( tdm 12 )

[hownkai]

T E S T D R I V E

leavin’ on a jet plane "Don’t know when I’ll be back again." ABOARD THE MOIRA The Ingress has pulled you in. Your body experiences 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 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. Once equilibrium has been reestablished, you will notice you are standing on a long platform and that the room is filled with a soft cerulean light. It's slightly humid and dark despite the glow around you, and nothing is familiar. Shortly after, you are led out and toward the medbay. Inside this room, you are given a physical scan and offered a contract to sign that states you are now part of the crew of the Moira with a specific job. Any questions you might have would be answered in a straightforward manner as well as an explanation about how the Ingress, the thing that has pulled you onto the Moira, is broken and bringing people here unintentionally. This process also consists of a complete work-up of medical history and current health, and afterwards, you are given your MID, a device that is integrated into your hand or wrist with only the slightest pinch. From there, you are guided out of the medbay and to your living quarters. Whether adjusting to space travel has been difficult or not, there is always something to be done. From working to leisure, the Moira offers a multitude of opportunities to get to know your crewmates a bit better. Exploration of the ship is highly encouraged. You may notice a slight change in the artificial gravity every once in awhile; however, more noticeable changes can be found in overall morale of those of the crew. ☄ on your own There are plenty of other communal areas on the ship to explore! Pick a place, and see where it takes you. ( These scenarios can be used as in-game canon. ) The day begins normally. Or almost. The Moira has accidentally fallen along the trajectory of an asteroid barreling its way through space. While most things like this are not uncommon, and the ship is far from any potential danger of collision or risk of debris damaging the exterior, there is something particularly odd about this specific occurrence. The rock itself appears to give off a strange light that is both eerie and alive. Often, if looked at in just the right manner, it will shift colors; so, while one person sees one side of the spectrum, someone else could see something entirely different. At first, things continue on as they usually do aside from the glowing asteroid alongside the Moira, but as the hours go on, that does not seem to be the case. ☄ the hours are breathing resignedly beneath the sky the melancholy waters lie With a rather open view of stars and space, thanks to the skylight above, the pool in the rec area suddenly comes alive beneath the light of the asteroid filtering in. Perhaps it’s some natural response to the chemical composition of the water, or perhaps it’s magic. Yet, regardless of the explanation, those who happen to take a dip suddenly find themselves plagued by despair. The depression and melancholy are not subtle changes either; it slams into you with great force, like a punch to the gut. The longer you remain in the pool, the deeper it grows, like an all-consuming paranoia that settles into the back of your mind and causes your heart to grow heavy. These strong feelings will eventually fade if you choose to leave the pool and dry off, but as long as you remain damp from the pool, those emotions will continue to linger. Even after you’re completely dry, there will be no mistaking just how intensely you felt or why. There is no explanation and might not be. Would you dare a second swim to test whether or not it was a fluke? ( These scenarios can be used as in-game canon. ) ☄ those who have crossed the eyes are not here, there are no eyes here The walls are shrinking in. Every room you step into feels much too small, like there isn’t enough room to even breathe. A crowded place becomes startlingly empty, and no matter how much you run, how much you explore, there is no one there to comfort you or answer your calls for help. Hallucinations run strong between the lulls of obscene loneliness or claustrophobia, and exposure to the glow of the asteroid is really the only thing to thank for that. You’re desperate to claw your way out of the ship—open the emergency hatch in the Cargo Bay, bust the glass of the Observation Deck. What’s worse is that it’s not just you. It’s catching, and the fear of being next is very real. It feels like you’re being watched, that everyone around you is looking and seeing everything you are. Or are not. The only way to make it stop is to admit that you’re afraid of being seen, but who, in the deep madness of the self, has the courage to ever admit the truth? ( These scenarios can be used as in-game canon. ) ☄ the sun in flight rage, rage against the dying of the light Something has drifted its way onto the Moira from the outside. Unlike the faint luminosity they give off, they suck up all the light around them, making them the only source to see by. From far away, they are just flitting balls of light, but if you get close enough to inspect them, they are mean. And have sharp, sharp teeth. Go poking, and they will bite you before trying to fly away while taking that only light source with them. The option to avoid them is quite easy if you’re not the curious sort, but without them around, it will be impossibly dark. As the asteroid moves on in the opposite direction of the Moira, these light creatures begin to dissolve and fade away with it. However, a word of caution: their bites glow. If you don’t manage to find the one that bit you and capture it between your hands, the bite will become a permanent glowing fixture of your body. ( These scenarios can be used as in-game canon. ) OUT OF CHARACTER INFO FAQ | LOCATIONS | RESERVES | APPLICATIONS | NAVIGATION For mature or graphic content, please label. For questions, please direct them to the FAQ. As always, be kind and have fun!

