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Entry tags:
TDM #4
✖ TEST DRIVE MEME
Ⅰ. ARRIVAL
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
The island is a Winter Wonderland. Your boat docks alongside a wharf that leads you to a glimmering, snow covered land - good thing there’s a little wooden building right at the end of the wharf where you can grab some boots and a warm coat!
Beyond the icy beach among the snowy hills is nestled a little village that makes every postcard you’ve ever seen look like garbage. It’s so quaint! Strings of twinkling lights are strung up between scalloped roofs and fresh evergreen boughs and wreaths hang from doors and old fashioned lamposts.
There is a little outdoor market selling food and drinks - you can get some hot cocoa, or mulled wine. If you’re cold, you can stay in one of two cozy inns free of charge. How delightful!
Ⅱ. TOY STORY
The villagers are happy to lend you snowshoes and skis if you grow bored of their little village. They tell you that you can head north or east, but that you shouldn’t go west toward the mountains. That way is too dangerous! (South just takes you back to the ocean.) No matter what direction you choose, it’s best to go with a buddy. You wouldn’t want to get stranded all alone in the snow alone, would you?
If you choose to go to the east you’ll find that you are eventually surrounded by huge chunks of ice that glow a faint pinkish colour. Keep moving into this strange valley and you’ll find yourself surrounded by dozens and dozens of oversized gift boxes.
God, don’t you just love presents?
Whether it’s because you assume they’re all for you or because you’re almost positive you heard something moving inside one of those giant boxes, you untie a bow and take the lid off one of them.
The cheerfully decorated box shivers and shakes, and then out leaps a toy. Not just any toy, either: your toy. Your favourite from when you were a child. It’s almost as big as you are, with a gift tag around its neck that has your name on it and the motto “Introduce me!” Your old favourite toy has also gained the ability to move independently. And move it will, following you around like a shadow. It refuses to leave, actually.
The longer you ignore it the more aggressive it starts to become. Turns out a six foot teddy bear can clock you pretty good, and god forbid you’re being followed by a human sized GI Joe. Leave it long enough and your childhood friend will try to kill you.
Maybe if you explain what the hell this toy is to your companion it’ll leave you alone?
Ⅲ. LIGHTS IN THE SKY
Head north with your skis or snowshoes and you’ll find yourself moving easily over sparkling snow past towering evergreen trees. The air is redolent with their smell and the crisp, clear air. Birds sing and there is a general air of deep peacefulness.
The trees open up and you find yourself in an open area empty save for a cute little shack. Inside there’s a woodpile, matches, and a wood stove. Best to use the first two inside the latter, no? Unless arson is your jam. There are also some surprisingly comfortable wooden rockers. The perfect place to sit a while as the sun fades from the sky; night comes early here this time of year.
Stay even longer and you’ll see something even more beautiful: shifting waves of light dancing across the sky.
Aurora borealis. At this time of year at this time of day in this part of the country localized entirely within this part of the island?
Yes.
As you watch the northern lights, you will start to see figures up there, sketched in light. With a start you’ll also come to recognise at least one of them: it’s you. There’s no way your companion hasn’t also noticed the resemblance. This glowing facsimile of you is acting something out, and you’ll come to realise that it’s reenacting a time you took a lie way, WAY too far.
If you explain what the hell happened aloud, it will fade from the sky. Don’t? Well. It will just keep on repeating its little pantomime until dawn.
Ⅳ. ABOMINMAL
CW: monsters, possible violence.
You never were the type to follow the rules, or maybe your sense of direction is just terrible; you go west. The terrain grows rougher, and soon enough there are huge snow covered stones jutting from the ground. There are boulders, too, which have apparently rolled down from the mountain you are now at the base of. Some of these have landed so that they are tumbled together, creating pockets almost like caves in between and beneath them.
You continue up the mountain a bit, and you become aware of the fact that you cannot hear or see any animals. No birds sing or flit by low over the ground, no curious squirrels or foxes poke their noses out to see what you’re doing.
Everything is still.
You’re just starting to think maybe you ought to turn back when something roars. The sound is a deep, resonating bass sound full of fury and you feel the snow beneath your feet shiver with it.
A huge, hulking shape is rushing down the mountain toward you. Vaguely simian and covered in white fur, it has fangs and claws and seems all too eager to use both of them on you.
