myddvai | TEST DRIVE MEME (JAN 23')

TEST DRIVE MEME
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Arc Introduction, Month 0

The Pull

Falling asleep, closing one's eyes to die, or simply walking through a doorway... it only takes the slightest lapse of consciousness for the magic to take hold. That sudden feeling of falling within a dream overtakes the senses, lasting far longer than it should. If lucky or nimble, feet will hit the floor rather than spine or face.

Characters find themselves pulled into a new world without warning, and they are now in the spotlight. Literally. From their new vantage point from center stage in a cabaret, they can just barely make out the strange, sprawling figures that form their audience. Hulking animal shapes sit at tables and lean against walls, defining the edges of the dark space. The floorboards glow with untold power, etched with countless runes and scripts, radiating power and… a strangely pleasant smell of vanilla and cinnamon fills the air.

"Charming," says a seemingly disembodied voice, tone bored despite the compliment, "Let this one stay, I'm intrigued by them."

"Suboptimal," responds another voice, this time clearly to the right and behind. Looking over a shoulder, the two speaking stand on opposite sides from one another.

The last to speak, a seven-foot tall goat man, is holding a broken shepherd's staff. The whole of the item is glowing with power and strands of magic wind outward like thread or like marionette strings, as they trail to the new arrivals body at all their joints. The goat man sighs and lowers the staff, dispelling the magic and the strands like extinguishing a flame. Colorful sparks and embers erupt and rise all around the stage, before cooling and disappearing into thin air.

"Welcome, you're one of the Pulled. Now, get off the stage," says that first voice again, from the other figure. They are a slim person of ambiguous gender and seemingly timeless age. They crack a smirk, "we have more of your kind to summon, the good Secretary Theodore will explain further,"

With that, it's time to explore what this strange place and experience holds, because there's seemingly no going back now.

Theodore is not his name...

Whether going willingly or getting kicked off, the most recent Pulled is moved into the off-stage area. A man waits, looking uneasy and stressed but doing his best to project some air of competency. He'll shake hands with anybody who'd like to but doesn't seem surprised or offended if they don't take his hand.

"Good to meet you. I'm Ted, Ydris' secretary," he has an overall exhausted air to him, as he pushes up his glasses.

Every Pulled gets the same, rehearsed explanation of what's going on.

First, a welcome to Myddvai, the name of the world they now find themselves pulled into. Myddvai is the vast World Tree, floating pleasantly through space. It is a highly magical place and thus not always the easiest to explain. He heeds that Pulled might want to curve any... expectations of perfect consistency. This world is highly unpredictable.

In the most basic terms, Myddvai is controlled by forces of Chaos and Order. All magic falls between these two extremes and is, curiously, denoted by flavor. The curious scent of cinnamon and vanilla is caused by the magic at work, summoning in the various Pulled. Ted introduces the two on the stage as Ydris and Ives, who are currently the two most powerful beings active on Myddvai. He urges that getting on either of their bad sides would be unwise.

The two on stage have devised this ritual summoning because the whole of Myddvai is in trouble. Ydris is one of five Dragon Deities, the living gods that oversee the natural order and chaotic forces throughout Myddvai.

Due to "a mishap," the other four Dragons are all unconscious. Many groups are scrambling to find their own solutions or, more concerningly, using this opportunity to seize various forms of control.

Ydris is aligned to Order and cannot allow such grabs at power on their, suddenly very solo, watch. Ives, who is a being with wisdom more ancient than even the gods of this world, has enlisted himself to help with this. The two agree they need outsiders with no biases on the politics of this world, and no motivation outside of what Ydris and Ives can offer them all. The prize for cooperation is a simple choice:

"Pulled are welcome to remain in the world and live out their mortal lives in luxury, heroes that will be favored by all the gods... or, be returned to your homes with new life and power. Even if you aren't interested in going home, there are others who are." Ted glances away for a moment, before his gaze returns to the Pulled, "The choice will be each of yours to make... provided you cooperate. If you're not interested in helping, you can be a normal citizen of the world. That's always an option."

