dagung | ☆ TDM: SEPTEMBER

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* tdm

☆ TDM: SEPTEMBER

Test Drive: September

All threads can be considered game canon,

the prompts and test drive itself will be

• The Application Queue is open. Apps can be submitted at any time but will only be processed as space opens up and game plot allows. 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!

• And finally, since this is part of our event, characters already in-game ARE allowed to top-level on this post.

Mirrorbound who come to the Coven after dark on the 27th, who have volunteered to assist in waking the sleeping citizens of Dorchacht, are ushered into a large room laid with pallets on the floor inside a huge chalk circle. With Nessie are a group of sleepy-eyed Witches in loose robes, their expressions calm and almost dreamy despite the seriousness of the situation. These are the Dreamers, an oft-secluded group of Witches who study Divination and dream magic almost exclusively. They show signs of suffering some of the dangers of dreamwalking - they space out often, or doze off and have to be woken by one of their fellows. Still, they seem to know what they’re doing as they prepare candles and fragrant incense. Magic pulses through the floor, tingling threads of it escaping to reach out harmlessly toward the Mirrorbound who filter in.

Miss Nessie is the one to explain the ritual in a solemn tone as she oversees the final preparations and the other gathered Witches. "You all seem to have an uncanny ability to dreamwalk that we do not fully understand. Normally such a thing is difficult, it is, but the Mirrorbound are capable without even trying." She takes a breath and lets it go, standing straighter, determined. "Hopefully we can trigger that ability tonight. Theoretically, magical energy can be harvested from the dream planes. While you sleep, and dream, we will perform a spell to allow you all to bring back that energy crystallized into a physical form, and that is what we will use to wake the citizens of Dorchacht. The more you can collect, the more people we can help."

Her determination gives way briefly to open worry, and she admits, "We don't know what form this shared dream will take, or what dangers it may hold. With the spell going, any injuries you sustain in the dream will also carry over to your physical body, so be careful, yes? You can still back out, of course, and none will hold it against you. For those who stay, healers will be on-site and monitoring your physical forms."

Those who stay will be given a piece of a very rare lavender mushroom used by the Dreamers called Faecap, which works quickly to induce sleep - and shared dreaming. As they drift off, the sounds of soft chanting fill the large room.

[Due to the untested nature of dreamwalking, IC volunteering isn't necessary to participate in the TDM - your character may simply find themselves in the shared dream when they go to sleep that night, similar to how TDM characters will just find themselves in it.]

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, and a sour wind brushes across your face and through your hair. It seems to claw at your consciousness like chilling, spindly fingers -

and you know one thing, and one thing alone: this is a dream, and an incredibly realistic one at that.

The Nightmarescape

This is Aefenglom, and yet it isn't, at the same time. A large Victorian-styled city of cobblestone streets and close-together buildings, cut through the center by the River Temese. Whether you recognize its specific features and structures or not, you know deep in your bones it isn't meant to look like this. It's subtle at first, but it becomes more and more obvious the longer you walk the cobblestone streets. Everything is... almost gray, desaturated in color. Buildings are crooked, tilting at improbable angles. Clocks are upside-down. Writing is backwards or unrecognizable. The night sky above bears a greenish hue to it, and the stars seem to swim in and out of different formations. The city is also hauntingly empty - except for your fellow dreamers. The space yawns like it wants to be filled with life; it craves, it's hungry for it.

A City Void of Life
It does begin to fill, in time. The longer you're present in the dream, the more things shift and slide. You can feel it drawing from you, your memories, your thoughts and feelings, seeking out your fears and anxieties, your worries and your upsets. It slips right into your cracks and it digs out what it seeks. It turns the shadows of your mind into horrifying possibilities. Twisted features from your life overlay themselves on the empty city of Aefenglom - a single room, a building, a creature, a person. Not quite memories, they're all off in some way, adapting to the dream, warping. Don't get taken in by familiarity: whatever has drawn itself from your head is very, very dangerous. Shadows lurk where they shouldn't, once welcoming rooms close in on and threaten to suffocate you, a friendly creature's teeth and claws become pronounced and vicious, the darkened figure of a loved one watches you with blank eyes and malice in their smile.

