avalaughs | TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 9

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TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 9

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SUMMARY: New arrivals drop into the lake and have to climb up a cliff to the Rent a Ride, where they are given their device and some headphones and can retrieve their personal materials. There is a small earthquake during this (shaking, some things may fall off of shelves, but no structural damage) that upsets the normal arrival creatures, limiting cliff-falling rescues and sliming the water. They travel to Camelot, which is a multiple day journey, so they stop at the Red Springs along the way and stay at an inn there.

A ⦿ Soaking in Your Arrival

KERPLUNK, SPLASH!

Regardless of what you were in the middle of, you and your familiar have been magically pulled into the world of Avalon just above the Bay's waters. After a brief plunge into the Bay, the rush of water filling your ears and soaking up into every creak and crevice of your body, you may need to cough to clear your airways when you rise above the surface. It's still chilly, but not enough that you can't manage on your own. The Lady of the Lake is swimming around under the water, helping to rescue any wayward travelers who look like they're struggling in the water. This month's helpers are giant pillow jellies, a species of jellyfish that is capable of ballooning itself at the surface to create bouncy pads for characters to hop across to the shore, should they choose or not be able to swim. They come in a variety of bioluminescent colors, but do not seem to be very talkative even to animal magic users. Those who try may find themselves being ignored, even if they hear the jellies talking amongst themselves about this and that.

In the middle of the new arrivals, there is a small earthquake that shakes the island and makes the waters choppy. The jellyfish are startled and release a glow-in-the-dark slime that may dye your characters' hair and skin until they can get a proper bath. The Lady of the Lake seems disquieted by the earthquake, but there isn't much to be done about it where they are now besides make sure that everyone is outside of the water as quickly as possible.

If anyone tries to ask the Lady of the Lake for directions, she will direct you to Archimedes at the Rent-a-Ride. The shores themselves are littered with new arrivals complaining their way up a staircase carved into the walls of the White Cliffs. There is no railing, so be careful, as the earthquake has scared the cliff beast into hiding, meaning for July's arrivals, there is no safety net. They may need some serious help if a fall occurs!

*Reminder: Your character's familiar may or may not be with your character in their initial plunge. If the familiar isn't partial to water, it may meet your character on the beach or sit atop their head while they swim. Or if they are, they might splash about and swim alongside your character. Familiars have different personalities and body specs and we leave those up to the players.

B ⦿ The Caravan to Camelot

Once everyone is wrangled up to the top of the White Cliffs, the handsome owner of the Rent-a-Ride, Archimedes, will distribute smart phones, sunscreen, a pair of sunglasses, and a pair of ear buds and tell them to "Check the Shit Box." The "Shit Box" refers to wardrobe more formally known as the Wardrobe of Finding, a hammerspace-like wardrobe that opens to each person's items and pets when the person touches the handle. It was enchanted by Merlin to prevent people from having to fish their waterlogged possessions and pets out of the water with them. From there, Archimedes directs everyone to settle in groups into modernized carriages pulled by horses and gives them a basic explanation of why and how they've been brought to Avalon: The rest of the universe is frozen in time and your character has been brought here by a familiar that was able to bond with them. They'll have to learn magic to help save their own world from destruction, but first they've got to get them to Camelot. It is here that you have the first opportunity to decide who they will be in their new home. You'll have about an hour to wander around here, meet and greet, and pet the horses before it's time to go.

These carriages use fae technology that combats weight, so your character will be able to get in regardless of whether they're light as a feather or weigh two tons. The carts have air conditioning when it's hot, heating when it's cold, and a mystical shield to protect from bugs. There is also a mini-bar that pops out of the console with nip bottles. Characters can use their smartphones to connect to Camelot's internet service,

avalononline (AOL), to chat with other characters, watch dumb videos, learn about the world, contact Camelot Support (they'll answer any questions they can for you, from how to use a smart phone to where to find quests and resources to learn more about your magic). Be careful if you decide to use your phones while in the caravan-- if you don't use those earbuds and start forcing everyone to listen to your nonsense, Archimedes may make you walk.

