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❪ test drive #4 ❫
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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. |
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he feels vane trying to help him, hears him speaking, but it's only once he's called by name that his mind specifically registers who it is. is it really vane, though? or is it just lingering thoughts taking form in his current unwell state? ...no, he shouldn't be questioning that sort of thing right now. he can't.
he can't because the person in question seems just as confused and uncertain. so lancelot does the only thing he knows how to do (and has been doing since they were kids): he offers the reassurance needed. ]
...Vane. [ it's harder than he would like to admit simply saying that name with certainty and without the hesitance and turmoil that's been circulating inside of him since having to come to terms with the Storm and what it has done to their home. he does it, though. he does it, because one of them has to believe they can tell the difference between fabrication and reality to get somewhere. lancelot will put himself there so vane doesn't have to.
unfortunately, he doesn't do it soon enough to avoid vane... well, being vane. which means he's getting a little bit suffocated as his friend takes things into his own hands to figure out. rather literally. ]
Vane, sto—hhph! [ vane??? no, don't smother him with your hands what are you doing?? (it doesn't matter if it's actually gran or lanchan, don't do the thing...!!?)
lancelot actually moves now despite his condition, grabbing at vane's wrists and tugging them down away from his face with a bit of directed force. vane's going to get yanked down and forward enough that they can have level eye contact with each other just to make sure he has vane's full attention before he speaks. okay? okay.
This is real. I am real. [ and just maybe, his own conviction that's necessary to assure his friend of that is enough to assure himself, as well.
his expression softens, however, and offers a small but apologetic smile.]
...And I am so very sorry, my friend... if it's been a long time since.
[ sorry if he's left vane alone for long, sorry if he worried vane in any way.
sorry for there being a point of time, no matter how small, that he was somewhere vane couldn't follow. ]
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[ there's that undeniable sense of familiarity in the way he hears his name being said. called out in exactly the same manner and tone as he's heard from his childhood. that's how ... real and raw it feels. it incites a certain level of attachment and fondness within him.
but, despite that, he's still registering everything ... pretty slowly. as with most things in relation to vr, he begins to doubt his own perceptions (as his mutterings are likely to suggest. there's probably been a fair amount of "no, no, no??" under his breath). even the warmth beneath his fingertips begin to feel unreal, if just... because the last time he saw lancelot. it wasn't like this.
but, these thoughts are cut relatively short when he feels lancelot reach over to grab him. it's a returned gesture that's so like lancelot that he finds himself oddly mesmerized by it. especially as he's pulled to eye-level; their foreheads mere inches away from one another. from there, it doesn't take him long to realize that it's— ]
It's really you! I— [ he never doubted he'd see him again, he just ...
never thought it'd be this soon, and there's something special about that. which is why he wills himself not to shed tears. he had to be happy in a moment like this, right? ]
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More importantly— [ he drags a wrist out from under lancelot's touch, if just to place a reassuring hand over his. ]
Welcome back. Percy is going to flip when he sees you.
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[ the smile slowly falls away, curiosity reflecting in his features before that, too, dims into thoughtful concern. ]
Ah, welcome back, is it...? [ he mumbles to himself thoughtfully as he pulls back to give vane some space, loosening his grip on the one wrist he still had a hold of. lancelot becomes distracted then, searching inside for something—anything—that could make his mind excuse it rather than be completely confused, instead. nothing comes, though, not even a cracked sliver or chipped surface in his memory continuity around the right place. if he could at least identify a gap where something should have been but is no longer... not a single bone in his body aches with feeling of familiarity for this place, either, though.
. . . ugh. he doesn't doubt vane, but it's unnerving to think those that oversee this place are capable of erasing something so completely, if that is the case.
there's no use dwelling on it, therefore...
now what should he do? does he tell vane he doesn't remember ever being here before? does he simply dismiss it until it comes up directly somewhere down the line?
his continuing lightheadedness and vertigo starts to get to him the longer he tries to come up with something from nothing, until it suddenly finishes sinking in that vane has said something about another person. it just so happens it's a person that's been on his mind along with vane since waking up here. lancelot blinks, surprised. ]
Percival is also...? [ ... here with you? ]
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or, super grateful, even. while a little rest probably wouldn't do lancelot bad, it's ... nice to see him awake. albeit, still with his own brand of disorientation. a fact vane is a little slower to pick up on. well, he supposed after sleeping that long anyone would feel out of sorts. (or was it this... training system?) vane doesn't have confidence in being able to discern the actual cause, and so instead he focuses on the one thing he is good at.
action, of course. ] A-ah! You must be tired, huh? Let me give you a hand. [ it's here he grips onto lancelot's forearm and pulls upwards. ... this probably is the least of what lancelot actually needs, but well... vane is trying his best. he makes a sound of lighthearted struggle as he tries to help steady lancelot. ] Yeah, you bet!
You know how he is, so he hasn't said it or anything, but I'm sure he was worried, y'know! [ .. and it'd be a lie to say vane didn't have his own concerns. but, somehow that all seems to have blown over. ... not that this story won't ever resurface and make him teary-eyed, but listen. that's for the future. ]
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...Yeah, he is actually really tired, he thinks to himself when vane mentions it. he is a little intimidated by the idea of sleeping, but maybe now with vane around he can do that a little—
lancelot isn't sure what is happening at first other than it feels as if his thoughts are literally sliding off to one side and away before he can finish them. the rush of dizziness is sudden and heavy on his attention, too—so much his awareness still misses the cues, and he completely misses working with vane's assistance to stand. which means, he basically trips into the other's arms and does so all the while lacking any of the potential romansu-doki grace of these kind of things by actually smacking his face right against vane's front. which, kind of hurts more than he wants to admit.
still, nice catch, vane. lancelot probably doesn't even realize you were the one to move him in the first place, especially considering he's pretty embarrassed at his display if the color of his cheeks are any indication once he has lifted his head up some (complete with covering his nose, too, until the strange throbbing and tingling goes away).
(even with all the frustration he's feeling at this, there's also something definitely relieving being pressed up against another living being. that it's vane is just all the more comforting and, despite a simple means of physical contact, it's helpful in more ways than either of them would be able to realize.)
so, in actuality, vane ended up doing a really good thing, even if not the way he intended to.
also please ignore that lancelot is now in complete silence and might actually even have some threat of tears in the corners of his eyes as he somewhat glares at nothing in particular. wow. that was really sloppy and not adequate reflexes regardless of the situation and how has he gotten this out of sorts, especially in public, anyway!?
is it really so surprising, though? he's just about at his limit emotionally, and vane being around lets him lower his defenses just enough. he's also tired, he's sick to his stomach from VR times, he's cranky, and smacking his nose hurts in a funny way that isn't painful... no, it just smarts. ]