♥ August Test Drive Meme

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August Test Drive Meme
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As Achtom and Ohnir flow into each other, the skies are still gorgeously blue and dotted with high fluffy clouds that never seem to threaten rain - so long as the weather stays controlled. Businesses are picking back up, the natives starting to cater once again to flesh-bodied people with varied amounts of success. The VR cafes are featuring more helmets so even more people can play along with the ever expanding selection of games. Overall, it seems like Havenwell is quite the peaceful city.

But there are still some issues to be had...

---

❥ PROMPT I: Where's the Pied Piper?

All Achtom, the residents have been dealing with things in characters' houses seemingly moving of their own volition to other parts of the house and going temporarily missing, returning chewed upon by the mice that have overtaken Havenwell. By the time the new wave of arrivals come, the worst of it is over, but there are still some pesky little temple familiars running about the city!

The noises at night aren't as terrible as they once had been, but the squeaking and chattering in the walls and ceiling is still noticeable. It's still difficult to sleep at night for all the noise throughout the long night hours. Trying to find the source is a surefire way to drive yourself mad, but it seems that sleeping in the same bed with another person makes it a little easier to bear, especially if you hold hands or touch throughout the night.

Pink and purple rodents of various sizes from panda mouse tiny to chihuahua-sized rats are still popping up all over the city. It seems the only place they aren't is where they're supposed to be - Ainea's temple - and that's a big problem. While many have been returned thanks to the offworlders' efforts, Ainea's temple priests are still out in the city, begging residents both robotic and flesh to peacefully and carefully capture the creatures and return them home to the temple. They pass out soft woven reed baskets to any who agree and thank all participants heartily for their help.

❥ PROMPT II: We Didn't Start This Fire

Throughout the month, pockets of the city experience magnificent dry lightning storms. Before each onset of the storm, an immense clap of thunder booms across the entire city like a siren and the natives hold their figurative breaths until the first strike rains down. A peal of lightning, searing hot, strikes the ground or hits the spires of nearby buildings, cracking stone and leaving nasty burn marks behind. Each storm is only 4 to 5 minutes in length before they suddenly disappear again, but in those few minutes chaos reigns. For anyone unlucky enough to get caught amid one of these storms, take cover! Residents throw open doors and push people inside, even shielding the offworlders with their own bodies if necessary to keep them from getting harmed.

When the lightning and its sonorous booms pass, residents scurry out to repair the damage. They'll be asking nearby offworlders to help as well with patching the stonework or removing broken debris. Most importantly, they put out a call for help in putting out fires that spring up after each storm. Their metal bodies can't withstand the heat for long without melting and the water is dangerous to their circuitry. After the fires are put out and the damage repaired, on occasion, residents will ask for the somber help of pulling a native robot unlucky enough to take a direct hit from the lightning to a local repair shop. Strangely, the natives don't seem sad when their friends and family can't be repaired, and instead start gathering up objects from home to take with them to the temples along with the bodies. When asked, they say it's to pray for a rebirth and go on their way.

❥ PROMPT III: Let's Play the Friend Connection

With all the craziness going on, some people might just want a distraction. A lot of Havenwell's natives certainly seem to think so. Despite everything, the Entertainment District is as bustling as ever and this month the offering is to participate with a friend or group of friends to play a game called: Friend Connection. Rather than the usual plug in and sit configuration, this time the VR cafes have been reorganized into 3 meter by 3 meter square pads with no chairs or furniture available. Players plug in or put their helmets on and they're instantly transported to a garish neon-lighted stage with multicolored spotlights that show a floating, legless robot with a rainbow bowtie and a magnificent mustache. The robot's LED face lights up into the approximation of the :D emote and then a disembodied voice comes from speakers overhead:

"Hail, well met, and welcome to the hottest game show around: Friend Connection! As the studio audience already knows, this game is simple! You and your new friends compete to complete more challenges than the other hidden team. The more fabulously you and your team completes each task, the more points you'll be awarded. At the end of the game, the team with the most tasks cleared and the highest point value will be declared the winners and take home some fabulous prizes. On today's team is..."

