( 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

[alienates]

Oh no. Not my other cool powers.

[ it's said flatly. even though it is entirely his own fault that he never reached god tier, he will complain about not having god tier powers until he is dead.

well, dead again. he's died multiple times this timeline. ]

Okay, so. Qri. Is she some sort of raging evil bitch, or is the the quieter type of evil?

[ he's just going to automatically assume she's evil here. ]

[witchhooded]

Yes, all your other cool powers!

[ jade's probably met a godtiered karkat in a dreambubble, actually.

thank god karkat seems to be on the same page of not trusting qri though? why are the homestucks this way ]

Well... I do not know her enough to say either way so I guess it is the second!

[alienates]

[ they have all been on this ride long enough to understand the tropes. ]

Great. At least our new ruler is benevolent enough go give us cool powers to attempt to kill her with. That's a lot better than others.

[ he should probably try figuring out what his is, but all things considered it's not high on his priority list at the moment. ]

[witchhooded]

Heh. I haven't seen her yet, so good luck with any plans you have for that!

[ jade says it like she wants in though, Um. mostly it's bad association, probably? ]

Ummm, Karkat? Can I ask you... a question?

[alienates]

[ karkat immediately does not trust her because any time someone asks "can i ask you a question" it ends up being a terrible time. his immediate reaction is to say no.

he does not do that. ]

Sure. You know you can ask me anything. Or most things. I trust you not to ask me something stupid that'll make me walk away from this conversation.

[ he's mostly rambling at this point because he has Concerns. ]

[witchhooded]

This "hive business" that you mentioned...

[ obviously this is the best question to be asking, here. ]

Can you explain it? I don't remember anything about a hive. That is the troll word for house, right?

[alienates]

[ if this was someone else, they may give some pause here. they might connect the dots, realizing that maybe it's best not to say anything. this jade is either from before that happened, or if she's from after then she just does not remember the house thing, which would be perfectly understandable? so, you know, someone might decide to just keep it a secret for her own good.

too bad this is karkat. ]

Oh, yeah. One of the Alpha kids knocked you out, and then Vriska's crazy dancestor dropped a house on top of you.

[witchhooded]

[ oh.

...jade considers this for a moment before smiling a little. ]

And you, um, saw that? I'm sorry, Karkat! But I am sure Jane could fix it, and I am here now, anyway.

[alienates]

[ he makes a face at the mention of jane, considering the last time that he spent any amount of significant time with her, she straight up murdered him? sure, she fixed it, but that didn't make her any less terrifying. ]

I guess, yeah. I didn't really get to see all of the shit that happened after since there were several people attempting to kill everyone in the most buttfucking insane way as possible, and it sort of just turned into a mess.

[witchhooded]

Ummm, about that... yeah! I am sorry.

[ if she hadn't been weak enough to get mind controlled to begin with, the session would have been another story. ]

[alienates]

Dude. I am banning you from apologizing from that. On this side [ he gestures to the left of him ] is shit you are allowed to do, and over here [ to the right ] is everything you cannot. Look, I am tossing your unwanted apology over to the right.

[ and this is karkat pretending slam dunking it to the right. ]

I'm pretty sure you were not the cause of the Condesce, Gamzee, and Aranea all being fucking psychotic.

[witchhooded]

[ oh karkat... ]

I definitely did not help, though, and if I had been able to, maybe things would not be so fucked!

[alienates]

Maybe, who knows? What if I actually attempted to figure out what the flying shit my aspect actually meant so I could have helped more than just wildly swinging my sickle around like a wannabe thresher? What if I also went out and obtained god pajamas and was a more viable asset to the team? The point is, who the fuck knows!

[ he just shrugs, and for a second it seems like he stops there, but he might have just been catching his breath as he quickly moves on. ]

What matters is that you are not actually evil and hungry for slaughter.

[witchhooded]

[ jade knows a little better at this point than pick at karkat at the moment. she wants to, honestly, just to lighten the mood, to make things less difficult and hard to process. but... she doesn't know what to say.

she adjusts her glasses and looks down. ]

...I actually really would like to eat one of those boars!

[ they smell like meat, more so than usual. so? hungry for slaughter is not checked off??? ]

[alienates]

[ hungry for slaughter it is then. the boars deserve it, so it's fine. ]

Are we going to cut to us wrestling with it in an embarrassing attempt at showmanship?

[ he has avoided them so far, so he doesn't actually know how aggressive they may or may not be. ]

1/2

[witchhooded]

[ jade snorts, and it's very unladylike. with a lipsided smile, she waves a hand. ]

That would be silly, and besides, it would be like in one of John's movies. After winning against it, I would say something like, "See? It's not showmanship, Karkat--"

[witchhooded]

[ after several hours of tracking a boar, jade and karkat reap the rewards of their hard work. the evidence of their journey is around them, from destroyed vines (jade's doing) and a dead boar bound by vines that are in tact, and jade's pulling a sack full of meat ransacked from the animal. they are going to have so much food. ]

--It's the natural progression of the food chain!

[ ha. ha. ]

[alienates]

Holy shit, that was crazy. Too bad for anyone who wasn't around to see all of that.

[ he dusts off his hands, walking besides her. it's not every day you get to do something like that. ]

[witchhooded]

Well, I guess we will have to tell them in detail then, won't we?

[ karkat likes talking for hours on end anyway, doesn't he ]

Let's take this back to the hut where Dirk and Jake are! We can all have dinner together, that sounds like soooo much fun!

[ AND THEY'RE OFF TO bring a dead thing home, like a shitty lusus? ]