( 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

e-ish (also !!!!! hi!)

[rebells]

[Jay is near the caravan, helping settle in the newbies and possibly bothering them with surveys, when he hears the familiar voice, and he freezes.

It can't be. But as he slowly turns around to face her, it's clear that it is--even if he didn't know her face and voice quite well by now, the Merines dress is as unmistakable as it is confusing. Has time been passing, back home? Did Senel and the others come for her, and did they succeed in rescuing her? He can't think of any reason she would still be in that, if she was in Solon's hands.

Either way--if she's here, she's safe. Solon can't get to her.

He hasn't talked to any of the coven members who've had friends arrive from different points in time, and has no way of making that particular leap. So he's fully expecting some sort of reckoning when he gets her attention. (He deserves one. There's no arguing with that.) But there's no realistic way for him to hide from her; he's just too visible in the coven. So . . . this would have to happen sooner or later.

Still, his voice is shaking slightly when he says--]

Shirley. I. [He opens his mouth, but no sound comes out. He tries again.] Shirley, it's me.

Hi!!!

[hearsthesea]

[Hearing her name from a voice she doesn't recognize immediately sets off alarms in Shirley's head, free curiosities forgotten. She quickly looks around to find its source--and shrinks away instinctively. That's one of Senel's friends, isn't it? Jay, that was his name. She's seen him a few times now. No wonder he sounds tense, he and the others must have realized what she's done to them by now. Any Orerines would be afraid of the Merines who took away their power. He probably hates her too just like that knight did, or he will soon.

She's not sure what to do. There isn't much she can do without Nerifes' power, right? She can't do anything. No Nerifes, no eres, no Cataclysm, no abiity to fight. Somehow it's a familiar face, rather than all the strangeness, that makes her realize that: whether or not Jay realizes it, right now she's just a pathetic little girl. If Senel and the others are here too, then they could overpower her easily with or without their eres.

Shirley turns her head away from Jay, as if that will hide her shame. But she has to answer him, and so without managing to look him in the eye she stands and walks to a point within easy hearing distance that still leaves a respectable amount of space between them. She tries to summon the same frigid certainty she'd felt when she first joined with Nerifes, but it's much harder than it felt the first time. She succeeds with maintaining her posture - nerves can keep her stiff as well as fury - but can't quite control the tremble in her own voice or the urge to chew at her lip, the wish to be anywhere but here.]

Hello. Yes, I remember you. Are Senel and the others here as well?

[rebells]

[That's not at all the reaction he expected, on several different levels, and it throws him off. The coldness makes some amount of sense, as does the fact that she won't look him in the eye. But at the same time, it doesn't; the Shirley he knows would not have hesitated to face him, to let him know what exactly she thought of him.

Yes, I remember you. That and the dress--it nags at him. Something isn't quite right. He frowns, thinking it over.]

No. [He speaks slowly, puzzling over the situation.] No, it's just me--and you, now. --Are you all right?

[hearsthesea]

[Why is he concerned? Jay has every right to be cursing Shirley right now. Even if he knows her as Senel's sister, she's not that person anymore. She's the Merines. A useless Merines right now, but she's already made her choices. She can't go back on that now, and that thought gives heat to her next answer.]

I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me.

[Shirley, of course, is not fine. But she has the feeling that being friendly with Jay will only make things worse in the long run, no matter what he thinks right now.]

[rebells]

[He'd worry about her anyway. But he's not the kind of person who can so easily say things like we were friends or I still care about you, of course I'm going to worry, even if they're true. He has no right to be concerned about her, not after putting her in much graver danger than she will be in with the coven, but--

He does care, he realizes. He cares so much it's actually painful. If he can, he wants her to be safe and happy.]

. . . we're both a part of the coven. [That feels safe to say, at least.] Whatever--whatever you think of me, for now, we're on the same side. So I'm asking-- [His voice cracks--] do you need anything? I'm happy to explain the situation.

[hearsthesea]

On the same side...?

[It almost comes out like a squeak, Shirley's that surprised.

