acatamods: (Default)
acatamods. ([personal profile] acatamods) wrote in [community profile] acatalepsy_ooc2018-06-19 11:13 pm
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test drive # 2







test drive meme #2
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 dim, damp, with the trickling of what feels like rain. It takes a few moments for you to gain composure, to 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.

And, of course, because this is just your luck.

It's raining.



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.

For some, this place is home. For others, this strange land is new and dark, like a haze has settled in the air. The creatures in the forest seem to be stirring, and every now and then the sky will open up, and a storm will pass through, in varying degrees of intensity. Some will be easy spring showers, others will be angry, thunderous storms.

Not exactly the most welcoming place, but it's a start.

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. The rain makes everything feel a bit softer, but also eerie, like there is a secret being kept just on the outside of your vision.

Of course, this means you have free reign. This place seems easy enough to figure out on your own, with enough time to take a walk around! However- members who recognize this place may notice the lack of a certain figure, the grounds feeling a bit more empty, more abandoned, than they did before.



IT'S A FIELD OF . . . POPPIES?
The buildings of the Temple of Beginnings span out across a fair-sized field, intermixed with trees, open grassy planes, outside sitting areas, fire rings, and other oddly ancient but somehow structures. With the mist and the rain, everything feels a bit more ethereal, like there is life to every inch of what you see before you. Or like you've stumbled into some kind of alternate world. Around the temple is a ring of stones that do not seem to move no matter what characters may attempt, and beyond that is the forest.

The forest itself is more than just impressive - it is near-overwhelming. An impossibly ancient stretch of woods that crackle with magical energy. Within, there is all matter of fauna and flora, darting from tree trunk to tree trunk. The canopy is thick enough to shield from the worst of the rain, but still the water gets through, dripping down through the leaves and dampening the ground under your feet. While there is always a sense of wonder - and possible danger - in every stretch of this forest, nothing will come any closer than a brief glimpse out of the corner of your eyes.

No matter how you try, you can't quite seem to catch a full glimpse of what is moving about. Some of the creatures seem small, flittering through the air, while others dart through the trees, larger, more imposing. Everything here seems to be looking for some kind of shelter, so be wary of stumbling across something already taken.

There is a particular clearing not too far into the woods that opens up, a field encircled by trees. In the middle of the field there is an odd glow - luminescent even in the darkened sky. Upon investigation, you will find a bush - about the size of a small car - filled with glowing flowers, white, blue, gold, and purple. They all smell faintly sweet, but it's hard to tell with the scent of earth and rain all around you.

if you decide to pick one of these flowers, there will be no immediate recourse. However, the longer you decide to keep the flower on your person - or if, for whatever reason, you decide to eat said flower - the following will start to set in.
White: For whatever reason, you will have more energy than you know what to do with, and will be filled with the urge to shine. Ever needed a confidence booster? To a point that you need to get up on buildings and belt your favorite song at the top of your lungs? Well, now you do.
Blue: After some time of carrying around this flower, you will start to feel at peace. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, is it? Until that feeling of peace continues to grow, and continues, and continues. Soon you will feel so peaceful, it's almost as if nothing matters at all. I mean...it'll work out in the end, won't it? You're no longer missing home, missing people, worried about what happened and what you might fine. Everything is chill. Beyond chill. The most chill. But maybe out in the middle of the forest isn't the best place for a nap?
Gold: Congrats, you've officially become a hoarder! No, seriously, you will have this uncontrollable urge to grab things and collect them. It doesn't matter what they are, or where they are. You need to have them and you will find a way to make it happen. Hats? Rings? People with green hair? The world is your oyster, and that's the key word here - yours.
Purple: Suddenly, and without warning, you find yourself unable to...well. Go on alone, really. The first person you see, or that you come in contact with, will feel much like the savior of your world, and for the next five hours or so, you will be unable to be far from them. Even if you know the fear is irrational, you can't really help it, following friend or stranger alike, always needing to be just in arms reach.
Regarding further exploration of the wood, it will seem to go on forever. Getting lost seems almost imperative to existence within this forest, going on forever in all directions with no edge in sight. You could walk for days, weeks, possibly even more. However, the second that you find yourself thinking about wanting to return to the buildings from before, you find yourself cresting through the edge of the trees, back to your home.



