[open] Crackplot post!

[wordoftheroses]

Once upon a time there was a sentient building that was very fond of snatching up people from whatever they were doing and forcing them to interact.

This was fun for the building for a while but it soon grew bored of just watching people and decided that it would have a little fun.

So now, along with snatching people up from their respective lives, it's decided to run a little experiment.

Hence the nice little spread you'll walk in on in the main room. One table laden with food, the other with drinks, but any option you stumble into will give you more than you bargained for.

There's a prettily laid out platter of fruit, for instance, but if you find yourself munching for it, odd things might start happening. Hearing things people didn't actually say, feeling things for no apparent reason. And if that's a regular occurrence? You just might find it happening a little more frequently, a little more constantly. Or maybe, you'll find other people looking at you as if they can hear what you were just thinking.

There's another platter with a nice little spread of cookies. Some are gigantic, more like a mini-cake than a cookie, and some are normal cookie size. If you much on the normal cookies, you might find yourself feeling odd. Not quite yourself. In fact, very not yourself. And if you go for a big one, you'll find the urge to share it even if you're not the type of person who generally does that. And that person you share it with? You may just find that you feel more like them than you do like you.

There's a bowl of nuts set out that look perfectly innocent, but those who steal a handful will find a few moments later something unfamiliar is happening to their body. An unexpected change in a couple of rather private areas.

Those who go for cake will also find themselves changing physically. Maybe the young are suddenly finding themselves a little more grown-up. Or maybe the grown-up suddenly rediscover their childhood. Or maybe you're somewhere in between, and then, well, who knows where you'll go?

And the last food choice of the day is an offering of pretzels. Those that go for the pretzels will find that, a few moments after taking a bite, something starts fading away. Maybe you can't taste the salt anymore, maybe you can't quite understand what people are saying. Things go dark. You can't speak. Something goes away.

The drinks table holds its own danger in a multitude of enticing liquids. You might be safer sticking with the water. Or, well, maybe not. Because after taking a sip, you'll find that things you don't mean to say just... slip out. That your reactions are a little more intense. Things that should be vaguely amusing you can't stop laughing at and things that are mildly irritating send you into a rage.

There's always tea, but sipping on that might just loosen your tongue even farther. In fact, you may find there's nothing you can think that you don't say.

The coffee is no safer. Sure, at first it seems a little less problematic, but then somebody might ask you a question. And whatever that question is, if you go to lie, you'll find it comes out as the truth anyway. And if you try to lie without being asked a question, it just won't come out the way you expect it to.

There's an array of different flavored juices sitting there to sample as well. But take a sip and you won't get the chance to finish it. Whatever the flavor, you'll find you're something you weren't before. If you're lucky, it's still humanoid. Not everyone will be lucky.

And as a final option, there's three delicious-looking flavors of milkshake set out. Those that go for strawberry might find themselves with butterflies in their stomach at the next person who talks to them. The chocolate fans will find their reaction something a little bit deeper, even if the next person they see is a stranger. And those who go for vanilla might find the exact reverse; the next person that looks at them just won't leave them alone.

Anyone looking for food besides this layout will find their search and/or request comes up with nothing. If you don't touch the offerings, you'll be fine. If you do? Well, good luck....


[OOC: ...Ahem. GIANT CRACKPLOT POST OF DOOM. A quick rundown in case anything's not clear: fruit=psychic abilities (either reading or projecting, and those with abilities are heightened); cookies=personality switch (giant ones are with the person they share with, small ones are just switch an aspect/entire personality as you wish); nuts=genderswap; cake=age (up or down is up to the mun, doesn't matter what age they are); pretzels=sensory loss (or muteness, that counts); water=heightens emotions and/or removes inhibitions; tea=speaks thoughts aloud; coffee=can only tell the truth; juice=species shift; milkshakes=fall in love/crush with the next person you see (strawberry is crush, chocolate is love, vanilla is the next person you see falls for you to a degree up to the muns). Go nuts. Post the same person doing several different cracks. Do several at once to someone. Multiple verses. Whatever. If you want to tag someone specific put their LJ name in the subject of your comment. Otherwise, go nuts

Note: it should be noted that this post was copied from a private musebox that allaroughdraft and I were in. I's copied practically verbatim, so all the credit for the crack goes to her, I just thought it would be fun to open it to mass response.)

