Zhautas (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
zhautasmods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
sexyspace2018-06-25 07:10 am
zhautasmods) wrote in sexyspace2018-06-25 07:10 am
Entry tags:
TEST DRIVE MEME #2
Awakening
The multiverse is sick. It’s dying. And it’s up to you to save it. Or, at least, that’s what the Zenith Corporation had told you when they announced their search for a cure across the multiverse. They hand-picked individuals to be "volunteers" for the next stage of experimentation. Maybe they made it sound dire, maybe you already had your mind set to help, or maybe the specifics of how you could help was vague. Considering the alternative was wasting away on your home planet with no promise of when this cure might actually come to fruition, it ultimately wasn’t much of a choice either way.
Everything comes to life the more awake that you start to feel. "Good morning, volunteer," sounds a synthetic, feminine voice in your ear. That must be one of the fancy features they advertised about the chip that was injected just beneath your skin. A projected HUD above your torso displays and scrolls through several readings about the state of your being. "A scan of your vital signs show that everything is functioning as normal." There’s a small pause. "Wait-" The spike of alarm that should follow that single, distressed-sounding word is accompanied by a light chime. "Emotional responses are still accurate, too. Thank you for your cooperation!" Without any further explanation or allowing for protest, she continues on. "I hope you enjoyed your nap! We’ll be descending to planet #05031941 - common name designated as Zhautas - in approximately three hours. There will be a brief orientation for all volunteers exactly one hour before landing. Due to potential unnatural stress levels upon awakening from stasis, I suggest a relaxing trip to the garden beforehand."
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.
My name is R.O.S.I.E. and, on behalf of all of us at the Zenith Corporation, we’re happy to have you aboard.
Code CreditMy name is R.O.S.I.E. and, on behalf of all of us at the Zenith Corporation, we’re happy to have you aboard.
Say Aloe (Prospective Players Only)
Red lights lead the way to the gym, green will be your path to the gardens, ostignuh is- Wait, what do you mean the color ostignuh is burning your eyes? Huh. They must have over-corrected for your species. Oh, well. They’ll fix that for the next trip. For now, don’t worry about it. It probably didn’t lead to anything important anyway!
- The staff is much more attentive this time than they were with the first wave of volunteers. Poor feedback and the threat of losing their jobs if they don't improve their standing will do that! Unfortunately, it isn't just the colors that have been over-corrected. Despite how many times you tell the very helpful staff member that you're fine, they won't leave you alone. Are you sure? They can walk with you if you'd like. They can even hold your hand if you're overwhelmed! If there's anything you need, they're here for you.
Maybe if you find a buddy to walk you to your destination they might divert their attention to a different volunteer. The buddy system is pretty fool-proof, after all. - As you draw closer to the gardens, the lights in the hallway begin to dim. In fact, the only available source of illumination for a small distance is the thin green line across the floor guiding your way. Careful not to trip! There's handy railing to hold onto or maybe you accidentally grab the arm of that (hopefully) cute person nearby. It's kind of hard to tell and green isn't really a flattering color anyway.
Suddenly, you're stepping into a wide open space of twilight. Iridescent flowers dot the landscape for as far as the eye can see. They come in all different shapes, sizes, and glow softly in this simulated night-scape. Trees of shining magenta leaves and blue bark wind up to the stars. Or, at least, the viewing panels that allow the stars to be seen from inside the ship. Not to worry, it's entirely safe and beautiful!
The featured flower of this month is the Nykt Blossom. Be warned, however, that inhaling its pollen causes increased levels of oxytocin. This will cause you to feel compelled to bond socially with others. That is, you might find yourself a lot more friendly than usual! Maybe a little too friendly, even, if you're especially susceptible to its effects. - It's very easy to miss the warning signs in this dark as you step into the section of the garden that houses the more alien plant-life.
They'll fix that for the future, of course, but for now many volunteers are likely finding themselves subject to the same unfortunate circumstances. Coitendrils are in abundance here; they're a pretty touchy feely species.
It's a plant that thrives in warm conditions and grows at an incredibly fast rate to seek out these cozy spots. As it turns out, your body warmth is the highest temperature around and exactly what it's looking for.
Before you know it, long green tendrils are suddenly growing around your arms or legs in speedy spirals. They get everywhere in a matter of mere seconds. Their growth is aggressive, finding ways beneath the fabric of whatever clothes you happen to be wearing and to the skin below. The only way to reverse their growing hold is to cool yourself off and fast. Maybe someone can grab you some ice?
Orientation (Prospective Players Only)
Around an hour before landing, an announcement is made to everyone aboard the ship. It’s time to find your way to the amphitheater for orientation. If anyone gripes, they are reminded that it has mandatory safety information that the Zenith Corporation is legally required to cover. In fact, there's even a quiz at the end to make sure you understand all the technical ins and outs! The Zenith Corporation only has your best interests at heart. They also can’t afford another lawsuit or PR nightmare but who can, really? It’s only a half an hour long and R.O.S.I.E. reassures everyone that it will go by faster than they think.
- Are you way too cool for school? If you try to play hookey, the crew members of the spaceship are already on guard. You're not the first one to try this and they doubt you'll be the last. Try as you might to super sleuth your way around, there’ll be someone at apparently every single turn and twist you try.
It’s also very likely that in scrambling to find a place to hide you’ll run into someone else breaking the rules! Perhaps great minds think alike and you decide to try to defy the system together. Or maybe they’re totally just getting in your way and you decide instead to throw them to the wolves to give yourself a better chance at escaping certain boredom that is an informational seminar. The choice is yours, volunteer! - Whether you come to the orientation willingly or are dragged in by one of the staff, you’ll quickly realize just how bad R.O.S.I.E. lied. A half an hour feels almost like ten hours instead. The last time you checked your watch, it was somehow later than when you check it now. Is time going backward? It sure seems like it the longer you listen to the monotone voice read over colored flavor text clearly meant to engage but missing its mark stupendously. Even the motivation of a quiz at the end that needs to be passed in order to disembark seems to do little to nothing for your dwindling attention span.
Finally, there’s a break in the bureaucratic monotony. The faceless, droning voice introduces one of the staff currently on Zhautas, Jeneviere. He's assistant to the head scientist, Professor Quintalian, and freshly assigned overseer of new volunteers. He also looks like he absolutely doesn't want to be the one doing this seminar.
"Come now, Jenny," says a masculine voice off screen. "You promised."
"I know what I said," he snaps, glaring off camera and not seeming to care much for the fact this is a live feed nor that these new volunteers are expecting something a bit more professional.
"Then what's the problem?" the voice asks again. As it does, a tentacle wiggles into view and gives a reassuring pat on the deerman's shoulder. "I know for a fact that you like being filmed, Jenny, so really this shouldn't be so daunting-"
As he speaks, Jeneviere's cheeks suddenly burn red hot. He stands forcefully out of his chair and uses one of those hoofs to kick harshly at the source of the tentacles. There's a very undignified squawk at the attack before the video feed cuts out and a technical difficulties sign is displayed.
"... Right," the narrator from before says to break the undeniably awkward silence. "Just give us a moment, volunteers, and we'll get a pre-recorded seminar ready for you instead. In the meantime, let's open up communications with the facility and allow you to discuss with those already on the planet about what they've enjoyed most about their time on Zhautas so far?*
- Hopefully, you didn't forget about the quiz! The staff certainly didn't. After the pre-recorded seminar is run, papers are handed out. A quiet shuffle carries through the room as people pass them to and fro down the aisles. It all seems rather arbitrary and tedious but remember! You have to pass in order to disembark.
It isn't too hard. Or maybe it is. Perhaps it's just the pressure that you only have fifteen minutes to complete it. What was the professor's first name again? How many research facilities are there on the planet? Staff are scrutinizing your every move now, it feels like. Do you take the risk and try to whisper for help to the person next to you? Pass notes? Do what you must to succeed! ...Or you can just shamefully take the quiz again and again and again until they're legally obligated to let you off board. - Hopefully, you didn't forget about the quiz! The staff certainly didn't. After the pre-recorded seminar is run, papers are handed out. A quiet shuffle carries through the room as people pass them to and fro down the aisles. It all seems rather arbitrary and tedious but remember! You have to pass in order to disembark.
Welcome to Zhautas! (All Players)
Finally, it's time to disembark at the research facility. This time they have the right coordinates so it's as easy as stepping off the ship and to your new home away from home. Or, at least, it should have been that easy...
There's an awful lot of construction going on around here. Several beings with hard hats, power tools, and ridiculous amounts of glue are rushing about. They're shouting orders and saying "excuse me" where they remember to. Still, it can be hard to get a word in edgewise about the fact that you're new volunteers here to check-in. In addition to the construction, there's also an awful lot of important-seeming people walking throughout the facility as well that staff are far more attentive to than you.
In short, it's borderline chaos as you try to get your bearings.
- "Bad news, new volunteers," says R.O.S.I.E. in the midst of all the commotion. "We have your housing assignments but there have been some... technical difficulties in preparing the new rooms." There's actually been a lot of technical difficulties, period. Maybe you've already noticed with the lights randomly changing color or dimness, the vending machine that launched your drink at you, or R.O.S.I.E. herself glitching out periodically when responding. The problem with the rooms is that the doors won't open. Or they won't stay closed. Or that they open and close constantly and forcefully so it's a safety hazard. As if everything else going on with all the construction isn't.
