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Spellbind Mods ([personal profile] spellbindmods) wrote in [community profile] spellgrinders2017-09-23 07:53 pm
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( TDM | #4 )



  • 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!

  • knighthooded: (005.)

    [personal profile] knighthooded 2017-10-05 06:58 pm (UTC)(link)
    [judging the pile for a minute, Dave looks deep in thought, before he plucks out the harmonica from the bunch and gives the cord over to Jake instead.]

    This'll do.

    [if he was Jake, he would have insisted on a lot more for it, but he'll take what he can get and not complain. it'll serve him well.]
    knighthooded: (008.)

    [personal profile] knighthooded 2017-10-05 07:03 pm (UTC)(link)
    Nice. Thanks.

    [and he means it - that was fast and pretty nifty. before she can think that's all she's here for though, he jerks a thumb over his shoulder at the tunnel.]

    Want to see what's on the other end?

    [they can make a team of it.]
    knighthooded: (010.)

    [personal profile] knighthooded 2017-10-05 07:08 pm (UTC)(link)
    Back? What're you talking about?

    [the confusion doesn't ebb, but something smooths over when Dave thinks, reaches through the memories of fights and time and there's a rational explanation for this easy at hand. maybe this guy will get it, maybe not.]

    Another me came and popped up here, okay. He's not me - okay, he is but he's not me and I don't know what he knows. Not all the way. It's a time thing.

    He leave recently?
    splinten: appl-juice42 @ tumblr (and then comes the end)

    [personal profile] splinten 2017-10-05 07:15 pm (UTC)(link)
    [Two thoughts Dirk doesn't share:

    Another chance to get it right.
    Another chance not to fuck him up.

    His telepathy is relatively calm, steady, but there's a distinct carefulness to it. He's scared of hurting another Dave. He's scared he shouldn't go near Dave at all.]


    Time bullshit, got it.

    [Another pause, and then,]

    This is Dirk. Uh, your alternate universe Bro.

    [So. So, if Dave wants nothing to do with him, he knows who it is. If Dave doesn't want to get near someone this destructive, then...

    Then at least this time Dirk knows enough to leave Dave that space before he does too much damage.]
    knighthooded: (012.)

    [personal profile] knighthooded 2017-10-05 07:27 pm (UTC)(link)
    [part of him wants to go for the brownies. the part of him with a small degree of sense says they won't keep. so he moves to take one bag of candy, putting the cord down in its place. feels like the right thing to do, and it feels like a good exchange.]

    You know, you could probably open up shop with all of this. Set up a stand and let people come by, making a whole trading post out of it. I mean, this place is old-timey enough to have one of those.

    [she's got a nice enough smile to be a shopkeep, too.]
    sonnaille: (pic#)

    [personal profile] sonnaille 2017-10-05 08:29 pm (UTC)(link)
    You really are a common girl. [ she huffs. ] Nanami Kiryuu. Tanning is when your lily white skin becomes sunkissed because of the sun's awesome UV rays.

    You seem to be fine on that front.
    armigers: ponponpon @ dw (♛ 223)

    [personal profile] armigers 2017-10-05 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
    Don't know. We were apparently recruited by space witches.

    [ 'Recruited' is this place's grand euphemism for being kidnapped apparently. No matter how much they sugarcoat it, it still sucks. Pretty soon he and Prompto are going to end up competing over whose pits smell worse, and there is no real winner in that game. ]

    I think I saw more people around that caravan back there.

    [ He lifts his hand to point before looking around and noticing most areas pretty much look the same in all directions. This is what happens when you spend your life depending on GPS equipment and maps. He has no idea which way he came from and kind of ends up arbitrarily pointing to the distance to avoid looking as lost as he feels. ]

    Over there. Passed it before coming here. We should check it out.

    [ And hopefully, Prompto has some better idea of where they're going, or they're screwed. ]
    armigers: ponponpon @ dw (♛ 270)

    [personal profile] armigers 2017-10-05 10:34 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ His brows furrowing together, still trying to digest all this new information. ]

    So we ...do magic for them? Is there any reason they couldn't just recruit other witches?

