revivalprojectooc | Opening Test Drive Meme

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Opening Test Drive Meme

TEST DRIVE
Application FAQ | Taken Characters | Reserves | Application

Welcome to the first Test Drive for The Revival Project!

For those who do not know, this game is a spin-off from The Drift Fleet game, which is shortly closing. For more information about what this game is about, please check out the FAQ here or the premise here.

The TDM for the first round of applications is NOT required but is highly recommended. Really this is to see the interest level in the game as well as to have everyone interact on the new planet and with the new experiences offered here. There will be a post in the TDM where questions can be asked regarding the prompts/settings. We're keeping this loose though so go ahead and have fun with it. Any questions about the game please direct to the comment section of the FAQ.

If you are a Drift Fleet alumni, please label your character as 'DFAU' on your top level so we know. 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! The only option not allowed is to completely restart your character (because then it's not DFAU, is it?)

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

*ATTENTION! RESERVES ARE NOW OPEN!*
*ATTENTION! APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN!*
*GAME OPENS AUGUST 19th!*

WHALE COMB PARTY

In the square near your arrival point, one building seems to be in fairly good repair. It’s large and stark white on every wall. Unlike the other buildings, all the lights are on and the windows looking out are intact. That alone would make it remarkable but it’s hardly the most noticeable thing once you step inside the open doorway.

Hanging against one wall is a piece of fabric that has ‘WHALE COMB!’ painted on it in drippy, fluorescent pink letters. A smiley is painted underneath it right on the wall with three eyes and long fangs. The fangs drip down all the way to the floor and the eyes are just a blob of paint, but whoever left it seems to have been trying, here. ‘US THANK THEY!’ is written beside it, barely legible. On every other wall is ‘EAT’ in various sizes and colors. They thankfully don’t drip as much as the smiley since, beneath them, are tables upon tables of food.

There are meats, fruits, root vegetables, and even what might be a sweet dessert of some sort as well. Bowls are full of them, apparently a welcome dinner for the Agrii’s new heroes. At the very least it will give everyone a quick crash course on what is edible around here. But some of it might have … adverse effects:

- People chomping down on the striped meat all seem to get very drowsy a few minutes later.
- The red fruit that looks like a giant cherry is the equivalent of a few shots - the more consumed, the more drunken this party is getting.
- There is a bowl of weeds that have small, daisy-like flowers all along the stalks. This tastes like chicken and gives the eater a sudden burst of energy that will have them running around the room like they’re being chased.
-There are a collection of drinks, some made from the red fruit, some that are clearly water, some that taste like a less-sweet lemonade with no effects, and then there's a blue one that tastes like an especially dark beer. People drinking this will find themselves incapable of lying for a half hour.

Of course, no way to know any of this before you chow down. So dig in and enjoy the show!

LOST AND ALONE

They said don’t go into the forest. If the noises there weren’t deterrent enough then the thick trees and lack of paths should have been. Yes, you’ll need food. Yes, both meat and many fruits are in the forest. But maybe you should have gotten some more information before heading in.

Congratulations: you went into the forest and are now lost. You can’t hear the murmurings from town, nor can you see any of the lights that might be flickering on and off in the city. How are you going to get back into town? How do you make sure that the creatures here don’t attack you? You probably don’t have any weapons, so you’d better figure something out quick.

Or, maybe you’ll get lucky and run into another foolish person wandering around out here. Try not to attack them - unless they attack first.

MILES TO GO

The first thing every survivor needs to find is shelter. Not long after your arrival at the fountain, it’s getting darker now and, even if the night is short (you’re about to find out it’s not!), you don’t want to spend your first one out on an unfamiliar street. Distantly you can hear a sound like a wolf howling through an elephant’s trunk. It’s loud and alien. Maybe you want to find somewhere to sleep a little more quickly.

Right away there are two pretty solid options that will do nicely for the night: an abandoned hotel-like structure and some empty stores.

The hotel structure seems to be the most popular option for others. Its large, overgrown lobby leads you to the staircase and over a dozen floors of rooms in varying conditions. Despite it looking as though no one has set foot in here for decades, the stairs and floors all are secure. The rooms that have doors on them open up to dusty rooms that all have a bathroom (of sorts) attached and long, narrow bed frames. Figuring out a mattress will be a challenge but at least this is a safe place to sleep. As long as no animals laid claim to this room before you got in...

But let’s say the room in the hotel doesn’t work for you. Maybe the room is too small for you. Maybe you don’t like the stairs. Maybe you want someplace private to separate yourself from the rest of these strangers and to think quietly about what to do next. Either way, the other option is any number of abandoned stores lining the block where you arrived. The glass doors and windows of many are broken but there are just as many intact as well. The rooms are all large and empty, as whatever wares inside were either taken or dissolved over the years. There may be a counter or two that will get you off the ground, though. With all this space, you’re bound to find something to sleep on.

Unless someone else got there, first...

code bases by tricklet

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yeah, seems about right. But really, it's true. Heard your world doesn't have them. Basically, Wanda's a lot more powerful back where I'm from. So, you good with secrets, Romanoff?"