Comments

[that_cost]

Stiles.

[ There's a beat as she mulls that over, trying to work out what it's short for, but there are other things to worry about, like Stiles and his panic attack. ]

I like it. It's unique and fun.


[ A pause and then a slow nod, accompanied by a sigh. She isn't sure how well she likes it here. ]

I've been here a couple months already. First place we visited were several planets that were basically a resort.

[happyclappyhippydrippy]

[WHAT RUDE]

Sounds good to me. After I'm settled in. Ah, is there anywhere on this ship that's even big enough to accommodate people our size sparring?

[redshitlord]

Uhhh... probably? Maybe the cargo hold? I know there's a lot of stuff in there bigger than me, soooo...

[PLEASE TEACH HIM, DRIFT SEMPAI.]

[happyclappyhippydrippy]

I'll have to check it out some time.

[he is going to teach the SHIT out of him hold onto your ass son]

Not to change the subject, but you said Riptide was here? Tall, blue, turns into a boat?

[happyclappyhippydrippy]

How many bots ended up with you, anyway? Sounds like you had a few hanging around.

[beside_myself]

Church grins at her and shifts them so she's under the water, his hands moving to start rinsing her off, lingering more than he probably should. "Well if you're so desperate, I guess I can come." A beat, then, "Please don't fucking embarrass me, Tex."

[allsparked]

Oh well, there's Bee, Optimus, Ratchet, Bulkhead and...

[Oh she goes quiet, because that last one is kind of, erm.... Offline.]

Prowl.

[a_shadow]

She snickers. "I have no idea why you would say that." She's not at all upset that he's rubbing her body like that and she doesn't move once it's clear she's well-rinsed. They have to wash their hair and then get out, but for now she's fine with just lingering and talking and touching.

[hanzer]

[Until he sees a "no smoking" sign up somewhere, Adam's not going to care either! And even then...

The comment on his appearance gets him to look back around at her again, but he doesn't respond quite yet. If anything, it kind of looks like he's trying not to say something, trying not to let the conversation be carried in that direction. His gaze lingers for a few seconds before it turns back to the robot.

The way it– he's sitting over there, a little ways away just like so, actually reminds him a bit of Kubrick. Wherever Adam went, that dog would shadow him – not even begging for attention or anything like that, but just to keep an eye on him and make sure he was doing alright. He... And Megan, too.

(He could do without this right now.)]

Wasn't really worried about it until that "yet." [Because, you know, that impassively neutral tone tone of his really screams "worried." But yeah– he gets the picture. Now, with a little heat in his lungs, he can take a step back and recognize that he was out of line. Why he thought he needed to instigate something is still an extremely troubling mystery – but for the moment, he's going to concern himself with not making unneeded enemies.

And like that, his attention's back on her again, a casually wry note to his rasp.] Well, seeing as how I wouldn't want to start anything with him... I guess I just have to find a way to make amends with his owner.

[There's an unspoken question there. Help him prove you wrong, Devan.]

[beside_myself]

He realizes they should probably get out before they waste all the ship's water, but he's content here. Content with her, ultimately, but. The shower's nice.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure," Church snarks, pinching Tex's thigh. "Bitch."

sorry for taking so long

[takeitslow]

It'd make you one of a few here.

[There's a lot packed into those words. Things he wonders if he should tell her, if they were friends or were to be friends in the future. About the messes he's caused dealing with how the crew sees mutants, about how trusting him might be seen as a misstep from some of the people here.

He's not sure all that is fair to dump on someone just arriving.]

Planets, stations, prisons, you name it.

And sometimes. But a lot of people here can't fight, not against some of the stuff out there. And kids. There's a bunch of kids here. So it's more up to the few sometimes. But really the danger sometimes is more, uh, not about fighting? Like apparently before I showed up here the crew accidentally blew up a planet. And there was something weird about an alien attacking people on the ship. Uh. Bad kind of alien, we've got plenty of the good kind around and they're no problem. And when we stopped at a prison we were dealing with these ghost-zombie like things.

