tdm 14

[hohnkai]

T E S T D R I V E

Survival is the exception "living is an act of courage." THROUGH THE INGRESS 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 rocky planet. Former crew of the Moira are there to greet you, and it’s a grim message they have to share. The Moira has crashed and is beyond repair, but there’s good news... the destination the crew has been heading towards for over a year? You’re standing on it. But before you get into exploration and survival, it’s best to deal with the effects of coming through a broken Ingress. ☄ slip and trip find your footing fast Coming through the Ingress has left your character with one of three changes - an age slip, a form of body horror, or an extreme weakness. The first, the age slip, will mean that the character is either older or younger and this change can’t be rectified during their first month in game. The second, body horror, comes in the form of an alteration to the character's body due to whatever they were carrying at the time they came through. If they were wearing a watch, it’s now fused to their wrist, clothes are permanent, knifes replace fingers, and many other alterations (anything goes) and it lasts the first month as well. The third, extreme weakness, can be a mental or physical decrease - weaker arms, legs, or the weaker ability to talk or do math. ooc: the choice of change is up to each player and this prompt can be game canon. ☄ introductions aren’t awkward as long as you don’t shake their hand too long A new planet. Physical and mental changes. Talk of a ship that crashed and a Hub that is home to the ‘creators’ of a technology you’ve never heard of. A lot is happening and the best way to sort through it is by getting to know the Moira’s crew. They’ll help you settle in and get you any care you might need, all the while informing you that the group is on its way to the center of the hub. Something that might seem mundane is an absolute necessity for survival. Ask a seasoned space traveling veteran for answers and guidance. ooc: this prompt can be game canon. ☄ dealer's choice just make the right one Characters have the option of coming through an Ingress that is any possible location on this planet. It can be inside a cave, at the top of a rock formation, etc. This means you can have your character have to climb or slide down, have them yelling for help, and have other characters see them and come to their aid. Your character's arrival is completely up to you, and since this is a unique situation that hasn't happened before, go nuts with it! ooc: this prompt can be 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

[sketchycharacter]

Lucky guess, partly—that name isn't too common. But the Ingress also has a habit of bringing people here who knows each other. [He grins broadly.] Tony will be happy to see you. He's been pining.

[tearsinajar]

[ Wow. Wow.

That voice is not a voice Elena ever wanted to hear again in her lifetime. But having been on the Moira for so many months, she's come to see for herself that any-fucking-thing is possible. Same goes for dead people not staying dead.

This is so not what she's wanted to have to deal with after dealing with Descendants, Nate having to put her dislocated shoulder back into place and the ship crashing and then going through the chaos and exhaustion of helping in medbay. This asshole should've stayed where he belonged— a ripped apart splatter in Shambhala.

Elena keeps her distance, right arm in a sling while her left one is wrapped at the bicep, various bruising and cuts along the side of her face and at her brow. ]

Sorry, looks like I left my cameraman back home. Learned my lesson the last time.

[neverheardofhim]

Clinic. [Varric scoffed. The clinic he remembered had been empty for years, gutted first by Anders himself, presumably, then by both his followers and his enemies. It was a relic, feared by those who loathed what Anders had done to the Chantry and beloved by the people who welcomed his rebellion.]

[Personally Varric thought it incredible that the whole thing hadn't gone up in flames. But then Kirkwall had seen enough disaster by that point. Even the people who loathed Blondie most wouldn't have dared risk city-wide blaze.]

[But that was beside the point. It had been three years since he'd seen Anders. He knew well enough to know that he hadn't been lurking about his clinic in that time.]

[He'd checked.]

Didn't anyone every tell you? You can't bullshit a bullshitter. Now what the hell did you do?

[sketchycharacter]

Uh, what?

[Now he's the one giving her a strange look.]

You got here the same time as I did, six months ago. Do you...not remember?

[Well, shit.]

[neverheardofhim]

[Varric's eye roll was deliberate, exaggerated, and incredibly familiar. It reminded him of a time when he and Hawke could bullshit each other, no threats of Qunari, mages or reanimated magisters looming over them.]

[He missed it just enough to pantomime an apologetic bow, showing reverence to the great (and rather minuscule) wonder of Hawke's breasts]

I am so sorry to have wronged you, your Mam-jesties. [Was that too much of a stretch? Hell, he would go with it.] . How ever can I make it up to you?

[handofrapture]

[It’s over surprisingly quickly. The woman braces a hand (had she had two hands before?) against her gorget and uses the other to twist to the side, the rusted helmet giving way with the scrape of rusted metal and a puff of decompression. Air rushes in like water and the Big Sister stills, perplexed by the feeling and scent of atmosphere not thick with seawater and decay. It’s only for a moment though. She backs away, still crouched, feeling significantly lighter without the weight of the helmet on her shoulders.

Her face is far younger than her height would suggest -- that of a young teenager rather than anyone approaching adulthood -- and as pale as one would expect of a person with her complexion who had never seen the sun. Her mouth hangs open slightly as she tastes the air, momentarily distracted from the splicer by the novelty of experiencing such a bizarre place without the filter of her helmet.

