( 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

[beside_myself]

He gives her a look, knowing that that's not the whole story, but he's not going to press it. He shifts, then sits up, not bothering to reach for his clothes yet. "Who's Matt?"

[a_shadow]

"My assigned roommate," she says. Not theirs because he's not back in this room with her yet, but...she thinks that invitation is probably coming. She's careful to use the word 'assigned' when she explains—she doesn't want it to turn into a misunderstanding.

His face is near hers now that he's sitting up and she continues to avoid his gaze, except after a moment there's a glance in his direction and she quickly presses her lips to his. "Come on. We need to find something to clean up with." And she draws away, and stands.

[beside_myself]

"Right," he says, his lips quirking to the side. She just fucked you, you're not going to get jealous, asshole.

"Okay, yeah. Cleaning up. Uh - a shower?" He stands as well, grabbing his clothes from where they're scattered on the floor and holding them to his chest.

[a_shadow]

"Yeah, but we have to get dressed to get there," she says. "We'll have to run and grab you another uniform or something to wear after." She goes to the dresser to get out a couple of bath towels. She's a little amused by his obvious jealousy. "Don't worry about Matt. You'll like him."

She reaches for her clothes after she has the towels folded on the bed and pulls them on, then gets out a fresh outfit. The trip to the Collective ensured she had plenty to wear that suited her a lot better than those uniforms.

[beside_myself]

Church pulls on his rumpled clothes, trying to smooth out some of the wrinkles. He gives up after a minute. "I'm sure I will," he says, rolling his eyes. But it's ... mostly in good nature. "Uh - and yeah, I can - there should be some in my room, right? Clothes? Uniforms?"

[a_shadow]

"Yes," she says. They're standing right by each other now, dressed and ready to go, and she tucks her hand under his chin, grasping it and dragging him down for one more kiss. She keeps it brief. The PDA in the mess hall was highly out of character for her and she doesn't intend to go down the hall holding hands or anything dumb like that. So she kisses him that last time, then gestures toward the door with a tilt of her head. She'll probably have to guide him back to his room this time.

[beside_myself]

Church is perfectly happy to keep the touchy-feely crap on the down low, so he's fine with just a parting kiss and a little smile before he goes to open the door, stepping into the hallway.

And yes, she's going to have to lead him, because he has no idea which way they even came from. He was ... a little distracted.

[a_shadow]

She does so, and after they retrieve the needed garments she takes him to the communal shower room. She chooses a stall, entering it without a word and waiting to see what he'll decide on—whether he'll join her or choose one for himself. It's a test, in a way—to see just how desperate he is to continue to be around her, considering what all has gone on between them this morning. In any case, she sets her clothes on the bench, looks at him, and puts her hand on the curtain to prepare to draw it closed.

[beside_myself]

Church hesitates. If they hadn't just fucked each other's brains out, he would've picked a different stall — he doesn't want to be that pushy fucking asshole. But ... they did. He bites his lip, strips, then steps into the shower with her. Fuck it.

[a_shadow]

She smirks when he steps in with her and she pulls the curtain closed so he can disrobe. The shower is in a second stall through a second curtain behind the bench, and she tugs him in with her after undressing and shuts it. Water on, and—she turns toward him and mashes her mouth against his. This will mostly just be a very wet make-out session, with occasional lathering up to get clean.

[beside_myself]

Church sputters when she kisses him. Not that he doesn't enjoy kissing her — but they kind of came here for a reason. "Tex," he starts, then huffs a laugh and grins. "Really?"

[a_shadow]

She doesn't laugh often, but his incredulity draws one out of her. "Deny it was headed there anyway," she says. "Do it. Deny it." But fine, if he wants to get to business. She grabs the cake of soap that's sitting on the little shelf behind the shower head and gets it wet under the stream of water.

[beside_myself]

Church's grin widens when she laughs. He forgot how fucking amazing that sound is. He practically short circuits, and it takes him a minute to stop grinning like a fucking idiot and reply to her.

"I'm not denying shit, Tex. I'm just, y'know. Trying to keep us a little bit on track," he argues, still smiling.

[a_shadow]

"Sure, sure," she says. She starts rubbing the soap on him, covering his chest and shoulders and arms and waist. The suds run down his skin and she smiles at him, glancing up at his face.

[beside_myself]

"Uh..." The words he planned to say die in his throat, and he feels his face heat up. He runs his hand over his jaw, then through his hair and he laughs, almost embarrassed. "Thanks?"

[a_shadow]

She smirks, swiping the soap lower to clean below the waist. "Why are you blushing, Church?" she asks.

[beside_myself]

He glances away from her, his blush darkening at the acknowledgement. "I'm not," he protests. "Just, uh — it's hot in here. Because ... the water..." Fucking smooth. Dumbass.

[a_shadow]

She hums, a sound that's almost another peal of laughter, and kneels to wash his thighs and lower legs. "There," she says, standing back so he has room to rinse off. "You can get out if it's that bad." She smirks at him, not expecting him to take her up on that.

[beside_myself]

"You can quit being a bitch at any time, Tex," he mutters, rinsing the suds off of himself. He watches her for a minute, studying her face and that cheeky fucking smirk, and as soon as he's cleaned off, he reaches for her, grabbing her arms and pulling her in for another kiss.

[a_shadow]

"Well," she says. "I could always leave, if that works better."

But then he's tugging her closer, back into the streams of water, and the smirk only spreads. "I thought we were here for other reasons," she teases against his lips, and pulls away just enough to tuck her head into the crook where his shoulder meets his neck. He's no longer soapy, so she can press kiss after kiss to his neck, sliding her lips along his throat. She nibbles at his chin and then goes back to his mouth. "Unless you like my reasons better," she adds.

[beside_myself]

Church just rolls his eyes, not even bothering to grace that with a reply. Instead, he just focuses on kissing her; first her lips, then cheeks, jaw, and finally her neck, stopping there to bite marks into her skin.

Yes, they did come here for a reason, but he's clean, so that means he's allowed to break from the plan. And that means kissing. And groping.

[a_shadow]

She mostly just lets it happen, participating, but not in a way where she's trying to lead him to do one thing or another at any certain time. When she feels his teeth on her skin she tilts her head back, a small hum escaping. Certainly they're not going to end up having sex again here, but he's skating into territory where he's hitting her kinks in a very public way. At least, leading her to make sounds of pleasure in the communal showers feels very public. Her hand comes up under his chin and she gives his head a little push back. "Not that," she says. Her eyelids flutter and she sighs, then leans in to press a more chaste kiss to his lips. "Behave."

[beside_myself]

Church assesses the situation; if he can even go another round, if she's seriously uncomfortable with sex in semi-public.

He weighs his options, then grins against her lips before ducking his head again and biting at her shoulder. "No," he says, simple and bratty.

[a_shadow]

That's so fucking good; why here, why now? She stifles a groan and grabs his chin in her hand, squeezing with her fingers and thumb. "Later," she says, tone low. "We'll come back when all the kids are in bed." Letting him know very clearly what her problem is with sex in the shower at this point in the mid-morning. Letting him know as quietly as possible, because she's pretty sure there are other people using this facility at the same time as them. She's sure she heard another shower start not long ago.

[beside_myself]

Oh, that's why. He nods and pulls his chin away from her hand. "Ow," he mumbles, rubbing at his skin. "You didn't have to pinch so hard." Not that it really hurt, he just has to bitch.

A pause, then, "Here, hand me the soap."