avalaughs | TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 10

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TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 10

{ QUICK NAV }
Premise ⚔️️ Rules ⚔️️ FAQ ⚔️️ Taken ⚔️️ Reserves ⚔️️ Apply ⚔️️ Locations ⚔️️ Bestiary

⚔️️ Top-Levels Only ⚔️️

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. 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.

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, 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. (Though.. given how hot and muggy the weather is this first week, maybe you might want to ask him to toss you right back into the lake where the waters are still cool.)

*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 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 recently 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 whole coconuts filled with tropical drinks and topped with tiny umbrellas. Strawberry daiquiris, pina coladas, margaritas, mai tais, and more... all frosty and in the spirit of keeping you cool during the sunny month of August. (Naturally, virgin editions are available for the underaged.) 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: The first attempt at using the mounts to travel en-masse up to fae territory is filled with problems: mandrake sprouts caused by recent murders drumming up requests to dig them up, two titanic creatures face off in the lake and catch characters in a maelstrom, and a mysterious underwater town with a strange curse being good neighbors with a last minute save... at a slight risk: becoming a merperson, naga, or cecaelian for a little while.

With communications with Elphame in Celliwig disrupted by specters and Arthur temporarily decommissioned, the Hall of Mirrors is temporarily off limits for cleansing rituals. Celliwig has encouraged people to return to Camelot for the time being, which is just as well with all the newcomers flooding in. Last month's new arrivals through the old guard got an introduction to the new aquatic mounts and there are now plenty of people versed in how to handle and work with the magical alpacapies, mossatees, and deinosuchus. As scout parties head out further, there are a few problems that they've run into that need a helping hand from Camelot's otherworldly population.

A ⦿ A Mandraconian Task

"Not-So-Good Morning"

mandrake root

pulled aside and asked to help harvest the mandrake roots

B ⦿ Clash of the Titans

a maelstrom forms in their path

C ⦿ Fresh Waters

heading back

An underwater town

seeking out someone to break a curse

SUMMARY:After the recent event, people need to recover and heal. So Camelot's castle opens its doors for an open house, a swap meet and poetry battle auction, and a healing circle ritual.

Arthur is injured and recovering, and news has spread on social media about it. There are lots of well-wishers and gifts being sent to the castle... enough that there's just too much for Arthur to do anything with it. He needs time to recover and rest and not be bothered, and as such declares that all those who need it shall share in the wealth and generosity of those wishing him well. The abundance (Especially from guilty Celliwigians who didn't realize what was happening right under their own noses) results in a few things happening...

A ⦿ Open House

new foods made from recipes from all around the different worlds

royal public baths

old architecture mixing with jacuzzi jets

waterfall shower rooms

glowing colors by their mood

live show with a magician

rose gardens

B ⦿ Swap Meet

open-market bazaar

swindled

to win art, you must first prove yourself worthy of art

C ⦿ Healing Circle After Party

It's good to take care of yourself with a little fun, but if you're still stressed, hurt, traumatized, mildly upset, hung over, or just want to feel better about yourself, consider joining in some of the local witches and wizards in a meditative healing ritual. Step one: Gather herbs from the castle gardens. They've got all kinds, but you're looking for things like yarrow, apple blossoms, cinnamon, and lemon balm. Once you've gathered your herbs, join in the silent meditation circle with an available partner. Anyone is fine, but once you've entered the circle with someone, it's very important that you do not make any noise. Silence is important, and as you burn each of your herbs with your partner, you'll find that the smoke forms a barrier that surrounds the two of you. Put your hands together, and focus on the source of your pain. You will share your emotions with the person you're performing the spell with. They will feel everything you feel in that moment, and be able to share the burden without having to speak of or share what caused this pain. With the pain lightened, you will find that the smoke lights up and dissipates up at the top. Whether or not you choose to share with your newfound partner... well, that's up to you, but they sure are going to know how you're feeling right now, and that definitely wasn't warned about when you were asked to join the healing circle.

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.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

She grinned, lifting her hammer. “I wouldn’t forgive you if you did.”

Oi, what's got you lookin' all out of sorts?

