acatalepsy_ooc | test drive meme # 4

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test drive meme # 4

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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! ♥

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[... well, that tone certainly didn't sound friendly.

Unsure for a moment how seriously to take it, Konoha waits, an empty bowl clutched against her bosom as she thinks... but. Having peeked in revealed the colorful contents of the giant pumpkin, and it looks delicious so. She decides to risk it.]

Then I'll just make it quick-

[She bows a bit before she enters to be polite, but then she moves to tiptoe her way in and not make a mess or much noise... as much as a centaur with long bay legs and four hooves can tiptoe. Since her human waist begins where a horse's shoulders did, she's... rather tall, nearly seven feet if she weren't hunched over to minimize her size, and weirdly enough for a centaur, perhaps... she's wearing something like a skirt on her rear for modesty.]

If you'll excuse me-

[Aaaand she's going for the candy.]

[Friendliness is for chumps... and also people who don't spend every waking moment thinking about how everything in life is either kill or be killed. But, you know.

Now that North's able to get a better look at her, though, she's visibly startling. Eyes darting between her upper and lower body, blinking rapidly for a moment. An accurate representation of what's going on inside her mind palace would be this.

Which is to say: Nani? The fuck.]

—You're not human. [DUMBLY. AN OBVIOUS STATEMENT. She's honestly gobsmacked. So many years of research gone into producing androids, and this is what it's come down to. Amazing.]

[At first, Konoha is distracted by the candy.

So many colors, and sizes, and it all smells so sweet? Almost too sweet to be real?

She's halfway to grabbing some when the question finally registers, and she turns to look back over her shoulder, blinking a moment before she smiles a bit sheepishly.]

Ah- no, I'm not. I'm a jinba, but... you can call me a centaur if you want?

[She's... still processing, admittedly. Her LED would be flickering if she still had it. But since she doesn't, her expression remains as the only indication of what's going on inside her head. North shifts, minutely, and there's a very noticeable difference in tone when she speaks next.

It sounds little apologetic, really.]

Jinba or centaur. [She's personally been giving a choice here, but.] Which one do you prefer?

Oh, me? I prefer jinba, since... that's what I think I am, but most people here say I look like a centaur, so... I'm used to that now, too.

[Konoha smiles a bit wider upon finding the woman's tone a bit more friendly now, momentarily abandoning her quest to try candy for the first time in order to face her properly. Probably better manners to face the person, even if your spine was so flexible that twisting at the "waist" allowed for enough of a view.

Without the LED she has come to recognize in Connor... she just assumes the woman is human.]

I'm Konoha, by the way. You're new, right?

[Jinba, then. She nods, filing it away in the event that it should ever come up again. It's amazing how North's attitude towards someone shifts dramatically, based on whether they're human or not. Misanthropy is wild.]

North. [Hm. Getting the welcome committee experience twice in less than five weeks. Not a big fan.] Is it that obvious?

[That she's new, she means.]

"North"? That's a nice name.

[Said, perhaps, as someone used to names being written in characters that meant something, often natural plants, animals, and occurances, or adjectives and descriptions parents hoped their children would live up to.

She must be from somewhere cold?]

Haha, well, to be honest there's not many people here... you get used to faces pretty quick, and I've never seen you before, so?

[As friendly as she tends to be, she's pretty sure she recognizes everyone at this point, even if they haven't spoken.]

[WELL. She's not entirely wrong. Michigan is cold — but that's entirely unrelated to her name. Either way, she's not sure how to handle a compliment so she promptly ignores it. Nice.]

Oh? [That's... good information to know.] Then, how many people would you say live here? You sound like you've been around for a while.

Hmmm... six dozen, maybe? Definitely less than a hundred, I think!

[More than her village, but way less than the nearest actual town... still...

Doing the math is a bit more depressing for the second question, and a foreleg rubs against another almost but not quite how a human woman might shift her weight or fidget.]

I've been here... four months now, I guess.

[Six dozen. Somewhere around seventy-two, then. Not the greatest number, given what they seem to be here for, but still decent. It might also be a good thing, considering how many humans she's stumbled across so far. She'd lose it if she had to deal with a hundred of them, god.

Still, that second number—]

Shit. [Four months is a heck of a long time when you're literally three years old.] How long do they intend to keep us? This isn't even our battle.

I don't know...

[Always dreading telling new arrivals this depressing news, Konoha's expression falls from her previous candy excitement into a more somber one. Four months away from home, from her parents, with no way to know if they were alright... going to worlds when she had never even left her village, experiencing technology and magic that constantly blows her mind...

And now this woman would have to as well.]

She said we could go home after we "help", and that time doesn't move back home, but... all we have is her word on it.

[Ah.]

Maybe she has no plans of ever letting us go home.

[Which is, you know, a very upsetting thought. She can't help but to jump to the worst conclusion when confronted with this, however. Being told you've been brought here to help is fine and all, but it's not like she's heard anything that makes her think there's an end in sight to all of this.

Anyway— Sorry, Konoha. You have to deal with this Debby Downer now.]

[It's not like Konoha hasn't had that same thought. More than once.

What if they were stuck here? What if she died without making it home, either in some strange world's battle or just if old age?

But she can't, they can't, and she shakes her head rapidly to physically fling the thoughts from her head before she puts on a smile, clutching her empty candy basket to her chest.]

