test drive meme #1.

[seeingyou]

Hello, passengers and potential passengers!! Welcome to the first-ever eyemind Test Drive Meme. Here you have a chance to play around in the game's setting before deciding to app, test out new characters, or just roll around and have some fun. Enjoy!

No invite is necessary to play in the test drive, but please remember that eyemind is a (semi)private game and you must request an invitation before submitting an application. Request an invitation here!

Please note: Threads from the test drive meme DO NOT count toward AC and ARE NOT considered game canon, but you are welcome to use them for your app samples.

SCENARIO ONE: LIGHT UP THE NIGHT



The ship has stopped on Arion, near the settlement of Taunican, at the height of harvest season, and since the planet is largely agricultural, that means there is a big harvest festival a-happening.

What's neat about this festival is that it's not just a celebration of the harvest - it's a celebration of the community, and of the planet as a whole. The dominant local religion (for lack of a better term) isn't exactly experienced in term of worship but of honoring the planet itself - the seasons, the landscapes, the crops. Natives talk of Arion as if it is a living, breathing entity, because for them? Arion is.

Every evening while the ship is docked, there is a bonfire in the fields outside the town square, starting at dusk. There's a giant potluck feast, with everyone in attendance encouraged to bring dishes to share, but no one will be turned away if they arrive empty-handed. Fiddles and flutes and drums provide the soundtrack for the folk songs about Arion the locals sing around the fire; dancing and games and laughter are everywhere. This is a peaceful, joyous celebration, and you're invited!

SCENARIO TWO: WE NEED TO GO DEEPER



You're asleep, but maybe you don't know that - in the middle of a dream, it's not always easy to tell the difference between reality and the scenes your subconscious creates. You find yourself somewhere that may or may not be familiar, doing something that may be mundane or fantastical, but you're not alone. This is a dream you're sharing with your shipmates. What secrets and truths will you learn about each other?

SCENARIO THREE: STOP HITTING YOURSELF



Ope, looks like Navi’s wandered a little too close to an interdimensional rift in space-time, and now things are getting a little weird. If you happen to have superpowers, you may find that you don’t have quite as good of a hold on them as you do normally, or maybe now there are unintended side effects that occur when your powers are used. Maybe your character usually possesses enhanced strength or speed, and now they suddenly find themselves too swol to handle ordinary objects without crushing them, or they may have uncontrollable zooms and be physically unable to slow their roll.

No superpowers? No problem! Non-powered characters may find themselves deprived of one or more of their natural senses, i.e., sight, hearing, smell, taste, etc. Have fun being suddenly and temporarily blind! Walk into walls, eat trash, be free.

Comments

2 - blanket spoiler warning forever

[ancestor]

[ Hemera should not be here, witnessing something so precious and private, and yet she cannot bring herself to leave. Instead she lingers, watching from a doorway she has no recollection of stepping through, arms and heart both aching with the phantom weight of what could have been if fate had been kinder. ]

So I can see. [ When the man speaks she smiles with a warm affection that cannot be faked. ] Do you need any help?

[forgarlemald]

[Gaius opens his mouth, only to close it again before the "no" can pass his lips. He wants to decline; there's no need to burden someone else when he's handling the two fine on his own, after all. When some niggling, insistent little worry in the dark corners of his mind tell him that letting either of them go now (again) means they might suddenly disappear.]

[There's an odd familiarity to the young woman before him, though. Very much like someone he knew, he thinks, though he can't for the life of him place who or from where. He should know...but he doesn't get the chance to think much deeper on it before Ricon starts to stir, and Gaius' grip on the small boy tightens, a hushed word of reassurance pressed into his emerald hair before Gaius looks back to the stranger, his frown softening as he sighs, and nods.]

I wouldn't be opposed to it. If you could take Milisandia... [And another small nod, to the little girl passed out blissfully against his other shoulder.]

She's the deep sleeper, of the lot. She should give you no trouble.

[ancestor]

[ His answer comes as a most pleasant surprise, and there is no hiding the sheer joy that sees fit to burst from her chest at the prospect of carrying a sweet, precious, sleeping child to bed. Hemera does make a concerted effort to not let her eagerness be to readily apparent, aware enough to know it may be off-putting.

She moves closer, watching the little boy stir and his father hold him more firmly in response. Her smile turns even softer now; warm and yearning. It turns softer still when she reaches the little girl slumbering against her father's shoulder. ]

Milisandia... [ Hemera reaches out to stroke the girl's hair with a tender, careful hand. ] A beautiful name for such a precious blessing.

