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diceofthegods ([personal profile] diceofthegods) wrote in [community profile] childrenofbajablast2025-07-01 07:56 am
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TEST DRIVE MEME #4

Arrival
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Broken Palace by Jonathan Eng
0:07 / 1:13
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During 2014 Jonathan Eng composed the soundtrack for interactive narrative experience The Sailor’s Dream, consisting of a mix of instrumental tracks and a seven-part musical story told in folk song-form.

Like all who come through the summoning circle, your arrival is heralded by a dream. Waking up is a dizzying, disorienting thing... and possibly made worse by the fact that you aren't alone.

Right after you appear, so does someone else. If you're lucky*, they'll simply blink into existence by your side. If you're not, there's a chance they spawned below or above you. That's one way to make a memorable first impression. Best untangle yourselves and get things figured out.

If you're extremely unlucky*, instead of another person being brought through the summoning circle, it's a monster. The creature buzzes menacingly and immediately darts at any potential fresh blood it can.

Some welcome this is. If you aren't the fighting type, hopefully someone nearby is. Eventually, one of the local Town guards will slay the monster before it - and you - cause too much trouble or lose too much blood.

SINK OR SWIM
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Since several people in Town by now are fully-fledged dragons, Dimitri and Hoshiko have teamed up to provide some training drills for those wanting to hone their skills. Although meant for more veteran dragons, newcomers are also welcome to observe and learn what they might be able to do! They may even be paired up with a more established offworlder of the same dragon type as a mentor.

These drills will be around the new(er) formed lake thanks to a previous offworlder's efforts. It provides the perfect place to see what someone's breath weapon can do in different environments as well as help people cool off if they need to. Either way, don't expect your trainers to go easy on you. While not an exhaustive list, the training drills include...

    Underwater Breath Attacks - No matter the situation, a dragon needs to be able to utilize their breath weapon accordingly. Sections of the lake have been sectioned off for different dragon types to practice this. See how poison or acid spreads, learn how to electrocute or freeze enemies, or even boil the water with a bit of concentrated fire. No aquatic animals will be harmed, but they can't guarantee you'll come out unscathed if you happen to fall in.

    Marksmanship - As the resident ranged shooter expert, Hoshiko will be testing people's accuracy with their breath weapons. She'll have a variety of targets around the lake set up to hit the bullseye of if you can. The most difficult though will be the moving target that's strapped to herself. For a large dragon, she moves surprisingly fast and will duck in and out of the water as well to provide an appropriate challenge.

    Conjuration Classes - Taking this opportunity, Ardyn Izunia ([personal profile] fatedfinality) is offering his services in his growing conjuration skills. Does he have permission? Who knows! Probably not! Does he care? Also no! Learn the first level spell/cantrip 'Find Familiar' and summon your own fun little daemon friend! They will not infect anyone, thankfully, but if summoned incorrectly they can harm the summoner or those nearby. All part of the training, he'll say, and let people handle it as they're meant to.

    Staying Vigilant - While parts of the lake are sectioned off, this one is clear about not entering. A painted sign reads: "Beware of kelpies." It might be easy to presume this is also part of the training drills, but it actually isn't. Dimitri is trying to keep offworlders from being drowned. Thankfully, the kelpies aren't actually that much of a threat. Why, you ask? Well...

    "Hey," says one, skirting the edge of the lake shore. "Hey, I need some help here. I'm stuck in the kelp and can't get out." This seems reasonable. It is covered in kelp and waterlogged. Besides, a talking horse surely isn't the strangest thing most people in Town have seen by now. Maybe you can assist just in case. "I promise I won't drown you," it adds, which is a bit suspicious but may still not be enough to deter someone entirely.

    However, another snout and muzzle pokes up from the water nearby its friend. "Wait- We are going to drown them though for real, right? Like, I just want to be sure-"
    "Shut up," the first kelpie hisses. "You always do this, man! This is why we never get to drown anyone!"
    "Sorry. Sorry, it's just- You said we weren't, but I thought we were so I got confused. A-anyway, right! Hello. We are totally normal horses who will not drown you. Please, come closer."

    If you refuse, the kelpies continue to bicker until they're effectively deterred and sink back down into the depths before (weakly) attempting to drown someone else again later.

