songerein | { test drive #02

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{ test drive #02 - november 2021 }

✵ TEST DRIVE MEME: NOVEMBER ✵
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. Note: the TDM timeframe is the start of November, after the Halloween events. Refer to the Game Info for general information and feel free to toss any TDM related questions here. Reserves are open and Applications will open on November 1st. The next application cycle won't be until March, 2022.

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. 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.]

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 has filled in a bit, but it's still larger than the current population and 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...just be careful.

D. Dreambucks Café. There is a certain quaint little café back in the Plaza that is known for its refreshing and unique teas and drinks. Called Dreambucks, it's 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:

Caramel Delight. A caramel flavored tea with a few spices to add a little warmth to the taste. Just a few sips will make anyone want to find the nearest fireplace, grab a blanket, and settle in as they reminisce on happier moments.

Cranberry Cheer. A strong, flavorful cold juice that will renew one's vigor by leaps and bounds. ...And also make one leap and bound away through their day. Drinking this will inspire one to spread good tidings and festive feelings, be it left over from Halloween or some other seasonal festivity they may be familiar with. General good will to all is also an option.

Hazelnut Hot Chocolate. This warm drink can be topped with moon and star shaped marshmallows and is a perfect alternative for those who may prefer a more mellow drink. A drink of this will develop a want to share stories from nostalgic memories to riveting adventures to chilling horrors—whatever may be on their one or feel creative to make up.

Although it doesn't always happen, sometimes the drinks 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. CANDY CHAOS

Despite the dramatic events that occurred during the dreamscape and the after effects still waiting to be seen, some good things happened as a result of the Halloween festivities. Looking ahead to other holidays, a few people are trying their hand in making candies. After all, they all can't rely on the fae for everything and with new resources at their disposal, there's no excuse now.

A. Candy Mining. One morning a few friendly gnomes that dwell beneath the town pop up and announce that one of the caves has changed from normal rock crystals to candy rock crystals. More strangely, once mined they change color and flavor depending on the person's emotions or their last dream is at the time the candy rock crystal is removed. Ready to create something new, various candy makers send out requests for various "flavors" to experiment. People are welcome to try and create their own kind of candy or other crafts with the new candy rock crystals as well. However, the gnomes will warn that the candy rock crystals may explode if anyone who had strong nightmares or extreme emotions touch them, even after they are extracted. So take care!

B. Cotton Candy Sheep. A new type of sheep has been discovered (or introduced? Who is to say—) roaming just outside of the farmlands and it appears their wool is made out of cotton candy. While one might be wary of eating straight off the animal, it is said the wool is not only delicious, but could actually be used in clothing if processed correctly. Of course, that still needs to be tested so who knows if it's true. For now, some would like to herd them to the corrals, however they are fast and flighty creatures, capable of hopping several tens of feet into the air and float away. The best way to lure them is to create hard candy wind chimes as they are not only attracted to the sound, but also the taste. The sweeter and crunchier, the better.

C. Trick Candy. Halloween may be over, but the idea of using candy for silly pranks is eternal. One day there will be full "joke" shops around, but for now candy will be the focus. A contest is being held for anyone to not only learn how to make candy, but devise ways for them to turn into fun pranks. Turning one's tongue a different color is too basic, how about something that could change the entire body? Or hair if that's too difficult. Those not part of the creative process will also be exposed to the end products—and failures. Some taffy rope that's decided to slither around and tie people together, a giant jawbreaker expanding to the size of a large boulder rolling down the streets, people taste testing bubble gum now floating in the air—the possibilities are endless.

III. DREAMSCAPE TUTORIAL: HAUNTED TOY HOUSE

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 Haunted Toy House with everyone stuck in a life sized doll house filled with cursed toys.

A. Feeling a bit stiff. Upon entering the dreamscape, some dreamwalkers may find themselves looking a bit like a cursed toy, so hopefully no one mistakes them as an enemy. The form can vary from a wooden doll to a plush toy and always with some kind of corruption or missing piece. A truly ghastly appearance that would scare any child and spawn nightmares. While in this form, dreamwalkers may find their abilities a bit altered to fit the form.

B. House Traps. There are numerous rooms in this strange house, and some might even feel they are in a piece of Escher artwork instead with stairs going here and there and upside down. With it being a dreamscape, the concept of gravity is certainly otherworldly here. While some rooms are harmless, others are filled with traps. Spikes shooting down from ceilings; doors sealed shut as the walls close in; floors turning into black goop or disappearing completely. It's a giant maze and one has to wonder if that giant exit sign is real or another trap (it's another trap). Best way to disarm the traps and obstacles is using one's imagination and test out those dreamotion abilities.

