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abraxasooc2021-11-20 05:51 pm
abraxasmods) wrote in abraxasooc2021-11-20 05:51 pm
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TEST DRIVE MEME #4
TEST DRIVE MEME
Welcome to the fourth test drive meme for Abraxas! This meme is run a little bit differently than most in that you'll be asked to choose one of the three different arrival scenarios below for your character to take. If you have any questions about this mechanic or anything else related to the TDM, please take a look at the questions below or ask one of your own under the Questions header below. For general game questions please still use the FAQ.
Our Setting pages are full of information on the world of Abraxas, and an overview of the story so far can be found on our Game History page! Anything on that page - including information about the Horizon and the Singularity - can be assumed to be told to newcomers after they arrive, no matter which faction they are received in. For more information on Ambrose and the apprentice mages, Marlo, and Rowan, please see our NPCs page.
You can also find answers to questions asked on previous TDMs in their respective questions threads— 1, 2 and 3.
Arrival
You awaken suspended in the abyss, silent darkness stretching out in all directions. If you try to yell, you'll find that the sound doesn't carry. If you try to move, you'll find it's impossible to tell whether or not you're actually getting anywhere. If you reach for an item you were carrying last time you remember being awake, your hand will only touch bare skin.
You're naked and floating helplessly through the void, and what little air you have in your lungs is running out.
There's a pinprick of light that almost looks like a faraway star but as it grows it becomes clear that it's actually quite close. Through the opening you can see a bright room, but it's hard to make out any individual objects, as if you're looking from beneath rippling water.
Scenario One: Welcome to Thorne
A hand plunges through and you realize water is just what it is. Whether you take hold of the hand or not it will grab you and yank you up through the surface, lifting you out until you're sprawled on solid ground. Once you catch your breath, you can get a better look at the surroundings: tall trees and even taller stone pillars surround the platform you're laying on. Behind you is an ornate fountain, the base of which is so deep and so dark you might be compelled to scramble away from it lest it suck you back in to that endless abyss. Ahead of you are the walls of a large castle with several tall towers reaching up towards the sky.
If you had any powers, they feel unusually weak. Attempts to use magic or enhanced strength or powers of any sort fizzle out without any effect, but they don't feel completely gone, either.
Set into an indent on a marble slab behind the fountain is a card bearing the image of one of the arcana.
An apprentice mage - the one whose hand lifted you out of the fountain - brushes the water off on their robes and runs back to join a group of three others, who all stare intently at a mage with highly decorated robes and a large, heavy book. He peers up at you for a moment and starts flipping through the book.
"One moment," he says, not bothering to look up from the tome. He looks tired. "I am Ambrose Rhett, the High Mage of the Kingdom of Thorne. We’ll explain everything in a moment, but for now, please calm down. You’re completely fine."
Regardless of your response, he keeps flipping through the pages, until he stops on one specific passage, stares at it for a moment, and then sighs with relief:
"Finally!"
Ambrose's expression brightens, relief visible across his features. He waves one of the apprentices over with a fine silk tunic, pants, and some basic sandals and with a wave of his hand they reshape to fit you perfectly.
"Oh, thank heavens," he says, closing the book and approaching you with a sort of worn-out relief. “I was beginning to believe we’d never get it exactly right.”
Now that he's not hunching over the book, he doesn't seem quite so stuffy and inapproachable. The apprentices all seem to visibly relax, and the one that handed you the tunic stops to take the tarot card down from the marble slab. If you show any curiosity about the card, they'll let you take a longer look, but won't let you touch it.
"Please, come with me," he says, motioning for you to follow him towards the castle. "As promised, my pupils will explain your current situation. And, ah - if you had any magic of your own, or other special abilities you can't access right now, fear not, they'll return within the week. The summoning takes a lot out of you."
One of the apprentices steps forward and rattles on and on about the castle, Thorne itself, the names of a bunch of royals and nobles, and of course, your reason for being here. The Kingdom and the world itself is in great peril, and tales of your exploits have reached far and wide across universes. If asked about these exploits, the apprentice will simply smile and shrug. The High Mage was happy to see you and that's good enough.
