TEST DRIVE #2: OVERFLOW EDITION.

[futurologists]

test drive 2.0 Hi all, the other TDM was getting a bit unwieldy, so here's an overflow post! Feel free to repost starters from the old post and carry threads over, as well as make new ones. Threads here can still be considered game canon, so be sure to make decisions you don't mind carrying over later. Otherwise, have fun, and thanks for coming! Reserves will open on November 25th, 12:01AM, so be sure to throw in a reserve if you'd like. Apps will open on December 1st, 12:01AM, and our current character cap is 90. BASICS The town of Chantes has been dark since ALASTAIR first arrived here with your fellow travelers in tow. The sun stopped rising, night is forever here -- at least until our brave recruits get to the bottom of the mysteries of this town. But one thing at a time, right? For now: the darkness. Prominent town inventor Edwin Brunswick has discovered a fantastic new source of light! He’s created a lantern that will give off a magically induced bright blue light for days, no more eating through lantern supplies faster than you budgeted for! He just needs an ingredient found only in the dark, eerie forest outside the town limits. It’s a good thing you got signed up to go and find it, huh? Maybe ALASTAIR wants to break in the new recruits, or maybe you’re just lucky. But either way, better get going. Those lanterns won’t light themselves! New Recruits: for the purposes of the TDM, new characters can assume they’re with a fresh group of ‘recruits’ on a practice mission for ALASTAIR. They’ll be given a (brief) rundown on the overall situation. Additionally, the standard locations around town are also open for your perusal. Characters In-Game: this mission is ICly optional, but characters will be alerted to the new recruits’ arrival through their network devices. It’s in your best interest that they all make it through this! THE INGREDIENTS So what is this mystery ingredient, anyway? Why, fairy dust, of course! No, just kidding, that would be trite. It’s fairy slime. Out in the depths of the forest are nests of fairies. They’re tiny, insectoid creatures with two tiny humanoid legs and four tiny humanoid arms that want to poke, prod, and pinch anything that comes within range. And they’re quick, too! Those pretty gossamer wings aren’t just for show, they can fly about as fast as you can run. And as any child native to the town can tell you, they’re highly territorial. Anyone who ventures into the forest is given a jar to collect the blue-shining magical goo, and cheerfully wished good luck. But it can’t be that bad, right? THE EFFECTS You’ve braved the fairies and delivered the fairy slime, and the spell is a success! Lanterns all over the city are brightly shining through the darkness. Edwin is very proud of himself. It’s been declared an impromptu holiday, and humans and goblins alike are out to have a good time after the day’s work is done in honor of the darkness being just a little less dark now. But nothing ever goes just the way it was planned, does it? As it turns out, fairy slime is a little more volatile than Edwin counted on, and the blue lanterns are starting to have an odd effect in some places... PROMPTS ONE ✗ LOST IN THE DARK... You’ve probably been in deep, dark forests before. But somehow, knowing that here the sun never rises makes it just a little deeper and darker than anticipated. Moonlight doesn’t even make it through the thick branches overhead, and if you haven’t brought a lightsource with you, chances are high you’ll be very swiftly and very hopelessly lost. Is that quiet snap in the bushes another ALASTAIR recruit? A fairy, maybe? Or something more dangerous? It’s hard to say. TWO ✗ FRIENDLY FAIRIES The villagers were right: the fairies are territorial. Very territorial. You might not even realize you’re close to a nest before the fairies start to notice you there. It might start with a sharp pinch at your side, but if that doesn’t deter you, the fairies will start to mean business. They might be small, only four inches tall at most, but there are a lot of them! A typical nest houses about 500 fairies, and none of them are happy to have house guests. Each one glows a very faint blue, though, so if you pay attention and move fast, you might be able to keep track of them. But they don’t seem bothered by the darkness, and they can easily track you right back! You can expect anything from pinching, to hair-pulling, to sharp pokes in the eyes -- and the more enterprising fairies might even try making off with any smaller belongings they can reach. Or bigger belongings. How many fairies do you think it will take to cart off the friendly animal sidekick you showed up with? They certainly seem willing to find out! THREE ✗ NOT AS ADVERTISED The newly structured lanterns do exactly as advertised, casting ghostly blue light from every streetpost in the city. But they aren’t just for show -- it turns out fairly goop is magically reactive in the strangest ways. Maybe the effects are purely physical, leaving you oddly lightheaded before you float a couple feet in the air. Maybe it makes your hair glow the same, unnatural blue. But the fae are known for all manner of moodiness and trickery; the lights may play tricks on the mind and vision, affecting temperaments and causing illusions. Your own magic may feel like it’s on the fritz -- better start moving, or get it under control before the townsfolk notice. FOUR ✗ CHIT CHAT Throughout the whole of this mini-mission, old and new characters alike will have access to the network to communicate and collaborate. Fairies got you stranded up in a tree? Need some help in the city square? ALASTAIR provides a magical piece of jewelry that should help. Remember, you get one username to identify you and one only — if you don't enter one, it will default to your real name (for example, Voldemort's would be tomriddle.) Choose wisely... or make it assfarts69, if that's your thing. More information on the network is here! FIVE ✗ WILDCARD Feel free to take any of these prompts and run wild with them, or come up with your own adventures around Chantes and the surrounding forests! There’s plenty of room to explore, get horribly lost in the tangled woods, and get to know your fellow recruits in the downtime.

