elnyan | ❪ test drive #9 ❫

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test drive

❪ 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.

The sensors we enhanced with Natha technology are picking up on some... rather confounding readings coming from the edges of the galaxy. I've checked the archives, and it seems similar readings have been detected at five different points in this planet's history, since the Natha began observing it. We have loaded these virtual reality consoles with data corresponding to those points in history, but there are only so many of us, and there is a lot to look through. If you could assist us in examining these events in more detail, perhaps we can figure out what exactly it is that caused it and how the Natha were able to repel whatever is responsible for these readings in the past.

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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FOR VR THREADS ONLY: Please let us know which prompt your thread is taking place within and what actions they will be taking, and we will generate a more specific scenario/clue for them to discover! We ask that you submit only one request for this per player, even if you play multiple characters.

[A: Forced Awakening]

[Strange awakenings aren't entirely unfamiliar to Mikumo, but this is even more uncomfortable than waking up in a tube. As soon as she feels like she can move again, she's pushing herself upright, holding her head and looking at the bizarre scene around her - it certainly seems like she's not the only one in this situation, but perhaps others haven't been as lucky as her.

She moves between people on the ground methodically, checking pulses and then shaking them firmly and tapping their faces to see if they'll regain consciousness. Perhaps she's the one to wake you up...or perhaps you'll find her holding one of the living bodies that refuses to wake, looking reluctant to give up but a little frustrated with the lack of reaction, as well as her own lack of knowledge on what all of this means.]

What is it we should do with them from here? I'd rather not just leave it to the next person. [Her manner is calm and straightforward, as if wanting to handle this with some professionalism.]

--

[B: Butterfly Effect - Crime]

[VR almost sounds like something of home, so Mikumo doesn't hesitate to decide she can offer her assistance with this particular issue. However, she isn't quite expecting what comes when she enters the VR chamber. Nonetheless, with one look at the guards, she's sprinting powerfully in another direction, package in hand - she knows the look of guards who aren't going to show mercy regardless of what explanations she might offer.

As she runs, she looks around for others who might be in the same situation as her. It's better not to be alone, even if only so they can offer assistance to each other.

She ducks into an alleyway and almost walks straight into someone else hiding, letting out a quiet, breathy laugh. She can hear the guards passing by, but not by far - they'll be back before too long, once it becomes obvious she didn't run straight ahead.]

I hope that was the same group of guards you were running from, otherwise we might be in even more trouble... [It's obvious in her face that she's well aware of the gravity of the situation and just trying not to let it get to her.]

--

[C: Invisible Wires]

[With a new world comes the opportunity for new experiences, and Mikumo doesn't want to abandon that opportunity just because her friends don't seem to be awake just yet. So the strange red vine captures her interest quickly when she sees it...but when she gets close enough, it vanishes in tandem with the feeling of something clenching down on her heart in an unfamiliar way.

Backing away from the plant experimentally, she searches the nearby tundra for any sign of another person. The feeling of the vine starts to soften up a little as she does, though she's not sure if that's just an effect of getting more distant from the plant.]

What an unusual thing to grow out here...

[A: Forced Awakening]

[Something feels...very strange when Klan comes back to consciousness, but she can't quite put her finger on what it is initially, especially with her head swimming the way it is. With a graceless groan, she rolls herself onto her back and pushes into a sitting position, feeling something hard behind her just before she opens her eyes.

It's that which keys her in to the weirdness. The chambers around her - they look almost like micronization pods, just without the second chamber - aren't towering over her or tiny things well beneath her height, they're...actually about her height, despite many of them appearing to contain humans (or having contained them, judging by the sprawl around her). She looks at her hands, at herself and her surroundings, an expression of softened incredulity creeping into her face. She's maybe eight feet tall (large for a human, but less than a third of the height she'd normally be), but more importantly, she looks like herself, not the kid she normally appears as when someone tries to make her human-sized.]

What the hell is this...? [Her tone is coarse, but there's an almost breathless surprise about it.]

--

[B: Butterfly Effect - Burning Dawn]

[While Klan is more used to battles in the sky, the Zentradi people have war in their veins, and being a good two feet taller than most of the other people here certainly isn't going to hurt her effectiveness in a fight. She's still in her piloting uniform, a skintight spacesuit of the kind common where she comes from, and it means she doesn't have to worry in the least about maneuvering as she rips a supporting beam out of one of the burning houses and weighs it in her grip before ripping out a second one so she's wielding a massive bludgeon in each hand.]

Those brats don't know what they're dealing with. [She grins towards the exits before her expression turns serious, shouting out a command to those around her.] Anyone who can fight, get up here with me! Anyone who can't, get behind me! We'll show them yack deculture like they've never seen before!

[Whatever that's supposed to mean, but she says it with vehemence enough that it's probably negative.]

--

[C: Butterfly Effect - Castaways]

[Klan doesn't typically do boats, but after getting space legs, sea legs are nothing. Of course, a sea ship breaks just as easily as a space ship, and as soon as Klan hears the twist and wrench of of the mast, she's getting the hell out of the way as the massive wooden beam shatters the deck.

Curling to protect herself as she hits the water, she surfaces soon after, checking for other moving figures who look like people sent into the simulation and not just those created by it. As soon as she spots someone, she swims over, cutting through the sea with great effect considering her size and strength.]

Hey, you alright? Can you swim? [It's a bit gruff, but she's obviously concerned with getting everyone out of this without a simulation repeat.]

[i. A FORCED AWAKENING]

[ When Loras comes to, he is gasping for air. The cool feel of metal is nothing new to him, but the sensaton of unusual and disruptive sounds agitates his senses. His body, while healed and unharmed, still recalls his final moments, though he cannot say for certain if it is that causing on onset of nausea or something else.

He blinks against the flashing lights and wonders if this is death. It is unlike anything he has encountered in his short life, to be sure. What can he do but try to seek refuge from the alarms. His feet carry him away from Stasis, mindful of the others stumbling awake - and of those still lying unconscious.

Perhaps together you and he can find a way out. ]

[ii. NADRIL]

[ Loras is still disoriented. The journey down - to put it in simplest terms, as it's a strange thing to comprehend - did little to aid his head and stomach. At least, he thinks, it is quiet here. Quiet, but cold.

