The world has shifted. Or maybe you’ve shifted? Either way, things have changed, and it’s going to be quite a while before you see them change back again.
BASICSYou were going about your business as usual until the world went white around you, and went the fog cleared: Oska. You’ve arrived in a snag of reality between worlds, the full extent of which can be read about here. But in essence, you’ve arrived in a grand, magical, almost empty castle. Outside the castle is an empty, long-abandoned village, partially in ruin. Past that, the world simply fades out into white mist. Your best bet is probably to stick to the castle and its grounds.
Suits of armor patrol the quiet hallways, but good luck getting them to speak or answer any questions. There’s absolutely nothing inside them, they move under their own power. They don’t talk, but they also go out of their way not to hurt you. You can even attack one, it will just patiently wait for you to give up and leave. If, however, you ask one for directions, it will dutifully turn and lead the way to wherever you’ve requested.
Librarians lurk in the halls of the enormous, well-stocked library, in which you can find nearly any book from nearly any world. The librarians are tall, wide, and very muscular, but they’re also not out to hurt you. Provided you play nice, of course. The usual rules apply: be respectful of the books, keep your voice lowered, and never bring any source of flame into the library. That last one might make the librarians reconsider their nonviolent natures.
Outside, there's a greenhouse with every type of flora you can imagine (and more, since they're from all over the universe) — be careful, though, because not all of them are friendly. If you'd like to take a dip, you can check out the lake; just be friendly to the fish. You can catch sight of almost any animal you'd like in the stables, real-world or fantasy. Most of them have been tamed, and won't do any real harm. However, some of them can be a bit testy. Stay away from the unicorns unless you have perfect manners — they hate impoliteness.
Current characters in game can assume that the Timeline glitched and sent them temporarily back to Oska. You are welcome to take any threads that happen here as game canon, should both parties arrive in game. Threads done here by prospective players may be used as application samples, and threads done by current players may be used as Bonus AC.
PROMPTSONE ✗ THE KITCHEN
The kitchen is always stocked with food, freshly cooked and ready to be eaten — although there was no one to do the cooking, and it might just be you to do the eating. That doesn’t seem to discourage the kitchen in the slightest, which is constantly churning out new, fresh courses. Some of them are more innocent than others today.
That tart you just ate? It was harpfruit, native to Cendiares, and has a pesky side effect of making the eater blurt out everything that pops into their head. The completely average-looking salad actually has flakes of Raphian wildflowers, which cause a bit of dancing fever — it isn't contagious, but it does make the sufferer want to dance with everyone they can. The choices and effects are endless and up to you, and don't worry; ALASTAIR is working on getting the kitchen under control as we speak.
TWO ✗ THE TRAINING CENTER
Maybe you find your way into the Training Center. A lot of work went into setting this room up, and it can construct nearly any scenario that you can imagine. All it takes to activate this room, still and featureless until it comes to life, is the brush of a finger against one of the glowing pads on the wall. The magitek will take it from there.
Just envision the setting and any enemies you’d like to train against, and they’ll instantly materialize. Would you rather go sightseeing, without worrying about a fight? No problem! The room is eager to provide you with a sparring partner, but it can be convinced to hold off -- just don’t think of getting into any fights. The Training Center also offers any games you can think of: soccer, basketball, literal freeze tag, etc. Every supply you need will be simulated for you.
Additionally, the following scenarios are also preloaded into the system for user convenience, each coming with a small summary of mission objectives:
ANWICK: A ruined little village with a massive, dead dragon skewered in the center of it. The goal is to protect her young in a nearby cave. The terrain is treacherous, the wyrmlings are squirmy and unhelpful, and the townsfolk are furious. But for good reason -- it seems dragons have been plaguing them for decades. Even the simulation’s enemies are programmed to say as much, and will do their best to convince you to their side.
CHANTES: Chantes, the previous mission world, is a typical medieval town cloaked in darkness and surrounded by a winding forest. It comes in two default flavors and difficulty settings. Fairies are the easier enemy; the objective is to collect three jars of unpleasant, glowing sap from their nests without getting your eyes poked out. The fairy goop can also cause disturbances with magical powers, unwanted levitation, and unfortunate cosmetic effects.
