Entry tags:
❪ test drive #9 ❫
YOUR STORY BEGINS ![]() The Storm came. You remember darkness, but you don't remember much after that. You don't know how long you slept, but the dreams were short. You remember the expanse of stars and galaxies in your direct view. Every world and solar system ever known to man was present in your dreams in careful, pristine detail. You also witnessed the Storm, which has devoured a fair portion of these galaxies. Your Earth and similar planets were assimilated by the Storm. Somehow, you knew it would be the last you'd see of your world. That was when she told you what happened. You knew that you'd be living somewhere new. The details weren't clear, but you knew it was a part of a deal with the entity known as Darma - once, you might have been able to speak to her, but now you are only met with silence. When you awake, you will find yourself in Thesa Station. Your body is still cold, you're hungry, and the halls seem frighteningly bare somehow. Exploring the halls brings you to the transporter room, which will give you easy access to and from Nadril... Getting there is a quick process that leaves you feeling vaguely nauseous and out of your own body, and you can’t travel to the rest of the planet just yet, but the space station and the icy colony are yours to explore. A FORCED AWAKENING (THESA STATION) ![]() ... But that is, of course, assuming that your awakening was a smooth one. In the best case scenario, nausea might be the worst you'd feel. For many others, the newly awakened won't be a pleasant one. In the past, the refugees will only wake when they are mentally and physically prepared for it. After all, they are in a whole new galaxy, and dimensions and time were trampled with to make the Intervention possible. Those who witnessed the storm before it devoured their own world would know as well that the Intervention hadn't been a graceful one, and it's exemplified by the way you wake. Alarms on the station will be blaring when you finally come to, siren calls and flashing light invade your already disoriented senses. You'll find yourself face-planted on the cool metallic floor among many others with you. Some, just as confused and unstable as you; others, still sleeping — they're alive, but no matter how much you try to wake them, they will not gain consciousness. Or maybe some will. It seems the best way to approach those in stasis is to put them back into their chambers in hopes that the glitch hadn't disrupted their recovery. Thesa Station has changed though, seemingly overnight. The space that surrounds the station is now in near-total darkness. Where there were once stars across billions of lightyears, it appears as though they're fading — some would flash right before your eyes. This is especially true for those with access to the Observation Room. Alarms will continue to ring as you find your way there. Once inside, you will see visible glitches in the hologram of the multiverses as a ghostly, dark fabric begins to blanket over the shining dots that represents the many stars across many galaxies. As it gathers the stars, it moves even faster. Somehow, you may feel that it's getting closer now. The impending doom of the Storm is now upon the little corner of the universes where Darma found her planet. It's only a matter of time now before the Storm finally, finally, finds El Nysa. THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
Nadril will remain accessible once you've established footing — it may seem like a welcome change to the steel, alarms, and artificial gravity. Once you've teleported down, your devices will pick up the message from the one and only Nurray, the leader of Nadril.
True to her words, the city square where you've teleported will have been furnished with a new piece of technology. Those who are familiar with Thesa's ins and outs would recognize it as a version of the Virtual Reality machines that can be found up there, but it is made for far more people. This foreboding machine has a shining gate that allows users to simply step through it and disappear into space. However, what you're really doing, is stepping right into the past. ![]() I. Burning Dawn — You can hear the piercing screams even before your surroundings finish rendering. Once they do, searing heat, choking smoke, and flickering flames greet you — you find yourself in the midst of a burning village, at the center of the town square. The streets are swarming with people, both peasants who seem to live here fleeing for their lives and the heavily armored troops who have fanned out throughout the village, armed with torches and spears. Those who are running speak of safety in the forest — a place of refuge, somewhere they can be protected even from these outsiders with their blades and their fire. But reaching the forest means getting past the invaders who are stationed throughout the village and at all the exits. Fight your way out, sneak your way out, or find some other solution — but to escape this simulation you must find a way out. Should you find yourself killed by the invaders, you will respawn back in the village square again, right where you started. There does not seem to be any other way to end the VR session. II. The Escape — It is bitterly cold. You find yourself as part of a caravan — and though no one explicitly says so, you know instinctively that you are traveling north. Snow crunches underneath your feet and soaks through the material of whatever it is you are wearing. There are cliff walls and caverns visible further up ahead, and the path you need to take is a long, winding road that leads to the top of those cliffs. On the horizon are dark clouds, and murmuring around you makes it clear that you all expect a storm. You have perhaps half an hour before it is expected to hit. What you do with that time is up to you, but should you fail to prepare properly and succumb to exposure, the next thing you know you find yourself within the caravan once more, a chill in your soul as you stare out at the approaching storm. Thirty minutes... III. Crime — "Catch!" Someone calls that word out to you, and a moment later, a small wrapped package is dropped into your arms. There is a flurry of movement from somewhere behind you, and suddenly, men garbed in Olympian insignias — older than the versions worn in Olympia these days, but still recognizable — appear, brandishing swords at you. "Stop! Thief!" If the guards catch you, the scenery around you will distort, and you will find yourself back at the start of the simulation, with a package thrown into your arms. But if you flee, if you evade the guards for long enough through the twists and turns of the Olympian markets of hundreds of years ago, and manage to lose them... When you come out of the VR session, you find yourself gripping a small trinket of some kind — an antique bracelet, or perhaps a goblet, or some other bauble of Olympian make. It is very old, and it is yours to keep. IV. ...And Punishment — The rattling of chains fills your ears as the walls of some kind of cell form themselves around you. There are shackles around your wrists, connected to chains which are bolted to the stones hemming you in. There are others chained here with you, and as you begin to process what you're seeing, someone enters the cell. It's a large, imposing man with scale-like skin, and he takes one of the others in your cell and hauls them away. Minutes later, from outside, you hear screaming — and then utter silence. The man will return in thirty-minute intervals, dragging the inhabitants of the cell away for execution until he gets to you. If you do nothing, you will meet your end in a variety of ways — beheaded by an axe, perhaps, or drawn and quartered, or boiled alive. Should that happen, you will awake in the cell again, until you find a way to free yourself and escape. V. Castaways — The tang of sea salt fills the air as the image of the ocean builds itself around you. You find yourself on the deck of a ship, sailing away from the isles of El Nysa, toward the thick, thick fog that has kept everyone fenced in for so long. "It's never been done before, crew," shouts a man with a thick beard, wearing the clothes of a captain. "But today, we'll be the first! Full speed ahead!" The ship sails directly into the fog, and it seeps in around you, obscures your vision and becomes so thick that it's almost hard to breathe. But you can hear the waves breaking on the ship's hull, and everything is fine. Until it's not. Until the sound of the waves breaking is the sound of waves crashing, until the wind whips around you and howls but does not clear away the fog. There's a sickening crunch as the mast cracks and twists and falls, shattering the deck and sending you and everyone around you into the icy cold depths of the sea. The isles are back the way you came, but can you make it? Try — because should you sink to the depths of the sea, you'll only find yourself on the ship's deck again once you open your eyes. INVISIBLE WIRES
While there are no apparent seasons in the everwinter of Nadril, the diverse flora is not all year round. Now, with the coming of the most distant moon of the year, there grows a beautiful red vine. It snakes upwards from the ice, bright red against the glowing scenery. Growing along houses, coiled up tree trunks, and spidering over the ground, the plant is resilient and quickly adapts to any terrain.
It's quite the sight to behold, but get close and the veinlike roots fade, becoming entirely invisible. Like this, the vine ensnares its prey. A small tendril wraps around your finger, your neck, or burrows into your chest to entwine your heart. Each plant chooses two hosts in this way, binding them together with a sharp ache that becomes more severe the greater the distance between them grows. You may be alone when afflicted, left to suffer the night wandering to find your other half to soothe the pain. The vine withers after about 24 hours, leaving behind no trace, however, resisting its pull has been known to draw blood from the most stubborn obstinate victims. FINAL OOC NOTES
As always, feel free to wildcard prompts within Thesa Station and Nadril!
These threads may be carried over as game canon if players choose. Players are encouraged to submit TDM threads as application samples, but they are not required. Please direct any OOC questions to the questions thread below. Players may submit an AC-length thread HERE from this TDM for two (2) Natha REP. The due date for submission is January 20th, 11:59 PM EST. Due to the plot-relevancy of this TDM, current players are able to play these prompts in-game in their own logs. However, only threads involving a perspective player may be used for Natha REP. For this application cycle, there will be a cap of 60 and no reserves. Applications will be open on January 2nd at 12:01 AM EST and close on January 4th, 11:59 PM EST. Thank you! |
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[Rick smells the smoke and that's what pulls him forward, before the screams. The smell of wood burning always reminds him of getting on the bus during winter, at his Aunt Polly's house. She lived up north, and early in the morning, people would warm their wood stoves. He would pull his hat down at the stop, smelling that horrible smell throughout the neighborhood. By the next year, the smell was beautiful.
But I digress. Rick immediately assess the situation. He runs over to a woman struggling to untie her horse and he quickly moves deft fingers through the ropes to help her. Rick then runs over to some children and pulls them away from the house. He can't help it-- the man he made a monster saved him. Cap was hero personified. He was familiar with heroism, being the universe's sidekick.
