SPRING TEST DRIVE

[thespaceopera]

THE SPRING TEST DRIVE MEME
(Or Fall Test Drive for you Southern Hemisphere folks!)

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!

Helpful Info for Ideas!:

March's Star System

Game Details

Test drives are posted SEASONALLY, so the next one will be in June!

Comments

[caelestialis]

[ unfortunately, caelum gets the wrong idea and thinks he means something else entirely.

because why else would say she- ] That's a good idea. Showing is much better than merely telling it. Do you need any help in that?

[sylphystia]

[He glances at the mess.]

He works really hard on the ship-- he's the engineer. If you end up breaking it just by being in here, he's gonna have to work for days to fix it.

[foolishlywitty]

[What?]

...Yeeeees?

[He grins brightly at her.]

Seen anyone else around these parts?

[searingedgelord]

Sounds like we don't stick around for long.

[searingedgelord]

[She tilts her head a bit, considering. He's trying. She'll give him some credit for that.]

Yeah, that's probably important. Not anyone I know, I'm guessing.

[She figures he'd have mentioned them by name otherwise.]

[searingedgelord]

Uh, yeah. I guess I wouldn't know.

[morphitudinous]

[He has to smile at that.]

I know a little of tai chi. One of my best friends was a serious student.

Do you have a favorite athletic pursuit now? Not that we can really pursue it currently, but...

[morphitudinous]

True. It's when we're not free to roam that the mind starts stretching...

[He leans back.]

And it's not the sort of thing I can prepare myself for, I'd guess?

[takingkarabusiness]

Right. I've been here for over a year, and even before then I had been to a lot of different planets.

[morphitudinous]

[He's rather visibly nervous now, folding his hands out in front of him.]

The depths should be investigated, but the lack of information worries me. It'd be too easy to fall into a trap.

A

[huaaaaagh]

[The best way to make friends is to get arrested together, right? Either that or someone forgot to read the rules. Whatever the reason, Kirito wanders over, watching curiously. It's been ages since he fished...]

Catch anything good yet?

[runawayprince]

[Oh hey, it's a kid. And clearly a fellow fishing nerd? This suits him just fine, actually.]

Hey. [He gives a short wave of acknowledgement, looking at his still unmoving line.]

So far nothing, but I could use a hand if I end up catching a big one. You interested?

[Without someone like Gladio to be 90 percent of the big muscles he'll have to do it, but a little help goes a long way.]

[nerdeology]

[Mikleo nods along, shifting a bit closer to inspect what looks like a bracelet with similar beads in varying colours.]

There's an amazing collection of tradesmen on this world, and they have such an elegant style to them. Although with some of them, you'd have to imagine how they look outside the water, as well...

[He turns the bracelet around, demonstrating how the beads glimmer in the underwater light, and how the tiny beaded tassles float around like jellyfish tentacles.]

[huaaaaagh]

[Kirito returns the awkward wave, stepping up to stand beside Noctis, peering into the water for signs of life. The water's so nice and clear here, and it looks like it just goes on forever. It's pretty, but not the most promising of fishing points.

Now he's wondering if a search skill would help.]

Totally interested. And if you catch something really impressive, I might just know an exceptional chef we could probably convince to cook it.

[runawayprince]

Nice! I do too - except... I haven't seen him around.

[Which was unnerving, really. Speaking of things that throw him off - the line jiggles slightly, showing some tension.]

Oh hey, maybe I got something?

[His gaze drops to the water, looking for signs of an exceptionally large fish, if possible. When Noctis fishes, he generally likes the bigger the better. That's just common sense, right?]

[psych0p0mps]

Yeah, probably. I wasn't going to mess with the depths, though. In my experience, the Noble Circle of Horrorterrors won't really come looking for you if you're not bugging them. They're perfectly content to mind their own unknowable business.

[outstandingbalance]

You're not wrong. I guess that would get boring for the audience at home.

[huaaaaagh]

[Absolutely common sense. Kirito can't really point fingers, either- he's been the same way.

He crouches down to watch the line more closely, waiting and ready to assist with the catching if need be. Sure looks like they might have a biter, though what could be biting, he has no idea.]

Have you tried calling for your friend using the comms? That's usually the fastest way to check.

