acatalepsy_ooc | TDM # 6

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TDM # 6

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test drive meme #6

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 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.

. . . or maybe you are. It seems oddly like a state fair, except a bit more mystical, and a bit more . . . well, touched by faerie-magic..

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.

Once you're done with that, though, get ready -- there's a carnival in town.

FEAST FOR THE PEOPLE.

An array of familiar scents welcomes you — it reminds you so terribly of your roots. Perhaps it’s the clam chowder your grandmother used to make, or the distinct smell of your least favorite kind of enchanted crabapple pie traveling through the air.

Regardless, it leads you to a variety of food stands, each and everyone being manned by one of the unseen servants.And lo and behold, you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for: food from the very place you’ve come from. The plates and portions are . . . er, floating in air due to how unseen the servants are, but when you reach forward to have a bite, you are promptly stopped. It seems as though the servants are asking for something in exchange.

A sign floats up before you…

“The food is free ♥ But first, find someone and show them…
Your best smile!
A flower! Spring is abound ♥
A neat trick using the power I gave you~”

You’d best get on it — of course, you could try to simply steal if you’re hungry enough, but well...we’ll see how well that goes over.

Ironically enough, the foods you may not be especially partial to will be offered to you without any trouble. Huh.

TEN TICKETS GETS A PENCIL.

There are a large variety of other stalls too. While the food definitely follows you wherever you go, there are small booths set up with games. Anything from a ring toss, target practice, games of strength or games of balance have been constructed and set up all around this patch of grass. You might notice a game from home, no matter how specific or seemingly out of place it appears to be in this festival. You’re here to have fun! And maybe the person standing next to you does too. Will you challenge them? Or let them go ahead?

Besides, don’t you want those prizes? There is a wide selection of "stuffed animals" made out of grass and flowers to be won, but it all comes down to you. These prizes won't wilt or die, either! How lovely. Additionally, some of the booths give you out some arbitrary amount of tickets, regardless of how well you do. If you win, you seem to get . . . less tickets? But if you lose, you get the lot.

Astoria doesn't seem to really get the point of carnival games.

There is a booth to turn in said tickets, though! Ten tickets will get you a bright pink pencil. Fifty tickets will get you a kazoo that makes you irresistibly happy for thirty minutes at a time. A hundred tickets will get you a massive stuffed puppy made out of flowers. And two hundred tickets will get you a tiara made out of flowers. . . . these gifts seem to be Astoria-centric, but you'll surely like them, right?

LOVE IS IN THE AIR.

What is a festival without some carnival rides? They’re scattered around the faire grounds at random intervals, and seem familiar enough, if not for the fact they seem to be held together primarily through magic.

The ferris wheel is made entirely from giant leaves and vines, but is still running, and absolutely safe. You might want to jump on it to see the entirety of the Temple . . . in the (near-ish) distance, you can see Lake Dona, stretching on for what appears to be miles. You can see the Forest of the Fey, equally massive and sprawling . . . and neither seems to have an end in sight. But hey, at least you got a free carnival ride.

Bumper cars? More like bumper logs, floating in a small lake of sorts that (for those who have been in the Circle for some time) definitely wasn’t there before. Crashing into one another is a load of fun, but if you get up-ended, you might wind up being shoved back into the logs unceremoniously by some kelpies. Where in the heck did they come from? (They're harmless, for the most part. Astoria seems to have recruited the more tame ones.)

And, even better, the unseen servants are keen to get new people to know one another! Are you in line with someone you know? Or next to a complete stranger? Either way, you’ll get shuffled into the next cart and put on your way. The Tunnel of Roses is a great place to meet someone, right? It's seemingly sprung up out of absolutely nowhere . . . a dark, quiet, romantic ride on a tiny little boat, just big enough for two! You’ve got some...time to break the ice. The ride apparently lasts four hours.

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! ♥

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[The ten foot tall woman in what looks to be a streamlined space suit of some description who's stuck in the boat with Krolia looks no more impressed with the situation, leaning her feet against the bar that's supposed to keep them in the ride because she literally can't fit her legs in the lower space. She supposes she should be grateful she isn't just sinking the boat, honestly.

