thespacebar | // TEST DRIVE

Entry tags:

! tdm

// 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.

Something's wrong with the fleet.

A week ago, explosions of unknown origin took out two of the fleet's abandoned ships and the power systems and ever since, daily life has been something of a challenge. Full power still hasn't been restored, so all of the amenities you've come to enjoy have been unavailable. The holorooms, the training areas, the recreational areas, the exotic restaurants and shops: they're all either not working or not working properly. When they're on, the lights are dim and operating on emergency power only. When they're not, they're flickering on and off or they're just plain off. Sometimes doors shut and don't open, trapping people inside lifts and rooms. Sometimes the gravity even goes.

And that's just the malfunctions.

Rumor has it that bodies of former passengers, or at least parts of them, are being found here and there throughout the ship in often gruesome ways.

None of the crew members have answers. The rest of the passengers are clueless at best or forming conspiracy theories at worst.

Good luck, unwilling arrivals! You're going to need it just to get through the day.

[ NOTES: What this means is that basic systems on the fritz and characters may encounter issues and inconveniences of any level of severity. Types of problems include, but are not limited to: glitches in the communication network that lead to dropped connections or attempts to reach a character connecting with the wrong recipient, unreliable gravity that goes out at various parts of the ship at random times, lights going out completely for an hour or two, or doors jamming and trapping characters in unfortunate and awkward situations. ]

➣ 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

001

[ What used to be a perfectly innocuous mess hall is no longer that. It's an off hour and not greatly in use, which is why when the gravity suddenly turned off for the entire hall, not so many were affected. One of them, though, is Widowmaker, who had thought to stop in for a brief cup of coffee, and is now greatly regretting the decision.

Her tea is now floating in a watery halo about her head, with the cup spinning gently off a few feet away. Her grappling hook is currently latched onto a wall across the room, with the rope free floating between it and her. Please don't ask how that happened. Widowmaker herself is suspended about 5 feet above a table in empty air, upside down, doing her very, very best to maintain dignity. Any dignity. Just a scrap would do. She floats with arms folded over her chest, gaze fixed on nothing in particular, as if all of this were just a small irritant to be tolerated.

Her eyes flick toward the door when it swishes open, and she throws out a hand toward it. ]

If I were you I would not —

[ She speaks quickly, but probably not quickly enough. Maybe the unlucky visitor has already stepped into the de-gravitized zone. In which case: welcome to the party. ]

003

[ Wherever you are, whoever you are, you aren't safe. Though the public space, a park, is wide, two of these unruly creatures have broken loudly and violently onto the scene. They chase, they moan, they bite. People panic, people run.

Widowmaker has been waiting for this.

From her perch high above, a service walkway meant for maintenance of the ventilation, she waits in a patient crouch as a spider at the center of her web. Through the scope of her rifle she tracks the nearest of the abominations, and the barrel of Widow's Kiss slides just slightly to follow its rampage.

That's when the ping comes through to your wrist communicator, a smooth and dispassionate voice: ] It is in your best interest to duck. Now.

_{[ Karamatsu came to the hall not for something innocent like tea, but his particular favorite: meat wrapped it meat. It was a concoction he had to come up with— bacon wrapped in pork roast— nothing like how the food was back at home. He knew that things were acting buggy lately, but he hadn't stepped into a room that was quite like this.

As soon as he looks around at all the objects drifting about it right when he becomes weightless, lifting off of the group with a startled gasp and tries desperately to grab onto something before he gets too high off of the ground. He gets a hold of a railing post and wraps his legs and arms around it, cowboy boots with useless spurs jingling at his movement. He peers around the post to look at the person who addressed him, and..

He can't help but how remarkable blue she is. Blue is his color. These girls just keep getting more and more hot as time goes on, don't they? Suddenly, being trapped in a weightless room doesn't seem so bad. ]}

_{[ and, the bullshit starts, Karamatsu pushing a lopsided smile on his face as he pulls out a comb.. to... groom his hair for a second.. ]}

Ah.. it is too late, I'm afraid. Fate, as it seems, has brought us together! I couldn't help but be drawn to this room. But fret not, morning glory, we will get out of this predicament soon enough..!

_{[ why is this the right time to lay it on thick.. ]}

[ Has Karamatsu even been treated to a stare this flat? Because this one might be giving any predecessors a run for their money, even upside down. After a few seconds too long, finally one delicate, judgmental brow cocks. ]

Ah, I have always found fate an uncharitable despot. I see that nothing changes, even here.

[ But! Now she has another resource: this young man. Her eyes track him sharply, thoughtful. ]

Do you have a weapon?

