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» TEST DRIVE #001

TEST DRIVE #001

( 0 0 1 ) » WAKE UP

Were you asleep or were you unconscious? It doesn't matter: when you come to, there's an odd taste in your mouth and there's a low-level mechanical hum in the air. Your head hurts and you feel nauseous. You aren't anywhere you know: everything around you is metal, from the floor you lie on all the way to the ceiling. You are dressed in a jumpsuit you definitely weren't wearing before.

"We tried to save the world. I think— I think we did the opposite."

The message repeats on a loop. If you look for its source, you find a comms device on the floor next to you. The logo on its wallpaper says REVERIE TERMINAL. Upon closer inspection, you find the same logo on your jumpsuit.

Welcome to your new home. What choice do you have but to explore your surroundings?

( 0 0 1 . 1 ) » WAKE UP WHERE?
When you wake up, you find that you're not alone. But more importantly, you find that you're in a closet. An empty closet, bar you and your new companion. It's small, cramped, and there is no door that you can see. The ceiling is low, there is barely any lights, only some coming from the tiny flashlight clipped to your suit's shoulder. You cannot be sure that there is any air coming in to the room.

Are these grooves in the wall supposed to mean something?

( 0 0 2 ) » OBSERVATION DECK

There were no windows in the corridor you woke up in and no windows in any of the crew quarters you might have checked for occupants — but there are plenty of windows on the uppermost level of the station, deck 1. In fact, there are windows from floor to ceiling all along the circumference of the station's circular deck, and it's possible to walk along it all. What it shows is a strange solar system you've never seen before and a planet that might resemble one you know, but certainly isn't the same.

You're in space. You don't know where you are. Neither does anyone else.

( 0 0 3 ) » BAR

On deck 3, you find the bar. Tucked away from the crew quarters, it's dimly lit, there are bar stools thrown down on the floor and what looks like some very old drink spills, crusty and dark against the bar top. But there is alcohol here, or at least, what you think is alcohol, in bottles with faded labels, most of them indecipherable. Take a drink, get drunk, start a fight, or start a party? You're stuck on this station, might as well make the most of it, right?

( 0 0 3 . 1 ) » VIRTUAL
But the alcohol isn't even the most interesting part of your discovery (depending on who you are, of course). No, what catches your interest is a second, smaller room off from the main bar room, which looks to be some kind of arcade. There are a few VR sets lined up against one of the walls, and surely, they can't be working, right? Nothing is on this rust bucket. And yet, if you put it on, the display comes to life.

It's a pretty simple HUD, and when you move around in reality, you move around in the virtual world you've just entered. It's a luxurious world, full of brightly, saturated colors, making it just a little obvious that it isn't real. Ahead, there is a jungle, a temple, and a city. You can play around, slay some monsters, have some fun, but you can feel yourself growing hot, like the VR helmet is burning your forehead.

And when you try to take it off, you find that you can't. The HUD glitches, the sound cuts off to a blaring alarm, and an error message appears, in glowing, blinking red letters: FINISH THE MISSION. Will you, despite not knowing what the mission even is, or will you fight to get the helmet off?

( 0 0 4 ) » MALFUNCTIONS

(cw: body horror, bodily functions, gore, blood, death)

The fabricators function well enough, until they don't. One day, one moment, everything's all right — the food doesn't generally taste amazing and sometimes downright awful, but it's nourishing and filling no matter what your dietary needs — and the next, things go a little haywire.

In short, the fabricators are malfunctioning.

Oh, they're still producing food that looks and tastes much the same as before, but now there are some unexpected side effects.

NB: Characters may experience any of the following side effects: nausea ranging from slight to debilitating, the sensation of being happily and affectionately — but not overwhelmingly — drunk, bone-deep exhaustion and weariness that makes it hard to move, or repeated hallucinations of loved ones screaming for help, reaching out to characters and leading them down abandoned corridors or being killed by unseen forces.

The extent to which characters are affected is up to players, as is whether you'd prefer to play this more lightheartedly or tackling more serious themes. If the latter, please provide warnings in subject lines where necessary.

( 0 0 5 ) » NETWORK

The comms device you found next to you when waking up connects to a station-wide network, REVERIE NET. You have the option to post video, voice or text messages.

