Test Drive #4

[felldenmods]

Welcome to the January test drive! 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 will open at 12:01 AM UTC on February 1st, and continue to be until 11:59 PM UTC on February 7th. This is to reserve a character, not an application slot.
✦ Applications will open at 12:01 AM UTC on the 8th, and remain open until 11:59 PM UTC on the 15th, or until all application slots have been filled. Once Activity Check ends, we will have an application slot number available on the application page. The IC & OOC intro logs will be posted two days later.
✦ We have added a Suitability section to the application. Check it out! We will be requiring this going forward as it not only helps players see if their character is a good fit for the game but it lets the mod team gather some ideas about direction for your character!
✦ 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 arrived on their person. 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. Usernames are your characters first name or their most common nickname.
✦ Below will be a header for OOC questions as well as a request for Death or its Attendants if you risk placing a coin in their offering bowl.
✦ As in December, a secondary blessing will be available in February to those that tag others on the TDM!

All set? Perfect! Welcome to Fellden.

AS THE MOON RISES. You’ll find yourself just outside the Temple gates, which will be locked if you try to open them. A little rude, keeping you out after bringing you all this way, and the more you try to look up at the Temple structure the more insistent guards become in pushing you down the pathway to somewhere else. 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! Chrysanthemums will be offered as brooches or corsages, food and drink placed into your hands, while live musicians play loud enough for the dead to hear — for this is a celebration dedicated to them. Several were lost in the battle held the previous weeks, and the Priestess has decreed a time of mourning through revelry. Spirits must be kept up, even in these dark times. 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 despite the pall that may hang over the town. 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. If you do manage to leave, a helpful citizen of the Temple will inform you of the nearby transport mirrors that will take you anywhere on the map, one of which they will provide to you.

THE SETTING STARS. You'll find upon your arrival that the castle is not accepting visitors as they prepare the interior for a solemn remembrance of those lost. Guards at the door will instead direct you to the center of the city where most of Starfolk have gathered to say their goodbyes and reminisce of memories past. Venturing there, you'll be greeted either by those who are serving food and drink from nearby taverns, or those with drawn faces tired from battle. Or perhaps you're a late arrival and the worst of the exhaustion has left the city, now imbued with laughter and happier memories! Those loyal to the Court of Stars greet the newcomers with guarded gratitude in their eyes and wary hesitance. How many more of these Otherworlders will betray them, they wonder out loud. If you try and take a seat with a party or three, chances are the conversation will halt as soon as you grow near, and the longer you stay the more uncomfortable the gathered people become. Trust is not easily gained in the Court of Stars; broken now as it is, the natives of this world fear the worst for their Emperor. Will you help us, or will you hurt us, they ask, wanting to believe they still have a chance at surviving this exhaustive war. Whether you choose to remain for the remembrance or wander off, one thing is certain: things must turn around for the Stars soon. If you do manage to sneak off, a hopeful citizen of the Court will inform you of the nearby transport mirrors that will take you anywhere on the map, one of which they will provide to you.

MARKETS OF THE COAST. The coastal city of Kyst is abuzz with an extra amount of people who sought refuge here during the attack on the Moon Temple. Some calm had finally started to settle but now the foundation has once more been shaken. Newcomers will be welcomed with smiling faces from merchants as they look to try to sell their wares. Tavern owners and barkeeps will beckon with the promise of warm food and delightful drinks, a place by the fire, and information to help you find your bearings. The air is rife with the scent of the coastline, fishermen bringing in their haul from the day. Perhaps if you pay enough attention, you'll hear or smell something you recognize from your home; as Fellden is the beginning of all worlds, it wouldn't be an impossible likelihood! Those looking for something more exciting will find closer to the northern border of Kyst a rather curious bi-pedal cat bouncing on its back legs. It flags you down with a wave of its paw, asking excitedly if you'd like to flex your claws into a juicy quest. You're just the hunter for the job! Purr-fect in every way! Out in the wild lands there's a great beast in a deep river, and it's bothering all the people who live in the nearby town! They can't get fresh water or fish for their meals; it's furr-ightening! If you agree to help, the cat will explain that the creature is a Nokken that has been luring many a brave fisher to their untimely death. It must be removed either by force or by convincing it to leave! Help them, Hero-wan Kenobi, you're their meownly hope!

BEYOND THE CITIES. In the distance from Kyst, a large forest looms, the Gods Wood imposing even from this distance. Should you travel there, everyone you encounter will urge you to be respectful while within the forest. There, people can be found visiting intricately decorated shrines, and leaving offerings for their passed. If you catch their eye, they will beg of you to pay respects as well, and press a gold coin into your palm. Offer a wish or a happy memory to who you miss and place the coin into Death's offering bowl and there's a chance someone will be there to speak with you. Be mindful of your actions though; those that show disrespect will be forcibly removed from the Gods Wood by the trees. If the forest is too intimidating, Terebellum is open for semester registration, and the grounds are even more regal with a light dusting of snow all around. Students of all branches of magic can be found exploring the campus and practicing their craft. If you're lucky, perhaps you can find a teacher who will explain what is offered here at the University. But ah, there's a catch! Tuition is extremely expensive, so you must impress your faction leaders if you wish to widen your breadth of knowledge within these walls!

Comments

[lallipop]

[Here they are, two weirdos staring uncomfortably at each other, wondering where the misstep happened.

Lalli snaps first.]

Stop staring at me!

[Says the guy who stared first.....................]

[mirrortide]

Sheesh! Fine! I thought you had something else to say!

[But since he DOESN'T. Lapis is just going to summon her water wings (not the floatie kind) and get into the air, because this is WHOLLY uncomfortable.]

Have fun being alone, I guess?

[lallipop]

[He's alone all the time, he's used to it, CHECKMATE.]

I just asked you a question and you didn't answer, why would I have something else to say?

[WhatEVER, he's over it. She can leave if she wants, he totally doesn't care.]

[mirrortide]

What do you want me to say? Pumpkin is a pumpkin, there's not really more to say than that?

[It 100% has not occurred to her yet that he may not know what a pumpkin is.]

[lallipop]

[Don't worry, he'll clarify:]

I don't know what a pumpkin is!

[mirrortide]

[....]

How do you not know what a pumpkin is?

[It's said completely earnestly.]

[lallipop]

[If Lalli was more knowledgeable and more articulate, he might have been able to give Lapis a real answer: pumpkins are native to an entirely different part of the world than he's from, and the coldness of Finland's climate is not conducive to growing them, and the energy needed to power greenhouses to cultivate them regardless is too precious to use in rural places like Keuruu. Even in the more advanced places like Sweden and Denmark, it's better spent on plants like coffee beans or cocoa or sugarcane, or other luxuries that are more universally in demand.

If pumpkins survived the Old World, they're exclusively the subject of eccentric preservationists, or on another continent entirely.

Unfortunately, Lalli is not more knowledgeable and articulate, and he's pretty close to accusing Lapis of making shit up.]

It's not that weird! Just because you know something doesn't mean everyone else does.

[mirrortide]

I'm not saying that! I didn't know what a pumpkin was for the longest time because I'd never seen one before! I just thought because it was a human thing that humans would know about them!

[OBVIOUSLY.]

Pumpkins are a kind of vegetable. A kind of gourd? But the one Steven made for us is alive and she's perfect and barks and is very cute.

[lallipop]

[Lalli is taken aback for a moment, both at the admission--he'd genuinely thought Lapis was making fun of him--and at the... explanation. Such as it is.

His face very quickly returns to furrowed brows and confusion.]

Vegetables don't bark. [It is known.]

[mirrortide]

Well, not normally, but Steven used his weird powers to bring her to life. Now she's pet. I know that vegetables aren't normally alive, since we grew a whole bunch of them thinking they'd end up being soldiers.

[It didn't work... :(]

[lallipop]

[Well, vegetables are alive, actually, but he's pretty sure he gets what she's trying to say. Which is a bit disturbing, actually.]

You wanted to grow them just to fight?

[mirrortide]

Yeah? Why else would you grow something?

[She says, and then pauses, because she just remembered:]

Wait, right, humans need to eat to survive. Forgot about that.

[lallipop]

No, I mean--

[He's not really sure how to express what he wants to say--that there's something appalling about creating life just to serve and die. He's used to fighting for survival, for living to be something people have to suffer for and very easily stolen--too many people that he's met since he came here seem to think of life as something that can just be thrown away. Even when it comes to vegetable pet things.

But that's a lot of feelings to put into words, so instead he just sighs.]

Never mind.

[mirrortide]

Look, I'm not good at dealing with humans, you're all still pretty new to me, so if you got something to say, I'd appreciate it if you'd just say it.

[And it's not said... unkindly, but there's a bit of exasperation there, because she feels like she's said something wrong, but doesn't understand what, and she's trying very hard to be better at this kind of thing.]

[lallipop]

[He squares his shoulders defensively. He's never been good at too many questions. Sometimes, he likes it better when people ignore him.]

I don't know. I guess--it's just pointless.

[He shrugs, half-heartedly. He doesn't know how else to put it.]

If you're going to make them live just so they can die, why even bother?

[mirrortide]

I mean, mostly we made them for company, but I guess that'd be what they were for? I don't know about them dying, though. [Because she herself has no concept of death!]

Not like there was really anything to fight out in the countryside.

[lallipop]

[Lalli just squints at her.]

Isn't that the point of fighting?

[That certainly seems to be the point of fighting here.]

[mirrortide]

Not all the time.

[Obviously.] And sometimes you have to do it to protect the people you care about. No one said it had to be a fight to the death?

[lallipop]

If it doesn't then--then just talk to them!

[Why is this so hard to understand? What is it he isn't getting? Lapis seems so sure, but none of this makes any sense to him.]

Why does fighting have to happen at all?

[mirrortide]

[He sounds like Steven. ] Some people don't want to talk. Sometimes you can't just talk things out. It'd be great if you could, but sometimes it takes a little more convincing than that.

[lallipop]

So you beat it out of them instead.

[The distaste is clear in his voice: why is it so important to convince them anyway? Why not just let it be? There's plenty of things he doesn't understand or agree with, and he gets on fine.]

[mirrortide]

[Like, yes, but--]

Alright, lemme phrase it like this. Sometimes people don't consider things until someone else fights for it. Speaking from experience here.

[lallipop]

"Things"?

[His confusion is mostly genuine. Mostly. There's some dismissiveness in there too.]

What things are worth fighting other people over?

[mirrortide]

Well, uh. I never... considered humans more than the same way I think about dirt? So I... kind of ruined earth a bunch. And I didn't really think about how precious organic life is until a few years ago. I destroyed a lot of it, until someone fought for it, who thought Earth was more than just another planet to conquer?

[Wow! Explaining this is hard!]

[lallipop]

[Hard and... not very sympathetic, to a human, oops! Lalli fully rears back in disgust.]

That's all your problem! You shouldn't have done any of that in the first place!