( TDM #7 )

[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 Shehui.

You 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 jewelry inserted in the space above your chest. That certainly wasn't there before you opened your eyes. A ▢ Perhaps the signet in your chest isn't the most pressing matter right now. You notice that the building you're in (Chips!) is pretty large -- but even that isn't the most demanding thing capturing your interest right now. It's the video game you're in front of. Maybe it's Duck Hunt, or a zombie killing game that involves those huge red and blue guns. There are a variety of arcade games in Chips!, after all -- but are you Player 1 or Player 2? B ▢ After a strange incident a couple of days ago, the area around Anmung tower has been essentially dead. This may or may not be lucky for you -- since you're on the top of the observation deck, and all. If you're afraid of heights...oops. It's not that people aren't allowed to be up there, it's just that there aren't too many people. The view is still pretty good, though! C ▢ Let's say that you just want some answers and information about the strange signet you now have. You may find some success in asking around, but be warned: not everyone in Shehui will know what the fuck you're talking about. If you're lucky enough, you may eventually run into a coven member that will be able to explain. D ▢ Since your character didn't show up via any special means, they may not know that magic is a bit taboo in Shehui. If their new magic manifests, it might be a bit of an issue. Locals certainly won't like it, and they'll definitely attract the attention of more than a few monitors. The good news? This is also a pretty good way to snag the attention of a coven member who is here to help! E ▢ Let's get back to some fun stuff. Your character is enveloped in darkness for a brief moment, something clasped in their hand. Lights, camera, action -- the glowing screen that suddenly flashes on turns out to belong to a karaoke booth TV! You and and someone else have been locked in this booth for an hour -- at least there's a mini bar and some snacks! F ▢ For something not so fun, the snowfall has stopped in Shehui, except for those residences and businesses who want to keep paying for it. A lot aren't willing to cough up the credits, so it's safe to say the streets aren't. Everything is frosty and slippery, from melted snow to frozen water littering the sidewalks. Watch your step or you could hurt yourself...or bump into an unexceptional stranger! G ▢ Finally, you may have had the fortunate luck of ending up in the coven's apartment complex. There are names on the door to all apartments, if you want to go exploring. Whether you find the name of someone you recognize, or maybe you just want some shelter from the cold weather, knock knock...is anyone home? H ▢ Wildcard! How will your character react to this strange world?

GAME NAVIGATION

Comments

[counteracts]

Mm. Suppose you're right.

["Fun" hadn't really been a popular concept at the place he'd worked growing up. The closest thing they'd ever had to games had been simulators, which tended to lean towards realism over fun for apparent reasons.

Now.

Orga's not completely uninitiated to non-human creatures. There were definitely some people that he'd passed in the streets in the last day or so that he couldn't really place neatly into a box, and that had been just one other thing to slowly deal with—in addition to being in a completely different place, equipped with strange abilities he didn't really understand, and having almost no idea what was going on.

But still, when he looks over—and then way down (as Orga is over six feet tall...) toward the owner of the voice, he's more than a little thrown when he finds himself standing next to the blue... animal?

Listen. There weren't many animals on Mars. The poor soil made it nearly impossible to raise herds there, so the only animals around were unwanted stowaways that happened to make it all the way from Earth. Orga has no idea what the creature could be, but... well, at least he's friendly?

He tries to regain composure after a moment of clear surprise, clearing his throat in a noncommittal way.] Thanks. [Piloting mobile workers and staring at battle formations on screens for hours paid off in some way, he guesses. Seems sort of embarrassed, regardless. The game chimes loudly as the round ends, and he takes a half-step away, regarding his strange companion.]

Wanna give it a shot?

[fastpaced]

[ Sonic will give him a few points for that subdued reaction. He's had a lot of time to get used to the questions and the staring by just about everyone here; it was weird at first, considering how humans saw him pretty much every day back home, but he's come to accept it. (Although he has to wonder why they're apparently the norm and Mobians aren't. Cosmic coincidence?)

At the offer, Sonic looks a little sheepish. ]

Well, about that... These arcade booths aren't really meant for a guy like me. [ his ears hardly come up to the control panel. There is a stool to remedy situations like these, but Sonic gave it up about 5 minutes ago to a little girl having similar difficulties. ] Otherwise, you'd be on! Your high score would be toast, so maybe you're lucky.

[counteracts]

[Sonic, my friend, if you were the first thing Orga had seen after he'd arrived here, that reaction would've been a bit different. But you've caught him after nearly twelve hours of not understanding what the living fuck is going on, so he's a little more amenable to shit his brain would've thought utterly outlandish just a day ago.]

