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songerein2021-08-18 03:12 pm
dreamposts) wrote in songerein2021-08-18 03:12 pm
Entry tags:
{ test drive #01 - august 2021 }
✵ 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.
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.
no subject
It's possible, mister.
[Well, this guy certainly seems the kids nowadays type. But it's not like he's got the luxury of disagreement- most of his Games, after all, don't exactly have winners of the recently dead who participate. It got disconcerting to watch them- to watch failure after failure- erasure after erasure- so much potential scrapped. But.
But then there was one boy.
Less on that.
Alastor's too entertaining for him to dwell. He takes note of a series of details. His attire, movements, tone of voice, cadence even- not to mention the gigantic radio- indicates he's from the past. Far from the past, actually. He'd have seen upheavals, wars, the American Great Depression, war... and the very worst of human nature. Explains a lot.
That, and it's actually quite impressive he's still around. (Not like he knew all that much about Hell, but where he's from? The recently dead aren't the only ones at the risk of erasure, so if Hell's situation is similar, he's powerful. It's not like he's thinking anything but amiable thoughts, but it's still good to know.)
The deer prints in particular... are quite unexplained. But he's little reason to ask about them. What could be said? He's used to ...strange characteristics. But ah, a name comes.]
Alastor, hm? [Greek origin. He who doesn't forget- later fashioned to be avenger, persecutor, tormentor. ...And according to some translations, one who suffers from divine vengeance. That sounds about right.] ...It suits you.
[And then he's grabbed! His eyes widen, faintly- but his expression hardly shifts. It's surprising, sure- as used to his own company (read: painfully isolated) as he is, Alastor's certainly a lot all at once- but it's kind of fun.]
Mhm. So, I've noticed a tea house so far. The tea's drugged, of course- [Fairies were the serving staff, after all.] and just so you know- listening in on people talking about their feelings isn't really my thing. So! Until something comes up, I've got a few questions.
[Chiefly...]
I don't know why you'd want to see anything in their world. It's kind of boring, don't you think?
no subject
[In response to the last question, Alastor chuckles.]
Why does anyone do anything? Sheer absolute boredom!
[He runs his hands down his face.]
Fire, brimstone, and eternal torment for the sins I committed in life gets so dull after the first few decades! I must have walked every inch of the Pride Ring a dozen times over by now!
At the very least, the change in scenery will provide me with a few hours of entertainment! Perhaps even give me some ideas to help liven the place up a bit!
no subject
It's not my business, but it kind of sounds like you need to change it, you know. Take it over- run things your way. That could be quite the adventure.
[It's not like he's got any idea how Hell works- or even if the whole taking out the boss makes you the boss rule that applies in the Underground even applies. But if it were him? Yep. Win or lose, it's a way out.]
As for here... a good start would be a change of theme. The whole "nature is healing" Thing's getting old.
no subject
[His microphone stand disappears as he folds his hands behind his back.]
Now a change in scenery, here? Well, that certainly sounds interesting! I'm sure I'll get bored of all the green like I got bored of all the red of Hell sooner or later! But I'm more interested in what's beyond this idyllic little town!
no subject
And in his case, getting chewed out for not doing it.]Mm, I guess. And, I suppose challengers are too few and far between to break it up enough.
[Goodbye, microphone. And since he doesn't have a dapper demon attachment any longer, he walks forward a few paces.]
There was a series of caves around here... a little further on.
[He turns as he walks- almost playfully.]
I'm sure someone like you isn't afraid of the dark... right? Who knows. They might lead somewhere fun.
no subject
[He grins at the comment about being afraid of the dark.]
Oh, I'm certainly not afraid of a few shadows! It'd make my life so much more difficult if I was!
[And if Yoshiya looks, he'll notice that Alastor is currently casting no shadow at all. An ice cold claw will tap on his shoulder to reveal Alastor's shadow existing entirely on its own in three-dimensional space.]
[It grins and mutely laughs before returning to its master.]
Perhaps those caves will give us a hint to that little town's own shadows!
no subject
[Other than that little event, Hell and the Underground certainly have their similarities. Sans the vices, of course. That's never really been his style. His Reapers? ...Possibly. Not like he cared either way. As long as they got their jobs done, their time was their own to spend on what they wanted.
But yes. He's certainly looking. That's an interesting trick. As he's tapped he does shiver, just briefly- but it's more temperature-related than anything else. Even when he was alive, ...He was... not exactly one to get spooked, and the thing seems harmless enough so it gets a little wave as it retreats to rejoin Alastor.
But back to the caves..]
Perhaps! Either way, I've got another reason for wanting to take a look. Barring unforeseen circumstances, it's probably more viable to shack up there than in one of those treehouses. I've got to be honest- the lack of water, electricity, and pretty much everything in those things means that if the weather changes, it'll be pretty miserable.
[And.]
...Not to mention, I'm not exactly the living-in-a-community type.
