TDM: Mega Throwback Edition!

[polymods]

✖ TEST DRIVE MEME

Ⅰ. ARRIVAL
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
The island you find yourself on is a tropical paradise. The hair is heavy and humid, and a thick flowering jungle encroaches on the white sandy beach. As far as mysterious islands go, it could be a lot worse! Maybe there’s a bar with some Mai Tais set up here somewhere…

As you walk towards the jungle you become aware that something is moving in the bushes. Some sort of animal, probably - maybe your mind goes to jaguars, or monkeys. What comes running out onto the beach, though, is not remotely mammalian: it’s a dinosaur.

Just a little one - it’s about the size of a small dog, running along on its hind legs. Aww, he’s kinda cute if you ignore the sharp teeth and claws! Lucky for you it’s busy chasing something else and soon darts back into the bush unless you do something to grab its attention.

Listen closely and you’ll find that sometimes you can hear sounds that are distinctly mechanical. Whatever this place is, it at least sounds like it’s inhabited by something possessing intelligence. You could definitely go and find out. Just be careful!

Or maybe you think, hey, I’ve seen this movie, I’m staying on the beach! You could, but unless you’re good at diving for fish you might have a hard time finding food.

Notes:
1. Please remember to mark threads appropriately with Content Warnings when necessary.

2. These prompts are a jumping off point - how they affect your character and their development is up to you.

3. The people on the island are normal humans unless otherwise indicated. The dinosaurs are animals and can be killed. I mean, good luck with that, but.

4. Have fun!

---

Ⅱ. CRETACEOUS PARK
CW: Dinosaurs! Violence, possibly against dinosaurs!
The jungle is thick and it takes a lot of effort to move through it. You’ll have to crawl under vines, climb over felled trees, and just generally pay a lot of attention to your surroundings. This is the sort of situation where having someone with you certainly makes things easier. Occasionally you will hear animals calling, and you’re bound to see some of them eventually. Maybe you’ll luck out and spot a herbivore like one of the armoured dinosaurs, just chewing on plants and not likely to attack you unless you piss it off. Maybe you spot something about your size with a decidedly less vegetarian diet and you have to decide between hiding or trying to scare it off.

Eventually in your wanderings you come across an unusual sight: a dirt road. It cuts its way through the trees and ferns, and to the south you can hear what is probably a familiar sound: engines. And shouting.

It’s getting closer.

Suddenly there are cars and motorcycles rushing down the road toward you - try not to get hit! One of the cars slows and a guy with a ragged blonde beard hangs out and tells you to get in the back. At close to the same time a truck slows and another guy tells you to climb aboard and grab a gun.

Why would you need a gun? The answer presents itself almost immediately: big daddy T-Rex is stomping its way down the road towards you.

You can escape with the first car, or pitch in and try to shoot the dinosaur with the second. Or you could try and prevent them from hurting the animal entirely, or just run off into the jungle by yourself. Better decide quickly, though. That T-Rex looks hungry.

Notes:
1. You determine your level of dino encounter! And what kind - nobody is going to get on your ass if you pick one from the Jurassic period instead of the Cretaceous. It’s a magic island for crying out loud.

---

Ⅲ. SETTLEMENT
CW: Kidnapping.
Whether you throw in with the humans or maybe stumble upon it by accident, you wind up at their encampment . It’s definitely the safest place to be - there are high walls around a series of small buildings mostly cobbled together from wood and tin. But there’s cots, and food. Outside the perimeter wall are tripwires and very basic motion sensors that will alert the settlement if any sizable animals are prowling around.

You’re informed that mostly the dinosaurs leave the camp alone - too much effort for not enough food.

While you’ll be welcomed the first night, as soon as morning rolls around it will be made abundantly clear that you’re going to be expected to pull your weight. Pitch in with the cooking or cleaning, or if you have some mechanical skill you can help fix up some of the rattling vehicles parked around.

