01 ∞ Goodness gracious, great balls a' fiya'

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

[Shawn strides into the Astral Plane clutching a melting creamsicle in his left hand. His fingers are stained a watery orange color and there's a small amount of melted 'sicle present at the left corner of his mouth, as well. For a few minutes he just looks around with a perplexed expression at the darkness of the Astral Plane, taking in the stars and streams of glittery material that just seem to hang in midair of their own volition. All right then. This probably wasn't good. He starts to say something, only to cut himself off to say something else.]

I could make a Twilight Zone crack, but it just feels too easy. Gus, what do you think? Too easy? Would Rod Serling approve?

...

Gus?

[Well, this was strange. Shawn could have sworn that his best friend had been right behind him a second ago. The fake psychic shakes it off, convinced that the scenery had just spooked the pharmaceutical rep and he'd run away. It wouldn't be the first time that it'd happened.] And here I thought you liked all this creepy moonbeam and galaxy stuff! [He yells, clearly under the impression that Gus is in earshot.]

[Finally, he looks down and sees the seemingly endless drop beneath his feet... and he instantly leaps to the side with a falsetto cry of surprise. But then again, the floors, albeit invisible, still exist here. He lands on his feet with a loud thunk that echoes. Straightening up, Shawn clears his throat, dusts off his right shoulder and pauses to run his one non-sticky hand inconspicuously through his hair to fix it.]

[Because nobody saw that. Really.]

[But, man. Even for a dream, this was creepy.]

Comments

[lamb_of_gold]

[Resisting a smile] Welcome.

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I think.

[He offers a grin and sticks out an ice cream coated hand, taking a brief amount of time to give this new person a once over.]

Shawn Spencer.

Although I'm almost 90% sure this is a dream and we'll never speak to each other ever again, I just want to say: I love the hair. What do you call that? Violet? Indigo? Gentle puce?

[lamb_of_gold]

Ah...[Takes the hand with a grip stronger than you'd expect on such a femmy-looking guy] I am Mu.

I regret to inform you that this isn't a dream, sadly, and I've always considered my hair to be lavender.

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

[momentarily surprised by the grip. This guy is so still, and calm- he hadn't been expecting a handshake like that.]

Ah! Lavender. Yes. There it is. That's the word I was reaching for.

[lets go of his hand]

Nice to meet you, Mu. And might I say that's quite the 'shake you've got going there. Very Hulk Hogan like.

So, if this whole.... thing isn't a dream? Then what's going on?

[lamb_of_gold]

A pleasure to meet you as well, sir.

Hulk...Hogan? I'm afraid I do not know who he is.

This is the Astral Plane. It serves as a universal crossroad of sorts to the few who find their ways here.

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

Crossroads, huh?

[glances around and chuckles to himself]

You know that's kind of ironic, because the floor here is invisible and you can't see the-

Yeaah. Never mind.

[Folds his hands into his pockets]

But why outer space? Couldn't we have had crossroads in Tijuana, too? And it's so much warmer there this time of year. Also, fresh coconuts! I mean, dude! It's totally a win-win.

[lamb_of_gold]

[Chuckles at his musings]

Well, it is the Astral plane, after all. I somehow doubt Tijuana would be quite so...dramatic.

[acrotomophile]

Hey, uh.

[makes a vague gesture toward Shawn's mouth]

You have some... on your...

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

[rubs uncertainly at the opposite side of his face] Where? Here?

[switches spots and starts rubbing his chin instead] Or here?

Are we doing it to my left, or yours?

[seventhcoil.livejournal.com]

[rather wants to know where he got that creamsicle]

Don't worry, there's a floor. ...Well there's something I guess.

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

[taps the 'floor' experimentally with a foot]

I guess..... [frowns a looks around, still not sure what to make of all of this.]

[seventhcoil.livejournal.com]

So who are you and why do you have ice cream?

[glassboxmemory.livejournal.com]

[Roxas is kind of just staring at Shawn's hand. Hello, ice cream, you look delicious. :|]

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

[Notices him staring and slowly moves to shield the icecream protectively from Roxas' view with a hand]

[glassboxmemory.livejournal.com]

[Roxas snaps out of his trance and looks up, because, oh look, there's a person attached to that ice cream.] What kind is that?

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

Mangonana swirl, of course. [He pauses to smack his lips thoughtfully, as if retasting the Popsicle.]

Also, I'm detecting just a wee pinch of meteor. But that was completely unintentional.

[glassboxmemory.livejournal.com]

It looks good. [Roxas really wants one. :|]

And what does meteor taste like? Is it kind of grainy?

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

A little sandy, but that's neither here nor there.

Dude, it's a dream! [He happily takes a bite off the side of the drippy popsicle.] In dreams, the food is always ten times better in real life. And the best part? You wake up and realize that you still have room for the morning corn flakes and a green tea chai latte.

[Eyes him] But you're neither another popsicle or a giant chocolate cake, so.... not really sure why you're here.

[glassboxmemory.livejournal.com]

No, I don't think it's a dream. I've been... coming here for a while.

[Roxas is done with staring longingly at Shawn's popsicle, and decides to get one of his own. He disappears for a few seconds, and when he reappears, he has a brand-spankin' new sea-salt ice cream bar, which he munches happily.]

I think if I was a popsicle, I wouldn't be here.

