❪ test drive: #2 ❫

[natha]

OVERFLOW POST

THE PROLOGUE     Many people in stasis seem to be medically sound enough to wake up, brother. Are the preparations ready to go? Yes, I've long prepared myself for this. Watching them everyday has been truly rewarding. ... Right. Yeah. Okay, let's get them ready to wake up. We should keep their minds active to ease the transition into consciousness. A simple VR program should do the trick, I think. I will boot one immediately. There! All systems are green. Their consciousnesses are linked. However, their minds appear to be too active... They may be over-stimulated, brother. Huh? How can that be...? Can we pull them out safely? Not from my end, no. This may be too large for us to fix alone. Do you think...? Yes, I think so... It will have to be done organically. Can you send out a message to our refugees? Of course, brother. I will send one swiftly. We must be sure to fix this before Darma returns. There is urgency in the Orbiters' request. Refugees currently in El Nysa are asked via mass message to please return to Thesa Station virtual reality area immediately. Zasere tells them that the next set of Refugees are scheduled to wake, but there's been an issue. On Thesa, refugees will find that the people in stasis are still apparently trapped in slumber. Most of them are complete strangers, but there's a chance you may recognize a familiar face or two. Normally, these people would wake up from their pods without issue, but due to a malfunction caused by the unforeseen force during The Descent, they have to go through extra measures to make this possible. Those in slumber require extra stimulation, something to keep their minds active. What better than a simulation of an area of El Nysa? Keeping their minds active requires an extremely involved simulation. Those subjected to the VR (prospective characters) will find themselves completely immersed in their new environment, believing themselves to be native Olympians. To wake up from the simulation, characters must work together to accomplish a certain objective(s) in the icy tundra. Characters in-game will be aware that this is a simulation, but this is good practice for properly interacting with El Nysa natives, isn't it? An AC-length log thread on this TDM may be submitted for Two (2) Natha REP points HERE. Please read the OOC note at the bottom of this post for the terms. PROMPT: WINTER CAME     The wind in the icy wasteland is bitter and frigid. You are wrapped up in a winter coat, but even still, the cold bites at your skin and leaves you yearning for a warm fire. Perhaps you're a merchant from the city, here to make a delivery, or you're a royal guard, sent to patrol the area. Who are you? The sky is the limit. One thing is certain — you won't snap out of your new identity until you finish a task. 1. Due to the vast diversity of the creatures on El Nysa and the fact that new ones are constantly being discovered, an important objective is to carefully chronicle different species. Unfortunately, to research these new species, they happen to need more than just a visual. More than just fleeting glances in over a snowy hill. Researchers are constantly looking for ways to secure... You guessed it! Blood and stool samples. The supplies for the former will be given. Supplies are offered in a small box; one per person. In this box is a small dart that will automatically procure a small touch of blood, and easily shaken off so the creature will be able to securely escape. As for the latter— well, they'll give you a plastic bag if that counts. Look, sometimes to get a job done, you have to get your hands dirty. Specifically, they seek samples from a newly recorded rare beast known as a Klep. Kleps spend much of their time hidden in caves, so hitting them with the darts will be tricky. They are also nocturnal, but you may be able to lure them out of the cave with fish as bait. When struck with a dart, you must grab the dart and escape immediately, as they will charge you, and killing such an endangered species is illegal. As for stool samples, well... Once you find a pile, you will have plenty of sample to work with. 2. It's cold, to say the least. Too cold to continue forward. Whatever you were doing, you must stop and seek shelter. Looks like your goal is clear, at least. Get warm. Not finding a way to sustain heat, whether it be seeking shelter, building a fire, cuddling up, or all of the above, will likely end in serious consequences. 