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TDM: April
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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 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. |
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[ Did Maria get the impression Majima didn't really know all that much about magic? He didn't. But for whatever reason, he didn't seem to be having an issue utilizing it in this place, like those strange dreams in which one simply knew how to fly or dance or any number of other things. ]
But yeah, looks like it.
[ Maybe the reason that his magic worked the way it did was because he was used to being on fire? It had never actually burned anyone before, though, that was the thing. ]
Nothin' about today really makes much sense... but I did get the feelin' those plants were tryin' to do to us what happened to those bodies.
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No, not at all. I usually do... or at least hand movements.
[At that though Maria turns to look over the charred fields.]
I think so too. Those bodies felt very heavy. The area itself feels corrupted even. I suppose that's why the flowers and plants were the way they were to begin with. Then they or whatever corrupted this place must have killed those people.
[Were they the same as the fae in the castle?]
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...or if they'd turn us out of doors.
[ Uh, small concern here? What if by coming out here, they'd picked up the same contagion that had caused this scene? They had, after all, gotten up close and personal with the corpses... ]
Either way, it looks like there're more of these things up ahead.
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They won't give you a straight answer for anything. Or they start talking about... I'm not sure, to be honest. It all ran together after a bit.
[Maria directs her attention ahead and sure enough, there are. Even more flowers too.]
... Does this field never end?
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[ If only there was someone with a set of half-decent answers. The corpses sure didn't seem inclined to speak. ]
Whatever they really are, they seem hungry. Couple of them snapped at me.
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There really isn't anywhere else to go, is there.
[The castle is completely and thoroughly out of sight.]
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[ He put out a hand. ]
I'm Majima, by the way.
[ Because they'd sort of jumped straight to setting fire to things, and that was generally skipping a few stages of the getting-to-know-you process. ]
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Maria.
[Even if the circumstances of the meeting are somewhat hectic, she does appreciate his attitude. Jump straight in and get to business!]
It looks like it. Hopefully we'll find something besides these creatures eventually.
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[ So, onward it was. There seemed to be a bit of a break between here and the next crop of threats, at least. ]
So Maria, where're you from? Seems like you're pretty used to monsters and magic and all.
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I'm from a small village in Romania. My family works as hunters so you could say I have a good bit of experience with creatures in general. And with magic as well.
[Monsters, night creatures, whatever one chose to call them.]
These are different from the ones I've fought with at home but there are general principles when it comes to fighting such things that help no matter what the creature is.
[Her smile is light in spite of the circumstances. She's never been one to lose her cheerful mood for too long.]
You seem somewhat used to it yourself.
[Perhaps he adapts quickly?]
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[ He picked his way past another couple of dead fae, no longer flitting and mischievous. Majima couldn't say he felt overly sentimental about them -- they'd turned him into a damn cat, after all.
But it was sort of sobering. ]
Never had anyone look like they wanted to eat me, though. Oh -- I'm from Japan.
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I'm more used to them trying to eat me than play tricks on me. The fae in the castle weren't what I was expecting at all!
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[ Despite the ludicrousness of the situation, or perhaps because of it, Majima could kind of see the humor here. ]
What were ya expecting, if ya don't mind me askin'?
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[When they joked around with her instead or offered her bread and jam, well.]
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[ Look. Everyone made bad decisions sometimes...... ]
The Romanian lifestyle sure sounds excitin', though. So lemme ask -- what kind of principles?
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More the former, I'm assumin'. You said you were a hunter, right? So ya must have more insights about beatin' back the unholy hordes than someone like me would.
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Usually you hit them until they stop moving.
[How straight forward!]
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Huh. I guess all that stuff about holy water and silver's just in the movies. Does make things simpler, though.
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[What with her summoning spells, now and then she might dabble in knives but she didn't rely on them really.]
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[ Honestly? Majima had never really considered knives a traditional monster hunting weapon, but wasn't it just his luck if they were? ]
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[... Ah, well. She frowns a bit.]
Or I do when I'm not here at least.
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Is one of 'em a tiger?
[ Look, he was just saying it'd be some coincidence, okay? And Maria was from somewhere kids had magic guardian animals? This was sounding more and more like an anime by the minute. ]
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That's right! Byakko is the tiger and then there's Suzaku, Seiryu and Genbu.