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.

selection: (« superior »)

[personal profile] selection 2018-01-28 11:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ there is no immediate answer — but four hours later: ]

if you'll meet me in the mess hall, Mr Foster.
gekkajuu: commissioned, please do not steal (知らない)

[personal profile] gekkajuu 2018-01-28 11:31 am (UTC)(link)
There was no innuendo! We didn't do that kind of thing!

[And how bad would it be if they had, and Chuuya didn't remember that? But Atsushi figures that Chuuya had gone back to sleep. He's seen stories on the network of people not remembering things, or coming back with new memories.]

Maybe you don't remember, but we do know each other. You were with the Port Mafia, and then you ended up here. We talked once or twice.
willrevile: ( commission / dnt ) (0208)

[personal profile] willrevile 2018-01-28 11:37 am (UTC)(link)
What's your preferred atmosphere? [ he asks, playing along because there's fuckall else to do. Maybe an idea besides 'shoot the plant' will come to him after a moment of perspective. He tilts his head, giving Jack (!) a searching look, deliberately exaggerated. ] You strike me as willfully high-maintenance. Like if there wasn't anything around but contraband rocket fuel you'd drink it, but you'd really rather be somewhere nice with champagne and.. top shelf cognac.

[ Somewhere up above, a bird flies by. It offers them no aid. ]
thetaintedsorrow: (Sympathy)

[personal profile] thetaintedsorrow 2018-01-28 11:38 am (UTC)(link)
You’re serious, aren’t you?

[How does he know that Chuuya was in the Mafia?

Unless...

Hang on. Nakajima...Atsushi Nakajima...

OH. OH SHIT. How could he forget that name??
]

Weretiger???
Edited 2018-01-28 11:39 (UTC)
gekkajuu: commissioned, please do not steal (eatsushi035_zpsobll8gfq)

[personal profile] gekkajuu 2018-01-28 11:46 am (UTC)(link)
That's me.

[And that answers his question. It's as expected - but that's not reassuring so much as worrying.]

If there is anything I can help you with, I'll be glad to do so. In exchange, I'd appreciate it if you respected the authorities of this planet as much as possible, and try not to hurt anybody.

You may not remember, but that was what we agreed on before.


[More or less. It's not a lie in that it is how Atsushi remembers what happened, but whether it's the objective truth may be doubtful.

That was a very different time anyway, much less on the verge of war than the planet is now. Atsushi has toned down his would-be demands accordingly.]
selection: (« idiot »)

[personal profile] selection 2018-01-28 11:47 am (UTC)(link)
Not a bad assessment. [ solo allows, the smile lingering. ] Top shelf cognac, or a good whiskey. Or a smooth red.

[ he considers for a moment, head tipped to one side. ] Surely enjoying the finer things in life is no crime.
icingonthecake: (pensive)

[personal profile] icingonthecake 2018-01-28 11:47 am (UTC)(link)
Maybe it was less that he hadn't expected anyone else to be here, and more that he had just been startled to actually run into anyone given the size of the space, but whatever it was he recovers quickly and blows a sigh up toward his hairline. The young woman looks a little anxious--maybe she wasn't surprised the way he had been, but he's definitely getting a restless sort of vibe from her. She insists that he's not intruding, though he can tell the person in the pod she stands near must be someone very dear to her.

He holds his hands up.

"You're fine," he says, and gestures toward the pod. "I mean, if ya got stuff to say, you can say it, I won't hang around and eavesdrop." He gives a soft, almost bitter sort of laugh. "I'm still looking for my people," he says. "They really need a directory in this place." He makes a vague geometric shape with the movements of one arm. "'You are here'."
thetaintedsorrow: (Hidden eyes)

[personal profile] thetaintedsorrow 2018-01-28 11:54 am (UTC)(link)
[God...usually Chuuya can handle anything anyone throws at him, but after seeing that simulation of the Storm, and knowing that Yokohama suffered the same fate...

It takes a toll on a guy.
]

Why don’t I remember you?
willrevile: ( commission / dnt ) (0540)

[personal profile] willrevile 2018-01-28 12:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Not at all, [ comes with the suggestion of laughter. ] I'm one of those... cheap beer and well drink shots guys, only recently bothering with anything with a label.

[ It makes him think of Bones, ranting about his shitty taste in alcohol and about how growing up in I-oh-way has ruined his palate, shoving higher quality booze on him all throughout their Academy days. He pushes the memories away. ]

Good whiskey, in a nice bar. What kind of music?
selection: (« cocky »)

[personal profile] selection 2018-01-28 12:06 pm (UTC)(link)
There are very few moments in life when cheap beer is the most suitable drink. [ when paired with certain foods, perhaps, or in certain parts of the country — but really, those moments are rare. solo will always go for top shelf if he has the opportunity. ]

Jazz, I think. Perhaps something more classical. Live piano music never goes amiss, but I am partial to French chansons while in Paris or Italian love songs while in Rome.
blueplicity: (Bar-room/Fascination)

[personal profile] blueplicity 2018-01-28 12:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay.

[the reasons are all well and good. Fantastic, even. But they don't really answer her question.]

Do you want her to be your girlfriend?
eaudevamp: (sɴᴇʀᴋ sɴᴇʀᴋ)

[personal profile] eaudevamp 2018-01-28 12:44 pm (UTC)(link)
what, are you some kind of evil scientist of mastermind?
plotting the destruction of some place?



all right, that joke was in bad taste.


[ Considering what happened with the Storm and all of them ending up here. ]
eaudevamp: (sᴏʟɪᴛᴀʀʏ ᴛᴇᴀʀs)

the storm

[personal profile] eaudevamp 2018-01-28 01:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Reign knew about the Storm, had been told about it, read about it at the Institute's library. The thing was, he barely remembered experiencing it all, his memories blur and vague, snippets here and there that he wasn't sure if it were reality or merely a figment of his imagination.

The simulation room was a fun experience, but truth be told, Reign wasn't certain if he ever wanted to experience this kind of "simulation" ever again.

Reign barely realised the simulation was over, instead sitting on the floor trembling and curling in on himself. Unlike Chuuya, the vampire was sobbing, though he tried to keep the sound down, and thus barely heard the words spoken to him.

Maybe Chuuya could snap him out of it? ]

2A!

[personal profile] shriver 2018-01-28 01:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Natasha looks like she always does: unassuming barring the shock of red hair. For the most part, she hangs back, observing the chaos and intervening in the aftermath. Yet somehow, despite all the scenarios running through her mind, she doesn't expect to see Thor burst out of the masses.

Well then, if one of her boys is already making a scene, why not snag the other leading role? She weaves her way to center stage, lifting the recently released victim to their feet with a whispered get going in his ear. ]


[ chirpily — ] We're happy to be of assistance.

[ We is said in lieu of long time no see or nice hair. ]
dendarii: (exercise)

[personal profile] dendarii 2018-01-28 01:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ah. Right. He'd forgotten that a moment - this place is starting to convince him, much to his dismay. ]

The ruling class on Barrayar. Nobility, essentially. But Byerly isn't even a Count's heir. And while he's technically in line for the throne, he's at least eighty places down.

[ Unlike Miles himself, who is second or third in line. After his father for sure, and tied with his cousin. He throws up his hands. ]

I've no idea what he's after. Perhaps some extra respect or privilege? Are there other Barrayarans here who don't know any better?
dorzalta: (pic#11766564)

STANNIS PLS

[personal profile] dorzalta 2018-01-28 01:23 pm (UTC)(link)
She stiffens. There would be no denials that her father was wretched. Had she not admitted to as much when speaking with Jon in Dragonstone? She intended to fix the mistakes of all their fathers, to make right in the world for her people. And maybe, just maybe, there wouldn't be another instance of a girl fleeing across the sea to avoid death.

It doesn't seem to matter, now. Their world is gone.

"Mn, do I address the brother with a penchant for murdering little girls, then?" She must. He holds an authority which speaks of a man who has seen very much. Renly, from what she's heard, was much younger. Less disciplined. "Fortunate for me that you failed your first time, lord Baratheon.

"I will not defend the actions of my father, nor say he was a good man. He wasn't." She takes a step closer to him, fingers linked together in front of her. "Though if I recall correctly, he was still your king. Your words suggest some honor, and yet you still betrayed your king in the end."

He still burned his daughter in the end, as well. Not so honorable.

omage | un: n.roman

[personal profile] shriver 2018-01-28 01:28 pm (UTC)(link)
They have instagram, if that softens the blow.
tailorable: (rules don't apply to me)

un: eggsy

[personal profile] tailorable 2018-01-28 01:32 pm (UTC)(link)
😮! 😮! 😮! 😮!

