memesinthenight | TEST DRIVE MEME #8

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TEST DRIVE MEME #8

Hello and welcome to the In the Night test drive meme for January! Thanks for your interest in our game! In an effort to streamline our application process and avoid future confusion between incoming and existing players, we will no longer have a reservation period. Applications open on January 22, and will be judged on a first-come, first-served basis.

While you're here...
Take a look at our rules and faq pages to familiarize yourself with the game.
Note that we have a (current) application cap of 16 apps this month for new players, as the game has a player cap of 70. An accurate count of current players will always be available on the taken page.
TDM threads can become game canon if both players wish. If the situation isn't something that could happen in-game, you're free to chalk it up to some strange hallucination, a shared dream, or other mysterious circumstance.
Note that this is not limited to new characters threading with characters already in-game. If current players wish to thread out the TDM prompts as canon events, they are welcome to do so. They are welcome to make posts in the main comms for TDM events as well. Please note, however, that actual plot clues or happenings will not occur in TDM prompts.
If you plan to apply, please keep in mind that we do require at least one sample thread on the application to be from our TDM (though it doesn't need to be the current TDM).
You're welcome to use the provided prompts or come up with something on your own, but we do ask that all threads take place in our game's setting.

Thank you again, and we hope you'll choose to join us!

log prompts

CAKE BY THE OCEAN

It's a brand new year, and with it, a brand new...you? Well, you are dead, but there's still plenty of ways that you can embrace the spirit of starting fresh, especially when it seems that the forest spirits have their own traditions that they're eager to share! If you've only just arrived, you may find yourself pelted with loaves of bread and accosted with noisemakers, or if you're a seasoned Beaconite, maybe you're wearily unsurprised to find strings of onions being placed around various doorways. Just another day in the afterlife. Best to go along with it, even if some of these practices seem to be somewhat chaotic. It's never a good idea to make the spirits mad, after all, and especially not when they're trying to show you...some sort of semblance of good will, you think. For the most miserable of souls, at least you can be comforted in the knowledge that it should all be over before the day is out.

This is a miniature version of the festivities present during this month's intro log!

I CAN'T FEEL MY FACE WHEN I'M WITH YOU

Winter has made its way to Beacon. It's fortunate that plenty of snow gear has been made available at the general store, so this is a great time for those with little-to-no experience with genuine snow to get out there and draw some angels or build forts for some playful snowball fights! At least...it is, at first. Linger too long and you'll find yourself caught in the middle of a raging blizzard that seems to have swept in out of nowhere. In an instant things seem to go from cold to freezing, and the need to get back inside where there's safety from the elements is pressing. Fortunately, you aren't alone. It might not be your usual residence, but more than one of you have tumbled into the same shelter, and will probably be stuck in there until the worst of the storm passes. No time to get to know each other like the present, right? Gotta break the ice somehow (haha).

network prompts

RUN BOY RUN

The changes in the weather isn't the only thing that residents old and new need to keep weary of. While a great many of the forest spirits remain generally friendly, traveling alone comes with its risks. There's always the possibility that you may encounter a creature that's less inclined to let you pass it by unscathed. And so it goes for you as you venture out into the trees with your lantern and torch in hand. Whatever reason you had for starting out alone, and whatever got you to this point, you've had to take shelter from a very, very displeased spirit. Maybe it has a body not meant for climbing, and you've scaled high up into a tree that it won't let you down from, or maybe you've taken shelter inside of a structure that it's too big to squeeze itself into. Whatever the case, it's clear that your pursuer isn't giving up the ghost (haha), and you'll need to contact someone for some form of help to get yourself out of this.

1000 FORMS OF FEAR

It's a normal day in Beacon...which means that something inconvenient at best and terrifying at worst must be just around the corner. Whether or not you're on edge about the relative calm, it doesn't seem that anything weird is happening...until you try and post to the network. No matter how many times you try, the message you intend to write erases itself. As if someone else has hacked into your tablet, a new message re-types itself in front of your eyes. One of your greatest fears or greatest regrets announces itself for all to see, and there's no getting rid of it. All attempts at getting rid of it are fruitless, and it doesn't seem that you can back out of the new post window now that you're here. Your only option now is to hit send. But, hey, your fellow residents are a pretty understanding lot. Maybe they won't hold whatever it is against you. Maybe you can explain it away. There's always lying, too, if you want to go that method of covering your tracks.

