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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

There's a waterfall, about a quarter of an hour back the way I came. The river flows east.

[Much of Randvi’s earlier excitement has faded due to the realities of wearing clothing designed to weather harsh Norwegian winters in a tropical climate. Even stripped down to the fewest layers possible she might not have survived the trip without finding water]

I have a unicorn horn if you wish to purify it first.

[ He'd offer her something lighter, but it's not like he's got many layers of clothes to begin with. It'd probably be too small for her anyway. ]

[ He nods, because that's actually way more helpful than he expected. He would have been glad just to hear there's a high ground nearby or something else they could set a goal on. ]

We'll head there, then.

[ If there's anything resembling a civilization around here, they should find it if they follow the river. Probably. It's not like he's ever been on a tropical island, but most settlements tended to follow that trend. And if there's none, well, maybe they'd at least find something they can hunt. Animals tended to veer toward water, too. ]

[ He stills for a moment when she mentions a unicorn horn. He's familiar with the concept of a unicorn, the blasted MPs had the creature on their emblem and all, but he's never heard it to be anything but myth from storybooks (let alone have it harvested for parts). Then again, once upon a time, so was the outside world, and look how that turned out. ]

[ He decides to give her the benefit of doubt just in case. ]

How does that work?

At the very least, we can cool down a bit. I have never been in a place this hot.

[She knows they exist, thanks to conversations with Azar and the Hidden Ones, but had never imagined seeing such a place herself. How had Sigurd managed all of this in his travels? It's hard to picture him without a backdrop of snow. It's getting harder to picture him at all. Randvi frowns, shakes her head]

There may be fish as well, I hadn't thought to check.

Unicorn horn can do many things, including cleaning wounds and detection of poisons. I get it from our clan’s seer, so I’d imagine that it works as herbs do.

[Early in her marriage she had feared poison, unsure whether the peace treaty would hold, but she hasn't thought seriously about it in a long time.]

...It's new to me, too.

[ Honestly, some summer days got pretty close to this, but he's definitely getting the impression that this here is a year-round phenomenon, especially considering the vegetation. ]

[ He nods. Fish are a decent source of food, if they can catch any, so it's definitely worth checking. They could also be poisonous, he supposes. Just like anything else around here-- ]

[ Did she just say her magical thingamagig detected poisons? ]

[ He still has his reservations about whether or not it actually works, but landing on an uninhabited island after a potential death blow wasn't exactly realistic either. ]

[ So he stares at her for a long moment, then holds out his fruit to her. ]

[ It doesn't just work on water, right? ]

[Randvi glances at the proffered fruit, then up at the man’s face. She knows well enough how difficult it can be to trust anyone, alone in a strange land.

She takes the fruit in her right hand, and with her left reaches into a pouch at her belt and withdraws a segment of twisted horn about half the length of her thumb. She presses the horn against a bitten portion of the fruit and waits.]

This will take a moment.

My name is Randvi. I'm Chief Strategist for the Raven Clan in England.

[There isn't exactly a protocol for this situation but it seems polite to name yourself to the person whose food you're handling.]

[ His face is pretty expressionless, but trust definitely does not come easy to him. He was planning to share the food anyway, though, since if they were going to be a team, they both needed to be able to keep moving, and he'd rather not accidentally poison someone else. ]

[ (It's probably just a regular mango, but it's not like he knows tropical fruits.) ]

[ He shrugs, apparently unconcerned that it could take some time. ]

That's fine. If I shit myself to death before then, you'll know to stay away from this all the same.

[ Oh look, a joke!.. Sort of. Kind of a shitty (heh) one, but that's just how he is. ]

[ "England". He doesn't think he's heard the name. It's not "Marley", though, so it's already a plus as far as he's concerned. ]

Levi.

[ He just offers his name back, since that seems to be how these things go, but he doesn't see the point of mentioning his occupation. It's not like Survey Corps existed here, and he certainly wasn't going to advertise his career before that. ]

Hm. I'll keep that in mind.

[She does appreciate the levity, as it were, but she's got a very serious expression still as she watches the horn for signs of sweating]

Levi. Well met, despite the circumstances.

[Randvi would prefer to be known as a warrior straight away. There's no need for anyone to know that in Ravensthorpe the Chief Strategist’s work mostly consists of the dull everyday work of running a settlement that Sigurd and Eivor don't want to do.]

[ It's a serious enough situation. Granted, Levi had delivered all of that without deviating from his signature deadpan expression, either. His face can be a bit hard to read sometimes. ]

[ He's not good at pleasantries. He just nods and doesn't return it. ]

[ He absolutely respects strategists, though, alright? They have an important job, one he knows he's not particularly suited for. Perhaps counterintuitive considering his small stature, but he tended to be the brawn of the operation most of the time. ]

I'm going to take a look around.

[ How hard can climbing a palm tree be, right? At least it should give him some idea of the topography in the area. ]

All right. Shout if you start shitting to death, and I’ll throw this away.

[The horn still looks good and it's almost done. He's probably fine]

[ Okay, that was actually funny. He doesn't crack any smiles, of course, but he does make a sort of appreciative snort before quickly clambering into the tree, using his knife for some extra grip when necessary. ]

[ It's not all that tall, but he can get a somewhat decent look over the thickest of the canopy. ]

There's higher ground further inland.

