❈ TEST DRIVE MEME

[fairy_of]

Welcome to Gildenhirst, friends!
It's a TEST DRIVE MEME!!
Premise, Location and more information on the Main Menu.

Our test drive meme is open to everyone, so please stop by for a little fun and see if you’d enjoy playing with us. The TDM primarily takes place in Gildenhirst, the main hub city for Bravely Borrows. The surrounding area of Caldisla is free game though! Please explore the setting as you desire.

  LET'S PLAY DRESS UP

A big part of Bravely Borrows is getting your very own job class! While all characters start the game as a Freelancer and receive a random job asterisk later on, for the sake of testing you may choose from the following job classes to mess around with:

Red Mage ★ Monk ★ Knight ★ Performer ★ Ranger ★ and Freelancer of course
If you desire these threads to be canon, an asterisk was simply loaned to them.
Please return it at your earliest convenience.

  NEED A QUEST?

If you need some direction on how to begin, why not gaze upon some sample quests? Go on a journey. Fuck around and find out. They are completely optional– write whatever prompts you want!

Eggs Aplenty
Oh no. Oh dear. There has been a horrible series of mistakes surrounding ChantiLilly’s egg delivery. For one thing, it was delivered to the Central Market on the Ground Floor! For another thing, there are far too many eggs here. Dozens upon dozens upon dozens of eggs. The bakery’s Patissiere would be grateful if you could help bring these eggs up to his bakery in Rooftop Gardens. You’ll get some gold and some fresh eggs for your troubles.

This Bunny’s Buggin Me
A farmer from Norende is going batty over the swarm of bunnies that have been getting into his fields. Help a fella out, won’t ya? They are swarming en masse and ruining the spring start ups! Don’t expect to be able to herd them out without a fight though– these rabbies really pack a punch! They’re also carnivorous so…. Watch out?

A Rock and a Hard Place
An avid collector is searching for some new specimens. They’ve heard there are some expansive cave systems in the Norende Heights that just might be the perfect spot to collect some geodes. The only problem is that they’re an eensy teensy bit full of kobolds. You’ll be compensated for your troubles if you’d go collect some rocks, and every actual geode will get an extra reward. Please don’t fall off the cliffs…! The paths are narrow and harrowing at times. Good luck!

Have an excellent time, friends!
Thanks for stopping by ♥

QUICK SELECT// MAIN MENU ☆ OOC ☆ JOURNALS ☆ LOGS

Comments

[whenyouneedme]

A little more jostling was still in order though. Just a little bit, as Kai rolled his head from side to side to give each of them as good of a smooch as he could from these angles. It was the motion that counted here. “Goodnight,” he murmured in turn, completing the sleepytime ritual. Even if it did not end in sleep, at least they had that.

Eventually the morning would come, one way or another. The sunlight began to peek through the windows, lighting up the room bit by bit. It was time to discover who among them had managed to get any sort of shut eye. Parties already awake would find that Kai did in fact fall asleep. It was truly a special skill to fall asleep anywhere, but being safe and warm in their arms just made it that much easier.

Luckily for all involved, being sandwiched meant octopus-mode was not as powerful. Good for you!

[daikonrose]

After gratefully receiving that kiss with only the smallest twinge of embarrassment that it was given in Shinji's presence, Kyoko had closed her eyes like a good sport. Give sleep a fighting chance and all. She would still take the occasional peek at Kaito as the long night stretched on, but there would be no disrupting those quiet hours.

She couldn't have said when she dozed off, but it must have happened, because when opened her eyes in the gentle morning light she was surprised, and disoriented. It was a few long moments before she had herself together enough to raise her head a bit to look at Shinji over their snoozing boyfriend. Was he still sleeping too?

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Sleep may have been elusive for Shinji, but the rest that came from relaxing through the night as best he could was... helpful? Helpful. His thoughts may still be swimming, his brain refusing to shut off completely, but his muscles have the chance to recover in this nice, warm and comfortable atmosphere. Perhaps he wasn't entirely awake the whole night, but he certainly didn't nod off for any meaningful amount of time either.

All that is to say, when Kyoko peeks over from the other side of the bed, the movement is enough to catch Shinji's attention. Ah, hello there. He doesn't want to speak up right away and potentially rouse Kai from his slumber, but a small, tired little wave, really just a raise of his hand, directed her way feels like a good enough route to take. Good morning. All three of them are still together, nobody's been spirited away in the middle of the night.

[daikonrose]

Oh, so he was awake after all--not all that surprising, even if it was worrying. Had he slept at all, Kyoko wondered as she returned that tiny wave. And when had she let go of his hand?

Well, everybody was here and nobody appeared to be having an active breakdown, so... she let her head fall softly back onto the pillow, looking at Kaito again. It would be a shame to wake the one sound sleeper here. A little longer should be fine, right? They might need to take action pretty urgently, but it wasn't like they actually knew what those actions were, so... a little more rest was probably fine and for the best right now.

