dagung | TDM: January

Entry tags:

* tdm

TDM: January

Test Drive: January

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 31st, with the intro log going up on February 1st. The application page can be found here. As a reminder, this will be our last uncapped application round!
• 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 Prehistoric Wilde

Thick summer heat hangs heavy over the uninfected landscape like a damp blanket, smothering. The jungle around you is thick and wet, full of the sounds of chittering animals and the high-pitched drone of insects. The flora and fauna are like nothing you've ever seen before, large and alien in colors and shapes, though they bear no signs of the Cwyld. Flowers the size of a man's head and brightly colored in rainbow hues curl their tendrils invitingly, and giant mosquitoes buzz through the air seeking a meal. You can barely see the glow of the twin moons through the thick canopy above. There are no signs of civilization - at least, not the civilization most will be used to; only the distant sound of the river, compelling you to follow its winding path. But will you go forward, or will you go back?

Rumble in the Jungle
Making headway through the jungle at night is a chore. The foliage grows thick and the humid heat is oppressive for even those who enjoy the warmth. There are no clear paths here, no easy way through. The canopy of the ancient trees far, far over your head is just as dense, but the faintest moonlight filters through the holes left by the huge leaves in stippling patterns across the musty forest floor. 'Large' seems to be the theme - lining whatever path you pick your way through, there are pitcher plants massive enough to swallow a grown man, with small animals and giant insects being digested down inside the sticky liquid that fills them. The flowers are as big as a man's head, and come in a rainbow of colors, their venomous tendrils curling toward signs of life. The trunks of some of the trees are as thick as houses, and shade the ground beneath them with leaves like umbrellas. The hand-sized mosquitoes thrive in the sticky heat and if not killed first, can make off with a full pint of blood from an unsuspecting person.

At some point in your journey, the ground begins to rumble beneath your feet. The farther you go, the longer you walk, the more signs of life become visible: thick, winding trails of crushed foliage, huge, animalistic footprints in the mud. Luckily, to this world, you are small and insignificant, and may escape the notice of the local Monsters - the massive, prehistoric ancestors of today's Monsters.

They seem like giants, colossal Titanoboa Nagas with hollow fangs like swords, towering Fauns with the lower halves of mammoths, sabertooth Turnskins, pterodactyl Harpies with leathery wings. Even the parts of them that resemble humans (and they have far fewer human-like parts than their modern counterparts) are larger than any actual human being. They operate primarily on instinct, made even stronger by the full moons above, and perceive the strange new creatures as threats - or food.

Sticking to the river seems safest - at least until you run into megalodon Merrow, singing an alien, but alluring, song to draw in prey, or the apex predator of this prehistoric world - Dragons, bigger and scalier than the ones Mirrorbound may know, stopped to drink at the river. All other Monsters flee from the huge reptiles, lest they become food themselves. Luckily you can defend yourself with your new abilities, or your neat changes - you're small, but not totally helpless.

Interesting to note... while all other Monster types are represented, there are no Fae or Chimeras in the Wilde here, and the Vampires are more like huge bat-monsters that traverse the jungle on all fours than humanoid bloodsuckers.

The Natives
Going backward, away from the distant sounds of the sea and against the current of the river, leads you through dense jungle. How long have you traversed the landscape? Hours? Days? Time passes funny in dreams. Eventually the trees thin out, grow taller and less leafy, and the air becomes drier. Instead of loamy soil beneath your feet, you start to feel rocky, harder earth, and spot outcroppings of stone. The sun begins to rise, which makes it easier to spot people on the horizon, a little settlement coming to life in the morning, nestled where the river forks into two.

They're much hardier than the familiar people of Aefenglom, sunburned and dressed in natural, rough fabrics. Their homes, if one can call them that, are shoddy little structures made of sticks and leaves and mud, pressed up against the sturdiness of the stone formations. And, when they spot strangers approaching their village, they scramble for their weapons - crude clubs, stone axes, even just large rocks snatched up off the ground.

The translation magic works on them, thankfully. Their speech is halted and simple, but they get their point across. Tell them who you are, or they'll beat your brains in. Monsters might get their brains beat in anyway if they aren't careful, even though they're much smaller than the Monsters these humans are used to. And Witches? May the gods help you if you use magic in front of these terrified, unevolved people, lest they mistake you for a Fae (the word is whispered with fear and revulsion in their voices) and swarm you with simple iron tools. If you're an actual Fae, an obvious Fae? They'll whisk their children into their huts protectively and then run you right out of the village. Violently.

The truly observant, or those who can see through illusions, among you may notice something strange, though. Some Fae actually seem to live among them, heavily cloaked in natural illusions, with the primitive humans none the wiser. There are just a few, but all of them look young, twelve or thirteen at the oldest, and they are all scared of their secret coming to light. Fae who get caught tend to be burned at the stake around here.

