006 ⟡ NOVEMBER TEST DRIVE

[bayhelpers]

⋆✩ test drive 06 ✩⋆

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

OUT OF THE FRYING TUBES…

The first thing you notice is the heat. It’s dry and sweltering, a pressuring thing that surrounds you in darkness. Opening your eyes reveals that it’s not just the temperature doing this however - no, all around you is a near total darkness, broken only by the soft glow of red gold that creeps in from distant cracks.

And perhaps, in some circumstances, yourself.

The tunnels here appear to be lava tubes, long faded from primary use by the caldera nearby. While the occasional pool of hot molten rock can be spotted throughout this impressive maze, it never seems difficult to avoid. In fact, the deeper you go, the more evidence you find that someone - or at least, something - even lived here!

Staying here is probably not going to feel comfortable however. Not unless you’re Fire or Ground type. Escaping the tunnels is only half the battle, too, as the exits lead to a desolate plain of ash and dust. The caldera of Furnace Mountain is hot indeed, and it seems that’s precisely where you wound up! But perhaps, another kind Pokemon will appear to help lead you to somewhere safer?

AND INTO THE FIRE

⟡ Furnace Mountain’s regions all return to the settlement of (Death Blood Murder) Skull Town easily, but it’s not impossible for Pokemon to get lost and wander from the tunnels to other locations:

The Caldera Crater is a maze of molten lava and narrow walkways, where one can eventually find a crooked Obsidian Spire - making contact with this will cause a chorus of shouts to echo through one’s mind.

The Plateau in the meantime is covered with numerous geysers, with safe paths marked by what appear to be skeletal remains. They lead to a valley filled with even more such skeletons, many of them partially melted.

⟡ Worry not dear Pokemon, for Lurantis, the Mayor of Skull Town, will be sending rescue crews to your location; in addition to current Players, various Ghost Pokemon will likely answer the call to guide others out.

⟡ For those who remain in Skull Town for a time, they will find the village primarily focused on either rescuing newcomers or preparing for winter: Characters may find themselves swiftly recruited to help dry foods, or gather wood.

⟡ While TDM events specifically will occur here, Players are welcome to have their Top Levels involve other locations as well.

ii. BRISK BREEZES

KNOCK ON SUDOWOODO

For the most part Pokemon are encouraged to return to Bottlecap Bay as quickly as possible - rather, to be brought there for the first time. The Guilds are all located there after all, and it will be far easier to settle Pokemon into their new homes if the Leaders are able to meet them in person. With the winter season right around the corner, everyone is trying to avoid travelling unnecessarily; they held that mayoral vote for a reason after all!

While much of the food stores have been prepared, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do either. In addition to putting together warm materials for beds, or cutting and preserving the last of the autumn harvest, a good number of Pokemon have started their own efforts to prepare the guilds, and gladly accept extra help from these newcomers! In Cheri Guild, everyone gathers to build stronger, more weather resistant rooftops for the otherwise open tree houses, with some even gathering large leaves to make curtain walls - the more that the wind can be kept out, the warmer they will be, and starting a fire in these buildings is ill advised.

In Oran in the meantime, an enterprising Tinkaton has started work on a bilge pump system - an incredibly relieved Mightyena is happily telling everyone who will listen that if they’re lucky, they won’t have to worry about flooding until the seasons warm up again.

Even the Lum Berry Guild has their hands on something, even if it isn’t anything quite as impressive; given the weather preparations they haven’t had time to put together any special escape rooms this time, but they’re at least willing to send out less busy members to give tours of the town.

Though of course, the quality of the tours vary, and it’s hardly as if the new Pokemon can offer to help tour themselves!

…Right?

YOU JYNXED IT!

⟡ Pokemon who assist in any of the three projects - including the tours, which they can indeed attempt for themselves, will find themselves granted an article of warm clothing. Stay warm everyone!

⟡ For current players, Player Quests as referenced can be found here, along with many other wonderful submissions!

⟡ As Guild Leaders will be taking their time to decide on who fits best in each group, housing is at the moment an open bag. Players are free to assume anyone from Oran, to Cheri, to even Lum opened their room to other Pokemon to be shared - they can even assume residence at Skull Town for the time being if they wish!

iii. FREEZE THE DAY

WINTER HAS COME

It happens without warning. A sudden chilled wind from the coast - a darkening of the skies that would normally entail thunder, and rainshowers. Rather than the anticipated storm however, weather experts at Lum are quick to sound the alarm: a blizzard is here!