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

[staring in disbelief at the sudden betrayal of physics. But Shawn's not an idiot- and he's quick to piece it all together.]

So... we can just leave here whenever we want? At any time at all?

[glassboxmemory.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we can. All you've gotta do is will it, for lack of a better word.

This place is actually a fun place to be when you've got nothing better to do.

[theguv.livejournal.com]

[juuuuust smirks]

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

[without giving a thought to the moment of embarrassment, he instead takes in this stranger's oddly comfortable expression. This guy seems to know what's going on.] Yo! [decidedly strides over to him, the popsicle sticking out of his mouth. He pulls it out when he gets within conversing!distance]

First of all, suede[?] jacket. I approve.

Secondly... [gestures around at ALLLLL of the stars, and space] what the heck is going on here?

[theguv.livejournal.com]

[watches him with a quirked brow, because the hell is he doing? and crosses his arms]

Camel hide, actually, mate. And this? This is some damned bird's idea of a 'joke.'

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, Camel. You're right. I knew it seemed vaguely hump-ish. The right word was just so hard to find...

[raises his eyebrows at the mention of it all being a joke]

Whoa, there. Wait, I'm sorry. Joke?

Because the last ten seconds there? Probably the most terrifying experience of my entire life.

[theguv.livejournal.com]

[senses someone being facetious but keeps it to himself, for once, just gives you a look]

Considering we can't leave and it took weeks just to get my reality to line up with that of my DI's, yeah, I'd call this a bloody joke.

[quirks a brow] You've got yourself a pretty boring life then, if that's your idea of terrifying.

[contract_star]

[Is surreptitiously eying the ice cream.]

Hello. And welcome, I suppose.

[Looks around.] Are you missing someone?

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

Several someones-

Floors, walls, ceilings, and very possibly sanity inclusive.

[contract_star]

[Laughs.]

Well, if you're insane, then I guess that makes this a mass hallucination.

You were calling for a "Gus" before.

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

[Watching this guy closely, supremely confused. This wasn't really.....real, was it? I mean, the twins and all of the others involved in the welcoming had made convincing cases, but it was still just too bizarre to be true.]

Gus?- Oh. [Waves a hand dismissively.] Don't worry about him. He'll wander back eventually. He has a very gentle mind, especially when it comes to surprises. It's actually kind of a shame- I can never take him miniature golfing anymore since the motion sensor on the clown guarding the 18th hole broke. He always lights up and shoots golf balls at all the wrong moments. Really kills the form...

...But, anyways. Mind telling me what's going on? Because this pretty much feels like the short stop to crazyville, here.

[contract_star]

[Smiling,] Well, hopefully he won't get lost or anything. It's pretty easy to get lost here.

Well, let's see. This place is called the Astral Plane. It's some kind of...common ground, I suppose. And everyone here is part of an experiment run by the Twins and Ms. Sault. [Brief frown.] Who haven't exactly been forthcoming about the specifics.

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

Experiment? [looks a alarmed at this]

Ho, ho, ho, No. Just hang on a hot little second, there.

[raises a finger] Are there going to be needles involved? Because if so, I am so out of here.

[contract_star]

Heh, well there haven't been any needles so far. But who knows? They like to keep changing things on us.

[chapelsend.livejournal.com]

There's a bar over there if you need a drink. [waves in the direction he was heading towards]

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

[...Sort of caught staring at the gigantic cross.]

[chapelsend.livejournal.com]

[Heeeeeeeeey, he hasn't had a smoke in the last ten minutes! At this rate he'll die from nicotine deprivation! Stops, digs out a bent cigarette, lights up and inhales.]

Do I got somethin' stuck t' my ass?

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

[And Wolfwood lobs one over the plate! Seriously, man. That's just way too easy. But for the sake of endangering relations- and for the fact that this guy looks kind of badass- Shawn doesn't add commentary.]

No it's just.... your giant [motions with his hands, the shape of the cross] thing! It's easily the size of a large cheetah... probably heavier, too.

[chapelsend.livejournal.com]

This thing? [pats the Punisher and is entirely not showing any strain with carrying it over the one shoulder] It's nothin' much, jus' a part o' th' gospel.

[scratches at his stubble, frowning] What th' hell's a cheetah?

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

A spotted death machine with whiskers, capable of running speeds of up to sixty miles per hour.

Sparks notes version? Not good.

[chapelsend.livejournal.com]

Sounds like somethin' from Old Earth.

Wanna give it a try? [swings the Punisher off his shoulder easily and lets it bang hard on the 'floor' puffs of sand and dust rising from its wrappings]

[bacchusprincess.livejournal.com]

[chuckles]

What an adorable reaction~!

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

[glances down at the skates on Juliet's feet]

That

...looks like it takes a lot of practice.

Also, rolls of gauze and those mole skin patch things.

[bacchusprincess.livejournal.com]

[blinks at him, then down at his ATs.]

Never saw an AT before, sir~? This is the newest trend~! [twirls around]

Gauze...? M-Mole skin? [frowns, because WHAT?!]

[didorothy]

My first thoughts were actually Doctor Who.

[the-spenstar.livejournal.com]

Wait, wait.

Back pedal with me here, because I fail to see how the Who, or doctors in general relate to the Twilight Zone at all.

Or this crazy...cosmos thing that you've all got going on here.

[didorothy]

No, not the Who, it's---forget it. Sam Tyler, nice to meet you.