bondedmeme | TEST DRIVE MEME

TEST DRIVE MEME | #01

Test-Drive-Meme #01

Welcome to our first ever TDM! This is open to all players looking to join our game or simply have some fun. Play on this TDM does not equate to intent or obligation to apply to join. Players on this TDM should follow all game rules and Characters should meet all game suitability standards per our FAQ. TDM threads are considered game canon for characters who join! The Moon Pact is in power for the full duration of this TDM, putting Sun Pact characters as in service. Moon Pact bindings are presently glittering silver and Sun Pact bindings are unpolished brass. Pact and Class can both be freely player assigned and swapped at will for the purpose of the TDM.

Overseer, Awaken and Conquer

CW: Descriptions of dubiously consensual touch, choking, hallucinations, falling.

The Hands that Grasp

Consciousness wanes. From calm oblivion reaches a pair of elegant hands. Fingertips caress, trailing physical form, mapping curves and divots. Some dark or desperate compulsion leans into the comfort of this touch. The hands dig in. Clasping tight at the neck and pull downward. Down and down, through unclear space, through unclear time. Your character awakens with a start. Where they last felt those hands grasping into them, a collar now rests. Prying does not budge the solid metal, which is either of silver or of brass. Before their eyes is a pane of stained glass. Inscribed in a language all can read are the words Overseer, Awaken and Conquer.

The Glass Coffins

Overseers awaken, contained within a coffin of ornate, metal framework and glass. For some, a light push will cause the lid to swing open. For others, the enclosure may stick or prove too heavy to budge. Breaking free is an option, though mysteriously, the glass fully repairs itself within minutes of sustaining damage. Other Overseers may be present throughout the hallways, willing and able to aid in opening stubborn coffins. That is, should their unlucky inhabitants be able to get their attention through the sound dampening barrier. Overseers continually awaken, either individually or in batches, throughout the month. This will last until the day of the upcoming solstice.

The Gilded Cradle

Innumerable rows of glass coffins line the interior of a grand cathedral tower. Somehow, the name of this stained glass spire is imprinted in the mind of all Overseers. This is known as the Gilded Cradle within Absentia. Where or what is Absentia? How did they arrive here? Why are they here? The answers to such questions remain unknown. These names are as far as the foreign memory serves Overseers. The foggy corridors spiral downward, a staircase connecting floor after floor of largely unopened coffins. Many have glass too hazy to see within. The hallways are heavy with the scent of lavender tinged magic and lightning storm ozone, made visible as a thick haze in the air. Through this fog, Overseers may notice one another or they may see phantoms running by. People familiar to them. Chasing after these figments is a foolish endeavor, they will pick up speed into the thick of the fog. There, they will disappear. This can leave unsuspecting Overseers teetering on the topmost edge of a stairwell or allow their momentum to throw them over the central railing. A fall to the Cradle's ground floor isn't enough to kill an Overseer turns out, but it will injure. Beginning your journey battered is merely an added misfortune.

The Castle Constructs

When Overseers leave the Gilded Cradle, they find they're trapped within an abandoned castle. While exploring they find no other living creatures other than fellow Overseers. Throughout the halls and rooms of the castle rest Constructs. These figures are shells of either iron or brass, with a variety of gargoyle-like appearances. They stand with their wings tucked around their bodies. Littered throughout the location, their placements can often clue in to their former duties as the Castle attendants. These Constructs remain completely inert until two Overseers of the same Pact pass by. Iron Constructs react to pairs of Moon Pact members, while Brass Constructs come alive near pairs of Sun Pact members. When awakened, they unfurl and stand to a height ranging from around three-to-six foot tall. The Constructs promptly begin to carry out butler-like duties, as if they were long ago set to a schedule of operation. When presented with a task they can no longer seem to accomplish, they merely pantomime the action before moving onward. (These NPCs can be player controlled and are non-hostile unless attacked first.)

Locked In

CW: Survival themes, food insecurity, exchanging sex for goods and services.

The Kitchen

The kitchen of Absentia is vast, meant to accommodate for a castle population in the hundreds. Long abandoned, any food reserves have turned to dust or rot. All that remains are a series of strange machines, humming with dull magic. Only operable by the castles resident Constructs, hungry Overseers would be advantaged to activate the inactive Constructs scattered nearby. Once occupying the kitchen, Constructs are more likely to provide a meager serving of food to Overseers who have used magic recently or who hold Influence. (Characters playing this TDM with no canon powers may presume they hold (1) Influence for this and subsequent prompts.)