Demons are the more difficult setting. The task is to clear ominous runes off of various town structures, but when approached, each one releases a red, misty spirit. It will fight tooth and nail to protect its ‘home,’ but is largely invulnerable short of destroying its rune. To prevent this, it may resort to spells, violence, and possessing someone else in the simulation -- consider this a lesson in PvP. (NOTE: You’re also welcome to use anything from the previous events from Chantes as well.)
OSKA TRAINING: The goal in this simulation is simple: outlast the timer. It’s exactly the same castle, but after it’s been pelted by a firestorm, architecture ruined to rubble and ash. Navigating the half-destroyed castle is hard enough, and the earthquakes and fireballs raining from the sky will continue until characters survive for a certain amount of time (from an hour to a day) or find a full bushel’s worth of food. And just to rub salt in the wound, all the dirt, grime, and mud in this simulation will last outside of it, so you might need a shower after.
NALAWI: An island nation populated by diminutive deer people. The first setting is a mini version of the Gilligan's Island event -- it's less action-packed and more focused on survival. Marooned on the drowned island of Dakal, it's up to you to figure out where to find food and shelter. You might also want to avoid the hungry sea creatures that have made their way up on the island, too.
The second setting involves lava monsters erupting out of Nalalona, the largest volcano on the Nalawi islands. Lava imps will do their best to hypnotize recruits into following them back into the volcano, and can be defeated the normal way or non-violently lured into the water. Next comes the fire golems, hulking but fast. Their weak spot is their glowing core, but it will require some cleverness to reach. (NOTE: You're welcome to use any scenarios based on other Nalawi events as well!)
THREE ✗ HOT SPRINGS EPISODEOne of ALASTAIR's teams extracted an enormous, very hot core from a sentient and murderous AI. What better way to put it to use than to heat up the springs? It's a nice place to get some much needed R&R or just hang out. Some enterprising recruits have built wooden decks and stairs around and through the whole affair. It's a little bit of a hike to get there from the castle, but anyone who has visited can agree: it's worth it.
FOUR ✗ THE NETWORKThere is some good news, along with all these bizarre and fantastical new sights: you’ve arrived with a new piece of jewelry which, if examined, gives you access to anyone else that might be currently inhabiting Oska. You can speak into the jewelry and be heard, you can get it to project moving images of yourself and others, you can even think a message into it and have it arrive as written word to whoever you’re communicating with. It’s a useful little trinket, provided you can get it to work.
FIVE ✗ CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTUREYou are free to use any of these settings, or anything from the
Settings Page. You may use any virtually created setting you can think of in the Training Center, even scenes from your character’s world (although they’ll be devoid of people, unless they’re brought in as opponents).
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thirstology2016-06-26 09:15 pm
kitchens (still zooms in on this but i changed my mind)
He could never truly forget about her, of course. It was not as if the Force-sensitive were still freely roaming about the galaxy. To public knowledge, he was the last there was and would ever be. She is no more than a satistic, and likely a bloodstain on the ground should she not see the futility of her resistence against him.
Whomever she had been speaking to had been quickly yanked out of the doorway once her voice had registered. And he stands there, helmetless and scarless to blink almost impassively at her. His lightsaber stays clipped to his belt. After all, FN-2187 and Poe Dameron had already joined them once. It was only a matter of time before she arrived as well.
And the circumstances between them all had not changed -- just the playing field.]
Most likely.
casually greets u with violence hello
You.
[ Here, in the last place she could fathom meeting him, Han Solo's murderer behaving for all to see as if he held some considerable position in Oska with ALASTAIR, throwing other recruits around with the Force without consideration for who might stop him. Here, on a base full of heroes.
Without a lightsaber to reach for, Rey grabbed for the quarterstaff that waited at the end of the counter—as interested as she was in interrogating how he could come to be here, she was more interested in revenge, particularly while under the assumption that the same callous act he'd used to dispose of Lance might readily be used against her all too soon. ]
UvU(\
Foolish.
[Barely restrained anger held tightly behind his teeth causes him to hiss the word. She hasn't earned his distance from her, so he does not give it. He approaches purposefully. The hatred, the lust for revenge...he had not felt the Force thrum so fiercely.