Comments

» WARDEN (AMELL) » DRAGON AGE » OTA

[spellmight]

I. "Blessed are the righteous, the lights in the shadow."
( Well, if this isn't the illicit lovechild of the Blackmarsh and the Wending Wood, then Alistair has suddenly decided to end his love affair with cheese. No light at all makes it past the canopy, but she's not overly concerned about that; she is currently lighting up her section of this forest by holding a small ball of fire in her left hand, casting eerie shadows all about her. Like a mummer's show might, to scare small children. She, herself makes an imposing and strange figure, a mage clad in heavy plate. If a curious onlooker should cross her path and ask, she will smirk to herself and say nothing.

It's a secret between herself and an ancient elven spirit. She glances down at her side, where her very large dog has his nose tilted up to sniff at the air. )

Well, can you make out a trail? ( The hound barks at her once, and she grins. ) Who's a good boy? You are!

( The dog's tail wags furiously, and she laughs again. ) Yes, you are. Now, let us be—

( While no twigs snap nor leaves rustle, her dog's ears prick up, his tail ceases to wag, and a low, fearsome growl emerges from his throat. Sam reaches behind her to draw Vigilance, casting a watchful eye about. )

You'd may as well show yourself. If this dog finds you hiding somewhere, it won't go well. ( And sure, she'll let her hound tear someone apart before she'll waste her mana. Why not? )

III. "In their blood the Maker's will is written."
( It's almost a pretty picture: a backdrop of glowing blue light, and before it the figure of a woman emanating a gold light. Except that she is nearly transparent, her use of fade shroud and shimmering shield making her appear more a wraith than a living creature. And in her hands, she creates a ball of flame. Samara is hallucinating a pack of darkspawn, and no matter if there are innocents nearby, she can hardly tell the difference.

Her dog is not at her side but paces well back of her, whining softly before bursting into a fit of anxious barking, telling her to stop. )

Stay back, Griff! I'll take care of it. ( Should she unleash the spell, it will destroy the village. Her senses are going haywire with the false images, and she grits her teeth against the onslaught of it. ) Andraste's dimpled arse, where did they all come from?

IV. "Marvel at perfection, for it is fleeting."
( user: amaranthine is online! )

This morning I found my dog nose-deep in someone's bag of herbs. An unfortunate favourite of his; I'm sorry.

On that note, does anyone feel up to debriefing me on just what ALASTAIR wants with us? Sharing is caring!

( But you won't catch her telling Alistair about this organization almost named after him. never. She'd never hear the end of it. )

Lea | Kingdom Hearts | ota

[promises_to_keep]

ONE ✗
[Lea is no stranger to the dark, all things considered. He can still use the Darkness if he really needs to, opening up portals that will take him places far more quickly than his own two feet could. Granted, he's a lot more careful about it these days. Not long after venturing into this forest, however, he finds himself plunged into shadow, and he calls a tongue of flame to one hand to light the way so he doesn't trip or walk facefirst into a tree or something. His jar gripped tightly in the other hand, Lea keeps an eye out for those little blue lights that mean fairies are nearby, but he's starting to wish he had a friend for this mission.

