tdm 16

[savmods]

test drive meme

Ingress travel can be disorienting, but there’s no need to worry! All side effects are temporary and lessen with each trip. Your body may experience several sensations at once: being pushed forward as if a hand is resting on your back, momentary and startling blindness, a gentle ringing in your head. You may have difficulty discerning whether it is hot or cold, but where you have been prodded is noticeably warmer than the rest of you. Some may suffer from dizziness while others are perfectly fine. You notice that the area you are in is filled with a soft cerulean light and feels slightly humid and dark despite the glow around you. Regardless of your current state, however, the stress of initial Ingress travel forces your body into unconsciousness.

Waking up is another story. Or maybe it isn’t.

You find yourself in a nondescript room; sometimes with others who have found themselves in the same situation, sometimes alone. A medical tech is always present to explain what’s happened before giving you some clothes, a TAB, and a guide that discusses things in further detail. This entire process also consists of a complete work-up of medical history and current health in order to obtain your signature—a specific frequency that will allow them to hone in on exactly where it is you’re from in order to get you back there.You spend your first week on the Ingress Complex while other accommodations and arrangements are made for you.

welcome to thisavrou

---

escoria

⋆ Escoria is classified as Exploration Class (EC), and travel through the Ingress is mostly smooth except for one issue: anyone with powers or abilities will find that the distortion between worlds has temporarily caused problems accessing them. Essentially, it has left all travelers depowered. Another similar issue comes in the form of the location of Escoria’s Ingress—seemingly in the middle of a vast ocean, the Ingress is balanced precariously on a set of buoys connected to a small floating dock. Once on this dock, it is clear there is no getting anywhere without some transportation. Testing the dark waters will find it unbearably cold, though not cold enough to form ice, and far off in the distance, between the mist and ever-constant gray light - where’s the sun? - some might even notice what looks like an island.

⋆ The boat that eventually comes to your rescue isn’t very big, one of a fleet used to transport visitors from the floating Ingress platform. Only a few passengers are allowed on each one--a maximum of six. The boat’s captain is quite insistent that each group remain small, handing out blankets to those who did not come prepared for the chill. It isn’t too much trouble as there are a great many boats and plenty of natives to pilot them. The weather is cool, the skies are dark with rain that might fall, but for now things seem alright. Leaning out on the rail, you might see some shark-like sea creatures breaching the surface to breathe. Of course, you might also see quicksilver figures darting underneath the water from the corner of your eye, which is then followed by a sharp rocking of the boat. Did something nudge the vessel? Maybe you ought to make sure people stay back from the sides in case they fall in...

⋆ Despite the calm appearance of the sky, the worst has happened. A storm hits at just the right time to drive your boat against one of the multitudinous reefs, roughly jarring its passengers, and then, the waves continue to batter the ship against it until it falls to pieces. You get lucky and find a piece of debris to hold onto to keep your head above the water until the storm passes, although it’s some time before even a calm comes. Once it does, you have to deal with the facts: you’re stranded with minimal supplies, all alone except for the other people who were on board with you when the ship went down in the waves. And what’s worse, the water isn’t getting any warmer. What do you do to survive until help, hopefully, arrives? Will you make an attempt to swim to shore or wait for someone to send another boat?

⋆ The few who manage to weather the storm and make it to one of the few islands of Escoria are, indeed, lucky. What lies beneath the surface of those dark waters is much more dangerous and deadly. Distant cousins of Thisavrou’s native Gorgona of Region Four, these nameless creatures are ruthless as they hunt. They slither the shallow surfaces of the reefs spread out across Escoria, waiting for even the slightest ripple of water to alert them to their prey. At first, looking into the water reveals nothing. Then, the closer these things come to the surface, the faster it begins to change and look as if something familiar, something you long for is calling to you. It can be a person, alive or dead, or it could be something intangible like a goal waiting to be fulfilled or an object waiting to be touched. This is how they lure the unsuspecting below the surface, and once they have their claws in you, it’s very difficult to escape. The urge to be with them is impossibly strong regardless of the fact that no one can hold their breath for that long or survive the deep cold of the water for longer than a few minutes.

Your only chance of escape? Someone who might have noticed that you’d suddenly slipped under without a sound. Or, if by chance, you manage to snap off a piece of the coral in the reefs. It changes with the shape of the holder, and that, if you’re lucky, might be the very weapon that saves you.

---

OUT OF CHARACTER INFO

FAQ | LOCATIONS | RESERVES | APPLICATIONS | NAVIGATION

For mature or graphic content, please label.For questions, please direct them to the FAQ or the Feedback page. Any scenarios listed (unless otherwise indicated) can be used as game canon. As always, be kind and have fun!

Comments

james "logan" howlett | logan

[el_paso]

i. ingress complex

[ someone's gone and screwed the pooch, and it sure as shit wasn't him.

he's expecting...something else when he wakes up. maybe another worried-looking old man bent on gently telling him what he already knows. maybe a transigen lab out to try and recreate what he and laura so viciously wrecked. a brief memory of alkali lake skims across his consciousness, a sickly green smear long since dulled by the passage of time. there are other, more painful memories now.

the explanations don't make any real fucking sense, delivered by a pretty gal who seems excited to tell him he's not dead, not by a long shot. he expects to hear the ramp up after a bit of waxing poetic over his physiological scans, the 'and now we'll dissect you for the good of humanity' shtick, but it never comes. here, have something clean to wear, have a communication device; don't worry, we'll get you home.

logan takes advantage of the new clothes, shoves the tab in his pocket and sets off to see things for himself. it takes him a moment to figure out what else is sticking in his craw, when his long legs devour the distance without any difficulty- the tech said his wounds were healed, but she hadn't been real specific. the limp, the stiffness in his hip, the perpetual, gnawing, full-body ache that's dogged him since setting up shop outside juárez is gone as if it never existed. ]

What the fuck have you got yourself into now?

[ he mutters aloud, brushing past someone in the corridor. gonna need a drink. a lot of drinks. ]

ii. wildcard

ii. Kauto (R1) Exploring

[justonetouch]

[Some days Rogue finds it offsetting at just how easily she slips in to life here. She's had her first part-time job- jobs even- and has earned money from them. More than what she really knows what to do with, but it gives her that sense of pride. She has been good though, making certain always to cover up because accidentally using her abilities is the last thing on her mind.

Yet she always needs gloves. Gloves, gloves and more gloves. There is an inkling of an idea within her, although Rogue hasn't gotten the courage up yet to ask after it, but rather deems it appropriate to always have a supply on hand for now. A few pairs have been lost during various exploits, and like socks from a dryer, Rogue is starting to have her own collection of singles.

She's learned the region a little. It's hustle and bustle, but nothing that she needs to worry about. In the store and out, and the vendor might think her crazy given the six pairs that she buys, but what does she care. She's planning then on heading back, maybe browsing as she goes, and her eyes are everywhere, taking in everything.

It's how she finds him to begin with. Rogue's gaze keeps going, right past him, before pausing, and returning. He's a little ways off, but that's more her disadvantage than his own. Nose crinkling in thought, she turns her path to intersect his, cocking her head slightly.]

What happened to you?

