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

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

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

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.
But like OOCly ask permission ofc.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Ronan takes a breath, sharp and painful, like his lungs can't take it. He lets his hands drop from Adam's face and arm, regaining some of his composure - he's never been much of a touchy-feely kind of guy, even if he finds himself yearning for Adam all the time. In private, it's easier.

They're not in private. ]

You found your daemon yet? Mine explained it to me. We left - our Earth, the world we know. This is not it. That's why you can't feel it. There's no Cabeswater here.

I did.

[ He untangles himself from his boyfriend with a wry smile, knowing that later it will be better, later he can touch all he wants. For now he lifts a hand to his lips and whistle shrilly. Adam tries not to feel embarrassment or shame when the dog comes lopping towards them, tongue hanging out and tail wagging. It reminds him of the mutt that used to attack Gansey's tires, that would lose it's mind when Adam petted it.

He tries not to feel panic over Cabeswater, either, but he's never been very good at controlling his emotions. Everything else, yes, but inside not so much. ]

I kind of didn't take any of it in though. [ Rubbing the back of his neck, Adam scuffs his shoe through the moss below. It occurs to him then, that if he's feeling a strange sort of grief over Cabeswater, Ronan must be even worse. He doesn't know what to do, so instead he bumps his shoulder against his. ] Have you found where you're staying yet?

Maybe you - [ Ronan lets out a gruff huff, scratching the back of his head. ] Just get some rest, and let it explain again. I don't think I get it all, but it'll be better at explaining than me.

[ Cabeswater - the Unmaker, everything falling apart. And then, the two of them trying again. Getting their powers together, him and Adam and Blue, like fucking Chrmed, they were. Gansey's magicians.

All for nothing. ]

I haven't tried to dream, yet. Don't know if I can, here. [ He pauses at the question. He suddenly feels exhausted, the tiredness seeping through his bones. ] No. Should I?

Well, we're not going to fix this dead on our feet.

[ For a moment it strikes him that Ronan might not want him to follow. It's an old fear and one that is mostly scar tissue, but still smarts when pressed upon. He shakes his head, short and sharp and then looks down the street to where he came. ]

We should stick together, find somewhere to stay. We can figure it all out later.

[ At last, Adam finally addresses his daemon who rattles off an apartment address nearby. Once he gets the directions, he snags two fingers in the other boy's sleeve. ]

Come on. If Gansey or the others are here, they can find the address, right? It'll be easier if we're in one place.

[ Of course, Ronan follows. There wasn't anywhere else he'd want to be right now than with Adam - he's been yearning to see him since he landed here, and it's not about to change now that he's got him back. The idea of staying with Adam makes something in his stomach tighten - sure, they've spent the night before, but it'd mainly been elbows and knees and cold feet for a few hours of rest when they couldn't stand anymore, rather than something deliberate.

Maybe it'll be the same now. They haven't exactly discussed things. Words are not their best features, either of them, but Ronan considers the desperate way Adam kissed him, and his pulse picks up, beating hard in his veins, hard enough that Adam must be able to feel it where his knuckles touch Ronan's wrist.

The apartment isn't far, and is on the third floor. It's spacious and furnished sparsely, but efficiently. More than enough for a boy who used cardboard boxes as furniture before. But the only thing Ronan pays attention to is the bed, kicking off his beaten boots and falling straight into it, feeling sand still gritting against his cheek. He's so tired, and now he feels like he can actually fall asleep. ]

D'you think there's hot water?

[ When it had been just him, Adam had refused to come here. He's never been the kind of boy to accept handouts, world hopping included. But Ronan was tired, Ronan needed him, and he couldn't figure out how to save them from this while on the streets. It had made sense to go where they could be alone.

He stands at the threshold and looks around, both daemons going to settle somewhere quiet while he surveys the apartment. It's nothing like St. Agnes, nor Monmouth, nor the Barns, but it feels like it could belong to him. His gaze falls on Ronan, something soft in his face. ]

I don't know.

