TDM #2

[glencolans]

TEST DRIVE MEME #2

Welcome to Glencola Reef's second Test Drive Meme! This is a place where anyone interested in applying a character - or just curious to see how their characters might interact with the setting and others in the game - can mingle with one another. General prompts are provided below for inspiration.

TDM GUIDELINES

• Please read the rules before posting to the TDM. These still apply here and will be enforced, up to and including deleting tags/toplevels and prebanning.
• Posts from a TDM are required to apply. At least three tags across any number of threads within a TDM, posted within the last 6 months, must be provided in every application.
• TDM threads can be used for AC. Note that new characters only need to check in for their first AC cycle, but established characters can use TDM tags for their AC.
• TDMs are not considered game canon by default. This is mostly for logistics reasons - due to how characters travel on the map, it's unlikely that non-network threads that take place here will actually happen in-game. However, I won't stop anyone from working out how to make parts of threads game canon if they really want to.
• New TDMs will be posted every three months. Keep checking back into the current TDM for new toplevels!

I. ARRIVAL

You awaken on a tropical island beach, soaking wet, powerless, and without any idea how you got here. Were you carrying something important, or wearing powerful armor? How unfortunate - it looks like only the most basic clothes, items in your pockets, and simple weapons managed to make the trip with you. Are you even physically the same as you remember? If you had superhuman abilities tied to your physiology, you might be stuck in a completely different body that lacks your usual senses. You might've been whisked away from a tense battle or a near-death experience and wake up delirious, or even injured.

Thankfully, against overwhelming odds, you're not the only one to wake up on this particular stretch of beach. You and your companion have a lot of puzzling out to do.

II. NETWORK

Even if you weren't lucky enough to wake up near someone else, at least you've arrived with a military-grade radio transceiver gripped tightly in your hand (or mouth, or other vaguely opposable appendage of choice). The clunky walkie-talkie will start buzzing and crackling for every public message that starts coming your way. Answering them back is as easy as pressing the "talk" button on the side of the device and either speaking into the receiver, or using the keypad to type into the message box that appears on the screen, then pressing the button again to send. A list of ongoing conversations with responses that are less than 24 hours old can be found by scrolling through the menu, identified by the callsigns that are participating in them. It seems that you've been assigned a callsign, too - it shows up in the top right side of the screen, format AB123C. The letters and numbers picked are...probably random.

This is your easiest avenue to communicating, or coordinating with, or complaining at the other people stuck on this island; how you decide to use this tool is up to you.

III. A SAFE PLACE

Whether because someone else directed you via the transceivers, or someone found you and is leading you there, or just out of sheer luck, you have stumbled your way up the western coastline and run into an abandoned airfield. At least it used to be abandoned; there are obvious signs that the area has seen recent use, from the myriad of footprints in the sand leading up to the ocean, to the racks of drying fish lined along the shattered asphalt of a runway, to the strangely complex water stills and...who even knows what chemicals are brewing in those pots next to the largest airplane hangar? Even if you find the signs of people first, you're likely to run into the inhabitants themselves sooner rather than later, as the airfield has become a surprisingly busy hub of activity in comparison to the bleak isolation of the rest of the island. Maybe some of the more experienced inhabitants will help you figure out what's going on here, or try to rope you into exploring or cleaning out the more run-down buildings lining the runway, like the smaller hangars or the desolate traffic control tower at the far end. You likely aren't the only new person trying to find your way around, either. Hopefully the person you arrived with is more interested in helping rather than just looting the place and running off.

IV. STRANGE BOUNTIES

The weather on this island can be rather unpredictable sometimes. Just yesterday it was sunny and hot, then today, without warning, the sky opened up - literally, like the pale blue horizon was a vase smashed by a hammer and a billowing cyclone poured through the hole - and dumped at least a foot of rain on you in the span of an hour. You just barely managed to avoid getting swept out to sea, hunkering down in the relative safety of the deeper jungle, when the storm stopped as suddenly as it started. Dazed and possibly hurt, you stumble back to the beach to get a look at the sky--

--And find the beach absolutely covered in heaps of beach peas. There are so many that you can't even see the sand underfoot, and more of the pods are still washing up with the swollen tide. A flurry of very confused seagulls are already picking at the pile of legumes, but you should be quick about getting your own share - other captives are likely to show up soon, too, and they probably have much deeper pockets and appetites than the birds.