K-2SO | Star Wars : Rogue One

[reexamined]

A. Ingress Complex

[Honestly, nothing about this was expected, for a variety of reasons. He had never run a simulation for a scenario where he woke up something literally outside of the galaxy he knew, and while it only takes him a few moments to consider the possibilities, he realizes he has too little information to work with. He can run all the projections he wants, but without knowing even a proper answer to "where am I?" the projection is as useful to him as dirt is to an organic's eyes.

What's interesting is that he's apparently given his own "accommodations." He gets his own room. There's no possible way they don't realize he's a droid. Droids don't get their own rooms. Except right now, apparently.

But rather than actually going in, he just stands outside of the room, the door still wide open, and observes the corridor. He's going to gain more useful information outside the room given to him.

So maybe say hi to a seven foot robot?]

2. Kauto - Region 5

[Of all the places he's seen, this "Region" is the most foreign looking to him.]

It's structurally inconsistent. And unstable.

[He says outloud, to no one in particular. He's picked up the habit of doing this very human thing, for no reason. He's decided to stop bothering suppressing the urge when it comes, because there's also nothing detrimental to saying simple things out loud. Now, if he had to lie, that'd be another story.]

3. Wildcard

a!

[ex_incending2]

[jyn hasn't had an expectation of seeing a familiar face in more than several years, and she certainly isn't about to start now. quite frankly, she hadn't had an expectation of ever opening her eyes again, either, but that's neither here nor there. at the moment, she only has thoughts of one thing: getting her bearings. it's a task that's easier said than done, because she has no frame of reference — no sign of anything empire, no sign of anything alliance, no sign of anything familiar to her at all. even if she'd bothered to listen to the medical tech's rambling before she'd slipped away, she figures it wouldn't have helped much.

when she catches sight of k-2 in the corridor, though, everything screeches to a halt as she stops short. some part of her heart jumps into her throat.

there's a time when her feet keep her paralyzed in uncertainty of how to proceed, but, eventually, they bring her to an approach. though her steps aren't particularly hard, the sound of them tends to bounce off the walls in the relative silence of the corridor, reverberating a little even when she stops.]

It's called a room, [she supplies, sarcastically helpfully. because she's a helper.] You sleep there. Theoretically.

Warrior of Light - Etienne Clairemont (OC) | Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward

[sharpcast]

A. Ingress Complex

[Etienne has traveled every corner of Eorzea, and he has never felt more out of place. Even the Allagan ruins had some context amidst their strange circuitry, but this is even less familiar, more alien. He stands at 6'4'', and his tall, pointed, wide-brimmed hat (traditional for practitioners of destructive magic) makes him appear even taller. His long, deep purple robe also seems a bit out of place here, as does large staff strapped to his back. Long silver-lavender hair, dark make up and sparkling earrings adorning each pointed ear complete a look he's spent more than his fair share of time perfecting. Here, in this context, he surely only looks strange, as strange as anyone else here looks to him. The staff is quite an intricate thing, silvery, the top resembling a flame or comet set with a round violet stone. He knows that people don't really live here, at least not people like him who have precious little understanding about how any of it works. He's to be deciding on a new place to live, soon. He doesn't much like the idea of having his fate assigned to him this way, but there isn't much to be done about it. Not yet, anyway. Not without more information.

He runs his gloved fingertips along the line of a window sill, bringing it up to find it free of dust or lint. Everything here seems clean, un-lived-in.]

Allagan nonsense... I never thought I would find myself this far above the clouds. [Etienne can't help but remark, mostly under his breath.]

B. Escoria

[There's something wrong. Etienne's large, sensitive ears can feel it - or maybe it is just something familiar. He's heard sirens, fought them before. Wax in the ears was only a temporary solution. But out in the water, he sees someone familiar. Fair-haired and jolly, one of the only kind faces among so many dour, untrusting one. Oh, do not look at me so. A smile better suits a hero...]

My friend? Are you not at Halone's side?

[The mage shakes himself, but he's gotten too close, trying to see what lies beneath the surface, trying to make sense of what he saw and heard against his better judgment. Etienne looses his footing on a slippery rock, and tumbles into the cold water. And once he's below the surface, it's as he feared, something has a hold of him. It grabs tight to his robe and drags him further down. He cannot call the ley lines, or pull from his own aether to cast a spell here.

This is not how he ever intended to die. He really wanted to go more prettily. Or with a great burst of fire.]

b

[stillstar]

[ There are worse things to be afraid of than the cold depths of liquid water, though Ivor is sure he won't discover what those are in this place if no one comes to help them. He's never been keen on waiting, not when his experience with those who say they want to help has never been good, but there is little to see even as the water grows less choppy, the mist still sticking low and dropping any visibility they might have to nearly nothing. Of course, his hearing is still decent despite the faded ringing of the storm echoing in his head, and he's certain of it when someone falls into the water, close by on the same rocks with several others. Yet, unlike most, Ivor doesn't turn away from the sound out of fear or hesitance, and there are the bubbles foaming the surface like a clue, sucking in a chattering breath before diving into the water.

He's never had to swim like this before, bouncing between colonies where water is such a precious commodity, but it doesn't take much to sink down and reach out get a fistful of the material that billows up. Ivor grips tight, winding himself a little closer until he can grab an arm, and then, he's kicking up to the surface. Or trying to. There's a definite weight holding this person down, panic touching his thoughts before he tries to focus on getting back above the water. He kicks again, and this time, mostly by accident, his foot connects hard with whatever is trying to drag them down. Suddenly, so easily, they surge up, and Ivor's free hand slides over a rock to try holding onto it as he gasps for air.

It's impossible to say anything too, especially when one arm is looped through the other person's and he's trying to keep them afloat with the other on the rock. A thin band flashes bright around his wrist despite the lack of real light, but all he can do is try to breathe despite how much easier it would be to access his comp band to tell him it would be okay. The water isn't safe though; they need get back onto the rocks. ]

david haller ( legion )

[measurelessly]

( ingress complex )
[ well, this has all been.. terrible. thankfully, though, he's already had his breakdown, and he hadn't destroyed anything, and he's positive that all of this is.. real. somehow. he's not making it, anyway, which was a legitimate concern, considering the state of his head. he's also been promised that the medical technicians will look into creating something that'll keep the parasite--lenny or farouk or whatever it calls itself--contained better than the metal headband thing he's currently stuck with.

no offense, cary, but it's not exactly stylish.

it's all kind of disorienting, though, especially for a man who's been so sick for so long, unable to trust his own mind or his abilities or anything he really knows. unsurprisingly, maybe, david spends the first couple of hours after being released from the medical facility just exploring the complex. he probably looks a little dazed, maybe a little suspicious, and he's quick to flinch back from physical contact right now. it's nothing personal, it's just that he's had a tough couple of days and he's exhausted and feeling a little vulnerable.

still, at some point--completely lost--he'll stop someone, expression awkward and a little apologetic. (please ignore the headband ok there's a reason for it.) ] Uh, hi. Is there a.. map or something? I think I'm a little turned around.


( network )
Hey so I guess maybe it'd be a good idea to look for anyone I know. Syd or Melanie or Cary/Kerry or anyone really. Barring that, other mutants? A psychic would be great, I could use a hand.

Thanks.


( wildcard )
[ what it says on the tin! ]

network

[unaffluent]

What does mutant have to do with being a psychic?