"We're working on it as fast as we can, but for now, we've set up a temporary sleeping situation until its resolved." Everyone will be directed to one of the larger common rooms in the east wing of the facility while the rest of the volunteers are still awaiting their new housing as promised.
Mattresses are laid out in rows on the floor. There's plenty of blankets, pillows, and even some LED lights strung around the room to provide some nice ambience.
Additionally, there's a screen covering one of the walls for a movie to be projected on before bed. R.O.S.I.E. has chosen a thematically appropriate film that was approved by Professor Quintalian himself. Snacks are provided too! It's an old-fashioned sleepover, volunteers. Make a blanket fort, enjoy what's on for your viewing pleasure, and have - most of all - have fun. - What's a sleepover without scary stories? Flashlights have been provided and it's time to get spooky. Here's your chance to share that real thriller that you know from back home. Maybe another world has a similar tale! Either way, there's nothing like bonding over a little healthy fear. Right?
Or maybe terrifying strangers isn't your idea of a good time and you'd rather make shadow puppets instead. That's also an option! In fact, some people are trying to start a contest out of it to see who can cast the most creative shadows around. - The night staff comes around for one last security sweep. Get some sleep, they say. It's been a long day. Tomorrow might be even longer if they still can't figure out the rooms or where to put all these new volunteers for the time being.
As nice as that sounds, it's a little easier said than done. Whether it's the construction noise, the person next to you snoring, or late night existential thoughts it's difficult for sleep to find you. Maybe talking to someone might help? Or maybe you just need to go to the bathroom. Good luck crossing the swath of bodies, in the case of the latter, and who knows! You might find someone else having as much trouble sleeping as you that you can commiserate with.
Or maybe you're the one snoring. Do you happen to kick in your sleep? How unfortunate for the person assigned to the mat next to you. They might be courteous or they might tell you just how obnoxious it is. Whatever the case might actually be, you're likely in for a long first night here at the research facility.
Network/Bangr (All Players)
During all the goings-on, R.O.S.I.E. will prompt you to set up your presence on the network. Pick a username, a profile picture, and commence to shitposting immediately if you so desire! Additionally, if you want to get a headstart on your contribution to the volunteer program, why not set up your Bangr? R.O.S.I.E. even has an icebreaker question ready for you! They change every month. This month's question is:
(*Despite what you might actually put, know that R.O.S.I.E. is a little glitchy. What you wrote might not actually be what's displayed! I.E., you can totally use this as a misfire type deal in case your character wouldn't answer this question.)
bangr
Professor Quintalian | 35
Wake-up sex is the best, in my opinion. Hormones are more haywire first thing in the morning; it's just scientific sense to get your bang in during wake-up time.
| ✓ | ✕ |
| YES |
NO |
Extra Notes
- The BANGR code only works in comments, there is a separate code for entries!
If you're testing this code before posting it here please do so in a comment to an entry for accuracy! - TDM top levels are allowed for current characters and/or new characters!
However, current characters can ONLY interact with the following prompts:
WELCOME TO ZHAUTAS where new characters are on the planet AND/OR the network options available if they want the thread to be considered game canon.
no subject
[She realizes that this man knows nothing of the history of her lands, but hopefully “slave-master” would give enough context to what she was trying to do back home. And in remembering the siege, she thinks of poor Ser Barristan, one of her most loyal. Daario Naaharis, whom she had left behind to sail to Westeros.]
They stole much from me.
[But now they were gone, she hoped. That was the problem with them, really. It wasn’t just slave-masters, but commonfolk and nobles too. If at any point, Meereen was unhappy, the Soms of the Harpy had an opportunity to reemerge.]
no subject
You survived it though. Not everyone manages that.
[Survival is sometimes the most challenging part. Bull relaxes, leaning against the wall at his back. He fumbles a bit with the flashlight before - oh, that's how it works - a click of the button flickers it off.]
And now you're here, saving the multiverse. Whatever that's supposed to be. Through sex. Kinda a weird solution if you ask me.
no subject
[She's happy to move on from that talk, tucking her legs to the side of her and folding her hands over her lap as she once again regards the large man beside her. She, too, watches him mess with the flashlight with some obvious curiosity.]
I have not yet paid witness to those miracles, but I have seen other things here that leads me to believe they are telling the truth.
[She didn't really want to see someone die disease. It was unpleasant, let alone on as large of a scale as they were made to believe. And then there was the fact that she was surrounded by aliens, and technology and -- whatever Bull was. She sucks backward on her teeth thoughtfully before:]
May I ask a forward question of you?
[She leans in some, to make it clear that she's trying to be respectful.]
What do you call your people? I have never seen anything like you before.
no subject
Nah, it's fine. You're not the first to ask. I've noticed this place is mostly full of humans, rather than people like me. And not everyone even comes from a world with non-humans.