C. Corrupt Toys. Inhabiting the house are several toys ready to pounce on their new "visitors." Fortunately they can be beaten back easily and can be "purified" to return to their original state. All it requires is a nice "injection" of positive dreamotion energy, though how that can happen varies. A healing spell, a smack from a weapon created from positive feelings, encouraging words—the toys just feel lonely and abandoned. Playing with them may also help turn them into allies. The more toys "purified," the less corrupt the house will be in turn. However, if more become corrupted instead, things will turn into even more of a dangerous nightmare and noctaere may start appearing.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The name of Barok van Zieks, in turn, sounds to Diluc's ears like something that Fischl girl with the Adventurer's Guild would make up. Not that he has any doubts as to the name's legitimacy--his encounters with the Traveler have more or less established the possibility of other worlds, so it's most likely that this man hails from a place other than Teyvat.]

Your lantern. [Diluc gestures with one hand to indicate the space where he saw the daydream unfold.] It was displaying images that caught my attention, that's all.

[He takes a moment to sip the tea that, unbeknownst to him at the moment, will eventually get him to open up as to why. It's sweet, which is to be expected of a tea brewed with caramel flavor, but not as cloyingly so as he expected. Just as well.

I won't pry into its significance to you. I can presume well enough that it isn't my business.

[Certainly, having his mind looked into isn't the most pleasant of ideas, and he pauses for a moment as he considers the idea, his jaw tensing briefly.

But perhaps it won't hurt to share... a little. The memories he'd been considering were pleasant, after all. He's allowed to enjoy them, for whatever they're worth.]

What did you see?

[He doesn't sound accusatory, merely curious.]

[Diluc notices the brief moment of tension, but he doesn't begrudge the the man for it. Surely, his own expression would be the same if van Vieks had seen into his own lantern. The past is a delicate thing. He knows that very, very well.]

Two young boys playing.

[He takes another sip of his tea, then feels compelled to add:] It reminded me of my own childhood.

[His expression softens marginally, his furrowed brow displaying more of a sad nostalgia than anything else, and a soft breath leaves him. The aroma of caramel grows stronger, and along with it comes the light scent of a hearth fire.]

... my brother and I.

[With an entire decade between them, at times it felt like the man was more of a father than their actual parent. His free hand moves over his heart—or more specifically, over the badge pinned to his jacket.]

I idolized him a great deal.

[~~Maybe an unhealthy amount?~~ In some ways, he still does. But perhaps that's the decade-long absence speaking.]

You have a sibling, then?

I see.

[There's a sadness in the other man's expression that Diluc understands well. Beneath of all his anger about how things happened four years ago between him and Kaeya (and their father, and the Knights of Favonius, and the world in general), he has quite a bit of it too.]

I did: a brother. We're estranged now. He... isn't the person I thought he was.

[Which is a very extreme oversimplification of the situation. But van Zieks doesn't need to know about cold honesty met with hot rage in the rain, fire and ice clashing for the first--and quite probably not the last--time. Diluc doesn't want to talk of it, and the effect of the tea pulls him toward older, happier memories of two boys running through a vineyard. No betrayals, no Visions. Just the innocence of childhood.

Within his own lantern, the image slowly comes to life. The boys are similar in age and look nothing alike, but it's clear from the way they behave that they are very close indeed.]

[He isn't the person I thought he was. How close that hits to home.]

... I'm sorry to hear it.

[There's a notable heaviness to his voice, something that runs deeper than sympathy. He watches the reflection of the other man's past, as similar to his own as Diluc had implied.]

But perhaps... those revelations need not tarnish the time you spent together.

[It's something he's been struggling with himself as of late. Maybe he shouldn't cling so tightly to the influence the man had on him... or maybe he should simply believe in his brother's intent from those days.]

[That's a heaviness that Diluc recnogizes. It would seem these happy childhoods are bittersweet memories for the both of them.

He watches the two boys in his lantern for a few moments, the miniature version of him leading the blue-haired boy around and pointing out various landmarks along the way. That's how it often went in the beginning of Kaeya's life with them, Diluc taking command in the name of being a good older brother. For a moment, he wonders how Kaeya himself must remember those days.]

Perhaps.

[He doesn't sound the least convinced. After a moment, he shakes his head and the memory dissipates.]

But you didn't invite me here to hear my troubles.

