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?

the feels

[el_paso]

[ Kauto is almost a breath of fresh air after his time in the complex. Its markets are busy, its crowds are lively, a hum to the air and a thousand different sights to see with a thousand different scents mingling in the breeze. It feels so much more normal than hanging around in space.

Laura would love it.

He's not ready for the sharp pang in his chest at that. Oh fuck him, he's not going all maudlin out here.

Logan angrily scrubs at his eyes with the heel of his palm and continues browsing. What's he looking for, exactly? Nothing that leaps out at him just yet-- and he knows the place is real now, at least, not the desperate fever dream of a dying man --but he's keeping an eye out, mindful of his limited currency. He'll need to find work soon, too...

That's precisely the moment someone he hasn't seen for a long, long time crosses his path. Surely she's speaking to him, because her lips are moving, but the noise of the crowd ramps up sharply and everything is too loud, too bright, the shape of her face blurring at the edges. ]

Rogue?

[justonetouch]

[There is a slight cock to her head, forehead furrowing as Rogue regards him. It's understandable, really, as he seems... Out of it. Of course that isn't all he seems, but considering this place, Rogue isn't entirely certain about what can go on. Anything, it seems, and maybe he's been on some strange mission to some strange planet, and that's why he's looking... So old, for lack of a better word.]

That is my name. Don't wear it out.

[There is a lightness to her voice that belies the growing concern within her. She would never classify him as sunshine and lollipops, but Rogue likes him just the way he is, gruff around the edges but with a heart of pure gold.

She's next to him now, and that worry is evident in her eyes. There is still so much to learn about this place, and each day there doesn't seem to be enough time to figure it all out. And she doesn't understand, plain and simple, at least not yet.]

Did- You okay?

[el_paso]

[ Yep, there's that powerful, bitterly instinctive urge to rabbit, the one he picked up on the road to El Paso. Keep his head down, don't intervene; the rest of the world and anything that might drag him down can fuck right off. Don't think, just do. How disappointed she'll be when she finds out just how much tarnish that heart of his has picked up.

His tongue's stuck to the roof of his mouth, in concert with the painful lump in his throat. Maybe he should have been better prepared, after finding Storm, but it's just that same, raw hurt. Logan wets his lips. ]

I. Uh.

[ She's looking at him like he's grown two heads and he's floundering wildly for what to say. Words in the end aren't enough though, because he'll only choke on them, so he takes a leaf out of Ororo's book, stepping in to wrap Rogue up in a tight hug. ]

wildcard - at a bar? it seemed to make sense

[sketchycharacter]

[Nate slides into the seat at the bar after an early evening of stealing shit and delivering said shit to the client. It went well—that's why he's done so early.

He pulls his journal out and starts sketching from memory one of the cool statues he saw inside the residence—this probably qualifies as evidence that he was there, but eh, he lives dangerously—before the man at the bar beside him catches his eye. It's the the impressive scruff or the world-weariness that attracts his attention, but something else, something familiar.]

So, you one of the new guys?

excuse, wolverine would never, how ooc

[el_paso]

[ As it turns out, you can still find cozy little bars and decent scotch halfway across the galaxy- or wherever the hell they are on the celestial map, anyway. It's not much, but it's a familiar taste, a familiar warmth, and good enough odds he won't have anymore surprises in the form of long-lost comrades arising from the aether.

Some rando settles in nearby, leaving him unbothered until there's a question in the air. Logan could groan. In what universe does he need to fall into where people mind their own fucking business?

He lowers the glass he's been nursing, looking aside at the stranger. ]

Something like that.

[sketchycharacter]

I could tell.

[All of 'em have the lost, sometimes slightly dazed look about them. They seem to show up more frequently here on the planets, maybe because the Ingress is more stable than the one on the Moira. Or who the fuck knows, really.

Because Nate is a kind and giving souls, he starts pointing at every third or so tap going down the line.]

Skip that one, it tastes like alien piss and might actually be brewed with it. That one literally tastes like machine oil and I think might be for the robot people I've seen around. That one's all right only if you want the hoppiest IPA you've ever had in your life.

[Space beer is weird.]

ii

[nimbi]

[ At some point during his exploration, he will happen upon a familiar shape outlined against a large window. Her back is turned to him, but he has seen it often enough that it should be recognisable.

