004 ⟡ JULY TEST DRIVE

[bayhelpers]

⋆✩ test drive 04 ✩⋆

The day begins like any other.

Routines, eventful scenes, and boring errands — no matter what you were in the middle of, there's a moment where everything begins to feel wrong. A searing pain tears through your body, so intense that it feels like every nerve has been struck at once. Muscles spasm, joints scream in protest, and as you double over, you find yourself clawing or clinging at anything within your reach. As your attempts to maintain composure fail you, your bones begin to twist with an agonizing force, the pain rising in a crescendo until it becomes unbearable to even breathe. Then, as quickly as it began, everything stops.

For a single, terrifying moment, there's nothing. No sight, no sound, no touch, no taste, no smell — just the weight of nothingness swallowing you whole. The absence of sensation might even be worse than the pain, leaving you adrift in a void you can't escape. Hopelessness threatens every fiber of your existence, and try as you might to fight it, your darkest thoughts begin to surface, flooding your mind in an onslaught of suffocating feelings and ideas.

In the darkness, you hear a voice.

It's faint, a gentle flashing of something warm along the edges of your mind, like sunlight itself. It's a voice, but you can't identify who or what it comes from, how it sounds, or what it means — still, you know it's directed at you. Something tugs at your heart, a powerful ache that throbs once and ripples outwards. You can feel the aches again, like fresh sores throughout your body. You feel off, like something isn't quite right, like you're not where you should be, or who you should be. But the voice continues, whispered just beyond your understanding. The sound is warm like hope, and it wraps around you, distant yet intent, before you wake up.

i. arrivals

STRANDED ON A BEACH

Beneath your body is wet, thick, sand. In the early dawn hours, one would think all color drained from the world. Eyes open to the shadows of distant buildings, with massive cliffs looming ever closely in the faint twinkling of sunlight. Water, for those particularly unlucky, laps at the body to leave a persisting chill — sinking into bones that no longer feel familiar.

It’s impossible to tell how you got here. All you have is those last moments before it felt as if your entire being was being broken down and stretched into this uncanny shape, this thing that doesn’t feel like you. Even the ground itself seems to agree. It shifts, and rumbles. Gathers into mounds, rising up and over with the sounds of dying gasps. But wait.

That isn’t normal sand. That sand is alive. That sand, gathering into shades of pink, of blue, of green, it all forms faces before your very eyes. An enemy, you may think? A monster? A threat?

“OhhhHHhHH…What has happened to us..?”

Or perhaps, someone in the same predicament as you?

“Someone…Someone get Mightyena!!”

Albeit someone who clearly knows more than you do here, on this beach that slowly regains its color.

CASTLES OF SAND

⟡ Severity of dysphoria and disorientation symptoms are entirely up to the player, as is the duration of time these symptoms last.

⟡ The Sandygasts on the beach of Bottlecap Bay are in fact residents of the town by proxy. They are at their most active during the summer, and can thus act as helpful NPCs to help player characters toward the town.

⟡ These Sandygasts are very strange in color. The colors they appear in include — Pink with lilac stones and a blue shovel; Moss green with brown stones and a black shovel; Deep red with black stones and a cyan shovel; Dark purple with white stones and a black shovel. They don’t know how their colors changed either, but they certainly remember being normal Sandygast before everyone arrived.

ii. see the sunset

COPPERAJAH-TONE

With newly arrived Pokemon settling in from the beach, the town quickly moves to adjust existing plans until they’re certain the shores are clear. It only takes a few days before they’re back on schedule however, and every Pokemon including those same arrivals will find themselves with an open invitation to the shoreline.

With the recent successes of Bottlecap Bay, public opinion is at an all time high, which is reflected in the activities pulled together in response. Through much of the Summer season, the beach of Bottlecap Bay becomes a literal hotspot of activity. Beach activities that many will find familiar take part at all hours, with equipment set up at small stands for public use.

A volleyball net is a particularly popular feature of the beach, with a particularly spooky form of gameplay spotted in the evening hours where Ghost types reign. Multicolored buoys float out to section off a safe zone of the water for Pokemon capable of it to swim at their leisure as well, with Bottlecap’s very own Dondozo and Tatsugiri acting as lifeguard.

The most popular game by far however is sand sculpting. Tools of wood and stone can be gathered up to shape the sand into any number of shapes, and some Pokemon may even offer small rewards to those who make especially impressive ones.

Be sure not to accidentally use the sand of one of those colorful Sandygasts however.

Beach Day Breakdown

⟡ During the entirety of July, beginning on the 15th, the beach is open for public summer games.

⟡ While examples listed above are available, Players are encouraged to include their own Beach traditions within reason. If you are unsure, please ask under questions.

⟡ Beach fun will happen during the day and night alike. During the day, the beach is far more active; Pokemon are livelier, and enjoy much more cheerful activities. At night, while many Ghost and Dark type Pokemon enjoy the games, there are also often small campfires where quieter traditions such as apple roasting and scary stories happen.

⟡ Alcohol may be present at the campfires of the evening. Please be sure to mark threads including alcohol with a warning, and remember that characters under the age of 21 may not partake.

iii. mentorship methods

BUDDY SYSTEMS

A whole host of new Pokemon arriving is no longer a fully unanticipated scenario for Bottlecap Bay. While the town has persistently done their best to seek a solution to so many displaced new citizens, they have also come to recognize a growing pattern in their arrival. Every other month, these new Pokemon have appeared.

Therefore, the combination of their recent peace and the local nature of these particular arrivals has given them an easy option for guiding these lost new souls. Rather than any of the Guild leaders seeking out ideal Pokemon among their ranks, those who have arrived from other worlds themselves are tasked with a new assignment. Help their fellow interlopers!

At minimum, each Guild Leader suggests a few basics to cover, but the methods with which they do this is ultimately left up to them. A tour of the local sights? A chance to test their mettle with brand new powers? Or perhaps simply a listening ear from one who understands the strangeness of these new bodies. The world is truly their Cloyster.

A MENTOR MINDSET

⟡ Each of the Guild Leaders will offer to their existing members few points they consider most vital to teach to the newcomers. Mightyena focuses on making sure the new Pokemon have a place to sleep, and insists that they be taught how best to fight. Ribombee emphasizes a need to show the necessary work ethic of the community, so that an understanding of how much they need to work together is understood. Polteageist in turn, gives a list of necessary establishments to familiarize themselves with, beginning with the Clinic, Archives, and Questboard.

⟡ During much of the month, various Pokemon maintaining stores and eateries within Bottlecap Bay will be offering their own helpful advice to guides and their charges. This trivia is minor, but typically focused on what the food is like, or what the benefits of certain articles of clothing might be.

⟡ Any Pokemon who helps another newcomer will earn 50 points for their Guild! As well, newly arrived Pokemon who put up with the guidance will receive a voucher for a custom, non-magical accessory, such as a hat or scarf.

ADVANCE TRAINING

After considerable research and effort, Polteageist has once again teamed up with Dr. Denne to craft a series of ever popular escape rooms, hinting that participating in them will be very useful in the future. Joining the effort is none other than Cheri and Oran's own Ribombee and Mightyena as well, making it a truly unified project. With so much investment going into these exercises, it's no wonder that every Pokemon from another world, new and old alike, is offered the chance to try at least one when they have the chance.

THE NORTH

⟡ Located just between the Canopy and the beginnings of Bottlecap Bay’s southern coastline, the lush greenery of the Northern Forest's entry has been sectioned off into a training ground. Pokemon are grouped into random pairs, and tasked with finding the end of a hand-crafted maze within this early area of woods.

⟡ While many threats within the Northern Forest are well documented, some may still come as a surprise. Wild Pokemon such as Bug and Grass Types may still be encountered, as well as mushrooms releasing rage spores.

⟡ The Forest itself is also a threat — though it seems to understand these Pokemon mean no true harm, vines and plants will move when not directly looked at, creating added navigational challenges.

⟡ Pokemon who show no signs of escaping on their own after a certain point will find themselves retrieved by a local Grafaiai or Mankey, as enlisted by Bottlecap Bay.

THE MIDDLE

⟡ Located a good distance down the southern coastline of the Bay, a section of the Middle Forest's entry has been carefully sectioned for a training ground. Supervised in part by a recently recruited Bloodmoon Usaluna, Pokemon will be grouped into random pairs, and tasked with finding the end of a hand-crafted maze in this early area of woods.

⟡ Due to the presence of heavy supernatural fog, Pokemon participants are warned heavily in advance of what to expect. The fog is known to literally reach into others, creating visions and hallucinations, as well as a deep loss of identity the longer they're exposed.

⟡ The end of the maze does not lead out of the Middle Forest. Instead, Pokemon must find their way back from the uniquely marked bone pile; because of the fog, this return is far shorter than the journey in.

⟡ Pokemon who spend too long within the Middle Forest while showing no signs of successfully escaping will quickly be retrieved by Ursaluna, whose Mind's Eye grants relative immunity to the Fog's effects.

THE SOUTH

⟡ Far to the south of Bottlecap Bay, beyond the farthest stretch of wooded coastline, the Southern Forest lies shrouded in darkness. While there is no longer a thick haze of fog, its unique dangers mean that numerous Ghost Pokemon have been recruited to monitor a simple challenge within the woods. Specifically, two Pokemon will be paired at random, led a short ways in, and told to find their way out.

⟡ Due to the mechanics of the Southern Forest, nothing within this 'maze' has been crafted personally. Pokemon are sufficiently disoriented by the forest's own ability to alter its surroundings when none are looking directly at them, as well as the significant time dilation that occurs here.

