( 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

[equivalence]

Great. I'm all ears.

[And okay at least there's none of the nonsense about magic and covens coming out of this guy's mouth. Edward can appreciate that. He makes his way closer, frowning -- near scowling.]

Her. So the jerk who kidnapped us doesn't even have the decency to show her face.

[Figures.] I don't have time to hang around this place on a field trip. I have things I need to do back home. My brother is back there.

[spaceforged]

It might take some time to find a route home. You won't find the first members of the coven Genette and Brie to be much help. They're as much in the dark as we are.

[What else is there? Not much. Less than he'd like. He sighs, rubbing at his face.]

I arrived when we were in another world. There's little I can tell you about this base camp. ...I don't know if it's she is choosing not to show her face or she can't. No one knows what she is.

For all, we know she could be made entirely of energy. Without information, we can only guess.

[equivalence]

There was a way we were brought here, there has to be a way home.

[And Edward can acknowledge that the things this man is saying make sense. If no one knows, then yeah, the answers aren't going to be forthcoming, but he's also stubborn and worried enough to not want to believe it at all.

If he's here, he's not home. If he's not home, he's no closer to finding a solution to putting things right with Alphonse, getting his body back. Not to mention the fact that things are...

Damn it. They're complicated. He shakes his head to clear those thoughts.]

Guessing does no one any good, not without some evidence. Some information. [One gloved hand clenches.]

How long? How long since you were taken from your home?

[spaceforged]

It's been about a few weeks or less. It's difficult to track. But we don't know exactly how time and space are being manipulated to bring us from our realities to this one. I wish I could give you solid answers but, I haven't found any.

[He doesn't want to further frustrate him but lying wouldn't help. Shiro jerks his thumb back towards the base camp behind him.] Let's take a walk back to camp.

This isn't a safe area to stand around.

[equivalence]

What's so unsafe about it?

[Edward asks. That said, even as he's asking the question, he's heading back towards the direction that Shiro has indicated. This guy has given him at least some information though, and Edward is taking the chance to try to lay it out. Mostly unknowns. But at least people seem to be asking the right questions.]

Who's been here longest? How long since they got kidnapped?

[spaceforged]

You would be the fourth group to come in. I was with the third. [He catches up to Edward fairly easily and slows his strides to match him. As long as they keep an eye out for trouble it shouldn't be too terrible.]

Again time is difficult to measure and I didn't ask that specific question of anyone. I was a bit out of sorts when I got here.

[But that doesn't answer what is unsafe and he frowns when the bushes shake to their left.]

The base camp is in disrepair and i think the local wildlife aren't happy we're here. Especially the boars.

I ran into one earlier when I was scouting and it didn't go away until I used my Qri given ability.

[equivalence]

How long between groups? Any pattern to it?

[Edward would be sorry for all the questions, except he's got too much on his mind to muster up anything at even remotely apologetic. Appreciative, yeah. This guy is being forthcoming and offering information that is better than what Ed's gotten on his own.

But right. The boars.]

...yeah. Met one myself earlier. [He gestures down at his leg, where his pants are torn, enough that the metal of his automail limb shows through.]

[spaceforged]

[Shiro briefly glances down at the metal limb. He hadn't expected that. But, the kid isn't walking oddly. If the mechanic leg is damaged it isn't severely so.]

If it's damaged, I heard that some people here could repair it. I don't know how long between groups or the pattern. That's what we're working on.

We want to know just how precise her ability to select and bring in new people is. It could be random. [But it's better to know. The more they know the closer they can be to finding a few pressing answers.]

[equivalence]

Nah, it's fine. Quality made, you know. It'll take more than a scuffle with a pig to damage it. Besides, if I let anyone else touch it, Winry would make sure I had a lot more to worry about than a busted leg.

[But hmm. Good. That is a good line of inquiry. Edward nods.] And how far her reach is. I may not know where I am, but I do know it's really far from home.

[And he has run into people who are most certainly not from his world.]

I'm Edward, by the way. Edward Elric.

[spaceforged]

Call me Shiro. [He glances over at Edward as the pieces of an earlier conversation connect in his mind. Elric. He's heard that name before.]

I've heard that last name before. Alphonse thought my robotic arm was automail. Looking at you I can see why.

[equivalence]

Shiro. [He echoes, like he's committing it to memory. So far this guy has made a good impression, level-headed, decently informative, not talking at Edward like he's a child. All good things.

Then Shiro says that and Edward stops short.] You've met Al. Here?

[Secondary to that, but still interesting,] You have a robotic arm?

[spaceforged]

[Shiro stops and turns to from Edward. From just below the shoulder down his right arm is entirely robotic. He holds his metal hand up.] I've met him. He helped me when I first got here.

We were exploring a few possibilities last time I talked to him. You'll likely find him at camp. Even if you don't, each of our shacks on the beach has our names listed. You could check there.

[equivalence]

[Yeah okay two very important things right now. Edward takes a closer look at the metal hand and can't quite help a twist of a grin.] I know a girl who would be begging to take you apart.

[Winry would probably have to be restrained, in all honesty. But right okay. This guy met Alphonse.] That's... yeah. I'll find him. [He's gotta find him.]

[spaceforged]

I know a tech expert that would be fascinated over yours. [Pidge would have asked a lot of questions about Edward's automail. He turns and continues down the well-beaten path leading to the mansion the veterans of the coven reside in.]

While we're on this island it would be a good idea to train yourself to be familiar with your Qri given ability. It's going to be your defense in worlds like this one that can't sustain your usual skills.