{ 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

[shakra]

[ a wise move, keeping the truth from taishakuten -- it is not a thing taishakuten will appreciate as he is now, but in this moment, learning asura anew in a strange new world that will finally, finally give them a different second chance.

here is a place that could be just for them, a dream yet not, away from the great dread that casts its unknown shadow over them all. taishakuten doesn't think of the shard inside of him, or the inexplicable emptiness in his chest, the profound, powerful longing for something he doesn't know he's missed. it's his heart that beats in asura's chest, stronger than anything in all the realms, and it's his heart that binds them together, even if taishakuten doesn't know it.

so he takes his hand, thinking of white birds soaring against a cornflower blue sky (unfulfilled promises in every beat of their wings).

come with me, asura.

the lightness is unbearable, almost, when taishakuten can't place the why of it all. ]

Likewise, Asura.

[ his name feels like one he has held onto forever, ruminated on day and night, held close to his heart, a gift this dream world will finally allow him to partake. ]

Will you show me around what you know of this place?

[abyssbound]

[Taishakuten's hand is small in comparison to Asura's, who gently squeezes it in his own in mimicry of the embrace he can't--or at least shouldn't--give the other man. It will have to satisfy for now if they are to commit to learning one another anew. The dream world resonates regardless--a warm, comfortable breeze blowing over the two of them.

Reluctantly, Asura releases his hand and gestures with a nod of his head to follow.]

I haven't been here any longer than you have, but I've got a good picture of the general structure of the place. [He says, leading Taishakuten toward the plaza, then through it to the bridge over the river that runs through Reverein. Asura walks over the edge and leans on the railing, looking out at the waterway running below.

He makes a mental note of the busted gondolas visible from that point for future reference, but doesn't draw attention to them.]

This point is the approximate center of the town. Most of the buildings are apparently unoccupied. [It does strike him as odd that, though Reverein isn't a large town by any stretch of the imagination, it's still oddly vacant and in poor condition. It gives the impression that it once once bustling, but then suddenly abandoned for some reason. He doesn't know enough yet to guess whether the current occupants only recently moved in, or if they're simply the last vestiges of the town's dwindling population.] There's a bath house over in the plaza that's running, though.

They're setting up housing for dreamwalkers in the forested area where we met. [But Asura's more interested in the farmlands just outside of town. There's a hill a short ways to the east that would look idyllic with a little cabin and lotus pond...]

[shakra]

[ taishakuten has never been more aware of the shape and warmth of asura's hand in his, the calloused on his palm and digits. he doesn't let go of him, unable to bring himself to separate from him.

as asura takes him around, taishakuten takes in everything about this world with quiet fascination, from the plaza to the waterway and the rundown buildings. there is something magical about this world, something different that piques taishakuten's interest. this realm is not like the others, with different rules that taishakuten hasn't quite grasped yet, with its emphasis on dreams. the mystery of this realm and the man whose hand he's holding draws him in, and he thinks with quiet longing about the bathhouse -- it's possibly just as run down as the other places, but perhaps it's more motivation to get it fixed. ]

Have you found your housing, yet?

[ ... taishakuten hasn't even begun looking for one -- nothing in the forest seems right. ]

[abyssbound]

[Hey, he's not going to complain about Taishakuten wanting to hold his hand. He'll even give it an affectionate squeeze now and then.

Asura shakes his head.]

I don't care for having that many neighbors. [The tree houses are interesting, to be sure, but he wouldn't want to live in something like that on a semi-permanent basis.]

There's a spot out in the farmlands where I'm thinking about building a house. [Yes, building. By the nature of this place, he could probably just conjure one into existence as they had in the dream he and Taishakuten had once shared but only Asura can remember, but there's just something more gratifying about building it with his own two hands.] If you don't have anywhere else to go, you're welcome to stay there.

[shakra]

A house on a farm?