⟡ Local Ghosts who have entered an agreement with Bottlecap's recently recruited Spiritomb will be available as both obstacles, and guides. As obstacles, they will intentionally lead Pokemon astray by joining the team in disguise, playing on the Forest's ability to create inconsistencies in memory and experience both.

⟡ Any Pokemon who spend too long within the Southern Forest with no signs of being able to return on their own will be led home by Ghost Pokemon acting as guides. These Pokemon take care to not shapeshift into anything other than themselves.

✩ OOC NOTES.

⟡ TDM CWS: Disorientation, Dissociation (Escape Room Prompts), Body Dysmorphia, Possible Pokemon Injury

⟡ TDMs are game canon and act as events for the month they are posted.

⟡ New characters can link to their top level beneath the NEWBIE DIRECTORY

⟡ All new arrivals are not assigned to any one guild. However, they may assume themselves to share rooms within any one of them during the course of the TDM.

⟡ Remember that at least one thread for your application must come from the TDM! There is no comment minimum, but we will be looking for engagement, as well as for players and characters who take the time to delve into things like character thoughts, emotions, morality, and other deep themes. Take this time to engage with the setting as you would in game!

⟡ As a reminder, reserves and applications are permanently opened. Please see their respective pages for details on processing time.

⟡ Have any questions related to the TDM? Ask here! If your question is more general for the game, please make sure to direct it to the FAQ page instead. Thank you, and happy threading!

FULL NAVIGATION

Comments

III

[friendlyflower]

[How is he unlucky enough to be stuck mentoring again??? Damn you, Ribombee!!]

Alright, listen up. [Flowey proceeds to give a long and detailed explanation about the guilds, the town, the rankings, the quests, the world so far...]

... Hey! You're not even listening, are you? If you nod, I swear...

[followthescript]

[They start to nod—and then catch themselves, snapping to attention with a start.]

I'm listening! You said, um... the, uh, the questboard? It's over that way!

[They point in what they hope the general direction of the questboard is (it's not).]

[friendlyflower]

... You aren't even trying. [A wicked grin slices his face like a knife.] It's over there, genius.

[He forces himself to resist the urge to kill right now. Being a 'good person' sure is hard.] Okay, ugh, let's try a new approach. Questions. I'm sure you've got plenty. Ask away. I know everything there is to know about this world. [What a blatant lie! Incredible!]

[followthescript]

[Busted. They wince, feeling a little guilty for making this guy explain everything only to zone out... but it's a lot to take in all at once. How are they supposed to memorize everything?

Breaking it down into smaller pieces makes it feel a lot more doable, though. Questions, questions...]

Well, the guilds are really important, right? What are the guild leaders like?

[friendlyflower]

Golly, great question! [They all suck. ... He can't just say that.]

Ribombee is leader of the Cheri Berries. He acts all nice and altruistic, but he plays favorites big time. There's... something up with him. Don't let your guard down. You didn't hear that from me, though!

Mightyena is the leader of a bunch of misfits and losers called the Oran Berries-- they're the guild full of people nobody else wants. They're all sleepovers and pack mentality and mushy gushy crap. She seems like a real goody two-shoes, but she can defend herself. [He doesn't really know what to think entirely about her, yet.]

And Polteageist leads the Lum Berries. They're... [He doesn't really know much of anything about them other than they're a stuck-up know-it-all.] ... a real stuck-up know-it-all. Sits on top of their precious Archives with their guild of elitist jerks. Them and their exclusive little guild think they're so great, but Mightyena's guild could tear 'em apart if they wanted to. Isn't that stupid? The smart and the noble alike fall to the strong.

[If Siffrin nodded through this, Flowey's going to kill them for real.]

[followthescript]

[They're listening! They're making sure to focus this time instead of just nodding along, really! ... but they do still make a tiny nod every now and then, purely on reflex. But they are listening!!

They're listening so well, their smile strains into something more and more baffled as Flowey talks shit about all the different guild leaders. They're new here, so they really can't judge people they haven't even met yet, but...]

You, uh, sure have some strong opinions? [The guild leaders all sound nice?? What's this guy's problem...?] So which guild are you in? The Oran Berries?

[1/2]

[friendlyflower]

Oh, you think I'm a misfit loser too?! You think you're such hot stuff, you stupid, nodding, one-eyed--

[Deep breath. Calm. Don't kill a newcomer. Be calm. He grinds his teeth, barely restraining the urge to just start biting.]

Okay. Fine. Sure! I'm a Cheri Berry member! You were wrong about the guild, but boy howdy I would fit there because I am a misfit loser! Aren't. We. All.

[2/2]

[friendlyflower]

[Another breath. He smiles, which somehow looks only a little less pissed off than before. Happy! He's happy!]

