( 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

dave strider | homestuck

[knighthooded]

one.

[wandering through the forest is boring. not really what he wants to be doing, but here he is, trudging along. bright red is easily spotted through the trees, and it isn't long before he stops, contemplating what he's come across. there's a door in the ground, one that if he crouches and taps on it, sounds like wood.

most people don't go after weird doors in the ground without any idea of where they'll end up. most people don't open suspicious wood doors and squint to see inside while wearing shades. most people don't mutter "Alright." to themselves and then jump in the hole.

Dave is not most people.]

two.

What?

[the exclamation is soft, disbelieving as Dave digs through the knapsack of provisions and takes out...a bundle of a black, glittery extension cord. previously, the shrimp had been appreciated. clothes were also appreciated, including the best shirt he could have found. it's useful, except for the extension cord when there was nothing to extend the electricity of the cord to and unlikely to be one in the near future. it baffles him. but hey, it's useful in one way.

turning to the nearest person, his voice is completely deadpan.]

Trade you this.

three.

[there's a hell of a lot of voices in his head - people chattering away, and nothing's making it stop. he could pull a Vantas and yell that everyone shut up, but that doesn't sound like it'll do much. but it's bothersome in a way that the chats never were, because he can't go and look away and turn it off.

but focus helps. focus narrows everything down to a point. focus means that in his head he's thinking about something like a beat, putting it together in his head. repetitive, careful, him tweaking it until it's right and then beginning to mix and play with different sections. it keeps him calm, it makes the voices lessen. what he doesn't consider is that just as he could hear them, everyone else could hear him too.]

four.

[wildcard option.]

three

[splinten]

[Huh, someone's broadcasting a rhythm. Dirk immediately latches onto it. It's a familiar kind of rhythm, the sort he might listen to at home. The mixing feels right too, natural. So there's really only one thing to do.

Drop some sweet rhymes. Telepathically, of course.]

Voices,
Telepathic words, makin' our choices.
Callin' to the herd, quiet rejoices,
Movin' little bird, now we toys is.

Rhythm,
Changin' our thoughts with 'em,
We shift the logarithm,
As if we sippin' zythum.

Flow,
Don't let yourself go,
Find your own say-so
Can't say 'yes' without 'no.'

Song,
Help us come along,
Division bell's a gong,
Is it right or wrong?

Voices, rhythm, flow, song.
Choices, with 'em, go, wrong.

[knighthooded]

[he doesn't know the voice that weaves itself into his jam session, but he can respect the rhymes being laid down. so as the voice raps along - the voice he'll accept into his head, because hey, it's taking two to make a work of art - so what he does is alter the melody as they go on. an intro, a slow build, a climax, a chorus. he can make that possible with a careful hand applied to the rhythm, the bass slowed at the right moment. it's good enough for a demo tape, in his opinion.

where he sits outside the big house, he's smiling to himself. better than trying to block out any random voices. god, how he'd love to have his tables and get to make this somewhere where it could be recorded. maybe he'll have to find this person later, when he finally gets his hands on those again, and make it so.]

[splinten]

[When they come to a close, Dirk reaches out across the telepathy to say,]

Nice beats, dude.

[knighthooded]

You're not so bad yourself. Freestyle, or you been working on that one?

[either way, Dave's impressed. plus, talking to one person has the same effect as music - calms it down.]

[splinten]

[OH FUCK

There's a weird telepathic panic-thought of surprise, fear, horror, and, weirdly, shame and self-hatred—before Dirk manages to clamp down on it and just goes totally dead. It's the telepathic equivalent of a call going dial tone. If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and try again. If you need help, hang up and then dial the operator.

Dirk will try to speak after, oh, thirty to forty-five seconds pass. Does Dave speak before that time passes?]

[knighthooded]

[that's...not what he expected. about twenty seconds go by, and then Dave reaches out again.]

Uh, dude? You there?

[the words are tinged with an honest confusion, unsure as to where that panic came from. if he said something wrong, did something to make the other guy go off. weird.]

two

[soulcomet]

[oh.]

[well, she isn't exactly going to refuse, so Madoka is quiet for a moment, looking between him and the cord, wondering both what she's going to do with it and what she has on her person to trade (she has hair ribbons — that's pretty much it. though, it wouldn't be the first time she's traded hair ribbons).]

[but then she smiles.]

I have a bunch of food that isn't shrimp back at my hut. You can pick anything you like, if you want!

Or, I could draw you something? Sorry, I don't really have much to offer.

[knighthooded]

[he's fully ready for her to turn him down - this worthless crap is probably worthless to her as well, but worth a shot - and then she mentions food. drawing something is also there, but forgive him, Madoka, you look a little too nice to be drawing ironic artwork. so, he shrugs.]

Food's good. Whatever you feel like's a fair trade for it.

[he can handle the shrimp, but a man wants variety, you know?]

[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.

[knighthooded]

[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.]

one

[dawninglight]

[while jumping through a door in the ground is not the strangest thing that a person could do in the middle of the forest, it certainly still stands out. she pauses for a moment to look around for any rope in case he's in need of a rescue, but, well, they're in the middle of a forest and rope isn't growing on any trees. so she makes her way over to the door and peers down into it, squinting to see if she can spot him in the dark.]

Are you alright down there?

[knighthooded]

[there's a ladder going down, and he's straightening up, having landed on his feet. for her calling down, he glances back towards the sunlight and gives her a thumbs up.]

Yep. Figure this must go somewhere worth seeing.

[it's video game logic, but what can you expect?]

[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.

[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.]

[dawninglight]

I don't have one...But wait just a minute and I'll get one!

[she vanishes from his sight to quite literally go make a torch from the nearby branches. it takes a few minutes to find the right kind of wood, but once she finds it there's only a little delay before she gets enough of a fire going to make a torch. before he can get impatient and wander off she's already down the ladder, torch triumphantly in hand.]

Here you go!

2

[potentite]

[Seeing Dave is strange enough but the question makes him blink and tilt his head.]

Um, for what?

[knighthooded]

Something in that bag you don't want. Or we could go old school and figure out how many shrimp this is worth.

[probably like twenty shrimp. maybe thirty. a cord's useful!]

[potentite]

I don't know how bartering works but, um... [Jake unties the bag he unfortunately has to carry around these days since his sylladex is broken here and holds it out to Dave. Inside are: a slinky, 5 hour energy drinks, soy sauce packets, chalk, a box of tea light candles, a paddle ball, animal crackers, bubble gum tape, circus peanuts, a harmonica and a baggy of incense cones.] Anything catch your fancy?

[knighthooded]

[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.]

[potentite]

[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.]

2 sorry dave

[knitpick]

[A familiar face is comforting to stumble across out here. Particularly that of her kinda-sorta-twin. Which means she is absolutely at ease enough now to respond to that spontaneously offered extension cord with an arched eyebrow and her typical cool snark.]

Short of some impromptu and probably very uncomfortable experimentation with bondage, I'm not sure what use that could possibly serve out here. So no.

[knighthooded]

Only your mind would go there, Lalonde.

[Rose, what the fuck. if your goal was to poke fun and weird Dave out again, then it's score one for her. he jams the cord into the knapsack, taking out the shirt instead. that's a solid work of art if he ever did see one.]

What's in your bag, anyway?

[knitpick]

[Isn't that always the goal?

Shrugging, Rose sits herself down to dig through her own bag. Out comes the standard toothbrush, shrimp, a windbreaker circa 1992, a roll of shitty off-brand duct tape, a shoehorn, and what appears to be a gently-used copy of the Guiness Book of World Records, outdated by several years.]

[knighthooded]

At least we know whoever packed these had a good sense of style.

[he's serious.]

What's this thing, though?

[reaching out, without asking, he picks up the shoehorn and turns it over, studying it.]