TEST DRIVE MEME #5.

[acatamods]

I ▫ main IV ▫ premise       XI ▫ applications XIV ▫ activity II ▫ logs V ▫ rules VII ▫ bestiary   IX ▫ canon updates XII ▫ taken XV ▫ drop/hiatus III ▫ ooc VI ▫ faq VIII ▫ setting   X ▫ mods XIII ▫ reserves XVI ▫ players test drive meme #5 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. You fall flat on your face. It's bright, warm, and humid . . . for now. Weirdly, the weather seems to be entirely in flux. One moment, it is warm and humid, and within the next handful of hours, it is starting to snow. Whatever is going on with Astoria seems to be messing with the atmosphere of the Temple, and as a result, you are having something of a wild entrance to Acatalepsy. It takes a few seconds for you to gain composure and catch your breath. 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. Indeed, it seems as if you have fallen down the rabbit hole. A weird, mysterious, snowing-yet-humid rabbit hole. 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. HAPPY UN-BIRTHDAY. The kitchen has become overtaken with a flurry of activity. Vines have woven their way into the area of the Temple typically reserved for food, and there is a massive tea party! What a splendiferous thing -- surely this can't be all that bad. There is such a massive array of food here that it almost seems impossible to know where to start . . . tea and cookies set out with messages that read “EAT/DRINK ME." Well, if you insist. However . . . certain foods and drinks have certain effects upon your person that are wholly unexpected. Well, drat. If you taste the rosehip tea, you are suddenly infatuated with the first individual you lay eyes on. They are everything to you. You think you may even want to propose, immediately, right now. Weddings, I love weddings! Tasting the ladyfingers will cause you to spill your deepest secrets to whoever is nearby. Have a secret crush? Not anymore! The entire room has to know about it, and you somehow can't seem to shut up about whatever you've been trying to keep quiet. A sip of the chamomile tea will cause you to become ridiculously sleepy. That corner looks like a particularly delightful place to take a nap, doesn't it? Maybe someone else wants to nap too. The Madeline cakes cause a ridiculously high spike in happiness. Nothing can get you down, not even the grumpiest of people. Smile, smile, smile! You need to spread this joy to everyone in your reach. A nibble of the scones will prevent you from lying. . . and, in addition, you will be brutally honest on whatever question you're asked. Maybe now is a bad time to give an opinion on your friend's outfit or new haircut, hm? And, finally, the Earl Grey tea will cause an enhancement of your Astoria given powers. Make sure you have that under control, or you may accidentally blow out a window, depending on what it is. YOU'RE LATE, YOU'RE LATE. The Unseen Servants will be a little, well, mad. Not that anyone will be able to see them, but there will seem to be things moving around the Temple at random, whether they be sheets, clothing, food, furniture, etc. with very little if any logical reason to it. It almost appears like the sheets and the like are moving throughout the air without any rhyme or reason to it . . . someone certainly isn't happy that the Temple is all astray. In addition, the Unseen Servants may also be attempting to steal things off of you. After all, you are also new to their world, and they want to make sure everything is put into their proper place, so beware any silent mischievous Unseen Servants dipping hands into pockets. Also . . . some of the rooms in the Temple are shifting around. Certain entryways could lead you to a select location at random. You may have thought you were entering your room, but it appears you’ve wound up in someone else’s. Or the bathhouse. Or the forest. Either way, you may find yourself lost for a bit...until the Temple decides to stop playing tricks on you. Keep track of your location, or you may wind up in the Forest of the Fey by mistake. OFF WITH YOUR HEAD. Should you approach the fighting ring, you’ll find that isn’t quite what you’d expect — there are no training dummies to be found, the rusted gates are colored a lavish gold, and the dirt ground has been replaced with a red and black checkered flooring. More notably, the ring itself seems to have expanded to make way for seating so that it’s become more of an arena than anything. There is an audience of spectators: many of them are typically known as the bestiary of this Temple. They are a bit more, er, refined and chatty today. When you enter, the gates will shut behind you. They will not budge. You have now entered a makeshift Royal Court. Suddenly, a playing card manifests in your hand. It might be… A Heart: A princess-like figure is displayed on this card. She appears to be singing. A Diamond: A gallant knight-like figure is displayed on this card. He appears to be fighting. A Queen: A refined queen-like figure is displayed on this card. She sits atop a throne, her finger pointed right at you. A King: A triumphant-king like figure is displayed on this card. He stands on a podium for all to see. A Joker: A jester-like figure is displayed on this card. He is dancing, laughing, and making a general fool of himself. On the back reads a message that states “This card withholds your role. You’ll be permitted to leave once we are thoroughly entertained. Best of luck!” No further instruction is given. Those who have entered with you are in the same predicament. How will you interpret your card? Who are you stuck with and how will you satisfy the audience? Or are you a member of the audience instead? Either way, good luck getting out — it’s up to you! 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! ♥

Comments

dito | drakengard 3

[kusattaniku]

you're late, you're late.