[ It takes more effort to lift the child from his arms than she would have expected, but she has Milisandia held securely in her arms soon enough. She is solid and warm, with gentle, slumbering breaths dancing against her neck.

There is only one burden Hemera has ever carried that weighed more than this sweet little girl, and she hopes with all her heart that Milisandia will meet a kinder fate. ]

[forgarlemald]

[Ah.]

[Perhaps some would find the eagerness off-putting. And Gaius could see just how eager she was, despite her attempts to appear otherwise calmly collected. The woman's warm smile, and the gentleness of her touch against his daughter's hair, made what apprehension still lingered slowly fade, the corner of his mouth quirking the faintest bit as he allowed the young woman to take Milisandia from him. The care that she took with the child was more than enough to quiet his concerns, and he took the time to adjust his hold on Ricon, a soothing hand on his back as Gaius positioned him more comfortably in his arms.]

[The boy squirmed, and fussed, and then stilled, much to his relief.]

A name I fear I cannot take credit for. Though...I'm inclined to agree. Her parents chose it well.

[A shame that he would likely never know what it meant, unusual a name as it was even among the people of Werlyt. He reached out, once Milisandia seemed settled into the woman's hold, blissfully unaware of the world around her, and smoothed a hand over her hair as if already regretting letting her go. And though his gaze was tired when he turned it back to the young woman, there was a measure of gratitude, the smile faint but there.]

And thank you. But forgive me, I don't believe we've met yet.

[ancestor]

[ Hemera rubs the girl's back in an absentminded, reflexive gesture of reassurance despite her remaining soundly asleep. She recalls what it was like to lose ones parents so young.

But unlike her, Milisandia is not left all alone in the world, and it brings Hemera no small amount of comfort. ]

Indeed they did.

[ She has next to no experience in handling children when situations are not dire, and so she continues to hold Milisandia close, happy enough to enjoy the moment for as long as she can as she waits for the girl's father to lead the way. ]

I am Hemera. And you are... [ Someone with a great deal of Hades in the tone of his soul, and while she does not know how or why this is, it's enough to have made him someone of great importance to her. ] ...Important to my dearest friend, I believe.

[forgarlemald]

[It's not a long walk back to the childrens' berthing, at least. At least, he doesn't believe it is. Once he's certain that the young woman... That Hemera (a familiar name for a familiar face-) is ready, that Milisandia is well in hand, he starts walking down the hall, Ricon's tail flicking lightly against his arm at the movement.]

[Although he almost pauses. Has to look over at Hemera again as they walk, brow furrowed, because he...no, he did hear that right. He's getting on in years, but he's hardly deaf.]

[That doesn't mean that what she says makes any more sense.]

Am I, now? [That is...certainly news to him. Him? Of all people? To his children, perhaps, but he's quite certain that is not who she's talking about here.]

I dare say that it's been some time since I was important to anyone. And your dearest friend is...?

[ancestor]

Would you dare say such a thing were your children not soundly sleeping? [ For all that she teases there is still an undertone of seriousness to her words. ] And you would not know him by the same name...

[ But she can recall a dream she had what feels an eternity ago now, of Hades as an old man, burdened by a heavy crown atop his head. As she follows the father she has the opportunity to take in her surroundings, and the place in her dream felt similar enough to this; cold and unforgiving, yet warmed by the people who inhabited it, and filled with all manner of odd technological trinkets. ]

The people referred to him as 'your radiance', and he wore the most ridiculous of ornaments upon his head.

[forgarlemald]

Were my children not soundly sleeping, they are both bright enough to know themselves exempt from that statement.

[An undertone of seriousness, yes, but seemingly buried quite far under the teasing, as far as Gaius can tell. But he bows his head even then, as if to dutifully take the woman's implied chastisement in stride, although...]

[They haven't walked much further before he stops, turning to Hemera with a frown that seems to etch itself deeper into his features by the second.]

[That time he knows he heard correctly, his expression unreadable as those words turn over in his head.]

You were a friend of Emperor Varis? [Commentary on his majesty's crown aside, that is. Not the answer that he had expected, to say nothing of incredulity of his tone. Hemera isn't Garlean, that much is clear enough to see, and while it perhaps couldn't be outside the realm of possibility that Varis had "dearest friends" beyond van Hydrus...]