It might be welcome, under different circumstances. He knows the Force is weaker in Oska -- he will not be able to hold her for long if she remembers the power sleeping within her.]
What will you do, scavenger? You must know by now that you cannot face me anymore than you can run from me.
next up: braiding friendship bracelets
With all the grace and composure of a muzzled dog, Rey thrashed, snapping back at him with a snarl baring her teeth, ] I'll kill you.
[ For Han, for Finn, she could do that. It didn't matter that he undermined and doubted that she could; Rey knew she had that in her. She had flinched away from it on Starkiller Base, spared the decision by the splitting earth, but looking at him now there's no doubt in her mind that she could given half the chance.
The more rational part of her mind reasoned that General Organa would not want that, for it wasn't a mission of revenge to hunt down the First Order that Rey had been sent on, but a peaceable one to seek out Luke, but measured reason had no place in the instinctive rage that boiled to the surface upon seeing him again. He shouldn't have made it off the base. He should have died there, consumed by the weapon he was responsible for.
Controlling her anger, letting the venom that she spat at him simmer down would prove the only way to extricate herself from this, experience told her as much, but it was a task easier said than done, particularly under the implicit threat of his advance. ]
he's been waiting for this day for a long time
Admirable. But you will not.
[It almost sounds like an attempt to placate her. He doesn't need the Force to tell him what will happen when he releases her. If there was one thing he could say about the organization that had brought them both there, it was that he valued their dedication to Order. It was hardly as staunch as the First Order's own commitment but--it was something.]
Aside from the fact that you would not win a fight against me, ALASTAIR will not permit you to cause discord among their ranks. You will not kill me any sooner than I will kill you.
[While she digests that, he slowly drops his hold.]
Do not run, or I will do it again. And I will not be as merciful the second time.
but has he considered a.) getting a life, b.) a hobby, c.) not
ALASTAIR would not permit it, would stop the both of them from killing one another. But ALASTAIR was not here now, none of their leaders watching or threatening—it was just them. How could ALASTAIR save him? More interesting than her doubts, she realized that it had at the very least been sufficient to muzzle him—and given Kylo Ren's predilection for controlling others, it must have taken a great deal to control him.
Her gaze narrowed. ]
And you're obeying them?
[ Doubt lingered in her voice for she still could not shake the feeling that she was being set up, that once her guard was down, something worse would come crashing in. There was no point in it, though, beyond the potential for sadistic entertainment. ]
look the friendship braclets would compliment all of that black really well
[The fact that she doesn't react immediately is encouraging enough that he takes his hand off of his lightsaber hilt and leaves his arms to hang stiffly at his sides. She isn't wrong -- there is only one person in the whole of the galaxy that he answers to, and he was not there. Some piece of him recognises that he should not be allowing this girl to walk unfettered in face of what the Supreme Leader had asked of him --
But he already had his own agenda in that regard. So perhaps Snoke's leash was not as tight as once imagined. The other piece of him feels a vague churning in his gut that he can't put a name to -- the same churn that game when he spotted Anakin and his lightsaber. Either ALASTAIR was torturing him, or they were trying to tell him something.]
Their requests cause me no inconvenience. That has always been the goal of the First Order -- order.
[Using wildly different methods but -- potato, potato.
And he has nowhere to go. And he has a duty to ensure that Anakin remains in the path to become Darth Vader. For that, he'll do whatever they ask of him.]
i mean that sounds fake but ... no that just sounds fake
From her point of view, the only goal the First Order had was devastation and domination, far at odds with the peaceful intervention and exit that ALASTAIR touted. That meant she was either wrong about the First Order, or wrong about ALASTAIR. The first possibility, her pride refused to allow her to believe, and the other terrified her. Perhaps she would need to be more cautious in the ease with which she settled in here, if it were the sort of organization that courted the Dark Side with so little chafing. ]
They're saving these worlds. Helping them. The First Order would have conquered them, and if they failed to do that, you'd have watched them burn.
[ She snatched up her quarterstaff—not to lunge at him with it, despite how direly she wanted to, but rather for the same reasons a child might snatch up a security blanket. It made her feel better to be armed, made her feel like she was not tolerating his presence so much as suffering it. ]
You said they won't permit discord in their ranks. What do you mean by that? What would they do about it? [ filed under: things that weren't in the training video. ]
so little faith kouhai.....