Beyond that overwhelming lore dump, Ted can only answer so many further questions, but feel free to inquire with Ted. He's mostly around to field each Pulled as they're directed off stage to meet him. Other Pulled who have already heard the script can hang around in his space longer, but they'll probably get tired of the same speech over and over. Ted looks like he would love to stop...

Join the Audience

"You can join the rest of the audience. Mingle as much as you'd like," Ted urges to those done with their orientation.

There is only a curtain blocking the backstage from the seating area. Joining the audience reveals that the figures watching this ritual are animal, insect, and arachnid people. Dog, rat, bat, snake... all manner of heads sit expressively upon more human bodies, all dressed in sharp suits, gowns, or mixtures thereof. This appears to be quite the fancy affair!

These are Springtide Vampires, the aristocratic leaders of this particular culture. They eagerly invite Pulled in pairs to sit and socialize with them.

While a few lick their chops at the new arrivals, they insist they are not out for off-world blood. No, what they want is connections to the Pulled. Springtide Families are all headed by a Vampire, and those who grant resources to this endeavor are being promised great favors or riches by Ydris. So, they are hungry for clout more than anything. A few Vampires are interested in making conversation about themselves, but most prefer to simply eavesdrop on any Pulled sitting at their tables and speaking with one another.

Pulled who are especially interesting or social will be slipped a calling card with a family crest: Rat, Dog, Raven, Moth, Cat, or Spider. The Vampire granting the card will instruct Pulled that this will be valuable soon. So, hold onto it for later and guard it against thieves. Pulled can only acquire one of these cards each, so choose carefully. If Pulled decide to trade among themselves, that may come with future consequences.

((Note: Vampires will be NPCs available for interaction below, but players are free to handwave basic interactions, as described above. Receiving one of the calling cards can also be done at player discretion.))

The bar is open to a new you

At the far end of the cabaret is a long bar leading to a kitchen. Mysteriously, the cabaret has no discernable exit. There is a row of seats facing the bartenders and another facing the stage. Both rows are exclusive for Pulled, set aside from the Vampires. Everybody who was pulled in arrived wearing whatever they last had on. If an outfit was too revealing, damaged, or just not comfortable, then Pulled are offered a silken robe and slippers to wear instead.

Whether a waitress or bartender addresses a Pulled, they refer to them as their Myddvai Breed. "What would you like to drink, Elf?" "You look like a hungry Rahuth! How about something from the kitchen?" and so on. All Pulled take on recognizable characteristics native to Myddvai, features determined by the Pull of the universe. Any who ask are told that features are likely to continue to manifest the longer they're on Myddvai. Some Pulled might also experience their form shifting wildly between different breeds and are assured that will settle down eventually. This kind of transformation isn't painful, only strange to experience. Pulled can get told all the basic information available on Myddvai breeds at this time.

Pulled have plenty of time to chat just among themselves at the bar. If endless, freely provided alcohol isn't enough to loosen the tongue, then perhaps sharing a meal will? Pulled are required to order food as pairs or parties, individual requests won't be served. The menu is distinctly lacking in grains, dairy, and red meat, exclusively having vegetable dishes and various seafood on offer. It's all very flavorful and filling, seasoned well, and delivered warm.

If you're facing the stage, there's plenty more being pulled in... and come to find out, not everybody is allowed to stay.

The Ice Storm

Watch and it becomes clear that the ritual doesn't always result in worthwhile Pulled.

The room swells as the pair of powerful beings do each half of the summons. Ives steadies his staff and draws in the smoke generated by Ydris, who looks entirely different. Their human illusion is dropped during a summoning, showing their true form as a fantastical, wax-bodied being of fire and metal. Flames all swirl intensely, creating a smoke that is wound into concentrated magical strings of energy. These lines are what pull people out from their worlds, causing a void in reality from which they arrive through. The tear is quickly stitched back together by those same thread, weaving the space back together again behind the new arrival.

