Entry tags:

!tdm

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

I fell off a cliff.

[somehow she sounds really cheerful about it]

If we can find a pond, there's probably water lotus around here. If this is a prank, maybe if we’re really boring they'll give up.

--you what? Seriously?

[ Well, at least that seems to distract him from his offended ranting at the island. He takes note of that cheerfulness, too, finding it amusing, and grins in turn. ]

--I've definitely seen people look worse after that. [ She's either got luck, or some skills, and he's curious about the latter. ] Water lotus?

[ He may or may not be aware it can be used for food, but his first thought is definitely about how flowers are supposed to help in their situation. ]

Into a river! It's fine!

[Though maybe that sounds less fine. Whatever]

You can eat pretty much the whole plant. A little safer than playing berry roulette.

[ He holds his hands up in playful defense, still smirking, as if accepting her perception of events. ]

Living dangerously, huh?

[ He's... really not one to talk. But with any chance, he can get through this without necessarily telling everyone about his occupation. Right? ]

[ His eyebrows rise slightly, maybe a little bit impressed by her knowledge. ]

Sounds like it. I kinda thought there'd be mangoes growing on trees and shit--

[ He swats at some tropical plant leaves, as if expecting it to be a fruit tree, and a colourful spider falls out of it. ]

Ugh.

[ He makes a face and takes a step further away from it, itching to kill the thing at the same time. This sucks. ]

Oh, you know it.

[She still doesn't really think she's been taken away anywhere, that's how common falling into bodies of water, losing consciousness, and then waking up somewhere else happens to her when she's working]

There might be mangoes around here, but they're a little sweet to eat a whole meal of just that -

[The spider falls and she laughs. Too bad Nadine still hasn't found her, she’d probably have some spider facts]

Don't think you can eat that.

[ Sounds like a fun job. Squalo doesn't usually lose consciousness in his, but he doesn't think that takes away from the experience either. ]

Tell me you also know how to start a fire with two sticks and a rock.

[ He thinks they're supposed to cook the lotus? At the very least, now he remembers "fried lotus root" snacks when he was on a trip to the east, so he figures it must be the same thing. ]

[ He scrunches his nose in disgust when he considers the possibility that they might need to eat spiders. ]

Oh thank fuck, I was about to lose my shit for letting dinner get away.

[ Ha ha, he's so funny. ]

I mean, I do, but I've also got a lighter in my bag.

[Sorry man, she's lazy]

Don't laugh! Bugs are delicacies in a lot of places. Bright colour’s usually a bad sign, though.

Yeah, that sounds way easier.

[ Hopefully she also had the chance to dry it out. Most of Squalo's shit was drenched in water when he woke up, although it's been a little while since then. ]

[ He lifts his hands a little, as if playfully defensive. ]

'M not. Still gross though. [ But he knows that it is a legit form of food, he's traveled around a lot. He just doesn't particularly like it. Now raw fish dishes, on the other hand... ] Better than starving, I guess. You ever eat any?

I don't eat beef, and my partner can't eat pork or shellfish. Sometimes you've gotta get creative with the protein.

[Yes, that usually means chicken but that doesn't mean she can't wind this guy up a little]

[ Yeah, he's definitely wincing a little. ]

My fuckin' condolences. Then again, my--

[ He almost says "partner", too, but catches himself. It's... not wrong, but they're not really that equal, are they? ]

--boss barely eats anything but beef, I'd bet it's gonna kill him somehow one day. You gotta balance that shit, y'know vegetables and all, yeah?

[ He's talking quite fast, and still gesticulating as if his life depends on it. That's... certainly a lot of energy for someone who nearly died hours ago if that. ]

[Chloe chortles. She can't exactly gossip about Nadine with her other friends, what with the whole ‘chucked Nate out a window’ situation, so this is kind of novel]

God, Nadine is like, the opposite. You know those awful green smoothies workout people drink? Fourteen types of wheatgrass, tastes like drinking a fucking lawn?

