( 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

BURIES FACE IN

[deusex]

...

[ If the transformation didn't come as a surprise, the voice literally cutting into his head definitely does. It's a little like the comm links, except it's sharper and closer than what he's used to. Too close to his head, too close inside. Even then, there's not much of an overt reaction. Mika starts a little, eyes widening minutely before he carefully, silently stares at the -- well, he doesn't exactly know what this is. Some kind of a big dog? Not that Mika was overly familiar with any sort of livestock or pets. There had been some strays on the streets, but they never lasted long, and always ran away from them.

There's no mistake that it's McGillis though - their eyes are the same. He shifts a little, tilting his head this way and that with frank, undisguised curiosity once the initial surprise wears off. ]

What are you supposed to be?

[ They are almost eye-to-eye, Mika having to tilt his chin upwards a little to properly look at the other in the face. He looks like a dog, but not one that he's ever seen before. Some kind of Earth animal, he's guessing, briefly remembering their time back on Earth, seeing things they'd never seen before. This kind of power would be appropriate for someone like McGillis; if Mika had something similar, he would not even know where to start with his limited knowledge.

Maybe it's some kind of a natural reaction, having to have that connection to truly understand that it's real and not just some kind of an illusion. Mika steps closer; there's no hesitation in his movements, fully sure that McGillis will not attack him, or do anything in this current state. It's just something that he intrinsically knows and understands without any words, some kind of base instinct telling him as such.

Mika doesn't break the contact of their eyes, his gaze steady, unwavering, and carefully lays a hand on the snow-white mane, fingers curling into the fur. ]

bringing the zoo to mika

[finagles]

[ There's a tiny amount of satisfaction to be gained in causing Mika to startle, even if only a tiny amount.

He's gotten a reaction from him with this, meaning it might leave an impression on him. As a wolf, he remains taller than Mika, although not as much as before. Green eyes peer down into his human blue ones, human recognition there despite canine form. ]

A wolf. The wild ancestor of the dog.

[ Nothing in his voice to indicate condescension or even faint surprise with Mika's scant knowledge of earth animals, having begun his own education considerably late in his life. Knowledge, beyond what is most useful to know, is a luxury. In a situation like Mika's, survival takes precedence.

An even reply, a rote explanation. No interruption in the smooth quality of his voice and no visible reaction when the young man steps in closer. His fearless instinct proves correct -- McGillis has full control over the beast, since he's one with it. Since it's his creation.

When Mika reaches out to comb fingers through fur, it will feel as real and as soft as an animal's would. McGillis allows it, eyes glinting amusement. There's no indication that the action has made him uncomfortable. ]

They roam in packs and hunt prey. He's been useful for gathering food.

ok you pass

[deusex]

[ the fur is soft and cool, and Mika digs his fingers in carefully, nails scratching against the warmth of the skin underneath. It's just as real as anything — there's no need to keep the contact further once that's been established, and Mika withdraws his hand after a moment to tuck it back into his pocket. He isn't used to animals enough to know what else to do — besides, it wasn't like he was an actual wolf. McGillis isn't someone whom he could treat so light-heartedly.

Even so, there's still the faint hint of interest in Mika's gaze - a stirring of something that isn't total apathy. ]

It looks useful.

[ for hunting, he'd said — Mika fishes for the dates, popping one in his mouth and chewing carefully. ]

Is it difficult? Hunting.

[finagles]

[ The sensation of that scratch is the same, as if he wasn't transformed. That's interesting new information for him, too, but he doesn't react to that either. When Mika withdraws his hand and continues to look at Fenrir (yes he named it - with the help of the boyfriend a certain Bauduin) with an expression that doesn't amount to total indifference, McGillis will

wag

his tail

lazily swiping it back and forth on the ground. Not overdoing it or anything. Large snout lifting into the air, he yawns once. ]

It can be. I've gotten better at it. If you'd like, I can take you sometime.

[ Mika might tire of dates someday... or maybe not. ]

[deusex]

[ His gaze will flicker down to the tail as he catches the movement, and Mika will let the corner of his mouth quirk slightly upwards; just a mere twitch really, nothing more than that, even as he turns his head from the other to yawn himself. ]

That would be nice.

[ he's never hunted, but wouldn't it be the same thing as what he'd been doing? you basically had a target, and you went after it. It sounded fairly straightforward enough. ]

I don't think I can keep up with you, though.

[finagles]

[ Although he's not one to find Mika's personality unnerving, there's only satisfaction to be found in boosting another small reaction from him. It's tempting to cycle through another shape without warning, a brand new one, just to see what sort of eyes he'd watch him with.

To see if he'd continue to watch at all. Here's where McGillis will echo his thoughts: ]

It's not entirely different from piloting. I've seen how you handle Barbatos -- and how you handle yourself. You'd make a fine hunter.

[ With a little practice? A terrifying one. ]

It's also a practical skill to have in a natural setting such as this.

[deusex]

[ He supposes that McGillis means other animals, when he says hunting -- it's not the kind of food that they are used to eating in Tekkadan, who relied mostly on dried rations and vegetables. But then, that was the way the majority of people on Mars were quite used to, if they weren't starving to death first. His thoughts stray away from it after a cursory skimming of the idea; it's a strange, unusual idea, but nothing more than that.

Hunting, killing - they amounted to the same thing in the end. At least if he were hunting, they weren't going to bother him with stupid words.

Mika is used to being in charge of his own survival; his hands are dirty in more ways than one. Something like taking of lives is something that means little to him now, as long as it serves a purpose.

Mika's gaze, when it returns back to McGillis, is quiet and placid, his expression blank; the earlier hint of curiosity, the slight amusement is nowhere to be seen, as if it didn't happen.

But he is still watching him. ]

What else do you do, apart from hunting?

[ You know, that's not running down little girls and offering them candy. ]

[finagles]

[ we only do that on tuesdays now ]

It's mostly about living off the land. It's that sort of existence, apart from the unique aspect of magic. Hunting, gathering, constructing shelter, gardening... I'm happy to share anything I've learned with you.

[ He wraps his tail around his body, sitting as proper as he would stand as a human. McGillis won't be the first to break eye contact, as long as Mika looks at him and continues to speak with him. ]

Of course, there's also the matter of visiting different worlds... I haven't experienced that yet. I'm not sure what to expect, but I hear tales of conflict from the group when they speak of their last visit.

[deusex]

Hmm, [ a thoughtful sound hummed in the back of his throat, Mika considers what the other man has said — living off the land, huh? Coming from somewhere like Mars, with its bloodred soil, the dry winds, the unforgiving glare of the sun — coming from the kind of life that he's lived, making himself into a weapon, sharp-edged and keen, for the sake of survival, the idea of this place as McGillis describe is at once immediately foreign.

Foreign, but not necessarily disagreeable. Strange but there's a kind of appeal in it, the kind of life that Mika can't even possibly imagine.

Almost reflexively, Mika's eyes seek out for Orga; his thoughts turn to him, wondering, asking always. Is this something he could take for himself, for them? Is this where he should be?

Where he should be, is where Orga is.

Mika must look serene, as calm as anything on the outside; but there's a newfound edge in the gaze, a brilliance cutting through the blue depths of it. ]

I have to get back to where Orga is.

[ he stands his ground, hand in his pocket, the other confined to the sling, but he looks like he has the whole world underneath him in the way he speaks. A complete, unwavering confidence in his ability to get himself there. ]

What do I have to do?