// TEST DRIVE MEME_

[eluviomods]

// TEST DRIVE_ Welcome to Eluvio's Test Drive Meme! Whether you'd like to try out a character in the setting, get some samples for your application, or just mess around and have fun, this is the place to do it. If you're getting samples together, remember that you need at least four comments made by you in the thread for it to count. Pick any of the scenarios below or make up any of your own. This is space! There are infinite worlds and possibilities. If you'd like to thread out hijacking a ship, do it! If you'd like to get stuck on a remote planet with only one other person for company, do it! Take the wheel and guide your own adventure! The most important thing is to have fun! ➣ SCENARIO 001. It's a normal day aboard the Eluvio. Maybe you're on your way to work. Maybe you're hanging out with friends. You can even be up to nefarious misdeeds. Whatever the case, you're having a relatively uneventful day. And then you see it. From a distance, it looks like a ball of fur. Up close, it looks like a ball of fur. If you touch it, it will chitter at you. It will vibrate and purr. Where this is coming from is anyone's guess because even if you turn it over, there's nothing to see but more fur. It's pretty harmless, though. Leave it there. Take it with you. The choice is yours. As you continue about your day, you'll begin to notice more of these little furballs. On the ground. Sitting on tables. Here and there at random intervals. By the end of the day, they're fucking everywhere. Good luck! If you get overwhelmed, maybe go talk to that bald starship captain who showed up last week. He might know something about the furry invaders. ➣ SCENARIO 002. Congratulations! You've been selected to be part of the team being sent down to the planet around which the fleet is currently orbiting. Initial scans of the surface show that oxygen is in abundance, temperatures support carbon-based life-forms, and there aren't any large quantities of poisonous gases that might pose problems. Your mission is to secure a landing site, set up a camp, and locate edible flora and fauna. Stores aboard ship are running a bit low on food and it's projected to be another three weeks before the fleet reaches a station large enough to replenish supplies. Once identified, larger parties will be sent to the surface to help hunt and gather. The good news is, scans show fruits, vegetables, and animals are plentiful. The bad news is that once your ship lands on the planet, everything goes sideways. An unexpected ion storm sweeps through the solar system, shorting out communications between the fleet and the team. It wreaks havoc with the electronics planet-side too, temporarily shorting out the smaller craft's navigational array. Until it passes, about six standard days, you're stuck down there. And the bountiful harvest isn't without its dangers. Even the most docile looking animal will attack. Sampling the fruits and vegetables will cause temporary paralysis, hallucinations, and psychosis. Inhaling pollen will bring out a person's baser instincts. The planet itself is predatory, you see. Everything on it has evolved to entice visitors from nearby systems and kill them. And the fleet's unwittingly taken the bait. ➣ SCENARIO 003. It's been a rough day. Everything's going wrong. Machines are breaking down everywhere. The owner of your favorite business wasn't there today and the store was closed when you stopped by to pick something up. A coworker didn't show up for work, leaving you with an interested workload. And now it feels like you're being watched. It started about ten minutes ago, but whenever you turn to look, there's no one there. The feeling doesn't go away, though. No matter where you are, it feels like eyes are watching. Did you hear something? A quiet, scuffling scratching sound just for a second? Maybe you did. Maybe you didn't. But it came from the misshapen monstrosity that just punched a hole through the bulkhead right beside you. The creature makes a low, wet gargling noises and darts toward you: six to seven feet tall, vaguely humanoid, and covered in strange growths over which is stretched bubbling grayish-brown skin. Maybe you notice tatters of familiar clothing hanging off of it. Or there's enough left of its eyes to recognize the shape and color. Or maybe something about the noises it's making sound familiar. It's your missing coworker and it looks like the unfortunate soul ran afoul of that weird slimy creature the science team brought back from that jungle planet a month ago. The good news: you can kill it. The bad news: it can kill you. It's fast, it's hungry, and it reproduces at an alarming rate. A single bite can transfer the parasites in its bloodstream to you. Then you'll be just like your buddy. And that shop owner you like so much. And all of the people on Level 12. And... ➣ SCENARIO 004. You're welcomed and encouraged to make up your own scenarios. As you can see, there will be a wide variety of the types of things your character will encounter in this game. So feel free to make your starters as horrific, sexy, lighthearted, action-packed, or slice of life as you'd like. Make up a planet, make up a location on the Eluvio, make up a ship in the fleet, fight off a zombie alien invasion, NPC Captain Picard, there's no limit to what you can do on the TDM.