[ He steps closer, feet taking him towards the foot of the bed. Deliberately, he reaches out, fingertips pressing to the exposed space above Ronan's socks, trailing over the bone in his ankles. He wants to touch, needs to. ]

You're sure you're okay?

[ Ronan lets out a soft huff of a noise at the touch, pressing his face into the pillow. He could scream. This - this is not what he wanted, to be here without Gansey or Sargent, but Adam's here. Adam's here with him and there's a part of Ronan that feels so guilty at how relieved it makes him. ]

I'm fine. Just - [ Words. He doesn't know how to use them at the best of times. Stories are easy - they're just that, stories. But expressing he feels has always been much more of a task. ]

I just wish I knew Gansey's okay. And I'm. I'm tired. [ And overwhelmed, and unable to say that. Instead, he blindly reaches out, holding his hand to pull Adam next to him. ] I'm glad you're here. [ He murmurs into the pillow, hoping Adam doesn't hear him. ]

[ Ronan pulls him down and Adam goes easily, uncaring about the dirt or the sand or the scent of smoke even though he knows he should be. It's instinct to curl up beside Ronan, a hand going to his hip to hold him. His grip is maybe a little too firm, but he can't help it, not after today. ]

He's okay.

[ He says it with certainty, voice stronger than he feels. ] They're both okay. We'd know, I think. [ They're not magic, not anymore. But there are strings that pull each of them towards the other and Adam has to have faith in that. ] They'll find us.

[ He presses his lips to Ronan's shoulder, above his dirty t-shirt. ]

They won't leave us.

[ It feels unfair, and it feels like they've left them behind. Ronan wishes he could have wrapped his hand around Gansey's collar, or wrist, or ankle, pull him in as he fell. Gansey would have grabbed Blue.

And now they're here, and not knowing is even worse than knowing. Ronan stiffens again, forcing himself not to cry. Gansey isn't dead, and Adam is here, surprisingly tender. Ronan turns his head to look at him, knowing his eyes are wet looking. ]

Okay. Yeah. Tomorrow, we can set off to find them. [ Because he's not going to give up on finding them. He can't. ]

There's nothing we can do now, right?

[ He hates the fact that he can't do anything. He hates that he's powerless, because Ronan needs him. ]

I wish I could scry.

[ It's a helpless confession, the breathless kind that feels wrenched from him. But he lifts his palm and cups Ronan's jaw so gently that it feels unlike him. ]

Tonight we need to rest, we won't be any good for them if we don't. They'll need us.

Hey, maybe you can. We don't know how this place works. We can try in the morning.

[ Maybe Ronan needs Adam, right now, but Adam needs Ronan, too. This is the time where the two of them can keep each other going.

He reaches up, curling his hand around Adam's wrist, moving to kiss his palm, a private touch he doesn't even think of as he does it. He moves up, along Adam's knuckles, breathing deeply as his eyes flutter closed. ]

They will. We'll be there.

[ They're so new. He can't help but think about that as he lets Ronan's lips press to his fist. They're so new, and they needed time to learn how to be themselves after all that happened.

And yet here they are.

Adam is careful when he presses himself to Ronan's side, soft when he feels rough, sweet when he's anxious. He runs his knuckles against the vulnerable length of Ronan's throat and presses his dead ear to his chest as though if he wished hard enough he could hear Ronan's heartbeat through it. ]

We'll be okay. I'm here.

[ He doesn't know when he and Ronan became a two-headed monster, but he's glad, so glad, that they aren't facing this alone. ]

[ Ronan wraps an arm around Adam's middle as they shift a little, staring at the ceiling for a moment. All of it feels so surreal, even more than Cabeswater, than Adam being magic, than Glendower and Gwenllian and Artemus and Persephone and the Unmaker and everything, everything.

This is another world entirely.

But Adam's here. Ronan cups his ear, knowing it's the good one. Like it could be enough to protect him. His thumb traces the shell of it, gently. There's a part of him that just wants to keep touching Adam, keep kissing Adam. ]

Tomorrow, we can check with the daemons if they have a list of refugees, and you'll scry. Maybe I can see if I can dream. Get something to track Gansey. Again.

I'm putting a leash on him.

