Entry tags:

!test drive meme

Test Drive #2

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ 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. ]

[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.]

[ The extra support helps with his equilibrium more than he'd like to admit. Bucky's grip feels real enough, the lilt in his tone familiar in a way that's steadier than his own footing. The sand under his feet shifts but it doesn't seem like the ground's in danger of dropping out underneath him. His gaze falls on his friend's features, studying them. ]

About an hour by mine. [ He'd just finished up speaking to T'Challa as far as he can remember. His hand falls away from Bucky's arm, gaze shifting over his friend's shoulder to scan the alien horizon, a deep frown setting in. ] Any idea where here is?

[He’ll notice that Bucky looks a bit more worn than he had been, going into cryo. Also a bit dustier. Nothing out of place though, not even a hair. Seems even when Bucky isn’t actually cleaned up, his hair abides.]

Only an hour? [His brows furrow a bit.] From what, if I may ask. For consistency’s sake, since we’re obviously not in Kansas anymore.

[Or Wakanda. Whatever.]

And here is a place called Kharas. It’s...uh. Not Earth is all I can really say about it.

[ Well, he's always had really great hair.

At the question he lets his eyes meet Bucky's again. ]

You going under. Wakanda. [ That pinch at his brow starts to settle in again. Not Earth. Alright. The twin moons in the sky should've been a giveaway. He stares down at his arms, turning them over to inspect the suit better. The device on his wrist stopped flashing while they were talking, the only identifying marker he can find anywhere is the triangle on his hand. He looks up again. ] No ruby slippers, huh?

[He chuckles at that, eyes crinkling with mirth.] I’d’da used ’em already if I had ’em, even if they were a size too small.

[Wakanda. So Steve at least knows what he should know, unlike Tony’s case. That’s...still a relief, even if they weren’t at their best before he’d made the decision on his own to freeze himself and pissed Steve off. Not that they might ever be at their best again. But Steve is still here, standing in front of him, flesh and bone, and Bucky doesn't want that. Steve should be somewhere else, happy if at all possible. This is just a mess.

Dragging his hand through his hair, he steps back, giving Steve some space to step away from the pod, if he so chooses.] I woke up here a few weeks ago. Same way you just woke up. Someone opened the pod and...here I was. Not sure how I got here from Wakanda. Or who the hell redressed me.

[He makes a face at that. Not that he hasn’t grown accustomed to the suit, but he doesn’t like the idea of someone having manipulated his body while he was out, even if it was just to change his clothes.]

[ His shoulders relax, offering a faint, lopsided smile back at Bucky as he laughs. Deja vu strikes him hard, split second double vision. It's been the same since Berlin. Bits of short conversation, brief moments where he slips into the past. Things can't go back to the way they were, neither of them are the same boys that met in an alley or even the same men that fought in the war. He knows that. But then sometimes it shakes him how much it seems like nothing's changed at all.

And his own happiness has never been much of a consideration. If whatever unnatural force pulled him to Kharas had first given him a choice, he'd always choose to stand with his friend. But - ]

A few weeks? [ Humor is slips away, his expression distorted with confusion. A chill runs up his spine. Had he been under the sand for that long? ] And someone?

[ They're not the only ones then. ]

[It’s not the easiest to describe. Even now, Bucky’s trying his best to think of the easiest way to put it all without overwhelming Steve with information. So much has happened since he arrived, and picking out only the important bits without concerning Steve is certainly a task he wish he had more time to prepare.

As soon as the smile disappears, he has to keep himself from sighing. He much prefers the mutual joy they were sharing, the silliness and comfort, over the stiff reality of business. The peace falls too quickly away these days. As it had during the war. The worst part is always knowing that there’s no going back.]

Yeah. [He puts on one of his easy smiles, not really wanting to be pulled into Steve’s stride when things could certainly be far worse.] The others that woke from other pods like this one— [he gestures] —have stuck together for the most part, so it’s not a free-for-all out here or nothin’. We were all woken the same way too; someone has to open the pod for you to wake. Lady who opened mine was a soldier named Shepard.

[ He takes that explanation in, continuing to frown as he processes. From just about anyone else he would've taken most of this with a heavy dose of skepticism. ]

So there could be more people stuck in these. [ Inclining his head at the pod, and a grimace. ] Any of these others have a clue how they got here? [ Long shot. ]

[Always with the frown. He frowns himself now. He shouldn’t have been so hopeful, knowing what he knew. Though he likes to think it was still worth the effort, even if Steve will always be Steve about this kinda thing.]

Assuming they survived, anyway, yeah. [He tries to shrug as casually as possible. It comes out a bit stiff.] But your guess is as good as mine. Or anyone else’s. Everything’s a damn mystery, even whatever the hell we’re supposed to be finding out here.

[ Under other circumstances he'd be quicker to appreciate the fact that they're both awake at the same time. As it is he's too single-minded right now to fall back into Bucky's redirection.

He glances down at the device on his wrist again. If he survived down there so long, there had to be more. He turns to look at the pod again. Not any kind of tech he recognizes, no markings beside the triangle that he can see.

He likes reading mysteries, not being stuck in them. ]

There a base camp set up? [ He'd mentioned folks sticking together. ]

If you wanna call people crowding together to keep from dying on their own a base camp, then sure. [There’s some of the old humor in there, but it’s all still dry.] There’s a few of ’em since we’ve all been moving around from place to place. Not really much in the way of supplies to really hunker down somewhere and make a proper camp though.

[He watches Steve for a moment, glances toward where the nearest encampment is, then looks back toward his friend.]

Fact is most of them aren’t soldiers. Not like us, anyway. [Survivors, he means.]

[ His eyebrows knit together, following Bucky's gaze away from, then back again. He bites back the question of whether they've lost anyone in the past few weeks. Surviving out in the desert for that long on short supplies - not exactly a walk in the park even for folks with training. ]

Any more familiar faces turn up? [ Anyone they know. ]

[Tony. But this is Steve. The topic of Tony ain’t exactly going to be easy street. The two of them haven’t even talked about Howard or how Bucky murdered one of their oldest friends. Bucky decides to be tactical with his reply rather than honest.]

None of your friends are here, if that’s what you’re asking. [And it’s not really a lie. None of them are here. And Tony isn’t here anymore.]

[ He searches Bucky's face for a moment, pulled from his focus as though he senses the half truth in that answer. But he trips over it, one side of his mouth slips back into the faint half smile again and a hand reaching out to grip Bucky's shoulder. ]

Just the one friend's alright. [ Hadn't been long enough for him to process the time they would lose again when Bucky said he was going back to cryo. ]

Where to? [ He's following your lead this time. ]

[He doesn’t expect that answer from Steve, and briefly his chest aches. Years lost, to the war, to Hydra. He even chose to stay away, to keep from sinking into this familiarity he is no longer meant to be part of, to save Steve the trouble—the anguish—of what the both of them had lost and could never make back. But he still wants it, that swell of pride and approval, the way Steve looks on at him like he matters somehow.

He’s smiling sheepishly before he knows it, nudging Steve playfully in the side.] Who you tryin’ to impress, Rogers?

[But he breaks out in a grin while nodding toward the encampment.] It's that-a-way, pal.

[ He rolls back with the nudge, letting out a light huff. There's a warmth in his own chest when they both fall into muscle memory again. His hand falls back to his side and he turns to quickly dig through the pod, gathering up the meager supplies he'd spotted. With that bunched under an arm he starts walking. ]

These are some fancy duds they've got us waking up in. [ He presses on the wrist communicator again, though it doesn't seem to respond.. ]

Tell me about it. [He gives a laugh as he starts leading the way, keeping his pace even with Steve.] Seemed like a crazy dream at first. Like something outta one of those new space movies back on Earth.

That watch thing ain’t gonna do much for you though. Granted, some time ago we managed to pick up a few crazy transmissions on ’em. A few of us anyway. Some alien language.

Straight outta Princess of Mars. [ He didn't see the remake.

The second part has him looking up and raising an eyebrow. ] Anyone able to record it?

[He chuckles.] You always liked those romance ones more, huh. Guess it ain’t too far off either though, since Kharas does remind me of Mars. Or, well, how we used to imagine it, I guess.

Didn’t need to record it though. Got a few directly on my communicator, and they kinda just...stayed there. I can replay them if you wan’t, but they aren’t going to make much sense unless you’ve got a translator, which...

[Oh. Shit. How does he explain to Steve that Superman is real and has a translator without making this weird?]

Just 'cuz it's got romance doesn't make it a romance. [ Details, buddy. He glances over at Bucky, both eyebrows raised as if to silently ask which...?. Continue. Whatever there is to explain, it can't be much weirder than the situation already is. ]

[He would quip back about Steve’s reply (because Steve definite likes the romance bits even if it ain't a romance), but it would probably throw the conversation in another direction, and this isn't the conversation to sacrifice for a bit of friendly banter.

He takes a few moments before he works out the best way to start.] So I never really told you this—just never came up, and it wasn’t super important anyhow—but y’know when you were on that...tour with those show girls? During the war.

[ ~~So what if he does??~~

A flicker of surprise at the weird topic change, and a raised eyebrow. ] Yeah - [ what's that got to do with this? ]

[~~Just admit you’re a romantic sap, Rogers. There’s nothing to be ashamed about.~~

He makes a quiet, amused noise at Steve’s obvious surprise at the tangent.] Y’know they did a whole spread of advertising for that campaign, right? Comics too and all that. How Captain America charged into battle with the other troops and saves the day, like those comics we used to read when we were younger.

[ The Captain America stories were a bit corny even for him, but he can't deny getting a kick out of seeing himself in a comic book at first. Cue his shock when someone showed him how much some of them go for on Ebay. His mouth forms a line. ] This isn't gonna end with you telling me you found a box of those here, right?

[ Because that's about the only way this could get weirder. ]

Test Drive #2

GOOD MORNING NEW ARRIVALS

SURPRIIIIIIISE....womp womp

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)