Comments

junpei | zero time dilemma

[coolerjunpei]

one

[He's tripped over a tribble. That's it, that's the extent of his action here.]

Whoa—! [lord,] H-Hey, who left their talking wigs all over the ship? These things are everywhere!

[Currently, this one is now stuck to his shoe.]

two

[Cool things: getting to muck around on a space ship doing sick space travel missions. Junpei, a grown man, could not be more excited about leaving the main fleet for even a little while to check out an actual, real alien planet. Like, the moon is cool and all, but aliens? Nice.

His attitude changes from childish excitement immediately into grumpy cynicism the moment everything goes wrong and someone estimates aloud the six-day wait before things get back online. Immediately the guy who was talking up all the cool stuff he was going to do on the planet the whole way down firmly plants himself in the crash site to do one thing: complain.]

Six days?! Six days?! I don't know if any of you packed for six days of being stuck here, but I think my luggage fell off somewhere in the landing!

[Junpei may have underestimated how long this mission would have taken even without the complications. But never mind. He sits down on a boulder - mossy, who knows what this moss will do to him in a few minutes - crossing one leg over the other and leaning back to gesture around knowingly.]

So, who thought this was a great idea, again? [he did]

four

[When you've been around the kidnapped-to-another-freaky-place block a few times (just once is too much), you start to wonder if every new freaky place is definitely trying to kill you. Junpei tried out healthy optimism for all of ten minutes before convincing himself that everything from the moment he woke up has probably been a lie and they're probably in, like, Texas or something right now.

But how do you ask the other people if they also think that maybe this is Texas without tipping off the creeps in charge?? Subtly. (it won't be subtly)]

Hey, uh... Can I... ask you something?

[stonecore]

[honestly, slapping his bitch mouth is really, really tempting. She settles for a withering glare and a disgusted wrinkle of her nose while she draws herself up to her fullest height.]

Boy. Be shutting mouth or six be feet under, not days.

[coolerjunpei]

[Okay, uh, hmm. Junpei frowns, but he does it after a wide-eyed look of surprise. She sure is tall... and menacing...]

Hey, you can't just... [Kill him?? Without puzzles or something??] What're we supposed to do for six days, huh?! Doesn't this bother you?

[junpei: doesn't shut his mouth]

[stonecore]

[Or...his body will be the puzzle.

You know, again.]

You whining more bother than this. [She just spent six months looking for damn fuel, after all. Also war, prison, general discrimination and dysphoria... Six days on some planet wasn't exactly high on her list of peeves.] Spend time finding ways to be occupying self, not sit around like worthless lump.

[Petrichor hefts her own light pack over her shoulder. As much it was a molehill instead of a mountain, he was right. Still bothersome.]

We here for supplies, or I being confused? Start picking things looking like food if so bored.

[coolerjunpei]

You really... [He starts that mumbled complaint, intending to finish it with something like "know how to inspire a guy," but instead he thinks better of it and sighs, raising his hands in defeat.]

Alright, fine, but I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it so I can survive and put a couple light years between you and me.

[Which is very charming of him, but hey, she just threatened him and insulted him, so he earned this!! He stands up, looking around before picking up a pack that's... probably his? Maybe?

...Holy shit, he doesn't know how to find food.] Sooo, uh... how can you tell if something is poisonous?

[stonecore]

[Very mature. Not that...she was being much better. As evidenced by...]