[Obvious, right?]
no subject
[He listens to Yoshiya's complaints, chuckling.]
Not one to guide others to the Promised Land, are you?
[Yes, he knows the Biblical origins of your nickname.]
no subject
[Now that's interesting. On their end, they get a Purification. Essentially, each Underground was a means of determining the worth of deceased humans as part of the Higher Plane's greater plan to make the human race a little less awful. A large part of that was the Game Joshua oversaw. But with any environment dealing with processing humans into something worthwhile came issues. Humans in themselves are issues.
...And yeah. Not many were capable of being anything but problems. So they lost the Game- and were erased from existence.
When an Underground's problems could spread to other ones, an angel with an Executor rank descends from the Higher Plane to... well, loosen up the screws. Total event collapse- the Underground tied to an area, and of course, the real thing getting nuked far beyond oblivion- more like the Never Actually Existed side of things.
It was something he wanted, once. Something he was prepared to undertake- if anything, so it wouldn't spread.
But then, they surprised him. His reapers. Some humans. That boy.
They'd actually proved him wrong.
He'd been pretty jovial. Animated, even- for the entirety of the time Alastor had been around. But his expression suddenly grows sullen, his eyes distant, contemplative.
But.
Alastor might have (playfully) just called him out. So his smile soon returns.]
Please. I'm off the clock. Besides... I like to do things at arm's length. So! What about you? Does Hell have any structure, beside demons pretty much doing what they want?
no subject
[And going to start walking, trusting his new companion to follow. Alastor can hold perfectly still when he wants to. He just doesn't want to right now.]
The question is are you wondering about the organization of Hell itself or the damned trapped within it?
And...[He grins.]...when are you planning to tell me more about at least whom you're waiting for?
no subject
[He's overtaken- and of course, providing they're making their way to the caves- he's got no issue with following along. And as they should spy one of many entranceways...]
There's not all that much to tell. We work together, and have for a long time. Sometimes, I find myself in little situations like this... and he comes to get me.
[And sometimes, this associate makes an earnest attempt at his existence. ...When he needs it. But back to the caves! And a vague curiosity..]
Over there. There's a light coming from inside. You can see it, right?
Heyo. Sorry for the delay. Got sick there.
[His ears swivel forward as he looks towards the light.]
I can! Let's see what's waiting for us, hmm?!
[And his mic stand is once more back as he twirls it between his fingers.]
And you make it sound like you and your associate have been together for quite some time!
No problem! Glad you're feeling better!
[There's a vague musical quality to his acknowledgment of Alastor's latter statement- the faintest allusion of something cheerful. Yet he says nothing else on that matter.
He moves his gaze to the demon- fortunately just in time to see his ears swivel forward. Oddly enough, that's... adorable. Even with the sharp, pointed teeth- the inhuman eyes, the corpselike skin, the microphone that seems alive... He really is just like a deer.
And it's cute.]
If you've the inclination, I'll take both. It's not like I get to see the other side of things... so it's pretty interesting to me even if you're over it.
[So much more interesting than humans, anyway. As per Alastor's direction he starts to move closer to the caves- still displaying absolutely no reservation about the prospect of wandering around in the dark with someone literally of hell.
As he sets foot into the mouth of the cave, it's as he expected. dim, vaguely musty smelling, dotted with a few tiny mushroom clusters in the corners and the distant sound of dripping water, but most interestingly a passageway... where the light appears to be coming from.
Said passageway is large enough, wide enough, to not offer any problems, so...]
How charming. Shall we?
LOL Yoshiya called Alastor "cute" XD
["The other side of things" had Alastor starting to piece together that there's something potentially angelic to the other's world. How fascinating!]
And we shall!
[With no fear of the dark, Alastor walks into the cave, periodically picking his way carefully over mold-slick rock. It's been a long, long time since he's seen and dealt with so much greenery. The last thing he wants to do is embarrass himself by slipping and falling from something so mundane.]
[His ears keep swiveling about, taking in the sounds of the caves as his eyes glow like red incandescent lightbulbs. However, they're not bright enough to cast much light around the area.]
[He gives a sniff of the air to confirm what his ears are telling him.]
A lot of water up ahead. We may have found an underground river or lake!
i know right, he's... got weird tastes...
[An underground river. That's... novel to him, being someone who tended to favour exactly that sort of environment. Where he resided in Shibuya, of course, was at the mouth of its underground river. Where all of the thoughts, feelings, emotions of the populace lingered- a place crafted from the living fabric of the city itself.
Whether there's any living fabric here remained to be seen. More than likely not, but still worth a little spelunking. He moves forward.]
Who knows. We might be able to find a spring.
[Did he need to eat? Drink? Ordinarily, no. Even reduced to this form, no. Anything he consumed was for the fun of it. But the rules dictating what this place is- the exact scope of his limitations here- are still unknown. It'd be a matter of waiting and seeing. And as he presses on-]
I suppose I'll start. I'm more the processing side of things. Should someone expire, the question is always where they can be most useful. So, they're modulated and stress tested.
[The corridor they're walking through suddenly opens up into a large chamber. The ground is uneven, and other than the dim light coming from both Alastor and a series of disparately coloured rocks (which certainly earn some curiosity) its pitch black. He moves away from Alastor, settling into a crouch beside one to examine it more closely.]
It's not just me, of course. All of the world is split into different grounds, usually on geographical location. The means of testing vary between each- according to each Composer's rules. But we're all part of the machine- and we've all got expectations placed on us.
[He tilts his head.]
...These are kind of strange. You'd think to emit light, they'd have to have a light source. Kind of like the moon and the sun.
[Is it because it's a dream? Do rules such as bond albedo no longer apply?
His hand moves to his back pocket, and he takes out an orange phone. Then he takes a picture of the rock, twiddling with it for a few moments afterward.]
Hm...
LOL! These two are going to be just awful together, aren't they?
And I thought Hell was bad. A utilitarian Heaven filled with bureaucracy? Sounds more like a squeaky clean Hell to me! It must get monotonous very quickly!
[His left eye twitches in annoyance at the sight of the cellphone, but he doesn't comment on it. His dislike of post-1930's technology isn't much of an issue here.]
[He idly picks up a rock of his own, studying it carefully. He turns it this way and that, narrowing his eyes as his grin widens. A mystery! How wonderful!]
[Given light seems to have no effect, he's going to summon his shadow to touch it instead. Perhaps the darkness will give them some results.]
I really hope so! ❤
[His gaze flicks from his screen to Alastor, especially at the mention of 'squeaky clean'. And that... well. Angels were anything but that, cogs in a machine or not.]
Sometimes things happen to liven things up. But often it's years-
[He stops. He's frowning at his screen. What he'd been doing, by taking a picture, was using what his associate installed on his phone. By taking a picture of something, adjusting the date on the device, and then viewing the photo again, he'd be able to see the object at that point in time.
Normally.
Not this time, it seems.]
Hm...
[Well, best to saunter on over. His phone gets put in his back pocket, and he tilts his head.]
Found anything fun?
I will admit this thread is getting me interested in the game Yoshiya's from.
[Very excited at his discovery, he turns to show Yoshiya that the his shadow's hand is being swallowed up by the darkness "reflecting" off the rock he picked up.]
At least some of these rocks are darkness reflectors! What a novel idea! I wonder which of us came up with it!
[His shadow pulls its hand back, the blanket of shadow disappearing as it does so.]
Ha! I might have watched a few eps of Hazbin too... I love rp osmosis
[Now that's interesting. His eyes widen, faintly, at the tendrils of pitch black that seem to be drawn towards the more solid points that indicate the shadow's claws. The darkness gathers and seems to stick- which... yeah. That's certainly unique.
He laughs. Both in amusement at that neat little trick, and what Alastor said.]
It must be you. I'm pretty sure I'm the verdant abandoned forest type- even subconsciously. Unless...
[There's certainly amusement in his tone.]
Unless all this theming is someone else. Enough of us got dragged in, after all. It could be anyone~
[The concerning thing is someone's mentally outmuscling him. And it's not something he's used to.]
I suppose we'll find out eventually. For now though, let's go deeper!
You're probably thinking of Helluva Boss, Hazbin's sister show. Hazbin is still in production. :)
I certainly never thought of the idea before. At least not consciously. [He taps a finger against his chin.] I suppose I can't be fully eliminated from the suspect pool after all!
[He summons his microphone stand again, casting red light from the mic itself. It's not bright but at least Yoshiya won't be stumbling about blind. Alastor is used to moving in darkness.]
Yes! That one! and the pilot for hazbin, I saw that too. The animation's really something else!
Who knows! It could be anyone.
[Part of him wonders if all of this was someone else with them (the most likely scenario), if they'd even be aware of it. It's not like anyone can control their dreams, much less control variables like who dreamt them alongside. But that's neither here nor there. If it was, it's one part hilarious, one part disconcerting. He's not used to being outmuscled. And...
...Well, he likes a challenge. Even if he's not sure the rule about not interfering in other planes applies here (or if this counts as anything that could have repercussions) it's been a long time since he's been at a disadvantage.
And that's kind of exciting.
He's snapped out of his thoughts by the dim red light. And he smiles. How thoughtful.]
So, you'll have to break things up a bit- it's not like you want to hear more about my stuff, right? I'll take a little overview on what you do now.
no subject
[He hums to himself for a moment, thinking of where to start.]
I suppose physical structure would be a good place to start. Hell is made up of seven Rings. It used to have nine, but what happened to the other two escapes me at this moment. Not that it matters given as a mortalborn sinner, I'm limited to just the top Ring: Pride.