[No, something about the notion still doesn't ring quite true. Hemera looks so young, and regardless of Gaius' own efforts toward putting the man on the throne, he was hardly seen as any more important than any other Legatus.]

[And after a moment, his brow raises.]

You couldn't mean Solus.

[ancestor]

[ He stops, frowning at her, and she looks up at him in quiet curiosity, only sparing a moment to readjust Milisandia's positioning in her arms. It shouldn't be so troublesome to carry so small a child, yet Hemera finds herself struggling to maintain her centre of gravity. ]

Emperor? [ It isn't often she comes across words she has no concept of, though she can set that aside for now in favour of the other name the man speaks.

Solus.

That seems somehow very fitting. She smiles, bemused, recalling how his presence brought her such solace in those final days of Amaurot. ]

Yes, that sounds right—Solus. His form was that of an elderly man with the most spectacular beard.

[forgarlemald]

[It's entirely without thinking that Gaius reaches out to gently grab Hemera's shoulder, her struggling to recenter herself under Milisandia's weight a sight that feels familiar, though there's no time to place just why.]

And he was told on many more than one occasion to rid himself of it, if I remember. [And that, while something about her choice of words rings just as strangely as before, is also not the most concerning thing going on in this conversation. Oh no.]

[No, what's concerning here is the Hemera is claiming any of this to begin with.]

My apologies. I am Gaius Baelsar, and I served his majesty, Emperor Solus zos Galvus, for several decades. Before he passed.

For being one of his dearest friends, I don't recall having ever seen you around the palace.

[ancestor]

[ She jumps slightly at the touch though doesn't move to pull away, instead glancing to the culprit with a grateful smile. Milisandia mumbles something incomprehensible, apparently having sensed her father's hand near her horn. Hemera can't help but press her cheek against the crown of the little girl's head and give her a gentle squeeze, overcome by a flood of affection she has no inclination to hide. ]

I don't doubt it. He had always preferred being cleanshaven when we were young.

[ She chuckles at the comment, knowing full well Hades would have been more adamant about keeping the beard had he been told to be rid of it. Milisandia reacts to the sound (the vibration?) of her laughter, gripping her more securely and tucking her face into the crook of her neck before letting out a sigh of sleepy contentment.

Hemera stands very still for a moment, looking overwhelmed to the point of tears by emotions she can't quite place. She does her best to brush it off, refocusing her thoughts to the rest of what the man—Gaius, as she learns—says to her. ]

I—

What is an emperor? Why would you need to serve him? Hades and I— We have ever been the servants to our people... It has never been the other way 'round.

The two of us sat upon the Convocation of Fourteen together. He is the Architect and I was the Traveler. Hades still holds his seat. I...

[ Her brows furrow. ]

The Convocation made a decision I was vehemently opposed to. I would not stand by it but I could not stop it, and so I resigned.

I... don't believe he has ever forgiven me for leaving. Just as I have never forgiven him for what he permitted.

[forgarlemald]

Our people have ever been servants to him.

What you speak is nonsense. What Convocation? Who is Hades, and what-

[It's too late when he realizes his voice has been steadily raising. Too late to notice that Milisandia is stirring in Hemera's arms again, that Ricon is whimpering quietly in his sleep, and that Hemera herself is...]

[Crying? Misty-eyed, at the very least, though the young woman is doing her best to act otherwise, and the sight of it is enough for Gaius' mouth to snap shut before he can continue interrogating her.]

[That...isn't his fault, is it?]

[A tiny first curls more tightly into his shirt, and a mumbled "father" leaves Ricon's lips, and isn't that just a fine bit of guilt to feel now. His hold on the small boy tightens, as does his grip on Hemera's shoulder, a soothing apology before he quickly drops his hand again and nods down the corridor, releasing a long breath.]

Come. Their cabin is the next to the right, and then we can discuss this elsewhere.

I can take Mili back, if you wish. If you're struggling.

[ancestor]

The Convocation of Fourteen. We were... We were elected by our people to guide and protect them... We were the shepherds of our star—

[ Milisandia stirs in her arms, distracting her. Hemera hasn't had a great deal of practice with sleeping children but has lived long enough to know how to soothe them, and so she rocks the little girl gently, humming softly against the horn resting near her lips. While she may have long forgotten the words, Hemera has never forgotten the melody of her mother's lullaby. ]

Shh, shh, little one. Dream of things as sweet as you, hm?

