❪ test drive #4 ❫

[natha]

YOUR STORY BEGINS     The Storm came. You only remember darkness, but you don't remember much after that. All you know, perhaps, is that it was cold. You don't know for how long you slept, but the dreams were short, at least. You remember the expanse of stars and the universe that came in view. Every world and solar system ever known was displayed in your dreams in careful, pristine detail. You have also witnessed The Storm, which has devoured a fair portion of these galaxies. It was a dark, thick smog — ominous in appearance and ever foreboding. Your Earth and similar planets were immersed in The Storm. Somehow, you knew it would be the last you'd see of it. That was when she told you what happened, and how you could help. You knew that you'd be living somewhere new, even though you never asked for it. The details here weren't clear, but you knew you'd made a deal with Darma. Not long after, you'll wake at Thesa Station — your body is still cold. It all felt like a dream, but somehow, you knew it wasn't — now, will you keep that promise you made to Darma? PROMPT: THE STORM     CW: death You were awake on Thesa Station. But at some point you, like many other new arrivals before you, wandered into the Observation Deck. Ordinarily, this is where images of The Storm are replayed to remind Refugees of the fate they have escaped. The Natha Orbiters' technology has evolved. They are aware of your gaps in memory. You may have doubts of The Storm even existing, or of your world's destruction. Though they do not wish reliving those last moments on anyone, they have created an experience that will do just that. Before entering the Observation Deck, you are warned that what follows will not be for the weak of heart. As soon as you step in, you will find that the walls around you begin to transform and expand. Welcome to the Planet Cespi, in the Circinus Galaxy. Unfortunately, we were not able to save this world from The Storm's Consumption. These are its last memories. You are surrounded by blue, grassy hills as far as the eye can see and a pleasant breeze. The atmosphere is thick with a sickly sweet smell. Before you lays the scene of a quiet village, with its residents going about their everyday lives. You aren't alone, either, with an equally confused stranger (or perhaps you know each other?) surveying the scene. Then the world grows completely silent for a full minute. You and your partner are unable to make a sound, verbal or otherwise. Without warning, a deafening roar fills your ears and forces you to double over in pain. The villagers run out of their homes in a panic, finding themselves in just as much pain and confusion as you do. Where there was no sound before, now there is too much for a normal human body to process. Look up. An expanding mass of energy is swallowing everything you can see. It consumes the earth, the atmosphere, the depths of space — and it is getting closer. Your only hope is to outrun it, if you can. The people in the village certainly try to, racing past you. Their fear is very real. Their bodies are very real. You may be able to run from it for a time, only able to catch glimpses of this dark and sinister force swallowing everything and everyone. The earth rumbles and separates beneath you. Electricity surges through the sky, and then through your very body. You fought hard, but it is impossible to outrun the Storm forever. You too will be consumed. Your death is quick, but not painless. What were you thinking, before you took your last breath? You awaken back in the Observation Deck, next to your new friend. PROMPT: TRAINING MODULES     While it’s all nice and well to familiarize oneself with Thesa Station, it is most advised that new arrivals venture out a bit. Not physically. No one is quite prepared for that yet. However, there will be several virtual reality training programs set for those who dare to be adventurous. For those who aren’t and don’t dare, well — good luck, all the same. Once seated and appropriately strapped in, the system will automatically whir to life. 1. When you enter the Natha's newest program, at first nothing loads. You might think this is an error as you look around in apparent total darkness, only able to see your own virtual body if you look down, but soon enough a voice comes to life as if speakers have turned on somewhere. Long ago, the lands of El Nysa were dominated by the ancestors of the dragons who now live among the people, tamed. It was pretty dangerous! How about a little history lesson? And then the simulation comes to life— a. The lush lands that blossom to life around you all at once are real enough to make you forget you're in a simulation — at least for a moment. Those refugees who have been to the planet in reality before will find themselves in territory as unfamiliar as those who are brand new, as this simulation takes place far back in history. Instead of sprawling cities and civilizations, the most you'll find is scattered villages, many of them no more than nomadic campsites at best. You've been outfitted to blend in with the natives and these simulated people won't react to you as a newcomer, but as a member of their village. Are you a doctor, or perhaps a warrior? Maybe you're even in charge! But they want your help, and they want it quickly: a dragon is coming. The