Duo Maxwell | Gundam Wing

[braidedwonder]

i. ingress complex

[ Being a gundam pilot was absolutely bizarre - that had been a given from the very beginning. But he'd never expected this. The poor girl they'd chosen to help him wake up had nearly gotten cold-cocked, of course. as was his habit, but thankfully there hadn't been too much fuss...

That would be a hell of a thing, right? Wake up in a new place and immediately end up in the slammer for assaulting some random medic girl when he'd been a little bit off of his rocker. A hell of a thing, but definitely something that he could see appearing in some sort of biography if it ever happened. Thankfully it probably wouldn't - it'd be a boring story without any jail time, wouldn't it? Just about as boring as the run down he's given and the story that makes about s much sense as an armpit fart -

But, again, this is his life so if it was anything less than non-sensical he might be actually annoyed. Instead, he's soon wandering through the complex, hair over his shoulder to make sure no one might think of any funny business with tugging, though the first person he sees - ]

Hey, any chance you've found a place to get some good grub? I'm gonna gnaw my own arm off here in a minute..

ii. network

So, weird question for everyone here -

Has anyone happened to see a big ass mobile suit anywhere around here? Mostly black in color, has wings like a bat? If you got in and were impossibly nosey you'd probably know it's called Deathscythe Hell and should also know I'm gonna kick your ass for bustin' in to my gundam?

Lemme know.

Thanks!

iii. escoria

[ If survival in bad situations hadn't been a very intense part of his 'terrorist training' as he so lovingly called it, he might've tried to quit sooner after the entire ship wreck ordeal. Instead, he'd remembering all those ass kickings he'd received when he'd gone to make the wrong call that might've killed him and is, instead, stubbornly trying to collect anything that may burn or isn't too incredibly soaked to try and make a fire. He's soaked to the bone by this point, his hair too, which is none too helpful in this quest to get warm.

But moving, movement in general, was what kept his mind off of the cold and his body generating some kind of warmth - he was just a reedy teenager, after all - not enough meat on his bones to just sit and try to mentally over come. He isn't Heero or Wufei - there's no mind over matter to be spoken for, but -

He taps a person he passes huddled down on their shoulder, kicking his head to the side - ]

Yo, you oughta get up or you're gonna go hypothermic pretty quick...

iv. wildcard

NETWORK

[disentombs]

What exactly is a mobile suit? I'd be willing to help if I knew what it was.

miranda lawson ( mass effect )

[ingenii]

( network )

What did Shepard do this time?

( She's been there two seconds. Two seconds. Miranda has her priorities in order )

( escoria )

( She'd come to the planet to test out everyone's stories, and to actually do something. She was a scientist, she was used to space and she wasn't about to sit on her ass.

Coming to this place Miranda regretted it, wishing that she'd chosen any other planet. She hadn't needed to test out her powers to know that somehow they were gone, and conclusively discovering that was irritating.

Sure it wasn't Shepard but she'd find a way to blame her anyway just because she didn't know who else to blame.

It gave Miranda focus at least -- explore the planet, find a way to shut off whatever tech was messing with her, and maybe bring Shepard back a souvenir.

First get out of there. Miranda wasn't planning on waiting for rescue and they couldn't stay in this water forever )

Bloody Shepard.

( It's muttered under her breath but still loud enough for someone else ro hear )

THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2186 AND I GOTTA DEAL W/ CALLOUT POSTS

[squadgoals]

[As opposed to Saren's network reveal, which spurred her into immediate action, Miranda's post gets the actual spittake. Or to be completely accurate, the scoffed nosecoffee.

There's a noisy moment of coughing and cursing before she manages to get her shit together enough to type out a reply, still wiping caffeine off her nose.]

As a blameless, mutually-affected party, I resent that.

[The audacity. The gall. To suggest that when something goes wrong it is immediately her fault.

Sometimes it is a Reaper's fault.

Or Cerberus's??? There's options, people.

But only Miranda would lay it on that thick, and Shepard's already pulling on a jacket, ready to make a beeline to Ingress Complex central.]

Did you just finish arrival processing?

steve rogers | mcu

[categorical]

i. — INGRESS COMPLEX

[ steve has never been very good at feeling useless, at being idle. they've told him it will be a week before he can leave the complex, that they're arranging accommodation and the likes for him. he doesn't trust this place or their assurances, but wandering the complex doesn't yield any suspicious findings.

he's itching for something to do, but in the absence of it, he spends his time sketching — new york both as he remembers it from his childhood and as he's last seen it, aliens, the stump of an arm that fills his chest with heaviness even as he draws it, wanda's outstretched hands, twisting and glowing with magic, anything and everything that comes to his mind. it should be calming, but the downtime just feels forced. ]

ii. — NETWORK

Is everything they tell us true?

iii. — IN THE WATER

[ the storm is unexpected and violent and there's nothing steve can do but to hold on. it's odd and worrisome how much of his strength is gone, sapped from him by the ingress portal or something else. while he hasn't always been like this, while he hasn't always been healthy by any stretch of the imagination and still remembers what it had been like to have to fight for breath sometimes, he finds that he's gotten used to it, to the serum's effect on him.

now it's gone. the storm forces him not to focus on that because there are more immediate concerns, like the cold water when a wave crashes over the boat and breaks it in half, like clinging to a fragment of wood. in the grey light and mist, steve can barely make out an island, or what he thinks is one, and someone's hand coming up over the water only to sink below the surface again.

he kicks his feet, moving sluggishly through the water, toward that hand, toward whoever it is that is drowning, both his hands still clinging to the wood fragment. it's his lifeline; hopefully it can become the same for whoever's hand he's reaching right now. ]

iv. — WILDCARD

[ run into a depowered steve on the dock or in the boat, share body heat with him on the shore, send him a misfired text, i'll roll with anything. ]

iii (couldn't resist, sorry)

[modelsixtythree]

[She'd thought she was being so clever, going exploring in full armor, but it had only taken a few seconds of being on the planet for Natasha to realize that something was very, very wrong with it. The armor was still working, technically, but it was sluggish in a way she wasn't used to anymore, all of Extremis' helpful connections completely blank.

Worrying at that silence was probably the reason she only barely paid attention to the boat, and was definitely the reason she didn't even notice the storm until she'd already been dumped into the water. Water-tight the armor might be, it's still damn heavy, and gravity is very helpfully working just fine.

It's not until she glances up to see something floating against the surface, just barely visible against the storm, that she starts finally trying to push upwards for real. It's exhausting, but finally her gauntleted hands break the surface for real to latch on to the floating wood, only for her to startle hard at the realization that someone's already on it.] Jesus! Sorry!

[Immediately she tries to back up a little, though one hand stays the on wood, and keep herself afloat the best she can. The last thing she wants to do is sink them both. In the haze, she can't make much out other than that the person seems to be in mostly one piece. Hopefully. She finds herself shouting, partially over the noise of the storm, and partially because she's not sure the voice protocols in the helmet are even working at the moment.] Are you okay?

lia mendes | original

[melioration]

( i. — SITTING ON THE DOCK OF A BAY )

[ lia doesn't know what to make of all this, but that isn't such a new sensation, so it's easy enough to ignore. she's in space; it's just like a science-fiction movie. kind of scary, but also kind of exciting and cool. if alain were here as well. he probably wouldn't like it, but— lia doesn't really remember the last time she had to face a new situation without alain there, without his steadying presence.

anyway! it's cool, right? she isn't hurt, and she's on another planet. even if it's freezing and she really can't go anywhere. at least she's not alone on this dock? ]

Do you think someone's coming for us? [ she asks the person next to her, wrapping her arms around herself to ward off some of the cold. ]

( ii. — ON THE SHORE )

[ someone did come for them and the captain of this boat hands her a blanket, which is really nice of him — and then a storm hits and the boat breaks and lia only barely manages to swim to shore, none of the magic she's only beginning to discover any help at all because it doesn't seem to be there anymore. that's something to freak out about later, after she stops being so cold. it feels like the cold is all-invasive, and lia knows just enough to know that the fact that she's tired and not shaking, that her teeth aren't chatting are not good signs.

there's someone else on shore, too, and lia manages to make her way over to them, her clothes and hair dripping with water. ]

Are you all right?