[ The child settles back into deep slumber blessedly quickly, leaving her to exhale a small breath of relief.

Gaius' offer is answered by her stubbornly resuming the journey to the children's quarters. She is not struggling, and she is hardly willing to relinquish such precious cargo before she absolutely must. ]

[forgarlemald]

[Watching just how quickly she soothes his daughter back into peaceful sleep is enough for his frustration to dissipate almost entirely, the small twinge of guilt suddenly an incessant gnawing at the back of his mind. More so as he watches her continue her march down the corridor, very pointedly without his help, and...]

[Well. He can't very well force her, now can he? And he doesn't hesitate to follow, again rubbing soothing, gentle circles into Ricon's back as he walks, the boy again calm and content under his touch. With luck, the little Au Ra will continue to sleep soundly even after he's put to bed. The poor boy always woke so easily, and it would be quite a feat to place him down without doing so now.]

[Although... When they do reach the childrens' quarters, Gaius stops. Stares at it, for a long moment, brow furrowed.]

[It's silly, honestly. He knows, logically, that nothing is actually wrong. Rex, Allie, and Alfonse are all inside, safe and peacefully sleeping themselves, but the thought of opening the door now, of returning Milisandia and Ricon to their beds... The thought alone makes Gaius' chest tighten horribly. Makes him want to hold Ricon all the tighter, to take Milisandia from Hemera's arms without a second thought, because if he goes in there now-]

[If he lets them go now, leaves them there and walks away, he's never going to see them again. Somehow, he knows that without a shadow of a doubt in his mind. They'll be gone, again, and that ache in his core will break into something unbearable.]

[It's abrupt, the way he immediately turns away from the door, walking instead to the one directly across the corridor from it. No warning is given to Hemera at all, save for a distracted gesture for her to follow as he opens the door and steps into the room.]

On second thought- [He pauses. Clears his throat, so his voice doesn't crack a second time, and tries again.] On second thought, they'll stay in my quarters tonight. It wouldn't do to wake up their siblings this late.

We'll just need to continue to speak quietly, while we're here.

[ancestor]

[ Hemera stares as well, albeit with awestruck delight at the sight of more children sleeping soundly in their beds. The awe quickly begins to fade, drowned out by a growing sense of uneasiness. Something faint and insidious that leaves her unsettled in a way she can't quite place.

She clutches Milisandia more protectively to her breast and follows Gaius to his quarters despite her instincts telling her to stay. He seems unsettled as well, so Hemera knows her senses haven't failed her. The worry for his other children continues to fester as she places Milisandia gently on the bed with a gentle stroke to her hair and no small amount of reluctance.

Glancing to Gaius and trusting he has things in hand for the moment, Hemera returns to the children's room and carefully scoops up another of the boys. She hums softly into his horn and rubs soothing circles against his back, ensuring he stays soundly asleep as she transports him to his father's room.

While she doesn't have the words to explain the why, she can offer what she believes is sufficient explanation for her actions: ]

They need to stay together.

[ As Hemera deposits the boy next to his sister she notes that while the bed is large, it is not large enough. Fortunately that is easy enough to solve—a delicate flourish of her hand has the bed widen enough to fit all the children soundly, regardless of whatever else may have been in its way.

Then she conjures soft, warm little blankets; one for each child. ]

They will be safe here, with you.

[ She goes to fetch the last of Gaius' sons next, intending on ferrying his other daughter immediately afterward should he choose to stand vigil in his quarters. ]

[forgarlemald]

[It's a few precious moments before Gaius even realizes that she had walked away, as focused as he is on making sure the two children are comfortable as they're laid down. By the time he takes notice, his pale gaze looking up and searching, Hemera is already back, with another small boy - Rex, his blue hair almost comically mused by sleep - tucked up in her arms, and Gaius steps back to allow her to place him with his brother and sister, nodding numbly at her explanation.]

[They need to stay together.]

[And they do. Mili and Ricon needed to be together; the thought brings a crushing weight with it, a sense that he's had this same thought before, but was that truly so odd? Of course they need to be together. And they need to be with their siblings just as much. They had all become so close over the years, helped each other grow so much. Became a family.]

[He wants that back, more than anything.]

