spellgrinders | ( TDM

Entry tags:

!tdm,
npc: brie

( TDM | #1 )

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.

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.

Depending on your situation and ability to acclimate, you may not fully understand what's happening. A dream, a hallucination. But when you feel the trunk of the trees surrounding you, it's oddly...real. The smell is real. The moisture on the ground is real. The small grass snake you find slithering close to your feet seems very real as well.

There are a few other sensations that also begin to feel a little more like reality with every passing second. Like the fact that your intuition is trying to tell you something that doesn't seem plausible. One is more obvious -- you now have a new piece of jewelry inserted snuggly between your collarbones.

Maybe that's when you realize it is real. When you realize that there's no delusion here -- you aren't where you once were. But if that's the case...where are you?

here

its own perils.

After an hour or so of trekking through the forest, you finally come upon a break in the tree line that reveals to you an area that appears to be inhabitable. Your first stop is the large mansion that sits in the valley of the opening...if anyone is here or there's a way to get out of here, the house makes the most sense, right?

There are a variety of rooms in this mansion, and you're free to explore them. You also spy a lot of crates sitting in the middle of the floor in one of the main rooms...are you curious enough to open them?

At this point you notice that you aren't alone -- there are other people in the same boat as you! When they're around you, that signet you feel in your chest tingles slightly. The sensation isn't unpleasant, but instead like a warm tingle is spreading from their neck outward. You instinctively attempt to talk to your fellow kidnapping victims, and that works just fine...but what are all these voices you hear in your head now? Are you crazier than you thought you were?

C ▢ Here's where you can play around with the telepathy mechanic. It's likely your character won't be used to it which can lead to accidental broadcasting. If they happen to tap the signet purposefully or try to pull it out, everyone within a radius of 100 feet will feel a throbbing pain in their head. But your character won't know that, will they?

For those more inclined to adventure, there's also another building to investigate. From the outside, it looks very circular and unidentifiable, but upon entering you'll discover that it's a fully-functioning bath house.

D ▢ Despite containing steamy water and luxury bathing accommodations, the bathhouse is currently being overrun with crabs. The not-so-smart members of this species have fallen into the extremely hot water, flash boiling themselves after being unable to get back out. Others are a little more intelligent but equally aggressive. Characters: watch your toes and be cautious if you really want to take a much-needed bath! They may also want to check twice before using the restroom, otherwise the experience might be more painful than they're used to.

Exploring the mansion and the bathhouse was fun and all, but aside from the crates they didn't prove to be very useful. When you came into the clearing, you also saw a row of very colorful buildings down near the beach. It makes sense that this area may be more beneficial to any escape plans you have, and taking a dip in the ocean might be nice!

It's not until you reach the beach huts that you realize that murky blue color you spied wasn't the ocean. It's outter space. There goes any hopes you had of swimming to safety.

Claim your hut, please!

Even though it turns out the ocean was a lie and you're precariously close to falling off the edge of the world, the area around the huts is decidedly beachy. Sitting on the beach is a lobster trap, though about 10 times the size of any you might have seen before. Inside are more felt sacks, though larger. The weirdest part is that peering through the bars, you notice each has a nametag attached. The reason you know this to be true is because you just spied your own name written on one of the labels.

There's also something else underneath it. The descriptor may not mean much to you yet, but it will soon: it's the title of their newfound magic.

In each felt sack is a sort of starter kit: a set of dated and drapey plainclothes, a bag of dried boar jerky, a leather flask filled with water and a small tube of sunblock (the writing is in a bizarre pictograph language, but the giant picture of the sun on the tube should explain the purpose). There's also a rolled up paper tied with a string that reads as follows: "Welcome. Things will be explained in due time. For now, understand that you have been blessed with a gift of magic. Look into your brain and feel the instinct for both. Practice makes perfect."

F ▢ Here's the official prompt for playing with newfound magic (and telepathy if you want more practice). It's likely characters have already accidentally broadcast their thoughts, utilized the C prompt or used their magic inadvertently, but maybe this new information and small explanation has motivated them to try and see what they're truly capable of. Don't worry. If they're lucky enough to stick around, all will be explained.

...What if you're a wildcard, though? Someone who doesn't play by the rules and follows a different path, no matter what direction the world may be guiding you in? This island is large and contains many areas of interest, from crystal streams to hidden locations. Maybe you want to do something different...so break the mold and explore!

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

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[ Those lasers would sure be helpful, and Minato would have more firepower than just the sword in his hands too, if there weren't something suppressing his ability to call for his Personas. But this is fine; he'd been able to handle himself with just his sword as well, so Minato moves off the path, slower now so he can keep Joshua in his periphery so that they don't get separated.

It's slow going in general, off the path, with thicker undergrowth and having to step carefully so that twigs don't snap as loudly underfoot, and from time to time Minato contemplates slashing his way through the thicket instead, at the risk of making noise, because they're getting further from the marked path. ]

[Joshua walked with him side by side, but he at least tried to keep their position relative to the path in mind to the best of his ability. Still, even though he's not showing it, his thoughts and heart are racing, trying to figure out something of what's going on. And he was having no luck at that so far. Nonetheless, he was at least alert because of this state, and listening for the slightest sounds. Including his own. So thus, he was able to move relatively quietly with their slowed pace.]

[Of course, there was also the issue that they could get lost wandering too far off like this but... that could be worried about at a later date.]

Edited 2017-06-19 02:43 (UTC)

[ Being lost is preferable than being injured, or dead, because that is something that can be reversed, at least. So, further and further away they go, until Minato can no longer see the boar in the distance, and hopefully that puts them out of earshot and he feels safe enough to speak again, voice hushed. ]

...If there's one, there'll be others. We could run, but we'll be turned around. [ Playing it safe means wasting time. If it were just him, Minato might contemplate just charging straight through and letting it give chase, but that's neither feasible nor smart. ] What do you think we should do?

"Well, if we do encounter any, I suppose I can act as a decent distraction. Presumably, you can handle killing a simple boar, correct?" [And he was not worried about his safety. Even in his diminished form, it was not as if he was completely incapable of being useful. Just not nearly as much so as he would be if he was, you know, jesus.]

[ Distraction... He doesn't want Joshua to have to put himself in danger without a weapon of his own, that scenario being more harm than help if Minato has to divide his attention between keeping an eye on both Joshua and the boar. Despite that, he nods. ]

I can do it. I'll make it fast, so its calls won't alert others.

[ Impassive. He's unhappy about it, but he won't let it show in his voice or on his face, because it's something that must be done. ]

[Joshua felt slight offense at the implications that he was some sort of maiden who needed a bodyguard but... he supposed that there was nothing he could do about it but take the blow to his pride. If only he had a weapon of some sort, or really, any method of fighting back. Perhaps he'd manage to secure himself one at some point. He speaks, himself masking his own displeasure.]

"Very well then. I'll leave you to it."

Alright.

[ It would be great if Joshua could awaken to some sort of wide-spread boar immobilizing power so he can prove Minato wrong and they won't have to fight at all, but as it is now, Minato takes that on himself and turns his attention back to the woods, resuming the quick pace he'd had before spotting that boar.

If they're lucky, there might be a knife or a gun in one of those bags back there, but he can place his hopes when they get to that point. ]

[And Joshua followed along, still somewhat bitter about his current uselessness but ultimately not going to voice his own complaints. And so something of an an awkward silence formed between them, Joshua simply getting lost in his own thoughts and trying to figure out if there was a possible way he could contact Hanekoma and just, try and explain the situation and possibly request help, but seeing as his abilities were suppressed it was likely outside contact was too. Still... he was just trying to formulate a plan, at that moment.]

[ Tree after tree after tree blur past them; they all look the same, as if he and Joshua aren't making any progress at all as the minutes lengthen. He'd been trying to keep them on a relatively straight path out of the woods, but he starts to doubt now, wondering whether he should ask to stop so they could get their bearings again when falters, stumbling to a stop.

A finger pressed to his lips as he turns to Joshua: quiet. Wait ]

...I hear running water.

[And Joshua stops in sync, and he tunes his ears to listen for it. It's there, audible. Well, not hat is certainly an interesting discovery. He had to thank Minato on that one.]

"And what do you propose we do?" [He whispers in response. he's already following the leader here, might as well concede decisions to him.]

[ He's already had an idea of what he wants to do, but it's still always a surprise being asked directly for his opinion, even as leader. It's easier when he has a team to bicker over many possibilities, and then defer to him as to which one seems the best, but it's a different situation, with different people, so- ]

Follow it. Hope it empties into an ocean and not a lake.

[ But he doesn't move to follow it, not yet. Not until he gets a confirmation or refutation from Joshua. ]

[And that confirmation is given silently, with a small nod from Joshua, who turns towards the source of the sound, beginning to head after it. Letting himself defer to others wasn't his default either, but hey. He had to adapt, and if someone else was willing to take the lead then so too did he have to be willing to follow.]

[ Minato would gladly relinquish leadership if he knew, but alas. Towards the water they go, trees becoming more sparse and replaced with thick, lush grass. It's easier to see but also be seen, and harder to hear for the rush of water that fills the air like white noise. ]

...Here it is.

[ Careful not to slip, Minato steps into the river, shoes and all, and holds his sword under the water to wash off the blood and dirt that dulls the edge. ]

[Joshua stands besides the river, his eyes studying Minato in the manner that a photographer studies a beautiful specimen. He eventually kneels down next to the river, dipping his index and middle fingers of his right hand into the water for a brief moment, before he pulls them out and leans back. His focus now goes from Minato to their surroundings, keeping on the lookout for danger, playing lookout while his "leader" manages his weapon. They do have to ensure their safety, after all.]

"Say, why do you possess such an antiquated weapon anyways?" [He asks without making eye contact, his eyes still watching for potential threats.]

[ Is it antiquated? Minato had never stopped to think about it, but it's true that the only other sword he's seen carried around are in ancient war movies, swords and the like quickly replaced by firearms the moment they became widely available. ]

I might mix up guns if I carried two.

[ That... doesn't really answer the question of why a sword at all, but rather why a sword and not a gun. But Minato's attention seems occupied more on wiping the blade dry with the side of his pants. ]

[Joshua chuckled.] "I see. Well, it's fine if you don't want to answer."

[Oh he was still curious, but it not like he was going to press further on a question that was, in the end, not really that important in comparison to many more pressing matters for them at the moment.]

It's not that.

[ Minato steps out of the river, and starts jogging alongside it again to follow it downstream. ]

It's just... easier to answer more specific questions. [ like yes or no questions, his favorite because they're direct and his answer succinct, compared to a question like "why?" that is so open ] You can ask what you want, and I'll try to answer.

"Alright. Well, did you obtain it through a legal channel?" [He jogged after him, contemplating how to carry out this psuedo-interrogation. That would narrow down reasons why he had it. Though, given what he had seen of him so far, it being illegally possessed seemed somewhat unlikely.]

Yes.

[ He would leave it at that, but the circumstances slightly more complicated... and he decides he's not going to go into that. ]

I bought it from the police station.

"Huh. And why are the police selling swords to teenage boys, pray tell?" [Clearly, Minato was involved with some sort of exceptional circumstances if that was the case. That, or maybe such a thing was commonplace in his own world. Either way was certainly possible.]

[ Another "why" question... And again, Minato doesn't want to explain the whole thing, only because it's tiresome having to do so when he's used to having others provide explanations in his stead.

But Minato did say he'd try. ]

Just the one policeman. He entrusted my team with weapons to fight these monsters... nobody else could see them, or fight them, but us.

"'These monsters.' So, you fight invisible monsters no one else can fight, correct?" [Well now his interest was piqued. So fighting monsters, as a part of a team. So, monsters were a threat in his world, and for some reason or another only he and his allies could see them. Huh. That was not completely implausible, all things considered.]

Edited 2017-06-25 20:05 (UTC)

[ They're not technically invisible if Minato could see them, but to the general population... that sounds about correct, and he nods to indicate this. ]

...You don't really sound doubtful.

[ Monsters usually invite the reaction of "What? You're joking!" or something similar. ]

"Well, it's not implausible. I mean, monsters exist in my own world as well." [Though noise were invisible for their own reasons, which were likely quite different than whatever existed in his world.]

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( TDM | #1 )

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