His eyes drop to her staff, but he makes no move to further arm himself. He has sufficiently made his point.]
I've no cause to find out. So I have not.
[Pointedly, he tips his chin down to look at her more intensely, almost daring her to act.]
But if you wish so strongly to sate your curiosity...by all means.
#notmysenpai
The condescension both tempted her and stayed her hand. Her grip on the staff tightened, but she otherwise remained a statue before him, stubbornness tilting her chin up as if defiantly trying to convey that any choice she made was her own, not a result of his maneuvering. ]
You could be lying, too afraid to fight me again. [ The only thing she could have gained from such a claim was to goad him in turn, see if she could push him beyond the limits of restraint, and yet it tumbled out of her mouth all the same. ]
#soon™
I would hardly call your pitiful attempts with that outdated blaster a fight, scavenger.
[She has a name -- he knows she does. He has forgotten it, amidst the mix of memories that are his and her's and Poe Dameron's. What he has not forgotten is what one of the first things FN-2187 had accused him of when he was still among them. That he had succeeded in killing Han Solo. Perhaps she had also come from that future.
Good. Let Han Solo plague no others with his false promises and ignorance.]
That said. Fear does not factor into how I would regard you.
no subject
You … You don't remember. [ Awed as she sounded by it, Rey also felt a distinct feeling of dread well up. If she was the only person who remembered it, had it really happened? She'd suffered the delusive fever dreams of heat exhaustion before, on Jakku, and was well acquainted with the possibility of reality not being quite what it felt, but no.
She knew she had held Luke's saber in her hand, felled Ren, narrowly resisted his murder. She could still hear the whisper of the darkness in the back of her mind—so easy, so quick. ] The attack on the base. Hunting Finn and I through the snow. You can't tell me you don't remember.
[ It happened. She knew it happened. ]
no subject
I was told that our hosts do have total control of our arrival. What reality make exist for you may never come to pass in my future. FN-2187 had similar information for me when I encountered him here months ago.
[When he looks down at Rey, there is something missing in his expression. Some place where anger, contempt, or maybe sadistic joy should be. Instead, there is nothing but hunger and frustration.
They attacked Starkiller Base--through its shield? She had escaped with the traitor far enough to reach the snowy forests? How?
With his anger levels again on the rise, he tries to change the subject.]
Your future there is gone. This place is your future now.
no subject
She searched his eyes, but the fleeting hollow of impotence was replaced with a rage she couldn't place, but not quite the unhinged kind she had seen out in the snow. No, this was the unsettled anger, the anger that did not know which way to turn, that had driven him out of her cell. ]
Finn. [ She said finally, anchoring herself in his name. If not for the Resistance, then for him, at least to know that he was okay. She'd made a promise. She had to go back, eventually. ] His name is Finn. You mean to tell me he was here?
no subject
[The scavenger had been there too, though he had never known. They had managed to keep it from him long enough for her to be sent away without ever knowing. It was no doubt better that way.
He cares not what she calls the traitor. He is little more than a speck of dust to Ren now, out of reach and therefore forced out of his mind. If he tried to think about the fact that he had squirmed out of his grasp so easily through a beaurucratic loophole, he might go mad with fury. There are more important things to focus on now.
Anakin. The girl.]
To where, I don't know.
no subject
Transferred. With no news, no answers, no contact—even by magitek. What did it mean? If they were out there somewhere, in another world, still with ALASTAIR, did it mean that she could find them again? That she could make good on her promise here? And if she believed that, did it mean that it was as much the will of the Force that their journey bring them here instead of persist in the battle between the First Order and the Resistance?
The questions were too many, and far beyond her reach, and for another time. Her gaze lifted back to Ren with all the surprise that indicated she had all but forgotten him, and she swallowed quickly, a sense of alarm building back into her, bristling her, as though it were only stubborn pride that kept her from taking a step back. ]
You don't know what's coming, so I'm going to do you a favor and give you fair warning. Stay away from me. [ She tried, then, to shoulder past him towards the kitchen's exit. She couldn't chance a confrontation if ALASTAIR was her way to Finn. She couldn't. ]
no subject
For a moment, it seems that he might throw her into the wall again, to remind her of the power she dares spit in the face of. To remind himself that he is still in control, and that he isn't as useless and powerless as he feels.]