Her eyes are closed, her head tipped back ever so slightly. She can feel The storm out there, singing a siren song for her ears only. She reaches out to place a hand against the thick glass, her fingers widely splayed, as if she wants to take all that energy into herself. More than even she could handle, to be sure, but what a way to go. ]

[el_paso]

[ It's been ages now, but that jolt of recognition feels as sharp and stunning as a bolt of lightning. For a moment he stands where he stopped at this junction between sterile, quiet corridors, his gaze climbing Ororo's proud and stately back. What is she doing?

He almost walks away.

Fuck it. He can't take anymore ghosts, he can't take anymore reminders of the past. Not now, not ever, but...there's nowhere he can run to in the complex. There's no desert to be lost in, no real distance to put between himself and whatever reckoning he thinks stands at the end of the hall.

The glow off the planets makes a halo of her hair, a starlight burn that gleams all the more brightly when he ambles up beside her. Logan leans a shoulder against the cool glass, watching Ororo in the quiet, wondering if she's even real, and asks, ]

What does the storm say?

[nimbi]

[ When she knows to expect him to be around, Ororo tends to be able to feel Logan's presence even when she can't see him. He has a way of filling a room that almost reminds her little bit of Charles in a way, though the Wolverine has a much pricklier aura.

However, since she has absolutely no reason to expect him to show up in outer space, he takes her completely by surprise.

Her head whips around, eyes wide in startled surprise, though the moment she realises who it is a wide smile spreads over her lips and she drops her hand from the window to throw her arms around his neck in a hug. ]

Logan!

i

[shadowblends]

[The Ingress Complex is usually busy; it's something he's grown accustomed to and were it not, he'd be more than a little confused. Everybody has to come through in their travels, so it shouldn't ever not be bustling with activity.

Nobody that he's expecting to know, however.

Kurt adjusts the messenger bag at his side, securing the strap more in place on his shoulder and continuing his brisk walk down the hall. He's more than willing to let the stranger slip past him, but the way he speaks, the tone and altogether familiarity of the voice are what make him pause mid-step, turn to look over his shoulder at the retreating man.

No, there was no way that had been Logan. He knows of the face-twin situation on Thisavrou, considering he'd experienced it on his first day of joining up with the Moirans, but something seems different, almost too recognizable to simply brush aside as coincidence.

He pivots on the ball of his foot, reaching a hand out toward the unknown person, though not enough to actually make a grab for him.] Do you need help finding something?

[el_paso]

Yeah,

[ he retorts, acerbic. Logan digs in his pocket for the TAB, still walking. You'll have to keep up, stranger, he's not in a mood to stop and chat.

Glancing over his shoulder, the reply dies on his lips, and then he finally does stop, brows knitting, ]

A bar...

[ Looking the young man up and down, memories itching at the back of his mind, he takes one step back. Two. And then he does a neat heel turn and starts walking away at a faster clip. ]

Oh fuck this.

no reason to be sorry ♥

[shadowblends]

[Good thing Kurt's quick; it's easy for him to keep pace after momentarily increasing his stride to walk just behind the man. He can't fight the grin that creeps across his face because honestly, this person is so ridiculously Logan-like, he almost doesn't believe it.

Until Logan looks back, which makes those inhuman eyes widen with curiosity. He's barely got enough time to stop himself, nose wrinkling and his brow creasing in contemplation. God, he looks so much like him ...]

A bar, hm? That shouldn't be too-- [he cuts off, his entire focus completely derailed as he finally sees the stranger's face, notices the recognition in his eyes. Confusion overtakes his features, but before he has a chance to say anything, the newcomer is heading in the opposite direction.] H-Hey, wait!

[Time to put that teleportation to use. There's the tell-tale BAMF, a swirl of smoke and Kurt reappears in front of Logan, both hands held out to keep him from going much further, his eyes narrowed with determination now.]

Mein Gott, you are Logan, aren't you?

i

[prorenataa]

[ Head down, scrolling through a manifest of supplies he'd secured from the Complex rather than the hospital down on Kauto, Adrien grunted softly as he was about bowled over. While the contact was less than appreciated, he didn't bother to look up, too used to narrow hallways and cramped spaces.

Instead, he responded, in a distracted tone, to the words uttered by the mountain of a man he briefly collided with. ]

No good can ever come of having to ask yourself that question.

[ Maybe not the most supportive or reassuring of responses. ]

[el_paso]

Tell me something I don't know.

[ Is that a challenge? Maybe? He's sure putting off a lot of 'I don't fucking care' in the set of his shoulders, the way he keeps on striding away like he's heading to a fight.

Or, maybe, trying not to run scared from whatever he's left behind. ]

[prorenataa]

Brushing your teeth with urine will whiten them.