[ taishakuten asks, something clicking on his mind -- an old desire, a familiar churn of happiness and bliss he can't place. asura seems to be tapping into a dream of his, a secret yearning taishakuten can never have as king of the celestials.

and yet, here... ]

Will there be a lotus pool in front of it? A friend of mine, he --

[ he catches himself again. he doesn't remember -- he doesn't have a friend like that. despite all the love and adoration and warmth from his family and subjects, taishakuten has always been alone.

he frowns to himself, then tries again, stifling a quiet sigh. ]

I have always wanted to live in a house on a farm, with a pool in front of it. Does it seem ridiculous to you?

[abyssbound]

[That excitement Asura glimpses on Taishakuten's face when he asks about the lotus pool is cute, Asura thinks, and it warms his heart to see that hopefulness in him. Above all else, he wants him to be happy.]

No, it doesn't seem ridiculous. [He smiles warmly, expression soft.]

I don't think it would be too much trouble to build a lotus pond nearby if you want one. [Asura had already planned on it to begin with, but he can humor Taishakuten a little bit and pretend like it was entirely his idea.]

[shakra]

[ ...if he wants it. asura's indulgence is surprising, as is the curious little feeling that this -- somehow, this, is something taishakuten has wanted all along. a humble house (on a hill), a farm and a lotus pool. a deep-seated yearning makes his chest clench, the suddenness of it making his breath catch.

it feels like deja vu, even if taishakuten is absolutely certain that he has never experienced a thing like this before. he had been born in a noble home, gone to wars and fought on the frontlines after, and when he became king, zenken castle was his home. so there never was --

-- his gaze lifts to asura's handsome face, searching, curious. ]

Have I shared that with you before? [ somehow... it feels that way. but taishakuten will remember a face like his. he would remember asura. ]

[abyssbound]

No. [Asura answers immediately. It's not entirely a lie, but neither is it especially truthful. They had never had the opportunity to share that kind of happiness in the real world, even if those peaceful centuries he and Taishakuten had spent in once upon a time had been real to them at the time. It's only not a lie by technicality, but Asura doesn't want to create any more cracks than he already has when he can already see them forming in the way Taishakuten seems to be tapping into a shadow of a memory he can't pin down.] You must have dreamed it.

[There's irony in that, obviously, but Asura offers no more on it. Still, even if Taishakuten can't wrest his thoughts from him, the yearning he feels in Asura's presence isn't entirely his own.]

[shakra]

[ that's still a lie, asura.

but taishakuten, who can't think of a remote reason why asura would lie to him, simply takes his answer at face value. he doesn't pursue the shadows of his memory too fiercely, distracted by asura's presence and just how it seems like asura is so much more vivid than everything else.

he's drawn to him for reasons he cannot quite understand, beyond the fact that he seems to hold the keys to answers he has been seeking, setting a strange condition that he's not entirely sure he can fulfill. but the alternative is not seeing him again, and asura seems very much like a man of his word. he checks his own yearning, knowing that he cannot get anything done if he scares asura away with irrational feelings.

what he does, however, is ask, ]

Do you often have dreams that seem more like memories? As if you've lived them before, in another life?

[abyssbound]

["Being friends can be the reason why something must be kept a secret."
They were Taishakuten's own words, once upon a time.]

Sometimes dreams can be so vivid that it's difficult to distinguish them from memories after waking. [One day, Asura will be able to reveal everything to him. Today is not that day, but Asura has faith that it will eventually come, even if it takes centuries. They're both immortals; they have that time.]

Hypothetically, it's even possible that I and this entire world could be nothing more than a creation of your dreaming mind.

[shakra]

[ what a thing to think about. taishakuten ruminates in silence, absorbing his words. he's no stranger to dreams and memories, but he's also incredibly clear-eyed about the fact that this -- something about this doesn't sit quite right. it is shadows and smoke, a long-forgotten lullaby in the shifting sands of lost memory. asura pays the price of trayastrimsa's selfish wish, but so does taishakuten, bereft of the one person who made him feel like he belonged. ]

Do you think I'm capable of such a thing?