Klan tilts her head back a bit, looking sidelong at Krolia before she speaks up.] You look like you want to be here about as much as I do. So are we just gonna keep sitting around on here, or are we gonna find the nearest emergency exit?

[In theory, there...should be one, though if these rides are operated by magic, she's not entirely sure that's going to be the case here.]

[They truly do need to add a "Must be between these heights to ride" sign on this, don't they? She notices the discomfort in the other's posture, but that makes what she's truly doing even more of a requirement.

She also may be attempting to discern the type of material the bar is made of. If it's a metal alloy of some sort, she may be able to do something about it. Anything softer, and she may be able to cut through it.] I was searching for one, actually.

[Whilst staring straight ahead. It's a learned skill.]

[Klan snorts slightly at that.] With the eyes in the sides of your head? For what it's worth, though, I haven't seen one yet either. So it's not as if anything would've come of it up to now.

[She adjusts one leg slightly so it's a bit less awkwardly folded, though doing so in a way that doesn't just put it straight in the water is kind of a problem.] Well, if you need a ladder when we spot one, I volunteer. I feel like we're gonna have a while to work it out.

[There doesn't appear to be any sign of the end of the ride at all, which is not promising. She was hoping the four hours thing was a bad joke.]

[Krolia's gaze narrows as she glances at the other woman again before turning eyes forward. A quiet warning that perhaps someone should be careful as to who they needle and prod at.

She's not exactly a small woman, either. Easily inching towards seven feet tall.] I'll keep that in mind for when we locate a second story window.

[Which, considering the amount of natural light leaking through, she highly doubts.]

[Being from a species that's inclined towards conflict, Klan isn't exactly taking that warning too seriously, instead offering a slight smirk in return. She's not going to start something unnecessarily, but she also doesn't consider it a problem if someone else decides to.]

I was thinking more a rooftop port if they have one, but if this whole thing is run by magic, I'm wondering if they even need anything like that. We might end up having to make one.

[Which Klan also doesn't consider a problem, since if anyone else is on the ride at the moment, they don't appear to be in their area.]

[So is Krolia, but as one of the leaders of a secret network, her tendencies aren't simply tempered, but she has spent years helping her subordinates do the same. That said, it certainly is a small universe, after all. Speaking of, she's suddenly glad that certain Disney song ~~we don't talk about "Clear Day" in this family~~ isn't playing in the background. Imagine being forced to listen to that for four hours.]

In which case I would suggest waiting until it is out of sight range of the servants, possibly far enough to not be suspicious but ample time to gain distance before they realize we've vanished.

[Easily resealed, too -- unless either of them feel like being horrible and letting those who come in after them see the light in the middle of the tunnel and be unable to reach.] Otherwise, I would aim lower. Preferably out of plain sight or at a curve in the rails.

[Klan leans over her shoulder at that, gauging how far they've gone from the start of the tunnel. She can't see the beginning from here, but then, she's pretty sure the servants were invisible anyway, so it's not exactly like they can tell when they're out of line of sight.]

We're out of sight of the entrance already, so unless they're creeping up the sides of the tunnel or something, we at least shouldn't be suspicious. Especially if this ride is as long as they say. It'd be a while before they noticed any of these came back empty.

[She taps the side of the "boat" with two fingers.] Looks like there might be a curve coming up ahead, too.

[It's hard to tell for sure, but their line of sight ahead is definitely shortening.]

Then you may want to lift your legs off the bar in five.

[She's been... experimenting with her own power. There's at least some metal alloy within the object meant to keep them inside the "boat" at all times. She could easily rip it apart and transform it into something that will help them escape.

Shifting it back to what it's supposed to be would take something else, however. Ah well; won't be their problem.]

Alright. [Klan doesn't argue with it, simply counts off in her head and then rolls back slightly so she can move her legs up from the bar more easily. It's a delicate thing to do without potentially tipping the boat backwards, but she manages it, thankfully.

It's definitely an awkward position to hold, though, so Klan is privately hoping Krolia is quick about whatever it is she's doing.]