Oh. [Yeah, that was pretty obvious. For some reason the gesture of offering hadn't crossed paths with the logic of him only barely being able to see up to the arcade booth.]

Hm. [Now, if he'd known about Sonic's magnanimity with the stool, he might've changed his direction a little, but as it is, Orga sees this as a problem within his capacity to fix.] Hold on just a second.

[He stalks away a short distance to where he finds an employee, clearly labeled with the logo and pattern of the building. From a distance, the words area hard to make out, though Orga's body language isn't — he's in equal parts imposing and cajoling, one moment slipping a hardline insinuation and the next clapping the young man on the shoulder and laughing loudly at his flustered reaction. The young man scuttles off and Orga returns to where he'd been before, a wry smile on his face.]

My friend over there is going to get you something to help with that. [Orga's smile is wide and inviting. It didn't seem as though it would be the aforementioned stool, either; it's currently in use by the young girl, so the employee had run off into another direction to find something else.]

I want to see if you're bluffing or not.

[fastpaced]

[ he watches from his spot, crossing his arms and hoping it really is going to be "just a second" - he hates waiting. Unable to quite make out what Orga is saying or doing to the poor employee, Sonic tilts his head, frowning, and it hasn't disappeared by the time he comes back around. ]

You weren't giving that guy a hard time, were you? I like video games as much as the next hedgehog, but it's not worth hassling people over.

[ even though Orga is clearly(?) older than him, Sonic has an admonishing tone. Bullying poor retail workers around the holidays? Not acceptable, bro. ]

[counteracts]

Hard time? [Orga regards his blue companion with a blithe expression — whether his faint confusion at the accusation was genuine or feigned might be up for argument for an observer, but no, he sees where the guy's coming from.

It's not like he strong-armed the kid. He'd simply mentioned it was a bit of an oversight, with the variety in people that tended to visit such a place, and that a remedy to Sonic's problem would be very much appreciated. In so many words.

But it wasn't really something to joke around with. The young man's mien seems to take a definite shift within a single moment, becoming markedly less jovial and a little more serious.] Yeah, it's out of the way. A little extra effort. But, I know the kid's name, and I know his manager's name. [at this he gestures with a quick cant of the head to where a very severe-looking older woman stands a distance away,] Sure, I asked him to go a little out of his way, but I'm going to be sure to mention how helpful he was to her before I get out of here. I don't leave good effort unrewarded.

[He leans against the case of the arcade game, hands in his pockets and a sly smile slowly starting to reinforce itself across his face as he looks down to the hedgehog.] Seem fair?

[It made sense in his head, but... well, Orga learned most of his leadership lessons from the space mafia, so.]

boy you can really tell i wrote that last tag at 2AM... SORRY

[fastpaced]

Seems fair.

[ a little extra effort, for sure - probably more than Sonic would have put in for this. Maybe this guy just really likes video games. He supposes that could explain him being disappointed at the lack of realism in a cabinet arcade game, too... But that's fine. As long as there wasn't any bullying being done on his behalf, Sonic is cool with it.

He leans one elbow against the machine. ]

You're totally gonna regret it, though.

IT'S GOOD, YOU'RE GOOD

[counteracts]

[You'd be surprised, Sonic. This was his first experience with video games in their genuine state, though he wasn't completely unfamiliar with things like these. There was just a lot of difference between military simulators for combat and games made for enjoyment and fun - thus his complaints about the accuracy. Galaga would be shit for teaching people how to interpret ship formations in a space combat situation.

Orga crosses his arms, grinning down at his short, blue-furred companion.] Maybe. [Well, at least he's not arrogant for skills he's not exactly assured of yet.] Doesn't stop me from wanting to see for myself.

[A moment or two later, the youth that Orga had spoken to shows up again. He's carrying another stool, this one a little older, more worn and weathered. It might've had to have been procured from a backroom or employee area.]

Hey. [Orga claps the boy on the shoulder, beaming down at him.] You've done good work, kid. Thanks.

[Despite his efforts to be amiable, the kid does still seem a bit nervous of the tall, imposing young man; he stammers some pleasantries before scurrying off to other matters that needed to be attended to. Orga folds the information into a mental pocket, setting a reminder to make sure he fulfilled his end of the bargain before the evening was up.]

Alright. [He closes one eye, setting Sonic into a one-eyed squint.] Let's see what you've got. [He nudges the stool into position with one foot, leaning a shoulder against the arcade cabinet so he could get a good look at the screen.]