Because he doesn't want it getting back to his Mom.

"Are you asking me that question, of all people?" That's not a real question. The important thing is that she know it's a secret.

In Wanda's case, there could be some particular hurdles, but it doesn't rattle Natasha's confidence on the subject.

That really is the important part. But Tommy nods as he moves to lean against a wall near her.

"Where I'm from? Wanda's a lot more powerful. Probably one of the most powerful mutants there is, in the grand scheme of things. She can do magic, does these hexes by manipulating probability or something, flies. I don't know how she does it all. But she also does this thing called reality-warping. Not as strong as my twin brother, Billy, but really strong. She married Vision, see. She married Vision and wanted kids."

He gestures briefly, hands flicking over himself. As if to say 'and here I am.'

"She made twin boys, Thomas and William. Her magic could make everything but life itself, the soul needed to make a spark of humanity, to make true personhood and not some weird sort of doll. She didn't know it. Her magic took two stray pieces of the soul of the demon Mephistopheles. The demon didn't really like that, you know?"

"For the sake of continuing this conversation, let's say I do." Natasha pays close attention to what he's describing, especially since certain parts of it correlate with what Natasha's seen herself. Vision and Wanda's romance, for example. And while she's willing to believe that this other Wanda is far more powerful than her own, there's also the sneaking suspicion that they only ever scratched the surface of her potential. The things she did to their heads, that she could do...

Let's say it's good to know what those might have looked like another way.

"So your Wanda—your mother—changed reality to make you, and she stole pieces of a demon's soul to do it. Am I getting that right?"

Tommy nods, Natasha's smart like that. She follows along quickly and he appreciates that. Appreciates taking a few nanoseconds to arrange his thoughts even more.

"So, well, things get complicated from there. Demon came and reclaimed the souls, killing her kids. Which of course led to her having a serious breakdown. Her magic had altered our souls enough that we sorta exploded the demon for a while. And her old mentor used a spell to block her memories. A lot of shit happened after that," Tommy says, because he's definitely going to be vague over his soul-mom going crazy, blowing shit up, killing a few Avengers, and having to be stopped by Dr. Strange because no one had ever cared to tell him she was hurting so he could help. "Thing was? No one knew our souls were also thrown into the past. Wanda lost little boys, small, toddlers or something. Not long after, she meets Billy on the street. Billy who was sixteen."

Tada. Retro-reincarnation.

"So Billy and I were born to different families in different states. But he takes after her powers, and I take after Pietro's, but Billy and I, being the kids of a nexus being, are supposed to be insanely powerful compared to even her."

Except he'd never proven to be, though Billy really has.

"And things didn't even stop being complicated there."

Not by a long shot.

More complicated from there. Natasha snorts, her lips twitching. She doesn't comment, because she is absolutely sure that it's clear that's more than complicated enough. She's also sure he knows that better than she does. No reason to rub the kid's nose in it.

Still, how's a person supposed to respond to that.

"That's a lot. I can see why you're not interested in Wanda finding out—or Vision?" Presumably. If for no other reasons, she's not convinced Vision could keep a secret from Wanda. Or that he would, given the choice.

"Vision already knows," Tommy sighs. "I may have gone off on him about how my Vision is sort of a deadbeat dad. I just don't know how to approach it with her. Or if my twin or half-sister are going to just blab it out."

Because she was clearly upset about something about Pietro, and he is a lot like Pietro so he doesn't want to upset her. There's a lot of things he doesn't want to do. Including going through the awkwardness of being a disappointing son again.

"Anyway, back to the Young Avengers? We all were powered kids that Vision had listed in his Avengers Fail-Safe, in case the original Avengers were gone or dead or something. Which they were. The group was brought together. All of them had associations with the old Avengers somehow. That was ours."

That's not a very good way to keep a secret, Tommy. Just for the record.

Considering that Natasha has a hard time picturing Vision as any kind of dad, though, she'll let that slide. Better to stay focused. Even if at the moment, there's not a whole lot to focus on.

At least the connection to Pietro explains his speed.

"That makes sense." For values of makes sense. At least it's internally consistent given certain assumptions. Natasha's lips tighten. It's clear she'd like to ask about the Avengers being "dead or something," but she hesitates considering it's not especially relevant. "It raises a lot more questions, but it does make sense."

It wasn't his fault. It was the blue truth serum drink!

"When doesn't super hero work raise questions? Seriously, All we do is make people ask questions. But, anyway, you know this Wanda better than I do, right? How the hell do you do a 'why I'm kinda sorta your son that may or may not carry genetic material similar to yours because Maximoffs always find a way to complicate shit?"

Because they do. Period.

"Whatever, doesn't matter. You're her friend, and helping you helps her, so I'm helping you. Simple as that."

"I appreciate the help." Natasha answers that first, because it's much easier to answer than how do you tell Wanda a painful and complicated truth. Natasha still hasn't told Wanda about her future. Either of their futures. It's better that way.