From what you can gather, this is just one of a few different settlements on the island. Some of the others have small farms, and if you can drive you will be asked if you’d mind running over a delivery to one of these.

Agree, and you’ll be handed the keys to what sure looks like a 1970s era Cadillac. The mulleted gentleman who has asked this favour of you hands you a piece of paper upon which a small map is drawn, along with written directions. A note at the bottom reads, “don’t look in the tunk.” You think he means ‘trunk.’

“Package is in the trunk,” this gentleman confirms. “Don’t open it, sunlight’ll mess it all up.”

With that he sends you on your merry way. Best to take along a buddy for safety!

Partway through your journey you will come to realise that whatever is in the trunk is making a banging noise. You can ignore it and keep driving, passing the keys off to the people at the farming settlement, or you can pull over and investigate.

If you choose the second option, you’ll find that your ‘package’ is a person. Not a human one - this person has scales and huge, bulging eyes above small nostrils. They’re bound hand and foot and gagged, staring up at you with terror.

Well, jeez. Now what?

Notes:
1. If you open the trunk and discover the Crazy Frog-esque figure within you can continue on to the settlement and deliver him as promised. If you choose the former, the people at both settlements will be angry and turn on you unless you can spin a very convincing lie about your prisoner escaping.

2. If you choose to free your froggy friend, they will indicate that you should follow them through the jungle to their home.

3. If you skip the delivery mission, you can still stay at the camp. It’s very bare bones, but there’s food and cots and bathrooms at least.

---

Ⅳ. REPTILIANS
Whether it’s because you’re led there, or because you find it by accident, you find yourself in a village - the houses are smooth stone, curving elegantly under sprawling vines and beautiful blooming flowers.

Upon your arrival several humanoid lizard people emerge from their homes and watch you, silent. One of them, stooped and wizened with age, moves to stand directly in front of you. When they speak, you realise that you can’t hear them with your ears; they communicate through telepathy.

You are welcome to stay in our village if you pass our Test of Bravery.

You’re half expecting that they’ll make you fight a velociraptor or something, but no - this village elder leads you and your companion both to the center of the village where there are several large flat stones ringed around one much larger stone. You’re both instructed to sit. More of the reptilian people approach, watching you.

Tell us a story of your bravery, the elder tells you.

You’ll have to dig into your memories to find a moment where you think you acted bravely, and then you’ll have to tell everyone assembled about it. You might be tempted to embellish a little bit, or to outright lie.

But if you do…

The moment you start fudging the truth, a different memory will play out just above the large center stone like a hologram. This memory paints you much more poorly: it's one of your most cowardly moments. Definitely not what you wanted to share with a village full of people.

When either your story or your memory is finished, the village elder will look at you with their strange eyes and pronounce whether or not you’re allowed to stay.

Notes:
1. Whether or not you are allowed to stay is not based entirely on how brave you were - how you react to having to share (willingly or not) these stories also plays a part. For example, if you ran away from a fight but in the present you don’t try to justify it with bullshit reasons, you will still be invited to stay.

2. The Reptilian village is a blend of nature and advanced technology. Frankly, it’s a nicer place to stay than the human settlements. They have a lot more creature comforts, like nice deep baths and soft beds.

---

Greetings, prospective Travelers! Welcome to the POLYMYTHOS test drive meme and thank you for your interest in our game! We invite you to use this TDM to explore but one of many, many islands within the Endless Isles; use it as an opportunity to introduce and familiarize yourself with the game, form connections with other characters, and just have some fun. (Perhaps while also getting some solid samples together for your application! Apps are always open!)

Use the prompts provided below as-is or feel free to write your own set within the environment detailed in each. You're even welcome to access the network via your character's ScryWatch. While there will be some inevitable changes, TDMs may count as game canon and some islands may be revisited in the future. Be mindful of your surroundings -- you never know how you and your fellow Travelers might affect this place in the long run.

