acatamods: (Default)
acatamods. ([personal profile] acatamods) wrote in [community profile] acatalepsy_logs2018-09-19 08:25 pm

( the sickness: phase two )








the sickness ends.
the temple.
The Temple, shortly after Astoria's burst of energy, is in a constant state of growth. Trees are bursting into existence from seeds in mere seconds, flowers are growing wherever magic lands . . . and the Temple is abruptly a-buzz with energy, magic crackling throughout the air. You may find a tree in your house, or flowers suddenly growing along the walls, or plants wiggling their way through the stone walls of the buildings of the Temple. All of a sudden, the place looks very overgrown.

The Forest of the Fey seems to be responding in kind, too. Sprites are exceptionally active, darting out of the Forest and into the Temple with increasingly regularity, playing basic little tricks on the members of the Circle they can find. Flower crowns are made at an alarming rate, and there might be a few fruit-food fights that break out with the sudden abundance of peaches and apples that appear on the grounds. Learn how to duck!

With the magic comes the sudden fluctuation of energy: canon powers flicker on and off, as do the powers granted by Astoria. You feel more like yourself, you suddenly have access to energies you did not have previously in the Temple However, it's a double-edged sword -- it is not constant, and it may be more trouble than its worth.

And, remember: the Sickness is not fading immediately. If you make it to Stage 3, then you're stuck with sensory deprivation for at least another week or two. Sorry, friends.




lake dona.
Lake Dona is a massive body of water, stretching outward for so far that it almost seems like an ocean until you see that the water is fresh. It is surrounded by long, leafy trees that dip into the water and has a variety of ancient ruins scattered around it -- weathered stones set into circles at seemingly even intervals, old buildings that seem to mirror the Temple in construct.

In addition to the ruins, there are a network of caverns tucked along the water’s edge, just underneath the surface on the western side of Lake Dona, that appear to go underground into murky darkness. The actual entrance to these caverns seem to be underwater, seemingly guarded by merfolk, but poking around may seem to be more trouble than its worth.

There is plenty of wildlife to be found within the lake itself, ranging from freshwater mermaids who would rather you stay the hell out of their backyard to a rather large and suspiciously friendly plesiosaurus-like creature (some would say that she prefers to be called Nessie) that seems intent on checking out who you are. The lake teems with odd-looking fish, most of which seem to be okay to eat, and plenty of plant life! But who knows what lurks in the depths below . . . that giant sea-monster looking thing has to be eating something.
PROMPT IDEAS: Here are some prompt ideas for this new area! However, don't feel limited to such ideas! Feel free to fish, to explore, to swim, to poke around . . . it's always possible Astoria may check in on your character, too, once she is feeling better! ;)

1.) The Great Pumpkin The overgrowth of plants have caused a massive growth spurt in a lot of the trees, including the fruit trees that sprinkle themselves throughout the Temple. However, the fruit themselves seems to be growing at a rather . . . alarming rate, resulting in a few pumpkin-looking squash growing to the size of small boulders in the fields. Hope you have a lot of spare time on your hands to make a hell of a lot of Temple-pie, because these squash aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

2.) Food Fight!: Those damn sprites are at it again, and are collecting fruit off the ground and throwing it at people. Fight back, organize, and conquer! Or not. It's probably better to just not.

3.) Part Of Your World: The mermaids within Lake Dona are a suspicious lot, and they don't take kindly to strangers stomping through their territory. However, they are receptive to music, so if you are so musically inclined, they will definitely be more inclined to be a little more playful than territorial. If you aren't? Have fun getting tossed into the lake head-first by a bunch of pissed off mermaids who want you to get the hell of their lawn. They don't take kindly to your type around here.

4.) Nessie: Within Lake Dona is a massive plesiosaurus-type creature which seems to be . . . oddly friendly? It seems to pop up at the most inconvenient of times. Are you sitting on the edge of the lake enjoying the water? Enjoy a massive ass dinosaur sticking its impressively long neck out of the lake to check you out and also scare the bejesus out of you. That being said, Nessie is an extraordinarily friendly being, and will even give you laps around the lake if you ask nicely!

5.) Caverns: The caverns within the lake are dark, deep, and menacing The merfolk inform you that you cannot go there -- no one can, but the merfolk sure seem to be keeping a careful eye out on it. Testing the boundaries indicates a weird magical field around the entrance of the cave, that works like a bit of a forcefield. Weird, right?
brodakota: (Default)

[personal profile] brodakota 2018-10-13 05:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Kind of defeats the point of a hermitage if you move in with me.