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I am on my way. It dies the same way everything else dies. Spirits with thin, spindly hands are especially susceptible to brute force. Just be extremely wary of hallucinations. It is the only thing we don't have an effective way of fighting it.

Other spirits listen to green-eyed ones. Be careful.

Can you give me more precise whereabouts?

In the dark, up a tree.

[They don't have road signs out here, so it's not like Ravus has much direction to offer, even if he was inclined to be helpful.]

I left the fire from the south side.

[ He was very tempted to send a "orly" type of thing, but- he resisted. ]

Understood. I have traversed these woods for a while now, I should be able to find you

If you think you are hallucinating, stay in the tree and don't move, no matter what

[Ignis is armed up to the throat as he leaves the safety of the bonfire and starts his search.]

[Ignis does not receive a 'Don't tell me what to do, boy' text, but it is close. So close.]

If it is a hallucination, it's very convincing.

[Unfortunately for Ignis, when he finally tracks Ravus down, there is something stalking around the tree trunk. Maybe it is smaller than Ravus perceives it. Either way, Ravus is down one arm and what swipes he could get in with his saber seem to do little against his foe.]

[Good. Don't bite the hand that's about to help you. Though, if he's going to be fair, he'd still help him regardless. It's someone he knew and he wouldn't let them by themselves anyway.

In the usually quiet forest, it is more than easy to hear the noise, especially now when there's snow everywhere and no branches snapping or leaves rustling from the wind. Ignis makes sure his lantern is safely tucked inside of his coat and then summons his blades.

The rickety spirit was, indeed, trying to climb the tree and reach Ignis. It didn't look bothered by the snow, only the height of the tree. From where he's hidden behind one tree, he could spot two green eyes, glinting in the far distance, as if this is some kind of movie.

Ignis clicks his tongue and imbues his daggers with lightning, zipping across the fresh snow and ramming the blade in the back of the spirit that was almost successfully climbing its way up the tree. one "arm" and "shoulder" of it explodes and the spirit screeches lashes out at Ignis, who barely manages to dodge it, and scuttles through the snow towards green eyes.]

Ravus...? Are you there? [Ignis asks quietly, but his attention is not leaving the spirits that are fumbling in the distance. A loud crunch and squealing whimper later and everything is silent again.]

Edited 2020-01-16 02:10 (UTC)

[Ravus watches Ignis approach, daggers drawn. The man is competent, as usual.

The snarling spirit goes quiet, and Ravus deems it time to come down from his perch. He's no hope of climbing down with only one arm, so he leaps instead, landing in a crouch in the snow near Ignis.

He's not going to acknowledge the enemy he couldn't kill that Ignis immediately dispatched, so instead, he stands and turns, his coat whipping out behind him.]

Let's go. Show me the way back to the settlement.

[It was just another thing to get used to- the perpetual darkness and hissing in the night when you go deep into the forest.

He doesn't ask Ravus why did he wander off alone into the forest, what did he thought he'd find or anything of the sort. He doesn't even bring up the fact that he couldn't defend himself- Ignis couldn't do it in the past either. He still can't, against the green-eyed ones.

But, he does give Ravus a look over, seeing for any damage that could've been done by the spirit. Then he nods.]

You didn't wander too far off. It is a ten-minute walk. [He nods forward.] Your lantern? [Don't bust your lantern.]

[Ravus looks around, and finds the lantern where it dropped when he started his climb, half-buried in snow by now.

He's not hurt by the spirit, but he does look worse for wear. His clothes are singed from a magical blast, and his magitek arm is missing. He's fuming silently about his own helplessness.

Ravus takes up the lantern and starts walking in the direction Ignis came from. He's not good at following.]

Is it true that the sun never rises here?

[Is this what Eos is to become, when the days finally shorten into endless night?]

