spellgrinders | ( TDM

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!tdm

( TDM | #5 )

IMPORTANT: This TDM is something a little different -- it's a mix of 4th Wall shenanigans and test driving. Anyone and everyone is welcome to come and make this spooky experience even more creeptacular, and all threads are canon. Any weird happenings, magic shortages or flip-flopping for new characters will just be considered part of the strangeness of the night.

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.

The foreign moon has come as close to the hub island as it possibly can, and the nocturnal deer aren't the only things acting up at this point. Those with intact spiritual intuition or with the power of emotional understanding will have felt the heaviness in the air, and as the days have dragged on that thickness has only intensified.

Tonight that thickness might be explained by the heavy fog that's settled in on the island. However, that doesn't mean it's all that's making the night unsettling.

All across the island, spirits are taking shape. They're humanoid in nature and completely devoid of sound -- like holographic projections with the audio broken. They flashstep around at times, and other instances they'll walk around like a normal person. Their mouths move and yet no sound escapes. They tangibility is as erratic as their movements. In one moment they have control over their solid mass, despite being translucent, but other times they can walk through walls or pass right through flesh.

Their clothes are indicative of a somewhat modern time period, and sometimes they're indistinguishable from other coven members outside of their blue, sepia-toned hue.

Another inconsistency is that their demeanor and actions are as varied as any modern society's. Some of these spirits are confused and angry. Some are trying to go about life as best they can. One might be able to pick up a sword and swing it, while another might want to braid your hair. Ages, strengths, dispositions...they match the state of the person as they once were.

But where do new, potential coven members come into this equation.

Brie's been pretty busy trying to fix the wild boar problem that the island has been having, which the results? It's hard to tell if they're paying off, yet. She's somehow smuggled out some Elto bones and tried to use them as something of an electric fence system around the boar-dense areas.

The boars who are alive seem to be reacting well! Others, however, are not.

die temporarily

Despite the creepy air the island holds right now, let's say you want to do something...normal. No boars, no spirits. Just some good ol' fashioned test driving. You have a few options, though they still may be tinged with the spirit of...spirits.

There's a lot to see on the island

GAME NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

swing at some evil and bleed (c);

[ There are two things that she knows when she arrives: this is not a Grail War, and Excalibur is gone. The latter is especially concerning, because she's currently doing her damnedest to fend off a particularly violent spirit who's coming at her with everything it's got — and she doesn't even have any armor or ability to summon her armor. What she does have is a stick she's pulled up off the ground, but it probably won't last her very long. The bold blue dress she's wearing won't do anything to stave off an attack should one land — but she's skilled enough, at least, to remain on the defensive for now. ] Damn! What manner of spirit is this!?

we're dancers in the dark (g);

[ It is a beautiful place. Artoria doesn't usually spend a lot of time outside at night, Grail Wars notwithstanding, but there's still something about how the moonlight catches on everything, giving it a silver sheen, like something out of a the tale of a minstrel. Romantic, even, she'd go so far as to say, though it doesn't necessarily stir up romantic feelings in her. She's just outside the base camp, making her way through the field slowly, stopping every now and then to lean down and admire the flowers that are in bloom.

And, alright. Maybe she's a little enchanted by the deer romping not but a few feet away. ]

wildcard (i);

( hit me up with a prompt of your own! )

[Artoria is allowed to enjoy the beautiful scenery in peace and quiet for some time, until Velvet comes swooping onto the scene. There's the brief sound of pattering footsteps, and then she leaps into view from the nearby undergrowth, hurtling towards the deer. At the last second, she realizes her target is not one of the zombie boars, and she pulls her blade back.

It's too late to alter the trajectory of her jump, so her shoulder hits the deer with a glancing blow. It retaliates by kicking at her, then bounding off. Velvet takes the kick to the side, stumbles, then lands on her ass in a bed of the moonflowers.

Glorious. She should have just killed the thing. Velvet stands and brushes herself off before glancing in Artoria's direction. There's no excuse for that display, other than that the surrounding chaos has her on edge. She blinks awkwardly and licks her lips.]

… Great, you seem fine.

[ The attack — not on her person (yet) but still — comes as a surprise, and Saber takes a couple steps back, making to defend herself, realizing only too late that, a, whomever this is isn't going to attack her at all and b, that even if this woman was going to attack her, Saber still has no way to defend herself at all. She drops her stance, flexing her fingers a little at the lack of weight in them, and while she's still a little wary, she doesn't sense any hostility other than annoyance.

She can't sense at all if this woman is another Servant, which is mostly what has her on edge. Everything in this place seems dulled, and Saber doesn't like it at all. ] I am. Are you? That kick seemed to be fairly powerful.

[Without really thinking about, it Velvet rubs her side around the spot where the kick landed. Then she shrugs.]

They are stronger than they look. I'm fine, though.

[She takes a few seconds to look Artoria over and realizes she doesn't recognize her – not that she has the faces of everybody in the Coven memorized. But yeah, it's a tad dangerous for her to be out here with no real way to defend herself, even if they are fairly close to base camp. Not that it's Velvet's business.]

You a newcomer?

[ Artoria nods, glancing over her shoulder at the base camp, and then back to Velvet. ] I am, yes. My name is —

[ THere's a split second of hesitation, where she makes a decision. ] Saber.

[ Better to err on the side of caution. This woman isn't a servant (or so she assumes), but that doesn't mean anything. She doesn't have her sword — she doesn't have anything. ] Can you tell me what this place is?

[Velvet notes the brief hesitation, but she doesn't make any snap judgements. If this woman wants to use a code name or something for whatever reason, then she's welcome to.]

It's an island. [Velvet puts a hand on her hip.] Supposedly there's some mysterious, powerful witch that uses her magic to kidnap people from their worlds and bring them here. Sounds insane, but here we are.

[ Actually that sounds about par for the course, and Artoria hums a little in thought, completely unsurprised. ] You say 'supposedly' — are we not certain that there is one?

[If Saber is used to it, then that just makes it easier for Velvet to explain. She doesn't feel inclined to use the royal "we," though.]

I'm not. You could say I'm not inclined to believe in anything until I see it for myself. Can't speak for anyone else, though.

And what do you see?

[ She gives the other woman a small smile. ]

[Velvet blinks a couple times. That's not a question she expected.]

I see some place where we're stuck. It might look nice around here, but I'm already sick of it. Do you have a point?

[ less than half of one human lifetime is insignificant in comparison to something immeasurable — in addition to most of his living memories, archer barely remembers what its like to have that human life. being a servant meant he didn't need to worry about human needs despite the human shape, and he didn't bother to remember for himself.

here in the hub is different. he's forgotten, see, that he has human needs, and a month later he's only barely beginning to remember. things like waking up in the middle of the night with hunger gnawing at him, which is... inconvenient. he didn't mind the sleeping, and usually he felt more energetic in this human body than he did as an untethered servant, but. god. why does he have to feed himself?

nothing to do about it but to solve it, which is how he meets saber: half asleep, on his way back from the kitchens with half a (insert limited by hub resources food item here) in his mouth. he's going to be late for anime bedtime...

at least nobody trips, right? ]

[ Saber, on the other hand, is no stranger to hunger. She remembers it well from her life, but the gnawing sensation in the pit of her stomach reminds her not of her time as king, but her time as Saber — moments that, to her, aren't that long ago. She hasn't been here, in this place they call a hub, for long, but she already knows two things: this is not a Grail War, and she is without a Master.

Thus. The need for food. The lack of sleep can be contributed to her stomach growling and she's on her way to the kitchens to try to find something, even if she doesn't know how to cook. Bread, maybe. Some sausages — anything she can eat cold, really. She's no stranger to the food one had to eat when traveling, but... a feast would be nice.

Whatever hunger she has is forgotten when she stops dead in her tracks as she sees him. Her eyes go wide, because — because she should not be seeing him here. This isn't a Grail War, and even if it is (which she is wondering, now, with the presence of another Servant), the likelihood of him and her showing up to one at the same time is — well. It's unlikely, Gilgamesh notwithstanding. It is him, though. The wounds on his arms are more than enough proof of that. ]

Archer?

[ at the sound of his — her voice, archer looks up from the ground he's navigating over and stops, too tired to be a deer in headlights, too sharp to be honestly unconcerned. were it not for the chill of the ground against his bare feet, and the fresh taste of the island's strawberries that he'd eaten in the kitchen and the one in his mouth, he'd think he were still asleep, and dreaming of her again. but he takes his time in replying, finishing his bite of strawberry and examining her in the cold light of the moon, lingering at the similarities to what he remembers and how so many, many things are different. her armor's gone — and she seems so much smaller for it. or perhaps its just that he's standing on his own this time, and his perspective is different.

but logically, it shouldn't be a surprise that saber is here. first it was the dragon girl who was a saber, then the terrified caster, the other archer, and finally his lancer... now his saber as well. he wasn't prepared for her, not even remotely, but perhaps he can navigate this somehow, without too much damage? there's no reason, after all, to cause trouble for himself, even if he's not sure how far he's going to last in this witch's grasp. ]

Saber.

[ muffles a brief yawn with his free hand; then rubs at the aching muscles in his neck, trying to chase away the feeling of sleep that keeps urging him to go back to bed and unaware of the image he's making—or simply unconcerned by it. ]

So you're here too.

[ The movement is so much like Shirou that it catches her off guard — it makes sense, but in the end, they tried so hard to deny one another that she still never really expected it from him.

She pushes it out of her mind. ]

Yes.

[ But that doesn't explain why he is. And that's not the only question she has. ]

You saved Rin, didn't you.

