moustre: (Default)
moustre ([personal profile] moustre) wrote in [community profile] dagung2019-04-17 02:58 pm
Entry tags:

TDM: April

Test Drive: April

    Welcome to [community profile] 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.
    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!

    With that taken care of...


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.
futhark: (pulling the hood down)

[personal profile] futhark 2019-04-20 05:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Maybe it was part of the curse placed on him. Maybe it was his own doing. As of yet unknown, because of the "undecided" clause on the reserve. Either way, it's a Dream, right? ]

Me teaching you how to dance, so you can help me by dancing with me- that makes for a fair exchange, no?

[ To him it does. Maybe the lesson itself will fulfill the requirement ]
sing_for_me: (where's the music)

[personal profile] sing_for_me 2019-04-21 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
I..I guess, but--

[ He does somehow make it easier to follow, just as easy as it was to get swept into his pace.]

How exactly does this help you?

[ She goes back and forth between looking up at him and at her feet, conscious of accidentally stepping on him. ]
futhark: (a whisper)

[personal profile] futhark 2019-04-22 05:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Caster hums and continues with a simple step that is easy to follow ]

I've got a curse placed on me- [ There is really no reason why he should hide it in the first place. It could work as a warning. Their hosts are magical but also comes with habits that not everyone might be aware of. ] I'm bound to dance until my performance is satisfying. Or I die trying.

[ There's a chuckle on the last sentence, but really- with creatures like that? You never know. That might as well be true punishment for worst offenders. ]

I'm better at dancing with someone rather than alone.

[ And that answers the question ]
Edited 2019-04-22 17:56 (UTC)
sing_for_me: (let go pls)

[personal profile] sing_for_me 2019-04-27 05:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ Curses were a thing? But what kind of curse was that? ]

H-Hold on! I don't think I'm the best choice if this is a life or death situation!

[ Though she does put a little more effort into keeping up now that she knows this. ]
futhark: (grin)

[personal profile] futhark 2019-04-30 09:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The life and death situation was definitely an embellish of an extreme kind. Still-- seeing her take it so seriously... he can't just help but tease. ]

I disagree. Dying in arms of a woman like you would be an honour. [ And paint a pretty picture. ] Would it be too much for one to be shed in my remembrance?

[ He doesn't ask for any more than one, they barely know each other. Even the music changes it's tune to a more melancholic one. Music don't! ]
Edited 2019-04-30 21:31 (UTC)
sing_for_me: (flustered)

[personal profile] sing_for_me 2019-05-11 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
Yes it would! I do not want you dying in my arms!

[ Don't start giving up now that she's invested. ]
futhark: (hood; bullshit wink)

[personal profile] futhark 2019-05-11 09:51 am (UTC)(link)
[ No dying, gotcha ]

Consider this wish granted.

[ Caster's grin just grows wider and more shit-eating, but he appreciates the thought really. His starts spinning them around with little consideration to others in the space. Miraculously they hit no one. In fact, their winged hosts seem to disappear from their way- perhaps the boldness of the move gains them points. Perhaps.

The music rises to the grand finale until it stops, and so does Caster. ]
sing_for_me: (Default)

[personal profile] sing_for_me 2019-05-13 05:03 am (UTC)(link)
W-woah!

[ There was something oddly and annoyingly familiar about that grin, but there's not much time for her to be irked by it as he starts to spin them around rather quickly. Alex does her best to match his steps, and more importantly, not trip herself or him in the process. Her grip tightens on him, and at one point she's not sure where to look until he comes to a stop. ]

D..did we do it?

[ She looks up at him wide eyed, breathing hard, out of breath at this point, and also stunned that she made it to the end. Her hair might also be a little out of place from the quick movements. ]
futhark: (teasing)

[personal profile] futhark 2019-05-18 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ One breath-- second-- third. Then Caster positively beams ]

Yes! [ He can stay still in place, the annoying curse gone, and no longer. Quickly he pulls poor Alex into a quick surprise hug. Her hair might be even more out of place now ] Thank you, my fair lady! I am in your debt tonight.
sing_for_me: (Default)

[personal profile] sing_for_me 2019-05-23 01:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ He's just one unpredictable move after the other, and she just gets tugged around at his pace. It wasn't unpleasant, but she was unsure how she felt about all of it. But at least it seemed to work? ]

You're..welcome?

[ Did she even do anything though? ]

You really don't owe me anything..
futhark: (hood; pensive)

[personal profile] futhark 2019-05-24 01:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Maybe "debt" is indeed a too big word for this, but he is just happy to be freed of the dancing curse and being able to move on his own. Solo dancing didn't work, dancing with someone else did. Hence her input was absolutely much more important than she thinks it was. Hence his gratitude is completely deserved here.

So he could just drop the subject, maybe lead them to one of the tables with food to rest their feet— ]


What would you want me to do for you? [ —or he can ask that and tease, yeah... That's why you get cursed, dude. ]
sing_for_me: (pic#13105636)

[personal profile] sing_for_me 2019-05-26 11:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, maybe--just don't get cursed again?

[ For one it'd be nice to know he wasn't going to die, and for another thing, that it wouldn't depend on whether there was someone to help or not.

How was it that she was still following along? ]
futhark: (WTH)

[personal profile] futhark 2019-06-02 10:09 am (UTC)(link)
A sound advice. At least that was not on purpose—

[ Cú "I cursed myself for lolz and glory" Chulainn. But at least that was willing, and this time... not so much. ]

Speaking of curses, the food here seems to carry strange hexes too. [ He says as they reach the tables. Maybe getting to the food wasn't the smartest idea then ]