fellmemes | Test Drive #1

Welcome to the August test drive—our first in

fellden! We're so excited to have you with us.

A few things of note:

✦ Test drive threads can be considered game-canon if you choose. They're essentially in a shared dreamscape and take place between your character leaving their world, and arriving in the audience hall with their faction leader.
✦ Reserves are open and will continue to be until 11:59 PM UTC on Tuesday, August 20th; they are not necessary to apply! They're valid for the first four days of the application cycle.
✦ Applications will open at 12:01 AM UTC on the 21st, and remain open until 11:59 PM UTC on the 27th. The IC & OOC intro logs will be posted two days later.
✦ Questions? We have a FAQ that's chock full of good information! If they are test drive specific, we have a top level thread below that allows for OOC questions to be posted.
✦ The network is available to use! No matter where your character is, their compass either arrived on their person or available in the Gods Wood. Please feel free to include a network post in your top-levels! Once opened, the compass will display instructions on use, such as using voice-commands to activate it. (Apologies for missing including this on the initial test drive!)

All set?

Perfect! Welcome to Fellden.

AS THE MOON RISES.
You’ll find yourself just outside the Temple doors, which will be locked if you try to open them. A little rude, keeping you out after bringing you all this way. The thing is, you can hear a lot of commotion in the distance, and smoke rising from the center of a district; you may want to check that out. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire!

Except the smoke is not at all something to be concerned over. Instead, people are gathered near a large bonfire in the decorated city square, drinking and carousing, singing songs of celebration; Moon saviors have arrived! War winners! The residents of the city laugh and sing and dance in pairs throughout the square, grateful for those who have come to aid them. Their merriment doesn’t dwindle as the sun begins to set on the horizon, twin moons rising in its place.

When you (and other new arrivals) are finally noticed by the revelers, do not expect to be left alone! Flower crowns will be deposited upon your heads, food and drink placed into your hands, while live musicians play loud enough for the dead to hear. You’ll be invited to dance, to drinking games, and offered food and flowers and other items of value. Some may cry when they look into your face, thanking you for becoming their champions during this long and exhaustive war.

Hopefully you’re here to enjoy the festivities. Sneaking off is just fine, too, but don’t expect to be let go of quietly; the people of the Moon Temple are so happy to see you! Enjoy the celebration while it lasts long into the night.

THE SETTING STARS.
Unlike the Temple, your arrival to the Court of Stars is met with a rather somber greeting, however expressions are relieved, despite any emotional guard that may be up.

A gathering of knights, weary from a skirmish along the border they're returning from, pat you on the back and lead you through an open air courtyard. All the gathered people of the Emperor's Court look up from their tasks, giving the passing Otherworlders a knowing nod. There's gratitude in their eyes, but that's all the welcome you'll receive: your presence is appreciated, but growing an attachment is another heartache for those that care so deeply for their faction fellows. The silence is broken when a high-ranking member of the guard gives the proclamation: "Our heroes have arrived! Court defenders, world travelers! Help has come from the far lands to aid us in our battles for our Emperor, for all of Fellden!"

From there, the few knights that have not yet departed will lead you through the Court's castle, a brief tour of the most important areas (dining hall, housing wing, guard barracks, and the throne room) is given before they instruct you to rest, because the real excitement begins when the sun falls behind the horizon.

Left to drift, you can explore the castle, or venture out to the surrounding city as it prepares for the celebration the Starfolk have in store for the returned soldiers and, now, the new arrivals. You'll be invited to the party that spreads across the entire Court city, drawn into large circle dances, and will find that the locals become more at ease and welcoming the longer you spend with them.

WELCOME TO THE GODS WOOD.
Between one blink and the next, your eyesight has seemingly been stolen from you. Or, perhaps it’s more likely that something is covering your eyes? Yes, that’s definitely a blindfold tied around the back of your head, although quite the mystery as to how it came to be there. You vaguely remember a wolf that may or may not have spoken to you, but the blindfold is certainly a new addition to the situation.

Once removed, you’ll find yourself in the thick of the woods, with no path or directional indicators in sight. The moon is obscured by the tree line, and the stars above do nothing to light your path; seems like removing the blindfold wasn’t as helpful as you may have thought. As your eyes adjust to the darkness, it’s obvious that you are not alone in this; other people are removing their blindfolds just as you are, staring blearily into the dark of the forest with a similar lack of understanding to how they came to be here.

Thankfully, you’ll find some nearby travel packs with self-lighting torches, a few rations, and your faction-provided communicator. The compass, unfortunately, remains broken, which means you’ll have to find your way out of the woods without it. Hopefully your sense of direction is passable!

Whether you team up with others, or go your separate way is entirely up to you, but you must find your way out, and the fog rolling in is not going to be of any assistance. This is a Dropping, and the Gods Wood is not kind to loiterers.

DRAWN TO THE COASTLINE.
Needing an escape from the hectic energy that greeted you in your faction, an empathetic bystander pointed you in the direction of a nearby transport mirror, which you either stepped into without stating a destination, or didn't give one with enough clarity for the mirror to understand. Spitting you out on the beach just outside Kyst, it doesn't seem keen to let you back the way you came; temperamental teleportation magic.