[ he's... bored... ]
dorzalta: (pic#11766303)

[personal profile] dorzalta 2018-01-28 02:05 pm (UTC)(link)
It is an easiness which is still so very familiar to her, for it had just occurred in her memory. She falls back into that companionability with relative ease, though there is a niggling worry in the back of her mind that his time awake has changed him in ways she cannot yet fathom.

Fingers ghost along the furs of his cloak as he speaks, that hint of a smile still remaining as she listens, soon shifting to something tinged with teasing amusement. "The King in the North is a royal guard, now?"

He's qualified for something far, far more than that. Not that it should matter, so long as it brings him some happiness.

Her hands slip away from him, falling back to her sides as he pulls back. There's a search for something in his pockets, and she tilts her head, curious about what he could possibly have to show her.

The last thing she expects to see is a dragon in his palm.

Immediately her expression grows impossibly soft, and that sense of unease from the time of her awakening lessens. He found a dragon carving in the market and bought it. How can her heart possibly swell so large in her chest and not burst? This simple figurine banishes the last remnants of cold from her as she reaches for it, achingly careful as she lifts it from his palm for further study.

"They even carved little teeth," she says with a laugh. "I can't say Drogon's are as charming as these."
dorzalta: (pic#11952822)

she's gonna teach that ten year old some manners!!

[personal profile] dorzalta 2018-01-28 02:10 pm (UTC)(link)
The likes of she. "Your tongue grows dangerously sharp, kraken."

What is he, a dog? Insolence tinges every laugh, it's quite clear. He maintains a belligerent air, rather convincing at first glance, but the more he speaks, the more she grows convinced that something terrible in this place has caused such a change in him. The Theon of her memory would not be so careless when addressing the alliance between Greyjoy and Targaryen.

It's for that memory, for her guilt in Yara's capture, that she does not call into question his loyalty now. Still, every ruler has limited patience, and she is no different. She would not be her father, no. She would not burn those who anger her for such petty things. But if he is to continue down this path...

He looks younger than she recalls. And his words suggest a petulant surliness rather unbecoming of a man. Best to avoid the topic of Jon, then, if this is the sort of reaction speak of him would garner.

"What happened to your hand, Theon?"
quipper: ᴀʀᴛ ▴ ᴛᴀʟᴇɴᴛ ᴄᴀʟᴅᴡᴇʟʟ (INFORMAL.)

un: bg

[personal profile] quipper 2018-01-28 02:10 pm (UTC)(link)
1. a 100 hour work week
2. no casual fridays
3. bring your son to work day is EVERY day


[ looking at you: tall, dark and spooky. ]
dorzalta: (pic#11766455)

[personal profile] dorzalta 2018-01-28 02:12 pm (UTC)(link)
A few months. She looks back at Irri, frowning. All of this is so very strange, causing her quite the unease if she thinks on it too much.

"Jon said he's been awake for nearly a year, now." She presses her palm against the metal of the door. Its cold is not nearly as terrible on the outside, but still, the lick of it against her palm calls to mind quite vividly her own awakening.

Unnerving at best.

"He said I was awake in the beginning, but I cannot recall it. Are you familiar with such occurrences?"
dorzalta: (pic#11766454)

[personal profile] dorzalta 2018-01-28 02:13 pm (UTC)(link)
There are others scattered about, lost deep in thought by the looks of their stances, by the distance in their eyes. This place seems to be one for mourning, not to find relief in the knowledge that there is another opportunity to be reunited with the fallen. She intentionally avoids the row where she's seen the Dothraki. If Drogo is in there, she would rather avoid seeing his face currently.

"We all have a choice." He cloaks his answer in mystery, the sort that continues to niggle at her curiosity. She could press, but that would mean ignoring his wishes to avoid speak of his nature, and she knows little of him to cause that discomfort--particularly when he proffers her a distraction from her own unhappiness. "You seem the type of prince who would hold his peoples' best interests at heart. Strength can be terrible, at times. Ruling forces us to make difficult and sometimes terrible decisions, in kind."
pebblestone: official art (fe:a) (pic#11550777)

[personal profile] pebblestone 2018-01-28 02:13 pm (UTC)(link)
only if there were no couriers to spare. birds are not quite as dependable as men and women and more likely to be captured by enemy forces.

[ #yeoldeproblems ]
pebblestone: official art (fe:a) (pic#11550774)

i hate typing like this

[personal profile] pebblestone 2018-01-28 02:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[ like he would be so crass as to ask for a/s from a veritable stranger. ]

theinstituteiseeihavebeeninformedthatithousessomeofthefinestmindsonolympiaperchancewhatisityoustudythere