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acatalepsy_ooc2018-10-19 02:32 pm
acatamods) wrote in acatalepsy_ooc2018-10-19 02:32 pm
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test drive meme # 4
 test drive meme #4 It happens in the blink of an eye. One moment, you are home. Perhaps you are with your family, perhaps you are at work. It's a completely normal day . . . and then, suddenly, your stomach drops. You are overcome with a sudden sense of vertigo. You cannot see up, or down, or where you are. All you hear is a voice -- light, bubbly, warm, soothing, in your ear: Don't worry, darling. This won't hurt a bit~ ♥ For those who recognize the voice, it will sound a bit strained. Possibly tired. But the moment happens so quickly it's hard to pin down, and once that moment is over, you fall flat on your face. It's bright, warm, and humid. It takes a few seconds for you to gain composure and catch your breath. You think, for half a moment, that a hand is on your back, rubbing between your shoulder blades in comfort, but when you open your eyes, no one is there. You are surrounded by ancient stone buildings, with carvings you do not recognize etched into the stone. There's a sense of nausea, overwhelming and sudden, when you realize you aren't in Kansas anymore. Even worse, it looks like Astoria has started to feel a bit festive, maybe even a little spooky.  THE TEMPLE OF BEGINNINGS. Welcome to the "Home Base" of Astoria's Circle. What the actual name of the base is called is lost to the ages, and there's no sense of where you could find it, unless you started asking around. At any rate, this is a central hub of the Circle, a place of powerful magic and mysterious energy. It is a scattering of ancient stone buildings and for the most part, it looks abandoned . . . except for what seems to be a few items, some rooms taken, items moved or organized, even a small garden planted. These are just the smallest hints that there are people here that have been here before you arrived. Overall, it's fairly beautiful. However, it is definitely not modern. Upon exploration, you find that the buildings are kept up by some kind of magic. Some of the rooms have items, things from other Circle members already settled, and others appear to be unclaimed. Pick your rooms, explore the grounds, see the beauty and wonder all around you in such a magical place. However, be careful -- there is some additional movement around the Temple that seems specific to the time of year. THE GREAT PUMPKIN.  Fall has certainly arrived in the Circle . . . rich colors adorn the leaves, a crisp breeze is in the air . . . and in the center of the Temple itself appears to be a massive pumpkin. And, really, the word massive doesn't appear to do the gourd justice. It is nearly twelve feet tall and twelve feet wide, round and bulbous in nature. But what is even more bizarre is that the entire structure seems hollow . . . and the front of it, in a Jack-O'-Lantern facade, has a large grinning face.No one says you have to go inside it, but if you're so inclined to scale through the mouth of the massive Jack-O'-Lantern, you will find a couple of things inside! One, the thing seems to be full of bowls of candy. Some candy might look familiar, but most of it looks a little weird. Two, there are floating candles spread throughout the pumpkin, creating odd shadows that cast about as the sun goes down. Three, the pumpkin changes expressions throughout the day. When you aren't looking, it goes from grimacing to smiling -- and it never seems to happen when you look! Have fun celebrating the holiday, Circle. Astoria is just getting started. SPOOKY SCARY SKELETONS.  If the pumpkin wasn't quite enough of a giveaway that Astoria has become spookily inspired to welcome her new guests, then this will have to do. Because right along the outside of the Temple of Beginnings, there seems to be a somewhat constant and fairly thick fog. It's the kind of fog that makes you think there's something there. And with some exploration, you'll find...there is. Right in the distance there is movement, unnatural and sporadic. Any further investigation into the movement will involve you moving further and further into the fog. But be careful, because this fog is thick enough to lose sight of where you've come from. With enough time, you can catch up with the movement, to find that what you've heard and seen just beyond your peripheral, are...skeletons. Animated skeletons. They're humanoid, almost cartoon, and are moving with little to no direction. They just seem to be shambling in whatever direction they can, with no purpose or reason. They are entirely harmless. Except that if you get too curious, and get close enough to touch them, their heads will jerk towards you. They won't do much more, until you try and step away. It seems that by touching the skeletons, you've attracted their attention, and as you try to move away from them they will follow. And as they follow, they will attract the attention of other skeletons, and others, and others. If you're not careful, you'll collect an army. They will not follow you across the boundary around the Temple of Beginnings, but everywhere else you wander, you will have an entourage. Depending on how long you spend with your skeletons friends, you might even find out that they will answer simple commands. Like dance. FALL FEAST.  