( TDM | #4 )

[spellbindmods]

IMPORTANT: The weekly update post will go up later than usual tonight to give time for any other barrier quest responses to come in. Nothing major will be affecting how old players respond to newbies on this post, so tag away! Threads here do count for September bonus AC for old players.

TDMs can be used for anyone interested in the game and/or testing out a new muse.

Test Drive samples are encouraged to be used for your application sample, though they are NOT a requirement.

Feel free to use one prompt, multiple prompts or make up your own!

These threads can be considered game canon upon game opening if you so choose.

Telepathy and magic can be used at any point in time on the TDM, from Prompt A to your wildcard prompt. A specific prompt exists, however, that makes sure all characters have an equal chance to use this mechanic within the TDM. You're encouraged to have characters use telepathy and their magic accidentally or even purposefully on any TDM prompt.

If you aren't set on your character's power yet or want to try out a few, you're still able to use the test drive. Maybe your character is a late bloomer and hasn't fully unlocked their intuitive drive yet. In the case of multiple powers, only prompts that contain the power you choose for your application will count as potential game canon threads.

While only one character can be apped or reserved during a cycle, feel free to post with more than one character if you like! This is for those who are uncertain of their first choice or who would like to try out different characters within the setting.

IMPORTANT: This world is low-frequency. No canon powers or abilities are allowed! Also check out the setting information for more info about what the hub island looks like and what can be found there.

You blink and that's all it takes. At first the picture doesn't come in clear, like you're waiting for a screen to fully load -- more aptly, it's like you're waiting for a camera to focus so you can find image clarity. Before you happened to rapidly close your eyes and open them, your life was normal...well, normal for you, anyway. Fighting an alien, making a quesadilla, dying. And then that blurry picture suddenly takes over. There's a lot to take in here -- you feel weird, your surroundings are weird. Everything is just weird. For starters, there's that new piece of jewelry inserted in the space above your chest. That certainly wasn't there before you opened your eyes. A ▢ Your character's first experience here will be waking up in a forest. Specifically, located here. It's up to them to traverse and try to figure out where they are, whether they make it to the beach or the main house area. If this new little signet catches their interest, fiddling with it will result in a bit of a neural vibration in everyone else with telepathy. Nothing painful; it's actually quite pleasant. But if they do decide to play with this new jewelry, they're likely to find some seasoned telepaths (aka old coven members) in their brain space, wondering that's up. A2 ▢ Alternatively, new coven members are notorious for being bad at telepathy from the jump. Their panicked reation to this journey or confused mental state may send out some network messages that maybe they didn't realize they were sending out. Or, maybe what's pushing them over the edge are all the other voices already doing exactly that in their brain. B ▢ Unlike the previous coven members who found themselves on the hub, new recruits won't find as many supplies randomly in the forest they're suddenly in. However, like old coven members, they will come across some wild boars that aren't too happy to see the humans have returned to their stomping ground. Your character may also come across a boar with babies in tow, which means that they're even more likely to be aggressive. If your character has useful magic within them somewhere, now may be a good time to discover how to use it...? C ▢ Whether you've braved a boar encounter or avoided one entirely, there's a lot to do and see in the forest, as well as other areas of the hub! Well, "do" is debatable. But! Coven members before them have discovered some pretty nifty locations that can be stumbled upon, from a phallic fertility shrine to tree homes and passageways.

