Good Morrow mods ([personal profile] morrowmods) wrote in [community profile] goodmeme2023-10-06 06:18 pm
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TEST DRIVE MEME

test drive meme
Welcome to the opening test drive of [community profile] goodmorrow! If you're just getting here, you can find our game premise here and our full navigation here.

It's a new game, but you don't have to play a newbie! This game has a mechanic that allows people to app characters who aren't new to the setting. Please check over on our application guidelines for more information about how it works. We've also got a summary of World Events that occurred prior to this TDM, so your oldbie can have some things to reference.

Thank you for playing! We're excited to have you.

the summoning

Arrivals There is always a buzz around the time of a summoning ritual. Will there be dozens? Or will this time only yield a handful? Will the stakes become dramatic enough for there to be a glimpse of one of the Old Ones, and the chance to partake in their incomprehensible greatness? The ones who believe consider it a day of hope and new beginnings. However, there are much more mundane concerns for the skeptics. Summoning means that there will be a whole new group of displaced folks who'll need to be oriented. They'll come hurting and confused, squirming with the bone-deep pain of travel and weary after hours of hearing about how they've been Chosen to herald the approach of the Old Ones. People will be here seeking help, and most of the native townsfolk only understand how to preach at newcomers. The new arrivals will likely need help from more experienced expats who better understand where they're coming from.


dessicated and unremarkable

Forbidden Knowledge Even after the end of the summoning ritual, many kept their eyes watching the sky. There is always the risk of summoning more than just a new batch of novitiates. When pulling things from other worlds, chances are high that something else might tag along.

A few hours after the end of the introductory sermon, scraps of paper start to blow down from the sky. They travel on the breeze and seem to get into everything. They land on roofs and float through open windows. They get tangled in tree branches and end up underfoot on walking paths. Page after page delicately makes its way to the earth.

It must be wisdom from the cosmos! The rumor sweeps its way across town in hushed whispers. The gossips are saying that the elders want the pages collected, so that they can properly archive and study them. They promise a handsome reward to those who can gather enough to fill a tome, but that seems somehow less attractive, even as something to wish about. Whether deliberately hunting out the pages or accidentally encountering them in everyday life, it will soon be obvious that these are pages full of something best left unseen.

Some of the manuscript pages seem mundane enough. The words seem strangely familiar, as if they might be legible if one focuses on them hard enough. It's just a matter of figuring out handwriting or deciphering a dialect. It must be. A page might prove so engrossing that it leaves a person in an enthralled state, silently locked in a quest to understand something that looks so comprehensible only for it to veer off into the uncanny. This lock might leave them tremendously suggestible to any words spoken around them, their minds struggling and desperate enough to latch on to anything comprehensible at all.

Other pages seem less similar to human writing and will likely create less of a hold on those with the misfortune to view them. The pages covered in glyphs and arcane symbols feel almost empowering their foreignness, almost as if one might simply let the experience wash over them and let it run through them. Those unlucky enough to state too long at one of those pages might find themselves overwhelmed by instances of magical outbursts. It feels like a strange sort of sneeze as the arcane energy suddenly sparks a small thunderbolt into existence, or turns a bushel of hay into a solid block of iron. The effects are seemingly random, but wear off on their own in a few minutes. It's probably fine. What kind of damage could be done in such a short time?

This might be a relief to the illiterate members of the community, if it wasn't for the leathery pages. More parchment than paper in texture, these pages seem to carry something ominous in the rough fibers of their material. When touched without protective gloves, these pages force their handler to feel a glimpse of unspeakable suffering. It comes from a place beyond pain, lighting parts of the mind that were never intended for use. Screaming might be a way to express it, but more often it manifests in an expression of extreme emotion. Hysterical mania seems nice until it doesn't end and keeps a person up at night unable to stop laughing. Murderous rage might be inconvenient for the other members of the village. Whatever the emotion is, it's gone far beyond any normal limitation and will stay that way for the next several hours.

