Who: Everyone! Open to All. World inhabitants can be npc'd as needed.
What: World Exploration : Suggestion Info here
When: all through November and beyond
Where: Locations in comments, or add your own.

There are whole new worlds out there. Some people know this already, some are learning it for the first time. Tonight, it's a world of mystery where nothing seems to work entirely by normal logic and everything familiar from waking life can become different. Flowers have a temper and may not like being picked, animals wear dapper clothes, and all of them talk. Some of them are helpful.

Whether flitting around the edges of this world at the Rabbit Hole or the Entryway, caught up in the Mad Hatter's tea party, taken to the Castle of the Queen of Hearts, the Croquet Ground, or somewhere entirely different, it's Wonderland. Be careful: The signs shouldn't always be obeyed.

(Notes: This is a log to keep together threads exploring Wonderland. Relevant threads can also be made as separate posts throughout the rest of the month or beyond. Mostly, this is an experiment to see how a mass log will work for world exploring. As usual with OPN, it is entirely optional and creative liberty is fine and encouraged while working within the setting. Feel free to use the location notes as prompts, but also feel free to do something else entirely. More world suggestions always accepted here.)

Mercury is in a vast, open room made of marble with elegantly carved pillars and supports, that all could have come from a temple in ancient Greece. But instead of an altar, pride of place is given to a massive supercomputer. The terminal and viewscreens take up the entire far wall, where she gives them her full attention.

Her eyes barely move as she studies the computer intently, scrolling through lines of code and occasionally taking down notes. There! She sees exactly how to fix that problem now, one that's been nagging at her for what seems like weeks. But after long enough, her head starts to droop over the console and the words on the screen blur into her thoughts, and then into darkness as she falls asleep.

Ami wakes with a start. Nighttime shadows remind her of how long she's been sitting in this chair, with a can of tea leaves and a hot cup of strongly brewed tea to keep her company while she works through the long hours. The marble hall becomes a comfortable room, modern and spacious, with heavily-laden bookshelves and tropical fish. The massive supercomputer is none other than her laptop. With a pang of irritation, she realizes she can't remember the answer that was so clear a moment ago in her dream. She sits up straight, and goes back to her task right away.

Her eyes barely move as she studies the computer intently, scrolling through lines of code and occasionally taking down notes...

(ooc: since it's a dream in a dream, people can feel free to choose which to catch her at/flit through both)

There's a smell of ash in the air, though there is no crackling of fires or snap of flames. Nothing seems damaged, there is only the reminder carried on the wind. A hush pervades everything, quietly forbidding, mysterious.

At the top of a long set of marble stairs, there is a castle with sculpted columns and domed roofs, a symbol of wealth and luxury - and permanence. It sits against the backdrop of a darkened night sky, where even the stars seem dim and sparse.

Amid all this, at the top of the steps, a girl wearing a sailor uniform trimmed with lace and satin and pearls sits and stares into space as though oblivious to the muted atmosphere or anyone approaching; her face is utterly still. A tiara crowns her blond hair, worn in the signature style of the Silver Millenium royal dynasty.

The princess plays a small lap harp, the only notable sound. Her tune is gentle, but lonely and yearning, a constant ache for a past long gone. A close look reveals that the harp bears the sigil of Mercury.

(ooc: answers coming from nihil_serenitas for icons)

The beach was pristine when the young pirate stepped out on the shore, giving a slight hop to avoid the surf. He grabbed the rope attached to it and pulled it up on the sand to avoid it being swept out to sea. Yes, the beach was pristine, but would not remain for long, though. He was here looking for the stash of the infamous pirate, Old Gunner Longshanks, the most notorious pirate ever to live during the Adventure Era. The island was a fairly typical one of the greater Mideel islands. Full of monsters and dangerous plants, yet beautiful at the same time with the rich jungle and warm weather. The sky, however, was a completely different story.

A dark, blood colored orb hung in the clear blue, staining the blue and marring an otherwise beautiful day. Time was short, and he was determined to make his dream come true before that!

So that was all the more reason to hurry and find the treasure. Captain Reno would be the first to find it after so many years, and the prestige would be his. They would sing his praises in the taverns and cheer whenever he showed up, for he would be generous and order a round of drinks on him! That was definitely the life, and it would all be made possible if only he could find out where the marlboro shaped rock was. Searching all of these little islands was getting tiresome. His loyal crew was on board his ship in the little cove they had anchored in, ready to come ashore at his signal, but this was one thing he wanted to do alone.

So, with map at the ready, a compass and a telescope, Captain Reno set out to find that treasure.

The world of this dream is different from those Tseng has previously been found in, though it's eerily similar to the frozen library. Pillars and archways of ice form meandering pathways across the vast frozen landscape, everything crafted of ice and snow aside from the clusters of lillies that grow impossibly from the at times transparent ground. Ribbons of light twist beneath the ground and in the air, forming rivers and flowing endlessly back and forth.

All paths, however, eventually will lead to what could be seen as some sort of receiving area or strange bedroom. Frozen constructs shed cool light in the area, illuminating carved seats draped in heavy fabrics to keep the chill off of skin. Whites, blues and pale greens dominate with the occasional glint of gold bringing the only visual warmth to the scene.

Despite the frigid scene there's a pervading deep sense of safety and home that seems to come from a rather scantily clad blue skinned woman who's mass of dark blue hair falls in braids and twists bedecked with gold and ribbons. Seated on one of the larger 'chairs', she seems more than content to let the dark haired man rest with his head in her lap as she gently runs her fingers through his hair in soothing affection a soft hum of a long lost song floating in the air.

The tialk on Tseng's forehead is blue, instead of it's usual black and he's dressed in a draping blue and silver cloth that leaves his arms and one shoulder completely bare. What can be seen of his skin is littered with scars, alluding to those that aren't visible. Despite being obviously more relaxed than anyone has likely ever seen him, he doesn't look younger. If anything the loss of the tension revealed how very tired he'd been, how thirty years of being a Turk wore at him.

Despite the somewhat obvious implications of the dream, there's no sense of sadness. Tseng has long been at peace with his own demise, and in some ways it's a bit of a relief to finally have it done with.

When approached, she gives whomever it is a look that speaks volumes. Violence of any sort will not be tolerated in her domain, and while she's incredibly tolerant and understands there may be a good deal of anger she will stop anyone from harming her charge. He is hers to protect, at least until he's good and ready to defend himself again.

She touches Tseng's shoulder, head bowing as she speaks to him briefly and shifting as he sits up to greet whomever it is with a tired though open smile.

[OOC: Holy tl:dr batman!

So, basically Tseng's dead now, timeline wise for the ff7 people who're in line with him this dream happens the night after the wails of thousands of dying souls is heard coming from the abandoned Midgar sometime just before Dirge begins after Deepground's attack on Junon where said thousands of people were taken from.

And yes, the woman is Shiva!]

On his way home from a foreign land, a young man with a retinue of three meets an old witch. The witch asks the young man to climb down into a hollow tree. Inside, she says, he'll find three rooms: one filled with copper, one with silver, and one with gold. Each room will be guarded by a dog. In the first room, the dog will have eyes the size of teacups. In the second, it will have eyes the size of mill wheels. The third dog will have eyes each the size of the Round Tower.

She gives him an apron and instructs him to pick up each dog and lay it on the apron and then help himself to as many coins as he wishes. In exchange, she merely wants a tinderbox, which her sister left last time she was down there.

The young man agrees, leaves his retinue to keep company with the witch and climbs down into the tree.

Inside he finds the three rooms with the three dogs with enormous eyes, exactly as the witch said, and he fills his pockets with coins. He leaves the tree and asks the witch what she wants with the tinderbox. She says it's none of his business. He says, "Tell me, or I'll have your head chopped off."

She says, "No." And he orders one of his retinue to chop her head off.

He takes the best room at the best inn in the nearest city -- a city which is home to a beautiful princess who lives in a copper palace and is never allowed to see anyone but the king because it has been foretold that she will marry a foreign man -- and he spends every coin he has on food and entertainment.

One night, he uses the witch's tinderbox to light a candle, and the dog with eyes as big as teacups appears and says, "What is my master's command?" He promptly asks for more money, and the dog fetches him a sack of coins. After some experimentation, he learns that if he strikes the tinderbox once, the dog with copper coins comes. If he strikes twice, the dog with silver comes. And if he strikes three times, the dog with gold coins comes.

One night, the young man decides he wants to see the princess who no one ever sees, so he summons the dog with eyes as big as teacups and commands him to bring him the princess. In seconds, he returns with the princess on his back, asleep.



ooc: This is the tale the above is from, feel free to be the princess or one of the trio traveling with the young man (Rufus).

[ Harry's locked in a room where there are no definite doors and the walls are solid white aside from the very obvious writing all over the walls. He's holding a strange looking quill and blood is pouring from his hand as he's clearly written 'I must not tell lies' all over the room- walls, ceiling, and floor are covered in blood-red lettering. ]

[ He drops the quill and looks around again, in a far corner there's a tombstone and a freshly dug grave. Harry moves over to it to see who's grave it is, a sinking feeling in his stomach tells him he knows exactly who's it is. ]

Here lies Cedric Diggory. Died in a tragic accident

[ Harry stares numbly at the Tombstone as Anger starts to build, his fingers twitching to grab his wand. ]

'Has it sunk in yet?'

[ A sickening voice like poisoned honey sounds from all around the room. And before he's even aware of what he's doing Harry has his wand-]

Reducto!

[ The tombstone blasts into pieces. ]




(( No theme this time. Just depressing stuff that's on Harry's mind >: ))

The twists and turns of the forest are long, secretive, and closed. But in this one small clearing, there is a house made entirely of sweets. Gingerbread forms the walls, adorned with enormous pieces of candy. The pillars and lampposts outside are peppermint, while the bushes grow marshmallows and slices of pie and cake. Even the paving stones of the pathway are rock candy. A river of pure dark chocolate flows lazily alongside the house, hot enough to be molten.

It's clearly a haven for children. In fact, a girl with pink hair and wearing a soft dress sits comfortably amid the wafer candy grass and nibbles at a handful. She looks up and smiles at the newcomer. Something about the smile is a bit too cold for her greeting, but with so much candy nearby, there's plenty to distract from the expression.

"Come over and try some," she invites. "You can eat enough to have a full stomach." This is a rare and precious thing, in a poor kingdom like this one. "Don't worry, I live here with my sister."

(ooc: story can be looked up here. Lethe is working for the witch to lure travelers in return for herself and Mnemosyne not being eaten.)

The labyrinth is endless.

Twists and turns fill its hallways. The walls are made of metal and bent in strange places, as if someone had taken a hammer to them, in an effort to shape them into something different.

There are engine bits and pieces everywhere. Little piles make homes in corners while the bigger parts lean precariously against whatever is near. The ceiling is low, and the lighting is dim. There's a faint smell of oil in the air, not unpleasant but it gets stronger as one travels toward the middle of this strange place.

There Cid Highwind will be found, hunkered over the world's messiest worktable. Bits of scrap metal are scattered across the scratched wood, no discernible organization or order to be found.

He rummages through everything, throwing things to the side without looking up. He pauses a second to take the cigarette that had been dangling from his mouth, jamming it into the already overflowing ashtray before continuing on his mission.

Not that he knows what he's looking for, just that he's looking for something. Once he finds it, he'll know. Until then, he's digging through the pile of scrap in front of him, wondering if he should get an assistant.

Not Shera though. Damned woman insists he needs breaks, but who can think about taking a break when he has all this shit to do?