[ Ronan touches him, gently, so fucking gently and it makes Adam feel hysterical with how much he wishes they were safe somewhere else. He doesn't want to watch grief tear through the other boy again, he doesn't want to feel impotent again. ]

Or, I don't know, a microchip.

[ He closes his eyes and when he does he sees the mayhem on the beach again, feels claustrophobic. He has to open them and instead focus on a splash of ink peeking from Ronan's collar. ]

Blue too.

[ A pause. ]

Henry, I guess. They'd be mad if they lost him.

Hm. D'you think Cheng is here?

[ Fucking Henry Cheng, barging in. Ronan was still getting accustomed to his constant presence, like he was part of them. It still made him itch under his skin, sometimes.

He lets out a loud breath, free hand reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose, the bed creaking slightly under him when he moves. ]

I just want to know they're safe.

Well, he is everywhere.

[ He says it without thinking and then winces. ] No, that's not fair. He's one of us, right? And I have to think they're here, so he will be too.

[ He has to not be so bitter. ]

We'll find them, you know we will. How could we not? We've been through too much already.

[ One of us. Ronan isn't sure he'll ever think of Cheng that way, but he used to think he wouldn't feel like Blue was part of them, too, and now he has a hard imagining his life without her in it.

Instead of replying, because what is the point really, of the two of them just repeating the same thing over and over, Ronan pulls Adam up until they're face to face again, nose to nose. ]

Tomorrow, we find them. Do you want to sleep, now?

[ He wishes he were better at this.

At giving comfort, being someone who knew how. The exhaustion and worry on Ronan's face echoes of the days after Aurora and it makes Adam's stomach twist unhappily. He feels as useless now as he did then. He needs for the others to have made it, he needs for this to not be their luck running out. ]

Tomorrow.

[ The question makes him huff. ]

I don't know. How do you sleep after you crash into another world and almost drown? How do you sleep after you get a computer that looks like an animal? [ He casts a glance at the daemons, a knot of worry between his brows. ] I don't even dream shit like this.

[ He misses Cabeswater, he misses Gansey and Blue. Adam sighs, presses their foreheads together. ] I'll be here if you want to, though.

[ Ronan stares at the ceiling, the vines remaining there, climbing up from the windowsill. ]

I don't know if I can, either. I'm exhausted, but at the same time, wired up. [ He's been feeling that way since the moment they crashed. Looking for people, getting himself back up, running around trying to make sense of where they were, what they had to do. Find Adam. Ronan feels like he's a car that's been running on fumes for hours, and yet he can't seem to find it in himself to keep his eyes closed.

He reaches out when he looks back down at Adam, smoothing the worry off of his brow with his thumb. He feels guilty, how much he wants to lean in and kiss Adam, when everything is falling apart between them. Ronan wants to cling to the one thing he's got left. He wonders how much of it shows in his eyes when he looks at Adam. ]

[ The thumb against his brow is so startlingly sweet that Adam has to pull in a breath, pause long enough to recenter himself. Then he reaches up, curls his fingers around Ronan's wrist, own thumb against his pulsepoint. ]

Hey.

[ His voice is soft, and he tugs a little so that Ronan's hand comes away. But instead of putting space between them, Adam just leans in to press his lips to the other boy's palm like a benediction. ]

You've got me.

[ He knows that they can work it out, because there's nothing that can stop them beyond each other. ]

[ Ronan pulls in a deep, sharp breath, before nodding. He closes his eyes for a moment, looking at Adam almost painful - how much he wants him and how terrible that is, all things considered. There are so many more important things happening. ]

Okay. Yeah.

[ Maybe he'll be able to sleep, after all. ]

Here.

[ Adam shifts, until they're pressed against each other, until he can curl up around Ronan like a protective barrier, his arm over his waist and one foot curled around his own. He doesn't know how to fix what's happened, but he can do his best to stop it from getting worse and if that means being present for this, then he can do that. He lets his head fall on the pillow, silently tracing the outline of Ronan's face with his eyes. ]

Try to sleep. I'll wake you up if anything happens.

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

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