If you eventually make it out of the forest and aren't devoured by a boar, you'll eventually come upon your new base camp. Someone (Genette) will be there with your introductory letter and a brief description of magic you now have. If you didn't discover it earlier...surprise! One thing of comfort might be that you aren't alone in this journey. There are other coven members here, fresh back from a journey to another world. If your character wants to get the lay of the land or understand what's going on a little better, they may want to hit up some of these folk for information. There's a large, gold, floating caravan hanging around next to a bonfire, and there's a back gate open that reveals something of a space pocket containing lots of different things. Luckily for new characters, the Palai from the previous world didn't want them to go hungry...which also means they'll be inundated with shrimp to eat. Hopefully they like shellfish! D ▢ Many of the old bloods in the coven can be found hanging around this area. Of course, a few of them have gone off on their own to do whatever it is they do, but since they just got back this is a good place to hang out if a new character wants to see a familiar face, ask questions or steal someone's belongings. You never know! E ▢ This will also be the place where they're given their first provisions. In a woven knapsack, they'll find a bag of cooked shrimp, a set of clothes (you pick the style) that may not fit, a toothbrush, and three other random objects -- dealer's choice! It's very likely that your character got something useful in there, but it's also likely you got something that your character would never use in a million years, or that doesn't fit. Time to start trading! F ▢ Finally, there's always the chance for your character to explore the big mansion next to the beach area. Actually, they may be asked to lend a hand. Everyone is tasked with unloading supplies from the caravan to the front foyer of the mansion, and there are quite a few trips to be mad. Or, alternatively, your character can slack off and play in the game room that they have. How good is your character at pool?

If you're much more of a loner and don't want to follow the flow of things, there are of course other locations that you should probably check out. Travel to your heart's content and find something new...but there are two other points of interest you may want to discover. G ▢ There's that bathhouse that's nearby, for starters. Your character won't encounter any snapping crabs, like last time, though the water for some reason isn't as hot as it once was. Whatever was previously heating the bathhouse seems to have died out, so there aren't any steamy, comfortable pools to take a dip in. There are, however, acrid waters with pond scum floating on the surface. The showers also spew out a greenish liquid, so any hope your character had at having a relaxing bath is gone. However, the lack of heat and many closed off rooms can make for some nice alone time. H ▢ Your character may want to claim a beach house while they're at it. Some characters have disappeared from the coven over time, and some of these few may have left their belongings before departing. This makes it hard to tell what huts are free and which need to be cleared out. Might as well play roulette and see if you picked one that doesn't have an owner or not. (For the sake of the prompt, you might want to choose the former, just saying). I ▢ Wildcard prompt. Go nuts and utilize your own creativity within the setting. This can mean striking out on your own or utilizing a certain location in a different way. The world is your oyster!

GAME NAVIGATION

Comments

[witchhooded]

[ honestly this is better than talking about the mind control? ]

Well a fox is a dog, but you said it is it's own class. My point is that they are technically both right in a way!

[ OH THAT'S AWFUL WHAT IF ITS A DOG AND A FOX FUSED TOGETHER AND NOT A CENTAUR ]

Maybe this is not the best conversation, actually.

[finagles]

[ Triggering anger in Gaelio with his own handle on the development, with his near positive endorsement of it, does not come as a surprise. It was not intended, but does not surprise.

Refusing to show weakness, beyond the carnal and the physical, to the man intent upon his death would do the trick.

The acrimony in the word parroted back settles in him with an odd kind of heat, an oddly energetic spike of defensiveness. It must be the outward recovery that rattles Gaelio. He must remain, as he has always been and always will be, unaware of the internal mechanisms within McGillis. Although he calls himself Vidar, he is a dog of Gjallarhorn. The rotted version keeps the foulest sort of canine in its infantry.

However.

The haunt is already evolving. It sits at the back of his mind and whispers promises of later mental torment.

Gaelio takes steps to corner him again, and it flickers in McGillis again. A defensive spark. To compensate for feeling discomfited, because Gaelio has always been capable of the exact thing he thinks himself incapable of, he prompts himself to give over that peculiar, secretive smile in return, the one that deadens his eyes. He glues himself to the spot and refuses to step away further.

In truth, he does not know very much beyond his wolf. The allusion to mythology, to poetry and characters inserted as symbols into the reality of their situation, is surprisingly appealing to receive, smile twitching wider. ]

Or wings to fly.

[ When Gaelio is little more than arm's length away, that's when he seeks his first form: stronger to him than the newly named Fenrir, easier to control. His body compacts into another ball of light, shrinking up off the ground and into the air, and seconds later, a brown hawk flies over Gaelio's head.

He twirls up into the sky and settles on a low branch. Hopping to the outer edge, chirping a signal of his placement at the enemy below.

