TDM #1

[glencolans]

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

Comments

Ishigami Senku | Dr. STONE

[hyakuoku]

I, ARRIVAL

Senku opens his eyes and immediately thinks that he should just start keeping a diary of how many times he's woken up in an unfamiliar landscape. Though the other times, he's been totally aware of how and why he got somewhere. This time…what was he doing just before now?

Think.

If he was on the ship just before now, there would be signs of a wreck, but…there's nothing here. There are no petrified people littered around the beach or anywhere in sight as far as he can tell. He can't place the landscape and there are few clues as to location. Even the immediate vegetation doesn't tell him enough to get his bearings. They'd been travelling so he's not even sure what continent this is. He's missing several of his pouches, chemicals and items carefully curated. Most of the (comparatively) higher tech stuff is gone, of course, though he still has the defunct Medusa and some revival fluid.

"This is pretty exciting," he says to no one in particular, but someone else nearby might hear it. It might sound a little bit deranged, actually, whoops.

If and when he notices a companion, all he says is, "No point staying around here and waiting for answers. We'll have to figure a way out of here on our own."

Sometime later, catch him digging up something near the edge of the waves, sketching in the sand (seemingly oblivious to things around him), or stripping leaves off a vine. He's dressed pretty weird, probably, so he might stand out.

II, NETWORK

[ callsign: 53NKUU (pretend I know how to follow the callsign rules, this was funnier to me) ]

Anyone out there started taking stock of natural resources, by any chance? Plants, minerals, food supply? Some of you have weapons on you which could come in handy. Coordination will get us a lot further than going it alone. I know that from experience.

I have a few road maps sketched out in the sand for where we go from here, but it's a little contingent on what we can find and when.

I set up a couple traps for small animals with some stripped vines, but I'll lay my cards on the table here. I'm not a fighter or a hunter. I'm a scientist. [ He laughs a little, almost cocky sounding. It's something of a nervous habit. ] Guess I'm saying I might need some physical protection. And I'll offer you all the scientific knowledge I have in my brain. Trust me, it's a good deal. I've been in pretty bad situations before and done just fine.

A pause.

Oh. And if you've heard my voice over any frequency on here before now? I'd ten billion percent like to hear about it.

III, EXPLORATION

[ This is the wildcard prompt! Throw something at me. I'm boywonder for all your plotting needs. ]

Re: Ishigami Senku | Dr. STONE

[maximusspainard]

[Callsign: GMD2447]
"Depends on what you are looking for, stranger. I'm a farmer and hunter but I rely on old fashioned weapons. I am also a General and Commander from ancient Roman times. How do I know I can trust you with this information?"

[hyakuoku]

[ Ancient Roman times, he thinks. What the hell...well, he'll just suspend his disbelief on that one for a minute. ]

I'm looking to not die, for starters. Tech level isn't important. Once we find the right materials, we can always strengthen swords and spears.

[ Not if we find materials. He doesn't bother with if. They'll find something. He believes in science enough; they'll find solutions to things like that. ]

I guess you don't know! We have to decide to trust one another. I'm not interested in lying to get ahead. I want everyone who ended up stranded here to survive, simple as that. And I wanna figure out the big questions: where is here, why are we here, who brought us here, and how'd they do it?

[maximusspainard]

[ Maximus was silent almost musing on the situation at hand. He presses the strange button again. ]

"I think we've found somewhat of a common goal so far. But I'm sure finding the right materials is more difficult than it looks with several others with the same goal. "

"I can't exactly answer most of those questions yet, but I can say I know how to make a fire and make a mini garden when the time is needed, I can also fight."

[hyakuoku]

Tch. We're not at odds with them. And we don't know how big this place is yet, what kind of scarcity we're looking at. Like I said, I want every person here to survive.

[ He's aware that he can't control how many people decide to be wild cards or lone wolves, but, details. ]

I know how to make crops grow lusher and faster. Hopefully we're not gonna be here that long, but...just in case. Like I said, just gotta find the right stuff. Which we will. There's an ocean and the trees and whatever's in the forest and beyond...we'll be all right. The fighting's the part I'm not so good at.

[ More like he needs someone to aim like a weapon since he can't fight for shit himself but why spell it out so neatly? ]

You got a name? General?

[maximusspainard]

[Maximus frowns]
Also not expecting everyone to want to take help in stride either.

[He's been betrayed a few times by people he's known for years.]

It's the matter of finding supplies and keeping food plentiful and cooked. That is a useful skill to use. Nobody knows exactly how long we'll be here either.

