spellgrinders | ( TDM

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!tdm

( TDM | #2 )

IMPORTANT: This TDM takes place on the current world the coven is part of. Please read the linked Google Doc about the world AND be aware that the world is high-frequency, meaning canon magic and powers can be used.

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.

WORLD ONE: AIMINTAS

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...

Some of you might open your eyes to find yourself wandering around a sandy area, outside of a large stone house. There's a large glimmering caravan floating around outside, which might intrigue you. There's also a lot of supplies, food, clothing...all just laying around outside. It's worth investigating, right?

Other new potential coven members will find themselves in a completely different part of town. These lucky individuals will have suddenly appeared in the marketplace area of Aimintas, surrounded by walking lizard beings that suddenly turn and take an immediate interest in this stranger.

The setting found in Aimintas is pretty expansive, so you have a lot of room to wander around. Here are a few things that might catch your eye if you're really committed to wandering around.

GAME NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It would be a bit of an awkward subject. Honestly, what is with their world and cell horror.

Lenka gives Julius a little time to prune himself, sheepishly going to retrieve his wayward bag and make sure nothing's fallen out in its little adventure. That settled, he nods to Julius once it seems like things are winding down on his end -- unless he means to keep going while he's walking. Might have to uproot the shrub, though.]

Yeah, I can show you the way. I think that's what we're meant to do. It's not far.

[And by 'not far' he means a good amount of brisk walking, but at least it's not on the other side of the city, right? Eh, they can take it.]

[ It's easy enough to snap the branches in half, though what remains are still the stumps of those that did manage to root themselves in his skin. They're somehow tangled in amongst the cells, which is strange - but not as strange as the fact that he can discern this just by focusing. He may have to dig out the remainder later, it's hardly something to do on the road.

So he'll get up, retrieve his jacket, and hang it around his shoulders like a cape. ]

Thanks.

[ They wouldn't be living up to their job title if they can't take a short trek, eh? ]

What year was it when you left?

Edited 2017-07-27 11:19 (UTC)

[For a moment, it seems like Lenka is going to comment on Julius' winter shrubbery with cape scene, but then he closes his mouth and starts walking. There is a brief pause when Julius asks his question, though -- he tilts his head at him. What?]

2071, but... why?

[ That would sort of explain things. ]

I come from three years after you. It would partly explain why we have no knowledge of each other.

[ That, plus he's very sure there's no Lenka in the 1st unit. But the youth seems to have good conviction, so he'll try and puzzle it out later. ]

[Go figure it would be three years. Lenka is quiet for a long moment.

... Okay, but still, why is time travel a thing.]

Three years after? That can happen?

[Lenka, why are you asking the newbie.]

... I guess you wouldn't know either. But you're from the future.

[Damn.]

That's how it is.

[ This wouldn't explain how Lenka was just struck from the record, however. ]

I don't think it matters too much.

[He's just that sneaky. Or something.

Julius' dismissal makes Lenka's eyebrows fly up. It's a pretty impressive sight.]

But... you're from the future. [reiterated as though he feels Julius maybe didn't get it the first time] I think that matters.

[Look, he may have Seen Things both before and after he got here, but even Lenka's suspension of disbelief has limits.]

It doesn't matter. Here, we're all the same.

[ The more unknown he remains, the safer it is. But, in case Lenka had personal vested interest: ]

Did you want to know anything about your friends?

That's...

[Certainly, they're all at least in the same time here, strange as that is to consider. Still, he's not sure why it's so easy to dismiss. Time travel. Time travel! Look, he came from the apocalyptic boonies, he's easily impressed.

--But at least he's also easily distracted, because if this guy really is from the future (is he?) then he can... maybe he can tell him about the things he wouldn't see otherwise.]

My unit. [is what he blurts, but it tastes strange in his mouth -- he still doesn't consider himself a captain, it's literally been about 5 minutes back home] Unit 1. Are they doing okay?

[ It's not out of a lack of surprise at time travel that he dismisses it so quickly - rather, the imperative is to keep his head down and his reputation subtle. The less people know about him, the better. ]

... I know Lindow and Sakuya got married. That's the extent of it, though.

[ Say more and he risks complicating himself. ]

[Lenka stops dead.]

Lindow... Lindow's okay?

[It's mostly expressionless, a bit dazed, given that he hasn't even fully processed the information -- it's kind of difficult, when someone you just met five minutes ago drops that on you, and also you've got the perfectly reasonable we just held that funeral a few days ago, this stranger is making things up warring with the terribly hopeful it figures that damn guy escaped, it's him, after all all over your insides.

He takes one breath. Two. The few Palai out here continue to stare at them as they pass, Julius continues to be there and not a statue, the sky continues to be ocean for some reason, and... time flows again.

In fact, it slams into fast forward because suddenly there are way too many things he needs to know. Why. How. What -- there are so many things he needs to do, back home, but if this is one of them, then. Is it? He doesn't know.]

[ Julius doesn't know quite a lot about Lindow, considering that the man was always out with Cradle and had only came back after Julius went off the deep end. But this much he knows - and he too knows the pain of losing a comrade, so he'll reach out and put a hand on Lenka's (clothed) shoulder. ]

He's fine.

[ And that's all that matters, right? ]

[The thing is, Lindow is considerably more than a comrade to him, as Lindow tends to be -- for all his lackadaisical attitude there are few in the branch who haven't felt his influence, for better or for worse. It had been a strange thing to realize, when he arrived at Fenrir, and added context to the lone God Eater from all those years ago.

Reflexively, he reaches for his pocket, only to to let his hand drop again. Now of all times he misses what he gave away, but others had needed the keepsake more. At least the pressure of Julius' hand manages to anchor him amid the total confusion of his thoughts.

The gaze he raises back up at Julius is cracked wide open, hope and a thousand questions and disbelief all intermingled.]

How...? We found his armlet. Sakuya-san did.

[His eyes drop to Julius' bare wrist again, briefly thoughtful. What if...?

It's a what-if he's going to have to pursue. Sorry, Julius, you kind of kickstarted a bit of an accelerated timeline, at least in terms of thought process and realizations.]

[ 'We found his armlet.'

Julius notices Lenka's eyes go to his hand, back up again, and it seems like both of their thought processes had collided somewhere in the middle. He doesn't know much about Lindow, Rachel had seen to that - but the truth behind his lack of it was that it had been completely broken down and absorbed in the cocoon.

Iit was impossible to wrest a God Eater's armlet from their body without becoming an Aragami themselves. Was that what had happened? ]

... I don't know. This is all I know, from hearsay.

[ He's not lying. He won't lie about things that aren't himself.

Then if Lindow had become an Aragami and lived... then... how? The man was certainly human, from what he knew. Not like himself, fully Aragami, who only maintained human form by a force of will that has become increasingly frayed. There's too much that he doesn't know yet needs to reconcile with this fellow whom he had just met, all of it contributing to a headache that intensifies with every passing moment.

His grip on the other tightens for just a moment before he snaps back to awareness and retracts it, putting the hand to his head. ]

[No, Julius doesn't seem to be lying -- even if it's still hard to believe, any of it, but if there's even the smallest possibility of it being true then it's Lenka's duty and need to chase that lead.

His mind races, tearing through the possibilities.

It's more optimism than anything to assume that just because Julius is a former God Eater without an armlet and could have possibly found a way around it, that Lindow could have done the same -- and moreover they're three years apart. There are just too many miracles required in that theory, on top of the mere possibility that Lindow is alive. He knows better, and should know better.

Still, the other possibility is the conventional one, that Lindow is without his armlet but alive. Conventional God Eater wisdom says he's probably better off dead. Lenka decides not to think about that for the moment.

He himself is alive, after all. For now.

What he knows for sure: Lindow could be alive, his Unit should be okay, and even if he weren't lightyears away from where he's supposed to be he wouldn't be able to tell them. Not yet. Not without talking to Dr. Sakaki or someone more knowledgeable. His nails dig into his palms in frustration because there's not enough that he can do here, now.

It's Julius' tightening grip that brings him back around, even as Julius himself seems to falter, and Lenka blinks and starts forward a step.]

Are-- you okay? Is it the plants?

[Dramatic moments aside, it can't be healthy to have that much shrubbery stuck in you.]

[ Julius' original intention was to retreat to somewhere private before prying the wood from his body, to avoid alarming those around him. But it seems that if he were to do it, it might cause a fair deal of pain on top of what he has to deal with on a daily basis. ]

No... just give me a moment.

[ He presses control back into himself, willing the haze before his eyes to pass, and Lenka come back into focus. ]

I'm fine. Don't concern yourself with it.

Edited 2017-08-01 03:57 (UTC)

[Lenka opens his mouth to press the issue, closes it, and then shakes his head briefly to himself. He's still not sure what's going on with the plants, but if Julius has something else going on -- and he's absolutely not 100% here, it's easy to see from this distance -- then it's his duty to do something about it.

As a fellow God Eater, as a senior(?) coven member, and just as himself. So instead of using words, for the moment, he motions towards a less-crowded side of one of the buildings, half-hidden in a smaller side street. The facade is a little more ornamental than you'd expect -- it looks like the side of a store -- and there's enough room to sit.

Meantime, he's thinking.]

I don't think I can help. [half-apology, half-concession that even if he knew what was going on, his only power at the moment is kitchen appliances, and this is not likely to be fixed with an ice pack] But maybe Genette can. She's one of the hosts, for the coven. She has healing abilities.

[ No one can help. That's just how it is. It was not a matter of a wound, but a matter of a fundamental rejection - that of his Aragami form and his human mind, two things wrestling for control of one body. And if he were to let it go, the unthinkable would happen. ]

No, it's fine. [ It's not Lenka's fault. Even Sakaki wouldn't be able to do anything. ] Don't worry about it. It can't be cured.

[ Just let him tank it by himself, it's fine. ]

Oh.

[It's just a single breath of sound as he digests that, unhappily, because it hits a little close to home. That explains Julius' stubbornness, a little (as if he has room to talk about stubbornness whatsoever) -- and while it doesn't sit well with him, he'd be a hypocrite and a half to criticize it.

Then again, despite his ability to accept the ridiculous and the terrible, Lenka's very bad at giving up.]

It can't be cured at home. [he's speaking slowly, sounding out the words and not seemingly speaking to anyone in particular] But we're here. Aimintas is different. The places they want us to go are different.

[He tilts his head back up at Julius.]

We're different.

[Power-wise, but also possiblities-wise. It's more of a suggestion than any attempt at convincing. It's something he's still trying to grasp, himself.]

[ Of course they're different. Julius detects not much out of the ordinary from Lenka, though he's since lost other God Eaters to compare him with. He's still human. Sane. Whole. On the other hand, Julius is very sure he's gone way further beyond a salvageable point. ]

It's fine.

[ Even as his body remembers the spider marks on his skin and the burning pain that accompanies it. ]

Just leave it be.

[There isn't a great deal out of the ordinary about Lenka, from a God Eater's point of view as of this time -- his armlet is largely in working order even if's pretty much a glorified bracelet here, his Oracle cells are relatively stable, the lack of bias factor makes him uneasy but them's the breaks of magic. Or something. In short:

✓ God Eater
? Human
✓ Sane
?? Whole

He takes a breath, automatically adjusts his bag on his shoulder as he starts to move out from the shade of the building they've taken refuge under -- getting back on the road, now that they've had a breather and probably Julius won't keel over. Lenka gives him a nod to indicate that they should get going, and that he won't pursue any further.

He won't forget, though.

They move through the city in silence, getting closer and closer to the center. There's still a lot of food for thought just in the short time since their meeting; finally, though, Lenka indicates the larger buildings looming in the distance.]

The city center. We're not far from it.

[The octagon is useful as a landmark because it's so easy to spot. On the streets, they're starting to pass more Palai milling about and market stalls. They're also getting stared at in fascination, as always.]

[ Silence is golden, as they so say. Julius slips into it easily, his attention half on the road and half on himself, the awareness of myriad cells dampened by force of will alone. He's held himself together so far, and he has no intention to change that anytime soon. ]

Is this the only city on this world?

[ The stares... he can take them. Not that he'd expect any different even back home. ]

[Lenka, for his part, is starting to resign himself to the staring too -- certainly, he'd turned some heads at the Far East Branch just for being a New-Type, and then some more that were entirely Lindow's fault (it's oddly soothing, to start blaming his former captain for things as if he were around again) -- but lizard eyes are a little different.

The Palai seem pretty much harmless, but it still makes the hair on the back of his neck stand on end to have something nonhuman tracking him whether out of curiosity or not.

Possibly it's a good thing he hasn't scared up a real weapon yet. So to speak.]

Is there any world with just one city? [is his confused reaction to Julius' question; but Lenka indicates above their heads, at the floating shadow of the island] I don't know, but I think there's something up there. The Palai seem interested in the island.

[He hasn't yet figured out for what reason; but either way it makes no sense to have just one city, does it?]

[ Frankly, the island even tops the Helix Tree. That's saying something. ]

I don't think I understand why we're here. Is there a mission?

[ So it's a much larger scale of world than he would have preferred. ]

I... think we're supposed to be traveling for missions. But we haven't been given one.

[Despite living not far from water for his first fifteen years or so, Lenka doesn't know a whole lot about what's under or over it -- islands aren't even a thing when there are Aragami lurking in the depths and probably no sea creatures whatsoever. All of this is something else from his point of view.

More disconcerting still, he would have expected some direction by now, and there has been none. They've been given supplies and released on this strange world like driftwood.]

( TDM | #2 )

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