acatalepsy_ooc | 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

Hmm. Depends. I know a few long-lived individuals who may be around in modern times, but don't keep up with current pop culture trends. And, yes, a movie from the 1930s would still fall under 'current' for them.

[For some of them, Shakespeare and transportation other than horseback was 'current.' Atticus may have also been one of those 'long lived individuals', but he took a bit of pride in at least staying in touch with the world.]

Happy to increase your circle of magical acquaintances. So, if magic isn't your expertise I'm going to guess your time traveling into the future is technology based then? Please tell me it isn't a phone booth or a Delorean.

It's not a phone booth or a Delorean, promise. It's a time ship, and I don't really know how that works, either. I mostly make tough calls and smack my crew on the back of their heads when they're being stupid. And I'm a former assassin.

[ her tone is casual. like, ah yes i used to play the flute ]

Edited 2018-08-31 03:26 (UTC)

Uh-huh.

[Atticus is pretty impressed by the casual way she mentions running both a time ship AND being an assassin. Also, he's pretty sure what she's saying implies she is captain of that time ship. It's not just anyone who can smack around the crew.]

I'm not sure if this sounds like the start of an awesome story or a cliche joke.

[He wasn't about to judge someone for being an assassin--former or otherwise. As long as they weren't trying to kill him anyway.]

What kind of clichés are you familiar with?

Let's go with "awesome story". Hopefully it makes me seem more interesting.

So what about you? Got a job other than "druid"? Or is that a full time thing?

[He's not sure how to answer that question about cliches. Not because he doesn't know a lot, but when you're as old as he is you accumulate a LOT of cliches.]

I mean, you have a lot going for you.

[A beautiful woman, an awesome job title, and apparently some stories to boot. If this wasn't a terrible place to meet her, he'd be a bit more excited to start exchanging stories. It was just too bad that there probably wasn't a bar nearby.]

Well, my day job is running an occult bookstore. But that doesn't sound nearly as impressive now. Granted, I need a job like that since it gives me a break from...well the druid bits.

[Usually. At least when Celtic goddesses weren't crashing in to warn him of coming danger or weird people weren't soliciting his help. It was getting harder to separate his day job from his druid life. You kill one minor god and suddenly everyone wants to either make friends or enemies with you.]

[ it's ok. it was rhetorical anyway. ]

That sounds nice, though maybe not that much of a break from all the magic, but at least it's thematically appropriate. I'm not sure there's a day job out there for me anymore. I tried big box retail and it was definitely worse than fighting aliens.

It keeps me occupied and keeps me from being too isolated.

[It's too easy to become a hermit in the woods, cutting himself off from everyone else. But he doesn't want to be that kind of person and what's the point of a long life if you do that? It's important to stay sharp.]

Ah, see, there's your problem. I own the occult bookstore. So, I'm not answering to soulless corporate beings. I make my own hours and hire people I can actually tolerate. But, it sounds like your past that now. I imagine running a ship is a full time job.

Yeah, well, it's shockingly hard to find small business financing when you're technically declared dead and don't have any marketable skills. So, retail it was.

And you have no idea. It's like herding cats who only like each other sometimes.

test drive meme # 3

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