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TDM: May
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aefenglom's test drive! All threads can be considered game canon, should you choose to do so; regardless of if you pick specific threads to remain canon to the game, the prompts and test drive itself will be. This will be touched on later in-game, so it's fairly important to note! Aside from that, here are some quick reminders:• Reserves Open Today! If you're interested in securing a spot, put one in! We accept applications without reserves too, of course. Reserves will expire three days before the end of the application period, on the 28th.With that taken care of...
• Applications Open The 24th! These will last until the end of the month, the 31st, with the intro log going on up June 1st. The application page can be found here.
• If you have any questions about the game or the world, please refer to the FAQ page; if you still have questions, feel free to ask them! For questions specific to the test drive, please ask them on the appropriate thread.
• For the purposes of the test drive, your character will have access to all magics taught by the Coven if they're a Witch, and as much of their shifted form as you'd like if they're a Monster. Feel free to play around and experiment with each!
• While current players won't be allowed to post top levels on the test drive itself, feel free to reference or play with the dreams in-game.
• Test drive threads can be used as samples for your applications!
You feel like you're floating. Around you, colors and sounds and smells swirl as if trapped in a whirlpool, vibrancy and hue ever shifting. The more you watch them, the less solid they are; they only become clear out of the corner of your eye. The area around you begins to feel more solid as well, until your feet are on the ground, the wind brushes playfully against your face -
and you know one thing, and one thing alone: this is a dream, and an incredibly realistic one at that.
The Eternal Fall
The smell of autumn leaves surrounds you, a myriad of colors sparkling into existence at the same time. Despite the warmth and light, the air feels heavy and stiff, as if on razor's edge. The forest is eerily silent - not a bird, bug, or rodent dares to stir - and when you do hear something, it's the high-pitched crying, whining, weeping, sobbing, howling sounds of something far off. The tunnel of bent branches invites you further with an unpleasant compulsion; though fighting it and turning around finds you in front of a chilly, damp cave alight with the faint, cool glow of bubbling fountains and streams.
 The Compulsion Unable to sway yourself from the call of the forest - or maybe you're simply curious as to where it leads - your feet pull you further and further into the autumnal tunnel. The cry from before grows more distant, but in return, the air weighs even heavier on your shoulders than before. The branches hang lower and lower as well, as if pushed by gravity, until their leaves smack your face, twigs offering small cuts from the thorns protruding from their bark. But you can't stop. Not now. The end of the tunnel seems so close; but it's seemed that way for a while now, you suppose, and you've already come this far - you might as well stay the course, wherever it might lead. The further you go, the brighter everything becomes, and you realize it's the leaves surrounding you; they've begun to glow, encouraged by the sunlight streaming in from above, and the wind begins to whisper in your ear. At first, it's only encouraging things, or silly facts - harmless words, but as the foliage begins to shimmer and reflect your image, the wind's words turn colder. Within those reflections on the autumn tunnel, you begin to see your worst moments - morally, ethically, emotionally. The things you don't want anyone else to know, that you'd feel ashamed or struck for anyone - especially those close to you - to see. The wind becomes louder as the scenes play out one right after another, boldly declaring your true feelings as they were in that moment, good or bad. Worst of all - you still can't bring yourself to turn back, even as your mind begins to free itself from the tunnel's compulsion. Maybe someone else can help out, if they're not too taken by their own memories, or maybe the shock of sharing such private secrets will jolt you and anyone else back to reality. Either way, it's that, or staying stuck watching your worst memories play on repeat for what feels like the rest of your life. |
 The Cry While not compelled by any means, you still feel a curious draw down the path in front of you; as you follow the leaf tunnel, with others or alone, you find another, less-traveled path. Following it reveals a large pond colored orange and gold by the reflection of the area it's in, sunlight and shadows playing on its surface. At a glance, it seems to be rather shallow, but that's hardly the truth. You realize, after a moment, that the crying has continued, evidently coming from the water. Looking closer, the culprit is an infected Merrow, who - upon begin seen - shrieks and dives for whoever's looking at it with the clear intent to drag them down beneath the water. Its claws are extra sharp, its teeth similar to a shark in number and shape, and its scales have turned a pale black; an oil-like substance flows from beneath them and from its gums as well, shimmering the same way gasoline does in the light, and its eyes are the tell-tale white of a Shade. It isn't impossible to fight it to get away, especially as some of you have new abilities at hand, and some of you have a few neat changes to help that along. Once distance is successfully put between you and the infected Merrow, it howls in a wet, warbly voice, visibly frustrated. Unlike ordinary Merrows, who can walk on land and have legs as long as they stay dry, this Merrow can't seem leave its pond at all, and electricity sparks from it like little static shocks in its irritation. It does dive back under once it realizes it can't reach you, resurfacing as your character's most important person in an attempt to lure them back. The expressions are far too real, too genuine; even those aware it's a Merrow might be fooled. While its voice isn't a perfect mimicry, the song it begins to sing has with it notes of yearning and beckoning to join it, join your beloved person, in the water. |
 The Cave Pulling yourself from curiosity or compulsion, the cave behind you - in front of you, if you've turned around - gives off an oddly pure feeling. Like an oasis in a desert, it feels refreshing and calm; incredibly safe, compared to the eerie call of the forest it's in. Within the cave are pools of water that glow and glimmer from the magic runes found around them. The runes shift similar to a mirage whenever you try to focus on them; and try as you might, you can't glimpse what they say exactly. It isn't so hard to figure out though, as the pools of water surrounded by them have a pleasingly cold temperature, while those without them are near scalding. A few of the latter have runes around them, but they're not glowing like the rest - feeding a little magic into them changes this immediately, and steam rises in a sudden blast as the water cools rapidly. The opposite can be done for the colder pools too - taking their magic somehow or ruining the runes will make them bubble and boil as they surge in temperature. But that isn't all the cave has to offer. Moving further inward, you get the feeling you're going down - beneath the ground and the enchanting forest. Eventually, the cave widens out to a massive underground lake, multiple waterfalls pouring into it; despite their number and size, the room is completely silent. All tunnels seem to lead to this one room, with a few of them looking more man-made than natural. Traversing other tunnels leads you into a maze that only ever brings you to the lake, or to the cave's entrance, no matter how many different paths you take. Something different happens eventually though; signs of life begin to appear, or at least signs that life once lived there. Leather pouches rotted by the dampness of the cave hang on sharp nails beaten into the cave walls, with boots in similar condition strewn here and there. Torn, soaking clothing lays in piles in the tunnels, and candles burnt down to their wick's end stand in shelves carved from the navy blue and black stone. There's broken toys and books too waterlogged to read, instruments with snapped strings or clogged holes, and - most peculiarly - smooth, round devices that heavily resemble large pocketwatches or hand mirrors. They refuse to turn on though, either due to age or due to the wetness of the air. |
no subject
"Please do. I might have to kick you in the shin if you do continue." She made a soft sound of amusement, her eyebrows quirking up.
"Your knee is far too high for easy kicking. In any case-I'm sure you have a lot to be proud of. Being well educated I'm sure, highly skilled...not that I'm complimenting you. Just stating assumptions."
no subject
He answered, definitely out of his funk enough to keep on grinning at her as she teased him. Truth was, even around people who didn’t hate his guts for how he dealt with his brother turning into a monster, even around people who actually liked him, he didn’t get teased like this often. Came with being a prince, he supposed.
“There’s nothing wrong with being prideful, is there? It is my pride that allows me to go through this place listening to all of these whispers remind me of all my mistakes.”
A beat, and then he added:
“And you could hit my stomach with your elbow, instead. Much easier access.”
no subject
She preferred this, the teasing. She didn't get to do this often at home-mostly due to not having many friends. But this was nice.
"And I wouldn't try to diminish your pride either." She was about to say more, when Somnus made that suggestion. Caren actually snorted, bringing up her free hand to smother a snicker.
"All right. Elbow to stomach it is. But don't get angry later when you suggested it."
no subject
“I wouldn’t dream of it, I promise.” It wasn’t even a lie, he had suggested it. Would he regret that decision? Only time would tell. He glanced in front of him, his teasing grin giving way to a slightly more worried expression. The whispers were just that- whispers- now, he could ignore them rather easily, but…
“Where do you think we’re heading?”
no subject
"Smart. Perhaps one of the smartest thing you've said today." She was teasing of course. Regret didn't have a place here. If she allowed it in, it'd make her feet drag, and he might be blasted by the whispers.
"Where? No idea." She shook her head. "Could be anywhere. But let's try not to think of too hard of where we're going. We'll know when we know."
no subject
He repeated, and his voice made it clear he wasn't a fan of that development. But there wasn't much he could do about it, was there? Not when forward was the only way to go. But at least now he wasn't traveling this road alone. He squeezed her hand, just a little bit, as if trying to remind himself of that fact.
"This... doesn't even feel real, honestly."
no subject
Especially because conversation made the time pass quicker. She squeezed back, her eyes facing forward.
"That..." She paused, and made a dissatisfied noise under her breath.
"Could be possible. Magic." She said that more like a huff of exasperation then a curse, but the irritation was there.
no subject
Because he himself wasn’t- not really, not in the way most people thought of magic. The Lucis Caelum had been given abilities by the Astrals so they could protect their people, so they could save them from the plague. But that was more a blessing from the gods than actual magic, and it was tied to the crystal. And even that didn’t seem to work well in this place, since he couldn’t seem to summon his blade.
“Because if this is truly magical in nature I will be at a disadvantage. It would make sense, though- all of these whispers getting to us, this path that seems to be becoming us forward could be magical in nature.
But then, who’s summoning us? And for what reason?”
no subject
Magic in her world was selective-and it was better when it was bloodline based. It was if they were adding to a quilt that had been made by one of their ancestors-one that started with a single patch. And that magic wasn't always useful.
The one thing that she had that was magic based but could be used by a selected user was more or less dead, and wouldn't be helpful of this situation.
"But it's not all-powerful. It can be broken. It might be someone, or something summoning us, but the only way to answer either question is to keep travelling to the end."
no subject
"It still feels like we're walking right into a trap."
And the fact that he didn't know who had set said trap made it worse. If he stopped to think about it, he didn't know Caren, he'd literally just met her. For all he knew this could be her doing, setting herself up as a savior to gain his trust. But, again, it wasn't like he had many other options, he pretty much had to trust her, and so he did.
"What will we do if it is one?"
no subject
"We might be." She agreed. She didn't know Somnus either. He might be playing up his distress and turn on her. But if it happened, it happened. There was little she could do until it occurred.
"If it is, then we'll have to do what we can to keep ourselves intact. In the meantime, we'd best keep calm and aware of our surroundings. If we get agitated, we might miss something, and that could spell our deaths."
Do you want them to get to The Cry or just handwave the end?
“You came to my aid when you didn’t have to, so I will protect you to the best of my ability.”
Which was probably not a lot, considering he had no idea what kind of magic they would find in this place, but he was still pretty determined to try.
Let's handwave it!
She blinked up at him, startled-not many people had ever made such a declaration for her. He looked pretty determined and while she wasn't sure what he was capable of-she believed him.
"Thank you but-remember to look out for yourself too. I don't want you to injure yourself or worse on my account."