3. You are stuck in a dilemma. On one hand, you are set to work for Olympia. One the other, you're not completely sure what is really expected of you, or who the man who gave you this mission truly is. You and your partner are meant to protect precious trade cargo for them. You were told that these were essential supplies for one of the outer colonies. They assured you it was mostly food. In loading the cargo onto the supplied wagon with your partner, however, you noticed something inherently off about it. The weight and even the sounds of some of the contents inside definitely don't sound like food. Moreover, some boxes are more obviously more concealed— draped in black sheets and reinforced on all sides. You've also caught wind of rumors that you are potentially being utilized to supply advanced weapons and other contraband to Wyver terrorists in the colonies. But what do you do? Refuse to make the delivery, and people in the colony will surely starve. Try to remove the weapons and only deliver the food, and you will be killed on sight for being too suspicious. Make the delivery as-is, and not only will Olympians die at the hands of terrorists in the future, but you will betray your country. Decide quickly... 4. There are many dangers associated with traveling in such an isolated, harsh environment. You must help each other to survive. Perhaps someone has fallen on thin ice, and requires a rescue. Maybe someone is on the brink of starvation, and you must share what provisions you have. When you come to, you will awaken in Thesa Station. All will be explained to you by Zasere or Sael via telepathic link. Your world is no more. The Storm has consumed it. We offer proof in the Observation Deck if you desire it, but it won't be an easy thing to stomach. We offer you a new life, in our planet of El Nysa. We just ask for your help in maintaining the vitality of El Nysa. What can we offer you in exchange for your help? PROMPT: STASIS UNIT     You have found the massive section of Thesa known as the Stasis Unit. There’s no special access required to access this part of Thesa Station, but refugees are warned that it may not be for the faint of heart. Here, in large pods that nearly cover every square inch of the space, are all of the people the Orbiters have managed to rescue. Your loved ones, your greatest enemy, your next door neighbor— you might find them here. These people are in a state of deep cryosleep. Due to the damaging effects of The Storm, their bodies are not yet ready to be awoken. PROMPT: GET REKT     The Orbiters have noticed that some of the refugees really miss their video games. The technology in El Nysa could be much worse, but it definitely leaves much to be desired. Which is why, after expressing relief that everyone awoke safely, the Orbiters have decided to provide a little fun in the form of video game competitions. Anything from old-timey arcade machines to state-of-the-art computers, consoles, and VR headsets (though you may be a little tired of VR right now...) is available, and yes, they have your favorite games! Enjoy PAC-MAN, Starcraft 2, or perhaps Dance Dance Revolution! Teach a friend how to play. Get unnecessarily angry and competitive. Most importantly, have fun. Keep fourthwalling to a minimum, please. Recommended playing: QWOP PROMPT: OMAGE     Upon receiving your mobile phone, you will be asked to set a username. Voila, you can now access the network! You can choose to send a message to the entire network, specific usernames, or you can try out the Orbiters’ service, Omage, which connects you to a random user. They thought this might be a good way for their new guests to make friends with each other... Connecting to server... Looking for someone you can chat with... You’re now chatting with [username]... Say hi! PROMPT: WILDCARD     You are welcome to write any scenarios in Thesa Station! Characters have been granted temporary access to the Observation Room, and are encouraged to study it carefully. FINAL OOC NOTE     Please give toplevel priority to prospective characters! Current characters wishing to thread these scenarios with other current characters are encouraged to create separate logs. However, threads between 2 current characters are not eligible for Natha Orbiter REP. 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! A TDM thread of AC length may be submitted HERE for 2 NATHA ORBITER REPUTATION POINTS. Current players may submit their thread at any time, and prospective players may submit a thread after acceptance. Please note that threads must contain at least five (5) log comments from your character. A toplevel counts as a comment. Network threads are not eligible. QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● world ● map ● reputation ● npcs taken ● reserves ● application calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

