avalaughs | TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 2

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TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 2

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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 chilly 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 paralyzingly cold for a few seconds before you're approached by the Lady of the Lake beneath the water's surface. She puts a vial of a vibrant, glowing red Everwarm* potion to your character's lips. The icy water doesn't feel so icy once consumed and you'll be able to move your limbs enough to swim to shore on your own. She can't stick around to explain, she's got to get this to all the new arrivals! Many of which you'll see plopping in around you.

If you can't swim, a handful of helpful ice turtles will scoop you up from beneath and drop you off at the shore. When not helping people, the turtles are going around and hitting the ice that keeps forming on the surface with their shells to keep the surface open for the falling arrivals or pushing personal items to the beach near the new arrivals they smell like (belong to). If anyone tries to ask the Lady of the Lake for directions, she will direct you to Archimedes at the Rent-a-Ride. If anyone with Animal Magic asks the turtles, they will give the full spiel, but very slowly, and they like to get off topic and gossip about other turtles you've never heard of. 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, but if you do fall, be prepared for a mysterious sand hand to reach out of the side of the cliffs to catch you. The hand will pat you atop the head twice before retreating back into the wall. This is the Cliff Beast; despite the name, he is quite friendly.

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, a pair of earbuds, and a winter cloak** to everyone before getting them settled in groups into modernized carriages pulled by horses and give them a basic explanation of why and how they've been brought to Avalon: 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.

A ⦿ Trial and Icy Errors

Winter has arrived in Avalon, and with it has come to a change in the weather. Puffs of breath precede sentences when outside, small fires fill braziers to allow people to stop and get warm for a moment between where they come from and where they are going. Snow has begun to fall; at first, it is the same, fluffy, white flakes many adventurers will have seen. However, as the day progresses, the snow begins to shimmer; it’s like a prismatic effect, a magical light catching against every little crystal and illuminating sparkling flakes, so vibrant it’s clear someone has enchanted the snow.

Shortly after the change, there will be a text alert to all devices:

Tired of the same old routine with your magic? Ready for a little something new? Come on out and have an old fashioned snowball fight with a magical twist. Be sure to practice your new powers and have fun! 😉 -Merlin

Those who come outside to find the rainbow snow already being packed into neat balls by Camelot's citizens; go ahead and grab a basket full but remember, don’t just toss them. Let’s get magic with it!

Different types of magic will have different effects on the enchanted snow:

Use kinetic magic to toss three at once. Nevermind if they suddenly balloon inside and burst into a snow shower over your opponent, throw a couple more; some are bound to hit, right?

Throw a little animal magic in there and morph a few into a bear or some other animal of your intent; sorry about his random dance attack, at least your opponent will be laughing too hard to throw a snowball at you.

Try hiding them in a shield or cast an illusion with some light magic; better apologize when that goes sideways and the snow hardens, bursting into rainbow crystals at your opponent's feet.

Team up with someone who has cognitive magic; they can telegraph you the plan without your opponents being any the wiser... except the snow seems to be picking up on it and sending those thoughts right to your opponent! Perhaps use this as an opportunity to learn control!

Maybe you want to try using a little wind magic if you’re of the elemental class; watch out for the rainbow snow squall your perfectly lobbed snowballs will become.

Healing magic is one you might not see coming-- enchanting a snowball with healing magic can result in positive mood enhancements. Give your enemies a blast of zen to lower their guard and make them an easy target!

A dark magic user might think to add a little hex to their snowball; give themselves an edge... too bad, without practice, that hex might be a little too heavy and burst over the maker before it even leaves their hand! Hope you know how to fix it.

Alchemists are welcome to change the shape of those snowballs. Maybe try and craft them into something a little more stealthy or projectile. Too bad that snow seems to want to turn into a batch of butterflies and be free... magic sure is tricky! But hey, they sure are pretty.

In the end, it seems while adventurers will be able to get plenty of practice in, some of that practice is going to come from trying to stop the side effects of mixing their powers with the magic snow; welcome to your first lesson in control. If one is going to use magic in conjunction with already magically imbued things, they ought to know the right amount, seems Merlin wants you all to learn in a trial by snowball error.