[So it's not shocking his appearance would summon that curiosity.]
We're called Qunari. Usually got the skin color and horns like me, but not always. And you can technically be Qunari without belonging to the race, but we'd call you something else. Viddathari.
no subject
[She absorbs that and nods along, sparing him a light smile when he points out that she is human. She is, of course, but it is hard not to be charmed by someone pointing it out.]
We have a great many non-human creatures, from where I hail. But they rarely walk on two legs and speak the common tongue.
[Even the most sentient of creatures that were not human did not speak. Her dragons communicated in their own way, but she wasn't sure what she would have done if Drogon abruptly started speaking one day.]
no subject
[This time, his grin is cheeky.]
What kind of creatures do you have? Any big and scary ones?
[Those happen to be his favorite.]
no subject
[She returns his cheeky smile, though there is some grace in the way she does so. She wasn't much of a braggart unless she needed to be -- this wasn't that sort of conversation. She wasn't looking to claim territory or bannermen, she was just trying to get to know this...very large alien.
But he asked the question, and so he will get the answer.]
I find that most people find dragons to fit that description.
no subject
You've got dragons too? Big, angry, fire-breathing beasts with scaly underbellies and those wickedly sharp claws?
[There's a gleam of interest in his eye, leaning in to study the young woman and bridging some of the distance between their heights. Even seated, it is noticeable gap.]
no subject
[Though she wears a fond smile, the one a mother might wear when speaking of her children, there is something sad in the way she gives him the information.]
They have been hunted to extinction, much like the direwolves in the north.
no subject
[That specific word, 'have', in this context seems to imply ownership. Bull has a difficult moment digesting the concept, if that is true.]
How? Do they not attack you? Never seen one that didn't want to kill literally everything around it. The biggest females, especially, to protect their brood.
no subject
I did not say they were not fearsome. I am their mother, and they my children.
[She is very clearly not a dragon, so before Bull can question that, she goes on to explain.]
Their eggs were gifted to me many years ago, believed to be stone. I hatched and raised them. My family has something of a connection to their kind. It is the sigil of my house.
[She nods to the three-headed dragon pin at her shoulder.]
But it is as I said: a dragon knows their allies, and their enemies. So long as you did not seek to harm them or those they care for, they would not do you harm in turn. I could not promise the same for your dragons...but that is how I have come to know my own.
no subject
You. Have dragons. They're your children. [Emphasis on each of those words.] You hatched them and they know who you are. They fight for you?
[A guess, but it would logically follow.]
That is the most badass thing I've ever heard. And I've heard a lot of badass shit.
[Bull can see it now. This tiny slip of a woman with three massive clawed, winged dragons scaring away all of her enemies. Quite a picture.]
... Damn. Wish you could've brought them with you. [Though he's not even sure what his own reaction would be around a dragon that didn't immediately want to rip off his limbs and swing them around.] Qunari revere dragons, you know. We call them Ataashi, or "glorious ones."
no subject
It softens her heart more than she cares to admit. The smile he gets for that is fond, genuine, and makes her look more her age. Young, and hopeful.]
You flatter me.
[Its all she can think of to say in response, at first. But then, he gets to the root of her sorrow -- as fearsome and magnificent as they are, they are back in Westeros while she is here. Her smile sobers some as she nods in agreement.]
Yes. I miss them terribly.
[That was probably normal. A mother being away from her children. Fortunately, Bull tells her more of his people, and she is captivated again.]
Have your people named them? Your Ataashi.
[Her pronunciation is, perhaps surprisingly, quite good. Qunlat was not so far off from High Valyrian, as it turned out.]
no subject
Up to this point, he's spoken of the Qunari as his people without the confusion of the Tal-Vashoth. They aren't technically his people anymore, but these are the easiest ways to answer the questions, so he goes with it for now.
And perhaps the distinction is still hard to make. Even after so much time.]
Not really. We give them names, but they're not like people names. Sandy Howler, Northern Hunter... that kind of thing. Usually it matters where they are, their territory.
The last one I saw was named Ataashi itself. [His expression turns grim. This had been recent.] The Qunari were using the dragon's venom to make explosives. We freed it, but not before it almost burned our socks off. Can't blame it.
no subject
At least, she thought so.
She is distracted from her amusement when Bull tells her of Ataashi. It drains from her face almost instantly, and her momentary sorrow passes like a shadow, replaced by cold fury.]
...good. I am glad they were able to flee with your help. I suppose that is what happens when dragons are plentiful.
[She could not even imagine such a thing occurring in Westeros but only because nobody was ever able to get close to dragons if they did not respect them. How very sad for these other dragons.
She exhales some of her anger and tries to go back to the lighthearted portion of what they had been discussing.]
Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal. Those are the names of my dragons.