[Ignis' eyes linger on the lantern for a moment- he wants to make sure the light in it won't burn out because of the snow- and then focuses on their trek back. Ravus himself will get a proper look over when they are in the clear and then back at the cabin in the village. Surprising no one, Ignis is fully prepared for handling injuries here, even if his healing abilities are subpar now.

Ravus is free to walk to his pace, Ignis will just redirect him to a different path should it comes to it.]

Unfortunately, yes. It has been like that since I arrived, and if we are to trust those that were here before us, it has been like this for a very long time.

[But this is certainly not Eos; Ignis had checked the maps and turned the Library upside down to make sure.]

[And this is why Ravus is willing to ally with Ignis. Good man.

The light flickers slightly as Ravus lifts it out of the snow, but the glass panes keep the wind and snow from sniffing out the flame.]

Is it starscourge?

[He had thought the plague was unique to Eos, but by now, he’d believe the gods to be lazy and cruel enough for it to be so.]

Edited 2020-01-16 22:18 (UTC)

[Ignis appreciates the compliment, really.

Happy to see that the flame is intact, he focuses more on the topic of their talk and their travel back.]

I am not sure. Apparently creatures known as "world eaters" are snuffing out all the light in this world. The only reason not all is lost is because of the Lighthouse and the portal that brought me and you in. Or that's what we assume.

There isn't much information on this, sadly...

[He is, however, working on finding more out.]

So, similar, but not exact. Are the world eaters like daemons?

[The situation is dire, but Ravus isn't the kind to sit idly and accept his fate. No matter how futilely, he will rage against destiny and fight. And to do that, he needs to know what he is fighting against.]

Who runs the lighthouse?

No. According to the data, they are unkillable as it is impossible to approach them. There are some pictures on the device, I will show you when we arrive.

[The situation is beyond dire- their clock is ticking and they are more than cornered. They have less than year and a half to find a solution before the world eaters sniff them out.]

Robin. She is on the younger side. She says she's been here for a long time already. She is in charge of town resets, should we fail to find a solution to these light-eating daemons.

Of course.

[Ravus turns his eyes heavenward. He's entitled to a little melodrama when he's once again fated to struggle against invincible, malicious enemies.]

What do you mean, resets? She's the keeper of the light. Is she this world's Oracle?

[At least if it is held by only one person, they could seize the Lighthouse if they needed.]

[The light of stars and the moon are, indeed, something they rely upon to comfort them in the neverending night. This time, Ravus will not be facing them alone; by some miracle, most of the people inhabiting the Beacon are on the same page when it comes to uncovering the truth and fighting against the world eaters.

Ignis lets out a trying sigh and, for the first time, he lets his frustration show.]

Far from it. While the person indeed holds the light of the lighthouse, they have many more things on their hands. Specifically, town resets.

The resets are... [Ignis slows down as they finally make it out of the forest and into a clearing, the bonfire flickering in the near distance]... a complete annihilation of the current inhabitants of the Beacon.

The world eaters are drawn to the life-light of our lanterns and they are on the move as we speak. If we fail to find a solution, the Keeper will destroy us all to slow them down. If they reach and destroy the Lighthouse, this world will be completely destroyed.

[This day gets better and better. Good to know 'end of the world' stakes have followed him to this new world.]

Does that mean there are other strongholds? If not, what point in saving the world if all the lives within are destroyed?

[A lighthouse means nothing if no one remains to see its light.]

These lanterns draw their attention?

[He gestures with the light he bares.]

The solution seems simple, at least in the short term. A few lightbearers go out and keep leading them away from the town.

[A small sacrifice, rather than the loss of everyone.]

[No rest for the wicked, as they say. Ignis is starting to think they are cursed in some way.]

We are still exploring, but the forest spirits and winter are making things slow. We recently found a downtown area with other buildings but everything is in this region. We don't have the means to travel further into the woods- there are no cars, no animals.

[Ignis pockets his hands, starting their way to the bonfire at a slow pace,] If the time comes running out, the Keeper will reset us, and a new batch of people will come in. They always do. Every month. Just like you did this month.

[His lips twitch- he likes Ravus' thinking.] That was my original thought as well, I assure you. I was thinking that if we were to split into several big groups and scatter across the land and lake it would confuse the world eaters.

