test drive meme

[vellamods]

TDM

Hello, and welcome to Vella's TDM! As a reminder, this game is invite-only and open to anyone on the mods' timelines: Coco amplitude , Avery daintily , and/or Amber twistingkage ! Friends of friends are welcome to participate, in case we do end up having slots available (please see the Reserves page for more information) -- however, the mods' Plurk lists will be given priority.

A Mysterious Gift

Good morning! Today’s shaping up to be a bright, sunny day on the island. The weather is balmy but not too hot, and there’s a gentle, cool breeze. It’s as idyllic and perfect as you could want… but there seems to be something being carried by the wind. It won’t take you long to notice because it’s so out of place - it’s bright and colorful and definitely not something normal. It’s a balloon floating towards the island at a leisurely pace, and hanging from the balloon is what looks to be a… wrapped present? It’s a white box with a red ribbon, and it doesn’t seem to be weighing down the balloon at all. How odd...

If you happen to be armed with a slingshot, you can use it to pop the balloon. When the balloon is popped, the present will fall to the ground - but be careful where you’re shooting! There’s a river running through the island, and your gift could easily end up swept away if it falls just above the water… And if you don’t have a slingshot, feel free to get creative! Or you can make one and be ready for the next mysterious package - because there will be one just a few minutes later, drifting along.

Should you choose to unwrap the present, one of two things will happen: Maybe you'll get something small in size but no less valuable: a shiny, pristine crown that looks like it might cost a fortune. Whether or not you take care of it is up to you, but hey, you run this island now! (Not really.) Alternatively, you might get a very large red double sofa; when you unwrap the present, it suddenly springs out and lands with a loud thunk onto the ground. Pray that it doesn't smash your toes! How something so big squeezed inside a box so small is a mystery, but hey...congrats?


Gotta Catch 'em All (cw: Scorpions)

The island has tons of natural resources. There are the apple fruit trees dotted around the island and plenty of flowers that you can see up on the cliffs, but beyond that are the rivers threading through the island and the beaches themselves. They seem to be filled to bursting with fish - you can see their dark shadows in the water clear as day, and the fish seem to come in a variety of sizes. Make yourself a fishing pole and go for it! The fish are not only good for cooking and eating, but you can also sell them off for bells. Or keep them as pets, that’s fine too.

But if you’re not a fan of fishing, there’s still plenty to catch. The island is also completely filled with… Well. Bugs. The island is filled with bugs. Butterflies flutter around, and you can get some bells for selling them off...and don't count out the dragonflies, grasshoppers, and mantises, either! You'll need a bug net to nab these critters, but once they're yours, you're free to do what you'd like with them.

When it gets dark, though, be careful! That’s when scorpions come out, and they’re known for their sting. They're far and few between, but when you find them, try not to panic. If you don't have your net out, they'll leave you alone and stay at the edges of your general vicinity. If you bring your net out, though, they'll raise their legs and shake their tails defensively at you. Get too close too fast, and they'll chase after you. They're fast.


Henry's Quest

Henry the frog has been living on the island with you, and today he has a request! He wants to make some hedges to put around his house (or maybe he just wants to tidy up the island), and for that he needs weeds. Twenty of them, in fact. More is fine, but less is just unacceptable. If you choose to accept the task, he’ll give you a reward for helping him: ten iron nuggets! It’s all he has though, so whether you choose to do this solo or with some friends, you’re only getting ten iron nuggets total. Still, while it’s not exactly a rare resource, it’s certainly a limited one, so you may find the reward enticing. Or perhaps you just want to help him out of sheer kindness. Whatever the reason may be, it’s time to get to work.

The island has plenty of weeds, so it shouldn’t be too hard to pick the ones you need. If someone happens to be plucking in the same spot as you, maybe you can work together! After all, more hands means more weeding, which means you can all make Henry happy even faster.

For those who are less teamwork-oriented, you’re free to do this solo, but where’s the fun in that? … Ah, you’re thinking of hogging all of the nuggets for yourself, aren’t you? Well in that case, maybe you should consider sabotaging the competition...though do you really want to draw the ire of the people you’ll be spending at least the next few weeks with?

(OOC Note: We will not be NPCing Henry on this TDM.)


Winding Down

Another day at the island has come and gone. The night sky is clear and the stars are out -- the perfect way to wind down after a day’s worth of hard work. Someone - maybe you! - has built a campfire on the beach, and it’s as good a time as any to get to know the people you’re living with. You’re stuck here, after all.

Sit around, chat, maybe tell some spooky (or not so spooky) stories. Enjoy yourself! You’ve got many more days ahead of you, but for tonight you can just rest and enjoy the peace of the island you now get to call home.




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Comments

Scintilla Caminus/Warrior of Light | FFXIV | 5.x spoilers

[lightsmith]

[a; a mysterious gift]

[Sitting comfortably in the branches of a tree was one local cat, tail swaying as she carefully aimed a slingshot at a drifting balloon. Her aim was skilled, and sure enough when she fired the slingshot, the balloon popped easily...]