[ The attempt to grab the unseen servant by the arm and twist it until it pops out of it's socket fails thanks to their lack of solid form.

So obviously the next step is grabbing the nearest firmly solid object – a fine celadon vase in goryeo style, likely a priceless and irreplaceable piece rescued from the sand of time -- in a blind rage and throwing it at them.

The Servant's “voice” is barely above a whisper, a haunting symphony of distorted groans that sound like they're filtered through water. Honestly, Dito would have found them kind of beautiful if they hadn't tried to lay hands on him earlier.

Finally, he turns towards the person who happened to stumble into the kitchen as the scene unfolded. ]

Are you just going to stand there looking like an idiot? -because it'd be really helpful of you if you could tell me how to kill these things or drop dead.


off with your head – audience.

[ The flower lambs and talking lake monsters don't take much to get used too. They're not much different than the humans really. The smile when they're happy, cry when they're sad and bleed like stuck pigs when you shove a knife through them.

Some of them even have useful information when threatened with those knives. Which is how he bypasses the gates and takes a seat next to a gently swaying Nymphs and a bundle of chattering tent bats snacking on overripe plums.

The checkered floor begins to fill with people and Dito watches in vague interest for a first few minutes, but as time passes and the fighting ring continues to offer him no fighting he starts to pick at the dirt under his nails and eaves drop on the bats gossip about colony happenings. ]

Hey, are any of of those – the plums, yeah. Are any of those really nasty? Too nasty to eat?

[ A few of the bats tilt their heads curiously, but the youngest of the cluster sifts through their collection before rolling a plum with a large green-grey mold spot and sagging skin over to him.

He picks up the plum; sticking his thumb into the mold spot and watching the brown juice and grey flesh ooze out under pressure. ]

Thanks.

[ He launches the plum at the nearest card holder. Aiming for the head, naturally. ]

communications.

dshgfdgfjhgkjhlhlkjljlkjlkjljk
fgfhfgjhgthtkukuyil
dgfgfhgfjghjh
wh asat the fucvk

wild card.
feed me seymour

i hate you

[intoningly]

[ In response to his eloquent attempt at communicating via the network, Dito will get a voice call. ]

You wanna' shut the fuck up? You know we all get these, right?

[ let it be known the little magic voice that reads her texts to her was so fried by Dito's shit text she didn't catch the sender's name. ]

why? because my pussy pops SEVERLY and y

[kusattaniku]

[ Dito lets out a long draw out sigh.

Ah. Wonderful. The smooth feminine tenor of the last person on earth he wants to hear from. -- Well, more like second last but, who has time to count!

He shrugs, like she can see him because he has no concept of radio waves and also is an asshole. ]

Hey Zero. Wanna explain to me how you got trapped in there and haven't killed everyone already?

[intoningly]

[ That's the last voice she expects to hear.

She doesn't have it in her to forget any of them– her guilt keeps them all very much alive in her mind. But she can't help the surprise, can't help the way her jaw locks up and the slow ache of a scream she feels in her lungs but knows will never get anywhere past that.

Zero speaks in a cool, unbothered voice and is grateful he can't see her for now. ]

Yeah? Who says I haven't tried.

[ ... ]

What the hell are you doing here?

[kusattaniku]

You. Literally right now when you said there were others. It's not like immortality would stop you.

[ " Like what we did to your sisters. " is the unspoken statement, but that is a can of worms that can wait until Zero is in front of him.

In the flesh.

So he can drive something sharp into it that flesh and puncture vital organs. Repeatedly. ]

I was kinda hoping you would know. You seem to know a lot of things about the messed up shit that happens to us.

[intoningly]

I never knew shit about shit and you know that.

[ There's a crackle of anger in that even with how hard she tries to keep her voice level. Whatever she did know she'd siphoned out of failed attempts and Octa's bizarre rambling.