[Not that he's scared or anything. Heck, no. He's never been scared of the dark, and he's not about to start now. But, well... it is a little creepy, to be out here alone, in these dark woods, with nothing but a little flame to keep the shadows at bay. The snap of a twig nearby makes him jump, and he whirls, the flame in his hand burning more brightly as he scans the dark trees.]

Lurking is rude, you know? Why don't you just show yourself and we can talk like grownups?

[[alternatively, feel free to have your character be Lea's partner for the mission so we can take on this unseen stranger together!]]


TWO ✗
[All fairies are not created equal, it seems. Granted, Lea's only had one previous encounter with a fairy, and while Tinker Bell was a bit of a pistol, she certainly hadn't attacked him. He swats at them as they swarm around his face like gnats, and ducks down with the jar to try and scoop up some of the glowing goo inside the nest.]

Ow--! Why you little--! [He claps a hand over his eye, where he's been poked fiercely, and then swats at them some more. Theres just so many of them! They pinch his face, his collarbone where his skin is exposed under the coat he wears, they pull at his spiky hair, and Lea just finds himself getting more and more exasperated.]

All right, back off, all'a you! [He's had enough of this tomfoolery! He snaps his arms out and raises a column of flame around him, not really caring at this point if that means barbecuing a few of these little winged pests. Let's just hope he didn't also set the forest--or you--on fire...]


FOUR ✗ [video; username: nobody]
[It's dark, but there's a faint blue glow illuminating Lea's face... which is blotchy red from being poked and pinched by fairies. He does not look pleased about this, but holds up the glowing jar of goo.]

All that for half a jar of glowing gook? I'm not sure I'm getting paid enough for this. Do we have a union?


FIVE ✗
[Wildcard! Town or forest, anything you like, I'm game!]

YU NARUKAMI | PERSONA 4 (GOLDEN) | OTA!

[composedfool]

one

[Faerie slime. …Huh.]

[Yu didn’t consider himself an expert on faeries, or really anything approaching an expert, but he liked to think he knew more about them than the average bear. So when he received his “practice mission” briefing, the details had initially taken him by surprise — he’d never heard anything about this faerie slime before, ever. He soon decided that it was just one of many differences that set this universe (whichever one it was) apart from his own. Faeries were real here, not just a product of the collective human imagination, and also they made slime. It seemed legit enough, he supposed. Despite the fact that he was still leery of this ALASTAIR organization’s motives, it was clear that the humans and goblins of Chantes needed all the help they could get, and with that Yu was glad to help.]

[To ALASTAIR’s credit, though, they did give him a kitty to take along on adventures. The cat was well-trained, too; she never wandered off or let her attention stray from the mission after they stumbled upon their first droplet of slime and she picked up the scent. In fact, Yu was relying mainly on her to navigate his way through the dark forest.]

[Her ears flick out to the side when the duo first hears that noise in the forest. Yu glances down at her; the white-furred feline is staring in one specific direction. Trusting her senses more than his own, Yu turns that way, and speaks in an even tone that betrays none of his nervousness.]

Who’s there?

two

Good morning, everyone. Evening? Either way, I hope this message finds you well.

I’ve been trying to infiltrate faerie hives for a short while now, and have nothing to show for it but bites and scratches. Has anyone found an effective, non-harmful way to harvest the slime? Alternatively, does anyone want to come with me and approach the next hive together? Two heads are better than one, after all.

Notice: If you’re allergic to cats, teaming up with me would be a bad idea.

three

[Wild card option. (Ha, get it? Wild card? I slay me.) Chantes stuff goes here — maybe there’s a badass but decidedly ethereal being walking along beside Yu as he persuses the shops, or his hair is glowing blue or whatever.]

[mugenhatsuden]

[ The noise is quite the loud noise in the forest. Megumi had never been good with stealth missions, always preferring to fly straight into the action - and a seventeen-year-old schoolgirl didn't really learn much of ninja skills in her school curriculum.

So that sound might have been a very large crack and quiet cursing as the girl in question furiously pats at her sleeve, which she just happened to set on fire. It's terrible being in a dark place where your only source of light is fire and EVERYTHING IS FLAMMABLE. ]

Me! [ pat pat, pat pat pat pat ] Wait!

[ Her mind is entirely on putting out her sleeve right now. Strangely, she doesn't seem to be hurt by the fire, only that her clothes are getting charred. And of course, she hasn't really answered Yu's question at all. ]

[composedfool]

[Oh. Well then.]

[Was that girl— on fire? Where did it even come from? Was it some kind of faerie thing? Either way, Yu instinctively dropped any intention to finish the mission, in order to try and help this girl. And of course, he didn’t even notice that the fire was only affecting her clothes, because that would require a moment of thought.]

Undine.

[From next to him, a female humanoid appears, hovering a few inches off the ground. She sees immediately what she needs to do. The Persona reaches out for Megumi’s clothes, hoping to put the fire out.]

[mugenhatsuden]

[ Megumi still had her mind mostly focused on extinguishing the small fire on her sleeve - what a pain, only being able to create fire and not put it out (which her partner usually did for her). As a result, she practically jumps when Undine comes over to help her. ]

Waah! [ Where did the blue-skinned woman come from? And why does she have no clothes??? ] Who are you, lady?

[ And then said lady puts her sleeve out. Well. ]

Um... thanks.

[ Thank you, blue-skinned lady and... guy over there who probably called the lady (??). ]

[composedfool]

[Undine cannot speak, but she seems to understand what Megumi's saying, and smiles at her gently before disappearing again.]

[Yu swiftly closes the gap between them; the kitty trails him at a leisurely pace. Despite being a trained faerie-hunting animal, she -- like all cats -- likes to pretend she doesn't care about most things.]

You alright? Sorry if I... if Undine scared you.

[mugenhatsuden]

[ The lady smiles at her, which is a good thing - but then she disappears, and there is a moment of confusion on Megumi's face before it dawns on her that Undine probably wasn't here all the time.

It's a good thing that Yu speaks up now, though. ]

I'm fine! [ Especially her clothes, those were nice clothes. ] Thank you, too. Was Undine your... friend?

[ Spirit companion? Sign manifestation? Weird floaty blue lady? ]

[composedfool]

Yeah. She's my friend.

[Spoken without a moment's hesitation.]

It's kind of hard to explain, but let's just say I can summon her and ask her to help me. [Usually he only summons Personae for battle, because they're not accessible to him most of the time -- but here, that restriction is lifted. For... some reason.]

She's kind of like a projection of my mind.

[mugenhatsuden]

[ Megumi follows the explanation surprisingly well for an outworlder. Sign users' powers are projections of their own minds onto reality, after all. Maybe this guy was a Summoner Sign, that would be easy to explain. ]

Oh, we're about the same, then. Are you a Sign user? From Eden? Or do you come from someplace else?

[ Could she be meeting someone from home? Undine certainly didn't look like any of Wyrden's Summons, but then again each Sign user had their own style of doing things. ]

[composedfool]

[He blinks, not expecting a response like that. In hindsight, it's reasonable to assume that other people here might have magical backgrounds. He just kind of assumed that she was mundane, since there were so few other Persona users in his world.]

...No, somewhere else. Where I come from, she's called a Persona.

Back home, I could only summon her when I crossed over into a certain world, but here I guess I can use her anytime. [And thank goodness for that. Megumi might be dead if Undine wasn't around to help!!!!!]

[mugenhatsuden]

[ Hmm, maybe they weren't as similar as she had assumed. It could be the phrasing. ]

Ah, I see. I had a friend who could do similar things as you do. Sorry I assumed.

[ Wyrden always had her entourage of Summons whenever they went to train. Megumi had fun feeding some of them, even if they were after all spirit projections. ]

I'm Megumi, nice to meet you! And I've already said that, but - I'm from Eden. You came here because of ALASTAIR, right?

[composedfool]

[She had a friend. Wow. Either way, now's not the time for talking about the number of purse owners he knows.]

I'm Yu Narukami. It's a pleasure. [Yu's expression is perfectly blank, but he seems friendly enough.] And yes, I did -- were you recruited too? [""""""Recruited"""""".]

[mugenhatsuden]

[ Megumi doesn't bat an eye at Yu's blankness. Okay, her partner isn't worse, but she's dealt with the stoic types. ]

Yeah, about that... same here, really. [ Now she looks equal parts embarrassed and frustrated. ] I've got a thousand things to do at home and here I am running through woods for some slime... heh.