V. HOSTILE STRANGERS

As others have had the misfortune of discovering first-hand, there are entities on the island that have been here for much longer than the active group on the transceivers has been, and they aren't necessarily friendly. One in particular guards their territory fiercely from intruders - or maybe they just enjoy toying with those that wander within their reach. For those exploring the dense jungles in the northeast, this individual's motivations are probably the last things on your mind when you encounter them personally. Minding your own business, by yourself or traveling with others like you, noting the odd lack of animal calls in an otherwise vibrant jungle, suddenly there's the faint whistling noise of a crossbow bolt hissing through the air on a collision course for your vitals. You might consider yourself lucky if you stumble into one of their expertly-hidden rope traps instead and end up dangling by your ankle ten feet in the air. Hopefully, if you are currently traveling alone, someone will find you quickly enough to keep you from being killed outright by this hidden assailant.

NAVIGATION

Comments

Harley Quinn | DC

[clowngirl]

II. Network

[An obnoxious buzz and crackle comes over the radio at an obnoxious time of night followed by the obnoxious voice of someone who is having trouble sleeping.]

Hey! What'd the jungle bird say when the cat challenged him to cards?



V. Hostile Strangers

It's a lovely day for a stroll through a mystery jungle. Why not? Harley isn't equipped with a machete and a pith hat like she feels Bugs Bunny would be in such a situation, but she's pretty sure she can figure it out. The sun is shining, her clothes have dried, and it's time to mentally map out New Harley Island.

She's whistling out the intro of what she's hoping will become a kickass national anthem of this seemingly deserted place when the whizz of a crossbow bolt over her shoulder makes her suddenly rethink her self-appointed rule.

She instantly breaks into a sprint and takes cover behind a tree, the next bolt landing on the other side of it.

"Hey! Okay! I take requests!" She calls out, but receives no answer. Tough crowd. She very carefully peers out just enough to try and catch a glance of her attacker. No luck. Just the foliage enveloping everything around her. "If you're that purple lady from Gotham, I can totally explain the parole violation!"

She can't, but she is trying to gauge when to make another run for it.

network | HO125E

[trialbyliar]

[The voice that responds is young-sounding but just as obnoxious.]

Why's a bird playing card games with a cat in the first place? Wouldn't the cat just eat it?

[clowngirl]

That's not-- You-- [She huffs.] Sometimes opposites just attract, okay, kid?

[trialbyliar]

Woah, so you're saying they're on a date? Scandalous!

[He snickers and it's still obnoxious.]

[clowngirl]

Well, okay, they're not but they could be if they wanted! [Her set-up has fallen apart and been set on fire.] And it's not that scandalous. Maybe the cat got outta a bad relationship and is tryin' to get her life on a better track by bein' with a nice, sweet toucan.

network

[somethingintangible]

[ Have another annoying teen, Harley. Sorry. ]

...What?

[ It's only one word, but you can hear the disdainful, teenage, looking-down-her-nose attitude in her voice. ]

[clowngirl]

You may be a cheetah but toucan play at that game!

[She's trying not to let the youths get her down but ouch, guys.]

Don't clap too hard, you'll hurt yourself. I'll be here all night! [That can be a threat if it has to be. She's got enough corny jokes to last.]

[somethingintangible]

[ Several minutes pass. Then, in that same snottastic voice: ]

I don't get it.

[clowngirl]

If I hafta explain it, it's not funny anymore.

[And she's asserting that it was, thank you!!]

What if I told ya I was king of the jungle? Think I'd be lion?

[somethingintangible]

[ .... ]

That is so lame.

ii

[ichoosefight]

Wait, what?

Steph is on her way to check on one of their emergency supply stops when she hears 'purple lady from Gotham' in the distance and has to take a solid 30 seconds to process what's happening and decide the person probably isn't talking to her.

"Hello?" she calls out, a little louder than the voice she heard. She has her makeshift staff at the ready just in case, but the voice at least didn't seem hostile.

[clowngirl]

"Huntress?!" Harley responds to the female voice, a bit incredulous that she might have gotten it right on the first try. She's rolling with it either way. "You were always my favorite bow... shooter... person! Way better than Green Arrow! Or Red Arrow! Or, uhhh, Girl Arrow... Arrow Lad..." She's starting to creep her way out from behind the tree, hoping that she's distracting the crossbowman. Unfortunately, she doesn't yet realize she isn't speaking to that person, and all the yelling is just alerting them to their location. The bolts begin to fly again, and with an eep! she's scrambling as fast as she can in search of further cover.

[ichoosefight]

Huntress... Crossbow. The cabin. Steph is moving before she even finishes that thought, dropping all her gear but her staff and running full tilt in the direction the voice came from. She'd been too far to hear the shots before, but she knew she was passing near the cabin today. Its beligerent owner must be farther out than usual.

