test drive meme #1

[historiadores]

TDM #1

LA LLEGADA

The Museum of Art and History is the largest and oldest in Llave, and contains a grand collection spanning from the time the first humans landed on its shores to the modern day. The building encircles an open courtyard where an art installation sits amidst many of the plants important to the settlers of Llave. Behind the museum is a wide, shallow field of hard-packed dirt lined by large stones, the petroglyphs on their surface worn by time—the earliest known playing field in all of the Caribbean. And further out are the areas where excavations are ongoing, uncovering the pottery, jewelry and artifacts of the ancestors.

After awakening, things move quickly. The museum is closed, and the characters ushered into the courtyard to wait. Any needing emergency medical attention are kept in one of the air conditioned galleries until the paramedics arrive. A group of women with a military bearing take charge of the situation; identified as the Bajari Bara, they question the healthy and able. They cede authority only to the Prime Minister when she arrives. Two more of their group flank the nation's leader, though they step aside when she begins to walk among the new arrivals to speak with them.

Each side has many questions and few answers. Characters are informed they are in Llave. It's October 2020. And efforts will be made to return them to their homes. But how they came to be here and why remain mysteries…as does how they’ll find their way back.

A hurricane shelter nearby is activated for use by the recent arrivals. There, characters are provided with food and clothing, a cot and other basic supplies. No one is allowed out, but through the windows they can see the lush green of the their surroundings. At night, coquí sing them to sleep. Those taken to a hospital will remain there until they are discharged. Each patient is allowed one visitor to stay with them overnight.

Over the next several days, all characters undergo physical and mental evaluations; are provided with their first immunizations; have the next legal steps explained to them; and are taught about Llave. Every character, regardless of age, has a caseworker who checks in with them daily. None have been arrested, they are assured. But they must also complete the quarantine process. To enforce quarantine, at both the hospital and the shelter, the Bajari Bara guard every entrance and exit.

Welcome to Llave.

EL AREYTO

As luck would have it, around the time quarantine ends, all of Llave is in the midst of celebration. Today is the Day of Heroes, celebrated every last weekend in October, which this year happens to fall on the eve of All Saints’ Day. So when the new arrivals venture out for the first time, Nona, the capital, welcomes them with color and music.

The people of Llave have a special love for music and dance, and it shows. All day, groups gather to play, and many more to dance. The songs center around heroes of Llave with the chief of these being Nuna, a beloved figure who is said to have led her people here to freedom. Those performing wear traditional clothes: guayaberas, long circle skirts, palm hats and headwraps, all brightly colored.

From early morning, artisans have set up under tents tables laden with goods. Clothing, jewelry, musical instruments, paintings, and more made from leather and wood, seashells and fish scales, aluminum and copper. Many create right at the table. Most popular are those working on cemís: sculptural objects, said to house the spirits of ancestors. Many carry them as amulets especially on this the eve to the days of the dead.

The food is equally rich and one of the cooks takes an interest in the new arrivals. Those who eat his food find their mood changing depending on what they ate. The tostones he prepared while speaking of his childhood home in Santa Cecilia bring on feelings of joy and contentment. The alcapurrias fried while arguing with a customer about last night’s wrestling match cause those who eat them to feel irritated. And the casabe, a flatbread made of cassava, that he explains he learned to make from his wife who passed, induces a profound nostalgia for lost loves. His wife, recognizable from the photo he keeps on the wall, sits beside those most affected and comforts them until the melancholy passes.

More dead can be found. An old man in a fine guayabera recalls composing the lyrics to a particular song. He points out the man playing the congas and proudly says his great-grandson will soon outplay him. When characters look back to the old man, he’s gone. Those with a sense for it will recognize many dead walking among the living. These next few days honor and celebrate the departed, and the dead have seized the rare opportunity to join the festivities once more.

For those who prefer the sea, the impossibly blue waters of the Caribbean are just a short walk away. Cobblestone and concrete paths line La Bahía de Nona. On one of the larger rock outcroppings jutting into the bay sits a silver-white dog. If called, he will trot over. Up close, one can see his color is due to the sand and salt that has collected on its coat. Though he allows himself to be petted, he does not step off the rocks. A passerby comments that the dog has been waiting for his master to return. How long? The man shrugs. When he was a boy, the dog was keeping watch; now he’s forty-three, and the dog is still there.