( iii. — NETWORK )

hi everyone! i'm lia and i'm totally new to space so i was wondering if anyone's got a space 101 guide for me? tips and tricks? the location of the closest pizza place? i could really go for some greasy food right now

Sora _ Kingdom Hearts _ manga flavor

[keymemory]

The boat. The boat! Sora waited impatiently while the soft lap of waves crept ever closer to his unsettled feet while he waited for this boat. He had a bit of a frown to his face and a complicated dip to his brow. His hands were between a grip to his hips and a grip to his forearms as he went from crossing his arms and uncrossing them. He didn't understand exactly what was going on or how he veered so far off course and where the heck his friends were at! Just how did he end up getting to this world and how in the world did he lose his friends in this process?

Were you feeding each other paopu fruit or something? Riku's words teased in his mind as he thought about his journey from the start. Fate would have a better vessel to bring him to the new worlds than their simple raft. He ended up riding down on a gummi ship for Pete's sake! Yet here he was waiting for a boat like this was full-circle or something.

Just as he shifted his weight a noise vibrated out from his gut and his hands clenched at his shirt over his stomach. He was hungry too, real hungry. "Ohhh, man.. C'mon!" He then gestured out to the water with a frown. "Bring a fish back with you at least!"

[demonwinged]

Beneath the lapping waves, Illidan had been in a great battle with the water people who had lured him down. Unaware of the teenaged boy up above him, Illidan gouged against the images of a certain female night elf which plagued him in the waters. As powerful as he was, as much fel energy as coursed through his veins, none of that helped at the moment. His powers were completely tapped and he was running out of air.

After nearly three minutes trapped in the claws of the mer-people, Illidan broke free and came crashing up out of the surface of the ocean. This caused a big splash, which Sora would fall victim to, and then a few gasping and angered curses to really appropriate for children. The large demon-like Illidan pulled himself up onto the platform near to Sora and his wings spread out wide with a snapping sound, sending even more water flying in every direction.

Illidan stood there panting so hard his bare chest was rising and falling, his ragged trousers clinging to legs which ended in hooves, water dripping from his long hair and large curled horns. The tainted night elf pulled off the soaking wet blindfold from off his brightly glowing eyes, so that he could ring it out.

Lisbeth Salander | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

[waspling]

1. Chioni: Kh'Chat Encounter

She was bored, uncertain, apprehensive, but not quite lonely despite being all alone. Lisbeth wore isolation as comfortably as she did her all black clothing, the spikes down the spine of her cardigan, the multitude of rings in her ears and nose, and the black lipstick which matched the dark liner neatly but thickly around her eyes.

Today she was visiting Chioni, wondering if she should make her permanent home here or on Kauto. The Ingress Complex was tempting but just a little too busy. Lisbeth was a city girl and more at home in the glow of a computer screen than the sun, but something about Chioni was fascinating to her. Maybe it was that isolation she sought, hiding away from everything, indulging in the wild feel to this planet and the amazingly clear air. Lisbeth wondered if any air, anywhere on Earth, would ever be this clear again. She doubted it, with some pessimism to her thoughts. Lisbeth was mostly looking at the sky as she strolled along the path of one of the Chioni burgs, residential houses in the distance which she would soon come to.

It was while she was lost in such thoughts that a pebble hit her in the shin. Lisbeth made a small grunt, despite it not at all hurting, and looked down to see a small rock rolling around. It was glowing softly, and seemed to be... laughing at her? Lisbeth gave a brief sardonic smile as she crouched down and reached out to touch the small rock. "What are you?"

2. Wildcard: Your Choice

1

[keymemory]

Sora was rushing after his pet-rock, well, companion might be a better word for it. It'd slipped from his pocket and hop, skipped, and shot away like a crazed gecko! "Come back Waka!" Okay, so he might have been homesick and started to name some of his new and shinnies names of friends from home. Currently, Kairi was the toaster, basically the best piece of familiar machinery he'd had in his humble possession. It also reminded him of Kairi, she was always bursting with optimism and bringing him joy–– like the toaster!

Riku was the lump on his wall, looming over him with that judgmental bubbling to the paint.

"Woah! Thanks! You caught him!" He huffed and puffed before he bent over and gripped his knees with an obnoxious draw of breath. For some reason, he'd been really out of shape the first few weeks he'd arrived here!

Illidan Stormrage | Warcraft

[demonwinged]

ingress complex

There was magic in these lands, too, which made it easier for him to navigate his way. When there was a lack of it, his own magic emanating outwardly from him was enough to see with unseeing eyes. With giant horns, wings, cloven hooves for feet, and the fact he was eight feet tall, Illidan had no idea if he stood out or not nor did he care. For all he knew, everyone here looked the same as he did, though he doubted it very much. Different types of magic looked and felt different though, and he could even tell individuals by what their particular magical signature looked like.

Illidan sat perched, day after day, in various spots around the bustling Ingress. It would be impossible to learn everyone to a point where he could recognize each individual. When someone had no magic at all in them, it was the way they carried themselves, their smell, the sound of their voice, the way they breathed and rhythm of their heart which he could memorize.

But this place, it was far too busy for that and too many people were coming and going constantly. Illidan was alright with that, in his solitude, lost and confused in a sea of tumultuous magical trails spinning dizzily like a constantly disturbed mist all around him. It helped him to forget people from his home, of people he missed, people he wanted to forget. The Ingress was the perfect distraction.

When someone new approached the spot he was crouched in, high above the streets below where people were hurrying about their business, Illidan turned his head. One clawed hand rested on the cold metal edging of the alcove. Further back, there were pathways and ladders which could bring nearly anyone here but hardly anyone ever came up to these spots. That was why Illidan liked them. "Who are you?" he asked, trying to remember this individual's unique wake in the mist.

[oopsiedaisy]

The little blood mage had been desperately trying to find the room she was granted for the time being, and somehow wound up... well, very far away from it, she suspected. The voice quickly grabbed her attention, and she whirled around to see the source. Naturally she just gawked at him for a moment, she had never seen anything like him before. It was like if you squished a dragon and a demon together, gave it elf ears, then pulled them really really far back like a rabbits.... the description made sense to her at least.

"Oh hello, I'm lost. well, I'm not lost, wait I am but that's not my name. Can I try this again?" Her voice carried no fear, at least not of him at any rate. She was more concerned with being rude, and clearly distressed at being lost, "Hello, my name is Merrill, and I'm lost. It is nice to meet you!"

Kristen Kringle l Gotham

[misskringle]

1. Ingress Complex

Well this is quite the pickle.