"I'm not the archer!" she shouts, looking to be a distraction herself. "Stay quiet and follow my voice! There might be traps around, and he will kill you!"

[clowngirl]

Oh, great. Someone is trying to kill her and it isn't even in a sexy Bird of Prey showdown kind of way. Harley huffs to herself and begins to try to sneak her way towards the Voice. She's... kind of looking for traps along the way but not entirely sure what to expect. Something out of the Rambo franchise?

She gets closer. Harley manages to be quiet enough to no longer draw fire from afar while also not quiet enough to get a jump on a member of the Batfamily. She's in the middle of trying to remember if Rambo used punji sticks, after all. Not that she's not seen any yet. Between that and the target successfully shifting, her luck's getting a little bit better.

[ichoosefight]

"In case it wasn't clear," she shouts, even louder than before, "the plan is to leave. We are moving away from the cabin, so-" She dives to the left at the sight of movement ahead of her. A crossbow bolt buries itself in the ground a yard ahead of where she'd been standing.

"So stop shooting!!" she practically screams in startled annoyance. She realizes a moment later that 3 feet is a pretty wide margin for someone who's shooting to kill. Is he showing her which direction to avoid?

Given a moment to look around and a tree to plant firmly between herself and her assailant, she finally spots the movement that probably indicates the woman she'd been talking to.

Network | KD201D

[obeir]

[ Between the worries that have been plaguing K and a growing sense of homesickness, sleep isn't coming easily for him either. Which turns into an incredible stroke of luck when he's awake to hear a familiar voice breaking the silence. ]

Harley?

[ Normally he'd play right along and set up the punchline for her, but instead she's greeted by that startled exclamation. ]

You're really here?

[clowngirl]

Baby? [If she sounds a little bit disappointed, it's only because:] If I knew you were listenin' I woulda opened with a much better joke than that!

You want me to take it from the top or skip to the declarations of love and affection?

[She's had the luxury of having seen him not too long before waking up on a island, so while she missed him, she's mostly just happy they're "still" together.]

[obeir]

[ It really is Harley. Acting... absolutely normal. That realisation fills him with a strange combination of relief and dread, knowing she's now stranded on the island too, but also finding comfort in no longer having to wonder if she'll think he abandoned her. Hopefully she knows him better than to ever think he'd do that, anyway, but he also knows from experience how insidious insecurities can be.

Relief is plain in his voice. ] One minute we're going to bed in Gotham and the next I'm waking up on a beach in another world. That was a few days ago, for me. How long've you been here? [ He's already anticipating time discrepancies since that seems to be the standard when it comes to multiversal travel.

Oh, and the joke. Taking his cue from her behaviour, he decides to just roll with it. Playfully: ] I want both. Don't leave me in suspense. What did the jungle bird say?

[clowngirl]

[Normally, Harley would complain that she has been here forever and it was the worst because she was so bored, but K's two days flattens the hyperbole in her out of sympathy.] Coupla hours, tops.

The jungle bird says, "Didja miss me?" followed by "Now might be the time to tell ya I don't believe in separate vacations." [Her tone is still playful despite ditching the punchline. (It wasn't get a lot of laughs anyway, she'll workshop it later.) She's more interested in hearing how K's been doing without her in whatever this place is.]

[obeir]

[ Aw, but he wanted to know the punchline. He appreciates groan-worthy puns. ]

Neither does the cat, when he has any choice in the matter. [ They hadn't even gotten to the best parts of their Gotham vacation yet, a tragedy. So close to experiencing the domesticity he's always wanted... only for it to slip through his fingers like sand. Awful, scratchy, alternate universe beach sand. ] And he always misses his bird. Even more than he misses a clean change of cat-sized clothes, and that's saying something. But I bet their game of strip poker would still be fun.

[ You know, the card game mentioned in the joke that he's still running with. Just a shame they don't actually have cards here to make it a reality. ]

II. AP251C | voice

[desperate_times_right]

"I don't have hands"?

[clowngirl]

You're really gonna laugh at not havin' any hands? You sicko!

[A faux gasp!]


Just kiddin'. He's a bird, what does he care? If you're a sicko, it's unrelated. [Spoken with the most casual cheerfulness, of course.]

[desperate_times_right]

Not fair to pit a cat against a bird at cards, is it? The bird’s only got a beak for holding and playing unless it wants to do the whole thing on one leg.

And I'm allowed to make 'one leg' jokes for at least the next two weeks so we’re golden. You new?