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.




Taken / FAQ / Locations / Full Nav

Comments

walder | granblue fantasy | human, actually

[whereswalder]

[gift]

[Walder's got this! He's a fantastic marksman, and while he's more used to guns these days it's not like he's never used a slingshot. Sure, it's been a while, but when he was a young ranger who couldn't be trusted with firearms yet, he was a great shot! He just has to get back into the swing of things.

So, as he lines up his shot, he decides to showboat a little. It's at least kind of for himself, but if anyone's watching, well, they'll see it.]

Alright, this should be an easy job for Island Ranger Walder! All I need is to go ahead and let go!

[And he does! The balloon pops!]

Haha, nailed i-

[Unfortunately, he wasn't paying attention to the ground the present was flying over... or lack thereof.

...

Ah... even the bugs have let up to let the awkward silence play out...]

[gotta catch 'em all]

[Walder is torn.

On the one hand, the bugs and fish on this island are extremely plentiful, and there are trees all over the place...

On the other hand, how long with that last if people are going to take the bounty of nature willy-nilly?! Chaos must not be allowed to reign! So, he'll be scouting on people from behind trees and in large clumps of weeds. He doesn't quite have a ghillie costume ready yet, so you might actually be able to spot him, but even without that he's still pretty good at the camouflage thing. Maybe you can find him if you're looking really closely or are, like, a sniper or something, but more likely than not, if he thinks you've been depleting too much of the local wildlife, he'll spring out of the shadows and accost you!]

Halt, fellow island resident! I believe you've been fishing too much today! As an [sweet pose] Island Ranger, I must ask you to consider the effects of your actions on the local ecosystem!

gift

[sugooooooooi]

[Woooooooow. The catgirl here watches the present fall into the pond and paws at the water curiously.]

Don't worry! Maybe you can try and fish it out!

[whereswalder]

[The... Erune with two sets of ears, so probably not actually an Erune, come to think of it, manages to snap Walder out of his shocked trance and regain his coolguy composure.]

...Ha ha, yes! Retrieving that package will be nothing for Island Ranger Walder! Let me just get my gear out!

[He pulls out his handy dandy fishing rod and casts the line!]

[sugooooooooi]

[She's watching with wide eyes and wiggling ears.]

Amazing! How are you using that? Does it make things come to you?

[whereswalder]

Ah, well, it does, yes!

[...hmm. It’s kind of weird to see someone who’s never seen a fishing pole before, but at the same time, he was kind of sheltered before he joined up with the crew of the Grandcypher...]

Basically, you tie a string to a stick, and you tie a hook to that string, and it extends your reach! If you want to catch fish, you can put bait on the hook, but we’re trying to catch a thing, not a fish.

[sugooooooooi]

Wow! You must be really good with putting things together if you can use something like that. Is that your special talent?

[whereswalder]

Haha, it’s just one of my special talents! It’s all part of being a [SWEET POSE] forest ranger!

...

Or island ranger, as the case may be!

[sugooooooooi]

Amazing! What kind of animal is a forest ranger?

[she... she seems serious.]

[whereswalder]

...

Ah, that’s a job, not an animal... we’re people who protect nature!

gift;

[lovewingbell]

[oh no.

well! if this is awkward at all, the orange-haired girl watching it happen doesn't seem to notice; the white ears starkly contrasting with her hair are pricked up and attentive, equally white tail flicking excitedly.]

Aah, that was a great shot! So cool!

[whereswalder]

[.......oh shit, someone thinks he’s cool. Walder’s spirits are immediately bolstered, and he whirls to face his onlooker with a confident smile!]

Well, it wasn’t the toughest shot I’ve had to make, that’s for sure! Rest assured that if we need to deal with any more balloons, I’ll be there to shoot them down!

[lovewingbell]

[She giggles a little bit, bringing her right hand up in a little salute.]

I will rest assured! If you need any help with them, though, I can volunteer!