[Understatement of the year in this case. Kristen had woken up in a place that was not the GCPD or even her file room in the department. The crash course felt like something from Nygma's movie collection but she had been given a skirt to replace the one that had been somehow torn to bits along with some sort of communication device. After that she decided to go and basically nose around, her kitten heels making graceful clicks along the ground. That also bothered her, she should have been at least banged up from crashing into whatever she had crashed into but she was in one piece. So cue musing under her breath since one person would be having a blast right about now.]

Nygma would be having a total field day. [This as she swirls past a stranger in her path.]

2. Wildcard

Have location, will travel!

Aloy | Horizon Zero Dawn

[littlehuntress]

1. i'll just wait here.

[Aloy's never actually seen an ocean. She never even knew what half the animals were in the datapoints she found. A dolphin? Bird of Paradise? She only recently discovered how much horses and striders looked alike after an adventure to a Savrii library.]

[She sits and waits patiently for the next ship, blanket wrapped around her and watching the endless water.]

The cold here. It bites. [She comments out loud, tucking the cloth closer with tightly curled fingers, fists covered to keep warmth in her hands. She can easily survive the cold. It doesn't mean she's in love with it.] Are there any machines in this water? Are there animals?

[She could be talking to the person next to her, or she could be making conversation with herself, or talking to some inanimate object. It's not so much madness as it is the habit of someone that was forced to live without contact for years upon years. She got used to being her own company, outside of Rost (the closest thing to a father that she could imagine). Though it is nice when actual people are there to converse with. You know. In small amounts. They can get tiring too, when there's too much noise.]


2. wildcard.

-Insert starter here-

[full_of_bad_ideas]

[ Isaac sighs, the girl had spoke up once, then again and he decided to acknowledge her. Though, it wasn't because he was purposely ignoring her, it was just that he was stuck in his head again and he wasn't too sure if she had said something the first time around. The second time she spoke he was more certain and confident in answering her. ]

Yup.. well, I don't know about machines or the type, but someone back there was hooting and hollering bout an hour ago not to get too close to the water. Makes you wonder though, what's stopping them down under from tipping the boat? I've seen a few ships go down to ... [ Well, he wouldn't put it as to "nature" but what else could he say? ] .. some creatures.

alphinaud leveilleur // final fantasy xiv

[arcanistic]

[a. ingress.]

By the Twelve--

[This being said by a rather young and short elf gazing at just about everything around him, eyes wide and completely unsure about what he's seeing. By his side is Ruby Carbuncle, the summon following after Alphinaud with a continuous sound of pitter-pattering feet.

Truthfully, the Elezen isn't completely convinced this place doesn't have something to do with the Allagans or even the Garleans, considering he just came from Baelsar's Wall. The tech had tried to assist him in answering his questions, but Alphinaud has never heard of an "Ingress" before, or even knows anything close to it. Cid would probably have a better idea than he does. Perhaps if he can find a way back home-

His thoughts are interrupted as he abruptly runs into someone, jarring him back into the present and causing poor Carbuncle to jump backwards, startled. Alphinaud blinks, half expecting to see a Garlean soldier before him instead of whoever he's walked into.]

My apologies. [He shakes his head and breathes out, smiling slightly. It's a way to hide how wary he is of the whole situation.] 'Twould seem I'm not entirely sound of mind at this point. I hope I did not cause you harm.

[b. kauto, all over.

In some cases, it reminds him of Ishgard. In others, he can't even fathom anything coming close. Asyz Lla, perhaps, but Allagan structures were much broader and larger than some of the ones he's seen here. The curiosity in him wants to ask why and how, and figure out how aether works on this planet compared to Eorzea.

Still, that's all a moot point, as he's currently being asked a multitude of questions by different Savrii children. Most of them are about his arcanist book, or his Carbuncle, or what his world is like. Several of the kids are tugging at his coat tails and asking him to summon his companion, while others are simply asking him questions with wide eyes and even louder voices. On more than one occasion, Alphinaud glances to his right and left, hoping to catch the eye of someone nearby. He might just be a bit overwhelmed here. A little help?]

[c. wildcard.

Set something up and I can run with it!]

a;

[full_of_bad_ideas]

[ Isaac was a bit preoccupied with his own thoughts that he'd not seen the collision coming. He was disgruntled already from the route in how busy the street was with people hustling about each which way. It was one of the busiest routes home but necessary for him today as he needed to stop at the market. He was wearing a pair of his mechanic overalls that he mostly wore here and had a utility belt hanging heavily around his waist. He didn't work the typical nine to five job, nor did he work the same hours every day. He actually did a lot of stuff between his home and at the office, some of it was freelance and the rest of it was for a company that monitored some readings out in the field. It was all engineer work, which was what he knew innately well.

After the bump and words, Isaac looked down to find a small boy speaking, though he was thrown off by the features of the kid. Some ears, some magical, mystical, ears; was about all he could think. ]

Wha......?

handsome jack | borderlands

[butlovememore]

ingress complex.
Jesus-- friggin'--

[ so, this is the worst. it's worse than adjusting to pandora's gravity. it's absolute hell, and handsome jack is not having any of it. his body feels like it's been hit and run over by a train about five hundred times, and his head is killing him. literally. he'll probably die.

he groans and rolls over to hold his head, whining like a big giant baby. ]

God, is there a friggin'-- manager or some crap I can talk to, 'cause this-- this is pretty crappy. Jesus.

[ no one will blame you if you just ignore the complaining jackass. but once he finally manages to get a grip on himself, he notices he is very much alive. and when someone informs him of that-- ]

Of course I'm alive, baby! I'm a friggin' hero, and heroes never die!

escoria. after the storm.
[ of course he'd be rarin' to go the moment he got his shit together. handsome jack is a mover. a visionary. there's literally no way he'll sit around on his ass, not when there's a whole new place to discover. there's a distinct lack of bandits, from what he can tell, and--

something catches his eye. a voice. a voice he'd not heard in a while. it's haunting, the way she calls out to him, and every fiber of jack's being is pulled tight, ready to snap. she calls to him, again, desperate-- ]

Angel, baby, I'm right here, I'm not gonna let those goddamn bandits hurt you again!

[ he's at the edge of the water. ]

[brokencode]

[In the wake of the destruction near their home of Region Three, Rhys had fled to the Ingress Complex and rented out a temporary (and shared) room therein. As her friend spent his days working, Angel often found herself wandering. Her memories of the Ingress Complex were sparse, considering she was still working through the remains of her eridium overdose. The Ingress may have spared her, but only just.]

[There were a few memories, of course, winding halls that she remembered running down, fleeing from what she thought had been Handsome Jack's voice. Even now, she could have sworn she heard it -- that harsh but strangely enamoring tone that had won over thousands of supporters and workers.]

[Funny, how it got louder and louder the closer she got to the Ingress proper. Her heart rose in her throat, and the voice in the back of her head desperately whispered that it simply couldn't be -- that she would not be so unfortunate as to encounter the Warrior one day and her father the next.]

[And just as quickly as that voice whispered that everything was alright, the door to the med bay whooshed open, and Angel found herself staring in at the very man that had haunted her worst nightmares.]

[Every muscle in her body screamed at her to run. Her pulse quickened all the more, and her breath came out in ragged bursts. She took a step back, and then another, before ducking against the wall and hugging it.]