Too cold for a child of summer who had never seen a winter in his life, nor had never travelled north. He has never seen snow nor felt such a biting chill. In his blood stained and torn tunic, simple breeches, and boots, he will surely freeze unless he find some warmth. ]

[iii. INVISBLE WIRES]

[ At least flora and foliage is something Loras can appreciate. Now that he is bundled properly against the elements thank to the kindness of the people here, he can explore, and do what he can to understand his situation. He is drawn by the beauty and curiosity of the vines. He feels a degree of dismay when it should disappear, and hardly moments later feel a sting at his wrist.

Likely, he thinks, just the bite of the cold sneakng it's way to his skin.

But the pain persists. Loras can handle a dull and insisting ache. He's had worse, certainly, but as the day goes on, the pain worsens. Should someone tell him about the vines, he will endeavour to search the city for his counterpart. Or maybe you run into one another through a happy accident. ]

[iv. WILDCARD]

Choose your own adventure or hit me up at

fritzwinky. As an FYI Loras is 17 but I'm fine with putting him in a multitude of situations, just let me know.

[ When he comes out of stasis face-first on the ground, the first thing Jamie’s aware of is having no clue where he is or what anything is. Pushing himself to his feet, he glances around, frown deeply etched on his face. The second thing he realizes is that his wife isn’t in his direct line of sight. He’s in trousers, his shirt, bare feet. It doesn’t make any sense; how he can be here when he knows for a fact he was tending to his wife.

Then, the alarm registers and he has no idea how to get out of this room, whatever it is, but the noise causes a panic to swell in his chest. ]

Claire!

[ She’s his priority.

She was right there with him.

Swallowing past the fact that his stomach would rather twist itself into knots than be calm, Jamie makes his way forward and continues shouting his wife’s name. Nothing else matters, truly, but finding her. When he makes it to Nadril, that doesn’t change. He needs to locate his wife. ]

The Butterfly Effect - P U N I S H M E N T

[ Of course, he’d somehow try to find a way to help. If it benefits the family he has here, small and precious as it is to him, then he feels he needs to.

What he didn’t expect was to be back in chains. It isn’t the first time but he hardly ever expected it now that he’s settled with his wife, trying to live a good, honest life in the Colonies. Or they were, until this. He knows he isn’t alone but he can’t tell who he’s with in the dark. ]

Mo chrech. I dinna ken how she’ll blame me. But my wife will no doubt kill me for this if I canna manage to get out myself.

[ The screams are terrifying and when it finally comes to him he tries to find a way out, a way to escape the noose. He has many times before.

Not this time.

When he wakes again in the same cell he curses in Gaelic. ]

When he comes again, it will be my chains around his neck once he begins to lead me. But...

[ He looks around at his cell mates. ]

I’ll need a way to get behind him. A distraction.

[ Jamie will deal with the fact that he 'died' later. ]

[ ooc: feel free to wildcard me!! Feel free to ping me on plurk

propernice ]

Edited 2018-12-26 04:46 (UTC)

[A: Forced Awakening]

[It takes Max a while to make her way out of the stasis chambers. Disorientation combined with the sheer number of people who seemed to have been forced out prematurely meant she'd spent a while trying to figure out how best to deal with them, and then to get them back into their chambers. But she does eventually make it out to the outer parts of the station, and to the windows out into space. The sight makes her hesitate, and then, as lights start to flicker out, rush over to the windows to try and identify what exactly it is that's going on out there.]

How...? [She shakes her head before she quite finishes her thought. There's a lot of questions she could be asking about how this place came to be, but she's probably not going to get any answers.] Is there anything we can do about what's going on out there?

[Her focus shifts almost automatically to the goal here, the question of whether they can act against this. It makes things much easier that way.]

--

[B: Butterfly Effect - The Escape]

[Max might be in good condition, but this is a rough trek even for the experienced. Heading north in bitter cold with minimal preparation and only the barest idea of where they're going...a storm on the horizon honestly makes Max wonder how the group expected to survive all this from the outset. Desperation, maybe, or necessity. She knows both of those can drive people to extremes of all kinds.

It doesn't look like they have long until the storm gets here, though, and Max glances towards any others who've been placed into this simulation with her, weighing them up a little with her gaze.]

Should we see what they've got for us to prepare? It's not looking good right now.

--

[C: Invisible Wires]

[Plants were about the last thing Max expected to see growing widely in a snowed-in place like this, but she's pleasantly surprised to see the vines coiling around various parts of the city. It takes her a little while to approach one, not knowing enough to know if the plant is poisonous or otherwise dangerous in some way, but eventually, she decides it should be okay to approach as long as she doesn't touch it.

The only indication of how wrong she is about that comes when the vine disappears from her sight, and she feels something wrap around her neck. She jerks back instinctively before backing away, touching at the sharp, painfully tight feeling at her throat as if she might be able to feel for the vine and pull it away.]

What kind of plant catches prey like that? [The irritation gets a little more sharp as she realises there's nothing to get purchase on around her neck, just the painful feeling left there.]

i. the forced awakening

[ asami's pod has the unfortunate luck of being placed in an awkward corner, so when she spills out in a heap, her head slams into an outward-jutting piece of metal. she winces as she comes to - at least she comes to - getting up to her knees and pressing a hand to her temples where a bruise will form later, scraped by metal that's seen better days. she doesn't have long to linger on the throbbing or how the room is spinning so quickly, however.

the pod beside her own hisses open and someone comes falling out as well, a woman dark-skinned and dressed in blue, dense with muscle, but unlike asami, very much still asleep. thankfully, she's able to catch her just in time so she can avoid the same unfortunate accident. ]

Korra?

[ she shakes her just a bit at first, a gentle touch to the shoulder, then a harder push. heavy sleeper? no, just completely out of it. for a moment, asami feels for a pulse, and while it's extremely slow, korra isn't showing any signs of consciousness. still, she tries. ]

Korra, come on... come on wake up...

