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

[bytte]

-- Somewhere safe. For now.

[A few, simmering seconds and then she turns her attention towards him. Quietly judging, for his hunger and his inability to keep quiet. ]

Our house is gone. [And -- Morgan, too. That seems like a logical conclusion. It should have been her first thought, given Teddy's face is identical. Oh well. ]

[fingerprint]

[ The house is gone, but they're safe? How does that even make sense in Theodore's little world? ]

What happened to it?

[bytte]

[Another reason to be angry: she doesn't know. It's one thing to be told it has been destroyed, and another to believe it. There is some semblence of hope: Louise has poured more magic into the structure of their home than she had into Teddy's inception. It is as much a part of her as he is, with a mind of its own and survival instincts too. She breathes, a steady calming one, two, three and then reaches for Teddy's hand, to squeeze.

She's not much of a mother. Teddy, to start with, is much older than her in appearance. Her struggles with closeness, too, are a problem. After all the years of being alone, her closest friends are a small group of immortals and Morgan, whom still hasn't quite forgiven her for her betrayal to create Teddy. Comfort does not come easily to her. Still, she tries a tight smile.] It doesn't matter. We should find somewhere to stay, so that I can begin work on taking us home.

[By 'we' she means 'you'.]

[fingerprint]

[ As always, unaware of the inner workings of Louise's messed up head, Theodore doesn't know how to respond, aside from the obvious. Yes, Louise, let's go, because he trusts her despite his fear. When has she ever not solved her (and his) problems?

His eyes drift down to their hands, realizing that he hadn't even thought of them touching just moments before. He really needs to work on not being so distracted all the time, but she's assured him it's something that should pass as his mind continues to tinker itself into perfection. Or something. ]

So we're not having dinner.

[bytte]

Perhaps, [and her hand draws away, sharply,] You might think of other things than your stomach. For once.

[Like that they are homeless,Teddy!]

[fingerprint]

[ The hand................... ]

I just - it's important that I eat every three hours. You said so yourself.

[ What is he supposed to do with this contradictory information, Louise? Why can't you just be a consistently good mom maker? ]

It'll be better if we have more energy, right?

[bytte]

No, I said it is recommended that you eat every three hours to maintain a regular metabolism. It won't kill you if you wait a little longer.

[And, utterly dry: ] I saw you eating not even two hours ago, anyway.

[Two hours ago for her. Who cares if time's been different for him. There's so much to do: she needs to write down every ingredient she's lost, every book gone -- everything that made her home so valuable. Too much and no time to worry about Teddy's appetite or his physical structure. She can piece him back together with magic. He'll be fine. ] Shelter first. Food last.

[fingerprint]

... Well, it's not like I have a watch.

[ Despite all the old and expensive watches Louise keeps around at her place. ]

So, do you want to follow the others? Or should we go on our own?

[bytte]

Go make friends. See if anyone knows anything.

[Always so bossy. ]

[fingerprint]

I don't want to leave you.

[ It's scary to go alone. ]

[bytte]

Theodore. [A sharp glance. ] Go.

[fingerprint]

[ He couldn't possibly look like any more of a reluctant, let down animal, desperately seeking to stay by Louise's side because it's the only thing providing him with any security. A stilted look around is about as far as he can go in delaying the process before he sets off, to where others may be providing answers instead of just asking questions.

The snake from before slithers on after him. ]

[bytte]

[From behind Louisa, a small, black cat emerges, tail swishing. It glances at Louise with momentary curiosity and Louisa glances back, before ignoring it completely. All things new are inconvenient, the daemon is no exception. While Teddy is gone, Louisa does some snooping of her own. Discreetly, of course.

She learns mostly what she already knew: her world is ending. The potential to save it lies here. There are a lot of if's and but's, but while Teddy is gone, Louise ducks off to test her magical abilities. She's worked too hard to lose them now.

(here are other things to consider too. What would she want to save? Her house? Dorotheos, with his debt still only partially paid? Her friends, from the Wishgranters Society? Morgan? Funny how a witch careful to remove all attachments has ended up with so many.

When she's mostly satisfied with her own power, though, she seeks Teddy back out. Weaving through crowd of unfamiliar faces, until she sees his. ]

[fingerprint]

[ He's gotten to meet his daemon by now - or at least been confronted by it. This place really didn't want to be subtle in the least: Thingd is its name and it doesn't seem to have gender attached to its name at all. As it should be, one should suppose.

There isn't a lot of progress done between all these strangers, either confused, too eager to help, or retreated into circles of people they knew previously. ]

Louise!

[ Calling out to her as much as he's greeting her, relieved once again. ]

[bytte]

Yes, I can hear you.

[Ever charming, as usual. ]

What did you learn, Teddy? [Straight to the point as usual, too. ]

[fingerprint]

Everyone here isn't from - here. Aside from the creatures. There's some animals that can talk to me.

[ Like the snake still slithering around him. Halp. ]

I think I saw some fairies?

[bytte]

[That little tidbit is surprising. If anyone could avoid the end of all things, Louise would place all her wealth on fairies. And demons. Something to remember; to look into. ]

Go be certain, later. And find what kind of fairy they are.

[The rare, good kind -- the kind that watch over children -- long ago stopped visiting Louise's windows. Her magic, as she's grown, has become too dark. Too rooted in things beyond just the dirty and the natural things of the Earth.

It's not a terrible loss. She isn't a child who needs gentle kindness anymore. ] -- Let's eat. You can tell me about your new serpent friend.

[fingerprint]

Oh, so you found food after all?

[ as though he should just brush aside the whole fairy business. It's not like he knows how to distinguish the kind from the harsh, even when he's interacting with less magical individuals. ]

[bytte]

[how did she end up with a son so obsessed with food??]

Mmm. Come on.

[Somewhere to sit; something to eat with. The latter is easier to conjure than the former. ]