (surprise me re: flavor of henry)

[animated]

[ Charlie doesn't really have a wish, nothing grand and world-shaking anyway, so Henry's has fully taken over the space, which currently looks like it was once a bustling city and has now fallen to the apocalypse. ]

What the fuck?

[ The movement draws his eye, and he shifts a hand to reach into an inside pocket of his jacket. It hovers there, not removing anything for the moment. ]

Hey buddy, some answers would be great about now.

hands u a wet Henry

[vecna]

[The movement’s come from an alleyway between two large buildings, entwined with vines that clot the way forward. Though Charlie’s attention seems to make them writhe more prominently, as though knowing they’re under scrutiny, he’s met with wet, pulsating noises for a few moments more.

Pleasant!

Until finally, they slowly coil back and part. The alley is thick with slow-floating dust motes, and visibility is poor. No one steps forward just yet, but a wretchedly low and rumbling voice emits from that darkness:]

What’s there to say? This is how it all should be.

puts him in the garbage

[animated]

[ Yeah, this whole thing is pleasant. A real Lovecraftian nightmare.

Charlie stays where he is for now, gaze wary. That voice is too deep and strange to place, so he’s still not sure who he’s talking with here. ]

It’s a little too post-apocalyptic for my taste. Not to mention squishy.

the way I nearly tagged this back as Brenner

[vecna]

[It sure is squishy. Wet, writhing noises herald the movement of those vines again, the ones nearest retreating, and the ones in shadow ushering forth a figure, latched onto its back, like a slow-moving wave pushing in something from the depths of the dark.

He eases into the light enough to be made out properly, a sight probably very difficult for Charlie to miss. You know what Vecna looks like by now, I don’t need to link you — a strikingly undead-looking humanoid creature, skin appearing like a cross between flayed and writhing with his own smaller vines pulsing up and down the back of his neck. The slick, cold wetness of his body. And that very large, very clawed left hand.

His eyes are still blue, if not a little clouded. Henry tilts his head slightly, assessing Charlie. In this form, there’s no point in playing at politeness, and the dream-like state of his surroundings doesn’t inspire him to, either. He nearly looks severe.]

This is a world made new. If you’re not strong enough to survive it, to adapt to it, then you’ll find your peace soon enough.

[Choked by vines. Eaten by monsters… that, alas, aren’t here right now.]

002. :)

[velluminous]

[ a dark, cold, sterile hallway. this is not a setting that Sprezzatura Vaux has whiled any time in. nor is it a setting that Sapione Vaux has whiled any time in, either, if you were wondering. and while utterly alien, there is the distinct and unmistakable feeling of unbelonging.

that she should not be here.

even her own breath seems to fall into a hush, as she at last forces herself to creep ... forward, somewhere, anywhere that isn't staying rooted in this awful place. then a banging on one of the doors! bananacat.gif

springs against the opposite wall, clawed fingers splayed as if her first instinct was to tear the flesh from whatever it is, and—

that's a young voice. locked away? ]

...

[ she doesn't answer, at first ]

[vecna]

[No answer? Well, the young man on the other side of the door is clearly not so easily deterred. He doesn’t bang on the door again, but there’s a shuffle, and a slight whomph against the metal doorframe. One might guess that he’s leaning in, as though to make his muffled voice less so.]

Hello? Is someone there? I need you to open this door for me.

[The tone’s imploring, now.]

[velluminous]

[ a chill slides down her spine, gentle as a breath. a boy's voice, entreating her.

she stays precisely where she is. ]

Why is it closed?

[vecna]

[Why, indeed. The answer to that is simple enough.]

Because I'm trapped.

[And that's not a lie. This whole place is a prison, she just isn't aware of it.]

Please open the door. I'm not going to hurt you.

[velluminous]

You? Of course you aren't.

[ ........

fuck it.

creeps foreward; curiosity drives her, as always. and she places the tips of her fingers on coolness of the steel door. is there a window to see inside? is there a lock? ]

[vecna]

[Oh, you know. A very small slat that she might be able to see through, should she stand on her tippy toes. And there is a handle with a lock beneath it, which strangely requires a key from the outside.

She's free to give it a tug, though, if she wants.]

[velluminous]

[ there is no way she can see through if teenager Eleven couldn't see through.

locks on the outside.. locks on the outside. why? what kind of place?
(she knows what kind of place.)

she lights her hand upon the handle. hesitates. presses down so very slightly, testing. ]

[vecna]

[The handle doesn’t resist. It eases down without issue, and it’s simple enough to assume it isn’t locked.

From her side, at least. Weird how logic doesn’t seem to perfectly apply in this slice of the past — or maybe it’s very fitting, in a different way.

What’s she gonna do now?]

[velluminous]

[ pull it open. natch. ]

[vecna]

[It swings open with ease.

And practically spilling out--with a velocity that does, indeed, suggest that he was leaning against the door hoping against hope that it would open--is one young, teenaged Henry Creel. Older than who she would have met should she have found him in Creel House; think less Raphael Luce and more Louis McCartney for this one.