[All she had the capacity to do was cower and hope that she had been fast enough to avoid him.]

john PYRO allerdyce | x-men cinematic

[motherfuckerburn]

i. escoria

[Okay, but fuck this. John Pyro has seen some absurd shit in his time as a not-really-but-sort-of-burgeoning "hero" (yeah right), but this? Wasn't getting stuck in a goddamn frozen wasteland enough? When does this hell end? (This would never happen to Bobby, now would it?)

He glares at the surrounding water for a long time. He doesn't need much proximity to know how frigid it is, and he sure as hell isn't getting into it if he doesn't have to. (He'd prefer the sensation of having an aneurysm in the snow to this. At least that sort of had a place attached. And people.) Even if he wasn't disinclined to jump right in, would he even know which way to start swimming?

Time stretches on, and nothing changes. He still stands next to a finnicky teleporter, in the middle of a seemingly endless frozen lake...ocean...thing. Alone.

Great.

At this point in any disaster, whatever bullshit Boy Scout instruction manual happened to be on hand (or always weirdly memorized, and what kind of cult nonsense is that?) would call for a lit flare to garner attention. John Pyro glances at the lighter still clutched in his hand and considers it for a moment. On one hand, if anyone is around, he can sure as hell do a lot better than a weak flare. On the other...what if he has to try to explain it?

Fuck it, the risk has to be better than wasting away on a makeshift island. The light that he sends up is a good two-man height. Anyone who can't see that froma nearby boat has to be blind.]


ii. wildcard

[Come at me, bro.]

[justonetouch]

[Hindsight, as they say, is twenty twenty, and looking back, Rogue likely would have made some different choices. As it is, she's currently sitting on one of the areas on the boat, a blanket wrapped around her slim shoulders, when she spots the light.]

There!

[It's said to the captain as Rogue spots that light, the rather bright light, but she supposes it is a good thing in this place. She sits back, not even bothering to try to offer help to the captain. She knows little about boats, and the only way she can learn on short notice would be to try to use her abilities.

Yet, as he captain moves them closer, Rogue finds herself squinting, and continuing to squint, as her face scrunches up. That almost looks like... But it couldn't be...]

John?

Espio the Chameleon | Sonic the Comic

[metachrosis]

[That would be the long out-of-print UK comic (plus a small amount of the online continuation) which is why he's not a ninja! Even if I am using Archie icons - they're just more expressive...]

i. ingress complex

[There are two words that describe Espio's current situation: lost, and alone. To his own surprise, it is actually the latter that worries him more, his location feeling entirely inconsequential. There have been a few people around, but nobody he knows and nobody he actually wants around. He's even been able to get quite a bit of info, though it's not the information he actually wants.

Well, it's not as if Chaotix are actually his friends. Who cares if they're not here, or that he has no idea if they're even safe...

Ah, who is he kidding? Espio lets out a sigh, trying to not let the uncertainty dig too deep into his mind. He's not doing a very good job of it. At least there's people he can talk to to distract himself.]

How're you doing?

[Small talk will do just fine if he's only trying to distract He doesn't even look at who he's addressing. While his voice is subdued, it's quite deep and loud coming from what is essentially a three foot seven bright pink lizard - it's recognisably the voice of someone unfamiliar with using their indoor voice.]



ii. escoria. on a boat.

I didn't sign up for this!

['This' meaning specifically 'cold and wet', given that he in fact did decide to travel to Escoria of his own accord. Espio is not happy about being cold and wet, and since his favourite thing to do is complain and he has nothing else to do while bundled up in a useless blanket... well, everyone else now gets to hear all about it!]

The sooner we get to solid ground the better - I can't stand being surrounded by all this water. At least I don't get motion sickness. I won't be surprised if someone ends up puking their guts out with the way this thing's - whoa!

[He grabs the rail as the boat jerks suddenly. With how choppy the ocean is right now, he probably ought to get closer to the middle of the boat. It's not as if he can swim, after all.]

on a boat!

[bakuryuuha]

[ Espio isn't the only one unhappy about his current situation. Inuyasha is rarely a pleasant delight to be around in the first place, but being lost, wet, and tossed around on a boat really isn't doing him any favors. He's been perched near the bow of the ship silently stewing for most of the time and snapping at anyone who comes near—or shaking himself out like a dog every so often despite the reapplication of rain and spray water every few minutes.

Inuyasha finally moves in time to snatch Espio by the collar as the boat jerks, making sure he's not thrown overboard into the sea, and hauls him backwards. ]

Stop moving around if you can't even stay upright on your own feet, idiot. [ He lets go. ] I ain't jumping in to get you if you get yourself tossed overboard.

Scott Summers | X-Men Apocalypse

[gottawearshades]

ingress complex

[ There's nothing quite like being pulled through reality's belly-button and waking up without your sight apparatus at hand. When Scott gets up and distinctly doesn't open his eyes, he can tell that he's not where he's supposed to be, as much from the lack of his glasses as, well-

The room smells wrong. He'd learned a few tricks during that few days when he hadn't been able to see, and he falls back into that now as he tries to get his bearings. The place doesn't smell right, the bed feels different, his clothes feel different, and there's something that makes his muscles tense up about it all, something he can't quite remember but can't quite forget. It has him waiting until he feels a little less shakey before he alerts the attendant to the fact that he's awake and he'd say he's pretty calm about when he hears what happened. ]

Can I get my glasses back?

[ Of course, once he HAS his glasses back, well, that's going to be a whole nother ball game. A ball game full of getting the fuck out of here and getting a look himself at this 'new world' he's been brought to. For now, though, he'll try and see if anyone else is in the room here with him... ]

escoria

[ He shouldn't go off on his own. He knows that, theoretically, but he can't help that he wants to, that he needs to, for reasons that he can't quite explain to people. Once he's found a spot where he's pretty sure that he has to himself, he carefully peels the glasses off of his face and braces himself. Braces himself for the fact that maybe, just maybe-

When the world comes into view again, this time with deep greens and blues, he actually drops back against the nearest firm surface to help his wobbly knees. He wants to rub his eyes, feels honestly dizzy from... everything, but he won't block the view for anything.

Color. It's been so goddamn long since he's seen color. And he really really wants to see... well, he wants to see Jean or someone, anyone, but he can't chance that. What if the effect wears off mid-view? Who knows if this is going to last. It's way too dangerous. But for right now, this is... this is cool. This is really cool. He knows he should probably get back, knows how dangerous and stupid this is, but, he can't quite make himself leave yet. ]

wildcard

Entirely up to you!

escoria

[shadowblends]

[Kurt's too kind for his own good, so when there's the slightest fuss about someone taking off on their own, he doesn't hesitate to go and seek them out. Better that they all stick together to avoid anyone being left behind in this bitter-cold land.

He fumbles with the zipper of his coat, yanking it all the way up and pulling the hood into place over his head, hands cupping near his mouth so he can blow a stream of warm air into them. It's not enough to give them much heat, but that and jamming his fists into the pockets of his jacket will have to do for now.

The pace of his walk increases to more of a sprint, his tail slinking closer to his body as if seeking warmth of its own. He skids to a halt when he spots the wanderer, iridescent eyes narrowing then widening once he gets close enough to see who is actually standing there, trying to keep from hitting the ground. They look familiar, but it couldn't honestly be--]

S-Scott? [he queries incredulously, teeth chattering and his body shaking, although that doesn't stop him from moving closer.]

charles xavier | x-men cinematic (apocalypse)

[welcomeprofessor]

i. INGRESS COMPLEX.