The Invaders
Perhaps you chose to go forward, with the current and toward the distant sound of ocean waves, where the river pours into the sea. More long-time residents of Aefenglom may notice that the shoreline is familiarly-shaped, but wider, bigger, not yet worn down by thousands of years of erosion. There is no bustling Harbor, only the waves crashing on the rocks, small islands dotting the water near the shore. There is no Bright Wall - there is no city, even, only an expanse of beach transitioning gently into an idyllic grove dotted with gauzy, pointed tents, and a beautiful, gilded ship half sunk into the sandy earth.

It seems safer than the jungle, at first - until you notice all the Fae. They're more insectoid than the ones many are familiar with, with big, glittering eyes and either bright, jewel-toned wings like dragonflies or butterflies, or delicate, leafy wings in greens and browns. They're also taller than modern, lesser Fae, though not by much, and they're thin and angular, standing on spindly limbs that barely seem able to hold them.

Characters receive a warmer welcome here, by the band of true Fae that have made their camp in the grove, though the alien-looking beings have a tendency to treat them like toys, children, or both, cooing over their sizes and their magic.
"Look at the little Monsters! Aren't they cute!"
"We should make some of our own! And oh, the little humans have magic! Delightful!"
It's hard to have a conversation with one - they're condescending at best, and at worst, flit off to another entertainment out of boredom while you're mid-sentence.

And entertainments abound in their camp. They're served and tended to like emperors by collared humans - adults and young adults do the heavy labor, including pulling grand little chariots for transportation, though there are some highly-supervised human children running about fetching drinks and fanning their Fae masters with palm leaves.

Farther out, a large, deep pit has been dug out of the earth, ringed by a waist-high barrier of logs, a few Fae gathering at the barrier and leaning over, talking in conversational, happy voices. Down below, Chimera gladiators fight for their amusement, while the Fae keep up running commentary, discussing each warrior's chances, new breeding prospects, interesting crossbreeds their fellows have come up with ("She's trying an Arachne and a Turnskin together, how delightful!"). Trying to disrupt the proceedings will only result in the Fae turning their magic on you - illusions and curses, nasty little tricks. Sit down, silly little ones! The fight is just getting good! Or maybe... Maybe they'll toss you into the pit to see what your chances are in battle.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It was only one sword, she had two. Not serious at all...]

It worked last time I dealt with people like this.

[Even if she'd had to knock two of them out first.]

[Leslie stares.]

You kill people over being annoying?

[She doesn't think about the intimidation factor.]

No... [Why was she so bad at this? She can't even make her whispers sound comforting instead of deadpan.]

People died because they were wasting time.

[Leslie initially misinterprets that as "I killed them for wasting my time" and squeaks as she worries that this woman will consider this wasting her time, but her panic from trying to stop this woman from getting in a fight with a bunch of unknown creatures fades enough for her to properly look at her. She doesn't look like she plans to hurt Leslie, at least, so Leslie places a hand over her racing heart, takes a deep breath, and calms down a little.]

I think it might be a bad idea to attack them. I don't know what they can do, and around here, even the flowers can be dangerous. And there are so many of them. We could leave instead, and go --

[She stops, looking unsure. The village had seemed safe enough to her, even if she'd been made to stay to the outskirts, but it was back through a jungle that she frankly isn't super interested in traversing again after the dangers. So she's not actually sure if there is a better place than this, as bad as these bug people are.]

[Her eyebrows raise, just enough to look concerned. It's not a lot but it's an attempt. Giving the hand she still has a squeeze.]

I wasn't attacking them, just getting their attention. [Instead she'd gotten the attention of everyone else.]

Oh... I saw some of them. Those flowers smell bad. [To lure things in, they didn't look very nice either. A human could identify them, but an animal looking for an easy meal? Maybe not.]

[That squeeze makes her feel a lot more certain of her feeling that this woman is friendly. One of Leslie's soon-to-be adoptive brothers is a little like that -- looks a bit intimidating and doesn't change expression easily. She gives a brief smile, even, at the comparison in her head.]

So that's what they smelled like. There was a woman who stopped me before I was able to get close enough to -- [wait this isn't the main topic at hand here]

Earlier in the dream, I saw some villagers attacking someone with weapons, all together. That person fought them off, but -- I'm worried that it will happen with these...people, and there seem to be a lot of them. Do you really think you could take on all of them?

[There's a small twitch at the corner of her lips at the smile. But she can't manage one of her, not right now. Mikasa looks back to the True Fae at the comment with a frown though.]

I won't know without trying.

['Can't win if you don't fight'. But that puts a bitter taste in her mouth, so she gives in. Her free hand dropping from the other blade's hilt.]