[ When in doubt, always shittalk. He tends to do it right to his friends' faces, though, so at some point it stops being gossip and turns to banter. ]

[ Squalo can appreciate a decent smoothie, but that definitely sounds like an insult to any developed taste buds. ]

Yeah, that's not food, that's a damn insult. Why not munch on grass at that point?

[ Speaking of which though... they should probably be looking for something edible. Trekking into the jungle without any sort of weapon doesn't seem particularly tempting, however, so he looks around for anything resembling a sturdy stick that he can hopefully sharpen with his pocket knife. ]

Don't think there's much grass around here, dude. Unless there’s a golf course over the ridge or something.

[She’s misinterpreted what he's looking for here]

[ He looks offended and huffs. ]

Do I look like I chew up lawns in my spare time?!

[ There's probably no particular look for that, though... ]

If I'm walking into a bloody jungle, I'm not doing it empty handed. Unless you've got some guns stashed in that bag of yours?

The goons up on the cliff took my gun, unfortunately.

[She does have an empty holster at her hip for a pistol. It was probably nice leather before she got dunked in the ocean]

I do still have my knife, though. I'll have to clean it later so the salt doesn't fuck it, but right now it's fine.

Touché.

[ So she had a gun which was then taken from her before she was shoved down a cliff. He's getting really curious about her job. ]

What if it's a bear? You're gonna need more reach.

[ Do bears even live in the jungle? He's not sure, and he's not too keen to find out, but a moment later he's doing an excited "Aha!" and straightening up with a couple bamboo-like stalks of about an arm's length. ]

Now we're talkin'!

I think it's too hot for bears.

[Nadine would know. Probably has some wikipedia page about jungle animals memorized. Too bad she can't ask her]

Okay, yeah, that works.

Fine, tigers, or jaguars or whatever. Don't gotta nitpick.

[ It's... not exactly the kind of threat that can be effectively fought off with a pair of bamboo sticks and knives, though. But damn if Squalo intends to run from danger like that. ]

[ He splits one end of the stick, securing his own knife in it with some wire and a couple hairbands he fishes out of his coat pockets, tests to see if it's holding sturdy, then rests the makeshift spear on his shoulder. ]

A'ight, time to explore. You comin' with or staying here?

I have literally never had to fight a creature the whole time I've been working in jungles, you're probably fine.

[Which might raise more questions about her gun. Whatever.]

Yeah, let’s roll.

[ It indeed does, but for now, he'll focus on the fact that a duel with a bear has been denied to him. He raises his eyebrows slightly, pursing his lips in clear disappointment. What is wrong with him? Oh, so many things. ]

Well that's boring.

[ But he moves nonetheless, easily slipping into the jungle in a slight prowl, weapon at the ready. He's honestly not sure how to look for water in a place like this, but he figures if they walk long enough in somewhat the same direction, they should find something. ]

[Chloe forewent the whole spear situation so she could use her knife to cut through the undergrowth but so far it's not too bad]

If we find a tall enough tree, I can climb up and take a look.

[ He would have assumed he'd be the one climbing trees, but hey, maybe she knows what she's doing and he isn't going to complain about it. It's not all that easy when you have no feeling in one hand, and he sure wouldn't want to prematurely expire on a deserted island because he slipped off a palm and broke his back like an idiot. ]

Go ahead. So far it's just more leaves in all directions.

[ He sounds irritated, almost as if he'd rather run into a wild animal. ]

[Chloe just got finished being beaten up and knocked off a cliff so she might have a slightly different opinion on this]

I'm fine with no one shooting at me.

[ Well, since she just brought it up-- ]

You get shot at a lot?

[She smiles a bit sheepishly - she's having kind of a bad run lately]

I try to avoid it.

TEST DRIVE MEME #1

TDM GUIDELINES

I. ARRIVAL

II. NETWORK

III. EXPLORING

Exploring

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