Those who practice their magic and participate in the snowball fight will be given hot chocolate, warm soup, fresh baked goods, or other treats to warm them up after their training is done. But don’t slack off! You’re like to find your hot chocolate spiced with pickle flavor, that warm treat suddenly turns to ice cream in your mouth. Avalonians want that practice to happen, and are willing to add some incentive... whether that means the carrot or the icicle.

All throughout the City of Camelot is a buzz of excitement about the oncoming winter solstice on the 21st. Citizens will tell you of the winter solstice's importance in cleansing the flow of Avalon's magic each year and absorbing sunlight to increase its potency. In other words, the winter solstice generates a significant amount of magic if the proper ritual is followed, so the visitors from other worlds really should head on over to Albion's White Cliffs.

A ⦿ The Darkness in the White Cliffs

The first task that you'll experience during the ritual is asking the Cliff Beast's permission to enter the cliffs. Though they look wholly solid on the outside, these cliffs contain a veritable labyrinth of magical caves that weave in and out of the chalky cliffs. As there is danger within these walls, it is recommended no one go alone. The Cliff Beast will only open a door to the caves for parties of two or more who present him with a gift. The gift doesn't need to be something significant, just a show of courtesy-- a lovely rock or a seashell will do, placed at the base of the cliff. The only gifts he will outright reject are precious gems and metals. Honestly, they make him a little nauseous-- and you don't want to see a cliff beast nauseous. In fact, if you try it, the Cliff Beast will suddenly burst into a rockslide right near where the gem was left. Watch out!

Once you gain entrance, you will find there is no light within the caves and the door seems to close behind you. Non-magical lights won't illuminate anything within these caves, so you will need to either navigate through the darkness or find a magical means to light your path. Be wary-- traveling in the dark will be a much safer journey if you can find your way through the caves and keep track of your companions. The reason there is no light are the bat-like creatures that eat energy like fire and electricity. With the magical light attracting them and nothing to consume, they'll be very aggressive and swarm anything emitting heat.. like an unsuspecting traveler. Make too much noise, and the Cliff Beast will spit you out back onto the sand and you'll have to start over.

B ⦿ "For a greedy man, even his tomb is too small."

Those who persist within the caves will eventually come upon a room whose ceiling glistens with bioluminiscent microbes that are too small for the bats to eat. These little glowing creatures create reflections in the room that show just what it contains-- glimmerings of precious gems, gold, and other treasure cover the walls and floor, save for a large flat stone altar in the center. There are many hand-crafted clay cups filled with what appears to be water. The side of the alter has a very simple message: "TAKE ONE CUP TO THE SPRING, LEAVE THE REST. SPILL NO DROP." Sure enough, this matches with the instructions you were given about the ritual: Take a cup of waters harvested by the Asrai, a fairy that lives within the walls of the cliffs that cultivates it every year to bring to the Red Springs for the Winter Solstice.

There is no clear warning about what will happen if you take anything besides your one cup. However, characters who disobey this instruction and take any of the riches within the cave will initially experience severe symptoms such as magical blockage, an endless common cold, and food turning to ash in their mouth. They will experience dreams in which they are urged to return the treasure and a day later, advanced symptoms if it goes on for too long have been known to result in vomiting frogs and snakes, insomnia, speaking in tongues despite the translation spell, bleeding from the ears, and eventually death.

C ⦿ Drink Up

Those who listen and take the Asrai's cups to the Red Springs will notice while carrying the cups, all creatures and threats will leave you in peace. Neither rain nor snow will touch you, parting from your path in both the sky and on the ground. The effects will only last as long as you don't spill a single drop. The ritual can still be completed, but the protections only work if you don't spill-- otherwise you'll be fighting off weather, creatures, other people, and whatever else you encounter as the effects of a spilled cup will cause those around you to try to steal your cup without thought for your safety, even if they might not even think to do normally.