Comments

[sophicsulphur.livejournal.com]

"...O-okay," she manages to stammer, after she's stopped flailing enough to actually take the words in. "That would be good. The not listening thing. 'Cause, I mean, of course I don't wanna kill you, it's not like that at all, you've done so much for me and it's like-- Yeah. Thanks."

She sits back down next to Aurora with a sigh, finding herself wondering what all the fuss was about. It'd be embarrassing if Aurora overheard her thoughts, sure, but would it really be so bad? After all, maybe they really do need to talk about this. It might be nice to get it out in the open. Yeah, she doesn't know what she was thinking.

She leans in towards the fae girl a little, resting her head on her shoulder. She's warm and osft and nice, and it's easy to get distracted by that, but then she remembers her predicament. "I have a friend who's psychic," she says at length, idly toying with a stand of Aurora's hair without really noticing she's doing it. "I know that she tries putting up a sort of shield in her mind to protect herself from the feelings. Maybe you could try that too, or something? --Your hair's a really pretty colour, by the way. I've always thought that."

[wordoftheroses.livejournal.com]

"I make no promises," she thinks to say after a moment. "But I'll try."

She wouldn't really see much of a reason why things need to be talked over right now. Perhaps if the tho9ughts lingered a little while after they stopped working so closely together, she would understand but right now everything could very easily be a passing crush.

Aurora looks down at Iris but doesn't say anything. An amused smile does cross her lisp for a moment though, at least for a moment. Then the thoughts swell up again and she's left wincing instead. ""A shield," she echoes. ""It's certainly worth a try, though I have little idea of what I'm doing." But anything would be better than this, so she shuts her eyes and tries to build up a wall against the incoming thoughts.

It doesn't exactly work but, after several minutes, not so many of the thoughts are flooding her mind at once. It lets her de-tense a little, at the very least.

It takes her a moment to remember that Iris had said anything besides the helpful advice. She considers for a moment. "Thank you," she says. "IPeople seem to be partial to it."

[sophicsulphur.livejournal.com]

"How is it?" she asks gently, referring to the shield. "If you need a little more power, I can try to help. I mean, I'm not much good at that kind of stuff on my own or anything, 'cause I'm more, like, about guiding stuff than contributing my own energy, but I'm pretty good at working with others." A tiny blush tinges her cheeks.

It hasn't escaped her that to help Aurora reinforce her shields would mean coming into close magical-- and physical-- contact, but they've shared so much already in that regard that it barely seems presumptuous. And besides, right now, for some reason, she's feeling daring. It idly crosses her mind that she should worry about this, that it might make things awkward down the line if she acts on every little impulse she feels, but... just a little closeness won't hurt.

After all, they never took advantage of it the whole time she was working on the wings, and it is pretty normal in her tradition. Sure, the girl doesn't look like most gods she knows, but why would that matter? Aurora was right: she has the right to look like anything she wants, and Iris shouldn't treat her any differently because of it. Yeah, that's definitely right.

If she has any recollection of the fact that at least some of her thoughts might still be bleeding over, she doesn't seem to care.

[wordoftheroses.livejournal.com]

"It's still there," she says and considers the offer. "Yes," she says after a moment. "Go ahead."

She would not mind the help and she certainly would not mind the silence. Her mind is swimming with so many thoughts right now, both her own and of the people around her, that it's almost dizzying. She can pick up On Iris' thoughts only in glimpses and snatches, as they rise above masses and fall back under again.

"I'm not going to do anything," she assures. "I promise you. I have no plans of taking advantage of you." She can't quite bring herself to say the last words the 'please help' p0art of her statement but it's there, hanging in the silence.

[sophicsulphur.livejournal.com]

She almost starts flailing again at Aurora's last spoken words, but manages to restrain herself, keeping her volume low for Aurora's headache's sake. "--oh, no, that's not what I was trying to say. Or trying to think. I didn't think you were going to. Just that you could've. We could've. Um. Anyway. Deep breaths." She's not sure why she said that last part out loud, but she takes some anyway, tries to sink down into the space she was in a moment ago, the warm, fuzzy space where consequences seemed far away.

"Okay," she says. She's practically hanging on Aurora anyway by this point, so it doesn't seem like too much more of an imposition to run her knuckles over the back of the other girl's hand, before taking her hand in hers. The contact is necessary for this to work: the specific gesture less so, but it's all good, right? "Just try doing what you did before, and I'll latch onto your energy and do what I can to give you strength."

