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Entry tags:
Spring 2021 TDM (May)
✖ Test Drive Meme
Ⅰ. ARRIVAL
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
The island you find yourself on is nearly deserted; besides the Temple, you will find only a small village of wooden houses and barns. Goats and sheep can be seen roaming some of the fields, and if you venture by some of the houses you will notice chicken coops as well. The villagers themselves are not friendly, although they won't turn you away outright - passive aggressiveness seems to be more their style.
As charmingly rustic as this is, what really draws your eye is the castle rising past the treeline. Set against a massive cliff drop, it seems to cast a shadow over the entire island.
One of the villagers is happy to give you a ride up to it in his coach, provided that it's still daylight. If it's past sundown, well, looks like you're sleeping in the Temple or with some farmer's goats.
Ⅱ. HAUNTED WHEN THE MINUTES DRAG
The inside of the castle has high, vaulted ceilings and stone tiled floors periodically covered with ornate rugs. Medieval looking tapestries depicting strange and fantastic creatures adorn the walls. Heavy curtains obscure most of the windows, meaning that the entire castle is lit mostly by hundreds and hundreds of candles. Many of these are set in tall candelabras, but there are plenty in smaller holders that you can pick up and take with you, if you so desire.
Wander the castle long enough and you'll find yourself in a large room where the tapestries are too faded to truly tell what they depict. There are only a few candles here, burning low. Maybe you knew well enough not to venture into strange castle rooms alone, or maybe you simply ran into a another Traveler, but as soon as the two of you are inside the room the heavy door behind you swings silently shut. No amount of force will open it.
Before you can get too angry about it, you will hear a soft sigh. The candles flicker as if blown by a wind, but you and your companion feel none.
In the shadows at the far end of the room you're quite sure you see something. A pale shape that shivers into existence and gradually solidifies enough to be recognizable.
It's someone that you know. They may be dead, they may still be alive, but here they are: a ghost from your past. They speak and act out the same thing over and over, and whatever it is is something that you really, really wish they wouldn't.
You can try to open the door, of course, but it's not budging unless you banish that ghost. How could you possibly do that? In the movies it always seems that ghosts have unfinished business. Maybe they need an apology, or maybe this is a chance for you to confront them. Something was left undone between you, and now you have to handle it.
Of course, if that's too much to do in front of someone, maybe the two of you can get out through a window. Just mind the drop - the castle is right at the edge of a cliff, after all.
Ⅲ. LIBRARY OF BABEL
In your wanderings, it's possible to find yourself in a warm, welcoming room that is lined wall-to-wall with books. Books, books, so many books! There's even a ladder to help you reach the top shelves. The soft scent of leather and old paper permeates the room, complemented by the scent of burning logs in the huge fireplace at one end of the room. Large wingback chairs and a soft couch sit in front of the fireplace, the perfect sort of place to curl up and read.
But what to read?
Choose any random book off of the shelves and you'll find that it's a story you know well, because it's one of yours. It's a happy story, at least - some fond memory that you may be moved to share with others. If you choose to do so, you'll be rewarded with a feeling of calmness and joy.
Maybe you don't appreciate a trip down memory lane. That's fine. Off to one side is a heavy wooden desk, and on top of it rests an absolutely huge book with a deep red leather cover. The cover reads 'BEASTIARY' in ornate script.
Inside are drawings and descriptions of all sorts of fantastic beasts: unicorns, gryphons, manticores... plus all sorts of creatures from whatever your homeworld might be! The mighty esquilax is even listed.
If you read the description of any of these beasts aloud, you'll find a wondrous thing: it will appear before you, real as can be. Gosh, really hope you didn't choose to read the entry on dragons or bicorns...
Ⅳ. SEX CAULDRON? I THOUGHT THEY CLOSED THAT PLACE DOWN! (18+ ONLY)
CW: sexual themes, alcohol consumption.
Every good castle has a dungeon. You just weren't expecting it to be so goddamn kinky.