Strangely, she still detects no ADAM. Eyes snap back to the woman in front of her, frowning, but not with hostility; the woman doesn't seem to be a threat, at least not for now. But she’d seen her ready a plasmid and her mutations are still clear as day -- so why doesn’t she reek of ADAM like any other splicer? The Big Sister doesn’t ask -- but the direction of her stare towards the woman’s mutated arm should be question enough.]

[otiosity]

[She doesn't look much better. The simple spell is enough to make her rest her hands on her knees and require a few steadying breathes. At his question, she shakes her head and rights herself].

Not at all. The rune enchantment helps improve mana output but it's just an object to improve focus. I'm the magical one.

i promise.

[neverheardofhim]

Just thought I'd remind you. [He stepped forward, giving the limb a cursory glance. He knew well enough to know that his background didn't really support a professional diagnosis of... whatever the hell all that was. He did have what almost amounted to a certification in "shit-experiencer," but he'd long since resigned himself to the fact that any of his experiences amounted to nothing when in the presence of the Inquisitor.]

Have you considered not fisting every green, glowing portal that appears in your vicinity? It might help. [He let out a heavy sigh.] Define strange. Painful strange? Or bad food strange?

[purramedic]

[Who knew he would ever be so happy to see an elf? A little taste of home in this bizarre place, and one that isn't a blood mage or a brooding drunk. He's almost too impressed to straighten himself up smoothly. Almost.]

Yes, well, I was under the impression I'd never see this face again.

[He does raise a brow at Mahanon's arm, mostly out of concern but maybe a tiny bit of bitterness, too. When he glows, people line up to stab him.]

Are you quite alright?

[sketchycharacter]

Yeah. Yeah, I remember.

[He doesn't really want to talk about it, though. At least Rafe doesn't seem to want to kill him anymore.]

If it's a dream, it's really long, vivid, and shared by everyone here. So I'm going with not a dream. [He shakes his head.] And it can bring people in from different points in time, as you can see. Some real sci-fi bullshit.

slip n ass

[brokeassgoing]

[babysitting newbies isn't exactly what Badou signed up for; he didn't sign up for any of this but you know. hard boiled guys gotta be hard boiled when the situation calls for it.

So he's perched outside the Ingress, waiting. When a little blue ???? climbs on out, terrified and alone, Badou sighs.]

Damn, they're draggin' little brats here? Bastards.

[comforting right]

[neverheardofhim]

[Sera may not have noticed the changes, but Varric made a living off of noticing and writing down detail. He glanced at her longer hair with something of a bitter expression. It seemed everyone else had gotten aesthetic changes. Certainly not combat-limiting, screw-him-over changes like Varric had.]

[His back itched at the thought.]

If I had the option to not know these people, I'd take it, Buttercup.. [Not entirely true. Even people like Sera had a way of making his days bearable, chaos and all.]

Besides, you know a portion of them too, kid. How does that make you feel?

[sketchycharacter]

[Nate rolls his eyes really obviously. What the hell? This guy is ridiculous, and that's another thing that's weirdly familiar. He really does remind Nate of Hawke, beyond the whole dog thing.]

Sorry pal, I'm not interested in getting your signature. I'm gonna ask one more time. Why do you have Marian Hawke's dog?

u/////u

[sidequestings]

I do need occasional reminding.. when I get too comfortable with normality, for instance.

[ it's not his fault, varric, he tries not to be a trouble-magnet. he's just not very good at it.

the question earns a small, helpless shrug. ] I'll get back to you on that when I have a definition for it. In the meantime, if I think about it too hard, I'm going to scream, so.. [ so maybe he shouldn't give it too much of his attention right now.

and it's not like they don't have roughly a thousand other things to be focusing on right now, either. ] --I'm open to suggestions about what we should do about being on what's apparently another planet, though. This is a little out of my realm of expertise.

[purramedic]

It doesn't make a difference to me, I suppose. [He gives a heaving sigh, almost to the extent of a melodramatic whimper. Maker, he misses the taste of wine.]

So, where is "here," exactly?

sounds legit for bloodborne tbh

[sawcleaver]

[There is something akin to ease when she hears the reply. Vheras smiles gently, thankful to have one thing that remains constant in a place she does not recognize, as she cannot feel the Cosmos. Her own experience has been just as fruitless as the Doll's, with no less an answer than whatever else she may hear otherwise.]

I'm thankful to see you, my dear Doll. [Even if there isn't much of a reaction from the other, it's enough to simply hear those words. Most people will not miss hunters unless there's a hunt, especially if they happened to be outsiders. There is a fleeting thought of anger, of how this all began and how she was thrust into this journey without so much as a single ounce of help, before she realized the true danger of the state of the world. But it's only fleeting, and she pushes it aside to shake her head and answer the next question.]