What will you share?

( 0 0 5 . 1 ) » NETWORK USERNAME
When you first turn on your communication device, it requests for you to pick a username to identify you on the network. It can be anything you want. However, as you try to input a username in your wristband to access the network, you get the following message, along with a small, but irritating, warming sound:

this username is already in use.

What does this mean? Is there other people around? Were there other people around?

( 0 0 6 ) » WILDCARD

The station features a variety of locations, from sleeping quarters free for the claiming to a dirty swimming pool and a bar that still holds alcohol (though some of the bottles seem to have been opened a while ago).

Go wild, but don't wreck the place. It's your home for the foreseeable future, after all.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

001. WAKE UP

"We tried to save the world. I think— I think we did the opposite." [ The message plays again and again as Rogue slowly comes to, confusion swirling around her as she tries to piece together what's happened. The lab, her rescue, the mountain temple... The Sentinels. Had their mission failed? Is this the new world they'd created?

Bare hands pressing to the metal floor, she lifts herself up, white-striped hair obscuring her vision as she pushes past the nausea and throbbing ache in her head. She's used to feeling awful, it's easier to distance herself from it mentally, focusing instead on taking in her surroundings. Metal everywhere isn't an usual sight, but that logo-- Her hand brushes against a device and she instinctively grabs it, holding on firmly as she leverages herself against the wall and slowly gets to her feet. ]

"We tried to save the world. I think— I think we did the opposite." [ Her fingers tighten around the device and she sighs before murmuring to herself in a smooth southern drawl. ] Sounds familiar.

[ As she wanders slowly down the corridor, fingers trailing along the wall for balance as well as investigation, she waits for any sign of life. Is this her new prison? Has she traded a grey jumpsuit for green?

Will she ever see the sun again? ]

002. OBSERVATION DECK

[ She hadn't actually put it together until she'd stepped onto the observation deck. Every possible hint at being in space had been filed away as something else until she'd taken in those windows, the span of glass that stretches out before her now. The pinpricks of light surrounding a planet that isn't Earth, a sun that can't possibly be the one she's missed for so long.

None of this surprises her in the least. Perhaps it's because of the turn her life has taken in the last decade, with the war and her captivity. Perhaps she's simply too numb already to register anything like shock or panic, because all she feels is a sense of resignation and acceptance as she steps up to the glass and presses a thin hand to it, starkly pale next to the dark green of her jumpsuit and the black of space. ]

It wasn't supposed to be like this. [ Is she talking to another person, someone she hasn't yet noticed for the view beyond pulling at all her attention? Is she speaking purely to herself, something in her breaking as she realizes that they must have failed, that this must be some sort of punishment for all of her failures. The world she'd loved is gone — she couldn't save it. The human race had destroyed itself and wouldn't rise from the ashes. ]

003. THE BAR

[ After her slight existential breakdown on the observation deck and a further wander through the station, Rogue finds herself stumbling upon the bar. Finally, something welcome and familiar. With a steady purpose, she heads inside, rights a fallen stool, and takes a seat at the bar. It takes all of two seconds for her to reach for an unopened bottle of amber liquid, and another two to open it and take a generous swig of whatever might be inside. It burns like cheap whiskey and she can't find it in herself to care. She welcomes the warmth it brings and how it dulls the aching of her body.

If anyone asks, she might consider sharing. If they ask nicely. ]

006. WILDCARD

[ Want something else? Hit me up at taintedcrimson or via PM, or just throw a thing my way! ]

Edited 2018-04-21 18:10 (UTC)

[ enter: one glass. it doesn't look dusty and it's about as clean as this place gets. it's slid from a few feet away over the bar by a lean figure, who happens to be holding another, already filled with a finger or two of something strong (though he hasn't touched it himself, maybe it's just for appearances). he's been watching there, silent as the tomb for a good few minutes, just observing. but she's not exactly easy to ignore, with the promptness of her steps and how badly it looks like she needs that drink. and the promptness of how she's fulfilling that need. ]

Long day, dear?

[ understatement. ]

[ Well, she's never exactly been one to beat around the bush. Catching the glass as it slows its journey across the bar, a bare fingertip traces the rim for a moment before she tips the bottle and fills it with amber liquid. Legitimately fills it, not that measely two finger business. This is not the time for moderation. ]

It actually hasn't been that bad compared to the past few years. [ Why not be honest? It's not like she has anything to lose. ] But yeah.

[ annnd she's having a go of it. the glass filled looks familiar and he tilts his head a bit, offering a smile.

but he makes no remark, stepping closer and setting his own bottle on the bar with a finessed touch. he does finally take a small sip of his own since he's no longer alone here anymore, and it's warm on the back of his tongue. he weighs the taste a moment, listening to her as he does so. he holds his glass gently in one hand, arm leaning on the bar now as he pulls up a seat himself. ]

We could do worse than a slightly decrepit station in the middle of galactic Nowhere at the very least.

[ Woe to anyone who tries to come between this southern belle and her desperately needed drink. It has been far too long and she is perfectly content to make up for lost time. ]

I just came from worse, so I'm really not complaining. [ Followed by a large sip of alcohol. Not complaining, but not exactly thrilled by their present circumstances. Another sip and she turns more toward him, glass still in hand as regards him with polite curiosity. ]

You don't seem too shocked by all of this, sugar. I'm guessing space isn't too unusual for you.

[ far be it from peter to intervene in what looks to be some much needed social lubrication. he listens attentively, drumming neatly manicured fingers lightly on the side of the glass before sinking into his answer. ]

I can't say that being kidnapped off to some abandoned space station is very typical day-to-day, but space itself? I'm very familiar with it. Do quite a bit of travel here and there myself.

[ a little bit of a shrug. ]

Can't quite say I'm all that fond of being plucked from my course - the observation room has left me with little doubt that I'm in the same system as before.

[ His answer lends itself to the theory that they're not all from the same planet, possibly not even the same universe. She might not have personal experience with such things, but she's seen more than enough to tell her the impossible is always possible, and there were more than a few scientific lectures from Hank about parallel universes. ]

It's not my first time being kidnapped [ she explains after another drink, intent on keeping a steady stream of the burning alcohol entering her system ] but space is an entirely new experience for me. I've never left Earth before — it's not really something people do where I'm from.

[ She doesn't appear to be addressing anyone corporeal or not, so Kara lets the question be, tucks herself in the corner to do her own stargazing. Even with nothing familiar, the stars have always comforted her. They carried her on a cosmic river to safety on Earth, if she wanted to think about it that way. ]

[ After a lapse, she ventures, ]

Do you see anything you recognise?

[ Hand falling away from the glass, she turns to look at the girl, a look of almost confusing on her face until she registers the question. She glances back at the glass for a moment before shaking her head. ]

Nothing. But astronomy was never really my thing, so I might be missing something.

It's all right, I just thought I'd ask.

[ In case. Would something familiar be more or less likely to pop up with everyone passing through this room? She's betting on no. ]

I'm Kara.

I'm Rogue.

[ Taking a deep breath, she steps a little closer toward her new companion, instincts demanding that she look after someone who seems to be dealing with this about as well as she is. ]

I'm from Earth. New York, for the most part. What about you?

Krypton. [ a beat, ] It's a planet.

[ Argo City wouldn't mean anything to anyone, anyway. Even her planet's name hasn't rung any bells, has no one looking at her sideways going is that...? ]

Nice to meet you.

[ the first sensation wanda is aware of is the freedom of her limbs and the lack of tightness around her throat, and she wonders for a moment is she's still dreaming. then she becomes aware of other things. the hard surface she's laying on, the ache in her head, the taste in her mouth. and a message that repeats itself, over and over.

we tried to save the world. i think — i think we did the opposite..

