( TDM | #5 )

[spellbindmods]

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. A ▢ Some "new coven members" will come to the island as they are. That's your choice. Others, however, are also affected by the bizarreness of the moonlight. Unlike other spirits, characters affected by the moon will be able to talk, but everything else will match their new spirit friends -- from translucence to physical inconsistency. B ▢ No matter whether your character is spirit-y or 100% as they were, the spirits in question are still going to interact with them. For this prompt, they've run into a kind spirit. Whether this is a child spirit tying to round them up into a game of tag or an adult spirit who is trying to communicate with them in some way, this spirit will be neutral or welcoming to their presence, as well as to the presence of other coven members. C ▢ Other spirits may not be so friendly. While their demeanor will mirror the type of person they were when they were alive, the spirits run on very simple and exaggerated emotions. A person with a gruff demeanor in their life will exist as an aggravated spirit. A person with violent tendencies when alive will exhibit as a malevolent ghost. This is the type of spirit you happen to have encountered. How will this interaction turn out?

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. D ▢ Dead boars are now waking up around the island, somehow affected by a combination of magic and the moon's spiritual awakening. Some are a little more like their alive cousins -- undead flesh still pretty much in place. Others are totally skeletal, roaming around and thrusting their tusks anywhere they please. E ▢ These boars and spirits happen to be attracted to several shrines located on the island. While the religious affiliations of these shrines are unknown and vastly differ from one another, the spirits seem to be drawn towards them. If your character happens to be exploring the island and finds one of these unique locations...good luck with that hoard of spirits and/or boar zombies. F ▢ Boar zombie tusks should be avoided at all costs, but there's also another threat they pose: their bite. Instead of turning characters into the undead, their bites or their saliva results in something of an instant poisoning. Characters touched by their mouths will die temporarily, just without the whole gaudy spectacle of death. Everything will stay exactly as normal, except they too will be turned spirited. This counts for new characters and old characters -- so if you don't want your character to go ghost, you should avoid their gnashing teeth at all costs.

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. G ▢ Despite the moon causing a lot of craziness on the island, there's a lot of beauty in how close it is. You can't reach out and touch it -- everyone would be dead and frozen to death, let's be honest -- but it does cast a lovely cool glow on the entirety of the island. The moonflowers are in full bloom, with the nocturnal deer dancing around through the foliage. There's a lot to see on the island that isn't necessarily overrun by spooky spirits. H ▢ There's also the issue of NPCs preparing for new characters -- which they did! There's the beginning of a welcome party set up, though it's obviously abandoned. With all the craziness going on, the base camp is thrown into chaos. If your character makes it here from wherever they spawned (or if they spawned here in the first place), they may be confused by the chaos. Asking questions might be good, especially since there's still so many to ask outside of dead people suddenly coming back from the grave. 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!

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Comments

Amanda O'Neill | Little Witch Academia

[witchwithoutacause]

B

[ Okay so this is bad, but she can keep her cool. Amanda's seen plenty of spirits! Mostly, she's only seen small nature or object spirits up close, yeah, sure; but one of her roommates was in a damned ghost hunt. It's just, she's not used to this kind of spirit. These are... people. Right? The shadowed remains of those who lived and then died, and while another friend of hers has raised the dead, the jumpy nature of these spirits - the way they try and fail to communicate - it's all unsettling and all a little bit wrong.

But she's tough. Amanda definitely makes a point of looking casual and relaxed, not even letting on how nervous she is to herself; convincing good ol' number one that she's fine is practically her superpower. Thus she only barely flinches and shivers when a young woman, a bit confused looking herself, starts trying to get her attention. ]

Um. ...Hold on. I've got a friend who doesn't talk but... uh, you got a... notepad or something?

[ She needs help? Maybe??? ]

D

[ Compared to unsettling stop-motion dead people, zombie pigs are a walk in the park. Amanda's survived way scarier stuff than this, and she confidently reaches - ]

Wait.

[ - into a different - ]

Not there either? There's no way I...

[ - yet another pocket - ]

Uh, hey there Porky! Just gimme a sec.

[ There's a boar staring her down, and the only thing on hand is a wooden broom - she gives it a quick spin, before brandishing it like an inefficient quarterstaff. ]

En garde?

[ How did she lose her wand? ]

F

[ There is a scream. It comes from someone unaccustomed to this kind of panicky, shrill screaming, a young woman who is usually way too goddamn confident to ever freak out. Screaming in surprise! Just surprise, that's her story and she's sticking to it, even if it's understandable that some people might freak out over being dead.

So okay, maybe the heavy breathing - why is she breathing, she's a ghost??? - is a sign that she's lost her cool, along with the running the fuck away from the horrible murderer pig that ended her run all too soon.

...Amanda definitely hasn't even noticed that she ran through someone. ]

F

[transcutation]

[Honestly, neither the screaming nor the approaching blue figure really give Cagliostro any pause, but she does whip around when they run right through her.

If anything, she's annoyed.]

Kneel!

[She yells the command before the girl can get away from her - turns out the magic she was given doesn't have a very long range, but if she can be understood, it should still work, ghost or not. Part of her is curious though how it interacts with the incorporeal - it might be hilarious if the ghost drops to her knees and right through the ground.]