[whereswalder]

Well, I’ll never turn down a friendly volunteer! In these unfamiliar surroundings, you can never have too many allies in the fight to protect nature!

[...]

So, miss, are you interested in being a ranger trainee?

[lovewingbell]

Ah... Sure!

[..............]

What would I have to do?

[PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE ASKED THAT BEFORE AGREEING, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, RIN CONTINUES ON UNDAUNTED.]

[whereswalder]

You can shadow me as I carry out my ranger duties, and together, we will protect the wilderness! I’ll tell you all the tricks of the trade!

[lovewingbell]

Aah, that sounds fun! And important, too - we want to keep the island nice for everyone, isn't that right?

[whereswalder]

Exactly! And that means the people, the... animals shaped like people, and the animals that aren’t shaped like people!

...

So the bugs and the fish.

gotta catch 'em all (i'm so sorry)

[gallopolis]

[Needless to say, Faris is absolutely not aware of Walder's presence until Walder springs from the shadows and nearly startles Faris into dropping his fishing rod into the river. He makes an absolutely undignified noise before managing to get ahold of himself and waving said fishing rod at Walder... maybe like it's a sword?? Like, that's some really bad swordsmanship if it is, but maybe he's just trying to be threatening?? Who knows.]

You startle me and then hurl accusations my way!? I have done nothing to warrant such behavior!

[...this is absolutely not a defensive reaction to not knowing what on earth an ecosystem is but anyway.]

What is wrong with fishing all day? Are we not permitted to spend our time here as we wish? I have never had the chance to partake in such simple activities and I am going to catch a fish even if it takes me all day tomorrow as well!

[So uh. Walder's definitely right in that Faris has been fishing all day! But he hasn't... caught a single thing.... not even a boot...........]

don’t be...

[whereswalder]

[Walder blinks, then goes over his observations in his head... he has learned to take a step back and listen instead of automatically assuming everyone is lying about being illegal hunters or other types of poachers.

...he didn’t actually see this guy catch anything, so...]

...I see! Sorry about that. I thought that if you were sitting there for so long, you must be overfishing... but if you haven’t caught anything yet, there shouldn’t be any problems!

[.............]

...you probably should catch at least one, though. For food.

[gallopolis]

[.............]

I... have been attempting... but it hasn't been going all that well...

[As. As you can see.]

But I will persevere! The fish cannot evade me forever! I will face this challenge unflinchingly!

[oh my god.]

[whereswalder]

There’s the spirit! I believe you’ll manage it sooner or later!

[...]

You have never done this before, then? Hmm. Do you want some fishing tips and tricks?

[gallopolis]

[th-thanks, walder...]

I— Yes, I would greatly appreciate the help. I am entirely inexperienced with such things and I had assumed it would be far easier than it actually is...

[He ducks his head low, at that.]

Please, share your wisdom with me!

[whereswalder]

Ha ha, well, everyone’s a beginner at some point, right? Just hand me your fishing rod and I’ll see if there’s anything wrong with it to start.

[...because surely he might catch trash at least... did he screw up a DIY...]

[gallopolis]

Of course.

[Here you go! It actually looks like a perfectly normal fishing rod, so he probably didn't screw up too badly— okay never mind, how the hell did he manage to fuck up the hook this badly. That isn't even a hook. It's a piece of metal pretending to be a hook but it's only vaguely hook-shaped if you squint.]

What do you think? Did I do something wrong?

[i'm so sorry walder, he's hopeless.]

[whereswalder]

...

[oh... he... oh, that’s not good at all... well, first time and all! He’ll be gentle on this guy.]

Haha, well, I see your problem there! You need a slightly better hook, that’s all! What you need is something thinner, sharper, and more curved for a hook.

[SO SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT...]

Not to worry, though! I have some stiff wire with me, so I can show you how to make them yourself!

[He digs though his pockets for it and pulls two out!]