rapturefree | baby you can drive my car

It's anticipated. It's expected. We're all about expectations, aren't we? Sort of? Maybe? Regardless, it's the first official

TEST DRIVE MEME

You probably know the drill by now. If you don't, here's a quick rundown: test drive memes are a game's way of gauging interest and such. It's a way to play around in the environment without the commitment of apping, maybe see how well that character you're considering gels with the setting. This one will be open indefinitely, or at least until further notice. You don't need to be apped to the game to test drive a character, or even reserved, or even want to reserve. However, if your interest is indeed piqued, reserves are thisaway, applications thataway.

As of this writing, we don't consider anything that happens in the TDM canon unless you'd like to transfer any threads that happen here to the main comms (provided they don't interfere with pre-established game events, of course). TDM threads are just a way to get a feel for a game, or in case you need that pesky writing sample for an app in progress. We don't recommend you do a standard intro post, however - save that for the game proper!

We don't have a set entry date for the game proper just yet. Once we accumulate some interest, we'll be sure to let you know!

Some resources we recommend that you check out if interest continues to abound:

Cast | Setting | Rules & FAQ | Locations

PROMPTS:

i. do you hear the people sing?
You've heard the rumors circulating about Atlas and his bandits for months. Even the upper echelons of Rapture's high society were having trouble burying their concern under the careful veneer of professionalism. What you didn't expect was an open attack. You'd just been passing by, but the poor souls who lived and shopped and made their living on this street have just found their entire livelihood set aflame. People are saying it's a bombing, while others protest that it must have been something down in maintenance.

Right now, it doesn't really matter one way or the other. The homes and storefronts have been reduced to sheeting flame as hairline cracks go cobwebbing up the glass, the only thing separating the city from a watery grave. Whether you choose to get the hell out of dodge or help the wailing survivors is up to you, but regardless of what you choose to do, this section of Rapture is rapidly coming apart at the seams.

ii. who's your daddy?
You've no clue whose bright idea it was to tail the Little Sister. It might have been some gang of spliced-up nobodies thirsty for some extra ADAM. It might have been your best friend's idiot plan. Hell, it might have even been yours. All you know is that no matter how appealing the thought seemed at the time, you and yours are in for a world of hurt. The Little Sister just had to shriek once and her armored protector came barreling into the scene, drill humming to life with a sinister whine. Guilty as charged or caught in the crossfire, you're in for the fight of your life with a Big Daddy, one of the most dangerous things in Rapture. Good luck.

iii. a part of the masterpiece

Fort Frolic, they say, is the hub for creative artistry. Sander Cohen is either a wildly inspired artistic genius or a madman depending on who you ask, but the alcohol runs the same no matter how you slice it. For tonight, the Fort is yours to enjoy at your leisure. Take a gander, gamble everything you've got, have a drink, maybe sit in for a show. The only thing Cohen loves more than his exclusivity is rampant attention, and tonight he's on full display. He's even torturing - er, entertaining a lucky pair of dancers in Fleet Hall! Don't mind the wires threaded in and out of their clothing, doubtless unspooled over all those important parts of the nervous system and ready to unleash a burst of fatal electricity at a moment's notice. They've got to be just for show.

One thing is certain about the possibly-deranged Sander Cohen, after all: he certainly keeps you on your toes!

iv. wild card! make up your own scenario

We prefer third-person, present tense prose, but if you're just in it for the fun you can write in whatever floats your pontoon. Have fun!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I haven't seen enough to count. You're the first other gem I've seen." The rest of the place seems to be populated entirely by humans - though not any humans she's seen. Some demonstrate the sort of powers she'd always assumed were exclusive to gems: shooting fire from their fingertips, moving things without touching them. Even her cursory surveillance of the city has revealed more unsettling ephemera she's not certain she wants to confront.

Even less does she want to admit her own discomfort, but the fact remains that much of her power is inexplicably gone, seemingly dissolved into the ether.

"Hmm," she says, thinking. "Well, I mean... we could always try to break through the walls." There is a beat of silence before she quickly adds, "I mean, I like humans, but if there aren't that many here then no one would ever know about them."