As the largest trade city in all of Fellden, there is no shortage of things to do here! Shopping with what coin was hoisted upon you before your departure, mapping out the city itself to memorize the in's and out's, enjoying a drink on the house at a local tavern where you can get into a mean game of cards with some faction soldiers, or even meeting someone else that seems to have stumbled into this world just as you did. Perhaps you're more keen to the outdoors, rather than the bustle of a large city, wandering away from the city just far enough to find a stretch of pristine beach and inviting crystal clear waters of the ocean; the salty air fills your lungs while the rays of the midday sun are almost blinding against the swath of bright white sand that meets the crashing waves.

Regardless of what you decide to do, or where you end up, you're in the closest thing to No Man's Land you can get; enjoy your time fraternizing with the enemy, make some new friends in this neutral land, or stick with those from your own faction to get a lay of the land.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, it’s awesome. [ And he really thinks it is. ] You set the keg down on the ground, put your hands on top of it like this -

[ He reaches out like he’s holding onto the top of a keg. ] - and then someone holds you upside down by the legs while you drink from the tap for as long as possible without stopping. Whoever’s got the longest time wins.

[ "Awesome"? Clearly it's a positive thing, judging by his tone. But what he describes... well. She's seen Tormund and other soldiers drink large cups without stopping, leaving beards and chins dripping, but this sounds like something they would try without hesitation. ]

That sounds... difficult.

[ Along with thoroughly gross and unpleasant. ]

Wouldn't it be more likely to come out if you're upside down?

Yeah, and you definitely lose if that happens.

[ And it is very gross when it does, but Billy's too young and reckless to care about what's gross. ]

It's not so difficult once you get the hang of it. I was the undefeated keg stand champion back home. [ As if that's impressive. He could say I fought a giant monster if he really wanted to boast about an accomplishment, but no, he goes straight for keg stands. ]

[ Something in that statement makes her smirk, ]

Not a meager accomplishment if you bested others like yourself.

[ Perhaps not the best accomplishment but she means it. She couldn't do it. And she knows the Wildlings would cheer him on until their voices were hoarse if they were to witness it. ]

What other things do you do back home?

[ Okay, he gets a smirk. He's on edge due to...well, all of this, but maybe he's not completely off his game. He smirks right back. ]

Surfing. Basketball. [ He cracks his knuckles. ] Won my fair share of brawls.

[ Her brows go up at the knuckle cracking and mention of brawls, still smirking. Definitely the kind of man Tormund would take to instantly. And probably Arya. Or she would just want to fight him herself. ]

What is "surfing"?

[ She knew brawls and "basketball" seemed a bit obvious. One must make a game of putting a ball in a basket, right? Not that different from some of the games she and her siblings had made up for their own amusement. ]

You have a board - a big one, enough for you to lay down - and when a wave comes, you stand up on it and ride the wave to shore.

[ Or you wipe out and get swept back to shore in a much less impressive fashion, as he did many times when he was just a beginner. ]

[ Her expression turns to one of confusion and surprise. ]

You... ride the wave with the board? No boat? Just that?

[ That. Sounds. Like. ~~Witchcraft.~~ Some Magic Shit. ]

Just the board. [ When he was little, he thought it looked like magic, too. After the hundreds of wipe-outs it took him to actually start riding properly, the mystery was gone. ]

You just have to have a good stance [ He bends his knees and stands with his legs far apart and his arms out. ] and keep your balance.

[ She looks on in amazement - half wanting to say "that's impossible" and not believe it - but she just grins and shakes her head instead. ]

I couldn't do that. I would fall into the water every time.

[ Sansa gestures the "falling" with her free hand, laughing slightly at the thought. ]

I think everyone falls a few times. [ He laughs when she mimics falling, rising up from his fake surfer stance. ]

It's worth it, though. Sometimes the wave curls over top of you and for a few seconds it's like you're going down a tunnel made of water.

[ Her laughter calms at the description trying to imagine it in her mind. ]

That sounds beautiful... and terrifying.

[ And it would be horribly uncomfortable in the cold waters of the North. Not that she particularly wanted to go into the waters near King's Landing ports, either. ]

It's both. [ And that's why an adrenaline junkie like him is so into it. It has to be at least a little dangerous to keep his interest. ]

D'you live by the ocean?

[ She shakes her head, ]

Not anymore. I did for a few years but no one ever did what you're describing. People knew how to swim or knew how to steer a boat. That was the extent of it.

There's a beach here, isn't here? If I find someone to make me a board I can show you.

[ He really wants to surf again in general, but getting to show off is a plus, too. And in all his talk he's realized that he hasn't introduced himself. ] I'm Billy, by the way. Billy Hargrove.

[ She smiles a little more at that, ]

I would enjoy seeing that.

[ Giving a polite nod, ]

I am Sansa Stark. It is a pleasure to meet you, Billy Hargrove.

Then I'll make it happen.

[ And he smiles right back. Lord knows Billy Hargrove can't be in a new world for one whole day without trying to flirt. ]

Where're you from, then? New York? [ By the ocean but not a lot of surfing, that's his only guess. That some people aren't even from his Earth let alone America hasn't crossed his mind. ]

[ Time for her face to scrunch slightly in confusion again. ]

New York?

[ It sounds interesting but not anywhere near her. She shakes her head, ]

I am from the continent of Westeros. The Seven Kingdoms.

Test Drive #1

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