[Not that he has a problem with that. At all. Mostly he's got a bigger issue.]

I did find a room but it kind of got eaten by vines. I'm looking for a new place.

By why act like you're not going the absurd route?
infailtration: (2519159 (22))

[personal profile] infailtration 2018-10-13 05:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Hermits avoid society, we can be hermits together. I think. If I find an encyclopedia around here, I'll check so we can be clear on the terminology.

[ It doesn't matter, he's just enjoying the back and forth of this, how it feels like old times fondly debating semantics in the locker room. North always knowing exactly what he was trying to say even when he couldn't articulate it. ]

Just move in with me, then. Easy.

[ As for Nessie, hmm. ]

It's a giant lake monster. Serious might be more absurd. How do we like Fluffy?
unrecovered: (Face: What in the actual fuck)

[personal profile] unrecovered 2018-10-13 06:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's been a long couple of weeks, to say the least. The sickness has finally died down enough for Wash to not feel bad about taking time for himself instead of constantly checking in on other members of the Circle, and he's taking full advantage of the lack of guilt in the form of a long walk around the recently appeared lake. Just because it's personal time doesn't mean it's can't be utilitarian.]

[That said, he's a little distracted anyway - partially by the novelty of not having to worry about anyone and partially by the new surroundings - so it takes a moment or two for him to really process the scene he's stumbled upon: two ghosts from his past, whose deaths he'd confirmed himself, chatting about naming a lake monster.]

[For a moment, he wonders if the sickness acted more slowly in him than everyone else and he's only just now getting hit with hallucinations.]

[...the more likely cause is that it's some form of magical bullshit.]

[Either way, it's not something he's prepared to handle right now. He shakes himself from his vaguely shocked reverie-]


Nope.

[-and turns to leave.]
brodakota: (bro)

[personal profile] brodakota 2018-10-13 07:25 pm (UTC)(link)
This place really needs a library.

[Based on this and conversations he's had with others, it seems like it would be useful. Which kind of makes him wonder why there isn't one. But then, there are a lot of things to wonder about this place.]

But, honestly, done. I don't have a lot of stuff so just show me where you're staying and I'm there.

[No need for hesitation there. Some hesitation for the name though. Even the monster seems to cock its head and narrow its eyes a bit. Not a fan.]

I don't quite think they're a Fluffy. And they're a little big for Sharkbait.
infailtration: (2519159 (17))

[personal profile] infailtration 2018-10-13 07:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[ York is beaming behind his helmet again, and actually about ready to pull it off now that he's reasonably certain they're not in any danger. ]

Way too big for Sharkbait, you could take a shark any day right bud? Maybe--

[ But before he can offer another name or reach to take off his helmet, his trackers pick up movement on his blind side and he's turning away from the monster to check. A risky move, normally, until the familiar voice reaches him and it seems absolutely worth it.

He catches a glimpse of the man's profile before he's fully turned away from them, and even with how long it's been there's really no mistaking him. ]


Wash?!
unrecovered: (Face: What in the actual fuck)

[personal profile] unrecovered 2018-10-13 08:13 pm (UTC)(link)
[He pauses - he can't not - it's been so damn long since he's seen either of them-]

[But there's a list of things he's not prepared to deal with after the psychological strain of a widespread and potentially fatal plague, and old friends coming back from the dead is currently at the top of it.]

[So he shakes his head and keeps moving.]
a_sharp_wit: ([008])

[personal profile] a_sharp_wit 2018-10-13 08:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[At that Elizabeth looks momentarily surprised... and then she laughs again, her anger diffused by her humor as it always seems to be.]

Let it be known, sir, that you have never once upset me. No, my own memories do that very well.

[She pauses and her smile is small and thinly amused.]

Before I arrived here, I had an... encounter with a gentleman who was all too happy to inform me of his displeasure with their status.

[All while speaking of how violently he loved her. What a contradiction! And even now after his letter, when she was somewhat inclined to feel a small amount of pity for his ill-done declaration and his feelings, she can't quite get over the contradiction of apparently loving her so much and hating that which was connected to her an equal amount.]

It is heartening in some ways to know humanity does still have it's foibles and oddities after so long however. Though I suppose what we speak of aren't the kindest of traits.
brodakota: (You can do this)

[personal profile] brodakota 2018-10-13 08:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[At the sound of the name, North's attention also snaps over to Wash. He lets out a sound that is a combination of surprise and relief and confusion and about fifteen other things that he'll have to work out later. Sorry Nessie, but landing on a name is going to have to wait. There's reunions to be had.

