( 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!

GAME NAVIGATION

Comments

[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. ]

[transcutation]

Ah, one of those boars? So this is what happens when it eats you... wish I had the tools to study that kind of digestive system that excretes fully conscious spiritual bodies...

[witchwithoutacause]

I-it didn't eat me!

[ Thank GOD that sounds horrifying just laying there while it... ew ew ew.. ]

I just got gnawed on a little and I thought I could tough it out. And then... this happened.

[transcutation]

[She blinks]

So it just bit you? I assume in a non-lethal way, normally speaking.

[witchwithoutacause]

It's just like a zombie story! One bite infects you!

[ Come on this is basic stuff kid. ]

[transcutation]

Zombies bites usually turn you into a zombie though, not a ghost.

[She's just gonna. Prod her, hard, with a finger to make a point of phasing through. Probably.]

[witchwithoutacause]

Don't do that!

[ Amanda swats at Caliostro, helplessly, uselessly, as that finger passes through her. ]

I don't know! This is just what happened!

[transcutation]

It's definitely fishy... but I can't say I know a way to examine you or the boar here without my magic.

You might just have to get used to it.

[witchwithoutacause]

I'm not getting used to death! Or being a ghost or - or whatever! I gotta... I mean...

[ ...admitting that she really, really wants to go home right now isn't cool, but she's already missed the boat on looking cool hasn't she? ]

...this sucks.

[transcutation]

Yup. Sure glad it wasn't me.

[All sympathy over here.]

Well, my hands are tied, but maybe one of those two handmaidens can do something about this. It might be some kind of curse, not actual death.

What was it like, hmm? Turning incorporeal.

[witchwithoutacause]

It...

[ Deep breath. Not that she needs to breathe. What is with this kid though? ]

Yeah. Yeah, it's probably just a curse. Some kind of dumb ghost spell.

[ Amanda wouldn't be surprised if that exists. In fact, she feels silly for panicking. ]

It just kinda happened, I didn't notice until the pig started ignoring me.

[transcutation]

[Wow, what a helpful explanation... if she weren't so powerless herself right now, she'd be tempted to go give it a try, but without knowing the consequences and no way to avoid them, that's obviously stupid.]

It certainly raises a question of what their purpose is - it hardly seems like they get any benefit from biting you then letting you go... maybe it's a necromancer's idea of a prank.

[witchwithoutacause]

[ The undead are not Amanda's specialty - and neither is dying, or getting cursed into a ghost, which sounds pretty damn close anyways. ]

Or a mistake. You know, 'aha! I will command my zombie pigs to take over' and then the commanding them part doesn't work so they just do whatever they feel like.

[transcutation]

Ahh, I suppose that pattern is pretty common too... they were probably the first victim then. Maybe we'll see a ghost mage lamenting their luck.

[witchwithoutacause]

I hope it's a guy. A ghost should be able to kick another ghost in the nads, right?

[ That would be a consolation prize, at least. ]

[transcutation]

That's usually how it works - well, you're out of luck if he's the kind that's all [she makes a vague, fluttery waving motion with her hands] from the waist down.

[witchwithoutacause]

I'm not so I bet he won't be, right?

[ That would just be the greatest disappointment. ]

[transcutation]

Maybe it happens as time goes on... your feet are looking a little more indistinct.

[No they're not]

[witchwithoutacause]

You're lying!

[ She's still looking at her feet and panicking, picking them both up and trying to see if they're all there. ]

[transcutation]

[She has a good laugh at that]

Well, maybe not yet, but who knows. Ghosts don't tend to linger long unless they have some pretty strong attachments to life still left. Got any grudges to hold onto?

[witchwithoutacause]

I have a grudge now!

[ You, evil child, will keep her bound to this existence. ]

I'm gonna haunt your ass!

[transcutation]

What, why me!? That's a pretty unjustified grudge, you little-!

[witchwithoutacause]

You keep treating me like some kind of idiot, so now you're stuck with me!

[transcutation]

Well, it looks like I was right, now, doesn't it? You're lucky I don't have my alchemy...

[She swipes a hand through the ghost's body a few times in annoyance]