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memesoftheton2023-05-27 11:00 am
thetonmods) wrote in memesoftheton2023-05-27 11:00 am
TDM II
Welcome to the The Ton's second Test Drive Meme!
Applications will OPEN on the 1st of June. Players with characters already in game are also welcome to top-level with them. However, we ask that all TDM-related prompts stay on the TDM post itself.
If you do write a top-level, please make sure to include your character's name and canon in the subject field - regardless of whether your character is already in game or not.
Please note that the Test Drive Meme does not require an invite in order to participate - submitting an application does.
NAVIGATION.
🌿 Arrival • Welcome Drinks • The Greenhouse Effect • Skinny Dipping • Give You Butterflies [NSFW] • That Belongs in A Museum • Jump to Comments 🌿
🌱 Applications • FAQ • Rules • Full Navigation 🌱
I. WELCOME
You don't remember when or where you fell asleep exactly...
Perhaps it's the tickling sensation of a low hanging tree branch brushing against your nose or the feel of the slightly damp grass underneath you that causes you to awaken but when you do you'll find yourself lying amongst a glade of wisteria trees. You're not alone - nymphs of the trees laugh and dance about you, clearly amused at the new arrival. Along with them, your new loyal servant is here on Pheme's bidding. How this servant looks is different to each arrival. Some are saddled with short, stout butlers, others are welcomed by towering, busty maids. Regardless of their appearance, they introduce themselves with a kindness and warmth that is simultaneously reassuring and strangely impossible to resist when they beckon you to follow them from the grove and out into the city of Andovale.
The closest structure within sight is the Palace and its grounds. It is here that the Lady Pheme resides and from here that she rules over the city, your servant explains to you. You have been selected and brought here personally by her. It is she who assigned the servant to guide you through the regency-inspired city that is your new home.
Eventually, they will bring you to your new residence within the outskirts of somewhere called the "Trade Quarter". You are now the resident of a room within one of the many imposing town houses which make up the Grand Crescent. Throughout your stay here the servant will be your own personal butler or maid. This is where all new arrivals will be living for the time being you are told. Your servant will also give you a crash course on life here and the concept of Thumos - the energy or life force that keeps Andovale and all life within it going - including you now that you are here. It's generated through acts of intimacy, whether that be physical or emotional.
Once you have been shown to your room, you are given two things: a network communication device and a letter. The letter reads as follows:
My dearest reader,
Welcome to Andovale.
The delights of our fair city are yours to explore.
I do hope that you make your stay here a most interesting one. I shall be frightfully disappointed if you do not - and we do not want that, do we?
You will hear from me again very soon.
Yours Truly,
Lady Pheme
You are free to wander about and explore the house and its surroundings as you please. It's certainly spacious enough. As well as your own quarters, each of the townhouses of the Grand Crescent have large communal areas, which includes the kitchens (although why you'd like to go there when your servant can fetch any delicacies you'd like for you!), a dining room, a parlour with its own small library, two drawing rooms (somewhere you can go to chill out basically - harp music anyone?) and a generously sized garden.
Strangely, unlike most accurate regency townhouses, there do not appear to be any servant's quarters - perhaps these servants don't need to rest? Or they go somewhere else entirely for that?
Why not introduce yourself to your new housemates? Or enjoy some tea and cakes that have been prepared for you personally by your retainer, which they seem to keep insisting on bringing to you?
II. AN INVITATION
Whether you're brand new to Andovale or a an establishedif a little unwillingresident by now, your assigned maid or butler will track you down. They are not empty-handed and they carry a silver tray, upon which is an envelope with a wax seal bearing the letter "P". Inside the envelope is an invitation. An invitation from your benevolent ruler, Lady Pheme herself.
Each character will receive an invitation identical in wording to the one below:
EVENT AT THE PLEASURE GARDENS
YOUR CHARACTER'S NAME HERE
Is requested to attend an exclusive event at the PLEASURE GARDENS, on 27th of May current.
Admission to the attraction begins at 6 o'clock p. m.
Wear something green for this special occasion.
