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! tdm

// TEST DRIVE MEME_

// 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.

Welcome to Oros! It's no vacation destination and you're in for an interesting ride. While the planet is big, there's not much to explore beyond the vast, stretching reaches of a boiling hot, red desert. Which means it's fun for the whole family!

There are hostile aliens on the planet who aren't taking kindly to you, an alien on their planet. They're stronger than you and you're out numbered. Likely out gunned, too. But, really, good luck! You'll be coming back alive.

For more information on the planet and things that may be found there, please go here and give it a read! There you can also find the missions completed in game should you need any additional prompt. Whatever you can imagine that fits with the setting itself works!

[ PLEASE NOTE: Threads taking place on Oros cannot be used as game canon, as they required prior signups to participate, but the setting is provided so that you can get an idea of just one of the kinds of events that will be in game! ]

➣ 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, there's no limit to what you can do on the TDM.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ scenario 001.

Coran hits planetside with all the curiosity and enthusiasm of someone who's just happy to be included, honestly, what a great opportunity to stretch his legs, etc. He's investing a lot in getting to know how his current squadmates operate, but almost equal in proportion is his commitment to referencing the information they were all given pre-departure at any sign of a question.

He normally has his own memory or the ship's database to work with, millenia out of date though they may be at times, but being here presents its own challenges. Planets he's never even heard of, locals he's never seen or interacted with. It'll be a hot day in the void before he lets a challenge get him down. Not that it isn't a hot day already. ]

Just look at that stretch of dreadful, desolate wasteland! [ He is far too mobile and chipper for a person in a helmet in this oppressive heat. But he will always be trying. And he will always sound like he's from New Zealand even though he's an alien. It's better not to question. ]

It's incredible how the Trilk and the Feks survive, isn't it? And look, I think I can see one of the moons from here! Plenty of light for finding those plants by! Now all we have to do is roam around in the unforgiving heat for hours or maybe days on end, until we can hopefully get the samples we need.

[ Look on.... the bright side? ]

[ scenario 004. WILDCARD. It's all up for grabs. Coran can both text spam and twirl around in front of strangers in a way that would invoke embarrassment for any rational person doing the same.

He may also be found playing the role of "commentary from the peanut gallery" for anyone making use of a training deck. Sorry bro, the gallery agrees with himself that you should've gone left back there. ]

Do you really think going left back there would have changed anything?

[ he still won the fight, anyhow!! and it was this or asking if coran really had to narrate the spar, and he's too happy coran is here to be entirely unnerved by coran being, well, coran. ]

Absolutely! I'm not certain how exactly it would've changed things, of course. But things would've turned out differently somehow!

Not to insult your abilities. For someone who hasn't even been alive for a century, you've always been incredibly skilled!!

[ A kind and gentle soul, offering only the best guidance at all times. ]

[ that... sounds suspiciously like a compliment. ]

Thank you.
How come we never see you train, by the way?

Oh, there's probably several reasons for that. Not that I'd realized any of you were looking for it in the first place!

There's castle upkeep and repairs, training five new paladins, freeing planets, all those battles with the Galra... and my advising duties, of course! I've been a bit short on time for training these days.

[ Coran kicks ass and simultaneously throws out his back, 2k17. ]

[ please don't throw out your back coran gosh ]

We could go a round or two some day, if you'd like to pick up up again now that you're here.

That sounds like fun! But don't go easy on me just because I haven't sparred in over ten thousand years. It's about keeping sharp!

How much experience did you have before that?

This and that here and there.

[ That feeling when finger math and almost zero canon backstory are all you have... but at least you know you have game with tea towels and ladles full of green space goo. ]

I have to admit, my duties have been a bit more based in politics and engineering since I was assigned to the Castle to begin with.

That's nothing to be ashamed of.