That definitely won't happen! There are lots of smart people here, not me, but lots of people who know like magic and technology and things my world didn't have, so I'm sure they're going to figure this out, witch or no! Don't worry- you can help them, or you can help me take care of them so they can work on it!

... You're optimistic.

[An observation. Optimism isn't one of North's strong points, but she's learned to view it as something of an admirable trait lately. She can't deny that there are strength in numbers, either, even if she doubts it'll be as easy as it sounds. Not by a long shot.]

You don't have to tell me. I'll do my part to aid the efforts. [She sucks at sitting back and doing nothing, anyway.] I don't have any time to waste fighting someone else's battle.

Ehe... I try.

[It seemed like it was a compliment? Konoha isn't good at sarcasm, so she's not so sure since finding out that was a thing, but. Positive thinking, she'll take it as a compliment either way.]

What can you do, North? If it's anything like what I can do I could show you around...

[Well. Close enough.]

I'm versatile. I deal with whatever needs to be done.

[Mostly, though, she goes pew pew at people who get in her way.]

You said you can show me around if it's similar. What is it that you can do?

[Versitile? Well that sounds useful!]

Me?

[... Duh. Konoha waves a hand a bit dismissively to discount her own efforts, a bit embarrassed by her inability to actually contribute mentally to the problem of getting home.]

I just support everyone how I can. I work at a lumberyard back home so, any heavy hauling you need, lifting or carrying, I'm your girl! We jinba are strong, and I'm mountain stock, so I can handle most anything. I also cook and grow crops! My eggplants are doing real good!

[But... she is admittedly at least content in her work. After all, not everyone is smart or rich or talented! You need normal people to make anything work, and while she... basically really isn't normal as one of only two people in the Circle who don't look mostly human... She thinks she is!]

Then what you do contributes to the survival of your allies. [Well. Mostly the squishy, fleshy types with stomachs.] You should take pride in that.

[... It's not so much a pep-talk as it is her being mildly annoyed at that dismissive gesture. If someone isn't going to own what they do 100%, then what's the point? Either way, she's starting to get tired of standing around in a giant pumpkin when she can't even eat any of the candy here. So, uh. Picking up a bonbon from one of the bowls, she flicks it at the nearest wall. Watches it fall. Highkey misses having access to a bouncy ball burn off excess energy.]

I'm getting out of here. Was there something you needed to do?

[As in, she's not opposed to continuing this conversation elsewhere.]

Oh, I do! I think?

[She definitely feels like they need people like her... she just really hopes there are less like her and more like... super smart and experienced in traveling back to your proper world.

Konoha's expression... actually falls a bit at first, thinking with that phrasing that North was dismissing her. Well, if she wanted to leave, she wasn't about to stop her... arriving here was a chaotic process, after all, let alone acclimating, and... Wait...

She looks between the candy bowls and North before she finally points to herself in confusion.]

Uh- Wait, am I following you, or... ?

[Clarifying is good, right?]

That's up to you.

[She's leaving whether Konoha follows or not, so. She shrugs. It's entirely up to her whether she stays in candyland or walks and talks.]

Oh, um- one second!

[Konoha panics for a moment, gaze darting between her original goal of colorful and absurdly sweet smelling candy and the option of helping a newcomer... and chooses both, quickly stuffing some of the strange food into her basket before she trots off after North, hooves clopping loudly on the courtyard stones.]

Have you already picked out a room and everything? Found the kitchens?

[Well. Even if she's not exactly a people person, North still has enough decency to slow down and wait once Konoha asks for a second. It's not until she's caught up that she starts walking again, choosing not to comment on the candy. That stuff seems gross, please love yourself...]

Room, yes. Kitchens— [A second's pause, as she considers how blunt to be about this.] I don't need them.

[Who doesn't need the kitchens?

Konoha looks confused for a moment before she remembers- oh, yeah! The metal people. Er, "androids". Like A2, and like Connor. But just as quickly as her confused expression vanishes... nope, it's back. She's learned to associate the metal people in their ranks with certain traits- either being really heavy and dressing in black with light hair, like A2, 9S, and 2B did... Or with having a light on their temple, like Connor did.

But... this lady didn't look like that.]

Is... your stomach made of metal? I mean- do you not eat because you're metal?

[... so she should have phrased that better, but.]

[oh my god.

Konoha's first attempt at phrasing that question has North's eyebrows shooting up sky high. The second attempt is better, but North still huffs out an incredulous laugh. More like a puff of useless breath than anything else, really.]

I don't eat because I don't have a stomach. [No use in adding even a fake stomach when can't androids can't absorb nutrients. That's just wasteful.] But you're trying to ask if I'm an android, right?

[Unless there's some kind of other metal people in whichever fucky wucky land she came from? A mystery.]

[Oh- Phew. Konoha breathes a sigh of relief that North managed to get through her bungling and figure out exactly what she'd been trying to ask.]

Ah, yeah, sorry... ! I never know which word to use... Some of the metal people here use "android" and some use "robot" and some say "cyborg"...

[The differences are... not as clear to a peasant from 17th century Japan, but. She was attempting to not insult her, at least???]

So that's... what I was asking. They're the only people I know that don't eat.

test drive meme # 4

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