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

[wolfcut]

[ His ears perk all the way up. You've got this, Aegiomon. Show him what you're made of— ]

... Mm. Well.

[ Not everyone's got it, kid. His ears droop just the same, but now he's invested. ]

Alright. So now you know what you smell like. Here. [ He slowly pulls off his scarf, lifting it up toward Aegiomon's nose. ] What's that smell like? Try not to focus on anything grassy this time.

[ As a Dark-type, he already knows the hint of spicy licorice might stick out a bit more, though the wool itself could just as easily catch the Skiddo's attention first. ]

[timeexistseverywhere]

[He's made of leaves, does that count for anything—

With the scarf all up in his nose, a bunch of scents do hit him all at once. The previously mentioned licorice scent is there, although Aegiomon wouldn't know the name to that. Either way, it's a surprisingly sweet smell to come from a hamster.

The wool scent is also there, which smells...normal?

But no...what really catches his attention is a familiar scent, another thing he wasn't expecting. Aegiomon's ears perk up as he tries to put a name to it, it's at the tip of his tongue, he swears. It's...fresh, like open air or...ozone? Like a faraway storm that also happens to be small enough to slip into your pocket...

He turns to Bigby when it hits him.]

Do you use...electric attacks?

[Now that the scarf isn't around him anymore, Aegiomon can see Bigby is pretty electric-coded right now.]

I can use them, too. Or...I used to, anyway.

[wolfcut]

[ That immediately gets his attention. Out of everthing, he figured that scent would be the hardest to pick up on, much less actually place. ]

Yeah, actually. [ He starts to wrap his scarf back on, expression softening just a tad. ] Nice catch, kid.

[ There's a pause before he twitches his nose slightly. His cheeks start to spark, though only for a few moments at most. Whether he's trying to prove Aegiomon right, or just showing off a party trick to a kid, it's hard to say. ]

Don't worry. You'll get plenty of Grass moves here to make up the difference. [ As much as he could leave it at that and continue with the lesson, he can't help but digress, paws sliding back into his pockets. ] You have to use those electric attacks a lot back home?

[timeexistseverywhere]

[Aegiomon smiles proudly, ready to simply bask in the compliment before continuing the lesson. He's already so hype that he's apparently a good sniffer. Plus, knowing Bigby is electrical just makes him that much cooler.

...But his question throws him off. How...how did he know that? Maybe he can smell it on him somehow? He IS the master sniffer, after all. ...Which means Aegiomon can't deny it, he doesn't want Bigby to think he's some sort of liar.

But maybe he can downplay it. He just met Bigby, and although the hamster hasn't been loud at him yet, he doesn't want to give him a reason to start yelling.]

Um, yeah, actually...

[His smile is still there, but it looks like there's an effort to keep it there.]

But...Digimon are a lot like Pokémon. Some of them are nice and can live in cities and villages like this, while others...

[Sometimes attack. He knows Pokémon are similar, he's seen the mission board by now.]

The difference is that Digimon can get big. Really big. So sometimes you need to attack more.

[wolfcut]

Hm. That makes sense.

[ He already doesn't like where this is going, but he keeps his voice even-tempered. No need to put Aegiomon on the defensive. An ear flicks in thought as he looks up, the other's expression shifting just enough for him to notice. ]

Must've been pretty scary though. I bet all those other nice Po— Digimon probably felt bad making you fight stuff that big all the time.

[ He already knows that must not be true, if they kept sending a kid to fight those kinds of battles. At least in the Bay it's a choice, and never done on one's own. For once, Bigby would like to meet a kid around here that doesn't have the weight of some kind of responsibility on their shoulders. ]

[timeexistseverywhere]

[Oh phew, he's so glad it makes sense, because he's not sure if he can properly explain any better without getting...complicated. So then...why does he tense up when Bigby asks more about it? Aegiomon glances down at him, like he understood all those words he just said, just not in that particular order.]

Why...why would they feel bad about it?

[If anything, that's all anyone ever really wanted him to do.]

[wolfcut]

[ That tells him all he needs to know. He adjusts his scarf, mostly to hide the brief flicker of frustration in his face. As much as he doesn't know Aegiomon's full story, it's hard for him not to feel upset about what little context he does have. This kid was just frolicking around in the snow. They really had no one else to fight their battles? ]

Because that's not the sort of thing kids should do. The older Digimon should know how to handle a big scary monster all on their own.

[ Speaking as a former big scary monster himself. Kids never stood a chance with him around. ]

What if you got hurt, Aegiomon?

minor spoilers

[timeexistseverywhere]

[Aegiomon opens his mouth to answer, then closes it. His eyes widen when he realizes he doesn't know how to answer that. At the time, it didn't seem...odd?? There was always some sort of reason why no one could simply do it themselves, and most of the time those reasons seemed pretty, well, reasonable. No, the only person who ever seemed to worry if he got hurt or not was Inori, and she was only human. He might get hurt, but if she took his place, she would get dead.<.i>

Is that why she always felt so bad about not being able to fight? Aegiomon thought he was doing such a good thing when he was protecting her...]

I... They needed me to, because I'm...

[He pauses again, pawing at the ground with his hoof awkwardly, lowering his head as he gazes down. Just how quickly does he want to spill the "Great Guardian" stuff to an adult he just met? Bigby might stop being so nice to him if he found out Aegiomon should be doing more than just playing in the snow or learning to sniff out scents really good. He wasn't just some kid they pulled off the street to do dangerous errands, they planned his whole role since he was an egg.]

...I'm a lot stronger than I look. Really.

[wolfcut]

[ Aegiomon's reaction isn't entirely unexpected, but there's still a small flicker of regret in getting to this point at all. Bigby doesn't know this kid, and from the sound of it, they probably have even less in common than he first thought. No one ever needed a young angry wolf around, especially not one as hungry as he was.

But there's something about that second part that guts him, even if he's a little better at hiding it than Aegiomon. ]

Listen, kid. I know we just met but— [ He tries to meet Aegiomon's lowered gaze, head tilting up. ] —I'm sure there's more to you than just being strong. Did you want to fight them?

[ Want. There's emphasis on that word. He thought all he wanted was to be bigger and stronger than anyone else in the Homelands, but as much as he enjoyed it, the truth of it was a lot more complicated. ]

alluding to endgame spoilers now, bigby you're killing him

[timeexistseverywhere]

...

[Another question that no one's ever thought to ask before, alongside a concept that's completely foreign to him. To Digimon, the need to get stronger is...everything. That drive to reach the next level, to get bigger. And in the end, Aegiomon reached that pinnacle, didn't he? Yet even with all that power, no matter how strong he was, there were still things completely out of his control.

So, the question remains, did he want to fight?]

...No. [His voice gets really quiet, but there's a seriousness in his tone that any normal child simply wouldn't have.] No, I...I hate conflict. Conflict...robs people of those they care about. If I could avoid fighting and just live peacefully alongside Inori, that's what I'd want to do... But even then, it's not that simple, right? If I wasn't strong, I couldn't protect her...

well if bigby can't eat him this is the only alternative--

[wolfcut]

[ That name again. Maybe they do have something in common after all. ]

Protecting someone you care about is never that simple, no.

[ Spoken with the heavy voice of someone who knows that pain far too well. He goes quiet, letting Aegiomon's words fully sink in before continuing. When the world does nothing but take, being strong is the only way to pull back. But at what cost? For him, it was losing himself to the monster everyone feared. For Aegiomon, it sounds like becoming a savior everyone demanded from. ]

I'm sorry, Aegiomon. That they did that to you. That... you felt like you had no choice but to be strong.

[ What else can he really say, as someone who thrives in conflict, who enjoys when things go wrong? It's too late for an old wolf, but there's hope yet for a young kid to break that cycle for himself, especially one who never wanted to be in it to begin with. ]

Your friend — Inori — they must be pretty special to mean that much to you.

[timeexistseverywhere]

[He's...sorry? Even after Aegiomon tried to keep things vague enough, Bigby still felt the need to say that? No one's...ever been sorry about what happened. They maybe have apologized for the inconvenience when sending him off to take out threats, but they always wanted him to embrace his predetermined destiny. His face contorts as he tries not to cry thinking about it, Bigby's words hitting him harder than what he was prepared for. Bigby barely knows him and yet HE'S sorry. Doesn't even know all the details, and yet it was enough to BE sorry.

...Once again, Inori seems to be his light in a dark tunnel, because hearing her name come out of Bigby's mouth calms him down. He smiles softly after a small sniffle he fails to hide, glad to talk about anything other than how things played out, nodding at his assessment.]

Yeah, Inori, she...was the first person who was ever really kind to me. She found me not long after I hatched, so...I was really scared of...well, everything. Even her. But she never gave up on me.

[wolfcut]

[ The Big Bad Wolf is no stranger to making little kids cry, but seeing the way Aegiomon reacts the way he does makes him shrink with an odd feeling he can't place. For as much as he seems wiser than his years, this is still very much a child he's talking to, and one Bigby obviously made upset by getting into things all too suddenly. It would've been impossible for him not to though eventually, when it just makes him angrier the more he thinks about it.

He can't really offer a comforting pat on the shoulder when Aegiomon has about two feet on him, so he settles for a few awkward taps on the leg. Chin up, kid. ]

No wonder. That's the best kind of friend to have. [ He smiles softly back in return, relieved he didn't completely ruin this kid's day. ] I know she's not here right now, but I'll bet she'd be happy that you're trying new things. Things you want.