But the woods are too treacherous and the green-eyed spirits with hallucinations are preventing us from moving too far. At least, until we figure out a way how to deal with them.

[Ravus’s lips quirk into a humorless smile, and he raises an eyebrow.]

That’s one concession, at least. No nations, no politics to muddle through.

[It is the only silver lining in this world of death and hard resets. His fist clenches.]

Perhaps the weather will slow the world eaters as well. Buy us time to devise a battle plan for the spirits.

[Personally, Ravus is a fan of the ‘drive a saber through their heads’ method of enemy take downs, but he’ll need to find himself a replacement arm before he’s back in fighting shape.]

Is there magitek here?

For better or for worse.

[Rumor has it that people that get deleted- their spirits- never move on. Ignis, however, never deals in inane stuff such as 'rumors' so he doesn't even mention it to Ravus. For now, until it's proven.]

We can only hope. When I first arrived, one of the scientists told us that we have approximately two years to find the solution. It passed six months since then, give or take. Our advancement is... slow.

[He doesn't want to say 'nonexistent' because that's not true. But it's definitively not at remarkable speed.]

No, there isn't magitek. But there is a man that you can consult about arm replacement until Night Market comes. Rastus could try to bring one for you, but chances are it won't be magitek, so your best chance is Night Market.

There is still time for a breakthrough, but it sounds as if it would also be wise to begin preparing for war.

[Does it count as 'war' if it is against unkillable beasts? Who knows.]

I have no way to pay for a replacement as of now. I don't carry much gil on my person, and I rather doubt it has any value here even if I did.

[Ignis nods-] Time is of the essence. We have to put it to the best use.

We are attempting to win over most of the forest spirits, however. Antagonizing them will make our exploration and search for answers ten times harder. We already have a green-eyed menace to deal with.

[He inspects Ravus' wound, the place where he is missing his hand and shakes his head.]

Usually, people don't ask for money here. Perhaps a favor or two to help them out with residences or search. I have doubts that Soldier will refuse to lend you one of his spare hands- I believe he is missing the same one as you.

If not, we can always ask Rastus for one. It's free. Until Night Market comes- there, you can ask for your Magitek Arm. I do not know how they manage to get this stuff, but they do.

Are the other spirits more reasonable?

[Ravus is wary of contracts with spirits; the House of Fleuret is well-acquainted with the cost of such deals. But if it must be done, it must be done.]

We have regressed to a society of bartering. I suppose I should have expected no less.

[It is good news, that he can expect to be able to find some sort of replacement for his missing limb, but that doesn't mean that Ravus isn't going to shake his head disdainfully at the prospect.]

Yes. There are indeed spirits that want to work with us. The spirit that resides in the library and one in the post are incredibly useful. Sadly, the library itself doesn't offer much.

[There aren't any contracts right now, for better or for worse. They are trying to get to the point where spirits don't randomly attack them to "teach a lesson". Killing them would've been a solution but there's too many of them and too little of the residents so- negotiations are better in the long run.]

It is, after all, the afterlife, I suppose. There shouldn't be anything monetary here. Or of value. [He sighs, annoyed,] I don't think we should be here in the first place...

So there's some truth in that drivel 'you can't take it with you when you die.'

[Although they apparently can take some things. Ravus still has his clothes, if nothing else.]

This isn't like any afterlife I've heard of, but I would not disbelieve that the Astrals have lied about our eternal reward. Is there evidence that affairs were once run differently here?

[He has ripped clothes that Ignis will fix once they get to the cabin and he gives Ravus spare clothes until the coat is wearable again. Don't argue with him about it, you won't win.]

I wish I could have an audience with the Astrals. I have plenty to say and nothing about the afterlife. [He doesn't care about the afterlife, he never expected it to be peaceful for him.]

This place seem to have been running properly in the past, but something happened that brought in the World Eaters. Then the world got engulfed in darkness; probably to lower the chances of World Eaters finding the lanterns. Or maybe they ate the light of this world in a literal sense. Research is work in progress, the snow is slowing us down.

(no subject)

sonoftenebrae - 2020-01-25 01:18 (UTC) - Expand

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