( TDM | #6 )

[spellbindmods]

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.

ou blink and that's all it takes. At first, the picture doesn't come in clear, like you're waiting for a screen to fully load -- more aptly, it's like you're waiting for a camera to focus so you can find image clarity. Before you happened to rapidly close your eyes and open them, your life was normal...well, normal for you, anyway. Fighting an alien, making a quesadilla, dying. And then that blurry picture suddenly takes over. There's a lot to take in here -- you feel weird, your surroundings are weird. Everything is just weird. For starters, there's that new piece of jewelery inserted in the space above your chest. That certainly wasn't there before you opened your eyes. A ▢ THus hub island is getting pretty chilly, which means the forest that contains the large, dinner-plate sized spiders is very still and quiet. No spiders are out and about to jump your characters -- but they are underground, lying in wait. Sometimes the best way for characters to get accustomed to their magic is to trigger their fight or flight response. One wrong step in the forest and they'll find their foot through a spider's brushy trapdoor or putting a little too much pressure on it for their liking. Are you ready to see what your character is made of? B ▢ The recent surge of rain has caused a few marshy areas, be it in the forest or a hilly landscape. Some swampy ground is more aggravating than treacherous, but the opposite is also true. Your character is strolling along, trying to find their way and all of a sudden SCHLUMP! Their leg is sunk into the ground up to their nether regions. Struggle, and the rest of them might fall in too...! C ▢ While your character is trying to figure out where the fuck they are, they may come across something scuttling about through the forest. Don't panic -- it's simply a scanner pod doing its due diligence and scouting for resources...oh! And it just happened upon something interesting: your character! This scanner robot is curious to investigate and record your data. Is your character going to trust them to do their job, or will they be suspicious of this looming machine?

Here's the part where they finally locate something of use: the base camp. The murky, weathered location is a little distressed, and resource gathering is making coven members sparse. However, that doesn't mean helpful answers aren't only a step away. D ▢ One thing of note is that as they get closer to the base camp, characters will feel more and more of that strong, telepathic surge. Qri's caravan is sitting in the middle of the open area, which may explain the stronger magical signals. Traveling closer to this object, in particular, will cause that unfamiliar pang of intuition to feel that much stronger -- which also explains why their own thoughts are being broadcast recklessly to everyone else on the island. E ▢ Speaking of Qri's caravan, the floating "vehicle" currently has its trap door, hammerspace portal open. It's quite large and inviting, honestly. Want to get closer to Qri? Or maybe just take shelter from the few sprinkles that are still falling from the sky? Crawl on in! Just be warned: the door will close right behind your character, and that thing gets claustrophobic after a while. F ▢ Finally, since Brie is aware that a new world is approaching, she's gotten a little more weapon-obsessed. There are an assortment of weapons just laying all over the place, from swords to spears, from slingshots to...god, what even is that thing your character has never seen before. Whether they're curious about something and like to touch things that don't belong to them or Brie is trying to outfit them with a weapon that works for them, your character is now weaponized. What do??? G ▢ 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

I

[luxuriant]

[He wasn't in the middle of something so tense himself, but it's still disorienting to wake up here, so Zelos is in a similar position of trying to find out what's going on. Some guy gripping at his cane and marching towards him is enough to have Zelos reaching for his own sword.

But he pauses once he realizes the guy's just lost.]

Huh? [Mansion... His mansion? That's probably a coincidence, since they're nowhere near Meltokio. He glances around.] Beats me. I don't think there's a mansion sitting in the middle of this forest, either... Did you just show up here, too?

[holloweyed]

[No, Zelos... if Break knew this, he might have already dubbed him an idiot. Instead he'll give this big red blob of a dude the benefit of a doubt, even if the answer hasn't made him any less tense.]

Show up. [He repeats, exhaling with a dry laugh. He sets his cane down against the ground, only to pull it back up when it sinks. Gross...] Yes, I've just... shown up here. And who are you? If you were from my party, you'd have dressed nicer.

[luxuriant]

Hey, hey...

[He's offended, mildly? But it's true he's not dressed for a party.] You don't recognize me? Then we really are further than I thought. [That's annoying. He sighs, placing a hand on his hip.] The name's Zelos. I'm not dressed for any party, no, and I've got the feeling we're a long way off from anything like that. Who're you?

[holloweyed]

Why would I remember a name like Zelos, hmmm?

[Clearly, this guy doesn't know much, so Break will have to fall back on snide remarks to establish himself as more important, here. So he'll help him. Instead of like, being nice. Great logic.]

My name is Xerxes Break, and I serve a dukedom that must indeed be far from here... so it's important that we find some place with a map that you can read to me.

[luxuriant]

...No reason, really.

[It's a secret. More importantly... read the map to him? The guy just pointed out his outfit, so Zelos' first assumption is that he just can't read and is hoping for city names. Sad.]

Before we do that, can you tell me if you got one of these things, too? [He taps at his own chest, or specifically at the new gem that appeared.]

[holloweyed]

What things?

[The red blob with shoulders is gesturing towards himself, so the idea that he just can't read is going to come to an end soon... He squints, then sighs and steps closer... and closer... until he's right up on him to see these two dots. Oh.

And now, right up on Zelos, he's pulling his necktie loose to unbutton his shirt. He's careful how much skin he reveals, but sure enough, a bright purple gem sits pretty in the same spot on a shorter man. What the fuck.]

Oh, yes... it would seem so! [his eye is twitching]

[luxuriant]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, take it easy there, buddy! [Why so CLOSE... Zelos is the only one who can initiate close contact? He leans away like it bothers him, but luckily at this point Break is already investigating himself. So this guy can't see for shit. Good to know.]