    [ And why take away their actual powers and give them new powers? He still isn't sure what he's supposed to do with his and how helpful it'll be. He's received no further instructions since coming here and has all but walked in circles in search for at least a bed. Or a toilet. Some kind of civilization. Even Leide isn't as bereft of rest stops as this place is. ]
    reckoner: (019. ᴄʟɪᴍʙɪɴɢ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʟʟs)

    [personal profile] reckoner 2017-10-06 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
    I don't have a letter.

    [ At this rate, he will be reduced to monosyllabic repetition. The thought does not perturb, however little it suits a man whose position before death had been inspector, and after, less official but no less dedicated to rooting out the truth. If truth of a very different kind. Gaelio can see well enough that this is the sum of the truth, as far as this guy knows, and that he's doing his best.

    In any case, if the young man brandishes a letter, or indicates he has got, he'll have to ask to see it.

    But. Something flickers over his mouth, a lifting twitch at a corner. That in a situation like this, the word chosen was that... ]


    Cool, hm. I thought covens were wicked.

    [ Waking in a forest rather than the cold metal of a fleet's spaceship, encountering a wild boar that seemed to lose sight of him just after he'd hoped it might, and now informed of de facto imprisonment and witches. Not a dream? He hasn't got this much imagination, even in dreams. But it's all so absurd that his spike of focused frustration at the notion of stuck cedes, for the moment, to curiosity ]

    And with an invitation like this, it doesn't sound like we have a choice. Did she tell you where they are?
    reckoner: (014. ᴛᴏ sᴀᴠᴇ ᴍʏ sᴏᴜʟ)

    [personal profile] reckoner 2017-10-06 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
    [ That makes two, then. As if to match, he nods as well, a slight incline. An ultimately unimportant puzzle left to the wayside.

    A less compelling one, too, than such a sober teenager. Her incongruent maturity might have disarmed him two years ago, but in the moment, he files it alongside the neat fold of her hands. Public perception and fourteen. ]


    Maybe.

    [ Thoughtful, glancing to the fire, flames flickering in his eyes as he draws a long leg up, knee near to chest. His index finger drums once against the cap. Almiria betrothed at nine, married at ten. Society jeering, but not disgusted. Julieta must have been a child soldier beneath Galan Mossa. Tekkadan, brutal children he'd also seen as space rats, now allied with a monster. ]

    Maybe youth is a luxury, when there is utility against it.

    [ If she knows how to wield bows and guns, she might understand. ]
    antemeridian: (↻ if i break the glass)

    [personal profile] antemeridian 2017-10-06 01:43 am (UTC)(link)
    [ when they arrive Homura glances around the living space a bit — it's all new, nothing she could have ever seen before, but the details match up. the hut looks lived in, and the little things, the trinkets and books— they're quintessentially Madoka. Madoka has been here for a while, and if Homura thinks about it a bit she can even come up with a possible, reasonable explanation for why or how.

    but she isn't thinking about that, right now.

    she folds in on herself, a little, as she hesitantly settles down on a stool. the living space is so small; it almost feels as if she's intruding, even though Madoka is the one who invited her here.

    she peers over once Madoka indicates the notebook, and doesn't quite manage to smooth the furrow in her brow before it forms. ]


    That's... Bebe?

    [ a familiar shape. the Sweets Witch- Charlotte, her name would be, if any of them actually understood the runes. ]

    I remember something a lot like her.

    [ similar, but altered. less expressive, a more solemn sort of cute, disarming in its apparent harmlessness. minor differences, really, akin to how the Mermaid Witch changed across timelines. not enough, then, to mark them as different entities. an anomalous timeline, then, treat this as such? ]

    But that something was dangerous.

    [ not something to be told stories about over tea, unless 'meeting' in this case meant 'how the witch was defeated' instead.

    ...somehow, she doesn't think that's the case. but she leaves it at that, her question instead plain in the features of her face as she waits to see how Madoka wants to continue. ]
    wingfic: (indian runner duck)

    [personal profile] wingfic 2017-10-06 09:03 pm (UTC)(link)
    Okay. Well.

    Before we were--here, we were in a weird underwater city full of lizard people.