B!!!! I'M SO EXCITED :D :D :D

[luxoraculi]

[ It hasn't been very long since Luna appeared on the fleet, and she's still trying to adjust as best as she can. It's an odd thing, being out in space of all places, at least she thinks so. It's better than the alternative, at least on her end, and sometimes she's still not sure if it's real or not.

She's seated at the moment for the most part, sitting back to simply people watch -- it's been a busy few days, trying to help figure out how to help those affected by the illness that's been going around, even if she's only able to speak to them and comfort them as best as she can with mere words, and it's nice to be able to take a little break from that.

Something catches her eye, though, or rather someone as she takes quick notice of a familiar head of black hair in the crowd, donned in clothing of the same color, and for a split second she's almost sure her jaw has hit the floor. She's quick to compose herself of course, although she does blink hard a few times to make sure her weary eyes aren't simply seeing things.

That is, without a shadow of a doubt, Prince Noctis. She's not sure how to handle this at first; he looks so peaceful that she doesn't particularly want to bother him or upset him, and yet she can't exactly stop herself from pushing herself up and onto her feet to make her way over. She stands behind him for a few moments and shifts. Words come easily to her usually, but she's got good reason to be a little nervous to get his attention this time, after everything that's happened on their home world.

Posture straightening, she forces whatever nerves that are trying to work their way up right back down, replacing her unsure expression with her normal mask of calm as she takes a deep breath and finally speaks. Her voice is quiet, though, as if trying not to startle him. ]

Out of all the people who could have arrived here, I must admit that I was not expecting to see you, Noctis.

[ She doesn't know how much he knows from home though. She's heard of people arriving from different timelines, after all, and so she's not sure what his reaction is going to be. She hadn't gotten a chance to really speak to him at home, what with Leviathan and... well, what had happened afterwards. She offers him a small but pleasant smile, hands clasped tightly together in front of her, so much so that her knuckles are practically snow white at this point. ]

This may sound selfish so please forgive me, but it's so good to see you.

<3 /accepts all the edits lovingly!! because lunaaaa

[runawayprince]

[Somehow the water, the flowers floating around them, and him being yanked further and further away from her by the current, had been a recurring dream in the days since she'd died. He still didn't know what to do with himself when it came to his grief. Gladio and the others wanted him to be able to move past it, to take his place as King, and yet the part of him that couldn't do that just yet was so adrift and just lost.

All I wanted... was to save you-!! He'd wanted that nightmare to be just that - a nightmare. It couldn't be real. He'd wanted so badly to save her, to see her and be by her side. She'd already done more than enough for him, for their people. Now he was supposed to just go on without her, knowing he'd failed her so completely. Hearing her voice, seeing her standing in front of him while he gaped like a complete fool, holding his little glass bottle with a ship inside of it, made him feel like he was eight again and they were in her home in Tenebrae.]

Luna... you- how?!

[Before he can accidentally drop the trinket, he sets it hastily back where it belonged. He felt like a complete idiot standing there not having anything profound to say. She seemed so good with words and while he certainly had learned a thing or two about diplomacy in Altissia this was Luna and she had died because of him. What could he even do to even begin to make up for all the lost time that spanned between them? Part of him wanted to just touch her to see if she was real. The last time he'd tried that she'd disappeared, just like the figment she was.]

Are you really here...?

[His voice sounded strange to his ears, hushed and choked while he tried to process the fact that she looked very much alive.]

<3333!!! /HUGS :>

[luxoraculi]

[ The expression on his face is all she needs to know: he knows her fate, and it makes her heart ache. She knows it couldn't have been an easy thing for him to accept because despite their time apart, she knows him. They may not have really seen one another face to face in twelve years, but they'd kept in contact via their shared journal and although they were not together physically, they at least got to grow up together in a sense thanks to that simple book and the fact Umbra was such a wonderful, willing messenger. ]

I... do not know how or why, Noctis, but I can assure you that I am really here.

[ She wishes she had an explanation for it, honestly, but she doesn't. She reaches out, placing a hand against his cheek to prove that she is, in fact, here in the flesh and not just some ghostly vision that's appeared before him. Not this time, at least. ]

I have been here for a few days now. [ Slowly she allows her hand to slip from his cheek and back down to her side, fighting the urge to clasp both hands together once more. Her smile doesn't fade, but it does soften into something far more apologetic. ] Forgive me for startling you. I know my presence here must be a bit... disturbing for you, to say the least.

