bopbay | 004 ⟡ JULY TEST DRIVE

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004 ⟡ JULY TEST DRIVE

⋆✩ 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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No, I'm not. Recent arrival myself.

[In meeting Need, the teenager-turned-Lucario now has a much greater understanding of the Steel type he shares with her. Right, some people are very literally metal here--erm, for whatever value of people is in play.]

But I'm starting to figure things out, if you want to accompany me. I was headed toward the quest board.

[Need would like to be able to listen in on peoples' thoughts and feelings undetected and know how trustworthy they are but she's going to take this in stride, damn it. All of it. She's well aware that a lot of her story is ridiculous to people who weren't there.]

Lead the way.

[He sounds young, she thinks, though she can't really tell from his appearance. Need keeps an eye fixed on him and checks her surroundings with the one on the unsheathed blade. Can never be too careful.

Vaguely she wonders if she should be jealous of a biped.]

What kinds of quests are these? Can just anyone submit one?

They're jobs that different people in the town post up for members of the guilds. Apparently--or at least, from what I've heard so far--non-members can't accept the quests, because it would be impossible to credit their deeds to one of the guilds.

[To him, the incentives seem a little...off, there. But he'll join a guild soon enough, get an idea of what they're really like from the inside.

For all that Umemiya is young and spry, there's an awareness of his surroundings, the way he glances around regularly that speaks to a hypervigilance not common among kids who exist at peace. And there's a scar above one eye (in human form, it'd run right through his eyebrow) that might have been acquired in battle.]

Hrmm. [She sounds skeptical and faintly disapproving but is mostly reserving judgement. Not enough information.] How factional of them. What makes someone not guild quality, I wonder.

[She does suspect he could play Kero's "name everything in the room that could be used as a weapon" game, but there's also a certain bounce to his step. Not enough information, again. Being limited in her ability to find things out is annoying.]

What should I call you?

My name is Umemya Hajime. Umemiya is what most people call me. Ume if you need to catch my attention in a hurry or if we're on informal terms. And you?

[He definitely isn't expecting everyone to catch all the nuances of names and their use. Hell, this language doesn't even allow for choices in personal pronoun use. It's a little jarring to lose that level of communication.]

That sounds complicated. [She's dryly amused, not rejecting the idea.] People just call me Need, or 'that piece of tin' et cetera when they're upset with me.

[It's not really a name but she doesn't remember her name in life. Not like that really matters.

...hm, she could probably move more expressively if she wants. A smooth unwavering glide above the ground with the sash-limbs hanging limp from the pommels isn't how that NPC Honedge she saw moved. Something to think about.]

That seems disrespectful. I'd hate to give the impression that I'm not polite.

[He is, occasionally. But by the standard of delinquent punk street gang leaders, he's an absolute angel.]

Need it is, then. It's nice to meet you.

Will wonders never cease, a polite young man! I suppose anything is possible.

[this is clearly teasing.]

So: how recent is 'recent', and have you learned anything interesting?

[The teasing is nice. Better than high formality by a long shot. She reminds him of some of the older shopkeepers in his hometown, by voice. Though whatever force brought her here made her swords. He's noticed that there seems to be some reasonable between what people were back home and why they were made here.]

Just a few days. I've learned how to walk with a tail without toppling over. Gotten a handle on the bare basics of fighting in this form. It's different than fighting as a human. More reliant on elemental 'moves'.

The species I've become is apparently a Steel and Fighting type. You might be a Steel type as well.

[Fighting as one of the foundational skills to master, right after walking, she notes. That says something about him and this place.]

I'd be surprised if not. Types, though. [complaining:] I'm too old to learn that kind of thing in a hurry, and it's vital, apparently.

Too old? You're brand new. No rust on your blades here.

[There's a little teasing in exchange for hers, earlier, here. Not that he knows she has experience being a sword, because who would expect that?]

I wonder how being sharpened would feel for you.

Tch. What are they teaching children these days? Rust is a mark of neglect! Keep a blade maintained properly and there won't be a fleck of it, even if it's centuries old.