Network · Logs · OOC · Memes · Plurk

Comments

Hank Anderson | Detroit: Become Human | OTA

[heavymetallieutenant]

[[CW: Mentions of suicidal tendencies]]
Arrival
When he comes to, his first thought is a numb, almost relieved one: Huh. It finally happened. Off and on bouts of testing your luck at Russian Roulette will do that, after all; enough tries and a long enough winning (losing?) streak and waking up on the other side of it all is bound to be a surprise.

The ferry, and Charon (the name his brain supplies, as if that's correct or helpful to him in the moment), deposits him on a brilliant stretch of sand, where he just...sits.

He's wearing a pair of old, comfortable joggers, a sweatshirt he's had for about ten years now, and his bare toes dig into the warm sand as he looks out over the beach. The back of his mind throws up images of Tom Hanks and his faithful volleyball, and he spends a moment wracking his mind trying to come up with the name of that, too. He barely notices movement from the trees. Instead, his eyes are drawn to the weird little band around his wrist, the colors swirling in it lost on him in their meaning. But it's pretty. He generally doesn't wear pretty things.

Settlement
The jungle is weird. He would like to think that he'd be pretty ok as a survivalist, he's seen movies and shows and youtube videos, he's been a cop for more than half of his lifetime by now, but then dinosaurs are thrown into the mix. That's something he knows he's not prepared for. And he's not about to go marching into the trees to confront something small and toothy just for the opportunity to meet something big and toothy. So he tucks himself into the foliage and makes his way around it all, being terribly careful about where he's putting his bare feet in case something bites him or stings him or stabs through the sole.

Finding signs of civilization bring both dread and relief in equal measure. He'd heard the commotion surrounding what sounded like a hunting party going up against a much larger dinosaur (and ain't that a hell of a thought?) and steered far clear of it until he'd come up against a wall that looked so much like those ramshackle construction projects he could recall from numerous pieces of zombie apocalypse media.

The thought is interrupted when he feels the press of a tripwire against his shin, and he simply frowns at it. But he doesn't have time to dwell on it all before he's met by someone that looks...well, not quite the way he expects a "survivor" to look.

But this is the afterlife, right? What's he actually supposed to expect from the end of the road?

arrival

[detectivemiracle]

From behind him, Chloe clears her throat. She's been combing the beach, looking for stragglers - and maybe picking up a seashell here or there, just for something to occupy her hands as she walks.

"Are you doing okay, there?" she asks, her expression neutral but friendly.

[heavymetallieutenant]

At first it doesn't seem as if Hank has heard the greeting, tired blue eyes still directed out at the ocean that seems to stretch on infinitely. His thumb runs around and around the black disk at his wrist.

"I'm..." He hesitates a little, voice quiet, thoughtful. "I'm good."

He finally looks back over his shoulder at her, his arms propped on his bent knees as his feet shift some in the sand. He doesn't recognize her, but that's no surprise. He can't bring himself to be surprised by much of anything these days.

[detectivemiracle]

"I kind of doubt that," Chloe says with an almost-wry smile. "I mean, I definitely wasn't good when I first got hauled in by the ferryman. I don't think many people are."

She crosses her arms loosely over her chest, glancing out at the ocean for a moment. "I'm Chloe. Chloe Decker."

[heavymetallieutenant]

"Hank Anderson," he replies gruffly, looking first out at the water again, then at the peculiar bracelet he can't remember having put on of his own accord.

"I don't know about you Ms. Decker, but this is pretty nice for Purgatory, if that's where our buddy Charon decided to drop me off. Maybe I'll get the chance to mull over my sins before I get my organs pecked out by sea birds or whatever." A wry commentary on his view of the situation, but at least in the moment he doesn't seem overly bitter.

[detectivemiracle]

Chloe's face registers a certain understanding at those words. Ah. That's what he thinks is going on here. Okay.

"I don't think we're dead," she says after a moment. "But I suppose if you want to think of it as a kind of Purgatory, the metaphor probably isn't too far off."

