SPRING TEST DRIVE MEME

[spaceshipit]

THE TEST DRIVE MEME

Got someone you want to try out before you app? Well this is the post for it! Feel free to use anything that fits in the setting of Drift Fleet! Want to play bumper shuttles? Want to go wild in a med bay? Play around with the current plot? Have at it!

Threads from the Test-Drive may be made game "canon" but DO NOT count toward AC!

FOR NEW PLAYERS: You DO NOT NEED an invite to participate in the TEST DRIVE! If you decide to APP into the game, ONLY THEN will you need an invite from a current player! Applications for new players open April 1st.

Helpful Info for Ideas!:

April's Star System

Game Details

From now on, Test Drives will be posted SEASONALLY (or every three months!). So the next one will be posted in the summer!

Comments

i know I'm on hiatus but.....

[stefanged]

The music's enchantingly beautiful. Stefan finds himself drawn to it, even though he's not fully aware why. He doesn't normally linger like this either.

Except as he stares up at the stage, his throat tightens because he recognizes the player. Hard not to, when most of his childhood memories revolve around art gallery openings and late night family dinners with him. It felt like a lifetime ago, and yet, Stefan's voice grows quiet.

“Uncle Arnold?”

Eeeeee!

[bythewaves]

Maglor lifts his head at the query and there is no recognition in those eyes, which are very, very old, and far brighter than Arnold's ever were.

"Your pardon but I think you have me confused."

And Arnold's voice never sounded like that, with music trembling beneath it.

❤

[stefanged]

He falters for a second, both at how different this feels and how similar it is at the same time. This can't be the result of lost Echoes; he would've stopped everything for Stefan's sake.

No, this feels worse, like... like he's staring back at the man his uncle was turning into.

"I think so too," he admits, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, I - you looked like someone I knew."

<3 <3

[bythewaves]

Maglor shakes his head in apology.

"Someone dear to you, I see. I am sorry. But I am but newly arrived here, myself - perhaps the person you seek is elsewhere."

[stefanged]

"Maybe," he concedes. Or maybe Uncle Arnold's long gone, a remnant of a world that Stefan hasn't seen in almost a year. He shrugs, trying to act like it doesn't bother him.

"I'm Stefan, by the way. I've been here for a while, so if you have questions... I can probably answer them."

[bythewaves]

"Well met, Stefan." Maglor tips his head in a graceful bow.

"Maglor, at your service. I thank you for your kindness - it will not cause you overmuch pain to deal with one who reminds you of your kin?"

[stefanged]

He hesitates for a split-second. On one hand, it would hurt because no matter how much he'd try to suppress it, the memories would flood back to the surface every time. On the other, it would be like dealing with a doppelganger. A much older, more mystical doppelganger.

So he manages a smile as he returns the bowed head. "Nah. I'm sure that he'd want me to help, wherever he is."

[bythewaves]

"It sounds as if your uncle is a good Man." Maglor says almost wistfully.

"Thank you. You can probably see that I am lost - anything you can tell me would be welcome."

[stefanged]

"He was," Stefan admits, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "But um, I'm sure you got the gist from most people. We're on reality TV, we get paid based on how much our audience loves us, and once a month, we visit distant planets and do whatever the place has to offer."

Like they're doing now, though he'd rather stay on his ship than visit the toxic, toxic moon.

"Beyond that, I can't answer a lot. We've only met our captors a couple of times, and we still have no clue who's watching us."

[bythewaves]

"I have been told such." Maglor nods "But I confess that many of these words are unknown to me - what is a 'teevee', and how does the audience watch us. Also, am I understanding correctly that we are journeying amongst the stars?"

[stefanged]

Oh. Wow. Yeah, this guy isn't even remotely like his uncle or his uncle's doppelganger, to not know about television.

Stefan stops in his tracks, trying to gather the right explanation....

"Um, so think of TV as a giant stage, and we're the actors on it. The audience watches us from very, very far away, since they use magic to watch us on uh, glass screens." Not super accurate, but it's the best he can do under the circumstances. "Right. We're traveling from planet to planet, which is why you'll meet people here from all sorts of places."

[bythewaves]

"Ah." Maglor nods slowly. "Some form of...remote viewing. And no word or sign as to how we got here or how we might return?"

[stefanged]

“Sorry, not that I know of.” He would've left the Fleet a long time ago, were that the case. “Most of us have been trying to find a way out, but nothing's worked so far.”

[bythewaves]

"I suppose twas far too much to hope for! Ah well. Thank you, Stefan. How long have you been here?"

[stefanged]

"About nine months now?" He sighs at the realization. "It's been long enough."

[bythewaves]

"I am sorry." Maglor says softly. "It can be difficult to be sundered from kin, whether long a time or short. Will they come seeking you?"

[stefanged]

Stefan raises an eyebrow. "That would require them knowing where I am. Unless they're watching the show," which Stefan doubts, "They may not even know I'm gone."

[bythewaves]

"Oh? But surely they would notice you missing?"

[stefanged]

"I don't think so. From what I understand, when we go home, it'll be like we never left."

Almost Narnian, if Stefan stopped to think about it. His disappearance may feel like years, but to his friends, it might've been mere minutes.

[bythewaves]

"Oh." Maglor blinks, curious.

"That is certainly useful I suppose...but that is... impressive power."