acatalepsy_ooc | test drive meme # 3

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test drive meme # 3

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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 #3

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 bright, warm, and humid. It takes a few seconds for you to gain composure and 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.

Even worse, it looks like the tinier inhabitants of the Forest of the Fey are acting a little cheeky.

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 -- the sprites that reside within the Forest of the Fey seem to be exceptionally active, today, and tricks abound wherever you look.

KINGS AND QUEENS.

Typically, the sprites of the Forest of the Fey remain within the protective canopy of the surroundings. However, there seems to be something different in the air, and these little bastards are flitting about and giving out flower crowns to everyone. They are beautifully made, intricate and gloriously decorative, and most people would be happy to adorn one!

There's just one problem, though -- they don't come off. No matter how hard you try, those damn flower crowns are stuck on your head, and you cannot remove them no matter how hard you try. Hope you enjoy being a fairy princess for a day.

And, if you are alighted with a flower crown, your skin turns the same color as whatever flowers now sit upon your head. A wreath of blue roses? Congratulations, Violet Beauregard -- you're now as blue as a blueberry. The effect wears off in about an hour, and you can remove the flower crown then -- but have fun being every shade of the rainbow as the sprites take their time to torment the new arrivals.

BALLOONS FOR EVERYONE.

Normally, there are some animals that wander within the ancient stone buildings of the Temple. Tiny little white bats, sheep that grow on the vine . . . that sort of thing. However, the sprites have elected to add a little bit more flair the Temple, and balloon animals have invaded the living space. Where the sprites got the idea for balloon animals, no one can really be sure -- Astoria seems to think the sprites are waltzing through the spirit realm and seem to have garnered an idea there, whatever that's supposed to mean.

So, no matter where you go, there are balloon animals. Little dogs, brightly colored fish, dinosaurs, giraffes . . . except they seem to move, and make noise, and act like their real counterparts. Tiny balloon dogs nip at your heels, balloon fish flicker about in the waters that sprinkle themselves throughout the Forest, and balloon birds float through the skies.

Bonus? If you pop them, they explode into (biodegradable) glitter.

DECAYED DECADENCE.

Despite the shenanigans from the sprites, however, there seems to be something happening within the Temple that may be cause of concern. Flower crowns and balloon animals aside, there seem to be odd spots of the Temple that suddenly wilt . . . flowers that bend over and wither at a moment's notice, saplings that seem to creak as if suddenly dried from the inside out . . . and it seems, oddly enough, that it happens whenever you, an Arrival, get closer to the wild life.

Astoria seems to think that something is wrong . . . perhaps something the Circle members brought back from their last trip. An illness, or something more? Care to poke about and see how far you're willing to take it? Or does your magical gift enable the protection of plant growth? Try out your green thumb and see if you can help.

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

[ it sounds like the voice in his head. the voice that sounds like cap. everyone has one of those, don't they? whether it's real or not, it's cutting a swath through the pain and panic and giving him hope for functioning again. he doesn't have his suit or rhodey or pepper so when a familiar bicep comes into view he latches onto it with a strong grip, slowly finding the strength to meet steve's eyes. and then he laughs, a raucous, unwell thing that makes him feel nauseous and empty. his hand tightens on the man's arm, but then he's explaining what's so funny before steve can predictably get upset. ]

Violet, you're turning violet. [ and then he laughs again, slightly less unhinged this time. steve feels real and solid, but this has to be a trick. he wants to blame loki for this. it had been super fun beating him the first time (and not at all traumatic in a way that's left him crippled for life.) ]

[He never realized how strong Tony's grip was before. If it weren't for a lifetime pain before and after he might flinch under its strength. Steve waits him out, grateful for the quick explanation that follows even while being unsettled by his laughter more than offended for once. Something weird is happening. Must be Tuesday. Really all he looks is mildly peeved about it.] Like the movie?

[Steve takes a step forward to place a heavy hand on Tony's shoulder that he hopes he'll find more calming than oppressive.] Tony, you with me?

[ steve doesn't seem affected by this at all. maybe it's all that ice, went to his head. yeah... he's trying to breathe, trying to remember. eventually his hand drops only to curl around his own arm, drawing in, finding it hard to focus on what the other man is saying and doing. but then his hand is on his shoulder and it cuts through all the noise somehow, bringing him back to the present. ]

You... Blue really is your color. Wow.

[Steve squeezes gently, still mindful of his strength even if it's reduced here significantly.] Glad to hear that. I picked a blue shirt for the party. I was very proud of it.

[Which tells you how plain and boring it was tbh.]

You were gonna come to the party? [ he doesn't mean to sound incredulous, but he honestly hadn't been sure. tony gestures to his suit, it is a little bit more festive than his usual. there's a vest and everything! ] The last thing I remember I was setting up for you guys.

[ he sounds calm, or at least a lot calmer than he had a moment ago. the weight on his shoulder is weird, he's not used to it, but for some reason he doesn't want to shrug it off so he doesn't. ]

I said I would come. [Steve can't keep the hurt out of his voice. He doesn't pull away. Tony sounds better. He's not about to risk that by making a point here. He knows damn well that Tony had to prod him into it with an assist from Thor.] I was looking forward to the revels.

[He's getting to the time weirdness. Give it a minute.]

[ that actually gets a smile, tired and wan though it is. tony scrubs a hand over his face and it wipes away anyway, but for a moment there... ]

I know, I got your RSVP. Well, Pepper got your RSVP. I don't like being handed things. But then she showed it to me. It definitely... exists. So thanks for that.

