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

[vexy]

Charles, darling! [ Vex let out a loud gasp of pleased surprise to see the one sane member of Rosie's family. Who, by the way, was now the equivalent of chopped liver as all of his attention went to her feline companion.

He held out both of his hands to him by way of greeting, so the precious fellow could get used to his scent all over again. He still smelled like he was claimed by a panther so anyone from the animal kingdom, though Vex didn't think about it since he couldn't smell it himself. ]

How is my beautiful young man, eh? You handsome devil, no measly apocalypse is going to get you, issit? If you can survive this lot you can survive anything, yeah? Such a clever boy. [ Maybe he was laying it on a bit thick to try and annoy Rosie, or maybe he was just missed having a real cat around the house. ]

[hasitsthorns]

[ The blond quirks an eyebrow as she takes a swig of wine. Charlie, meanwhile, purrs delightedly at the attention. He'll give a louder meow now of obvious satisfaction and nuzzle all over Vex's hands. While the man does smell of another cat, it's not about to deter the Somali any time soon. Charlie always was a cuddle bug... Poor Rose practically starved him of the affection he desired. (This is a lie, Rose dotes on him like no one's business when she's alone with him.)

From the door, she can hear some of her dogs whine. They want to be loved too! She'll probably go sit by them in a little bit if they're really not allowed into the house. ]

I'll have to schedule regular visits at this rate, [ she finally comments. It's a shame this wine won't actually do enough for her to make any difference, but it's the thought that counts she supposes. Hm. ] Not that I wasn't already planning on regular visits, actually, since you got this sweet beach front property.

[vexy]

[ It looks like Charlie still liked him, and as such he earned himself many Vex pets and scritches behind his ears while the dark fae cooed over him. ] Oh yes, so clever. So handsome. I'd elope with you 'n steal you from the mutts if I wasn't already taken. Ah well, c'est la vie.

[ Meanwhile the daemon continued to stare at the dogs, then hopped out the window to bat at one playfully before running away- likely an attempt to get the crew to chase it for a game of tag. Vex ignored whatever was happening outside and instead spoke to Rosie as he continued to dote on Charlie. ]

Had to toss out a couple o' squatters to get it, too. They honestly thought 'finders keepers' was legitimate enough to keep me from making them take a long walk. People need to grow up quick around here if they wanna survive.

[hasitsthorns]

[ Pppprrrrrr says Charlie in response. Clearly, he is content with the way that things are unfolding. He might not understand a word that Vex is saying but he can understand that affectionate tone.

One of the huskies barks at the cat who pawed at him, tail going like a motor. He crouches front legs down and watches the cat intently looking almost ready to pounce himself. The other dogs start to stir. It seems like this energy is contagious. ]

'Finders keepers' is totally a legit strategy. S'what I'm planning to do with whatever house I find. Think I'll be living more inland though. [ Such a large body of water is just asking for anxiety. Anxiety breeds nightmares, too, and if Van and her are going to be living together well... That's something she'd rather have a handle on than not. ]