an arrow through the chest

[razzledazzles]

[He stands back up on both feet, feeling a little silly for lowering himself to begin with. If Hak is still around here... He wonders how he's going to react. Jae-Ha feels like he's going to be doing some mediating. As usual.

But this time, it's a lot more painful. He places a hand on the top of Yona's head, reassuringly, and smiles towards the bunny with a gesture.]

Then, why don't we continue with this game here? You beat my "high score". [It wasn't hard to do at all.]

shot through the heart ♪

[cutefaced]

[...huh.

Yona waits for him to remove his hand, and when he does, she reaches up to smooth down her hair as she turns her attention back to the video game. It's not his fault - her hair is just a mess when it's this long.]

Do you think we can beat mine if we work together?

[It's not really a two-player affair, but... they can try.]

me sobbing into my salad and singing those lyrics poorly

[razzledazzles]

We won't know until we try, will we? Go on, start it off, and I'll place my hand over yours. ♥

[And by holding her hand like this, he'll pretend she didn't just crush part of his heart again by fixing her hair. He's unwanted, a stranger, no replacement for Hak... what next?!]

same tbh

[cutefaced]

All right.

[Should she say no, since he's so touchy-feely? But it's not as if he has an ulterior motives, is it? ...if he's Hak's friend, he won't do anything she shouldn't. Yona might be unsure of a lot of things about this place, but she's sure of that, at least.

So she nods, and once again they start up the game.]

Are you ready?

[Well. Ready or not, soaring rabbits wait for no man. Time to get started!]

[razzledazzles]

Ready!

[Jae-Ha is a good man, it's true. He might flirt and be a little perverted, but he won't do anything towards Yona, especially as she is now. He places his hand over hers, but he guides her more than anything else. When it seems like she might miss or move too wildly, he steadies the mouse, trying to help it raise higher.

This is a lot easier than doing it on his own, honestly.]

[cutefaced]

[...yeah. It's fine.

Yona relaxes easily as his hand rests over hers - it's warm. Very warm. She misses Hak and Soo-won and her father, but Jae-Ha is very kind, and this game is a very welcome distraction.

Her eyes stay focused on the screen, as the rabbit leaps higher, and higher, and higher-

After a couple more successes, she even laughs, delighted. They're doing pretty well, for a pair of people who have never played a video game in their lives!]

[razzledazzles]

Look at it go, Yona dear! We'll pass your score in no time.

[He has no idea how to tell what score they're at, where does he look, what do the birds with double score mean?] Perhaps it can even reach the moon.

[cutefaced]

You think so?

[She hopes so... it would be nice if they were able to get the rabbit exactly to where it wants to go. Yona stays as focused as she possibly can be, and though they do miss one jump -

Well, luckily there was another that they'd bypassed before, and they're able to use it to propel them right back up to where they were. Whew. She lets out a breath that she hadn't been aware she was holding.]

I think we're getting closer!

[razzledazzles]

How much higher can this rabbit possibly jump?

[Even he can't jump this high, he thinks? There are stars, and it's been going for ages at this speed. How far must it be? Is this rabbit better than he is? Ah, but while he's distracted, they miss another bell, and even as they try to jump and rebound, it doesn't get them high enough.

The rabbit begins to fall.]

Ah!

[cutefaced]

—oh, no!

[It's falling. The poor rabbit is falling quickly, but they've used so many of the bells to get as high up as they have that even when they jerk the mouse to one side to try and direct it to one, the resulting jump isn't enough to make contact with another, and it falls again.

Yona's free hand comes up to cover her mouth -

But it lands safely in the snow, at least. Words flash across the screen.

EXCELLENT!
NEW HIGH SCORE]

[razzledazzles]

Ah...

[It fell. It fell, but it's safe, and Jae-Ha can drop his hand away from Yona's with a sigh. He got distracted and messed things up, woops.]

At least we did it together. All things have to come down eventually.

[cutefaced]

...do you think it's even possible for it to make it to the very top? It seemed like we should have been getting close...

[But they weren't. There were just bells, bells, and more bells - maybe it's some sort of never-ending game?

Yona smiles faintly, though.]

Either way, I had fun... and I think we both learned something new today. Thank you for playing it with me, Jae-Ha.

[razzledazzles]

There may not be a top. Higher and higher, that rabbit could have soared on forever.

[...Possibly, anyway. He's quiet for a moment and then smiles, extending his hand to see if Yona wants to take it to be guided away.] It was my pleasure, Yona dear. What are you looking to do next? [He's going to guard her until Hak finds her, definitely...]