They don't seem to use weapons like the villagers did. [Magic from the dream world. It wasn't a thing she understood. But then again it was a dream, they didn't have to make sense.]

[Leslie breathes a sigh of relief, though she forgets that she's still holding one of Mikasa's hands.]

If they aren't armed, but they still let us come here with weapons, and they're surrounded by strong people who are doing whatever they ask...they might have a reason to have that confidence.

[She looks down.]

I might be wrong, though. I don't know how strong you are. But if you were going to take the fight out of frustration...I got worried for you.

Don't worry about me. I've fought larger thing than this.

[It's blank. Something she doesn't like. But she was good at fighting.]

And I've already said I was going to fight them.

[People have a way of paying attention when someone's holding a sword.]

Smaller things aren't always weaker than larger things. Especially when magic is involved.

[She says it with complete confidence for once. If her usual magic was still working, she might have been an example of it herself. Right now, though, with the shadows no longer understanding her intents without words and as weak as a kitten, with this new magic something she doesn't entirely understand, she is about as weak as she looks. Which is really, really weak.]

How much do you know about magic?

[Because Mikasa knew nothing beyond the occasional thing that had happened during the dream. It wasn't enough. Even if the fae weren't bothered this time, they might not be so lucky next... ]

[Leslie releases Mikasa’s hand in order to clasp her hands in front of her, fidgeting a little. She wishes she could give more help, but:]

I...I don’t know much that will be helpful. I’ve only been taught one lesson about magic, earlier today, and the magic in this dream isn’t the same. I’ve tried using this magic once or twice, and it also tires you out to use, like when it comes to physical activity. If you have more stamina, you can do more before you’re too tired out to continue. And sometimes, it’s easier to control in some circumstances than others. Being able to control it more...the only method I know would take much longer than the length of a dream, but these people may have already done that. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.

It's more than I know... [It was meant to be reassuring. Even if the gritted teeth probably didn't make it seem that way.]

We're out classed then. Leaving when we can would be best.

[Sometimes, it can be difficult to waylay Leslie's anxiety. But, while she might not be fully reassured, she's at least remaining at a manageable level of disappointment that she can't be further help.]

That was what I was worried about. I don't like the way things are in this encampment, either, but I don't think it would be easy to do anything about it.

[She sounds very frustrated by this conclusion.]

Why are there things like this everywhere...

[She wasn't expecting an answer. Barely voicing the question.
Slowly, she steps back. Time to get a move on. ]

[If this were after Leslie has learned a little more about what goes on at this camp, hearing that would have been enough to make her make what might be a terrible decision and offer to be magical backup if Mikasa still wants to fight them. But, right now, Leslie doesn't know about the almost certain slavery or the fighting pits, and she doesn't know that this dream might be more than imagination. All she has right now is a dislike for the way the fae are talking to them and a sense of unease at the collars of what she thinks are paid servants.

But since she didn't have enough time to explore before she saw someone trying to DRAW A SWORD ON A CAMP OF UNKNOWN CREATURES HOLY CRAP, she doesn't. But hearing it makes her feel bad, even though she still thinks that it's better than the woman attacking without knowing what she's getting into.]

...I'm sorry.

[Mikasa shakes her head, squinting.]

Why?

[It's short, blunt, but she doesn't understand why the girl was apologizing.]

[It takes Leslie a moment to think how to explain it, but after a moment:]

It's...since this is a dream, maybe I should have let you vent your frustrations, but I got scared and stopped you, and now you're feeling bad.

That's not your fault. I should know better...

[Her jumping in without thinking had caused quite a few issues over the years. She'd mostly calmed down, deferring to Armin or Jean but. Well, they weren't here.

But now she does feel bad for making the girl feel bad.]

It's easy to see why you'd forget here. They aren't nice people.

[This place hardcore gives Leslie the creeps.]

No. They're not. They seem so at first but it's like speaking with- [She needs to think of a word for it]

-The nobles who valued their wares over lives.

...It's one of the only parts of this dream that I can recognize from my own experiences.

[She sounds more resigned than sad about this.]

If this dream is really from many people's dreams...this might be my fault.

What...What do you mean? That it changes depending on what we think of?

[That made horrible sense. The giant creatures, the mocking smiles. But wasn't thinking on it going to make it worse? More real? And she's almost cringing.]

[Uh oh. Leslie didn't want to scare her. She holds her hands up as though trying to slow Mikasa down.]

It's just a theory I made up! I don't have anything to prove it at all, but -- dreams are usually all inside someone's head, right? So I thought that maybe if a lot of people are dreaming this, it might be inside all our heads. I've never even heard of multiple people sharing a dream before, though, so I might be completely off.

[She wasn't scared, just... Thinking. She wasn't the most creative person ever, but she'd seen enough that nightmares were easy enough to conjure.]

I have. Everyone was in the same dream...

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