TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 10

[avalonmods]

{ 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 Just as volunteers are asked to bring supplies for the journey to fae territory, a series of grisly murders involving strung up corpses appears around town (see this month's quest, "Not-So-Good Morning" for more details), and the dripping blood and fluids of these corpses seeps into the ground to give birth to strange, leafy plants that sprout leaves in all directions at once. They're small, and the locals seem weary of them, but ultimately they're breaking up pathways and making them into trip hazards... the locals recognize these plants as mandrake root, which is known in different cultures for... very different things. The mandrake root is a cursed plant that screams in a way that curdles blood enough to kill small creatures if they're too close and make a grown person go deaf. The reason anyone would pull them up however... well, their magical properties are astounding. It is said that Joan of Arc carried one in her possession to give her the power to take control of her own fate. Some religions claim that it has the ability to restore a person's fertility, and before clever manufacturers started using the name for tomatoes, Islamic tradition called the "apples of the jinn" and cause strong bouts of lust. Needless to say, a good many people are cautious about pulling them up, but more than willing to offer a fair sum of money to a newcomer who can get them out of the ground. The cause of their sprouting may be tragic, but there's no way that you're going to make it through town center with trip supplies without getting pulled aside and asked to help harvest the mandrake roots for a pretty penny... or maybe you're interested yourself. Either way, it may behoove you to practice a little magic with a friend to try to get them up. B ⦿ Clash of the Titans Finally everyone has gotten going and a mixture of brave Camelot citizens, Celliwigians, and otherworlders have headed back to Albion's White Cliffs to take off with their mounts (and partners... you're going to have to ride with someone, there aren't enough mounts for everyone to get their own!) and things are going well. It's about two days into the waters of Lake Avalon that things start to send a chill down your spine. Back on land, even for the first two days there, the weather had been hot and sunny, a beautiful summery start to August, but as the party starts to approach the southern banks of Dinas Emrys, they see a gargantuan beast run at bewildering speeds off the land and straight across the surface of the lake. The creature appears to be some kind of centipede formed of black clouds and lightning that illuminates its exoskeleton from inside of its body in deep purple and blue hues. Each of its legs kicks up a titanic wave headed straight for the party of explorers as it charges towards its target, what appears to be a tsunami wave containing a dark, shadowy figure emerging at least twenty stories above the water. The only part of it that isn't black are the blank, soulless eyes. As the lightning bug monster charges what some may recognize as an umibozu, it crashes into the tsunami wave and all three fall asunder... which is bad news for the traveling party, as the waters are now extremely choppy and lighting up with charges of the centipede's lightning. The result? As the two monsters dive down below the water, a maelstrom forms in their path and starts sucking everyone down! C ⦿ Fresh Waters Anyone who manages to escape the maelstrom will find that their mounts aren't moving forward this time around and are heading back where they came from, even with lost supplies. You may find yourself having to switch mounts with others nearby or talking to a strange beachball on the back of the alpacapie that's carrying your ass back to the White Cliffs... Or if you weren't so lucky, you may find yourself waking up on a slightly different shore. An underwater shore. An underwater town, in fact. After the initial panic of realizing that you're not drowning when you wake up settles in, you'll realize that you seem to be able to breathe underwater just fine. In fact, the real panic is probably about to start when you realize that like the fine people of this town that saved you, you've been temporarily gifted gills and a bottom lower half of either a merperson, a naga, or a cecaelia. Your caretaker, a nurse of the local town, offers the explanation that the only way to save everyone from drowning was to pull them into their territory, which is cursed to turn them all into sea monsters. Not to worry though, as long as you leave before the sun sets on the third day, you'll turn back to normal just fine. ...Though, they're not really sure when that was or if they battle is over, so you should probably find your friends and any possessions you had with you and start heading toward the surface. Not too much time to explore this strange, underwater town... especially since you don't have much practice not having legs to get you up to the surface. Don't worry, if you don't make it out in time, the Lady of the Lake will come fetch you... though perhaps not in time, so you may need to spend some time back in Camelot 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 Camelot's castle halls open up to all those who would like to come. Invitations are sent and a feast is prepared. A huge table with all manner of foods from different cultures is prepared. The only thing they ask is that you stay out of the wing of the castle that Arthur is resting in, as he is not available right now. Try new foods made from recipes from all around the different worlds or invite yourself to use the castle's royal public baths, remodeled from more ancient styles to include cool things like old architecture mixing with jacuzzi jets and waterfall shower rooms. There's even a water slide. It's more a water park than anything... Explore the library (except for the forbidden section, which has a very powerful magical barrier preventing entry-- even trying to tamper with it could result in your character glowing colors by their mood as punishment for messing with the magic). Those are dangerous texts in there! There's even a live show with a magician! Which sounds lame, but he's more or less showing off his skills in tricks, knife skills, and has a mean comedy routine to go with it. He's even willing to teach lucky volunteers how to escape death-defying stunts... hopefully. You may want to bring a buddy for backup. Or perhaps you're more interested in heading out to explore the rose gardens or finding a place to stay for the evening... don't worry, if you've had too much to drink or simply tired yourself out, you're welcome to stay in one of the guest rooms during this open house celebration. B ⦿ Swap Meet Not interested in exploring the castle? Well perhaps you'll enjoy the open-market bazaar that seems to have set up in the courtyard. All kinds of oddities are being exchanged in the castle courtyard and you may just find something rare.. or maybe it's a piece of crap. It's hard to tell, and the chances of getting swindled are just as high as the chances of getting an antique masterpiece. There is an auction for those willing to pay more for authenticity, but auctions in Camelot go a little bit differently... to win art, you must first prove yourself worthy of art-- all bid submissions must be performed in stanza. Haikus, rap, short poems-- all are valid, as long as they follow the rules of your chosen form of poetry and express why your bid deserves the win. The last person to falter wins their right to pay their bid, with at least 10,000G upped with each poetic rebuttal. 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.