[ Well, she guesses she can't complain. Work is necessary if she wants to see Cecil again. ]

We can go together, if you want. [ The mission, she means. ]

➸ overflow for rin tohsaka | fate/stay night | ota ➸

[defenceless]

((ooc: starters here! threads continued and linked below!))

➸ sakura kinomoto

[defenceless]

((continued from here))

They tried to take your staff?

[rin looks perplexed for only a few seconds. figures that those stupid little fairies would try to escape with just about anything. she sends a stubborn glare at whatever fairies still bother to hover around her, almost begging for them to burn up in midair.]

The hair ribbon is a little lighter. That's true... [she's beginning to realize how poor it must look for her to be complaining about losing a hair ribbon in front of a young girl...] Your staff and your Clow Cards—and even that Shield you talked about—make me think you must be a magic user. Is that true?

➸ COOLSKELETON95

[defenceless]

((continued from here))

[oh my god. how is this happening to her?]

What is that supposed to mean? I'm not... ["naked" is a hard word, okay.] not wearing clothes, of course! People wear clothes!

➸ sakura matou

[defenceless]

((continued from here!))

Are you familiar with Servants?

[and everything else about the holy grail war? it's a definite possibility now, but she still has to make sure.]

[springtimeshadow]

[The question seems to take her completely off guard.]

--Am I familiar...?

[IS SHE FAMILIAR?

What a question.]

Ah... yes. [Understatement of the year.] Is there... um, a reason I shouldn't be?

[boneafide]

ON DATES!! I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT WEARING NICE CLOTHES IS A PRO TIP ON HOW TO HAVE A GOOD DATE, AND I KNOW THIS FROM EXPERIENCE AND NOT BECAUSE I READ A BOOK ON THIS.

overflow for enkidu | fate/

[ex_enuma419]

( original post here! )

for yob

[ex_enuma419]

( continued from here. )

[ Maybe he should try them sometime to see what they’re like then…

Enkidu doesn’t quite join Kida right away scaling the tree as he’s both listening to the fairies still speaking to him, making their requests and further explaining the things they require, and admiring the way that Kida treats this as it were nothing. Trees such as these weren’t common where he was alive and less so to see a human scale them with such ease. Someone must be used to this, most definitely.

From the ground, though not for too much longer, he’ll join her soon enough, Enkidu replies. ]

It varies. It appears that each of their homes is unique to the ones that have built it. [ A moment’s pause as he smiles a bit mischievously and spills a secret they had told him not to share. ] They are impressed by the way move through the trees. Most humans who come this way are not as agile nor as considerate.

[ Which gets a buzz around him and around Kida too. (What tsun fairies.) The mood significantly better now than it had been moments before Enkidu began speaking with them. ]

for enclosing

[ex_enuma419]

( continued from here. )

Yes, I am not of this earth anymore. I have welcomed my end a long time ago.

olivia | fire emblem awakening | overflow from previous tdm but still very much ota!

[winces]

( original toplevel here. feel free to tag in still! if there's anything anyone would like to play out specifically but are unsure, please don't hesitate to PM me at this journal; i'm always willing to work something out. c: )

riku | kingdom hearts | ota

[darkbarrage]

[1]

[ he's not lost.

how could he be? steeped in darkness as he is, riku's pretty sure he couldn't get lost in this expansive darkness if he wanted to. it's easy to just close his eyes and navigate. keeping his eyes open means getting irritated or distracted by pockets of light, and he can't have that.

however, finding others who're lost, that's a different story. he huffs, annoyed, before he reaches out and grabs the shoulder of the wayward foreigner in front of him. ]

Do you even know where you're going? [ he could sound helpful, but instead, it comes out annoyed and tetchy, like he's blaming them. ]

[3]

Waugh!

[ not what he wanted! as he floats a few feet in the air, riku flaps his hand, making quite a display of himself. it's concerning, but not too much so, he supposes--at least, that's what he thinks before sharp bursts of inky blackness start to explode around him. uhoh. ]

Something tells me this fairy slime wasn't a good idea. Hey--get me down! [ yes, he is pointing at you. ]

[4] (text; amends)

This stuff isn't working, and it's a pain to get besides. There's gotta be a better way to do this.

Who's the genius who thought this up, anyway? Sounds like he's the one who should be gathering this slime.