He's a little surprised that Wash is moving away, and instead goes to call him over.]


Wash! Over here!
infailtration: (pic#10119098)

[personal profile] infailtration 2018-10-13 08:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Wash does go still when they call him, but only for a moment. Then he keeps moving away with that hesitation the only sign he heard -- he heard, but he's still leaving. What the hell? Does he think it's in his head or something? York didn't get to that point but he knows the sickness caused that for some people.

Obviously the only thing to do about it is chase their old teammate down and establish that they're real. And somehow all stuck here together.

He glances at North once more, as if confirming the plan without words (and honestly his friend knows him well enough to predict it, foolhardy as it may be) before bolting after Wash. Unless the other soldier leads them on an all out chase into an area they don't know due to being so new -- or his magic power is something like teleportation or invisibility -- it's unlikely he'll get away. York has always been determined. ]


Wash, hold up!
Edited 2018-10-13 20:46 (UTC)
fashionabot: (14)

[personal profile] fashionabot 2018-10-13 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
How'd you get that sort of strength?

[ The Circle might be the first she has encountered humans, but she knows most of them shouldn't be capable of what an android can do. ]

I could make something to keep you warm. You did say you were a little cold, didn't you? [ And another important note: ] It can help you to look super cute and stylish too.
p_mortem: (ash all over)

[personal profile] p_mortem 2018-10-13 09:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Uh. It just sort of... came to me... and I practiced. I had senpai who would help me.

[ How does he say that he got his "magic" shoved into his soul in the form of Death when he was a tiny child? Dangerous is not having a school or a proper mentor either, but rather a group of friends around his age who have barely a handful of years more "experience" that was cobbled together from nothing. ]

I guess it's mostly instinct, and I don't know much about it. Yours sounds more... textbook, though.

[ That he can actually identify features of magic circles and the such. ]
fashionabot: (08)

[personal profile] fashionabot 2018-10-13 09:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[ With how he helped pull her out of the lake unharmed, it should have been evident to her by now that this isn't like the enemies she fought against. Walking up the decline was more than enough time to strike an android down into the depths of the lake. Yet she's unable to relax despite how he claims not to be a machine. Seeing him is enough to resurface recent, painful memories of fighting a battle with the odds against her.

She stands her ground, feet shifting a little, indecisive as to whether or not she should bolt the opposite direction. She might look ready to fight, but she also isn't the kind to strike first unless attacked.

When it— he reacts to her with what appears to be fear by covering his face, she gives him a confused squint. His tone isn't what she expects either. Nothing like the machine terminals that taunted her for having the hope to fight. ]


You have a name like a human. If you aren't a machine, then what are you?
formleg: (Yeah Okay Sure)

[personal profile] formleg 2018-10-13 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[Hunk double checks, looking down at her legs and feet. Yes, that does seem to check out.]

Oh...yeah, guess so. Sorry about earlier, guess I've just been jumpy since that first time.
fairysong: (97)

[personal profile] fairysong 2018-10-13 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Mako, huh? That's weird. He didn't seem like the type to get all embarrassed about that.

[She shrugs.] I wouldn't have a problem if you were a horse-boy. [She also wasn't planning on having a problem with sitting outside the baths topless, so.]
bleps: (38)

[personal profile] bleps 2018-10-13 10:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Right. I'll be quick.

[She said "careful", Connor.

But it's a given that he's not going to move so hastily that he'll risk hurting her. Connor pulls up a vine, it growing taut with the force, but slips the knife he was given by Cayde beneath its blade. Pulls up, and it shears in two cleanly.

He goes for another one, the whole tangle of it already beginning to go slack.]


We'll get you back on your feet and then we can search for your Pod. Do you know where you last saw it?
lumberlady: (あのね)

[personal profile] lumberlady 2018-10-13 10:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Really?

[Konoha seems surprised by that, looking up with a squint as she thinks back on her interactions with him... and a few moments that seemed to embarrass him. She'd chalked it up to maybe not being that touchy feely, but... in her mind, Mako occasionally just Gets Weird.
Especially when she hugs him or picks him up or runs around in a wet kimono. Normal times.]


Thanks! I think... ?

[She's not quite sure where that lies on the spectrum, but! Stripped down to the thin underlayer and skirt she keeps on for modesty, Konoha gives a full body shake to limber up and prances in place to psych herself up... before she stretches out her forelegs to lower herself closer to the ground, holding out her hand to assist.]

Here, you can try getting up now.

