{ test drive #01 - august 2021 }

[dreamposts]

✵ TEST DRIVE MEME ✵
Reminder that our Test Drive Memes double as an Intro Log and threads can be carried over in-game. They are also required for samples. Refer to the Game Info for general information and feel free to toss any TDM related questions here. Reserves open on August 25th and Applications open on September 1st. Our application cycles are bi-monthly so the next cycle won't be until November.

I. WELCOME TO SONGEREIN

Upon "arriving" into Songerein, everyone is understandably confused. The first thought would be they must be in a dream, which makes sense since the last thing they might remember doing is falling asleep or losing some form of consciousness or awareness before opening their eyes and finding themselves in the Plaza of some strange town they've never seen before. But there are a lot of other people around, some that may look familiar but others so strange that it would be impossible for their own imagination to dream up. And they're all just as confused. Fortunately, a red tapir-like creature appears and introduces itself as Solei, one of the "keepers" of this place. It offers some explanation before letting everyone explore their new "home." [Reminder: Other people aside from the characters will also appear to act as filler NPCs so keep in mind that the initial group is at least double the size. Players are also free to be creative and come up with any kind of creature or animal their characters might encounter. The only limitations are they must be small to medium in size and not be overly aggressive as the creatures within the town are mostly passive, just wary of the new arrivals.]

A. Magic Journals. Everyone will find a journal stylized just for them on their person somewhere and it's the primary means of communication with everyone. The only limitation is that it's text only, but images can be magically imprinted on the page from the writer's mind. Might as well give it a whirl and see who all is out there.

B. Dreamotion Abilities. Although everyone maintains most of their original abilities while in Songerein, they are also capable of using special abilities based on dreamotion energy. From having their emotions affecting the environment to utilizing new abilities entirely, it's probably something that they should start familiarizing fairly quickly. Especially since all the emotional surprise and confusion may already be affecting things, such as random glass shattering or cracks forming at one's feet.

C. Exploring Town. The town of Reverein is small but still sizable, so walking around and to see what all there is might be a good idea. The town is empty of any other people and it's relatively safe aside from most of the buildings looking like they're about to collapse in on itself, but there are a few small fae and small wild critters who have made a few nests so just watch your step—or head. Some could venture out to the farmlands and beyond...but anyone who gets too close to the Wildlands will encounter a tapir who will tell them to go back for now. Be warned if anyone tries to ignore and push past them.

D. Dreambucks Cafe. As a way to welcome their new inhabitants as well as give them a nice, cool refreshment after all the work they will be doing, the tapirs will call everyone's attention to a certain cafe back at the Plaza. Called Dreambucks, it's a quaint little cafe staffed by friendly tea fairies and primarily serves tea and small cakes. Their teas and foods are quite special as the flavor will influence one's emotions and dreams—but in a good way! There are no harmful side effects and they are usually positive. Bolstering one's spirit; calming or relaxing nerves. The tea fairies want everyone to enjoy their time. Anyone can pick whichever table they want to take a break and meet some people. Or take a peek at what someone might be dreaming thanks to the teas.

There are three different types of teas available:

Rainy Morning. After drinking this tea, one might feel a little melancholic or nostalgic for something from their past. They might even have a short little daydream of a distant memory.

Summer Afternoon. This tea will make anyone feel more vigorous and joyful. So much so they might start shining like the summer sun itself! Any dreams influenced by the tea will be one of a happy occasion or a hopeful dream.

Autumn Evening. Brewed with special strong, herbal spices, this tea has a bit more of a kick to it, but it's also warm and is great for calming nerves while giving just enough of a confidence boost to get through whatever difficulties lie ahead. The dreams influenced by this tea will reflect when the drinker has been their bravest.

Although it doesn't always happen, sometimes the tea will be a strong enough influence that it will make the drinker daydream for a bit. Anyone nearby may notice their dream crystal lantern flicker and catch a brief glimpse of the daydream on it. Or perhaps those who want to try out their dream crystal lanterns are deliberately trying to see if their dreams are captured. Only daydreams influenced by the tea can be caught and even then it's just a brief glimpse, but it's still an interesting way to see how the dream crystal lanterns work.

