sixthiteration | Test Drive 20 (August & September)

→ Holds and applications are always open. Holds are required for all applications.

→ Choose one of the scenarios below or make up your own. Feel free to try multiple scenarios.

→ Write LOGS or TEXT prompts, or both.

→ THERE ARE ONLY THREE RULES FOR THE TDM:

1. It has to take place in the 6I universe.
2. It cannot be the character's arrival into the game.
3. Please only test new characters who do not have a version in the game. Our cast list is here.

→ TDM threads cannot be used to meet AC, but if the character is accepted into the game and both players agree, you may keep the CR.

→ Character want ads are here.

Prompts

Happy anniversary, villagers! Buckle up!

HEAT WAVE - Poor you. All you were trying to do was get yourself a little something to eat from the kitchen at the inn. Maybe you cooked it up yourself (The inn does, after all, have an electric stove — FANCY!), or maybe you just grabbed some leftovers. By accident or on purpose, you ended up with way more RED SALT in there than you maybe should have, and this is no ordinary seasoning. Whether you like things eye-wateringly spicy or not, it's August, you're sweating buckets, and it's only getting worse.

SKUNK DRUNK - Isn't that just the way? You're out and about, minding your own business, and you get sprayed by a BROWN SKUNK. The good news? It doesn't stink like a normal skunk. The also possibly good news, depending on who you ask? You're now in for about 5 hours of being very, very friendly. (Just remember to keep the test drive PG!)

BRAIN CANDY - Whether you made it to the anniversary party or not, you've gotten your hands on a piece of leftover candy from the big bash. Careful, though, these treats are more than meets the eye: Whatever COLOR it was, you've now taken on the associated personality traits. (Not the power, just the traits.) At least it only lasts 10 minutes.

WILDCARD - Choose your own adventure. Maybe play powers roulette.

Texts

All characters are fitted with a smart watch-like device on their left wrist, which they can use to send text messages to other villagers.

- Texts may only be 140 characters long
- No video or voice, text only
- Display names may be changed by characters on the fly, but anyone can tap to see someone's real full name

Please list your CHARACTER NAME, CANON & PROMPT in your SUBJECT LINE.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He's eaten spicy foods before! He's eaten things sane people shouldn't eat! In part because when you're with a unit and that's what there is to eat, then that's what you eat. In part because he is Jake and he will eat damn near anything because of a metabolism that is only slightly faster than how he talks.

This though... this is different if the way he's sweat, rivulets pouring down his face and along his chest and abs is any indication. Different in how flushed his skin is, and how he keeps shifting from one foot to the other because his skin feels hot and tight.

And not because of Cougar looking him over. Surely that's just making sure there's no wounds or marks that caused his reaction. Yep, that's it.

Then those words and he gasps, staring at Cougar in disbelief. "Hey! Now that's just mean."

And probably true.

"Clothes later! Now water."

And he should probably have drunken it, but then he has nearly drowned himself. He moves quickly to hop into the water, despite the pain of rocks on his socked feet.

He groans as it swirls up around his ankles, dropping to his knees and sinking into it.

Cougar doesn't exactly look like he feels bad about insulting Jake, because he's pretty sure he could say anything and Jake would know that he doesn't really mean it. Why would he want to push away a best friend who can not only translate for you, but who actually knows every small body movement and what it means.

When Jake gets dramatic and sinks himself in the water, Cougar decides to unlace his boots and hike up his pants to wade in, perched enough on a flatter rock above. When he's close enough, that's when he pushes at Jake's shoulder with a foot to tip him fully into the water.

He said he was hot, yes?

Cougar's helping, he's so very helpful. In fact, he's so helpful that he crouches on the rock with a devious smirk on his lips, waiting for Jake to surface for air.

"Oh God, that feels better." Even as he says it, he dips his head, back bowing as he scoops up the cool, fresh water and splashes his face with it. Water droplets cling to the spikes of his hair, sparkling on the lenses of his glasses as Jake repeats the motions with a long, low, definitely not for public places and probably copied from a porn star moan of pleasure as the water sluiced over his head and down the back of his neck.

Which is when he is tipped, very cowlike and without about as much grace, sideways into the water. It splashes a bit around him as he sinks into the water with a gurgle and a row of bubbles as he lets the water course into his mouth and over his tongue.

It is several long minutes, the bubbles tapering off, before he surfaces. Fast. Loudly. And with a bit of an intent to splash water towards his team mate. Oops?

Cougar gets wet and instantly, he wants to hiss. Wet Cougars are angry ones, but he's also coming off a slight panic moment when he thinks maybe he's gone too far and drowned Jake.

Lucky for him, he surfaces. Unlucky for him, he's gotten Cougar wet. The worst luck? He got his hat wet, which means he's a very unhappy cat, right now.

"Bad idea," is all he says, before he flips his hat to the side with where his boots are, tackling Jake from his low crouch, knowing that even if he's got a moment of surprise, the chances are against him eventually. This is why he works so much better at long distances. You scope your target, you snipe them, and that's it. None of this mess, but he has to defend his honour.