RUN BY THE RIVER
While inside the buildings and in the main open spaces, the water doesn't seem to be building up all too terribly, un an unfortunate turn of events, it all seems to be rolling down a very slight hill, pulling just on the outside of the ring of stones.

The ground here is unstable, wet and muddy from the amount of moisture falling from the skies. So much that in some areas (the fighting area being one), it will start to collect into a dangerous combination of mud and moving water. It's possible to get stuck in it, possible to get lost in the flooding, but it's also possible to...you know. Have some fun?

Mud slides, mud wrestling, mud...castles? Whatever you want it to be, it's at your disposal! While the arena was originally a place to practice your powers, or any of the various weapons that are usually kept here, now you can do the same with a little added obstacle in your path. That, or it's possible you simply got stuck trying to make it back to your room. Hopefully someone will be by to help you!


CONNECTIONS AND COMMENTARY
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! ♥
cuedoves: (Wait and see)

[personal profile] cuedoves 2018-07-05 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
So its a kind of waterbending? [ hm. ] I've never heard of that style.

[ zuko shakes his head. ]

Just you.... and whoever brought us here. I didn't even see who it was --- I just heard a voice.
cuedoves: (Into a silk purse)

[personal profile] cuedoves 2018-07-05 03:01 am (UTC)(link)
Don't blame me if you get a rash. [ grumpily!!! but he takes it. they're both about to be fucked, rip. ]

Are you in a good mood after being kidnapped?
seaclipsed: (oh you're taking up a fraction.)

[personal profile] seaclipsed 2018-07-05 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
Of course I'm not. But I'm not going to take it out on everyone else.

[ let people make bad decisions by picking suspicious flowers!! ]
cuedoves: (Who I am)

[personal profile] cuedoves 2018-07-05 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ he sighs. ]

Okay, then what do you suggest we do?

[ guru katara!!! ]
seaclipsed: (should i stay.)

[personal profile] seaclipsed 2018-07-05 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
Well, first we...

[ she pauses, her expression turning into a frown. ]

Need to find more shirts like yours.
cuedoves: (MY HEARRRTTTT)

[personal profile] cuedoves 2018-07-05 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
..... Why? What about my shirt?

[ squints. ]
sendinthecavalry: (When they finally try to stand)

[personal profile] sendinthecavalry 2018-07-05 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
Six times, at least since I first rezzed. Could be more before that, no clue.

[It's not a huge secret, and six was a respectable number as far as he was concerned. Not the lowest, but certainly not enough to do permanent damage like one unfortunate gunsmith he knows. He makes a vague gesture with one hand as he continues on.]

And it's been a while. Past me liked to leave notes, they're pretty helpful. Makes you wonder who the old you used to be, though.

[Clinging to bits and pieces of a past life that he doesn't even remember...perhaps from an outside perspective it could seem a bit pathetic, but it's the only constant that he can assure himself that he has. Even if he's not even sure who he's writing to anymore, at least there's some written record he can fall back on. Even as incomplete as it may be.]
juniberries: (what the shit)

[personal profile] juniberries 2018-07-05 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
It happened many millennia ago...but thank you.

[She smiles a bit somberly, knowing how to accept condolences from people who don't exactly have the best tact. But her expression shifts to that of confusion when he tells her to step back, and after a moment of confused hesitation she does.

And...

er...

That sound does not go unnoticed, and she makes a face, automatically bringing her hands up to cover her nose because......what??
]

Did you just...??
juniberries: (armour; sans helmet)

[personal profile] juniberries 2018-07-05 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
[Luckily she's not Pidge, so her understanding of technology does admittedly pale when it comes to technology not aboard the Castle-ship.

And Allura isn't rude, she isn't about to mock a total stranger.
]

I can tell. [It's said gently, her own curiosity seeping through mainly towards this strange girl and her unfamiliarity with seemingly basic tech.

She must be from a more primitive planet.
]

Fit all of what inside? You mean these messages?
cuedoves: (You may think you see)

[personal profile] cuedoves 2018-07-05 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
[ honestly, it doesn't make any sense, but he's not about to question it. he has more pressing matters: such as his firebending not working. ]

[ there's no smell because its not an actual fart: just the noise as zuko tries to firebend and fails! again! ]


Why isn't it working?! I'm not even using anger anymore!

