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acatamods. ([personal profile] acatamods) wrote in [community profile] acatalepsy_ooc2019-01-19 05:03 pm
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TEST DRIVE MEME #5.







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! ♥
lechiennoir: (p: they see me rollin)

[personal profile] lechiennoir 2019-02-05 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
Sirius tenses, hand briefly going to his wand before abandoning it halfway through. "Moony?" he says it as if he can't believe what he's seeing, and maybe he can't. It's been a weird enough day as it stands.

"Remus, you don't know?" It seems impossible. But maybe he hadn't heard yet. News isn't quite instantaneous, after all.
signsthatidentify: (A poor way to repay them)

[personal profile] signsthatidentify 2019-02-05 02:45 am (UTC)(link)
His eyes flick to Sirius' hand reaching for his wand and he tries not to let it bother him so much. There have been more instances of Sirius acting ... odd, around Remus lately than he would like to admit.

But it isn't important now, because something's up and it must be important. He wishes he could just assume it's another instance of Sirius being a bit dramatic, but well. Remus knows better. "I've been away," he says, placing his hands on Sirius' shoulders. "What happened? Are you hurt?"
lechiennoir: (t: head in hands)

[personal profile] lechiennoir 2019-02-05 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
Remus, they've been living through a war. It's an understandable response. He does feel a little guilty for it, but it's nothing like the current other crushing weight of guilt that he's currently laboring under.

"I'm fine." He doesn't quite sound it, or look it, but it's true. Physically, anyway. "It's not me, it's -- James and Lils, Remus. They're--" He can't even bring himself to say it. Not when he's just seen them, lying in their house. Hopefully Remus will be clever enough to pick up on it.
signsthatidentify: (Battling with myself)

[personal profile] signsthatidentify 2019-02-05 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
No.

Remus stands, numb. They've lost so many people, it wasn't even that long ago that he lost his own mother, but, James and Lily. They - they can't. Not that Remus hasn't known this was a distinct possibility, especially given more recent developments with the baby, but...

Slowly, without even fully realizing it, he leans down and wraps his arms around Sirius tightly.

"Did -- is --" he tries, not caring that his voice isn't fully cooperating. "Harry?"
lechiennoir: (t: the Black family pout)

[personal profile] lechiennoir 2019-02-05 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
It's alright. Sirius is mildly surprised his voice is working, considering the subject. He leans gratefully into that hug, clinging for all he's worth.

"He's fine. He's with Hagrid," he replies shakily. Truth be told, Sirius hadn't really paid attention to what was going on with the kid, aside from making sure he was safe and with Hagrid. Dumbledore would know what to do. He always did.

"But they're....I saw them, Remus. I went to Godric's Hollow."
signsthatidentify: (So I bit and scratched myself instead)

[personal profile] signsthatidentify 2019-02-05 03:41 am (UTC)(link)
He breathes in relief that Harry, at least, is fine. There's thousands of questions running around half formed in his mind right now, all of them tripping over each other and none quite making it to his mouth. Was Harry in the house at the time? Do they know what happened? How did they get in in the first place?

"The spell didn't work?" Last he'd heard Sirius was going to be the secret keeper, but clearly either something went wrong, or maybe they hadn't managed to perform it yet?
lechiennoir: (t: head in hands)

[personal profile] lechiennoir 2019-02-05 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
"It did." He pulls back from the hug some, considering how just to go about telling Remus all of this. Surely he would understand the reasoning, there was a war on. But even so, Remus was one of his closest friends, and to be told that there was even a chance that Sirius didn't trust him...

"We switched." He sighs, looking down. "I convinced James to switch to Peter, figured he'd be less of a target." It doesn't sound any better when he says it that way, leaving Remus out of the equation entirely. "I'm so sorry, Remus."
signsthatidentify: (Default)

[personal profile] signsthatidentify 2019-02-05 06:43 pm (UTC)(link)
It takes several moments for the full weight of what Sirius is saying to dawn on Remus. “Peter... he told them?”

They’d known for some time there was a traitor. Peter had been acting strange too, but then again so had damn near everyone. The stress and the fact that Peter initially hadn’t wanted to join anyway... this is how Remus explained his friend’s behavior. But there’s quite a big leap to go from not wanting to fight and agreeing to fight for the other side, so then why?

“Are you sure?” He stares intensely in Sirius’ eyes. “Are you positive?”
lechiennoir: (t: the Black family pout)

[personal profile] lechiennoir 2019-02-05 10:24 pm (UTC)(link)
There's an irritated growl in answer, almost the way Sirius gets when he finally lets his temper get the better of him. He's relaxed a bit since his arrival; but clearly not enough. All this discussion of the past few hours is briging everything to a head again.

"Of course I'm fucking sure, Remus, would I give up my own family to Voldemort? I just told you we changed secret-keepers, I was on my way to find Peter and--" He cuts himself off, figuring Remus can complete the thought from there. “It was him. I don’t know if he did it willingly, but you know how that spell works.”
Edited 2019-02-05 22:37 (UTC)
signsthatidentify: (Default)

[personal profile] signsthatidentify 2019-02-06 01:37 am (UTC)(link)
“Yeah.” Shit.

Remus moves to sit down. Everything feels just, wrong . This wasn’t supposed to happen. Merlin, none of this was supposed to happen. How could James be gone? And Lily? And Peter, he’s the spy? It’s like a bizarre nightmare. They’ve been friends since forever.

“We have to find him,” finally comes out.
lechiennoir: (t: head in hands)

[personal profile] lechiennoir 2019-02-06 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
“Oh, I plan on it, which is why we need to get home.” Judging by his tone of voice, Peter probably won’t be around very long by the time Sirius gets through with him.

“I can’t figure out how to just yet, but with you here I’ve a better chance.” Remus has always been better at finding out things than him. It’s likely because he is much more patient than Sirius could ever hope to be.
signsthatidentify: (If Voldemort didn't kill you we would)

[personal profile] signsthatidentify 2019-02-06 02:29 am (UTC)(link)
Remus glances back at Sirius, knowing full well what the tone in his voice means. “We need to find him so we can get answers, Padfoot,” he says in what his friends refer to as his ‘prefect voice’. He can’t help it, it’s habit at this point. Even, apparently, in dire situations such as this.

“We - hell, Sirius, we have to know why. Then whatever, I don’t care what happens.”
lechiennoir: (t: head in hands)

[personal profile] lechiennoir 2019-02-06 02:43 am (UTC)(link)
“I suppose,” he replies, sounding much like a petulant child. “I mean, if we even get to him first at this rate.” Surely there would be other people who wanted revenge for the Potters’ deaths. Someone other than himself and Remus, of course.

He falls silent for a moment, a chill suddenly settling in his stomach. “We have to get back, though,” he repeats. “For Harry. I’m not going to let him stay with Lily’a sister.” He has a job to do now, a child to be responsible for. This was what he had signed up for.