[wordoftheroses.livejournal.com]

She turns her palm over, entwining her fingers with Irs'. She doesn't mind the hand holding ad was fully expecting it anyway.

She gives the hand a light squeeze before getting her mind to the work at hand. She builds up that wall again and she can feel the voices ebb away little by little. Again, it's not perfect and as soon as she thinks of anything else, it falls away but when she has her mind squarely on it, it at least holds up a little.

[sophicsulphur.livejournal.com]

Okay, she whispers mentally, more a surge of encouragement than actual words. She can see what Aurora's doing now, and she thinks she knows how to keep it together. Try this.

She wraps her mental grasp around some of the energy, siphoning it off into small, wispy threads that she then uses to reinforce the mental wall. It's like twining it with greenery, braiding the strands together like the nerves and vessels Aurora braided into her wings, except that the greenery is the very substance of Aurora's magical strength. It's strange to touch it, but pleasant: so vivid and so alien, a magic one step removed from the kind she's used to holding.

She'd like to hold it longer. But eventually, she figures she should probably check on how it's working. So, a little reluctantly, she lets the mental contact slowly slip away, and addresses Aurora in the physical world. "...How's that?"

[wordoftheroses.livejournal.com]

In her mind, she watches as Iris braids the magic togetr and she feels a little stupid. THis makes sense, this is something she could ahve easily figured out on her own if she wasn't so overwhelmed.

Instead of thinking too hard on that though, she follolws' the girl's lead, reinforcing the walls she's build ans steadily relaxing. Thoughts still filter through but enough that she can deal with the incoming.

She looks up, smiling relief clear on her face. "I appreciate it. I think my head was going to split without it."

[sophicsulphur.livejournal.com]

From her temporary link with the fae girl's mind, she can feel a little of that self-deprecation, and returns a wash of reassurance and comfort. It's easy for her to sit here and think up smart ideas; she isn't the one under psychic bombardment. Really, she's just glad she could help.

Once they're done, she smiles right back at Aurora's words. "Glad I could help. Any time. It's nice in there." She squeezes her hand a touch, a small giggle escaping her. Even if she's done with the magic, she doesn't quite feel like letting go. "...So what do you think this place is? Another Rift effect, like the snowstorm?"

[wordoftheroses.livejournal.com]

She appreciates the reassurance and lets it settle in around her. She doesn't exactly want it but it's nice to have.

She grins. "I'll keep that in mind," she says, content to keep her hand in Iris' until further notice. "I'm not sure," she admits, looking around. "It is odd though. I just got here and then didn't really think about it too much. I just assumed it was but, if I'm honest, I can't be sure."

[sophicsulphur.livejournal.com]

"Huh." She rubs the back of her head with her free hand. "Well, it probably is a Rift effect, knowing Chicago. I guess I shouldn't worry about it too much. Like this time when the world went really weird, and these monsters kept attacking me and I had to keep yelling things as I hit them and doing little victory dances and things. It's probably like that. They don't usually seem too harmful."

She glances back at the tables. "Though I hope it ends before we get hungry again, if we can't trust the food. Although... now I kinda wanna try a bit of everything. Just to experiment." A grin crosses her face. "After all, it's a rare opportunity to test the properties of this stuff, and some of it might be kinda fun." She rests her chin on her hand, the other still toying with Aurora's fingers, contemplating the merits of sampling more of the buffet. "What do you think?"

[wordoftheroses.livejournal.com]

"You can try all you'd like," she says. "I think I'll volunteer to be the constant, or near constant, in this experiment."

Now that she knows what she's doing with the whole psychic issue, she's not too bothered by it but experiencing that kind of loso cf control all over again? She'd rather pass

[sophicsulphur.livejournal.com]

"Okay, I'll do it!" she chirps happily, hopping up with a little shiver of her wings and making her way over to the tables.

After a few moments' perusal of their contents, a bright idea comes to her mind. Or at least, it seems like a bright idea to the emotionally-overwhelmed and rather uninhibited sixteen-year-old that she currently is. It's actually a tremendously reckless idea, but no one said Iris wasn't reckless at the best of times.

"Hey, Aurora," she calls. "Tell you what. I'll do a dare. You pick something, and I'll eat it."