[heavymetallieutenant]

"...mm. Well, if that's the case, this is gonna be one of the weirder things I've been through in my life." He finally pushes himself upright out of the sand, brushing what he can out of his clothes with a soft grunt. He regards the woman from a distance as he draws himself up a little straighter. He's actively trying not to loom over her; he'd been informed that sometimes he did that, it's just what happens when you're generally bigger than everyone else in a room.

"What is it then? Alien abduction? Lord of the Flies? We getting hunted?"

[detectivemiracle]

Luckily, Chloe is sort of used to being loomed over. Her longtime partner is over six feet tall, and he practically invented looming.

"I think none of the above. Though, there do seem to be dinosaurs on this island, so..." she laughs nervously. "We might wind up being hunted. The next place we go will probably be a little safer. I hope."

[heavymetallieutenant]

When you're 6'3 and built like a fridge in mild disrepair, looming is inevitable.

"Dinosaurs," he repeats, looking back toward the trees with narrowed eyes, as if expecting a raptor to explode out of the foliage, unaware that he'd been too zoned out to catch exactly that the first time around. "You're startin' to sound like this is a new thing even though you know this place."

Arrival

[neverwither]

Barefoot and with her shoes in one hand, Chloe wanders along the beach. Pretty as it is, she feels some apprehension. Her beach experience on one of the former islands, with its zombies pouring out of the sea, hasn't quite left her. Different as this scenario appears to be, the familiarity with their journey means little can be taken at face value. It's reason enough to give the jungle a wide berth. If anything is going to spring out of somewhere, the cover of the trees seems a likely candidate.

Spying the figure, she comes to a stop a bit of a distance away. Is it...?

It could very well be. Connor is here, after all. Although the Ancient has plenty of tricks to pull, and it isn't the first time she's seen Hank's image. She saw him plastered all over the mannequins in the mall they were transported to.

Gradually, she approaches. Places a hand lightly on his shoulder to check if he's real. Or solid, anyway. "...Lieutenant Anderson?"

[heavymetallieutenant]

The touch is a little startling, as lost in thought as he is. Hearing his name, too. Someone here knows him, or at least knows of him.

When he peers up at her, his expression goes from a slightly disgruntled neutral to pure shock.

"...what the fuck?" he breathes, scanning over Chloe's face for a probably uncomfortable amount of time. So much for his first theory on his whereabouts.

[neverwither]

Chloe gives him a tiny smile that says this is a perfectly valid to reaction to... Well, all of it. After being whisked away to the islands of weirdness, hers might not be the most comforting face to see. She can understand the way he's just staring at her like that.

To avoid looming over him, she takes the liberty of sitting down in the sand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." An understatement right there. "This is... To say it's a lot doesn't really do it justice." A pause. She turns her head to peer at him, studying him with concern. "Are you alright, Lieutenant?"

[heavymetallieutenant]

Hank watches her sit, blinking stupidly. He can afford it in the moment at least, more than he ever could in his life previous. At least, he thinks he can, having not yet spotted the potential danger from the jungle.

The more Chloe talks, the more one thing stands out to him:

"You sound like a deviant." It's not an unkind statement, at least in intention. "Are you alright?"

[neverwither]

She doesn’t take the remark badly; it’s exactly what she sounds like. The specifics of her deviancy are too much to get into right off the bat, and especially with Hank finding himself in strange new circumstances.

The question is somewhat easier to address. “I am,” she answers with a little smile. Emotional trials of the Ancient aside, she’s faring better than she was at the time of their unceremonious meeting.

Self-conscious of what she wants to say, her gaze drops down to her lap. It feels as though she’s been sitting on the words for such a long time. She was never certain she’d get the opportunity and so now they bubble up, seeking to be said aloud.

