TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 2

[avalonmods]

{ QUICK NAV } Premise ⚔️️ Rules ⚔️️ FAQ ⚔️️ Taken ⚔️️ Reserves ⚔️️ Apply ⚔️️ Locations ⚔️️ Bestiary 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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Yakko Warner | Animaniacs

[marxmanship]

⦿ Splish Splash

[Yakko was mid-song when he hit the water. a series of gurgling bubbles float up to the top of the Bay and as they pop, the notes come warbling out, though they're a little watery from the landing. he surfaces a moment later, tossing his head back like a swimsuit model and shaking out his ears. his poor Jackalope is not so lucky, and its antlers bob just above the waves]

You're not a pool toy.

[he grabs it by the antlers and hauls it out. it splutters a bit and kicks its hind legs in protest]

Oh come on, the song wasn't that bad. Besides, how else was I supposed to relay the history of whaling and make it enter--

[and then he realizes he's not where he was.]

-- taining. Heeeeey, this isn't the Studio water tank set! Brrr...

[icicles are starting to form on his ears, and he's turning a little blue. maybe you're splashing down next to him?]

⦿ Are We There Yet?

Now this is more like it! A road trip!

[he tried to call shotgun, but Archimedes gave him a withering look and hustled him into the carriage proper with the rest of his group. now he's curled up in his blanket like a burrito, only peeking out from his little red nose up, watching everyone excitedly for a moment as he gets over his shivers. it doesn't take him long to warm up, and soon enough he siiiiidles over to the nearest person and gets right up in their bubble, craaaaning his neck to look at their device]

Hi. Whatcha doin'?

Snowball Fight!!

Yakko seems to be taking to kinetic magic like a fish to water ... very shallow water. He's flinging snowballs with broad, zippy arm gestures in a Very Obvious Imitation of a certain iconic mousy sorcerer, but instead of hitting their marks, most of them are exploding mid-flight into multi-colored flurries. Those that do hit have a strange elastic effect, squashing on impact like slime or bread dough. They're still plenty cold, though...

Are we there yet

[temptationaccomplished]

[Aziraphale looks up from the phone with a sigh. He blinks over the frames of his glasses at the young man, and then again as he realizes he's not a typical child at all.]

[Like the Ducklings!]

Trying to locate my friends. Who might you be?

[marxmanship]

I'm Yakko. ... Can you find anyone on that? If you can, I should check mine for my brother and sister.

[a pause. he sniffs]

You smell like a library. You're not gonna shush me, are ya?

[temptationaccomplished]

Do I? [He hasn't been in his bookshop in forever, what with the world hopping. He wonders if the Library of Fire and Ash still somehow lingers on him--not that's silly] No, I won't shush. [For now. Because Yakko loosely reminds him of sweet Webby.]

You may call me Mr. Fell. And yes, I suppose we ought to be able to find people--that's what these usually allow you to do, I think, but I'm not very good at using it.

Let's see. Maybe I'll have more luck with yours. Siblings, you said? What are their names?

[marxmanship]

Fell from what?

[he scoots a little closer for a better look at the device. at least he's not wet anymore]

My sibs? Wakko, with two K's. And Dot. Like it sounds, minus the polka.

[temptationaccomplished]

[From Heaven? From Grace? No, neither of those things.] Not from. In. In love. [Yes, that seems apt. With Earth, with books and food, with humanity, and of course with Crowley; he had done a lot of falling in love in his time.]

[He tips the screen to be visible and types in WHACKKO (because that would be Whacko with two ks).] Is there a surname?

splish splash

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

[Actually, with a loud, long yelp, Isabel is making a splashdown of her own, a few feet away from Yakko. She kicks back to the surface with a gasp, looking like a drowned, harassed rat...and there's a doggy-paddling furball of a dragonet who's suddenly using her as a life raft.]

Ow! Hey! I'm not a life jacket! [Though she does take pity and lift the cat-sized creature on to her shoulder. It tries to climb on her head and almost pushes her under again.]

This is not the swimming pool I was expecting, either! Where are we? This isn't Pittsburgh!

[marxmanship]

Yeah, if it were, there'd at least be pirates, right?