[ Well that's less a question and more an accusation. ]

[ he's working on putting himself back together, now that he's got a proper reason to be awake, and the pieces come together bit by bit; fixing his posture, the look in his eyes sharpening, even the hand that comes up to push his hair away from his eyes. for him, his armor is as much in how he carries himself as that shroud was, and as he folds his arms in front of him, fixing her with one of those old, callous smirks, shirou disappears right in front of her eyes, replaced again by the nameless spirit. ]

Should I not have?

[ she's right, of course. he didn't want rin to die, even through all of the mess he caused, and saving her was what he wanted, but. look. he got away with not talking about things for this long because the only one here was lancer, and all their talking was just getting ready to fukin throw down. saber is different. ]

Just the opposite. You did what I could not. I thank you, for saving my Master.

[ The image of Shirou is gone, replaced by Archer once more and whatever nostalgia she may have felt is also gone, replaced by the cool indifference of one servant to another. She still doesn't forgive him for betraying Rin. She still doesn't forgive him for trying to kill Shirou. But in the end, he did the right thing. She'll acknowledge that. ]

[ "my master," saber says. if only — well, if rin had been a better mage, she'd have been saber's master so much sooner, with less trouble on all sides. (and even as he thinks that, he feels that twinge of guilt in his chest, which he pushes down, and refuses to acknowledge yet.)

so he waves her thanks away, dismissive. ]

If she'd remained in that thing, it would have made her the host instead of that Matou kid.

[ he didnt do it because he cares. okay! he DOESN'T... ]

[Spirits, spirits, and...Heroic Spirits. Waver let out an inward groan when he saw Saber standing there, replicating that beast of a Noble Phantasm of hers. It had been weird and strange enough meeting a fellow Master from a different grail war entirely. Seeing someone who, in all likelihood, was from the same time and place had another texture to it all together.

He had no idea where Saber was when Rider was killed. That was in fact a question he hadn't thought about in a long time, and doing it here and now brought up a low pang of pain that he had been able to shove aside for some time.

Goddamnit.

But the part of him that was a smartass, and the part of Waver that felt the sudden need to lash out combined just in time to yell out:]

An angry one that's on a place where most magic doesn't even work!

[ There are two things Saber realizes when she hears the voice: Rider's master is here, and she's about to get hit by a incredibly strong punch.

The former happens miliseconds before the latter, and before she can react to either realization, Saber goes flying, rolling a few feet before she comes to stand on her own. She holds the stick in her hands in front of her like her sword, breathing hard, taking a moment.

Then she charges forward with a yell, thrusting at the ghost, but it doesn't do her any good. The thing just dodges, and she has enough time to call out over her shoulder: ]

Run! I will hold him off!

Don't be an idiot about holding those things off! The stick is clearly not working!

[Did he really just call Saber an idiot? Sure did. Waver throws both of his hands up in exasperation, before he starts running in the opposite direction of all of the spirits.]

Just run!

[ She frowns, making a small tch sound — but he's right, and she knows it. She takes two steps backward, and then turns and follows him, tossing the stick aside.

They can discuss him calling her an idiot later!! ]

We must find a place to hide!

[Waver is ten steps ahead of Arturia on the matter of hiding. He's moving for high ground, legs propelling him forward at a breakneck pace.]

Dense forest works or else climbing one of the trees and waiting them out is good!

[His voice makes it clear that quite frankly, he doesn't care which. The priority is doing it and doing it soon. Taking a look over his shoulder, the damn things are gaining speed.]

Understood!

[ She doesn't have the strength of a Servant in this place — but she wasn't the King of Knights for nothing, and Artoria gains on Waver, grabbing him around the middle and hoisting him fireman style over her shoulders. She leaps, using her free arm to pull them both up into a tree, straining with the weight, but managing just in time. The spirits circle the trunk, slashing up at them, but otherwise incapable of doing much.

She lets him climb off of her first before seating herself on the branch next to him, letting out a small puff of air. ]

Hey, what the...?!

[No, no, no, not Saber too! Rider hefting him around like a mother cat and her kitten was one thing, the man was massive! Saber isn't, Saber's his size for god's sake. He's good at climbing trees to escape boars now this....

...this is fine. Waver's protest dies on the tip of his tongue, and he accepts that this is probably Saber's way of just doing what Rider would feel the compulsion to do as well. He tries not to shift or struggle much as she runs, and definitely doesn't do that as they get up and into the tree.

Once seated, Waver stares down at the spirits.]

...Thanks.

[ She looks over at him as his gratitude, nodding once. And then she smiles a little. ] You are welcome, Waver Velvet. I must thank you for showing me reason. I had assumed my inability to summon my Noble Phantasm to be a reaction to an incorrect summoning — but if magic doesn't work in this place at all, then...

[ She looks down at the spirits still milling around the base of the tree. ] Then I am of no use.

( TDM | #5 )

saber [artoria pendragon] | fate/stay night [unlimited blade works]

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