Although this is supposed to be super serious training time, no one is stopping you from having a bit of fun too. The climbing structures are fun to jump off into the water. Those ropes dangling over the edge from thick tree branches make a great swing to catapult you far into the lake. Sometimes, some play is necessary even in the midst of 'work.'


THIS HEAT IS INTENTS
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It's Raining Somewhere Else by Toby Fox
2:01 / 2:54
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Robert F. "Toby" Fox is an American video game developer and composer. He is best known for developing the role-playing video game Undertale.

During the day, the heat becomes almost intolerable at its peaks. While some dragonbonded were lucky to get an ice type, others may not be. Without more modern amenities, people of Town and Offworlders both are left to do what they can to combat the rising temperatures. It is recommended people open their windows at night to let the cool air in but then close it again as the sun starts to climb.

After a couple of days of sweltering suffering in the midst of a heatwave, Charlie offers camping equipment for people who may want to escape the warmth as best they can. People can camp by rivers or lakes to keep cool, fish for food, and set up bonfires at night. Slayd might be seen at your campsite, even, with a fun tune to keep spirits up.

Although not an exhaustive list, some of the things offworlders can do while camping are...

    ⁂ Chase or catch lightning bugs. They are in abundance during the early nighttime and can provide a bit of fun.
    ⁂ Cook over the campfire. S'Mores, meat, whatever! Just be careful of attracting predators if you do this. Dispose of all your food properly lest you invite raccoons, bears, or more to your campsite.
    ⁂ Foraging. Similarly, finding food out in nature is a fun activity. Although the Fae might try to trick you with dancing lights, they're easy enough to dissuade.
    ⁂ Stargazing. The constellations here are different, but it might be worth mapping them out or learning their stories.
    ( NSFW - Nudity ) Skinny Dipping. A classic camping activity once the sun sets is stripping off your clothes and going for a swim. The water is cool, no one can see, and it's kind of freeing!
    ⁂ ... and lots more! Have fun out there, offworlders, and try not to do too much damage.
While some may also worry about the previous giant mosquitos or other abnormally large bugs, the tents provided by Charlie have built-in protections against them! They are equipped with enhanced citronella oil that smells nice but keeps insects away. However, it also has an intense calming effect on those with sensitive noses... like dragons and dragonbonded! Even the most tense or uptight of individuals will feel relaxed and happy thanks to this scent.

The change in attitude is only temporary though and will diminish over time once someone is away from the tent for a few hours. Once they return to it though, the cycle will begin again and some may catch on to this pattern. But what's the harm, really? Enjoy the cool breeze, have a good sleep, and hopefully sweet dreams. You might even be more amicable to sharing your tent space thanks to your improved mood but that is up to you!
Rocky Talky
One of the things that was given to you in your welcome pack from Charlie was a summoning-stone. Although it looks like, well, an ordinary stone- It's actually magic! You can look through it and see someone else's face too if you're both viewing your stones at the same time. It can also record your speech and deliver that to someone else in a snap.

One of the other features is that you can scrawl on it. It will turn your writing into legible text that you can send others to read on their stones. Of course, you need to attune yourself to your stone first. To that end, it prompts you to set up a Rockstar Profile:

COMMENT CODE TEMPLATE
Notes
⁂ Hello and welcome to Children of Bahamut! If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback feel free to comment here!

⁂ We have a top-level directory for ease of finding new players to tag! After some feedback, we ask that only new players link their top-levels though current players are allowed to top-level and enjoy the TDM if they so wish as well!
    (Example header: character name | canon | new/current player )
⁂ For the Arrival prompt, feel free to roll a d20 to see how lucky or unlucky you are.

⁂ Similarly, for the marksmanship prompt, players will need to roll a 15 or higher to successfully hit Hoshiko's moving target.

⁂ You can customize the the Rockstar Profile however you wish! So long as its readable, have fun. The profile image appears best when a 250 by 250 square image. Anything too tall might stretch it strangely or cause issues. If you need to edit or crop a picture to suit, we recommend using Pixlr as a free option for up to three images! We're not sponsored or anything, it's just neat and convenient.

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heckof: (would I lie?)

[personal profile] heckof 2025-07-03 05:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[That's probably not Hella's first time being gripped by a limb that humans don't have, but it's not usually that gentle. She tenses slightly, but wills herself to relax. Rosie seems legit.]

I'm Hella. And... yeah, actually. My next question was gonna be where "here" is.

[Now that she has a moment, she looks around more purposefully. It doesn't really net her any new information. She knows what a forest is, but that doesn't mean she has a frame of reference for it. Those sure are trees.]

It looks like a picture out of some kind of book. This isn't an illusion, is it? [Genuinely a sensible first guess where she's from.]
hasitsthorns: You know it, baby (CHICKEN FINGIES!)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2025-07-04 02:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ Those sure are some trees. Look at all that nature! It sure is something. Even Rosie has a hard time believing it being from the concrete jungle of modern day Tokyo, but... Town is a much more simple place. That's not a bad thing either, just an adjustment. ]

This is Town. Well, the outskirts of it. It was, uh, a town built because of people coming through the summoning circle. There's a whole group of us here.
heckof: (you wouldn't hit a little birthday girl?)

[personal profile] heckof 2025-07-04 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
[Hella's a city girl too, and a post-apocalyptic wasteland girl. There must be forests somewhere out there given that people can still breathe, but wherever they are, odds are against them being this pretty and pleasant.

Bugs aside.]


Summoning circle? ...Come to think of it, I guess there was some kind of scribbling on the ground when I woke up. So, what, a whole bunch of people got kidnapped?

[And settled in to start a town called Town? No, honestly, she's letting any silly or on-the-nose names pass without comment because her house is a beautiful crystal of pure glass. She knows somebody whose name is an emoticon.]
hasitsthorns: are rhymes and nuts (The only thing I bust)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2025-07-04 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well, Hella will get all the nature she needs and then some here. Especially in this heat, with the camping initiative and all... ]

Basically, [ she confirms, not one to sugar coat things anyway. ] No one really knows why it's who it is, but the theory is there's something special about us that allows dragons to bond to our souls.

People get pulled in at random and also out at random so- Welcome! You're here for however long. I've been here, like, nine months or so now? Something like that.
heckof: (BWAAAAH)

[personal profile] heckof 2025-07-04 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
[Dragons... wait, is that what that weird dream was about? Honestly, this is probably happening in some kind of dream world. She knows magic can do that to people, but physically whisking them away would be a new one on--]

Nine MONTHS? Fuck the shit out of that! I've been in jail for shorter spans of time than that! [too busy freaking out to wonder if she should casually volunteer that information,]

Look, tell me where I can get a good length of pipe. Preferably steel, lead will do in a pinch. I'll figure out who did this and dole out some street justice! I was busy, you know! I don't have time to fuck around about this!
hasitsthorns: I don't know. Ask your dad. (Do you have the fastest tongue?)

[personal profile] hasitsthorns 2025-07-04 05:42 am (UTC)(link)
[ Rosie can't help the ring of laughter that happens at Hella's exclamation. While she can't relate, it's a common sentiment among some folks here. That she's been in jail before doesn't seem to bother Rosie either. Who hasn't committed a few crimes? ]

Nine months! Honestly, it's... fine for me, but I know that's a long time for other folks. And I didn't even arrive here first! I came about a month or so after some folks? [ It'd been interesting to just kind of be dropped into things. ]

Also, unfortunately, even the resident deity doesn't know much about the summoning circle. He just... prepared for people coming through it once he realized. Name's Charlie, he's a nice guy- But don't expect to be able to solve this or anything if you talk to him.
heckof: (you wouldn't hit a little birthday girl?)

[personal profile] heckof 2025-07-05 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
But!

[She lets her hackles lower a little. Rosie would be striking her as a rare Pretty Cool Adult even if she hadn't saved her, and her attitude about this is really relaxed...]

...I can't just shrug and leave solving the problem to somebody else that easily. I've got friends who are probably losing it right now.

[And she's got kind of a thing about feeling useless and dependent on people. Yes she was screaming to be rescued a minute ago but she's working on it, okay.

...Hey, wait a minute.]


Resident deity? Doesn't deity mean, like... god or something?