[ eventually, asami will do her best to put her back in her pod, but it looks like she might have a little trouble. it isn't that she's not strong. it's that korra's much more dense than she looks. and asami might have hit her head a little too hard. either way, she's trying, and she could use some help before she drops her friend. ]

ii. the butterfly effect

option 3: crime

[ "stop! thief!"

the package feels hefty in asami's arms, and it's instinct that has her clutching it tightly. under normal circumstances, running from the authorities would probably be a bad idea, but asami's had enough practice thanks to mako, bolin, and korra that she immediately books it. her trust is at its limit these days and if these guys are so keen on brandishing their swords, then she's going to book it.

even though she has no idea where she's going.

but she is smart and fast on her feet - though not fast enough the first time. and the second time. and the third time... this scene just repeats, and asami methodically works her way through each iteration of it, more and more stubborn than the last time as she clutches the package with her life for no other reason than to keep it away from these strangers.

on try number [insert something in the teens here] she slams into someone else, grabbing cloth to steady herself before falling over completely, looking over her shoulder

and then dragging them her way. ] This way! Quick! I think! [ maybe??? ]

option 4: and punishment

[ chains aren't new to asami, weirdly enough, which is why she's uncomfortably lifting herself up to get at her chains, attached to the wall. she looks, at first glance, like she might be? kissing? her wrist? but upon closer inspection, there's a small glint of gold in her mouth and a look of focus on her face as she works something between her teeth.

it takes about ten minutes but there's a sharp clink of metal and a gasp of success as one of her hands comes from and she starts frantically working on the other. casting a glance over at her chained up neighbor she nods - ] Don't worry, you're next, we're gonna get out of here, okay?

[ she's got you. ]

iii. wildcard!

[ hit me up @ shibes on plurk! ]

( a note before we begin: i saw shiro on the drop page, but he hasn't been removed from the taken list yet — if this isn't cool please let me know, i just got excited. very … excited. )

forced awakening;

( waking up in an unfamiliar place is never going to be a simple thing, regardless of whether or not someone elects to do so in the first place. it's a shift, a change, and while shiro has always thought himself adaptive when he needs to be ( or even when he doesn't need to be ), when he comes around this time, to say it's a bit of a shock to his system is putting it pretty mildly. very mildly.

his head hurts — all of him hurts in a way that could be described as a dull ache; nothing that he can't handle and honestly, nowhere near the sort of nonsense he's had happen to him in the past ( thanks purple aliens, thanks space battles, thanks so very, very much ) and the first thing he becomes aware of outside of the physical discomfort are the alarms. which immediately put him on edge, and in space-dad-leader-mode.

… okay so maybe he's always in that mode. but that isn't the point here.

the point is that there are other people around him, looking just as disoriented as he is is both a point of concern and a reassurance that he isn't in this alone ( because when you've got the kind of ptsd he has going for him, even when he mostly keeps it under control, it comes up on him in all the wrong places and at all the wrong times, which is just par for the course ); he looks around, takes in the fact that there are still people still sleeping and his brows furrow all on their own because that has to mean something is wrong, doesn't it? as if the alarms blaring weren't enough of a tip-off.

to himself, he murmurs, with a bit of a humorless laugh, like he really has come to expect this sort of thing: ) Well … this is definitely different. ( did anyone actually hear that? will they comment on it? that's all up to you, buddy.

in the meantime he's finally going to pull himself up from the floor and make his way through the bodies that are still lying unconscious, possibly moving them into what might count as a more comfortable position, because there really … isn't a whole lot else he can do like this, but he wants to be of some help, anyway. )

butterfly effect / punishment;;

( vr isn't something he would have ever thought to try for himself — it kind of seems almost like a video game, something that would have easily drawn pidge or lance's attention — but when it comes to something like this, something that would mean both learning something and being of some help, it piques his interest. and so, he steps in.

and it takes him a moment, maybe a couple more than that for him to find his bearings once he starts taking in his surroundings. it's all sensory, at first, background noise of murmured voices that sound both fearful and anguished at once, unfamiliar scents invading his nose and there's an uncomfortable weight settled around his wrist that has him looking down, blinking almost blearily downward until his pupils dilate with realization.

his throat goes dry and he has to close his eyes against the sudden wave of panic, unwanted memories of being held by the galra so long ago coming back to him with such vivid clarity they find his heart racing in his chest, hammering against the cage of his ribs and he tells himself as he has so many times before, when there was no one but himself to keep himself calm that it's all right. it's all right.

it's all right.

but the screams aren't helping and the more time passes, the more anxious he gets. the passage of time seems all at once too much and not enough, and one by one more prisoners are taken away, and it won't be long before he's next in line to pay for some unknowable crime.

now. he's always been adaptive, always been able to figure out ways of getting himself ( and his team ) out of tight situations — but is he going to be able to figure this one out before his time is up? stay tuned to find out. )

wildcard;;;

( don't want anything to do with that mess up there? choose your own adventure! or hit me up over at problematic for anything else you might want / need. i'm easy! )

i. Forced Awakening

[ Waking up face first on the floor is not precisely how Peter had planned to start his day, even if it does feel like he's got the hangover from hell. Funny, he's pretty sure he hasn't had that much to drink recently. Even with the fog on the brain, though, it doesn't take much time to register that something is very, very wrong. The siren is a good indicator.

He cracks one eye open and immediately wishes he hadn't as the flashing lights pierce straight through to his brain, but it does give him just enough to confirm that he is in fact lying on something metal. He can hear footsteps around him, confused and slightly panicked voices, and that's as good a reason as any to suck it up and figure out what the hell is going on.

He pushes himself up to sitting slowly, eyes cracking open to peer at the chaos around him. Strange pods, an alarm that's still blaring. Nothing that looks anything like familiar, even for someone who's gotten surprisingly used to incredibly strange things happening. Magic is one thing, this looks a lot more like aliens. ]

What...?

[ And then someone trips next to him, and Peter's immediately moving to help, making sure they're alright. It makes for a good distraction, anyway. ]

ii. Butterfly Effect
a. Crime

[ If Peter's honest with himself, he's still more than a little confused. That happens a lot these days, though, so it's not like he can't work through it. And VR -- true VR -- is kind of hard to pass up. Especially when it's something that might actually be helpful. If Peter's not sure what's going on, he can at least have some sort of goal.

He doesn't really have time to inspect the surroundings he's loading into, though, because there's immediately something being thrown into his arms, and Peter barely manages not to drop it before --

Stop! Thief!

-- And without thinking Peter pauses to give the approaching guards a very sardonic look. ]

Really?

[ ...it doesn't end well for him. Neither do the second or third attempts. It takes him at least a few tries to figure out that no, he really can't just try to reason with the guards, and then a few more to work out that he's meant to get away. From there it's a sort of methodical trying to work his way through the scenario. Peter's played enough games to know that there's usually an expected solution, and maybe a couple especially creative loopholes.