She even let her eyes flutter shut again, not to sleep so much as to rest them a little more, and sighed softly. Quiet for a while, then...

Until a loud whining gurgle sounded out in the peaceful room as her stomach clenched. Oh.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Do not worry about him, Shinji will be fine. And laying back down to keep resting is a good plan too, it's only just started to become light out after all. It'll give him a little more time to run through the list of things he's figured they should take care of today. Figure out where they are, exactly, secure some kind of housing, perhaps? Or at least figure out where they can do that. Find a place to get some food--

Ah.

Ah, that is. Probably more pressing than he first assumed. When was the last time any of them had eaten? Way before arriving here, he can't imagine either of them had stopped to take a snack break in the middle of panicking. He's probably actually way hungrier than his appetite is letting on, too. Do not worry, Kyoko's stomach, you will be attended to as soon as they can.

"Should we get Kaito up?" he asks, just loud enough to carry over to her side of the bed.

[daikonrose]

They went worldhopping and didn't even pack a lunch. Let this be a lesson for next time.

Cheeks burning, Kyoko peeked shamefaced over at Shinji. "It'd be a shame," she mumbled, keeping her voice low. "He's so peaceful." Couldn't her stomach just deal, jeez.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

It would be a shame. If any of them can manage to get some solid shut-eye, then breaking that spell of sleep just feels cruel. Shinji frowns, contemplative, at Kyoko from a moment before looking back to Kai, then propping himself up just a little bit.

"Mm, but... he's probably hungry, too," he murmurs softly. Here, let him be the bad guy who does the unthinkable, and put his hand on Kai's shoulder to give it the gentlest nudge of a shake. A bit louder, this time, "Kai."

[whenyouneedme]

There was a little wiggle of the sleephead's brows before he slowly blinked his eyes open. The ceiling above him might have been a shock had the comforting weights against him hadn't still been there. It was still warm. They were still in the mess they were in, but they were still there so. Alright.

Sleep golds found Shinji first, a hand coming up to just rest there on top of his head. "Mmm." Sleepy smiles were soon to follow, and then Kai was looking over at Kyoko too.

"Good mo--" Hang on, here's a whole stretch of a yawn. "... 'orning."

[daikonrose]

Noooo Shinji you don't have to do that... But the wheels were already in motion, it was boyfriend wakeup time now.

Kyoko fretted as he stirred, answering his greeting with a guilty "Did you get enough sleep?"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

No, don't yawn, you're gonna make him -- YAWN.

Ah.

Ok, well, don't mind that. Let's just sit up a little more. "We should get something to eat," he adds gently, "but if you want to keep resting instead that's ok."

[whenyouneedme]

Here was a matching hand on top of Kyoko's noggin as that yawn from Shinji made him grin a bit more. "Mm, no worries. I got enough." Some sleep was Enough sleep with how things were. He was going to politely not draw any attention to how tired either of them still looked, making a note to simply keep an eye on both of them. That was his duty as the snoozer.

With a hand on each of their heads, it was time for simultaneous hair russlin'. Good morning!!

"Food's a great move," he said as he released them from their torment. "You found those coins in your bag, yeah? We should probably take a look through the rest of 'em."

[daikonrose]

Kyoko might have escaped safely after Kaito's yawn, but then Shinji did too and oh no. After rubbing a hand over her face to cover it up, for manners' sake more than any idea that they wouldn't notice, Kyoko nodded. "If we all have money, we can pool it, right? Did you have to spend all of yours last night, Shinji?"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Yawns freed and hair ruffled, it's truly time to get to business in this strange new land, huh?

"I don't think so," but it would be hard to say for sure until he went and checked. Which means... getting out of this nice, comfortable bed. Goodbye, bed, Shinji will give Kaito's shoulder one last squeeze as he sits up fully. "We should hold on to some for the inn, in case we don't find any better place to stay, but... we can pool whatever's left."

[whenyouneedme]

Alas, farewell their cozy scenario. Kai let his hand fall away from Shinji to give him a pat on the back. Giving Kyoko one more little pat on her head, he moved to start pushing himself up too

"Solid plan. I think maybe we should just go ahead and pay for another night while it's cheap. We'll have a spot for our stuff and the lil guys can hang out."

[daikonrose]

Kyoko nodded, and sat up, but didn't move to leave the bed just yet. She was combing her fingers through her hair--ah jeez she hadn't brought a brush or anything, had she--as she quietly fretted. "Yes--they had to stay in bags all day, so the least we can give them today is a room." Peering out over the bed in search of their small friends, she wailed softly, "Pen Pennn, I'm sorryyy! We'll get you some fish soon, it's a promise!"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Pen Pen, for his part, has found a comfortable enough spot on the floor to have a nice, long snooze through the night, his emotions far less fraught than those of any of the humans in the room. Ah, a blissful life... He lifts his head up a bit when that apology reaches his ears, but settles back down fairly quick once it's clear he's not actually being called for. Please, though, do not keep him waiting for too long.