That's what I was afraid of. [Mostly because gems on the chest mean Very Bad Things where he is from, and he's in the middle of trying to collect them all. But he can't tell if these are exspheres or something else entirely, and trying to remove them sounds like not a great idea.]

Alright, come on. If we keep walking and mark where we've been, we should be able to find our way outta here. It's nowhere near as bad as the forest near the city where I'm from.

[holloweyed]

[Zelos thinks removing them isn't a great idea, and all of Break's attention is going into trying to pull this thing off immediately. He already has ugly things on his chest, so why this on top of that? Without looking up from the gem, he says:]

Right. [And right after he turns away from Zelos, he walks straight into a tree.] ... I'm marking this one.

[luxuriant]

[WHAT... Zelos immediately slides over, grabbing Break by his shoulders from behind.]

Can you like, not mark the trees with your face? [Please stop this, he feels bad.] How about you let me lead us somewhere, huh?

[holloweyed]

Don't-- [Don't! Touch! Him! Break whirls around to slap Zelos' hands away from him, rolling his shoulders with a glare... that doesn't quite meet his eyes. He's staring straight ahead at like, his neck, instead of looking up to adjust. Hey.]

Don't touch me, and I'll follow you just fine. It's not like anyone can lose sight of you with such a distasteful color.

[luxuriant]

Says the guy who lost sight of a tree.

[Come on, Mr. Mostly Blind... Zelos huffs in his annoyance, turning to start off in a direction and looking back to be sure Break is following.] And for the record, chicks dig the color.

[holloweyed]

And yet there are no young ladies on your arm... I think it drove them all away.

[Yes, he's still following, thanks. He's decided to close his shirt over the gem just so he doesn't get distracted, opting instead to keep glaring at the back of Zelos' head. There's just so much hate stewing underneath the surface and this shade of red is making it so much worse.]

Is that what you were doing for all this? Perhaps it's punishment for bad attempts at flirting.

[luxuriant]

Actually, what drove them all away was me getting transported to some other world in the middle of nowhere with a guy who can't see past his own nose.

[So, it's not all Break's fault! It's circumstance. He waves his hand in the air like he wants to brush the topic off.]

Look, I'm being nice enough to not leave you lost in the middle of the forest, so why don't you have some manners?

[holloweyed]

[As much as he could say he doesn't want to see past his own nose if it means looking at him, he bites his tongue. He'll let this slide and not be as rude as he could be in this sour mood. You're welcome, Zelos.]

Oh, is that alone enough to warrant manners? If that were true, people should have been much nicer to me. [He heaves a sigh, looking away so he isn't glaring holes through his skull. For now. Deep down, he knows it isn't this weird boy's fault.] You haven't told me why I should know your name, and you're just as lost as I am. So, tell me something about yourself, and I'll consider it.

[luxuriant]

Nothing that I could tell you now will mean a thing, but if you insist!

[Grumpy elf hair man... Alright, alright.] I'm good buddies with the King of Tethe'alla. That mean anything to you? [No, right?? Because anyone who knows that would know he is the Chosen?] He comes to me for everything.

[holloweyed]

That sounds like something from a fantasy novel. [says Xerxes Break] No, I've never heard that name.

[He's not entirely disbelieving, though. He hasn't cared much for anything other than what's related to the dukedoms back home. He takes a deep breath, then with a lighter tone:] Why would a king come to you for everything, hmmm? You must have done something to earn that favor.

[luxuriant]

Nope. I didn't do a thing.

[He says that in this cheery, sing-song voice that sounds like he's a big liar, but it is what he believes. He was just born with this stupid title.]

Anyway, why does it matter? We're in some place completely different now. Dressed like you are, aren't you some kinda noble, too? You said you were having a party.

[holloweyed]

[That sing-song am-I-lying tone is his shickt!! Zelos is infuriating, but he’s infuriating in a way Break can justify being rude over it. Instead he’ll hum, moving at a faster pace so he can walk alongside Zelos rather than after him.]

I serve a noble house, who was attending a ball. If you didn’t know the Rainsworth family, you truly must have been out in the middle of nowhere... perhaps this place will be an improvement!

[luxuriant]

[Is this guy trying to get petty noble on him?? Seriously?]

Oh, don't even start with that. I told you I was close with the King, right? If that wasn't enough to clue you in, let me spell it out for ya: we're not in either of our worlds.

[holloweyed]

I know we aren’t in the right dimension... I tried to summon my Chain here, and it hasn’t worked.

[That’s a good thing, honestly. If it had, he might have not cooled off and tried to hurt someone instead. But he won’t elaborate on that further, for now.]

It was only a question of if you’re from another country... but it seems we are from entirely separate realms. Why are we both here if we are so drastically different, I wonder? I know I have made my share of bad dealings, but nothing this drastic again... What about you?

[luxuriant]

[What the hell is a Chain... he's filing that away.]

Yeah! I mean, even if we're both living the good life, what's a gorgeous, stunning man like me got to do with some nobody like you? [Haha, isn't he so charming??]

I may have a few people after me here and there, but if that was it, I'd probably just be dead. [Casually... mentions assassination attempts.]

[holloweyed]

[He sure is... something. Break raises a very skeptical brow- the guy might be more obnoxious than what he’s already experienced, but going after him? That seems like too much effort.]

Perhaps fate has decided you need he company of a bodyguard. [He looks ahead with a cheeky little smirk.] If that’s the case, it certainly isn’t paying me enough~!