    [This is absolutely the best way to start off a story.]
    zurazura: (12)

    [personal profile] zurazura 2017-10-06 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ It's fine, it's not like this is either the worst she's seen Dia at. And even if it were, there's a whole new season on the horizon where Dia will have plenty of chances be seen in compromising positions in front of her kouhai.

    For now, Hanamaru is only just coming to realize more about what's happening on the ground though than what's in the trees, seeing how she freezing up suddenly. Her body goes stiff, like she's seen a ghost (or giant boar) unable to even take so much as a breath until Dia's voice snaps her out of it enough for her to talk.
    ]

    W-W-W-W-What do I do?!

    [ She half-screams/half-whispers as she's rooted in place, still holding that noppo pan in her hands having clearly decided it's worth protecting still. ]
    potentite: (060)

    [personal profile] potentite 2017-10-07 02:17 am (UTC)(link)
    [The Condesce? Oh, right. The Batterwitch.] Wow, you tussled with her and emerged victorious?
    potentite: (Default)

    [personal profile] potentite 2017-10-07 06:46 am (UTC)(link)
    [Oh. Oh, that's so weird. It's weird not just because she knows Squiddles, and not just because she says her name is Jade, but because it sounds so familiar. But he can't think when he would have heard her. Unless she really is Jade? But he doesn't want to hope too much.

    Still, it seems unlikely that another girl named Jade would know Squiddles? That's never been how their lives have worked. It's all predestined this and fate that and you were always going to meet and do this and that and no, he's just going to ask.]


    Um! Salutations. Forgive me if this seems a queer question but I really must. Um, are you... by any chance... Jade Harley?
    potentite: (Default)

    [personal profile] potentite 2017-10-07 06:48 am (UTC)(link)
    [Jake does not understand how bartering works. Quite frankly he still finds bartering a little silly and money itself is way beyond him. But whatever, he seems happy enough with the cord for whatever reason. Maybe because he's a packrat.]

    Pleasure doing business with you! Um... can you play that? [The harmonica, he means.]
    soulcomet: (human ◡ it's suffering)

    [personal profile] soulcomet 2017-10-07 04:35 pm (UTC)(link)
    Dangerous? No, not at all — I mean ... she helps us out a lot in fights, but I would never think of her as dangerous.

    [she falls silent, staring down at her drawing. for an agonizing moment, she's at a loss for what to say.]

    ... To be honest, ever since I got here, I've sort of had this feeling that something about home wasn't quite adding up. But I never really worried about it too much.

    I know you wouldn't lie to me, Homura-chan. [she's still staring down at her notebook. Bebe.] There's something wrong here, and ... it sort of feels like it might be me.
    witchhooded: (third eye)

    [personal profile] witchhooded 2017-10-07 05:41 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ it's not like becoming hope or being mindcontrolled by an alien dictator who also happens to be your fishmom from an alternative timeline leaves much room for deep family conversations, but jade can recall things vaguely - it's probably more because jane was concerned with jake that jade's memory of his voice is distant to her. she associates it with grandpa before she associates it with the teenager in the page garb.

    she winces for a moment, but then she supposes that telepathy is a step up from sending letters and this is no different from a letter. thoughts become green ink in her mind. ]


    Yes, this is Jade and you are Jake, right? ...Short time no see but long time no talk, I guess! Sort of?

    [ after all, if jake remembers her, then maybe he remembers jade wasn't entirely herself. ]
    potentite: (062)

    [personal profile] potentite 2017-10-08 02:24 am (UTC)(link)
    [It's the same for Jake; he wasn't exactly at his most aware at the time. He saw Jade become some sort of dark and gritty version of herself and then when he saw her again, well. He only barely recognised her, somewhere inside, where all that power wasn't twisted up around him. God, he hopes she doesn't take that fight too personally.]

    Ah, yes, that was... one hell of a pickle we were in. A whole jar of the slippery son-a-of-guns. Um, are you... okay? Where are you? I can, um, come down and...

    [God, he hates his nerves. He had a thousand things he wanted to say to her. He thought about them all the time. But now he's freezing up and anxious and god he just wants to see her.]

    Um, you know! Anything you need to help you out.
    antemeridian: (↻ it doesn't change who you are)

    [personal profile] antemeridian 2017-10-08 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Homura, surprisingly, or maybe not that much so, shakes her head in vehement denial. ]

    There's nothing wrong with you, Madoka. You're you, and that's... what matters.