Shinji gives the bird a faintly troubled look - are you hanging in there okay, Pen Pen? - before finally moving to re-examine the pouch he'd found the money in the night before. Can he get another night's stay here out of this? Let's see...

"You two got these bags too, right?" He hadn't seen for sure, but the way the receptionist had spoken made it sound like this was a Standard Feature for newbies.

[whenyouneedme]

Hang in there, Pen Pen. You're doing great. Kai wasn't as worried about his own little friend, because Bug truly remained a mystery. Speaking of, Kai was giving the floor a cursory glance before he went scooting his way off the bed. Any rogue fruits underfoot? No? Cool. Time to pad on over to his stuff.

"Let's see..." Now that he was not preoccupied with literally everything else, Kai took a closer stock of what had been on his person yesterday. He was looking for something New and lo and behold there was definitely something new mixed in. "Oh! Yeah, I got one."

It jingled. It jangled. The answer that Shinji and each of them would find was Yes, there were absolutely a few nights' stay in those pouches. How exceedingly handy.

[daikonrose]

Kyoko was only a few steps after Kaito, confident that last night she'd set a bag down that she hadn't had when she left Havenwell. It was--yes, right here, and now that she was actually paying attention to it, it sure was heavy for something she'd managed not to notice for most of yesterday. Look at all these coins! Goodness!

"This... is divine intervention again, isn't it?" Even in Havenwell, they had been given money right from the start, after all. Though it seemed pretty clear that they'd have to pay their ways for real here, there was still a chunk of change to get them started, and a... book? Huh?

Pulling it out, Kyoko set her bag on the floor again so she could hold the small tome in both hands, briefly running a fingertip over the butterfly emblazoned on the front before she opened it.

Ah.

"... I guess an instruction manual was too much to hope for."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Instruction....? Ah, the books. He had mostly forgotten to examine the one he'd pulled out last night, figuring it was less important than everything else that was at hand, but now... Hm.

After pulling out and setting aside another ten gold for the inn, he searches out the book he'd gotten. He's sure he set it with the rest of his things... Aha! Here we go. It's... a bit different than Kyoko's, isn't it? The cover of his has a double-octagon rather than a butterfly, but otherwise there doesn't seem to be anything remarkable going on here. Not on the outside, and not on the inside.

"I guess we really will have to ask around." That's kind of unfortunate.

[whenyouneedme]

"Huh."

There was one more book to complete the trio. A smiley face was sunnily looking up at Kai as he pulled his out to look at. While that was probably predictable for a choice he would have made, it sure did feel weird to be handed that choice without prior input. Perhaps there really was some divine intervention? Some sort of cosmic interview that happened between the doors of their departure and arrival? Such mysteries. It seemed like a nice journal, at any rate.

"Maybe we need to make records of our progress." That felt very video gamey. "At least people seem pretty willing to try and answer questions. Hopefully they can clue us in and point out our best bets for breakfast."

[daikonrose]

"Or maybe it's part of the local culture to always have a planner?" Snapping the journal closed, Kyoko set it aside to investigate the pouch again. "We've already thrown ourselves at the desk lady's mercy, so maybe she won't mind helping us out some more."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Shinji gives each of the three books a brief look of scrutiny - there sure is a suspicious amount of personalization on display, here. It's probably not terribly important, other than the fact that these books would be stashed away with something as vital as money... well, it might become clearer once they start getting information under their belts about this place. Save their games or plan their days, or maybe even something different altogether. He does not know one way or another, so his journal gets set aside for the moment.

"She'd said... we were getting a 'newcomer discount', right?" Something to that effect, anyway. She didn't seem to be too phased that they were basically scrambling to figure things out in front of her, either. "I bet she can help at least a bit..."

[whenyouneedme]

Kai was tapping a thoughtful beat on his journal cover, nodding along. A newcomer discount could have just meant a new to town thing too, not just a "new to this entire world actually" deal. Not being familiar with the currency should have been a clue though? Well, whatever. They were new no matter what, so making the most of their options was for the best.

"Probably. Won't hurt to ask." Hoisting himself back up to his feet, Kai considered the new bag for a moment before he slipped it back on and the book back into its original home. "Let's solve the easier breakfast mystery first."

[daikonrose]

"Breakfast," Kyoko nodded deeply as she rearranged her own new bag, glad they grasped the importance of this meal, "and fish." Thank you Bug for apparently needing Nothing, and fear not Pen Pen they would figure it out. "And if we have to go shopping anyway, we can look around while we're at it."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Breakfast it is. What more would they really need to take with them for exploring besides money and the room key? That's probably plenty, he can save long through his belongings until later. Gotta get the important things sorted first! Breakfast and fish! Let's get to our feet, then.

"We had it pretty easy for a long time," he comments softly. Now they actually have to buy food? Absurd. "Hopefully it's easier to find a restaurant or something around here, at least."