EL TRAVIESO

Or perhaps the characters were more distracted by how clean the water was, how clear. Enough so that the sight of a bottle bobbing in the waves seems offensively out of place. Anyone who chooses to snag it out of the water will find it’s a corked bottle of rum, apparently empty.

From a nearby restaurant, someone yells and waves their hands—too late. By uncorking it, they have freed the bacoo. Immediately, everyone backs away. Two cross themselves.

Only one stays long enough to warn, “You have to trick it back into the bottle. It likes milk and bananas. Don’t ask it for anything.”

Turn around, and the bacoo is there.

Short and rugged with large eyes, long arms and legs, covered in unkempt hair and its fingers and toes ending in claws, the bacoo is a strange little creature. Stranger still, it can grant any wish—so long as it is kept appeased with a steady diet of milk and bananas.

A hungry bacoo will pelt walls with stones, move objects, keep its owner up at night, and otherwise wreak havoc until it is fed. A shapeshifter, they can be difficult to locate, much less trap. And a starving bacoo will turn vicious and its pranks malicious.

Best find a way to trick it into the bottle. Fast.

---

OOC NOTES

This TDM covers from mid-to-end of October. The first prompt lasts approximately two weeks; the second, a day. For now, all characters are restricted to Nona. Any attempting to leave will be gently, but firmly escorted back.

The TDM will also double as the first IC post of the game. Threads between any two or more characters who were all apped and approved will be considered game canon. As such, actions characters take in this TDM will impact the game once it opens. How characters behave will shape the inhabitants’ first impressions of them. Make it count.

Questions regarding this TDM can be asked below, while questions regarding the game at large should be directed to the FAQ.

Thank you for your interest and we hope to have you join!

NAVIGATION • IC COMM • OOC COMM • MEME COMM

Comments

[lordofdarkness]

[His answering smile is as sweet as it is shy, and he scoots over another inch and gives her a nod.]

Yeah, there's plenty of room.

[He shifts the pillow behind him so that it'll cushion both of their backs and waits for her to climb up.]

[inkings]

[ he is so sweet. innocent in a way. hades protect him from his dad and sister both.

mal does not need more of an invitation to sit, though she tries to keep to her side to avoid disturbing him or his iv. she carefully lays out the slender tubing on top of the bed.

as soon as she lets her back fall against the pillow, she sighs. ]

Gotta tell you this is an improvement over the cots. [ she breaks off a corner of the chocolate bar for herself, and points with it at nico. ] Enjoy it while it lasts.

[lordofdarkness]

[Where Mal is careful not to brush him, Nico allows his arm to rest against hers, but represses the urge to let his head fall on her shoulder. For all of his hang-ups about personal space (that he has made remarkable progress on) none of his hesitation has ever applied to sisters. Not with Bianca, not with Hazel, and not with Mal now. But he doesn't want her to think he's clingy so he keeps his head upright.]

I guess. At least you get to move around and do what you want. I'm stuck in here all day unless I want to get rolled around in a wheelchair. [His face screws up at the thought.]

[inkings]

[ mal snorts. ]

What, you think we’re on vacation over there? I have half a mind to close the car door on my hand just to have an excuse to be in air conditioning all day. It’s hot.

And trust me. I have hellfire burning in my belly. I know hot.

[lordofdarkness]

[Nico frowns and wonders if she means that literally or not, but chooses not to ask. (It's probably literal, he decides, because why wouldn't it be?)]

You can hang out here for as long as you want, you know. I mean I'm sure it gets boring, but I don't mind. [She was already spending her nights and much of her days here, but if Mal was only going back because she didn't want to crowd him, and it was gross, hot, and uncomfortable there, he wants to make it clear she doesn't have to.

Nico fiddles with his skull ring and doesn't look at her, feeling warmth that makes him wonder if he's flustered. A moment later and a quick assessment has him realizing that the warmth is on his arm, not his face, coming from where their arms are pressed together. His frown deepens and he reaches over to lay one hand on top of her arm.]

You're warm. [Wait. Hellfire. Ah.]

The...fire? Inside you?

[inkings]

[ mal smiles and snaps her fingers. green flames leap over her hand. the fire wraps her, but neither her skin nor her ring—a gold band in the shape of a dragon curling around a huge and startlingly clear purple diamond sitting on her left ring finger—burn. ]

Little trick I inherited from my parents. Won’t burn me— [ she removes her arm from under nico to sweep her fingers through the flames. both her hands are covered now, the fire burning merrily— ] but they will burn everything else.

