acatalepsy_ooc | test drive # 2

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test drive # 2

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 #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! ♥

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[Despite the rather distinctive looking halves to her body, Konoha moves seamlessly, small motions in human half translating smoothly to equine, anxious ticks of fingers weaving together mirrored in back hocks rubbing against each other, not quite moving to close the distance between them but... maybe following.

It was safer to move in groups, even in familiar territory. She knew that. But that was if you could trust your companion... and as trusting as she was by nature... a place like this...

But she doesn't have any choice, does she?]

I- I guess I could go out again...

[But if it's still raining like that-]

Will you be alright? Won't you catch a cold?

[Humans were far less story than jinba, in any weather, in her experience.]

[If he were younger, Konoha's concern would fall on deaf ears. At least now, he can appreciate she is aware of his perceived mortality. Rain seems like nothing to him, after having been through so much, most of it self-inflicted idiocy.

And yet, he could very well die a diseased death. Wouldn't that be ironically fitting?] It isn't going to bother me.

Did you plan to wait for the rain to stop?

I didn't before because it didn't look like to stop anytime soon...

[She wasn't as good as her new hires at the yard had proven to be at reading the weather, but she wasn't a poor hand at it. She'd been working outside all her life- while part of her complexion seemed naturally dark by virtue of the darker brown coat of her equine half, some of it is just... sun. Lots of sun. And callouses, and muscles, hidden though they somewhat were on human half by her long-sleeved clothing.

Still somewhat concerned for his health, she hesitantly shakes her head.]

If you're sure... I'll be fine.

[Again, he regards her for a moment or two without saying or doing anything. He barely even blinks the visible eye.] It probably won't stop anytime soon. Waiting will just waste time. [Then he turns in place to continue on, pace easy.

He doesn't seem to mind how she follows, and he doesn't seem to mind her being at his backside. There's no need for chakra manipulation or special eyes for him to simply be able to hear, to pay attention.]

What were you doing before you got here?

[He seems... calm. Confident. Like he might know what he's doing, even if she certainly doesn't. And even though she isn't quite conscious of it, having someone like that around makes it a bit easier for her to be a touch calmer to... and she ends up following, albeit still a few steps behind him.]

I was at work... ah, I'm the foreman at the lumber yard, that's "work", I wasn't traveling anywhere-

[Stupid Konoha, can't just say "work" as if he'd know... she mentally kicks herself a bit before cautiously closing the distance a step or so.]

What about you...

[Hm. A foreman, huh? Hard work and responsibility. If she really had been crying over that at all, he wonders why she misses it. Friends or family?

But he had ambition too, and when he was younger, he had a lot of it. He had a goal, so he can suppose he would have been a little upset if it had been snatched from him. If he was forced to re-calibrate.]

Listening to my student have a tantrum about taking a mission he didn't want to do.

[It had never occurred to her that she would ever miss anything, let alone her job. She'd never felt even the slightest desire to travel more than a few villages away, never felt the need to find different work, never imagined she would ever be apart from her parents...

But now... she's here, and if Sasuke hadn't arrived... the tears wouldn't have stopped. It's too different. Too insane. How could there be "another world"?]

You're a... teacher?

[Mission?

She hadn't had such luxuries herself growing up, beyond a few lessons in the basics from the local temple monks, but she'd heard that the nobility and the rich had tutors in all sorts of things, but.

... Did teachers look like this man did?]

Not officially. [He would say it wasn't by choice either, but... in the end, he accepted, so technically it was by choice.

And yes, teachers look exactly like him all the time. Hasn't she ever read Harry Potter before? (unsure)] He issued a proposal, and I accepted.

He has a lot to learn.

[Though there's more to it than that. It's a friend's son. He sees a lot of himself in Boruto. The drive and strength is there; the discipline, not so much. And Naruto, he knows, can't be around to be a teacher.]

Were you doing anything specific? Seems as if we were taken at random.

[Not... officially... ?

She doesn't quite know what that means, but... she also feels like she might not ever, the way he phrases it. Well, he had a student... who had lots to learn, so... he must know a lot of things he could impart. Right?]

Specific? No, we were just prepping a new batch of lumber to take down the mountain to the mi-

[She almost stops in her tracks in alarm, one hand moving to her mouth in a half gasp.]

You don't mean that we might have cut down a sacred tree by accident or something?

[Honestly, being cursed is the best she can come up with to explain... all this.]

[He stops for a moment and turns just enough to look back at her curiously. Surprisingly, he understands what she's getting at. Maybe not in the exact same manner, but similar.] A curse?

If the curse is a seal curse, you would have a mark on you. That means you're under the control of whoever cursed you.