[he's exceptionally good at treading water, even if he's still turning bluer by the moment. he points toward the shore]

Think you can make it that far?

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

By some definition of pirate, yes! [Even if Isabel means the baseball team. But at his next question, she nods.]

I can, do you need a lift? I don't mind helping, so long as you help keep floofkins here from trying to choke me...

[She means the dragonet, who looks totally pathetic, and who really can't help it. All that fur is a drag in the lake!]

[marxmanship]

Nah, I can make it too. Not a problem.

[he crosses his eyes a little to look up at the Jackalope, which is now sitting on his head, holding on to his ears]

If it weren't so c-c-cold out here I'd say I'd race ya ...

[he pauses, noticing a ripple in the water: the Lady of the Lake on approach with their potions - not that he knows that]

Okay, so, uh, don't look now, but if you hear menacing string music, swim for your life...

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

[Isabel's eyes widen at the Lady's approach, and while she makes a cursory attempt to sniff the potion before it's held to her lips, she can tell it's warm, and so she drinks it--and it does help...]

I'd make a comment about a watery tart, but in this light, it kind of seems rude...so, you mentioned a race?

[Because if the potion made this kid feel better like it did to her? Isabel's totally game!]

Snowball Fight!!

[phoenixwiz]

“Oof! That is really cold,” Harry tries not to laugh so hard after getting hit by a doughy effect from the snowball Yakko threw, “Seriously, I wasn’t expecting that to happen besides it becoming a rainbow-coloured snow shower.”

But to say that he was impressed by the newcomer getting to used to kinetic magic so fast is an understatement: he was floored by the way that chap manages to fling those snowballs around despite just arriving so recently. So Harry decides to show him what he is capable of by sending trios of multcoloured snowballs towards a random tree before exploding into rainbow snow soup.

oh fancy meeting you here :)

[marxmanship]

Magic is all about imagination, really, the more you think about it: and Yakko has that in spades. He's a little disappointed that Harry decides to pelt a tree instead of fighting back, though - until those soup droplets hit him.

"Slushy," he comments, with a complimentary sort of nod. "But can you do this?"

He scoops up a snow basketball and starts dribbling it. With each dribble, however, it starts to pick up a little more snow. If Yakko's not careful, he may have a problem on his hands.

[phoenixwiz]

To be fair, Harry might be going too easy on the new guy just to let him have a fighting chance, hence the tree snow pelting. He does see Yakko building another snowball which looks like it is growing bigger every second that he wisely gets to build another set of rainbow snowballs, albeit more regularly sized than Yakko’s snowball.

He is waiting on him to throw his snowball first before he can strike, again to give him a fighting chance, even though he technically has the upper hand of being more experienced with kinetic magic for a month so far.

[marxmanship]

Being completely ignorant of Harry's upper hand in terms of experience, Yakko just squints at him as he keeps bouncing the giant ball ... though he's beginning to have a little difficulty, as it's now almost as big as he is.

"What, aren't you gonna do somethin'?"

Are We There Yet? | also cannot say how stoked I am to see him, bravo

[happyberry]

[ Yakko’s got the pleasure of keeping a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed human girl company in their carriage, comparatively to most the other humans around, at least, considering they just survived a plunge in a freezing lake in an alternate dimension. Though maybe not as “bushy-tailed” as himself, she’d managed to keep herself looking rather fresh, pink hair done up in an elegant bun, cozy in the fuzzy grey cloak they’d given her — they even let her pick the color, which thrilled her, ensuring it wouldn’t clash with her acid-washed jean jacket, ruffled maroon tunic, and still well-floofed puffy black skirt, with a cream-colored muffler and matching leggings both speckled with black pom-poms, all contrasted by big black combat boots that made her svelte legs look like long little sticks for her petite stature. She probably was only a tad taller than her companion, in fact, were they to stand... Barely visible beneath all her fluff, one more bit of fluff was hidden against her chest inside her cloak — a small rabbit with shimmering white fur and pale, cloudy eyes that looked like jade gemstones, content to scan the scene, eventually fixing its gaze on Yakko as he sidles up beside the pair.