He is getting a bit frustrated, though. Which might be why, after a good dozen or so tries, the minute the guards stop yelling Peter whirls towards them, package cradled under one arm, and hurls a fireball towards them.

It doesn't do much damage, but then it wasn't meant to. A ball of fire flying at you does make for an excellent distraction and the guards don't disappoint in shying away and leaving them wide open for the impello palma that follows, the pure force of the spell knocking them flat. That should at least buy him a bit more time, though it's lessened a little as Peter catches sight of someone else with a similar-looking package. He glances at them for less of a second before hissing -- ]

Follow me.

[ Then takes off himself. Does he know where he's going? Not particularly, but he's not going to just leave someone there either. ]

b. And Punishment

[ Alright, so, probably should have seen this one coming. Peter still sighs as he registers the chains, the dungeon, the occasional screams from the outside. Those last make him grimace and without thinking he tries to throw himself at the executioner when that giant form appears to cart someone else off. which doesn't get him more than sore wrists and the reminder that he can be a bit of an idiot. ]

Oi! Pretty sure this is against the Geneva Convention!

[ Does this place even have a Geneva? Nevermind.

But if he actually sits down to think about it, Peter is a wizard, he can handle this. Probably. He spend a little while studying the walls of the cell trying to gauge exactly how it's all put together. It's all stone, yeah, and that doesn't thrill him completely, but there are ways to work with that. He has to contort himself into some slightly strange positions to get his hands free enough for the spells he wants, but there are worse things than looking stupid.

When the bolts holding his chains to the wall begin to vibrate, Peter tosses what's clearly trying to be a reassuring smile at his cellmates. ]

Don't worry, that's me. This should work.

iii. Wildcard

[ Something else? Hit me! ]

Edited 2018-12-26 21:34 (UTC)

✿ a.) on thesa, take three.

[ she's woken up here before— three times, to be exact, but not like this. being ejected from the "comfort" of her pod is unpleasant, but there are too many other distractions. besides the fact that her head and the rest of her body hurts like a bitch, there's the piercing alarms above her. it seems like a scene out of horror — in other words, like a typical day in her life in midgard, but she knows none of this is her fault. there's no heavy scent of blood all around and beneath her. these people — they aren't dead, some are even awake. panicked, but awake.

zero isn't panicked. after so many times of this bullshit, she's accustomed to the strange ways of the station and everything surrounding natha. she instead goes immediately to work — first finds archer, who she had known is asleep, to be hanging out of his pod. she shoves him back in there and mutters something about better me than you. next, she finds a particular android. a2 is... peacefully asleep, as well. too peaceful for what the two of them have gone through. there was an attempt made to wake her up, but zero discovers very quickly that a2 is, indeed, still a goddamn metal piece of heavy shit that won't move for anything, much less wake up. ] You're such a pain in the ass...

[ said under her breath. it's probably better that she stays up here, and the natha would clean up the mess they made. they usually do, right? ]

Hey, you. [ yes, you. she doesn't discriminate. ] You about to go down? Planetside, I mean.

[ if nothing else, see needs a riding partner. more or less someone to throw up on; she's never been a fan of the teleporter. ]

✿ b.) butterfly effect — punishment.

[ this is familiar. chains, jail, scent of piss and misery. forgive her if going back in time to observe a certain event is a little appealing to her, but of course the fucking simulation would find the most annoying one for her. this time, her prison cell isn't shared with a dying, beat up girl, at least, but you — you poor, unsuspecting soul. ]

What's with that look? [ she smirks. ] You scared?

[ the guard's footsteps are far down the hall now, a perfect time to test the chains around her wrist. ]

I gotta plan. Might need a distraction, you gonna help out or continue pissing yourself?

✿ c.) invisible wires.

[ it's always the fucking plants. after getting tangled up in whatever the hell those red, disappearing vines, she finds herself drawn to a certain direction. no matter where she goes, it seems that only one direction is the right path, lest she wants to feel the tightness grow in her heart. ]

You...!

[ she doesn't know who you are, exactly, but it becomes clear at one point that she's being drawn to you. ]

Did you... do this? [ she's gasping as she clutches her heart, struggling to make her way closer. ] What kind poison—!!

[ wildly, she draws her sword and swings clumsily at you, in hopes that killing you will free her from the clutches of whatever spell has been put upon her. ]

✿ d.) wildcard.

[ hit me with anything else! plurk coldwars or pm if u wanna hash anything out. ]

I. Burning Dawn —

[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

gnomeskull if you're not sure. Anything else, fire away!

( i. ) a forced awakening

[ bitterblue wakes —nauseous, on hard ground, her head pounding. there are alarms blaring and the light seems impossibly bright even before she's managed to pry her eyes open and all the more so after she's done that.

her surroundings are utterly unfamiliar. worse than that, they're unfamiliar in style and make as well. maybe it's some clever illusion, maybe something else entirely. not the sort of thing she ought to linger on right now, is it? but then, what is? panic rises and she's torn between the desire to curl into herself, to curve her shoulders forward and to give in to the desire to make herself appear even smaller than she already is, to rock back and forth, and the need to stand taller, to ensure that those around her are safe.

in the end, she does neither. in the end, she is rooted on the spot. ]

Excuse me. [ she'll say, painfully polite, when someone passes her, a small figure in a big dress, hair in complicated piles atop her head. (that might be what's giving her the headache, but she doesn't think so.) ] Could you give me a math problem?

[ it's always helped her clear her head, and she feels that she desperately needs to clear it now. her father is dead, so he cannot be behind it, but his influence still reaches beyond the grave no matter how hard she works to eradicate it, to soothe old pains and to find the truth all at once, to balance the needs of her people. ]

( ii. ) the escape

[ it's cold.

they'd told her that this was a simulation, though what that means precisely is beyond bitterblue. something akin to a dream, she supposes. something that isn't real but seems real enough for now. if she freezes in a dream, it has no real effect beyond the emotional. she has died once already in this simulation and it did have an effect, but not any she could have foreseen. (she misses saf and his grace, his ability to give good dreams. oh, she could use one of those right now.

she could also use someone to keep her warm, truly. saf comes to mind —and, briefly, so does giddon.)

this time, she'd really rather not go through the experience of freezing again. her lips pressed together, arms wrapped around herself, she approaches someone else travelling with the caravan. ] It's frightfully cold, isn't it?