But if it's a general curse... [Not something he's unused to being a part of. The Uchiha are cursed, surely. They do have a Curse of Hatred. The whole clan might as well be cursed for eternity, and maybe they are.] Misfortune will follow you.

You think that's why you're here?

A mark? What kind of mark?

[Konoha, somewhat easily influenced, immmediately starts to look about herself. She'd hardly examined herself since arriving here, unless you counted that she'd pinched herself pretty good a few times... it could be anywhere! She pulls up her sleeves, turns her forearms this way and that, bends at the waist and spreads her equine legs apart so that she can look down her own belly, up and down the limbs not covered by leather "leggings" of sorts of her "skirt"...

But then she pauses, craning her neck from her now strange position to look back up at him.

Why she was here...]

... what else could it be?

[Waking up anytime now... surely. Surely.]

[When she begins to search vigorously for the mark, he watches her, curious. A part of him knows it isn't the same thing. It isn't going to be a Cursed Seal like the one he received from Orochimaru. He hopes.

But it's faintly amusing, enough that, for a brief second while she looks, he cracks a smile.] There are other worlds.

Other dimensions. If you have the right skills, you can travel to them.

[... oh.

Her expression falls slightly, slowly. She'd hoped that, with his more familiar sounding name and looks, that he wouldn't say things like that. The things she's been hearing, that to her sound so insane. Slowly, Konoha straightens back up, her gaze hovering off to the side, unable to look him head on. Maybe she should just... go back to the room... maybe if she fell asleep she'd wake up back home-]

... that's what everyone keeps saying.

[But she's from a world that doesn't know electricity. Doesnt know the true shape of the oceans, other countries. Doesn't know that there is space above their heads beyond the stars in the sky.

What is another world, when you don't even really know your own?]

[She has a lot of apprehension, a lot of not understanding, he realizes. These are foreign things to her. At one time, they were also foreign to him.]

If there was a way here, then there is a way back.

[It's about as optimistic as he is going to get considering he has no knowledge of the truth of that statement yet. If there is an entrance, there has to be an exit.]

It may take some time, but we'll find it.

[... it sounds sensible enough. If one can get somewhere, one can leave there. But even as simple as it sounds...]

... do you know a lot about things like that?

[Konoha's starting to realize that nothing here is going to be simple. Is it.]

Some. [He's actually less wary about telling her he knows and more wary about her deciding to ask questions. He won't be able to prove it. The rinnegan is still there, visible, as always, but it won't activate.] There are others too.

I've seen several people from other worlds here. We aren't the only ones.

[Thankfully? for Sasuke... Konoha wouldn't even know where to begin in asking someone to prove they could travel to another world. She doesn't even have the concept at all, unless you count all the hells... or the pure land, maybe? But you have to die to get there, right? If you even believed it at all... and though her parents kept an altar, and she joined in prayers... she hasn't actually thought about it.

It leaves her bereft, feeling useless. What could someone like her do to get them home?]

... I saw them, too. So maybe... you all can figure it out?

[Nothing?]

[His pulled thin lips turn faintly downward, and he frowns. "You all" can? Geez. He feels like a true old man.] Do you not plan to help us?

It'd be more beneficial if we all worked together. Quicker too. You might not know anything about dimensional travel. That's fine. You know this isn't our home.

There's other things that will need to be done. Food, shelter. You work at a lumber yard, right? Can you build anything?

[She wants to say she can. Wants to say anything if he makes it seem like it would contribute to getting them home, but, she hesitates, back hooves shuffling awkwardly to have to potentially disappoint.]

I- I mostly supervised, and hauled the cut lumber and supplies... I mean- I could try. But I'm not actual a builder.

[If doesn't sound helpful at all that way, does it. She tries to square her shoulders, (both sets), to stand taller. Her waist beginning where a horse's neck usually did at least makes her taller than most men, and that... lent a certain confidence. So she liked to think.]

But I'm strong. I can help, if the rest of you can figure out how we go home- ?

Strength we can use. But it isn't the only thing we need. [His sixteen year old self would strangle him, knowing the words coming out of his mouth now. He'd quickly be called an old fool.

So be it.] Having strength and using strength effectively are two entirely different things.

The first step is that you aren't crying anymore.

[Crying-

Ashamed of how she'd presented herself, afraid that he might dismiss her as some weak girl, Konoha quickly wipes her eyes again with the back of her hand, just in case there were any tears left. Tries to force a smile, pushing her hair out of her face.]

Crying? Oh, did it- Did it look like I was crying? I'd just come in from the rain, actually, so- It was probably just the rain you saw there, anyone could make that mistake-

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

test drive # 2

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