Which means his usual lankiness, that shock of light blonde hair. A demeanor that's partway towards the epitome of faux politeness that he reaches as an adult, but not precisely to the same degree, and probably not right now. Dressed in a grey sweats set, eyes sharp blue and seeking.

And fixing on her. A blue... horned... tailed individual. Familiarity strikes him, enough to banish surprise completely away, but something else takes its place. He isn't sure what it is -- an anchoring sort of feeling.

Anyway. IMMEDIATELY REACHES OUT AND GRABS HER WRIST]

You. Who are you?

[velluminous]

[ a monster, can't you tell?

absolutely freezes when he pours out of the little, locked room—her wrist in his hand, unmarked and unmarred. her brain is spinning in circles, but she's a smart cookie, she can get it, she can twig who he is. where she is. Sprezzatura doesn't want to, but she can. ]

I should not be here.

[ a voice unnaturally hushed ]

[vecna]

[Eyes sweeping over her again and again. He knows her, doesn't he? Some part of him must, but the rest of him can't place her -- doesn't know why someone who looks like a demon might ring as a comfort in his mind.]

If you shouldn't be here...

[His grip loosens, but he doesn't let go. Judging just how to reel in his personality, adjust it just-so to appear non-threatening.]

Then we can find the way out together.

[velluminous]

[ and even as he's determining who and how he should be for her, she's thinking herself: then I can get him out of here. if she's not meant to be here, then she's already broken several cardinal rules. what's a few more? what's stopping anyone who tries to get in their way? what's a little blood?

she's decided this even before he says it, and that moment of wavelength is a sickening thrill. a healthy jolt of fear. look at him. this must be him—still lanky, still young, but the same blue, blue eyes. the same voice. maybe not quite as gentle as she's accustomed to.

turns her hand to grasp his wrist. ]

Follow me.

[vecna]

[Oh. This isn't the sudden determination he expected from a (not?) stranger, suddenly so eager to help him when he's never been granted any help from... anyone. The surprise actually makes him stagger as she leads him along by the arm, but he keeps pace with long strides soon after.

Which way's she going? Double doors on one end of the hall, an elevator on the other end.

Either way-]

You never said who you are.

[velluminous]

[ oh you KNOW people fleeing HNL always gotta go for the elevator first. they gotta.

she's pulling fast, consciously softening her footsteps. feels that her heart is in her throat. at first, there comes no answer, because she does not know what to say. ]

...Sapione.

[ low, nearly subvocal. what is she doing? ]

We have not met.

[vecna]

[she's adhering to canon, i'm so proud]

...Sapione?

[He echoes, as they make their way to the large elevator at the end of the hall. Something about that seems right, yet wrong. She's definitely a name that starts with an "S", but his mind questions the rest. For some reason.]

Are you sure? I feel like I know you.

[This should be secondary to escape. To freedom. So why does he want to know so badly?]

[velluminous]

[ her entire body, tense, as though touched by lightning. she can hear the building's every thrum, every breath, and she knows something will wake to stop her. that's how this goes—of course it is. but she'll be better. ]

I am sure. Now, hurry.

[ click click click click—her heels on the sterile floor. the grip she has on him is tight, verging on painful. ]

001

[cuteshit]

[It was the rose on the door that had initially caught Kanji's attention, run down as it was— it still managed to stand out from the others, grabbing his attention just long enough that he gave in to curiosity and pushed through. He looks back over his shoulder as it swings shut and locks behind him, but he doesn't have time to dwell on it— his own brow is furrowed as he looks to the other young man here, one who looks about as anxious as Kanji himself often feels.]

Name's Kanji. I just— came through the door. Sorry, guess I should have knocked.

[He doesn't know where he'd expected it to lead, but definitely not someone's home, especially with how run-down it had look.]

You expectin' someone...?

[vecna]

[The older teen apologizes as the door locks behind him, but Kanji looks so rough-and-tumble to Henry's young perspective that he can't help but look a little more anxious. Vaguely more alarmed.

He searches for words a little desperately. Trying to hang onto being polite for the sake of entertaining an unknown guest(?) in his house.]

Mom and dad should be home soon. I don't know where Alice went.

[A beat, not... sure... what to do.]

Do you live around here... Kanji?

past - 002

[mehrakulous]

[Okay, Kaveh hates this place immediately.

It's sort of...vague, and he doesn't really understand why his- his walk home? His walk - why it feels like this. How he ended up somewhere that just feels like lurking horrible things are waiting to get him. (This not being the Sumeru Akademiya doesn't seem to faze him, though.)

Kaveh stops cold when he hears someone talking. It's quiet, but it's nearby. The hallway's lined with doors, and he moves as quietly as he can (fortunately, Akademiya uniform shoes aren't at all loud) from door to door until he reaches one with a voice behind it.

There's a bang, then, and Kaveh jumps - and yelps, despite himself.]

Ah-! Uh. [His eyes are very wide, watching the door for any signs of anything, and he's already holding his breath - at least until youthful curiosity wins out over terror.] Is...someone. In there?