[The General thinks for a short time and clicks the speaker box button again]

"Yes. My name is Maximus."

Network - callsign VL121R

[meadqueen]

[No idea what a scientist is, but hunting is something she knows well enough]

Do you have a blade with you? I'm armed, but with a blunt weapon, so I can hunt but I can't prepare meat to eat safely.

[hyakuoku]

A small one. We should probably find something to sterilise it, but a hot enough flame can do that in a pinch anyway. Besides that, we can probably make other tools after a couple of days. I've done that from the ground up before so the second time around should be easy enough once we get enough hands helping out.

[ He's not entirely naive; not everyone will want to work together. But going it alone sounds like a great way to die, and he's not about that, so! ]

[meadqueen]

You can fashion knives from stone, but it's not ideal. Too imprecise.

[hyakuoku]

Yeah, I'm aware. If we don’t find a source of metal, we might not have a choice. My knife is metal, though.

But that's all supposing that no one else out there woke up with something more useful, right? In the meantime, guess we better start looking for the right kind of stones.

[ He sounds amused. Is he joking...? Hard to say. ]

If we're teaming up, introductions are in order, huh? I'm Senku. What's the easiest way to share coordinates, do you think? I haven't put together navigational tools yet, though even if I had they wouldn't help much without having any sense of where we are in any context.

[meadqueen]

Mining is not exactly a simple proposition in a place like this. Nor working the metal.

[Though, from what he's said perhaps Senku is a blacksmith. She has no idea what a scientist is]

My name is Randvi. I can draw maps, if such a thing is required. Perhaps someone will have arrived with a lodestone.

arrival; sry

[sharktrash]

Squalo certainly makes an effort to not be noticed, crouching behind some unassuming rocks sticking out of the sand as soon as he spots someone else on the beach, looking like they're barely getting their bearings. He considers his options. Where is he? More importantly, when? Could this be an illusion, or perhaps they're trapped in a deathmatch that he didn't know about beforehand?

Surely whoever made it here with him would have answers, he decides. The other man seems preoccupied with checking his belongings, so in a few long, quiet strides Squalo closes the distance. This is pretty exciting, the stranger says, and the next moment he'll see the blade of a knife in front of his face, threateningly hovering just under his chin.

Squalo's sword may not have made it in with him, but that's where carrying a bunch of stabby things on his person at all times came to the rescue.

"Ain't it?" His tone sounds almost chipper, but the knife is steady, and out of sight his eyes remain cold despite the vague grin showing his teeth. "No sudden movements. Who are you, and how did you do this?"

it's fine, he probably deserves it

[hyakuoku]

Senku doesn't notice Squalo at first, since he's preoccupied trying to figure out clues to location and all of that. Nothing is familiar enough to do that, and the few people he sees in the distance are unfamiliar. They don't even look like others in the Stone World, which is confusing. He doesn't mind that, though, since he figures he can find the answers he seeks once he knows what questions to start asking.

All of that thought process is interrupted, though, with a blade in front of his face.

He stands still, hands at his sides where they already were. This could get pretty dicey; Senku isn't a fighter by any means, and all he has a little knife anyway. He can't take someone in a fair fight, and he doesn't have anything on him that might be a chemical weapon. He hasn't yet discovered anything that will work as defence. Whoever or whatever planned this did a good job if it was looking to take him down.

He doesn't look scared when he raises his eyes to meet Squalo's. He's smart enough to be scared, but he's also used to not showing it. It's just physical reactions, anyway, completely pointless. He's not Gen, but he's learned a couple things about how people work. Maybe.

Either way, he settles for the truth. It's the easiest answer in this situation.

"I didn't," he answers, ignoring the first question for the moment. "I woke up on this beach 522 seconds ago."

[sharktrash]

He could be telling the truth.

He could also be in league with the Vindice, Millefiore or whoever fuck else, in which case some more of a shakedown could be fruitful.

"Hey, what kind of an idiot do you take me for?" He practically shouts it, or maybe that's just how his voice is, energetic, scratchy and too goddamn loud. "I wake up on a whole new damn landscape, and you're the only other person here." (He's technically not, but the island is huge, and no others are in sight at the moment). "I'm sure you can remember a few details about where we are and why."

Squalo brings the knife closer with a sudden movement, resting the flat of the blade against the underside of the other man's jaw.

"This should help, yeah?"

[hyakuoku]

Senku doesn't even flinch. He stands stock still. He still has that sort of half-grin on his face, but underneath it, his teeth are clenched. He can feel a bead of sweat trickle down his neck. He has no doubt that Squalo knows how to use that blade, and wouldn't hesitate to actually do it. This guy probably isn't putting on some act; he's stuck here too, same as Senku is. He doesn't look familiar, and has no visible scars from broken petrification. That's…strange, actually.

He's also loud as hell, but half the people from the Kingdom of Science yell all the time. He can live with that part. He could do without the knife, though.

He raises his chin just slightly.

"Did you even look for other people, or do you just assume it's only us?" Senku asks. He can't just shut his damn mouth, even when there's a blade against his skin. He knows he's right, though, so why not say it?

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't remember anything about this place. I told you how long I've been here. I don't know where here is anymore than you do. If you chill out, though, we're ten billion percent more likely to find answers than if we just stand here with you threatening me." It's a sort of oblique offer of a team up, and maybe a weird thing to say to a guy who doesn't seem to want to make friends. But Senku doesn't really see people as enemies, even when they're threatening him. As far as he can tell, they're in the same predicament. He just has to convince Squalo of that.

network | callsign XZ419F

[aluminumandash]

[ Ten or fifteen minutes after that little speech, a drawled question: ] What kinda scientist?

[ So friendly! ]

[hyakuoku]

Why limit myself to being one kind of scientist? I want to know everything about the world and how it works, so I've studied all sorts of things.

[aluminumandash]

[ Dust dry: ] How old are you?

[hyakuoku]

[ He actually just laughs. ]

Who cares? Technically I've been alive for more than 3,000 years.

Arrival

[salamanca]

Someone being excited instead of alarmed in their situation doesn't bother Lalo. He's not excited, but he's definitely more annoyed than distraught.

As for deranged, well... that's nothing unheard of for him, to put it mildly.

It's the other man's appearance that makes him stare, squinting and blinking as the sun beats down on him, partly obscuring the other man's appearance with its bright rays that seep painfully into Lalo's vision.

From what he can see, though, the guy -- man? Kid? Person? -- who is currently chattering merrily to himself looks like something out of a crazy fever dream, though. Lalo feels a sudden throb in his temples. He closes his eyes again, groans loudly and throws his head back into the sand, where he's still laying flat on his back.

He's gonna open in his eyes again in ten seconds and when he re-opens them, this guy is either gonna be gone entirely or he's not gonna look Like That anymore.

[hyakuoku]

Senku sounds more deranged than he really is; he just loves puzzles, mysteries, questions he can't immediately see the answer to. Everything about this situation is strange and new. It's not really something to be alarmed about, because that won't get anyone anywhere. It's just another problem to solve, the way he sees it. Who did this, where are they, how did they get here, how do they leave, all of that.

How do they survive? But that's the easy one for him. He survived in a stone world with nothing, alone. He can manage an island, surely.

He hears a groan nearby, snapping him out of whatever spinning hypothetical thought he has going on at the moment, and turns towards the man laying on the beach. He doesn't look injured, but who wouldn't be put out about waking up somewhere unfamiliar? Based on the radio and the surroundings, Senku doesn't assume this man is the kidnapper; this wouldn't be how a kidnapper would act.

He's seen a couple people get captured and held hostage before, okay, whatever.

"You just wake up here too?" he asks. "Y'know, if you stay there too long, eventually the tide will come back in and you'll be in trouble."

callsign YM-2299

[lightnovelexperiences]

I’m no cartographer but I have a decent idea of food sources nearby. Chestnuts as a source of carbohydrate, coconut trees and boilable river water for hydration, a bamboo grove.

I AM a fighter, and if you can help me fabricate a spear we may be in business.

[hyakuoku]

We can also desalinate ocean water if we need to; it's a lot easier than it sounds. Those other things are all pretty useful. Bamboo has a ton of uses if we get some stuff to cut it with. Ten billion points for you.

Sure, I can help with the spear thing. We can take a hint from the stone age and use sharp rocks for now, but we might also find something like animal bones. If we get lucky, though, we can bypass the stone age and go straight to iron. Or, you know, whatever sharp metal we find.

[lightnovelexperiences]

Whatever works, right? I'm used to the equipment grind. Even a stone spear and stone axes is better than bare hands, especially since Breath hasn't got anything but air here.

[hyakuoku]

[ Equipment grind. Weird, that sounds like video game terms to him. ]

Ten billion percent better than just bare hands, yep. But last I checked, most breaths had air in them.

[ He says this pretty deadpan. He's smart; he can guess that this isn't the normal kind of breath, but he doesn't have a frame of reference here so he's not sure what it really means. ]