Once inside the castle you're taken to the North Wing, which has been set up as living quarters for you and your fellow newcomers. There are four people to a room, but each generously-sized bed has opaque curtains that can be drawn around it. You can meet your roommates here and discuss your shared situation (those who were previously brought in may have a great deal of information to tell you), or you can wander around and meet the others.
There's also a dining hall stocked with a rotating 24/7 buffet in celebration of the new honored guests. Somehow, your very favorite food is part of the rotation (or at least an attempted recreation of it given the limited technology available to the Thorneans). The town surrounding the castle is all abuzz as well, with most shops and services willing to give free samples of their wares to the new arrivals.
You may also notice that your sign is embroidered on your tunic: the same image you saw on the card from before with the name of the sign itself beneath it. If you ask the castle residents, they'll tell you a little bit about your sign (and will mostly stick to the positives, although some might point out the negatives).
Last (and, if you ask anyone else in the castle, least) there is a worn stone staircase leading underground to the dungeon. You can go there, if you wish, but all powers are restricted in the dungeons and most of the cells stand empty.
Scenario Two: Welcome to Cadens
You find yourself pulled from the water by a pair of strong hands. Dry warmth hits you at once as you're set on a warm hard floor. As your senses return you realize you're on dull ruddy stone and surrounded by strangers. Men and women in unfamiliar uniforms of brown and red leather stand in a semi-circle around a small pool of water. The very pool you were just pulled from. The water is still now, rimmed in pale gold tiles with odd symbols etched into them. Across it on the far side is a raised pedestal with a card propped on it. The card bears an arcana symbol.
You feel weak. Drained. Any abilities or magical powers you have seem far away and impossible to access. You're in what looks like a cave lit by dozens and dozens of torches set into the wall. There's no furniture or decoration to be seen besides the pool. It's almost uncomfortably warm and there's the sound of rushing wind somewhere in the distance. Flickering shadows obscure the faces of the guards. A robed woman stands off to the side, looking at you anxiously and then to the authoritative woman standing before you. She's grinning, dressed in a fancier uniform than the others. There's a sword at her hip. A guard covers you with a blanket and returns to their place in the semi-circle.
The woman with the sword gives a nod of approval and smiles warmly.
"Sorry about the circumstances."
She gives you a good hard look before standing again.
"Take a minute, catch your breath, you've had quite a shock. Take it nice and easy. I'm Prime Minister Marlo Reiner and you're in The Free Cities. That nice lady over there will explain everything to you and get you settled." A nod to the robed woman off to the side.
Marlo Reiner steps back and the robed mage approaches to help you up.
"Come with me, please." She brings you out of the cave through a corridor that angles upwards until you emerge in what looks like some kind of storage facility. Shelves of wooden boxes and cloth bags line them, unidentifiable parts of what might be machines are tucked into corners and propped against shelving units. "This is one of the Free Cities' outposts," the mage explains as she leads you. "We're honored to have you with us, I'm sure you have many questions but please save them. You need to recover!"
You'll learn you're in the Cadens Desert Outpost 003, a military outpost on the outskirts of Cadens city. You're brought to a room in the barracks that's been prepared. Each barracks room is rather sparse and utilitarian. Six simple beds set against the wall, three on each side of the room, each with a trunk at the foot of it. You're told the world is in a delicate and dangerous times and you're needed to help. You're important, you're told, and they're very grateful you're here.
You're asked to stay close for the time being, but to make yourself at home. The outpost is more a proper military base than the name implies, with full facilities. The barracks have a communal bathing room at the end of the hall, with curtains that can be pulled around the individual raised round tubs for privacy. There's a mess hall that has food available from sun up till a few hours after sundown. You're even encouraged to make use of the training grounds, if you'd like, with non-lethal training weapons available for use and obstacle courses set up. And the city of Cadens is only a couple of hours away by wagon - though you're asked initially to please be back at the outpost within a few hours of the sun going down.
For your own safety.