If a Pulled is deemed unworthy, Ives points the staff at them. A flash of light overtakes the entire room. The Vampires appear to all know just the time to duck or hide their eyes when this happens. Except a certain Sir Goodpoint the flash is his favorite part.

After this light dissipates, the person is gone. Seemingly returned home. One would... hope. The next ritual begins again, people stay or go. There seems to be a completely unknown ranking system at play. The Vampires casually mention how many Stars someone is worth in passing. Not everybody chosen has a high rank by this measure, so that doesn't seem to be the deciding factor.

A semi-regular occurrence is the Ice Storm. This is when an unwanted character is Pulled multiple times and everybody in attendance has gotten just so fed up with seeing them. One of the front-row Vampires seems to have started a trend, that of plucking an ice cube from their drink and throwing it at the offending Pulled. Basically, everybody in the audience takes this as a great opportunity to pelt the unwanted Pulled until Ives makes them go away, jeering and booing are optional.

All Pulled in the audience are given cups of ice, wordlessly encouraged to participate. Nobody subjected to the Ice Storm is allowed to remain. Any who stand to object to this will get the Ice Storm directed at themselves, instead. It won't get a Pulled who was already chosen sent back home, but they will get a good pelting for their trouble.

It also makes for a progressively funnier show as new Pulled appear and slip on the remains of the previous Ice Storm. Glad that wasn't you, right? Or maybe it was and now you understand why...

OOC Notes

Welcome to the Test Drive Meme for Myddvai's First Season!
This post is Open To All for play, both those with and without invites to our game are welcome to play in this space.
Players are allowed to play around with their character as any of the available breeds while on the TDM. TDM breed choice does not need to match an application. All threads from the TDM can remain canon even if breed is changed later when applying to game. The lore reason for this would be instability of a character's form when first pulled in. Breed choice cannot currently be changed once within the game, so choose wisely when applying!
As a reminder, TDM participation is a required part of our Application to join. Both top leveling your characters and tagging around is encouraged!
For those without Invites who are interested in applying, feel free to join our discord and inquire about potentially receiving an invite.
All Mod Invited Players are allowed to extend unlimited invites to those they wish.
For those with invitations, Reservations are open along with this TDM! Please put in a Reservation if you are intending to join the game.
Applications open on the 1st of February and priority will be given to Reserved players. The first round of acceptances to the game will go out Feb. 4th along with an IC Introduction Event.
Not sure what Breed you want to pick for your character? Head over to our Design Workshop! Moderation and other potential players would be happy to help brainstorm.

code bases by tricklet

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Thank you! Having such an experienced guard would be a weight off my mind.

[she means it, too.]

As for my home...well, it is certainly complicated! I don't envy how much statecraft the imperial family has to deal with...but the larger a country, the more complex its systems of management, of course. I know the empress and the prince are always busy.

My own role in such things is small, at the moment, but all Maidens are trained to be able to assist their husband in the ways they are best suited to.

Statecraft... management...? What are those...?

[Sorry, Reirin - he's lost on these concepts by far, unable to wrap his tribe-raised mind around it all. He understands being busy, of course; that's something that's more seasonal for them, but it does happen. Still...]

... Sorry, I don't really understand it. So you are... all trained to help one person, who becomes a... husband? Is that something like a bonding partner, who you stay with over all?

[Marriage, as it turns out, is pretty informal out on the Plains.]

[oh dear! Reirin racks her brain a bit -- she can teach, but it's not easy to know where to start with someone who just completely isn't familiar with the concepts and background she took as part of her everyday life.]

Statecraft and management would be...like leading a tribe, I suppose, except that our country is made up of many kinds of tribes? So each of those has a leader, and the emperor is the leader of leaders, and the prince is the emperor's successor. The strongest and most influential families in the country offer up candidates to become the leader's partners.

And yes -- should we marry the prince, that would bond us for life as partners; we would be meant to be loyal to him, and bear his children.

[normally one wouldn't just talk about these affairs so bluntly, but it can't be helped in this case, and there's no one from home to judge her for it here except Keigetsu. she hopes that contextualizes it for him a bit better!]