She doesn't get it. It's not supposed to happen like this. Shirley is supposed to be in the palace trying to drown him and the other Orerines in an endless sea, and Jay should be...fearing for his life? And even if they aren't where they're supposed to be, Ferines and Orerines can't be on the same side. Right? In the end, they can't be. Taking that to its conclusion is part of the Merines' duty, and she won't shirk it again.]

I'm supposed to kill you, you know.

[She means it as a warning, but it's to herself as much as to Jay. The words only come out at half-strength, and she hates it.]

[rebells]

[Now that definitely doesn't make sense. She's not reacting in any of the ways he expects her to, or mentioning any of the things he'd expect her to, and acting like she's supposed to kill him . . . he can construct scenarios where that would be the case, but they're all awfully far-fetched.

Could she be from another version of his world--? Or--come to think of it, when was the last time Shirley was actually wearing that dress?]

Are you? [Asking for information is easy enough, even if his voice is still shaky with the shock of seeing her again.] Shirley--what's the last thing you remember?

[hearsthesea]

What?

[That's not how she expected him to respond. What is that supposed to mean, is he planning something? Without their eres, any Orerines could only do so much even if they could find her...but they could still do something. Shirley tries to focus on being suspicious, rather than confused.]

Is this a trick?

[rebells]

[Right. She's suspicious of him; it's not going to be that easy. Maybe a more indirect approach?]

How would it be a trick?

[hearsthesea]

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.]

[rebells]

[So she probably is from the past . . . how is that possible? He's sure Shirley would have mentioned an experience like this. Should he tell her--no, if she's actually from when he thinks she's from, she won't believe him.

Okay. So as far as she's concerned, she barely knows him, and certainly doesn't know the actual reasons she has to be suspicious of him. This is fine.]

You wouldn't have to tell me something that would give away your location. But all right.

[hearsthesea]

[Shirley hadn't really expected him to back down, so it throws her off again. Um, why did he ask that again? Right, now she remembers. It's still odd.]

You're being awfully calm when I just said I was supposed to kill you.

[rebells]

[There's a lot of reasons for that, none of which are easily explainable to this Shirley. He settles for:]

There's not much point in getting worked up about what you're supposed to do, I don't think. Neither of us are supposed to be here, after all.

[hearsthesea]

So what now?

[It comes out like an accusation, to mask her genuine doubt. Jay's right, neither of them are supposed to be here...which means she doesn't know what she's supposed to do for however long they're here. It's not like they can be friends or anything.]

[rebells]

[What do you want to do? he's tempted to ask, but he half-suspects that might not get him a good--certainly not an honest--answer. Does he even want to change her mind about humans? Would that change their world's history, too?

Still, for the moment she's here, and he should make sure she doesn't come to any harm first. Which means--]

Well. I did ask if you needed anything.

[hearsthesea]

No. I'm fine. I can do this on my own.

[She got the starter pack like everyone else. She tended a house for three years while Senel was working as an Alliance Marine. Shirley Fennes ought to be more than capable of taking care of herself here. And if it doesn't involve having to deal with Jay, so much the better right?]

Thank you, but I won't be needing your help.

[rebells]

[He closes his eyes. Right. Unsurprising. He has his doubts about how she'd do completely alone, but there are other people in the coven, and . . . honestly, he plans on subtly trailing her anyway, so there's no point in fighting her on this.]

All right. Don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it, though. It doesn't have to be from me; people here are generally kind.

[He sounds blessedly normal saying that, thank god.]

[hearsthesea]

Are they?

[The question is rhetorical, of course, but Shirley's honestly not sure how to feel about the other people in the coven either. As Merines she has no grievance against those unconnected to her world...but neither does she have reason to trust them. And she's already seen from Senel how kindness can wear out after a point.

Then again, even if she can take care of herself it's not like she can avoid everyone on the island forever. Even if she wishes that were true. I hope they are kind, she nearly says, but that feels like exposing too much right now so she opts for something safer instead.]

I suppose I'll see.