Note: There is no currency in the world and everything served is free at this time. However it might not be immediately obvious and the fairies won't mind if customers repay in some way, be it helping out via cleaning and serving, giving gifts such as flowers or fruits, or something else.

II. HOME IMPROVEMENTS

The entire town is in need of a massive fixer upper, but one of the first areas everyone will likely want to start is the residential area to figure out their new homes. Instead of houses, most of the homes are in the trees. Be it a treehouse or carved into the tree itself, various dwellings can be found. Unfortunately, there are some unwanted guests making a mess of things, so they will need to be cleared out.

A. Pest Control. One of the worst offenders are giant bugs of varying size of type with the biggest about the size of a large dog. Some are actually quite friendly and can be shooed or coaxed away to the forests just outside of town. Or who knows, someone might befriend them and make them into a new pet or house helper. The giant beetles could make for some interesting guard...bugs. Some, however, are more hostile as they find the fruits, leaves, flowers, and wood of the trees delicious. The biggest threats are the giant termites so they must definitely be eradicated or removed.

B. A Little Pruning. The trees themselves are a little...testy in large part of the bugs that have been chowing down on them. After the bugs are cleared they will calm down and become more passive, but until then everyone will also have to beware of wild swinging branches, rotten fruit falling, and roots suddenly springing up from the ground. Another way to appease the trees is cutting out some of the old, rotten wood and giving the trees some pruning, especially any vines that are choking some to death. Positive dreamotion energy will also help revitalize the area.

C. Tidying Up. Once the area is clear, the new residents can start cleaning up and repairing the different houses there. From repairing walkways connecting the trees, to the stairs and ladders that lead up to the treehouses, to decluttering and repairing the buildings, there's a plethora of work that needs to be done.

III. DREAMSCAPE TUTORIAL

To help everyone understand their dreamwalking abilities, the tapirs will ask anyone who is willing to gather around the Dream Swings in the Central Plaza. There anyone is invited to sit in the chairs or hammocks and focus on their dream crystal lanterns to enter a special dreamscape made just for them. Those watching might find the sight of everyone suddenly turning into a colorful ball of light and disappearing alarming, but that's just the normal process of entering a dream. When someone leaves the dream, they will briefly reappear as that light before returning to their original form. The theme for this dreamscape is Spooky Forest and it first starts in a pumpkin patch before moving to a dark, fog filled forest.

A. Suddenly Pumpkins. The moment anyone enters the dream they will find themselves in a fenced in pumpkin patch and turned into a pumpkin. Since anything can happen while dreamwalking, the first exercise is to try and change back to their original form or have fun and just roll around as pumpkins. They can even try to change the pumpkin form, such as changing the size, the shape, color. Just watch out for the mice. They are feeling very artistic and will try to scribble whatever on any pumpkin around, but otherwise are harmless and easily scared off. The marker will remain even when turned to the normal, but should be easy enough to remove, right? The only way to leave the patch is to turn back to normal.

B. Festive Candy Hunt. At some point the tapirs come in and ask the dreamwalkers to try and change the spooky forest into something a little more festive. They are given free rein to change the environment in how they see fit. Of course, this means the dreamwalkers need to figure out how to focus their energy and imagination to make those changes. Perhaps starting small by adding decorations or changing the colors of the leaves is a good starting place. But there may be some difficulty as some rogue candy is messing things up and getting in the way. Capable of movement, they will dash, roll, and even fly to evade capture. They will also try and defend themselves using special "attacks" based on what they are. Chocolate will make melted chocolate puddles, taffy will make sticky traps, bubble gum will try and encase people in a sticky bubble—might want to avoid the giant jawbreaker as it's more of a bodybreaker. Fortunately once caught, the candy will change to its more normal form. Maybe altering the environment could work to their advantage. If successful in either decorating or catching the candy, there will be some kind of reward later.

