Test Drive Meme #6 (tw violence)

[spoofer]

Test Drive Meme #6

I want neither revenge nor relief.

INTRODUCTION ⇄ FAQ ⇄ APPLICATIONS

CRASH LANDING

Exit one dimension, enter the next. It was chaos: pressure against your ears, light bending in an impossible, unimaginable way. The very molecules of your body vibrating against one another. If you have windows, the view outside makes no sense. Even if not, your hands, your face, your feet seem like an uncertain thing. It's the feel of reality itself tearing apart, reshaping, reconnecting, thread by thread.

And suddenly, there's a beach— or ocean, whichever you land in. Smoke. Fire. Salt water churning up, fizzing around.


Maybe you crash, in a ship wrecking into sand. Maybe you merely stumble out of a portal, a ragged wormhole in space. Or maybe you fall off the back of an incredible steed, some creature that carried you into this place. Either way, there's pandemonium around you. Incredibly, severe injuries are far and few between— nobody's screaming about the dead. But you might have to help pull someone free of wreckage, or move quickly to salvage burning belongings from the landing craft. Maybe it's the crafts themselves, that you're trying to salvage.

Likely, you don't know them, these other strangers who arrived here^[1]. Maybe you don't trust them— you just came out of a dying world, after all. But you all have one thing in common: you're here now.

When you get a second to breathe, maybe you'll see it. The brilliant green forest across the sand. Beyond that, the glint of a faraway city.

BATTLE WITH D.E.S.T.I.N.Y.

November has barely begun, when chaos strikes again^[2]. Perhaps you've had weeks to settle in, finding yourself a new home and getting accustomed to the neighborhoods... or maybe you've had no time at all. Your daemon warns you of a massive invasion coming from the West, the ocean where you first arrived.

The enemy has come for you again. D.E.S.T.I.N.Y., the cosmic threat to not only your homeworld but the entire Multiverse.

When the violence makes land, it's shockingly similar to the exit from your original world, yet mashed in with the experiences and genres and world details of other refugees— soldiers in red armor wielding weapons of all kinds, both advanced and rudimentary; airships, bizarre monsters; firestorms and quakes that seem sentient in the way that they move, pursuing people through the beach and the forest. You see the injured and the dead, and people running in panic. Heat and gunfire break up the ordinary peace of wilderness, driving animals into stampedes and filling the sky with panicking birds.

There are children and doctors and engineers among the many refugees of Xistentia, and not everyone can fight back— but maybe you're one of those who can.

Think fast— that's a crimson spear launching at your head now.


The city's defenses are buckling too. While ordinarily, the civlization possesses unnatural physics that subvert violence, the onslaught starts to wear agains them. The only safe place is the Temple. Here, civilians and injured combatants are banding together to try and boost morale... which coincidentally also can boost the defenses of the land by with the energy collected from emotional connectivity. For better or worse, there is plenty of negative feeling to go around, the air thick with fear.

Whether you're recovering from injury or afraid to fight, you can still contribute here. Tell a story, sing a song, make a meal out of one of the cookfires started in the hallway, or even help with medicine. One thing is for certain: we're in this together.

NETWORK

Today, it's peace time. By now, the city of Xistentia has a population of over 500 people. Shops line the streets of downtown, and increasingly well-trodden paths will take you into the agricultural zones nearer to the forest or even down to the beach. There are still distinctive animal presences around— careful with that— but the most common critters you'll see are birds crapping on your stuff outside and tiny winged hairless people creeping your food.

One afternoon, you are taken from whatever you’re doing - taking a walk through the city, sunning yourself on the beach, running around in the forest shoring up defenses - by a message, appearing on your Daemon’s network screen. It’s a simple notification, that reads:

TEXT MESSAGE SENT

It would appear that your daemon accidentally sent a text message misfire.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

hells yeah

Footnotes

1. Some of these can be nameless, plot-device NPCs to facilitate interactions! But even in this case, please avoid gore in describing their current state of being. Anyone dead or catastrophically injured will have disappeared by the time your characters make it to Xistentia. There are no corpses or dying here.
   
   
2. This is connected to the war plot, coming up in November. Please read the announcement for more information! Features include good, old-fashioned violence, hurt/comfort, and "drift compatibility."

Comments

william hainsworth ( original | eudio crau. )

[basileum]

a.

( The feeling of being ripped from one world and thrust into another is disorientating enough on a good day. To someone who comes from a place of candlelight and frozen wastelands, however, it's even worse. What little he's learnt about swimming involved another, calmer sojourn across universes, and it took him too long to remember he had to kick up. Thankfully his fingers had caught on something - debris from an explosion, maybe - aiding him in his efforts surface wise.

Feel free to ignore the soaked and leather clad prince upon the shore. He's busy at the moment, coughing sea water inelegantly onto the sand.

It takes him a long time to orientate himself, his thoughts a churning mass. The time he spent in Eudio doesn't slot neatly into his memories so much as it assaults across his thoughts, questions crowding at the forefront even as his eyes burn and his lungs ache. William struggles to his feet - weighed down by his attire of fur and metal armour - but his keen blue eyes don't waste time in searching for the person nearest. He has to do something. ) Are you alright? ( His hands reach for them, to help them perhaps, or to comfort. ) Are you hurt?

b.

( The Ponyta finds him a little way away. William doesn't see the horse like creature at first, too lost in his thoughts where he sits with his back against a tree. Upon hearing the hooves though, he looks up.

And smiles. )

I remember you.

