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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! |
no subject
it's gone almost instantly, though. the mention of the seemingly everpresent danger that follows them, even after the apocalypse... one look at ren tells him they're in the same mind about this, even though aichi doesn't really understand the details mentioned just yet.]
It's awful. So dark, and all at once... [even void took prisoners, had a purpose to its eldritch consumption. he tries to find the humour in ren's huffiness and manages a dark chuckle.] Different to the usual type we've seen, isn't it?
[he does step back a little more, but gently takes one of ren's hands with him. a quick once-over confirms what he'd been thinking.] You've been awake a lot longer, right, Ren-san? And by yourself...? [the last part he's less sure about, but something in ren's manner has him thinking it's true.]
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Unsurprisingly, Ren takes to the contact with his hand easily, fingers curling a little into it. The manner he takes on in answering the question is almost too airy and careless, in a way that's very telling for him, as if the level of clingy he's been for this entire exchange hasn't been telling enough.] I think it's about six months I've been awake...? And you're the first other person from where we came from to wake up. I've met some fun people while I've been here, but most of them don't live in the city I live in...so I live with my cat instead.
[A broad shrug with the arm that Aichi isn't holding. He really hasn't liked having to live alone at all, but sometimes people visit, and he didn't really want to pull anyone away from their own place for the sake of his loneliness. He's also only had his cat for about two months, but clearly it sounds better if he just says he's been living with his cat the whole time. And also if he pretends he doesn't remember precisely how long he's been alone and disconnected from even the units he always had at the other end of his mind when he would have otherwise been completely isolated back home.]
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[aichi bites down on the instinct to apologise again; of course it wasn't his choice to not awaken sooner, and he can already hear ren's chiding reply if he were to let the apology slip. his grip on ren's hand does tighten for a second before he lets it go.]
That's a while. I-I'm glad you've been able to find some friends! And... I'd like to meet your cat!
[it sounds so mundane, especially with the horrors taking place so easily visible around them. aichi's smile is genuine, but tenuous. the mere idea of ren living alone seemed strange, even among all the strangeness he'd witnessed since waking. then again...]
You know, it's been hard to keep track of everything... the idea of there being cities and places to live didn't even occur to me until you mentioned it. [a small laugh.] That's odd.
no subject
Oh, right, there's a few...the first one you'll see is Nadril, they make people who just woke up stay there for a bit - it's really snowy and kind of futuristic. I've been living in Wyver, which is the one with lots of jungle and dragons and stuff. [He sounds rather pleased about that, honestly. It's probably the shadiest of the three main cities, but then, Olympia isn't exactly not shady, it just has a shiner veneer on it.] I had to find my own place, though, the Old City in Wyver is pretty rough and I didn't really want to bother with it...
[Meaning his apartment is tiny, but hey, he'll take it over literally anywhere in the Old City, considering he has enough standards to not want to live somewhere completely dilapidated.] You should definitely come visit after they let you out of Nadril, though. Or you can even stay over if you like.
[Ren makes this suggestion brightly and in full knowledge that the only two current options for sleeping in his apartment are the couch or sharing Ren's loft bed that he only recently got into the habit of not rolling straight out of in the morning.]
no subject
[that's a dangerous open invitation when you know nothing about anything really, aichi. ah, well. snow and cyberpunk doesn't sound too bad for a transition period, he supposes.
the gossamer-delicate positive mood dissipates as aichi blinks and his vision clears. out of the corner of his eye, he sees another star go dark. he thinks of cray, of king alfred and blaster blade - lord ahmes, he supposes, should they ever meet face-to-face. the rest of the paladins. chronojet, who had tried so hard and fought such an uphill battle. chrono himself, the new generation - his friends - kai. everything they'd fought for, swept away like so much sand in the wake of a tide.
he turns just so on one heel and holds his hand out to ren again.]
Could we... leave here? I don't think I can look at this much longer.
no subject
As soon as Aichi turns away, Ren follows suit, taking the offered hand and giving it a very slight squeeze as he starts to lead him away from the window.]
Do you want to stay on the station, or go to the planet? The transporter can be a little bit rough just after you wake up, I've heard.
[He hadn't used it on his first time down - they hadn't even discovered Nadril yet when he awoke, and he'd had to join the three-day march through blinding snowstorms to reach it almost as soon as he reached planetside. Though he supposes this isn't much less of a bitter slap back to reality, just of a different kind.]
no subject
he follows ren closely, considering the question-]
I'll leave it up to Ren-san. Though getting away from this noise- ah-
[-only to stumble mid-reply almost as soon as they're away from the observation room. it's like all the strength in his legs has drained like rainwater, and aichi falls to one knee, free hand bracing himself on the cold floor. his palm protests, having gone through this earlier.]
A-ah. [he doesn't sound surprised, just resigned.] On second thought, um, maybe we should stay here for now.
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Honestly, I asked you if you were okay earlier... [He probably should've known better than to trust it on face value - in hindsight, his hands had been a little red, but given what happened, he'd thought that might've just been from falling out of the stasis pod initially.] If you need to rest, there's beds up here, too.
[Ren's more familiar with them than many who arrived at the time he did, having made extensive use of them until he'd managed to secure an acceptable place to live in Wyver. His hand moves down to the one planted on the ground, ready to help Aichi upright once his legs can support him again, and Ren's manner takes on that exceedingly polite and delicate edge that it takes on when he's implying some unseen consequences for ignoring his suggestion.] I really think you should worry about yourself for now, or I'll have to do it for you...
[That's a very big and slightly questionable smile he's wearing right now.]
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aichi lifts his hand briefly to glance at his palm. it hadn't hurt while taking ren's hands, but that had been gentle. clearly the falls he'd taken had been a little worse than he'd thought.]
Beds might be a good start. [he concedes that easily enough; but ooh, he knows that patented Ren Tone. it's long stopped having its intended effect on him in the usual sense, but right now...] You're right. I'm sorry for worrying you.
[he takes the offered assist up, and manages to get to his feet, relying a little on ren's sturdier frame for balance.]
no subject
Once Aichi is up and resting on his weight a bit, Ren lets go of the hand further away from him so Aichi can stand by his side more evenly, and instead places it on his far shoulder as a bit of a bracing grip as he starts walking again. And then starts pouting rather petulantly.] You should be...it's not like we don't have enough to worry about already, you know? If you hide things until they get worse than it just ends up worrying people more.
[Clearly whining about it is going to make him feel better.]
no subject
he lets himself be led along with the stabilising arm around his shoulders. it's comforting in a few different ways, and aichi can almost feel ren's supporting strength helping his own return, at least mentally.]
I know, I know.
[he's smiling, still tinged with sadness but with fondness there, too.]
Ren-san? [a short pause, as he considers how to word his next phrase.] I'm glad you're here. Thankyou.
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He turns his head towards Aichi with a slight hum of curiosity at the questioning mention of his name, which means his face is in full view when he takes a moment to blink in apparent surprise at that admission. It's...not a sentiment he often hears from those whose opinions actually make a difference to him, honestly.
After that briefly open expression, he turns his head forward again and smiles a little himself.] I'm glad you're here too, Aichi-kun.
[That only gets left on the air for a moment or two before Ren feels the need to lighten the mood even further, a.k.a. distract from the fact that he has feelings.] There's all sorts of fun things I can introduce you to when you've gotten some sleep.
[The amused turn of his mouth which comes with that leaves the open question of whether they're talking about it being fun for Ren or fun for Aichi. His limit on being genuine and serious about things tends towards the extremely short, after all.]
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aichi's happy to play along, too. even this kind of deflection was probably going to lead to learning something.]
Mm, like the dragons? I really want to hear more about those. [he sees that little smirk and quite deftly chooses to ignore it.] There must be many interesting species here, if there's really so many populations that have been rescued...
no subject
[Considering the job description was essentially "do you like animals and extremely high risk", it's pretty much perfect for someone like Ren, honestly.]
Olympia doesn't really have them, but they do have a sort of cat cafe that has tiny dragons instead of cats. And there's lots of different kinds of species here, even with the people who've woken up. I'm friends with a few people who aren't human...or who are humans from other planets, like Mars. Or used to be human.