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TDM #1

TEST DRIVE MEME #1

Welcome to Glencola Reef's first 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. EXPLORING

For a place that appears, by all signs, to be an equatorial island in the middle of a tropical ocean, the local environments are surprisingly diverse. Beaches range from idyllic white sand to storm-swept pebble crags to cliffs with waterfalls cascading off the edges; the interior forests can be thinned from sandy soil or dense jungles full of prickly underbrush and with towering canopies; and the central mountain peaks, perilous enough to climb on their own, terminate in ravines and sinkholes that are hidden by thick foliage until you already have one foot over the edge.

The animals that make their homes here are equally as varied, and sometimes just as dangerous. The standard Earth fare of tropical fish swim right up to most shores, especially where reefs have grown, and a multitude of seafaring and jungle birds make their homes in ocean-facing cliffs and trees. Any one of these creatures would make for an easy snack. But you're not the only opportunistic hunters here; sharks prowl the waters, big cats stalk the jungles, and feral boars raid any camps that smell enticing. And that's just the stuff that looks like it came from modern Earth. Your improvised fishing rod might have captured a trilobite, or maybe that deer you were stalking has rounded on you with a set of alien mandibles full of sharp teeth. Or maybe, among the plants and animals completely foreign to you, you've stumbled across one that's strangely familiar to your home and no one else's.

There's a lot to figure out about this place. At least, in this instance, you aren't doing it alone.

NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

1. Arrival

[ Ah, there's nothing like a blissful day at the beach! The cool water, the salty air, the sizzle of frying... Yato?

With an echoing shriek, the pale little unconscious girl that had been peacefully and bobbing along in the shallow waves suddenly springs to life. One hand clamps down over her burning face as the other begins to thrash wildly in the water that would barely reach her thighs if she were standing. It might almost look like she's downing, until one of her hands meets the purple umbrella floating not to far away. All of a sudden, she's calmly on her feet, opening the umbrella.

She breathes what sounds like a combination of a pained sob and a sigh of relief, as she tenderly explores the skin around her nose with her free hand. Surveying the beach, and others waking up, she begins to get an idea of what's happening, generally. ]

I do not remember coming the beach aru. [ She winces at the pain from touching her sun burned nose ] Gin-chan! We have to go home! My original character traits are returning aru!

2. Network

[ Callsign: Sukonbu // Message to network ]

Good afternoon,
Did you know that you could bless this poor young and starving girl with a miracle? A way out of the darkness of this horrible beach and into the light of a fully loaded dinner table. All it takes is one fully loaded dinner table and a heart. Or money. Money would be good too. So open your heart and your oven or wallet today!

3. Exploring

[ As the day's gone on, Kagura has begun to realize something isn't right. There hasn't been a sign of her friends, she doesn't know where she is, and she really is hungry. Resigning to look for shelter and some type of food, she heads into the jungle tree line at the edge of the sand. She marches along, using her umbrella to part the thick plant life and down her best not to look worried.
While deciding what kind of animal she might be willing to hurt to get a decent meal, fate actually makes the decision for her. A large snake drops its head in front of her from the canopy above. It gives her just enough warning to roll out of the way. With surprising speed, the snake moves to surround her with its body, but Kagura winds up and punches it hard in the head... Which does pretty much nothing. Confused, as the snake should be in another zipcode at this point, she unleashes a barrage of smacks with her umbrella. Obviously, this angers the snake, which moves to strike at her, as she trips over a section of its body behind her. She barely avoids the bite, and as soon as she gets to her feet she takes off running, though at the normal pace of a 14 year old girl, which is not at all what she's used to. ]

HELP! SNAKE!!

[ Is all she manages to bark out between pants. This sucks. ]

[It is an excessive amount of effort to type on these radio things. The poor young girl is getting a voice response.]

I'm not really sure money's going to do much good here. I haven't seen anything like a town. Maybe you can look around in the trees. There might be some tasty fruit to tide you over?

[ Typing it all out DID waste quite a bit of time, so she responds in kind. ]

Are you sure? Maybe you are just trying to take the money for yourself aru! I'll eat some poisoned fruit and you'll run to town with all the riches.

Edited 2023-05-02 03:43 (UTC)

Wh- no. I've been walking along this beach all day and I haven't seen anything, not even, like... an abandoned resort. Or-or some sort of scientific outpost.

How do I know it is true? Every TV show has an episode where the characters think they are on a desert island, but on the other side of the trees is giant grocery store!

[ Is that really how those episodes go? Oh well, that's what she remembers. ]

I bet if I walk into the trees I will smell grilled chicken in 5 minutes aru!