( But his daemon wastes no time in explaining everything. That is has taken this form for a reason, that it isn't the pokemon he had before. William would have figured that out himself, actually. It breathed fire, not electronics. With every bit of information though, the frown between his brows deepens. Eudio, gone. Hagan, gone. Everything he has been through, everything he has done, all for naught. And then he is told of an invasion. Warned of it. His gaze cuts to the horizon, fingertips resting at the sword strapped to his waist. This would have frightened him before, but when he stands there is very little of the timid boy he used to be in his frame. Instead there is stern dignity there. )

Then let me meet this destiny. I have a few things I would like to impart upon them.

( It does not take him long thereafter to reach the battle, the shape of his daemon helps - useful when you can ride it - and he launches himself into the fray within seconds knocking a spear from the sky with a flick of his own weapon. To the target, he is quick to pull them back upon their feet, voice cutting through the chaos. ) Stay behind me.

c.

( He finds his way to the tavern before he attempts to find his home, bones aching but something like satisfaction uncoiling inside of his chest. It was a hard fight, but a good one, and William knows the best place to start gathering information is with the people. By now he at least looks less soaked through, his hair braided loosely to keep it out of his way and his armour strapped to the Ponyta's side. The only thing that suggests he isn't a stranger to a fight is the scar that runs with jagged edges from just below his ear to curve half way across his throat.

But when he leans against the bartop, there's something innocently friendly in his stance. His eyes are kind when they flicker around the small space, they invite conversation with anyone who passes. He wastes no time in initiating it either, deciphering a list of drinks all the while addressing who is nearest, indicating the menu. Help him out here. )

What would you suggest I choose?

d.

daemon: dagrny
remind me how to work the rain box.

e.

( Wildcard. Hit me up at athosing. )

c.

[lacquers]

[ The longest and most thoughtful of sounds is your answer, dear William. Hmmmm. It's promptly followed by a second, less lengthy hum of contemplation. Hmm. Looks to be emanating from the colorful individual to the left, who also seems to have been cogitating that list. Lots of choices, for sure. ]

Well, I guess it all depends on your reasons for drinking. Are we celebrating a happy reunion right now? [ It's not the most subtle way to ask, "hey, do you remember me from another universe?" But it gets the job done, by golly. And Magnus is absolutely, definitely, 100% hoping that the answer to that question will be 'yes,' because here's a face he's missed terribly. A bit changed, he notices. But that does not change the fact that seeing Will again arouses a deep feeling of fondness in him.

So. He hopes... hopes for a happy reunion. ]

[basileum]

( He should have paid a great deal more attention to the people around him because he wouldn't have wasted time even looking at the menu. But in all fairness to him, it's been a long day. When said colourful individual speaks though, William definitely reacts, head whipping in the direction of his old friend with enough force to leave a lesser man dizzy. )

Magnus!

( He hadn't known to hope. When the daemon told him of Eudio's fate he'd assumed -- but no, no Magnus is hear and William is pulling him into an embrace without a second thought, clapping him on the back before holding him tightly. He hopes you're the embracing type, friend. He forgot to find out before. )

You're all right. ( Still holding him by the shoulders, but pulling away to search his face. ) I heard about Eudio, but you're here. And Alec? Tell me he is too.

[lacquers]

[ Magnus remembers the kind of long day a person has when they first arrive here. He remembers it very well. That said, he promptly forgets almost everything else (for the moment) in the face of seeing Will again.

And giving him a big hug, which he is not at all averse to doing, no sir. He'll return that embrace just as heartily as it's given to him. ] William! [ There's a definite note of relief there. ] I can't tell you how happy I am to see you again.

What a sight for sore eyes, hm? [ Oh, yes, the question. An important one, which he will answer: ] Alexander and I are both here. We have been for a few months now.

[ He leans back a bit. ] How about you? Are you all right? [ His eye falls on the scar for a second, but doesn't linger. ]

[basileum]

When I awoke this morning I did not foresee my involvement in a galactic war. ( He learnt that word from his daemon, surprise. ) But I am all the better for seeing you. Let me get you a drink. You can tell me what I've missed.( Because he doesn't know when he left Eudio, can't recall the decision beforehand. He knows for himself it's been just over a year. But for Magnus? Well, you can never tell by looking at his face. William remembers that much.

He manages to attract the attention of a server, settling into the seat beside Magnus with ease. Already his nerves are settling, relief and joy managing to sweep aside the worry for now. It might have been different, had he not found a friendly face.

Actually, he's just going to keep smiling even when focusing on difficult subject matters. )

You've been here for months, you said? Has it been in battle the whole time? People seem so carefree.

( He's no stranger to finding the good during dark times. His people still do their best to celebrate even with the way things are. But he can sense unease in them. In the city here it feels almost too like Eudio. )

[lacquers]

[ That's quite a word to be adding to your vocabulary. ]

You are not alone in that, dear William. I think we were all caught completely by surprise upon arriving here. Still, it's not all bad and the company's certainly not lacking! [ Here's a reassuring smile. One that, yes, looks just the same as it did last time they crossed paths. You can't gauge much from Magnus' appearance. ]

Let's have a drink and I'll tell you everything I can, all right?

[ They can settle in together and have a wee drink and a bit of a chat. ] I don't think you'll find it too hard to settle in. The surroundings aren't entirely dissimilar to Eudio, though some of our circumstances are different. I also don't think I'd call this a war in the typical sense, [ maybe a "cold" war that's briefly gone "hot" - of sorts ] just as our contractual obligations in Eudio were far from typical.

Have you found a place to stay yet? [ That's an important query. ]