I feed to you and see if drop dead, [as a flat reply, then she sighs and leans close to some low-hanging fruit to give it a good sniff.] Many poison thing be bright and tempting, but also be smelling of bitter at times. Animal tolerate poison more than people, so looking of signs of feeding not always be good idea.

2

[luxuriant]

[Zelos, meanwhile, is sitting cross-legged and grumpy not too far away, resting his chin in his palm and staring at Junpei.]

Are you seriously asking that question right now? [He sits up enough to glance around at any other poor saps stuck here, even if it seems like none of them want to actually join this conversation. He still gestures at Junpei like are you hearing this??? and then glances back to him.]

You were the first one on board like a day ago! Remember when I said this was a bad idea? Huh? Anybody?

[coolerjunpei]

[you come into his house

Or: Junpei directs his very best glare at Zelos, like, this guy?? This is what he has to deal with now? Don't gesture around meaningfully right after he does!]

Seriously? All I remember from you is telling everyone to call you the Great Whatever—and now you're going to pretend you were right all along?

[He raises both hands now, like, come on.] Give me a break!

[luxuriant]

The great Zelos!

[REMEMBER IT RIGHT.] If you keep yapping, I'll give you a break alright! Sit down already and stop complaining! You're going to make things seem like they're taking even longer than they already are.

[coolerjunpei]

[The great scrub, hush.]

Oh really? It's been, what, an hour? Don't tell me you're already starting to get sick of us.

[Us, he says, like everyone else here is on his side. He's a seasoned veteran at being stuck with the same couple jerks for X days, so he's just fine!]

[luxuriant]

What "us"?!

[UGH, this guy is so annoying! Standing up, Zelos brushes himself off with an irritated huff, following it up with a flip of his hair over his shoulders.] I don't know if you noticed, bucko, but no one's exactly standing up for your whining here.

two

[neverleave]

You did.

[Natsuno isn't here willingly. Why a scrawny teenager with seemingly no special talents is a part of this team is anyone's guess – but he's certain it's because someone has read his medical information and decided a nigh-immortal being would be useful. Needless to say, Natsuno isn't happy with his job as a meat shield/guinea pig and spent the entire descent scowling at things and answering questions with a single-word replies.

The ion storm, as well as Junpei's whining, really don't help his mood.]

Complain louder, I don't think they heard you on the other side of the planet.

[coolerjunpei]

[Why's everybody gotta call him out? Even the kids (Junpei, 22, is clearly old enough to consider teenagers kids) are mouthy. He scoffs, like maybe he will complain even louder. That'd show Natsuno who's boss!!]

Wow, that's more words than I thought you were capable of saying at a time. What's next? Are we gonna see a smile?

[He knows antagonizing the whole team is a bad idea, but god—he was doing so well at not being abandoned for days in a place that will probably kill at least half of them. Nature has betrayed him and he'll take it out on whoever he wants.]

[neverleave]

Not with that attitude.

[Or ever. It feels like he hasn't smiled in years, and undeath didn't give him more reasons. It's quite possible his mouth would creak like a rusty hinge if he tries.

Having said that, Natsuno is about to walk away - if this guy is going to act contray he isn't about to argue with him - but then he fixes his gaze on the boulder Junpei is sitting on.]

You got moss on your pants.

[Which wasn't there a minute ago...]

[coolerjunpei]

[Okay, okay. Junpei waves him off with a hand and a sigh, so he can complain in peace, but what-?]

What? [His pants?? Oh.] Oh, come on, was this day not bad enough?

[He's saying that more to himself now, reaching down to brush the moss off his pants. How did it even get there? It's like it's sticking—] I, uh, I can't get this off. Did anybody bring peanut butter or something?

[That's a home remedy for stuck things isn't it?? No, but it's sticking to his hands now.]

[neverleave]

Don't just touch that -

[Regular moss is disgusting enough. Sticky alien moss? EVEN MORE DISGUSTING AND SUSPICIOUS. It also seems to be clever moss, because now that Junpei touched it with his bare hands the fuzz on the boulder gets exicted and starts spreading like it wants to grab them both in a loving, possibly hungry embrace.]

4

[realimperfect]

[ Re-L isn't really a talkative sort, but she's typically all down for these kinds of discussions to try and figure out what the hell is going on around her. For the moment she's been pretty taken with looking out of port holes and seeing stars for the first time - maybe a silly, childish thing to be all over looking at, but hey, give her a break, she's never seen a sky that wasn't obscured by cloud upon cloud of nuclear debris.

He asks the question and she turns with a bit of a quirk to those severe black brows, but then, nods. ]

Yes, if you want to.

[ If anything, she's pretty pleased he didn't just jump her with the question. ]

[coolerjunpei]

[Note to self: approaching with caution instead of just shouting at random strangers does indeed work better. Junpei pauses, not because he was expecting a more impolite response - he sort of was, but never mind - but because he needs to figure out how to word his Big Question without just... saying it.]

Oh, um, yeah. So, this might sound a little weird, but... have you ever, y'know—has something like this ever happened to you before? [He gestures around them at "this," to indicate "being totally kidnapped," but maybe waving his hand is vague.] I've got a second question, too.

[But he's doing this one at a time, so let's start with kidnapping.]

Sorry about any typos - phone tagging!

[realimperfect]

[ Re-L's brows crease for a moment, thrown off by his stumbling words at least until her mind processed the stumbled question. Still, it doesn't make much sense even when she's thought on it, and without much thought to what she's doing she begins mimicking his hand motions, expression a bit ... well, off. ]

I don't understand what your question is or what your motioning it about. [ She leans on the ledge of the porthole she's been looking out of, resting her chin on her hand once again. ]

Why don't you rephrase it in a way that makes sense.

[coolerjunpei]

What about that didn't make sense? [He thought he was being pretty clear... but, uh. Alright.]

I guess, uh... Have you ever been spirited away like this before?

[He switches from gesturing to just rubbing at his neck awkwardly as he asks this time, since now he feels like his really subtle questioning strategy is going to make a fool out of him before it helps anything. Ah, well.]

[realimperfect]

Just the parts where you weren't direct in your questions. ] Sorry, Junpei, Madame Literal is on patrol today apparently. He reiterates his question and she hums, fingers tapping on the wall beneath her fingers for a moment as she chooses how to answer. It's a habit she hasn't yet had a chance to stop - picking words carefully lest they make it back to her twisted in one way or another as they would often be in Romdeau if one wasn't careful -]

Yes, actually. Not in the same exact way, since... I'm more than sure that this is not my Earth and my Universe, but the same in principle. My doctor once faked my death for me so that I could escape to the outside. He regretted it in the end, but - [ A short pause. ]

Those details don't matter I bet. I'm rambling.

four

[ouzel]

[ Cassian turns his head when someone calls out, raising his eyebrows at the rest of the question. ]

Sure.

[ Not that they know each other from a wookie in the dark, but you know. ]

[coolerjunpei]

[Maybe it's better not to get to know every single person. Not yet, anyway.]

Okay, uh, you know the captain around here? What's his story? Does he ever come around outside of video greeting cards, or what?

[ouzel]

Not that I'm aware of.

[ Which isn't to say that Cassian is chill with this; far from it, but he also doesn't know this kid. Still: ]

While it's suspicious it's also understandable. Something this size, and if what they say it true, that this happens all the time, then he probably doesn't have time for all of our incessant questions.

[coolerjunpei]

[That would be a perfectly fine placating argument if Junpei weren't so sick and tired of being abducted for unclear reasons. Anomalies? He doesn't buy it.]

Yeah, if what they say is true. I'm willing to believe these guys as far as I can throw 'em, and between you and me, I didn't do too well in P.E.

[He folds his arms and stares off to the side, like getting angry enough will get him answers. It'd be nice.] I'm just saying, isn't this all a little too convenient?