( 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

[caliburnus]

Understood!

[ She doesn't have the strength of a Servant in this place — but she wasn't the King of Knights for nothing, and Artoria gains on Waver, grabbing him around the middle and hoisting him fireman style over her shoulders. She leaps, using her free arm to pull them both up into a tree, straining with the weight, but managing just in time. The spirits circle the trunk, slashing up at them, but otherwise incapable of doing much.

She lets him climb off of her first before seating herself on the branch next to him, letting out a small puff of air. ]

[teratias]

Hey, what the...?!

[No, no, no, not Saber too! Rider hefting him around like a mother cat and her kitten was one thing, the man was massive! Saber isn't, Saber's his size for god's sake. He's good at climbing trees to escape boars now this....

...this is fine. Waver's protest dies on the tip of his tongue, and he accepts that this is probably Saber's way of just doing what Rider would feel the compulsion to do as well. He tries not to shift or struggle much as she runs, and definitely doesn't do that as they get up and into the tree.

Once seated, Waver stares down at the spirits.]


...Thanks.

[caliburnus]

[ She looks over at him as his gratitude, nodding once. And then she smiles a little. ] You are welcome, Waver Velvet. I must thank you for showing me reason. I had assumed my inability to summon my Noble Phantasm to be a reaction to an incorrect summoning — but if magic doesn't work in this place at all, then...

[ She looks down at the spirits still milling around the base of the tree. ] Then I am of no use.

[teratias]

Well it's...[Waver pauses, trying to work out how to explain the rules to someone who's not just from his world but from what he's assuming is his point in time.]

You'll have one type of magic available on this island, and it's whatever the coven witch Qri's decided to give out. Then on different worlds, you may or may not be able to make it work which...[He trails off quietly, wanting to let Saber have her own moment to deal with that information.]

[caliburnus]

[ She hums in thought, not precisely pleased but also acknowledging his answer for the truth. ] Which is up to fate, I assume. This magic this... Qri gives out. Is it useful? And if there is no magic allowed, how have I come to be summoned here? I have no Master — In a few days time, I will cease to exist.

[teratias]

[Waver is quiet for some time before giving Saber an answer. He's only met one other servant here, and he's met that servant's master too. Someone would step up, clearly, but it is still a stern reminder of the various downsides of Qri's summons.

It doesn't help that Saber's question does not have an easy response either.]

It can be, or it can be kind of pointless. You don't get any instructions either, you have to figure out the rules and limits yourself. As for the other thing it's...Qri has X amount of energy, but the island itself has a lower amount which is why most magic won't manifest. Most is the keyword.

[caliburnus]

[ It's not an easy answer to give or accept, and she glances down at the spirits (quiet, now, but still stalking around the base of the tree, hoping their prey will come to them) for a brief moment, thinking.

She holds up a hand, frowns harder when her armor still doesn't appear. ] It seems that only I am the exception to the rule, and nothing else.

[ She looks over at Waver. ] Perhaps I am nothing more than human, now.

[teratias]

[It's weird. Iskandar would have seen this as incarnation and rejoiced at it. Saber's the exact opposite, and for the life of him, Waver has no idea how to handle her reaction. All he can do is try to fight against the awkwardness in trying to offer a response that's trying it's damndest to be some type of comforting and respectful without screaming into being offensive.]

Well...some of the worlds have more magic. So you'd be fine there. It's just this one.

[caliburnus]

[ There is..... a very long pause while Saber watches him because. What. ]

I'm sorry, I fear I've misheard you. Worlds?

[ like. plural??? ]

[teratias]

Yeah. This is just the home--

[Damnit, he isn't explaining this well!]

Let me start over so it's less confusing.