C ⦿ The Red Spring

The journey from the White Cliffs to the City of Camelot is a long one, and the first evening you arrive you'll end up spending at the Red Spring, a booming resort town. Because of the volume of new arrivals and vacationers, inn rooms are assigned two-to-a-room. The rooms have two twin beds, a bathroom, a mini-fridge and microwave, and a TV equipped with a couple of entertaining video games and a few free movies.

If you don't want to relax in the room, try taking a dip in the spring for another chance to meet your fellow travelers. The waters have restorative properties that help horses and travelers recover quickly when drunk. It is known to relieve stress, improve energy levels, and mildly accelerate healing. It may be a little chilly when you get out though, so make sure you don't slip rushing back indoors when you get out!

The springs are also home to a large training grounds just outside town limits, where there are teachers who will teach basic magic safety and help you discover what kind of magic you have together with other new arrivals. Try target practice, obstacle courses, meditation circles, and other ways to try to figure out just what you can do... if you didn't already have an accidental discovery on the ride there.

SUMMARY: Camelot throws a carnival to combat the warming up weather featuring "cool" foods and contests, Queen Elphame sent gifts of aquatic mounts to practice in gratitude for the offering and peacemaking with Celliwig, and the clean-up for the carnival goes haywire as cleaning implements magically seek to clean everything.

Thankfully, not every minute of Avalon is adventure and trials and rituals. There are moments of respite, and moments to have fun. This July, for example, locals have decided to invite everyone to what they're calling the "Cool Down Carnival"!

A ⦿ Cool Carnival, Bruh

behave like a penguin

Margaritaville Pair Challenge

giant schooner

(Recipe) Hangover Moveover

B ⦿ Surf New Turf

aquatic mounts

Alpacapies: Cousin to the much more violent water horse fae the Kelpies, Alpacapies have been mistaken for baby loch ness monsters on more than one occasion given their penchant for sitting with just their hump and long neck above the waterline. They can be ridden in the water and tend to bond with people who are polite to them upon greeting. They will assist in combat by spitting water at their enemies or kicking with front legs, but they may shake you off if they need to deep dive to gain speed for an attack. They do not have back legs, only a dolphin-like fin. For some reason, they're really impossible to take photographs of.

Mossatees: You're familiar with the mossatee already. A special breed of manatee that grows flowers and moss on its back like a miniature garden. They blossom in the spring, and their backs can be very comfortable. They're a little clumsy and tend to run into things, both accidentally and on purpose, so it may be a bit of a derpy ride if you and your partner choose a mossatee. They also just had a lot of children, so part of riding with them will mean protecting their young on the journey. They're not good in combat and will prioritize defense.

Deinosuchus: A Cretaceous crocodile that gets up to about 10 meters long. It's huge and carnivorous and very well could eat you if you piss it off. It is fast, but has to take a lot of breaks. It will also terrorize in a fight. The fae recommend bringing it a goat or some other similarly sized meal to get it on your side if you want to go for this one. This pack is the only one left, transported by fairies to Avalon long, long ago, so you'd better not let them down.

C ⦿ Clean Up Chaos

As people head out for the second day of practice with their mounts or recover from a crazy carnival experience, things around town... seem a little off. It seems like someone tried some experimental magic after competing in the Margaritaville challenge feeling particularly benevolent. All around Camelot, cleaning utensils have taken on a life of their own. Brooms are sweeping customers right out of restaurants, sponges are scrubbing up dishes and chasing down patrons for the most public sponge baths of their life, and the local woodland creatures are assisting in picking up and taking away anything that touches the floor that ought not to be there. Some are even hopping up on residents to do their hair!

Whatever the source is, the only solution is to either destroy or scare the cleaning supplies off to the woods before they take over the whole town! A little magic should help, so why not test out the magic you've been working on since arriving in Avalon?

SUMMARY: The earthquake busted some of the Land of Rot wards and zombies are attacking Camelot's farmland. Save the farm, restore the wards, fight a giant worm, and then find a mysterious marsh before getting transported back home just as mysteriously.