[There are few times in his life that Charles can profess to being truly disoriented. The manifestation of his mutation has been a seemingly-ceaseless nightmare, yes, but once he had begun to feel out and shape his level of control, it was a rarity indeed. Even the loss of his legs had come with a level of clarity (to say nothing of the upset or the discomfort).

Arrival through the Ingress, however, leaves him feeling as if he's been turned entirely upside down. Split down the middle. A sort of reeling that feels like everything all at once and simultaneously nothing at all that he knows how to properly define.

He can hear the technicians speaking twice over, aloud and telepathically, and the psychic echo only makes his head throb. There is little retention in that explanation, though he catches pieces of it over the pain.

The only solution, it seems, is giving himself time. The sensation dulls increasingly as the first few days pass, but he still finds his control slipping, and he'll startle at an overheard thought as if he's being spoken to, or you even might get a]

I'm sorry, what was that?


ii. WILDCARD.

[COME AT ME, BRO.]

ii /COMES AT

[greyate]

[ The moment Charles approaches the mansion, Jean can sense it. She stops what she's doing (reorganizing the pantry because someone keeps switching it to being all color coded), and reaches out with her mind. Not saying anything just feeling.

She lets out a shaky breath, eyes blinking rapidly to hold back tears that were welling up almost instantly. Jean runs to the front entrance and stops short, seeing him in the foyer.

She can't even say anything. Just stare. He looks the same as when he had left -- just back in his wheelchair.

He came back. ]

Pathfinder Sara "bad life chocies" Ryder | Mass Effect: Andromeda

[ryderonthestorm]

[ ooc: lemme know if you wanna avoid major spoilers. ]

i. ingress complex;

[ This is, somehow, so much worse than waking up from 600 years in cryo stasis. Sure, she'd experienced stasis shock and disorientation and all the other crap side effects of having her body shut down for centuries, but she'd known she would. She'd prepared for it, read all the manuals, even attended the classes (though she slept through most of them).

But this - she was not prepared for this. Waking up in a new, strange place, no friendly Initiative techs to pump her full of coffee, and no - ]

SAM? [ No answer. For the first time in a very long time, she seeks her AI companion, and - nothing. ]

SAM? [ She bites back a rising tide of panic - where is SAM? Did someone manage to disable him? If so, how is she even still alive? What the hell is going on?

When in doubt, sarcasm helps. ]

I'm pretty sure this wasn't in the Pathfinder manual.

ii. escoria;

[ Sara crouches down on the buoys, arms wrapped around herself, since she's not really dressed for the weather. She glares out at the seemingly endless ocean, as if it's personally slighted her. Which it kind of has. ]

Okay, I officially have the worst luck in at least two galaxies.

iii. network;

Ok I was going to do some weird coded message to try and find people I know but that's probably stupid, if someone deliberately brought me here they know who I am already so - fine. Sara Ryder, Pathfinder, Andromeda Initiative. Anyone here who knows me?

Unless you're Tann, sorry Tann I just don't like you. There, I said it.

iv. wildcard;

[ She's probably hitting a bar or something idk go wild! ]

[text]

[unaffluent]

What did Tann do to you?

[ He doesn't know any Tann, he just is bored and lonely enough lately to troll the network for conversation. ]

The Great Papyrus! | Undertoot

[papyru]

i. Escoria || DO! DO ROCK THE BOAT!

[There are, of course, certain rules to smaller boats that a seasoned captain knows well. An equilibrium in distributed weight is desirable, making a potentially rough journey all the smoother, and movement is- somewhat discouraged.

So it's fair to say that placing Papyrus at the side of the boat wasn't a very smart idea.

He's trying, at least. For the comfort of his fellow sea bound companions, he will sit- for the most part! This boat is almost (but not really!) like speeding down an open highway, the wind in his hair! His hair being the blanket that was offered to him upon boarding, held aloft and billowing in the wind caused by the boats momentum.]

WOWIE! WHO KNEW THAT SOME WORLDS COULD BE SO DARK AND DREARY! [Comments like that should not be shouted in such an overly cheerful tone.] AND LOOK!!! WE'RE MAKING FRIENDS!

[A bony finger points down at the water, and the ominous streaks of silver that dart just below the surface.

Yep. Friendly friends.]


ii. Network

A CONUNDRUM, MY FRIENDS! FELLOWS???

MY FELLOW FRIENDS, I HAVE A CONUNDRUM! IT IS ONE OF GREAT IMPORT, ONE WHICH COULD DRAMATICALLY SHAPE THE FATE OF MY FUTURE SKILLS!

I MUST SELECT... A POSITION! EMPLOYMENT! PRODUCTIVENESS! TEAMWORK! WORDS THAT INVOLVE MANY LETTERS FROM MY NAME!! THERE IS A GREAT VARIETY OF OPTIONS!

BUT FEAR NOT, FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL UNDOUBTEDLY SELECT AN OCCUPATION THAT MATCHES MY SUPERIOR SKILLS!

escoriaaaaaactually fuck that

[inconsequence]

[It is, of course, a pathological impossibility for Papyrus to keep his trap shut for any extended span of time unless someone has managed to psychologically browbeat him to the point of needing to whisper so that his brother will not hear.

Positioned at the very back, the furthest removed from their accompanying passengers, Chara has endured his consistently explosive, frequently inane commentary with a mixture of impressive self-restraint and a truly poisonous selection of pointed glowers that have done nothing to shut him up but, contrarily, have simply seemed to inspire him to seek to achieve greater volumes.

* Welcome to my special hell.

The boat rocks abruptly and treacherously with a creak of wood in water, and Chara's hand snaps to the side of the boat.]

Your friends are being very discourteous.

[Shooting Papyrus an exceedingly dark look does nothing to reduce the amount of danger they may now be in, but it does, at the very least, make them feel irrationally better about the fact that they are all probably about to spend their last minutes as some aquatic carnivore's midnight snack.]

agent washington | red vs. blue

[counterblows]

ingress complex

[Sidewinder was a hell of smeared white, shot through with the occasional dollop of a gold helmet, domed and glinting in the frosted sunlight, a streak of black, a spot of blue so pale it may as well have blended into the uniform landscape. The longer it stretched on for, the less his sense of recollection seems to want to process it. Memory, the fucking noose tight around his metaphorical throat, garroting him into choked-out silence, fracturing his head in the shrilling symphony of detonating code, watching a digital soul commit such a potent act of self-destruction that the collateral became both excruciating and inevitable.

He'd hooked one arm around the shell that used to be Agent Maine, throwing himself at the thing's broad back. It bucked, once, and he was thrown back, and then the world spiraled into a dizzying surge of white-on-black.

He wakes with the cold no longer bleeding through his power armor to his undersuit, with palms flat against the nondescript dark of tile, comprised of some poorly-defined material he can't put a name to. He feels, categorically, like he's been wrung out and placed through a meat grinder, his exhaustion all but palpable, the tang of his own blood clinging to the roof of his mouth in gobbets of tacky copper.

