revivalprojectooc | SPRING TEST DRIVE MEME

Entry tags:

SPRING TEST DRIVE MEME

SPRING TEST DRIVE MEME
Application FAQ | Taken Characters | Reserves | Application

Welcome to the Current Test Drive for The Revival Project!

This game is a spin-off from the closed The Drift Fleet game. For more information about the game, including more details on the setting, please check out the FAQ here or the premise here.

A thread on the TDM will be required for all applications. Please view the FAQ for information about how this works. Any questions about the game please direct to the comment section of the FAQ as well.

If you are a Drift Fleet alumni bringing your character from the game, please label your character as 'DFAU' on your top level. Also, keep in mind you have complete flexibility on how your character comes here. They could be taken before endgame, after endgame, two years after, one year before, etc. It's up to you! If you want to completely restart your character, they're not considered DFAU anymore and won't need the label.

So go! Explore Agra 10! And, as always, HAVE FUN!

Thread ideas:

Temba Spring Time!

Spring has reached Temba, which means the flowers and plants are blooming not only in the greenhouse. Though it remains a safe enough place to observe and cultivate them, many of them are sprouting freshly through the cracks in what remains of the city's infrastructure.

But the plants aren't the only ones waking up with the warmer temperatures. Temba's wildlife is no exception. Most of the smaller critters can be seen more commonly around the city and should your steps take your near the old library building, you may even encounter half a dozen or more young mothkittens learning to fly, warming their wings up in the sun or napping at the side of the building. Just beware that these little fiends love everything that glitters and will try to claim it for themselves.

Explore the city!

Here's a map and a bit more description of some of the buildings here.

Most of the buildings are run down and have clearly been abandoned for years; fortunately, the water treatment center appears to be working, but power is intermittent and unreliable. What used to be stores or places to live in lies in ruins, but there may still be something to scavenge among the rubble. Do you want to risk a swim in the flooded area that has turned into a deep lake that has yet to be fully explored; or does it draw you to some of the more prominent and partially restored buildings, such as the hotel, the hospital or the amphitheater.

If you are lucky, you might even stumble over The Deep End, the bar located on one of the mid-levels of the tower residences in one of the residence towers. Unfortunately no bright neon signs can lead you there, but it does exist.

Visit the spaceships!

That's right, there are currently several small spaceships grounded in the hangar - Or what remains of them. It's painfully obvious that these ships have crash-landed not too long ago and were taken back to the hangar for repairs. You were assigned to one of them and its doors will open for you and let you enter if you wish. (For test drive purposes, the ship that will let you enter is up to you, so just pick whichever name appeals, and go for it!) The other ships won't open for you, but as neither of them look as if they will be leaving anytime soon that doesn't really matter either way.

Maybe look around anyway. Or try your hand at some repairs?

Try the network!

Upon arrival, your character will have on their person a small, handheld communications device. Maybe they know exactly how to use a computer, smartphone, or tablet, and immediately blast out a text or video trying to figure out what's going on. Or maybe they're not so tech-savvy after all, and everyone is about to get a lovely shot right up your character's left nostril.

There be storms...

These power-altering storms keep ravaging parts of the planet every once in a while. No one truly knows where they come from or what to do about them yet, but one of them appears to be approaching. You have the option to find shelter in one of the buildings to wait for it to pass. Unless, of course, you rather feel drawn to investigate.

Should you step inside the storm, or even get lost in it, it will show ghosts of people you know and those you don't. It drains you of any super-human abilities and tries its best to keep you from getting to its origin. Are you going to try anyways? Or are you going to chase the whispers of people from your past? Maybe you will simply find yourself calling for help or stumble across another lost soul in need of assistance.

More information can be found here.

Wildcard!

You're welcome to use any previous test drive scenarios or previous game events as a basis for a thread/situation, or simply make up your own! Keep in mind that you're currently stranded on a planet with only basic necessities, but there is enough food and fresh water. Creature comforts, however, seem to be distinctly lacking. Quite unlike a gathering of potentially dangerous creatures to encounter. The setting is yours to explore and have fun with!

