Test Drive #2

[atlasmods]

GOOD MORNING NEW ARRIVALS This time for real! WAKEY WAKEY. As the storm finally peters out and characters can once again move above ground it becomes abundantly clear that the landscape has changed. Where vast expanses of sand dunes once laid is now the half-buried remnants of what looks like some sort of...city? Full of structures. It stretches so far it's really hard to tell. But there is one thing characters will notice: There are more stasis pods. Revealed by the sandstorm, a whole new flurry of pods can be found scattered on the way to the city (curiously though, not in it. Hurry and wake those guys up! SPREAD THE LOVE. OR ACID. With the departure of the storm there's even more new arrivals to be found besides those fellow travelers of yours! The "Seedlings" and "Cactus" are now both available, the former blown in by the storm and the former uncovered. The Seedlings are generally pretty harmless. They like to burrow into the sand so only their "Leaves" plant-like leaves remain above ground, and they're quite happy to stay that way until surprised. Then they pop up and trip over themselves a little, before slowing down and wandering aimlessly. When they find a patch of sand that looks comfy they begin burrowing back down. Pull or yank on their leaves though and you'll find yourself with a face full of pollen that makes you want to just tell everyone how super-cool they are. It lasts a while, and then you get a fever and vomit for two hours. Good times. The Cacti are much less harmless and just...why would you eat them? Everything about this plant is poisonous, and cracking it open causes a corrosive acid-like substance to spill out. It'll eat through everything but...dirt, oddly. Metals and flesh are like hot oil on plastic. DON'T GET LOST And last but not least: The Forgotten City. Maybe you want to check out the Hull first for some loot, but maybe that's not such a cool idea anymore? Although it looks like the ship's definitely more powered after draining the suits of whoever went in, now it's started to spread and fill the sinkhole the ship's in. Suits can go from 100% to 0% in just ten minutes--not good! Lucky for everyone else, it looks like finally there's some sort of civilization up ahead. Go on and check it out! THE FORGOTTEN CITY Down below the lowest levels of the city, somewhere beyond the twisty maze of passages, several of the paths converge in a huge underground cavern. Here the air is blissfully cool compared to the desert above. A single shaft of light shines down from somewhere on the surface; motes of sand drift lazily as if suspended in the light. Elsewhere, the cave is lit by small clusters of glowing fungus that live off the moisture collected down here. Dim but navigable for most. But perhaps the most striking items in the area are the monoliths. Great fragments of stone over three meters long, too smooth to be natural but too jagged to be whole either. Several of them glow from the pulse of energy running through them. Others, while dark, have recessed notches large enough for a person’s hand. And still another group seems nearly shattered, a larger fragment surrounded by smaller ones. All of them react when the interlopers draw close enough... LIGHT Upon closer inspection, the lit monoliths have a curious pattern worked into the tone. The symbols are rather arcane, but perhaps they make sense if one tilts one’s head and squints. This one has strokes that resemble tongues of flame. That one is covered in cascading, fluid lines. Another … well, that look more like a warning sign than anything else. Interacting with these monoliths results in a warning crackle and the scent of ozone before the monolith opens. Something comes pouring out of it in response. Gushing water is the most common, matching up with the cascade monoliths; others open to flame or greenery or other odd things. And one definitely opens up into a vacuum. Careful with that unless you want to have something sucked out into space. Whatever connection they make is brief and non-traversable, but whatever comes through stays on this side. DARK The unlit monoliths aren’t nearly as flashy as their glowing brethren, but they have their own stories to tell. With the help of a little light (and the suit), the interlopers will find that these monoliths are covered from top to bottom in alien script. Most have at least one solid crack or chunk in them - at the juiciest parts! - but there may be enough left to be intelligible, given a little luck. VISION The last set hum with an ominous energy that belies their dilapidated appearance. Interlopers who approach these monoliths trigger strange images that float in the air. No two visions are alike, though they all share common themes. Silhouettes descending to the surface of the planet and spreading out across it. Exploring and interacting with an alien environment. There’s something deeply familiar about these shadows despite the variety of body types represented by them. The shape of their clothing is reminiscent of your own suit... Other snippets are set in space. Here the silhouettes are a darker patch of black against the darkness of space. The mood in these images is strangely pensive, somewhat tense. These figures are searching very desperately for something. There is one, though, that’s different from all the others. No silhouettes, no searching, no space. Only a shaft of light starting from a point beyond this planet’s moon. At first it’s a too-bright star; then, a solid beam stretching down to the planet itself. The light increases in intensity and breadth exponentially until it impacts physically with the surface of the planet itself. The eruption kicks up huge clouds of dust that race towards the city with all the heat and speed of a pyroclastic explosion. It rises up like a wave...and then crashes down, burying the city. Eventually, each of the images go dark once again. OOC If you're considering joining or want to dabble in the setting a little then you've come to the right place. This post should ideally give you a feel for what it's like to play in the game...especially since this is how we're kicking things off! What does that mean? Basically that this post is considered game-canon and any inter/actions here will lapse over into the game once it begins provided both parties agree to keep CR when they are accepted. TDM threads can be used for sample requirements on apps! Still interested? Applications open on the 3rdth at 00:00 EST and close on the 5th at 23:59 EST. Make sure you're familiar with both the setting and arrival conditions before posting...and have at it!

Comments

steve rogers | marvel cinematic universe

[fossils]

THE FORGOTTEN CITY

[ The path he takes through the city is long and winding, a trail of steps that lead him back to the spot that he started in what he reasonably figures took an hour. There's sweat on his brow and a fine layer of dust on his suit when he sets out again, choosing another direction. The map installed in his suit isn't so helpful, so it's on Steve to note the shape of each damaged structure, committing them to memory.

Those massive claw marks don't exactly bode well. He stops near one for a moment, scanning it.

When the light in the sky shifts from orange to red he stops in his tracks again, lifting a hand to shield his eyes as he glances up. The buildings obscure his view. He turns to a nearby wall and begins to scale it, finding purchase in the damaged structure. Dust scatters from a foothold - you might want to watch out if you're passing below. ]

VISIONS

What do you figure they're looking for?

[ He's in the underground, eyes fixed on the show playing out in the air in front of them. Black against darker black, the figures seem somber - almost ominous. The images dissipate after a time. He moves toward another monolith, activating a different story: bright, blinding light and a racing cloud of dust. Destruction. He finds his eyes narrowing, squinting as if to brace himself against the intangible force rushing outward, the press of heat that isn't present in the cool underground. His mind supplies the details, wanted or not. Some days his memory's too sharp for its own good, he thinks.

With the burst of light this image fades too, leaving the cavern in shadow again. ]

WILDCARD

Feel free to hit me up with a different prompt! Canon point-wise I'll be taking him from post-Captain America: Civil War.

WAKE UP YOU PIECE OF SHI-- oh. gdi it's you.

[lefthandfree]

[He’s wary to say the least. The last time he did this, out popped one Anthony Edward Stark who was not only completely unaware of who he was but was also friendly with him because the whole “he killed my mom” thing is apparently not in his recollection. Which he did appreciate. It was a nice change since he felt Tony was they type of person he could get along great with anyway, like Howard. But then Tony had disappeared, like some others have done since he’s awoken.

And wouldn’t you know it, sometimes he really hates how curious he gets. After the lid opens, Bucky finds his heart has decided his throat is the best place to make its home, and he stumbles back, out of the direct sightline of the opening.

He did this last time too, ducked away uncertain of what was going to follow. But this is Steve, right? Steve who had never forgotten, unlike him. He shouldn't leave Steve hanging. He takes a breath and step forward again, giving Steve a moment to collect himself before offering his hand to pull him out of the pod.] Get enough beauty sleep there, Rogers?

SURPRIIIIIIISE....womp womp

[fossils]

[ The air is freezing cold, wind screaming in his ears, chest seized with panic -

His mouth is dry, breaths short and painful with a pressure at his sides, vision blurry even as a harsh light opens up around him like a heat lamp. Air forces back out his lungs in a couple of raspy coughs and his hands reach out to grip the sides of - a pod? His senses are rapidly recovering. The sun beats down on his face, a light blinking at his wrist - his forearm, and the rest of him are decked out in some kind of armor. None of that matches up with what he remembers last.

Neither does the person standing right in front of him, offering a hand. Even in his confusion he takes it without thought, accepting his friend's arm to pull himself out of the pod. That confusion is clear on his face though, a deep crease at his brow and his lips slightly parted before he answers in their usual way, only this time tinged with more uncertainty than humor: ]

Don't remember falling asleep.

[ It'd been the other way around. Something in his chest twists.

Maybe he really did doze off. ]

[lefthandfree]

[He doesn’t need to see the confusion to know it’s there. He’d been in a similar position after all, and it’s no good trying to make complete sense of it when there’s nothing to go off of anyway since the message to find Atlas means fuck all when you don’t know what that even means.

Smiling faintly, he pulls Steve to his feet and steadies him so that his best friend doesn't trip forward and fall on his face..]

I did. But certainly not here. [Dryly.] And definitely without any plan of waking up for a while, but I dunno how much time has passed, to be honest. Since. Well. Watches don’t work the same way in cryo. [There’s a mild lilt of humor there, the usual that's around these days.]

forgotten city

[ex_bossily211]

Careful.

[Clara's on her way to do some more exploring, but can't help but stop beneath him to watch what he's doing. She doesn't recognize him, which is what has her attention. She brings a hand up to shield her eyes as she tips her head to get a better look at him. From this angle, it's mostly just his backside, which she has to admit isn't bad to watch as he moves.]

One wrong move, and the whole thing may fall apart. And I'm not sure I'd be able to catch you if it happens.

[fossils]

[ His eyes are up here

He glances down - then up again, deciding instead of climbing up to drop back down, no more than a few meters. Sticks the landing with a surprising lightness for someone his size. ]

Seems kinda early for the sun to be setting. [ Both eyebrows raise and his gaze trails up before returning to the woman in front of him, letting both hands rest at his hips. The reddish tinge to the sky is starting to turn purple, but he still can't see the sun from where they're standing. Last he saw it was nowhere near the horizon. ]

[ex_bossily211]

[His landing is impressive, and she doesn't bother hiding the fact that she's looking him up and down. He's certainly dashing.]

Thing about being here is, you have to throw out what you know from wherever you're from. Whatever star system we're in, it isn't one I'm used to. It feels like everything here is different than what I'm used to.

[The way she says it, she doesn't make it seem like a bad thing. The way she's smiling says she sees it as a challenge, even said challenge often drives her up a wall.]

You must be new here. I definitely can't place your face.

visions

[superblack]

It might be nothing.

[Given that he's seen some true terrors, men and women turned into shadows, the visions he sees now are friendlier than he'd expected.]

This might've happened once, like a record player or a movie.

[Not that it makes anything better. If this happened once, it may be a chronicle of their end, or the worst of the place coming to life for a brief moment.]

[fossils]

[ The light leaves an imprint on his vision in the dark when he turns to look over at Bruce with a frown. ]

You ever see anything like it? [ Reminds him of New York, only that light was a portal that let in horrors. ]

[superblack]

Not exactly like this.

[He's not keen on sharing what he's seen with Enchantress, on top of literally everything that is this foreign planet. Anything's possible.]

I wouldn't go trusting it, though.

visions;

[ironmadame]

Perhaps this 'Atlas' we have been tasked with finding.

[ It is a simple sort of guess, but it's the information they have to work with, isn't it? If Vivienne were someone more casual she might shrug, but instead it's in her tone of voice. ]

Perhaps the tool by which we are meant to prevent this disaster. Perhaps they are one and the same.

[fossils]

[ Occam's razor it is. He turns to the empty space where the images had vanished from. ]

You get a look at the ones with the writing? [ The other monoliths. ]

[ironmadame]

I saw the ones with the symbols and the warning. Water came out of most of them.

[ Vivienne gestures back in that direction. ] Did you? If not, we could investigate them now.

[ He's built like a templar, anyway, or at least someone who can handle themselves on a battlefield. ]

Hartley Rathaway/Pied Piper | DC Comics

[soundsmith]

WAKEY WAKEY.

The first thing Hartley's aware of is a lack of air. He panics, struggling to breathe, but all he can manage are weak, shallow gasps. For a second, as black spots begin to spread into his vision, he wonders if he'll die like this. Struggling to breathe, with no idea of why or where he is...and then it lets up. Suddenly he can breathe, and so he sucks in breath desperately, coughing a few times but grateful nonetheless of being able to pull the dry, dusty air into his lungs.

