dagung | TDM: May

Entry tags:

* tdm

TDM: May

Test Drive: May

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 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well. I used to be small.

[No sense denying it's her.

Of course, this is hardly the scene of her execution, given that she's a full grown woman standing right there. The ground begins to rumble in the image, and the girl spreads her hands, spinning in a circle. Fire...fire...everywhere. It fills the arena, it engulfs the men, the spectators, every single person that came to watch a public execution. The tiny Chandra lets out an anguished howl of pain and rage and the ground erupts in a magmatic spray that burns everything around it...and the girl disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving the smell of sulfur lingering in the air.]

...

[The present day Chandra says nothing, but looks over at her traveling companion, as if waiting for some comment. She's not keen on sharing the story of her life with a stranger, but she wasn't exactly given the choice. Just like back then, when her Spark had ignited. Nobody like her had clean hands, Spark ignition could cause cataclysmic changes, but that didn't mean she liked it.]

[When Chandra looks over, Papyrus is still staring at the leaves where the little girl disappeared in the flames. 'Massacre' was a good word for it. He knows distantly that ancient humans were able to use magic, that their most powerful mages constructed the barrier. And he's heard before that human souls are... so much more powerful than monster souls. But he never really imagined what that meant, combined. The size and intensity of those flames is a little horrifying. And the way the little girl just blipped out of sight, as if her own flames had consumed her, gives him a moment of shock.]

...W-well. Anybody would want to disappear, after such a bad day.

[It's strange how the glowing leaves can emit so much of a memory. Not just the pictures, but sounds, a sense of heat, even a hint of the smells. It's not quite so real that it feels like he was there, but if it was his memory playing, maybe it would. He shakes it off, and tries to smile at her.]

But! You're not small anymore, you're a lot bigger than you were then. And... a lot bigger than what was, I suspect, one of the worst days of your life...? Good job, keeping going.

Oh, one of.

[Not the worst. Not by a long shot. But definitely in the top five.

She has the grace to exhale and shuffle a few steps away, in case he's bothered by it in some way. She wouldn't blame him for it.]

...Sorry, not usually something I like to share with a stranger. Definitely not the best way to make a first impression.

No, I suppose it wouldn't be... But, my first impression was noticing the sounds and smells. It was at least your second impression.

[He keeps deflecting the seriousness with little jokes, and there is a bit of discomfort in his skull, but it's already fading.

He can't judge too harshly. At least one of his friends is a repeat killer - probably not a murderer, they might all have been in self-defense, and another is a monarch preparing an army for an indiscriminate war.]

Some first impressions aren't very informative, anyway. If you'd rather leave it in the past, and do better things, then I won't push you about it!

[The glowing leaves around them may have other ideas.]

That's...fair. I definitely am not the same person I was at that age.

[Chandra probably doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt, because she's quite happy to have killed Baral, her would be executioner, rather recently. But that was part of a war that her rather not-dead mother started.]

What's your name, anyway? I'm Chandra. And...I guess since we're going to go through this crazy tunnel together we should at least be chummy, yeah?

[It's true, like he's not the same skeleton he once was, either. Papyrus takes a second or two to be glad she's not exactly the same person; if she spread her hands to light the trees on fire, it would include him, and he wouldn't appreciate it.]

Oh! Right! I'm Papyrus, and I love being chummy. Let's do that!

[He glances around for a sign that there's a good or bad direction to go down, in this leaf-congested path, and starts to step forward again.]

So, new chum, do you think... the trees will keep doing that?

[There's still echoes of whispering voices, some in voices he recognizes, some in ones he doesn't - but assumes she does. And he's not a fan of the idea. His memories might not be as objectively terrible to experience, but they're still private.]

Plants that echo bad memories... They're just the worst. I prefer plants that tell me warnings of the future, with their own voice!

I'm...hoping not, Papyrus.

[Really, really not. That's probably the memory she has that makes her look like an actual monster but the idea of exposing someone who seems really nice to visions of the Eldrazi or the Eternals is not particularly high on her to do list.]

It's not like I enjoy this.

[As they walk, things do start to thin out a bit at least, the tunnel seeming to widen and the plants closing less around her. They may gravitate towards him...but they may also decide that once was enough.]

Parts of this... really aren't enjoyable. We just need to focus on the upsides! Taking a nice walk, making new friends...

[They're still too deep in the path for the plants to let up, just yet. The leaves continue reaching in, brushing against Papyrus' shoulders as he walks, and the whispers continue - though the voices and words are changing.

If you're not willing to kill anybody, I can't let you out there! I can't protect you like that, a woman's voice rings in a distant shout. Papyrus' skeletal smile goes even more rigid, and he begins taking longer strides.]

...Maybe going for a jog, instead...

