Test Drive Meme #1 (cw vehicular crash, moderate injury)

[spoofer]

Test Drive Meme #1

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

You don't need an invite to test
but please remember we're currently invite-only

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.

INTO THE WOODS

Your first night at Xistentia does not feature five-star accommodations, but as the sun begins to set, the forest offers everything you need to survive. By now, you may even have met your daemon, who'll help guide you through this. There is fallen wood to make fires for warmth and cooking, any number of rabbits, deer, and fish if that's what you're into eating. Those very same animals also provide guidance as to what vegetation is edible, including a variety of vine mushrooms, fruits, and flowers. If you're the kind of creature that mostly eats other sentient creatures, well. Technically, there are a lot of those hanging out too^[2]! Now and then, you'll see tiny, winged humanoid creatures the height of a finger dart in and out of view.

A resourceful group, the multiversal refugees have determined ways to create shelters, using wreckage, supplies, and basic survival knowhow. There aren't enough blankets to go around, but the weather is mild and the fires seem to keep out any aggressive creatures.


Things get quiet. This could be a good time to meet the others under less fraught circumstances. Maybe you'll see some familiar faces and reunite with others who fled from your dying world; maybe you'll meet someone new.

Try not to seek out and fight any Rock Trolls. It's still early.

ENTER THE CITY

The city is beautiful, even with the vines covering everything, the streams running down half the streets, the massive white deer leaping off under the highway overpasses. The architecture of the skyscrapers is incredible to look at, modern and sweeping. It's clear that terraced gardens were part of the building design, and some of the greenery that lines the street had been part of the original city plan. This is a city of great potential.

And it knows you're here. As you walk by, beacons like streetlamps begin to emit a gentle glow, registering your presence. No doors are locked, though you might find yourself chasing out nests of silver-winged birds and bug-eyed rabbits.

Here, you can claim empty shops or the clothing and other sales items inside of them. Apartment complexes aren't difficult to find in a range of sizes; nor are standalone homes, brownstones, loft studios. Penthouses may not feel like penthouses when there's a thin layer of dust growing on everything and a flower growing out of the sink, but you know what? Maybe that little bud is gonna be your first roommate.

It's the strangest thing. After a few days, the lights begin to work and the water begins to run, fully operational within the unseen sewer system. At some point, the keys to your house or residence are going to turn up. Your daemon will help you find what you need. F.A.TE.S. welcomes you.

NETWORK

By now you've settled in. You have some time to explore the city, the woods, and your new kit.

Chances are pretty good that your daemon is not a phone or a computer or a wax-sealed piece of parchment or a Howler, nothing with a convenient camera or a keyboard; it probably isn't even a pocket sized. Likelier, it stares at you with eyes that contain the lenses-- or powers-- of a camera, and some part of its body projects a holographic keyboard into the air. For those of us who are not accustomed to manipulating intangible light prisms, it's about as intuitive to type on as shaping a cloud with your fingers.

But here's your network access. Accessible to all your fellow travelers in XISTENTIA.

Misfires, typos, and blurry video footage are likely. Time to feel like a Luddite!

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. But like OOCly ask permission ofc.

Comments

[rekt]

Make me-- [ Murphy gets out, before Aaron's lips meet his, because he's a brat who has to have the last word.

honestly, he'd thought he'd left this behind the second they hit the sand and knew eudio ended. not just aaron himself, but all of this. the affection, the softness, the anything that isn't dragging yourself through survival by tooth and nail. but aaron's lips are a welcome relief, along with his idiot attitude, his poor social skills, his loud hair and his ridiculous issues. his stupid, gorgeous face, and kisses like this, that make murphy feel like he's a little bit less of a worthless jackass.

he reaches for him, the movement natural by now, with all they've done this, a hand smoothing over his cheek and back into his hair, and the other arm circling around his waist, pulling him closer as murphy turns to face him more properly, a leg bent up to the side to make space for him.

he'd needed this, really, maybe as much as aaron did, this time. the shattering of that stupid dream of a city, kavinsky and aric being up each others asses and the tension in trying to keep the former alive. all the uncertainty. yeah, this is a nice break, he thinks, as his head tilts, lips parting to deepen the kiss. ]

[assumptions]

[ Aaron doesn't care about having the last word. Between Nicky and Aaron and then Neil, he never had the last word. He rarely even got a word in edgewise to begin with. It doesn't bother him. He never has anything much to say anyway. So whatever makes Murphy happy and keeps him there.

Mulder manages to get up Aaron's lap as Aaron shifts closer to Murphy into the space made for him. He doesn't shy away from his touch the way he used to, each thing a fight, now only the new things are a struggle, the rest of it comes easier. He curls his fingers into Murphy's hair, one hand gently situation Mulder to be out of the way but still on his lap because taking him off and trying to keep him off would take alot more attention.

