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raiamods ([personal profile] raiamods) wrote in [community profile] raiamemes2021-04-30 08:56 pm
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TDM 001


TEST DRIVE MEME 001 ❀
CONTENT WARNINGS: potential character nudity, violence, trypophobia (images) as well as light mentions of gore.

Please note: FOR THE FIRST 24 HOURS AFTER 'HATCHING', CHARACTERS WILL FEEL WEAK AND ANY POWERS THEY HAVE WILL NOT WORK.

Test drive meme threads can be considered game canon for players who are later accepted and wish to keep their CR. The rescue mission prompt will be a TDM-exclusive, but the other prompts that you see here will also appear on our first game log. There will, of course, be more going on that week.

Please reserve questions about consequences for altering or meaningfully investigating the setting for the first log of the game, where we will have a Mod Questions thread at the top of the log. On this test drive meme, please reserve this thread for clarification and setting questions.

On the first day of reserves (May 10th), only players who participate in the TDM will be allowed to reserve. You must link an AC-length thread from the TDM for early access. Starting on the 11th, any prospective player may submit a reserve. Our hope is that this will avoid overwhelming our reserves.

❀ HATCHING


Congrats, you've woken up in an egg. I'm sure this is exactly how you wanted to spend your Saturday, right? There's no time to get curious and check out the other egg sacs. By the time you've fought your way out of the membranous sac, spilled electric blue goop everywhere, wiped it out of your eyes and sundry other orifices to get your bearings, you have a spear (or a gun) leveled at your face, throat, or other vital organs. Even if you might be inclined to fight, you can barely lift your arms to protest being grabbed and dragged off. Before you can even get a word in edgewise, you've been thrown into a holding cell.

Characters will not have a chance to retrieve their items at the time of the first hatching, and may not even know there is anything left in the remaining eggs.

The holding cell stinks of something sour and acidic, like rotted citrus, but you are not alone. Several other detainees sit in similar squalid confusion, dressed strangely and equally gooey. Time to make nice, ask questions... figure out what the hell is going on, and maybe do something about all that slime?

Over the next few days, a few things become clear. Despite the alien greeting, your captors speak a language that you understand, and the unpleasant circumstances are revealed to be a matter of necessity, not choice. Supplies are low, but they ensure that the new arrivals' time imprisoned is as painless as can be — they offer hot communal showers of less than three minutes, some strange starchy meal-replacement, and medical treatment to those in need. You might strike up a conversation with your new best friend in the shower over a low soap dispenser or when you realize you might need to share towels.

The cost of these luxuries comes in the form of touch-and-go interrogation by the security officers keeping tabs on the cells and supervising the shower time.

A few notes:
☆ Your character may get pulled away for interrogation at some point. No torture, no drugs; just questioning.

☆ Locals will be stopping by outside the freestanding holding cells to ogle or ask questions. Are you really going to be mean to that little kid staring at you with wide eyes?

☆ Characters will be let out for bio breaks. No one has to pee in a bucket, that's just inhumane!

☆ Attempts to escape will probably get you tasered. The mods will not facilitate escape-plots/etc on test drive memes. However: if you app and are accepted you are more than welcome to chat with us about the possibility of having escaped or attempted it.

❀ EXPLORE THE BASECAMP

On the heels of a little benign interrogation, a medical inspection, and a stern talking to by Captain Childe, the survivors at Basecamp Leviathan determine one thing: you don't appear to be an active threat.

Released from the detention center after three days, you are given the run-down by the locals — you're on a planet called Ethyraia, and the people around you are survivors of the catastrophic crash of the UCSS Adamant several years prior. You, in fact, showed up on the third anniversary of the crash. Weird coincidence, huh?

You're being allowed to mingle with the others. The first order of the day is having a proper meal at the mess hall — some of the Adamant's survivors will be friendlier than others. They've been stranded here for years, remember? Some of them will be so desperate to talk to someone who has news of other places, and some will be giving you the cold shoulder.

You'll be fed the same as the rest of them. A plastic plate of crumbled protein of unidentifiable origin and gravy over rice with a single wilted stalk of broccoli and a cup of the worst coffee you've ever had. Maybe somebody bumps into you and spills said coffee, maybe you make it all the way to one of the long tables set out for communal eating.

Time to strike up a chat with your neighbor — maybe ask them to pass the salt?

(What do you mean, there's no salt!?)

After a meal — it's hard to say which one you'd call it, since the whole crew is on rotating schedules — you may decide to wander the basecamp. Folks in every department could use a hand. Those willing to help out may get friendlier reception than those who play the tourist. For more info on what else you might find, check out the LOCATIONS page.

During this time, characters will be able to return to the Central Chrysalis where they hatched. While there are no clues as to how they got there, they might find items — their own, or someone else's. Everyone is strapped for supplies, but try not to snatch up anything that isn't yours. The security officers don't look kindly on people chasing one other down the hall, trying to get back their dirty magazines.

