Winter Test Drive Meme

[trpmods]

WINTER 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:

Winter in Temba and Sh'Ka

Winter has arrived on Agra 10 and with it its cold temperatures, sharp winds and, you guessed it, snow. It starts slow and gentle in Temba, but even such gentle snowfall tends to build up and over the course of a few days of constant snowfall, the city has been covered with a white, roughly knee-deep blanket - Unless someone actually remembered to keep some of the paths clear.

And it still keeps snowing. The cold is also causing some of the Shadowpaws to be drawn to the inhabited buildings of Temba in search for shelter. The further away from the library one is, the more likely it gets that they may share one's living space and bless anyone else living there with nightmares. The area around the library remains free of the shadowpaws thanks to the mothcats residing there.

Over in Sh'Ka, a similar picture has been painted. But being situated within all these tall trees paints a somewhat different picture. A more icy one. All the by now leaf-free trees are covered in a thick layer of ice, as are Sh'Ka's stone-carved buildings. The wind here is harsher than it is in Temba, which has been comparably wind-free.

Please try not to slip and hurt yourself while marveling at either city.

Explore the city Temba!

Here's a map of Temba 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 sitting in the hangar. Not all of them may be around when you check out the building, as one of the pilots may be using one of them to fly over to Sh'Ka. But there should still enough of them around for you to inspect and maybe wonder about. However, only one of them will open its doors for you. Do you dare to step inside? Check out the protein paste or maybe even meet one of your crew mates?

The two currently crewless ships are open for anyone to step inside and have a look around, maybe even use for a nap.

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!

 

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

code bases by tricklet

Comments

[stitch_witch]

Well, that was definitely a cat, a real cat. For a moment Lark had to hold back her delight. She had wanted a cat since coming to the Winding Circle but with Rosethorn's work and many of her plants not being safe for cats, it had never been in their ability to have.

"Good thing I left Little Bear safe and warm in my room," she said, moving forward. "And what an interesting book. Hm, I think the best choice would be to take this to the library. But you can't be near the mothcats. Dilemmas."

For now she leaned down, reaching for the cat. She'd have to find a way to carry them both she supposed.

"We'll just take the book to the library for now, and take you to that charming man with the strange talking magic cat. I expect he'd look after you."

[catchable]

There were a lot of affronting concepts coming at Salem fast, when he thought he already couldn't get any worse. Yes, he would have to agree that it was good that the bear was not here with them, because he was the size of a snack for a bear. No, the book certainly did not belong in a library where just anyone could check it out, that sounded like a sure way to lose it. And no, he did not want to be near a mothcat, whatever that was, he decided to take the moral stand right there and disagree with them on principle.

On the other hand, he knew a thing or two about strange talking magic cats. This very real cat said, "Oh, goodie, a cellmate. What is he in for? Mass destruction? Temporal treason? Forgetting to send a wedding invitation to Drell? I have my favourites."

[stitch_witch]

Oh. Oh dear. Lark stood there for a moment, regarding the the feline that was very much talking to her. Interesting.

"I admit, this is unexpected. And to answer your question, I believe he is merely the man's companion. And forgive me, I did believe you to be little more than a cat. How should I address you."

In the mean time she takes her scarf off to wrap around the feline the best she can. It may be impolite to pick him up after all.

[catchable]

"That's what he wants you to think," Salem assured the lady, giving an imperious, tight turn where he stood to settle back onto his haunches. Magic talking cats did tend to be a deceitful bunch. He didn't entirely know what to think about being dressed, though if it were up to him, he would have put a scarf on, too, so he supposed he could tolerate this humiliation by sitting patiently for it. The colour did bring out his eyes.

"I get to choose?" he answered, looking quite thrilled about it, and didn't have to think long before he suggested, "'Your highness' has a nice ring to it. 'Beloved and bewitching emperor' would be ideal. If you give me some milk, I'll let you call me Salem."

[stitch_witch]

No, Lark was certain of her conclusion, but that could wait for him meeting Mini himself.

"Unless you are a King or Emperor, I fear I shall not use the titles for you. And I have no milk," she told him quite honestly. Done with the scarf she straightens and looks at the book.

"Come, we can talk as we go, but you cannot carry your book alone. I assume you are our latest 'He Row'."

[catchable]

She made it sound like she still thought him 'little more than a cat', which made Salem huff his offence at her assumption that he didn't deserve these titles. Maybe not yet. 'Hero' did sound good, though. The kind of person who would be allowed to take over the world. He slipped off of the book to look up at her hopefully again, giving another twirl so that she would use her human hands for him. "I could be a hero. My career opportunities kind of dried up a few years ago, and it's been a rocky transition to find something new. I don't do intern positions, though," he said, watching carefully after the book. "That can't go in any library, it has to stay with me," he added, before it could get to far and she could realize this vision of hers.

[stitch_witch]

"I'm not sure I know what an intern is," she says, stooping to pick up the book. "That makes sense. Most arrivals seem to come with something from home. This would be be yours. When you find a safe place to live, it should be there with you. Your piece of home."

Once it was secure in her arms (and oh dear how large it was), she looked to him.

"I am not sure I could pick you up now, if you wished to be carried. Would you be willing to walk?"

[catchable]

"I can give it a shot," Salem replied, though he didn't sound as enthusiastic as he had been, and his ears were twisted back anxiously. Not about the walking, he'd been doing that for years and was pretty good at it. What was ruffling his fur was, "I'd rather just go home, thank you. I'm not really cut out for living on my own. I have needs. A delicate constitution. A refined palate. It takes a village, you know."