And Aaron doesn't have a lot of time to give to Murphy right now. He brushes his tongue against Murphy's lips, tasting him, inviting. There's sometimes a quiet moment where he doesn't completely get lost in the shame and he can just enjoy the pleasure. He's found one of those just now. ]

[assumptions]

[ Aaron pulled away the instant that Mulder jumps off his lap. He turns in the direction the fox ran off and his hands are instantly pulled away from Murphy's body, and jumped up to his feet. He tries to think of an excuse but he's just panicked.

He is really tempted to just run away somewhere, anywhere far away from these two. He can only spare a moment to be grateful that it's not Andrew standing there. ]

No. [ That's all he manages to say. ]

[rekt]

[ welp, this is awesome. murphy's pretty sure this is something aaron's seen in his nightmares, so when he pulls away, he can't help the sarcastic little whistle he makes, the sort of falling pew sound one makes just before the crash and burn explosion noise, which he kindly refrains from.

yeah, that was over a lot faster than he'd been expecting, but hey, thanks for the good times, Aaron, sorry about your life. ]

He definitely has his own people to keep alive. [ murphy answers the question Aaron sort of half failed to, pushing to stand and make his hasty retreat. ] You kids have fun.

[ he moves to gather up his branches, likely taking a moment or so, but he'll be out of here in a bit and Aaron will be left to his aggressive 'i'm not gay' denial. which, murphy might pause some trees away to eavesdrop on just because he's rude like that. ]

[assumptions]

[Aaron isn't okay at all and it takes all of his concentration to keep his face blank and not panicked. He wants to yell at them both to fo but his throat is closed tight. Instead, he sinks down onto the log.

He can't even manage the insistence of his straight-ness just. Then either.

please just say something rude and go. he thinks at Murphy.]

[rekt]

[ picking up his head, he glances back to axel, brows lifted, before his eyes shift over to aaron, stone still and rooted in the place he'd stood up. this is probably torture for him. ]

Yeah, the vampire. I heard.

[ murphy doesn't pause in gathering up his stuff and he speaks, but he's clearly more at ease with this than aaron - no concern about being seen as gay or gay leaning by anyone. it isn't an insult to him like it is to aaron.

aaron, who's probably mortified, sinking down onto the log they'd just been sitting against, kissing. yeah, he's not going to make this any worse on him than he has to, so, once he has all his branches, murphy shrugs them up in his arms, giving a short nod, and a shorter farewell. ]

Cool. Later. [ yeah, a little rude, considering he didn't introduce himself in return, but murphy's a rude person, surprise surprise. ]

[assumptions]

[ It's only a small relief when Murphy leaves and Aaron is left alone with Axel. He knows exactly what it is the other wants as he sits down by him on the log. He vaguely pays attention to Mulder's existence comforted by the silly little fox even if he's not the one playing with him.

Aaron says nothing and knows if he waits long enough Axel won't be able to keep his mouth shut and he'd do all the talking. He fidgets, uncomfortable and ashamed more fervently than he'd been even in the midst of doing much dirtier things with Murphy than a few open mouthed kisses. ]

[assumptions]

[ Aaron doesn't answer right away, crossing his arms and looking away from Axel which is also looking away from Mulder. He sighs because if he doesn't answer, Axel is just going to keep asking questions. He'd rather a lecture, since those are more easily tuned out but... ]

His name is Murphy. He's not cute. I don't think he likes vampires much. What you saw was nothing.

[ Because in a way, that's true. What were he and Murphy to each other? Nothing. So what happened between them is also nothing. ]

[assumptions]

[ Well, Aaron only just found out that Murphy doesn't seem to like vampires but it doesn't make Murphy more unattractive to him at all. Aaron keeps looking at some nondescript spot on a tree in the opposite direction of Axel, his body tense and he exhales sharply.

Why do they need to talk about this so much? He feels a bit sick to his stomach. ]

Yeah.

[assumptions]

[ Aaron tenses even more if that were possible at the question and then he turns to stare at Axel a mixture of shock and horror written across his face plainly instead of the carefully constructed 'nothing-ness' he likes to project that's not quite as good as Andrew's disinterested -- maybe because quite often that's completely genuine with Andrew. ]

Fuck off. [ Yes. Mostly. But how did Axel even figure out... was it just now? Had he known all along? ]

[assumptions]

It's not your business to understand. It's not anyone's business.

[assumptions]

Some things he doesn't have a right to know about.

[assumptions]

Do you think he's told me everything? Do you know what he will do... [ There's the truth of it. Aaron's both afraid of what Andrew would do to Murphy but afraid of Andrew knowing his shame too. It's better if he didn't know. ]

Nothing good comes from him knowing about this. It was nothing.

[assumptions]

You're blind. [ Aaron mutters, his hands sliding through his hair and he gets up off the log. ]

You're the second to last person I want to talk about this with. All you care about is him. [ Maybe back home, with Katelyn, that wouldn't have mattered but it matters too much here. ] And this was fucking nothing and will do nothing but cause stupid fucking shit and damage.

Just fuck off.