Comments

[fujimaru]

[ Ritsuka tightens her arm a little around Gareth, angling them just a little so that she's now more between the stranger and Gareth. ]

That's right, she's one of the coolest people I know! A knight should be well-rounded, right? And she's so nice, she's agreed to show me around, since I'm brand-new and all. But I'd love to hear more about it later, Auntie! If you don't mind! Especially the biscuits. I'm a big fan of food.

[ Even as she's talking, she's gently nudging them away, one step at a time, waving cheerfully as they go. ]

[beaumains]

"Oh, a friend of the champ, eh?"

[ The old woman laughed, waving the two of them off. ]

"Don't let me keep you, then. I'll be sure to catch your next fight, Sir Gareth!"

Th-thank you, my lady. [ Gareth murmured for the most part. Ritsuka had already picked up on it, of course, but goodness, she felt like she was going to shrivel to dust under all the praise. ]

[fujimaru]

I'd love to try one of the biscuits later, Auntie!

[ Annnnd successfully off. Ritsuka shepherds them away a little further, then laughs a little. If she weren't worried about the injuries she can't see, she would have elbowed Gareth a little; as it is, she just ends up ruffling her hair, fluffing it worse than usual. ]

Jeeze, I've missed out on a lot, huh? Sorry I'm late. I wanna hear all about this stuff--from you, not randos.

[ She doesn't know how long Gareth has been here. But she still wants to know. ]

[beaumains]

[ Ritsuka and Gawain both, huh? She couldn't pretend she minded the head rubs... it really was probably her favorite thing. She could never really come up with a good reason why, either. It just seemed an intrinsic part of her, the sort of affection she appreciated most. Perhaps it went back to childhood memories she could scarcely recall...

Either way, there was a pronounced blush beneath her natural one, rubbing at her cheek. ]

Well all that is a more recent development. It's the reason I'm in this sorry state, too.

[ A small sigh, trying to straighten herself out so she wasn't relying on Ritsuka's support so heavily. ]

I won two competitions at a festival the fae folk of Celliwig were hosting. A cooking competition and a martial tournament. I never was comfortable with the attention that came from winning these things... though Gawain likes to brag on my behalf.

[fujimaru]

That's a big brother's job, isn't it? To brag about his siblings?

[ Now that they're away from the would-be gossiper, Ritsuka adjusts her grip to something a little more casual, if still supportive. ]

But let me guess, you went pretty hard, huh? I'm sorry I missed seeing you fight. I bet it was cool.

[ She's watched the knights train in the simulation rooms, and she's even designed a few tests for each of them, but that's not the same. Oh well. Given the way this place is set up, maybe she'll get another chance in the future. ]

[beaumains]

Every match was a test, pushing me to my limit... I even faced Gawain in the finals...

[ Actually, in talking about that, she couldn't help but notice something... Ritsuka hadn't reacted to her mentioning Gawain, beyond agreeing that it was like him to brag about Gareth. Which probably meant... ]

Master... just how much do you know of here?

[ It wasn't accusatory, but it was spoken in a way where she felt like Rituska probably... already knew the one thing she'd been avoiding mentioning. ]

[fujimaru]

[ There's a brief moment where Ritsuka makes such a face, though it quickly passes and she shrugs. ]

I know that things are in bad shape? It doesn't sound too different from what we were already dealing with. ...To be honest, a lot of the explanation just kind of went over my head.