No matter how Astoria's thoughts on holiday cheer, she seems to have at least gotten one fall related item down- because on one of the days, you will wake up and find that in the middle of the Temple of Beginnings, where there is usually some green space and open grass, is now a very large table, extravagantly decorated. It seems to go on forever in each direction, which feels...a little impossible (but what isn't impossible here?) with plenty of chairs. The table has been decorated with fall ornaments (anyone familiar with the American 'Thanksgiving' will find quite a few similarities) with the only difference instead being the wide variety of food available. Astoria is not limited to Turkey and Stuffing on this day - but rather, almost any kind of food or drink (minus any kind of magical abilities it may contain) is here on this table. Food and snacks from every reach of every world and galaxy is on display. Maybe you're going to spend some time searching out your favorite from home, or maybe you're feeling adventurous and want to try a piece of whatever is in front of you - you think it might be some kind of potatoes? If potatoes were slightly bioluminescent? Also, did that side dish move just now? COMMUNICATIONS.  Upon arriving, you will notice on whichever is your non-dominant hand, you will have a fairly simply screen. A smart watch, if you will. Upon exploration, you will find that it has a directory of all those here with you at the Temple of Beginnings- names, and access to a direct message to them. The watch also has video, audio, and text capabilities, as well as what looks like a collection of messages sent to everyone who wishes to open them. This is your 'network', and also how Astoria can reach out and communicate with you. There is nothing keeping you from removing and/or losing your watch! But remember that you will not have access to this network without it. OOC: Also feel free to join us and other possible players on our discord server! enjoy! ♥ |
wildcard.
to hear a familiar voice, passing by, humming with all the confidence of someone who doesn't feel concern of being overheard, especially at this hour. a melody that tugs at long buried memories, weaving its way through the early morning air that still blankets the Temple halls.]
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that is, until she hears the melody.
Artoria lifts her head, listening as the music bounces off of the walls, circling her. like a dreamer entranced, she turns and begins to follow it down a separate hallway. ]
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Merlin is heading for his own room - for he spent the night awake, doing a host of things - and now it would be time to try and doze. maybe. he'll see.]
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for a moment, the world stands still. she is not in the home base but in the long halls of Camelot, pacing the halls, wandering. she pauses watching, waiting for him to simply vanish. he cannot possibly be real. and yet, if he is--
Artoria follows, trying to walk faster. trying to close the gap. and when she's close enough that she can be heard without shouting, she calls: ]
Merlin?
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but then a voice, one he knows down to his bones. a voice he's only heard from afar and in his dreams for so, so long. he thinks he could be imagining it, wishful thinking - but still, Merlin stops, and turns around.
and the face he sees...maybe he's already dreaming. but...he knows he should smile, instead of looking at her like he thinks she'll vanish.
so he smiles, the cheery and refreshing look she'll remember from so many days before.]
Artoria.
[so many things rising up in him he never dealt with years ago. but he pushes them down to seem like his world hasn't just shifted on its axis.]
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her name. not 'king'. not 'your majesty'. only her name, as if nothing had happened and nothing had changed.
slowly, she takes one step forward. then another, and another, as she calmly goes towards him. Artoria looks on Merlin calmly until she's come closer, close enough that she can look into his face and see that...truly, he hasn't changed at all. the years do not show on his face, though she sees something in his eyes, just the barest flicker of disturbance across the calm. he must know, she thinks. he must know that she has failed.
her instinct, of course, is to try to be strong for him. and so she does, daring a very faint smile, one that does not reach her eyes. ]
Good morning, Merlin.
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her name, because in this space of privacy, she is not a king, not a servant, not that distant presence. she is the woman he knows, before the world makes demands of her.
he can see the cracks in her smile, but in his eyes, there is a subtle softness. something vaguely shaped like affection, if it wasn't so strange for him to hold. for he saw not her failure, but her peace - the freedom, from that endless torment.]
You're up early. What roused you?
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[ something she has not heard for many years. something from the far distant past, when she was but a girl. when the world was stretched out before her endlessly; when her shoulders did not bear such a tiring weight. and in the early morning, its lure has brought her back to his side.
Merlin, her first follower. her magician. ]
I came to find its source...and it led me to you.
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[it had been what was needed to bring them together instead. the king and her advisor. even now, there is something in the air as though they were back in Camelot, some resumed thread of conversation, as though the years never parted them in the first place.
he's missed her, he'll admit to himself.
the world is safe, for now, but does she know? questions upon questions for him rising up - and all he wants to do is look at her, and remind himself that this moment is no dream.]
What a world to reunite in. What a place.