elnyan | ❪ test drive #4 ❫

Entry tags:

test drive

❪ 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.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A. THE STORM

[ Even with the warning from Darma, Ann is still taken aback by the vastness of The Storm, how quickly it moves, how utterly it consumes everything in its path. She straightens, pain still surging through her body, but a greater feeling overtakes it: dread. Even with the abstract knowledge that this is all some kind of VR, she can't help the rush of fear and horror that grips her.

The villagers stream from their homes and begin to run—men, women, children. Children. It's the only option they have as The Storm looms on the horizon. She grabs the arm of her companion and shouts over the roar of noise— ]

Hey—we gotta run!

B. TRAINING MODULES: PAST

[ The dragon sure is coming. Ann wasn't sure exactly what to expect when the villagers warned her—something out of a video game, probably. As it turns out, that's pretty much exactly what she gets: huge, breathing fire, very aggro. Her heart pounds as she points frantically towards the forest in the distance, the closest available cover, yelling to the villagers— ]

Go! Over there!

[ Her plan is basically this: get the villagers to cover, try to fend off or distract the dragon as long as she can, and hope for the best. The only problem is, she doesn't actually appear to be armed. Help? ]

C. TRAINING MODULES: FUTURE

1. [ Are all these VR simulations just suffering? Ann thought that she might get a small break here when she ends up in a quiet street in the middle of a town—until that screaming starts, at least. Soldiers close in from both ends of the street, shouting about spilling blood and yanking people from their homes. She almost doesn't know what to do—anything except run or do nothing.

A group of the soldiers knock Ann aside as they pass, throwing her to the ground—or maybe into someone else. ]

Ow. Hey, watch it!

2. [ Or, either because of mistaken identity or her outright hostility to the soldiers, she finds herself trapped inside a commandeered house, her wrists and ankles bound with rope. Soldiers guard the entrance, only occassionally turning to lay an eye on their prisoners.

Ann struggles with the rope for a moment, twisting her hands in a vain attempt to slip free. ]

Ugh, this is so—just let us go!

D. TRAINING MODULES: PRESENT

[ Okay, so maybe not all suffering. Yet. Ann looks a little out of place here in this quiet, open country—she's a city girl, through and through, so she almost feels a little creeped out by the sense that there's no one and nothing else around for miles. Welcome to nature.

The more she looks around, though, the more acclimated she gets to the idea. The way she examines all of the plant life, it's almost like she's never seen anything green in her life. ]

This is actually kinda nice... [ She glances habitually at her phone, because kids these days just don't appreciate actual conversation! No service. ] Whoa! Hey, we're really out in the middle of nowhere, huh?

E. OMAGE

You’re now chatting with ❤️PANTHER❤️... Say hi!

whoa hey!
what's up?

F. WILDCARD

[ lay it on me! or feel free to leave a comment and i'll write a wildcard up for you. ]

[ a stranger... well this is fine ]

FROM: ✨👑KING JJ👑✨

trying to choose between these

[ attached are two pieces of... indiscernible meats ]

um... are these meats?
what is this for??

[Not having been in that particular area, but knowing not to completely trust the flora and fauna around them even in a training module, Ann's currently partner nods.]

We still have to be careful...last month a plant attempted to grab all the items in my pocket, or another got me stuck on its trunk.

[Doesn't THIS sound fantastic? Who wouldn't want to camp outdoors. He brands a sword in his hands - crude, but efficient.]

We should set up a camp. I think we're meant to practice surviving in here.

[ At that, she quickly pulls her hand away from whatever weird plant she was about to touch and tucks it behind her back. ]

Surviving? What, for real?

[ She looks at Yu kind of like he's grown another head—camping?? In the woods?? Like, they're going to sleep out here?? The closest she gets to nature is going up to the Beppu onsen for a weekend trip, so. Besides, she doesn't actually have anything with her besides the clothes on her back and her phone. Doesn't camping require, like... stuff? ]

Um... okay... [ Well, this is just a simulation, so she can try to roll with it. ] What should we do?

[ if anything, nature had always been more of a comfort for yuno. being someone who dwelled in one of the furthest regions from the kingdom's capital, it only made sense. it's why, he doesn't bat an eye to the sights that unfold before him. if anything, there's just an occasionally hum of consideration as he studies some of the flora. they're intriguing and pretty different from what he's used to (but that's expected.)

but, all the same, he's mostly in line of checking out if anything was usable, but it's here he catches wind of some of her words. but, seeing as it's mostly casual conversation (and it's never been really good at it), he opts on a different approach: ] Your face...

[ he reaches to grab hold of the vine. ] There's something on it. [ except, it's too late and it looks like they're being wrapped up in it. ]

Edited (we have needs) 2018-01-26 23:48 (UTC)

[ She's examining one of the plants herself, something that looks sort of like a fern, and reaches out to touch one of its leaves—it folds up at the first hint of her touch, making her let out a little oh! sound of wonder. Maybe she should ask Haru more about these plants... if anyone would know about them, it would be her. ]

Huh? [ She turns towards her companion, her eyebrows raised. ] My face?

[ Before she can lift her hand up to touch her face, he beats her to it. Now that he mentions it, she can feel something brushing against her skin—not a second later, a vine curls around them. ]

Whoa, hey! [ She struggles a bit, but the vine doesn't budge as it quickly tightens around them, pulling their bodies together until they're pressed flush against each other. ] Hey! What is this?!

ann takamaki | persona 5

OMAGE

why the hell are you like this

D

no subject

i'm sorry, i'm thirst

thirst me, daddy

D

no subject

OMAGE i'm so sorry

no subject

C1

no subject

a :eyes:

come into my parlor

omage

no subject

E

b

B

A

omage

c2

a...

A