The earthquake on arrival day was a little frightening, but ultimately didn't seem to cause too much trouble around New Camelot. That is, until a few days later when the farmlands seem to be under attack.. by the undead!? It seems like the wards surrounding the Lands of Rot were disrupted by the earthquake near Camelot's northeast farmland. '

A ⦿ The Farming Dead

B ⦿ Of Wards and Worms

C ⦿ Wake Me Up Before You're Go-Gone

First zombies, then a giant worm... today's been exhausting! And now you're.. somewhere in the middle of the Land of Rot and you seem to have run into some kind of marsh that you don't remember passing on your way in. The water itself is murky and the only creatures around seem to be bugs, bats, snakes, and frogs. Everything seems sickly, rotting, and is pretty awfully stinky. But none of it is quite as terrifying as when you and whoever you wandered into the Land with stumble upon what appears to be some kind of old hag.

What happens next? Who knows. She screams and both you and whoever you're with pass out and wake up snuggling in an inn room. You were definitely in that marsh though, because your pants are still sopping from trudging through it... Well, enjoy the panic, maybe interrogate your neighbors, and try to find out where in the Land of Rot you were! It sure doesn't seem to be on the map... What a mystery!

MOD NOTES:
• All test drive prompts are open to anyone in the game at any time to create your own logs with, but this post should have top-levels by potential new characters only. Current characters may reply to any threads, but should not top-level comment on this post.
• If your application is accepted, you may accept TDM threads as game canon as long as both players consent. Characters may begin threading as soon as their journal is accepted to the communities.
•If nothing here tickles your fancy, try one of this month's Quests for your TDM prompt.
• The first "Arrival" prompts are present on every TDM, but contain seasonal tweaks for flavor. All other prompts will change monthly.
• Questions about this TDM's content? Comment here! If you have a question about the game at-large, please head over to the FAQ.

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[Is drinking that fun? ... Wait.]

Aren't we underage for this?

[This just now occurred to her. Or, well, re-occurred to her. Minako doesn't look that much older than her.]

[ This is definitely a fact that had already occurred to Minako at least ten minutes ago.

And yet she just makes a hushing motion with her hand. ]

It's not like they have to know, right? [ Please, Minako, stop promoting criminal activities. ] Besides, does something like 'underage' even count in a strange place like this? It's not like we're back home!

[Girl, what.]

That reasoning is a little flimsy, you know.

[Minako has a point for sure, what even is underage in a land of magic like this one? And yet there's that part of Machi that is so used to living by certain laws and rules and all that... well.]

... Maybe we can have non-alcholic ones.

[That seems like a good compromise.]

Well.. you think they have those?

[ At least it doesn't seem like Minako has a problem with the idea. Really, she wasn't in this for the alcohol as much as she was just in because Minako absolutely can't refuse a single challenge when it's being presented to her.

But therein does lie a bit of a problem. ]

What if they won't let us do the challenge with non-alcoholic drinks?

[Machi's brow furrows just a little.]

Are you that determined to participate?

[ Minako nods. ]

Of course! [ She thought that part was pretty clear - and it shows in the way she answers, like she's answering a question that has an objective answer, like something about the weather. It's a very plain answer. ]

I mean, don't you ever feel bad if you start something but then just suddenly give up? You have to see it through all the way, right?

[Oh it was definitely clear but Machi can't help but double-check on it. And, well...]

Not really?

[She'd never had anything she cared about enough like that. If it was something she started and had to finish it would be through her mother's overbearing pressure. Machi's never wanted anything badly enough for just herself to feel bad if she gives it up halfway through.

... But. There is a part of her that feels happy just to be invited into something. Without Minako being forced into it. It's not the same as Kimi dragging her into things or Kakeru doing the same. Minako had seemed genuinely pleased to be with Machi so...

The quiet girl flusters, just a little. The tsundere streak in her is so evident right now.]

I'll help you though if it's so important to you.

