acatalepsy_ooc | test drive meme # 3

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test drive meme # 3

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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

[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... ]

[Steve can't figure out if he's trying to gracefully evade the request or surprised by it. Either way, he moves to safer waters. They do have a problem here... At least it's not his skin. Once Tony pull it off, he's back to normal. Mostly. He's still visibly sick.] About that. I actually know who is responsible for this, but I've never actually seen her. Her name is Astoria. She's... To be frank I don't think she sees anything wrong with what she did. Most people seem to agree with her.

[ he turns the crown over in his hands, studying the petals for anything amiss. but then he remembers the mind stone, how it had meddled with them. he drops it like a hot potato and lets it chill with his on the ground. ]

Way too bubbly for my tastes. She's like champagne if champagne were a really annoying god...dess. Whatever. [ tony wrinkles his nose in distaste. ] I could introduce you. Maybe your super-abs can convince her to see reason.

[ wait, did steve just say most people are cool with this?? circling back- ] Agree? Are you sure it isn't stockholm syndrome?

[Steve looks visibly relieved. He thought he was the only sane one at this point minus the woman who didn't argue that this was a kidnapping to him.] I don't know what it is. I had to keep my mouth shut since making sure no one dies was more important than pointing out she drafted us and messed with our bodies without our consent. Now that we're here? I'll be honest: I am starting to truly hate that woman the more time I have to think about what she's done to us.

[God it feels good to admit that. The rest comes out breezily.] And if I thought taking off my shirt would get us out of this? I'd have done it already.

[ he's learning so many things today. steve rogers can hate people??? also he's not above using his body for the greater good. wait. bodies. what? ]

Our bodies? What's wrong with our bodies.

[ tony pats himself down, everything seems in its place, even if there is a sudden stormy appearance to the once clear sky overhead. weird. ]

Yours is as Nacho Cheesy as ever b-t-dubs. Was there a Planet Fitness on Planet Robot?

[ he's starting to panic again, his mouth is doing that running away with him thing... again. ]

[Steve glances up. That's surely nothing. Maybe. Hopefully. He holds up a hand to slow Tony down.] We have powers or in my case, the serum isn't working the way it should. I don't know if a power came with it or not. Don't worry. It only looks like a problem for a science experiment like me. Everyone else seems content with it.

Edited 2018-08-28 05:11 (UTC)

Content...? Are these people drugged? You're freaking me out. [ wait. ] What do you mean the serum's not working? Is that why you look all... sweaty?

[ yeah, he knows he really should have addressed that sooner. at least he's getting to it now?? tony reaches his hand up again, pressing the back of his hand against steve's forehead like a mom checking your temperature.]

Oh yeah, that's... clammy. [ he makes a face and pulls his hand away. gross tbh. he's looking around for something to wipe his hand off on. ]

Your healing factor. [ tony worries his lip as he rubs his hand off on steve's shirt. sorry that sweat belongs to you!! but the fear is breaking through his gaze, all too apparent now. ] We have to get out of here.

[It's right about the time Tony is actually admitting to being freaked out that Steve realizes he should have kept his mouth shut. He takes a step forward so he can rest his hand on Tony's shoulder again before thinking better of it. He still looks apologetic all the same.] Sorry I came on too strong. Take a breath. I survived scarlet fever when I was twenty pounds soaking wet. I can handle whatever I picked up in the last world we went to. Take the time to think this through. We'll get back, but not if you're upset.

[ somehow that helps, being reminded that steve can handle this even if the thought of him dying is what sent him into a panic to begin with. he bites down on the inside of his lip and tries to accept steve's words at face value. they're true even if they stress him out. he's no doubt going to rely on tony and his brain to get them home. which has him thinking back on the ask for an assist with shield stuff and that's- no. he can't deal with that right now. focus on the present, tony. take a deep fucking breath for once in your life. ]

So you got a space cold. Cool. No biggie.

[ if only that sounded convincing in any type of way. then - another beat. ]

You're not contagious, are you?

[He nods even if Tony couldn't sound less convincing if he tried. The question visibly makes Steve uncomfortable. The answer is he doesn't know. This whole thing has been implied to be magical by their captor. No one knows for sure though.] It's going around to everyone who got dropped there, Tony. You would be infected long before we ever caught up to each other.

[ that actually kind of helps, or at least launches him into science mode instead of getting stuck panicking again. ]

You all got sick on the robot planet? Everyone?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

test drive meme # 3

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