( ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ ) ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴛɪᴅɪɴɢs | ( ɴᴘᴄ ᴘᴏsᴛ )

[acatastoria]

[ there is a sudden sparking that emits from your magical watches and a hologram appears, showing a petit woman with dark hair. her eyes seem to hold a certain amount of mischief and light, and when she speaks, you listen. it's something about her; you are captivated by her presence, and you can't help but give her your attention. ]

Hello, hello, hello~! ♥

[ it's a trill of a voice, light and airy. ]

I know you've all just arrived~♥ but I wanted to introduce myself! To those who haven't met me, my name is Astoria! I know many of you are likely unhappy with being found here, and I understand. But the need is urgent, and dire, and I am in desperate need of your help, as is the universe in which we reside. There is much darkness, in this universe . . . plenty of worlds on the brink of collapse, or at the precipice of something great. It is my job -- our job -- to help where needed. Like superheroes, but a little less flashy!

[ she pauses. ]

No offense to the superheroes. -- but anyway! I want to let you know were we're going to go first.

[ she takes in a D E E P breath!! ]

There is a city, by the name of El Minha. It's beautiful, an oasis in the desert. There are many shops and stalls and the entire city is bustling, but El Minha is facing a difficult path. Transitions of power are hard, you know? And they have a new King, who is . . . probably nice, but the people there are suffering. Crime is at an all-time high, and King Kathashun can only do so much . . . if he's doing anything at all.

[ she brushes a loose piece of hair behind her ear, and astoria smiles a little. it is obvious, by now, that she's definitely bubbly and full of spirit, but she is deadly serious about her mission. ]

I truly believe that we have the ability to help those who need it most, and those people are in desperate need. So we're going to go there, explore, and talk to them! And maybe, just maybe, we can affect some good in this world, and change the tide for the better for these poor people.

[ she pauses. ]

So that's where we're going first! But before that, I'm here to greet you, to support you, and welcome you to my beautiful Temple. Please, please, please make yourselves at home! I'll be here if you have any questions. ♥

[ astoria pauses before lifting up a single finger, as if she's forgotten something important. ]

Oh, and please let me know if you find anything interesting or important or otherwise peculiar in the Temple! The Forest of the Fey is a magical place, and I'm keeping a careful eye on all of you explorers to make sure you don't get too lost, but my dear friends within the forest may like playing with you all, so be respectful of the wildlife! It may fight back. ♥

[ is she serious? the world may never know. ]

Comments

[acatastoria]

[ there's a slight pursing of her lips, as if she's trying not to laugh. ]

Oh, do you think I should be?

[ she genuinely doesn't know what to really call herself aside from witch, but a goddess sounds exciting. ]

That sounds like a lot more fun than being a witch.

[purrtagonist]

[oh. oh my god]

[. . . he gives a gentle snort]

Nope. Stick with witch; they're way cooler.

[don't ask him about his god problems]

[acatastoria]

What about a goddess-witch. A god-witch? Is that a thing, where you're from?

[ look what you've done, akira. ]

No -- a witchess.

[ she's decided. it's done now. ]

[purrtagonist]

[I]

[NOT AS EXPECTED]

[BUT HE'S OKAY WITH THIS]

Somehow even more compelling than just "witch". . . all right, Witchess-san, I'll roll with it.

[acatastoria]

[ EXCELLENT. ]

I love it.

[ genuinely. ]

I don't really have the same . . . luxury, I guess? As most of you. You all know exactly what you are, and I'm -- there isn't anyone else like me, I guess. I have to figure it out as a go. But!

[ and she clasps her hands together. ]

I think El Minha, and being Lady [ where did the title come from, astoria ] Astoria the Witchess, is a fantastic start to our adventures together. Don't you think?

[purrtagonist]

[LADY ASTORIA THE WITCHESS. . .]

[a thoughtful hum, and some of the brief levity of their conversation evaporates with his next response]

That depends.

[mean!!]

If you want us to help you with your purpose, then there needs to be a certain level of trust between you and the rest of us. Iiii don't think I need to tell you that things aren't exactly starting on the right foot.

[MEAN!!]

[. . . she seems sincere-- he's managed to gauge that much already-- but some walls take time to breach]

[acatastoria]

[ boo, levity. ]

No, no, I know. And you're right, of course. I don't expect any of you to immediately trust me, and I have to earn that trust, and prove that my story is true. But I'm here, and you're here, and I'll try my best to do what I need to do to earn that trust.