[She wants to do it too. Alcohol be damned.]

Ah...

[ It's like the other's answer is dawning on Minako very, very slowly. Because at first she's just staring at Machi, but then a smile slowly starts spreading on Minako's face, growing and growing until it almost seems like it'd split right at the seams.

Then she just starts happily laughing. ]

Thank you so much..! [ Granted, it only started because Minako tried to drag the other girl into this in the first place, but still. It's still Machi agreeing to it, and agreeing to it because it's important to Minako!

It's almost as if she's being reminded of a certain tsundere in her own life. ]

You're the best, um--!

[ Ah.

Wait.

She seems to be realising something only now. ]

Hold on.. I don't even know your name yet! My name is Minako, Minako Aino!

[Minako reminds her of Kakeru in some ways. Not in his eccentricities of course but with that big grin on her face she exudes the brighter side of Kakeru, the part of him that made her feel a little attached to him.

Not that she'd admit that to his face. Better to not let his ego get too big.

Still Minako's smile is enough to rouse a quiet one from Machi.]

Machi Kuragi.

Then.. Machi-chan!

[ Are we just skipping the 'Kuragi-san' phase.

Apparently we are, since Minako says it with a big smile. Like it's the most normal thing in the world. ]

Thanks for doing the challenge with me! Let's go do it, let's go!

[Machi can only nod in quiet acquiescence after that sort of scene. Machi-chan is somewhat new given most seem to want to call her Machi -- even the President does that.

She follows along through the process of signing up and getting that big schooner of frozen margarita. It's 100% the first time Machi has seen anything like it and she goes a little wide-eyed at the sheer size of it.]

This is... a surprising amount.

[Were they going to even be able to finish half of it?]

[ She laughs. ]

Well, otherwise it wouldn't be a challenge! [ Even though it's certainly bigger than anything Minako has ever seen in her life as well.. But she's not going to let that deter her from her mission here. If she gives up at the first faint sign of a challenge, she'd never get anything done! ]

That's why we have to be strategic about this. After all, there's two of us! That means each of us only has to drink half of that!

[ But even though Minako says it so easily, as if it's just normal.. that's still an awful lot of it for one person, huh. ]

[Machi's lips press down into a line.]

In theory it does sound simple...

[In practice, well... no, stay focused. Don't give up like you're want to do when things get difficult, Machi. Just pick up your straw and --

Once the taste hits her tongue Machi naturally wrinkles her nose. For the first time her words are blurted out in a much less calm tone than normal.]

It's so sour!

[She's had sour drinks before but this is something else.]

Don't give up!

[ .. granted, it's not exactly the most helpful answer.

But Minako knows that there's no time for a more helpful answer. After all, they're on a time limit here. She can't just waste time on talking when there's drinking to be done!

Which means that that is exactly what she does here. Minako grabs her straw tightly, and starts drinking so quickly that her face is starting to turn blue, since she's just forgetting to.. you know. Actually breathe in the middle of all of it. ]

[Minako is really going for it! Machi watches in thorough surprise for a moment, then huffs with a determined look on her face before she too starts trying to down what she can. Well, until she sees Minako turning blue.

Machi's automatic reaction is to slam her hand down on the table accompanied by a sharp:]

BREATHE!

[And then she's back at it too even if she lets off soon with a wrinkled nose again.]

Ah, it's so cold!

[The dreaded brain freeze has struck.]

[ It's hard to say if Machi's action has the intended effect, because rather than breathing right away, Minako at first just releases her straw entirely to let out a shriek.

Or, well, a shriek as much as she can shriek right now. It's kind of hard to do when you're short of breath already, so she sounds more like a broken squeaky toy. But then, a moment later, she finally does breathe. ]

I-It is cold.. [ And she is definitely feeling the brainfreeze. It's entirely unpleasant, but still not a reason to give up, right? ] But we're.. we're almost there now..!

[If she has the air to shriek then she has the air to breathe. Or so Machi thinks very logically. At least she's breathing for sure after the shriek.

