acatalepsy_ooc | 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! ♥

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ being offered an empanada is . . . interesting, and astoria takes it gingerly, eyeing it with some curiosity. ]

Which would you prefer?

[ after a moment, looking at carmen, curious. ]

I do not need to eat, so this is a new experience, for me.

I prefer chicken.

[She considers the woman in return.]

Well, it's a new experience for me as well. I've never met anyone that didn't have to eat before.

[She takes a bite of her own empanada and quietly chews for a moment.]

Actually, I have a feeling this is going to be a place that exposes me to a lot of firsts. I'm used to traveling, but typically it's not so...fanastical.

Where have you traveled?

[ she sounds curious, as Astoria methodically pulls apart her empanada, curious to see what is inside. chicken . . . ]

I imagine all over your world . . . I feel a great deal of experience, from you, Carmen.

[Carmen can't help but watch her break apart the empanada. She debates telling her that isn't typically how they are eaten, but the woman had already said she didn't have to eat. Aside from chicken, Astoria would find red and green peppers, onion, and tomato paste...along with various spices but those would come through with taste not appearance.]

That's pretty accurate. About the only part of the globe I haven't set foot on is Antarctica. Not exactly a lot to see there though, unless you're into penguin research I suppose.

[Which, honestly penguins were pretty cute. She wouldn't put it past VILE to have SOMETHING brewing at the bottom of the globe. They certainly seemed to be everywhere else. The real question would be what profits could they obtain from a job down there.

Perhaps if she had the data from the latest drive she could say for sure. An Antarctic adventure would definitely be on the back burner for now. She's really curious now about what Astoria knows about her. Obviously her name, but Carmen imagined if you were going to be bringing people in from all over the multiverse you would at least know a name, right? Astoria's question though leads her to believe the woman might know a bit more. After all, it wasn't just a question of where she'd traveled but also saying adding the feeling of 'a great deal of experience.' What feeling? How does any of this work exactly?]

What do you know about me exactly?

[She'd been a little surprised by being declared a 'warrior of light.' Since very few people saw her as a "good guy."]

[ the question is a common one, and Astoria's lips twitch into a faint smile, her eyes amused, and she peers at Carmen -- really looks at her, her mouth opening slightly . . . ]

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

[ it's murmured, delighted, and she wrinkles her nose, amused. ]

You are a hard one to catch, are you not? But I can imagine you would want to keep that a secret, here. It is safe with me, I promise; a lot of the details are lost on me, anyway.

[Carmen's eyes widen slightly, betraying her surprise. Astoria DEFINITELY knows her background then. This suspicion is quickly confirmed and Carmen has to do some quick mental gymnastics to determine how she even feels about this. Astoria doesn't seemed bothered by it. Maybe that's all she needs for now.

She tries to relax a little.]

I suppose it would be more like 'worlds' now. Definitely not something I ever expected to say.

[She considers that. She tilts her head, it's hard not to be a little amused, especially with her companion taking this so well.]

You caught me, didn't you?

[Carmen leans back.]

I don't know if everyone will seem as pleased about working with an internationally wanted criminal as you seem to be. Although at this point I'm not sure how much that matters when we're way beyond any nation I'm familiar with...I'll admit, I kind of like the idea of a fresh start, a clean slate.

[She takes a bite, chewing on both the empanada and her own thoughts.]

I guess I'll just play it by ear, see what the rest of this Circle of yours has to offer.

TDM # 6

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( 3 ) sorry for the delay! the app round ate me.

no problem!