I mean, you can look, but why don't you keep calling me while you do that? [He doesn't want to be responsible for this girl, but it also seems heartless to just hang up and leave her to the danger alone.]

Or the rest of the network. It's pretty scary in there.

Do not worry, just because I am cute does not mean I am defenseless aru.

[ He can't see her, and she is kind of defenseless now, but sure. ]

You sound scared though, so I will stay on the line.

[If this is the game he has to play, then so be it. He'll hope someone else comes into this conversation to take over. It's a struggle to maintain being personable for an extended period of time these days. At least it's over what amounts to a phone call. He could be there dealing with her in person.]

Yeah. I'm actually really scared. I've never been on a tropical island before, and I'm still looking for somewhere that I can get fresh water from. I bet you must be thirsty, too, if you washed up on the shore like I did.

Ha, I called it aru! I am used to it, since I always have to protect even the cops back home. If you have walked one grown gorilla to the toilet, then you have walked them all.

[ Now that he mentions it though, she is kind of thirsty. It's pretty hot, and she was just awash in salt water. ]

Ah, do not worry! I will get us drinks from the resort aru. Maybe there will be a restaurant that makes rice gruel.

[ Yeah, it changed from a grocery store, and that's totally the food they'd have. ]

[God, how old is she? Definitely a little kid if she's got those kinds of delusions of grandeur.]

Rice... gruel. [That sounds disgusting.] Um... well! I've never tried that before. Let's try to make a game of this, though, okay? First one to some freshwater wins, and we can let the other know where it's at. [Somehow. He needs to start making a mental map, if nothing else. Or maybe he can type it in the transceiver? Direction is a problem, though. And time. And distance. He sorely regrets losing his watch in the apocalypse now.] No lying about what you've found, though. That would be cheating.

Normally it is for when you have a cold, but I eat it any time I feel like it. I am kind of in charge back home, so I get to do whatever aru.

[ Well, that's a lie. And it's really just soupy overcooked rice, but Kagura gets overly into really mundane things. The game proposal really catches her attention though, that could actually be fun... ]

Ah, okay! I will play this game aru, and I will not cheat because I like to win for real. What is the prize for the winner?

[ She's starting to get hungry, so she's hoping it's some kind of food. ]

[A princess-type child. Great. He'd really prefer a dog, but he resigns himself to this for right now. She needs help as much as he does. More-so, probably. The prize stumps Martin momentarily. What does he even have on him to offer? Clothes. Glasses. Elias' fancy dagger? Well. Hmm.]

I've got something with some really pretty gems on it. I bet they'd make a great necklace for you. If you win, I'll make that for you. If I win, you'll, um... you'll have to do a funny little dance.

[It's much easier to pretend you don't owe anyone anything when there isn't a young girl screaming for help nearby. Especially since she seems to be approaching rather fast]

Must you really flee a snake so quickly? You’ve likely left it well behind -

[But here it is and why. Why is this snake so large.]

Keep running! I'll throw my hammer.

Okaaaaaaaaaaaay!

[ Enjoy that surround sound as Kagura runs past, because it's almost over. She gets a few feet past Randvi before she trips and falls flat on her face. There's definitely something going on because normally she wouldn't have tripped at all and it definitely wouldn't hurt like it is now. ]

I hope it's a big hammer aru!

[ She manages to get herself into a sitting position and aims the tip of her umbrella at the approaching snake just in case it's a regular hammer. But with all the weirs stuff going on her umbrella gun might not even work... ]

It's broken many a man's skull in its day - I can't imagine a snake’s being much sturdier...

[Although it is a giant snake. If this is truly Jörmungandr she's no Thor.

But she’s no coward, either. Randvi pulls the war hammer from her belt, draws back, and with a yell throws it as hard as she can at the snake’s head]

[ Well, it may or may not have broken the snake's skull, but the creature is dazed and pretty badly injured, it moves as if to strike Randvi, but misses completely and writhes on the ground instead. ]

You saved us aru!

[ Kagura hasn't lowered her umbrella yet, as this whole ordeal was a pretty terrifying time to realize she's not super-strong anymore. And well, the sight now is a bit disturbing... And she's hungry. ]

Can snakes be food?

Edited 2023-05-03 04:28 (UTC)

[It might be a bit early to celebrate; without knowing more about the variety of snake it's difficult to determine whether the thrashing is its death throes or preparation for another attack.

Randvi darts closer to grab her hammer from where it had fallen, bringing it down on the snake’s head again with a loud crunch.