[cutefaced]

Maybe... but it seems like that would have been lonely.

[Soaring is one thing, but... that rabbit was soaring alone. At least if it made it to the moon, it might have found another rabbit...

She's startled out of those thoughts by the offer of his hand, though, and she smiles back as she takes it without any hesitation at all. The association with Hak and the fact that he's been genuinely nice to her so far is the reason for that.]

I was exploring before I stopped to talk to you. Would it be okay if we explored together?

[razzledazzles]

[He's comparing himself to a god damn video game rabbit again, staring at the screen and the still-falling snow like he's contemplating that loneliness. But thankfully, Yona moves on to request exploration, and with a gentle squeeze at her hand, Jae-Ha gestures and leads them out of this gaming area.]

Of course. I'm curious myself to see what's around here. Have you seen much so far?

[cutefaced]

[jae-ha: soulbounding with a rabbit]

...not very much... I saw a little bit of that area that has all of those... pods?

[Is that the right word? She really isn't sure. But the look on her face is equal parts contemplative and disturbed, and a moment later she shakes her head.]

But there were so many of them... it was a little spooky, so I left. Have you seen very much of this place, Jae-Ha?

[razzledazzles]

[Leave him alone]

You're right about that. [That was a spooky area, wasn't it... He'd gotten lost looking for Kija or any of the others that stand out, but even with their obvious traits, there was no finding them.] I haven't seen very much for myself. The... pods, the "stasis" they called it, like you, and there was an area for eating...

[cutefaced]

[just be glad yona doesn't actually know what soulbonding is]

So... we should try to find a place neither of us has been to yet.

[Which would be... the lounge areas, the simulation rooms, and the hangar station.

And then, smiling - because she's trying to keep her spirits up, at least, even if how bizarre and honestly terrifying this all is hasn't completely sunk in for her yet:]

It will be like an adventure! Don't you think?

[razzledazzles]

It's an adventure already. Will you play the role of the heroine? I can be your dashing sidekick.

[He'll allow this. But, he thinks he can read the signs well enough to find the hangar station, so that's where he starts leading her, still gently holding her hand.]

[cutefaced]

That sounds like fun!

[There's a dragon leg/kicking joke in there somewhere, but Yona's not at the right canonpoint to make it.

Onward to the hangar station they go! She's glad he's still holding her hand, honestly; every step they take in this place just reminds her of how this isn't home, and though he's not exactly familiar, he's enough of a warm, comforting presence to set her a little more at ease.

Enough so that when they do make it into the station, her eyes go wide with interest rather than with discontent. She squeezes his hand, then tugs him over so that they can get a better look at one of the giant mobile suits.]

It looks almost like a person, but... not.

[razzledazzles]

What are these, exactly?

[He follows along to stare at the suit, but he can't resist reaching out with a free hand to poke at the metal. It's... shiny, but he can't decide if it's beautiful or not? It looks a little too terrifying.]

Armor?

[cutefaced]

[giant robots don't fit his aesthetics, huh]

It doesn't look like any armor I've seen before.

[Not that. She's seen a whole lot of armor, really. Or weapons. Or... literally anything else. Il is probably rolling in his grave right about now.

She pokes at the metal with her free hand, too, then gives it a little smack. ...ouch.]

...it's really sturdy.

[razzledazzles]

[DON'T SMACK THE ROBOT?!]

[razzledazzles]

Yona dear... As interesting as this is, we should be careful about what we touch in this area. We're getting strange looks. [So please don't smack weapons or armor or anything. He does take a few steps around the thing, still guiding her by the hand.]

There's a spot for someone to climb inside, I think. Up there...?

[cutefaced]

[Okay, FINE, she'll behave. But only because he asked her to.]

Oh... oops.

["Oops" is, apparently, all she has to say, but she will turn and give the people watching them a look that all but screams "What exactly were you expecting?" All of this stuff is new to them, of course they're going to touch it.

Jae-Ha directs her attention elsewhere, though, and she follows his gaze up.]

...do you think we could fit in there?