The Hall of Overseers

To the west of the Gilded Cradle there lies a long, rectangular housing structure, framing a vast courtyard. Rain from the storm overhead patters down constantly. Rooms for Overseers line the open air hallways overlooking the nature within the central outdoor space. At this time, those of the Moon Pact enjoy the lower floors of the indoor sections, with luxurious accommodations. These include private rooms with a fireplace, claw foot baths with clean running water, a variety of furniture, and a plush bed. The upper level indoor rooms are for the Overseers presently in service, the Sun Pact. These rooms are all shared and scarcely furnished. Hammocks and bunk beds are provided to house three or four Overseers per cramped room. These upper location hallways have shared bathroom spaces and no private amenities provided. Overseer names are engraved upon the door frame of their assigned rooms. There is no access given to rooms without this engraving. Overseers need to be invited in to rooms they do not own or share. (Rooms are fully self assigned by Players and can change freely between threads. Pact is likewise self assigned, but should match the room type described above. Moon Pact characters are free to invite Sun Pact characters into their rooms, and visa-versa.)

The Hands that Feed

As Overseers settle in, they find resources are thin and accessible castle space highly limited. There is no exit from the castle at this time. Trying to fly out over the top of Hall of Overseers courtyard results in perpetually being turned around by the Storm until exhausted. Overseers who try to smash windows or break through the architecture find their magic or strength immediately drained. Teleportation leads back to where one attempted to leave from. The trap feels inescapable. This inevitably creates an air of frustration and futility within the awakened Overseer ranks. All there is to do is to make do.

➤Attentive characters will discover quickly that Constructs bring extra rations as room service to those in Power. This at first appears exclusive to the Moon Pact within the Hall of Overseers. The Constructs do this when Overseers have sex in the luxury of the lower floor rooms. However, the Constructs range of understanding is a bit impaired, so fucking in the courtyard also works to call food and drink, regardless of Pact alignment.

➤For those seeking a more direct approach to acquiring extra rations, there's always robbery. The Constructs are not highly fortified. Their routes from the kitchen to the Hall of Overseers are easy enough to intercept. They do resist Overseers who attempt to steal from them, defending the food if attacked. Overseers who damage Constructs find they simply curl back into their wings, where they become both immobile and invulnerable from further damage. They will repair themselves in time and do not... appear... to hold a grudge. The Overseers whose meals were hijacked might, though.

The Courtyard

The courtyard at the center of the Hall of Overseers is a public space with five distinct sections. At the center, there is an ornate fountain that serves as the most reliable, public spot for clean drinking water. The fountain depicts the three Classes, though all of them are partially destroyed. The Ruler has their hands broken off, the Dragon is missing its head, and the pegasus shaped Herald has a hole in its chest. Grimly, the water flows from each of these missing pieces into the pool below. This space is open and visible to all, especially from the higher rooms of the Hall. This central location serves well as a social hub and meet up point for Overseers to congregate, though it is perpetually raining here.

➤Heralds and Dragons experience their first urge to transform within the Courtyard. They are able to resist it, if their willpower is sufficiently high, but the compulsion is strong. Dragons feel a need to shed their skin, to fly and be free. There is not much room for multiple, large dragons to do either of these things. Mind your wings! Heralds begin to feel territorial, wishing to reinvigorate the long dead space. Heralds are able to terraform within the confines of garden planters as they see fit, but they may find them destroyed by Dragons or usurped by other Heralds. Miniature territory disputes may serve as practice for times ahead. Rulers can hear mysterious whispers throughout the Courtyard, but especially nearby the fountain. If they acknowledge these whispers aloud, they will get a response. Those Rulers who listen closely can hear the mocking words "you're not leaving this time."

The other four quadrants surrounding the central fountain are overgrown and wild, contrasting the initially desolate central area. These spaces are each themed to a different season; spring, summer, fall, and winter. Once Overseers enter one of the gated in spaces, the area within appears larger than the outside barrier suggests. The temperature varies wildly between each, though the Storm over head remains consistent. Each contains a singular hideaway which the Constructs will bring food to. These shield Overseers from outside view, but may turn out to be in hot demand. Mind yourselves if trying to sneak into one of these spots for privacy, they may already be taken! (Each hideaway may be customized at player discretion to suit their threads. A single piece of furniture for leisure may be present, like a lounge or hammock. Some ideas for natural spaces would be hidden behind a waterfall, beneath a canopy of trees, a frosty cave, or an alcove hidden by fallen leaves.)