Upon arriving at the Red Springs, a party of people there to guide those who have made the ritual's journey to a particular pool within the vicinity of the springs. Characters will be directed to take a sip, then pour the rest into the Spring alongside your peers, finally throwing the clay cup itself into the spring. Throughout the day, you will begin to feel strangely giddy, but it will pass. Nothing much will seem like it happens otherwise, but the guides assure you that you will understand on the night of the winter solstice when the ritual is complete and your body becomes a conduit to purify and rejuvenate Avalon's magic.

For now, as thanks, the guides offer you one of the celebratory gifts they have to offer-- free drinks (this time of the age-appropriate alcoholic or sugary variety), a free night's stay at the Red Springs, a yule log, an escort, a Recipe: Snow Dance. (Effect: Snow Dance will cause small flurries to pick up where the spell is cast, resulting in decreased visibility. Only works if snow is already present, as it cannot generate elements.) The choice is yours. Pick one.

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 may 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.

*This Everwarm does not count toward your potion collection for those who wish to take up potion brewing. You must obtain Everwarm from the Elphame Trader's to count.
**Jackets come in a variety of neutral colors, enchanted with a fit-adjustment spell that will adjust to your character's size.

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C: The Red Spring:

Kaji on the outside seems to be taking everything in stride, that includes the miniature Encantado (pink dolphin) that claims to be his familiar. Knowing of the creature he has to smirk at it, seems whatever is going on here this place assigned him a partner who is a little too much like him, or at least the man he was and is trying not to be anymore, he runs his thumb over the ring on his finger. He stopped outside the Inn to have a cigarette, polite enough not to smoke indoors with his roommate in case they themselves do not smoke. He has not found Haruki yet but if worlds are ending and they are ending up on new ones, surely the other is here?

He hopes so because he needs him. Not that any of these inner thoughts show much behind the man. For a time he can found bundled in his coat, looking up at the sky, smoking a couple of cigarettes, even if it means he burns through his supply. Someone has to give him a moment, he is not ready to feel like he's joined some weird magic cult, so he is ignoring any supposed powers.

After he relaxes there for a while, maybe has a chat or two he decides to take a dip in the springs. The warmth should help now that the cold is seeping into him from his time standing outside. Once there the man strips and slides into the hot water, a sigh escaping his lips as his familiar takes a dip itself. The small pink dolphin splashing and slicing through the water, shimmering beneath the surface with the light magic it is supposed to help him learn.

Wildcard: Up for anything really; just late to the party so if you want something else hit me up with it and let's do it.

To say that Rin is surprised seeing more and more people from Prisma show up would be a huge understatement. She stares at him for a moment before she starts walking closer.

While Kaji is looking up at that sky, Rin sneaks as close as she can get before he'd notice her. Obviously she has no idea whether or not he knows her, she is NOT expecting that from anyone between all of these different worlds and all... But at the same time, she thinks he'd better still remember her. Although she could say the same to a few, but, she doesn't really trust her luck with anything including that.

She glances at the sky too, while leans her back on a wall and thinks of what to say after sneaking close like a cat...

"So tell me--" Hi, hello, bossy as always and once again with mix of a smirk and smile on her face. "Do you see anything interesting up there?"

Edited (Changes icon) 2020-12-05 22:02 (UTC)

He has run into one other familiar face except the woman did not recognize him. Lost in thought, his familiar off doing whatever it is he does when he is not floating around Kaji the man is more interested in the smoke filtering above his head than anything else at the moment.

He sees her from the corner of his eyes, oh he recognizes her, of course, he does, every single inch as a matter of fact. Though he lets her slip close, lean and waits to see what she is going to say.

The edge of his mouth twitches, tugging as if he is going to smirk when she does finally speak, this is definitely Rin and he is definitely happy to see her.

"Not as interesting as what's leaning against the wall." He teases because Kaji has been teasing her since the moment they met, it's always worked out just fine for both of them.

Teasing sure has been their thing ever since they first met and Rin's still a teaser despite how much has happened between now and then.

That is a very good answer, she likes it a lot jugding by her smile and a little laugh too. Though it doesn't make it totally clear about whether or not he recognises her but... He looks like he does. She could be wrong too. It's still feels weirdly good to see him after not seeing him for a month here.

"I know." This reminds her of their first meeting... Is that a bad thing? Depends on how people look at it. That wall is cold, she walks away from it and closes some distance between them instead.

"I heard about this local hugging competition, where you're supposed to hug anyone out here in the cold for as long as you can and maybe you'll win a prize in the end... Does that sound interesting too?"

100% making it all up all by herself even if it could be a local thing too and not just another version of how they met at Lunatia. What? She wants a hug! And sure sure, she could hug him anytime but... She also wants to be sure this is the same Kaji but just asking something about Lunatia sounded boring right now.

Kaji is a teaser at heart, always quick with a quip or teasing remark, it was one of the things they had and still have in common.

True, knowing Kaji as she does, even without recognizing her the man on the wall very well may have made that exact same comment. When she walks closer he turns those playful green eyes on her, watching. He does not think it's a bad thing, as far as first meetings go it was a fun one in his opinion, he does not have any regret over it.

"Oh, shame, the last hug-a-thon we participated in was a lot warmer." He flashes a wolfish grin, steps off the wall, and opens his arms for her to come on in for that hug. It is good to see her, to know that whatever happened to tug them out of Prisma at least brought her here safe.

Ren is walking outside, just getting some fresh air before heading to relax in the springs, when he notices a familiar figure. He approaches him cautiously.

"Aki?"

Kaji has run into some familiar faces, some who knew him, some who did not. But that name, where on his first day in Lunatia it had made him cringe at the very thought of it. Now, he knows the voice as soon as it says it and this voice brings a smile, not needs to his skin as Ugetsu's once did when it uttered that name.

"Well, fancy meeting you here." Kaji automatically puts his cigarette out, knowing his friend does not care for it.

Ren smiles at his thoughtfulness and approached Kaji properly.

"I guess we must be bound by fate, to end up in another world together."

Kaji flashes that wolfish grin, it's more genuine than their first meeting if still a little smug.

"Looks that way, it's good to see you, a familiar face is always nice."

And boy the grin looks so good on him, still.

"Yeah, definitely. I met a few other familiar faces earlier... but I would have missed you a lot if you weren't around."

That is probably never going to change, he was blessed with excellent genes honestly.

"Is that so? Well luck you, I'm harder to get rid of than all that."

Right about then the pink dolphin decides it's time to take on the form of an attractive man, once he does he is sliding beside Ren, slipping an arm and giving him a flirtatious smile. Kaji lets out a short laugh

"Sorry, he's friendly..."

Ren definitely didn't expect that, but he doesn't mind an attractive man by his side. He chuckles.

"Not a problem... your familiar, I take it?"

Well, this is good, because that familiar is going to make more passes at Ren than Kaji has if he has his way, he is just that kind of guy, is going to in fact fiddle with Ren's hair and whisper something less than polite in his hear.

Kaji laughs, shaking his head "Yeah, usually he's a pink dolphin, till he sees something he likes."

Ren laughs. "Quite a naughty one. I'm glad he likes me."

"What's not to like" He grins, teasing the other man because let's face it, even married Kaji is still a teasing talker.

"Careful now, I might fall for you if you keep saying things like that", Ren says with a light smirk. Of course he's joking and teasing in return.

"Ah, would that you could but I think Haruki might get a little jealous." He knows Ren is teasing and that means Aki will continue to do the same.

"There are things Haru-chan doesn't need to know about", Ren says with a chuckle. "He'd only need to be jealous if you started anything in return and I know you're too loyal for that."

"There are things that can get me in trouble if he doesn't." He is still teasing, smiling, in truth he and Haruki now have no secrets, he told him the truth of everything, both home and Lunatia, that includes the fact that for the first more than a month there how Kaji slept with well, more than some people did in a year in that place.

"I don't think he's the jealous type, he trusts me and is better than I deserve." No one could have blamed Haruki had he given up on Kaji.

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TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 2

Akihiko Kaji | Given | Prisma CRAU

Why do u give me two tempting options...

Because he is a tempting man, I can not stop him lol

Rin didn't know she's part of Temptation Island now

Ah but did she not know she is the queen of said island of course.

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