Lady Pheme
Your servant can help you find something appropriate to wear - or not appropriate, the choice is entirely yours, after all. If you decide to go with their guidance, it is notable that they seem a little less decisive in the sort of outfit you should be wearing for this event - only, as Pheme said, that it should be something green. An evening gathering surely must require formal wear though and they will eventually press upon you the importance of wearing Regency Full Dress for the night ahead.
You may come to regret this.
Note: Even though it's a little different from the norm, this event will still count as a ball and all attendees will get 10 Reputation Points✨, just for showing up and looking respectable. Indulging with the theme and wearing an acceptable green outfit will also gain attendees a further 5 Points✨.
CW: alcohol
JUMP TO TOP • JUMP TO COMMENTS
So, you've received an exclusive invitation to the Pleasure Gardens' latest pop-up attraction from Lady Pheme herself? How exciting! Ordinarily, the Gardens are open to anyone willing to pay the small amount of Thumos required to enter, but tonight it seems that only those brought in from other worlds are permitted access. You're getting an exclusive preview of the attraction, one of the guards at the gates tells you.
One of their colleagues will escort you down the torch flame lit pathways, through the gardens to the centre - the open space where all events like this take place.
Tonight, that open space is not so open. Besides the vast outdoor ballroom floor, in front of you is a giant glass house - basically, a large fancy green house between you and I. These are often found at grand country houses to show off and cultivate exotic, never before seen plants from far off lands. You've been brought here for the unveiling of this attraction. How such a thing could possibly be temporary seems highly improbable, but that's Pheme for you.
Feel free to begin the evening with mingling and dancing as befitting of any ball, but before the night is over you will feel yourself propelled forward to join the queue to get into the "Palm House," almost as if an invisible hand is shoving you forwards. You're even handed an extremely green and theme appropriate alcoholic beverage to consume in the queue while you wait. It's all very civilised.
Oddly, this drink won't get you drunk in the usual way, despite the alcohol content. Instead you will find yourself imbued with a hefty sense of glee and eagerness for adventure. It's all to help ease you into this experience, after all.
You're admitted to the Palm House one at a time - it's fine, you'll see your friends inside! Just as you set foot through the doors, your head is filled with the sound of a woman's voice, soft and beguiling:
"Dearest gentle member of the ton - what happens in the Palm House, stays in the Palm House. You are free tonight."Note: For those that don't drink, there's also an alcohol free version. It looks completely identical to the boozy version.
Whether that drink has got you in the spirit or not, entering the Palm House is worth your while. All of those who enter will instantly receive 20 Reputation Points✨. And in case it wasn't already obvious, on this very special of occasions and the debut of her attraction, Pheme is turning a blind eye to what happens to you all in there. These things need a whole lot of Thumos to run properly and some of you will be doing her a huge favour... you just don't know it yet.
There will be no NPCs present in the Palm House, only your characters. Tonight is an exclusive preview for Pheme's Chosen, after all.
Entering the Palm House is a rather surreal experience to say the least. Sure, it looked pretty grand from the outside, but that's nothing compared to what greets you inside...
You might have been expecting a typical large tropical greenhouse as per any botanical garden visit, if such things exist to you back home. However, this particular green house appears to contain nothing less than a few dozen acres of rain forest. If the word "Tardis" resided in the vocabulary of the Ton's residents then it would surely be applied here. Pheme's out to show off again.
The moment you take a step or two through that door you feel strangely disoriented. Take a few steps more - perhaps you change your mind and decide to head back to the door you just came through. Only when you do, you'll find that the door is no longer there.
There is another door out of here but that involves crossing the length of the exhibit - and as you can now see quite clearly, that is not going to be such an easy task. There are paths to take and to (hopefully) stick to, but they seem to crisscross at every turn you take and go in all different directions. Thick rainforest surrounds you on all sides, its dense foliage extending towards what you can see of the glass ceiling and the night sky beyond that.