[wordoftheroses.livejournal.com]

She can't but laugh, looking at the spread then at Iris. "Are you sure," she questions but it's clear she's already considering what to choose.

"Well, we know what the fruit does. So....Try the cake!" She can see the fault in this plan but her curiosity wins out over that. After all, she's not the one trying it and she'll take full responsibility for whatever mess Iris happens to get herself in, so she doesn't think it's too bad.

[sophicsulphur.livejournal.com]

"Okay, cake it is!" she says with a laugh, completely skipping over Aurora's first question. After all, she's pretty sure this apparition won't last, so she may as well have fun with it while she can. Having psychic senses doesn't sound like something she'd hate. And as for how the water affected her... well, she's actually kind of enjoying it. It's not every day she gets to be so free, so honest, so herself.

She takes a plate and serves herself a small forkful of the cake. "Hey, whoa, that's kinda tingly," she remarks, setting the cake down and rubbing her arms. They're thrumming with energy, as if something within them is being warmed up and stretched out by many pairs of kneading hands.

And then the ground opens up. Or at least, that feels like what it's doing. Her legs feel like they've turned to water, and her line of sight is slowly sinking, as if she's being pulled down into a vortex that's appeared around her feet. "Hey, what gives?" she yelps in a high-pitched voice, attempting to tug one of her feet "loose"-- and falling over in the process. Her wings immediately fluff up in fright.

And they're a lot fluffier than they used to be. If they previously had a sprinkling of juvenile feathers, they're now very obviously young bird wings, the plumage downy and short. She looks like a giant greyish-brown clump of sheep's wool, or a slightly grubby marshmallow. A marshmallow with the face of a ten-year-old girl.

"...whoa," she breathes, examining her hands. "I haven't been this big since I was... well. This big."

[wordoftheroses.livejournal.com]

Aurora watches the transformation with surprised eyes. She wasn't actually expecting a physical change like that. She's not entirely sure what to make of it but she does get to her feet, walking over to Iris and offering out a hand.

"Are you all right," she questions giving her a closer look. "Was it at least a smooth change?" If Iris was in any pain, she was going to be very annoyed at the Inn.

[sophicsulphur.livejournal.com]

"Mm, didn't hurt," she says. She lets Aurora pull her to her feet, flapping once or twice to give herself an extra boost.

Once she's upright, she presses small hands to her face, trying to feel out her features. "Do I look younger, too? Or did I just shrink?" After the words have left her mouth, she reconsiders that statement. "...wait, I sound younger. I'm pretty sure I am. At least physically."

She can't help a tiny pout at that thought. She was rather enjoying cosying up to Aurora, but now she's pretty sure that won't be on the cards any longer. Couldn't she have aged into a tall, mature body instead? Oh well; at least she's lighter now, so flying should be easier. Being a cute little flying puffball isn't too terrible of a way to spend the evening. Besides, maybe one of the next things she tries will fix her up.

[wordoftheroses.livejournal.com]

"You look younger,": she informs patting Iris on the head. "It's not just your size."

See, this is why she was not going to try anything. This like this were going to happen and she just does not enjoy that much unpredictability when it comes ot herself. Other people She's all for it but not herself.

"Are you going to wait and see if this passes or are you going to try something else?" She's genuinely curious, as seeing what else Iris inflicts upon herself could prove to be interesting, if not a bit of a hassle.

[sophicsulphur.livejournal.com]

At the headpatting, Iris makes a protesting sort of noise and screws up her face, though she can't really mind it that much. After all, it is Aurora. "I just hope I don't stick this way too long," she can't help but say anyway. "I have enough problems with people not taking me seriously because of my age."

Admittedly, the fact that on a ten-year-old face, "disgruntled" just looks adorable doesn't help terribly much with this.

Still, it's not going to deter her from her course. "Try some more," she says with a nod, curling her fist against her lip as if committing to a decisive military strategy. "It can't be that much worse than this. Maybe the juice," she muses half to herself, reaching with tiny hands for what looks and smells like a strawberry smoothie.

"...Huh. It's good. Kinda-- ow!" she yelps suddenly, quickly setting down the juice and rubbing at a spot on her back. Which is rapidly becoming a long, stripy tail at her back. "Ow, that pinches! What is it? I can't see!" She twists herself this way and that, trying to catch a glimpse of it, but the tail keeps darting just out of sight.