That's right, where you were expecting iron maidens and heretic's chairs, instead you'll find plush velvet sofas and chaise lounges. There's still plenty of St. Andrew's crosses, however, a couple of stocks, and loads of soft padded sawhorses. One wall has all sorts of whips and paddles and canes hanging on it.
There's people here, too, every last one of them looking like they just came from the set of a Marie Antoinette biopic: powdered wigs, stockings, all the lace you could possibly imagine. Those of them that are dressed, anyway.
There's liquor circulating, carried on trays by bewigged dandies with uncannily bright blue eyes. Maybe you can handle this whole scene a little better with some booze in you.
If you're not the voyeuristic or exhibitionist type, you can hide in one of the couches furthest away from the de Sade daydream going on. Maybe hunker down with someone and just talk to drown out the giggling and slapping. Or maybe you're just so mature that you'll steal some of the equipment and use it to bug the hell out of people. It's a party!
Greetings, prospective Travelers! Welcome to the Spring 2021 POLYMYTHOS test drive meme and thank you for your interest in our game. Our next application round will run from June 25 - July 2. For the months of April, May, and June, we invite you to use this TDM to explore but one of many, many islands within the Endless Isles; use it as an opportunity to introduce and familiarize yourself with the game, form connections with other characters, and just have some fun. (Perhaps while also getting some solid samples together for your application!)
Use the prompts provided below as-is or feel free to write your own set within the environment detailed in each. You're even welcome to access the network via your character's ScryWatch. While there will be some inevitable changes, TDMs may count as game canon and some islands may be revisited in the future. Be mindful of your surroundings -- you never know how you and your fellow Travelers might affect this place in the long run.
Seek inspiration and enlightenment from the official game playlist -- 3 out of 3 mods agree!
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
The island you find yourself on is nearly deserted; besides the Temple, you will find only a small village of wooden houses and barns. Goats and sheep can be seen roaming some of the fields, and if you venture by some of the houses you will notice chicken coops as well. The villagers themselves are not friendly, although they won't turn you away outright - passive aggressiveness seems to be more their style.
As charmingly rustic as this is, what really draws your eye is the castle rising past the treeline. Set against a massive cliff drop, it seems to cast a shadow over the entire island.One of the villagers is happy to give you a ride up to it in his coach, provided that it's still daylight. If it's past sundown, well, looks like you're sleeping in the Temple or with some farmer's goats.
Ⅱ. HAUNTED WHEN THE MINUTES DRAG
The inside of the castle has high, vaulted ceilings and stone tiled floors periodically covered with ornate rugs. Medieval looking tapestries depicting strange and fantastic creatures adorn the walls. Heavy curtains obscure most of the windows, meaning that the entire castle is lit mostly by hundreds and hundreds of candles. Many of these are set in tall candelabras, but there are plenty in smaller holders that you can pick up and take with you, if you so desire.
Wander the castle long enough and you'll find yourself in a large room where the tapestries are too faded to truly tell what they depict. There are only a few candles here, burning low. Maybe you knew well enough not to venture into strange castle rooms alone, or maybe you simply ran into a another Traveler, but as soon as the two of you are inside the room the heavy door behind you swings silently shut. No amount of force will open it.
Before you can get too angry about it, you will hear a soft sigh. The candles flicker as if blown by a wind, but you and your companion feel none.
In the shadows at the far end of the room you're quite sure you see something. A pale shape that shivers into existence and gradually solidifies enough to be recognizable.
It's someone that you know. They may be dead, they may still be alive, but here they are: a ghost from your past. They speak and act out the same thing over and over, and whatever it is is something that you really, really wish they wouldn't.
You can try to open the door, of course, but it's not budging unless you banish that ghost. How could you possibly do that? In the movies it always seems that ghosts have unfinished business. Maybe they need an apology, or maybe this is a chance for you to confront them. Something was left undone between you, and now you have to handle it.