[ which is hard, she knows. but she will!!! ]

I can't be the witchess that the universe needs unless I do that.

1/2

[purrtagonist]

[. . . . . . .]

All right.

[he isn't the type to lecture, so he won't! she understands, and that's enough for him]

[purrtagonist]

[in other news]

So, Lady Astoria the Witchess-san.

[THAT'S TOO MUCH]

What's your favorite color?

[what]

[acatastoria]

[ lady astoria the witchess-san is absolutely going to be her name now. ]

Oh, pink!

[ THIS IS THE CONTENT ASTORIA SIGNED UP FOR, HONESTLY. ]

I love pink! Bright pinks, pale pinks, I love the pink that appears in the sunrise right when the sun crests over the hills . . . it's such a beautiful, versatile color, don't you think? What about you, Akira? What's your favorite color?

[purrtagonist]

[IT HAS ONLY BEEN A DAY]

[quirks a brow, if only because he hadn't expected her to throw the question back at him]

Ah, that's easy. Red.

For no particularly special or meaningful reasons.

[acatastoria]

[ she immediately wrinkles her nose. ]

But you must have a reason why you gravitate to red, don't you? What made you decide that red is your favorite color?

[purrtagonist]

[in a deadpan]

It's the color of the blood of my enemies.

[A BEAT]





Kidding. I don't know; it's a real mystery, isn't it?

[punk]

1/2

[acatastoria]

The blood of my enemies is a lime green, so I'm not really sure what enemies your world has.

[ EQUALLY DEAD PAN ]

[acatastoria]

[ but there's a quick snort of laughter; she can't hold that for very long. ]

You really just selected red as your favorite color without putting any thought into it? How bizarre.

[purrtagonist]

[I. . . . . .]

[ASTORIA, PLEASE?? he drops his hand on his watch to obscure the video feed on his end while he ducks his head and suppresses a huffed laugh]

I wouldn't say I didn't put any thought into it.

[red, the blood of angry men--]

It's an eye-catching color.

[acatastoria]

It is! It's very close to pink.

[ (: ]

It's the color of passion, and rage, and feeling, and emotion. Tomatoes and strawberries and roses and love and raspberries.

[ red is a good color. ]

It's a good favorite color to have.

[purrtagonist]

[oooh, she's thoughtful]

Just as good as pink, I'd say. Or blue, or yellow. Actually, I'm pretty partial to yellow, too.

[acatastoria]

Sunlight, daisies, butter, yellow peppers and bananas, banana peppers, parakeets, forest nymphs . . . dandelions and sunflowers, lemons and boxfish . . .

[ she trails off, considering the color. ]

Earth is a vibrant planet, all things considered. I wish I could go -- why are you partial to yellow, as well as red?

[purrtagonist]

-- forest nymphs are yellow?

[and not. green?? has mythology lied to him this whole time? anyway, he got distracted]

Ah, right. My best friend's signature color is yellow.

[ah, an actual answer for that one, as opposed to his draw towards red, which is less. . . logical, and more of a feeling]

Not to change the subject too quickly or anything, but what do you mean "you wish you could go?" Are we not on Earth right now?

[acatastoria]

Forest nymphs are a lot of different colors! Most of the ones here are green to blend in, but I've seen some yellow ones flitting about. [ she pauses ] Your best friend, that makes sense . . . I've never had one of those, so I picked pink just because I enjoy it.

[ the woes of living alone in a pocket universe, she supposes. ]

And no, you aren't. You're within a pocket in time and space, my own little world. Earth is trillions of light-years away -- I think. It might be farther. It's a long way away from here.

[purrtagonist]

[uh]

[huh]

[hm. hm!!]

[super casually, as though the announcement that he is trillions of light-years away from his planet is no big deal]

I think this is the farthest I've ever been from home.

Dooooo we get air miles for the flight here?

[DRY]

[acatastoria]

[ ...................... ]

What is an air mile?

[ wtf ]

[purrtagonist]

[. . . . . . . . BOY. time for a crash course in modern Earth (???)]

Have you heard of airplanes?

[acatastoria]

I've . . .

[ give her a second!!!! ]

Oh, yes! Obviously, I've seen the Air Plane, elementals live there. Wind ones, mostly. They go through trees and sky and buildings, all -- whooooosh.

[ complete with the waving hand motions. ]