[He shrugs like it isn't a big deal. Steve literally put the time to expect him by so it's not like he didn't make a smile worthy effort. Steve smiles tentatively in response.] I figured it was the polite thing to do. You gotta know how much to order, right? I think I saw that in a movie once.

[Steve's hand finally falls off but, at least the sentiment he shares is a good one.] Besides, I'm proud of us. We really got it together for this one so why not take it in?

Don't worry, between you and Thor I ordered enough for a small high school.

[ what he doesn't say is that rsvp is still hanging on his fridge. ]

Yeah. I guess we did do pretty good, huh?

[Steve nods, smile widening.] I really think we did. I'd say we should do it more often, but I don't want to invite trouble.

[He pauses a beat before tacking on carefully:] More trouble considering. [He leaves that there for whenever Tony wants to get into what is going down here.]

[ they're a team, right? it still doesn't feel real. but he nods, he had been working on something to stop trouble in its tracks. so steve didn't have to be the solider for the rest of his days. so all of them could have a life. but first they have to get the hell out of here, don't they? ]

Yeah, about that, whenever you're ready to get to the part where you'e not freaking out I'm all ears.

[Steve stares at him for a moment. This is a lot to take in. Try as he might he doesn't have a way to sugarcoat what is going on here. He's also worn down from that cold so that doesn't help him think either. After a brief hesitation, Steve finally comes out with the truth.] We were kidnapped by a witch to be Avengers on other worlds with a pretty big team. We just left one with a lot of robots. Fun times.

[And now they can get into fun talk about timelines.]

[ a witch. fairies. enchanted... stuff. his breaths stay even despite himself and he's processing this slowly. he's friends with a god, right? what's the problem? ]

Different worlds. But we're the only ones- I mean, no one else is here? [ that we know? ] How did you get to the robot place? Another Einstein-Rosen scenario?

[ maybe if he's in work mode he can't wig out? worth a shot. ]

No one else we know is here. You're the first person I recognize. [He states it like these are facts from a report. Maybe that will help? Steve can't know. He grimaces at the rest.]

... And something like that. It happened suddenly and with less burned grass.

That's probably not ideal for you.

[ it's not ideal for tony either, if only because of that. a self-fulfilling prophecy if he'd ever met one. he supposes it's time to address the elephant in the room. ]

How long? Have you been here - fighting robots or - whatever.

[Steve frowns because he hasn't the faintest clue how to respond to that. It doesn't think it's unideal. The truth is he really wanted Tony and Thor when they were in the last world. He desperately needed their input. Saying so sounds so selfish so he holds it in and addresses the rest of it.] We were trying to save the robots from themselves. It's a long story, but we were at it for about a month. I arrived here a couple weeks before that so let's say I should have been missing for about six weeks at this point.

[ from themselves... ]

Let's hear it anyway. It sounds like a regular Golden Book.

[ then tony shakes his head, even though steve's probably already gleaned that he's not missing by the state of tony's dress and how he said the party hasn't happened yet. ]

If Cap were missing, a lot more things would be on fire back home.

[Steve plows away because he does get it. Somehow six weeks haven't passed for them. There's no use dwelling on it. He'll leave that to Tony.] As I understood it, people started getting sick and dying off from an illness a long, long time ago. At some point they thought their best call was to switch over to robotic bodies and then link their minds together. It's as unsettling as it sounds, but they were nice enough when they didn't think we were the enemy.

[Yep that's a thing. Moving on:] Their lives were finally threatened by this massive storm hitting. We put our heads together the normal way and combined with some robots who didn't mind link, we were able to come up with a solution to save them. We left on good terms. I think we even gave them the kick they needed to get their lives together too.

[ tony thinks there's a certain elegance in the solution even if it didn't end well for these people, but he doesn't think it prudent to say so. so for a change he just listens quietly. ]

Any chance you've got a spare one of those lying around? [ a kick to get his life together, ha-ha funny joke. not. ]

[Steve snorts at the question. He gives the honest even if it is unexpected answer.] Are you kidding? I'd use that on me. I'm going to be out of the job soon.

[ wait... what? yeah, tony definitely didn't anticipate that one. ]

Are you going senile? What are you talking about, out of the job?

[Steve actually flinches at the question. Tony can't know that's a sore spot for him. He doesn't share his life with the team intentionally to avoid pity. It's for that reason he doesn't get mad. He just looks hurt. He has to swallow past the lump in his throat to explain himself.] I thought we were only sticking together until we found the stone. Thor has to go back to Asgard. I figured Sam, Nat, and I would go back on HYDRA duty. You'd go back to... you know. The company.

[ wait what did he say wrong? goddamnit steve. tony looks hurt too. the company. jesus christ. ]

Right. Okay, you're right. Guess we're both out of a job then.

[ it's too quick, he knows he sounds upset and his gaze plummets right to the ground. luckily, that's when his flower crown decides to relinquish him and it drops to the floor, his skin rapidly returning to normal. ]

[They're terrible at this. Steve hates it. He likes feeling like they're finally getting somewhere. He doesn't want that to stop. He rushes to try to fix it.] Listen if you have the time I could actually use your help. I don't want to keep you away from your day job so don't feel oblig-

[Steve looks up. All better then?] Huh. You're better.

[ did steve just...? huh. tony works his jaw, but then he's blinking, touching his face and then looking at his hand - pink and not purple. that's better. he lets out a breath. ]

Guess we ran out the clock. [ he moves to his tiptoes to try and take steve's crown off. ] Let's focus on getting home, yeah? Then we'll worry about who needs what from who.

[ he's trying not to let on how gobsmacked he is to be asked for help by captain america. it's not very effective... ]

test drive meme # 3

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