Of course, if that's too much to do in front of someone, maybe the two of you can get out through a window. Just mind the drop - the castle is right at the edge of a cliff, after all.
Ⅲ. LIBRARY OF BABEL
In your wanderings, it's possible to find yourself in a warm, welcoming room that is lined wall-to-wall with books. Books, books, so many books! There's even a ladder to help you reach the top shelves. The soft scent of leather and old paper permeates the room, complemented by the scent of burning logs in the huge fireplace at one end of the room. Large wingback chairs and a soft couch sit in front of the fireplace, the perfect sort of place to curl up and read.
But what to read?
Choose any random book off of the shelves and you'll find that it's a story you know well, because it's one of yours. It's a happy story, at least - some fond memory that you may be moved to share with others. If you choose to do so, you'll be rewarded with a feeling of calmness and joy.
Maybe you don't appreciate a trip down memory lane. That's fine. Off to one side is a heavy wooden desk, and on top of it rests an absolutely huge book with a deep red leather cover. The cover reads 'BEASTIARY' in ornate script.
Inside are drawings and descriptions of all sorts of fantastic beasts: unicorns, gryphons, manticores... plus all sorts of creatures from whatever your homeworld might be! The mighty esquilax is even listed.
If you read the description of any of these beasts aloud, you'll find a wondrous thing: it will appear before you, real as can be. Gosh, really hope you didn't choose to read the entry on dragons or bicorns...
Ⅳ. SEX CAULDRON? I THOUGHT THEY CLOSED THAT PLACE DOWN! (18+ ONLY)
CW: sexual themes, alcohol consumption.
Every good castle has a dungeon. You just weren't expecting it to be so goddamn kinky.
That's right, where you were expecting iron maidens and heretic's chairs, instead you'll find plush velvet sofas and chaise lounges. There's still plenty of St. Andrew's crosses, however, a couple of stocks, and loads of soft padded sawhorses. One wall has all sorts of whips and paddles and canes hanging on it.
There's people here, too, every last one of them looking like they just came from the set of a Marie Antoinette biopic: powdered wigs, stockings, all the lace you could possibly imagine. Those of them that are dressed, anyway.
There's liquor circulating, carried on trays by bewigged dandies with uncannily bright blue eyes. Maybe you can handle this whole scene a little better with some booze in you.
If you're not the voyeuristic or exhibitionist type, you can hide in one of the couches furthest away from the de Sade daydream going on. Maybe hunker down with someone and just talk to drown out the giggling and slapping. Or maybe you're just so mature that you'll steal some of the equipment and use it to bug the hell out of people. It's a party!
Greetings, prospective Travelers! Welcome to the Spring 2021 POLYMYTHOS test drive meme and thank you for your interest in our game. Our next application round will run from June 25 - July 2. For the months of April, May, and June, we invite you to use this TDM to explore but one of many, many islands within the Endless Isles; use it as an opportunity to introduce and familiarize yourself with the game, form connections with other characters, and just have some fun. (Perhaps while also getting some solid samples together for your application!)
Use the prompts provided below as-is or feel free to write your own set within the environment detailed in each. You're even welcome to access the network via your character's ScryWatch. While there will be some inevitable changes, TDMs may count as game canon and some islands may be revisited in the future. Be mindful of your surroundings -- you never know how you and your fellow Travelers might affect this place in the long run.
no subject
It isn't really a spoiler, we have a very long story, and this is only one book in what looks like a series of volumes.
[ he flips a couple pages and turns the book as if reading to a class of kindergarteners. on the page is an illustration of two men punching a nazi. actually they both have swords drawn because yusuf al-kaysani will bring a sword to a gunfight, but punching nazis really has that... punch. ]
My husband.
no subject
[ Nate means it too.
He peers down at the illustration of two men, one of whom clearly looks like the guy in front of him — and yeah. That's definitely a soldier in uniform, swastika symbol emblazoned on his arm in a very bold black like an ugly brand. ]
You two really — did that?