![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
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—
2. Let us now travel forward in time, shall we?  a. The Olympian settlement around you is quiet — until the screaming starts.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... 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. |
no subject
They glance down when they can feel the file on the rope, and then dart their eyes away and around, feigning nervousness as best they can. This close, Jean might notice that Dia is rather cold to the touch and that their skin shows no give under the tug of the rope, being far too solid.
But the jeers of the crowd baffle them as they look around, eyes a little wide with alarm at the hostility. It reminds them of some of their comrade's hatred towards their Lunarian enemies--but they, at least, had a good reason for it. Dia and the others would've at least listened if someone not-Lunarian claimed to not be associated with them. An they wouldn't have done all of...this. That, at least, Dia can be sure of.]
They're so angry... [Their voice is soft and sweet even in their bewildered horror.]
no subject
For reasons that have nothing to do with you, nor any of these prisoners. You are merely sacrifices.
[In more ways than one. Anger requires a target, that its wielder might feel some sense of forward motion. He knows nothing of the political climate of these lands, but he has learned enough of human nature over the years to see the broad strokes of the picture.
In his strong hands, the file makes quick work of the rope that binds her wrists. He drops to the ground, feigning a fit of praise for the city of Olympia, and there he makes quick work of the rope that binds her ankles and shortens her step. Then in one motion he tucks the file back into his pocket, rises, and sheds his jacket to throw it around the girl's shoulders. This is to disguise her as he pulls her into the crowd with him, letting the hateful masses absorb them.]
no subject
Jean's work happens with a quick effectiveness that Dia can't help but admire and be impressed by. The need for being undercover or sneaky isn't one they normally had-- there was no infiltrating or prisonbreaks, the fighting was all refreshingly straight-forward.
Here... It definitely seems to be something they'll need to pick up. They don't protest the coat or anything, letting themselves be led away, though they do glance back as the backs of the prisoners are swallowed up by the advancing crowd.]
I'm afraid I don't understand the meaning. [Dia confesses at length once they've made their through most of the crowd.] They're all the same species, aren't they? They're all human? Why would they turn against their own?
no subject
Humans are capable of extraordinary selfishness and cruelty. They do not always come by it on their own, but often the strange forces of society work against the individual man, woman, or child. Here they must be told that the people of Wyver are the cause of their country's ills, and so believing, they learn to hate.
[At this point, one of the acolytes has realized that the file is one prisoner short. She alerts the priest, who cries out, Where has the Wyver filth gone? None can be allowed to escape!
Jean Valjean tenses, and urgently he murmurs to Diamond, with his hand pressed to her shoulder:]
Let us move quickly, but do not run. They will look for someone who's running.
no subject
The shout that goes up behind the two of them has Diamond ducking their head a little more, grateful even more for the headscarf; though they hadn't been seen by the guards or crowd without it, Dia would've stood out even more with the sun glittering off their hair that way.]
Have you done this sort of thing before? [They peek up at him, curious and observant. Valjean certainly seems to know what he's doing here, at least.]
no subject
No, of course not.
[It is not a lie but rather a half-truth, as it was always himself whom he was concealing rather than another.
As they peel themselves away from the crowd at the front of the temple, an acolyte shouts, You there! Nobody can leave the temple until the prisoner has been found. To which Jean Valjean replies,]
I thought I saw someone leaving just now, this way!
[And he thrusts his finger toward the broad doorway that leads out into the reddening sunlight. The day is drawing to a close, the sun settling into the distant landscape and casting its last oblique rays. When the acolyte dashes out, some of those at the back of the crowd flock to the entrance to see what will happen. Two warriors push through, apparently entrusted by the head priest to retrieve the supposedly fleeing prisoner.
In this chaos, Jean Valjean uses the design of the temple to his advantage. Being that the doorway is broad and open, framed by large stone columns, he is able to lead Diamond out from the opposite side to which he had sent the acolyte, and toward which direction points the attention of the crowd.]
no subject
The setting sun is a little bit of a problem as Diamond knows they'll be getting very sleepy once the sun sets fully. It's entirely possible for them to stay up without the energy of the sun, but they'd really rather not if they could help it. Their eyes dart about, memorizing the layout as best they can, mentally trying to map who is going where.
They don't hunch their shoulders or try to make themselves seem too obviously smaller, moving as naturally as possible to make it seem like they're just another unassuming face in the crowd. On the bright side, no one seemed to have been paying too much attention to the looks of the prisoners, so the eyes of the searching crowd pass right over them more often than not, except perhaps for some lingering appreciative looks that Diamond doesn't notice or recognize.]
Do you have a destination in mind...? [Are they going to a specific place, or if the idea generally 'just get the hell out of Dodge'?] It'll be a while before they give up and take the loss, I think.
no subject
I must confess that I am a stranger to these lands. But put your faith in the Lord, and He shall see us through.
[The tension smooths from his features for just a moment as he says this to her, and his voice is gentle just as it was on that night when he fled from the Gorbeau House with Cosette. As they move down the hill, beating their own path rather than following the well-trodden path that feeds directly into the temple, his eyes scan the landscape and his mind calculates their next move.]
no subject
Their steps are careful, concentrating on not getting caught in any of the foliage as they make their way down]
I can't say I understand, but... Are you from the station too then? Caught up in these...simulation things? [There's a soft little laugh of relief.] I'm a little relieved, I was starting to wonder if I'd gone crazy and imagined it all. But that explains why you weren't in a frenzy with the rest of them, I suppose.
[It seems safe enough to talk now, at least, the noise of the crowd and the temple behind them starting to fade the further away they get]
sorry for the delay
This side of the hill is covered in grass that reaches past his calves and through it sprawl clusters of shrubs. As he weaves his way down, he periodically checks to see how she is managing.]
No, I haven't any reason to join in their hatred. I am one like yourself, who was saved from the Storm and brought to that station.
[In the near distance, nestled among the hills, is a swath of the village. Modest houses squat on fenced-in parcels of land with a patchwork of lanes connecting it all. It is hard to know where might provide sanctuary, of the mob at the temple represents the regnant view of the town.]
no problem!
I see... The Storm seems to have hit a lot of us. There are so many refugees... [Dia trails off, not quite sure how to feel about it all. On one hand, it's not as though their kind truly die. Even destroyed by the Storm, if enough pieces could be recovered, they could come back. But the people on the station had promised--and made good on--getting the pieces of their fallen comrades stolen by the Lunarians, and they had this new existence to look forward too.
Living forever isn't nearly as great as it seems.
The site of the little village makes them pause, hesitating, and they glance back where they came, no doubt thinking along the same lines of 'what if this isn't any better than where we just left?' After a moment of consideration, and knowing organic's weakness to pretty things, Dia reaches up to grab their headscarf.] A moment. This might help us, a little. [Hopefully. Maybe. They pull the headscarf off, their hair catching the light and sending little rainbows scattering over their shoulders and around them.]