Blinking a few times as the last of the black spots faded from his vision, Hartley looked to see if anyone was nearby who could explain what the hell was going on.

SPREAD THE LOVE. OR ACID.

Once he's awake, and very are of his incredibly strange surroundings, Hartley decided to get a better idea of the lay of the land. It wasn't the first time otherworldly forces had whisked people away, after all, and the sooner he worked out what sort of situation, exactly, he was in, the better he could handle all of this. He didn't bother thinking about whether he could get back home or not, though truth be told, with as badly as things had been going, he almost wondered if he wanted to. Instead, he focused on survival.

Now, he'd gathered up his rations and was carrying them with him as he went, but even he could see this would only last him so long. While it might be nice to think everything would be resolved in three days, it wasn't exactly realistic, so he figured he might as well investigate whether anything was edible in this place.

That's what he was thinking when he pulled up what he'd presumed to be an ordinary plant...only to get a bunch of pollen in his face.

LIGHT

After that...unfortunate encounter with that plant, Hartley decided to proceed with a bit more caution. Still, as time went on, and as he became more curious about what appeared to be signs of civilization, he ended up approaching one of he lit monoliths. Curious, he reached out to touch it, when suddenly he heard it crackle, and the scent of ozone.

Hartley scrambled back, wanting to put some distance between himself and the monolith, taking this as a sign that something otherworldly and quite possibly deadly was about to occur, when suddenly, the monolith opened, and...water gushed out.

Well. That certainly wasn't dangerous, and if he'd known it would have just been water, he'd have likely tried to catch some of it in the container his water rations were in. He had, after all, been hitting them rather heavily in this harsh and dry environment. Still, it never hurt to be too cautious. That's why he didn't even want to approach the one that looked like someone was desperately trying to warn people away from it.

The Tenth Doctor | Doctor Who

[likesimpossible]

Wakey Wakey

Waking up here is a bit of a disorienting experience, and the first thing the Doctor does upon his own awakening is to gasp frantically and rather ungracefully for air. It's not a pleasant feeling, suffocation, and it takes the Doctor a few minutes to get his breathing under control again. Those minutes feel more like hours, but finally, finally some of the terrible pressure lessens.

Once it does, the blackness creeping around the edges of his vision gradually disappears, and the Doctor is able to discern that he's in some sort of pod thing and that the air around him feels dry and rather hot.

"Well, that's odd and certainly not what I expected to see." Which is to say he expected to see nothing, but then again, something is quite a bit better than nothing.

Don't Get Lost

What better to do in a strange place than to explore? It's always been one of the things that the Doctor does best, so it seems natural for him to strike out and try to see what can be seen. But as he begins his trek, he soon learns that the paths are quite convoluted and without what he thinks of as a decent map, exploration becomes just a bit harder.

But no one would know it from looking at him as he continues gamely on. To what, he's not sure, and unless his eyes are playing tricks on him, he thinks he can see something looming up ahead of him.

[ ooc: Feel free to respond with a different prompt if these ones don't interest you! ]

!!!!

[ex_bossily211]

When Clara initially releases him from the pod, she's prepared to give him the generic welcome speech before ushering him along. But as he fully emerges and starts to gain his bearings and she really looks him over, she's left staring at him like he's a ghost. Due to recent events, she knows the sight of his face well enough for it to feel like she's seeing a ghost. Her eyes widen as he speaks, and his voice strikes an odd sense of familiarity within her as well.

"What did you expect to see?" She cautiously questions him, backing away enough that he can have some breathing space and room to move.

[likesimpossible]

Once he's out of the pod, he stretches because for some reason, he feels stiff as though he's been inside there for ages. But once he's gotten over the initial adjustments, he realizes he's not alone. There's someone there staring at him as though she'd never seen him before. Which, considering he doesn't know her, is accurate.

"Well, not this, that's for sure." He's not sure he wants to get into an explanation about regeneration, not with someone who's essentially a stranger. "Where are we? A planet, I assume, but it's not one I know, and that is impressive." There's never been a planet he didn't know.

Vivienne | Dragon Age: Inquisition

[ironmadame]

the forgotten city - towards the monoliths

[ This...is unpleasant. The heat, mostly, in Vivienne's opinion, plus the suit is horrendous and should not be necessary, much less tolerated. Yet, here she is, somewhere that reminds her of the Western Approach, sweating and not lost, not really - merely expanding upon the map she's found herself with.

Plus there is this business of the Atlas. A place? A device? A title? Things to consider as she explores, descending through the caves beneath the city.

At the monoliths she stops, regarding the signs, specifically the warning one. ]

Well. Shan't be opening that one.

the vision

[ This reminds her of the breach, somewhat - the entire situation as opposed to just these visions themselves, but those as well. ]

Doubtless these shadowed figures are meant to be ourselves, and a warning.

The question is, should it be taken at it's face value? Or with salt.

a wildcard
[ Tag me with something! ]

monoliths

[buttsbuttsbutts]

[ sera doesn't know who she pissed off to end up stuck with vivienne of all people, but she's secretly a tiny bit grateful to be with someone she knows rather than alone or with some creepy creep of a stranger.

key word is secretly. you'd never detect even a speck of gratefulness in her attitude or demeanor.

even now, she huffs and folds her arms over her chest and scowls (and takes a not-so-subtle step back from the warning sign.) ]

Nope. We shan't. We shan't be doing anything over here, yeah? In fact the only thing we sha...n be doing is leaving. [ crap shan isn't a word. oh well. ] Me, anyway. I'm going back. Back back, to where we started. Not doing any good going this way.

[ironmadame]

Wherever is your sense of adventure, my dear Sera?

[ This is a rhetorical question; the monoliths are of a magical sort, and Sera is of a very non-magical sort, so it's to be expected that she'd be unhappy with...all this. Their arrival included. ]

I see no reason to return to such a hideous device, unless you enjoyed being squeezed of all breath. Give me your water container.

[buttsbuttsbutts]

It's back home where it ought to be, with everything else they made me leave.

[ she's never going to be over it. also, referring to a mysterious, yet-to-be-identified "they" sends a chill up her spine and she shivers.

this. is. the. worst.

she's not quick to take out her water container, either. her hand shoots towards her pack as though she's going to comply but it stops, hovering just at the bag's flap. she shoots viv a suspicious look. ]

Why? What d'you need for? I don't want anything weird touching it, or going into it. None of that. No magic. No ... this. [ she gestures towards the monoliths with her free hand. ] You can't keep it, either. I'm not going to whither away just so you can have an extra bit of water for wash ups.

wildcard

[ex_broach530]

[ Someone else must have touched her pod to free her, so Vivienne has doubtlessly had some time and conversations to acclimate herself at least somewhat in the new situation they find themselves in. But knowing that just makes him pissed he didn't try and find the pods himself, didn't make himself the first thing she saw showing up, didn't even know until now. ]

Good to see you, ma'am!

[ He tells her with absolute boisterous sincerity, since he's fairly sure she wouldn't appreciate it if he tried to go in for a hug. He's grinning broadly, though, all sweaty and dirty with manual labor and with a recent sunburn still peeling as the suits systems healed it. ]

[ironmadame]

You as well, Bull.

[ VIvienne would thank the Maker that the Tamassrans granted him the sense not to hug her if she had even considered for a brief moment that he might hug her. As it is, she has much better faith in their abilities and his sense of restraint, so no prayers are necessary. ]

How long have you been here?

~ the vision

[devintered]

Do you think so?

[ For what it's worth Dorian would accept this as an explanation, it's just his Maker given duty to verbally spar with Vivienne whenever the opportunity presents itself. Also, for the sake of this prompt we are assuming they discovered one another earlier and were of course properly overjoyed. ]

Ourselves, or others like us who came before.

[A pause. ]

Though I can hardly argue it's not the cheeriest of imagery.

[ironmadame]

Conscripted into this entire situation without as much as a letter warning them beforehand? Poor dears.

[ Poor them, really, but it brings to mind a good question: have others been forced to search for this Atlas as well? Was that a representation, the past, or the future shown to them? ]

Cheery or not, I daresay it isn't meant to show us here, unless there is a black expanse I missed in that awful desert.