[not that that applies to Need, really, she'd made her sword with that anti-rust, anti-dull, anti-breaking property she'd worked out. Blood beads and slips from her blade as if from oil. It's just the wood and leather of the hilt and sheath that show age and damage and have to be replaced.

Pause.]

I thought I could come up with a tastefully off-color remark, but it's not surfacing. Probably the contradiction in terms.

[Need has decided against telling people too much about herself. It's so time consuming explaining instead of showing them relevant memories, and she might not be believed. and on the ooc level, if one of those "revert to true form for a while" events happens, this is funnier.]

I wouldn't know, on either end. I'm more of a brawler; I've never handled a sword, personally.

[He shrugs expressively. The joys of a bipedal form include the fact that gestures seem to translate.

By now, they've reached the quest board, so Umemiya starts looking over what's listed.]

I fought with a sword as a youth. Then I became a bladesmith when I retired from the life.

[These things are true but are leaving some things out. Technically, Need supposes, she can lie since she's not using Mindspeech, but she's so used to dodging truth without outright lying.]

People get lost a lot here, huh?

So it seems. The note that we're in constant need of supplies is concerning, too.

[He reaches out to touch the note about the community garden, ears perking.]

I'm almost pissed off that I can't take this quest. I gardened, back home.

[Need isn't sure if this form eats, or even has to eat. If so, how? The sheaths on the wall crest? That would be something, she supposes, it doesn't seem to be a useful element.]

Why can't you? You've got limbs.

[she has seen some Pokemon that seem like they'd be outright unable to do a whole lot of tasks.]

I can do the work. Might even be good at the work, like this.

But because I'm not yet part of a guild, I can't accept the quest, or join a team that's doing so.

That seems pointlessly restrictive. How do people join guilds? What happens to the guildless?

[already considering the haves and have-nots.]

Those are some very interesting questions, aren't they?

[He's been wondering similar things for a while already.]

Did you know the guild you join determines the quality of your housing? While the Lum berries get apartments in the city, the Oran berries live out in the Spire, a structure built into the cliffs by the ocean. And the Cheri berries live out in the woods, in treehouses. Some of which don't have proper roofs.

[When he'd learned that, it had done him a bit of a concern.]

I didn't know, but I'm not surprised. And the newbies are assigned the worst housing in their subset but are made aware that better exists, I expect, as incentive to contribute. It also sounds like they can't choose to make their homes elsewhere.

[She's deliberately avoiding phrasing anything as a question. Hah.]

And this is clearly the set-up everyone thinks is best. Trust the guilds to provide for their people, and people to support their guilds.

And us coming in and being contrary right away could be easily discounted, because we haven't been here for long. We don't know the actual pressures that created this system.

Naturally.

[she can't sigh but - hm, can she sigh? Is she breathing through the scabbards? Certainly not in as prominent a way as humans etc but... Need marks it as 'still no' for now.]

You seem pretty savvy for someone so young.

I've had to consider something not entirely dissimilar before: how to organize the social structure of a school from within, where previously everything had been chaotic and disruptive.

[Yes, as one of the students of the school; the staff were so useless as to seem non-existent, in terms of ~~taming the young beasts~~ ~~organizing things~~ ~~motivating positive behavior and community-mindedness~~ ...

...everything.]

I'm not saying I'm an expect, but I did at least take the time to not only poke at potential issues myself, but to have my friends do so as well.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

004 ⟡ JULY TEST DRIVE

My favorite swordmatron! ii

yay! I'm always glad when people know who she is lol

Oh, I'm a long time fan. Dad introduced me to Last Herald-Mage and I devoured the rest.

nice! ahead of their time, even if today a few bits are iffy.

I also might have a fic rec for you at some point.

I actually write fic myself! currently battling to end one about Kethry

ooooh. Keth and Tarma are definite faves.

I imprinted on them as a kid lol. queerplatonic otp

Tarma, the hero of aroace kids everywhere.

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