Looks like you only have a few seconds to decide on a course of action.
Greetings, prospective Travelers! Welcome to the POLYMYTHOS test drive meme and thank you for your interest in our game! Our next application round will run from October 22 - October 29, 2021. 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.
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
The island is a Winter Wonderland. Your boat docks alongside a wharf that leads you to a glimmering, snow covered land - good thing there’s a little wooden building right at the end of the wharf where you can grab some boots and a warm coat!Beyond the icy beach among the snowy hills is nestled a little village that makes every postcard you’ve ever seen look like garbage. It’s so quaint! Strings of twinkling lights are strung up between scalloped roofs and fresh evergreen boughs and wreaths hang from doors and old fashioned lamposts.
There is a little outdoor market selling food and drinks - you can get some hot cocoa, or mulled wine. If you’re cold, you can stay in one of two cozy inns free of charge. How delightful!
Notes:
1. Please remember to mark threads appropriately with Content Warnings when necessary.
2. These prompts are a jumping off point - how they affect your character and their development is up to you.
3. Any food is safe to eat, and is consumable by non-human entities.
4. These residents of the village are normal humans. Killing them is possible and will affect the colour grading of your Scrywatch depending on the situation.
5. Have fun!
Ⅱ. TOY STORY
The villagers are happy to lend you snowshoes and skis if you grow bored of their little village. They tell you that you can head north or east, but that you shouldn’t go west toward the mountains. That way is too dangerous! (South just takes you back to the ocean.) No matter what direction you choose, it’s best to go with a buddy. You wouldn’t want to get stranded all alone in the snow alone, would you?
If you choose to go to the east you’ll find that you are eventually surrounded by huge chunks of ice that glow a faint pinkish colour. Keep moving into this strange valley and you’ll find yourself surrounded by dozens and dozens of oversized gift boxes.
God, don’t you just love presents?
Whether it’s because you assume they’re all for you or because you’re almost positive you heard something moving inside one of those giant boxes, you untie a bow and take the lid off one of them.
The cheerfully decorated box shivers and shakes, and then out leaps a toy. Not just any toy, either: your toy. Your favourite from when you were a child. It’s almost as big as you are, with a gift tag around its neck that has your name on it and the motto “Introduce me!” Your old favourite toy has also gained the ability to move independently. And move it will, following you around like a shadow. It refuses to leave, actually.The longer you ignore it the more aggressive it starts to become. Turns out a six foot teddy bear can clock you pretty good, and god forbid you’re being followed by a human sized GI Joe. Leave it long enough and your childhood friend will try to kill you.
Maybe if you explain what the hell this toy is to your companion it’ll leave you alone?
Notes:
1. The toy will stop following or trying to fight your character once they explain to someone why it was important to them.
2. The ‘toy’ can be anything - if all your character ever had to play with was a block of wood, they will be tailed by a block of wood.
3. If your character was never a child, you can instead choose some sort of frivolous object they loved at any age. The idea is to share a moment of imagination or play from their past.
Ⅲ. LIGHTS IN THE SKY
Head north with your skis or snowshoes and you’ll find yourself moving easily over sparkling snow past towering evergreen trees. The air is redolent with their smell and the crisp, clear air. Birds sing and there is a general air of deep peacefulness.
The trees open up and you find yourself in an open area empty save for a cute little shack. Inside there’s a woodpile, matches, and a wood stove. Best to use the first two inside the latter, no? Unless arson is your jam. There are also some surprisingly comfortable wooden rockers. The perfect place to sit a while as the sun fades from the sky; night comes early here this time of year.
Stay even longer and you’ll see something even more beautiful: shifting waves of light dancing across the sky.
Aurora borealis. At this time of year at this time of day in this part of the country localized entirely within this part of the island?
Yes.
As you watch the northern lights, you will start to see figures up there, sketched in light. With a start you’ll also come to recognise at least one of them: it’s you. There’s no way your companion hasn’t also noticed the resemblance. This glowing facsimile of you is acting something out, and you’ll come to realise that it’s reenacting a time you took a lie way, WAY too far.
If you explain what the hell happened aloud, it will fade from the sky. Don’t? Well. It will just keep on repeating its little pantomime until dawn.