She already fells bad about suggesting it, but she does not want to be trapped down here, and from the sound of it neither does Lapis. They wouldn't die if they broke the dome and this seems like their best chance at getting out of here. But breaking the dome is a whole other problem to deal with. She hopes Lapis is a stronger gem than she is, otherwise there might truly be no way out.

She finds herself agreeing despite the pang of guilt that clenches deep in her chest. Before any of it, she would have no qualms with consigning these humans to their watery fate, no matter how many of them there may be. But since discovering Steven she's found herself - less willing.

"We could," she says, unable to keep the note of resignation from her voice. She's loathe to admit it, but - "but this place - it's done something to me. I used to be stronger than this."

It's worse, almost, than her gem being cracked. At least then her discomfort and her failure had a source, something she could fix or heal. Here, there is no indication of who or what may have sapped her power from her. It's simply gone.

She bites her nail gently, a habit she does while thinking. So they are trapped, unless they find another way. But if they were going to try they'd need to know more about this place. It clearly wasn't normal.

"Well we'll figure something out..." she said. "I don't know of anything powerful enough to transport gems across the world except a warp pad, and I doubt there's one here. I've never heard of this place. Maybe this is some sort of new Homeworld technology? Humans aren't this advanced yet."

"It doesn't seem new." Her eyes rove over the array of buildings, the tall skyscrapers stretching into the ocean's depth visible even through the thick pane of glass. A neon sign blazes an advertisement for FLEET HALL just across from them.

"It mostly just seems - primitive, really." She wrinkles her nose faintly. "I didn't think humans could even make something like this. If Homeworld built this place, there'd be gem tech somewhere, wouldn't there?"

She can't keep the uncertainty from her tone. So much has changed in the time she was gone, she can't be sure of anything anymore.

"Mm. I guess. It does look like a human city. Um, what if..." She trailed off, a though forming in her head at that moment. "What if Homeworld built this place for humans? Like some... weird nest or something, in case they ever destroyed the ones on the surface?"

She was desperately trying to find an explanation for being trapped here, but she knew that more than likely she would never know for sure. Making sense of things was her way of trying to keep control.

"You mean like - they're keeping them here?" She regards the other gem dubiously. She can't imagine why Homeworld would do such a thing, but she feels more and more like she doesn't know anything anymore. She'd gotten the impression Homeworld hadn't cared for humans, or had even actively worked to eradicate them - hadn't that been why Rose Quartz had stayed behind in the first place?

She retreats, her shoulders set and her eyes dark.

"What does it matter to you, anyway?" Her voice is hard, betraying nothing of her allegiance. "Are you with Homeworld - or not?"

Spectrolite is taken aback by the other's reaction, unable to think of what to say. She takes a small step back and turns her head a bit, side eye-ing Lapis.

"I'm just trying to make sense of this place!" she retorts. "If this place is under Homeworld control then I don't want to go messing it up. The Homeworld gems haven't been to Earth in years and I'm not going to be the one to summon them back by messing with their weird side project."

She stops herself from going further and takes a few steps toward the edge of the roof. She didn't want the only other gem here as an enemy.

"I'm sorry if I'm being snappy," she said. "I'm just confused and a little exacerbated by this whole nonsense situation. I'm not from Homeworld so being thrust into something they might have control over is scary. I don't want to be trapped here."

She's not with Homeworld. That's better than the alternative. The hostility dissolves from the tension in her shoulders slowly, until she deems the other gem safe enough to turn away from.

"Good. I'm not from Homeworld either. Not anymore, anyway." Her voice is bitter. "I don't want to be trapped here either. I just don't know if there's any way out."

The idea of being trapped by human ingenuity is both perplexing and infuriating in equal parts, and she wants nothing to do with it.

She's grateful when the tension subsides and relaxes her posture. She looks out at the city again.

"Maybe someone who has lived here longer can tell us more about this place. At the very least we won't be as confused as we are now."

"Maybe." Given the way the various humans have been looking at her, Lapis isn't sure she'd trust many of them with the existence of gems like her. She wouldn't trust many of them at all, except it seems their resources are exceedingly sparse on all counts.

She looks at her hands, useless to shape the water where they once flowed with power. "Until then, all we can do is look."

baby you can drive my car

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