Enjoy the hunt, Revelbrooke. Try not to end up with too many papercuts.

ooc notes

Thanks for checking out this setting! If you have questions, feel free to direct them to the first thread below.

resting_githface: (Default)

Lae'zel | Baldur's Gate 3

[personal profile] resting_githface 2023-10-07 01:14 am (UTC)(link)
[A. Arrival]

[Some unfortunate soul had the great idea to tell her you can't leave here. That summonings are final. Although there's no weapon in her hands, that doesn't stop her from glaring them down for a good old Githyanki interrogation. Or is it you she's interrogating?]


I will not ask again. Tell me how to leave this place or I will cut your neck and leave you to bleed on the very steps of your hallowed ground.

[B. Forbidden Knowledge]

[Yes, she noticed the parchment falling from the sky. Yes, she noticed people acting strangely and obsessing over these pages. No, she doesn't understand any of it and she's done well ignoring it so far, until...]

[There's a sharp cry of pain as she looks down to see her foot has stepped on one such page.]


Tsk'va! I will tolerate this hysteria no longer.

[If you could roll for initiative against a parchment, she would. For now, she just looks for something flammable to set it alight. She looks pissed.]
nethereseorb: made by Nia @ <user name=hiraethe> (pic#)

Gale Dekarios | Baldur's Gate 3

[personal profile] nethereseorb 2023-10-07 02:27 am (UTC)(link)

:ARRIVAL 'a wild portal appears':
[ For any wizard, there was always the erroneous chance that they would find a portal and step inside-- it was a call of sorts, how could one resist the very idea of stepping into something unknown. Pandora's box, except instead of hoping stepping out.. hope merely stepped in, to disappear into the aether.

Except Gale, as he confusedly emerged from the mawing purple void, did not precisely remember stepping inside a portal. The last thing he recalled was a blur, something with a book and a glowing boot which he pressed to a chest that was hurting. He winced as the tattoo glowed just above the neck and then he found his knees hitting grass and dirt. ]


Ah, an audience I see-- how peculiar, however at this conjecture, I am not precisely sure that I remember an audience? Well Volo had been lurking around but I do not remember seeing him..

[ He was not sure, in fact, of what he was going to say except that a cool breeze touched his body and he realized he was.. nearly naked. He dragged himself up to something akin to his full height while he sought to cover himself. Desperately, he attempted to search for familiar faces within the torchlight wielding crowd of villagers. ]

Can anyone tell me where I have landed? [ Thankfully no one attempted to high five him this time on his way out the portal. That was something, right? ]

:ARCANE KNOWLEDGE 'it's like wizard foreplay':
[ The page fell down and like magnetism it floated into his hands, cradled within his own open palm. The words glowed and he was for a moment caught in the lure of the written word. Certainly, it was why he had pursued the wizard lifestyle-- because he was enamored with knowledge, books and the sweet tang of a spell flowing within the Weave.

His eyes caught and held parchment, and then he was moving it over the grace and beauty of words, how they hummed with energy.

Dark magic crackled from his fingertips, a voidal flare as the ichor flowing through his veins caught like ink and melded with it to create a spell, but not one of his own repertoire (he had not the wherewithal to cast which had been frustrating) but here as he spoke the words, a void started to spread underneath his feet; gravity that made his booted feet feel heavy, attempted to suck him down.

He blinked and then fell backwards, flat onto his arse while he watched the eddying whirlpool grab a milk bucket and hungrily pulled it to it's dark violent depths as it evidenced; but still his fingers clutched parchment and he was attempting to push himself further back on the ground. ]


This is not the normal type of magic that I have encountered. This book is it's own entity, cleaving to my mind-- though I did not speak any words whatsoever. [ There were other pages and they fell downward in a whirling waltz, disturbing if they all contained that same mote of power as a single page did. ]

We must be careful, perhaps we should attempt to collect them? Reform them back into a tome?

WILD CARD
Hello, this is Nia aka [plurk.com profile] alwaysbeenasmiler with yet another socially inept magic user because I have a BRAND(tm)! Feel free to hit me up with plotting either in DM or over on plurk and please be kind to my adopted baby boy because everyone is mean to him, including that Lae'zel.