[Pst, Guda hey... have a large shadow now hanging over you followed alongside the heavy air of killing intent ~~star weight~~ (completely unintentional) to go with that deep and gruff voice and wall of abs as hard as diamond. This was a pleasant surprise, perhaps he should start heading out to that lake whenever a new boat of people arrives.

He gives her a wolfish grin. Just, you know, please don't back away. That would make him super sad.]

🛵 ARRIVAL
A1 ☀️

[ The plunge into the lake itself is nothing for Alberto. What concerns him more, right off the bat, is all the people swimming around him. As soon as he surfaces and sees everyone else trying to make their way out of the water, he immediately darts back down into its depths to hide. Those observant enough might catch a glimpse of a spiky finned tail slipping barely above the surface before it disappears in a deep dive down. Perhaps others might notice a strange dark shape swimming beneath them, moving quite fast… A huge creepy fish — wearing, uh, shorts? No. It’s a sea monster. He dashes deep enough to avoid being seen, keeping an eye on all the paddling legs above him until there are none, then sneaks off to the farthest edge of the shores and emerges behind a rock. He peeks over it, purple scaly hair poking out and yellowed green eyes narrowed suspiciously, discerningly, as the wheels turn upstairs. The wheels turn pretty fast, though, because he’s… a bit reckless, to say the least. He scrambles onto the sands, still ducking behind the boulders, but quickly shakes to dry himself off and emerges… human?! Hopefully no one saw that. If they did, they probably did a double take and can’t trust their eyes, for how quick his transformation was. And after such an untrusting, stealthy entrance, the boy walks out right back toward the crowd with a dramatically confident swagger as if he’s just taking an afternoon stroll… Anyone he passes, he’ll shoot a smug smirk, and throw his hands up playfully as if in a casual greeting. Which would be nice, except for, uh, the actual words he says… ]

What’s wrong with you, stupido!

[ But wow, he says it with such confidence, entirely unabashedly. Gotta give him credit for that? ]

A2 ☀️
[ Next, though, on his way up the stairs, Alberto sees someone far ahead fall — and get caught by the Cliff Beast. Which gives him a great idea…

The boy leaps off the fucking edge. He, too, is caught by the Cliff Beast; but the Beast has its work cut out for it today. Alberto leaps out of the Cliff Beast’s hand, too! Thankfully, only to be caught by another hand. This delights him, and he whoops out loudly, and continues playing Ninja Warrior with the poor Cliff Beast… surely drawing the attention of anyone walking up the steps like he’s supposed to be…! ]

Woohooooo! Ha-ha!

[ Eventually, the Cliff Beast gets tired of this game, and figures this weird kid doesn’t need to be rescued. This is how Alberto finds out he has protective light magic, as he drops from a considerable height like a rock. A winged yellow tabby cat appears on the top of the cliff, and like its partner it’s brought here as Alberto’s familiar, leaps off the cliff, too — except the cat can fly. Alberto can’t fly. The cat can also cast magic, creating a protective hard light barrier just above the ground to catch Alberto just before he crashes, softening the blow and holding him in midair. Then, the magic dissolves, and he drops a foot to the ground with a thud. And, still lying on the ground on his back, just throws his hands up in the air triumphantly, beaming. ]

Yeah!

[ And gets up to run up the stairs and do it all over again. Mamma mia… ]

B/C ☀️
[ Despite his antics, seemingly not as distressed as he probably should be, he does at least make it into the caravans. He’s only half-listened to explanations about the phones and their situation, poking around curiously at everything and anything. He finds the little mini-bar with (virgin) cocktails, all served in coconuts — and with little umbrellas! His face lights up and he plucks one umbrella up. ]

Ooh~! Ombrellino. Nice.

[ And pockets it. Then reaches back down and, um, pockets the rest of them, too… Sorry, everyone. He does at least take a drink for himself, but his first instinct isn’t to sip, but, uh, to bite. The coconut. It… doesn’t work out well for him. He makes a grossed out face and sticks his tongue out as if it’ll make him forget the feeling of the coconut’s fibers against it. Gross.