With just moments to spare, all Pokemon residents - and even some visiting wild Pokemon, who are confused but grateful all the same - are herded into the nearest shelter. Houses, Guilds, even storefronts become temporary homes as the snow blasts through the streets, freezing anything in its path. While some Pokemon might find the conditions tolerable, the leaders of each region are enacting a No Exceptions policy to the rule, even making use of Pokemon abilities to locate anyone who might be in danger.

With the snow storm in full force, it’s on the various guilds to find methods to pass the time. The winter storm can’t last forever, but if it does they’ve fortunately prepared. At this point in the year, there was very little food that would need to be sourced from outside each building - each and every location has at least a small connection to the storage tunnels below, and the Oran berries even have access to sheltered portions of the ocean. Even the newly planted Winter Gardens are well protected, with one of Lurantis’ first orders of business being to put enough fencework up that they could roof things in if need be.

Entertainment will be the true struggle, and each Guild Leader has their own method at the problem - as does Lurantis, back in Skull Town. And fortunately for those with Grumpig Pearls, it’s possible to make your own fun as well!

Unless you actually enjoy the ice breakers, of course.

HOW ABOUT SOME ICE BREAKERS?

⟡ There are a variety of ways Pokemon will be catching others outside, including methods such as ‘Future Sight’. Players are free to get creative with how other Pokemon might find their characters (and vice versa, with Player permission).

⟡ Each Guild has their own unique set of ‘Ice Breakers’:

The Oran Guild involves various races, as well as seek-and-find games through their more sheltered tunnels, capitalizing on their ability to remain active. They also host a number of slumber parties to help keep everyone as warm as possible.

The Cheri Guild also hosts sleep overs, as well as various crafting circles within their huts - that way, they can do something useful! As the buildings are connected via bridges, Teleporting Pokemon within the guild have offered to graciously lend their power to get everyone between the necessary buildings.

The Lum Guild has access to the archives, so a similar Teleport use is offered on a case-by-case basis to get Pokemon into the Archives; try not to abuse this, everyone! Once in the Archives they’ll find plenty to read and study, and some Pokemon are even hosting ‘board game’ parties! Though they seem somewhat confused about how these board games work.

Last but not least, those in Skull Town will have found themselves herded into the primary housing facility to sleep together. Lurantis, despite her anxiety with crowds, has actually arranged a variety of simple ‘Get to Know Each Other’ activities such as word games in the hopes of keeping everyone entertained. She seems stressed, but she’s clearly trying to keep the peace.

⟡ It’s more than possible for members of one Guild to end up sheltering within another. Due to the distance between them however, someone stuck in Cheri won’t be able to simply teleport to the Lum Archives, and vice versa. Long Distance Teleporters are too focused on the clinic!

⟡ Grumpig Pearls will be working perfectly despite the blizzard, due to their use of Psychic energy rather than anything that relies on a signal - because of this, characters may feel free to get creative about how to use their Pearls to entertain themselves and others.

IT’S SNOW MUCH FUN!

When the winds and snows of the blizzard settle down, Bottlecap Bay and Skull Town wake to a beautifully sunny landscape covered in white. It’s just warm enough during the day that snows start to melt, and trees drip water and handfuls of snow onto everyone’s heads. (Sometimes entire heaps come sliding off at once - if you’re a smaller Pokemon, careful you don’t get buried!) The ground cover is far too deep to disappear completely, though, so the first order of business everywhere is digging walkways through the snow.

Once that’s done and everyone’s had a breath of fresh air, though, Pokemon find ways to take out all the pent up energy of being snowed in! It’s very easy to find a snowball fight, or join in on building a fort - or both! Or if all that’s a bit too frivolous for you… there’s rumors going around of a giant snowbeast that’s been glimpsed around the borders of Bottlecap Bay, ducking in and out of forest. Descriptions aren’t consistent, so it might just be gossip that’s been blown out of proportion, but maybe it’s worth investigating?

Over in Skull Town, Lurantis flits to and fro frantically, visibly stressed. The harvest was practically done, so very little has actually gone wrong. However, it’s very early in the year for such a bad snowstorm, and she has terrible feelings about what it might mean for this winter. Pokemon who don’t seem busy with something else might get pointed toward collecting more firewood, or better insulating Skull Town buildings, or other winter preparation tasks.

On one particular day, one of the mountains around Crowncork Valley experiences an avalanche - snow shears off near the top and tumbles down in a giant sheet, piling up at the bottom and invading the very edge of the valley. It’s an impressive sight - nearly all Pokemon in town pause and watch in awe before returning to their tasks. Good thing that wasn’t closer! Hopefully no one was out there…

EVERY DAY I’M SHOVELIN’

⟡ There are numerous ways to get rid of snow, with some Pokemon moves more effective than others. While Fire is strong against Ice, it results in a lot of snowmelt that gets everything wet - Pokemon will find that as long as they can push the snow elsewhere, it’s a lot more effective than trying to just vaporize it.