C. A Little Frightening. While traversing through the forests, any small, minor kind of fear will manifest and chase them around. For example if one is afraid of spiders, a small group or one large spider will suddenly appear. If one hates cleaning, a bunch of brooms and brushes will start harassing them. It's not enough to induce full blown nightmares, and no one can actually be harmed, but it's enough to give anyone a fright and need help getting rid of them. Thinking of more pleasant ideas that counter the fears, like fluffy clouds or cute plushies, can help disperse them. If the fears worsen instead, a small noctaere will form. The tapirs warn that they are creaturn born from nightmare energy, and if too many appear and grow bigger the dreamscape could turn into a nightmare. So what a great opportunity for the dreamwalkers to test out their new dreamotion abilities! Especially since their original abilities aren't even useful while dreaming. The noctaere are quite weak, so a few hits can easily disperse them, but there might be a few that will take a bit more teamwork. This is especially so since everyone's abilities will be weak as well.

Comments

[fishflakes]

[He reads that first sentence carefully, and lets out a small, sad huff of agreement. Humans could be awful even without meaning to. Negativity, cruelty, sadness, jealousy... that was the essence of cursed energy, and the breeding ground that spawned the very cursed spirits he was trained to exorcise. He knew all too well the power of humans, even if they weren't jujutsu sorcerers.]

[Reading that second sentence make his brows furrow a bit, but he doesn't get to reply before she is floating towards him. His eyes widen in surprise, and on instinct he steps back, holding a hand out in an obvious gesture of stop. That humidity around him and the drop in temperature makes his nerves go on edge, and a faint scent of ozone fills the air around them, an unexpected reaction of dreamotion energy.]

[Hopefully, she gets the hint and stops. If she does, he will wait a moment before slowly tugging on his zipper and lowering his collar.]

[surgingtides]

[The instinctive move is recognizable, but unlike the survivors of the manor, he doesn't flee. Hunter instincts flair and dissipate with the hand signal. The new scent goes unnoticed, however. Smells do not easily carry through the abyss, much like the warmth of the sun that never seems to touch her.

So Grace will be patient and watch intently with her one good eye as the zipper is undone.]

[fishflakes]

[He hadn't meant the burst of dreamotion energy, since he was still quite new at using it here. Seeing her reach out for him had set off alarm bells, and he had briefly, for just a moment, expected her to grab at his face or throat. But despite the tense, humid energy around them, it looks like she is willing to wait, and willing to allow him to show her himself. So, after a brief breath, he fully unzips his collar and tugs it down, revealing his face.]

[All in all, there's nothing really out of the ordinary on his face. But what there is are the two circular markings his lower face, with lines connecting them to the corners of his mouth. ]

Salmon. Salted cod roe.

[When he talks, she might be able to even see the marking on his tongue, a circular mark with lines that almost looked like teeth. Together, they form the Snake and Fangs seal of his clan. The source of his Cursed Speech power.]

[surgingtides]

[Funny enough, those little circles are charming. They vaguely remind her of the little frogs she would swim with and enjoy listening to their croaking chorus. From a time long ago when she was still adored and revered, when she was only a strange girl who loved the water.

As if he were just another one of those frogs, the naiad refrains from the temptation of poking his marks. Interesting, but touching would likely frighten him away. Grace's clawed fingers twitch in front of her as she fights the urge. The marking on his tongue doesn't go unnoticed either. She wonders if they're all tattoos or odd birthmarks. Eventually, her hand moves to her own neck where her gills had formed from the abnormal growths on her neck when she was a human.

The humidity begins to ebb away when Grace moves back to her harpoon:]

This is the first time I have met a human that is a little like me.

[The other hunters at the manor are a different matter all together.]

[fishflakes]

[It would definitely be strange if someone were to touch his markings. He's had them for as long as he could remember, etched into his skin by his abundant cursed energy. He hasn't allowed anyone to get close enough to touch them unless it was necessary to do so, more used to covering them up when he wasn't actively using his ability.]

[His gaze flicks to her neck when she rubs at it, and he notices the odd growths... gills? Were those gills? Was she a water spirit of some kind? That would explain the harpoon.]

[He watches her reply, then gives her a curious look before replying back.]

That can't talk normally? Or that could hurt someone by doing so?

[surgingtides]

[The first statement he jots down is circled with the tip of her harpoon before cants her head from side to side as if debating something. That motion shifts her bangs, bobbing languidly as if underwater. Beneath the natural veil appears a blinded, white eye and a scar marked by scales similar to those along the rest of her body.

