collectedmemes | TEST DRIVE #2

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TEST DRIVE #2

Hi shoppers! Welcome to the second Test Drive Meme for COLLECTED. A few things before we get started:

» This TDM is open to any players who are interested in applying. Collected is an invite-only game, meaning that invites come from being on the mod plurklists, but for this round, our TDM is open to anyone who has an interest. If you are interested in applying but do not have an invite, please PM our mod account (

collectedmods) with a link to your toplevel on this TDM and we will extend an invitation to you! Please note that you can only reserve and apply if you have an invite.

» As was the case in the first TDM, TDM threads are not canon. Because of this, feel free to assume CR for the ease of threads.

» While we’ve listed out some prompts here, feel free to make up your own prompts using the setting, or use any of the prompts from our last TDM as well!

» If you have any questions about what you can and can’t do (or about anything else) reply to the QUESTIONS comment below, and we’ll get back to you soon.

Most importantly, have fun! And thank you so much for your interest in Collected! 🧡

PROMPTS

Have you ever been to a parking lot circus? Well, they exist, and you’re in luck - the circus has come to town! Or rather, it’s come to the mall. For a limited time, a big top has appeared in the dusty, desolate parking lot of the mall. You’ll find a big tunnel vacuum sealed to the front doors of the mall that allows access to and from the tent, so how much could it hurt to go inside?

The tunnel and tent seem to have been crafted with the same skill as the mall was - it somehow keeps the toxic air from outside out. The only difference between the mall and the tent is that the big top doesn’t do as good of a job of keeping the blistering heat out - it’ll protect you from burns, but it’s going to be pretty hot in there underneath the summer sun! Be sure to bring a cold drink on your way in.

Inside the tent, you won’t find any staff or performers, unfortunately. Everything inside the tent seems to be in mint condition, though, strangely enough, as though restored to its former glory - not unlike how some of the stores in the abandoned mall revert back to their pristine states sometimes. While there’s no performance to catch, there is plenty to look at and experience:

I.

Right after coming in through the fun tunnel, the first thing to your right is a collection of popcorn machines, the same kind you’d see at an amusement park where kernels must be poured in. You’ll find several unmarked bags of popcorn right near the machines, and they look decidedly not rotten, unlike most of the food in the mall.

Things are never that easy and simple here, though! Pop a bag of these bad boys and consume some of it and you’ll find yourself with one of the following afflictions:

A. Caramel corn flavor: Loss of sight. Hopefully you trust your companion enough not to attack or steal from you, because you’ll need to navigate to somewhere safe until this one wears off!
B. Extra butter flavor: Loss of hearing. No matter how hard you try, it seems you can’t hear anything around you anymore! Learn to communicate non-verbally with your companion, and quick!
C. Cheddar flavor: Literally just food poisoning. You won’t be feeling so hot!

The only saving grace of these cursed popcorn bags is that there’s an antidote to be found if you have a careful eye: an inscription on the popcorn machines appears once they’ve been warmed from use, and it says, in the case of illness, have a taste of each flavor to get back to square one! You’ll have to suffer a bit more to get back to normal quickly, but.. it’s better than waiting out the effects, right?

II.

While there are no performers to be seen, their costumes can be found in the wardrobes in the back of the circus. They are typical of what you’d expect of a circus: colorful, frilly, and easy to put on, given their stretch. There are even props and accessories lying around like clown noses, jewelry, hula hoops, juggling balls, the whole nine yards. Given the horrible state of all the clothes and other fun items inside the mall, it might be tempting to take some of these outfits and items to repurpose them for your own wardrobe and use.

But be careful: donning these clothes or taking these items will give you the abilities of that circus performer. Wear or pick up anything belonging to a:

A. Clown, and you’ll feel like you need to make your companion laugh. Whether that’s through corny jokes, physical comedy, or other means, you won’t be able to resist.
B. Trapeze artist, and you’ll be blessed with great flexibility, and feel utterly fearless. Maybe that translates into being unafraid to speak your mind, or maybe you’re feeling brave enough to walk the tightrope - either way, nothing’s scaring you anymore.
C. Animal tamer, and you’ll want to train your companion to do tricks and follow your will (and not in the fun way, unless you’re into that).