"sounds familiar."

she could have said the same thing, but she didn't. someone is in here with her. wanda wonders how she could have missed her and then the pain in her head flares, making her acutely aware of the nausea. she pushes herself up, first to a sitting position to make sure her body can handle it. her muscles and joints still ache from being restrained. ]

Hello? [ it's dark where they are, she can't see very well. but she knows there's somebody there. ]

[ The sound of another person nearby takes her by surprise — how had she missed her? Turning, the sight of the other woman on the floor spurs Rogue into action and she hurries forward, uncaring of her own aches and nausea. ]

You alright, sugar? [ Crouching down beside her new companion, she starts to hold out a hand to help her, then pulls them back at the sight of her own deadly skin. At least they're both mostly covered, thanks to the jumpsuits. ]

[ wanda doesn't know not to take her hand, but she waves it off anyway, choosing to use the wall for support in getting up instead. once standing, she needs to be still for a moment, hunched forward with her hands on her knees. ]

I'm all right. [ though she looks quite the opposite at the moment, sick with free movement of her limbs is a vast improvement over not sick and strapped into a straitjacket. and she's not the only one who's feeling out of it. there are people all around this building that exist not so much as voices but as presences; presences she might have already blocked out if she hadn't just woken up in a totally unfamiliar place. ] Relatively speaking.

[ she manages to stand again and regards the other woman warily, due more to the situation than anything else. she can feel her confusion; this woman is in the same boat she is. ]

Who are you? Do you know where we are?

[ A woman after her own heart, Rogue decides as she watches her struggle without accepting help, exactly as she's always done herself. Especially in a situation like this, that would have been her reaction exactly and so there's no pushing or rushing. Relatively speaking is right. ]

My name's Rogue. I woke up just a bit ago myself, and-- I don't know anything about this place. [ Where they are, how they got here, why they're here. They're just a few of the many questions on a increasingly lengthy list. ]

[ wanda pushes away from the wall and takes a couple of steps away from it - they're a little bit unsteady, but she'll manage. her main concern is figuring out what's going on, and it sounds like it's the other woman's, too. ]

I don't know if that makes it better or worse.

[ she turns back to the woman - rouge - and nods to her. ]

My name is Wanda.

[ It probably makes it all worse, to be honest. If one of them knew what was going on, then they might have an idea on how to get themselves out of it. Instead, they're both just stumbling around trying to find their way. Literally. ]

It's nice to meet you, Wanda. Despite the circumstances.

You, too. Rouge.

[ it's an interesting name ~~but not one wanda knows to be familiar with~~. she glances in both directions, trying to figure out which one they should move to. neither appear all that welcoming. ]

Have you heard anything besides the message? Any voices that sound live?

[ Rogue's never delved enough into Erik's past to have any real idea about his children. There had been the occasional hint of them throughout her time with the X-Men, but if they'd been at all involved in the war, it had been after her imprisonment. ]

Nothing on this, no. [ An illustrative gesture to the communication device identical to Wanda's own. ] I haven't tried sending out any messages myself, either.

[Karen's standing in close enough that she overhears and thinks she's being spoken to. As transfixed as she is by the sight out beyond the glass, she recognizes when someone needs to talk. People generally don't just say things like that out loud if they don't have something they feel they need to say.]

What wasn't?

[She speaks up, turning her head to glance her way. Is it nosy of her to ask? Definitely. But Karen doesn't necessarily mind being incredibly nosy.]

You said that something wasn't supposed to be like this. Have you been here before?

[ The other woman's voice registers before her words, Rogue's awareness of her surroundings stretching almost like a rubber band being pulled and then snapped back into place. It's not exactly startling, but it does feel a bit like waking from a daydream. (Or a nightmare.) ]

No... No, I haven't. Have you? [ She doesn't mind people asking questions; she can always choose not to answer, just as this woman can. ]

No.

[She's quick to put that question to rest, and she offers the other woman a sympathetic smile. As tempting as it always is to act like an expert on things back home, she can't do that here. At least not as often, anyway. Space is all a little out of her wheelhouse.]

I've never been anywhere like this before. I'm still trying to grasp the concept of being so far away from Earth.

[ It's nice to see someone smile, even if she can't return the gesture herself. ]

It's a first for me too. I'm getting the feeling it's like that for a lot of us. [ Which is strange in itself. So far, there's no one who's been here longer than the others, at least not who she's met, and so many don't usually spend time on space stations. So why and how are they all here? ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

» TEST DRIVE #001

rogue | x-men: days of future past

3 / i require this prompt

good bc i require you in my inbox

makes a nest in here

yes pls stay a while

brings my suitcase

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wake up

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2

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