[ says the yelly teenager, yelling. ]
juniberries: (hrRKkkk)

[personal profile] juniberries 2018-07-05 04:09 am (UTC)(link)
[She's not taking any chances!! She knows very well how gross Earthlings can be she's spent enough time around Lance and Hunk to know this. And he's not explaining anything as he moves his hand once more and only expels that very same sound.

Now he doesn't have to tell her to take a step back, because Allura is going to take another step back automatically.
]

What...are you trying to do? What isn't working?

[She's still covering her nose so her voice comes out a bit muffled.]
tranquilforest: (pic#12238910)

[personal profile] tranquilforest 2018-07-05 04:11 am (UTC)(link)
Her methods do leave a little something to be desired, but I'm not sure how much experience she's had dealing with people on a personal level before.

[Even though her clothes are slowly drying after being wet, she manages to pour tea for both of them with practiced, habitual motions, as if used to performing for much more demanding audiences.]

Do you need anything for your tea? I don't usually take sugar in mine, but a lot of people here do.
bleps: (31)

[personal profile] bleps 2018-07-05 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
[Six times. Six times sounds like a significant amount to an outsider that doesn’t know any better. Six times where memories and experiences were wiped because inwardly, these same experiences became too much to store and process for a single unit’s mind.

He would have more follow-up questions to this, more relevant to the conversation at hand, but Connor finds himself mentally tripping over the use of one word.]


Sorry. ‘Rezzed’?
tranquilforest: (pic#12238910)

[personal profile] tranquilforest 2018-07-05 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
[Her expression softens even further, and she glances to the side slightly.]

It's not really fair to compare people, but he reminds me of someone else I am very fond of.

It's less that he's 'nice', exactly, though he is that as well, and I've heard nothing but good about him from everyone else here. It's just...very refreshing to talk to someone who still strives so much to embody light and faith and optimism, despite experiencing all the natural and unexpected losses that come inevitably with the passage of so much time.
tranquilforest: (pic#12238897)

[personal profile] tranquilforest 2018-07-05 06:24 am (UTC)(link)
[She smiles a little, seeing Nihuang's resolve, and again, at her words - it hadn't occurred to her until this moment that their circumstance was anything like the tasks presented by the Buddha to Mulian after his enlightenment to redeem his mother from the realm of hungry ghosts. Perhaps that was a better way to think of the situation.]

At the moment, things are somewhat calm. The being who brought you here, whose voice you may have heard upon waking - her goals aren't always clear, but she seems to mean no harm, and apparently intends for those of us she brought together to do good deeds in the places she sends us to.

As for knowing the future... [Now she gets a little more solemn, not sure how much to share.]
gamboler: (06)

[personal profile] gamboler 2018-07-05 06:56 am (UTC)(link)
You could practice your Semblance—[ Er. No, that's not right, and her expression flattens as she realizes her error. These powers they've been given are very reminiscent of Semblances, but that's not what they are. They aren't amplified by Aura—Blake can't even access hers anymore. But still, the habit sticks. ]

Um...your magic, I mean. Have you figured yours out yet?

[ She hasn't found hers, but...honestly, she's okay with that. ]
gamboler: (03)

[personal profile] gamboler 2018-07-05 07:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ "Functions" is an odd way to put it, and she glances to the LED at his temple again. Could a device so small really be capable of that much? It's far more subtle than even the most advanced Atlesian tech that she's seen, but that's fine with her. ]

That would definitely come in handy right now...[ THANKS FOR NOTHING, ASTORIA. ] Do you feel any different?

[ Or did they really just make this out to be something it isn't in their heads? Her paranoia is getting to her... ]
bleps: (23)

[personal profile] bleps 2018-07-05 07:11 am (UTC)(link)
[He lifts a brow, just ever so slightly, at the question. The flower remains pinched between his fingers.]

No. Not at the moment. But I may not be the best example to test.

[Maybe being a machine skews the results. He offers the flower to her.]

You’re human, or something like it, aren’t you? [Cat ears and all...] You should hold it, if you’re wanting to continue the experiment.
seaclipsed: (pic#11629648)

[personal profile] seaclipsed 2018-07-05 01:08 pm (UTC)(link)
I never noticed how nice it is... what is it made of?

[ sorry she's going to. reach out to touch it. ]

It's good quality stuff.
seaclipsed: (and oh baby let's make)

[personal profile] seaclipsed 2018-07-05 01:09 pm (UTC)(link)
I mean... how does it send?

[ she's trying her best to not sound like an idiot here. katara thinks her brother might have an easier time understanding all of this, but he isn't here, so it's just up to her to flounder around like this. ]
sendinthecavalry: (I hear the hungry ghosts)

[personal profile] sendinthecavalry 2018-07-05 01:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Revived? Woken up? Became not dead? It's kinda a thing where I'm from.

[Yes, because that's a perfectly logical and informative explanation that doesn't bring up more questions than it answered. With another flippant gesture, Cayde motions to himself as if he hasn't just opened an entirely new can of worms.]

Long story, kind of complicated. But to answer the other question, I could've been wiped before that. Definitely don't remember, so we're gonna go with six wipes for now.
statecrafter: (058. 🏵️ leges sine moribus vanae.)

[personal profile] statecrafter 2018-07-05 02:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[ and just like that - the tension returns to lorem, her eyes darkening in her concern as she takes a more critical look at her friend to make sure he's alright. her eyes now sweep across alex's form to see if there's any noticeable differences besides the eyes.

(right? they were both blue. only one had been blue.

... right? ugh. distance and memories is making her doubt her judgement, something she loathes with an intensity.) ]


Bad effects or good effects? [ she wants to ask what happened. lorem, from before, wouldn't do such a thing. it could be something too private to speak about, even with a friend. she would have been patient and wait for the time alex thinks is the right moment to speak to her about it.

lorem, now, can and will ask. ]
What did you get involved in, Alex? Did you get hurt?
statecrafter: (035. 🏵️ mala fide.)

[personal profile] statecrafter 2018-07-05 02:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh.

I'm sorry to hear that. [ she genuinely is. having been in a few 'save the entire universe' adventures herself, lorem knows how stressful those can be. ] From what I've read from the messages she's sent to others, apparently our point in time and place is 'frozen' the moment we're taken. She can simply plop us back in and none will be the wiser.

[ can you hear the dubious skepticism in her voice. can you. ]
priwen: (i am the sea)

[personal profile] priwen 2018-07-05 02:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It's just like before, she who would not be daunted to stand up when it truly mattered. The oppressive atmosphere of Reims dampened that, but he could feel the flame in her heart as intensely as if it was physical. The Echo tells a person many things; but how to tell others things clearly when it only worked one way?

Alex casts a glance around - they're alone, which is good. His empathy tells him that there are no other spirits lingering. ]


Do you remember the goddess that watched over my world, Hydaelyn?

[ The Mothercrystal, she who embodied the earth and made it spring forth life. She who was weakened by the servants of Darkness, and she reached out to mortals for their aid in turn... ]

She lost much of her strength aiding me. I had to repay it somehow.

[ In a way, it was fitting. She gave him a life, and he would return it to her in the end... which is why manifesting here, to be physical again, is a surprise. Maybe something had happened, but he would trust her to tell him if it did.

This world seems to need help too, no? ]

[personal profile] singularize 2018-07-05 02:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She's not really sure how she got by without Moon. Sure, there were the lives that they lived as dreams, but they were ultimately ephemeral and shattered into myriads of painful glass. To meet, to fall in love (or hate), and then to die in the pyres of the curse that painted their names.

Too many times. Yet, that familiarity is exquisite, far more than that which a human would ever understand. ]


Before this? Hmmm...

[ She thinks with a finger to her chin, a gesture that seems exaggerated but served more as a reminder of her own self. ]

We visited a city founded on alchemical research. [ Worked there. Lived there as a transient dream. Nearly became enemies, but --- ] I tried to buy some of their inventions to take along just in case, but they didn't make it here somehow.

[ It's... the truth, somewhat. ]
Edited 2018-07-05 14:53 (UTC)