⟡ Pokemon who investigate particularly deep into these ‘Snowbeast’ tales will find themselves incredibly confused - at least until the end of the month, where one such ‘beast’ finally slips up. It appears a group of Solosis were inspired by scary tales of something their Uncle Reuniclus saw just at the end of October. A big, tall monster, with frozen clouds at its feet, and horns of ice…what could that be?

⟡ Those who help Lurantis won’t receive any points for their guild, but she’ll be incredibly grateful for the assistance given how new she is to her position! She’ll speak to any such volunteers individually, and while she admits she can’t give them anything now she tells each one to come visit once spring is here.

✩ OOC NOTES.

⟡ TDM CWS: Skeletal Remains, Hard Wintering conditions, Pokemon Typical Violence

⟡ 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.

⟡ Rough Timing on the prompts are as follows: the Blizzard will begin on November 20th, and lasts until the 23rd for a full three days. The avalanche in Crowncork occurs on November 27th. Thank goodness it didn’t happen to the town somehow right?

⟡ 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

[notyourbloodymessiah]

[ eleanor's ears perk up at that. ]

Oh! Hello!

[ she raises her flippers to see if that would project her voice any more, like she believes human hands are meant to. ] I'm over here! [ a phrase eleanor quickly realises means nothing, unless this stranger is good at working out the direction of sound. crap. ] My name is Eleanor! Helloooooo?

[wolfcut]

[ Her voice is bouncing off the walls, but with a little focus, he manages to find the right direction. She's not so far, he thinks. Couldn't have asked for more. ]

Eleanor. [ His ears flick, committing the name to memory. ] I'm Bigby.

[ Just a bit more, but he doesn't want her to wait in total silence until then. ]

How long have you been in here, Eleanor? Do you know?

[notyourbloodymessiah]

It's nice to meet you, Bigby! Um. Ten minutes, maybe? [ generally speaking, eleanor has very little perception of the passage of time. and to be fair, she was literally in the middle of the ocean before she blinked and ended up in the middle of wherever she is now. ]

Perhaps longer? I woke up here, so I might have been unconscious for a while. [ dear lord, is she cooked. ]

[wolfcut]

That’s good. Means I got here just in time.

[ It’s already troublesome enough to gauge time in pure darkness, never mind the fact this place has a real knack for messing with people in general. He’s just glad she doesn’t sound completely distraught yet. ]

Hard to say how long that whole dream lasts. One minute we’re not here, the next, we are. [ She might hear an echo of a spark as he adds to his torch. At some point, he makes a turn, finally seeing a shape of a figure now up ahead. ] That you, Eleanor?

[notyourbloodymessiah]

[ she squints and raises her flippers to just above her eyes as if that's actually going to do anything helpful. ] Depends. Are you a small fellow with large ears?

[ his other words play in her mind in the meantime. how long that whole dream lasts? what the hell does that mean? ]

If it is, then yes.

[wolfcut]

[ As if on cue, his ears give small wiggle in response. ]

Depends. If you're the one with some flippers on you, then yeah, that'll be me.

[ He would so prefer to lessen the distance on all fours, but with a torch in hand, he's resigned to walk forward on two tiny legs instead. Eventually, he makes it right to her, not even missing a beat before rummaging through his small bag of supplies. ]

You're not hurt are you? No lingering aches or anything?

[ He is far from a nurse, but with so many hours at the clinic under his belt at this point, he could probably pass for one. ]

[notyourbloodymessiah]

I ache less than I usually do, if you'd believe it.

[ she tilts her head at his bag much like a dog would, before snapping back to attention. she's so used to her legs aching at least a little bit -- adam-induced growth spurts were awful -- but her tail feels devoid of any of that. how odd. ] Other than that, I don't believe so.

[ she looks herself over. ]

Unless you can see an injury I can't, anyway.

[wolfcut]

This place has a funny way of doing that.

[ He's focused now on looking her over with his torch held high. Flippers and a tail. Doesn't exactly bode well for how fast they can get out of here. ]

You seem fine to keep moving, but here. [ He pulls out a small waterskin for her. ] Drink first. Can't really tell how dehydrated you might be.