[Perhaps he should be more startled as he watches Hemera enlarge the bed with little more than a little wave of her hand. He should be, perhaps, a bit more concerned to watch her conjure blankets up from nothing, the sight not quite fitting his knowledge of magic, little though it is. But he says nothing, and in fact doesn't blink an eye to it as she works. He only sits on the edge of the bed after, staring at the three little Au Ra laid upon it, and reaches out a gentle hand to brush hair from out of Rex's face, tucking it neatly behind the boy's horn.]

[They'll be fine, for just a few seconds. He's loath to let them from his sight for even that long, but he's close behind Hemera as the young woman goes back across the hall. When she takes Alfonse into her arms, he's equally quick to pick up Allie (sweet, innocent Allie, left all alone-) and once the two are finally tucked in with the others...]

[It's a shaky breath that Gaius lets out, as he settles on the floor next to the bed. Leaning against it, heart pounding heavily in his chest for reasons he can't explain as he watches the sleep children. And it's a long moment before he's willing to trust his voice again, though at least this time, it's far more even and controlled than it was.]

Thank you.

And I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me.

[ancestor]

[ Gaius settles next to the bed once his children are tucked safe and sound within it. Hemera remains on her feet, continuing to fuss over them quietly; minor adjustments to the mattress, alterations to the blankets, creating a soft plush for the blue-haired boy lest he crush his more petite sister with his clinging. There is something not quite right and it lingers heavy in her soul. A creeping sense of inevitable dread.

Eventually she perches herself on the edge of the mattress, legs brushing against Gaius' arm. She leans her weight backward, one arm supporting her and the hand of the other absentmindedly resting on her stomach, though she feels so drained of vitality at the moment she may well just fall asleep herself. ]

A father's instinct is nothing to apologize for, Gaius.

[forgarlemald]

Perhaps not, but all of them are too old for one in your condition to be carrying, and I shouldn't have asked you to.

[Except Milisandia was the only one he asked for help with. The others Hemera had readily fetched all on her own, as if realizing what it was Gaius needed then before even he had. She leans back on the bed, and he leans more heavily against it himself, pale, tired eyes never leaving his children.]

[No, that dread is still there. Lingers like a miasma over them, but to have all five of them, back in one place, together and safe... He can try to make himself relax again. And when Hemera's leg brushes against him, he absently reaches out to pat her knee, with something like gratitude.]

[Or perhaps to give her a reassurance he still doesn't quite feel himself.]

Though that motherly instinct will only serve you well.

cw: implication of miscarriage

[ancestor]

[ Gaius' comment earns him an inquisitive look, and it isn't until he mentions motherly instinct that things finally begin to slot into place. The aching, the fatigue, the need to ensure everything is just right before she can settle down.

Hemera takes a small, sharp breath and the hand on her stomach goes still. ]

...This promise of new life is one that will be broken, and for all my pain and sorrow I will feel relief. A dying world is no place for a child.

[ Now that she knows, she lifts the hem of her sweater enough to see the faint swell of her abdomen. She presses her hand to it again, wanting to imprint the feeling to memory. ]

I had always wanted to be a mother.

[forgarlemald]

[Ah... And with that implication...]

[It explains a lot, he supposes, in hindsight. The concern carved so deeply across his features softens out into something else, and he turns his gaze to the young woman instead.]

[Maybe it's not an experience he's known, no, but the loss of a child... That is something he's terribly, intimately familiar with, now, and he removes his bandaged hand only reach for one of Hemera's instead.]

From what little I've just seen, you would have been a wonderful one.

[It's not said to placate. He's not a man to lie to spare someone's feelings, and he's certainly not going to start now. Her treatment of his children was all the proof he needed to see, to know that.]

... You spoke of a Convocation in relation to his radiance.

[ancestor]

[ Upon noticing his hand she reaches out to meet him halfway, her own hand appearing so painfully small and frail next to his. It's enough to get a wet chuckle from her, and while she appreciates his words she can't quite find it in herself to believe them. ]

I find out not long after Hythlodaeus dies. I grow weak from malnutrition. Then there will be days of agony, and my calls for help will go unanswered.

Motherhood was never meant for me, I suppose.

[ ...But here, in the warmth of a room filled with children and a womb once again filled with promise, she can almost let herself pretend—just for a moment—that the seed of life she carries will grow to bloom. That instead of what could have been she can think of what will be.

How different would things have been, if her childhood friend had not died? ]

The Convocation of Fourteen.