“And you’re a big part of why I’m alright. I don’t mean to overwhelm you, speak so freely so soon but…” Her eyes meet his again, voice growing softer as whatever spiel she may have been about to give becomes condensed to three words. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

[heavymetallieutenant]

His expression softens some when she confirms his suspicion. Lips part and the line between his brows smooth, and he lets out a soft sigh as he looks back out at the water.

"Well I'll be damned..."

But then she continues, and the bewilderment is back. "What? C'mon kid, I didn't do a damn thing. Dragging Connor outta there was gonna happen whether he did that stupid fuckin' test or not."

[neverwither]

Her expression echoes his, in disbelief that he would fail to recognise the significance of his actions. Or perhaps he just doesn't want to. How often has she dodged discussing what happened? Why would he want her to beat him over the head with the whole ugly business?

But his dismissal is biting. Not for herself but for him.

"I'm not going to talk about it too much. I know it's not exactly the most pleasant topic of discussion." Her smile is now thin, tight-lipped. "But I just wanted you to know how much you did do for me and how grateful I am." Not everyone would have stood up for their android partner like that (or for the android kneeling on the floor). Not everyone would have stood up against Elijah Kamski.

[heavymetallieutenant]

"Neither'a you deserved that horseshit," Hank grumbles, turning his attention to the water again. It's easier on his heart than looking her in the face. "If it wouldn'a caused an incident I woulda punched that asshole."

He trails off in his grumbling, letting the silence draw out with the white noise of the water between them. But a sound from the trees reminds him that hey, he's somewhere new, and really goddamn weird.

"So what is this place?" he asks, that familiar frown back. "First thought was whatever afterlife exists for me but if you're here..." Unless she's not real. Just a really detailed illusion, like she'd believed him to be.

Settlement

[lickstheevidence]

Connor's been sent to find out who- or what -set off the tripwire. Sometimes when the Iravellers arrive on a new island, they're given clothing that fits in with the overall theme. No such luck this time, and Connor's wearing his Cyberlife uniform, much worse for wear now after spending time at this makeshift village in the jungle. Connor's looking pretty ratty too, his synthetic skin smudged with ground-in dirt and his hair sticking up in places it shouldn't. He's also holding a makeshift spear in one hand that, despite Connor's overall appearance, still gives off the distinct impression of menace. As disheveled as Connor looks, he's still more than capable of being lethal if the circumstances call for it.

Fortunately, these don't, because as soon as Connor realizes who he's looking at his face breaks into a wide smile, his eyes lighting up with joy.

"Lieutenant! What are you doing here? When did you arrive?"

[heavymetallieutenant]

Something in him goes slack at the clear excitement on Connor's face, in his voice. He's more expressive, in a way that Hank rarely remembers seeing. It bolsters something in him and he can't help cracking a surprised smile that spreads like the first peek of sunrise.

"Jesus, Connor, you look like hell," he points out needlessly.

[lickstheevidence]

Connor's been on this journey almost eight months now; he's learned a thing or two about expressing his emotions.

He's sort of learned a thing or two. He isn't often so open with how he's feeling, but Hank's appearance was so surprisingly unexpected that he couldn't help himself. Connor's not even upset at Hank's snark- he can see that smile on his former partner's face.

He reaches up in an attempt to pat down some of his unruly hair, then gives up and shrugs, his own smile never wavering.

"Have you seen yourself lately, Lieutenant?"

[heavymetallieutenant]

Connor's ineffectual attempt to tidy his hair almost gets a snort from him, and Hank carefully steps over the tripwire, arms splayed out on either side to help him keep his balance. He stops a foot from where the android stands, and reaches to first ruffle the soft, synthetic brown hair, then fuss it into slightly better shape. It only helps a little.

"There aren't exactly any mirrors out in the middle of the trees," he argues. Then he gestures to the spear that looks extremely out of place in Connor's hand. "What's with this? You trained in improvised weapons or is this more of your adaptability thing?"