Pheme hasn't been quite cruel enough to leave you wandering through the rainforest by moonlight alone. Many of the plants here glow with an unnaturally bright bioluminescence - and there is more. Every now and again during your travels you will see the light of a of lantern darting amongst the trees, accompanied by alluring and lilting female voices, often laughing with delight. They might seem a little familiar to you.
It seems that the tree nymphs (or dryads) from the wisteria grove have sisters and they're making themselves quite at home in the Palm House. If you happen to catch a decent view of one of them, you'll find yourself face to face with quite possibly one of the most beautiful - not to mention scantily clad - women you have ever laid eyes on. They won't stick around long though. Make the mistake of trying to follow one of them and you'll find yourselves off the path and even more lost and disoriented than you were before.
You might be really regretting your choice of dress right about now - even if you are camouflaged with all of the greenery.Note: If your character does not manage to find the exit (or one of the magic wreaths mentioned below) then they will only remain trapped in the Palm House until dawn. After that time period they will themselves slipping into a deep slumber, only to awaken right back in their cosy bed within the Grand Crescent (or wherever they've now made their home) a few hours later. You can thank your servant for that.
JUMP TO TOP • JUMP TO COMMENTS
CW: large bodies of water, possible nudity
Unsurprisingly, it's hot in the forest, and the chances are that you didn't exactly come in here dressed for this.
While the dryads have made themselves at home on the land inside the Palm House, their naiad cousins (or water nymphs) have made themselves comfortable within the many rainforest pools. You can hear their delighted giggling as you traverse the forest and they will even call out to you in alluring tones, somehow knowing your name. It's impossible to resist following the sound and when you do you'll find yourself in front of one of the many pools that can be found within the Palm House.
Oddly, there is no sign of the naiads now that you're here. The water is beautifully crystal clear and dappled with the snatches of moonlight managing to shine through the forest canopy. That water is calling out to you, to drink and to bathe - you will feel an overwhelming compulsion to start removing your stuffy clothing, dive right in and cool down.
It's fine, after all, there's no one else around. Yet.
Just be care those pesky water nymphs don't hide your clothes.
JUMP TO TOP • JUMP TO COMMENTS
CW: sex, aphrodisiac, sex pollen, insects
It's not just nymphs and you lot making yourselves at home in the Palm House.
Often mistaken for moths, there's one species group of nocturnal butterflies, but their wings are dull, plain, and uninteresting. Clearly not a good fit for a glorious Palm House, designed by Pheme herself. That is precisely why Pheme has created her own, never before seen species of night butterfly, especially for this occasion.
Their wings are like gossamer, beautifully transparent like a ordinary glasswing butterfly but these ones glow in the dark. You probably encounter one or two as you make your way through the rainforest, but the longer you spend in here, the more the butterflies begin to swarm. Looking up and you'll see a "kaleidoscope" high above your heads, hundreds of them flocking together in a brightly glowing mass above the treeline. The display is only brief, but it leaves you with a strange yet probably not unfamiliar feeling.
You see, these butterflies have been carrying pollen on their bodies and legs, as butterflies often do, helping to spread the stuff. It seems whatever plant they have recently been feeding from has some very curious properties... and you can probably guess where this is going.
You feel hot - even more than you already did being stuck in a tropical forest. Not only that, you feel the strongest desire for physical intimacy. Effects vary depending on how much pollen you've been doused with, but you still have a deep, desperate need to do something about it. For those most strongly affected and desiring the ultimate, touching yourself may bring some relief. That may very well be your first thought to try, but some is the operative word here.
That person you've always had a flirtation with? Now is the time. You have to have them. You have to have each other. Or maybe you've just met this person, here, in the rainforest today? Maybe you're two people who ordinarily don't even like each other? Perhaps there's more than two of you?
It doesn't matter. You won't rest until you've gotten that release.Note: The butterflies swarm covers a wide enough area that you can be anywhere within the Palm House when their pollen hits. While this is obviously a sex pollen prompt, players can choose how strongly their characters have been affected. It may be that they only got the lightest dousing of pollen and kissing is enough to satisfy them. On the other hand, maybe they got so covered in the stuff that only doing the deed will do. The choice is yours.
JUMP TO TOP • JUMP TO COMMENTS
CW: chance for NSFW
So, you're not having much luck navigating your way out of this foliage filled nightmare? There is another way out. At some point on your travels, one of the naiads will take pity on you and try to help you out: "Find one of the wreaths!"
Deeper into the greenhouse, or this pseudo rainforest as it basically is, you'll find ancient Greek laurel wreaths made of pure gold. They might be just lying on the ground, or up a tree, or under the water in one of the forest pools... The choice is yours as to where you find it, We'll leave that entirely to your discretion.
It will take quite some doing given how far into the jungle these treasures are, but should you manage to find one, upon contact, it will teleport you, and whoever you might be holding onto, out of the greenhouse and right back to the entrance to the Pleasure Gardens again.
The wreaths won't be easy to find, and you'll face many obstacles along the way. Some set to distract you entirely from your goal, which is get the hell out of here. Unless you actually like it in here? You do you, boo. We're not judging.
The teleportation abilities of the wreaths themselves can only be activated by generating a small amount of Thumos between yourself and another first, another naiad will explain. That means no grabbing one for yourself and hightailing it out of here! Oh no, no, no. What about your chums? It would not be seemly to leave them in the lurch, after all.Note: Obviously more than one character can use one of these wreaths to teleport out of the Palm House, as long as each of you has a hand on the item and you have generated Thumos between all of you then it will work.
JUMP TO TOP • JUMP TO COMMENTS
Wildcard
To assist you with inspiration our full list of Andovale's locations can be found here.
Want to play something that isn't listed here? Go ahead!
no subject
[She looks to the area around them before making her way carefully through the crowd, seemingly stepping with a level more grace than she had before, somehow softer and more light on her feet.
At least she walked away from the posture class with something.
The line to the Palm House hadn't gotten long yet, the evening and drinks still young and being imbued. So they are able to slip in with relative ease and she immediately gasps as she takes a few steps forward. It was like walking into a jungle.. more than that it was huge where it was but a smaller greenhouse from the outside.]
How is this possible -- it didn't look this big from the outside.
no subject
[He's not used to seeing so much green in one place- his father was not exactly fond of any kind of gardens so the Shinra estates had no greenhouses or greenery like this anywhere.
There were far fewer people here and it was easier to move off to a spot far enough from prying ears and gazes. He's able to find a bench off to the side, somewhere they can see anyone approaching.
They can sightsee later, there is too much he wants to know. sitting down. He's not going to beat around the bush as he looks at her, his expression serious as he sits down.]
Tell me what happened that night.
no subject
Folding her arms under her chest, she thinks about where to start, how much to tell him, but realizes there is no real reason to hold back.]
We broke into the Shinra building to save Aerith.. Eventually we made it to the top, your father's office.. he was hanging off the side of the building when Barrett saved him.
[Her fist clenches in memory of how the man almost shot Barrett after he saved him. How ungrateful to be saved he was, how--]
That was until Sephiroth stabbed him.. him and Barrett. Except -- a Whisper saved Barrett, Red said it wasn't his destined death or something.
[She tucks some hair behind her ear at the memory, feeling a little distressed by how close of a call it was.]
Then you showed up, Cloud fought you one on one while the rest of us ran.. well all but myself, I stayed just in case. He beat you, I saved him, we ran.. Eventually we fought fate itself.
[She remembers all the destiny talk, everything that happened afterwards. Fighting fate and Sephiroth... of breaking out of the cycle.]
no subject
He is surprised that anyone would save the old man, had he been there it would have been delightful to pry each fat finger off until gravity took care of the rest.
It was even stranger that neither Barrett nor anyone else in Avalanche had mentioned that detail but he supposes at the time they all had bigger things to worry about.
What she says about the whispers and fighting fate is troubling- he doesn't like that there is another timeline where they have to stop Sephiroth.]
I don't remember anything about fates or...whispers. But you said you were told Barrett wasn't fated to die that night- did they say anything else about anything else in the future?
The Whisper has to know what happens in the future since it's true, Barrett wasn't supposed to die that right.
no subject
Aerith seemed to understand a lot of it as well. Almost just as much..
Thoughts for another time really.]
When we fought them.. there were glimpses of the future we were supposed to have. [A hand comes up to tuck some hair behind her ear, thoughtful and trying to make sense of a confusing time.] Glimpse of Red XIII and cubs.. of a meteor looming over our world.. of Cloud fighting Sephiroth.
[A pause before she looks at him, expression imploring.]
The meteor.. that can't really be the fate of our world can it?
no subject
[Rufus has no desire to be cruel, there is no reason to give her at least a bit of hope for the future. There may not be anything they can do about it here but he can at least give her some reassurance.]
The Lifestream stops it before it impacts. I don't know the details of how that happened
[It didn't stop Midgar from becoming a city of twisted metal and it didn't stop the disease. But if she didn't see those things then it was best not to mention them, not when they couldn't do anything about that here.]
I don't know if you can change the future, if you and Cloud can stop Sephiroth from summoning Meteor, or what happens after. I know some things have to be inevitable but I will leave that to you and your friends when you return.
no subject
[She repeats the word with a slight tinge of horror to her voice. The lifestream stopped it in that timeline, the one they were fated for, but it seems like now it was different.. Would Meteorfall happen again? Can they stop it this time? Will the lifestream be strong enough when people like Shinra were still draining the planet dry?
Her thoughts make her clench her fist subconsciously in anxiety, a couple of her knuckles popping.
But if he says that Sephiroth summoned the meteor and the man was also fighting destiny.. would it even happen again? There were so many ifs and they were already on a new track of their destiny, there was no more relying on fate--
Suddenly she gets why Aerith was scared of the boundless sky.]
We already defied our fate. Your.. timeline is likely the one we were meant to be on, but--
[She laces her fingers together and squeezes them tightly, holding them folded un front of her.]
Sephiroth is also free of fate though.. but we will stop him and Shinra -- if we were fated to do it once, we can do it again.
no subject
[Rufus had had grand plans for making Shinra greater, more powerful than what his father could have ever imagined. But when things came crashing down he had learned all too well that it wasn't worth it. He had just been following the path his father had set out for him all along.
Perhaps that was another thing he owed to Cloud and his friends.
Shinra would always endure as long as he lived but now he could truly make things better, as his father never could.]
I know you don't know why and have no reason to trust this but I am grateful for what you and Cloud have done. I propose that we have at least a truce here, Tifa.
no subject
Looking at him, she can feel and hear the sincerity he has when he says this, can see that he means this.
Really, even back home she doesn't know Rufus.. what harm is there in getting to peacefully know a stranger.]
It would be unfair of me to judge you when you aren't the same person I met back home.. well, not really. [she smiles a little like that's amusing] Especially, when I might not be how you remember me either.
[She offers her hand to shake.]
A truce, I can agree to that.
no subject
[So much had changed since that night, he knew he wasn't the same man who stood before Cloud. But he never really thought about the extent of those changes but it doesn't surprise him when she remarks he's like a different person.
There is no hesitation to take her hand to shake to seal the deal.]
Now, since we have a truce I say we find drinks to celebrate. It's getting stifling hot in here.
[Screw what is proper, he unbuttons the cuffs of his shirt, pushing up the sleeves part way to his elbow. If anyone is scandalized he ignores it, it's too hot to really care that much.]
no subject
Tucking some stray hair behind her ear, she moves to stand.]
Yeah, a drink sounds nice, it's rather hot in here..
[Casting a look around, she looks for the exit and finds that there is none.. But they only just entered from over there.. right?]
Do you remember where we came in from?
no subject
He peers around, trying to recall which way they came, trying to figure out where it seems like people are coming from as he gets up, frowning thoughtfully.]
I think I can hear more people this way.
[He pauses for a moment to make sure she's following before walking. It really seems bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, he thought that they hadn't gone too far but apparently, they had strayed more off the path than he realized.]
no subject
There is a second where she is starting to reach for his arm, so used to men offering their arm when they walk around with here these days - it was ingrained in her at Charm School too - but she stills her hand before she can touch him. Here in private they didn't need to follow proper etiquette, but when had it become a habit?
Has she really been here long enough to get used to something like that?]
I could have sworn-- Hm, well it does seem bigger in here than I thought it was. [A shrug as she walks beside him.]
no subject
[Rufus has to scold himself for not really paying as much attention as he should have been when they came into the Palm House. He doesn't notice her reaching for her but he does notice some raised eyebrows from people passing by.
To be fair, he would have gotten some strange looks from Midgar upper society if he was at a formal event with the sleeves of his shirt pushed halfway up to his elbow but right now his focus was finding them a way out.
When they round the corner there is just another path into the mass of planets, not the exit he had thought they were heading towards.]
no subject
[Casting a look around, she sees nothing but more plants and a select few people - some of who are giving her and Rufus curious looks. They must be somewhat close to the entrance, but even the people around them are mostly looking up at the palm house in wonder.. a wonder that has her looking around again to not really see any definitive walls or even doors. This place was definitely bigger than it was on the outside.
And it was stiflingly hot in here.
Not caring about the looks she will get, Tifa starts to roll down and take off her arm length gloves, exposing her arms to the air hoping to reprieve the oppressive heat as she steps forward to look around again.]
Did.. the exit vanish?
[Her brow creases. She wouldn't put it passed this place, Pheme has done some strange things before and she wouldn't be surprised.]
no subject
[Every pathway seems to be leading further into the building but fortunately there are still several people around and not all of them are looking at them with disapproval as Tifa takes her gloves off.]
It doesn’t seem like anyone else is really lost- they can point us in the right direction.
[just for added benefit he casually unbuttons the top two buttons of his shirt, just enough for a teasing glimpse but also enough to cover some healing scars there. But it’s enough to get some lingering looks.]
It looks like we may have some admirers who would be more than willing to help.
no subject
Good thing she was immune to it.
Mostly. Maybe her eyes took in the sight of his collarbone for a second before she turns her attention to the few people that were more interested in them in this moment.]
Would anyone know the way out? I feel absolutely faint in this heat.. [She asks it with a kind note, she smiles with a tilt of her head -- though how she places her hands behind her back coyly makes her chest press out more, the low cut of the fashion did not hide her endowment in the slightest.
It gets a few stammered responses, a couple men look around as if to find the exit themselves.]
no subject
He remembers Reno telling him how much his younger brother liked to frequent Tifa's bar and he can only imagine how awkward poor Evan was around her.
As Tifa gets assistance from some very helpful men who were more than happy to assist her Rufus keeps a step back, watching with amusement. As he follows them a perky socialite joins them, fluttering her fan as she tells Rufus that he absolutely come to tea sometime but he's only half listening as they finally come in sight of the entrance of the Palm House.]
no subject
The men who are helping her are fawning for her attention, being extremely helpful as she plays with her gloves, showing off her bare wrists to them. Charm school prepared her for what she needed to use against these men as they offer her hands up and arms to hold onto, though she coyly dodges each one, knowing the implications it could have.
Once she entrance comes into sight, she giggles and offers her thanks before falling back a few paces to take hold of Rufus' arm instead, leaning towards him meaningfully.]
Our exit, I believe you owe me a drink, hm?
[With glowering looks, the men catch the hint and start to back off, clearly seeing Rufus as her escort for the evening.]
no subject
The socialite beside him gets jostled to the side by Tifa with a huff but Rufus doesn't look back as Tifa takes his arm. He's rather surprised but lets her as they leave their admirers behind.]
Well done, it seems we make a rather good team.
[It seemed to instantly cool down as soon as the left the Palm House which was a relief as he lets out a breath.]
I certainly do- we'll toast to our new alliance.
[Which was made easier in the absence of Cloud who he doubted would be as agreeable. But that was a problem for later, right now it was time for a strong drink.]