The hat was not a target! It would never be a target. Sadly, while he is an expert with a pistol and handy with rifle and crossbow, he is not so great it seems with aquatic warfare.

"No! Nononon..."

The rest of that string of laugh tinged denials is literally drowned out as Jake goes down and under the water, taken down by Cougar. He flails, all arms and legs and bubbles as a man trained in hand to hand combat tries to figure out how to not drown and not drown his friend at the same time. The result?

Desperately trying to surface for water, and forgetting about the heat so least there's that. That he intentionally locks his legs with Cougar's is a desperate tactic as well, even as maneuvers them for the surface. Every now and again he doesn't entirely forget his training.

This is the part that Cougar hasn't thought through. Now he's wet and in the water and Jake's got him locked in. He could probably do something drastic like knee him in the balls to try and get himself out, but he doesn't think that will go over very well.

He helps them pull to the surface with a flutter kick of his legs, broaching the water and inhaling sharply and deeply, nodding to Jake's mouth. "Open," he says, intending to look and see just how red and on fire his tongue and mouth actually are.

He's also going to need to find out what it is that made him so delicate, because they're not doing this every day.

Training means little when you're still a boy at heart, and lacking the kind of reasoning that says you're going too far. So while they bob in the water, his legs still locked against Cougar's, Jake thinks nothing of it. They're teammates. They share tight spaces and everything they have between them. This is no different.

Gasping and spluttering, shaking his head to try and clear the water from his eyes. For a moment it is feeling better, less boiling in his mouth and leaving his skin fiery. Obeying as he opens his mouth and sticks out his tongue.

"Ahhhhhh,' he says, and then adds. "'as uh oop." Or even was the soup. It's easy to understand, right?

Cougar reaches out and nabs the tip of Jake's tongue with his fingers, doing a quick swipe like this is all normal and good, before he sticks his thumb in his own mouth and sucks for a second. It doesn't take long to kick in. Even a little bit proves to be as spicy as Jake is talking about.

It's just that Cougar is a grown man and isn't going to react like an idiot. That's what he has Jake for.

Nudging at the small of Jake's back with his heel, he nods towards shore, thinking he has a better idea of what to do, judging from how he's kept his nose to the ground to learn things. "I know how to fix you."

"Waaaaaa?" He tries to say more, yet being so careful so that he doesn't risk brushing Cougar's fingers with his teeth. Nothing in anyth8ing he does will ever risk Cougar's hands.

"What? What is it? What kind of pepper poison what is it?"

Nope, nothing weird in any of this. That's what being part of the same team is about. And he's thankful to have a team that he can be this tight with, even if it's only two of them at this time.

He nods, shifting to kick push them to the shore, not even questioning that he is still partially locked around Cougar. Except when that becomes nearly impossible, so he lets his legs go slack to let Cougar free.

Cougar doesn't bolt out of the water, instead taking his time to slowly exit, clothes sticking to his skin. He settles his hat back on his head, even if it's a little like sticking a flower on a pile of bullshit to make it better. Crooking his finger, he inclines for Jake to follow him, because fixing it doesn't happen here.

He needs someone back where people live and Jake can stay there and soak, but Cougar has to travel to get it. Turning, he gives Jake a look that he should be able to interpret as 'you coming or fucking around some more?' without having to say a word.

Cougar will say this, having a built-in translator is very handy.

The water feels amazing, and having Cougar looking out for him feels good to. He's a grown ass adult and shouldn't need it, but that Cougar does it for him reminds Jake that he's not alone in the world.

Of course, he's very aware he's not alone. If that wide eyed look and moment of being a million miles away is any indication. Certainly it's that and not watching Cougar rising like fucking Aphrodite out of the water. Just watching how the water sluice down his skin, how his clothes clung to the lean lines of a body Jake would swear he hasn't memorized through a few dozen missions.

Suddenly he startles as if Cougar actually spoke to him.

"What? Right. Coming. Let's go."

Wading out of the water with a shake of his head and a smile, looking at everything but Cougar. What? Nothing to see here.

Cougar notices, of course he does, but honestly, he's also used to Jake's attention being so scattered that he pays little mind to it. He keeps leading Jake, taking determined strides, until they reach one of the places he knows has the potatoes.

He kicks off his boots once he enters, because he's not the kind of man who wants to drip on things, and then peers inside so he can grab the mashed potatoes from the fridge, shoving them at Jake after he scoops his pinky in for a taste.

"Eat," he orders, because it's that or he's going to have to plunge Jake back in the water.

Dripping water, following in Cougar's wake obediently. The further they go, the more the fire starts to build in his mouth. The rest has faded, it's gotten better, but his mouth and throat are still burning. The sensation is starting to cause his eyes to water.

Standing there, looking around for his clothes, though when Cougar hands him the potatoes, he gives up looking for it. This is so much more important. If the potatoes work.

Scooping up a bite, though he's hesitant. Remembering that Cougar tried it first though, so he takes a bit. Then another.