✧ Premise ✧ FAQ ✧ Rules ✧ Test Drive ✧ Taken ✧ Reserves ✧ Application ✧
✧ Map ✧ Devices & Network ✧ Data Points ✧ Ships ✧ Flora ✧ Fauna ✧ Supply Requests ✧
✧ Player Plot Suggestion ✧ Player Contacts ✧ Player Permission Code ✧ Hiatus ✧ Drop ✧

code bases by tricklet

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It takes her a second to wrestle the talisman free from the mothkitten's mouth, and she's glad for it. It lets her keep her head down, so that he can't see the expression that crosses her face when he mentions different times, and she realizes that the terrible possibility is more likely. That... she doesn't have a friend here after all. That she is alone again.

Almost as soon as she finally extracts the talisman, she steps away from him, putting space between them, her expression schooled once again.

"So then we have come from different times." She pauses, absently clutching the talisman to her chest, her thumb sweeping across its surface. She thinks she already knows the answer, but... "What is the last thing you remember?"

He knows that feeling, it echoes a similar one that wells up whenever he comes across someone from a more familiar galaxy, and despite that common thread, it doesn't quite breach that gap.

With its new 'toy' gone, the mothkitten takes to trying catch Cal's fingers. As Merrin steps back, he looks down, absently scratching the kitten's head. It's a small but somewhat welcome distraction as he makes sure it's his gloved hand that the little one attempts to gnaw on when it does.

"Yeah," he confirms. "...the last thing I remember is running from your Sisters, getting back to the ship."

That explains his wary reaction, then. In retrospect, she may have gone a little overboard with that, but she remembers being so consumed with anger, feeling so betrayed by Malicos, that she had called upon one of the only powers he hadn't pried from her.

"So it seems." She's quiet for a moment, her gaze fixed on the mothkitten in Cal's arms, though her attention wanders elsewhere. After so many years on her own, with only the dead and Taron Malicos and her vengeance for company, she just... isn't good at reaching out. Cal had done it before, and that's how they were able to eke out an alliance, then friendship.

Her gaze refocuses on the gentle way that he pets the mothkitten, offering his gloved fingers up for chewing, and that's when she feels compelled to add, "You've missed much, Cal Kestis."

She isn't... smiling, exactly, but her expression has softened, her eyebrows tilting in a way that could suggest wryness.

"I kind of had that feeling," Cal replies, a corner of his lips quirking although the smile doesn't quite stick. He glances at her then. "But hey, I figure if we're on speaking terms then things can't have turned out too badly, whatever's happened since then." Looking at things that way make it a little more digestible. He hadn't exactly been in the best place mentally the last time he'd seen her.

The mothkitten gets a little too enthusiastic in its chewing, the padawan wincing as he tries to pull his fingers away with a pained smile. "Ow- okay, that's enough..." he says as he sets the mothkitten back down. He wonders how much of a handful more of them would be, imagining the library would be a lively place so long as they're around.

"I've been here...maybe a year now," he says to Merrin then, after some thought. Keeping track of the time around here is tricky given the longer days. It's always sobering to think about just how long it's been. "I guess there are worse places to be, but that's not to say this place is entirely without things to be careful of."

This is the part where she feels a little unsure—she wants to tell him that things didn't turn out too badly at all, that they're friends, that he finished his mission to find that holocron, even if the end was a little more eventful than any of them would've liked. But she also doesn't know if she should, even if it means starting from scratch.

She doesn't like the idea of starting from scratch, but she doesn't see how she has any choice either.

"Do not do that again, little one," she says very sternly to the mothkitten as it scampers off, back towards the library. Though... it doesn't appear to be taking her scolding to heart at all.

"That is a long time." She shifts her weight a little, finally slipping her talisman back into the pouch on her belt, and then tips her head slightly to the side, the angle almost... challenging. "And what should I be careful of?"

That's a position Cal's definitely been in. Particular circumstances had influenced his decisions to make the revelations he had, but even then, they were to people he hadn't known directly.

Watching Merrin scold the mothkitten brings an actual grin to his face, although he tries to smother it once she looks back at him.

"The storms are the main concern," he says, brow arching at that head-tilt. "The Agrii, the original inhabitants of the planet, left because the effects of these storms are lethal to them. But they affect us in different ways and we haven't really figured out how."

She catches the tail end of that grin, quickly smothered, and that—that feels more like the Cal she knows, even if it's just a small glimpse. It gives her a little flash of hope that maybe starting from scratch won't be so hard.

Of all the answers she might've expected, storms definitely wasn't one of them—she was expecting something she could fight, not the weather. Her surprise shows on her face, a crease appearing between her eyebrows.

"Affect us?" she echoes, her eyes narrowing. That feels vague in an ominous way.

If it was something they could directly address then it would have been so much easier. Cal can only nod once he sees her expression shift.

"Somehow it cuts people off from their abilities," he explains. "Like my connection to the Force." He's not sure how much she's familiar with it, but that alone would suggest why it's such a concern.

"It also makes us see and hear things sometimes- people that aren't here, people that are long gone back home. ...although I guess the fact that people can come from any time makes it trickier to really tell if they're actually here or not."

Of the two very appealing options he lays out, it's the idea of being cut off from her magick that really unsettles her—maybe seeing and hearing people who aren't there might be troubling for other people, but Nightsisters have a... more fluid relationship with distance and death. Spirits do not bother her.

That disquiet shows in the thin line of her mouth, and she crosses her arms in front of her.

"How is this possible?" But he'd already said that they haven't figured out how, so she shakes her head, immediately discarding the question. "If that is the case, then I will try to be careful."

There's a short half-pause before she says careful, edging around doubtful, because she really isn't sure how she can be, if the problem is a storm that cuts her off from her magick. But she says it anyway—maybe it's her way of acknowledging his concern, however indirect.

It's really about the only thing they can do, frustrating as it is, although even then there's only so much caution they can exercise. At least it seems like Merrin understands how serious the situation can possibly become, and Cal can hardly blame her for the uncertainty.

"Yeah, so that's about the biggest thing to be aware of around here," he says. "But we're expected to solve that problem somehow." He shakes his head, lifting his hands a bit in a shrug. "Obviously we haven't really gotten very far in that. And we're still doing what we can to make this city more habitable."

Her magick taken from her... cut off from that energy, that life, her sisters... it's still unsettling to think about. Her gaze starts to wander while she thinks, but when he mentions making the city more habitable, it snaps back to him.

"So we cannot leave?"

She'd seen the hangars already, but honestly, she'd been hoping that the ships were still capable of flying, of taking her somewhere where she could begin to find the Mantis, however gargantuan the task may be. But if Cal has been stuck here for a year...

Merrin's magick isn't something Cal completely understands. He assumes it's some different aspect of the Force, and given how it had felt to be severed from the Force, he knows for a fact how unsettling it can be. Either way, as little as words can really do to prepare a person for something of that sort, he still felt it was an important thing to warn her about.

It's not quite a grimace that crosses his face as the implication hits Merrin then, but Cal offers a reluctant shake of the head.

"No. Unfortunately we get about as much say in going anywhere off-world as we did in being brought here," he sighs. "While we have access to ships, they 'conveniently' don't seem to work unless we're required to travel somewhere."

"Yes, very convenient." Her tone is impossibly dry, almost disdainful. Not that it's directed at Cal, but rather the situation that they've found themselves in. Which would be...

"So I am to understand that we are trapped in this city with no way of escape, subject to storms that cut us off from magick and the Force, with no direction other than to find the cause of those storms and rebuild this city? Yes?"

She thinks that's a pretty succinct breakdown of everything he's told her so far. Still, she can't help but add a little glibly, "Anything else, Cal Kestis?"

"That's about the gist of it," Cal nods, running a hand through his hair. It sounds less than ideal, but there's no way to really make things sound any better.

This time a crooked sort of smile does manage to stay in place as he glances at Merrin, giving a shrug. "I guess I could mention the possible encounters with dangerous creatures. hankfully those haven't happened very often around here," he adds before gesturing with his arms outspread. "That aside...welcome to Temba?"

"This is a very poor welcome," she shoots back, but there's a smile on her face that matches his, pulled up on one side of her mouth, before she even realizes it. In that moment, she'd forgotten that he doesn't yet know her as a friend—it had been dangerously easy to slip into that rapport.

But... the moment doesn't last forever. She turns her attention towards BD-1 now, waiting so patiently for them to finish, and sends the droid a small smile, this one warmer.

"Hello, BD-1. I suppose you have forgotten me as well?"

It's a strange turn of events, but Cal's glad to find that the Nightsister has at least a sense of humor. There's a small sense of regret that he doesn't personally know what's happened to bridge the gap that had been between them when he'd first fled Dathomir, but he supposes there's nothing to be done for that right now. At the very least, he doesn't feel that it's been such a bad restart.

Peeking over his shoulder, the little droid perks as he realizes he's the one being given the attention then. He gives a hoot in greeting, his following beeping response almost shy in his own reluctance to confirm his recollection of her is no better than Cal's.

The padawan smiles himself at watching Merrin interact with BD-1. It seems the little guy can get a smile out of anyone. "We'll just have to make the best of it, right?"

She still has no idea what BD-1 is saying, but the tone of his beeps conveys enough, and she nods. She's already feeling... more hopeful, at least, about her situation—their situation, since they're in this together now. It sounds like a lot right now, and it's going to take some getting used to, but if she could survive all those years after the massacre of her sisters, of Ilyana, then it's not insurmountable.

At least now she can see—a path forward. Sobering, her smile turns a little wistful, her gaze slipping away from his—leave it to Cal to remind her of that, even if he didn't realize it.

"You seem to have a talent for that, Cal Kestis," she says knowingly, her voice more subdued.

"I try, anyway," Cal laughs. For as long as he's been here there'd been time enough to reflect, to work things out that had troubled him. Most importantly he's learned that he didn't have to tackle some of those things alone.

The subtle change in her expression doesn't go unnoticed, nor that hint of a shift in her tone. Cal tilts his head at her.

"Come on. Let's go make sure that mothkitten made it back. I think it's one of Countess's. You can ask me any other questions as we go. I'll answer as best I can, anyway."

The consideration in that headtilt makes her straighten suddenly, as if he'd caught her off her guard, and school her expression into something much more neutral. She nods in reply, the motion sharp, and turns to head back the way she came.

"Countess?" she asks curiously. "Who is this?"

Edited 2021-03-30 23:37 (UTC)

Easing back to start leading the way to the library, Cal can't help but smile a little. "Countess is the mother. Jon named her- I guess they've become good friends ever since he'd run into her in the woods. He thought she wanted to attack, but she was just really curious."

He can see the little green-furred creatures pouncing and rolling around just down the way. BD-1 clambers a little higher on his harness to look, beeping excitedly.

"Yeah, they're cute. You still be careful around them, Bee-Dee. Remember how Countess kept looking at you," he chuckles.

She glances sidelong at Cal as she falls into step beside him, the interaction between him and BD-1 bringing a small, quick smile to her face, there and gone.

"The mother," she repeats thoughtfully. "Yes, we should make sure her child is safe. Before she is not just curious," she adds after a beat, so deadpan that it's hard to tell if she's joking or not. But from what she knows of mothers, their children mean everything to them, and there's nothing they won't do to ensure their safety. She certainly wouldn't want to test Countess on that point.

And maybe she understands a friendship that started off on the wrong foot.

Speaking of—there's something that's nagging her a little bit. He hasn't asked her a single question about what happened—or will happen—after he returns to Dathomir, and honestly? She can't definitively say she would do the same thing, were their positions reversed.

"You're not curious at all. Of the future I know." She says it like a statement, but it's really a question. Earlier, she'd stopped herself from telling him anything, but now she figures she should give him the chance to decide for himself if he want to know.

"Yeah. I've seen her not-curious side." Granted the situation then had been an unnatural one, but it had still been a reminder that these are technically wild creatures. As they near, some of the little ones cease their play to stare at them, the remaining either oblivious or too intent in their play to care. It looks like a few more have come out to enjoy the sun.

"...I am," Cal replies, if carefully. "It's hard not to be, you know? But...at the same time, I'm not sure if I should be asking." He forces a laugh at that, running his hand through his hair in a sort of restless way. "It's kind of a funny thing to be saying when I've already been told and in turn told others things, but I guess it's...different? When it's coming from someone I've actually met."

He looks at Merrin again, his expression almost uncertain. "...does that make sense? It's kind of hard putting it into words," he says before shaking his head, snorting lightly. "It's like... I'm anxious to know. But at the same time it just seems like things must have turned out all right here and there." Her not trying to kill him had been a definite giveaway, and not at all a bad thing.

"So maybe that's why I thought, I'm fine not asking." He pauses. "Unless... you think there's something I should know?"

As they approach, Merrin keeps a hand close to her talisman, just in case, while her eyes scan the crowd of mothkittens, searching for the one that stole from her earlier—though she isn't sure how she's supposed to tell any of them apart. Maybe Cal will recognize it, because she certainly doesn't.

...What a loaded question. Her gaze is piercing as it sweeps over him, tracking the hand he runs through his hair, the way he shakes his head, before settling on his face. It occurs to her that he last knew her as an enemy, and yet he's still so open and honest with her, extending his trust that she isn't going to lie or deceive him. It's so...

"You should know that..." She hesitates, shifting her weight uncomfortably, suddenly awkward. You are my friend is what she wants to say, but instead what comes out is: "You gave me a path forward."

Cowardly, maybe, but they mean the same thing to her, in the end. Pressing her lips together, she pushes past the awkwardness.

"Beyond that, I will not make the decision for you, Cal Kestis," she says, but then softens it by adding, "I was there, at the end of your quest for the holocron. That is when I arrived here."

Her expression gives away nothing about whether he succeeded or not. But if he wants to know—if he wants to know anything about what happened between his leaving Dathomir and the end of his mission—then he need only ask. That's her offer.

The actual number of Countess's litter isn't something Cal had found out. One of the more active mothkittens extracts itself from its sibling to bound towards them, half leap-fluttering as it still hasn't gotten the use of those wings figured out just yet. It circles Cal and then goes to sniff at Merrin's boots.

Cal's attention follows it only briefly as he meets Merrin's gaze, waiting as she works out her response. Their last meeting had been a tense one, but he still recalled the exchange between the Nightsister and Talon Maricos. He'd been in a vulnerable position, unsettling as Maricos' words had been then. Maybe Merrin's interruption hadn't been an entirely bad thing.

You gave me a path forward.

He hadn't been sure what to expect her to say. His initial surprise softens into an expression that's difficult to identify at first, but it eventually warms into a smile. He doesn't know the circumstances, but he doesn't doubt the importance of having a path of direction set before you. Bracca seems like a lifetime ago to him, but he'd moved on. He's still moving forward. It's not an easy thing to do, but the first step's the most important thing. And apparently Merrin's decided to do the same, and at least in her time, her path hadn't been all that far from his own.

Her words don't detail how that mission had turned out, but maybe the outcome isn't that important, not right now. "Maybe some time I'll ask how that went," he says, pausing before adding, "...thanks for telling me."

Watching his expression change, it's hard—impossible, really—for her to stop herself from smiling in return, warm and open, and she nods her head to wordlessly acknowledge his thanks, even if she considers it wholly unnecessary. This only really scratches the surface of everything he's given her—a new purpose, a release from her anger and vengeance, a galaxy to explore, a... friend—but it's a start.

Looking down to find a mothkitten at her feet, she kneels to the ground and reaches her hand out to pet it. Slowly and gently, so as not to startle it, because she knows all about wild, skittish things.

"Does this one have a name?" she asks curiously. It's maybe not one of the questions he'd had in mind when he told her that she could ask him anything, but she's distracted. The kitten paws at her hand, and she wiggles her fingers playfully in front of its face.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject