( 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

b...!

[sunderings]

There is beauty in all things. [ —the Hero King's voice sounds as a fluting note of agreement, equally soft as the other man's own. Dauntless by nature, Sion walks the edge of the observation deck, surveying the sights both above and below as the gossamer strands of his silvered hair catch in the wind, his breath crystallizing upon meeting with the chill of the air and winter's cold. ]

But so too is there great ugliness.

[ Giving pause in his pacing, he turns to consider his companion, wondering at him with silent curiosity. Is the man newly arrived as well? ]

'For the most insidious nature, the most lovely guise.'

[ And that is the truth of this and any realm. ]

Beyond beauty, what do you make of this place?

[painalty]

[Sanson, on the other hand, remains where he is, keeping a respectable distance from the edge yet showing no palpable fear. The wind lifts the tufts of his short white hair as he folds his arms loosely across his chest.

He would know about beauty concealing ugliness. There were beautiful people who turned out to be criminals, and who would meet an ugly end by guillotine. He could dress up as much as he wanted, but he would always be an executioner, the most detested and feared person in Paris.

So when the question is posed to him, he takes only a moment before answering.]

There is still much we don't know about it. It may conceal secrets that have yet to be discovered...unpleasant truths, perhaps.

[sunderings]

Then--... [ His companion's countenance is rather stoic, isn't it? As it must be, Sion supposes, for the man to have taken his leave of the city below in favor of seeking reflection and refuge on high, atop a tower which should have been alight with winter color and festivities, but now stands barren. Desolate, as no proclaimed 'cultural landmark' of a city should be. But, for now, this is the very least of Sion's concerns, instead...

Instead, he makes to bridge the distance between himself and the other man with a graceful, measured step. ]

Will you unearth the true nature of this place with me? [ As an ally is implicitly said. ]

We have been displaced, maligned, stripped of that which was once intrinsic to us, and set upon a city which would provide us with 'community and its comforts'.

[ In Paris, perhaps, the man who stands before him might have been feared, but in the here and now, Sion looks to him only with camaraderie and faith; with a certainty so pervasive that it is disarming: ]

I cannot trust in it, but... I can trust in you.

[painalty]

[He blinks, watching the other man approach with a single step and listening as he pitches his offer. That makes his eyes widen a touch.

It was true. Sanson had been stripped of his powers and attributes as a Servant. In some ways, it felt like a burden off his shoulders, but it was troublesome to have to get used to walking around like a regular person again, unable to hide in the shadows or fight with supernatural strength and speed. But above all, he had been ripped from his world and his purpose, the duty he had sworn to do.

He wanted answers to all his questions. He wanted a way back.

But it was so surprising to find this person suddenly offering camaraderie despite them hardly knowing each other. For a moment, Sanson is speechless, looking as though you could've knocked him over with a feather.]

Even though...you hardly know me? I don't believe we've met.

[sunderings]

Must it matter?

[ That they haven't before met? That they are not well-acquainted with one another?

In this moment, the King's stare is equal parts gentle and inqusitive as he cants his head, the thick plait of his hair spilling down, over his shoulder with the motion. It pains him to think how very alone this man must have been; to wonder at what sort of isolation he must have known for the simple extension of goodwill and companionship to be so foreign a thing, because...

(Once upon a time, the King had known it too.) ]

We are connected, you and I, brought together by fantastic circumstance. Whether our meeting is merely a happy accident or a turn in the great wheel of fate, I--...

[ What follows next is a beautiful gesture, guileless and true: the extension of Sion's hand, palm open and fingers elegantly outstretched for the other man to take, if only he so wished to. ]

...will not dismiss it so easily. Will you?

[painalty]

[The proffered hand is there, and Sanson stares at it for quite a while, pondering his options. He has to wonder if it does matter, that this other person knows nothing about him. It might even be better that they work together and keep the personal stuff on the back burner.

Sanson has been by himself in this world. It wouldn't hurt to make allies.

With that, he makes his decision.]

No, I suppose not.

[Reaching out slowly, he takes the man's hand and grips it tightly.]

[sunderings]

[ A strong grip.

Though Sion cannot feel the touch (the sensation long since gone from him), he knows the force of it by the curl and flex of the other man's fingers, his golden eyes fixed, in brief, upon the union of their hands. A lifeline has been cast between them, and it is the King's vow never to break it, seeing it returned in kind with a gentle curl and squeeze of his own fingers. Being over-delicate is a habit which is hard to break, perhaps—always, Sion has been stronger than most, and always, he has sought never to hurt them. ]

Now, we have met. [ And it is with a smile that Sion draws the other man closer by way of the clasp of their hands, an odd-but-natural air of decorum about him as he brings the link they've forged together to rest, in brief, over his heart before he allows for the touch to fall away. ]

My name is Sion, Sion Astal, King of Roland Empire in the southern country of Menoris.

[ And then, his voice softens, along with his demeanor: ] And I think I should like to know the name of the man I've had both the pleasure an honor of greeting today.

[painalty]

[Sanson likewise glances down at their hands with ice-blue eyes, and considers how his hand is gripped in turn - more gently, more carefully. Sion had a point; now, they have truly met and they at least know each other to some extent.

When Sion brings their interlocked hands close, Sanson doesn't let go; it happens too fast for him to react and before he knows it, Sion relinquishes his grasp.]

It's...a pleasure to meet you, your Highness.

[His name, huh. This was a world where it wasn't quite necessary to hide his True Name, but it didn't feel right to just...give it away so easily at the moment. They had just met, and even without his powers, anyone could still zero in on his weaknesses once they had his True Name.

Perhaps in due time.]

Call me Assassin.

[sunderings]

Assassin? [ A title, rather than a name? Rather than be taken aback by the pronounced appellation (and all the connotations it carried), Sion is only quietly intrigued, remaining close to the other man despite no longer being connected by the link of their hands. Now, they are bound by something much stronger: a promise, one entered by both parties of their own volition and will. ]

I wonder... is it a name taken by choice, or was it bestowed upon you instead?

[ An easy thing, to meet with Assassin's gaze—warm gold interlocking with frosted blue—and hold it fast, for they are not so dissimilar in either height or stature. ]

I have met with may assassins in my lifetime— [ By simple virtue of donning a crown. ] —and you do not remind me of any of them.