Costumes of all kinds are here, though, so feel free to find anything that might belong to a circus performer and have the costumes possess you!

III.

All good things must come to an end, sadly. Whatever material the tent and tunnel is made of is not completely as sturdy as what the mall is built of - and after a fun day of activities, the tent and tunnel will begin to deteriorate and be destroyed.

Due to the radioactive sun outside, the top of the tent and tunnel will start to burn and get holes in it eventually, which will let in toxic air and harmful rays - not only that, but fires will start catching inside the tent as well. You’ll need to high tail it out of the circus and head back to the safety of the mall unless you want to fry in the horrible conditions outside. Exposure to the sunlight from outside will give you painful burns and welts, and it’s near impossible to inhale the thick, poisonous air from outside without keeling over.

While you’ll be able to survive limited exposure, it’s not wise to get stuck out here. Besides, you’ll find that upon returning to the mall, your wounds will mysteriously begin to heal, slowly and painfully. So, run quickly, and make sure not to leave anyone behind!

NAVIGATION

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[ an annoyed sigh. ]

... Do you actually need me for something?

[ no jokes :( ]

[ oh, that's a good expression. figaro likes it when someone's impressed with his work, as simple as it is. he offers a shrug and an easy smile. ]

It's not that simple. Making sugar is one of the first things a witch or wizard can learn as a child, but what a wizard can do with magic wholly depends on their magical abilities, as well as their innate strengths and weakness. So in the end, we still have our limitations.

[ he speaks as if he's been asked of this many times, but it's all right. he's a mentor in his own right, so he's used to it. ]

If you're interested in a two-person act, sure. But it seems that you lack a funny bone in your body, so I won't press any further.

[ they're b o n e l e s s, after all ]

Hm.

D does not look away from Sabriel, though he is not rude in the way he stares. There's really nothing in the look beneath the hat except a soft sort of clinical interest.

"I am exploring," he offers. "I do not come from this place." He does not answer the second question for a long moment, or so. He doesn't seem to be afraid, but simply reserved. "I am both," he finally says. "Do you know what a vampire is?"

Really? Where I'm from, the first thing mages learn is generally a light spell. Making solid matter from magic... I don't think even the most powerful mages or sorcerers could do such a thing. [Create the semblance of solidity, as in some types of Sendings perhaps, but such a construct would only last until the spell faded- and it certainly wouldn't grant true sustenance. Experimentally, Sabriel puts one of the crystals in her mouth.]

"No, I don't." Reflexively, Sabriel reaches for the second largest of the bells strapped to her chest, before she realizes what she's doing and forces her hand away. She doesn't feel the sense of hunger she often feels from the Dead- and he's not attacking her. She relaxes slightly- just not enough to sheath her sword.

"Have you met anyone that is from this place? Or know where 'here' is?"

[ the sugar would taste nice and sweet! and it has a bit of a calming effect on the mind.

but hm, color him intrigued. ]

Interesting. Well, most wizards from my world can make any kind of sugar like that, so it's not too special. I'm just a run-of-the-mill doctor from the South myself, for instance.

Still... Would you mind showing me that light spell?

Edited 2020-08-10 02:18 (UTC)

Yeah. It... it's not uncommon where I'm from.

[Part of her wants to keep it inside. To just not talk about it. But she's trying to be better about being honest with her feelings. So she searches for a memory and grins when she finds one.]

Uh, my dad used to joke around and say "Your mom never wanted to date a neurosurgeon. But thankfully, I changed her mind".

The movement doesn't startle D. He actually still does not retaliate, whether to shift his footing, or reach for his sword. He is either extremely confident in his abilities, or he is extremely stupid.

"They are powerful creatures who rest during the day, and hunt the blood of humans at night." On the Frontier, everyone knew what a vampire was, and everyone knew what he was, too, once they had a good look at him. He never had to explain, and so he never did. But this isn't the Frontier, he doesn't think. Not at all. "I am a dhampir. Half human, and half vampire."

He isn't positive if this will reassure any worries.

"I haven't," he adds, to answer her other question. "It is a mall. A large infrastructure which houses a collection of shops. Likely, it was built by humans. It appears to be abandoned, except for the rest of us."

[If mages could make anything from nothing... Sabriel can't even begin to imagine what such a world might be like.]

Oh, it's- like this.

[It's an easy spell, one Sabriel learned as a child. She casts it with the ease of one long practiced- she draws the mark from the Charter, then traces it in the air between them- and then, with a flourish, directs it to hover around the man- to follow him, until the spell fades in a few hours.]

It's not as impressive as making something from nothing, but it has its uses.

"I see." That doesn't sound too different from any other Dead creature- all but the most powerful fear the sun, and even those able to survive it try to avoid its light.

Sabriel has more questions, but the man in front of her is not truly Dead, and that eases most of her concerns- but the information he offers gives her pause.

"It appears to be... but if people are being brought here, someone- or something- must be bringing people here." And appearances were often deceiving, when it came to the supernatural.

[ figaro does look very impressed, his curious-looking eyes glimmering in the light as the spell circles around him. ]

No need to sell your abilities short. It's beautiful in its own right. [ and it's interesting to hear what other magician folk from different worlds can do, too. ] In my case, the effectiveness of one's magic is dependent of their hearts and the environment around them. Essentially, a wizard with a sensitive heart wouldn't be able to perform their magic in a place like this.

[ staying in a dilapidated mall and dealing with a dying circus - it'd dampen anyone's spirits, most especially a wizard's. but figaro's different so that's fine ]

[ okay, that got him to snort. this is a good segway from talking about dead family members, whew. ]

Oh, that's a nice one. But now I'm wondering whether I could be considered as a surgeon - I specialize in a lot of fields like that back home, you see.

[ their entire body is a big bone ]

This isn't a joke, you know.

[ they are still trapped in a mysterious building that now has a mysterious tube attached to a mysterious tent!! why's this guy trying to become a comedian! cinnabar does not comprehend. ]

You mean the ability to do magic is determined by willpower?

[That's familiar- although for Charter magic there are other factors, like the mage's knowledge and strength of connection to the Charter.]

Or that this kind of environment makes magic harder to use?

"That would be reasonable to believe," he says, and he doesn't sound condescending. Sabriel's thinking isn't much different than what he has been thinking, too.

"Are you a Hunter?"

He doesn't think she is a hunter in the same sense he is a hunter, but it's the closest thing he knows to call it that'd let her understand what he means.

"If you mean 'Am I trained to deal with supernatural and Dead entities', the answer is yes." Sabriel is a trained mage, swordswoman, and necromancer- all important for her to do her work as Abhorsen.

"Why do you ask?" He doesn't seem to see her as a threat, and she hasn't shown any interest in attacking him... Perhaps he's seen some further signs of Dead activity.

[ the clothes make the comedian, okay u_u ]

Ahh, tough crowd. But it can't hurt to light up every once in a while. We're in a circus, after all.

Do you cut people open? That's sort of the surgeon baseline.

[ thinking emoji... ]

Not unless it's something serious. I can just take whatever's faulty out of someone with magic, but it's not as simple as you think.

[Sabriel moves through the building at an even, measured pace, one hand on the hilt of her sheathed longsword. She doesn't move to draw it yet. Instead she keeps her distance and watches, probing with her necromantic senses to see if the woman in front of her is one of the living or the Dead.]

I take it you can't tell me where we are either?

[Sabriel takes another step closer as she speaks, her free hand running over the bells in her bandolier, in the same manner as someone about to ready a weapon.]

[OOC: Up to you how Sabriel senses Gideon- although she may not register as 'Dead' to her senses, given that in her canon, a someone whose original body dies but whose spirit takes over a someone else's living body... apparently counts as 'Not Dead']

( in order to try to understand and not merely comprehend what was being said, harrow stops thinking. it's not a simple or easy task — she has to almost cauterize the part of her mind that is constantly sifting sense from nonsense in what is already a brain of dubious status. she tears away her many layers of mistrust and paranoia and attempts to accept each word at face value.

so: ianthe tridentarius is a lyctor. as is herself, as it would seem. and — one other? had the Emperor's Hands dwindled so much? no, she can't think about that right now. she blinks slowly, realizing that gideon is waiting for her affirmation; she exhales in a hasty rush. )

Yes, yes — I promise I will refrain from operating upon the grey matter of my brain.

( which, in her impatience, seems normal enough to promise, but... well, she hasn't heard the whole story yet.

even racing as quickly as she can alongside the facts that are laid out, she begins to lag behind considerably. that there are apparently nine months separate between themselves (at the very least — she would have no way of knowing how many days, weeks, or months existed between the point of her being pulled into this place and when she had achieved lyctorhood) was relatively easy, despite the daunting implication. but it's around the time the "assassination attempt on the Emperor" and "planet revenants" are mentioned that harrow's brain almost stops working entirely, choked on morsels of information that it simply could not swallow as-is. she wants to incise into those now, but nav is still talking, and she forces herself to be patient. she regrets it, but she decides to set those sacrilegious mysteries aside for now, addressing the slanderous elephant in the hallway. )

I can assure you, Griddle, my mental facilities are just as they ever were. ( an observant listener would notice that she didn't actually claim there were cohesive or coherent — harrow is aware of her own questionable sanity, but she knows she isn't missing nine months of memories, and she is certainly no lyctor. ) Clearly, something else is at play. From my perspective, I had not yet left Canaan House, and we had also not yet discovered the truth of the Lyctoral formula. I went directly from the Ninth quarters, ( here she raises one finger and points to a nondescript point in the air in front of her, drawing it in a straight line to a similarly nondescript point, ) to here.

( i'm not saying there's time shenanigans afoot, but... there's time shenanigans afoot. )

[ ooc: so the body gideon's in is harrow's, which is... weird! necromancers, which can sense life and death energies, are completely unable to read anything off of them - they're black holes, essentially. either way, i feel like she'd read as "alive" if sabriel could - but if she's a necromancer, probably a blank space instead?? ]

Nope. Not a chance. [ which isn't the most helpful response, exactly. not that harrow'd want her to be saying anything in this body. which... makes her want to be forthcoming even more. hm. ] Thought it might be old First House ruins at first? But Dominicus was never this bright.

[ she gives a languid, two-fingered wave... in sabriel's general direction. she's only off by a few degrees, it's fine. ]

Oh. [ that's... genuinely helpful information, actually. not that it stops her from talking like a complete idiot. ] Wait, can I finish this bag here first? Because I'm not gonna lie, I am feeling this popcorn right now.

[ the longer he watches, the more obvious it becomes that she's absolutely blind at this point - and in the same way, the more obvious it is that she's still aware of him, even still. she doesn't know exactly where he is, and she doesn't have a great grasp on the threat he might pose, but she's certainly got other ways of perceiving him.

she keeps the conversation going, at least in part to have an audible way to locate him. ]

You've dealt with this before, huh?

[ooc: Sabriel is a necromancer... but canonly seems only able to determine 'undead, corpse, or neither' vs 'alive, undead, or neither'.]

Dominicus? [Perhaps another word for the sun, Sabriel decides. But this woman doesn't feel Dead, so she steps closer, hands dropping to her side as she eyes the sword- longer than hers, and strangely oversized for such a scrawny wielder.]

It's not the Old Kingdom- and probably not Ancelstierre, because I can still use magic, and this doesn't look anything like the northern part of the country. [Sabriel's face- just a few shades too pale to seem entirely natural- twists into a frown.]

This... First House, is it some sort of guild? [This place does seem full of shops- it would make sense that it was constructed by a merchant's guild.]

Edited 2020-08-10 05:39 (UTC)

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Page 4 of 6

TEST DRIVE #2

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Arrival

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