[stitch_witch]

"Sadly, that is not something I can offer you at this point," she admitted. "I wish I could go home too. I miss many people there. But when we are called to this place, we are unfortunately mostly bound to it."

And his luck was that they had a village. Even if the 'taking a village' won't be that hard. They are a village.

"There may be someone here who you could reside with who would happily welcome your company. If you are tolerant of dogs and not likely to mess with threads or strings, I could even offer some of my space.

[catchable]

Being turned into a cat and forced into the Spellmans' care was bad enough, there wasn't any room left on Salem's plate for further bondage. Besides, "That's not fair! I haven't done anything!" Maybe this wasn't the best time for bad behaviour like lying, if he was trying to plead for his release. "Nothing that anyone was supposed to know about!" Better.

Despite this miraculous turn for honesty, prospects were looking bleak. Salem threw himself onto the ground, and revealed where that sobbing had been coming from in dramatic heaves. Between his tears, he wept, "I love messing with strings."

[stitch_witch]

"You will find that is true of all of us. Our job here to try and save the Agrii," she said with a shrug. There was little she could do for all of this but find shelter.

Oh the poor thing. Lark crouched down, sitting on her heels, and looked at him. If only she could make it better.

"I'm sorry. I suppose wherever you go I can spare you some of the non-magical string."

[catchable]

Salem was consumed in his tearful breakdown, so he almost missed the natural implication that there must have been magical strings as well. He was still pitifully hiccuping when he ventured, "Are these your magical strings? You still have your magic?" This whole thing might have been much less dire than the lady had presented it, if she wasn't even a mortal. She just needed some instructions.

[stitch_witch]

"I'm the only thread mage here, so of course they would be mine," she said. She was shocked that he was very apparently familiar with magic, or familiar enough.

"When it is not a storm, which muddles abilities and magic in those that have it, yes, I have my thread magic."

She started walking toward the diner, expecting him to join her. Perhaps there was still some smoked fish around.

[catchable]

'Thread mage' sounded very specific, and Salem had to assume it was some fancy title because the lady otherwise made it sound like there were plenty of witches here. Maybe they all had weird, specific jobs, like celery sorcerer or couch commander. He would be happy to fill that role, if they were looking, and hurried after the thread mage's heels so no one else could volunteer in the meantime.

"So, when the snow clears up, we can get out of here. Open a portal or enchant a mirror or ask the book. Home, here I come!" he said.

[stitch_witch]

"I fear I do not explain well," she said as she tried to skirt another mound of snow. "We cannot go home of our own will, unless we solve the problem. I fear you must reset your expectations."

[catchable]

Not what Salem wanted to hear. It was really taking the nip out of his enthusiasm, and he didn't even understand why they had to care about the problem when they could just magic it away. "We can take the Agrii with us. There, problem solved," he said. "And they said I was more of a problem-causer. I demand a retrial!"

[stitch_witch]

"There is no magic that simply takes away the suffering of people," Lark countered with all the patience of a woman used to explaining herself to young mages.

[catchable]

Sure, it did sound a lot more complicated when the job wasn't just 'save' them, but 'save them AND make them happy'. Happy was one of those things that witches had very poor control over, like love and a sense of style. Not Salem, of course. Like the style, he wasn't one to let such a challenge stop him. "Sure there is," he said. "Right in that book in your hands. Turn to the section on 'pain management'." There were a wealth of spells in there, from basic HR complaints to potions of utter numbness. Salem was willing to try as many as it took.

[stitch_witch]

Of course it's quite complicated. Surely he can see how destroyed this place was, even with the snow covering so much.

"And you are capable of performing this magic?"

[catchable]

Icily, Salem instructed, "It's rude to ask a lady what she is capable of." The answer should have been self-evident, though. No one was a cat by choice. So he dropped the attitude to admit, "No," with no small amount of longing misery. "But any witch with her powers shouldn't have any trouble. You can practice by conjuring me some tuna, if you want. I'm a very fair judge."

[stitch_witch]

And here Lark thought it was common courtesy among mages to share such knowledge.

"If you require a 'witch' then you will been young Billy I believe. And I do not know that we have tuna here, in these seas or lakes."

So he will have to live with lesser fish.

[catchable]

Somewhere along the line, Salem must have misunderstood this lady. He was pretty sure he had heard her say she used magic, though, so he really didn't understand where the understanding had broken down. "Has no one taught you any conjuring...?" he tried. Witches who had been born without the knowledge of the Other Realm sometimes lacked a proper education.

[stitch_witch]

No, he was not understanding her right now. To think that she could conjure was just silly. Even academic mages could not do that.

"I am an ambient mage, not academic. My tools are what they are, and while they can achieve many things that are not expected, they cannot conjure."

[catchable]

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself," Salem replied. "Some of the best witches never finished school. Benjamin Franklin dropped out before high school." He gave another twirl, frozen toes tapping anxiously on the cold ground to try to keep them off of it before prancing ahead a few feet to encourage her to move faster, to that warm place she had been promising. "Come on, lets warm up the milk and I'll show you some of my favourite spells."

[stitch_witch]

"Ambient mages are rarely able to push their magic into the forms used in academic magic," she corrected him quite simply. He didn't understand, and that was something she could let go now as she finished walking toward the diner.

"I do not believe we have milk in this season."