[ It might be too much to hope for. He looks soft. ]

_{[ He is soft. Especially soft. Actually, it's a miracle he's even alive for this long. After evacuating refugees to the ship to prevent them from extinction— after finding himself still in one piece when he came across the viscera of a passenger slung among the trees like it was no big deal. ]}

Hmph. Of course--
_{[ He's wearing a gaudy attire for the scenario— a leather jacket with a skull on the back of it— a gold chain around his neck.. and of course, the aforementioned boots. He does pull out, however, a weapon.

A weapon from the black market. It's actually very dangerous.
A revolver, it looks like it was modeled after the west, but faint blue lights indicate that it possibly doesn't fire bullets, but rather, it fires lethal lasers instead. ]}

I do have this.
_{[ He handles it with both of his hands, legs hugging the railing and locking around his ankles to secure his position. ]}

And these.
_{[ He flexes his arms to indicate the other "guns." ]}

[ Her eyes are on that revolver immediately, judging, weighing. It will do, she decides. Now to get it in her hands. She'll try the simplest approach first. ]

I am interested in the former. [ A beat. And just to be clear: ] And only the former. If you toss me that gun, I will have it back to you in a moment.

[ A promise not to just keep it, isn't she thoughtful? It is a pretty decent looking little thing. ]

_{[ He's a sucker, he really is. But something about having this gun.. it makes him feel a sense of importance and that's someting he's never genuinely felt before. His two other identical brothers.. they were here and didn't have anything like this. Not to mention, both Washington and Carolina taught him how to use it.. and it's also something he used to kill his first being with.

That's.. well. We don't talk about that.

If it didn't already hold so much sentiment (never mind the value, Sombra "bought" it) he might would hand it over without hesitance to a pretty girl, but after handling it so much already, well: ]}

Haaa? You want this? Why would you want this? There isn't anything to shoot at right now.
_{[ he almost finishes off with: only arrows through my fragile heart but he's distracted by the reasoning why she would want this so suddenly to even bother saying something else painful and embarrassing. ]}

Edited 2017-03-26 05:26 (UTC)

[ Well, that probably would have been too easy. Widowmaker studies her current target for a few seconds more. She's caught up and, well, not quite helpless, she's never that... But ensnared in an awkward predicament, to say the least. Caught in someone else's web. Her resources are running low.

Charm, then. It hasn't been so long that she's forgotten it.

A smile curves across her blue lips, a touch of life brushes across her face. Her tone isn't quite so passionless when she speaks again. ]

This would be a dear favor to me, mon choupinet. Even with nothing to shoot at, it could be a great use to me. [ And with just a slight purse of her lips: ] Don't you want to help me?

_{[ okay, so... this could be good, the way she's looking at you, Karamatsu, she's not totally into you, but she could be and if she could be that means there could be a chance like who knows maybe he could score a kiss on the cheek if he really plays his cards right but
what if she is just trying to manipulate you like women do all the time for her own benefit and if she's doing this for her own benefit she's really not into you in the slightest and she'll just run off with your gun and then you really won't be important anymore but
you do want to help people, you've always wanted to help people.. should it matter what wrong they've done in the past? should it matter who they are? what if you're helping somebody for something that's bad??? but...
what it boils down to, is the off chance that she could be into you worth the chance of you sacrificing your gun and possibly helping a bad person do a bad thing??

]}

Ah, with the purest of hearts, I gladly assist any beautiful woman in need!
_{[ and he just tosses it over. ]}

[ Oh, she likes this one. Her smile stills as the gun flies to her, and she catches it deftly by the grip. Then there's a brief flicker of a real smile. ]

Merci.

[ The visor at her forehead suddenly folds itself into place, all seven glowing red eyes of it. She takes a fraction of a second to consider that free floating grappling line some twenty feet away from her, still attached to the hook, then a perfect 180 degrees opposite of it. No sentient beings in her way in either direction — not that one of them would stop her.

She fires just one shot in that second, calculated direction, and the momentum of it sends her rocketing, unhindered by friction or gravity, toward the trailing end of her line. She catches that, activates the pull which in turn zips her to the wall her hook has attached to. Once she's freed it, one more shot takes her toward the center of the room again. That's where she collects a long, metallic object: a sniper rifle, identifiable when she pulls it from the wreckage of someone's spilled lunch. Her path isn't complete yet, though.

By the time she makes it to the wall nearest to Karamatsu, her rifle is strapped snugly to her back, her grappling line has anchored her just where she wants to be, and his borrowed gun is held lightly in her spare hand. She favors him with the slight upturn of one corner of her mouth. ]

You see? That was very helpful of you. [ She lifts the gun as if to return it across the gap of five feet between them, but instead her visor folds back again as she takes to studying it. ] This is a pretty little thing, isn't it?

[ It matches her. ]

_{[ He feels reluctant— like maybe he just did something really stupid after three seconds of feeling an amount of pride in helping somebody. But then, she starts shooting around— whizzing about the mess hall like it's nothing, and collecting other things that she had lost. Karamatsu can only stare at her as she moves, mouth falling open slightly and eyes growing. By now, Widowmaker probably feels the gun is really hot, which is one of the flaws in its design.

He closes his mouth, teeth pressing tightly together. One of his hands lifts, twisting into the fringe of his hair, trying to look cool again. ]}

Heh. Of course, almost as pretty as you.
_{[ down boy.. ]}

But ah, may I have it back? It's very important to me.

Edited 2017-03-27 16:58 (UTC)

[ It does feel hot to her, and it's a shame that such a thing has a glaring flaw like that. But the heat is no bother to her. Her golden eyes find Karamatsu again, considering him.

Such a soft little child, does he really need a gun like this? She thinks not. But also, reluctantly, she must admit that it's better to have an ally in a strange new place than not.

Widowmaker tosses the gun lightly back to its owner. Her aim is, of course, perfect. ]

Perhaps you should see a gunsmith with it. A malfunctioning gun is a sad thing, sometimes a fatal thing, even a little revolver like that.

_{[ Karamatsu sighs in relief once the gun is returned to him, grimacing slightly from the heat that the revolver gives off, but not enough to let his weapon go. He nods, as if he understands what she's saying, but he's more distracted than anything.

His lips purse together as he gives one more thought: ]}

Ah.. I was wondering if... since I helped you, maybe you could help me?
_{[ you know, get down and out of here.. ]}

[The accent is one that's all too recognisable and, in all likelyhood, what's being said isn't even a strange sentence to be relayed over the communicator. His own personal brand of fighting requires he get up close and personal with his foe, and Widowmaker? Well.

He lets out a low, growling hiss of irritation as he turns his head, just once, to try to spot where she's perched. Out of sight and too well hidden was his guess when his minute search was unsuccessful, so...

In moments, he's ducking his head, knowing that the explosive sound of the woman's Sniper rifle is going to roar past his head--and through the head of the beast he'd been attempting to blow apart with his shotguns.

Doesn't mean he won't take a moment to hiss at his associate through the communicator.]

Why do you always choose the exact moment I'm about to finish someone off to take it into your own hands.

[Fucking kill-stealing snipers.]

[ He's right, of course. The bare instant he's out of the way, the Widow's Kiss strikes. The shot rings true, and what had been the creature's head a second ago is now a pulpy remain. But there's no accounting for momentum, because that isn't her job. Reaper may just find he's made a new friend in the slumping, warped corpse that falls for him.

Her voice follows from her hidden niche, even as ever: ] I spared you the ammunition.

[ Isn't she so helpful, so thoughtful?? ]

[Oh, she's the most thoughtful fucking associate in the entire world. He might have taken a moment to appreciate Widow's handiwork with her shot, but any appreciation is gone in moments as the beast's body falls towards him like a crumbling tower.

Lucky he's got the forethought to phase-shift, turning into a cloud of curling, acrid fog, shifting around the falling beast's form and re-forming on the side that's less likely to fall and crush him. He shoots a hidden glare from where he stands, brushing his shoulder off with clear irritation.]

Generous of you, to keep me from spitting out shrapnel all night. [He doesn't hide the irritation in his voice, but he's back on Alert. Weren't there two of the things?

Seeing its partner fall, the second creature starts on the attack, looking not to Reaper, the closer foe, but for the source of its partner's 'kiss' of death.]

--Move. Now. [He's already groping for another gun under his coat, taking off after the thing.]

[ She pulls back from her scoped view -- not to see the creature making for her, as it has ducked out of her line of sight, but because she's long since learned to trust a command like that.

She springs easily to her feet from her crouch, and a brush of a moment later her grappling gun has fired. She swings across the open hall, headed for the opposite ventilation platform. Behind her, the creature crashes down on her former post three seconds too late.

Maybe these things don't retain much of their former intelligence. Or maybe this one in particular was just an idiot. Either way, it swipes futilely after her as she makes her escape. Her midair sigh into the link is light. ]

Will you take it, or shall I?

[ A chance to get back that stolen kill, see? She's so nice. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

// TEST DRIVE_

Widowmaker | Overwatch

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