dragon is larger than the mount-sized breeds that exist on El Nysa today — much larger. It's a good six stories in height, bestial, and angry. Maybe it's then that you notice the lands that surround you are littered with scars of scorched earth, some of them several yards across, and there's a reason these people don't live in one place for very long. But don't linger too long on the makeshift grave markers sticking out of the burnt countryside — the dragon is coming. b. If you're looking for something a little less violent, perhaps another area of the historic simulation will be up your alley. This one finds you on a cliffside, waiting among other villagers for an event the people are talking about in hushed whispers, some of which you can identify as prayer. When the white dragon raises its head up from the depths of the ravine, towering impossibly high over you and the others on the cliffside, it's no wonder most of the natives fall to their knees in awe and wonder. This dragon doesn't attack, only looks at the people on land with an ancient and strange wisdom. Then it speaks. Not in words, but the low rumbling sound that starts in its throat and becomes a full trumpeting bellow to the sky seems to have meaning, and somehow, you can understand its cry as it entreats the people to praise and worship. The natives around you are already starting to give offerings with their prayers, food and carvings and — blood? Is that someone's arm being offered up? That's different. 2. Let us now travel forward in time, shall we? a. The Olympian settlement around you is quiet — until the screaming starts. Guerilla fighters from Wyver flood the streets, knocking civilians aside and breaking down doors and windows when they find their way barred. They move methodically, advancing toward the nicer parts of town where the politicians reside and leaving terror in their wake. They're here for the politicians, people say. They're here to punish the people who made the decision to advance into Wyver in the first place. Blood for blood, as the saying goes. Where they'll be taking them once they have them is anyone's guess. A soldier emerges from a building, dragging someone in elegant clothing out by the hair. Looks like they've found one. Will you rescue them? Make a run for it yourself, lest you be mistaken for one of their targets? Or maybe they've already caught you and some other unfortunate Refugee who's been dropped into this simulation, and the two of you need to figure out a way to escape. b. CW: branding You find yourself in the midst of a bustling crowd gathered at the Temple of Thesa. Robed acolytes stoke fires on either side of the altar at the front of the temple, where miserable-looking people who seem to be from a village in Wyver await, bound in ropes. The priest, at the front of the crowd, picks up a metal brand from the altar and gestures for another acolyte to bring a prisoner forward. The crowd watches with interest as the prisoner is forced to kneel in front of the altar, their arm laid out flat on the marble surface. Another cry — "For the glory of Olympia!" — and the crest of the city is burned into the prisoner's arm. The crowd cheers, deafening the cries of pain. The priest ushers forward another prisoner, and then another. Is that a familiar face you see in the lineup, thrust into this bit of history by the simulation's whims? You have to do something. Or are you unlucky enough to find yourself bound? ...Well, hopefully someone else in the crowd has more scruples than this priest. 3. And now, the present. After all those enlightening scenes, the simulation finally brings you to a more quiet area of Olympia. You are deposited out somewhere in The Outlook, a place the very first group of refugees had to trudge through before they found their homes. You've arrived in the early evening — but sunlight is waning, and soon you'll be under a sky full of stars. Luckily, their old campsites aren't too overgrown. The intention here is to get you familiar with some of the local flora and fauna. What sorts of plants will you encounter? Do you find yourself under a Verillum Tree, suddenly compelled to be painfully honest and truthful in conversation with a complete stranger? Find yourself behaving erratically in the presence of Whistleweed? Or perhaps you'll have to break the spell of being trapped in a Vena Amoris' vines... with a kiss. PROMPT: STASIS UNIT     You have found the massive section of Thesa known as the Stasis Unit. There’s no special access required to enter 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: 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     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! An AC-length thread may be submitted for 2 NATHA ORBITER REPUTATION POINTS after acceptance here. Please submit by February 18th. We will no longer be providing overflow posts. In an event where the post hits CAPTCHA, players are advised to move threads to an overflow post on their character journals or create their own catch-all post. These threads remain eligible for REP. There will be an application cap of 60, and no reserves. Please read here for more information. QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● lore ● map ● npcs taken ● atp/emp ● application ● rep/acp calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

