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theatlas_ooc2016-10-05 02:17 pm
atlasmods) wrote in theatlas_ooc2016-10-05 02:17 pm
Entry tags:
Test Drive Meme #01: The First
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.  WAKINGYou 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? SCAVENGEAfter 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 LIFEWhen 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 But just in case, maybe you shouldn't disturb it.  ECLIPSEEspecially 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 OPPORTUNITYThe 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... WILDCARDAnd 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? | |
no subject
[ Rhys is actually more familiar than he would like with waking up in terrible deserts, or in space pods, but it's actually been a while since that happened and he more or less thought he'd closed the book on that chapter of his life. At first he thinks it's some kind of flashback, or nightmare, until he can gasp in enough air to make the spots clear from his eyes and he starts really registering how unfamiliar his surroundings are, beyond the superficial similarities. And how thirsty he is. ]
Uugh... what happened? Where's the treasure? Fiona?
[ He stumbles awkwardly to his feet, arm going to support himself against the side of his pod, and he blinks again at the suit covering it. And the message on his wrist. ]
Uhhhhh. Wow. That's cryptic. O-Or, is this some kind of game? Tag, you're it?
[ He rubs his head and takes a better look around. ]
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I do believe that's more or less the gist of it, yes.
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[ He pauses and looks up at the girl on the ledge, in a suit to match his, and remembers the difficulty breathing he had a moment ago. ]
Oh god no. This isn’t Pandora. I could be anywhere in the universe right now. How much air do we have? I lied, this is way worse than I expected.
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Oh, I think you'll find it's about to get a lot worse.
This is what they call... what was it? Oh yes. A stick up. [She opens one hand and a ball of blue fire appears there.] In your little metal box, you will find some small packaged goods. Hand them to me.
Tag. You're it.
no subject
What, what's that, is that—a lighter? Are you trying to hold me up with a lighter? Now I know this isn't Pandora, at least Pandoran bandits have standards.
I mean. For weaponry. Not like, for stuff like... sanity. Or hygiene.
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That's terrible.
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[ Rhys looks around. At the hot, empty landscape, the ancient stasis pods, the unfamiliar moons in the sky. ]
...literally everything else around here.
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It's not like it'll be hard in a day or two. We're totally screwed out here.
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[ He moves to rub his hand through his hair and then stops and just looks at his hand instead. ]
I mean, you're right. First step is not dying of hunger or heat exposure or thirst or anything.
[ After a pause, he frowns. ]
And it looks like we can't just call for help.
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We're basically totally screwed huh?
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That is an extremely defeatist attitude. We just have to take this one step at a time. Look, there's some food and water here!
[ The rations. ]
So just gotta get out of this sun, and there's all the immediate concerns addressed, and plenty of time to start addressing the other... concerns.
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I mean, unless we actually find someplace with more water we're all kinda in big trouble. [ he says....while stretching. Casually. ]
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[ He gathers up his rations and scans the horizon for the most plausible direction to walk. ]
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Which sand fine looks most welcoming?
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Oh god no. Don't do that. It sounds Dahl. No sir yes sir, okay?
[ He picks an arbitrary direction that seems to have more of a mouth to the valley. ]
I am going that way, you can do whatever you want.
*sand dune, thanks autocorrect ;v;
Is it alright if I watch to see if you collapse from heat exhaustion?
I ASSUMED THAT WAS IT
[ And Rhys starts walking. ]
EXCELLENT
no subject
Eventually, though, he half turns to look at him. ]
You know, unless you've got something up your sleeve—your, your invisible sleeve, since it's not like these suits have sleeves—you're gonna die of heat exhaustion just as quick as me. If you're all resigned to that you might as well just do it on your own.
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No, I'm okay! I'm having fun watching you...!
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If it is, [ Desmond's voice cracks a little, mostly because of the heat and how damn thirsty, but it comes from a pod halfway concealed by another-- one had almost jammed the one to Desmond's shut, it looks like.
He stumbles out a little, too, blinking at the bright sun and scrubbing at his face. It feels like he spends so much of his time sleeping compared to awake... ] I want out and I want a full refund.
no subject
[ Rhys takes a moment to stretch his limbs as he looks over the stranger in, apparently, the exact same inexplicable situation that he is. Great. At least he's not attacking him immediately. He'll count that as a plus. ]
Hate to break it to you, but tag isn't generally a pay-to-play sort of game. Unless you're really getting swindled by someone.