Maybe we got off on the wrong foot! Forget all that other stuff I said. Hee hee. What's your name, new pal?

[followthescript]

[Oh no. They've made him upset. This guy seems kind of mean, yeah, but that doesn't mean they meant to insult him—but he's not giving them any room to interject, so they just stand there looking anxious and guilty until he has to take a moment to breathe.]

You seem to like Mightyena more, so I thought maybe that was why? I didn't mean anything else by it, really!

[... but at least he seems willing to let it slide. It's not the same as looping back, but they can still try again, and maybe not call him a loser by accident this time? They try to relax, forcing a smile.]

It's Siffrin. Nice to meet you...?

[friendlyflower]

[This can't be a coincidence. Not in a place as weird as this. In the span of a few seconds, a plan hatches in his mind.]

... No, I believe you. I'm sorry. Really! I've been... working on my, uh, anger lately. And a lot has been happening. There's no reason to take it out on a potential new friend.

[He's not exactly fibbing. He does mean it. He just wouldn't normally say it out loud.]

You can call me Flowey! And yeah, I do have some strong opinions. I've been through a few things. Working on that.

... really, the guildmasters have lots of good traits, too! Ribombee really does care about this city. I felt his sincerity during a recent festival. Everyone who meets Mightyena loves her. Without her guild taking in 'strays', lots of folks would have nowhere to go. And Polteageist... They really are a total genius, so they deserve to be a little entitled. Gosh, I sure would be.

If you're not mad, I'll give you the grand tour and everything! I'll explain everything more clearly this time so it doesn't all overwhelm you.

[followthescript]

[Something about this feels a little off, for some reason... but at the same time, he really seems to mean it? He's trying his best to be welcoming, even though they were (accidentally) rude to him, and he's quick to take back his harsh words about the guild leaders. He even calls Siffrin a potential new friend. And he was trying to help them from the very start, wasn't he?

If Siffrin started judging people from their emotional outbursts... that would be pretty hypocritical of them, wouldn't it? ... Flowey must be a nice person.

Gradually, their expression softens. They manage to relax a little, too.]

Of course. Thank you for helping me out, I promise I'll pay attention this time.

[friendlyflower]

Great! Lets go! [What a chump!!]

Let's see... we're by the coast, and if you look over to your right, you'll see the Spire! That's where the Oran Berries guild is headquartered! [He does his best to gesture with no arms so Siffrin can see the Spire located amongst the rocky cliffs.]

If we head up the road, we'll reach the quest board! You don't need to worry about taking quests yet, but it's right near the heart of the city, so I'll show you!

[He hopes this is simple enough to understand. He hops along, looking at Siffrin to follow.] So, while we're walking... where do you come from?

[followthescript]

[They follow along while Flowey re-explains everything, trying to commit each detail to memory... as best as they can hold anything in their memory. Maybe they should've mentioned that first? But it's too late to bring that up now and they don't want to annoy him again, so they'll just have to try even harder this time. Coast that way, Spire over there, quest board in the city...

Of course, it doesn't take long before he switches it up. It's a question they're sure they've been asked many, many times before—a pretty normal thing to ask anyone, really. What better way to get to know someone than ask about where they came from?

They have an answer now, technically speaking, but just thinking about it makes their inside churn. Their smile tightens on reflex.]

Oh, you know! I've done a lot of travelling, so I've been to all kinds of places! Poteria, Mwudu, Vaugarde, Ka Bue... What about you?

[friendlyflower]

[It hits him, then, he never bothered asking where the other Siffrin came from. It's not that he forgot, he just didn't care until this moment. It doesn't elude him that this Siffrin dodged the question and their tone grew a little too cheery.]

Haha... I came from down there, buddy. [He points downwards with a leaf. For a second, his smile flashes something sinister, as if he means way down below.]

... Yup, that's right! The Underground! [Well, if he's going to ever get any information out of this weirdo, he might as well put some up as collateral. It's not like he really cares anymore.] Back where I came from, humans sealed all the monsters underground with a magic spell. That was my home!

But, great news! I helped set everyone free! [He leaves out the fact that Frisk did most of the heavy lifting and all he did was try to kill them a million times.] And now I'm here!

[followthescript]

[Alas, down there doesn't earn much of a reaction—they just smile back blankly and wait for him to finish. It's the part about monsters and magic spells that makes their expression falter. Their world doesn't really have those things, but doesn't releasing a bunch of monsters sound kind of... bad?

But he's saying it like it must be a good thing, so maybe the word means something different to Flowey.]

I didn't know I was talking to a hero. You must be pretty famous! [... and the same could be said for them, but it would be rude to bring that up. They don't really like to brag, anyway.]

What kind of monsters were they? I've only ever run into Sadnesses, but it doesn't sound like those are what you meant.