[Chandra ducks her head, trying not to look at the leaf tunnel, her feet picking up the pace to match.]

A jog sounds nice. Exercise never hurt anyone.

[...Well, he's a skeleton so it can't help either.]

[In terms of gaining musculature, tragically not. Despite Papyrus' best efforts, and occasional photo manipulation to the contrary. But the comment makes him snort, laughing despite the echoes continuing around them.]

You'd never know it if you asked my brother! As far as he's concerned... Exercise is a vegetable. That he's allergic to.

[If nothing else, being a skeleton means he doesn't need to gasp for breath, and he's up to the challenge of talking loudly over the echoes.]

Oof. I mean. I'm not against a good roast onion or something here and there, but I can get behind that idea.

[Onions, peppers, garlic. Strong flavors.]

What's his name?

[All things that might go in a particularly flavorful sauce, how delicious.]

My brother...? Oh, his name's Sans!

[Around them, the lights in the leaves jump from branch to branch, flickering in an attempt to keep up with the joggers. The further they get back the way they'd came, the more the lights begin to lag behind... but as they do, there's views of a kitchen with electrical appliances and nautically-themed wallpaper. An image of Papyrus cringing as he talks with a blue fish monster, whose face begins to crumple before she turns away from him.]

A-A skeleton, of course. He's shorter than me... and so unhealthy it's no wonder!

[Well, yes. Curry is a staple food where she's from. But Kaladesh is like this weird amalgamation of steampunk India and Greece.

She does her best to focus on Papyrus rather than the shifting images, though she does notice the fish woman and all. It's not her pain though, and so she pointedly turns and starts walking backwards so he can have her full attention.]

An unhealthy skeleton, huh? Is it weak bones?

That's the long and short of it! Brittle bones, so he could get injured easily... so he doesn't exercise. A terrible spiral of laziness and weakness!

[This is about the best topic for distracting Papyrus from the ominous whispers. He rants with the free enthusiasm of someone who has hundreds words more on the topic, and only rarely a willing audience for it.]

If he just ate better, he could exercise more... but he enjoys terrible food too much. I despair of him, sometimes.

Honest question, Papyrus. How do you and he eat? Like, you don't have stomachs.

[Not that she thinks they don't. But it seems like a good distraction.]

[His concerned brotherly ranting stutters to a halt, and he stares into the distance - far beyond the passing trees - as he tries to answer the question.]

With... our mouths...? And forks, except when it's finger food. Small bites...?

Right. But...where does it go?

[Does it just fall out the bottom?]

You don't have organs, do you?

Hey, that's a little personal-- Uh, I mean...

[Sometimes it does just fall out - for a gag - but usually not. The details are never elaborated, so:]

I'm not a science doctor, but the long and short of it is... magic. Roughly speaking.

Edited 2019-06-02 11:44 (UTC)

Ah...right.

[Listen, he's seen one of the most formative moments of her life...there's a bond now! She can ask the questions!]

Magic. All you had to say.

[That's true enough, and his defensiveness turns in a whole other direction with his voice picking up that extra level of volume.]

Well! I mean! It's not much of an answer, because it's the answer to just about everything. How do I eat, how do I walk, how do I talk, how do I show off my cool moves... It's all magic, all the way down!

[Kind of like, but unlike, the glowing leaves fading around them, or the shared dream in the first place. He sighs, and tosses her a bone - metaphorically.]

But... If we find Doctor Alphys, or even my brother, one of them could give a better answer. Because science is what the doctor does, and... Being gross is what my brother does.

[Really, Sans does both, but secretively. Though Dr. Alphys does science secretively, too. If only he was friends with her, he's sure they could be friends. So many things in common.]

Alright. Yeah. Hopefully we can?

[So he can have some support, mostly. She's not really too pressed about a real answer, since she was just trying to get him to think about anything but the visions.]

I hope that they don't have to go through that tunnel, too. Since...it looks like we're clear finally.

[Papyrus looks around them, realizing that she's right - the branches have pulled away, and there's only the faintest hints of lights fading from them. He bursts into a grin, which is really only a slightly wider smile than his usual skeletal expression, and clasps his hands together.]

Oh my god! I thought that would take so much longer. That was only a tiny bit terrible!

[Maybe a little more terrible than that, but now that they're out of it, it's easier to dismiss the whole thing without any drop in his smile.]

If I see either of them... I'll warn them away. There were so many other places to go. Like... the woods off the path! And a cave?

Only a tiny bit.

[She shrugs, already moving past her earlier bad mood. What was done was done, and he hasn't seemed too put off by being in the company of a pyromancer.]

Let's stick together a bit longer, in case more weirdness happens.

[ooc: and call it here?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TDM: May

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject