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.

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[Maybe he is— but if he's going mad, she must be doing the same. As his hold drops away, she folds her arms in front of herself, tipping her chin upwards to get a good, long look at him. Looking doesn't really feel like enough, but for once, she's at a loss. It's not often that she doesn't know what to do with herself, doesn't have something incredibly irreverent to say to distract from anything real, and so she settles for sighing, one corner of her mouth hitching upwards again.]

You're still soft.

[No surprise that hasn't changed. He always has been— after all, they were friends because he told her so, if memory serves. Hard to remember any instance where he didn't find the time to stop and care about someone's problems, even if they were a complete stranger. Even if they didn't deserve it.

Everyone on the receiving end was luckier for it.]

Is... did Yonah make it here, too?

[However faint it had been to begin with, her smile fades entirely, brows pulling together slightly in concern.]

I mean— have you seen her? Did we...

[The other Nier had assured her that Yonah had been saved, but she wants to hear it from him.]

We got her back, right?

[Soft isn't how he'd describe himself. If anything, he feels hardened by happenstance. Hardened by circumstance. Losing Yonah, tracking down the Shadowlord, discovering that everything he thought was truth was... some manifestation of falsehood. When he thinks about it all, it only makes him feel angry. Would a soft man grow angry? Does it even matter?

He doesn't bother to argue with her because Kainé, without a doubt, wins most arguments simply by the virtue of being herself. Occasionally, he can sway her to his side, but this is one instance where her perspective of him may be kinder than how he perceives himself. Without expressing it, he'll cling to that. He needs it.]

Yonah isn't here.

[At least, if she is, he hasn't seen her. Would he want to? His heart says yes, but given that he's almost certain he's having some great existential crisis, he isn't sure how much of it he can take. This Kainé might not be the Kainé he knows, but merely his memory of her. And the other Nier... He doesn't know how to explain that.

As she continues, he offers her a nod. He doesn't know it for certain, but he suspects she was saved.]

You did, yeah.

[Because that's an important distinction to make. If it happened, then it was because Kainé did it. Not because Nier had anything to do with it. He can't take that credit.]

Couldn't have done it without you, honestly.

[It's near enough to the same answer the other Nier had given her— Yonah was safe, and yet hearing it from him makes it feel more real. She doesn't know, yet, why the situation is what it is— why the other Nier is so young, why Yonah is his sister rather than his daughter, why so many of their memories are the same while others are decidedly different. So far, it's been easiest not to overthink it, to chalk everything up to 'dream world' and try to get to know him as someone apart from the Nier of her own memories.

Now that he's here, it's even harder to dismiss the bits and pieces that don't make sense, but she's not even sure that matters. He's here. Here, when she thought she'd seen the last of him, and this is the closest to happy she's felt in a long, long time.]

I'm betting it was a team effort.

[He doesn't give himself enough credit, usually. Something they have in common— but despite the faint quirk of her smile, the tension visibly eases from her shoulder as she feels a distinct sense of relief.]

I'm glad. That's important. We fought too damn hard not to bring her home. Just sorry I don't remember it— or haven't seen it for myself yet, I guess.

[She doesn't really want to think too hard about the fuckery that is timelines.]

Memories... don't always match up for people here, even when it seems like they should.

Something like that.

[...It was a team effort. It's always been a team effort, but Nier can never rest on his laurels. To become complacent is a dangerous thing. The moment he begins to get comfortable is the moment that something will go catastrophically wrong and he may not be able to properly handle it, even with Kainé's assistance.

Besides, it's not as if he wants to put her in the way of danger either.

He shakes his head at her when she continues.]

I was gathering that. The thing about the memories, anyway.

[At least you remember me.

He isn't sure he'd be able to handle facing a Kainé who doesn't recognise him. Or anyone from their world. The thought of that makes a part of him ache in a way that he's unfamiliar with. He has to continue forward under the notion that what he's chosen to do, everything he's chosen to give up, has been for the right reason and was truly the right course of action.]

I'll answer for you what I can, but I'm not going to affect your own memories if I can help it. Some things you just have to experience for yourself. Sounds like we have our own memories. Our own things we've seen, and haven't seen.

[...And it's important that those stay separate. If she ever found out he sacrificed himself for her, she'd never let him hear the end of it.]

I'll take it. Hell, I don't even want to know what's ahead.

[Most of it doesn't look good for her, she's willing to bet. Her future's never been exactly bright. She doesn't need Nier to fill in the blanks when she has a pretty good picture of how she's going to end up already. Tyrann has never let her forget— not for a moment.

If this place, however, means a little more time with one of the few people she's come to care about? Yeah, she'll absolutely take that, even if she's not the biggest fan of mystery dream world herself.]

Knowing Yonah is okay is enough. That was the goal.

[Anything else... she'll find out when she gets there, if she ever does. She exhales, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she looks up at him. Is he taller than she remembered? It really has been too long since she's seen him.]

Honestly, it's just... nice seeing a version of you I actually recognize. This place is fucking insane.

[He wants to argue it. That she's important. And an incredibly capable woman. It's in that pile of nice things he wants to ply her with and she'll have no desire to hear it of him. Wisely, Nier bites his tongue.

Instead, he simply nods along, because of course he agrees. Nier has spent years being so one-track minded on chasing down his daughter that it comes as no surprise that her status is naturally foremost priority.]

Yeah.

[What more can he say to that, after all?

What she follows up with keeps him contemplative. It doesn't take him much to get what she's saying, though. After all, he's met with his younger counterpart. To her, it must be very... disorienting. Hell, to him it's disorienting.]

You're talking about that kid. I don't know him. And he doesn't seem to know me either. Threw me when he said he knew Yonah.

You've seen him already? That makes things a hell of a lot easier.

[For a given definition of 'easy.' She sighs, shaking her head. There are so many details she still doesn't know what to make of, but it will definitely be more tolerable with him here. For one, she might not feel like she's on the verge of losing her mind completely quite so often.

It's hard, to have someone look you in the eye, tell you they know you and yet you have no memory of them at all.]

I don't know him, either. Or didn't. For awhile, I was starting to wonder if my memories were even real— he just knew too much. But you're here now. That has to mean everything that happened was real.

[She won't accept any other alternative, really.]

I don't remember him from before this place, but... the kid is alright.

[Easier. Right. He gets what she's really saying there, though. Much in the same way that he understands what she means when she's speaking of memories. Given the state of his own being... or not-being, as it is, he has to wonder if his memories mean anything when he was never there to begin with. He doubts his memories even hold any relevance. But maybe it doesn't matter. They're his, after all.

...At least, he'd like to say that. Given who and what he is, however, are they really his at all?]

Everything that you and I experienced was real, Kainé.

[He wishes he could sound more convincing. He can't, but he's trying. He can, however, at least agree on one thing—]

And I suspect everything that kid went through was real, too. You might not be his Kainé, but that doesn't really matter in a place like this. Hell, he doesn't even know me, but it feels like he does. I'm sure he's just happy to have any version of you here.

[As it stands, it's convincing enough. She gives him another hint of a smile, a genuine flicker of warmth that she offers only to a very select few.

It helps.]

Definitely easier to believe that with you standing in front of me. I didn't love second-guessing myself all the time.

[Dreams themselves could be deceiving, could fool you into remembering the past just a little bit differently. Who was to say a dream world couldn't do the same?

On the rest of it, however, they're definitely in agreement.]

I don't know how to explain it, if it's some alternate world or how that would even work, but he's definitely who he says he is. He convinced me of that much.

[He had enough similarities with the Nier she did know that she had been able to resign herself to the fact that while not everything lined up the way she thought it should, he was telling the truth.]

I feel a little bad, not remembering anything about him at all, but he doesn't seem to mind. Just asked me a lot of questions about you, instead.

Yeah, I get you. If you ever start second-guessing yourself, feel free to give me a punch or two.

[That's a joke. Maybe. Probably. He'd honestly weather more than a few punches from her if it meant that she actually remembered him. It's easy to say one will give up an existence. It's another thing to actually do it and experience the bittersweet ache of wanting to be in someone else's memory.

He wishes he could stop thinking about it, but as long as she's in front of him, he doubts that's going to happen anytime soon.]

It didn't occur to me that he could be blowin' smoke. [Of course it didn't. Nier's not exactly naive, but he does seem to like trying to view all the good that he can. If he can. Which does means sometimes believing the very strange. Before he can get lost in that train of thought, he zeroes in as she continues.]

Wait—He's asking about me? And what did you decide to tell him?

[Probably some bullshit about him being a gruff old man. All of which is true.]

[It might be a joke, but she'll do it. They both know that. Of course, only if it's warranted.

Probably.]

Can't say that surprises me. Kid's pretty earnest, and you've got a good read on people.

[And, unlike her, he does see the good in people. For her, it always comes as a surprise— she never expects to find it, but when this other Nier managed to say just the right things, words that resonated with that same gruff kindness she remembered, it had been convincing enough.

Suspension of disbelief was something she was coming to rely on quite a bit, here.

She cracks half a smile as Nier takes a guess.]

Well, you're not wrong. [She'd absolutely talked about him being a gruff old man.] Don't worry, I didn't talk too much shit. Just talked about the way you look after Yonah. You look after everyone, really, whether they deserve it or not. Don't think we ever met someone you didn't go out of your damn way to help.

[He can't even contest the rest of that as much as he might like to.]

Yeah. Weiss never hid how much he didn't like that. Guess it was more trouble than he thought it was worth.

[Or Weiss just wasn't particularly helpful outside of Nier and company, specifically. Beyond that, however... Nier crosses his arms over his chest.]

People were going through enough crap as it was. We were in a place where we could help. Better than the alternative. Doesn't matter that they wouldn't have done it for us. I don't regret it. I'd do it all over again.

Kept our stomachs full enough. Weiss was just bitching because he didn't benefit.

[Encyclopedias don't need to eat, after all. It was all "Shades this, Sealed Verses that" with that one. Of course, it's never been unusual for Kainé to side with Nier when Weiss voiced any dissenting opinions, and whether it was because she actually agreed with the old man or just wanted to oppose the stupid book was never completely clear.

(It's definitely more of the former, but she'll never say so outright.)]

Some of that shit was probably the only nice thing anyone ever did for those people.

[She tends to think of people as being unkind by default.]

Doesn't matter if they deserved it or not, I guess. Says a lot more about you than it does about them.

[He's a good person. He'd made that clear to her early on.]

[He barks out a laugh. It's true. If it wasn't benefiting Weiss in some way, or all of them as a whole, then he couldn't see the value in it. Maybe there's some sense in that, though. Nier knows he's spent a lot of time trying to take care of others around him and he's sure that his own self-care and his own priorities have suffered because of it.

Sacrifices have to be made somewhere and that's a terrifyingly sober thought.]

Well. I'm the only one I know who'll be with me forever. Can't spend too much time worrying much what others think of me. [He says that, but...] Which sounds real great on the outside, but it's not really true. I just don't care what everyone thinks of me.

[And in the end, isn't he right? He's the only one who's been at his side the entire time. Even in nonexistence the only person Nier has is himself.]

[He's got a damn good point, even if she has no way of knowing the deeper meaning behind it. Honestly, it's how she's tried to live for as long as she can remember, not caring about what others thought, but it's a hell of a lot easier said than done. Words still sting, but not as much as rocks and fists, so she's taken that as cold comfort where she can.

Nier's approach was probably better, all told. He has a good heart. She definitely considers herself to be among those that he'd helped who didn't deserve it— but she's grateful for it all the same, even if she has a funny way of showing it.

She gives him another faint, crooked smile, lifting her chin to look past where he stands and towards the sheep.]

Shouldn't really come as any surprise that you're doing the same thing here. Always ready to lend a helping hand, right?

[Well. As long as she's here, she may as well pitch in.]

... c'mon, old man. The job will go faster with the two of us.

[His gaze follows her onto the sheep and he wears a half-smile.]

I've got to keep myself busy. Otherwise, what else can I do. Yonah's not here to my knowledge. Guess I could go adopt a bunch of other kids, but that's probably not the right answer.

[Nier's Orphanage. Has a ring to it.

At her offer, he looks back to her with a grin.]

Never pictured you the type to chase after sheep. We can always make a little competition over it. Not sure I have much to bargain with, but we can get creative.

[She gives a soft snort as her initial response, shaking her head.]

There might be a few kids wanderin' around who could use it, but what are you gonna do, teach 'em table manners?

[She's seen him eat. Seems unlikely. In all seriousness, she thinks he'd be great for the job— but after what he's been through with Yonah, maybe not the right path for him at the moment.

For now, she shrugs easily, offering him a grin.]

I take the jobs that show up. They aren't all my style, but at least they pay. Girl's gotta make a living— and it's a hell of a lot easier here than it was back home.

[People aren't afraid of her here, and honestly, she could get used to that.]

How about whoever rounds up the least cooks dinner for the next week?

[Should be good motivation for him, at least. Kainé can make things edible enough, but her approach tends to be "what the fuck is seasoning?" and involves cooking the shit out of some meat over a campfire.]

Teach them how to stab their meat real good with a fork.

[That's a joke. He's already questioning his parenting skills. He doubts he needs to be giving himself a reason to lose even more sleep over it.

His attention turns, however, and rather quickly. Yeah. It doesn't surprise him at all to hear that it's easier. For her. Kainé hasn't had the easiest time of things. In a place like this, no one knows her, no one knows her past, no one knows anything she doesn't want to tell them. She can start blank here. They all can, honestly.

The only person judging either of them is... well. Them.

He begins to bring himself back to the present when she makes mention of dinner and he finds himself eyeing the sheep. Hopefully she doesn't mean by eating any of whatever they've got going on, because a mountain of cotton candy wool is not what he thinks of when he thinks dinner.]

That sounds like a dangerous wager. I didn't know either of us could actually cook anything, but I guess what doesn't kill us just makes us stronger.

Shit, as long as whatever we make isn't raw, we'll probably survive.

[Hell, maybe even if it is. Kainé has been known to devour wild fruit that's meant to be poisonous to otherwise without so much as batting an eye. Really, as long as it keeps their stomachs full, she's pretty happy— you don't survive as long as either of them has by being picky about what you get to eat.

She'd still like to draw the line at bugs, though. Grandma had really been pushing it with that one.]

You got better terms in mind? I'm all ears.

[She braces both hands against her hips, looking up at him expectantly, but there's a mischievous edge to that sharp grin of hers— if they're gonna do the job anyway, may as well make it fun, right?]

[He reflects her without even truly realising it. Nier cocks an eyebrow, and humours a small tug of his mouth on one side. They have probably had meat that was burnt. They've probably had meat that was undercooked. At this stage of things, concepts like 'fine dining' and 'gourmet cooking' likely mean very little to him. Why should it, after all?

He's just a barbarian with a sword.

Nier shakes his head.]

I wasn't complaining. Just amused. You're on. Loser makes meals for the next week. Just in case I do, since I'm old and all, I'm not promising anything I make is going to be good. Edible, sure, but probably not good.

Deal.

[She raises her forearm, offering to bump it against his own in agreement. They've agreed on terms, so the rest just falls into place— easy.

Naturally, she expects to win. As he himself had agreed, he is old. Maybe his back will give out partway through, give her an advantage— not that she needs it.]

Hell, long as I don't have to make it, you know I'll be happy.

[She cares a hell of a lot more about a full stomach than taste.]

You ready to do this thing?

Yeah, we'll see about that. I'm gonna make you eat your words.

[Maybe. Sometimes they're both a lot of bite. Sometimes they're more bark than bite.

With another roll of his shoulders, Nier seems more than ready to make things happen.]

If you win, I'll even get you a sash or something. 'Best sheep wrangler.'

[He huffs out a sharp laugh, a bit short-lived but seemingly genuine. Honestly, running into her has been the highlight of this world.]

Shit, now I'm really gonna gun for it.

[Mostly because she'd love to see what kind of design something that would end up with, him being in charge of it and all. She may also be very invested in the idea of seeing him follow up on one of his ridiculous promises— she knows he's not bluffing. He'll do it.

She laughs in turn, rolling a shoulder back before she rubs her hands together.]

Alright, old man. On three. One, two—

[And she's off, without giving the final count. She's determined to win this thing.]

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{ test drive #02 - november 2021 }

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we can probably let them chase sheep into the sunset and move on to barbarian sitcom soon!

I AM READY FOR THIS.

wrapping it up! but we should definitely flip a coin to see who won because lmao