She would have been fine suggesting keeping it quiet as long as it wasn't hurting anyone, but it does seem like that option isn't going to be sustainable.

Talk about complicated.

"Since not telling her is off the table, I'd consider telling her something along the lines of what you told me. Start with the fact you're from a different reality. See if you can't downplay some of the death and mayhem."

"Avengers stick together, when Tony and Steve aren't having a lover's spat," Tommy shrugs. Even Young Avengers do. Mostly. Sometimes they don't stick with what the older Avengers want, when the older Avengers are being stupid.

"I've already told her a good bit of it. Except for the whole 'you had magical kids and I'm sorta one of them'. It's awkward. Meeting her the first time was awkward."

She sure he can't just hide it? It can't come back to blow negatively against him. Clearly.

"How are Tony and Steve falling out and Clint turning ninja the only things that seem to be consistent in all of this?" Look, it's weird. It's strange things can be so different, and them some very specific details don't seem to vary.

It's not important. Just a little annoying. Like when your teeth itch and there's nothing to scratch.

"Wanda is a good kid. Maybe don't tell her that way exactly, but you said there were connections between the Young Avengers and the original team. You could tell her that you and your brother are connected to her. That much probably won't be much of a surprise considering how much you resemble Pietro. That way if the truth comes out, she's ready for it. You were never lying. You were just giving her a version that was fair to both of you."

"What can I say, Ronin was a good look for Clint, especially given there was another Hawkeye for a while?"

Kate got attacked by Ronin in the park once. While on a date. Really, Clint was quite the punk. But strategic punk. Still, he looks bemused to hear his mother referred to as a 'kid' because that isn't how he perceives her, even young as she is.

Tommy sighs and shakes his head.

"Yeah, that seems like a bad plan. Because then I have to explain how the Young Avengers came about, and people get weird over some stuff. The whole teens as heroes risking their lives gets strange. I feel like Spider-Man was one of the few people that didn't have an issue with us, which, yanno, fair given how young he was when he started."

Isn't it wrong, though, to force people into family roles they aren't responsible for? Maybe he should just keep to his siblings and hover around the edge, watching out for Wanda in true Maximoff speedster fashion.

Natasha is allowed to think of Wanda as a kid. It's not even their respective ages so much as their experience—Wanda's life wasn't easy by any means, but Natasha has been around politics and violence since she was a child. She'd been showing her the ropes, teaching her to rely on things other than her admittedly phenomenal power. Natasha had tried to keep Wanda safe, and to teach her how to keep herself safe.

Even if that hadn't come to much in the end.

"So don't get into the details." As though that's obvious. "Not like any of us can make you quit the hero game and go to a good school from here. But it's your choice in the end. Worth considering how likely she is to find out one way or another."

School? Tommy actually laughs a little at the idea that he would go to school. That's definitely not going to happen, not even back home. GED or nothing. No school would let him in their walls given his record of, well, blowing one up.

"I mean, it's not like she can read minds or anything."

"Is that a joke?" It's worth clarifying. Natasha may have forgiven Wanda for her one trip through her memories, but she hasn't forgotten it. That episode is going to stay with her.

It may be a talent she doesn't trot out often, presumably out of respect for her friends and her own moral compass, but Natasha is entirely confident that Wanda can read minds. "Because if it's not, I have some bad news."

"She can read minds?" Tommy just about yelps. That's... That's bad. He doesn't like it. At all. She doesn't do that back home.

"Okay, that's new."

"Normally doesn't, but can. And has." Said with a little lift of her brows that makes it clear she's not a fan. "Plus, there's no knowing when something will blow your cover."

Ouch. That's just pretty seriously makes things awkward.

"Well, I guess I'll have to hope that the whole brain running faster than humans' will help keep it safe."

"If that's how you want to do it." Ultimately, Natasha has no room to judge. She's been keeping secrets from Wanda, Steve, Vision—almost anyone from their home for longer than she cares to admit. "As long as you know what you're getting into. You might want to make sure everyone else who knows is on the same page."

Yeah, getting his twin and half-sister on that page won't be easy. Billy will want the connection. Viv won't see the point to lying.

Maybe... maybe it's just easier if it isn't him that has to do it.

"It's complicated."

"It usually is," Natasha says with a bit of sympathy. It's not an easy situation to be in, and there's not an obvious right answer. For whatever it's worth, there's also not an obviously wrong answer. "I'm sure you do the best you can, however it falls out. And Wanda will be there to help you out too."

He wants that. He wants Wanda to be there for him. Which she seemed to want to do as well. But she is even more of a stranger now than she was back home. And that’s... disappointing. The effort is tiring too.

"Either way, you don't have to decide right now," Natasha says, which is about the most comforting thing she can find to say. "Get settled in first. No one can blame you for that."

She isn’t wrong. But if only it was easier. Still, he smiles. Because in a way, she really has been a comfort.

“Thanks. Anything else I can do to help?”

Opening Test Drive Meme

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