Finally, when she's decides what to put down, her words come with a frown.]

Those unheard are [Those words are scribbled out. A pause, and she begins again:]

Do other humans treat you any differently?

[fishflakes]

[It's so strange to see, her bobbing and floating like that. It's almost like she exists in an underwater state, even though there's no water present. He frowns a bit at her scar, and sees the scales... so his guess about her being a water spirit isn't far off.]

[He wonders, if she was a spirit, what had happened to her. Was she always like this? Or...]

[He's pulled from his thoughts when he sees her write. He frowns at the crossed out words, before he writes a response to her other question.]

Some do. Those who don't know my power just think it's weird. I usually don't talk to them. The ones who do know it's a power to respect. Some fear it.

[He knows it's a powerful ability he wields, his Cursed Speech. And he's a semi-grade 1 sorcerer, which ranks him as one of the highest amongst the Jujutsu High students. He knows he's respected by the other students, and knows that his power makes him a threat in battle. But it can be a bit lonely, at times. That's why he values his friends and classmates so much.]

The ones who learn to understand are good friends.

this bonding is adorable

[surgingtides]

[Maybe it should dawn on her faster how much she's projecting onto the sorcerer. It's an empathetic response; something she has not had for anything but the fish she swam with. Certainly not for any other living thing. (The hunters are another story considering the majority are dead.) The human world had always been bizarre to her, even when she was one.

His statement about friends gets a tiny albeit sad smile. All of his story is too familiar:]

Hopefully you will be luckier than I and that your friends will remain true.

Watch your back if you're unable to fulfill their hopes. Humans can be vicious if you don't give them what they want. Especially if they have high expectations that your abilities can't achieve.

IT IS I heckin love it so much, waah ;w;

[fishflakes]

[Toge takes a moment to read over that reply, a pang of sorrow welling up inside of him. He's not sure what it was this spirit went through, but it sounded pretty sad, given what bits and pieces he's seen here. He's both touched by her concern and saddened that it sounded like she spoke from experience.]

Mentaiko...

[He wonders what she had gone through... but he knows better than to ask. It's not something he should pry into, no matter his curiosity. It makes him tap the stick in his hand against his palm as he considered his next words, then went ahead and scratched them into the dirt.]

I know that pretty well. Thank you. I will remember that.

If you need someone to watch your back as well, I can help. It's easier to work alone, but it's a lot nicer with friends. And less lonely.

[It honestly sounded like she could use a friend. And he understood how much it sucked to not be able to communicate well, so... friends? Maybe?]

[surgingtides]

[Maybe one day Toge will regret offering when he discovers how monstrous she's become in death. But for now, Grace blinks in surprise at the word "friend". While she considers the other hunters in the manor allies, friendship was something used for others rather than herself. Because no one truly understood how to interact with her silence outside of her adoptive parents. The less lonely part twists something in her chest...Perhaps some of the coral had dug deeper into her flesh. In any case, the lengthy pause is broken by a nod and a name to follow:]

Grace

[She points to the letters then at herself.]

I will reside in the lake. If you need me.

[For now she can give that information freely because this newly formed alliance? Friendship, maybe? Hasn't been tainted by paranoia. It's a nice experience. One that, in this moment in time, allows the naiad to recognize Toge as an individual.]

[fishflakes]

[Perhaps it was a risk, offering friendship to a spirit. But Toge has had less than conventional friends before. From a panda who was really a doll suffused with cursed energy, to a boy who was possessed by his curse-twisted girlfriend, to a boy who was the vessel of a spirit known as the King of Curses, Toge’s friends would be considered risky to a lot of people. But he’s willing to give it a try. She seemed like she could use more people extending a hand to her.]

[Grace, huh? An English name… she must be from the west. He nods to her, and points to himself.]

Toge.

[He tries to stick to his rice ball ingredients as much as possible, but names were something that he could risk saying without it being interpreted as a command. For the rest, he scribbled it into the dirt.]

I’m living in the treehouses with the others. But I’ll come visit.