[She assumes Sheryl has no riding experience if they can fly in her world...]
formleg: (Relief)

[personal profile] formleg 2018-10-13 10:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey, Nessie's been giving people rides. I wonder if she'd be willing to let you fish off of HER? At least until we found time to make a raft of some kind...I've never made one myself, but I bet I could figure it out.

[It would just be weird if he could fix space ships and cars, but couldn't build a simple boat or raft. Maybe he could find someone who knows a little more about it and then make plans from there.

His line, now baited, gets tossed out to join Noct's line. Hunk chuckles, though looks a bit nervous.


Yeah, maybe for you. This fisherman is perfectly find with small to medium catches.
fairysong: (23)

[personal profile] fairysong 2018-10-13 11:18 pm (UTC)(link)
That's all right, I'd probably be a little on edge, too.

Not the best swimmer, are we?
fairysong: (26)

[personal profile] fairysong 2018-10-13 11:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, he's pretty easy to tease, but you're also not the teasing type. [Unlike her.

Sheryl looks at Konoha in her underthings and pauses to think.]
Do I want to walk back to the temple in wet clothing? Hmm.

Hold on-- [And she starts to sing. Not loudly, but it's one of the songs that Konoha had heard her sing in her performance.

In a shower of sparks, her clothes shrink, turning into a cute red bikini.]
There we go. It'll be nicer to have a swimsuit for this sort of thing~

[She does, however, seem a little more trepidatious about climbing onto Konoha. At least she does it... though it takes her a little ungainly hopping.]
formleg: (Yeah Okay Sure)

[personal profile] formleg 2018-10-13 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[Hunk settles back down onto the ground, he's not sure what he's supposed to do now since it's just a matter of waiting. He's also still trying to process this whole 'turn into a fish' thing he just witnessed. How bizarre.

He perks back up when she returns...empty finned.
]

So you can turn in to a fish, but you can't talk to the fish?
fashionabot: (27)

[personal profile] fashionabot 2018-10-13 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She leans back to stop smothering the friendly Nessie with her face, though it doesn't seem to mind the affection. Back to smaller strokes like it's some sort of giant dog. For her, she might have a newfound love for animals budding inside of her. ]

I think I can kind of understand that excitement? Maybe not the hunting part, but being the first to experience something like this.

[ It did pique her interest once he started telling her what a cryptid is after all. ]

Hey, Connor... do you spend a lot of time around animals? Humans, too? Sounds like you might know a ton about them.
lumberlady: (聞いてんの?)

[personal profile] lumberlady 2018-10-14 12:11 am (UTC)(link)
I can tease people!

[She is pretty sure! ... though she hadn't been trying to tease Mako, then, Sheryl is right.

Wow... they have clothes just for swimming. Very tiny clothes. But... it did basically cover everything you needed to, so... Konoha guesses it is okay. There's not any men terribly close right now anyway, so!

She does stay very still while Sheryl clambers up, helping with her hand and a twist of her waist before she's settled and Konoha gets back on her hooves properly, just standing at first to let her (and herself) get used to it. It was weird to have the weight just... right there in the middle of her back.]


Are you okay there? You can hold on to my shoulders or my waist if you want. Or... oh, I know-

[She retrieves a silk cord from her sleeve she usually uses for tying back her the sleeve fabric when she's working, beginning to knot it about her waist.]
fashionabot: (25)

[personal profile] fashionabot 2018-10-14 12:32 am (UTC)(link)
[ She gives Hank a sort of scrutinizing look, like she's about to come up with some sort of verdict on his sense of "style".

Until he mentions the pirates again... there was likely some sort of data on them in some old human records somewhere, but that was unrelated to her mission. She sighs. ]


Give me a break. I wasn't really allowed to focus on anything else besides training and my mission.
fashionabot: (10)

[personal profile] fashionabot 2018-10-14 12:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ Nessie leans its head forward, moving to bump Kou lightly with its snoot. Don't worry, it's not trying to eat him... but the way it's starting to loom might seem a little alarming to a tiny human. ]

I think he likes you now!
formleg: (Yelling)

[personal profile] formleg 2018-10-14 12:57 am (UTC)(link)
Okay first of all I don't have anything to play music with and second of all WHAT ARE WE TAKING IT DOWN WITH IT'S HUGE!

[It's one thing to harvest pumpkins, carve out some jack-o-lanterns or maybe get some seeds for roasting...but Ryuji is saying they need to take out a pumpkin that Hunk could literally use as a vehicle if it had wheels. He'd heard of pumpkins growing like this for, like, state fairs and stuff...though he's pretty sure this would put any pumpkin like that to shame.]