He gets caught up to speed. Invaders blocking safety, troops blocking everything else. Rick strides right up to one of the invaders-- the one holding the biggest bludgeon.]
Can I borrow this?
[Rick punches the invader in the jaw with right hook. He pulls his hand back quickly and grimaces, as if the man's jaw is made of metal. Things do not look good for the plucky sidekick!]
III. Crime —
[Rick immediately jumps up and runs from the guards. He tucks the package into his jacket pocket and pulls the jacket closer. Rick has no idea where he's going, he just knows he's going there fast. He's always been sort of a stocky guy, but those chicken legs... well they could move a lot faster than you'd think.
He rounds a corner and immediately ducks under a market stall. He hides among pumpkins messily. It takes him a second to look up.]
Hiiiiii.
IV. ...And Punishment —
[Rick Milhouse Jones has been a prisoner before. Not too long ago, just before Captain America had him stand before a firing squad. Lots of times before that too, but those were drunk tanks and shopping mall jails. Disney jail, even, once.
He notices the pattern of the people leaving and not returning. He hears the screams. He's not dumb.
Rick turns to the person beside him.]
Got any ideas?
WILDCARD
I tried.
Get me on
i
[It's a woman's voice that comes from behind Rick, cocky and assured, though from...rather higher than one would generally expect to hear a voice like that. It's followed up almost immediately by the swing of a wooden post, clearly ripped free from one of the burning houses, swinging across to smash into the invader hard enough to send him sprawling back into his allies' lines.
Rick's help comes in the form of a woman about eight feet tall, wearing some kind of uniform that looks like it's made for aerodynamics and wielding a second of the wooden posts in her other hand. There's a slight, easy smile on her face, as if this is the kind of situation she's used to enough that she relishes it.]
That was a plucky move for a little human, though, I'll give you that.
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So when he hears the voice, he grins stupidly. Then he realizes it's coming from even higher up. Ahh, she's like She-Hulk. He turns to look at her just as she's knocking the invader off his feet.]
I'm not little! --Thanks, though. Do you think that will do it or should we get the rest of them?
[He smacks his fist into his hand while looking at the other invaders-- those who look like they might get ready to run.]
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Taking a look over the invaders, she spots for gaps in the line - there's some opportunities, but none clear enough that she can safely say they'd make it through on that one attack, even with some looking like they might run.]
Better get the rest, or at least enough that we've got a clear path through. There's no need to take out all of them if we don't need to, but I'd rather not get a spear in my back because I left one too many people behind.
[She nods towards the guy she just knocked out.] I can cover you while you grab his weapon. It'll do you better than fists in a fight like this.
[Her tone is somewhat coarse, but it's clear she's got experience in combat situations.]
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[Rick will forever be a sidekick. That's what he does. Kick sides. He takes to Klan easily, nodding his head when she assess the situation.]
Okay, I'll go for the weapon. Count of three?
[Rick doesn't look like he's about to bolt, he's trying to confuse the invaders.]
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Works for me. One, two--
[Klan doesn't actually count three, but on the beat where it would be, she charges forward, swinging her improvised weapons. A few of the invaders seem to decide to cut their losses and flee for now at the impending danger, a few hold their ground and make a feeble attempt to defend themselves from the heavy bludgeoning. Either way, it means she can push back the line a bit so the prone body of the other attacker is easily accessible.]
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Okay, my very tall friend and I think you should let the people evacuate.
[Something about the weapon makes Rick feel... like he wants to fire it. Like it's calling to him. He doesn't like it and looks over at Klan with fear in his eyes.]
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Name's Klan. And I think this speaks for-- [She's halfway through raising both her bludgeons again when she catches that glance and look on Rick's face, and lowers them briefly, eyes narrowed in some suspicion. She's seen seemingly small things sway the will to battle before, though she's not taking her attention away from the invaders entirely.] What's that look for?
i changed his face sorry
When questioned, he raises the steam-punky raygun to one the invaders and shoots.]
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I wouldn't move if you like breathing.
[ he props a boot on the soldier's belly to complete the picture before allowing his gaze to slide over to rick's. there might be an intensity he recognizes there though he looks slightly different from the version of frank he might know. (he's shorter, for one thing.) there's no recognition on his face, however, and he turns back to the man pinned beneath him and deals him a heavy kick to the jaw, knocking him out near-instantly as he throws the weapon to rick in one fluid motion. that could've been ugly. good thing he was here to assist...? ]
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He catches the spear easily and holds it straight up beside him, not pointing at anyone. He does, however, shout to the other invaders.]
There's more where that came from!
[He gets excited.]
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Maybe... don't get ahead of ourselves?
[ just a suggestion. he takes down another soldier dumb enough to approach them with his bare hands, the whole time leaving his gun on his hip. he's not really into overkill unless he's trying to prove a point. besides, there's something about hand-to-hand that's... therapeutic. he looks up after some time to see how rick's making out with that spear. ]
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[He catches Frank's eyes and waves.]
Bad news, I lost the spear.
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Stop screwing around. [ or he's going to tie you up and do this himself. ]
do they wear their clothes in a sim or ... whatever shh
Frank Castle?
[He says it even though he's been lifted up so that the toes of his Chuck Taylors are grazing the ground.]
lmfAO i ... assume so???
Not anymore. [ it lacks some conviction as he lets rick go, still blinking as he waits for another assessment on an alternate him's character or whatever the hell is coming next. ]
i wasn't sure if they saw peasants clothes or what!
I got it? You going to murder me now?
i think it's just their reg clothes ??? who knows lol
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want to fade here and pick up i g ?
fading here is fine!
iv.
She's not much more worried than she had been then, either. Her attention is solely on the screams down the hall, head tipped their way and expression... haunted, but alert.
She's a doctor. She doesn't take well to people dying as a general rule, and they were not dying easy or merciful deaths. When the man beside her speaks up, it takes her a moment to shift her focus from the suddenly-quiet hallway after solid minutes of screaming. )
I don't suppose you're any good at picking locks.
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Do you have anything small and pointy?
[He tilts his head to the side, then glances down at his shackles. There's a particularly piercing scream and his eyes jump up. Rick's positioned like a scared dog.]
Not to be sexist but a bobby pin or something?
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( No offense taken; she's a lady and she'd asked politely, hadn't she? Please, Rick. It will take a lot more than that to earn her ire. )
Why would that be sexist? I do have a few in my hair if you think you can reach. They're behind my ear.
(
Don't try to nibble her like someone else did.She'll bend as far forward as the chains allow if he thinks he can, near enough to his hands as possible. Her own won't pull up far enough, but perhaps leaning to the side will help.It's an aborted motion when another scream begins— perhaps the man had passed out from before instead of expiring— and she practically feels the tension radiating from Rick. She bumps to his shoulder instead. )
All right now, we have to focus. What's your name? I'm Angela.
( She can help keep him on track. This is for all their benefits, after all. Maybe even that poor man they can still hear screaming. )
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Me? I'm Rick. I like your name. [Again, goofy smile.] Do you have the pin? Quicker we do this, more people we get out. [He's calmer than a normal person would be but still frazzled and haggard sounding.]
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You win. She's worried about you. )
Well, lucky for you, I have a need for keeping the hair off my nape. And it's very nice to meet you, Rick; I'm quite fond of your name as well. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances. ( Her voice is calm and soft, not overtly I'm being soothing but certainly making the attempt to see him easing. It quirks almost playfully with the gentle upturn of her accent, Germanic. He's spooked and didn't catch what she'd said earlier; likely too focused on everything else around them. ) They're in my hair and I can't reach.
( Hands shackled to the floor, down between her knees and all. Lovin this prison experience, 4 out of 5 stars. Docked 1 star for scarin her new friend here. )
If I lean forward, can you reach?
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What? Yeah! [Rick scoots on the dirty floor, moving up to sit on his legs. He hovers behind Angela and reaches for the pin in her hands. It's a messy movement and he's trying really hard, so he knocks into her a little bit.]
Sorry! But I got it, get ready.
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Which is to say, she's taking being a prisoner quite well, all things considered. It might be old hat for her at this point. It's certainly not the first time for her, though it was usually just being held at gunpoint by some frightened kids forming a militia trying to protect their villages and blackmail some medical supplies.
She takes the shuffling and the bumping with good nature, remaining steady as she cranes and allows him the bobby pins he needs to (hopefully) see at least somebody free. )
You're just fine. At least you're warm.
( Which might be half the reason she turns and presses her back to his side; really, she's offering him some cover to do his work in case any guards walk by. They won't be able to see his hands unless they enter the cell and come all the way around. )
So what is it you do when you're not in prison, Rick?
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He lifts his shackled hands up to his mouth and bends one of the pins with his teeth. This will prove difficult, because he doesn't have much range of motion in his hands. Rick notices what Angela is doing by blocking him, and feels confident.]
I work for a secret government agency that has alien weapons and super soldiers. You?
[Rick listens to her while concentrating on getting the shackle to click. A few moments after she speaks, the shackle falls off him.]
Okay, I'm going to do yours. Can you fight?
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sry this took so long, i was nervous about writing asskicking
that's ok!! if it makes you uncomfortable we can skip over it!