[ At least, he thinks so. That or the trees are just getting taller in suspicious intervals. ]

Don't see any buildings, though.

[ Guess it doesn't bode too well for finding civilization after all. In a couple minutes, he slides back down. She should be finished by then, right? He holds his hand out for the unspecified fruit if it looks like she's done. ]

Lead the way.

[ Hopefully she remembers where the water is. ]

You're safe for now.

[She tosses him the fruit, then wraps the horn in a leaf and returns it to her bag]

Did you see any areas that looked like clearings? If people here are nomadic, they may not have permanent structures.

[It's been a long time since Randvi has been roaming free in a forest, but she spends a great deal of her time with maps and similar principles apply. She squints up at the sun for a moment, then starts walking]

Good to know. Can think of better ways to go.

[ Still talking about the death via violent shitting? You'd bet. ]

[ He catches the fruit, swiftly cuts it in half and awkwardly shoves the un-bitten half back at Randvi. He's quiet for a moment, thinking over the view he'd mapped into his head. ]

Nothing big. There's one not too far from here to the northeast.

[ They could head there after they figure out how to stock up on water. He has a flask on him, but that's hardly enough for prolonged travel. ]

Oh yes, many.

[She’s spent a lot of time considering the dishonourable deaths that could befall her now that she's unlikely to die in battle. This wasn't exactly top of the list but it does happen]

[There's a look of surprise and then a genuine smile at the clumsy kindness as he hands her the slice of fruit.]

Thank you. Once we reach the water, we can make our way there.

Hm.

[ He's... a little amused, maybe. It's hard to say. His expression doesn't change much, but the noise he made sounded conversational at least. ]

[ He does actually look somewhat relieved when she takes his offering and doesn't make a big deal about it; he doesn't seem to have the manners to give her any you're welcomes in return, but actions mean more than pleasantries anyway. ]

Got anything that holds water?

[ Unlikely, considering they both seem to only have whatever fit in their pockets, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Besides, she seems to know this kind of stuff, maybe the both of them could make something usable. Otherwise they'll just have to be careful and not travel too far until they locate other sources of water. ]

[She may not be making a big deal but it is a big deal to her: after living for so long among the Raven Clan she's unused to people treating her with respect for reasons other than the fact that she belongs to Sigurd.]

I've got a drinking horn, but it's not really intended for transport. If I’d known this was going to happen, I would have made sure to carry a waterskin.

[ Well, she clearly deserves it, so she'd better get used to it. Not that Levi's unfamiliar with that concept, both belonging and not, but that doesn't mean he likes it. Too many good people are never given a chance. ]

That's too bad. [ He would have, too, or whatever equivalent they had back home, unfortunately neither of them had been given the chance to plan for this trip, it seems. ]

[ Well, before making any further plans, they should probably make sure that this water is actually suitable for drinking. He shoves the confirmed-safe fruit into his mouth as he walks, making sure to keep one hand free in case he needs to grab the knife or anything else. ]

[It's likely a good idea to eat the fruit quickly; the walk isn't far but in this heat, it uses more energy than she's used to. She takes a bite and then exclaims in surprise:]

Oh! It's sweet!

[ Yes. Yes it is. Which means it's not really a good main food source, but it should keep them up and running for a day or two while they gather their bearings. Maybe more, considering Levi had the tendency to sustain himself on tea only for way longer than necessary, but then, he didn't have tea here. ]

[ Which was honestly the worst part about the whole thing. ]

It'll have to do until we find something else.

[ Yeah, he seems to take the comment as a negative thing. ]

If I had my bow, hunting would be easier. As it is, I can make snares if this place has smaller beasts like rabbits.

[She takes another bite of the fruit with visible relish. At least one of them is having fun]

I can only imagine what our brewer back home could do with these.

[Yes, her first thought is mead. If Tekla can make apple mead, she should be able to use these fruits too]

Could work.

[ It would be even easier if he had a rifle, but again. No prep. It's a miracle they're not dead yet, honestly, and he's not holding his breath on that until they've managed at least a few days. ]

[ In the meantime, they'll need to scavenge for stuff they need for traps. ]

[ Sounds like wherever Randvi is from doesn't swim in this type of fruits either. He can relate... not so much to the mead part, though. Alcohol doesn't really do anything for him so he usually doesn't partake. Might as well be pouring it down the drain. ]

Same thing but sweeter, probably.

[When you're an absent nobleman's lonely wife, you take your entertainment where you can get it]

What she makes with apples is so strong that the day after a festival is occupied by locating where all of the warriors have passed out.

[ Well, it can be fun to watch drunk people make fools of themselves. Although he does peer back curiously when he hears that, because hey. Maybe this mythical brewer's stock would actually make him feel something, too. ]

Local festivals must be fun.

[ He's not judging, swear. His tone is just naturally pretty even. ]

They are! It's a time without hierarchy, where people from all walks of life can celebrate together.

Even if they don't remember much of it afterward.

Sounds nice.

[ The time without hierarchy part. Not so much the not remembering it part, though he can definitely think of a few things he'd like forgetting. ]

[ He slows down a little, listening for any sounds of running water. ]

Are we still on the right path?

[Randvi nods and points to a large splintered branch]

You can see where I cleared the path.

[When all you have is a hammer]

TEST DRIVE MEME #1

TDM GUIDELINES

I. ARRIVAL

II. NETWORK

III. EXPLORING

Exploration

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