We're no longer in the Dream. [One of her hands clasps around the handle of her saw cleaver, looking around her. No doubt the Doll would be searching for that, along with anything else she could tend to.] That much I know. There is a ship called the "Moira" that once was here, but now is gone. [She doesn't seem to understand how a ship could reside here when there's no water anywhere.] I don't know much more than that.

i love your bull. Just... thought you ought to know.

[neverheardofhim]

You? No. I don't believe it. [Varric surprised himself with a chuckle. He'd been all types of irate since his arrival. Being able to laugh was something of a luxury, unexpected given the odd turn of events. But then, Bull always seemed to be that guy. Unaffected, even when Varric himself was stricken.]

[Of course, it all died in his throat the second Bull took his jab.]

Don't listen to him, baby. [He reached back, patting her limb with a gentle hand.] Irreplaceable. That's what I always told you.

[arcreact]

[ Can't see properly? That could be the head wound or the Ingress, and there's no telling which, let alone which is more worrying. He valiantly squashes any internal urge to panic, 'cause that sure seems unhelpful right now, and focuses instead on keeps his hands firmly on her waist as she straightens up, lest she lose her balance again. ]

That kind of thing seems to be going around. [ Is that comforting? No? Well. Okay. He tried. ] One of our docs will be able to sort you out, alright?

[ He hopes. God, he hopes. ]

As for "where" and "how", the short version is "space, technically, not counting our current planned-but-not-like-this pit stop" and "crazy science that I've spent six months trying to figure out with little success," respectively.

[ If that, y'know, tells her anything about the grimness of the situation. He owes her a much, much more thorough explanation than that, but it's going to have to wait until she isn't actively bleeding and half blind, trying to navigate rocky terrain in $500 stilettos. And speaking of that, as he watches an artfully pointed heel wedge between two rocks... ]

Honey, either the Louboutins have to go or I'm gonna have to carry you. Pick your poison.

[ He knows both options might be hateful under normal circumstances, but these aren't normal circumstances. ]

[arcreact]

But will your optimism hold out as sobriety stubbornly continues?

[ It'll be interesting to find out, like a psychological experiment with less data tables. ]

[purramedic]

Yes, that's what I said.

[He would almost be concerned for Varric's sanity at this point, if he wasn't under the impression that he was the one being bullshitted by one means or another. Either Varric is exploring new options for his latest wild story, or playing a mind game. He wouldn't put either one past him.]

I guarantee you, I am completely innocent -- at this time. Why would I want to drag us all here? There aren't even any templars to set alight!

[rikos_mom]

[ Knowing that it's a girl and seeing that it's a girl were two entirely different things.

Masane sits back, watching as the kid pulls away and it's now heartbreakingly obvious that she wasn't used to being without a helmet. The thing had been rusted into place. How long had she had it on?

She's so young. She couldn't have been any older than Maria.

Placing the piece of metal on her lap, Masane watches wordlessly while the Sister got her bearings. When the attention turns to the barbed mass that'd replaced her right arm however, she presses her lips together in a thin line and turns away. ]

That's the Witchblade.

[ Realizing that was exactly the kind of vague she had hated coming from Takayama, Masane hesitates briefly before adding, ]

It's a weapon. A really crappy one.

[sidequestings]

[ he really wants to ask. he can think of at least ten reasons right now why this stranger would think he'd never see his own face again, and most of them involve a.) something terrible, b.) possession, or c.) both. he's distracted from the thought by the mention of his hand, though, which he carefully doesn't look down at again. he doesn't want to scare the nice stranger by screaming, after all, which he's felt on the edge of since he discovered what the anchor had done to him.

to be honest, he's probably been on the edge of a scream for about two years now. thanks, corypheus! ]

Oh. It's a new fashion I'm trying. [ when one doesn't have a better answer, be a shit about it. ] I think it distracts too much from the rest of me, though, so I don't recommend it. [ he makes a vague gesture toward the direction the ingress had been in, brows arching curiously. ] You just arrived, too?

judge away, friend

[hawkethat]

I know I am. It's why you keep me around.

[He's seen her at her worst - flattened into a Warden pancake by an errant dragon foot - and nursed her back to health afterward. She can pat his cheek and patronize him if she really wants to. He just winks roguishly at the attention.]

Optimism aside, though, we probably should work out what to do next. Even I'll grudgingly admit I honestly don't expect a magical tavern to appear way out here.

Intros

[tearsinajar]

[ Where was that voice coming from? She didn't look down, though that should've been her first spot to check. Instead Elena turns to look over her shoulder and then she looks down, starting at the sight of a ... baby gorilla...?

It shouldn't be a surprise that it talks— there are bloody robots as big as the ship that talk... ]

Uh... hi there? [ Jesus, she knows she'd had her head smashed into a metal wall, but this is... ] Sorry, you were talking to me right?

[arcreact]

[ Well, he certainly seems like enough of a smarmy asshole to be the real deal. ]

C'mon, do I really seem like the kind of person that'd would lie to suggestible, disoriented people who just fell through inter-dimensional portals?

[ (Yes.) ]