[Sample collecting is not the ideal; at least, not for her. She understands the benefits of research, of course, but ordinarily...she would be the one assigning these tasks, not having to do them herself. She'd much prefer engaging with the local populations, make attempts to talk to them (though it's very likely impossible), learn about them and their culture from them as opposed to learning about them from a scientific standing.

She's a diplomat, not a scientist.

But at the very least, the company is welcome. Coran is a bright spot to having to spend time on a planet with oppressive heat and sunshine, especially having been on the Eluvio for months without her beloved advisor.

At least she won't feel lonely or too bored gathering plants.]

It...is certainly a wonder, Coran. Now, if only they could tell us how they survive such a planet, perhaps we wouldn't have to gather samples. [It's hard to mask a sigh, even through her helmet, and she looks away for a tick to examine her communicator on her wrist.] You would think creatures who had followed a peace treaty would have some means of communicating.

[ Allura's fortitude in the face of this fleet's sensible-yet-hard-to-reconcile shifting of responsibilities is no less than admirable. While Coran is of course absolutely not old, he's made his rounds of acquaintances (or... did, back before everything went sideways), and he can say with confidence that handling circumstances like these takes a certain natural grace.

Allura has grace in spades, and he's not about to begrudge her a frustrated sigh where one makes sense. She's still here and actively trying, after all.

Many a dignitary would've thrown a fit about being downgraded to sample collection. ]

I do think so, Princess. [ He crouches down to dig a little at a suspect spot in the sand. Look, there could be plants anywhere on this weird hot rock. It's all part of the mystery. ]

You can't even outline a treaty without communicating! It takes days of paperwork and discussing terms, drafting things up in front of the right witnesses... Without communication, it would be an awful lot like two species conveniently deciding to leave each other alone for a while, for no particular reason!

[ And who ever heard of that kind of nonsense? ]

[And it's precisely his...(ahem) centuries of experience that makes Allura certain this mission will go with little to no issue. Assuming, of course, that this planet didn't have any seedy underbelly of black market trades and goods, or gambling dens. But considering the desolate wasteland and lacking language of its residence, she feels this will be straightforward.

She kicks a rock with her toe, upturning it and frowning when nothing comes of it; just dust.]

You know, I am starting to think it was just that. [She turns to face Coran a bit better, seeing him already digging at a spot in the sand. Moving to join him, she crouches at his level, resting her arms at her knees.] Perhaps we should try to communicate, with the Feks at least. I know it is not part of our mission, but--

[It still feels wrong to simply peruse and gather information on this planet without so much as reaching an accord with its citizens. And, as large as they are, the Feks seem the friendlier of the two supposed intelligent species of the planet. Plus, they live in huts.]

I believe I saw that there was a village about three kilometers or so from the landing zone.

[ There's the "but". He expected something like it. And damn if this dirt patch isn't quite taking him where he'd like to be foliage-wise. Coran gives Allura a semi-scrutinizing look, letting her get her thoughts put out there.

She doesn't entirely finish after establishing that she knows it isn't part of this mission. Something is bothering her enough to make her bring it up in the first place. In the moment, he mostly wishes he could pull on his moustache. On the one hand, this is a high point of interest and he'd love to get to know the planet. On the other, they've got a job to do and the natives aren't necessarily friendly. Can protecting Allura properly and satisfying curiosity coexist?

Of course, she's going to be here on the planet either way, and she might just decide to sneak off on her own if he tosses a wet blanket onto the fire. ]

Well, provided we still get our mission done in time, I don't see why we can't tread off the beaten path a bit in the process. Who knows? The Feks may be able to point us in the right direction, if we're lucky!

[ It's life experience. ]

But if things start looking unlucky, we'll need to be prepared to make a quick exit. I'd much rather avoid any trampling incidents.

[It's a mix of curiosity and boredom that makes her want to head elsewhere as opposed to scrounging around in the dirt for who knows how many quintants. Seeing the creatures of this land in their villages and homes, perhaps seeing signs of some form of written language to try to translate and communicate with...it suits her expertise and expectations far more than, well, picking up samples of dirt and dried up flora.

Sure she has the drive and the sense to want to complete a mission to help whatever cause this still-questionable fleet has, but not until she gets to try to know the natives. See what they think of the matter. Even if communicating with them still seems night impossible.

Plus, she's a bit stubborn and hardheaded even though she does her best to appear the epitome of regal leadership and sensibility. And she's not stuck on a ship simply waiting for people to return from Oros. So she'll ignore the scrutinizing looking Coran is giving her, even if she trusts him completely.]

How long can a mission of scrounging for flora and digging up dirt last, Coran? I am sure we will be able to handle ourselves and the Feks.

[She rises from her crouching position, brushing the dust off her knees.]

Besides, perhaps it is important to see why the natives chose one area to settle over the others. There may even be more flora we can examine near the village.

We will be fine.

[ She is the princess and most-trained resident diplomat on Team Forage. Advising is a role relatively true to its title: guidance to be taken into advisement during the decision-making process. Allura, much like her father, can always be trusted to follow that general lead. ]

-- alright. To the Feks it is! [ A planet and people that he doesn't have 10,000-year outdated knowledge of, that's also completely unconnected to Zarkon. This never happens. He springs up to join her, dusting his hands off on the legs of his suit. ] What better way to get to know a planet than to give it the old look 'round? Especially a planet we've never even heard of! Aimless digging might still eventually get results, but it's. Well, it's not very exciting.

[ Coran: Allura it's dangerous, I swore to your father that I'd look after you and I plan to keep that promise.
Coran, five minutes later: I hate sand. It's irritating and it gets everywhere. Let's find the mud huts. ]

[Maes was not used to space or tech, but he was too curious to let that stop him. Actually, that was probably what was fueling this particular tour. He isn't sure where he is, but someone is standing at a large plane of glass and looking down at something. He approaches.]

What's going on down there?

[ No such thing as too many observers. Not to Coran today, at the very least, and he likes to think that counts for something. Maes is more than welcome to join his little viewing party of one. Or two now. Coran has plenty of good cheer in store for him. ]

Little sparring match! It's important to keep yourself sharp, even between this fleet's missions! [ He personally isn't huge on the fact that they have to do these missions. But it's like they always say: when in a Yalmor pack, get your ears warmed up for linking. ]

A lot of the passengers are interested in training with experienced teachers.

Makes sense. [Even just on regular old Earth the military had them do drills and it wasn't unheard of for regular fitness training to stay in shape. Maybe some things aren't as different in space.]

And what's the little round thing floating around and firing at them called? We don't have stuff like this in our drills back home.

[He points, indicating what is likely some sort of droid used for simulations for combat training.]

Is that so? Well, not to worry! Give it a few quintants after you start getting to know the place, and you'll be better adjusted than you think! [ It makes some sense, he supposes. All these different planets and cultures. It wouldn't be possible for everyone on board to be familiar with the same technologies. ]

Now, for instance, you know that that 'little round thing' is one of the training drones! [ May Coran one day learn that the term droid is honestly better. ] It's very effective for raising the stakes without letting things turn lethal! Which is helpful, since I'm not sure this one's got the footwork to handle it much longer.

[If Maes asked after every strange term he heard people throw around on this ship, he'd really be annoying people more than usual. As it stands he guesses based on context that a "quintant" is something like a few days or maybe a week? Or months, it sort of depends on if this fellow is optimistic about Maes's ability to "adjust."

Still, he's definitely interested in what's going on below. He didn't mind watching a fight, especially from afar.]

So the ammunition its firing is non-lethal? Or...I guess ammunition might not be the right term here.

[Maes thoughtfully places his closed fist to his mouth.]

He does seem to be paying more attention to the attacks as they come and not on anticipating where they are likely to aim or where his feet should be going.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

// TEST DRIVE MEME_

coran | voltron: legendary defender

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001

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004 - joining the peanut gallery

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