[witchwithoutacause]

[ That might be disastrous, in fact, so thank goodness it doesn't. Amanda might just be Kinda Really Dead if that happened. Unfortunately, she does hear, comprehend, and understand the order, and at the rate she's going, the specter of Amanda drops to both knees in a slide that would really freakin' hurt if she were corporeal. ]

Aaaagh...

[ What kind of stupid magic is that? ]

[transcutation]

[Cagliostro chuckles in a dark and decidedly unladylike manner as she strides up to the kneeling ghost girl, a grin on her face.]

Now, now, going to run off without even an "excuse me"? What are they teaching kids these days?

[Never mind that Cagliostro looks like an even younger kid herself]

[witchwithoutacause]

[ Amanda wouldn't know ladylike if it bit her. ]

Kids?

[ She turns, looking Cagliostro up and down. Speaking of kids, she's immediately fed up with this arrogant little creature. ]

Mind your own business, kid.

[transcutation]

[And here Cagliostro was thinking of releasing her, but she'll just hold her in that position for a little longer just for that.]

You're the one who ran right through me. Or do you think being dead is any excuse? At least have the decency to notice.

[...]

Well, depending on how long you've been running around like that, maybe you're not a kid. Then again, if death can't cure idiots, it probably doesn't cure immaturity either.

[witchwithoutacause]

[ No come on you can't hold her down man she's a free spirit. ]

I think being dead is plenty excuse!

[ She slams her hands against the ground - pushing hard against it. Trying to, anyways. ]

I just died! Thanks for being sensitive about it!

[transcutation]

No grace in death either, huh?

[She shrugs, finally releasing the spell - it was starting to give her a headache anyway]

You're certainly lively for a dead person though. Did someone do that for your, or are you just that full of regrets?

[witchwithoutacause]

[ Amanda stumbles a bit as she rises, then brushes herself off totally pointlessly. ]

I've got a lot of regrets about picking a fight with a zombie pig, yeah.

[ At least she's not running around screaming now. ]

B

[teratias]

...I do....

[Waver blinked. He had a notebook on hand for other reasons, but it turned out that it was damn useful for whatever else was going on.]

Why?

[witchwithoutacause]

I dunno, can ghosts write? I can't hear it talk.

[ She was hoping for something a little more, uh, spectral? ]

[teratias]

[Immediately, Waver's face turns into a scowl. If you're asking for something, you better have a plan.]

Given that they're intangible, I'm going to go with no, probably not.

[witchwithoutacause]

I'm not a ghost expert alright?

[ Don't they normally, like, throw stuff at people? ]

[teratias]

I'm not either and-- wait, do you know what a ouija board looks like?

[witchwithoutacause]

Oh, yeah, there was this one time I was using one with my friends, and I had them convinced for a solid fifteen minutes that I got possessed.

[teratias]

[That actually does get Waver to smile and let out a very, very slight laugh.]

Okay, so, do you have something we could use as a planchette? It's not hard to make a replica of the board. It'd be a good way to try and communicate.

[witchwithoutacause]

Just about the only thing I have on my is my broom and my clothes.

[ Even her wand is missing. ]

B

[cadventuretime]

[Another girl stops behind Amanda, taking a moment to consider the request. Not seeing it as too unreasonable, she rustles through her pockets, pulling out this and that. Dust bunnies, spiders, and other such things get produced until a tooth-marked pencil is produced.]

No notepad, but I did find this pencil! Will that help?

[witchwithoutacause]

[ Amanda tries handing the pencil to the ghost, ignoring the teeth marks. When a zombie is helping you out, you have to ignore certain things.

...the ghost cannot hold it. ]

...nope.

[cadventuretime]

[SNRK.]

That's what you were going to use it for? I could have told you that wouldn't work. She's not a poltergeist!

[witchwithoutacause]

I-well I guess I should ask the dead person about dead people actually, huh?

[ Not that this zombie seems particularly bright... ]

[cadventuretime]

[You know what they say about appearances...]

Wow, rude!

I mean, you're a living person. Should I ask you about living people?

[witchwithoutacause]

Yeah.

[ Not that she promises to give good advice. ]

Unless it's about eating them. That's your territory too I bet.

[cadventuretime]

[... wow. You know, its been a while before somebody expect that BEFORE witnessing it. The girl takes a moment looking legitimately impressed.]

Well, I can't tell you too much, I don't know her personally. Also, the language of these ghosts are some old language, or it might have something to do with the magic of the moon or something goofy like that.

So, lets start with what you know.

[Expectant curiosity.]

[witchwithoutacause]

[ Amanda's seen some zombie movies in her time. Some of them involved sneaking into R-rated movies when she was twelve, maybe, but, y'know, gotta live a little. ]

I mostly just speak English, and a little animal - and there's not enough magic in the air here for that, I don't think.

[ ...and it's not like that's a subject she's remotely good at it, because it's lame. ]

So, uh, I know a lot of these people seem like they want help, and that all we can do is go through them, but like... I'm new here.