No one had ever been more in the dark than her. ]

Word of advice? Stop bothering people on this thing unless you've got a good reasom– they'll get tired of it pretty quick and you don't need another strike against you. You're already pretty ass at making friends.

communications i'll tag you with someone else later

[homerule]

bro chill

my ass is, sweating

[kusattaniku]

have you considered dorp
drop
drop

droppign dead ???

communications

[impavidness]

😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
What you saying

[ hold up while they copy/paste lmao ]

dshgfdgfjhgkjhlhlkjljlkjlkjljk
fgfhfgjhgthtkukuyil
dgfgfhgfjghjh
wh asat the fucvk

[ oh my god that is so funny and silly what is this guy DOING? lmao ]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
What does that means ?
Are you
Okay
👀👀👀👀👀👀😂😂😂😂😂

FRISK NO

[kusattaniku]

why are you
talking back
is thisea cursed?
because thats just myu fuckign luck

FRISK YES

[impavidness]

It"s a phone....
Are you cursed
?
👀👀👀👀👀👀

[kusattaniku]

i don't know
are you
brain damaged?
cause it definitely sounds like it

off with your head

[mayvin]

[She's in the middle of her comedy routine when suddenly a plum comes flying towards her! Obviously, she dodges and it hits some poor soul behind her, but that's not the point! The point is the intent!]

Yeesh, tough crowd. [she says to herself before searching in the direction of the plum. When her eyes settle on the culprit, she points right at him]

You! I've decided it's time for audience participation! And you have the incredible honor of performing alongside the great Mazhigigika Miludin do Din Nolurun Dou! Come now, though don't rush over so fast you trip! My show doesn't have insurance, you see.

hatsune miku i love your work

[kusattaniku]

[ The bat cluster gasps in delight, the nypmhis practically falls over from uncontrollable excitement. -and Dito? Dito rolls his eyes.

Place his foot onto the seats in front of him and leaning forward so he can leer down menacingly at the woman in the ring. ]

Have you ever considered changing your name to something pronouncable and repressing the fact your Mother didn't love you like the rest of us? At some point it's got to get embarrassing owning that fact every time you introduce yourself.

It's not even funny, it's just sad...

Re: dito | drakengard 3

[chikou]

um.

[ -- is a good start. so it doesn't really help the "idiot" label, but gran's used to being called a fool, loser, moron -- and he's actually heard some people are attracted to that, so. maybe this guy is one of those? ]

i mean? [ he cocks a grin. ] not like you look much better, flailing around all over the place.

[ he guesses if he really wanted to, he could slice his throat open on the shattered shards of celadon, or something, but he's disinclined to do that right now. so he comes close, wiggles his fingers bare inches from dito's waist. ]

you a little spooked?

i am going to arrest you

[kusattaniku]

[ He hates this.

He's not special like any of the intoners were, but it was always easy to laugh at everyone else that wasn't one of them when he was working for them. Being alone, lost and defenseless against the invisible was bad enough, but now someone has to come along and laugh at him for it. Great. ]

This thing I might not be able to hurt, but you're very visible and have very visible breakable looking fingers.

do it ho

[chikou]

[ yeah? that's true. gran takes a look at his fingers just to be sure. they're visible, unlike the ghosts this kid is fighting. so, you know.

but it's like he wants to laugh it off. ]

no, no! let me help! where's these ghosts?

communications.

[courtmagic]

abcde
fghij
klmno
pqrst
uvwxy
z

yes

i have heard so much about u

[kusattaniku]

thanks
that was fucking useless and we are both more brain dead for having read it

i'm going to fight gigi in the parking lot

[courtmagic]

oh, so you can text words that aren't keysmashing! good job!

it better be a waffle house parking lot

[kusattaniku]

yeah most things with brains can write
what do you want? do you live in there?

you're late, you're late.

[silveren]

[ Quite the bait, those words were -- but Bedivere was not one to bite so easily. He regards the boy seething across from him with a cool expression and an even tone: ]

Calm yourself. The shadows mean you no harm.

[ He pauses. ]

It is folly to seek a fight where there is none.

this slutty catholic boy just gave me a case of the gays

[kusattaniku]

[ Oh boy. One of those types. His armor reminds him of Five's foot soldiers but the attitude is all scholar's at the capital.

He pats down his pockets trying to see if this place left him a knife or something. The idea of being helpless makes him want to puke. He'll probably do it on the shadow person, easier to find them that way. ]

-and where did you get that from? Your favourite bed time story? This thing touched me so obviously it wants something.

[silveren]

[ He places his gleaming right hand-- his sword and shield-- upon his breast. A solemn gesture, for a solemn oath. ]

I will not let them hurt you, I swear this.

[ His face betrays no emotion, but there is a steeliness in his gaze that speaks of sincerity. ]

this made me gay dahlia

[kusattaniku]

Gross.

[ The comment is followed by a glance at the knight, face twisted in disgust.

No one has ever offered to protect him before. It's weird and alarming. ]

-and what would I end up owing you for this protection, Sir Knight? You don't look like you need money....

Also, I don't make a habit of going down on anyone who looks like a sad virgin.