The girl beside him indeed was already wrapped up in the device, though, the technology fairly familiar for someone coming from the 2000s, but still far fancier than her own flip-phone at home — and thus a bit absorbing. At least until now. The Warner has found himself next to someone only slightly less animated than himself, for all intents and purposes... Before she can properly answer, when she catches a glimpse of the boy(?), her already wide eyes widen comically and she lets out an exaggerated gasp at the sight of him. But a bright smile immediately follows, ready to dote on the... whatever he is. ]

On the net— Ehhh?! A talking— uh— dooog...~? S-Sorry, what are you? You’re so cute, though, wow~! An alien?! Alien talking dog?!

/blush!!!

[marxmanship]

I'm a Warner!

[he smiled brightly, reaching out to poke one of the pom poms to test how fluffy they were]

You've got a really baaaaaad case of dust bunnies, lady.

[happyberry]

A “Warner...”

[ She just assumes it’s a kind of animal on another planet, like a ferret, rather than his name... It takes her pause to pick up on what he means, but once she looks down at the pompom he’s poking at, the grin returns to her face. ]

Ah? Hehe, maybe so! Nee, nee, look— the biggest dust bunny of them all!

[ Much to the rabbit’s chagrin, it’s picked up and removed from its cozy, warm hiding spot against her bosom, and she holds it in the air between them to show it off to Yakko. Its fur is shimmering white, nearly iridescent, and its ears twitch and a leg kicks a little, uncomfortable, before she rests it on her shoulder like a baby. It settles it, but its cloudy jade eyes stay fixed on Yakko, pink nose twitching. ]

[marxmanship]

Yep! I'm one of the only ones. My brother and sister aren't here, though ... I'm not sure what happened to them. Maybe they took a wrong turn at Deerington.

[he pulls a 'yeesh' face, but that disappears at the sight of the bunny]

Well hey there! No Cadbury eggs in the carriage, yeah? I don't feel like walking the rest of the way.

Re: Yakko Warner | Animaniacs

[souls_of_roles]

Splish Splash

The word set, in that context caught her attention as she was walking by. The girl looked like she was put there just to be made fun of with her bright pink jump suit and what looked like an odd juggling pin hooked to either side of het belt. And when I say bright pink I mean BRIGHT pink. The colour is described, in her world as "a curse, once you see it it is burned in your eyes forever." It had a logo on the chest on one side of the open front (she wore a white tee shit under it) and huge on the back. And yep, that sure did say "LOVE ME".

Whatever she had been about to say was lost when she saw him. A look of wonder and hope came to her eyes, and he would get perhaps a unique "what are you" style question as she asked, bluntly, full of hope, "Are you a fairy?"

[marxmanship]

"Not really. I mean, I wear the pants in the family, but that's so flexible these days, don't you think?" He pulled himself up onto shore and wrung out his ears ... right on his poor jackalope, who chittered angrily at him.

"Whoa, sorry buddy." He made a face, then smiled up at her. "Are you in the space program? I bet Nasa wouldn't even need cameras to find your new uniform."

[souls_of_roles]

She was so very confused. "Huh?" she tilted her head, trying to figure out what he said. "I'm from L.M.E...." Was Nasa another agency? IT sounded familiar, but she wasn't sure why.

Re: Yakko Warner | Animaniacs

[donovan_deegan]

Also splish splash

An educational song that was meant to be entertaining? The older man turned to follow the voice, grinning broadly. He was wearing a hot pink button down shirt over a black tee shirt and dark pants. A guitar was strapped to his back, and hopping along side him was a large hot pink Jackalope with wings.

"Oh hey, would you look at that. Another Jackalope," he said with a grin as he knelt to offer a hand out to Yakko. No comment on how odd he looked, just a warm avuncular smile and a twinkle in his eyes that could be amusement.

[marxmanship]

"Let's not get them anywhere near a candlelight dinner," Yakko quipped, accepting the offered hand. "Hi. I'm Yakko."

[donovan_deegan]

He shook the hand and chuckled. "I dunno, the babies could be cute, but which parent would they live with? And," he grinned as he looked him up and down, "Woulda guessed mire doggo than Yak."