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spellgrinders2017-10-21 05:59 pm
spellbindmods) wrote in spellgrinders2017-10-21 05:59 pm
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( TDM | #5 )
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.
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.
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.
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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[ which is normally something he would keep to himself, but edward knows what happened, in ishval, and that's something roy . . . well, he doesn't feel comfortable talking about it, with edward, necessarily, but he also doesn't seem a point in hiding the obvious.
roy helped burn it down. he's going to be the one to help rebuild it. and now that he's healed from the fallout and mobilized to do something productive within the military, he's going to utilize everything he has in order to ensure ishval and the surviving population can live in peace and properity, alongside amestris. ]
It turns out when you assist in saving an entire country, someone thinks you should be commended for it. [ mildly enough, though it isn't the end game. amestris is being propelled toward democracy, and roy is going to steer that ship for as long as he can, in the shadows. he just has to wait for the right move. ] As far as I know, the battle, for the time being, is over.
[ they can live in peace. for awhile, anyway. and all of that, really, is skirting over the main point, which is edward's question, the need for reassurance: did they really do it. and once roy has gotten through a portion of his story, he rewinds a bit. ]
I never doubted either of you, but I have to admit, Central is quiet without the two of you constantly interrupting my day with your nonsense.
[ as if ed and al interrupting his day has ever been an irritation to him, but. you know. whatever. ]
This will be a nice change of pace. I was getting bored.
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His smirk softens faintly into a smile, and he nods.] Good. There's been enough fighting....
[Too much suffering. People deserve to just be able to live their lives. All of this really does sound too good to be true. Edward doesn't mean to be a cynic, but it often turns out that way. But it's Mustang. He has no reason to doubt him on this.]
So you're saying you miss me. Well, that just makes sense. It must be hard.
[And apparently he's recovered from his shock enough to go back to being obnoxious.]
Bored is in short supply here. ...there's something more going on here too, than the party line that we all get fed when we arrive. I haven't figured out what it is yet, but... [But he doesn't like it. And he will figure it out.]
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[ which is, obviously, the most important part. clearly. ]
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great.
teasing edward is easy and normal, and roy has missed the opportunity to do so, even if he's . . . well, younger than when roy last saw him, but he can do so later. ]
Tell me about the so-called magic ability the witch gives us. How did you figure out your ability?
[ and how does it bypass equivalent exchange, which is what roy really wants to ask, but he'll get to that later. ]
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It's strange, but not the strangest part of here.
Edward doesn't bother to hide the way his face twists at the mention of figuring out his ability.]
There was the letter, and all the bullshit it entailed. [And here he sighs.] But that was useless. I guess I could kind of feel something different. And it was a lot of trial and error. I ran into the stupid things more times...
[BUT OMG. YES. THANK YOU ROY MUSTANG. Edward has been ranting and raving about how there must be RULES AND PRINCIPLES AND EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE. And mostly people just tilt their heads at the loud blond child and move along.]
Honestly, it doesn't make any sense. Everyone is so quick to shrug and call it magic, but that's a shortcut. Cheating. Whatever it is, it has to be bound by its own rules. Energy and matter don't just come out of nowhere, no matter what form they take. And no one seems to get that. ...'cept Al.
[A pause and, okay please let him be the first one to do this. Has anyone done this to Mustang yet? God Edward wants to be first. Because the next thing Mustang will "hear" is a very familiar voice right inside his head.] 'And then there's this weird thing too.' [He's in your head, Roy.]
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the destruction of lior feels like so long ago, but it's a fairly prime example of what happens when common people are told magic is real . . . and they believe it.
but the presence of such a power is worrying. amestris had just come out on the other end of the very example of a man with too much -- the father, and hohenheim, and the homunculi . . . the gate, and the truth, and all of the terrible things in between. it had been two years since the fall of the fuhrer, but the wounds are still clear as day, back home. and to see such power doled out so easily, to people who may not be as responsible or determined to do it right as edward . . .
roy sighs to himself. ]
People being granted power they might not know how to control sounds like a recipe for catastrophe. [ roy is SO TIRED ] But so long as it's not another attempt at creating a Philosopher's Stone or Homunculi or another half-assed attempt at a revolution by a group of beings who shouldn't exist in the first place . . . [ SO. TIRED. ] I don't care how they manage to do it as long as people don't abuse whatever they've been gifted -- the how isn't as important as the immediate 'why.' What kidnapper doles out "magical powers" to her own --
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he doesn't say anything, but the expression is pretty clear.
what in the hell is that. ]
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[Edward didn't like what he heard of it.
And Roy has an excellent point. Like he so infuriatingly often does. People with no idea how to wield power like this just handed these abilities. And sure some are benign, but some could be dangerous in the wrong hands -- or even hands that with the best of intentions but not the capability to wield it well.
It's a messy situation all around.
But Edward is distracted from stewing on that thought by Roy's reaction to the telepathy trick. Heh. There's a satisfied little grin creeping over his face.]
'Telepathy. We all can do it. You can communicate with anyone else in the "coven" this way.
[The way he says "coven" is a mental roll of his eyes. And then he ditches telepathy to speak.] Convenient, right? [Like hell it is.] And a convenient as hell way for our captor to listen in on us. We gotta assume if she wants, she can hear anything we say.
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roy is no amateur when it comes to dealing with people who are always listening. but he outsmarted the fuhrer, and he will outsmart this . . . whoever she is. not having his team is a hindrance, but having the elrics is definitely a bonus. and learning how to circumnavigate an oppressive regime is certainly nothing new, for him, or anyone else in amestris. all dictators are the same.
still, he sighs heavily -- appreciative that edward cuts out the telepathy, and he runs a hand through his hair, looking . . . well, both tired and moderately irritated. ]
Dictators are all the same. Predictable and boring.
[ ROY IS SO. TIRED. at least king bradley had been a foe that roy could see -- this person seems to be a complete and utter mystery, with a ridicluously shoddy story concerning her own excellence to boot.
what a nightmare. ]
I assume it goes without saying that anything you want to tell me privately can be done in writing.
[ preferably coded, but roy can figure that out later. ]
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And all the more determined to get out of this messed up place to get back home, to put things right.
A glance over at Roy as they walk, and the blond nods.] Yeah, I got it.
[In writing. And coded. They'll figure that out, for certain. For now, even if he won't admit it, part of him feels like they have a better chance at taking this witch out sooner now that Mustang is here.]
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but after a few moments: ]
No alchemy.
[ it's said in an exhalation, a massive sigh -- an inconvenience, to be sure, and roy slides free gloved hand into his pocket, his other hand still carrying his stick as a weapon. what an annoyance. ]
I was going to force you to build fortifications against the boars to protect the civilians, but I guess we'll need to figure it out the old-fashioned way.
[ though, if alchemy worked, roy supposed he could just do that himself, given the whole . . . truth thing. but he would much rather (1) never tell ed and al that happened and (2) never use that alchemy again. so, edward is the wall-builder.
and, after another moment of contemplation: ]
I haven't found Lieutenant Hawkeye, either . . . or, for that matter, the rest of my team, so I guess I'm going to have to do most of the work there, too.
[ this is the worst. ]
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[Edward agrees, in annoyance and exasperation. Except well, then, there's the next thing Mustang says. Right yeah, too bad he can't be ordered around. Although, honestly.]
If I could, I would've. We could solve a lot of the problems here with alchemy a lot more efficiently than otherwise. But yeah, it's the old fashioned way.
[He reaches over with an automail hand to thump the older man on the back.] Tough break, Brigadier General, stuck out in the field doing the leg work.