Grief Hath Mates

Class Scenarios

Note: The following prompts are available for all Players, though abilities should always match up with a character's present Class! Class for characters on the TDM can change between threads, but should not change mid-thread. This fully locks down upon acceptance to the game. Characters are presently "unstable" in their Pact and Class assignments, so all threads can remain canon, even if they contradict Pact or Class assigned later on. Any changes made to shared setting environments below are temporary, so feel free to play with destructive and creation powers as specified.

RULERS

➤Rulers who attempt to speak to the Constructs will find they are reacted to in a way the Dragons and Heralds are not. Constructs do not speak back, but they are more attentive towards Rulers regardless of their Influence level. If asked where something is, Constructs will dutifully guide the Ruler to the location in question if it exists. Sometimes, Constructs will open up previously locked doors. None of these lead outside, but they offer some new clues to how the castle once operated in the past. Rulers can open up additional rooms to explore such as a drawing room, a music room, a wine cellar, and a smoking room. These rooms all have basic supplies for their given activity, including aged wine and cigars in the latter two respectively. Rulers with clever tongues or manipulative sensibilities can convince the Constructs to leave them “in charge” of a room. This grants the Ruler a key to the door they can leverage as they please. (Players can play their Ruler as if they hold exclusive control of a room, but this is not imposed TDM-wide. Multiple Rulers can each claim the same type room, no player actually holds full IC/OOC control.)

DRAGONS

➤Dragons are going to be the first to snap under such cramped conditions. Their natural urges are to spread out and fly, not be stuck within a castle. The more volatile Dragons will find their natural instinct is to go Berserk. Berserk mode can be engaged in either their humanoid or Dragon form, though Dragons can only transform at this time within the confines of the Courtyard. If Dragons are causing trouble in the Courtyard, luring or forcing them out of the Courtyard at large forces a Dragon to return to their humanoid form. Getting in fights may not be productive, but it might provide some enrichment to Overseers wishing to challenge each other or keep the peace. (Reminder: Dragons, regardless of form, are especially durable and may prove difficult to subdue! Rulers are best suited to this task, given they have a natural advantage over Dragons. Heralds can make their own attempts, it is simply more risky for them given how fragile they are.) Dragons of more even temperaments can make themselves productive by using relevant elemental magic around the castle. The castle interior is lit only by the dull glow of the sun or moon, which are often dulled by the cloud cover overhead. Providing temperature control or lighting could be a great ease to their own mental state, as well as benefit their fellow Overseers.

HERALDS

➤While cooked rice, dried meat, and pickled vegetables are largely what is being provided, there is a distinct lack of fruit or alcohol coming out of the kitchen. Heralds may find themselves especially desperate for these. Within the courtyard only, they can flex their newly found Class abilities to rapidly influence nature. Heralds may find themselves having vivid daydreams about their favorite fresh fruits from home. These fantasies manifest, growing the imagined fruits from nearby vines, bushes, and trees. This can happen deliberately or entirely by accident. However, due to the imperfect nature of both memory and imagination, these fruits are never fully accurate recreations. The taste and quality of the fruit end up heavily influenced by a Herald’s own subjective experience and are prone to exaggeration. Any fruit from any world is allowed, these simply cannot cause any magical effects. Devious Heralds which imagine poisonous fruits can injure, but not kill fellow Overseers. Such produce can be used to make alcohol by those with the knowledge and wherewithal to do so. Any manner of food is in demand and Heralds have this to provide. Replenishing energy though sex is always an option to help produce more or better resources of this kind.

OOC Info

What happens next?

On the 21st of June, the Pacts will turn over. For the IC duration of the TDM, the Moon Pact are in power. Those assigned to the Sun Pact will start the game off proper as the faction in power. Characters who are accepted into the game will be freed from the confines of the castle. The game will greet new players with a Mingle Event and Network Introduction Post, once all applications are processed. The storm will pull back at the start of July, allowing even further world exploration and Territory claims. Our first plot event will focus on discovering the threat that the Lost Souls of this world can present.

Can I reserve my character before applying?

If you want to claim a character spot in advance of applications opening, our Reserves Page opens on the 10th of June, through to the 15th. This is not required for application, but highly recommended even for original or obscure characters. Reserving provides an instant-pass through 1st month game Activity Check! It also provides Moderation with an idea of incoming player numbers!