He may be hit with another illusion now. It might be safer to keep moving -- so he takes off again and returns to the ground, landing behind Gaelio, creating again that space between them. Achieved in an overly elaborate fashion, to be sure.

Returning to himself, to the man, he speaks once more. ]

This is all I know of it. You're the first I've seen here.

[ Fancy that. ]

[dawninglight]

[the logic is sound]

It might, but you should bring a light down there with you too. It won't do you any good if you trip on something in the dark.

[rootandbranch]

There isn't a lot of choice. Do you know how to get home? I don't, either.

[very matter of fact.]

There's no reason to not help the people who are stuck too. If we knew more, maybe we'd do something different, and maybe not.

[idolpedia]

"Magic"? That is the only answer you can give me?

[Does this young man not realize how...strange this sounds? Does no one find any of this weird? She really is starting to feel like she might be incredibly out of place here. This is so concerning for her.]

Can you tell me a way to leave?

[idolpedia]

I don't even really know what my "power" is. If I even really have one.

[If she did it would really seal the deal for her that this might be a real situation happening.]

[dawninglight]

[nodding along with the explanation with no objections. it's what she would do--what she is doing, for now.]

Hmm...I suppose it's better to stick together until you do know more, rather than all splitting up. It makes sense. Otherwise it's a bit lonely too.

[rootandbranch]

I'm not used to having a lot of people around! That part is kind of nice...

[in fact, he's been pleasantly surprised by how nice it is to interact with lots of different, non-Vern humans. Vern is still obviously the best one, of course, but this is a much better experience than he would have anticipated.

he likes Yona, too, which prompts his next question:]

--hey, this is kind of a long walk. Do you want me to fly you the rest of the way?

[wingfic]

Sometimes it takes a while to show up, I think. Mine didn't until I was trying to get away from--well. It's a long story.

[dawninglight]

[she looks up (and up) to his back]

I don't know if I can get up there on my own. But if it won't tire you out, I am eager to get my letter.

[knighthooded]

[he won't die, and his flailing is the farthest thing from elegant, but his head is up and he's breathing, and his shades are dangerously close to slipping off his face which would be a spiritual death if he lost them in the water. at this point, he's willing to listen to anything and take whatever flotation comes his way.

at least Jade has sense about this. Dave, if he could, would be furiously talking about his impending doom. but they can make it if they work together.]

[armigers]

Qu...qr... who?

[ That's barely a name. Wait, worlds?! As in more than one world? ]

This place has space travel?! You've gotta be kidding me.

[ It's a little hard to believe, considering the fact that indoor plumbing seems to only be a myth from what he's observed so far. How are they going to get from world to world, and where is his own world in all these stops? ]

[antemeridian]

... Bebe?

[ That's a name Homura's completely unfamiliar with. So that either means Mami met her before Homura had ever known her, and they'd never kept in touch or never contacted each other during that month and a half, or... Mami would go on to meet her?

But while Homura can understand the idea of perhaps meeting other people she'd known, and finding their experiences to be asynchronous... while she can accept the idea of someone from a different point in time from her... ]

I don't remember any such visit. [ What Madoka describes to her sounds like something that could have happened, in some anomalous timeline, when she was still navigating that month and a half for timelines on end. A timeline where they were all on friendly terms, and Mami had a friend that she didn't in the other timelines.

But such a timeline never occurred. And Mami cannot have gone on to meet someone named Bebe in the current timeline, because Madoka— is already gone. Right?

Homura shifts a little, uncomfortably. Rocking forward a bit, as her weight redistributes itself and she sits up straighter. Her mouth opens partially, then closes. Then opens again. ]

I'm sorry, Madoka. I don't think I remember all the things you do. Who is Bebe?

1/2 obnoxiously for icons

[reckoner]

[ Better a dog than a giant's wolf. Better loyalty than tearing those who loved him to pieces.

The fix of his eyes keeps, boring for McGillis's own, for the subtleties of a visage most subtle. Masks so compelling, so effective, because of the fastidious care given to the finest of details. Even with these feet between them, Gaelio has not observed McGillis so closely for over two years. Two years of fervent, unrelenting study of footage and photographs, and in Bael's hangar, great height and distance between them. Throughout his declaration, he had not looked at McGillis. Only for a few minutes at the close, before Mikazuki Augus's interruption.