Scenario Three: Welcome to Solvunn
The feeling of floating is the first sense that comes to you as the edges of unconsciousness start to ebb. Sunlight filters through the rippling water as you open your eyes, making you squint. Before you have the chance to panic and inhale, firm hands grasp your arms and pull you to the surface of the water. Moments later, soft warmth is wrapped around your shoulders as you're guided on unsteady legs out of a pool of water. You're lowered to the soft grass. Men and women in simple garments with lavish embroidery stand by, waiting with bated breath, glancing seriously at an old man in an ornate robe. He holds an old leather-bound book in one hand and in the other is a card bearing an arcana symbol. His eyes move quickly over the page, and he mumbles idly to himself.
Any strength you may have possessed feels as though it has slipped through your fingers. Any abilities or magical powers you have don't come to the surface no matter how hard you try. You're in a grassy clearing in the midst of a circle of large stone slabs stacked to look like doorways. In the middle is the same glimmering pool you were just pulled from. A gentle breeze blows through, carrying the scent of flowers and herbs from an ornately decorated altar set off in front of one of the stone doorways. The mage closes his book and steps out of the water, addressing a matronly old woman. Behind her are two younger people, a rough-looking man, and a meek young girl, both of whom are also watching the mage.
“I detect no ill will from the gods, it seems we've been blessed with success.” Those that had gathered all breathe a sigh of relief and now seem pleased.
The old woman smiles and steps forward, offering to take your hands and help you stand. “Any gift the gods give us is one we will happily take. I'm certain you have many questions, and they will all be answered in time. For now, rest and know you will be taken care of.”
She pats the top of your hand and steps away with a serene smile, letting one of the others come forward with some clothes that seem to fit you perfectly. The rough-looking man from before steps forward once you're decent and motions with his head outside of the stone circle. His speech is informal, his consonants harsh.
“Hold your horses, I can see all those questions coming about! Rowan March, at your service. I'm one of the council members of Solvunn. There's a lot to discuss, but it's best talked about over a hot meal.” He leads you to a horse-drawn carriage and helps you up into the back. He talks the entire ride to the settlement.
You find out you are in the Primary Settlement, the first of three that make up Solvunn's great territory. The settlement is situated between two lakes and is humming with life. You're brought to the center of town and escorted to an apartment above one of the establishments in town. Rowan explains that the living conditions are temporary if you'd like them to be, that local families would also be happy to host you in their home. That there are others like you who have also taken up residence within the three settlements. You're told that the world hangs upon the brink of disaster and that there are those in this world that are happy to see it fall to ruin with their meddling.
You're important. The gods have graced them with your presence. They're delighted you're here. Welcome to Solvunn.
Everything you need has been provided in this humble apartment, and if it hasn't, there are shops that line the streets and a marketplace in the center of town. Owners of some establishments or stalls are more than happy to give out samples or barter with your time for their goods. Babysitting can be a very lucrative business. You're told of the other settlements, that they'd like you to stay here for now, but if you can find a family to host you, the secondary and tertiary settlements are best to get to with an escort.
There are tales of travelers visiting the secondary settlement without invitation disappearing without a trace. The gods are as hungry as they are protective, young traveler.
You’ll find that there are more than enough activities to throw yourself into to better settle into your new life in Solvunn. Work is done in the first part of the day so that families can spend the rest of it together in leisure and work on their crafts - whatever those may be. For those children who are not of school age, they need nannies or storytellers, and there’s always a gaggle of them running about unsupervised. Families with livestock can always take a spare hand, especially since farms are so spread out, they have a tendency to wander. Whatever skills you may possess can always be of use to the community or to honor the gods.
If any of these options are no good for your lifestyle, the main roads between settlements can always use a bit of monster clean-up… just make sure you don’t go alone.
How many slots are open?
Currently, there are 14 slots open for new players. We will process activity check before opening applications, so we will have a better idea of the exact count then. Existing players can apply for a second character without restriction.
How do I choose a scenario for my character?
Pick whichever situation appeals to you most. Which faction your character is drawn into has nothing to do with their personal morality, beliefs, or how highly they regard themselves and their own accomplishments. Anyone can be put into any one of the situations.