And the robotic host waves an arm to a scoreboard behind it, showing your names. The heading "Other Team" has ???? underneath it and a list of challenges is revealed along with a burst of applause. The list reads:

1. Play Twister until someone falls! The longer you go, the more points you win!
   
2. Help each other do a handstand! The Wheelbarrow is acceptable too.
   
3. Recreate your favorite scene from a romantic movie. Take, for example, That Scene from the hit movie, Skytanic! Or hum along to this song as you and your friend make some pottery together.
   
4. Create a complicated Best Friend Handshake consisting of more than 5 moves and do it together 3 times without messing up!
   
5. Answer trivia questions about each other and your worlds while holding hands and staring into each other's eyes. The more questions you can answer, the higher your points!
   
6. Do a trust fall into your friend's arms. The higher or further you fall, the more points you'll earn.
   
7. Play two truths and a lie with your friend. If you can guess correctly, you'll earn points for your team!

Are you ready, contestants? You have 20 minutes. Good luck!

At the end of the game, the characters are declared the winners by a slim and, naturally, exciting margin of just one point! And their fabulous prize......? The friendship they earned along the way! Congratulations, players! And don't worry, when the game ends, you'll be in the exact weird position you were last in as the helmets turn off. Hopefully you aren't still in those weird Twister positions because everyone can and has been able to see you. Yup, the entire time.

❥ PROMPT IV: Comic Logic

Although Achtom is waning and Ohnir beginning, Diacht's influence is still going strong. Throughout their day as they go about their daily routines, helping people out or trying to find their missing items, the natives stop looking at them and start looking above their heads. In fact, as characters meet one another, their attention may also be drawn vertically above their companion because floating above every offworlder's head is a faint white cloud. Whenever they move, the cloud moves too. Attempts to dispel it by magic or physical means does nothing and it seems like you can't touch it at all.

It's annoying isn't it? Or maybe you're feeling quite curious about this phenomenon? Or maybe it scares you? Whatever you're feeling or thinking, it shows up in that cloud clear as day. It's not every thought or feeling that shows and attempts to control what appears fails, but you're now broadcasting your innermost self to the world.

For a time at least. Smart characters might notice that after prolonged physical contact with another character, the cloud fades away and stays away for an undetermined amount of time. Sometimes it's an hour, sometimes it's a day, sometimes it's only 5 minutes, and then it begins to reform again. Whatever it is, it's here to stay, so good luck keeping your secret inner workings, well, secret.

❥ PROMPT V: Buddy System

With all the changes going on, it might be hard to be a new arrival to Havenwell. The natives understand! Sort of. When new arrivals begin to appear at the temples, receive the welcome speech, get their communicators and the simple map of the city, they get taken to the front of the temple by a helpful robotic priest. Rather than turn the newcomers loose right away, they pull someone seemingly at random off the street and push the two people together with a cheerful, "Here's your guide to Havenwell! It's dangerous to go alone, so be buddies!" before going back inside. They try to place a new arrival with one of those who previously arrived, but who can keep track of all that, right? Characters may find themselves thrown together with an actual veteran or with another new arrival who only came here a day or even just an hour before them! Good luck helping each other out, offworlders, and don't lose your buddy!

---

Have fun however you like with the setting! Make a network post, make up other prompts based on the general setting, go wild. Havenwell is your oyster.

This TDM is for the September application round. If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to the FAQ or to the Mod Question thread below. The reservation round begins on August 30, 2019 at 10:00PM EST and our applications will run from September 2, 2019 to September 9, 2019 from 10:00PM EST to 10:00PM EST.

♥ Taken Characters ♥ Reservations ♥ Applications ♥

Comments

Mira Delacroix ♥ Original

[philoxenia]

Mice to Meet You
[ Of course Mira's going to help! She loves animals, and mice and rats don't freak her out. She has a few baskets in her arms, and as she spots a little cluster of the creatures, she kneels down. ]

Hi there... Can I take you somewhere safer than this? I promise I'll be gentle.

[ Sometimes it works! Especially whenever she reaches out with her powers. But sometimes she just ends up frightening the critters, and she always seems a little put off whenever this happens. ]

There's so many of them... I'm worried they'll get hurt.

Connect Four(iends)
[ She's never done anything with VR before but, hey, there's a first time for everything. Mira plugs in, and she's more than a little startled by the whole thing. She doesn't know a lot of people here! But she's willing to play along. Whoever's nearby-- ]

... Let's do our best, right?