[It doesn't take long. The moment Klan lifts her legs from touching the bar, she rests both clawed hands on the metal and focuses on gathering it. It breaks, and melts into two orbs for the time being, giving more leg room and making it easier to escape.

It takes all of ten seconds given it was hollow inside. Shaping them into something more useful will... take time. Or instinct. They'll see.] Let's move. [She adds more weight to the front of the boat so they don't tip over while she exits]

[That's definitely an interesting power, and Klan raises a brow as she watches Krolia work. She's not quite sure what her own is yet, but she figures trying to work it out right here and now is just going to slow them down, so once the bar is dealt with, Klan pushes back over without hesitation and rolls off to the side of the boat. Considering her outfit is made for space exposure, water isn't much trouble to it, and it's much easier to just slide down there quickly enough that the boat doesn't roll over.]

Damn, I don't know if I could've handled another ten minutes of that, let alone four hours. [Klan's already moving forward as she speaks, climbing up onto the dry paths along the side of the canal so she doesn't draw attention making splashing noises, and keeping an eye out for a good point to make an exit.]

[It will be interesting when they aren't simply paperweights. She frowns but again, not really bothered by the water either save for not wanting to leave a trail of wet footprints. Space suits are great for that, aren't they?]

Something tells me they don't care so much about personal comfort when forcing someone onto this ride. [Call it an obvious fact disguised as a hunch. She climbs to the opposite path and frowns. Then again, that's her normal face.]

Yeah, that's true enough. You'd think throwing punches would have been a hint in the first place. [Because she might've tried to hit the invisible helpers once or twice, to very little effect, annoyingly enough.

As the curve in the path gets closer, it becomes clearer that the wall's thickness is very consistent - there's nothing immediately obvious in terms of weak points. Klan's not letting that deter her, though, and she gestures between the two paths.] Inner of the curve or outer of it? Inner's gonna be less obvious at a distance, probably, but that depends how much we care about that.

[It doesn't make much of a difference to Klan, so she's more asking whether Krolia cares at all about it.]

Punches that tend to go right through them. [She may have tried similarly. Just a little bit. Krolia walks along with her, not quite trusting her with her back. Call it a habit; and the fact they just met.]

Inner. Then we climb up if need be. [She'd prefer not getting caught again and forced upon this ride again, thank you.]

Exactly. [Good to know that she hadn't been the only one to get that irritated with them. In any case, Klan isn't too fussed by Krolia's preference to walk alongside - she seems like the wary type, and you encounter enough of those working in military forces.]

Inner it is. [Which is the side closer to Klan, so she starts to visually scan her own side more closely to see if there's any obvious points to start an escape.] Looks like that witch didn't leave any convenient weak points, but I doubt that's going to be much of a problem.

[Krolia crosses over, not caring about the slight dampness that doesn't make it through her armor. She's still holding onto the metal orbs that were once the safety bar from the ride, though they aren't spheres any longer.

She's slowly been trying to form them into short swords. It's being difficult.] We could potentially kick our way out, yes.

Yeah, I'm not sure they built this place for people our size. [Krolia is already tall by the standards of most aliens Klan's encountered, and Klan's even taller, so she doesn't doubt their combined ability to get through one of these walls regardless of weak points.

She does glance over to the two ex-orbs when Krolia comes over, though.] So is the whole metal thing the power the witch gave you?

They did not. [She frowns, but says nothing more on the matter. She's met those of her own species who are as tall as Klan and it's not as surprising to her as it likely would be to most. Instead, Krolia frowns.]

And considering the fact I could not do this prior to my arrival here, yes. [She frowns at the ex-orbs as well.] ...I accidentally stumbled upon it earlier.

Yeah, sounds pretty conclusive. [Klan shrugs slightly at the admission.] I still haven't figured mine out yet, so you're one up on me, at least. Though it'd probably make this easier if I'd found it.

[That said, since they've reached a good stretch of wall, Klan starts tapping at it at various points, checking more closely to see if there's clear weak points or even a hollow area behind the wall that they might be able to take advantage of.]

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TDM # 6

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