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.

dontgiveabuckland: (It's cold and hard and petrified)

[personal profile] dontgiveabuckland 2018-01-29 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
[Don't get too used to it, Cam can only do a spell like that once a day.

Once they're (momentarily) safe down a dark alleyway, Cam takes the chance to catch his breath. At JJ's question, he casts his gaze upwords.

Uhhh that looks kind of tall.
] Sure. [If this kid can do it, he can too, right?]

I might have a dagger— [He raises his hands above his head, twisting to get a look at his multiple dagger sheaths. Last time he was in one of these weird hallucinations he at least had Nimbus on him and—Ah hah!] There! [Trusty thigh dagger.]

Grab it!
perilling: (arms crossed)

[personal profile] perilling 2018-01-29 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
[When they pause on the other side of the trees, Illya is gasping for air. This isn't like him. Fear is affecting his usually peak physical fitness. He leans back against a tree, hiding behind it, as he and Solo silently listen to the dragon in the distance. The sound isn't changing, neither coming closer nor moving away, and from the sounds of the screams coming through the trees, it has perhaps found some new simulated people to torture. Illya relaxes just a fraction.]

We need to find a way... to end... the simulation.
Edited 2018-01-29 01:53 (UTC)
underwhelms: ( con_potata | twitter ) (that's uncomfortable eh)

[personal profile] underwhelms 2018-01-29 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ JJ feels like he's witnessing feminism happen in front of his eyes: a girl saving herself from a damsel situation in attire that critics would normally deem "unfit" for combat.

Whatever it is, he does his best to try and shield her activities from view with his own body, hoping that any guards that look over will just assume he's trying to comfort her. He curls around her the best that he can, watching her gnaw away at the rope with her stiletto in what can only be described as awe once she succeeds. ]


Yes—!

[ CRAP THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DISCRETE IMMEDIATELY STARTS COUGHING TO COVER UP HIS STUPIDITY ]
ininhuman: (Default)

[personal profile] ininhuman 2018-01-29 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
Better to rip off the bandaid, as they say.
beknight: ([ jl ] 177.)

[personal profile] beknight 2018-01-29 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well, yes, but as one Robin famously said]

I'd like to see that.
rightfully: (pic#7789319)

[personal profile] rightfully 2018-01-29 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ ... She's not so good of an actress that she can keep her face from falling when he calls her stranger, in the end. Lucina draws in a breath, and it's shaky, almost compromised. His gentle smile can only do much to calm her when he's treating her the way he should, hurting her with entirely necessary disregard.

It hasn't even occurred to her that his memories might not match hers. She's not thinking that abstractly. It's some sort of cruel sorcery, a trick, a jape.

Lucina sighs, swallows, and perseveres. ]


Yes. I've only just arrived. It may well be as foreign to myself as it is to you.
ursulamajor: (11)

[personal profile] ursulamajor 2018-01-29 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
Oh! Diana!

[She turns, quickly. Chariot blinks -- and then the glasses slide up, and her smile evens out. Ursula Callistis smiles at Diana, with that peaceful and careful regard that she always had. Or, well, clumsy and new to the job, but that's also a handy cover for who she used to be.

She lifts her hand and waves at her, before walking closer.]
Thank God! I woke up here. I heard the explanation... how terrible!

I didn't know you were awake. I, ah, I was worried. I went to check on the others, too...
diplomatie: (2483720-67)

[personal profile] diplomatie 2018-01-29 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well, it makes more sense now why this man saved him then. It wasn't just out of the kindness of his own heart, but because he mistook him for his sister. ]

I should be rather glad for your misconception, then. [ At least, he assumes that's why he was the one saved rather than the group of other men who'd been captured. ] But you have the right of it. I am not she, but rather her twin brother, Alphinaud.

[ Giving a small bow, as he's wont to do. ]

Again, you have my thanks.
colorature: (Default)

[personal profile] colorature 2018-01-29 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
Feed me.

[Duh. Obvious answer is obvious.]

I don't care how you do so.
diplomatie: (o97)

[personal profile] diplomatie 2018-01-29 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ A-Again ... This always happens, doesn't it ... He knows he looks like his sister but surely someone should at least be able to tell he's a boy and work through this problem on their own!

He's thankful for her help, at least, and her ... ability to use wind, apparently. ]


A-Aye, that we must. [ Welp, better to get this out of the way quickly. ] But I must tell you, though I appreciate your concern, I am most assuredly not Alisaie.

[ Is he really that girly looking ...? ]
diplomatie: (2483720-29)

[personal profile] diplomatie 2018-01-29 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ Prompto's drawing it out and suspicious attitude does not help anything, he hopes he knows. Alphinaud merely stands there giving him a confused expression, eventually crossing his arms halfway through the explanation as he continues to listen.

And then Prompto presses his fingers together like that and Alphinaud immediately understands but also can't believe he's explaining it to him in this way. But more than that, he's a little shocked. Since when did his sister have a lover?? And one with such a lack of vocabulary, at that (actually, it's perfect for her).

But seeing as Alphinaud is still a child at heart, despite his usual outer appearance, his seriousness ends up breaking the moment he realizes what Prompto is saying, and his eyes widen a little as he takes a half step back out of initial shock. The last thing he was expecting out of this explanation was that he knows him through being his sister's lover. Alphinaud is not good at these conversations!! It's one of the very few he is not good at!! ]


You mean to say that you are her lover?

[ That might come off a little offensive if Prompto decides to take it that way — he doesn't mean it in a rude way, more than he's just shocked that this is happening at all. ]
beknight: ([ bvs ] 94.)