[perilling]

[Illya puts his head back against the tree, trying to breath as much clean air as possible.]

No. Maybe it is timed, and we simply wait? Or maybe when the dragon kills enough people and we lose our mission it will kick us out.

[He figures that can happen any time now, thanks. Cursing mildly in Russian, he looks over at his partner.]

Do these people honestly expect us to know how to fight a dragon?

[vorrutyer]

Why?

[ A little laugh. ]

Surely you know a bit of my reputation. Surely it had made its way out even to your Betan school. I am, as I have ever been, a drunken good-for-nothing fool who screws other men rather than doing anything productive in society. Women too. All takers. You know.

[dendarii]

[ That - makes Miles squirm a bit. Ironically, he finds bisexuality easier to deal with right now than he will as an older man. Because Beta Colony is very fresh in his mind and he hasn't been quite as inundated by the Service Academy and everything else. But. Well. Barrayar's prejudices are still hard to shake, even with a Betan education. ]

That's hideous of him.

[ But his tone says he's judging you a little too, Byerly. ]

[semblant]

[Oh good, here's someone he can be appropriately inappropriate with -- unless she's serious about the space cops thing. Then he might not be able to be seen with her.]

Pushy? [He's leaning toward her similarly.] How so?

cw homophobia belatedly etc.

[vorrutyer]

Is it?

[ He hears that tone. There's a certain degree of satisfaction in his smile. ]

Don't you think he was a little bit right, though? They are such unnatural desires, after all.

[semblant]

Aren't you persistent.

branded; lemme know if this works if not i'll edit

[heraldsdawn]

Lavellan had been in the far back of the crowd. Not being able to tell what had been going on at the front of the Stage. All he could see were people lined up and the crowd calling out for some kind of justice. The way their tones carried it did not sound like anything pleasant would come of it. It's when the first ugly scream of pain pierces the air that he finally manages to see what they were doing; they were branding people with hot iron. A his stomach knots tightly as he soon realizes what they're doing.

He begins pushing through the crowd, white blond hair gleaming in the sun, pale tattooed face looking livid at the injustice. He hears each roar of cheer from the crowd and each anguished cry of a prisoner as he gets closer and closer. He can't see with all the people in the way, as he pushes past them faster. Finally, he manages to break the crowd there's only one unbranded woman left. He see's the priest and he's readying to brand her but Lavellan already reacts.

Robes of midnight blue and silver sweep him into an incorporeal state as he speeds towards the stage in after images of white and blue. There are more screams, but this time of surprise from the people themselves. They knocks themselves over to avoid the streak of light as it heads to the stage.

When the priest lunges down to brand the kiss of hot iron to the woman's face, the elf has flashed and materialized into the space between them. His own staff is quick as he raises it and blocks the incoming poker, knocking it aside. The priest is all but a gasp before he finds a foot planted hard into their chest and sending them off the stage with a scream. The enraged look in the elf's face is prominent as he looks over the stunned guards and people. "These people leave here. With me. Now." He says it with a finality.

[flips]

Never! How ancient is it?

oops yes sorry

[dendarii]

[ He's clearly uncomfortable. And trying not to be? But not succeeding. ]

There's nothing unnatural about them.

[hedonistic]

[...]

oh my god
are you one of those types from ancient places that communicate via bird or whatever
or are you just really old

[semblant]

[On one hand, true.

On the other hand, he doesn't know a dang thing about the natives or what would happen if Diva were to ingest their blood? Probably nothing. Probably. He's not so cozy to the idea anyway; like entering someone's house for the first time. Gotta wait a few months in before rifling through the fridge.]

I won't listen to you complain about it.

[While unbuttoning a cuff...]

[vorrutyer]

Though you can believe it, can't you? That I'd do wicked things. It seems so plausible.

[adisaster]

ARE YOU AS IGNORANT AS YOU ARE SLOW?

WHAT SOME MAY MISTAKE FOR PERVERSION IS TO OTHERS AN OPENNNES TO NEW EXPERIENCES. A WILLINGNESS TO INDULGE IN ALL SORTS OF PLEASURES

YOU ARE SORELY MISSING OUT IF YOU DENY YOURSELF THE BASEST OF HUMAN INSTINCTS OUT OF A SENSE OF MODESTY

[shashka]

[ sure, Adam was perhaps more closed off than he'd once been with John, though he still knew more than anyone else. was it intentional? perhaps. but the man in front of him had always been his one weakness. for his sake, he needed to keep those feelings close to his heart.

though, he supposes, this would be the most that they'd be seeing of each other in years. it was... nice. ]

Compared to home? It's practically been like a vacation.