Eventually he makes it to the inn, and whoever happens to room with him will find him microwaving nothing. Pressing every button over and over, testing them all, with nothing in the microwave at all. He offers them a limp wave and nod of acknowledgement when they walk in, maybe an unenthusiastic “hey,” but his attention is clearly captured. Okay… ]

🛵 Lake It Or Not
B/C 🌊

[ Even if you’ve found yourself as Alberto’s partner on a mossatee, maybe noting that he’s done his best to keep his whole body on the beast as best he can, wiping himself off any time water splashes him, whatever chit-chat might have been made between you clearly made little difference to Alberto when the storm comes… He’s looking out for himself. As soon as the tidal wave is headed their way, when his partner turns their head to see the tsunami, Alberto slips off the mossatee behind their back and dives into the waters. Down, down, down… He does see some rather strange-looking sea monsters, though, and when he sees them rescuing the humans from above, he decides to chase after everyone on his own. Seeing everyone with gills and fins doesn’t immediately register in his mind that these are humansmaking The Change. For once, he’s the one who’s baffled. But when he sees there’s some kind of mer-town… Well, it’s different, but hey, probably familiar enough. He’s not interested in this mission as much anymore. So few people seem to be trying to explore the underwater town. He wants to explore. Everyone else seems like they’re really struggling swimming, though, which is pretty embarrassing and hard to watch… So he latches onto the nearest person, whether or not they seem to have any coordination at all, grabbing them by the wrist and starting to swim away toward the town, tugging them along behind him. Where’s he taking them? Who knows. Not him. ]

Hey. You. Come on.

🛵 Taking a Breather
B 🍝
[ After he's gorged himself on lots of foreign foods that did not compliment each other's flavors (and without using silverware, uh; it was mildly disturbing to watch), find Alberto feasting his eyes on the market outside in the courtyard with even more gusto. Within mere moments, he’s already found a crate somewhere, and he’s just loading. it. up. He does it so brazenly, yet stealthily at once somehow, that the first several traders he steals from don’t even notice that he’s made off with something, but as his crate continues to fill rapidly with a rather strange collection, he’s drawing more and more attention to himself. Most of what he's picked up isn't even seemingly good stuff; if he'd stop long enough to be swindled, he'd be swindled for sure. Someone finally tells him he needs to pay for that, and he just stares blankly, shrugs, and leaves. Onto the next stand. However, no one’s forgetting or forgiving this kid, shouting after him as he shirks them all, grabbing cool-looking things with little discretion as he walks by, barely even examining his options. This really just creates a string of shopkeepers yelling behind him, “Hey! Stop! Thief!” But with an armful of absolutely random shit, he walks with that same confident swagger he walked with on the beach, a self-satisfied smirk on his face, paying the traders’ calling after him no mind. Does he not realize he’s supposed to pay? Or does he not care? Stop him and find out! Or maybe, if you don’t have such chutzpah, it could be that whatever your character is reaching to pick up at one of the stands, disappears before them as Alberto snatches it up and keeps going, tossing it into his “shopping basket…” Hey! That was yours! ]

Edited 2021-08-02 03:28 (UTC)

[It's a few more selfies later when Raihan twirls his Rotom around and has it float in front of him as he examines the pictures, looking for the best ones to post. His Pokemon have gathered around, too, and it's Duraludon who lets out a curious noise as he notices the second person in one of the shots.]

Hm? [Raihan takes a closer look, and - ah, he sees it too. He pauses, then turns to look behind him at the tree the person was peaking out from. Are they still there?]

Hullo? Oh, photobomber?

IA. Arrival

Falling through the air with a cry of surprise, Lina sees the water fast approaching. Okay so someone's messing with her, she'll figure out who to blast about that later. The important thing is to stop her fall. Sticking her arms out in front of you, she prepares a quick casting to save herself from getting soaked.

"Ray Wing!" Okay now that the fall's been taken care of wait no it hasn't she's still falling, the water is getting awfully close now.

"Ray Wing! Ray Wing! Uh, Levitation! Damn it! Levitationlevitationlevitatioooooh CRA-"

She hits the water and disappears. A long few moments pass before she emerges onto the shore, soaking wet, and looking more than a little annoyed. Or she would be if not for the fish caught between her teeth. Well, at the very least she won't go hungry.

"Hrrrrgh!" She points an accusing finger at the nearest person, stomping up to them. "WHTTHLLYTHNKYRDNGUGTANIDAWHTYRDLLNGWTHHRRRE?!" She...demands? The fish is still flopping between her teeth.

IB. Ruby-Eyes

Lina is trudging up the cliffs, still pretty annoyed about this whole thing (even a freshly-cooked fish dinner on the beach hasn't really helped, and she's still hungry to boot). The loss of her magic is one thing, but Gourry's not here either, or if he is, the tapioca-head wandered off somewhere so Lina's gonna have to go take care of that before he gets into trouble and she's already thinking how done she is with this place when she reaches the top of the cliffs, looks up, and stops dead in her tracks.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me." She half snarls, half sobs. Of course, why should she even be surprised.

Ruby-Eyed Shabranigdo, Lord of the Monster Race and Source of All Evil draws himself up to his full height. "Look in fear upon my visage mortal, for I have summoned you for a glorious purpose. You shall be my tool in—"

"What?" Lina asks curiously. There's a pause, and Shabranigdo tries again.

"—You have been chosen to be the tool by which I shall wreak my glorious vengeance upon—"

"What?" Lina repeats louder. "Hang on, I gotta kneel down here." She takes a moment, fluffing out her still fairly damp cape behind her so she can properly kneel and address the...very, very tiny Dark Lord. "The other shard of you was a lot bigger. What's going on?"

"As I am trying to explain, impudent mortal, I have summoned you here as my tool—"

"HEY WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!" Okay, that's the last straw. At least this shard of ol' Ruby-Eyes is small enough she can skip the long arduous battle and just drop-kick him off the side of the cliff.

When you reach the top of the cliff, Lina is struggling with a small demon in her hands that she appears to be trying to throw off the White Cliffs.

"OKAY! WAIT! I CAN EXPLAIN JUST DON'T THROW ME OFF THE CLIFF!"

Red Spring

The training grounds are there, and having lost her prodigious magical power, and apparently plants are her thing now so that's something she'll have to deal with, Gourry's not here at all it seems like, and it also sounds like for the time being she actually does in fact have to put up with Tiny Shabranigdo, and if there's one thing any sorcerer worth their salt knows you never, ever, ever do...is practice magic on an empty stomach, and that fish was like two hours ago and practically a guppy and there's a restaurant off the training yards so Lina knows where she'sheaded first. And it appears she's picked up some company, so great. Lina hates eating alone.

"Okay! Light bit of lunch and then we'll head over to the yard." She takes the menu and opens it. "All right, let's see what we've got here. Okay!" The menu almost immediately snaps shut, and she's waving the nearest waitress over. Lina hands her the waitress. "Thanks, this all looks good. Double portions, please!"

Leaning back in her chair she looks over at her company. "What are you gettin'?" She asks while the waitress blinks in confusion.

Open House

So this Arthur guy has a castle, he's not feeling well...and he just decided to let everyone come in and walk around? Well, don't mind Lina if she does! Because castles invariably have treasure vaults, loaded with riches and probably the odd artifact or two, and if there's one thing Lina is running incredibly low on right now, it's riches and magical artifacts.

Needless to say she's nowhere near the baths or rose garden when you stumble on her. "Oh! Uh, hey. What's up?" The way Lina jumps to attention and tries to lean casually against the wall doesn't work when she misjudges her position and almost falls sideways into a hallway, not the wall next to it. "Uhhhh, I'm just, y'know, getting my bearings having a...looksee..." She looks around at nothing in particular, and clicks her tongue a few times as she does so.

"Well, this has been great, but I gotta run. No need to follow me, I know where I'm going!"

Edited 2021-08-02 05:02 (UTC)

I--

[ "I absolutely can," except she turns her head to him enough to see the symbol, and it surprises her enough that she scrambles to sit upright. There's a twig stuck in her hair, sticking out at a weird angle, and she absently pats at it, even as she points to his hand with her own symbol visible. ]

--you too??