You are not in a position to make threats.
[His shroud of calm slips then, though she might not recognize his reaction for what it is -- Ren is offended in every sense that she would still shun him after the display he had just given her. It slips into his shoulders and down his spine, makes something ugly in his stomach churn and blackens the corners of his vision. His ego already so fragile, pieced back together in haste from Anakin Skywalker's rejection, cannot take another blow so soon.
He is drowning. Drowning in his own hatred, in his own self-loathing, in his own confusion and dependance.]
You are the one on uneven ground, girl. It is you who knows not what lays in your midst. And if you have any dreams of seeing this trial to its end, you will not make the mistake of scorning my assistance.
[He wonders, then, if he ought to inform her of the other among them. Would it make her more or less likely to trust him?
Without an answer to that question, he keeps Anakin's presence silent and unknown.]
no subject
Besting a wolf once didn't mean you should go back for seconds.
She swallowed hard, wondering if she'd made a mistake—if she had, it was too late now, and she tried not to think that she had simply because he knew how to use his greater mass to his intimidating advantage. ]
Touch me again and I'll take your hand. [ Hate thickened in her voice, sharpening it into a weapon against him as she went on to answer, ] I don't want anything from you.
no subject
[She has the benefit of seeing his eyes this time, rather than the black visage of the helmet that he wore so often. He had taken to wearing it less, simply to avoid the same question he got from every new recruit he encountered. It wasn't necessary anymore. It had barely been necessary in the first place.
He wants his lightsaber, needs the weight of it in his hand to settle a twitch he feels coming on. Instead, the hand not holding her clenches to a fist and uncurls itself in a repetative motion.]
You are alone here. Your power remains untapped.
[Like him. He doesn't say it, doesn't dare consider how long he's been without the Supreme Leader whispering in his ear.]
It does not have to be that way.
no subject
The offer didn't extend as far as it had on Starkiller, but she had no trouble reading between the lines, seeing the natural progression of what he was building. Her silence gave the impression of consideration, but really, she tried to feel out the threads of the Force around her, examine and imitate how he could have thrown her aside so easily for the second time. Like reaching for the lightsaber, but reversed. It should be so simple, so intuitive …
But her concentration remained too unsteady, to rattled with fear and uncertainty, thoughts of Finn far away and enemies all too close. A heavy exhale signaled the end of a considerable effort, turned to a scoff as she snapped back. ] I've been alone all my life. I'm not the one scared by it. [ She looked down at where his arm still held her, as though accusing it of proving her point—that he was grasping so desperately for her, trying to steer her into some kind of connection because he was alone. ]
no subject
One day soon, you will find yourself in the jaws of death with no one beside you. With nothing but cold wind howling around you, and you will be sorry you allowed your arrogance to prevail.
[He shoves her away from him, out of the door. How could she be so correct about him, when they had only known one another for just a few too-close minutes among the Force? How had she managed to peel out of him something he barely knew about himself?
He hates her so keenly then. He hates how easily her intuition comes to her, how she doesn't need to claw for the understanding she craves, how the answers simply come to her and how she is so certain in spite of the fact that she is so untrained.
And then, he turns his back to keep himself from giving in to the base urge to follow. That's all he had ever been good at -- following, like a lost animal.]
Go.
puts a bow on this thread
Flung back out of the kitchen like a doll, she hovered for a moment in through the doorway, staring back at him, watching as his anger turned to a tangible thing, pulsating in the very air around him—or maybe she was only taking the Force for granted, and how it allowed her to register it so keenly. The heat of his anger billowed out like steam from inside the kitchen, but where Rey stood, she felt as frozen as she had in the wilderness of Starkiller Base.
Alone indeed. Distantly, she realized that her arm had bruised.
His back turned, and before he could think better of it Rey took three staggered steps back, turned, and ran down the hall, outside, until her legs wouldn't carry her anymore. Only when she was out of breath did she look behind her, panting, and affirm that she hadn't been followed, hunted down—again—like an animal. She couldn't fight him, not like she was now. But soon. Better to think of that than to consider that the struggle would not simply be to survive Kylo Ren. ]