I'm Just a Little Black Rain Cloud....
[ At first, she hadn't noticed. But it's hard to ignore the fact that someone's looking right above her head, whenever she interacts with one of the natives. Then she'd realized that others from different worlds have a cloud above her head. It's not really annoying, just-- yeah, she's pretty curious? It manifests as a series of question marks. Unfortunately, the more she thinks, the more worried she gets. What else can be seen through the cloud?

Sometimes her cloud's a soft pink (content!) and sometimes it's a mass of static (worried). The latter is a dark, gloomy grey. ]

I don't know how to get rid of this... It's kind of invasive.

[ Kind of. ]

Budding Friendships
[ Well, this is... Hm!! Mira isn't sure how she feels about being all but shoved together with another person. It would be one thing if her partner were notified of this beforehand, but it looks like it's just a random choice...? ]

I'm sorry-- [ Even though she... really doesn't have to apologize. ] --If you were busy or you'd rather not have to show me around, I'll understand.

(( ooc; note that mira has empathy abilities; she can feel others' emotions! however, she does have the ability to block them. if you'd like me to play with this let me know, otherwise i'll err on the side of caution! ))

Budding Friendships! (also I'm cool with empathy!!!)

[friendshipdriven]

[ When he's outright pushed into the lady, there's a quiet sound of protest... and then a frown and grumble. ]

You could at least ask before just-... Hey, wait!

[ ... Seriously?

Seriously??

Really, Ventus isn't legitimately annoyed to a point of wanting to, say, chase them down? But he is a bit grumpy over all this. With a hint of deflating, he shakes his head at the apologizing lady. ]

No way... Don't apologize! It's not your fault they just... do this...

[ He looks around, the hint of a frown lingering on his face. ]

I'm just sorry that I can't show you around. [ rubbing at the back of his neck now, sighing softly ] Since I'm... actually pretty new myself...

[philoxenia]

Oh--

[ Oh no, now he's apologizing. Mira shakes her head, though, and gives him a tentative little smile. It's hard to relax, but there's something about him that feels... well. Not threatening? But she can't really be sure. ]

It's okay. I can see they really didn't think this through... [ a sigh. ] ... I suppose we can walk around and discover things together? [ cautiously: ] If-- you wanted.

[friendshipdriven]

[ His eyes brighten a little at the question, and then he gives her a solid nod. There's already relief and some tentative happiness bubbling off of him, in spite of the perpetual worry and... well. He still misses his friends. He still misses the man who'd become the closest to a father he had for years.

He still misses home. ]

Absolutely! That sounds way less boring than looking around by myself. [ quiet laugh; he knows... more than enough about exploring new worlds by himself? no thanks! ] Lead the way!

[philoxenia]

[ Oh! That's nice. Despite how unsure she feels, and how little she's willing to let herself relax... it's good to feel. She nods, and that smile--tiny and tentative though it is--warms a little. ]

I... don't have the best sense of direction. Maybe it would be better if you did?

budding friendships!

[velvetinmate]

Don't worry about it.

[Akira smiles gently. Honestly, helping a new arrival doesn't sound so bad. It sure beats his daily "clear out the rodents" by a long shot, at any rate.]

My name's Akira. What's yours?

[[ ooc: I won't say no to the empathy abilities if you'd like to play with them c: ]]

[philoxenia]

... Okay. If you're sure.

[ Unfortunately, she's going to worry about it. Forever. This is just who she is, as a person. Terrible. ]

I'm Mira. It's... nice to meet you, Akira.

[velvetinmate]

Absolutely.

[He grins.]

It's nice to meet you, too. Is there anywhere you'd be most interested in seeing first?

[philoxenia]

Maybe...

[ She considers that. ]

... Are there any bookstores around?

[velvetinmate]

I'm not sure about bookstores, actually, but I know there's at least one library around.

[philoxenia]

Well, I think that's even better.

[ She gives a tiny smile. ]

I'd like to see it, if that's okay?

[velvetinmate]

Absolutely.

[He smiles.]

Bit of a bookworm, huh?

[He can relate.]

[philoxenia]

[ A sheepish laugh--it's quiet, but there. ]

I love books. I like losing myself in a story. There are so many out there.... it's always been so amazing to me.

[velvetinmate]

There really is nothing quite like it, is there? It almost makes me wish some of the books I had back home came with me here...

