chismosos | test drive meme #1

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test drive

test drive meme #1

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.

GFR Media

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.

Jorge Arce

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

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[Wei Wuxian is having fun and it's. It's nice. It's been so long since he's been able to relax and enjoy himself, and the music and dancing seems to have resurrected a part of him that he feared might have been gone for good. It isn't though, and it's easy to slip back into his carefree nature, even if it doesn't quite reach his heart.

It's easier to forget everything else with a good dance partner by his side, and this girl, she's a good dancer. (He doesn't know much about technique or style, only about letting go.)

It's a while later when he's stepping away with a flash of a grin thrown her way, only far enough to be out of the way of those still dancing. The movement was fun, it was good for him, but it's not where his true passion lies and so the flute comes back out. He plays for one song then another, following the other musicians still and their upbeat tunes. He plays until the crowd begins to clear and the night grows later, and the music comes to an eventual stop.

Only then does he rest again, lowering Chenqing from his lips and gazing out into the slowly dispersing crowd of those who had lingered. He looks for the girl he'd danced with among the crowd, his social nature getting the best of him as he attempts to find her.]

[ The man with the flute steps back to continue playing music, Catra seems unbothered. She just goes on dancing amongst the crowd, seeming untiring in her enthusiasm. Part of her is living in the moment. Another part wants to go until she is exhausted, if only so she can avoid thinking about what she left behind her before she arrived here. When at last the music dies away and the dancers begin to disperse, Catra is left perched on a bench, panting and worn-out. A bottle of water someone had thrust into her hands is opened and downs half of it in a few thirsty gulps. It's only then that she notices Wei Wuxian approaching her. Her ears perk. ]

...Hey.

[ The greeting is wary, a little uncertain. ]

[He knows guarded when he sees it, and where before he might have tried to wheedle his way past those guards, he isn't that young and careless anymore. Instead, he pauses where he is and offers her a short wave and a bright smile.]

Hi, I wanted to thank you for the dance. It's been a while since I've done something so spontaneous. [ Well, spontaneous in the good way anyway. His gaze flickers back to the still dispersing crowds and musicians still packing their things and his face softens.]

This is wonderful, isn't it? This place is amazing. [It's beautiful in a way that's completely different from the world he knows, but beautiful all the same. And far away from the mess of his own shattered life.]

Oh. Yeah. You're welcome.

[ Catra takes another swig from her water bottle and turns her head to watch as people continue packing up their things. She doesn't know why she felt compelled to join the dance. Just that it felt right. Felt good. ]

It's certainly something.I mean. Better than where I was, but it's weird.

[ Where she was being on the starship of an alien warlord awaiting presumed execution. ]

[Weird. He supposes it probably is depending on where a person was from. It was certainly different from where he'd been before, but the constants were there. People, music, life. But not everyone has come from a place like him. He takes a seat on the bench, careful to leave enough space between them not to crowd her. He isn't looking for anything more here than conversation and this place is so much freer with affection, with...everything honestly. He doesn't know where the lines are.]

What was it like where you were before?

Miserable.

[ The word tumbles free before Catra can stop herself or think about it. And it really was, thinking of it. There had been the industrial wasteland that had been her childhood. Etheria's beautiful natural splendor. The labyrinthine starship of Horde Prime. None of them had felt like home. ]

It's not important.

Edited 2020-10-31 01:37 (UTC)

Ah, no, it doesn't sound important at all, not when you're here now. [He doesn't pry, and isn't even tempted. There was far more than enough misery to go around already, he had no desire to bring up someone else's.]

Where I'm from isn't so different from this, though technology has progressed quite a lot farther here. Do they have airplanes where you're from?

[ Silently, Catra is thankful to whatever gods exist that this guy isn't nosy. She couldn't handle nosy right now. ]

We have a lot of stuff. Spaceships. Skiffs. Tanks. Boats. Uh...

[ She frowns. ]

I don't think I've seen an airplane like the ones they have here before though.

[He recognizes some of the words but not others, marveling at all of them.]

Airplanes and spaceships. I've only just learned about space travel. Where I'm from, the only thing that can travel in the sky is a sword, and only some can travel that way.

What's a tank? And a skiff?

A sword? Never heard of a sword that flew.

[ Catra snorts, half a laugh managing to make it's way from her. ]

Tank is a big armored vehicle, supposed to be used in wars. Usually has a big cannon on it and these tracks, um...

[ How does she explain this to someone without a frame of reference she's familiar with. ]

You have wheels that turn, but then over them you run this linked track of, basically a chain of steel plates. Like this.

[ She holds her hands out next to each other, trying to demonstrate the position the links might have a continuous track. ]

The wheels lay them down as it moves and then picks them back up in a loop. It basically lets the vehicle go anywhere it's not too rough or too steep. It spreads the weight out.

[ She'll wait to see if he picks that up before going into the skiff. ]

Edited 2020-11-02 15:15 (UTC)

[He listens attentively, expression gone soft and searching as he puts her words together. He doesn't pick up on every detail, but there's enough context and common sense for him to get the basic idea. A vehicle that can travel over any terrain would be beyond useful, and he imagines whatever material they used to build it must be durable, not like the carriages he was used to. Already he's learned about cars and even seen a few trucks in this place, so it isn't hard to extrapolate some of the details.