[Dropping a present right on some unsuspecting passerby's head.]

Oh--sorry!

[b; gotta catch 'em all]

[Unfortunately, she'd never had much talent for fishing. The attempt was there, sure--but she was just a little too fidgety, or reeled in too soon, or just sneezed at the wrong time and scared the fish off entirely. Patience and passivity just weren't her thing at all, and it was starting to show.]

[c; winding down]

[All in all, though...it really wasn't too bad. Putting together a campfire was something she could do without issue, stretching out on the sand next to it with arms folded behind her head Under unfamiliar stars in (another) unfamiliar world--really not something she expected to get used to, but there was little she could do about it.]

a;

[transfusionem]

[Oh, she is not expecting that. Thankfully the impact isn't too bad, though it does stun Adelaide for a moment.]

It's okay!

[She calls up to the cat, before turning to look at the present which has toppled to the ground.]

I can't blame you for that.

[lightsmith]

[Hopping down out of the tree, she pocketed the slingshot and adjusted her glasses.]

Sure you're okay? I didn't think to look down first, real sorry about that.

[transfusionem]

[She waves a hand, tail - black and fluffy with a white tip - swishing behind her.]

I'm fine, I'm fine. I think whatever's in there is pretty light.

[lightsmith]

Pretty lucky. I don't know what might have happened were it another couch.

[transfusionem]

Where are these couches even coming from? [Shaking her head.] What do you think it is?

[lightsmith]

Haven't the faintest clue. But it's your head it landed on, so why don't you open it?

a

[redbellion]

[ keith definitely felt something plop down on his floofy mullet. he reaches up and puts his fingers on something...kind of cold and smooth to the touch, and when he looks at it...

it's a crown. it's...just that, a crown. maybe this would be more valuable to someone else, but keith just walks over to scintilla and holds it out towards her casually. ]

Is this yours?

[lightsmith]

Er...sorry 'bout that. Wasn't lookin' to drop anythin' on you.

[She coughed into her hand and cleared her throat, trying that again.]

Good thing it wasn't anything heavier, right?

[redbellion]

Yeah, no kidding.

[ he's grateful that it wasn't another fucking sofa, dear god. ]

Where are all of these presents coming from?

[lightsmith]

Blowing in with the wind, by the look of the way they're drifting. From where is a question I couldn't answer.

[redbellion]

Did you see the couches coming out of those things earlier?

[ what even is this world's logic ]

Anyway, take this. I don't need it.

[ he holds out the crown towards her again. ]

[lightsmith]

Oh, um...thanks.

[She'd had weirder things all but thrust into her hands for doing less, sure.]

Guess I'll need to be a touch more careful about where those drop.

B

[eyeformoney]

[Huh.

You know, a properly shrewd merchant would take ample advantage of a cat who couldn't procure her own fish, when they themselves had plenty of already cooked ones and way too many still alive ones in their...pockets? Pockets.

Tressa's kind of too soft to be shrewd like that.]

Were you looking to sell something or to eat something? I can share some of my fish if you'd like.

[It's all black bass but it's better than nothing.]

[lightsmith]

I'm a little hungry, myself. I was more looking to provide for anybody else, but I guess I haven't a hand for it.

[eyeformoney]

That's okay! This sort of thing takes practice.

[Tressa offers her a roasted black bass, still on its stick.]

Here. It's nothing fancy, but it's still good.

[lightsmith]

Thanks, appreciate it.

[it's at least a c+ in taste]

We might have to plan things out a bit more--division of labor and all that, if we don't want anyone to end up going hungry.

[eyeformoney]

That'd probably be for the best. I'm used to pitching in with everyone back home, so it can't be too hard to get that going here, right?

[Tressa you don't know everyone's circumstances and experiences, they may not want to work with you]

Though it might be a little hard for people to really go hungry...as long as we don't eat every apple on the island in one day.

[She highly doubts even Therion could do that]

[lightsmith]

True enough, it looks as though we've got enough to last. More of the same might get a little frustrating for some, before long.

C

[turntoashes]

Hey. There's fish, if you're hungry.

[Lio gently nudges his fellow cat-person's boot.]

Mostly roasted, but someone's trying to fry them.

[lightsmith]

...A little. I'm just glad someone else is seeing to it, it would be no good if anyone ended up starving around here.

[turntoashes]

I don't think that would happen, even if no one here knew how to cook on an open fire. As weird as this place is, the locals seem nice enough.

[lightsmith]

Hm...probably right. Still, it might be wiser not to take too many chances. Learning a little self-reliance never hurt anyone.

[turntoashes]

My thoughts exactly.

[He'll just plop down next to her.]

Hopefully we find things other than fish and fruit soon, though.

a

[whereswalder]

[...oh, it's raining presents...

...wait, that's not normal! What is- oh.]

...ah! Well, no harm, no foul!

[He picks it up off the ground and holds it up.]

Well, you shot it down, so it's yours! Here you are!