Machi's expression turns mighty disbelieving at Minako's assurance that they're almost there. That brainfreeze is really sticking between her brows and just thinking of trying to suck the rest down before it abates it torturous to say the least.]

TEN MORE SECONDS!

[The announcement is loud, insistent and enough to make Machi herself jump in place. She flusters and turns back to the drink at hand. Okay! Just... just have to... play through the pain, right?]

Edited 2021-07-07 23:36 (UTC)

[ That announcement certainly also throws Minako into a tizzy. She starts drinking faster and faster, and alongside Machi trying to hang in there too, it does seem that they manage to finish the last drops..

.. right as the announcement rings out that the time is over.

They made it. Somehow they made it.

But Minako might have been drinking most of that just a little bit too fast, and so the moment the announcement rings out that they made it, the girl just.. straight up falls over backwards. Back on the ground. Sprawled out.

Is she out cold? (Pun unintended?) Who even knows. She's at least down. ]

[Meanwhile Machi settles her elbows on the table next to the empty schooner and just puts her head in her hands.

Minako drank the lion's share of the margarita most likely but oh, the brain freeze. She's never drank more than warm sake on new years during temple visits so she's sure this is going to hit her far worse this evening.

Or maybe not! A beaming woman comes over all thrilled at the girls' success and comes over to try and prop Minako back up at the very least. She rambles and babbles as she does, offering to teach them a recipe for their troubles called "Hangover Moveover".

Machi cracks open one eye with a grimace.]

Do you have one for the headache too?

[The woman who just keeps right on smiling announces a little too loudly in Machi's opinion:]

Nope, not at all!

[ Ah, yes.

A recipe. Clearly what they need when both of these girls are clearly already dying of the sheer amount of margarita they just consumed. Minako doesn't even hear half of what the woman is telling them, only registering that she is once more sitting up, and unsure if she isn't on some carnival ride, since it sure feels like the world is spinning right before her eyes right now.

She glances between the woman, and then Machi, and then gasps. ]

Machi-chan, there's two of you now!

[ She's being very helpful here.

(Yes, she is just seeing double.) ]

[Machi can only manage to look at Minako from the thin slits of her eyes through great effort.]

There's only one of me.

[Her voice might be a little terse because whew, her head. Though it wavers after as she wonders:]

... Isn't there.

[She looks for the woman who gave her the recipe but she's long gone by now. Machi groans out loud, putting a hand to her forehead.]

[ Minako slowly manages to climb back onto her feet - just don't ask how, honestly, since it's a very clumsy and awkward spectacle - and manages to take a step over towards Machi. And then another one.

Once she's close enough, she puts her hand down on the shoulder of one of the Machis. It just so happens to be the actual physical one. Good job, Minako. ]

I dunno, but.. we did it, right? We did it! [ Just don't mind the fact that she's definitely slurring a little as she says that. She's fine. This is fine. ]

[Sorry, Minako. Machi might just droop in your direction when that hand hits her shoulder. She thought she was sitting solid but look at how just a bit of force disrupts her entirely.

She grasps onto the edge of the table with a force like a steel trap when she finally notes herself tilting precariously.]

I... think we... did?

[...]

How do you use these recipes?

[Just what were they competing for, Minako.]

Ahh, who cares?

[ Please.

This is not the time to stop caring! Not when they need the recipe the most! And yet Minako waves her hand at the other girl as if there's suddenly not a single care in the world left in her head. ]

The important part's that we made it! Winning is the most [ hic ] important part!

[Machi's look up at Minako seems to signal some serious doubt in that. Still she's got to agree with the who cares part at the moment.]

Let's just go back to the hotel already. I feel a little...

[Machi is making a valiant effort to push herself up into a standing position via her deathlike grip on the table. She sways a little once on her feet but through her hold manages to totter around the table and out into the open.]

Alright.

[And thus Machi begins attempting to walk out in the most crooked line ever. She's probably well on her way to taking out some server or other customer or someone.]

(no subject)

reloves - 2021-07-18 07:43 (UTC) - Expand

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