[runawayprince]

[That book had been their lifeline in those long years apart. It had been their way to keep their bond all those years and without her to help him fill the pages, it felt completely devoid of the life it had taken on with it's colorful pages and intimate words between the two of them. He'd actually been more than happy with marrying her, as embarrassing as it had been to admit aloud his true feelings. He'd wanted to give her a home to salvage even a fraction of the one she had lost the day Nifelheim had taken over. It can't have been easy, having only a book to keep her going.

Her hand on his cheek was like a shock to the senses because it was definitely real. When she drops her hand again he reaches to take it, to reaffirm that she isn't going anywhere again.]

No- I mean... this whole place is weird, but you're the last thing about it I'd consider disturbing. You're- you're here. [Somehow he feels as if he repeats it enough it will continue to be real.]

The one who should be asking for forgiveness is me, Luna. I- I didn't get to you I didn't stop him, I didn't-

[All I wanted was to save you... He'd completely failed in that regard. He'd gone all the way to Altissia to see her somewhere safe, so that they could be married even. He takes a breath, bowing his head while he tries to compose himself a bit better. It seemed all he was doing lately was losing his cool. So much had happened that it was beginning to feel like a ten ton weight on him.]

We're here though. We're both here.

[And her hand was warm in his, just as it had been when she'd touched his cheek moments ago.]

[monolike]

[Sorey must not be projecting his "I DESPERATELY WOULD LIKE TO HELP YOU" vibes hard enough, because Eizen is still being incredibly independent about this.]

That doesn't mean you have to struggle with this all on your own, though, right?

[luxoraculi]

[ Her breath silently catches in her throat when he takes her hand, because it hits her hard and fast that for the first time in twelve years, they're together, without the threat of the Empire, or raging Gods, or that hideous Chancellor. This, she thinks, is how it should have been at home. She'd been so desperate at the end for a chance to see him just one last time, to be able to have that feeling of happiness and peace that she could only really find when the subject of Noctis was brought up, or when she'd receive a new note from him.

She'd been so weak and sick by the time she'd managed to awaken Leviathan from the sea that fateful day, the only thing keeping her on her feet was the fact that Noctis was so very close and needed her help. She knows that she could have probably made it another few days, she'd had the time afterwards to have at least one last conversation before he'd have to leave her behind to continue on his way. She'd already accepted the fact that she was dying, after all. What she hadn't planned on was dying before she could have a proper goodbye.

She'd had so much she'd wanted to tell him, to make him understand that none of this had been his fault -- the last thing she wanted was for Noctis to feel any sort of burden from her passing, but because of Ardyn, she hadn't had the chance to try and comfort him. She'd had just enough time to pass on the ring, and even that had been after she'd passed on.

Luna gently squeezes his hand, can feel tears stinging at her eyes, but she manages to keep them to herself and quickly blink them away. This is clearly a second chance, and it's not one she wants to waste. ]

That was not your fault, Noctis. [ Her voice is gentle, but her tone is still firm because she wants him to realize that he has no reason to apologize for what happened. When he bows his head, she lifts her free hand and gently places it under his chin, lightly tipping his head back up so that she can properly look at his face. ] He knew I was weakened, and so he struck. That was not your fault. The fault is my own for not being stronger.

[ Noctis' future at home is uncertain and she knows it. What she does know is that the road ahead of him will not get any easier, that the Starscourge will spread far and wide and fast and soon enough the nights will become endless. But for now, she doesn't want to think about that and she certainly doesn't want him to think about it, either. ]

We are. We are here together, and I promise you that I will not leave your side this time. I am so sorry that things happened the way they did. I had planned on having a little time with you at the very least... although I must confess, even without the Chancellor interfering my time on our star was very limited.

[ She knows that by now he must know that, too, and so she smiles again, lacing her fingers with his finally. ]

But I have no regrets. As much as I'd wanted to personally see your success... I am content with the knowledge that you have the blessings of the Gods, and that you have such wonderful friends by your side to see you through both the good and the bad times.

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[She takes a moment to think on his question before providing her answer.]

I suppose in a sense. Everyone who has been here long enough knows about the glitches, and has likely experienced a few themselves. If something happens -- someone starts behaving or talking strangely, most everyone will guess that it's a glitch. So, you may not be able to prepare yourself for them... but others may be prepared to help you.