[While it's true that van Zieks didn't intend to pry into those sorts of personal matters, he can't deny his interest has been piqued due to some of those similarities. Not that he'll push for details when they're clearly sensitive; he's not quite as forceful about those things as certain Eastern lawyers...]

I invite you to speak of whatever you're willing, but I understand the difficulty.

[Where Diluc's memories disappear from the lanterns, van Zieks's begins to take form again, the curly-haired boy tagging after a grown man that nonetheless seems happy to be accompanied; they practice swings of wooden training swords, a large dog bounding around them as if eager to be involved.]

I'm still unsure what to think of my own brother... but he is no longer here to be judged. All I have are those memories.

[When Barok was just starting to understand the world, Klint already had his own ambitions, but he'd taken the time to teach the younger sibling so many things. He's not so willing to let go of all of that, even if he has to accept that that specter is gone.]

[Diluc really doesn't like talking about the past. It's painful, and complicated, and immutable. What happened happened. No amount of reminiscing or talking about it will change that fact.

It's hypocritical, given how much energy he spends on chasing answers to questions he still has about it all. Some of them will never be answered, having died with his father. Others will never be spoken of again, given how he'd reacted the last time his brother tried to be honest with him. And the rest are spread across Teyvat, waiting for him to find them. None of them will be answered here and now, in this foreign dreamland they've been brought to.

And yet, there's the pull of the tea and the presence of what seems to be a kindred spirit. Maybe that's why he hasn't simply terminated the conversation and taken his leave.]

I'm sorry for your loss. [He really, really is.] Kaeya is still alive, but that doesn't make figuring out what he's up to and how I feel about it any easier.

No, [he agrees,] I have no doubt it's simply a difficulty of a different sort.

[However he might have yearned to see his brother again, even with recent revelations, he doesn't know that they would have been truly divided in the way this man seems to be from his own sibling. They'd both fought for the same ideal, however horrible Klint's methods, but it seems more as if Diluc is fighting against his brother at a more fundamental level.

He might have left it at that, but the caramel sits on his tongue and encourages him to speak. Still, if the topic proves to be too unpleasant, he may attempt to direct it elsewhere.]

... When did you see him last?

The day before I arrived here.

[He smiles slightly across the table at van Zieks, although it's a mirthless expression. Largely, it's an acknowledgement as to how that must sound.]

We're no longer brothers, but our lives are still very much... involved with one another. At his insistence, mostly.

[Kaeya is Cavalry Captain of the Knights, which makes him unavoidable to a point. But he also makes it a point to be present in Diluc's home and tavern more often than Diluc himself is comfortable with. As far as what his motivations for doing so are, it's not something that he's been able to untangle. And he's not convinced that the motives are especially innocent.

But that's a conversation for another time and another place. Or not at all.]

[Well... that is different from what he expected. It's not enough to change his expression much, but he does lift his head inquisitively. It speaks to a certain kind of dishonesty on the part of this Kaeya, if Diluc's view is to be believed.]

A complex situation indeed...

[One that perhaps he shouldn't dig much further into. The man already has to deal with the issue often, apparently—and although this place may very well give him the space to deal with it in a better way, that's just a possibility. If it were Barok, he'd probably need time as well as space to process it.]

... Pray forgive my questions if they've caused discomfort.

["Complex" isn't the half of it, and there are many details that Diluc has glossed over in the interest of not making things more uncomfortable for both of them.]

You're fine. [There's discomfort, but also a strange... relief? Like a tension he didn't realize was even there has loosened a bit. The tea is part of it, surely, but so is the fact that at least on some level, this man gets it. Not a sympathetic ear--or so Diluc wishes to believe, unwilling as he is to receive sympathy for this--but a kindred one.]

The situation is what it is, and no amount of running away from it changes anything. I don't speak of it often, but I have nothing to deny about it either.

That said, I apologize for whatever discomfort I've caused by starting the conversation in the first place.

[Van Zieks shakes his head to dismiss the apology. For him as well, it's been... nice, to speak of a few of his troubles, and remind himself of more pleasant times. A brief moment where the weight isn't quite so heavy.]

Much of my time is spent unearthing truths in a more... antagonistic manner.

[It's his job to argue all day!]

This has been a pleasant change of pace.

["Unearthing truths in a more antagonistic manner" can also be said of Diluc, but he doesn't say anything to that effect. It's generally not in one's self-interest to admit to being a vigilante to a near-total stranger, even with as much as they've bonded over this caramel tea. Instead, he nods once in understanding.]

I'm glad to have provided it, then. I agree that this has been... nice.

[Even with the uncomfortable bits.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

{ test drive #02 - november 2021 }

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