Whatever has appeared, it's a manifestation of your nightmares, and it wants to hurt you and the other dreamers around you. Maybe it's a dark what-if that has whispered in your ear at night, a bad end that you feared but never came to fruition, or maybe it's simply just the ugly representation of your greatest fear. Whatever it is, it's out for blood, and it's joined by fragments from the other dreamers. Hopefully you find a friend to help you out. If there was ever a time for a team-up.

It's possible to leave the nightmarescape Aefenglom to try and escape these bad ends and what ifs. Time and space work strangely in this dream, and it's just a few steps to Dorchacht or the Wilde, or a quick tumble to the caverns Underground. Movement seems to be more about intent than direction. But it just gives a new backdrop for your nightmares, because they will follow, they will pursue you doggedly, melding into the scenery.

Face Your Fears
Those who came here on purpose know what the mission is: to collect the crystallized magical energy present in this dreamscape to wake a city cursed to sleep forever. Let the others know, the ones who wound up here on accident, and maybe they can help you - each fragment of a nightmare contains this energy, even theirs, and can be collected and brought back by the dreamers who will wake at the Coven. The energy presents as black orbs, hard and clear like glass, no bigger than large marbles, with images of your terrors dancing deep within them.

Coming by these orbs isn't exactly easy, however. To do so, you have to face manifestations of your worst fears. Defeat them - physically, emotionally, by standing up to them and staring them in the face, there are many ways to banish a nightmare - and they'll condense down into the dark glass pieces. With each defeat, the changes to the landscape sprung out of your head will disappear, and that part of Aefenglom (or Dorchacht, or the Underground, or the Wilde) will right itself, ease back into something normal, the oppressive air fading. The shadows will shorten and color will seep back into that patch of scenery.

And hold tight to those crystals if you dare - other nightmares are drawn to them. These may not even belong to anyone in particular, but to the continent of Geardagas itself: grasping Shades of Monsters and Witches both, with white eyes and blackened skin, who wish to spread their infection; half-burned Dryads screaming for help; gleeful, malicious Fae playing terrible tricks, more twisted and insectoid than the Fae most know; a growing, creeping blackness that can only be the Cwyld itself. Even the land you walk on, or may walk on in the future, has many fears.

It's a good thing some of you have new abilities at hand, and some of you have a few neat changes to help, or perhaps they aren't new at all. Regardless, use your abilities well and work together, it's time to face your fears.

Flitting Shadows
Those who are attuned to their surroundings might notice something off - beyond everything else that is already quite off, that is. The sense of being watched, wherever you go, no matter where you turn, is strong and creeping, until it consumes your consciousness. Always just outside your peripheral vision is a presence, a shadow, lean and cloaked. No matter how quickly you run or how suddenly you turn to catch it, you can never quite get a glimpse of the figure's face, if it even has one. Trying too hard will make you dizzy, nauseous, as it evades and evades and evades. You might not be able to see a face, or much more than the vaguest hint of a shape, but it sees you.

Don't let yourself be distracted from your mission, or from simple survival if you aren't the heroic type. If you linger trying to catch the specter at the edge of your vision, the nightmares will find you, readily and easily, vicious and ready to make you fight for your life. Ignore the sound of wings flapping in the distance, a whisper in an indistinct voice, words you can't hope to understand or even separate from the gnawing paranoia that roars in your ears.

The presence never reveals itself, and never attacks you directly. You get the sense that it's trying to determine what, exactly, you're doing - and that maybe it's trying to sabotage your efforts to collect the hard glass marbles of energy from this plane.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ There's a sharp nod from Geiz as Sougo explains why they can't just stop and talk. He doesn't know how dangerous this place is and what it can throw at them, but he's trusting in Sougo right now that they need to move because he seems familiar with the place- almost as if he's been here for a long while.

So he grabs Sougo's hand and jets off, dragging him along with him as he takes in the lay of the land, committing it to memory. He doesn't know this is a weird dream place. He doesn't know why he's here. He doesn't know how Sougo came upon the powers he has now. But he trusts Sougo. He's trusted him for a long while now. He won't reject that because, as he's said before, Sougo is the kindest most reliable man he knows.

And Sougo is his friend. ]

How long have you been here?

[ The question is a light one as he drags Sougo along. Almost like small talk. Geiz isn't used to small talk but it comes easy to him in regards to Sougo. To the point where he doesn't even question it anymore. All he knows is that they're in this together now and that's what matters.

If only Tsukuyomi was here, though. ]

[ The question has him humming as he decides how to answer it. It might be silly to hesitate, because it's not like Geiz won't understand strange time shenanigans. At the same time, Geiz is likely going to have more questions for Sougo if he tells the exact truth, and they've already established it might not be the best time for that conversation right now, so Sougo answers simply. ]

Awhile now, I guess...

[ Over half a year. Don't worry about it, Geiz. ]

I think time works a little differently here than it does in our world.

[ He frowns at himself at that answer, realizing that this statement also opens itself to questions. There might not be much at all he can say right now that doesn't though. ]

[ Ah, there it is. Sougo's penchant for shrugging off important matters or things he doesn't want to talk about. Geiz rolls his eyes as they keep walking, his grip on Sougo's hand tight as he mulls over what's been said ]

Time always works differently when it comes to us.

[ The sentence is said with a tint of frustration to it as they keep walking. They're used to time shenanigans. They're used to going to the future or the past of even 3 days into the past to fight against all the Another Riders and whatver Oma Zi-O or the Time Jackers throw at them. ]

Now tell me something actually helpful.

[ No, they have not stopped walking. Geiz is still dragging Sougo along even though he has no clue where he's leading them. All he knows is he's taking them further and further away from where Oma Zi-O had been. ]

[ Geiz isn't wrong about that, and it does make Sougo smile a little sheepishly to be called out that way. Still, for once this time mess has nothing at all to do with Sougo himself, or any of the powers he possesses.

Or used to possess, as it were.

And seeing as Sougo didn't have anywhere in particular he was heading, he's happy to let Geiz take the lead. They're bound to stumble across something that needs taking care of at this rate. ]

Ah, well this is a dream! And a really important one too.

[ That's helpful, right? ]

[ What if Geiz punches Sougo right now? What if he stops and then shakes Sougo hard enough that some common sense comes out?

Okay, no. Geiz won't do that. But he's sorely tempted to because he hates it when Sougo explains things. Sougo explaining things means he doesn't explain anything or he fills the air with nonsense to distract the other person from realizing that he's not exactly saying anything of real importance.

Geiz sighs and tosses a look over his shoulder at Sougo, it's absolutely scathing ]

And just why is it important?

[ Again, that urge to shake Sougo is there again. Right at the edges, waiting for him to give in ]

[ Geiz isn't wrong about that at all. Even when Sougo is actually telling the truth he has a tendency to do a poor job at fully explaining the situation. He's a master of half-truths and lies by omission, though this time he's not necessarily trying to hide what's happening here.

It is genuinely a hard one to explain, and he hums to himself as he tries to figure out how to simplify it. ]

In the world that I'm in right now, things look a lot like they do in this dream.

[ There's a half a second before he amends that slightly. ]

Well, it's a little more normal looking than this, but the buildings and layout are mostly the same. Right now though there are people attacking one of the cities of this world, and they put the people of that city to sleep, so we followed them into their shared dream to try to save them.

[ He's quiet for another second before adding something in during the period he should be giving Geiz time to process this. ]

I don't really know how we're supposed to be saving them though, but if we fight anything that shows up and looks dangerous that's probably a good start.

[ It's more thorough than most Sougo explanations at least. ]

[ To Geiz, all that translates to is basically: fight shit and save people. He gives a sigh as they keep walking, his stride less angry as he begins to take his surroundings in. He's trying to memorize where things are for when they end up back to . . . wherever. He still doesn't really know where he is. All he knows is that Sougo was here before him so he should know more than him.

The fact that he has to rely on Sougo in this aspect pisses him off though because he knows Sougo's explanations suck. Right now, not so much because he'd been able to get it out of the other boy what they need to do.

And that's to fight.

Fighting is something Geiz knows and is familiar with more than anything else. He's spent most of his life fighting, so that doesn't bother him. What bothers him is that he doesn't quite know how long Sougo has been here and he doesn't know if he's been doing well. '

Which is something he worries about because it's Sougo and Sougo has a tendency of getting into messes or leading messes back to him to the point where he has to fight off whatever trouble Sougo has gotten himself into. ]

So all we have to do is fight and protect, right?

[ It's not really a question when Geiz knows the answer, but he's trying to keep Sougo talking because maybe he'll slip up and admit something while rambling to him. ]

[ The question is a simple yes or no one. It shouldn't be hard to answer at all, and yet here Sougo is humming to himself to stall for time after Geiz voices it out loud. ]

Mmm, probably just that.

[ Probably... Probably. It's such a wishy-washy answer, but it's still true. He doesn't know for sure what might arise at any point that requires them to do some kind of non-fighting based challenge. Most of the time Sougo has been able to blast his way out of trouble when it has reared its ugly head here, but not always.

Geiz may or may not try to kill him for that answer, so to be on the safe side Sougo starts to walk just a little faster after giving it. ]

[ Probably? Probably? Geiz follows after Sougo, grabbing him by his hand and pulling him back so he can look him in the eyes ]

Just what is that supposed to mean?

[ The look in Geiz's eyes is focused and irritated, he hates it when Sougo slides into half-truths and vague terms. He squeezes Sougo's hand in his own and stares the other boy down with a glare ]

What are you hiding from me?

[ The question itself is terse, but Geiz genuinely needs and wants to know. He's in a strange new place and his supposed "best friend" is hiding things from him. That makes him feel slightly off, even if he doesn't exactly know why ]

[ The jolt gets a distressed sound out of Sougo as he's forced to come to a stop, and look back over his shoulder at an understandably frustrated looking Geiz. Will Sougo ever learn to communicate properly?

Unlikely.

But he tries an encouraging smile as he grasps Geiz's hand with his own and tries to keep tugging him forward. ]

I'm not hiding anything, it's more I'm not really sure if something else will come up.

[ He hums to himself as he debates how to explain this. ]

The kind of magic I can do? Others can do too, but a lot better, and sometimes in ways that aren't directly meant for fighting. So I'm not really sure what we'll come across.

[ His smile turns wry. ]

It'd be easier if it just ends up being a fight though.

[ Okay, that's much better. Geiz allows Sougo to continue to tug him forward as he gives a short nod to let the other boy know he heard what he said. He then throws a look over his shoulder to make sure nothing is coming up behind them before turning his attention back to Sougo, a frown on his face as he tries to word this out properly ]

Has . . . anyone tried to hurt you here?

[ The inquiry is stunted, as if he's not really used to asking how people are. Which is the truth, considering he usually doesn't ask anyone how they are except maybe Tsukuyomi. But guess that's another step closer to gaining Geiz as your best friend, Sougo ]

Not that I care! I just need to know what the dangers are here!

[ A forced explanation, if anything, on Geiz's end. Not that he had to explain but he's still not really used to doing friendship stuff ]

[ It wasn't a question he expected to hear from Geiz, especially considering their friendship started with exactly that; Geiz trying to hurt him. ]

Ahhh...

[ And it's not just the abruptness of the question that throws him off from being able to answer it quickly. The truth is he hasn't exactly gone by unscathed here, and it hasn't always been his fault that he's gotten into fights. ]

It's probably better to be careful then. There are definitely people and Monsters out there that will want to fight with you, even if you don't know them personally.

[ Which does answer the question about whether anyone has tried to hurt him without actually properly answering the question. ]

[ A snarl comes from Geiz as he pulls Sougo back via their clasped hands. He hates roundabout answers because he prefers to be straightforward about almost everything. So the answer Sougo gives doesn't placate him at all ]

Who. Hurt. You?

[ It's very obvious that Geiz will seek revenge no matter how dangerous the idea is. And right now, even if he doesn't understand why, he wants to beat up everyone who's laid a hand on Sougo in violence. He'd do the same for Tsukuyomi as well.

That's what people get for befriending Geiz. ]

Or I'll ask everyone you know until I get an answer.

[ He should have expected this from Geiz honestly. It's touching in a way, that his friend cares so much about his well being that he wants to hurt those who hurt him back, but there's a big problem with that.

Sougo shakes his head at Geiz's insistence, but he'll still answer that question for him. ]

I did it to myself.

[ The only time that Sougo has truly been hurt, at least. ]

All the other fights I've been in here I don't really know the names of the people I fought, but I've always come out fine. I don't think there's anyone you need to worry about in particular, but... it's still not like dangerous things can't happen here.

[ Okay, that explanation is something that Geiz can understand. If Sougo got hurt or injured and it was his own fault then Geiz wouldn't care much at all. Well, he does care but he's not very good at showing it and basically wants no one to know that he cares about them ]

Don't do it to yourself again.

[ He doesn't exactly know what Sougo did to hurt himself, but even if it still bothers him, he's not going to pry at the moment ]

[ Geiz has no idea the full story behind it, and hurt doesn't really start to cover what Sougo's poor decisions led to. Honestly, it's just lucky that someone was there to lead him away from others, so no one else got caught up in the explosion his magic created.

He doesn't really want to get into that with Geiz right now, however, so he smiles a little too easily at the comment. ]

I don't plan to.

[ If Geiz had the full story behind it, he would've yelled at Sougo. A lot. The fact that Sougo is even alive right now is only because Geiz doesn't know just how reckless and dangerous the idiot had been during the time he and Tsukuyomi hadn't been here ]

Good.

[ But he's eyeing Sougo up warily because of that smile ]

Edited 2020-12-07 01:03 (UTC)

[ There's something a little ironic about murdering a guy for being reckless enough to temporarily die, but it would be hard to point that out when he's busy being dead.

Again.

But he's glad that Geiz isn't pressing the issue for now. ]

Most people here are pretty nice anyway.

[ Listen, half of the things Geiz does and says when angry is just angry babble. Sometimes he can keep his cool, but it's kind of hard not to jump the gun here because of where they are and how they're here and also the fact that apparently Sougo arrived first between the two of them. ]

I don't particularly care about the nice people. I care about the ones that hurt others and are a threat to the nice people.

[ Friends? WHO NEEDS FRIENDS? ( Nevermind the fact that Sougo and Tsukuyomi are his best friends ) Still, he has a harsh work ethic and doesn't have any problems trying to implement it onto others who slack off. Which is also why he's still eyeing Sougo up after that smile of his ]

Edited 2020-12-13 23:25 (UTC)

[ A darker look settles on Sougo's face at that comment, and he nods once slowly in understanding. It's reasonable to be concerned about things like that. Certainly that has always been one of Sougo's main concerns too, and why he's voluntarily in this dream right now.

It might not exactly be what Geiz means, but... ]

There are people like that too. That's actually why things are like this right now.

[ He casts a look around at their setting, where everything looks slightly off in an unsettling way. ]

[ The darker look on Sougo's face is somewhat surprising because usually Sougo deals with things optimistically. That tells Geiz a lot about how bad this place is- how dangerous it is too as well. Especially due to the fact that they had to fight Oma Zi-O just half an hour ago.

This is causing Geiz to almost have a headache but he'll try to be patient ]

So do you have any clue on how to save and protect them?

[ Sougo usually has more power to keep people from dying as well, and the minute human lives are actually lost is the moment he has to shelve his optimism for a moment. He doesn't like to do so, but even he can't be endlessly perky when situations are genuinely dire.

As for that question, his expression lightens up a little as he blinks in surprise at the question. ]

Not exactly? But I figure if we fight more dream creations like the one we did a moment ago, it's probably something?

[ it's not the first time Geiz has had to fight without his belt and Kamen Rider form, but it does make things a bit harder. He sighs as he combs his fingers through his hair in a frustrated manner. He doesn't know who to blame for this because it's obviously not Sougo's fault; he'd been dragged to this place just like Geiz had been ]

Alright, then we keep fighting then.

[ Since Sougo has stopped dragging Geiz along, he's gonna tighten his grip on the other boy's hand and start dragging him along by it. Hopefully, they'll fight these weird dream creations and find a way out. ]

[ That's the kind of response Sougo has come to expect from his friend! Strange new world with new rules and limitations, but still up for a challenge? That's Geiz in a nutshell, and god Sougo cannot stress out much he missed this guy.

He's back to smiling again, something kind of fond and a little wistful, because he doesn't know how long this is going to last after this dream ends, but it'll be good to have Geiz by his side during this fight. ]

Mm, let's go!

[ The fact that they've been holding hands and dragging each other around is big. This wouldn't have been possible even a month ago, but Sougo had somehow patiently gotten past all the obstacles between them. By always being there for Geiz and Tsukuyomi, by spending enough time together that the defensive walls Geiz had been cultivating for years were eventually broken down by Sougo's insistence that they're friends no matter what.

So different from the Oma Zi-O that Geiz was used to, and always willing to be there for him no matter the situation ]

Which way should we go now?

☆ TDM: SEPTEMBER

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