Test Drive Meme #01: The First

[atlasmods]

WELCOME TO KHARAS It's gonna be a real scorcher. Welcome to The Atlas's first Test Drive Meme! 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? Reserves open on the 10th at 00:00 EST, and Applications open on the 12th at 00:00 EST. Both close on the 14th at 23:59 EST. Make sure you're familiar with both the setting and arrival conditions before posting...and have at it! THE DESERT PLANET. WAKING You wake in a valley, gasping for air to fill your aching lungs. There are spots in your eyes. The midday sun hangs in the sky and temperatures have peaked at 100°F | 38°C. Every inhale brings with it the sensations of heat and thirst. Luckily? The strange pod you've arrived in contains some food and water. Rations. Two, three days' worth if you can manage to stretch them. But aside from that there isn't much, in the pod or your immediate surroundings. The only signs of life are the weathered and rusted-looking stasis pods around you from which others emerge, gasping or choking for breath once their lids open. Beyond that there isn't a soul in sight, and since each pod only opens once interfaced with... Who opened yours? SCAVENGE After the heat and disorientation wear off things start to become more clear. You notice the bizarre mark both your suit and the pods bear, as well as the rusted paneling and long scratches that run along some of them. It looks as though something once tried to claw its way into the protective capsules. And somehow yours held out. Others, well... Not so much. Among the pods of those who've survived and continue to wake, are the remains of those whose occupants couldn't possibly have made it. The fronts have been crushed in, hulls torn apart, sporting what looks like critical damage to the wiring or pods' integrity. This damage wasn't caused by weathering or the passage of time. Something deliberately tore them apart in search of whatever...or whoever was inside. Whether or not it's reassuring that no bodies remain inside is up to you. Careful inspection will reveal these pods look almost the exact same age as the one your character woke from. How long ago were they broken? How long have you been asleep? The only thing you can do is keep searching for clues... Maybe you'll get lucky enough to uncover the remains of the occupant's own rations? Although whether they're still good or even edible for your species is something you'll have to find out for yourself. They look...well. Ancient. SIGNS OF LIFE When you venture further into the valley and away from your pod, there's finally something other than sand and devastation to be found. Although not numerous, scattered here and there are clusters of a coral-like structure. Most of its stems are hard and rock-like, but closer inspection shows tiny tendrils of plant-matter which poke their way out of its tubes and vents whenever shadows are cast. But the moment you approach it? All signs of activity vanish and it goes deathly still. If you happen to travel further out from the protection offered by the valley's walls you may just be lucky enough to spot possibly the only actually green blue piece of vegetation on the planet: a single bunch of shriveled leaves. While not terribly exciting, at least it doesn't curl up and disappear like the coral...right? But just in case, maybe you shouldn't disturb it. ECLIPSE Especially when it gets dark. As the merciless the heat of the day gives way to the solar eclipse, the planet begins to transform: the tendrils of the coral emerge fully and appear almost life-like in the way they sway and grab slowly at the air. But be careful! If threatened or grabbed these tendrils will sting their attacker and cause itchy red blotches to form. And when we say itchy, we mean really itchy. And remember those shriveled leaves? Turns out they're more active at this time of the day too. As soon as the surface temperature of the planet drops to tolerable levels the leaves of this plant unfold and knit themselves back together until they form a full stalk & bulb-like head, from which an oddly sweet smell emanates. If left alone long enough, eventually what looks like water will begin to drip from the bulb. If it senses touch, the head of this plant will rapidly unwind and snap around whatever's closest...before it attempts to suffocate you with its moist secretions. MIST OPPORTUNITY The other strange phenomenon which occurs as the eclipse hits full-swing is the gradual formation of saturated clouds of smoke. They appear in pockets which come and go without pattern or design. One moment the desert is bare, and the next it's begun to fill with enough smoke to make visibility so poor it's easy to get turned around and lost. Luckily it's non-toxic and doesn't carry any kind of scent, so breathing it isn't a problem but something very odd happens when characters try to activate or meddle with their communicators in it: White noise. Although the suits can't broadcast any sort of message aside from their beacons, for some reason as soon as characters enter the smoke white noise begins and can only be heard while they're surrounded by it. Is it a signal? Some sort of message? Or something darker altogether... WILDCARD And of course, characters are always free to come up with adventures of their own. Feel like scaling the valley walls? Digging through sand? Meddling with alien technology the likes you've never seen before? Your rationsThe sky's the limit in: The Atlas! ...And there you have it! This TDM will be live until game launch on the 17th so please have fun, be kind, and if you have any questions at all please head on over to our FAQ! We are currently looking for help with apps/plot write-ups, so if you're interested please hit us up.