How do I apply to join the game?

Head over to our Application Page. These open up on June 15th and close on the 20th. The game officially opens on the 21st of June, barring any unexpected delays.

Is there an OOC space I can discuss potential plans?

Take a look at our Enable-me-Please for OOC discussions and plotting!

(CODE)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I. Awakening
[ Overseer, Awaken and Conquer.

It's the only piece of the "dream" she can parse out. The rest is a terrible haze, the feeling of hands on her throat. For a moment, she is Psyche again, she is in her body, she feels Eros' hands clutched around her neck. She feels the weight and the bruising. And then Medea Solon wakes up.

She is Medea here, her reflection oh-so-faint on the glass in front of her where she is, once again, trapped and confined. The startlement of it forces her to kick and shove, and the coffin's lid opens readily enough. With strands of hair stuck to her forehead and face, she rises up out of her prison to see...nothing familiar to her. Coffins among coffins, a living woman among the dead. But on prying herself out of where she slept(? Is that the right word for it? Is she alive?) she casts her gaze around and brushes off her clothes. Thoughts racing, she doesn't realize the small sound in the room with her for several moments, her attention focused on her rapid breathing.

The sound comes again. Thump, thump, THUMP. It's so muffled that it takes her a moment to find the source: an unfamiliar face in hazy, fogged glass, but someone alive in another coffin just a few boxes nearby. A moment passes while she stares. She can't tell who they are and some terrified part of her dares to wonder who would be here, if this isn't another haunting. And then she moves, grasping at the sides of the coffin and working to lift it up so the person within can emerge. Her eyes are bright and wary as she looks down into the face of... Well, it doesn't matter. ]

Easy. Take a breath.

[ Her tone is simple but firm, lacking in any sort of kindness. Sorry, newbie, you're not getting the concerned treatment you might be hoping for. ]

II. Food to Spare
[ Well, she's certainly not dead, though Medea can't be convinced all of this isn't some kind of fevered nightmare or poisoned delusion. Still, she's breathing, the air so different from where she'd been in the palace; she feels the stones beneath her feet and the metal of the Constructs when she's touched one of them. And she also feels the clench of hunger before long, which is why the information that there is very little food to speak of is of great concern. Hunger pushes rational people to desperation before long, and she's watched as others have tried to break out with no success. And that will quickly become a very, very considerable problem.

First thing's first: get those other Constructs moving, as they seem to be the only ones capable of operating what's in the kitchen and the only creatures around that know where all of the rations are. The second task is...covered for her, actually. Once she's found a room for herself, a Construct appears to offer a little bit of food it's managed to scrape together. Why it would is beyond her, but this also means something's been taken from someone else, and that sort of withholding adds another layer: if only certain people are being nourished and others are denied, it could lead to targeting, and she refuses to be caught unawares.

Which is why when someone heads to the kitchen looking for food, someone who hasn't been provided with any, she offers an apple that she's brought down with her. ]

Here. In case you aren't able to find more. I'm not certain how much is left but barring us finding a way to operate the kitchen by our own means, there's no telling when we'll be offered anything else.

[ Though she's seen a few pairs being given food, something she's given thought to. Medea knows none of these people; offering a single piece of food is a better compromise than exposing any vulnerability for the time being. It's a compromise, though her thoughts linger on other offerings... ]

III. Courtyard Exploration
[ The fountain is the easiest place to go to get her bearings, and an equally easy place to gather information that's not in the castle. The statues bring her no comfort; it only reminds her that no one has been here in some time, and many and more may have been killed here. There may be no sign of struggle but there seems plenty of evidence of hatred, a piece to a puzzle she can't fully see. And it's there she lingers for a time until...

"You're not leaving this time."

Medea lifts her head at the sound, and then the sound that is the crush of grass behind her. Throwing a glance over her shoulder, she asks: ]

Hm? Did you say something?

[ They didn't. She knows they didn't; the voice came from nowhere and yet too close to be from the intruder behind her. Still, better to be cautious and far better to be wary until she has a better idea of the people she's awakened with. ]

IV. Construct Manipulation
[ It's inevitably lucky that the Constructs seem to listen to her. They don't move with urgency the way a true servant would but she can't help but notice there's a little more leniency with her a few others, the same ones offered food before anyone else. And while that's very interesting and will require investigation — which will also require her to meet with and to learn everyone's names and circumstances, a matter she'll need to do regardless — it still allows her to take advantage of them. Just a little. It can't hurt objects, right?

