songerein | [open] under the sea darling it's better down where it's wetter

Entry tags:

[open] under the sea darling it's better down where it's wetter

Who: Anyone!
Which: Interactive Dream
Where: Sora's dream of Disney's Atlantica
What: It's May and Sora is dreaming of an under the sea oasis. Turn into mer-creature and explore the Kingdom of Atlantica!
Warnings: Finny Fun

Dreaming of underwater oceans and deep dark depths of the sea could be anyone's dream. But the dream that opens here is one that is uniquely vibrant and full of magnificent colours and glowing corals. Playful schools of fish and seahorses that swirl around while singing songs. Crabs and lobsters clack away to a beat of a song and whales fill the waters with long sweet notes. Dolphins kick and play and push for others to join in. Jellyfish gloop about and nest in hair and whisper secrets. And devoted sharks prowl and patrol around a large standing castle in the distance.

You might find yourself in this dream surrounded by a school of baby guppies that poke and prod at your new form. Half of your body seems to have changed to help you with your new underwater situation. Perhaps you have a powerful dolphin's tail or several long octopus-like tentacles in lieu of where your legs were. Or perhaps you've gained gills and water-cutting fins on your forearms or flippers for feet. Maybe your hair has been littered with starfish and your eyes glow with the ability to see through the darkness in the water. No matter what happens to your body here it seems you're now referred to as Merfolk.

A. Forest of Seaweed. Upon arrival you may find yourself lost in a forest of long strips of green and blue seaweed. The green is almost dizzying as you try to navigate through the wispy plants with your new body. The seaweed seems to easily attach to you or wrap around a limb if you're not careful. Perhaps you need to find a weapon or sharp piece of broken coral to get yourself through it? Or can you adapt quickly to your new fins and are able to dodge your way through the forest?

B. Singing Seahorses. Once free of the slippery pieces of seaweed the ocean opens to a deep and beautiful chasm of glowing rocks, crystals and plants. Schools of fish swim by and all of them seem to be heading towards that beautifully lit castle in the distance. But before you can proceed several dragon seahorses swarm up to you and demand to know your name. They kiss at your cheeks and forehead as if trying to coax information out of you. Asking you all sorts of personal questions like what is your favourite food or asking you to sing them a song or tell them what the real use of a Dinglehopper is. They won't leave you alone until you indulge them!

C. Emotional Seashells. Along the seabed there are several glowing seashells that can catch your eye. If they are picked up they tend to glow a certain colour to reflect your mood or personality. They will look very nice in your water-swept hair! But be careful because if a broken or chipped seashell is picked up and worn it might induce the wrong or opposite emotion into you.

D. Sharky Noctaere. A dream isn't complete without the presence of noctaere. Make a wrong turn and you might find yourself face to face with a noctaere in the shape of a very strange looking shark. These huge beefy sharkmen are not happy to see you and look like they might make a snack out of you if they can get their hands on you. Swim or fight!

E. Atlantica Castle. Upon swimming into the castle grounds you will be greeted by a plethora of merfolk happy to bring you into the castle. They will make sure you are fed with all sorts of underwater treats like fresh scallops, crab bits or kelp cookies. They will shower you with bits of gold jewellery and pearl bracelets as welcoming gifts. There seems to be an entire festival of some sort going on to welcome in all the dreamers. There is a big hustle and bustle about a music performance coming up and they are missing some key players to sing, dance or play instruments. And they want you to do it. A pretty mermaid might try to pull you to her as a dancer or a merman may hand you a set of handheld drums or a coral horn.

"Swim this way, we'll dance and we'll play now it's very easy, come on in! Just take a chance and shake a fin!"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

They are pretty different, aren't they...

[Tifa's eyes scan the room again, landing on the little band that's started to play on their coral and seashell instruments.]

I only know how to play the piano, and I haven't seen a single one around here.

[Although she does have to ask—]

Sorry, I don't think I've ever seen a recorder before... What are they?

No? Um, it's sort of.....hm. Like a simpler flute? Do you know flutes? Recorders are sort of like that, another smaller wind instrument, you hold it right in front of you though, not like a flute to the side.

[Pianos though. They were bigger, she isn't sure if there would be such an equivalent here. She watches, observing the band, the instruments and trying to compare to ones she knows.]

Hmm. I haven't seen anything like that around here either, but I'm sure if we took a look around, we could.

[Not that Sakura has to play, of course, but the option is always there if she wants to. Although Tifa has the feeling she might be more content to watch and listen rather than participate. So, she looks around for anything else that might keep the two of them busy for the time being, because Tifa is in the same boat.]

You know, I haven't had the chance to take a good look around this place yet. And I'm looking for a friend. I could use the company... Someone to make sure I don't accidentally lose control of my tail and drift off with the current.

Hm? Looking for a friend? Who? Maybe I can try help. Another set of eyes.

[She can try at least. If Tifa tells her who, describes who she is looking for. It isn't like Sakura is much more of a natural with this either, moving underwater swimming so differently to usual. So they probably should stick together. She's okay with that. Wants to help if she can at least.]