A few notes:
☆ Feel free to help out anywhere. Every little bit of assistance you offer to the locals will raise their estimation of you. You could easily help clean dishes after the meal, help fix leaky piping or repair hammocks. You could stop by the aid station and assist with the wounded. You'll be watched closely and some of the survivors will be warier than others, but most will appreciate the opportunity to have a 'break'.

☆ If your character leaves the basecamp and wanders outside the Leviathan, they may begin to notice that what they perhaps took as a giant cave is actually an enormous dragon. Everything they see that seems 'human made' will look varying levels of worn down, patched, repaired and patched again. This is not a place of prosperity and happiness. Many people are recently injured, or have new scars or missing limbs.

☆ PCs will be warned about going beyond the shade of the dragon's wings. For the sake of the test drive mods will not be facilitating plots that deal with characters going further; we ask that players with an interest in exploring this wait until the game is fully open.

❀ RESCUE MISSION

"There's no time to waste," the woman says breathlessly as she grabs your arm. She pulls you to an augmented reality sand table and you will find yourself standing alongside some of the others you may recognize as having 'hatched' with you. There are murmurs by the Adamant's survivors as they pour over data. Maybe you remember Captain Childe from the stern interrogation she gave you a few days ago, but in any case but she's standing at the edge of the sand table looking at the distance scaled between the enormous huddle of HUD badges — the Adamant's survivors — and a tiny pocket of pulsing green some fifteen kilometers away.

"They knew better," Captain Childe says, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. "They should have been back hours ago."

"Fucking scientists," says a man with a faintly French accent. He is scarred and battle-worn, and looks properly pissed off. He's also sporting several fresh injuries, one of which seems to have warranted the use of a crutch. "They'd lose their heads if they weren't attached. Let them wait out the storm."

"No," the captain says. "They're too close to the Rat Nest. We don't need a repeat of —" she trails off, as if seeing you for the first time. She looks you up and down, and then: "You've been told by now that everyone here has to pitch in. If you know how to fight, be ready in ten minutes. You're our rescue squad." She turns and walks out, and there's an awkward moment where everyone present is looking at you to make a choice.

Ten minutes really isn't a lot of time to get ready to walk into danger. Or maybe you aren't a fighter. Maybe you just don't care. But either way, there are people looking to you. To see how you'll react. To see what you'll do. To see if you belong.

What'll it be, hatchling? Fight or flight? Maybe you ought to start coming up with a plan.

FIELD WORK

There's a cadre of scientists cut off by acid rain. From their last transmission, they were driven into the Rat Warrens — and you've been tasked with rescuing them. Too many members of the Security Team are themselves injured, and none of the remaining ones have experience leading a fire team. Let's hope you do — or at least that you can fake it.

Maybe you've hand-picked your team. Maybe you're just stuck with whoever else was closest. Either way, your companions are some of the people you might recognize as fellow 'hatchlings'. If you know them already — good, you've got a head start on what they might be capable of out in the field, and you can chat about the little things. You know, like the weather. Acid rain, gotta love it.

Either way. You're given few small slabs of surprisingly lightweight alloy that has a sheet of — is that hide from the Leviathan? — stretched across them, to divide up amongst your team. "Helps with the rain," Ensign Porter says, trying to sound cheerful despite the grim set to his jaw. "Just come back in one piece. I kinda feel responsible for you guys, you know?"

Before you know it, you're outfitted for the trip. Weapons (if you didn't have your own) and maybe some medical supplies, handed over with a grimace by Doc Sunya.

So then it's just you, your tiny team and a fifteen kilometer hike. Oh, and the acid rain. Luckily, the shields seem to be keeping it off, but it's hard to hear anything over the impact of the drops. Anyone want to play I never?

Or maybe you think you should make a break for it. This is your first time being outside the Leviathan unsupervised. You've got supplies, and other people with as little to lose here as you do. Maybe you should talk.

THE RAT WARREN

You've made it to the last transmitted location of the scientists. What you find doesn't bode well — one of them seemed to have an arm torn off — at least, you think it's an arm — the way it's been disintegrated by the rain makes it hard to tell.

One thing's certain, though. There are bloodstains leading into the nearby maw of a hole in the ground. There's a putrid odor wafting from it, and the sound of frantic scrabbling.

You have an idea of what might be down there. 'Giant rats with tentacles', Porter had said. Don't let the tentacles grab you, they leave chemical burns that usually result in amputation if they can't be treated immediately. But there's a chance the scientists are still alive, and you need to make your choice.

If you and your small team venture down into the darkness, what happens next is up to you. You'll be encountering hoards of these monsters. The scientists are still alive, but will they stay that way? And more importantly, can you get them back to the Leviathan in one piece?

PCs versus the local fauna, round one, FIGHT!

A few notes:
☆ Feel free to put player characters 'in charge' of the planning/logistics phase. If another PC tags into your thread, you and that player can decide which PC will be 'leading the charge'.

☆ Your character will have: a mini-railgun, a spear (if they don't have their items/weapons from home), a first-aid kit, the acid rain shields, ration bars (that are essentially condensed protein bars — they do not taste good) and one of the smartwatches, which will have a mini holographic HUD displayable on its interface. If your character is the sort to request other things, feel free to assume they received them (within reason — please remember that resource scarcity is the name of the game — feel free to be creative here!).

☆ There are fifteen kilometers to cover. If your character has an ability like superspeed/etc, please keep in mind it will work, but you also have your allies to consider. Normal walking time over this distance, given the difficulty of the environment (steep hills, acid rain, unknown territory, etc) would translate to several hours to an average person.

☆ Feel free to use the NPC scientists however you'd like. If you want your character to find some dead, you can. If you'd prefer they be rescued, that is also acceptable. These are essentially 'your' NPCs that you are using to facilitate the story at this point — the sky is the metaphoric limit!

❀ BOOZE

A week. You've been here for a week.

By now, you might have tried to venture out of Basecamp Leviathan and experienced firsthand the acid rains that the security officers warned you about. Or you might be teaching the kids at the schoolyard how to gamble. In any event, Thorkil seems to take pity on his disoriented new friends and taps his distillery for a little help.

Invitation passes by word of mouth to meet at the memorial wall. Moonshine of questionable quality is passed around in tin cups — hope no one's afraid of germs — as Thorkil explains the great relief it is to be gaining people instead of losing them. This settlement isn't big, and they aren't overburdened with hope or supplies, but there's been a lot of loss in the past three years. Some people might be willing to look at the arrival of these newcomers as a sign that things are turning around.

Bottoms up, hatchlings, and ... Happy Birthday?

A few notes:
☆ Feel free to turn this into an impromptu party. Maybe you're celebrating getting all the scientists back alive! Maybe it's something like a wake to remember them in the sad event of their passing. Either way, many of the engineers and other NPCs may join you in this moonlight drinking session, as well as whatever PCs you tag out to or are tagged by.)

❀ OBLIGATORY NETWORK


Welcome people of all kinds to Basecamp Leviathan! I'd give you a hand moving in except...

I have no hands.
Because I'm an AI.
Get it?
It's a joke.

My name is Cartagena. But anyway, this isn't about me or the Adamant for once. This is about all of you. So if you would kindly fill out the following questionnaire to get to know each other; it would also be very helpful for my systems.

NOTE: Participation is MANDATORY.

That was another joke. It's all voluntary. You people and your free will.

1. What is your name?
2. Where are you from?
3. What's your favorite smell? Please describe it as you would to a person without a nose. Because I do not have a nose.
4. If you could be any animal in any world, what would you be?
5. How old are you?
6. Did you enjoy this questionnaire?

Thank you for your participation! Please enjoy the rest of your stay here at Basecamp Leviathan.


ketterdam: (pic#14848026)

[personal profile] ketterdam 2021-05-03 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
he catches the tension, but it seems — off, somehow. it isn't quite what she expects, and kaz' eyes narrow faintly, studying her.

sharp girl. he'll have to watch this one — bit of a radical, arken had called her. thinks grisha should be free from conscription. one more thing can use that to his advantage.


Of a sort.

he leans on his cane, shoulder hunching upwards with the weight he puts on it, the way the rest of his frame sinks downward.

Though I think perhaps my currency is worth less than I might have anticipated.

not surprised to hear about a drüskelle. none of the fear that sort usually strikes in witches of the small science. and being cagey enough about an alliance most would jump at. a normal grisha would already feel to be in his debt for the information alone.
neversmall: (139)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-03 11:20 pm (UTC)(link)
That doesn't mean the flash of coin isn't appreciated.

[ Nina would, in fact, flirt with a brick; it's habitual, meaningless, enjoyable, and it helps people underestimate her - always useful, if occasionally hurtful. So there's a bit of a curl of her lip at the end of 'appreciated'. It's not one of her best efforts; there's no intention behind it and evidently so as the cautious evaluation doesn't leave her gaze. She notes the way he's standing, the hunch, the distribution of weight. It should signal that he's standing down, disarming himself in the same way her open hands at her sides are a signal.

It doesn't feel like that to her, however. It feels like a narrowing of focus, like the young man in front of her has become even more dangerous. She'd rather make allies than enemies. She has enough to worry about here.

Nina knows very little beyond the names of the three rogues that the Conductor had said would be accompanying them, she hadn't exactly had time to do the most thorough research, but she knew enough to know that he'd carved out a place for himself in the Barrel. Looking at him, dressed in the sensible colors that the merchants favored rather than the flash of most gang members, the hands - covered in gloves, a weakness advertised with that cane and the way that he stood which told her he'd weaponized it... dangerous indeed. ]


It makes a girl wonder what else is in your wallet. Shall we start with introductions? I'm Nina Zenik.
ketterdam: (pic#14848028)

[personal profile] ketterdam 2021-05-05 12:30 am (UTC)(link)
he can be charming to any degree he deems necessary. what he cannot — will not — do is flirt, so when she presses that avenue his expression shutters. mouth pursed, expression drawn. he doesn't quite look like he sucked a lemon, but it's a near thing.

I know. 'Something of a radical', it was explained to me once. You'd been taken by drüskelle on the eve of what was to be our acquaintance.

he does not extend his hand. instead, she gets a curt nod. taken by drüskelle, but not afraid of them. she is almost certainly from afterwards — but then, she'd been on a ship bound for kerch at the end. his mind is turning it over like a puzzle, certain of finding the solution in the intricacies of human nature.

Kaz Brekker.
Edited (i was not done my prose excuse me dw) 2021-05-05 00:32 (UTC)
neversmall: (003)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-05 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
[ That's all right; a brick is not required to flirt back. In slightly more seriousness, however, his lack of response is a response all on its own. Zoya'd said she was too loud to be a spy; Zoya hadn't said she was too stupid to be one. There was always something to be learned. She could learn more if she decided to use her powers on him, or just actively listen to the ambient noise she could always pick up - the beating of a heart.

But she thought he wouldn't miss something like that. He'd approached her in what she thought was good faith. And he knew her name, which told her something else about him - they'd never had a chance to meet, so he couldn't have known her by sight. That meant he'd been watching her here. So the alliance 'of a sort' that he was offering was one he'd considered. Using her powers would be a breach of good faith, and there wasn't any need for that.

He knew about the front she'd presented to Arken as part of her mission -- that felt like a lifetime ago. He'd also figured out that it had been the drüskelle who'd taken her and he likely won't miss the slight paling of her features at that remembrance, but she doesn't look nearly as scared as she should, especially with his word of warning that another drüskelle was there. The Conductor had been her mission, not the rogues he'd traveled with -- if she'd gone along with everything as it was, however, then... why would rogues from Ketterdam need access to the Little Palace? She hadn't known about Alina at the time, but...

Saints, why did everything have to be so complicated? Maybe she could uncomplicated it, at least a little. There was no Ravka here, no Fjerda, no reason for war or intricate schemes. She didn't need to worry about what his reasons were, she needed to worry about what his reasons are. Still in Kerch, indicating her willingness to make a deal: ]


So tell me what you mean by a 'sort of' alliance, Kaz Brekker?
Edited (fussing!) 2021-05-05 01:33 (UTC)
ketterdam: (pic#14848029)

[personal profile] ketterdam 2021-05-10 02:48 am (UTC)(link)
not too stupid to be a spy indeed. she's redirecting him. hoping for some crumb of information she can turn around. kaz would almost approve, if he did that sort of thing. instead:

What do you expect a man from Kerch would want of a heartrender, Miss Zenik?

it's said with curiosity rather than as an outright unpleasant challenge. it's helping him with the puzzle he's made of her, every tumbler pinned until it gives.

truth be told, it's less that she's a heartrender (though it will have its uses, he's certain) and more the fact that there are but a bare handful of them from the same world and it would serve them well to be together. kaz is not one for tribalism, but he would rather the devil he knows.
neversmall: (003)

[personal profile] neversmall 2021-05-10 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
[ Nina crosses her arms under her chest and leans back, seeming to almost fully disarm herself now. He'd have plenty of time to see her hands move. ]

Many different things, if we were in Kerch.

[ They are, decidedly, not. The question's a bit of a clue as well -- How do you value yourself, Nina? Are you an killer? A soother? A living lie detector? A bit of skirt? It's a good question.

She wants to be moving. She has no reason to think that they're drawing attention, but if it wasn't for his cane, Nina would be suggesting they take a walk about now. She would welcome the pause to regroup, the slight synchronization that comes when two people do anything together. She doesn't want this to be something adversarial, but the two of them are trying to figure the other out -- will that make this a game, with a winner and a loser, to see who will crack first, or can they both win?

Nina decides, since inviting him on a walk or to sit down would be something layered, to give a little instead. ]


We woke up in eggs covered with goo. That has to be a rarity, even in Ketterdam. [ A quick flicker of a smile that she doubts will make an impact in those unsettlingly dark eyes, watching her and missing nothing, but she can't help herself. ] I can tell you what I might want out of an alliance, but until you tell me what you want and what you're offering, I don't see how we can come to terms.
Edited 2021-05-10 03:23 (UTC)