[ with a flick of her wrists, she extinguishes both.

mal catches nico’s eyes. the corner of her mouth turns up, her cheek dimpling in response. ]

I am the fire starter.

[lordofdarkness]

[It's reminiscent of Leo, but cooler, because she's not Leo and the flames are green instead of red and yellow. His lips turn up in awe and his skin warms from the heat she's emitting.]

Cool.

[Her parents, she says, plural, and he ponders that for a moment but doesn't pry. It isn't as shocking as it might have been a few days ago. He's seen enough to know Mal is probably more than just your average demigod.]

I can make things cold sometimes, but not usually on purpose.

[inkings]

[ she would also destroy leo in a firefight. not that he'd probably mind all that much. ]

You should get to practicing then. Ten below, replace this heat with snow.

[ her fingers waves left, right, and up before tapping his nose. the temperature around them plummets, making her all the warmer by contrast. mal's smile never fades. she looks up pointedly to follow the descent of a snowflake between them. more flurries delicately upon the bed. ]

[lordofdarkness]

[Nico snorts as he watches but he doesn't even try to disguise the awe in his expression as he reaches out to catch a snowflake in his hand, smiling as it dissolves against his skin in a small burst of cold.]

How did you do that? Some of the stuff you do isn't like anything I've seen from underworld kids like us.

[inkings]

Probably because I'm not like you. I'm a fairy.

[ she steals another piece of his chocolate, and nudges his elbow to get him to eat. ]

My mother is Maleficent, the Mistress of All Evil. [ she pronounces the title with facetious exuberance.

mal shrugs. ] I took after her.

[lordofdarkness]

[He nods like that makes sense—the fairy part anyway—and then makes a face at that last part, shaking his head and scooting a little closer to her.]

With the fairy magic, maybe, but you're not exactly evil. [His tone is light, affection obvious.]

You brought me chocolate.

[inkings]

[ her mouth curls in a smirk. ]

And I'm going to shove it down your throat if you don't start eating.

[inkings]

[ with a little chuckle, she leans back into the pillow, tipping her head up. the snow is still falling, and she sets it rotating gently as it does with a wave of her hand. ]

I've actually put in a lot of work to not be like my mother. All she cared for was…vengeance and power. It didn't matter to her who she hurt. And she wanted me to be just like her.

I don't want to be feared. [ she toys with her engagement ring. a little smile crosses her lips. ] I will be queen my own way.

1/2

[lordofdarkness]

[In truth, Nico doesn't know that much about Mal and she doesn't know much about him. For all that they're siblings and he'd taken that and clung to it with everything he has, they're only barely not strangers. As she speaks though and gives him pieces of her life and of her struggles, of the things that made her who she is even vaguely, Nico feels his heart swell.

He loves her. It's true, even if he won't say it yet. He loves his sister.

With a gentle smile, he snaps a piece of his chocolate off between his teeth and then reaches his arms around her shoulders to pull her close, affection making him brave.]

You won't be anything like her. You'll be an amazing queen, Mal. The best ever seen.

[lordofdarkness]

[He's content to sit there next to her for a moment before the words catch up with him and his eyes settle on the ring glimmering beautifully on her finger.

H u h.]

...wait. Are you engaged? [Beat.] Are you engaged to a prince?

[inkings]

[ they have only known one another for a handful of days. most of that has been spent stressing about where they are and what to expect. yet she feels a warm bubble of affection spreading in her chest when her little brother hugs her. smiling, she leans her head against his, and laughs brightly when she hears his question.

she holds her hand up proudly so that the diamond catches the light. ]

King, actually. [ yeah, nico, don't offend.

her smile is audible in her voice. ]

His name is Ben. I met him two years ago when I transferred schools. He was the prince, then. Straight out of a fairy tale.

[ here, she pauses, trying to find the words for what ben is to her and finding them all lacking. she finally opts for the unadorned truth. ]

He was the first one to see me. Really see me, though it took me a long time to believe it. [ catching nico's eye, she laughs at herself. ] And by some miracle…he loves me.

[inkings]

He asked me to marry him. And just a few days later, I'm here.

[ mal drops her gaze to her hands. her engagement ring sits alone on her left hand. on her right, sitting on her index finger, she wears ben's signet ring with its beast face. around her thumb is another gift, though not from ben: a black oval onyx, its surface smooth as sin and as reflective as a mirror. she coveted it as a child and, one day, when she managed to please her mother, maleficent had seen fit to gift it to her. she wonders what her mother would have to say of her: a fairy, a dragon, the future queen of auradon…lost again.

her smile is rueful, her eyes bright. ]

Story of my life honestly. Something always happens.

[lordofdarkness]

[There's a lot in there to process, that Mal is getting married and to a king! Though he supposes that's good because she deserves someone who'll give her the world and a country is a good place to start. And he'd meant it about her being an amazing queen. Mal's kind and warm, funny and smart. If there are queens where she's from then he's glad she's going to be one.

And then there's the rest of what she says, the stuff about Ben. It's a strange thing to learn that the sister he's only just met is getting married. He knows it's weird to worry and it isn't worry really, she can obviously take care of herself. Still if Mal is marrying someone, he wants it to be someone who'll love her the way she deserves.

From the way she describes Ben, he doesn't need to be concerned.

He was the first one to see me. Really see me For a moment, Nico's throat grows thick and he swallows over a lump forming for no reason in particular. (It's just, he can relate, that's all.)]

I'm happy for you. And you'll get back there somehow, I promise. No way I'd let my sister not get to have her fairy tale.

[inkings]

[ child, she is not going to be a queen. she is going to be the queen. 😌 👑 ]

Uh-huh. I know what angling for an invitation looks like.

[ despite her teasing, she takes his hand, mindful of the iv, and squeezes it warmly.

the snow has stopped, and mal sits up. her eyes flash green, the same bright shade as the flames she produced. when she blows at the gathered snow, the snow and cold both dissipate in a small poof of steam.

settling back, she quirks at nico her typical uneven smirk. ]

Before you also catch pneumonia.

[lordofdarkness]

[With a snort, he squeezes her hand back, brushing some leftover flurries from his hair with the other hand and resting his head against her shoulder.]

I'm not that fragile. [It would be more convincing probably if she hadn't seen him trying to hobble out of the hospital.]

...and I better get an invite. [He smirks, raising his eyes and turning his head to meets hers for a moment.]

I'm glad you have Ben. I'm glad you're happy, even if you are stuck here right now.

[inkings]

[ also if he didn't look like…that. ]

You can be the ring bearer.

[ they still have no idea how they came to be here or what keeps them. no idea how to return or if they would see one another again once they did. but for a moment, it's sweet to imagine. ]

So, what about you? Anyone special I should know about?

[lordofdarkness]

[Nico's cheeks flush just the slightest bit and he looks away, embarrassed with how pleased the thought makes him feel. He's only ever heard of kids doing that job, but for Mal? He'd take whatever role she asked of him if it meant her inviting him into that part of her life.

Then her question sinks in and his cheeks get a little more red.]

Uh, yeah. [His hand in her tightens just the slightest bit and his pulse speeds up a fraction, but there's a smile tugging at his lips when he faces her again. It isn't so hard to say these days, not when Will is...well. Not when shame has no place between them.]

I have a boyfriend. His name is Will, and it's kind of like what you said. Um...[His eyes find the blanket and he mumbles, blushing harder.]

He was one of the first people to see me too.

[One of. The second actually, but that's. He won't think about that right now. Not when he's here with Mal, feeling lighter than he has in a while.]

[inkings]

Aww. Look at you, turning bright red!

[ she pokes his cheek for good measure because he's cute and she's terrible. ]

You can tell him he's invited too. I need to meet my potential brother-in-law.

[lordofdarkness]

[You're not supposed to point it out, Mal!!! He turns brighter red still, groaning and covering his face with one hand as if it'll hide the red alongside his grin.]

Shut up, you're the worst!

[inkings]

[ you misspelled 'delight' 😌 ]

So you have a little crush on your boyfriend! It's cute!

[ laughing, mal tries to pry his hand away from his face. so focused is she on nico smiling and blushing like a lovesick puppy that she does not notice the new addition to the room until the woman clears her throat.

a nurse raises an eyebrow at them, and orders mal off the bed. patients only allowed.

mal holds up her hands in the universal sign of surrender and slides off the bed, returning to the chair that hates her. she hides her own smile while the nurse swaps nico's iv bag and checks him over before leaving.

after the nurse has left, mal playfully utters, ] Oops.