[Honestly, Tifa could easily pick him out in a crowd if she wanted to, but the twist here is that she isn't all that keen on going just yet. She promised him that they would leave once she did find him, so she'll take her sweet time.]

Well, he's got an electric tail and a set of big black ears on his head. [She brings her hands up to motion a pair of dog ears.] But it's so crowded in here that I haven't seen him.

[It's entirely likely that he left the festivities to find a quiet place to wait for her, so this feels like the perfect excuse to take a look through the rest of the castle.]

Big black ears? Hmmm.

[Sakura glances around, trying to find such a description, before blinking and narrowing one of her eyes slightly as she glances back to Tifa.]

Wait, electric?

[With the water? Wasn't that supposed to be dangerous? Though she supposes it perhaps is not in fact electric all the time? It isn't like she is that familiar with such things, for all that she loved aquariums back home. They didn't necessarily have these sorts of creatures there. Merfolk and such.]

Electric, yeah.

[She knows how it sounds and she quickly corrects—]

It's not actually that bad! Just make sure you stay away from the tail if you wanna avoid getting zapped.

[Tifa had been zapped a few times before he was able to take better control of it, and while it only tickled and stung a little, it hadn't been a fun experience.

Not that she thinks they'll actually find him for a while. He's probably busy being a wallflower elsewhere, and she doesn't want to be a wallflower!

So, she takes Sakura by the arm.]

You think a castle like this would have a giant library, I wonder?

Oh, okay.....ah, you think they might be at the library?

[Sakura figures, assumes that is what Tifa means? In asking about the library. That maybe that is where her friend might be. Checking the information available about such a place. Though Sakura can't help but to wonder on the idea of a library under water. How that would work? Would still figure that to be books or some other method? She isn't sure if books would last that well, that long underwater.]

[That's exactly the kind of thing Tifa's wondering, too. Do they have special books? Magical?

Her grin breaks a little wider at the realization—]

Actually, you know what... he might be.

[He'd rather find someplace quiet without all of these people, and most of all, no mermaids around to shove instruments into his hands, so the library seems like a fitting place to go for someone like that.

Tifa's tail flicks to propel her forward, but she's still a bit forgetful about how much strength the dolphin tail truly has, and she drags Sakura along with her. Or rather, yanks her along until she spins them both to a stop.]

Ah, sorry—! Still getting used to this...

Can't hurt to check then.

[She hasn't yet met Cloud but she knows some people are more reserved, not quite the types for parties. Generally, Sakura wouldn't mind and is sociable enough. But she is aware others are not as keen on such an atmosphere, so many people. She is willing enough to follow, to let Tifa guide her, though she does give a slight cry of surprise at the strength Tifa has.]

H-hoeeeee? I'm....I'll be okay......

You'd think they'd give first timers something a little simpler.

[She breathes out a sigh, checking over Sakura to make sure that she truly is okay. She didn't yank the poor girl's arm out, did she?]

Gonna have to talk with the person who dragged me in here.

[Tifa starts to swim again, her tail flicking gently—very gently—to move.]

... That reminds me. Have you found out whose dream this is?

Hm. I'm not sure. I can't say if I know who is having this dream. It's certainly different to mine I sometimes have.

[She isn't sure exactly on who it is. On how she might be able to help. In getting everyone safe and back out of the dream? How this works exactly. She's still decently new with this and all. So she is still figuring this out. Sakura stays still, compliant as she tries to reassure Tifa she thinks she is okay as the other checks her over, her arm.]

I think someone mentioned this sort of thing might happen, but I wasn't sure how it works...I don't know what I would do if it were me.

[As they swim out of the ballroom and into the long corridor decorated in gold, she purses her lips together pensively, her eyes glinting with a hint of thoughtfulness to them.]

Well then, I guess we'd see a little piece of your world instead.

[Although she can't say she knows any mermaids around here so...]

If it were you... what kinds of places would you want people to see?

I guess compared with this, Tomoeda would seem kind of boring and normal. It's just a small town near Tokyo in Japan.....

[But well. It is a question. Where in particular she would like to show her friends here? Sakura considers for a moment, following Tifa and blinking for a moment at the gold walls. Was it real gold? She has no idea how to tell. If so it was surely expensive. Important. She raises a hand as if to touch it, as if she could check just from that, before withdrawing.]

I guess. My house, the school and shrine? Oh, the playground! And the tower, are probably the places I know the best. And my friends, their places. But I'm not sure how it works. If we can choose? Where we show for our dreams like this? How much control we have....

I don't think it would be boring.

[For the record. A small town, the school, the shrine... those all sound like the kinds of places that Tifa would love to see. She's lived in a big city for so long that she misses that smaller town feel, and seeing the sights of a world she's never been? That sounds like the dream (no pun intended).]

I like to think we've got some control over what we do sometimes. If we really want to show someone something, then we can. Feels like this one wasn't an accident. Feels too solid, unlike the accidental dreams I've had before.

[Although in Tifa's defense, her memories of those days in the dreams were spotty.]

You think so? I guess I wouldn't know. I haven't had this happen yet. Here. Showing my dreams. But it might happen eventually. I just hope I can have some sort of control over it. I'm not sure which would be more...solid?

[But regardless she figures Tifa probably has more experience in comparison. Sakura gives a shrug, unsure how she would feel on her dreams being exposed like this for others to see. To experience. Some dreams, memories were more dangerous than others. With the cards. Eriol's methods to try and encourage her to finish with switching the last of the cards to using her own magic instead of Clow's, threatening everyone else to be asleep forever if Sakura couldn't pull it off.]

Which way to the library?

[It's with an encouraging smile that Tifa looks ahead again, flapping her tail with enthusiasm as they continue on their journey through the halls.]

Not sure. I figured if we just keep swimming, we'll find something.

[But as they pass a door, she pauses, and presses a finger to her lips before she's bringing Sakura over with her. Maybe this is it...?

Slowly, she turns the handle and opens the door a crack—just wide enough that she can peer inside. And while it's no library, it is an impressive room with high golden ceilings, with shelves of books lining them from top to bottom.]

This looks like... some kind of reading room...?

[There are giant clams that are set up like chairs and a desk in the middle of it all.]

Wanna check it out?

I guess we might find it if we keep looking around.

[She figures it can't hurt. There would probably be some around in making sure nobody goes somewhere they are not supposed to be. Sakura figures this must be alright. To explore a little, while they are here. She peers in with Tifa, head tilted as she takes in what she can see of the room. Her voice is quiet, barely a whisper as she notes how Tifa gestures for her to keep quiet.]

I guess. It might be worth a look? At least to see if your friend is in here?

[Tifa doesn't think she'll find Eustace in here, but she nods anyway before quietly opening the door a little more and flitting inside, freeing Sakura from her clutches so that the two of them can take a look around.]

Well, there's your answer. Looks like they can have books down here.

[And carefully, she tugs one off the shelf to flip open. This one is a picture book—from the looks of it, a fairy tale about humans.]

It's like we aren't even underwater at all...!

I just hope the water hadn't ruined the books? Unless they're made of something else other than paper down here?

[She asks, glancing down as Tifa gets one from the shelf and opens it. Sakura tilts her head, wondering on what to make of it. Fairytales, even down here. Not with merfolk? Were these perhaps from ships that had sunk or something? She isn't sure on what to make of this.]

[Judging by the way nothing in the room seems to match besides the undersea things like the corals, it's likely that a lot of this came from sunken ships or stolen from the humans. Things that maybe dropped into the sea as they were sailing through...]

I'm gonna chalk it up to magic.

[Maybe there are little bubbles around the books that they can't see?

With the book in hand, Tifa flits over to the "desk" in the center of the room and sits in the giant "chair" that is actually an open clam, and she wiggles comfortably in the spot.]

I feel so important sitting here. You think this is meant for the king?

You think so? I guess my experience, what I know of magic might be different to what is possible here.

[Not outright admitting that she herself has magic. That she is the most powerful back home. But that she at least knows of it. Most everyone does? Through stories or films or games or the like. Most don't know magic is real though. Sakura follows Tifa to the chair, hovering nearby when the other sits.]

I don't know. There's probably some sort of equivalent to an office or um. Throne? Room? If they have a ruler or something. I suppose.

There's gotta be, with a castle like this?

[This is definitely fit for a king. And Tifa, amused, sits up as straight as she can and puts on a commanding demeanor and voice. Or... as commanding as she can manage. It's still very timid in comparison to what she imagines a real king would be like if he owned a room like this.]

And thus, I decree that you shall be dubbed Knight. Ser Sakura!

...

What do you think? Not a bad impression, huh?

[Actually, it was probably terrible. Is that even what they say? She has no idea.]

I guess. It's probably for royalty or at least someone important? To have a place this huge.

[Still, she shifts as Tifa sits up, glancing from the books to her, giggling when she says about knighting her. Remembering her time as a prince in one of the school plays. It feels like another lifetime ago almost, so long ago. Years ago.]

I did play a prince in a school play once? I'm not sure if that counts. But probably something like that. We don't have kings or anything in Japan though. Um, monarchs. I think that's mostly over in Europe. Maybe they have those here though. I'm not sure. Maybe there's records with all these books somewhere? But, if your friend isn't in here, should we keep looking somewhere else?

[Tifa only smiles at her for a moment, that glint in her eye flickering briefly again. To be honest, she wasn't really looking for Eustace. It would be nice to find him, but it was just an excuse to get them out of that room and into the corridors of the castle. Not that she thinks she needs a reason, but if anyone were to ask them why they were in there—where they probably shouldn't be—then they'd be able to say they were simply looking for someone.

Tifa closes the book on the desk.]

Yeah, we can keep looking.

[She floats up from the coral "chair" and swims to the door, peeking out to make sure the coast is clear before she moves.]

Which way should we go now? Keep going the way we were headed?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject