dagung | TDM: April

Entry tags:

* tdm

TDM: April

Test Drive: April

All threads can be considered game canon,

the prompts and test drive itself will be

• 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.
• Applications Open The 24th! These will last until the end of the month, the 30th, with the game formally beginning on May 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!
• 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 Tea Party

The air turns a sweeter smell, almost like a bakery; the gentle laughter and chatter of living creatures filters in through leaves that brush against you, hanging from winding vines that hang from above. Flowers in shades of orange and red glow faintly among the greenery, their petals curling in shyly once they're paid attention to. As the area comes more into focus, the shadows of insect-winged forms become clearer, flitting about - talking about some kind of party, about a Queen, about the Courts meeting on neutral ground for the first time in a thousand years.

You're not entirely sure what's going on, and it doesn't seem as if anyone's noticed you've arrived - but three different paths unfurl in your mind's eye, vague in shape and meaning.

A Taste of Faeryland...
Following the voices, you find them: smaller-than-average humanoids with thin limbs, a variety of wings (prismatic butterfly, fuzzy moth, delicate bee - all of it), large, glittering compound eyes, antennas fitting their winged insect-type... Those familiar with the tales of the fae might recognize these Monsters as something similar. They greet you as if you were an old friend regardless of your appearance, inviting you to sit down at the table - which seems to go on forever in the large dining hall-esque canopy of nature they have set up, lined with elegant porcelain tableware and shimmering orbs of magic.

The food is similarly endless, ranging from the familiar to the unusual, and careful observation (or just plain digging in) shows the following effects: breakfast foods make you glow and emit colorful sparks, brunch foods get you floating as if filled with bubbles, lunch foods will make you feel as if you've taken part in happy hour, dinner foods will make you insatiably hungry, and dessert will make you feel as if you should simply stay in Faeryland forever... It's possible to mix and match these with effects, but do be careful.

The creatures present speak in high, lilting voices about nothing in particular at all - if asked anything serious, they merely give the character a curious if disproving look and say it's impolite to speak of politics over a meal. Ask something a little more lighthearted though, and they laugh and still... don't quite answer, patting your hand and asking if you'd like an extra slice of buttered bread and jam. The tables aren't exactly the best place for eavesdropping and learning what's going on, it seems - but there are plenty of exits out of the dining hall. Large, beetle-like Fae stand guard at the entrances of various hallways outside of the hall in the castle though, preventing anyone from entering them. When asked, they simply reply these are to private quarters that ordinary guests aren't allowed into and refuse to budge on the matter.

A Coalition of Interests...
The Seelie and the Unseelie Courts of the Fae - whether you know them or not, evidently it's a big deal that they're meeting tonight. Or over several days and nights; the Fae themselves seem to be in a bit of an argument over how long they actually want to stay in the same company as their counterparts, neutral ground of the Dewaint Forest. Regardless, there are no marked differences between the two physically, and they all speak of a singular Queen heading them; behaviorally, though, that's another thing entirely.

Those of the Seelie Court are quicker to engage in conversation and prefer it one-on-one, hardly allowing a word in edgewise and getting irritated when interrupted; their pranks are usually mildly malicious, with spells causing uncontrollable laughter, color changes, and charms to make the charmee fall in love at first sight with whomever they see first peppering their repertoire. Returning to their good graces is fairly easy - the gift of something pretty as an apology tends to work, but each Fae has their own very particular gift they like. If it's messed up even a little bit, they won't accept it, and will merely play another trick upon the giftee.

Those of the Unseelie Court, meanwhile, are a little harder to talk to; they prefer to prank and trick first to test those they might be interested in as a group, not unlike children trying to get the attention of someone they like by pulling their hair. Their pranks usually range from genuine hurt (such as pulling hair, stinging nettles, or simply beating them with bound vines) to curses (losing one's voice, the head of an ass, or full-scale animal transformations). Withstanding these, or standing up to these Fae, earns as much of their ire as it does their respect - the truly respectful human will be subjected to headpats and collars, like a pet.

A Treacherous Adventure...
As beautiful as it is outside of the main dining hall and newly-grown castle (just for the momentous occasion itself, going by the rumors!), Faeryland as a whole is mired in danger. The wrong step sends one tumbling down a rabbit hole full of interesting sights, landing in a wide field of drooping flowers that snore softly and scream bloodcurdling loud when awoken. No matter how long one walks, discovering both familiar and unfamiliar sights, never ends in finding the castle again. In fact, it's much easier to find yourself accidentally going deeper into the woods. The exceptionally tall trees of the Dewaint Forest show hints of decay and rot, the smell of the dead barely covered by the flowers desperately growing across the blackened bodies of Fae and other animals that wandered too close to the growing infection in the area.

What look like corpses will tremble and rise when they sense someone is close by - their eyes and mouth are pure white, contrasting with the darkness around them, and throughout the shell are cracks of a similarly pulsing whiteness; it smells magical, it feels incredibly heavy and overpowering, and it might just be too powerful for those most sensitive to the corruption and to magic. The shadowy creatures' wings are larger than normal and monstrous, with their bodies held up by the dew-crying flowers that simultaneously hold them back yet sneak their roots closer to grab those who awakened them and drag them closer. Where the monster begins and ends with the corrupted nature it's made its bed in isn't completely clear, but one thing is: it's very, very hungry.

Thankfully, it's a good thing some of you have new abilities at hand, and some of you have a few neat changes to help. Teaming up makes things go quicker, and once defeated, these creatures bleed white magic and disappear in ashy smoke, shell breaking off in bits to reveal a dried-up corpse of a Fae. Nothing else remains, not even a hint to their identity, and the more of these monstrously-turned Monsters characters meet, the bigger and more terrifying they get.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[A; A Taste of Fairyland]
[There's little fear to be felt in the young woman's body language or countenance as she lingers around the edges of the room, observing for now. For quite a while she just moves about, trying to decide precisely what sort of creatures populate the room. The wings all seem to vary as do many other traits about them but the manner in which they talk in their high lilting voices and laugh with one another is somewhat reassuring. And the fact they haven't made any moves to attack is even more so.

Eventually she begins edge around the tables all laid out with food mostly to check them out. By watching others she's gotten the idea of what each type does and seeing what's grouped together, she's gotten something of the idea that they must be together by meals.

It's the breakfast foods that draw a bulk of her attention in the end. She chiefly looks over the sweeter foods, ones she can more or less recognize drawing a good portion of her obvious interest.]

... They all seem rather harmless.

[There's still evident doubt in her tone however.]

[B; Seelie Court]
[Perhaps daring to ask these more talkative creatures questions about where she was or what the nature of this dream might be was the wrong choice because it ends in a trick. As far as tricks go it could be worse and Maria would try to apologize but...

She covers her mouth with a gloved hand as the blonde has to find a wall to lean against as she just sort of helplessly giggles. With all of her bright colors the sound is rather fitting for her but what's not fitting are the words that she manages between the laughs.]

Oh this is horrible... how do you apologize while -- [snort] laughing like this.

[C; A Treacherous Adventure]
[A misstep and then here she was, plopped right in the midst of a field of drooping flowers. To anyone else that might be alright despite the flowers snoring but Maria is quickly on guard once she gains her feet again.]

Things that are sleeping don't tend to stay asleep forever.

[Well. Unless they're a select few people in particular. Then it's more hundreds of years than forever but details.

The blonde begins to carefully pick her way through the field, breath held as she does her best not to disturb any of the snoozing blossoms. She delves around within herself as she does so and hears the silence heavy and echoing within. Where had her guardian spirits gone to?! She had noted the absence of their voices earlier but now she felt their loss very keenly in the face of a possible fight.]

[D; Wildcard]
[Feel free to drop a PM if you have any questions and to drop other prompts if you want to try anything else out with Maria.]

Oh, I think they are! I mean, the breakfast ones.

[ Izuku sounds, well. Enthused? Excited, eager, happy to share his knowledge as he flips through his composition notebook, filled with an extensive chart of what food does what so far as he's tested and/or witnessed.

It's...a dumb thing to study, but that's where he's at right now. ]

It seems like breakfast foods primarily cause glowing and sparking - the sparks seem to just be harmless color, though. So it's aesthetic more than anything else?

[Oh, he sounds quite excited. Maria's attention fixes on him instantly and once he's explained, she breathes a sight of evident relief.]

Thank goodness.

[She now feels a little more free to actually look over the breakfast table selection without hesitation. It doesn't mean she ignores Izuku though and instead she gives him a bright smile.]

I appreciate the help. Have you been making notes on all of the foods here?

Yes! I mean, it's just sort of fascinating? They're all conveying some sort of qu - magic to people. [ He almost said "quirk", but that's not quite right...even if that was what his initial thought was the first time he tried anything.

He'd tried the floating brunch foods first. ]

So far none of them seem to be harmful, just sort of - silly fun, I guess? I wonder if that was on purpose. Like, food and a show?

[Maria looks thoughtful in the midst of claiming a danish.]

Perhaps? I can't say I'm very used to creatures having any sort of harmless, silly fun with anyone.

[Generally if anything in her world wanted to have fun with you, it was probably to throw you around before it outright killed you. The notion of these insect-looking spirits simply enchanting food for fun was... odd.]

[ Maria? Maria, that's a worrying statement. The smile fades a little into open concern, although Izuku's trying to seem calm and relaxed and...heroic. You know, like All Might. ]

Er...really? What are you used to, then...?

[ Because the opposite of harmless, silly fun is pretty bad from what he can imagine. ]

Well, typically creatures of the sort you see here would be more inclined to kill someone rather than have harmless fun with them. Perhaps that isn't true for all of them but it seems to be so for all the ones I've encountered at least.

[She doesn't seem disturbed by what she's saying. It's just a matter of fact really, particularly when you go hunting said creatures as a life calling.

Her brows raise gently as she glances over to Izuku.]

Do you have any experience with creatures like these?

Maria Renard | Castlevania

A

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

C

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

c

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Seelie Court

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject