TDM I

[thetonmods]

The Ton Test Drive Meme I

Welcome to the The Ton's first ever Test Drive Meme!

The game will officially open on the 1st of April (lol) and we will announce this via the game's Plurk account. Applications will open on this date - please do not submit an application before then as it will be ignored until the opening date.

Please note that the Test Drive Meme does not require an invite.

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Arrival

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

Your arrival coincides with the beginning of spring and with it the height of the ton's social season. What kind of social event can signify the start of this better than a grand ball?

Coincidentally you won't have long to enjoy your new home in peace and quiet. Wherever you are within the Grand Crescent your house's assigned butler or maid will track you down sometime during the day. 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:

MASKED BALL

YOUR CHARACTER'S NAME HERE


Is requested to attend the ball at THE PALACE, on 25th of March current, at 9 o'clock p. m.


Do not trouble yourself - masks will be provided upon your arrival.

Lady Pheme

You have already been told that an invitation to the Palace from the lady herself is the only way in. So if you want to find out anything about the tyrant lady then you better get yourself gussied up. Your servant can help you find something appropriate to wear - or not appropriate, the choice is entirely yours after all. The ball awaits.

Masked Ball

For the first time tonight, the gates of the Palace are open. Whether you're arriving on horseback, by carriage or on foot, you must travel through those gates and down a wide sweeping roadway, lined with immaculately trimmed hedges and roses bushes.

Stone steps and huge double doors greet you at the other end. Once you go through these doors, you will enter a grand entrance hall. You will see this room and the ballroom only. All other rooms are out of bounds and no amount of physical force or magic powers will get you to them.

In the short time that Andovale has been in existence, Lady Pheme has already built herself a bit of a reputation for being rather erratic when it comes to the Palace's interior. She seems to change it on a whim whenever she feels like it. She does so hate being bored after all. The colour scheme she fancies on this particular evening is black, white and silver. The many servants and attendants milling around are dressed all in white and are of course, wearing masks themselves. Every free surface is covered in grand flower arrangements, also in white.

Upon arrival, you are handed two very important items. The first is your dance card, the second is your mask. You will not be able to enter the Palace ballroom without both of these items.










The delight that is the dance card is key to every regency ball experience. Traditionally held by young women, at this ball everyone gets one. The dance card is used to record the names of those with whom you intend to dance each successive dance with at a formal ball such as this.

Got cold feet? Dancing not your thing? You might find that card being magically filled out for you. One second it's completely blank, the next you look down and find yourself with a list of delightful individuals with whom to show off your dance moves. (You have Pheme to thank for that - she's just looking out for you!)

Curiously, there is no sign of your generous hostess herself. Just a throne sitting empty at the top of the ballroom.

As for the masks, well... they're not quite what they seem too. It isn't as though you'll have any choice but to find that our for yourself. As previously mentioned, there's no entering the ballroom without one on. You might be able to persuade someone to swap masks with you or ask a member of the Palace stuff for another one - but they're all about as chaotic as each other.

Hey, at least the drinks are unlimited.

A typical regency ball usually ends around 5 in the morning so you might be here a while.

Note: The images below are just a guide, you can decide exactly what your mask looks like as long as it fits within the colour/animal category described.

Silver Mask

Simple and classic - unless you go for one of the more elaborately patterned ones.

The wearer of this mask will find themselves experiencing only the most pleasant of hallucinations. We'll leave the interpretation of that up to you.

You're also hungry. Really damn hungry.

Blue Mask

Masks of this hue will leave the wearer with an overwhelming sense of sadness. You're just plain bummed out.

Unless that is, you get yourself someone to dance with. In fact the only way to feel remotely normal or cheerful while you're wearing this mask is to dance the night away and you will feel compelled to do just that. Otherwise you're just going to be a giant sad sack all evening and nobody wants that.

Peacock Mask

Wow, so you like to make a statement, huh? Or maybe it was the only one within reach. Either way, nobody's going to fail to notice you in one of these.

Seriously. No, seriously, is it just you or is everyone staring at you? You know the mask is pretty garish in comparison to the others but this seems like an overreaction...

The truth is this mask makes you irresistible to others. So you have the personality of a shovel? Your problems are over, my chum. All of the ton will now be dazzled by your sparkling wit and the positively flawless way in which you conduct yourself. Everyone's laughing at your jokes, even when you didn't make one. Everyone wants to be the first name on your dance card. You might even find yourself with a couple of marriage proposals by the end of the night.

You lucky thing you.

Pink Mask

Two words: MEET CUTE.

Come on, it's everyone's favorite trope! You know that romcom hero or heroine who is delightfully and cutely clumsy? Always bumping into their future love interest? Well, this mask lets you become just that.

You know, after your third spilled drink of the night this could actually get really annoying.

Harlequin Mask

There is no such thing as privacy for those who end up with a harlequin mask. It may take you a while to realise (unless someone else takes pity enough to point it out to you) but this particular mask projects the wearer's innermost private thoughts onto the front of it for anyone else to read.

Let's hope you're not thinking anything too insulting. Otherwise, we might have a fight on our hands.

Cat Mask

This mask causes the wearer to start acting... well, like a cat.

Chasing shiny objects, randomly knocking glasses off the drinks table, rubbing yourself against somebody else's legs... all of that. You weirdo. What will it take to ward you off? A spray from a water bottle? A laser pointer? If only those had been invented...

Golden Mask

This mask will really amp up your Thumos production. When we say really, we mean really.

The slightest touch from another will suddenly feel like ecstasy to you. Even something as simple and bland as someone tapping you on the shoulder is liable to have you feeling weak at the knees.

Naturally this could get a little awkward if you've never even met the other person before. Oh well, at least they can't see your face properly.

Red Mask

Red is the colour of passion. That must be why you're passionately angry at that person. Specifically the first person you lay eyes on once you enter the ballroom. You might even say that they are your nemesis.

Does this person even know that they're your nemesis? Probably not. (Unless they just happen to also put on a red mask and lay their eyes on you at exactly the same moment!) It doesn't matter. Clearly they must be stopped.

Now no decent, upstanding member of the ton would condone actual violence of any kind. Particularly not at a high society soirée such as this. Your fighting must be sneaky, subtle - make them feel like they're simply not welcome here! Throw thinly veiled insults at their attire, literally throw one of the vol-au-vents at them when their back is turned, accidentlly spill your glass of lemonade in their lap... Do whatever it takes. Well, within reason.

How do you like them apples?

The bustling market of Andovale's Trade Quarter is known for having only the finest produce. This week there is a new stall that has never appeared before and it does not specialise in your run of the mill fruit and vegetables.

This particular stall is selling golden apples. In appearance they appear to be literally made of solid gold yet the beautiful woman minding the stall demonstrates that they are perfectly edible. In fact, they're downright delicious - you just can't stop yourself taking a bite. We would venture to say that they are probably the most delicious apples you have ever tasted.

They also come with side effects.

The legendary Golden Apples of the Garden of Hesperides were a wedding present to the goddess Hera from Gaia, the ancestral mother of all life. The apples promised immortality and anyone who ate them would never again experience hunger, thirst, suffering or illness... well, these apples are but a pale imitation of that. No, you won't become immortal but for exactly twenty-four hours after you've taken your first bite you will find that you don't need to eat, drink or rest. Your strength and stamina will increase tenfold and things that would normally cause harm to you cannot. Optionally, you may also be feeling extremely concupiscent, as the locals would put it - aka horny to you and me.

Somehow there's always a bad apple in the bunch though, right? Or several.

Unfortunately some of these apples are Apples of Discord. If you happen to pick one of these, one bite will still give you all of the traits mentioned above but for the next twenty-four hours you will find that unluckiness and chaos seems to shadow your every step...

So maybe you're passing beneath an open window and a maid accidentally empties a vase of water and some dead flowers on your head. Maybe you're in your local inn just trying to have a quiet drink but find that others are constantly trying to start a fight with you. Trying to get lucky with that special someone? Maybe certain parts of your anatomy just will not get with the program. And we advise you to maybe avoid carrying anything delicate and breakable for the next short while.

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!

Please note that TDMs are considered game canon.

Both prospective and current characters who are already in game will be permitted to top-level on TDMs.

As your first port of call, we would recommend having a read of the premise page, as well as our rules. For any general game questions you may have which are not answered by the FAQ then please leave a comment on the FAQ page - for any questions specific to this TDM then please respond to the questions comment below.

Most importantly - have fun!

Comments

[northerndragon]

He cannot see all of the woman's face, but he can see big eyes, full lips, a fall of braided and curling pearl-colored hair. She has a low smooth voice.

This evening, there has been no way to tell what someone approaching him will be like. A few have been inclined mostly to aid him in escaping from the others, but one or two have been the sort to do that, and then to make him needful of another escape. He can only hope that she's more the first sort than the second.

He makes his apologies to the most recent ladies, with a faint polite smile, then says, "Aye. No woman should have to go on her own, and I could use the air myself."

Gods be good, I will not spend the rest of the night taking one lady and another to a terrace, he thinks, but as they move towards the doors, his mind settles more on the one he's with than the ones he's left in the ballroom.

"Should I thank you for that, my lady?" He is not sure, but it's pleasant when the outdoor air hits his face -- pleasant to smell something other than perfumes and a crush of people. "I'll see that no one troubles you out here."

[motherofdragons]

The look Dany gives the women as they pass is neutral though words scroll across her mask go dig your claws into someone else. She does not pass judgement on them for wanting to be pushy and gain time with a handsome young man, she knows that is the purpose of an event like this, at it's core, but she does begrudge them some finesse.

She smiles as they step outside, glancing over at the man at her side briefly before her eyes drift over the gardens.

"I'm not concerned. I thought you looked like you needed an escape, and I certainly did," she replies, removing her mask and setting it down on a nearby table with a sigh. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to avoid thinking when you're wearing a cursed mask that tells the room what's in your mind? I tried to take it off the moment I learned what it did but I was scolded." Which in itself was just the latest of insults this place had rained down upon her.

[northerndragon]

When she removes the mask, he looks at her, and is struck by her prettiness. Many of the women at the ball were pretty -- most of them. Some are great beauties and some are not, or might not be held as such in the North. This woman, though... she'd be a great beauty anywhere, maybe more than anyone he's ever seen.

He tries not to show his slight surprise. It comes out in a bewildered smile, and then he takes off his own mask and holds it in his hand.

"It was the same. They want me to wear it. I feel like a bear's bait." He gives her an awkward little half-shrug. He doesn't like being pursued with quite so much persistence. "Where do you come from?"

[motherofdragons]

Gold hadn't been his color, she realizes when he takes off the mask. It had muddled his rich dark brown eyes and drawn attention from the rest of his features. There had been no denying he was handsome before, of course, but the mask had made it obvious in the wrong ways.

"That was the effect of your mask? I noticed you were quite popular," she gives him a slight smile, before considering his question.

"I'm from a land called Westeros. No one I've spoken with has seemed familiar, so I won't be offended if you're not." Really even she wasn't familiar with Westeros, but there was no denying that that was where she belonged, always.

[northerndragon]

He's silent for a long moment, watching her with a puzzled look. That hair, those eyes... time was when there was one thing they would have meant in Westeros. Valyrian blood, Targaryen blood -- king's blood. He has heard that some people of Lys have the look, too, but she did not say that she is of Lys.

"I am. I am a man of Westeros. A Northman." He has the look of the First Men, he knows, and past that, the look of the Starks. But not the Stark name.

"I am called Jon Snow."

[motherofdragons]

Dany is unable to hide the surprise on her face when he says he is from Westeros himself. She's not sure how she feels about this revelation, happy, maybe. Unless of course he is an enemy. He doesn't look like an enemy.

"I had not expected to meet a genuine Westerosi here, of all places. I only just returned myself, before being spirited away to this place. Snow is... a bastard name, is it not? Though you don't seem lowborn." Her education was scattered and erratic, but Viserys had made sure she knew all the bastard names of the West, because he reveled in knowing irrevocably when he was more important than someone else.

[northerndragon]

His face stills and tightens for a moment: he had known that she would know what his name meant. But the slight dismay is there and gone in an instant.

"Aye, a bastard name. My father was a lord. I try to be as good as any trueborn man: he would not have accepted anything else."

Only just returned?

"You're no Waters woman. So who are you, my lady?"

Who she might be is clear to him already, but it's strange that he should find her here, instead of on Dragonstone, where he had sought her.

[motherofdragons]

Her brow furrows when she realizes that she seems to have genuinely hurt his feelings when she'd identified his name. A slight she would rectify, as many of her closest companions were of dubious origins themselves. She begrudged no one who they were born to, they had no choice in the matter.

"No, life may have been kinder if I was a Waters woman. I am Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen. I trust you do not need me to indulge in the rest of my titles, that my name with suffice to identify me. They seem to be of little use in this place, in any case."

[northerndragon]

For a moment, he only looks cautiously pleased, then he nods. She might have been any Targaryen lady, but how many had ever left the Seven Kingdoms for long?

"When I found myself here, I was on my way to meet you on Dragonstone. Tyrion's invitation."

Is this what waits for him -- waited for him -- there? It would have been strange, unsettling, to walk into some audience chamber and see someone so beautiful. He would not have been prepared for it.

He offers his arm to clasp in greeting. His gaze is more intent than he knows. Music wafts out from the ball.

[motherofdragons]

Her eyebrows arch in surprise when he reveals that he was on his way to her before they had both arrived here.

“You know my Hand? Clearly you’re more than you’ve said, Jon Snow,” she replies. “We had only just hung my banners when I woke up here. Perhaps it’s fate we were both spirited here first.” She steps closer, eyeing his arm for a moment before clasping it in return. She had only done this once before, with Yara Greyjoy, but she understood it as a more common greeting in the West.

“Why were you called to Dragonstone?”

[northerndragon]

He clasps her arm firmly and gives a sharp nod before releasing it, though he finds that he does not really want to release it. Careful, he thinks, and Don't be a fool.

"I met Tyrion long ago, when I was still a boy, and he came with King Robert and his train to Winterfell. He was kind to me -- kinder than I would have looked for from the son of a great lord. Though don't mistake me, Tywin Lannister was no friend to me." His face twists a little: this understates how little love he has for Lord Tywin's memory, how much Northern blood was spilled for Lord Tywin's ambitions, and how Jon has fewer brothers and sisters now because of it, and how he now stands in Robb's place.

He makes an uncomfortable little shrug. "What I am doesn't matter here -- not to anyone but you. I'm the King in the North. I was coming to seek an alliance."

Not in the usual way, either. Not presuming that she should wed herself to a man who has no great name of his own.

[motherofdragons]

The pieces fall into place as she draws back from clasping Jon's arm. Even if she doesn't recall it, of course Tyrion would have invited this man to her island. He was calling himself King in the North, and his mention of Winterfell made it clear just whose bastard he was.

"If I recall, the last King in the North was betrayed and killed at his uncle's wedding. Your brother?" She realizes this isn't great party conversation, but she feels a little off balance. "I'm truly sorry for your losses, I know there were several. News traveled slowly over the sea but it did travel."

[northerndragon]

Her hand had been warm on his arm, and now it is gone -- but he doesn't chase the warmth.

Instead, he responds with a thin, sad smile.

"Aye, he was. My half-brother. The others -- they were scattered to the winds. We have had so little news, and they were children -- I think they must be dead."

He does not mention her brother, and how he died on the Trident, and who killed him, and why.

"How did you find Dragonstone, Your Grace? I knew Stannis, but it's been years since he left the place."

[motherofdragons]

She furrows her brow as he speaks of his siblings, returning his sad smile.

"Perhaps you'll be proven wrong, after all, they said the dragons were dead too." Though she does not have her children here with her, she knows they live and will always be that symbol to her that impossible things could be possible.

His question draws her back a little and she sighs, looking back towards the grand palace they had just exited.

"Not so fine a place as here, but it is where I was born. They didn't destroy the things my family had built, though we did have to replace a few banners."