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: (point taken)

[personal profile] dendarii 2018-01-27 08:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Seduced him anyway, maybe.

[ He wrinkles his nose at the thought. ]
vorrutyer: (ooooh baby)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2018-01-27 08:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Does our cousin have hidden bisexual tendencies? It'd break my heart to learn that he did and I have yet to discover them.
not_my_brothers_keeper: (pic#12043685)

Re: Stasis A!

[personal profile] not_my_brothers_keeper 2018-01-27 08:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[ You are 100% correct in believing that Mephisto was one of the few people that Yukio did not want to see. Luckily for the shape-shifting demon, that brief but violent little outburst provided just the right amount of relieving to provide Yukio with his usual stoic demeanor.

Look-! He isn't even pulling out his gun again, isn't that a good thing? A step towards improvement, even if his back is ramrod straight and squaring off in a slight rebellious posture?]

If you are hoping to use me for your entertainment, I'm afraid that you are going to be needing a new plaything. I have no intentions to be your little experiement here.
allamhigo: icons from thanks punch @ dw unless stated otherwise (pic#)

[personal profile] allamhigo 2018-01-27 08:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It might be best that he gloss over those details about himself, at least for the time being. Her feelings are already complicated, but knowing that the ghosts of the past walk the halls of this stasis chamber likely won't do her heart good.

Hearing heavy footfalls closing in, the pugilist turns her head toward the taller Elezen. Had he just woken up, or was he here for the same reason that she was? Lyse offers him a brief, acknowledging smile before looking back at the pod before them.

A friend? ]


You could say that.

[ But it's far more complicated than that. He was like family. That's what all the Scions are to her, but Papalymo was different. He was always different, and without the time to mourn the loss of someone who was such an important part of her life, seeing him like this... ]

But... he shouldn't be here. Not like this.

[ It rips those hastily-sutured wounds wide open again. ]
dendarii: (for real?)

[personal profile] dendarii 2018-01-27 08:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Of course he's not. But you could lead him astray, surely.
warchetype: (15)

[personal profile] warchetype 2018-01-27 08:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[ John might appear like he's not listening, focused as he is on the dog before him - but it's just his way of digesting the information Adam's presenting.

nine years asleep. the MSF gone. Zero rising to prominence yet again, Paz the least of what was to come. Kaz and Ocelot - who would have thought? there's a reason the information circuit ran to Ocelot and not back to Kaz for all those years: he'd known from the start that Kaz wouldn't take well to Ocelot's longevity in John's life.

was that it, then? the last of the Boss's legacy, lost to a coma that he'd never actually get to live out?

or maybe he was living it out, somewhere out there - he still can't make head or tails of this multiverse nonsense.

he makes a rough sound at the back of his throat. ]


Sounds like you've toughed it out with little to gain.

[ he finally looks back to Adam, gaze quiet. ]

Thanks.

[ he's not a man of words, but hopefully Adam will glean from his attempt the weight of his intent. ]
poolhall_killer: (assertive)

[personal profile] poolhall_killer 2018-01-27 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's a stare Venom's used to, even from his home. People are so odd when it comes to long white hair.]

Then you shouldn't "knock" on the pod. You could damage it, or worse, hurt the individual within.
vorrutyer: (whimsical (but smug))

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2018-01-27 08:42 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm flattered by your estimation of my wicked wiles, Miles my dear. So: very well. We must in that case presume that Ivan is lurking somewhere around here as well, hm? So where do you suppose he is?
ayes: (pic#11471755)

E

[personal profile] ayes 2018-01-27 08:42 pm (UTC)(link)
You're now chatting with Yousoro★... Say hi!

heyyy! hi there!
not much you?
youre the second panther Ive talked to here haha
Edited (my god I swear I can letters right) 2018-01-27 20:43 (UTC)
warchetype: (8)

[personal profile] warchetype 2018-01-27 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Snake1964: "Snake" is fine. Still waiting on your name.
Snake1964: And that's irrelevant, anyway - faith and trust in one's comrades should be paramount. I know Ocelot well enough to know that holds true for him.
allamhigo: icons from thanks punch @ dw unless stated otherwise (pic#)

[personal profile] allamhigo 2018-01-27 08:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ At first, she thinks it's a trick. A rush of compressed and sterile air as another pod cracks open and another displaced life spills out. But it sounds familiar, and Lyse doesn't want it to be a trick of the mind. She wants it to be real, which is why the Hyur woman turns, golden hair caught in the motion.

It feels almost like seeing a ghost. She hadn't been one of the countless faces that she saw, but seeing Alisaie there in the flesh, it's almost too good to be true. It wasn't, was it? Her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, right?

A smile slipping in, it's a little strained, brows turned upward. Like it's a struggle to just stand there in one place, but she has to be sure first. ]


Alisaie, is that really you?

[ Please, don't tell her this is just another simulation. ]
logpose: (66.)

[personal profile] logpose 2018-01-27 08:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She's so used to be hauled around like a sack of potatoes, she doesn't even react to it. Zoro beats her in terms of stamina too, so this is for the best.

-- Or, is it? Why is he going in the wrong way? As he storms directly into the confused crowd, Nami has to hold her head in her hands to protect herself from the onslaught of limbs and possible weapons coming right at her. ]
Wait -- Oof! I said 'wait'!

[ Violence is obviously the only way to get an idiot's attention. She smacks him square on the head. ] Where do you think you are running to?
Edited 2018-01-27 20:47 (UTC)
inaurare: (Hurt/Scared)

2B

[personal profile] inaurare 2018-01-27 08:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's only a simulation - he sat down for this, he knows it's not real, but it's too much, the scale of it. The screams of pain, the stink and sizzle of burned flesh - the cheering of the crowd, like it's sport. It has him raising his bound hands to his mouth, like they can hide the horror that has his eyes wide.

Fight or flight has truly kicked in; he glances about him for some sort of escape as he is carried forward in the press of the crowd, but he is no fighter. And how can he escape, bound like this?]
warchetype: (12)

[personal profile] warchetype 2018-01-27 08:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[ that shield's damn handy. Snake will have to relay its specs to the R&D team if he ever gets back to where he should be. ]

Bless you.

[ forget the fact that he's conversational in German, he's in an uncharacteristically good mood. especially now that he's armed with a dragon-fighting partner as enthused as he is about their current task.

thankfully, the dragon has a harder time finding them now that it's in full pillage-and-burn mode. neither of them are small men, but their approach goes largely unnoticed -

Snake, now armed with his boot knife and his trusty ragged branch, motions for the lift that this boisterous stranger had offered. DPS, incoming. ]


Soon as it swings his head around.
vorrutyer: (whimsical (but smug))

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2018-01-27 08:50 pm (UTC)(link)
eproghuefgdzptrrw: Why, it's written out for you, of course. 'Eprogeffdizprow.'
eproghuefgdzptrrw: But if that's Ocelot's character, then why would sharing friendships be any trouble at all?
shashka: credit | <user name="fustercluck"> (that's... an ass)

[personal profile] shashka 2018-01-27 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[ of course he does. that might be why the tips of his ears might be slightly redder than usual. while he certainly wasn't quite as obvious as he'd been when he was a young man, some things never really change. ]

It was... the least that I could do, really.

[ and he means it. the fact that he hadn't been there when it happened, it still hurt. and, he owes Venom (or rather the man who became Venom) a debt that he couldn't quite hope to pay back.

as to the rest of it. ]


There's more I could tell you. Would you rather I go over the situation here first, or hear more about what happened after you woke up?

[ and of course, there was still the matter of the stasis pods. ]

I know it's a lot to take in.

[ just like when John had woken up back home. he knows the sort of man his best friend is. ]
diamondize: (Also I just took Ritalin with coffee)

[personal profile] diamondize 2018-01-27 08:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's probably a good thing that Dia doesn't know enough to take offense to that--and the fact that they hear praise like, 'your brilliance is blinding' often enough.] I don't know about that... [He hasn't seen Bortz in battle yet, after all. Their smile wanes a little, but they keep a pleasant expression nonetheless.]

Hmm... I suppose it's a little of both? Sometimes a new one of us will be found fully formed, and Sensei or our doctor will help smooth us out. If we break apart, new pieces have to be added. [They laugh a little, looking sheepish.] But organics don't work like that, right?
fiendennor: (07)

[personal profile] fiendennor 2018-01-27 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
You're claiming to be the Egyptian pharaoh, Ramses II?
dendarii: (point taken)

[personal profile] dendarii 2018-01-27 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Miles glances around, as if doing so will summon him. ]

I - don't know. Somewhere underfoot, I suppose.
tornadoed: (⟪ MISTRESS ⟫)

[personal profile] tornadoed 2018-01-27 08:56 pm (UTC)(link)
yeah exactly

[ magic is weird, okay. ]

i'm not sure i ever wanted to be in space
but i guess we don't get a choice about it right
blueplicity: (Pastries Plz)

Stasis

[personal profile] blueplicity 2018-01-27 08:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't think they wake up.

[from a Tiefling a little further down the ways, a little accent threading through her voice as she draws nearer]

Is she your girlfriend? [that's the first place her mind goes, and it's not like Jester has ever not said the first thing that comes into her head] She's pretty.
allamhigo: icons from thanks punch @ dw unless stated otherwise (pic#)

yesssss

[personal profile] allamhigo 2018-01-27 08:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[ At least one of them is well prepared! Hopefully that means that things will go smoothly! How does being the brains of this operation sound, Sorey? He can handle that!

Probably.

Rolling her shoulders back, Lyse readies herself to charge, but stops when her partner makes his declaration. Subdue it? He does know what they're up against, right? ]


But it just razed an entire town!

[ Sorey. Sorey, please think about this. You're not being even remotely reasonable here. Dragons are beyond bad news, and while she did not have the unique pleasure of dealing with the winged beasts as they terrorized the people of Ishgard, she's heard what they are capable of. It really only takes one bad, bitter, fire-breathing apple to ruin the bunch.

But she'll listen. He has 10 seconds, tops. ]
Edited 2018-01-27 20:58 (UTC)
vorrutyer: (appreciating your wit)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2018-01-27 08:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Are you afraid of Ivan, Miles?
warchetype: (5)

[personal profile] warchetype 2018-01-27 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[ (GZ is a joyless ride of misery and pain so I don't blame you - the best boy David needs none of that)

fair. even if Snake has no inkling of the future to come, the resentment isn't surprising. he'd actively cast aspersions upon the cloning project; news of its success had estranged him from EVA and Zero. excavated what little foundations he'd relied upon.

little to be done for it, now. for all that they were based on the same genetic blueprint, his clone holds himself differently. Snake - Boss - knows he'd never had that self-assured calm when he was that age: even now, he's a livewire under a face of stone.

nonetheless, he's not the type to brood upon eventualities when there's a mission to be completed. ]


It'll do.

[ he's already turning away, idly smoothing out his still-smoking hair. ]

They call you Snake, too?

[ there's no doubting his identity as an agent. and, well, the Boss had once said the name Snake suited him - who's to say that wasn't a quality that his clones had appropriated as well. ]
Edited (do you ever notice an embarrassing typo a hundred years after the fact) 2018-01-29 00:31 (UTC)
almaredemptoris: (Default)

[personal profile] almaredemptoris 2018-01-27 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[That he is a mild man makes his temper all the more dangerous, just as a gunshot is more frightening when preceded by silence. His features turn stern at once and his words sharpen.]

She is my daughter, monsieur.

[For him, silence is not something that needs to be filled. Silence is peace; it is a shroud in which he can hide. He had grown used to the quiet of the convent at Petit-Picpus, with Fauchelevent and the gardens his only company for much of the day, broken up by those blessed hours with Cosette. As far as he is concerned, the silence suits him until the time comes that she is well enough to awaken and brighten his days once more.]