( 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

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.]

[splinten]

[It unnerves him but he has to keep it under wraps. Dirk tries to make his thoughts calm and stable and not that weird mess. He tries to be anything other than the mess he is. A cool kid, having a cool conversation.

Yeah fucking right. Not even his interest in irony can sustain that illusion. He still puts a stopper on the emotional bleedover.]

Sorry.

[a much shorter pause than last time]

I didn't know you were back.

[knighthooded]

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]

[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.]