[ SAME HAT, except it's more like SAME GENERAL WORLD for now. ]

[ Kadoc had been doing a well enough job to assure she recovered from the condition the tournament had put her in, but she couldn't stay in bed too long. It was difficult for her to settle, as it was, and given she was well enough to move around again, she was desperate for fresh air. Plus she'd found some new bakes advertised in something she saw on the television she wanted to try, so a grocery run was as good an excuse as any, right?

It wasn't certain whether it was the familiar name being spoke, the familiar voice speaking it, or a combination thereof. All she knew is that when she was coming about the corner to hear and see that, it froze her right to her core, the whole world around her stilling to something akin to absolute stillness for a brief and agonizing moment...

... She dropped the bag she'd been carrying, immediately rushing down, ignoring the pain that inspired in her injuries, and crashed into Ritusuka with a heavy, tight hug. ]

Edited 2021-08-02 03:41 (UTC)

No.

[ This is the worst news she's heard all day! All week! All month!! Potentially all year, if you ignore all the important plot stuff that's been happening--her precious relaxation! Her stupid coping mechanisms!! How could this happen to a good hard-working girl?!

The phone starts to slip from her fingers, and it's really only dumb luck and reflexes that keep her from just dropping it completely. Even after she saves it, though, the look of horror doesn't leave her face. ]

Seriously?! I worked so hard... I was like a thousand points away from level cap...

A plant huh.

[She hums, leaning back onto her hands; is totes listening. Gurl why do you gotta be like that? Being all pathetic like don't fit you missy. Hazuki thinks for a moment more before answering.]

Well, what sort of plant would you want to be?

[Shall play along! And if Ritsuka goes all hypothermic then she'll just drag her somewhere warm and dry!]

[Is this what they do?! . . . In contrast to Ritsuka, Kadoc does actually feel himself relaxing by inches as they burn the herbs, though he's not about to attribute that to the herbs themselves. It's more a matter of just having time to process and cope with this in his head while going through a repetitive, admittedly soothing gesture. There's just something about burning shit. It could be that having to do this in silence, while at least somewhat focusing on the task at hand, actually was the best way this could have happened after all; what was the alternative? What would he have done if he'd run into her in the bazaar or something? Flipped out and caused a scene for no real reason?

Because there really is no reason. He has a truce with Chaldea here, unless she's not interested in maintaining that—and maybe she won't be. Ah, there it is, the core of the anxiety within him now; he's got it. Maybe she won't be. Why would she be, after everything he's done to them? It's never made sense to him that Gareth and Gawain accept him, or even that Beowulf is grudgingly willing to call truce with him. He's been lucky to get off as easy as he has. And now the person with the most reason to hold a serious grudge is here, and it's not like back on the Shadow Border, where she'd needed information from him and he'd been their prisoner. Now they're just here. She'll turn them all against him, and he'll deserve it. He can't stand up to Chaldea on his own. And why should he even try? These are his just desserts.

And with all of that swimming in his head—or maybe he's the one swimming in it, drowning, being pulled under by the ankle by a whirlpool of anxieties—

When he presses his palms to hers, that's what she'll feel. Fear. Anxiety, guilt, shame, anticipation, envy and jealousy both distinct yet conjoined.

And, along with that, a sick sense of joy in resignation, the feeling of the other shoe having not only dropped, but crashing right through the floor to open up a yawning pit and the urge to just leap right into it.]

[Kotarou could be bad at reading the mood and understanding people's emotional feedback sometimes, so he just laughs rather boisterously and completely misses her unimpressed look. Right now, he's just happy to hear someone finally talking his lingo! He folds his arms rather confidently.]

Wahahaha! Man, I feel like the people who understood pop culture here are so far and in-between! It's like getting spirited away to another planet and you have to mingle around with aliens and try to fit in.

[He has only done one of these things and it was a bad time. But that was neither here nor there. Right now, he's far more focused on making some nice and smooth conversation.]

So I'm guessing that you're new around here, right? Did you get dumped in the lake and get saved by someone? I think everyone gets that wet welcome whenever they arrive.

[ It's like one of those old cartoons, really, the moment where the shadow falls over her while she's examining a stall, and then she s l o w l y turns around to see who it is. There's a certain point where you get used to that weight, after all, and it goes from being something to be scared of (though she's not stupid; there is some small part of her that is always a little scared) to being... comforted. Like a weighted blanket or something. ]

...!!

[ Wow, if she were the kind of person who cried easily, she might have burst into tears on the spot. ]

B--... Beowulf...?

[ Okay, maybe she's a little wobbly. She will 100% deny it if she's called out. ]

Wha--?!

[ Like brother, like sister: Ritsuka's a noodle girl, and even injured, Gareth could surely wipe the floor with her. She lets out a startled yelp, high enough to break into the auction for a moment, flopping for a second before she recognizes the person latched onto her. ]

G--Gareth?! Hi??

[ That's about as much as she can get out with the breath she has, but she does manage to free an arm to pat her back awkwardly in lieu of returning the hug just yet. ]

[Thankfully, as Griffin leans back, so does Raihan, realizing that he's probably making the guy uncomfortable. He instead pillows the back of his head with his hands, and with his headband off to let his dreadlocks dry, the way his brows raise is all too obvious, even with his eyes remaining lidded and almost sleepy.]

Huh.

[Flygon regards Griffin curiously, sniffing at the other man while keeping his little hands on Raihan's shoulders. Duraludon watches warily, because he senses the bit of unease from Raihan. It's not every day you meet someone whose eyes are actually like that!

Still, Raihan is a cool-headed kind of person, so he eventually relaxes. It's just eyes.]

Well, they suit you! [He gives an easy grin, and Duraludon seems to relax as well. Goodra, sweet as always, watches on with a smile, though it looks like she's getting to get her hands on Raihan's shoulders instead of Flygon.] Sorry for the confusion on my part. You've got a special pair of lookers there, is all!

(ooc: Go seems to exist in the anime, so I'm cool with Griffin knowing that! Long as he doesn't go saying Raihan's totally fictional, we're good. o7)

[ There's a moment where Ritsuka makes this face, though she manages to school it away quickly enough. Oh, he's an Archer all right, and he'd be soooooo sad to have a pretty girl peg him without possibly pegging him, if you know what I mean.

She's not going to say that to a stranger. Let him dig his own grave if he ever shows up. ]

Ah--it's Ritsuka. Ritsuka Fujimaru. [ The western order, since Camelot is a western city. ] I was just, uh, just kind of looking around--I'm pretty much flat broke right now, so...

[ So she can't indulge in retail therapy, but she can at least look. Looking is free, right? ]

[ Unfortunately, Saber—or more specifically, Artoria—fell under the category of Servants here that were not summoned by Ritsuka. Frankly, what she has heard about concerning Chaldea has been... a little on the unbelievable side sometimes, but it's not like her knights would lie to her.

Still, Ritsuka doesn't really catch her eye until Ritsuka quite loudly mentions a name while Saber passes her from behind. A name that that she obviously knows. Of course, there could be plenty of other people named Tristan, but hearing his name again, she says out loud to herself... ]

Tristan?

[ So she says before taking a bite out of a crepe in her hand. Something she got while she was here. ]

[ She hates riding horses she hates riding horses she hates riding horses she hates riding horses SHE HATES RIDING HORSES--

It takes her a few seconds to let go of his neck, and once she does, she just latches onto the horse's mane with a white-knuckled grip. Ahhhhhhhhh. ]

Y--yeah. Uh. Give me the bullet points? The thirty-second summary.

...Something cute.

[ Plants can be cute, right? She'd spent some time in Chaldea's greenhouse before, even if she wouldn't call herself a gardener by any stretch of the term, and she's always liked the neat tidy rows.

After a moment, she snaps her fingers. Aha! ]

A strawberry plant. I'm already kind of the right color.

Sure. That sounds fair.

[He takes a moment to put his shirt and suit back on, then rolls his arms around to relax his muscles. He'll move over to the opposite end of where Na'na was standing and grabs onto the lower bars. He figured that would help where she had the hilt secured and he had this part handled. This was reminding him of a time when he had to help a certain airheaded girl with a heavy box.]

Alright! Let's do this thing on the count of three. One, two and three-!

[It was time to hit the accelerator in his mind so to speak. He couldn't rewrite himself like he used to, but this was always a good mental switch in his mind whenever he was going to do a big physical task. He grunts as he begins to feel the sword lifting up. Slowly and steadily... Good thing his Guardian training left him physically fit as a fiddle. He thinks that this will work!]

Hnngh... H-Hey, miss? Just what is this sword made out of, anyway?!

"Well at least someone is! Oh come on, light already! I'm staaaaaaa~aaaaarving!"

Lina's crouched a few feet away with a very makeshift firepit, trying to grill the fish that she...ended up with when she staggered out of the water. A few bits and pieces of driftwood she's managed to collect serve as kindling, and she's busy trying to actually light said fire.

"You didn't come up with a trout or anything, did ya?" She asks, keeping her attention focused on trying to start the fire.

Lina is seated near the front, trying to stifle a yawn. She thought this thing was gonna be catered, but instead it's complete amateur hour with this "sorcerer".

Maybe she should just sneak off now and try to find the treasure vault that's got to be tucked away somewhere while everyone's busy with this dog and pony show...

not a question, just a heads up but: the "top levels only" link at the top of the TDM links to July's TDM! it has been a bit confusing every time I click it XD

...

[ She sucks in a quick breath--whether it's at the contact or at the sudden influx of feelings that aren't hers, she's not sure. This is weird! Handholding is something that's been coded as romantic in her head, so even if this is completely not, she sure does feel a way about it.

Some of that bleeds in her own offered feelings, though she's overall far more simple. There's a bewildered sort of resignation (it's another day ending in y), surprise, confusion--and there's a fear that rests with a bone-deep kind of exhaustion that Ritsuka herself is only barely conscious of, a thing that has been years building. It has little to do with Kadoc himself--he's involved, of course he's involved, but it's not him. It's the weight of Solomon's true final vision, of someone who could solve the problem that he inadvertently created, and everything that has followed ever since. She's three Lostbelts down. It's not a weight meant for a single person, but what other choice does she have?

Deep down, though--buried under that, and her confusion, and all everything else... she's happy. She's happy that he's alive--that at least one person she's tried to save, one person in all the literal thousands of casualties she's had to cause so far, survived. She's so happy to see him alive, even if he hates her.

But like the exhaustion nipping at her heels, it's nothing Ritsuka is consciously thinking of. It's just there, all her feelings, and she's too busy trying to process his. Whoa?! This is beyond trippy right now. ]

Excuse you, I saved myself.

[ In a fight, the best she can do is keep herself out of harm's way as much as possible, but she does know how to swim. ]

The water's cold, but it's not that bad. And I'd rather fall into water than onto land. At least water, you can angle yourself to break the fall a little.

[ Whether you bellyflop or go straight down, landing on the ground from any decent height is going to hurt, if not be fatal. She says this very matter of factly, the way that one with experience in these matters would.

(Wow, does she kind of hate the fact that she has experience. Da Vinci, please, handle your coordination better.) ]

You'd think, if everyone arrives that way, they'd have better landing accommodations.

Yeah, c'mon, can't you just hear it?

[ She responds without thinking that it might be strange. Maybe she's just hit the point in her loneliness that she's hallucinating familiar voices. Whatever. She doesn't have any pride about that.

Ritsuka adjusts her posture in a parody of Tristan's more languid poses, pitching her voice down in a (very bad) imitation of his: ]

"Oh... I'm so sad... I'm so sad that it's come to this... I suppose I must step in and show them how a real bard handles this sort of thing."

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TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 10

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III lets goooooooooooooooooo

Alberto Scorfano » Pixar's Luca » light magic + bargaining magic » winged cat

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Lina Inverse | The Slayers | Plant and ?????

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iii

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Σ(ノ°▽°)ノ COME AT ME

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III REACHES

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All Washed Up

Open House

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hellooooooooooooo