Test Drive Meme!

[trpmods]

TEST DRIVE
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:

- Explore the city! There's a map here 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. The hotel seems to be the most crowded, but you might want into what appears to be an abandoned storefront and find someone else scavenging or even sleeping.

- There are spaceships! That's right, there are currently several small spaceships grounded in the hangar. They appear to have power, but only one ship will let you enter. (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 it might be worth poking around the one that will...

- Is that a chill in the air? It seems to be getting just a little colder, day by day... or maybe it's your imagination? But just in case it's not, you might want to thinking about prepping for what could be winter. Does that mean gathering plants to dry for food? Stockpiling water, or trying to get the power to stay steady in the buildings so you won't freeze (does it even get down to freezing, here - who knows!)? It's up to you!

- Can you hear me now? 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.

- 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...



code bases by tricklet

Comments

[out_of_order]

"Kind of reminds me of Zeffo..." Cal murmurs to BD-1. "Giants?" He looks at Evangeline again, thinking of the ancient guardians in the old tomb they'd had to navigate.

Clarification has him stumble to a halt as he wonders if he'd heard right. "What?" Flaming...spider-women...? He's dealt with flaming things and spider beasts, and a difficult witch who summoned her undead sisters, but never everything at once. That's something he supposes he should be thankful of.

"So you've done it then? Ring the bells?"

[chosenundead]

"Oh, that. Of course! Not that seemed to do much, actually," She said, then abruptly broke into a clattering trot. The street they were walking along crossed another, and rather than simply walk into the intersection, she was moving towards the actual corner itself.

It's surely not normal for a person in head-to-toe armor to peek so cautiously around like that, interrogating each blind spot with care.

"...I was pretty upset at the time. But that's sort of the worst thing I could've done, so I went exploring and found out that there was this huge gate that'd been opened for some reason while I was away. So, that's the moral, I guess; even if you don't know what's happening, just keep going and it all works out, in the end!"

[out_of_order]

Had she spotted something? Cal hesitates before starting after her, the sound of his boots on the ground nowhere near the ruckus of her armor plating. He hadn't sensed anything around, but even though it seemed silly for someone making all that noise look like they were attempting to be very stealthy, he doesn't object to the idea.

"Nothing? But what about the whole prophecy thing?" That had to be a real let down. "I guess I can kind of relate though. I've been hopping between worlds trying to puzzle out clues left behind in order to find a way into an ancient vault, except it turns out there's always another step to take, another place to go."

He keeps out of Evangeline's way as she checks the area out, sighing as he lifts his shoulders in a shrug. "...and then just when I thought we'd finally find what we were looking for, I hit a wall. ...and I'm not sure what to do now."

A frown pulls at his face, and the padawan shakes his head. "Except now I'm here, and I don't know that that helps anything. You say keep going, and yeah, that makes sense, but...doing what?"

[chosenundead]

"Well, it's not really that complicated. Y'know, just... do the work that's in front of you. Focus on the small steps; first, we need to get down this street," She gestures to indicate the street around them, "Not the.... toughest street I've ever walked down, but it's still a perfectly good first step."

True to form, the street remains unthreatening. There is a marked lack of shambling undead, terrible cannibals, monsters, or dragons. Really, they ought to be grateful.

"Maybe we'll find something nice somewhere along the way. Then, we... explore, and see what comes after that. At some point, something always tries to kill me, and usually I get killed. Then I go kill it. But then, there's usually a reward. Oh! I almost forgot; the prophecy," She turns, actually turns, and claps both hands together clank!. Visualize the delighted grin on your own, while the helmet blocks all actual view, "About that. It's totally real, and I am definitely the Chosen One. The bells were kind of a bust, but I did meet this guy who told me so. So it has to be true."

[out_of_order]

Oh, Cal's grateful all right. It's nice being able to walk down a street and not be shot at or jumped by the local wildlife. But the fact that it's just so empty brings a whole different sort of unease. It's like walking the abandoned streets of the village in Zeffo. Just without Stormtroopers.

"Okay..." he says. That sounds reasonable enough. He manages not to ask 'and then what?' Evangeline at least provides interesting conversation. He lifts his head as she turns towards him, the motion and pose contrasting with such an armored form so much that it coaxes a faint smile from him.

The Chosen One. What, did every place have one of those? What ever happened to the one whispered about that was supposed to bring balance to the Force? He pushes that thought aside. "Oh yeah? So what do you have to do, being the Chosen One? Doesn't seem like one gets named that without having something that has to be done."

[chosenundead]

"Oh easy, turns out, the whole thing with the bells, and the horrible tower full of giants and the snakes and booby traps, that was all just a test! And once you get past all the guards, and the dragon-slayers, you get to talk to a Goddess! Which I did!" Hear that squeak? That's real faith, right there, the kind that usually only gets pointed at celebrities and posters of celebrities, "Kingseeker Frampt said that I just need to fill the Lord Vessel with all the most powerful souls in Lordran. That means, I have to go find the Gods that are left, and get them to give them up. I do have two already, but..."

For the first time since meeting her, Eva's chipper facade seems to falter. She keeps walking, subdued posture continuing, but hasn't gone five steps before she shakes it off and it's right back to good cheer.

"Well, it doesn't really matter, right? I'm here now! Just gotta keep going."

[out_of_order]

That's a whole lot to process, and Cal's steps slow to a stop again, allowing Eva to outdistance him by a couple of meters. He can feel that even BD-1 has perked up behind him, hooting softly in question. Giants and snakes and traps aren't even the issue here. He's having a hard time digesting the rest of it.

"You're collecting souls? The souls of gods?" His tone wavers between disbelief and concern. Just what sort of person is he traveling with here? Besides Undead?

This is beyond anything he's ever heard of. It sounded like something more related to the Dark side, or perhaps to that mysterious power of the Nightsisters. The dead had been raised somehow. Were they truly souls, or something else..? And what about when he'd seen Master Tapal? His master was long dead, but the fight on Dathomir had been very real to Cal, and his lightsaber had been practically destroyed.

He shakes his head, but he still doesn't resume following, not just yet.

"Well, it doesn't really matter, right?" she says. Does it? They're here, wherever here is, but...does continuing to keep on going really get you anywhere? And where would that be?

[chosenundead]

"You know, now that you say it that way, it is pretty amazing," She's not stopping, Cal. Indeed, she doesn't even seem to have noticed your lag, "Just goes to show; you can get used to anything, if you just work up to it."

...Then she looks back, just a brief glance as if to check that he's still following along, and stops. If her helm had the flexibility, there is a distinct possibility that she'd cock her head at him; what's wrong, pal?

"...Why, d'you wanna see one? They're quite pretty."

[out_of_order]

'Amazing' isn't quite the word he'd use, even though it's highly applicable. It's not every day you meet someone who casually admits to collecting souls.

"I'm not sure that's something to get used to..." Cal quietly notes. He can't help but frown. "What happens to the souls you collect? I doubt that they're given up so easily." He's pretty sure it must involve some amount of protest, and probably a good fight. Evangeline's a chipper thing, but he doesn't forget how ready she was to level her blade at him.

The padawan finally moves again, hesitance in each step. For all the terrible things it sounds like Evangeline's involved with, she also possesses an odd air of innocence. There's no maliciousness that he can detect in anything that she says, and he's not sure if that should be more troubling than if she were.

[chosenundead]

"Oh, well... you know. I keep them in this little pocket," she indicates a pouch at her waist, or rather at the waist of the armor. It's made of leather and is tucked neatly up under the shield strapped across her back, only just visible under the blue-and-silver heraldry. Tucked in next to it is an odd holster, securing the bottle she'd drunk from, earlier, "They don't mind being all crammed together. Sometimes I trade them to other undead, but I do eat them. To get stronger, you know?"

So obvious, Cal. She eats souls. And now, apparently, laughs about it.

"Well, of course not, silly! You'd have to be well hollowed to give up your souls without a fight. But it's not anything any of them haven't done to me. It's just how life is, you know?"

[out_of_order]

The admission that she eats the souls effectively halts Cal in his tracks again. Even BD-1 bleeps in shock, so he unfortunately can't hope that he'd misheard Evangeline.

"...not that I haven't figured it wouldn't be, but...that life sounds a lot different than how I've experienced. So, sorry if I might offend? But all this taking and eating souls and stuff sounds terrible."

Blunt, but even so, he seems to still try to be nice about it. Honestly it feels like such a surreal conversation, and present company and unknown locations really don't help to dismiss the possibility that he's just having some very disturbing dream.

[chosenundead]

"Sure is!" This is said in the most cheerful tone possible, "It's the worst thing that's ever happened! Everyone is dying and the sun has gone out, and there isn't anywhere safe left! But of course, if an undead like me sits around letting herself get sad about it, I'll hollow faster! That's how the curse works, you know."

Chipper here is not being used for its intended purpose. This is the knife-edge of madness and fear, with a smile and teeth. She's cheerful, alright, but only because it's that or death. She's continuing to fight, because it's that or lie down and let the dark take you.

"If I go completely hollow, I'll lose my mind and start trying to kill all my friends. It's happened to almost everyone, so far. So don't talk about it! It's fine. It's normal! Keep walking. Don't worry about it! I don't! I can't. Alright, Cal?"

[out_of_order]

Vaguely he's reminded of Taron Malicos. It scares him, how carefree and pleasant Evangeline acts, and how incredibly at contrast it is with the threat of what could happen to her, what's happened to those like her. He can sense her own undertone of fear in that possibility, the desperation of keeping positive in hopes to stave it off.

Cal steps towards her again, nodding. "...all right," he says, head bowed, apologetic. "I'm... I'm sorry, Eva. Won't bring it up again."

He catches up with her, mind fumbling for words, for a change of subject.

[chosenundead]

"Nothing to forgive; you're not even undead," There's an interesting hollow quality to a sigh from inside a metal helm, "We don't talk about the past, really. Most of us can't remember much. I had a friend who talked like he remembered all kinds of things from before the curse. I think... I think he got himself cursed on purpose, somehow. Talk about crazy, right!"

This little speech, which had begun introspective, had by now ramped back up into cheerful. Oh that friend of hers, what a character! What a nut! That's definitely something to chuckle about.

"But if you're asking all this stuff about me, you must be thinking about how much you'd like me to ask you right back. So. Let's hear a story, sorcerer. Tell me about these Undead Nightsisters you were going on about."

[out_of_order]

"I wonder if it's better off that way, being unable to remember the past." Except as painful as it is, Cal knows that it's important. What's happened in the past is what made him what he is now, good and bad. The bad just tends to haunt you a lot worse.

He refrains from saying as much. Evangeline seems more focused on the present. Maybe that's the best way to go about things after all. Except that right now he feels just as lost as he did five years ago.

The padawan glances at Evangeline, a crooked smile tugging partially at his face. "Well not really- you were the one that said you didn't mind a lot of questions," he points out. "But I guess that's fair. The Nightsisters... to tell you the truth, I don't really know a whole lot about them. From what I heard, they were supposedly wiped out during the war that happened several years ago, but I guess that's not true now that I've seen one."

He remembers the echoes in the Force he'd sensed, the sadness of being the survivor. It resonates with him even now. "Anyway," he continues, shaking his head, "-the Nightsisters use some kind of...dark magick, I guess they called it. I'm not sure how it works, if it's some twisting of the dark side of the Force, but the Nightsister I ran into used it to bring to life the corpses of her dead sisters. She...didn't exactly trust me being there, so I had to outrun a bunch of them." A shrug. "...so my first impression of undead isn't the greatest."