009 // dream event - what does the fox say?

[actsmagnificent]

Haruka's Dream

[ Look at Haruka. Now back to you. Now back to Haruka, now back to you. What's that she's wearing? That's right, it's a bright blue racing jumpsuit. Its durable expanses fill your vision as you stare across her broad shoulderblades.

Look down at yourself. You're wearing one too. The color depends on how much of a jerk your unconscious mind has decided to be, but that's hardly the most important thing right now, because a Bulbasaur off to one side has just fired off a Bullet Seed with a loud "pop" and now you find yourself lurching forward.

It's another day at the races. And you're on a Rhyhorn. ]

Vulpix's Dream

[ Throne rooms are hard to come by in these more enlightened times, but there's no mistaking this setting for anything else: the red carpet lined with flickering torches, culminating in a broad set of steps and a chair with an extremely luxurious cushion upon it, leaves little to the imagination. At the top of the steps, Haruka's Machoke and Spritzee flank the carpet, bowing deeply; on either side of the chair, a Mr. Mime fans the chair's occupant while Super Beauty the baby Rhyhorn stands still for once, a platter full of Berries resting atop her broad head. Oddest of all, Ferrari the Nidoran crouches in servility at the foot of the chair. Oh, his Queen! His marvelous Queen!

Atop the chair, the world's most beautiful Vulpix gives a dainty yawn. Mr. Mime selects a Berry for her and places it in her mouth. Life is so dull when you're the top at everything. ]

[[ooc: There's a trick to Vulpix's dream! Anyone who sets foot on the steps and beyond will find themselves madly in love with Vulpix and burning to swear fealty to her. Feel free to use her dream as a mingle post so unaffected people can deal with trying to get their brainwashed friends off the stairs. You can "fix" the dream by convincing Vulpix this setup is a bad idea, but....good luck. ]]

Comments

Haruka

[celebrity_commentator]

[The dream is close enough to one of Rise's memories that she's drawn into it easily, along with Rock - although Rise isn't sure if she's dreaming her own Rhyhorn or if her Rhyhorn is dreaming with her.]

[She looks at her "opponent" when she finds herself at the starting line.]

Wait, racing Haruka? There's no way I can win this...

btw, since it's a dream, feel free to invent random weird stuff on the course!! anything goes

[actsmagnificent]

[ Strap rockets to your Rhyhorn, even.

Haruka's, however, is perfectly normal. So for now, if she's aware she's dreaming, she hasn't noticed. She doesn't even give any indication that she's heard Rise.

Then the Bullet Seed goes off, and World Shaking - he's still a Rhyhorn in this dream, apparently - shoots forward faster than any Rhyhorn should be able to go. But this is a dream world. All she wants to do right now is run...

...yet it looks like there'll be obstacles up ahead. ]

Haruka!

[roadroller]

[Wearing a yellow jumpsuit, Rin looks down at the mighty creature beneath her - a shiny Rhyhorn, and before she can finish thinking "These things again?", the seed is fired and it's taking off!

But this dream is a little different, because as soon as it does, a racing song plays, filling the air around them. Rin daringly stands up on top of her Rhyhorn to sing!]

♪ Beyond the limit of top speed -I have come! There's no brake on it but who really cares~ ♪

[Somehow she manages to stay in place even as their rhyhorns charge around the corner of the track. Amazing.]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Is someone...singing? Haruka risks a glance behind herself and, well, that's. Something. To each their own....

But will Rin be able to keep up the song and the pose when rocks begin rising from the ground at random? Haruka's motoring right into this obstacle, you see. ]

[roadroller]

[Rin is a Vocaloid, nothing can stop her voice!! And standing on top of something huge while it crashes into things is something she has experience with as well....

But doing all that while also trying to win a race is maybe a bit ambitious. Especially since Rin does typically think the best way to deal with an obstacle is to smash it rather than avoid it. But when Haruka pulls ahead, she squeaks and directs her Rhyhorn to hurry around them and catch up! Luckily since this Rhyhorn is a dream it grants her wishes quite well and soon is barreling after.]

♪ I'll get you and outrun you for good - Hey, no time for singing! ♪

[She finally realizes this point, but doesn't actually stop.... robots.]

[actsmagnificent]

[ "No time for singing," huh? Haruka also finds this amusing. She smiles to herself, hunkers over her Rhyhorn, and whispers a single word into his ear.

They tear ahead, scattering what looks like rose petals in their wake. Sound travels through the air, it's true. But can even singing -

outrun the wind? ]

[roadroller]

[As it is open so wide from singing... a rose petal flies into her mouth.

COUGH! HACK!]

Hey!! What the heck!? ♪

[incousinswithyou]

[Martelé is padding along, warily glancing around. This is weird and unfamiliar, but like heck she's gonna show it. Nope, she's just being extra vigilant!

Despite her claims to being super aware of her surroundings, the throne room setup still catches her by surprise. What in the...?

Finally spotting the princess, her ears go flat against her skull. She should've known.]

Vee. [really? Really, Vulpix? This is ridiculous. You're ridiculous.]

[actsmagnificent]

....Vul. [ Who's that down there? Distinguishing between the little people is so difficult, especially with her nose in the air like this.

Vulpix squints and - ah, the uncooperative Eevee. You've come to swear fealty, have you? Very well. She only requires a short vow of neverending loyalty. Begin at your leisure.

Her tails swish. ] Pix.

[incousinswithyou]

[nope, Martelé is immediately bristling like the fluffball she is. Developing the sort of willpower - or inclination, really - to ignore this kind of challenge is not exactly an option.]

Eevee! [that is the dumbest thing she's ever heard. And she hangs out with Gold!!

...that wasn't nice, Martelé.]

[actsmagnificent]

Zee!

[ The obnoxious bird is here too, Martelé. And she's puffing up just as big, strutting about on the steps after rising from her bow. How dare you speak of the Queen that way! You'd better treat her with proper respect! Now, bow that head of yours before she has to sit on it until it falls into place! ] Spritzee!

[ Vulpix grooms her face, bored. There's nothing of interest here. ]

[incousinswithyou]

Veeee! [never mind what she said about Gold! Spritzee is the idiot of the group!!

And she's hopping up the stairs! As if she'd let you guys have the height advantage...!

As soon as she sets paw on the stairs, she wobbles and has to plop down onto her little Eevee butt. Wh-what's going on?]

Haruka, THIS IS BEAUTIFUL

[kaidont]

[I'm on a Rhyhorn... and I'm wearing pink??? It goes wonderfully with your hair, Kaido.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have time to freak out about that because that's the moment his rhyhorn picks to DASH FORWARD with the race start signal. And now he's hanging on for dear life]

idek man

[actsmagnificent]

[ There's a Rhyhorn behind her whose rhythm is a little off. Haruka glances back and - huh. Was he a racer before? From that, uh, form, she didn't think so....

Whatever. Haruka turns her eyes back to the track. It's just a stampede for this first stretch, Kaido, but after that

the obstacles start. ]

[kaidont]

[At least he has good reflexes and balance??? He'll more or less manage to seat himself properly and get his bearings, but just as he does, he can see the first obstacles looming ahead.

Oh boy]

[actsmagnificent]

[ First part of the course are moving rocks. You're not allowed to break through them - not only might that slow you down, but there are Dugtrio doing the heavy lifting here and hurting track employees is a major no-no.

Convincing a Rhyhorn to go around something instead of smashing it, however? Good luck. You'll get no pointers from Haruka, who is making it look easy. ]

[kaidont]

[Breaking through maybe... but what about scaring the employees?

Because there's a sudden aura coming from Kaido and his rhyhorn. Their eyes have gone red. The air around them has gone black. BEWARE THE DEMON RIDE.

(Kaido has literally no idea why this is happening)]

And one for Vulpix

[kaidont]

[Oh, this lustrous fur... this dashing expression... Floette is finding this furry stranger quite charming ///// ]

[actsmagnificent]

Vul?

[ Who is that? My, they're making the little people quite actually little lately, aren't they? Vulpix sits up farther on her cushion and beckons with a paw. Come here, small Pokémon. What are you good for? ] Vulpix.

[kaidont]

[Oh! Um. She makes flowers? Like this?

Have a wind of petals gently blow through the room]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Oh, that is pleasant. Ferrari even sits up on his haunches at that. Being surrounded by wafting flowers feels almost familiar....too bad the Nidoran can't quite place why. ] Ni.

[ His Queen watches the petals drift past. Hm. A pleasing talent. How would you like a post up here, close to her, where you can do that every time she wants you to? ] Vul pix vul.

Haruka's

[makeitquick]

[ Well at least her suit is purple.

... Why is she on a Rhyhorn.

Uum.

But then she's off. Rhyhorn have a totally different "hold on" spot than the only pokémon she's really used to riding, so she might have been bucked off right at the gate if not for planting both legs onto the sides of the creature as hard as she could and thanking her stars that being a Fighting type helped there. She's able to flip back into a more proper riding position: ]

Race, alright, race!

[actsmagnificent]

[ Once you get the hang of their cadence, Rhyhorn are pretty rhythmic creatures. Haruka, already pulling ahead of the crowd, looks more like an extension of her mount than an individual in her own right. That's it. As long as she keeps running....

Can you hope to compete with an opponent like this at her best sport, Melaka? ]

[makeitquick]

[ Not under the power of something which isn't her body. That's her immediate thought: make this a footrace, and she'd win. Make this any contest of strength of agility, she's handle this and be victorious, even against someone amazing like Haruka. But in a race where she has to rely on this Rhyhorn...

But that isn't a thought you should have, especially in a dream. While she does ready her seating, it messes up as her Rhyhorn picks up speed, and starts to buck a little bit. she's nearly thrown off for that, but the beast below her seems to have more confidence in it's abilities than the rider ]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Hopefully Melaka will learn to get in sync with that Rhyhorn quickly, because the first obstacle on this racetrack is looming large in front of them: a winding hedge maze populated by Tangela, where walls may very well move on you at the slightest provocation but crashing through the undergrowth is grounds for a penalty.

Haruka's Rhyhorn charges into the maze undaunted, but the narrow corridors and necessity of choosing a path will slow it down. This is a make or break situation, potentially! ]