This face he knows better than any other, even his own. This face to which he had turned, as though heliotropic, for sixteen years. It must only be loathing, if adulterated, that festers and cinders in his heart. The ferocity of this more intimate study makes it impossible for even his eyes to mistake it -- that smile he knows well.

That flatness of those vivid eyes. Smile and eyes he'd watched McGillis direct to their classmates and colleagues, but he had once believed, never him. Though it demonstrates that certain masks were painted with more truth than others, he'd simply misunderstood which, it does jolt something old and tattered in him. Something, too, in his own features, flinching. His steps slow, pause, and timely -- McGillis speaks, Gaelio without the time for bewilderment before again the light.

He would brace for an attack, but the light shrinks into a narrow focus. Startled, Gaelio's head throws back to follow the hawk, that intolerable chirp to ensure his eyes stay on it, then spins with the rest of him to witness another transformation.

A flaunting, irritating display. Gaelio's eyes narrow, the recoil preceding this demonstration forgotten. Again, the clench of his teeth, a torment in his jaw. Futile then, to move. He should be shocked that McGillis had not chosen the wolf and to tear out his throat. ]

[reckoner]

Quite impressive. Have you been working hard?

[ Another echo, now mocking. Working hard, or already, or naturally excellent. Either and all suited McGillis. In that, at least, nothing hard and angry stirs in him.

Only.

Only them? ]

"Midway upon the journey of our life, I found myself within a forest dark, for the straightforward pathway had been lost..."

If it is us alone, then the old religions may have been correct in Hell. Yet...

[ Not calm, incapable of it near this man, he has cooled enough from the initial disturbance to evaluate again the idiosyncrasies. The forest, the signet, the power. It is too elaborate for two. As haphazard and careless seems the scattered forest awakening, there feels a system to this. ]

I doubt it.

[ Then, a thin smile, more a grimace. ]

Besides, you would torment me, but I mean nothing to you. [ A considering cock of his head, and less grimace now, more hard incline. ] Perhaps taking you from Bael, just as you set your hands upon it.

[rebells]

[He tilts his head.]

In a manner of speaking. Qri appears to use magic in order to move us from place to place.

[antemeridian]

... Akemi Homura.

[ It's not like she has any reason to be reticent about her name. And he gave her such an easy out to neatly sidestep the question of what she is, too.

(Not... good enough where it counts, for one. Never enough.) ]

Though, I believe asking such and then immediately going back on it... makes you seem disingenuous.

If you have something to ask of me, I would prefer you be direct, rather than couch your inquiries in apologies that you may not actually mean.

[soulcomet]

[he's not wrong — Madoka really enjoys drawing, but her portfolio is mostly just depictions, of questionable quality, of her friends. and also cats.]

[but she turns, and motions for him to follow her.]

It's nothing special, really! Just a bunch of snacks — the sort of stuff that won't go bad easily.

[she's done her best to make the cramped little hut she's claimed as cozy as possible, which ... still isn't very cozy, unfortunately. in any case, in the corner, there's a small pile of packaged food: pastries of a variety of flavors, bags of candy, packages of dried seaweed, jerky, and. fish-flavored brownies, for some reason. Aimintas was a weird world.]

I think anything you pick would be a fair trade, so please help yourself.

[antemeridian]

I thought it wouldn't be wrong to give it back to them, if they'd lost it. Especially if it might mean something to them.

[ ...her ribbons certainly did. But whether her would-be intentions are meant out of good faith or simply to trade for favors is harder to tell, with how neutral Homura's face remains. She's certainly been misinterpreted enough throughout her history, even when she'd been more earnest.

But- she does dip her head a little, in acknowledgement of Riko's misgivings. ]

Still, I suppose you aren't wrong to be concerned about whether such a person would be dangerous or not. We may all be in this same situation, but that isn't a good reason to be trusting people blindly.