[personal profile] beknight 2018-01-29 02:05 am (UTC)(link)
[ Bruce takes it, hefts it to understand the weight, and looks up, calculating. There's a few downed warriors in that path, he can pick up some extras there. ]

All right. Count of three.
underwhelms: (what's that eh)

[personal profile] underwhelms 2018-01-29 02:07 am (UTC)(link)
[ JJ hasn't been to church in six months. He had tried, wandering hopefully into the Temple in Olympia only to be scared away by the... bold acts of physical affection. For a boy who used to attend Sunday mass with the consistency and regularity of a genuine believer, it had been easy for him to leave those habits behind. He'd even given his only rosary away, as a show of gratitude, but still sentencing it to life as a fashion accessory.

No one cared here. The spirit of Jeanne d'Arc had cursed religion, and it seemed so laughable to believe in light of everything that had happened.

He doesn't like to waver or surrender, so it had been easy to avoid the problem while no one was looking. ]


So.

[ Some of the people around them scream, and JJ hadn't heard a sound so wretched with terror even during the gas attack in Olympia.

His voice does shake as he continues. ]


You don't feel any fear?
asmilebettersuits: (03)

[personal profile] asmilebettersuits 2018-01-29 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
Nothing is worth accomplishing, if there is no challenge. Perhaps it is impossible, but we lose nothing to consider the possibility.

[Because, maybe, he is Ishgardian. He can't quite bear to think of losing the Holy See forever--though its people are its heart and soul, the idea of that place being gone forever is... disquieting.

He looks up, though, and his eyebrow lifts. He nods, once.]


Many of the lords and ladies of Ishgard have backwards ideas about those who share our world. Something I hope to change, but I couldn't fault one who took issue with the attitudes prevalent.
tzaraisen: (pic#11726635)

1

[personal profile] tzaraisen 2018-01-29 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
[ Naturally, when Percival had first spotted Lancelot within the simulation of the Storm, he had assumed the vision of Lancelot was also part of the experience. It certainly made Percival emotionally invested in the outcome, even if he knew deep down that it wasn't reality. But in the end, their efforts were futile, and Percival tries his damn hardest to suppress the lingering memory of that awful pain.

He is very quickly distracted by the sight and sound of the person next to him. It's... actually Lancelot, in the flesh?!

This is all a bit much for him right now, because it hasn't been more than two months since he had to observe Lancelot fall into stasis. ]


... Lancelot?! It's— [ Is this still part of the VR? He's going to be pissed if it is, because his nerves are running ragged at the moment. ] really you?!
beknight: ([ jl ] 130.)

[personal profile] beknight 2018-01-29 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
Let's see what you can do.

[ They aren't from the same world, he'd do better knowing Kaldur's limits. ]
originallutece: is apparently not the correct answer when people ask you why you do what you do (anger; SPITE)

[personal profile] originallutece 2018-01-29 02:13 am (UTC)(link)
. . . imps.

So they . . . what, just ran beneath the wagon?
vorrutyer: (hmmmmm not bad)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2018-01-29 02:13 am (UTC)(link)
[ He purses his lips. It's not entirely true - the Vorrutyer clan is so sprawling and vast that there have most certainly been a few traitors in their midst - but the main branches have been steadfast. Not that loyalty mattered in the end. Ah, well.

To distract - ]


Well, perhaps I count as the first of my clan. I declared myself Emperor, you know.
colorature: (Default)

[personal profile] colorature 2018-01-29 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
[Well, she might as well take it if she's being offered it. She won't actually consume it just yet though, not until getting Solomon to take a look at it.

Plucking it from his fingers she looks it over before setting it aside on the table. As interesting as the pill was, the grunt that comes from his other hand gets her attention. The sound may be muffled but her hearing is good enough she can make it out.]


Who's talking?
dendarii: (point taken)

[personal profile] dendarii 2018-01-29 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ Miles turns at that. Sufficiently distracted, yes, but dumbfounded too. ]

You did what?
vorrutyer: (condescending aka default)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2018-01-29 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
eproghuefgdzptrrw: What a measured and intelligent response. Hm.
eproghuefgdzptrrw: So you can feel free to mingle with Ocelot as you see fit.
rightfully: (pic#11676569)

[personal profile] rightfully 2018-01-29 02:16 am (UTC)(link)
It wouldn't be very prudent of them to demand our effort without explaining why.

[ HAVE THESE FUCKERS NEVER RUN AN ARMY ]

Are we safe here?

[ Lucina gives Bellamy her full attention now, expression thoughtful and hardly quarrelsome. However, her hand does linger, flat and safe, over the hilt of her sword. She just does that. ]
vorrutyer: (watching porn judging porn)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2018-01-29 02:17 am (UTC)(link)
Declared myself Emperor.

[ He pushes a strand of hair away from his forehead coolly. ]

Byerly II, I believe. There was a prior Byerly, no? I believe so, but history was never my strong suit.
originallutece: I'M NEVER LETTING GO JACK (talk; putting out those titanic vibes)

I

[personal profile] originallutece 2018-01-29 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
[Perhaps it's hideously cold of her, but Rosalind watches the destruction with a neutral expression, her arms crossed and her gaze flat. It's a horrid display, of course; screams and tears, lives lost, all of it consumed by a darkness previously unknown.

But it's only a simulation. And like all simulations, it ends.

They're left together, side by side. The man next to her is crying, and Rosalind ignores him until he gets himself together.]


It's nothing more than an imitation, no more and no less. Don't be taken in by it.
jettisons: (pic#11855195)

[personal profile] jettisons 2018-01-29 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
[Yeah, okay. He notices that, but doesn't comment.]

On the station? Safe enough. The planet's another story.