[notyourbloodymessiah]

[ eleanor looks at the waterskin warily, then down at the flippers she's propping herself up with. she raises them to take it, eyes going wider when she finds the balancing act to be... easier? than expected? ]

Thank you. [ she drinks from it -- perhaps too much, but she was already dehydrated in that sense when she left rapture. ] Lead the way.

[wolfcut]

[ When she's done, he stashes the much lighter waterskin away again. Onward, he supposes. ]

Tell me if you need to stop at some point. [ He glances back at her first before focusing on her tail again. ] I'm sure not having legs makes everything a bit... rough.

[ A pause, followed by a cheeky little head tilt. ]

Unless you were a mermaid before you got here.

[notyourbloodymessiah]

[ eleanor takes a moment to respond to that jest, focused moreso on awkwardly scooting along in ways entirely unfamiliar to her. ] I suppose one could argue I was, although that's not technically true.

[ hey ellie what does that mean. ]

[wolfcut]

[ Bigby pauses. ]

Yeah? [ He resumes as if that didn't immediately catch his attention. ] And what argument would that be?

[notyourbloodymessiah]

Sometimes pretty girls live beneath the ocean, being half-fish is optional.

[ she's smiling to herself a little, mischief glinting in her eyes. sorry bigby she has an incredibly innate desire to fuck with people. ]

[wolfcut]

I see why you have people confused then.

[ He glances back at her, his smile just barely visible at the corner of his mouth. Whether or not she's fucking with him now, that sounds more like fairy tale than fiction. He can lean into it, if only because it's a good sign she still has a sense of humor right now. ]

Must be great at holding your breath down there without gills. Probably can't beat me at that though.

[notyourbloodymessiah]

No, probably not. [ because she never actually had to hold her breath. but bigby doesn't need to know that just yet. ]

I doubt you can swim as well as me, though. [ eleanor wonders how well she can swim now, with the tail... she was already an abnormally strong swimmer, being able to sustain good momentum even under immense oceanic pressure, but having a body tailor-built to it was definitely worth experimenting with. ]

[wolfcut]

Got me there. Especially not like this.

[ He hasn't tested how far these stubby legs can go in water. No doubt he'd start sinking fast enough even without a belly full of stones. ]

Glad this place played to your strengths instead of the alternative.

[ He's definitely not speaking from experience on the latter. ]

[notyourbloodymessiah]

[ did it? eleanor's not really had the chance to test that, so it could still stand. she supposes. ]

I haven't really had time to find that out. [ she already doesn't feel able to lob fireballs, for one. and she definitely can't teleport anymore. ] Being a strong swimmer isn't exactly... [ how to put it. ] ...my main strength, shall we say. Even though I'm a mermaid.

[wolfcut]

If that tail isn't made for swimming, I'll add it to my list of things wrong with this place.

[ If only she had wound up at the beach instead of here. He hums to himself, tilting his head but not looking back. ]

So what is a mermaid of many talents best at?

[notyourbloodymessiah]

[ telekenesis? mind control? just generally being a failed hivemind? eleanor's suddenly realising she doesn't have any skills that could easily pass off as normal. ]

That's for me to know and you to find out. [ she finally offers, after a full minute of silence. ]

[wolfcut]

Ah. [ She's one of those. Relatable, to be honest. ] Guess that makes two of us with secrets.

[ He glances back again. ] Let's just hope I found them out from you, and not whatever this place decides to throw at us. [ Playfully ominous. ]

[notyourbloodymessiah]

I can assure you that I am more than used to secrets coming out in unconventional ways. [ rapture had a funny way of working like that, after all. and nothing escapes the ever watchful and evasive eye of the little sisters. ]

But. Yes. I'd hope so too?

[wolfcut]

Already right at home then.

[ He doesn't like the sound of that, if the shift in his tone is anything to go by. ]

Most people won't try prying on their own unless you let them. At least that part you can control.

[notyourbloodymessiah]

[ oh, don't threaten the nosiest girl in rapture with a good time bigby. or do. just hope it doesn't get her into quite as much trouble as it has historically, i guess. ]


Speaking from experience, I assume?

[wolfcut]

Plenty. But not all of them here.

[ Which is to say, one has to get used to evading nosy questions when you're part of a secret community. Give him your best while he's still in a decent mood, Eleanor. ]

Hard not to pry when we're all from different worlds though.

[notyourbloodymessiah]

Some things are universal constants, eh? [ this is mostly a guess on her part. she's passingly familiar with the idea of there being multiple universes yes i just had to google when quantum mechanics were coined, but she'd barely even seen hers. oh well. ]

Well, then, since you know I'm a mermaid: mind telling me what you were before all this?