[ Read: she kind of dazed out without Mash there to help both keep her paying attention and to be the helpful exposition friend. ]

Let's just say Gawain's whole "sweeping someone off their feet while on a white horse" routine could use some work.

[beaumains]

He... y-yeah, he's been planning to do that for awhile, I think.

[ And knowing Gawain, he probably frontloaded her with information. Not just on details of Camelot, on the calamity, the fragile state of affairs between Camelot and Celliwig, hell he probably told her about the tournaments before Gareth had, and...

also about Kadoc. ]

Have you... run into Kadoc?

[fujimaru]

Not yet.

[ She's not surprised, though, so that probably answers some of Gareth's question. And also it's possible people will hear the yelling when she and Kadoc do meet face to face. ]

Honestly, I've, uh--I spent most of the past like, day and a half asleep? I got to that inn place and just kind of passed out.

[ It had only been a day before arriving here when she'd found the little parting gift from Koyanskaya. Da Vinci's scans had deemed it the real thing, and Ritsuka doesn't feel quite so worn down as she had, but... well. She no longer has Mash to act as a buffer against poison or its side effects, and she doesn't have the same level of magic circuits that Goredolf does. Given the opportunity to rest, with no one coming in to check on her or needing her, her body had taken the opportunity to crash hard. ]

This has been the first time I've been out since I got here.

[beaumains]

Gawain will scold us both, at this rate...

[ She had no doubts Ritsuka was deeply exhausted. Who wouldn't have been, in her position? If not just the physical wear and tear, but the tremendous and constant emotional weights she wore on her shoulders, entire worlds of lives, unspeakable in their scale, crushing down... something all of those contracted to her wanted to help her with. Not from pity, but... just because they genuinely wanted her to be well, despite her responsibilities.

She didn't dare compare her own struggles to that.

But moreover... ]

Kadoc is... living with me, at the moment.

[fujimaru]

What Gawain doesn't know won't hurt me.

[ He's not the worst of the mother hens Ritsuka has had to deal with, and with Gareth around, she suspects she won't have to worry that much about it. Who's going to worry about a Master when your Actual Little Sister is there, and you're not reliant on said Master for mana or anything else at the moment?

(Ritsuka has, possibly, bought a little too hard in the This Is Fine meme mentality.)

But at Gareth's revelation, she only blinks, cocking her head. ]

Yeah? So you can actually live places that aren't free? I was kind of planning on just camping once they kicked me out of the inn...

[beaumains]

[ That was... not really the reaction she'd been expecting. Maybe she'd just gotten so used to fielding Gawain's overwrought takes that she hadn't expected that Ritsuka would... not? ]

You... aren't concerned about the principal? That I'm living together with a former enemy of yours?

[ She wasn't privy to the actual details of things. She hadn't asked Kadoc about it as part of her effort to uphold the truce and really just let her impression of him stand on the actions she'd actually be able to witness, and of course she felt like she had no right to ask Mash or Ritsuka about the matter...

... but it still felt like "this is dangerous" would have been more the default. ]

[fujimaru]

...Huh.

[ "Huh," like it's only really occurred to her. In a way, it has. Ritsuka considers for a moment, weighing how to approach the topic. Hm. ]

I guess... you know, the first time I ever met Gawain, he tried to kill me?

[ There's no lingering fear or resentment in her voice; she's only thoughtful as she speaks. ]

And not just him. Tristan, Lancelot, Mordred... Jeanne Alter, all of the Pharaohs... at one point, all of those people were doing their best to stop me. More than just them, even. Probably most of Chaldea was, at some point or other.

Just because I summoned them later myself and they don't know about the things that happen doesn't mean that I'm also starting from the beginning either. I remember.

So in that case... I guess I don't see a point in treating someone like an enemy when the fight is over. What good is it going to do, fighting amongst ourselves? There's something bigger than all of us hanging over our heads--here, and at home, right? If we can't give people a chance, just because we were on opposite sides before, how are we ever going to move forward?

[beaumains]

[ Gareth gave Ritsuka her full attention, which wasn't a great ask of her even at other times. In a way, she needed to hear this. Most of what she'd gotten from others, even other Chaldea servants beside her brother, was some uncertainty. Not strictly because they had reason to distrust Kadoc (though Gawain seemed to insist he did), but mostly she just... needed some affirmation that it was not what Gawain feared, that she was simply offering him her faith on granted, that her tendency to reach across the darkness for those she saw as lost...

That he'd be another Lancelot.

It wasn't Kadoc she doubted, really, but instead just... herself. That she was being irrational, just as she had that night she'd almost kissed him, still weak in so many ways and groping blindly in the dark for any strength she could find, finding it in him. It was... a lot, and...

Without knowing any of that, but perhaps knowing in her way that Ritsuka's boundless empathy always seemed to, her Master had just... affirmed her.

Gareth smiled, and her eyes seemed to well up, just slightly, and gave a firm nod. ]

I... I agree, Master. I really, truly do...

[fujimaru]

[ This is the sort of thing that has gotten her in trouble before. It's what's going to get her yelled at by Kadoc, later in this timeline. She doesn't care. In the end, though her confidence in things about herself can be variable, she's always been very set about this. She wouldn't call it blind faith (though it's certainly been thrown in her face in the past), just... a certainty. A steadiness that she has held onto since the beginning. ]

Making mistakes is just part of being alive. But as long as you are, then I think you should be given the chances you need to grow past that.

So, if you ask me... even if someone else has reached the end of their trust, that doesn't mean you should, either. You should think about how much you, Sir Gareth of Orkney, want to give. And if you think about it, and you decide that you haven't reached that limit yet, then don't let anyone--not me, not your brother, not your king--tell you you shouldn't. Okay?

[beaumains]

[ Gareth gave a quick nod. God, this... this was really what she had needed. Just some affirmation from a person with the confidence to give it. Her uncle, bless her, didn't know the situation well enough. Kadoc constantly tripped over his own tendency to disparage himself. And Gawain, well...

But those words felt so confident coming from her Master's lips, like feeling herself lifted up within a warm tide. She couldn't help but be overcome, once again, with a need to embrace Ritsuka, though this time much more gingerly, in appreciation.

She hadn't been lost without her Master, but... this still helped. More than she felt she could express, properly. Well. She could try, at least. ]

I feel the weather... is really starting to improve...

[ More sunny days ahead. ]

[fujimaru]

[ She returns the hug, careful of Gareth's injuries; she's not really sure exactly what she said to earn that reaction, but it's not like she doesn't understand the desire to be encouraged. It's helped her plenty of times in the past.

Unfortunately, the poetics of the weather comment go right over her head. ]

You think so? That'd be a nice change. I haven't really gotten a summer this year... don't tell anyone, but I'm hoping it'll be more relaxing here.

[ No people spontaneously in swimsuits! No random islands or cities or what-have-yous showing up needing investigation and resolution! Maybe... just maybe... Ritsuka can sleep for a week and then go to whatever equivalent of a pool this city has, and call that good.

Sometimes, you just have to plan a theoretical vacation before you concern yourself with what you're going to do with yourself the rest of the time. ]

[beaumains]

[ Between ServaFes and the whole ordeal with the casino, Gareth knew summer could be a bit troublesome at Chaldea, so she empathized with her Master's request. ]

In truth, Avalon has its troubles, but anything I can do to assure you are able to relax here, I shall endeavor towards, Master! You can count on me!

[ Not that.. she and Kadoc were particularly rolling in cash, but hey, she could at least try! Honestly, they could probably all use the rest... ]

[fujimaru]

You can start by taking care of yourself.

[ They're all bad at it! It's easier to take care of someone else than take care of yourself, the unfortunate truth. ]

To be honest, I don't even know what good I can do in a place like this... but I'll do my best.

[ Countdown to her feeling weird about taking advantage of the free housing and floating the idea of literally camping out in the woods before getting shouted down. ]

[beaumains]

[ An idea popped into Gareth's head. And Ritsuka could tell, because like a dog, she just sort of perked up, eyebrows up, bright in her smile. ]

I bet Lady Rin could give you a job at her restaurant! I work there as the baker, and I can vouch for your charisma and people skills! You'd make an excellent server, for sure!

[fujimaru]

A server, huh...

[ That just involves chatting with people and remembering their orders, right? Compared to remembering the likes and dislikes of [redacted] number of Servants, that seems like a piece of cake. ]

I'd try it. If you can put in a good word for me, I'll give it an honest shot.

[beaumains]

I could put in several good words! [ Honestly, she could probably sing Ritsuka's praises all day if she was allowed, but then she'd be doing what Gawain does about herself, and... yeah. Embarrassing, to say the least. She knew better. ]

And... I could help you try to find a place of your own, too!

[ Which was honestly the taller order. Her first instinct was to make a space for her in her own home, but... well. Kadoc. That made things awkward for an almost innumerable number of reasons she did not at all have the time to process. ]