Animoria - Introduction

[Sachi]

How many times is it that you’ve awoken now? That ebb and flow of dreams keeps coming and going, yet you just can’t ever keep your hands on the forbidden fruit of consciousness long enough to try and figure out how long this rest has been.

Ah, but this time, things are different. Pain pushes from behind your eyes in an annoying migraine—the kind you feel after sleeping too long. You instinctively raise a hand to your face, simultaneously massaging your pained area and shielding your poor eyes from the light above. The light had once seemed so warm and kind, but now was beginning to grate on you. You wonder how you ever got to sleep with such brightness shoved in your face.

You squint your eyes as they to the light. Once they’re open, you sit up groggily. Rubbing an unnatural amassment of sleep dust out of your eyes (Sandman worked overtime, apparently), you feel that any hope of returning to your cushy dreamworld has pretty much abandoned you.

A preliminary glance around the area sends to mind flashbacks of your brief awakenings. You look up at the delicate carvings on the ceiling—more likely paintings, on second look. Frankly, it’s not beautiful. It’s as if someone Googled dozens of types of historical art, then shoved them into a hodgepodge image alongside each other. Figures that wouldn’t look out of place in the Renaissance stand in abstract scenery, accompanied by what you’re sure are some sort of cave paintings.

With a bewildered expression, you turn your attention to the bookshelves surrounding you. You have some freedom of movement—probably about 5m in any direction—but honestly, it’s as if you were in a prison cell built solely out of bookcases. The floor below you is carpeted by a plush and fancy rug, and right in the centre of your little cage is the pillow you were sleeping on for God knows how long.

You slept that well on, practically, the floor? You’re a little impressed, but that feeling is quickly washed away by the realisation that there’s no real exit to this little area. The shelves themselves are thick and heavy, and no matter how much you may try to move, tackle, or otherwise destroy them, none of them budge an inch. Oh well.

You’ve got plenty of reading material, so at least you won’t have to worry about boredom…

---

This is the official beginning of Animoria. You can think of this thread as roughly equivalent to Daily Life in a regular game.

There may be mysteries and puzzles for you to solve.

But regardless, don't forget that the most important thing is to have fun!

[Nekomaru]

Jeez... This sucks! At least there are books to pass the time... I'll try reading one!

[Sachi]

Removing a book at random from the shelf, you see that there's little to no identifying features to tell you the contents. It lacks a title, a cover, a blurb, and doesn't even say anything on the side. It's simply a blank, red book - like a background object straight out of a movie that you weren't meant to see close up.

Inside the book is a different story. There's a lot - too much, even. An indecipherable script blankets the pages top to bottom, continuing for hundreds more down the line. If you want to read this, you'll have to have a very vivid imagination.

[Nekomaru]

"... Jeeez!!!"
I feel angry, and at a loss of what to do, so I toss the book at the hodge podge ceiling

[Sachi]

Frustrated, you toss the book as hard as you can into the sky. Unfortunately, your arm strength isn't quite enough to have it reach your target. After reaching the apex of its height - probably around halfway to the top - it falls right back down to the ground. But it's not like you can catch it or anything. With the little forward momentum it had, it wound up scooting forward a wee bit, over the bookshelves that surrounded you and into the unknown world outside... You hear it fall to the ground with a little thud.

You're one book down now. Hopefully the others are more entertaining.

---

A soft thud resounds through the area, audible to all. What could that have been?

[Nekomaru]

I take as many books as I can and I start building a wall to climb

[Hansbulla]

Exvy wakes and soon becomes extremely dissatisfied with the confining space. She grabs a book, flips through it, and then hurls it in an arc above the shelves.

"Captors! Do you hear me? Who do you think you are?"

[⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆]

It isn't noticeably hot in the room, but the man in the cheap-looking grey suit is already starting to sweat as he sits up and takes in his surroundings.

He starts to mumble to himself as he wanders around.

"No exits, huh...? How the hell did we get in here, then? Huh... Oh, all the business I'm losing while I'm trapped in here... ughhh..." He's only making himself sweat more.

He tries to check under the rug.

[Sachi]

It doesn't take long to build a functioning staircase out of the books. A little wobbly, sure, but it's easy for you to climb up juuuust high enough to get a little look over the tippy tops of the shelves!

Nearby, you see several similar-looking bookcases... bookcages? And, oh, look, that's the book you just threw on the floor! If that belongs to somebody, they're gonna be really miffed.

Sadly, your vision of the world beyond your little prison cell doesn't last very long. You're whacked in the head by something light - the closest comparison you can think of is a paper fan or something. It's enough to make you lose your balance, stumbling back to the ground and falling painfully onto your behind. Your staircase topples with you. 

Now you're covered in inelligible tomes from top to bottom. And none of them make any more sense than the last.

[Ktoasty]

The man in the cowboy hat begins fluffing his pillow.

[Sachi]

Nov 14, 2023 20:28:49 GMT -6 Hansbulla said:

Exvy wakes and soon becomes extremely dissatisfied with the confining space. She grabs a book, flips through it, and then hurls it in an arc above the shelves.

"Captors! Do you hear me? Who do you think you are?"

No response from anything on my end, but what-ho, this loud, obnoxious, holier-than-thou voice resounds through the library, echoing painfully in everyone's eardrums.

Nov 14, 2023 20:31:56 GMT -6 ⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆ said:

He tries to check under the rug.

There's no particular items to be found under the rug unless you're fond of dust bunnies. 

[Sachi]

Nov 14, 2023 20:39:07 GMT -6 Ktoasty said:

The man in the cowboy hat begins fluffing his pillow.

Successfully fluffed. Going back to sleep all by yourself, Pardner?

[Nekomaru]

With the bookcase empty, I once more attempt to knock it over

[⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆]

Nov 14, 2023 20:39:26 GMT -6 Sachi said:

There's no particular items to be found under the rug unless you're fond of dust bunnies. 

The blonde man lets out an obnoxiously loud sneeze and stumbles backward, crashing into one of the bookshelves and sending books tumbling to the ground.

Oh nooo it would be such a shame if I were to accidentally reveal some kind of hidden switch by knocking books off oh nooo

[Ktoasty]

Nov 14, 2023 20:28:49 GMT -6 Hansbulla said:

Exvy wakes and soon becomes extremely dissatisfied with the confining space. She grabs a book, flips through it, and then hurls it in an arc above the shelves.

"Captors! Do you hear me? Who do you think you are?"

“Well, I’m no captor, but I reckon I hear ya loud and clear ma’am. Find yerself in this storybook land too?”