He nods at her pause, completely entranced.

It's a strange thing to hear about weapons of war, but even if that's how they're used, he can't help his fascination learning as much as he can about the innovations of all these other places.]

They're used only for war?

That's all I ever saw them used for.

[ Catra shrugs. Her experience, admittedly, is limited and she hasn't the faintest idea how things are here compared to Etheria, which had been perpetually at war as long as she could remember. ]

I drove one, once.

[It isn't difficult to do the math if she drove one and only knows them for one purpose, but he sure as hell isn't going to ask her about her experience fighting. Wei Wuxian knows war intimately, he knows what its like to have a childhood ended with bloodshed and grief. He also knows he'd rather get stabbed in the face than talk about any of it.]

Was it fun to drive? [His lips quirk into a smirk.]

[ Catra grins. The expression shows bright, sharp teeth. ]

Hell yeah it was fun! I'd do it again.

[ She chuckles, though despite the bravado her laugh feels... hollow. ]

Edited 2020-11-04 03:41 (UTC)

[He chuckles right back at that, lowering his eyes and catching another glimpse of the thinned out crowds. The musicians have all left by now but there are still quite a few people around.]

Bet dancing was better though. [His eyes return and he grins again.] I'm Wei Wuxian. Been here a couple of days.

Catra. Same here. Not sure I saw you in the quarantine center that they stuck us in, but then it was kinda crowded.

[ She rubs the back of her neck. Small talk makes her feel on edge and she's not sure about letting him or anyone else much closer. ]

This place is weird.

[They'd probably missed each other in the center which isn't too surprising. He'd kept to himself then, still reeling from the last thing he remembered before ending up here. It hadn't been a pleasant first few days to say the least.]

I like the music. And the food. [And the peace, even if he didn't deserve it.] The people are even better. [He shoots her a boyish smile at that.]

I didn't know the world was so wide before or that the universe contained so much. If I could, I'd take off in one of those spaceships and see it all.

What? You think I'm good company?

[ Catra scoffs, laughing in a bitter fashion that doesn't quite manage to sound convincingly happy. ]

You have bad taste in people, but seeing the universe wouldn't be such an awful way to spend your life.

[ Not like there's really anything for her back home. ]

[He grins in earnest, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest.]

And what's so bad about my taste? Who wouldn't enjoy getting to spend time with a pretty girl who's good at dancing? [He glances away for a moment and his smile falters just a touch, eyes echoing a little bit of her bitterness.]

Anyway, I'm an excellent judge of character and I say you're definitely good company. [He's not. He's not an excellent judge of anything but that's neither here nor there right now.]

[ Catra snorts softly, the sound turning into a breathy, squeaky little giggle. She raises a hand as if to ward off Wei, her expression entirely amused. ]

Okay I'll give you good at dancing but before you start talking about how "pretty" I am--

[ She raises both hands to make finger-quotes for emphasis. As she speaks, it's without malice (well, not much malice), and as if this is as normal a thing as breathing air or drinking water. ]

--you should probably know that I'm only into girls.

[ Well like one specific girl really but there's no way she would ever return Catra's feelings at this point even if she wasn't a universe away or whatever. ]

[His eyes widen and he opens his mouth to respond, though nothing comes out. It isn't unheard of, he knows there are men who like men, knows logically then that why wouldn't there be women who liked women? It's only he's never heard anyone say it like that, so casually. After his shock passes, he lets out a soft laugh, shaking his head back and forth, absolutely delighted.

Different places, right? Different rules.]

Well just because you'll be forever tragically out of my reach, doesn't make you any less pretty. [He grins and it's just as friendly as before.]

I've never really understood any of it anyway. [He admits, sincerity trickling into his voice.] Girls and boys I mean. They can both be beautiful, but giving yourself to either of them is just so messy, isn't it? So much trouble...

[ Catra seems mostly amused by the stunned little moment she gets from her conversational partner, then laughs. ]

Ugh.

[ Catra's disgust for the continued compliment is mostly feigned, though, and she smiles. ]

Yeah. It's messy and stupid anyway. Seriously, don't fall in love. It's a waste of time.

That's what it looks like! [He lets out a gusty sigh and shakes his head, lifting one hand in the air to physically wave off the idea.]

I don't have time for anything like that anyway. [And if he ever cared that much about anyone, it'd mean he cared enough not to inflict himself on them.]

Did you?

No. I didn't.

[ Her voice is flat and unhappy. A tone that indicates 'don't ask me about this.' At least that's what she hopes she conveys... ]

[Alright, hint taken! Not with as much finesse as he might have dodged, but then he's had years of practice being dishonest with his emotions. And anyway, not everyone feels the same need to conceal the truth. Either way, he gets the message.

He nods and leans forward to rest his chin inside of his palm, unfazed by her tone and giving her the space to realize he won't push.]

Ah, then I suppose we can be tragically alone together, Catra. Except it really isn't so tragic, is it? [He pauses, a smile tugging at his lips.] I'm personally of the opinion that all one needs in life is good company, and would you look at that? We've found it!

[There's that blinding smile again.]

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test drive meme #1

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