Paper Airplane texting is also welcome! (I love texting threads; fast and fun for those low spoons nights)

Edited 2023-10-07 02:55 (UTC)
nethereseorb: made by Nia @ <user name=hiraethe> (pic#16730335)

[personal profile] nethereseorb 2023-10-07 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
[ For a moment, Gale just stands there off to the side. He brings his fist to his mouth but only so that he can consider and weigh his words very carefully. (Especially when dealing with the Githyanki and their very terse and no-nonsense ways. However finally he speaks, and that is only after all of the wheels in his head thought the way to go about this ]

Perhaps we should, ah, attempt to parlay with the natives? After all they are the ones whom know the most about the place and are our best bet at getting home?

[ And the whole bleeding out thing might be frowned upon, though judging from some of the looks of sick fascination coming from the villagers-- it appeared that some may be into this? ] Or really explanations, I would settle for some information.
reflectionless: (103)

Astarion | Baldur's Gate 3

[personal profile] reflectionless 2023-10-07 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ 1. Arrival ]

This is starting to feel a bit like a pattern...

[Astarion's tone is somewhere between a put upon sigh and a longsuffering huff. His hair, a pure white that seems to lay about his head somewhere between chaos and carefully styled waves, and his complexion are exceptionally pale. Pointed ears mark him as an elf, for anyone who would have enough knowledge about the subject.

It's his posture that marks him as vaguely annoyed.]
The robes are new though. And not appreciated. Dreadful. Genuinely awful.

[So he's quick to start trying to ask for help, all charm and smiles -- though quite careful not to smile too broadly, lest he show wickedly pointed teeth.] Excuse me, I was hoping you might be able to help me... more than the, ugh, proselytizing prattlers that seem to be everywhere.


[ 2. Forbidden Knowledge ]

[There's buzz about all the paper litter, and as Astarion glances around, he's not sure he's all that impressed. At best it looks like the sort of thing a wizard or some historian might be interested in.

But they are hard to miss, so he eventually lets some spark of curiosity get the better of him. The markings on the page are strained and he wrinkles his nose at it. Like he guessed, nothing worth his time, something better left to those who were better with thinking than action.

Still it is hard to simply let it go.

The first explosion is off to his left, a tree that is very suddenly speared by lightning that doesn't seem to hvae come from a cloud.]


That wasn't me!

[The second goes off to his right. A sheep that is suddenly roast mutton.]

That... might have been. [A sigh.] Waste of a good snack.


[ 3. Wildcard ]

(( Something else in mind? Hit me up in PM or at [plurk.com profile] seasided. Someone please bully this terrible vampire. He deserves. ))
nethereseorb: made by Nia @ <user name=hiraethe> (Default)

[personal profile] nethereseorb 2023-10-07 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
What do you think they are attempting to summoun? [ And please do not let the answer back be 'bad fashion sense'; Gale saw the way that Astarion sneered at the sackcloths. ]
resting_githface: (Default)

[personal profile] resting_githface 2023-10-07 03:00 am (UTC)(link)
[She is quick to shoot Gale a look. You're killing the vibe, sir.]

Very well. Ask your questions, but let it be clear that when that fails, we do it my way.

[She'll take a step back, fold her arms and debate how to kill them in the meantime with a very watchful eye.]
reflectionless: (024)

B

[personal profile] reflectionless 2023-10-07 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, you should do something about it.

[Astarion is somewhere between relieved to see a familiar face and wary given that Lae'zel somehow looks even more murderous than usual. That is impressive. He'd have thought that she might have some upper limit for pissed off, but if she does, apparently it has not yet been reached.]