Can I try out more than one scenario?
You can! But please keep in mind that only the one you eventually choose can be game canon, if you decide to keep any of your TDM threads.
What happens if my character refuses to comply with the NPCs?
They will be forgiven for their moment of panic or anger if they have one, and the faction leaders will try to calm them and persuade them further. If they put up too much of a fight and/or start actively attacking anyone, they will be warned once that everyone is willing to put them back in the well where they came from (see below), and if they continue to fight they will make good on that promise.
My character intends on causing a lot of trouble (destroying parts of the cities, murdering the NPCs, etc.), what would happen to them?
Characters who make too much trouble for the mages and other NPCs would be thrown back in the well (which will mean drowning in the void, not returning home). Brawling with other PCs and causing minor damage is fine and will be greeted with a cranky attitude and intervention from various NPC guards, and there will be plenty of opportunity for destruction and murder later, but for now the Abraxans have no desire to keep huge liabilities around.
I want to wildcard a prompt or use one of the prompts from an earlier TDM that isn't on this one (eg. the library), can I do that?
Yes, in terms of the settings. As Thorne is no longer imprisoning any newcomers, that option is no longer applicable.
Is the power loss for characters permanent?
No, but it does take a week or so for their powers to be back in full, and certain powers (determined on a case-by-case basis) may require nerfs. If your character has world-breaking powers, please discuss with the mods what modifications may be necessary.
Can my character leave the bounds of the faction?
In Thorne, characters can leave the castle but not the city. In Cadens, they can take a trip from the outpost to the city. In Solvunn, they can explore the entirety of the Primary Settlement.
Can my character eventually change factions?
Yes. While the faction borders are currently closed, there will opportunities in the future for characters to relocate. For the time being, they are stuck where they are.
How much will my choice of scenario affect my character's plot later on?
This choice will determine where your character initially lives as well as the bias of the information they receive from NPCs (although other PCs can and most likely will give it to them a bit more straight). This decision - and every other major decision you make in game! - will also be used to flavor some mod surprises that will be coming down the line.
Don't get too anxious about this choice, though; this is just one choice you'll get to make in a game that has a lot of them, and every character in every scenario can work their way towards many, many individual goals and outcomes. You're not locking yourself out of anything in the future via the choice you made on the TDM. It will primarily impact the immediate future with the far-reaching effects being up to each player.
Are TDM threads mandatory for my application?
No, you may use other samples, but we encourage you to post to the TDM and get a feel for this game and its mechanics before you join. If you do not have a TDM thread you will still need to choose one of the three scenarios on your application.
What if I haven't settled on a sign yet?
You can ignore sign-related prompts if you're undecided (or try out different signs in different threads).
Can my character go to the Horizon?
First time visitors to the Horizon must be taken there by other characters, through either shared meditation or a physical journey to the Singularity, and all first-timers experience memory loss. For the purposes of the TDM, we suggest against using the Horizon.
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yells HI
He chooses not to sit, remaining on his feet and ignoring the desire to cross his arms.]
No, I don’t. [Have his magical “plaything” present or on his person.] But even if we didn’t arrive completely stripped of everything, it wouldn’t have made a difference. Time Stone’s not been a variable for a while now, Stark.
Can’t just rewind this one away on a whim.
[This whole… everything. A situation he could never have accounted for in the millions upon millions of realities of which he peeked behind the curtains.]
i am sorry that tony is five years old
he flings it at stephen so it splats him directly in the chest. ]
Just wanted to know if you could dodge, I don't really give a damn about whatever else you just said.
[ and tony scoops another chunk of pudding from the bowl, but this time, he eats it, adding with a half full mouth: ]
Don't tell me what to do, Dumbledore.
[ he'll start a food fight if he wants to start a food fight, caped crusader wannabe. ]
god why is he trying to age Stephen by ten years instead
But then a splat!, there’s pudding splayed across his chest, and Stephen has to hold back an intense, bone-deep sigh. Frustration mingles with exasperation, canceling each other out and leaving the sorcerer just standing there with food sliding down his tunic.]