Notes:
1. The lie can be as serious or as stupid as you like.
Ⅳ. ABOMINMAL
CW: monsters, possible violence.
You never were the type to follow the rules, or maybe your sense of direction is just terrible; you go west. The terrain grows rougher, and soon enough there are huge snow covered stones jutting from the ground. There are boulders, too, which have apparently rolled down from the mountain you are now at the base of. Some of these have landed so that they are tumbled together, creating pockets almost like caves in between and beneath them.
You continue up the mountain a bit, and you become aware of the fact that you cannot hear or see any animals. No birds sing or flit by low over the ground, no curious squirrels or foxes poke their noses out to see what you’re doing.
Everything is still.
You’re just starting to think maybe you ought to turn back when something roars. The sound is a deep, resonating bass sound full of fury and you feel the snow beneath your feet shiver with it. A huge, hulking shape is rushing down the mountain toward you. Vaguely simian and covered in white fur, it has fangs and claws and seems all too eager to use both of them on you.
Looks like you only have a few seconds to decide on a course of action.
Notes:
1. The Yeti is very fast, but if your character is on skis they may be able to get ahead of it. Oh, they took the snowshoes? Uh oh...
2. The Yeti is a flesh and blood creature. It is superhumanly strong, but it can be fought and killed.
3. Hopefully there’s just one. And hopefully all that noise doesn’t cause an avalanche…
Greetings, prospective Travelers! Welcome to the POLYMYTHOS test drive meme and thank you for your interest in our game! Our next application round will run from October 22 - October 29, 2021. 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.
Cousland | Dragon Age
♜ TWO: TOY STORY
♜ THREE: LIGHTS IN THE SKY
♜ FOUR: WILDCARD
two!
That strange chattering sound is alarming, at first, but the closer he draws, the clearer a picture he gets of the bizarre little scene, and the less he sees any reason for alarm at all. ]
Well, imagine my relief! You're no darkspawn at all, are you?
[ At least not so far as he can see, still keeping a safe distance, as he peers around one of those large, colorfully wrapped boxes. It might be a toy dog, but it's not exactly small. And even if it doesn't seem interested in anything other than its present quarry, he's not risking it, yet. ]
Need a hand?
no subject
Fortunately she's always been of friendly disposition - Anders' generous offer gets a rueful smile in return. ]
Well, since you asked so very nicely...
[ pls send help her dignity can only take so much bruising! ]
I don't suppose you'd happen to have a muzzle on you at the moment, would you?
no subject
[ Okay, he doesn't have one at all, actually. But these are the jokes.
Leaning against the pretty gift-wrapped box beside him, Anders considers the toy dog in all its silently yapping fury, trying to decide on the best approach. Of course, wearing the smile that he is, it probably doesn't look like much thought is going into this predicament at all. ]
Have you tried asking it nicely to go away? I'm sure it wouldn't work, but, just so we've got all our options covered...
[ Or she could just wait for him to cast a spell (it's always harder without a proper focus). A sudden burst of ice encases the determined hound, at his gesture, freezing it solid to the tree. Its jaw still wiggles a little, but with the lever trapped in the ice, it can't keep snapping, at least. ]
Though that might take care of it for a little while, too.
Arrival!
Two cups! Definitely two cups! And those meat buns over there, too, please! They smell so delicious! I'm starving!
[Huaisang calls out breathlessly to the vendor as he darts forward to stand to the other side of the woman. There's no time to speak beforehand and it's risky to just jump straight into a ploy for food and drink with a total stranger but her robe and satchel look similar to his own so maybe she's in similar straits? If a big enough scene can be made, the vendor might be overwhelmed enough to give away more than just wine.
He turns to the redhead.]
Don't you think they look mouth-watering, too?
no subject
SCREW IT. Ride or die, partner! ]
That's right, the pastries! How could I forget? [ Cousland slings an arm around Huaisang as if they're old friends, still beaming at the skeptical vendor as if the sheer force of personality they're putting forth will be enough to convince him. ] Too many knocks on the head as a girl, you know. Positively atrocious memory problems.
But it's not a proper meal without buns. Isn't that right -- ?
[ -- UHHHHHHHHHHHHH... kinda hard to address someone who hasn't introduced themselves. ]
...what did you say your name was again?