Perhaps if you stabbed it.
reflectionless: (023)

[personal profile] reflectionless 2023-10-07 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
Nothing I'm particularly interested in seeing. I mean really cultists are so cliche. I'm embarrassed for them. Also they have terrible fashion sense.
nethereseorb: made by Nia @ <user name=hiraethe> (pic#16730105)

[personal profile] nethereseorb 2023-10-07 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ This is Gale, the party vibe-killer. It's his title, right up there with Shadowheart being known as "God's Favorite Princess". If he can't do anything else, he'll wear it with a certain amount of wizardly pride. ]

Very good, generally you do ask questions and then stab, however we are attempting to avoid that.

[ No matter though, the villagers were already intimidated by the Githyaki, and thus it was nearly impossible to get anything of use out of them. Though he started it with a very simple. ]

You mentioned something about a summon? Who are you attempting to call forth? [ Oh gods, he hoped it wasn't the Absolute ]

'....' [ Indeed, that was the sound of crickets coming from what he assumed where captors ]
Edited (never type while sleepy, moral of the story) 2023-10-07 03:13 (UTC)
nethereseorb: made by Nia @ <user name=hiraethe> (pic#16759063)

[personal profile] nethereseorb 2023-10-07 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
[ He knew it, he absolutely knew that was going to come out of the paper airplane that had lobbed itself magically at him ]

Is not potato sacks all the rage amidst cultists in general, though? I am sure that if there is anyone that may set a style, it's invariably you.
Edited 2023-10-07 03:14 (UTC)
reflectionless: (032)

[personal profile] reflectionless 2023-10-07 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
One reason of many that I have tried to avoid joining a cult -- the robes do nothing for my figure.

No one is setting a style in this. This may as well be a death shroud for fashion sense.

But all right, since we're wasting paper, I'll bite. What do you believe they're intending to summon?
Edited 2023-10-07 03:17 (UTC)
resting_githface: (Default)

[personal profile] resting_githface 2023-10-07 03:22 am (UTC)(link)
[If she's relieved, it's not exactly visible.]

Don't be ridiculous, Astarion. It is parchment. Although I suspect it is no ordinary parchment. [Paper isn't supposed to be that painful just from stepping on it.] I would advise against touching it.

[She's kicking herself a bit. She should have been more cautious and avoided it entirely. There's too little known of this place.]

Now, help me find something to set it ablaze or get out of my way.
nethereseorb: made by Nia @ <user name=hiraethe> (Default)

[personal profile] nethereseorb 2023-10-07 03:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ Comment about wasting paper? Gale approves ]

Then I suppose we shall have to take you on some sort of shopping trip once we can clear whatever it is these cultists want-- though I have seen this sort of zealotry from the Followers of the Absolute so-- my short answer is nothing good.

[ does Astarion dare to ask what the long answer is? ]



Edited 2023-10-07 03:27 (UTC)
resting_githface: (Default)

[personal profile] resting_githface 2023-10-07 03:36 am (UTC)(link)
[She kept her gaze leveled as she observed Gale's tactics, patiently waiting for her turn.]



[[OOC: Idk these npcs, but lemme know if you want this to go down a particular way (; ]]
stolentrinkets: (pic#16362188)

Vex'ahlia | Critical Role | OTA

[personal profile] stolentrinkets 2023-10-07 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
[ arrival ]

[ Vex'ahlia isn't that thrilled, to say the least. She is missing one beloved bear son, one beloved brother, and five beloved friends. She's quite sure that Keyleth's Transport via Plants doesn't work like that, despite her limited knowledge in nature magics, and her magics always had a faint greenish glow, not whatever she was seeing here. ]

Right, so. [ Hands on her hips, an eyebrow raised, hip to one side. ] I'd love to know who's decided to tell me what to do, because I have bad news for you, darling.


[ forbidden knowledge ]

[ Vex grabs the first page to fall beside her, looking at what was written on it. She was always a curious creature, and therefore tried to decipher what she was looking at. She knew several different languages, but this looked nothing like she had ever seen. Maybe it was arcane in nature? The glyphs looked a little what Scanlan would do with his spells, or even Allura when she was around.

She sighed, trying to decipher it a bit more, but ended up tossing the page to the ground. Right next to it, the ground seemed to erupt into flame, threatening to get too close. She tried to stomp it out with her boots, but ended up causing another to erupt. ]


Well, shit.