NAVIGATION

Comments

[anewhope]

[ The touch surprises him and he stills, unsure of how to proceed. ]

Are you sure . . . ?

[ Are you sure you want me? ]

[dateme]

[ Aww, Clark. Inui gives a light tug to try and encourage him. ]

It'll be fun. Promise.

[anewhope]

[ Sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith first. The trust part comes later.

Clark nods, certainty filling his expression. ]

I'm sure man-eating plants fill a certain category of fun.

[dateme]

That's the spirit! [ Now c'mon you hunky lug, follow him when he prompts you this time! ]

[anewhope]

[ He lumbers onward, letting Inui lead. ]

[dateme]

[ Excellent. This will in no way backfire on you Clark, promise.

It's a little ways out from where everyone woke up near the main "mouth" of the valley (because it never really stops), but just like he promised there is a currently-coiled stalk of what used to be leaves. You'd never guess it now, what with them bound so tight as to look like some sort of oversized bulb, but Inui's seen them before this. And he knows not to get too close when it's all wound up like this (he's seen people get to close & heard the yells for help).

Not even the tantalizing drip drip of what looks like water coming from its tip is enough to tempt him. ]

See that? Try throwing a rock at it.

[anewhope]

[ Clark doesn't question it. He picks up a rock and hefts it briefly in his hands, feeling the weight of it.

( it's strange when things feel heavy )

Once he's satisfied, he tosses it in the air briefly before flicking the rock towards the plant. The force of it isn't strong. Man-eating plant or not, Clark isn't going to start flinging rocks at them. ]

[dateme]

[ Clark that didn't even hit it! It like, landed sadly in the sand beside the plant of death or something. Come on. ]

Not like that--you need to actually it hit or it won't work!

[anewhope]

I don't really want to throw rocks at plants.

[dateme]

But that's the point. It doesn't do the thing unless you do!

[anewhope]

I'm still not sure how I feel about throwing rocks at plants.

[ He eyes the plant once more. ] Even man-eating ones.

[dateme]

Well then pass a rock here, I'll do it.

[anewhope]

[ He silently hands it over. ]

[dateme]

[ Inui will take it up and give it a light bounce to get a feel for the weight, turn it around in his hand a little...and then lob it in an upwards arc so that it comes down right on top of that bulbous head.

--Which opens up and snaps around the think like a mousetrap, deadly fast. Hardly more than half a second. ]

Tadaaaa~

[anewhope]

[ That was fast. Clark blinks in surprise. Normally, he'd be able to catch the movement without concentration. Now he feels he needed to squint to even perceive that. ]

Impressive.

[dateme]

Right?? Now come on, you try.

[anewhope]

I think I'll pass. It's enough that I got a good look.

[dateme]

But if you feed it enough rocks it throws them all up~

[anewhope]

[ That makes him grimace. ]

It hasn't done anything to me. So I won't do anything to him. It.

[dateme]

You sure? It's tried to eat like five people already. [ that's only a guess going by the cries for help he's heard though. It could be less if they didn't have time to react. ]

[anewhope]

[ He shakes his head slowly. ]

You don't sound sure.

[dateme]

Well...not everyone might've gotten the memo. [ They could be eaten already :D ]

[anewhope]

I'm sure no one went up to a strange alien plant on an unknown planet.

[ There have been enough sci-fi and horror films detailing the consequences. ]

[dateme]

...You're kidding, right?

[ BECAUSE HE'S PRETTY SURE FROM THOSE SCREAMS that someone was dumb enough to do it ]

[anewhope]

Have you actually seen anyone get eaten?