[for a moment, he wonders what it would be like if all the tribes were led by one person. Honestly, he doesn't think it would work out, what with their individual differences.]

How does one decide who's the strongest? [brows furrowing in the effort of understanding, Azhar shakes his head.] I can't imagine it.

But... why would one need to be taught to bond with one's partner? It's something you just... know, isn't it? [a pause.] It may just be too different for me to understand.

Hmm...it is rather hard for me to say, I'm afraid. I'm taught the arts one must know for such a role, but the choice to welcome a partner wholly into one's heart is always one's own, in the end.

I think, in that sense, our people are not so different...? You choose the one you protect also, do you not?

So what you learn is useful whether you become the partner or not?

[He's trying quite seriously to learn, at least.]

The one we bond with, yes. [A small correction, but one nonetheless.] But I don't understand needing to learn something from someone else, if you're meant to bond with them. Is it not better to learn from the person you'll be with, if it's related to them?

Our bonding isn't such a sure thing! The chances are small, but circumstances may lead to my leaving the court and pursuing a different path in my life...or perhaps, for the Prince to no longer find me a suitable partner and have me dismissed. It would be unfortunate, but it is possible. The Prince's duties also mean he cannot spend all his time with his partners -- it woud not be proper -- so it's also impractical in that way.

So, we learn from the consorts who serve the current leader of the country instead, at least for the first few years. When things are more surely established, we may spend more time with the Prince and assume more authority of our own.

[Azhar is quiet for a long moment, before shaking his head. It's clear that Reirin's circumstances are exceptionally different from the Vikute's own - so much so that he can't fathom it at all.]

I see... it seems strange, and I can't really understand it. But if it's as it should be, then I can't really see a reason for it to change, either... [Hard to think they were supposed to be here ordering food and they got this derailed.]

Well...

[Reirin hesitates over that for a moment. the system isn't perfect. she's not unaware that being a Maiden constrains her from other paths she might wish to take in her life, if she follows the path all the way to the Prince's side; that's why she's so excited by the opportunity Myddvai offers her, to at least see a whole world before she settles.]

If it's meant to change, it will change, but such things tend to come slowly. I'm not displeased with it, nor with my current circumstances! There'll be so much more for us to learn here.

...?

[It's almost funny, how little he understands it. As someone unequivocally free to make his own choices, unbound by the entirety of societal norms, even her hesitation seems strange.]

I see... I only meant that I am... [what was the word? They would screech it sometimes, when he spoke of his intentions on the plains— ah well.] Not able to pass "judgment" on it, as it's nothing I can understand.

Hmm...

There's value in an outsider's judgement, even if they might not have the context for everything. That's rather why we seem to be here, yes? It's admirable to want to have the full picture first before forming an opinion, but at the same time, perhaps if something looks strange at face value, it is indeed strange.

Well, that's neither here nor there, though, but I hope you can find more confidence as we all learn and travel together.

[She's quite cheerful, and quite wise, he thinks. It's a different world - probably literally - than he could ever know, but there's a certain sense of attainability there.]

Confidence? Ah— I'm confident in my own circumstances. I just don't see a reason to judge things I don't understand. But... I do hope to learn more since we're all here, yes.

That's the spirit! I'm sure as we wander these wilds, you'll gain more understanding and see what you want to do about it, too. There's always value to be found in expanding one's horizons! No place is so perfect it couldn't do with a shakeup, or so flawed it's without value to explore!

[claps her hands together with excitement, then seems to recall herself and blushes slightly]

Ah--well, I'll try not to get overexcited. Here, here, I've kept us from our food!

What I want to do about it...?

[having his own path is a wild thought, but she's not wrong. If he unlinks the circumstances here from his expectations from home, it feels a little easier.]

You should be free to act as you like. [shrugging, Azhar leans forward and glances over at her blushing.] The food will not disappear, and its easy to eat when hunger strikes.

[or now, since the conversation has settled down some.]

TEST DRIVE MEME (JAN 23')

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