[ wildcard ]

[ Feel free to PM this journal or at [plurk.com profile] earthkingdom if you have anything in mind! She's quite nice once you get to know her. ]
reflectionless: (009)

[personal profile] reflectionless 2023-10-07 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
[He'll just assume she's pleased to see him. Who wouldn't be?]

Ah yes, right of course. Can't stab the murderous parchment, better to burn it. Or perhaps we could find a pair of shears?

[He thinks he's clever. As per usual.]

OR... perhaps it could be useful. If it caused you pain, imagine what it might do to someone less... [What's a tactful way to say this.] ...battle hardened.
reflectionless: (024)

forbidden knowledge

[personal profile] reflectionless 2023-10-07 03:50 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, they'll do that.

[Astarion is keeping his distance, gesturing vaguely at the paper that the woman is trying to stop. He talks like he totally knows all about this and didn't explode several things with lightning not long ago.]

I'd avoid looking too closely at any of the pages, and certainly avoid reading them.

[Casting around he does manage to spot a bucket that appears to be half full of rain water. Look, he's being vaguely helpful.]

Here now, back up or you'll be in the splash zone.
reflectionless: (011)

Arcane knowledge

[personal profile] reflectionless 2023-10-07 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
[It's the flare of unpleasant magic and the clatter of the poor, doomed milk bucket that caught Astarion's attention first. From there it was the span of a breath before he found himself looking at a pile of wizard.]

Look at you unleashing havoc without even trying. I'm impressed, Gale.

[He's also keeping his distance.]

If one page brought this about, do you really want to reunite it with its friends? Well, it won't be boring at least. I'll give you that.

[Count him in.]
reflectionless: (084)

[personal profile] reflectionless 2023-10-07 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
I assume there isn't nearly enough ink in town for your long answer?

But I admit, I think you're right. Nothing good, and we're expected to be some part of it. Though admittedly the how of that is a bit unclear.
resting_githface: (Default)

Arrival

[personal profile] resting_githface 2023-10-07 04:01 am (UTC)(link)
[Lae'zel observed from a distance before stepping in. It is a small relief to see she is not alone in her disgust for this place and its ways.]

Save your breath, istik. They lend no ear to us.

[She practically hisses her remark as her head jerks to the side, eyes narrowing to any silent captors present.]
stolentrinkets: (Default)

[personal profile] stolentrinkets 2023-10-07 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
Well, I know that now!

[ Yes, thank you, Astarion, for being so obscenely obvious. There was a reason that they say curiosity killed the cat, and Vex was literally no exception. She should have just listened to her subconscious voice that told her not to touch anything.

She backs up, more out of the way of the water and less of the pages. She's really not in the mood to be soaking wet. ]


Aim that way. I'm in no mood to be soaking wet as well.
stolentrinkets: (pic#16362166)

[personal profile] stolentrinkets 2023-10-07 04:08 am (UTC)(link)
[Vex crinkles her nose, obvious disdain written on her face. She had far too much to do back home to be dealing with being pulled to another plane of existence.]

Rather rude, don't you think? If they're going to bring us here, they might as well listen to us complain.
reflectionless: (061)

[personal profile] reflectionless 2023-10-07 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you, dashing stranger, for stepping in and helping with the destruction I've unleashed. Oh no, darling, it's no trouble at all. I'm happy to lend a hand.

[Astarion lifts an eyebrow, but he is careful with how he aims the water, tossing it onto the small infernos and making sure not to hit Vex with it in the process. He'd also be very unhappy to wind up soaking wet too, so he gets that.]

These pages seem to be a bit of a plague on the town today.
resting_githface: (Default)

[personal profile] resting_githface 2023-10-07 04:22 am (UTC)(link)
[Smallest, tiniest itty bitty teeny weeny kind of relieved. Yes.

As for his idea, it's not the worst. But all she sees is the threat.]


I have seen the way our captors hoard them and stare endlessly as though they were entranced. No, we burn them. Lest they be used against us.

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