[abyssbound]

[It was hypothetical anyway--Asura isn't going to try to convince him that this is all just a sweet dream Taishakuten's mind created all on its own.

Asura gives his hand a reassuring squeeze and steps away from the bridge railing.]

I think you're capable of much more than you give yourself credit for.

[shakra]

[ taishakuten follows, unconsciously aware of him and his movements, accompanying him like it's second nature, like he's always done something like this (and he has, always by asura's side until their differences tore them apart).

he pauses at those words, the strange, inexplicable warmth that curls in the pit of his stomach. ]

I would be disappointed if it were a dream of my making. What you are capable of -- your Spiritual Entity... I have never met anyone with power like yours.

[abyssbound]

Hah... I guess it wouldn't mean as much if it was a figment of your imagination extolling your capabilities, would it? [Asura chuckles, though he knows that wasn't what Taishakuten had meant.] My Spiritual Entity is powerful, but that power has its price. A raging wildfire consumes everything in its path irrespective of friend or foe--my Spiritual Entity is similar.

[He's had much greater control of it ever since Taishakuten transplanted their Loci, but the bloodlust remains, even if he no longer loses himself in it.

Asura leads Taishakuten across the river and down the main road, through the mostly-empty market district toward the east side of town. It really is a small settlement--easily traversed in less than an hour by foot. Once clear of the buildings, it becomes apparent that the road stretches off through the farmlands and into the distance, vanishing into the wilderness of the Wildlands beyond. About halfway between the town of Reverein and the Wildlands sits the small hill Asura has in mind.]

[shakra]

[ unbeknownst to taishakuten, the celestial, too, is no stranger to madness and bloodlust, the surge of violence that runs high in his veins in the middle of battle is something he will never admit to -- it's unbecoming for one who is crowned king and beloved by many.

he glances over at him, his thoughts meandering back to his kingdom, his people. ]

We could do with someone like you, to aid our people as a deterrent in case war ever comes knocking again.

[ the black-clad god of war, wreathed in flame and fire -- and for a moment taishakuten sees beyond the confines of this dream world, to the death of monster-gods and crimson blood spattered on his --

-- impossible.

he takes a breath and follows after him, taking in the entirety of this realm and its new inhabitants, a question brimming to the surface. ]

Many of these places were run-down and abandoned. [ he says at length. this place is fascinating, and taishakuten finds himself eager to find out more. ] Who were here before us?

[abyssbound]

That's not possible. I can't exactly follow you out of this dream, can I? [And outside of this dreamworld, Asura remains sealed in the Abyss by his own doing. As much as he wants to go to Taishakuten in the waking world too, the price he paid for rewriting history means it isn't possible at this time.]

I don't know. [Why this place is so desolate despite signs that it was once full of people, he means. Heck, by the nature of it being a shared dream, it might even be possible that there was no one before them.] I suppose we could ask the tapirs. They've been forthcoming so far.

[shakra]

Where were you, in the real world?

[ because he's absolutely certain that asura knows a lot more about what he's letting on, and while taishakuten has agreed on not prying about his past, asking about asura's whereabouts isn't exactly the past, is it? loopholes. wonderful loopholes, and the clever strategist that the celestial king is, he's starting to find a couple of other ways around the moratorium.

of course, asura can always push back, but that's up to him, isn't it? ]

[abyssbound]

Even if I told you, you would forget when you wake. [That is the only reason Asura is even risking this much interaction with him in the first place. But even so, Asura doesn't have to be a mind-reader to anticipate Taishakuten's rebuttal; how if that's true, then surely there's no harm in telling him, right? So before he can, Asura continues,]

Where I exist in the waking world is somewhere far beyond the reach of even the Celestial King. Even if you knew, and even if you tried to reach that place, you would fail.