[ The words were fired off probably before Adrien's brain to mouth filter actually caught up to what he was saying.

However, it did cause him to pause and turn back towards the gruff looking man. ]

I'm sorry, did you say tell you something you didn't know, or something you never wanted to know?

Region 1 also phone tags are suffering

[dualclaws]

[ Laura left the Ingress Complex the moment she could. It was sterile and contained, which made her nervous. Nobody bothered her, but she always waited for someone to show up and drag her off. The facility was full of scientists, after all.

Once she's planetside, she starts moving immediately. The others weren't in the Complex but they could be here.

She's distracted almost immediately by the smells and sounds and bright colors. It's overwhelming but in a good way. People do bother her this time, but they simply give her things. Free samples, a little pinwheel from the man at a curios store, a flower from an amused woman at the flower shop. Laura drinks it all in. But watching the people going about their business makes her ache. For the first time in a long time, she's truly alone. It doesn't scare her, but she wishes… she wishes for the impossible. It's enough to sour her mood.

She's picking at a kebab as she walks, her appetite completely ruined. Somehow, buried within the other smells in the area is Logan's. Which is wrong, but prompts her to move through the crowd with single-minded purpose and…

There he is.

She has no idea what to do except to reach out and tug his sleeve, as if testing if he's really there. ]

I know this pain well. lmk if I need to change anything

[el_paso]

[ It had occurred to him in his wanderings that he should probably, y'know, eat something. He hasn't had anything since...Jesus, since before he arrived in the Complex, a share in the rations at Eden when he was finally awake enough for them.

Unlike beer, it's a bit more obvious to figure out what's palatable in a marketplace like this, so he's been restlessly browsing vendors the past few minutes.

Something familiar in the air tickles his nose, tied to memory: dark hair, piercing eyes, unicorn shirts, blood and metal and youth-- and then she takes him by the sleeve.

His guts lurch. Logan forgets all about his hunger. Looks down at Laura, pulling in a sharp breath.

This time, he takes her hand, bending to scoop her up. ]

Took you long enough.

[ That's about all he can manage, gruff and breaking apart at the edges. ]

It's perfect ♥

[dualclaws]

[ She's in a daze when he scoops her up. It's him. It's him. She instinctively wraps her arms around his neck. Laura breathes in his scent-- he doesn't even smell sick-- and her breath hitches.

But Laura knows how death works. People don't come back when they die. Not even people like them.

It doesn't matter, not right now. This is Logan. Not a trick, not a clone. ]

You were waiting?

i - sorry not sorry logan

[greyate]

[ It's one of those days where Jean has decided to explore things a little more on foot. After being on that ship for so long, she couldn't shake the urge to stretch her legs and continue to do so. Especially in unfamiliar surroundings; with how much there was, it always seemed like there were new places for her to explore.

She barely even registers the man passing her -- until the voice registers. She stops and looks over her shoulder. It was gruffer than she was used to but...

She turns around more fully, squinting at the man as he keeps going. It would be easier to reach out with her mind but she jogs after him, instead. Calling to him -- or the him she thinks he is. ]

Logan?

[categorical]

I'm wondering the same thing.

[ steve figures those words weren't meant for him, but the response is immediate and unthinking, a little dry around the edges. the dryness at least hides how much not knowing, the relative idleness and being constrained to the complex bother him. ]

ingress.

[kahina]

( Her hand reaches out to take hold of his arm, less a reaction to him brushing past her but a feeling. Confusion seems to latch onto confusion here, and Melisandre had a lot of it. This is nothing that she'd seen coming, or even believed that she could see.

Her head tilts up to meet his gaze, fingers pressing a little firmer on his arm. She'd thought a feeling of solidarity might appear, with the shared confusion between them but there's also something else that her feels, and a hollowness to his eyes )

You sense something about this place.

( Or maybe he just sees too much Bad Shit™ )

[el_paso]

[ He bristles at the contact, but something in her touch roots him to the spot. Her fingers are warm through the shirt they gave him, a bit of bite that unnerves him less than if it were gentle. Gentle touches don't really become him these days.

His gaze drops from her face to her grasping hand, traveling the distance of her arm, her shoulder, her slender throat. ]

Yeah.

[ Logan pulls his arm out of her grasp, his eyes dark, his mouth a grim line. ]

This is fucked up.

[kahina]

( There's a small smile for his honesty, not quite kind but knowing, and her hands drops to meet her side )

More than most may realise.

( She doesn't know the real extent of it, not having the chance to try and look yet, but she doesn't have a very good feeling about this place )

Does it worry you?