( 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

[insubordination]

Of course not; dictators rarely tell the oppressed what their ultimate goals are.

[ which spells out precisely what roy thinks about this entire situation -- they are prisoners, expected to dance when told, and bow when told, and roy is having None Of That, thank you. the fuhrer didn't die for him to be swept to another megalomaniac.

but at riza's next question, roy shakes his head quickly. ]

No. There are too many people affected -- from what Edward tells me, the gift is unique. This is too common for it to be your ability. It likely has something to do with the planet we're residing on -- our current jail cell.

[ he is SO BITTER ]

But we'll figure out how to rectify it, and bring you to a hospital.

[efface]

Which means she expects us to sit around and accept what is happening. [ there is a slowly creeping edge to her voice - unhappy with the situation, and the idea, of being manipulated like this. again. she frowns, her mouth a thin line.

it is better, riza thinks, knowing the colonel is here. that with him here, they'll figure a way out of it.

the bitterness brings an almost-smile to her, but she's able to hold it back, letting it instead relax that slowly building panic somewhere in the pit of her stomach. ]

I'm fine, Colonel. [ which is not really true, at this point. she just hasn't been solid enough to actually feel the pain of her wound. but in that moment, it's not a bother. ] Though I'm not of much...use. Like this. [ she holds up her hands, which are only partially there, making her all but useless when it comes to weapons, protection, holding anything... ]

[insubordination]

[ riza is not fine, because roy distinctly remembers her condition, and how the alkahestrist -- mei -- had healed riza at roy's begging (though, truth be told, mei likely would have healed riza regardless, but roy had definitively begged her to do it). ]

I don't need alchemy to defend myself. [ to answer her later concern first, and roy gently tugs -- leading her toward a safer area, instinctively, so he can continue talking to her, and to bring her closer to a place to heal her wounds, if riza should suddenly materialize without notice. ] Our primary concern is finding a place for you, once we fix . . . whatever this is. The girl from Xing, Mei Chang -- she healed you, from this. [ with a slight wave of his free hand, a gesture of his gloved fingers towards riza's wounds. ] And if alchemy and alkahestry are neutralized here, then we need a hospital.

[ that, judging from roy's tone, is not optional. riza first. roy second. ]

[efface]

[ moving with roy's tugging comes almost subconsciously, his guidance prompting her immediately to follow. to step with him off to the side. it's odd, in a way, how little she is noticing these things, how kind of off it all seems. she notices it more in comparison to roy's attention, efficiency, and effort.

maybe she is less fine than she thought?

at roy's insistence, though, she gives him a look. i don't need alchemy to defend myself. no, maybe he doesn't. they all had their own level of training as required by the government, a baseline for soldiers before each was allowed a different path. riza sometimes forgets that the colonel can even work a gun himself, with how he uses, and depends, on alchemy. but he does have a point.

she nods, feeling a light stretch of....what. skin? not-skin? at her neck. ]

Can we trust a hospital, here? [ the question comes without thought, but riza looks to roy anyway. ] Not to question your orders, Colonel. But given the situation, shouldn't we question any possible government-run establishment for working with Qri?

[ the mention of mei, of what happens back home, of being healed sends a strange sensation to the pit of her stomach. like she missed a step, falling just a few extra inches for setting herself straight again. right. she survives back home. he told her that. ]

[insubordination]

No, we can't, but we have little choice.

[ at least with a hospital, roy can get names. identifies. numbers. it's contained, so he'll be able to memorize the layout and navigate it accordingly. openly asking people for some sort of ability he can't vet or examine with his own eyes is out of the question, and he's already having a hard enough time letting anyone he doesn't know near riza's neck.

ugh. ]

-- the Elrics will have a better idea on where to go. They've been here for some time, and I'm sure they've been in need of some medical help in the interim.

[ roy is so tired of those boys getting injured smh. ]

[efface]

[ as long as roy as thought about it, then there isn't much more she can do, nodding in agreement as her eyes start to scan the area around them. truth be told, she hadn't been picking up on the layout of the place they ended up - too lost in trying to figure out what was happening - and the guilt of that eats away at her. ]

Okay. [ because he's right. they don't have a choice. but more than that, she knows that any more pushback on the idea will make roy respond in kind, and the argument won't end.

so for now - okay. they will find a hospital. and find...some way to fix this. and they will get the elrics help to do so. ]

Should we find the Elric Brothers, then? [ even though that is...on the list of some of the last things she wants to do. explaining this, and then the wound on top of it? but roy has the next steps, not her, so she asks him instead. ]