[lickstheevidence]

Connor, in what must be some sort of sympathetic ritual, plants his feet apart and opens his arms, swaying side to side to catch Hank in case he should fall. Hank surprises him and stays upright, and instead it's Connor who stumbles in his haste to get away from Hank's ruffling- right into Hank's clutches. Sputtering, he tries to slap Hank's hands away, muttering under his breath something that might sound like "curses, foiled again!" like he's some kind of cartoon villain.

"Don't confuse me with your logic, Lieutenant," Connor deadpans, following his gaze. He hands the spear to Hank, suddenly remembering where they are. "A little of both. We should get inside the compound, Lieutenant. It's not safe out here." He gestures for Hank to follow him as he ducks down beneath some low-hanging foliage and holds it aside for Hank.

[heavymetallieutenant]

"Ya think?" Hank glances over his shoulder in the direction that he'd heard the commotion before, following a few paces behind Connor then dipping down nearly into a crouch to get past the plants and straighten back up again.

He waits until Connor joins him with his arms crossed, glancing down at himself and the state of his pants, sand and mud creeping up to the shins.

He's a little quieter when he falls into step beside the android. "So what's the deal with all this? I met this woman on the beach, she was telling me that you're all just island hopping until the powers that be decide you've grown as a person or something."

[lickstheevidence]

"I do think." He's still not great with sarcasm, mainly because he's out of practice with it. Chloe isn't in the slightest bit sarcastic, and neither is most anyone else he's talked to here, with maybe the exception of Sephiroth. That doesn't count though- Connor was a vampire at the time, Sephiroth had an excuse for being snarky with him. Weird things happen on these islands, Hank.

Connor's also given up on cleanliness for the time being, and Hank would be wise to do the same. Connor has even gotten used to the smell of unwashed humans by now so it's not a big deal if they miss a few showers. His own outfit is streaked with various stains and full of rips and tears and frayed cuffs. Hank'll get used to it.

He glances over at Hank and nods, then gestures at the nifty new "watch" Hank is wearing. "That's a scrywatch. You can use it to communicate with other Travelers- that's what we're called here, Travelers -but if you look into it you'll be able to see a certain color that gives you an indication of how much effort you'll have to put into self-improvement and the resolution of any issues you might have before you're able to leave." He sighs softly, leading Hank into the encampment. "So yeah. Welcome to Forced Therapy islands." He points at a few things in the small village. "Cots are over there- just find an open one and claim it. Smells like someone's cooking something- don't be shy, grab a bowl and get in line. You'll be asked to do some chores, but don't worry, from what I've seen they're nothing too taxing." He stops, turning to look back at Hank to see if he's overwhelmed yet or not. Flashing him a grin, he claps Hank on the shoulder. "It's really good to see you again, Lieutenant. I've missed you."

[heavymetallieutenant]

Hank listens, baffled but just accepting that he's going to be baffled a lot from here on out. At least it seems like these things are par for the course.

He follows after Connor and kind of wishes that he'd come with more than the clothes on his back, but that, too, seems to be the norm. No changes of clothes immediately available, no weapons that weren't made by themselves or others in the same situation, and he's slapped in the face by the smell of other humans living in close proximity without having the luxury of a shower. Makes him think that none of them trust the ocean enough to dip into it and try to scrub off the sweat. Worrying. And this isn't a long term enough settlement to warrant collecting water for whore's baths either, he supposes.

But...huh. Connor's grinning at him. Grinning. That's new. And weird. But the kid has a great smile. It prompts a softer one pointed back at him.

"Well, at least someone missed me." A self-deprecating joke, but with no ill will behind it. He reaches and gently shakes Connor by the shoulder, a companionable gesture before he heads toward the food. He wouldn't need or want to take a large portion at least, and after he's gotten his bearings, he'll take whatever chore they have for him. He's in just that good of a mood. Plus the time in between, he could spend fiddling with the thing on his wrist. The 'scrywatch'. Sounds like some Dungeons and Dragons shit to him.