Really.
[Why did he expect anything else. Why would Stark be cooperative in any and all circumstances that have nothing to do with (half of) immediate universal destruction?]
We’ve been displaced from Earth, with no rhyme or reason for you being here, straight into a Medieval Times analog, and you’re throwing pudding around.
bc that's his role in ur life stephen buckle up
You have been displaced from Earth. You.
[ it's a correction with no small amount of bitterness attached, as tony abandons his spoon on an empty plate, dropping the popsicle stick next to it. now is not the time for this conversation. he should drop it, he should walk away. but when has tony stark ever just walked away?
that was the problem, wasn't it. he just didn't know when to quit. ]
I have no Earth to go back to. There is no return-trip, there is no next chapter. So forgive me if I have bigger things on my mind right now than figuring out how to undo someone else's mess. Again.
[ and tony collects a cup of some indiscriminate liquid (apple juice?), takes a sip, and adds: ]
You might want to find a Tide Pen for your magic pajamas, that's going to stain.
no subject
The mood shift might be enough to give a man whiplash, but Stephen nearly experiences relief instead—knowing more about what he’s dealing with tends to have that effect on him—were it not totally strangled by that knotted sensation in his chest. That heaviness he had felt upon approach, now unwinding and waltzing to the forefront just as it was fated to.
It’s hard to get a read on his expression, inching into stolid territory, but he can’t entirely banish the angle of his brow, the thin line of a frown on his features.]
What do you want me to say?
[Because this is— ah, damn, well. This is hard. There is too much to fathom all at once, this man who should not be standing before him, who Stephen finds utterly frustrating — but to whom he owes much, that appreciation itself is utterly unavoidable. And that he feels sorry that Stark must exist now, knowing that there is nothing for him to return to, not in the same way that there is something for Stephen to return to when all is said and done.
And yet all of that pounds against the steel wall of resolution, that there was nothing he would have done differently to have changed it — there was nothing else to be done.
So answer that question for him, Tony, because he honestly does not know what to say, though a few words do make it past the bramble.]
That it was unavoidable? That I’m sorry you’re here with me now? None of this, being here, is my fault, and your anger isn’t going to get us anywhere.
[Hm, probably didn’t nail it.]
no subject
[ it's said with no small amount of frustration, still seated at the table. still holding his stupid, useless cup of apple juice and faced down with a table of food that he's utterly uninterested in eating. ]
It wasn't my fault when Ultron razed Sokovia, it wasn't Steve's fault when he dumped the Avengers on my lap to run away with Barnes, it wasn't Thor's fault he picked dealing with his own damage instead of the rest of the universe -- it's not anyone's fault when people die, and when people lose their lives, because of our own stupidity, and hubris, and selfishness, this isn't my first rodeo.
[ the volume of his voice pitches slightly louder, as he finishes talking, the angry, anxious rambling that tony knows is a product of needing to stop. talk a walk, talk to his therapist, find pepper. none of those things are options, at the moment. so instead of stopping, tony decides to step on a proverbial land mine. ]
Did you know I was going to have a daughter?
no subject
But the man is unspooling. And he thinks, with any luck, this frustration and anger and anxiety might run out of steam and dissipate like smoke, its energy depleted amid a ridiculous banquet, surrounded by strangers, before he creates a scene. If he stands here with pudding running down his front long enough, whatever is brewing will recede and save itself for another time.
Yet Stark punctuates it with a question that might as well knife through the space between them, and a muscle ticks in Stephen’s jaw. The half-second before his reply is telling.]
Do you really want to have this conversation right now?
[And maybe so is the answer.]
no subject
but not just tony. natasha -- natasha, she died because of this, too. and gamora, whoever she was supposed to be. innocent people in a stupid, pointless war.
but part of what stephen thinks is true. the burn of anger is extinguished as soon as it begins. and tony huffs a bitter laugh at stephen's question, almost incredulous at the deflection, before tony rises to his feet, abandoning his cup. ]
She's four, by the way.
[ the twisting of the knife is unnecessary. but tony forces the words out anyway, callous and blunt. ]
Need anything else from me? I'm out of lives and families to sacrifice, so all you've got is my witty sense of humor and abundant self-destructive tendencies.
no subject
Yet he could not account for everything: a summoning ritual that acted as a multiversal kidnapping spree, forcing Stark to exist on impossibly borrowed time. Unfair, asking too much of someone who’s already given everything. And the good doctor is not a complete utilitarian like he’d have many believe, despite how staunchly he stands in the face of Tony’s indignity. The humanitarian in him—that very real part that drew him into a medical profession to start, before it got all muddled up with pride and prestige—blisters at that latched-on jab.
An invisible millstone of guilt, weighed around his neck. Maybe that’s what he wanted to avoid from the start, from the moment he saw him again.]
I’m not here to fight with you. And I’m not here to ask anything of you, either.
[Not yet, anyway. The situation needs to cool off. Stephen needs to understand more about what’s happening.]
But you must’ve been told about the situation when you arrived, same as anyone. You’re just going to ignore everything about the Singularity and what it could mean for this world? For every world out there?
no subject
[ it's said with a sharp inhale through the nose, aimless fidgeting of his fingers against the stupid tunic he was given to wear, and tony takes a few steps forward, his tone shifting abruptly from a tired bitter resignation to a strangled hiss. ]
I don't have magical superpowers, Doc. I don't have super strength or a Hulk or Mjolnir or spiderwebs, I have a brain that clocks in at way more horsepower than the average human being, and it's not working. I can't think.
[ with no small amount of frustration and anger. ]
So if you want me to help you figure out what the fuck is going on in this ripoff Hogwarts, because contrary to popular belief, I do give a shit about whether the universe lives or croaks, I need you -- [ and tony jabs stephen in the chest, right above the pudding mark ] -- to let me wrap my super computer of a brain around the fact that I just roasted myself to death, and then maybe I can figure out a way to get all of us out of this. Again.
[ and tony inhales a deep breath before letting it out in a shuddered exhale, trying to get a grip. ]
Is that satisfactory?
no subject
Is it satisfactory? Stephen’s mind is firing at all cylinders, so no, but admittedly, Stephen is also not fresh off of death’s doorstep. A breather is reasonable, and even he won’t argue otherwise.]
Sure. Give yourself a moment to settle, then.
[Mentally and physically. And finally, Stephen deigns to move, only enough to reach towards the table to swipe a cloth napkin from the spread, and works at banishing excess pudding from his tunic.]
There’s a library here, in the castle. If you need me, and instead of going room to room trying to pin me down, just look there. I’ll be easy enough to find.
soooo glad to see u reserved!! :)
[ it's said absently, the anger dying out as quickly as it came, a flickering flame reduced to embers as he draws in another breath, letting it out through his nose. strange moves, which tony only sort of pays attention to, grabbing a napkin to clean up what mess tony had left.
part of tony realizes that knowing what was going to happen is a heavy burden to bear. and some small part of tony feels horrible, about that. but the overwhelming part of tony is just . . . well, fucking angry. and the anger has to get out somewhere. and, annoying, stephen strange is correct -- now is probably not the place.
too little, too late. ]
I'll find you later.
[ it's a promise, at least. to meet up later. whether or not tony will be useful then, time will tell. but it's a half-hearted, absent attempt to try. ]
likewise!! c:
The pudding’s more of a stain than a blob now, and Stephen tosses the napkin back onto the table.]
Later, then.
[He lingers only briefly before turning to leave — there’s nothing for him here if Stark wants equally nothing to do with him. There’s too much to unravel to bother with eating just yet.
But Stephen, being himself, leaves him some advice on the way out, whether or not it’s needed.]
Be careful until we know what we’re up against.
[Translation: stay out of trouble.]
no subject
it's as good an agreement as any, as tony leaves the dining hall, aimlessly shifting his way through people checking out the food, not really paying attention to where he's going.
there's little point in being careful when you're already dead, though he has little interest in going through it again.
it can't be worse than thanos, right? ]