Raincloud~ (Cool with empathy, naturally XD)

[twistedempathy]

They are a little intrusive, aren't they?

[Will doesn't sound especially bothered, though--or look it, given his easy smile, and the little sparkles filling his cloud.]

You have to be touching someone for a little while to make them go away. They do come back eventually, though.

oh hella

[philoxenia]

More than a little...

[ Her own cloud flickers erratically. ]

... How long, exactly?

[twistedempathy]

I haven't really tested it to find out exact numbers..... But it takes at least a few minutes to make them poof. And how long they stay gone seems sooooort of proportional to how long you touch? I don't think it's one for one or anything like that, but the longer you're touching, the longer they stay gone.

[philoxenia]

I suppose that makes sense....

[ A frown. Uneasily, she says, ]

There's really no other way to get rid of them?

[twistedempathy]

None that I know of! But if you aren't comfortable getting cozy with people right off the bat, you could always try figuring something else out instead. I mean, they're not that bad, are they?

[His own cloud shifts to a book falling open, flipping through its pages as though ruffled by a gust of wind. These things are mostly just helping them get a better read on each other, right?]

Cloudy Thoughts (Empathy a okay)

[allalegacy]

[His own cloud is currently a roiling mass of blue and white with the edges glittering rapidly due to the agitation of the colors inside it. Even if what little of his face that can be seen is almost serene like.]

Indeed, they are bothersome in airing things one does not wish to have aired. Though I do not know of a way in which to make them disperse.

cloudy with a chance of cuddles; empathy is A+ fine!

[begguiling]

Juuuust a little!

[Talk about an understatement! This must be a newbie, though, suffering from this effect for the first time. A rude awakening into their new world indeed. It's only right to give a hand, literally!

Well, considering that Magolor has his own bubble over his head right now, his motives in being a helpful, welcoming passerby aren't exactly opaque. His own cloud had been showing a similar gray static, lighter in color but occasionally cracked with black marks and holes, but as he approaches, it begins to dance with the symbol for Dora. Which is probably not $. But, in essence, ~$~$~$~$~$~!!!!!!!!!]

No need to worry about it too much, though. Luckily it's a cinch to get rid of! All you need to do is hold hands, or whatever else it is you're into. A hug?

[But it's a hand that he offers her. Ta-da!]

[philoxenia]

[ Oh, goodness. Mira hesitates. There's certainly a lot going on here; she isn't too thrilled about touching a stranger, but it seems like he only wants to help. ]

Just... touching hands is fine.

[ But even though she says that, she's still hesitant to take it. Yet take it she does. ]

[begguiling]

[Luckily, or maybe unluckily, for her, her partner sure isn't: he takes her hand with a confident firmness and then folds his other hand over it lightly. Handholding accomplished! He smiles at her over their hands, cute and friendly, head tilted.

The bubbles begin to fade pretty quickly. On an empathic level, though, it's worth noting that the goodwill he projects in his expression and body language isn't really there under the surface—though neither is there any ill will. There's a complete hollowness to the action other than the low murmur of relief that comes with doing something that also serves his own best interests.

But he sure does know how to put on a friendly oldbie face.]

See? Easy peasy! And if it's not . . . well, you get used to it. I don't know how much our hosts explained to you before turning you over to our expert care, but on this planet, this kind of thing is the name of the game. It's not so bad, right? ♥

Connect (with another human being) Four (Empathy a-okay!)

[strungheart]

[There's a first time for everything, and it looks like both Mira and Leon will be doing their best getting acclimated with this particular form of entertainment. At least she's in good company, as he looks fairly bewildered by everything in the virtual space. Mira's words of encouragement, however, break through easily.

He slips into an easy, self-assured smile, as if the simple notion that there's someone on his side makes everything that much more bearable.] Yes, let's both work hard. [Even if he only gets like. maybe 4% of what's happening. Don't sweat it.]

Now, where should we start...?

[philoxenia]

[ It makes her relax a little bit, at least, knowing that she's not the only one out of her element here. She offers a tentative smile before she nods. She considers the different things.

Trust fall? Oof, that sounds like a nightmare. Trivia questions? That's gonna be difficult, since they don't know each either. Two truths and a lie might not be bad.... ]

Maybe we could do two truths and a lie?