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Entry tags:
❪ test drive #9 ❫
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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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she'd only just come to understand it. she'd only just found a way to move forward. probably. hopefully. if her kingdom is gone, what will become of her people? some of them are too broken still from what her father did to go on without her. are they here?
they cannot be gone, too.
right. she is not thinking about this right now. 13 times 23 is 299. ]
You may accompany me to the bacon.
[ 18. she's 18 and she's been queen since age 10 and she's trying to be a good one. ]
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I spent some time in a place called France. I dinna ken if it exists where yer from, but in that time, I was often at the side of a Prince. Charles Stuart was his name. He verra much allowed me to accompany him places.
[ Those places were usually brothels, but the lass need not know that. What he's getting at, is that she has the same air about her which isn't necessarily bad or true - just an observation. ]
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sleep would likely do her good, but she can't imagine finding the peace for it. no matter; she's gone without sleep before. not often, but she has. ]
If he's a prince, I imagine he would have.
[ there's half an admission in there, but bitterblue finds that she wants to repay his kindness with honesty. if she has learned one thing in her life, it is the value of truth. (that, and how the truth can both heal and hurt.) ]
Where I am from, I am Queen.
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Well then, yer Majesty. I suppose I should have bowed.
[ Not said in jest, only hoping he didn't make a mistake in etiquette. ]
This must be even more of a shock to ye then than for some others.
[ He'll get the food in her belly at least, and as they get to the place for it (he can't remember what Claire called it, and now he has to remember how to get the bacon. But he'll figure it out somehow. ]
If ye sit, I'll get the bacon. A drink too, perhaps?
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[ rather than "your majesty". the correct comes quick, a little impishly. she doesn't really mind, though. it's like with saf and teddy —they hadn't known and she'd preferred it that way. jamie hadn't known and now he does. she doesn't dislike that he knows, but his step needn't falter. ]
And you should have, but I don't mind that you didn't. It's very inefficient, sometimes, with everyone bowing.
[ but if being queen means she gets bacon more quickly? she'll take it. (that's not the true and full extent of what being queen means to her. bitterblue cares deeply about her people, about doing what is right for them. about leading her country out of the terror of her father's reign.)
she takes a seat, arranging her skirts. ] Just water.
no subject
Sitting it in front of her, Jamie then sits across the table, nodding toward the plate. ]
I wasna sure if ye liked it wi' a bit of chew or more crisp so I brought both. Do ye mind if I join ye?
[ His plan is definitely to eat what she doesn't prefer. ]
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she pulls the plate a little closer, inspecting the bacon he's brought before picking a particularly crisp-looking piece and shoving it into her mouth in an utterly un-queenly fashion.
it'll make her stomach feel better, surely. ]
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Well, I cannae say I'm as good as royalty, Lady Queen. But I suppose I know enough about ye that I wouldna mind if ye asked some questions.
[ She reminds him a little of the lasses he met in France when he was but a boy studying there. Headstrong, unsure (though he's sure that's a byproduct only of being in an unfamiliar place), and yet trying to carry on the best she knows how. He can, at the very least, be a kind sounding board. ]
no subject
a sounding board would be a step up, but bacon is more important for the moment. bacon dramatically improves things, but even dramatically improved, bitterblue finds her situation to be rather dire indeed. ]
Do you know where we are?
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[ Jamie thinks that's all correct, anyway. If it isn't, well. He's new too. ]
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[ that makes no sense at all. what space? unless— ] Do you mean among the stars? [ she should maybe not focus on that. this isn't like being on a rooftop and looking down, she seems to be on solid ground, but her stomach still lurches uncomfortably for a moment. ]
How does your wife know so much?
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[ He takes another bite of bacon, chewing thoughtfully. ]
She's been awake for over a year now. I ken she would never tell me something untrue.
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[ this is not good. ]
I cannot stay here that long.
no subject
[ He's trying to be sensitive about explaining, gentle. ]
From what I ken, there's nothing to go back to. The storm destroyed it all, and everyone we care about is back there, where you and I just came from.
no subject
she cannot afford to become hollow, to lose herself in the face of a truth like this. she has a responsibility to her people. ]
We have to go back. [ the "we" is unthinking. jamie isn't hers to command, nor is she responsible for him. he isn't one of hers, but he is here and he is kind and so she treats him as though he were. ]
no subject
[ Jamie frowns and gets up, only to move beside her now and very lightly press his hand to her shoulder. ]
I'm verra...verra sorry. I ken it isna easy to accept. But everyone ye care for is up in a stasis chamber, safe from the storm even if our homes are not.
[ He hesitates for a moment before offering something, but knows ultimately, Claire would understand. ]
If ye find yourself in need of shelter when we disembark, ye're welcome to stay with my wife and I, our children.
no subject
[ it is hard to accept —and if she's to believe him, she needs to see it for herself. she needs to see giddon and hava. katsa and po, if they're there. if they've been caught in this storm as well.
how far can it have spread? maybe she can return to one of the other kingdoms. lienid would give her people shelter, surely. ]
Disembark?