Despite how thoroughly and plainly his muscles hate him, shrieking in protest to his reflexive press of hands to floor as he levers himself to his feet, the adrenaline is still boiling in his system, powering him through the mantle of exhaustion that threatens to sweep him back down at any moment.

The first step, now, is to assess the situation.]

escoria

The first step is always to assess the situation. The aftermath of the storm that ended up smashing the boat against the reefs that he really should've seen coming and stranded a handful of unfortunates on the nameless scatter of islands beneath the treacherous gathering of stormclouds in the distance - promises for further problems with the weather which, after the chaotic scramble of Sidewinder, feels something like an acceptable deviation. Or maybe it simply feels that way because Agent Washington has long since reached the nadir of his own patience and tolerance, the even-tempered drape over the fractures in his center dissipating by the second. The immutable wall of indifference that's erected itself between himself and whatever remains of little things like emotional flux and feeling remotely human feels, at the moment, simply too vast and all-encompassing for him to bother attempting to scale it.

So he doesn't.

Defaulting to something basic and immediate, just so he can give his hands something to do, is little more than a diversion at best. Power armor is a lot of things, but it's not exactly conducive to knifing through dark, uncharted waters. The breathing wouldn't be a problem, not with suits like these designed to keep their wearers oxygenated even through the wear and tear of zero-g and an absolute vacuum; the problem lies in simply not knowing what might be on the bottom, and having next to no equipment to deal with it.

He reaches for the sidearm he doesn't have and blows a sigh through his helmet, a low crackle of static that does nothing to alleviate the hollowness settled in his chest.

Can't radio for help. Can't say he has any equipment worth employing in a crisis situation like this. He can devote himself to trying to accrue as much debris as possible, hacking at any surrounding woodland he can find in the hopes of piecing enough together to form some kind of rudimentary raft.

He can look out across the water, and try not to focus too hard on the silvery shades of something that looks an awful lot like constructs he shouldn't be trusting.

ingress complex!

[notglitching]

[Disorientation is a common side effect of Ingress travel—or so the system adjuncts had assured Rinzler after his first journey through. For the program, that had been over two cycles ago. He'd waited through the Moira's introductions, keyed past their agreement with the scornful disregard of someone certain of the worthlessness of his "permission", and stalked off to learn what really mattered: how to leave. Users were dangerous, interaction disallowed... except, perhaps as a source of data. If they could show him what he needed to go home, Clu would remove whatever memories were in error. Clu would correct all of it—all of him that had gone wrong.

The first user he encountered? ID: Agent_Washington.

That user showed him how to speak.

Most standards of wrong are under current reassessment, but the shape Rinzler sees on rounding the corner is still enough to prompt a hard stall as visuals refresh. Shell and frame, ID and signature. Wash had disappeared in the first system, well before it ever crashed. Wash had vanished (and Rinzler had looked), but Wash is here, wobbling upright in the station's corridor. Familiarity arrests the slight twitch forward to support—the user hasn't fallen over, and he won't want help until he does. Still, the enforcer's lights flicker just a little brighter as he reaches for his communicator.]

Status?

Vetra Nyx | Mass Effect Anrdomeda

[nyx_it]

1) SPLASHDOWN | escoria
[Stepping out into cold and damp is not what she expected. He expected to be out in the open air, in the heat of Eos. But nope. There's the sound of water and the air is cold, heavy.]

[Not... what it should be. And also. No one else is around. This doesn't even look like a Heleus planet.]

[She keeps punching in attempts to raise the others -- the Tempest, or the Nomad. Or Ryder. Anything. Which about when the waves abruptly pick up, sending her staggering for a brief and precious moment.]

[SPLASH.]

Dammit!

[At least she's got hold of the dock. But now the tall alien is significantly more damp and annoyed than before.]



2) NETWORK
This is Vetra Nyx. I'm trying to raise the Tempest or the human Pathfinder team. Hell, I'll even take the Nexus -- anyone.

If you can hear this, I either need a pickup or intel. Or both.

[And, get in touch with Sid. If at all possible.]

2. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[squadgoals]

[So, that's a Turian.

But ???Tempest???Pathfinder???Nexus???

She hadn't dropped the C-word in more than a year, but it might actually help, here. Popping the TAB window, she starts typing.]

This is Commander Shepard. I'm not aware of any of the vessels or teams you named, but I think I might still be able to answer any questions you have.

magnus burnsides | the adventure zone

[armcollector]

1. network

hail and well met, people of space! i am magnus burnsides, AKA the hammer!
i live on the moon! i'm just like you!
but i have a few suggestions!

first: if we were writing to each other with pens i feel like the whole process would go a lot more smoothly. also we would be able to share little drawings. this is taking the whole fun out of writing a letter by giving me just... buttons! and they take very long to find and press. they're not even in alphabetical order!

second: if we are in space there needs to be at least a thousand more lasers. are laser guitars a thing? yes? no?
wait a second TM TM TM im trademarking laser guitars if they dont already exist.

okay also if anyone runs into taako or merle tell them their favorite friend is here and NOT a mannequin anymore, thanks bye

2. escoria

[He sees her.

It's not that he hasn't seen her in a long time. He dreams about her all the time. Dreams that his life is back to how it used to be -- her, Magnus, and Steven all back in the shop, Magnus working on his latest SitBoy and her alternately teasing him and giving him genuine suggestions, she's watched him long enough to contribute in her own right -- or, less bittersweet, dreams of getting her back only to lose her again in increasingly worse and worse ways.

So to say that he hasn't seen her wouldn't be that true. He sees her all the time. And her image, though not altogether clear in the rippling water, is still as heart-stoppingly beautiful as he remembers. But then Magnus is reminded, oh, I'm not dreaming. And that's when she reaches for him, and he feels something he's felt so many times since he's come to work for the Bureau of Balance.

The need, the want, to submerge himself into the water with her. The thrall of something he doesn't completely understand, calling to him, so difficult to resist.

He doesn't rush in -- not yet -- but he does reach his hand towards her image in the depths.]

Julia.

taako taaco | the adventure zone

[pocketspa]

i. network

hey so hail and well met and everything
question for all of you
what the fuck is all this?

i mean seriously ive read all your pamphlets and stuff and that's cool but frankly ive been through the wringer lately and i was really lookin forward to takin some taako time and not doing... whatever this is
my union-regulated break or something

also magnus, merle, if you're here, hit a partner up
im finding someplace for a nap pronto

ii. escoria

[There is nothing about this place that doesn't suck.

First, it's freezing. Second, he got dumped off a boat. Third, his cloak is wet and heavy and it's not doing him any favors now, even as he sits on the shore. Usually, getting dragged through the mud is all in a day's work, but the point is that it's work. He'll do plenty of things for money. But now he has to sit here bedraggled and disgusting for free, and it's wearing on him.

The real problem is that he's certain the water's playing tricks on him. He knows illusory magic, things that aren't quite there, but there's a certain call to it he can't place, something familiar he feels he's on the cusp of understanding, but never quite. And because of it, he hasn't left. He hasn't gone closer... but he won't leave.

After all, he's only ever seeing his own reflection. Isn't it?]

i

[armcollector]

TAAKO!
i cant believe youre complaining right now i just turned into a woodman and then DIED so
hahaha
i was on my way to find you and merle when i ended up here
oh and i know you were really worried about this, but steven's fine!!
not sure about the voidfish though
is merle not with you?