[ Adjusting to the fact that they come from such different backgrounds, across apparently so many worlds, is strange. With all the different levels of experience present, she has no idea on what level she's supposed to be operating. ]

[reckoner]

[ As she doesn't ask for his name in return, Gaelio does not volunteer it.

Much more interesting is what follows. He feels an unfamiliar expression, though Julieta came closest to stirring it. No, not unfamiliar, so much as coated with the dust and rust of disuse, no longer sure of its place, where once it had slotted so easy.

A proper smile. ]

What if I am disingenuous?

[ He might have used indecisive, himself, but he's not committed to it. ]

Besides... I never apologized. If it sounded as though I implied an apology, then allow me to correct you.

[lohengrins]

[ jade pulls away, and a panic surges through his body. not exactly what he had in mind, but one kid is still latched onto him. wincing, percival jounces under the water and reaches an arm forward in some attempt to grasp at jade. fortunately, she appears to be...okay? that doesn't stop him from pulling him towards her.

his head bobs up, yet again, and his nostrils flare with the sting of saltwater before he continues onwards. his muscles ache, his arms are burning against the cool current, and in due time they finally make it to the land. water overwhelms fire s— but not this time, he thinks. it's by a small, small margin, but he hastily buries his nails into the soil, grits his teeth and hoists them up. both of them. at once.

yeah, his entire body is shaking due to the physical strain at this point. but over his head they go. help him out, kids. ]

[knighthooded]

You got one? 'Cause otherwise I'll just have to take my chances.

[he doesn't have much on him that'll glow, but he can try...it doesn't help that the shades make things that much darker.]

[knitpick]

[Huh. That's interesting from any perspective. Just also a little awkward from hers, since...well, she knows for a fact that she's the alpha Rose. And since she doesn't remember any previous visits here, either there's time shenanigans at work and for some reason her future self chose not to mention her past/future stay, or -- more likely -- that was a doomed Rose. And thinking to hard about one's alternate selves and their inevitable doom is not all that pleasant.

She chooses not to pursue that topic out loud.

Jake. Right, she remembers him. She mostly remembers Roxy shouting across the lotus pad trying to get his attention, but still. Hard to forget the hot teen grandpa with the underoos and the great legs, even if he'd been kind of quiet and reclusive when they all met up.]

So it's just you and Jade's grandfather here?

[knitpick]

[The sound of movement behind her makes her glance backwards, and...that's a complete stranger. Well. Good sign, since she was searching for signs of civilization. But said stranger is blushing like a virgin at a strip club, presumably over the assortment of glass penises, and unfortunately Rose is completely unable to resist any such sign of weakness. She just can't.

So she smiles pleasantly, turning to the stranger and making a welcoming gesture, sweeping a hand grandly over the lineup of glassware cocks.]

Come to offer a prayer to our almighty Lord of Phalluses?

[Sorry, stranger. She's kinda awful.]

[splinten]

[Indeed, a hot teen grandpa with underoos and great legs is hard to forget.]

For a while now.

[He decides to make it easier by saying point-blank,]

We were all from a dead end timeline. John was apparently going to go retcon it or some bullshit, but the rest of us were one hundred percent dead kids, no coins left to play again. Don't talk to Jake about that, though. Being displaced as the alpha Jake isn't really a comfortable topic for him.

[Dirk... seems nonchalant about it? Honestly, he kind of doesn't care much. He's done for, another Dirk will have to deal with his shit. It'd be more unpleasant if he was stuck in the same universe, but they're here to fuck off on their own.

Except that Rose may not match up. And Dirk is perfectly aware that if that's the case, he doesn't count. He's a reject, a necessary corpse on the way to a true victory. Any relationship Rose might build with him, if she isn't from that same dead end, is inherently void, because he isn't the right Dirk. It will all collapse into a void only she will remember, an awkward set of experiences that simultaneously inform a relationship and are not a relationship. A splinter connection, like any other splinter, part of the greater narrative but not part of that particular version.

Time shenanigans are a pain in the ass. He doesn't blame Jake for being uncomfortable with getting wiped off the slate for another version of him. But no one ever worries about the Marios that fell in the lava pit when they boot up for their next try.]