[a_shadow]

She grabs his fingers. "Or I can just drop you off in the sanitation department, if you want," she says in that overly sweet tone of voice she uses sometimes when she's being sarcastic. "You'd feel right at home."

no worries!

[greyate]

[ She looks over at him when he says that but doesn't comment. She knows what that feels like, to an extent. On her worse days, she doesn't even trust herself.

She wants to say something comforting but she's not sure what. She looks forward again as he continues to speak, frowning a little more the more he describes. Children are on this ship? Looking back at him, ]

Are people still being attacked?

[beside_myself]

Church wiggles his fingers in her grip and smirks at her, raising his eyebrows. "You'd miss me too much. Just admit it, Tex. I mean, you are the one who practically pounced me in the mess hall."

[redshitlord]

[And he just... smiles. Lookin' down at his feet.]

Yeah, dude. He's here. He lives with me.

[a_shadow]

She rolls her eyes. She doesn't really need a reminder of that whole thing. It had worked out for the best, but she'd been unusually emotional and for that reason she sort of wants to forget it happened. "That doesn't mean I can't stand to be separated from you for a few hours, Church," she says. Her eyes flicker away, though—she's been separated from him for two months, and that sucked. Her hand turns and she brings the palm of her hand flat against his so they can entangle their fingers together. "Don't be dumb."

[takeitslow]

Not by that thing. They locked it up. And then it got out a few months back, but it's supposed to be locked up again.

[He doesn't trust things will stay that way, that much is clear in his tone. Keeping the thing alive was on the long list of mistakes he things the authority of the ship has made.]

The last attack was from people outside the ship. I wasn't around for most of it, I was kind of out of commission, but it got pretty bad.

[beside_myself]

Church's smile softens, and he squeezes her hand. He knows her too well to listen to her voice — it's her body that really does all the talking. ... Not in the creepy sex way, though. At least. Not the majority of the time. Shit. Focus. You just ruined a cute moment with that.

He pushes his wet hair out of his face, the motion almost awkward. Stupid fucking brain. "So uh - we gonna get out any time soon, or...?"

[greyate]

[ Her brow creases at that, ]

What happened to you? Were you hurt?

[ By the way this is going, it sounds like she should expect the ship to be attacked at every stop. ]

[a_shadow]

"I just need to wash my hair," she says, releasing him and stepping back, breaking up the moment. She reaches for the shampoo and dispenses a coin-sized amount into her palm. "Do you think you're hungry enough for lunch?"

[takeitslow]

I was stuck in the cryotubes. Totally frozen. It happens sometimes. A lot of times it's for injuries or illness and sometimes it just happens. This was a case of just happens. I mean, last time I had a real injury I just got stuck in a bed until they were sure I wasn't going to die so-

[He shrugs, all 'what can you do'. He's given up on searching for logic in what happens around here.]

Anyway, it kept me from seeing any of the fight so I'm kind of the worst person on board to tell you much about it.

[beside_myself]

Church takes the shampoo from her and does the same, working it into his hair. "I d'unno. Maybe?" He shrugs and closes his eyes when soap starts to drip down his face. "Really not that hungry."

[a_shadow]

She doesn't frown, but she's a bit concerned. "You can't not eat forever," she says. It's weird—it's the opposite of her experience with her cloned body. She was ravenous when she stepped out of the Ingress for the first time.

She steps under the water and rinses her hair. As soon as he's done as well, she shuts the water off and pulls the curtain aside so they can grab their towels off of the bench and dry off.

[beside_myself]

Church waves her off before he rinses out his hair. "It's fine, Tex. I'm not gonna die because I missed a couple meals," he says, rolling his eyes. And when he follows her out of the shower and is halfway through drying himself off, he huffs — not upset, just confused as to why she's so concerned. "And it really didn't look all that appetizing. I think I could find better shit to eat in Blood Gulch."

[a_shadow]

"Whatever," she says, rolling her eyes. Sue her for caring. "It's just not what I would have expected." She starts to pull on her outfit, being careful not to let her pant legs drag on the floor where it's wet. "I'll just skip lunch too, then. We'll go straight to the classroom."