natha: (Default)
ɴᴀᴛʜᴀ orbiters ❰ mod collective ❱ ([personal profile] natha) wrote in [community profile] elnyan2018-01-26 12:27 pm
Entry tags:

❪ test drive #4 ❫

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.

dendarii: (for real?)

[personal profile] dendarii 2018-01-30 02:48 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well now he's free to roll his eyes again. And crane his neck in the direction of the row Byerly had indicated earlier. ]

I'll tolerate you. If only because you're all I've got.
semblant: (pic#12003156)

[personal profile] semblant 2018-01-30 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
I see.

[Somehow, Mephisto's summary is reassuring to him. It doesn't make sense, no, and it shouldn't at all be soothing in any form. Time travel, talk of monsters -- he's more familiar with the latter, but if such oddities and irregularities are an accepted thing here, fitting in for a time may not be so difficult.

The first bit of reassurance he's found thus far, not to imply he's been overly concerned.]


And where do you fall in that list?

[At this point, one may accuse him of bullshitting -- humoring his company, but they may as well be discussing anything mundane and routine. Not a hint of insincerity in his voice. He could do to be more subtle, but...]
punshots: (✘ cooltone.)

training!

[personal profile] punshots 2018-01-30 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
- Ha! It worked! It totally worked!

[ Nearby, Prompto is looking down at the gun in his hands, absolutely thrilled. Turns out summoning works inside the simulation, too, which is...honestly a hell of a relief, because this was gonna be a loooong battle other wise.

I mean, it still will anyway, and this gun won't be particularly helpful against a dragon of that size, but others in his arsenal will be.

He shoots a glance at the guy next to him, bouncing on his heels as he wobbles somewhere between thrilled and absolutely terrified. There's a word for that, right? He's territhrilled. Anyway. ]


You lookin' for a pen, buddy?

[ He's joking, but little does he know... ]
colorature: (Default)

[personal profile] colorature 2018-01-30 02:56 am (UTC)(link)
[She needs little encouragement to sink her sharp and pointy fangs straight into Solomon's wrist, clamping down like a shark would on its prey. Immediately blood begins to flow into her mouth, the taste....stale at best, but still much better than what she'd tried to consume earlier.

As she drinks she seems to calm, tension leaving her shoulders, and after a minute she's more chewing on his wrist like a dog would a bone. Thanks for being a good sport, Solomon.]
vorrutyer: (world-weary (and smug))

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2018-01-30 02:56 am (UTC)(link)
How you flatter me, dear sir. And this, after I shared my sordid past with you? I thought you'd be in love with me already.
semblant: (pic#12003155)

[personal profile] semblant 2018-01-30 02:58 am (UTC)(link)
[Too casual; he's not at all surprised at that response. A glance falls down to his teacup, Takasugi's glass, but ultimately settles on his company in general.]

Here?

[He can't rightly remember the last time he's liked anything.]

I suppose I don't have a choice in the matter, but I haven't seen enough to say.
dendarii: (point taken)

[personal profile] dendarii 2018-01-30 02:58 am (UTC)(link)
[ A full body shudder at that. ]

I'm not bi, for god's sake.
semblant: (pic#12003139)

[personal profile] semblant 2018-01-30 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
Luckily, it's got nothing to do with you.
imiko: <user name="senpaiedit" site="www.tumblr.com"> (09)

Hiei | Yu Yu Hakusho

[personal profile] imiko 2018-01-30 03:00 am (UTC)(link)
STORM CHASERS
[Processing everything after gaining consciousness isn't even the hardest part. There's only so much guessing that can go into seeing everything unfold, a giant Armageddon. Hilarious.

He really has no patience for powers that be waving their proverbial VR banner of doom back and forth in front of his face.

The toe of his shoe gives his neighbor a good, firm nudge right in the ribs. If the first nudge doesn't wake them, he gives them one, two more. Three, if need be, and the third one is more like a swift kick.]
Hey. Get up.

OMAEG
Connecting to server...
Looking for someone you can chat with...
You’re now chatting with Jaganshi... Say hi!

Tell me there's at least one person here who isn't a coward and will get in the training simulator. Without dying.

WILDCARD
Feel free to wild card me/Hiei with anything!
semblant: (pic#12003125)

[personal profile] semblant 2018-01-30 03:02 am (UTC)(link)
[And of course, he's regarding her like a father whose daughter just returned home with a speeding ticket under his insurance. Like Simba's mother when he tried waking her up at 4am to stare at some rocks. It isn't until he's sure she's going to break his wrist that he rolls the joint; he's thirty seconds from blocking her nose with his free hand.]

Don't forget what you're doing all of a sudden...
eaudevamp: (ᴛɪɴʏ ᴍᴏᴜᴇ)

[personal profile] eaudevamp 2018-01-30 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
it is if you are intending to kill someone.
we are not supposed to.
that is the law the natha orbiters gave us.
unless you want to go back into stasis.
ausuben: (pic#11829268)

[personal profile] ausuben 2018-01-30 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
[ unlike last time he was a prisoner, he hasn't had the ever-living-crap beaten out of him by his captor. which means these guards even in numbers are likely going to be little trouble for Lancelot. however, that's also if he was armed and willing to swing to kill. despite this not being real, despite these soldiers not real as well as the captives they've picked up, he would rather not add more blood to this already grisly visual history tour.]

I cannot imagine more than seven or eight of their soldiers being charged to merely guard civilian prisoners when they could be terrorizing the city and the remainder of her citizens while seeking out more targets. [ these so-called politicians are quite obviously defenseless, nevermind a threat. if they leave too many to guard such captives, they risk looking far weaker than their current actions seem to want to demonstrate. ]

...Depending on the distraction, quite possibly all of them.

[ even without a weapon he knows enough to take down someone that leaves themselves open for distraction. so long as the distraction is good enough that taking down one doesn't lead to all the others becoming undistracted at the same time, this could even be an easy escape. ]
vorrutyer: (smirk)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2018-01-30 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
How many times have I heard that line? It's starting to feel rather like a come-on.
dendarii: (160)

[personal profile] dendarii 2018-01-30 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
And you're thirty-five. Go to hell, Byerly.
vorrutyer: (ooooh baby)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2018-01-30 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
[ A small sigh. ]

It's true. I find anyone under thirty to be oppressively boring. You're right - you don't merit my attentions.
dendarii: (aloof)

[personal profile] dendarii 2018-01-30 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
And you're an old pervert, so that suits me just fine.

[ Miles stalks towards the rows where Byerly had said Miles parents were entombed. ]
vorrutyer: (something in back molar)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2018-01-30 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
Your lone servant.

[ He bares his teeth in a savage sort of grin, and bows. He doesn't follow, though. Instead, he leans his shoulders up against the wall behind him, and pulls out a cigarette from his pocket. ]
semblant: (pic#12003120)

[personal profile] semblant 2018-01-30 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
I did try to avoid talking about it.
exaomori: (🐍 27)

[personal profile] exaomori 2018-01-30 03:11 am (UTC)(link)
if u have the power to just charge in and make demands, then be my guest. the rest of us are gonna have to wait until we're in a better position.

[so fine, don't stand for it!! but don't say she didn't warn you bro!!]
eaudevamp: (ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇᴍᴘʟᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ ᴍᴏᴅᴇ)

[personal profile] eaudevamp 2018-01-30 03:13 am (UTC)(link)
[ All right, so it was his own fault for asking, and then being persistent as pointed out.

But Reign really didn't like what he read. ]


i assume you are entirely serious in your intention.
well, it is no concern of mine anyway if you want to end up inside that tube again.
dendarii: (abject apology)

[personal profile] dendarii 2018-01-30 03:13 am (UTC)(link)
[ That's all right. Miles needs a moment of privacy anyway, especially after that last comment. Your lone servant. There's no part of that statement that isn't horrifying. Why the hell did he agree to take the damned stool ...

Questions he can ask of his silent parents, maybe. He settles in front of them, staring for quite a long time. (Again, noting how much older they look than he remembers - good god, there must be something wrong with him, though he can't imagine what.) It'll be some time before he wanders back in Byerly's direction. And when he does, he's pale and shaken. ]
colorature: (Default)

[personal profile] colorature 2018-01-30 03:15 am (UTC)(link)
Mn?

[There are two modes that usually win out after Diva's finished feeding. Either she gets the itis and needs a nap or she feels affectionate, like a cat whose gorged itself on cream. She hasn't taken too much from him and so she's more the latter right now, pulling her bloodied mouth off him, giving his wrist a little, slightly apologetic lap. Before Solomon can do much about it Diva's wriggling her way slightly into his lap, arms around his neck. Amshel wasn't awake to indulge in something like this so Solomon would have to do.

Rip his fucking white suit.]
shikomizue: (pic#9306722)

[personal profile] shikomizue 2018-01-30 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
[While the blonde's attention settles on him, Takasugi's focus returns to filling his glass. He tops it off without spilling a drop.]

Some could say the same about hatred, you know.

That they have no choice.

[Himself being among those ranks, but no reason - and not nearly enough alcohol (there isn't enough in the entire station) - to erode their shallow exchange.]
summertimeblues: http://www.hollow-art.com/users/jessecuster (011)

MY LADY, MY QUEEN, MY ANGEL......if you need a kidney anytime i've got two for you

[personal profile] summertimeblues 2018-01-30 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
((also this is stasis))

[The pilgrimage has become a biweekly ritual. Snag some booze to steel his nerves. Spend a little too long eating breakfast, dawdle before teleporting up. (And doesn't that make him nostalgic for an hour wait at LAX and a five hour snooze in a rubber seat?) His pace will slow to a turtle's plod as he comes up to the doors. He'll go sightseeing among the sleeping beauties, finding a new scenic route to take each time and pretending to be shocked by what he finds, intrigued by the many forms life has taken on worlds adjacent.

The destination is always met in the end. Five little pods all in a row. Five grown folks, a sleepin' the day away and missing all the tricks and treats the apocalypse has to offer. And a sixth...

But today, it's four, and the sixth has become number five. Richie's heart shoots down like a carriage in a drop tower ride, except it doesn't come to a controlled lurch at the end. It hits the floor and ricochets back up to ding a gong in his head. Suddenly he's all fiery nerves. Panic. Elation.

He jets off, and for once he's not running from that silvery Grinner. He's running towards something.

Except he can't find anyone. Comes to the end of a row and sees only dim blue lights and the responding shine off endless glass. He stands there, hands carding through his hair. Wracked, wrecked in the head. Four pods and a dummy. Number five, number five, are you alive?

Richie cups his hands around his mouth and gives a shattering holler.]


Beverly?!
folkblues: (pic#12042639)

[personal profile] folkblues 2018-01-30 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
is not wanting to get my excess all over your motherboard really a conflict of modesty?