The potatoes had calmed the salt, that's what Cougar had learned in his time lurking and lingering. When you eat the salt on its own, you die of fire. When you put it together, it's tasty. As far as Cougar is concerned, maybe the spice is a little too much in the salt, but nothing he can't handle.

He nods to Jake, coaxing him to eat it, and then to tell him how clever and smart he is, because of course he is, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like hearing it.

"I'm eating. I'm eating," he says, though the words are more than a bit muffled as he speaks around the food. Somehow he manages not to be gross about it. Not entirely. He is mostly a grown up.

After a bit he lowers the bowl, sighing as he closes his eyes. "Okay, what the hell kind of prank was that," he demands of no one, leaning back against the counter and looking at Cougar. "Thanks, Man."

Cougar gives him a curt nod of his head as a 'you're welcome', because the last thing he needs is Jake taking off for the water every time he adds salt to his dish. He doesn't have the time for that shit, which is why he's more than happy to show him.

Also, maybe he doesn't think that anyone else should see him running to get naked like that. He doesn't have enough sedatives to work with to take them all out.

"Red salt," is what he says. "Only with potatoes."

In fairness, he could take off by hi... okay, let's all be honest. No he can't. He can't be trusted like that and everyone who knows him knows that. Which means poor Cougar, given they're the only two there.

"Why would anyone use that? What is the point?"

Yeah, nope. He just can't see it.

Cougar shrugs, because he's stopped questioning what people like to put in their food a long time ago, having been to too many countries where genitals and the animals used for work are the ones who are being prepared and on a plate. He dips his finger into the potatoes again to suck it off, thoughtfully, but then settles on the counter.

"Cook something else," is his wise suggestion, if Jake doesn't like what it is that the people here have figured out for them. It's not like he likes it either, but Cougar can survive on anything put in front of him. He knows Jake can too, but there's so much more complaining when he has to do it.

Eating where they've been, that's one thing. Burning yourself from the inside out just seems dumb. "That is beyond curry level crazy." A curry that had left him red faced and sweating for hours. Not like that though.

And there is. SO MUCH COMPLAINING. Not like he isn't going to talk through the whole thing as it is.

So he heads to the fridge, pausing half way there and then turning. "Right. Clothes. I should have clothes before cooking. Underwear is for hacking," he says, because it's a logic that works for him as he turns to look around for his jeans. Mostly for the sake of anyone else that came in. So he grabs then, tugging them on with little care and not caring about a shirt. His temperature is still not great and his skin feels hypersensitive.

Cougar shrugs, lifting one shoulder like maybe it's not so bad, but then, he's also eaten some insane shit in his life. What's a little bit of red salt that burns so badly, your mouth goes on fire and you start hallucinating? Or maybe that's just what he experienced.

He lets his attention linger on Jake a moment longer, which is his way of commenting that he doesn't need clothes, but he doesn't say that because it wouldn't be appropriate. Instead, he grabs a spoon and keeps poking at the potatoes as he watches Jake move.

"What?" he demands, when Jake still seems fidgety.

He catches the look, but he also has a habit of misreading those looks. Not because he can't read Cougar like a book, but because of the fact that he has to be misreading those looks. He's seen them given to others, to women, but he figures he has to be misreading it. Because it can't be for him.

So he is looking through the fridge, trying to find some leftovers from the daily meals when he stops, glancing back at Cougar.

"What?" He echoes back, frowning. "Oh. It's just my skin feels all... I don't know. It's all the energy, I guess. My skin feels sensitive. Probably all in my head."

He keeps eating absently, because if there's a bowl in front of him, he'll take what he can get. He's learned not to assume that there will always be food, which is why he's staring at Jake without flinching or blinking as they talk.

Cougar coaxes Jake towards him with his fingers and a nod, wanting to do a few quick tests to make sure the red salt didn't do something severe to his idiot friend, but he'll need hands on him to do it.

It's ideas like that which got Jake in trouble in the first place. Remember that Cougar. And while Jake knows he should eat, he's agitated and cranky. Both from what happened but more than that? How he reacted. The only saving grace? No cameras in this place.

He moves to step closer, shrugging as he shakes his head. "It's no big deal. It'll pass, you know? A good night's sleep and all."

When Jake is close enough, Cougar reaches out to yank him the rest of the way with a leg before he relents and lets him go, holding up a spoon of mashed potatoes like it's normal to have to feed your teammate who forgets to do it for himself.

With Jake, that is the truth. "Eat," is all he says, his other hand pressing flat and cool to Jake's neck to test his temperature. It's come down, he's fine, but he doubts that he'll actually feel it for a little, so better to eat something first.

Jake yelps, a playful shocked sound. Not that he isn't used to Cougar putting Jake where he needs him. Doesn't mean the sound doesn't come with it. He makes a face, but takes the bite though he looks fairly petulant about it as he eats it.

"I'll be fine. I was an idiot. I acted stupid. I'll be fine. Just in my head," he says, figuring that is probably true. But he doesn't move away, waiting for another bite to come.

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