    [ but, then again, this is a Homura more used to seeing Madoka talk herself down more and more in recent timelines. and it hurt, seeing Madoka think so little of herself. it's her fault, she knows, for not letting Madoka fight, for not letting her do anything but watch as her friends got hurt again and again... but that's Homura's fault, and not Madoka's. never Madoka's.

    but after her outburst, Homura falls silent for a moment. she looks down to the open pages at first, then glances from one corner of the cot to another, searching for words. ]


    You aren't wrong, [ she repeats, voice small, but starting again to carry in it a thin undercurrent of steel now ] but I think ... something else might be. [ was it Qri? did she-- do something, to Madoka? for a moment Homura thinks of her own memory magic, and something in her goes cold at the thought. ]

    Madoka. Start ... start from the beginning. What makes you think that something is wrong?
    witchhooded: (bedroom hymns)

    [personal profile] witchhooded 2017-10-08 05:32 am (UTC)(link)
    [ there's a sort of confidence missing from his words. it's not the self assured tone in letters they've sent back and forth, and for a moment, she thinks back to getting knocked out by his hope-splosion (as she's so lovingly named it) and wonders what it is that's brought him such power but so much hesitation. is the hesitation because of her? she doesn't know, but she knows better than to ask. if she asks, she's a little afraid something bad will happen.

    it's not a thought she voices, though. what comes through is: ]


    Fuck!!! I can't do my cool spacey thing over to you!!! Jeez....

    [ she'll deal with that inconvenience later. jade rolls her eyes, sighing loud. ] Well, I am in a clearing of some kind... actually, if you give a second I will send out a signal! I want to see you too!

    [ thankfully her home was full of trees to climb and jade got the hang of it as quickly as possible. hellmurder island had its perks, like making sure you knew what you were doing in the wilderness. once she's got a solid footing on a branch high off the ground, she whistles with her thumb and index finger between her lips, as hard she can. she learned to do that before she learned that bec just always seemed to know where she was. ]
    hearsthesea: (don't want a final blessing)

    [personal profile] hearsthesea 2017-10-08 06:51 am (UTC)(link)
    [Shirley is, in fact, very preoccupied with Nerifes' absene and very much under the assumption that she's alone. So when she hears an unfamiliar voice calling out to her from very nearby...she screams. It's a short scream, just long enough for her to jump back and get a look at Geir, but that definitely happened.]

    Who--who are you?

    [...Oh. That's a dragon. That's a very big dragon, big enough to throw Shirley even further off-kilter than she already was.]

    A monster?!

    [Shirley, don't call people who are concerned about you monsters.]
    hearsthesea: (but that was just an illusion)

    [personal profile] hearsthesea 2017-10-08 07:01 am (UTC)(link)
    You could...you could be trying to find out my location, to try and stop me from carrying out the will of Nerifes. It wouldn't be the first time.

    [And if that last part comes out especially bitter--well. Fenimore's memory gives her ample reason to feel bitter.]
    rootandbranch: (oh no.)

    [personal profile] rootandbranch 2017-10-08 01:47 pm (UTC)(link)
    [oddly enough, the dragon does not seem at all discomfited about being called a monster. in fact, he's not -- monster would be one of the first few words that came to mind if you asked Geir to describe himself. for his whole life he's been a legendary creature, nothing approaching human and trapped under earth and sea, fated to rise and bring about the end of days: why not just call a spade a spade?

    the more important thing here is this weird girl who was trying to drown herself.]

    Yeah, sure, I'm a monster, but how were you breathing in there? I thought humans didn't have gills. You scared me!
    Edited 2017-10-08 13:48 (UTC)
    dawninglight: (For the glue to dry on our new creation)

    [personal profile] dawninglight 2017-10-08 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)
    [she holds on tightly and sits low so that she doesn't get caught by the wind, but as they go higher up she straightens to get a better look at the scenery below them, really confirming that this isn't her world]

    It really is different...but, it's beautiful from up here.

    [there's a high chance that her words will be caught by the wind and carried off, but saying it out loud helps make it seem less like a dream]

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