[ he's only a double agent here, maybe a triple, depending on how you slice things. and, it was really more of a hobby than anything else, while he tried to figure out local politics. ]

If there's anything that urgent, I can pop back down. The Orbiters let us have one free trip up here per day.

[ something he'd been sure to take advantage of. he supposes he'll even have more time since he could check on the stasis pods a little less. ]

[colorature]

<sub>[Probably nothing, but the thing about Diva is that she isn't inclined to wait a few months to rifle through the fridge. She's the type to eat you out of house and home the first time she comes over.

Eagerly she watches as he begins to unbutton the cuff of his sleeve, like a cat would tracking its prey. It's been ages since she's fed off one of her own, and really it isn't that pleasant...but it beats what she's just tried to consume so yolo.]</sub>

[shikomizue]

[It's not much of a choice at all; Takasugi is well aware of the bias in the options he's posed. Either kill some Olympians - and potentially be branded a rebel along with his captors - or let captives die.

Those prisoners' lives are already being bartered with, just on a different stage.

Takasugi's smile bares more teeth than relief, like a beast about to sink its teeth into cornered prey.]

Good.

You'll be freed first. The rest when we're clear of the assault.

[No need to ask the men still arguing behind him, their desperation growing heated. Takasugi leans forward, plucking a knife from its sheath at his side and cutting the man free.]

Will you need a sword?

[carefulapostate]

[The voice snaps his from his thoughts, and he straightens. One of the Dalish, not one he was familiar with. However one that seemed to be aware of intimate knowledge of the inquisition, not to mention the familiarity with which he spoke.

Solas studied him for but a moment, and quickly learned what he needed. He saw the Anchor, clear as day, upon the stranger's hand. He had gathered as much information as he could upon waking, thus was aware of the variations between universes.]

An acquaintance from my youth. Someone I very much hoped would have remained nothing more than a memory from my youth.

[He was able to take this stranger as inquisitor with the same calm grace as he did many things others perceived as odd or unsettling. It helped that once upon a time his people were fully capable of bending time and space to their wills, such as in the creation of the crossroads. This was not remarkably different, just on a far grander scale.]

I'm sorry, I do not believe we have been introduced. I suspect you are some variation of the Inquisitor then?

[carefulapostate]

I am sorry Vhenan.

[But not sorry enough to stop.]

[thequitecontrary]

I should think that if you approached me with a smile then I would smile in return. A lady would have to be foolish not to smile back at an Emperor, especially one so charming and handsome.

[Mary likes throwing it right back at him. She's always been a fan of flirting, and rather skilled at the art as well. It's gotten her into trouble sometimes, but most men seem to know where to draw the line and how to remain gentlemen.]

[never_seemecoming]

[Wanda knows him so well. The way to his heart really is through his stomach, which is unfortunate for whoever has to pay the grocery bill. It's a good thing the Avengers have Tony Stark's fortune at their disposal.]

Let's start with the food, then, and afterwards make our way through the rest of it.

[eaudevamp]

persistence has its charm.
come now, humour me.

training 1b!

[punshots]

[ The Natha seriously need to review their definition of "training", because how this is supposed to train them on anything besides how to be grossed out by creepy cults and limb offerings - which, by the way, pretty sure most people know is gross already - goes right over his head.

At least Prompto doesn't seem to be the only person there with misgivings about all this. He just siiiiidles right up next to Dave as a few of the natives turn to glare at him. The dragon, at least, hasn't seemed to notice, since its, uh, got an arm to munch on now.

Yikes. ]

Noooot sure that's gonna work. Tried it. [ And a few more glares turn in their direction. ] We might wanna...boogie on outta here. Like, pronto.

[ come with him if you want to not die ]

[shikomizue]

[Lips curling into a smile around the rim of his glass, Takasugi takes a slow drink - more than a sip - of his liquor before answering.

First with a chuckle, cup still raised, liquid rippling inside.]

It's been quite a while, I'd say. [The idea that he'd ever had friends is quite laughable, now.]

What about you? [They're both alone here, so the question begs returning.]

[semblant]

[Mephisto is like an NPC; he's the Tingle of Nysa.]

That's a roundabout way of wanting to get to know me, but now isn't really the time.

[They're sharing a similar form, speaking a common language...just how different could they be, ha ha...]

On a more serious note, would it be relevant at all to ask where you're from?

[Country, planet, whatever.]

[inacan]

my mom was the sane one too
there's a kitchen nearby, coffee is probably crap but it'll do