( iii. ) network (un: bitterblue)

Hello. [ her voice is young, but it's the sort of voice that is used to being listened to, that is used to making speeches when necessary. ] I am quite unused to this manner of communication and for that, I apologise. I do hope I am using this correctly.

[ a beat. at least there's no immediate rebuke or commentary? bitterblue chooses to take that as a good sign. ]

I have a number of questions, but the most important is this: is there truly no way to return to our homes? [ and then, softer: ] Are they really gone?

( iv. ) wildcard

[ whatever your heart desires, really! please do note the warnings in her journal btw ]

On Thesa Station - Observation Room

[ After the worst possible awakening ever, Rachel manages to drag herself away from the chaos and down the spiraling corridors of the station, all the way to the room with the multiverse hologram... not that she knows what she's looking at. Not at first. She simply followed the noise, hoping for a moment of reprieve. Finding herself apparently on space and looking at a big shiny thing that's slowly getting eaten away doesn't sit well in her stomach though. ]

D-did I do this? Is this my fault?

[ She's in no shape to think clearly about it, but the image tells her something dark and evil is coming, and considering the last thing she remembers from back home... it sort of feels eerily familiar.

She doesn't even feel her knees hitting the floor, but blinks in confusion at the tears rolling down.

Did she fuck everything up? ]

Butterfly effect - Crime

[ Rachel is relatively well versed in the art of running away from authority figures by now, so she's quick to run and ask questions later. Still, the streets are unfamiliar and her mind hasn't quite shaken what she saw in the station, so after some twists and turns she merges with a crowd, slowing her pace and hiding the package in her clothes. Better clam herself down before she finds a way out of the simulation.

Unfortunately for Rachel, she's a tiny, pale as all hell teen with purple hair, so she sort of stands out. Guards follow her a few paces away, but she doesn't notice them.

This would be a fine moment for someone to save her ass from having to do all of that again. ]

Around Nadril's Markets

[ Rachel can be found snooping around, hood up and head down, scared eyes darting around as she hugs herself. She's the poster child for teenagers totally out of their depth. Still, she's holding on.

Ultimately she ends in a market, bustling with activity and more importantly, with more or less unattended food. Rachel stops by a stand where something that is probably a soup of some sort fills the air with a strong, enticing scent. She's not a thief, not really, but hunger is starting to put dangerous ideas on her head.

Before she can do anything though, her stomach announces her presence to everyone in the place. Lowering her head, Rachel starts to scurry away. Better try somewhere else. ]

Wildcard

[ Find her anywhere! Pm me if you want to do something in particular. ]

[A FORCED AWAKENING]

[Chaos. Everything is chaos and the bells, alarms, and noise remind Lucy of what happens when time travel meets--]

What the hell--?

[She's hunched over, the nausea overwhelming, the headache excruciating. It's worse than the first time in the Lifeboat and she kneels there on all fours there for a moment, waiting for the worst of the sensations to pass so she can lift her head and look around. That's when the panic sets in. She recognizes no one and, unlike any of the other times they've traveled to the past, this isn't the past.]

Wyatt? [She says it first, then calls it.] Rufus? [She stumbles to her feet, then stumbles back, out of the line of people coming awake.] Flynn!

[Seriously, she recognizes no one.]

[Crime —]

[It's not the first time she's found herself in a situation where she's had to make a break for it, but this time, she's being chased by soldiers with swords rather than guns. Her 1950's poodle skirt fits in even less than they do - so she thinks - and she makes a wrong turn, only to be surrounded by the guards that finally caught up.

"—predicted the quake last month, and they say there's more to come—"

Is what she hears as she's being dragged away and the world goes fuzzy. Something she seriously dislikes about this new place she's found herself in? All the sidesteps into nausea and feeling out of place and then she's back ten minutes in time (not a new feeling) with the same small package in her hands.

She hurries away again, this time taking a different street, ducking into a small space between doorways as she hears the guards thunder past. Fear isn't real, she tells herself and it's definitely a hard lesson to remember in the moment.

Ever so carefully, she pokes her head around the corner to see no one at all chasing her any longer. She steps fully into the streets and, as she does, the word goes hazy once more. This time, she finds herself on the outside of the machine she'd willingly stepped into, a small golden necklace clutched in her hand.]

Whoa.

[INVISIBLE WIRES ]

[It is cold and she's aware that she's not completely dressed for the occasion. The coat she's been given is one thing, but it reminds her of the various places she's been in the freezing cold. The Titanic is one, though that's a little unfair since she left the ship before it sank completely. This? This is different.

The red vines against the stark snow aren't normal, at least they don't remind her of anything she's seen before, and she leans over to touch one, only to see it disappear before her eyes. The sensation, however, is quite distinct: first her finger, then her wrist, and she yanks back hard enough to sever the vine from its base. It doesn't stop there, though, and she can't see it still, but she feels the tightness there before it moves onward.

As the tightness in her finger and wrist ease, she hurries back to the path, then glances back over her shoulder to where the red vine seems like it's been there the whole time. A few moments later, she feels the ache in her chest and she places a hand there, gasping.]

Oh, my--

[WILDCARD]
[feel free to PM for a new scenario or make one up and I'll play along!]

I. Thesa: Forced Awakening

It's more rough than her last awakening from Stasis. Closer to when she was jolted out of cryo, back on the boat. She was woken up too soon then, too. At least this time, she knows where she is, roughly. She's not sure why she went back to sleep, but her first thought is to get back to her friends.

Only -- only her crew lies next to her, haphazard, positioned oddly from their fall out of their pods. "Simon?" She runs to her brother first, shaking him, and then taking him into her arms with a concerned expression, smoothing his hair back from his face. "Come on, gēgē. Time to wake up now. Like you told me, remember? Time to wake up."

II. Thesa: Observation Room

She's reminded, oddly, startlingly, of Miranda. Of the woman's last message before she was attacked. The flickering holograph sends her mind back to that moment and she freezes before forcing herself back to the present.

Delicately, River reaches a hand out to touch the black cloud that moves across the stars. "Devouring them," she says softly to herself.

III. Nadril: Central Hub

The message from Nurray holds no interest for River; she has a tenuous enough grasp on this reality, she'd rather not venture into virtual ones. So she heads instead for familiar places. The Hub, at least, she knows, and she makes a steady circuit from place to place within the Hub. Searching for familiar faces.

IV. Wildcard

[insert your own scenario here?]

[A FORCED AWAKENING]
[The first thing that Grey understands for certain is that he is going to vomit. He doesn't quite remember where he is, he doesn't quite remember why he's there, he doesn't quite remember what awful swill he's drank to leave him in such a state as this, but here he is nonetheless.

Stumbling out of the odd little container he seems to have been closeted in, he makes a manful attempt at remaining upright and keeping his boots clean while his body does its best to empty the contents of his stomach onto the metal flooring before him. Metal flooring...

Grey takes a long moment to stand exactly where he is, breathing through his mouth and pressing his forehead against the cool wall before him, before he feels that he's collected himself well enough to stand up and survey the area around him. The odd assortment of people milling about, the container that he'd found himself stumbling out of, and the room. This vast room, full of hundreds more just like it, with other people stumbling out of some, but hundreds more remaining suspended in their own.]

Jesus...

[BURNING DAWN]
[It's the sound of the screaming that sets Grey's heart thudding in his chest, as the scene materializes around him. He has lived through battles before, survived his fair share of bloodshed and tragedy. But the sound of terror that meets his ears is not one of battle, man against man. He hears women, children. These people are innocents, and they quite obviously fear for their lives.

It isn't until the air settles and the gnats of light stop dancing in front of eyes that he smells it as well. Feels it in the air. The scorching heat and choking smoke of the village about him, set ablaze. No wonder these people are terrified. Grey himself isn't doing much better to start.

Tearing off his cravat, he holds the cloth across his nose and mouth as he dives forward into the smoke and ash of the streets beyond. His red coat something of a beacon in the darkness as he dashes into the fray, and toward the cry of voices beyond.]

Cover your mouths! [he cries out] Cover your noses and mouths! Is there water? [Some sort of brigade that might aid in putting this inferno out?

It's at that point that he notices the men with torches, deliberately setting the fires themselves.] Bastards--

[WILDCARD]
((ooc: what it says on the tin! c: if there is something else you'd like to do together, don't be shy!))

FORCED AWAKENING/NADRIL

[ It's fairly terrifying to wake up in a strange place with a loud alarm blaring around him, and not have any idea at all as to how he got here, or if this is even real. It's been a long time since he had any nightmares, thankfully, and this feels too vivid to be just a dream. It's real, it has to be, and that makes it more frightening. He hasn't felt this scared, in fact, since that night, that last night in Hill House.

He feels sick, too, and that's a feeling he hasn't missed at all since getting clean. He spends a few minutes trying to wake his siblings up, and when that doesn't work, he tries to find help somewhere, wandering towards what he doesn't realize is Nadril. He's barefoot and wearing just shorts and a t-shirt, so he's shivering a bit and rubbing a hand up and down his arm as he tries to find someone, anyone, who might be able to tell him where the hell he is and what's going on. ]

AWAKENING—

[ she's used to imperfect conditions, sure, but that doesn't stop b'elanna from cursing in anger as she's thrown out of her slumber into the cold cacophony of the station.

but those prominent ridges on her forehead aren't just for show-- b'elanna is tough as nails, and she's moving even as her body protests in pain. she only lets herself have enough time to survey the pods around her before noting her missing captain and chooses to move quickly. when she comes upon someone taking a moment to adjust, she reaches out to grip them by the arm and yank the up. ]

Come on, sitting around isn't going to make you feel any better-- and you're in my way!

[ she's short, but harsh. maybe intimidating, or maybe laughable? either way-- this is b'elanna's way of helping. and yeah, sometimes that means hurting a little first. ]

NADRIL—

[ the anger that propelled b'elanna through the station and landed her planetside refuels as soon as she finds herself surrounded by ice and rock. b'elanna considers going right back to thesa station, but she knows what's there. if she's going to find out what (and who) is here, well. first things first: find something warmer than the black and yellow uniform she's currently wearing. she wanders around the hub for a short time before conceding failure, and stopping someone to ask for help: ]

If I don't get a parka soon, I'm going to turn into an icicle, and considering I just had the worst wake up call I've had in forever, this place better hope I don't melt any time soon after that.

BUTTERFLIES—

[ b'elanna's curiosity pulls her toward the suped-up holodeck, but not into it. her interest is in more than the not-quite-reality inside. left without a tricorder to help her investigate the technology further, she opts to move around the units and trust her eyes. she takes her time, and after getting as much information as she can without touching anything she stands back and crosses her arms. ]

So you're just supposed to-- lay here? Seems a little underwhelming if you ask me.

[ but she's not walking away. in fact, she looks more likely to take a seat herself. ]

WILDCARD—

( ooc | toss a tdm/generic prompt my way or pm me to plan something out together! )

█ a forced awakening

( Angela comes to, hand slipping in something wet on the floor— whether it's fluid from the chambers all around them or someone's sick or something else entirely, she couldn't yet say. There's groaning and coughing from so many directions and her senses are muffled, still hazy and disconnected, trying to shake it as quickly as possible to get to her feet and try to start helping those around her.

There's flashes of recollection of a story, of a Darkness, and she doesn't remember getting to her feet or sitting on the edge of an open chamber. The alarms were fading in and out of her awareness, at times a thrumming buzz in her ears and at others a piercing beep, and for the first few minutes anyone with enough wherewithal to be on their feet like her will only find her with her hands pressed over her eyes, just trying to stabilize.

Look away for a minute, and she's off to work. Helping soothe others through their nausea as they stir with a hand to their back and a calm voice, trying to get as many people up off the floor as possible. To those who have yet to wake and were ejected anyway, she ensures their vitals are still all right and starts the process of hefting them back up onto the nearest bed to continue clearing the floor. Thankfully, no one yet seems to have cracked their skull getting tossed on the metal floor. Or maybe you're the first and she's starting to fuss, looking for materials and ensuring you stay put while she finds some... gauze, or paper tape, or anything.

She doesn't leave the initial room, not for some time. But if anyone were to leave and come back with the disturbing news of the darkness spreading over the stars outside the windows... well. )

Does anyone have... evacuation orders? Emergency exits?

( What are they supposed to do...? (Transport, silly.) )

█ the butterfly effect

( But finally everyone's as taken care of as possible; it's time to leave. The message that arrives shortly after their arrival is one that leaves her only a touch confused, as the technology is well beyond what she's familiar with from the year 2076, but if it means helping— well, Angela's easy, that way. A few people step through the gate before her, and she'll look for a familiar face.

Perhaps someone she'd woken up beside earlier and tried to help, or someone who had otherwise greeted her on arrival and made smalltalk. Really, she's looking for a partner to go into the unknown with. There's no guarantee they can even stick together, but... )

Shall we stick together?

█ II. the escape
( The cold is no stranger to a surgeon from Switzerland. They're all at least properly clad, or as properly as possible, it seems— the cold still creeps into every seam between glove and sleeve, ripples up under the tight wrap of her coat and the thick material beneath, between the layers— but everyone trudges forward and so too does she with the occasional glance back to make sure no one's left behind.

They have a long ways to go to shelter, simulation or not. The cold feels very real and her feet are very numb. Hopefully that's the greatest of her concerns. The winds will only be worse atop the cliffs, and if they're stranded mid-climb when that storm hits...

Well, shelter would be out of the question. They have nothing to secure over the cavern entrances. The group seems to have prepared dry wood, at least, everyone with at least a few logs at the bottom of their packs. She only seems to realize now that she should check for the same, and begin picking at any branches or bushes above the snow along the way for kindling. No one has time to stop and check their packs. )

I suppose we'll all be pushing as far as possible and taking shelter in the cliffside. Hopefully those crevasses are large enough to keep us out of the elements and allow for a fire. Are you doing alright?

( Don't mind the way she sniffles— up until her arrival here, Angela had been in the desert. It's an abrupt shift and her nose is running, pink in the cold. )

█ IV. and punishment
( If one scenario wasn't enough of a nightmare, she trudges right into another only to find herself in shackles with various others, some familiar and most not. Those who entered the virtual recollection and those who were actually here, she supposes. All those years ago.

She's immediately marveling at the man who enters their cell with the strange skin, taking one of the other prisoners and attention rapt no matter what anyone is trying to say in the interim as they leave. She tips her head to the sound of footsteps down the hall, the clink of chains and confused voices, then the eventual screams.

Was it the voice of the same one he'd taken...? The panicked babble to follow is one she tries to stem with calm words in a calm voice, but to no avail.

It gave her the chance to hear everyone's voice, however, and when the next person is taken and pleading in a panic, she's sure it's their screaming that echoes back down the hall. This time, the panic has turned to a dead silence, color draining from everyone's faces.

She leans as close as she can to the person on her left and whispers: )

There are bobby pins in my hair. Behind my ear. If you think you're any good at locks.

█ invisible wires

( No one warns about the vines. They look beautiful against frosted scenery and Angela doesn't shy away from them when it means passing through to where she intended on going, not even noticing when they go invisible— just when one bites into her wrist, surprised, immediately reaching down to...

...well, pulling it was a very bad idea. And continuing the way she was going is also a bad idea. So she doubles back immediately, out of the tangle of invisible vines fully expecting another painful tug to stop her, but the relief grows the further she backtracks.

Right, so who is she attached to? )

arrival;

[Everything is cold, awful, and loud. It's really not all that different if not for the outlandish situation at hand. The funny thing is she prefers this to strange dreams. It's cold and hard so it must be real. She can't be sure about the rest given her multiple untreated head injuries over the past five years.

She pushes herself up and ignores how her body protests every move. There are voices in the chaos. People keep talking about putting them back in the chambers to aid their recovery. It isn't until she notes how small one of those bodies is that she can force herself upright.

It may burn her up to somehow still be alive even when the physical Earth has died. She should be in the ground with her husband and daughter. That is someone's baby. She'd want someone to get over their bullshit long enough to put Carly back in the chamber so she goes to be that person. She pushes herself to shake every person she encounters. If they don't wake, she'll get them back in the chamber. If they do, well, she'll hope someone who isn't barely keeping it together is around. She can't do anything more difficult right now.]

butterfly effect | one

[It's like a video game. They could never really afford those when Carly was alive. It's a shame her daughter isn't here, she thinks. She'd appreciate being in a world where she got to give the bad people what's coming to them. Riley can only act out of obligation. She sees these men picking off families. While it isn't real, it hits her between the ribs as hard as the real thing does.

It's not hard to take one of those guys down. What's the difference between a gang banger and these guys? Well they have a horse. They still enjoy cornering a helpless woman just as much Riley enjoys catching them by surprise long enough to give them the brutal death they deserve.

She'll be picking off the men one by one with a stolen spear for now. Give her time though. Riley has been known to set bad men on fire when it comes down to it.]

wildcard;

[PM me or just leave the prompt. I'm really not picky.]

[a: forced awakening]

[the thing about being a time traveler, especially a Legend (even if he's an active Legend anymore), is that strange and sudden awakenings become pretty common place. Travel on the Waverider, after all, was not always a smooth or pleasant experience. Of course, Nate doesn't live on the Waverider anymore -- he's committed to the Time Bureau and trying to fix things with his dad -- but the point is he's used to waking up under some strange circumstances.

still, there are alarms and panic and nate pinches the bridge of his nose as he gets up.]

Please don't be our fault, please don't be our fault, please don't be our fault...

[what? he loves the legends but it wouldn't the first or even the second time they totally screwed up time and reality.]

[b: the butterfly effect; castaways.]

[being on a ship like this makes nate's heart ache with nostalgia for the adventure they had taken to get the earth totem, amaya's transformation into the dread pirate jiwe. much as he's tried to get amaya out of his mind, he just can't shake her. it's why he's needed time away from the waverider, especially while there's someone else wearing her face there.

but then the ship is cracking and there's no time to do anything but act -- he steels up, his body turning into a bright silver metal color as he uses his strength to try to keep parts of the ship together while people are trying to get to safety. he's not sure how long he can pull this off, but he has to try. he has to help people.

he doesn't know how to do anything else.]

[c: wildcard, leave me a prompt or pm me and i can set something up!]

Edited 2018-12-29 15:02 (UTC)

i. A FORCED AWAKENING

a. [ The Doctor bolts upright before she's even processed which way, precisely, is up, and the toe of her boot immediately catches on some poor slumbering soul's leg, sending her crashing back to her hands and knees with an undignified yelp. ]

Ow. Sorry, sorry, I'm just...

[ She trails off, confused. The body she'd tripped over remains unresponsive. Not even a twitch when she gives them a good shake. She checks their pulse and breathing: still alive, just unconscious, and it looks like they're far from the only sleeping beauty around.

Honestly, they all probably have the right idea.

Blaring sirens, stasis pods, memories of a Storm...

Her head spinning and kneecaps smarting and eyes squinted against the flashing lights, she's scrambling determinedly back to her feet. Move. She needs to move. Find her friends, find her box, find out what the hell is going on.

As she stumbles onward, though, she stops to lend a hand to anyone who looks like they could use it along the way. It's all she can do, right now. ]

b. [ Eventually, the Doctor finds her way into the Observation Room. Best place to orient oneself in space and time, she reckons. And she needs only a stunned second to observe the glitching holograms before muttering, ] Oh, that's not good...

ii. ...AND PUNISHMENT

Don't like this bit.

[ The woman tied up in the cell with you jangles her chains, squirming restlessly like a kid in time out. She seems put out, but nowhere near a panic. This is, after all, nothing new.

The screams of an erstwhile cellmate echo off the stone walls. ]

Not to worry. [ She turns her head towards you, flashing a hopefully-comforting smile, ] I'll get us out of here. Just give me a mo'.

[ And then she starts twisting round and contorting herself, pulling against her chains this way and that, while nothing happens.

Trust her. She's a professional. ]

iii. INVISIBLE WIRES

[ Red vines aren't exactly novel— travel the universe as long as she has, and you're bound to encounter plant life of every size and shape and hue— but she can still appreciate an attractive bit of foliage when she sees it.

Vanishing red vines, though, are new. The Doctor gasps with delight when the vein-like webbing disappears before her eyes, and almost misses the sensation of something snaking, thin and tight, around her ankle. Only when movement suddenly becomes painful, the sharp ache seemingly tugging at something deep inside her, harder and harder with each step, does it become clear that it was more than a pretty plant with a neat parlor trick.

Should've guessed, really.

Boots crunching through snow and ice, she turns round to follow the pull, more curious than cautious. But still cautious. ]

Where are you taking me? Points for creativity so far, but I'm docking all of them if you're just a great big people-eating pitcher. That'd be so disappointing.

[ Calling up ahead, just in case, ] Hel-lo? Anyone there?

iv. WILDCARD

[ Come at me, bro. ]

Edited 2018-12-30 02:22 (UTC)

( a: ) a forced awakening

[aichi feels consciousness hit him like a punch to the gut and he wakes heaving for breath. his head is pounding with an overload of information, the feeling something deeply wrong gnawing incessantly at his thoughts as he tries to sort them out. the sirens and lights go practically ignored until, with a horrid click like that of a switch plunging a room into total darkness, everything falls into place.

rather than shocked or horrified, aichi just feels defeated.

but he doesn't let that stop him for long - if he's here, and other people are here, there's always some kind of hope. ungracefully slipping out of his pod and clattering to the floor, aichi finally takes in his surroundings, including the empty pod beside his.

he might be approaching you, and could you ignore a face as gentle as this one?]

Um, excuse me...

[or you can catch him at the observation window, watching lights go out with pure anguish in his face and a hand over his heart.]

( b: ) iii: crime

[instinctively, as soon as aichi registers the package thrown into his hands, he tries to call out to return it. then he hears the shouting of what is apparently his pursuers, remembers the details of what he'd been told about the simulation, and manages to take off running without tripping over his own feet.

but he's always been on the smaller side, and damnit he was a science student these days, it's not like he had time for much long-distance running! thankfully some of his heroic habits had ingrained themselves in him enough that he could find viable narrow routes, but he's quickly out of breath. please help him.]

( c: ) invisible wires

[it's probably a worry that the feeling of the vine piercing his chest and tugging at his heartstrings doesn't feel too unfamiliar. it's not the first time a seed has taken root in aichi's chest, though this one is certainly a more literal, and the painful compulsion to seek that it causes is marginally less horrible.

he should know better than to touch strange red things at this point.]

( ? ) wildcard

[ hey! feel free to start something if you like, or hit me up at

yagyuu to talk it out! ]

a ) Thesa Station

[ The void of space. Subject of many science fiction novels of the 21st centuries. Miach thinks fondly of it, knowing the limitless horror that a vast expense of emptiness bestows upon the minds of humans. She'd reveled in reading every nightmare that the authors from before the Maelstrom had come up with. Never had she thought that she would find herself in space one day. Much less after the complete annihilation of her home planet.

It's fantastic.

You'll find Miach in front of any of the windows into space, gently tracing her fingers over the glass and humming a happy little tune. Though she's only woken up from stasis maybe an hour ago, she seems to be in extraordinarily high spirits. She stares out into the endlessness of space for long periods of time, only sometimes switching her spot. When she hops, she jumps more than she walks. This newcomer girl is clearly having the time of her life. ]

b ) Butterfly Effect - ... And Punishment

[ It doesn't take much convincing to get Miach to enter the simulation. Since waking up, she's been feeling like a kid in a candy shop; the happiest she thinks she's been in years. Of course she'd jump on the chance to experience more, see more, become a witness to alien history. Stepping inside the simulation, she doesn't feel a single bit of fear. Whatever darkness may await, Miach has no reason to think she isn't prepared for it.

... only then, she might just be too well-prepared. There are chains around her wrists and the smell of fear fills the air. Immediately, Miach is filled with recognition. People dragged together like cattle, afraid and helpless. Panicked whispers, empty eyes. She's been in this position before. These are the circumstances that gave birth to her current self. She rattles at her chains, but only for a moment. Her fragile little arms can't break free and it's a waste of effort to try.

Instead, Miach watches. She watches as the guard drags a fellow prisoner outside and she listens as the screaming starts. Though she knows it's impossible, it seems to her that her own voice is resounding from the outside. For as long as the sound lasts, anyone looking at Miach will be able to tell that she's trembling. Her eyes are closed and her teeth gnaw on her lower lip mercilessly.

Then there's the silence and abruptly, her eyelids flutter open. ]

[ She attempts an enigmatic smile, but it doesn't quite come out right. Miach moves her legs closer to her body, attempting to make herself smaller, but not too small. She knows this game. Outlast the others. Wait. ]

c ) Wild Card

[ Miach is definitely the type to explore and find as much information as possible, so feel free to find her in any of the simulations and anywhere on Thesa Station as well. ]

Edited 2019-01-03 22:23 (UTC)

Threaded | Flat

QUESTIONS.

PLOT CLUES.

Mikumo Guynemer | Macross Delta

Klan Klang | Macross Frontier

Loras Tyrell ✿ A Song Of Ice And Fire

Jamie Fraser | Outlander