She turns toward the girl, giddy and smiling]

Ah, that makes me feel like a girl again.

You can eat some snakes, but I'm not sure whether this one has venom.

That makes you feel like a girl aru?

[ Being an adult must be weird. Sure, Kagura's got some crazy bloodlust at times, but it doesn't usually make her feel good. Although, the snake did start it, so between that and her hunger, her empathy is wearing pretty thin.

She forgot that snakes have venom though, and with the reminder she breathes a dramatic sigh. ]

But I'm so hungry. He was going to eat me, so it is not fair.

When I was your age, I was... very adventurous.

[She hadn't killed a giant snake, but she had gone on her first raid at sixteen and roamed the mountains near her village for years before that]

It is unfair, but it would be doubly so were you to die now consuming it. Have you seen any smaller beasts? I can make snares.

[It would be easier if she had her bow, but they'll do what they can]

[ Unfortunately, there's no Gin-chan to be found in the near vicinity. The closest she gets is a guy with a dead-fish-esque expression on his face who apparently can't swim very well, because he's wade-crawling through the shallow water and onto the beach while coughing and muttering swears. ]

[ Once on the shore, he finally manages to straighten up, and he's, like, only an inch or two taller than her. ]

That makes two of us. [ Levi finally acknowledges the other person on the beach, even if most of what she's saying makes no sense to him. But he definitely does not remember coming to the beach, either. Whatever the hell just happened, it's possible they're both in the same situation. Well, first things first. His voice is somewhat quiet, almost dull. ] Are you hurt?

[ She eyes this guy suspiciously for a moment because... what is his deal? It's like that time Gintoki and Hijikata switched bodies but... in miniature. And just why is he so concerned about her? Hmmmm. ]

Just my skin aru, but I am sensitive to the sun. [ Like all pale people. ] You just woke up here also? Is this like a sweepstakes prize from the bad convenience store aru?

[ Wow, they look nothing alike! His bangs aren't even V-shaped! ]

[ Well, at least it seems there's no injuries between them. That's good. Probably. They might still slowly die of thirst and exposure, depending where they ended up, but one problem at a time. ]

I did. [ He lifts his arm to shield his eyes from the sun and tries to take in their surroundings. There's some sort of a... weird forest ahead, though it looks nothing like a normal forest. (The word he's looking for is jungle, but he's got no clue.) ]

[ But he wasn't anywhere near the sea. This doesn't make sense. ]

[ Maybe... maybe the blast knocked him into the river and he got carried all the way into the ocean? There's no way. He should be injured, and he would have drowned during such a journey. And these plants look nothing like the ones back home. ]

[ He's also never heard of convenience stores giving out free trips around the world, but he'll suspend his disbelief for a moment. ]

What, getting knocked out and dropped off in fuck-knows-where isle? That's one shitty prize.

[ Oops. Language. Oh well, that's hardly the kid's biggest problem at the moment, now is it. ]

[ The V is there in spirit! Or maybe it's an M, which is two V's. Anyway, she's used to foul mouthed and fish eyed dudes though, and she just nods in agreement. ]

Their last prize was a "Demon Slayer Training Camp" aru, where they locked you in the smelly freezer the homeless guys pee in. So this one is not as bad, but it is shitty, yes.

[ Gintoki might have won that. He totally didn't excitedly make his own haori like Tanjiro's, rush down to the store to get duped, then rant about how he had pee smell stuck in his nose for weeks afterward. Noooope. ]

What do we do now? I do not see any food anywhere.

[ The bigger issues is that there's no drinking water in sight either, but even depowered, Kagura's stomach is still somehow superhuman. ]

[ It's not! If anything, it's a W, or maybe even an N! ]

That's disgusting.

[ He also might be judging anyone who takes something called "demon slayer training camp" seriously, but even they do not deserve to pace on floor sticky with piss for however many hours. He'd probably go insane, for one. ]

[ Levi sighs and slowly starts off toward the jungle. Well, it looks like he's stuck as a babysitter again. At least some things don't change, he supposes. ]

So we look for it.

[ Food, water, he'll take either. Chances are that finding one would lead them to the other eventually. Finding a source of water might also help them find some animals they could hunt, at least. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TDM #1

TEST DRIVE MEME #1

TDM GUIDELINES

I. ARRIVAL

II. NETWORK

III. EXPLORING

Kagura - Gintama

1. Arrival

2. Network

3. Exploring

HELP! SNAKE!!

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Exploring

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nobody took arrival yet so,

AYYY yay :D

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