So whether you've seen Medea order around a Construct of her choosing or if you've simply spotted her dipping into a room that absolutely wasn't open before, the result is the same: she's already looking through the wine cellar as if it belongs to her, making attempts to open a bottle or two and to try to smell whether it's poisoned or not. Nosy.

She looks up from her work, one eyebrow lifted, and a slow smile works its way onto her mouth. ]

Care to try some? [ Fully knowing it still could be poisoned!! ] It's a vintage I'm not familiar with, though it does look as if it's been down here a long time.

[ Her shrug is simply, lofty. ]

Might as well not let it go to waste.

[ Which is why, if they're perfectly safe, she's going to (proverbially) pocket a few and lock the door behind her. A bartering chip is a bartering chip regardless of what it is. ]

V. Wildcard
[ Feel free to PM me if you wanna do something specific or if any of these prompts don't work, feel free to write your own! I'm flexible. ]

[ OOC: Brackets or prose is fine, I write both frequently and will match your preference. Prompts II and IV are open for a potential sex scenario.

This is my first time playing this character so feel free to PM me if you're canon familiar and anything seems off. A very, very sparse info page is HERE for the curious. Will be getting icons shortly so sorry for the random default. ]

How frustrating it was to be barred from so many places in this prison of a rotting castle; how further frustrating it was to see others navigate with ease. He's seen others dip into rooms. This room, though, seemed to have useable goods in it. In a starving, deprived population, even alcohol could serve as potent currency.

Hubert schools his (genuine) scowl into one no different than his usual resting expression before he catches Medea's eye. Pupils in serpentine slits, collar gleaming silver, and his hands behind his back, he eyes the wine disapprovingly.

"Vintage in abandoned keep with nary an occupant to be found? Occupants that might have very well met an untimely end? No, I don't think I will."

His eyes scan the cellar. "Those golems do seem rather keen of you, don't they?"

"A wise choice," she reflects, that same little smile playing about her features. It meets her eyes but not in the way it would for most, where there may be something polite or amused about it. In no way does it seem unnatural, but it certainly doesn't seem quite so genuine when she meets his gaze with the sharp attention of someone used to observing. It's almost predatory.

Almost, because her expression settles on a kind of lingering interest, not solely because his eyes are those of a predator. "Curious, isn't it? A few others have the same ease of finding their way around." And now she has a key as well, though Medea doesn't bring that up. "They've offered food to me and not to others. There is a room with my name on it while pockets of our number are crushed together in a single room."

Ah, but these are two separate things. Others wearing silver don't have all the accommodations she does, but no one wearing copper is able to have a larger room. That much she's already understood. "Do they not listen to you?"

There's almost a challenge in her response, that superficial praise for a paltry test. This woman's calculating look doesn't even faze him. She was no Regent Volkhard von Arundel.

"They do not impede me, and they bring me enough food not to starve. Stationary dull ones come to life when I am in the vicinity of another banded in silver. I can't say I've been let into any cellars."

"I promise you that the cellar was a surprise but perhaps they'll consider you if you are more specific. They may even have a second cellar around here with how large our surroundings are." Yep, she's trying to wheedle under his skin for the moment, though it's followed by a genuinely thoughtful frown.

"If it were only a matter of those wearing silver..." Here she taps on her own collar, thinner than his own but no less than a leash. "I might believe that to be the key. But if you aren't receiving the same benefit, then I needn't tell you something else is differentiating us." He's dressed relatively finely, though Medea doubts he has a very high station, much less that of an Emperor. While that could be the case, it would imply several of them are nobles or in some position of authority, and the probability of that seems a little too ridiculous.

Something does come to mind, though, but she holds off from asking just yet. Instead, she offers: "What are the other similarities between the whole of us as..." Medea almost rolls her eyes. "...as 'Overseers'?"

Hubert scoffs quietly. "Have you had many interactions with our fellow captives? What can you truly call a similarity with what's been crawling out of those coffins as if those shapes and beings were natural?"

He shakes his head. "Some of us are changed, yes, but more alarming is some of the ones that aren't." Which is to say: he met Ranni.

...hmm. He did meet Ranni, another favored by the golems. He falls quiet, observing Medea. "You weren't changed, were you?"

Medea Solon | Your Throne | Ruler, Moon Pact for TDM

IV

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IV

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III

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II - non-sexual

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I.

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iii

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