avalaughs | TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 3

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TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 3

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A ⦿ Soaking in Your Arrival

KERPLUNK, SPLASH!

Regardless of what you were in the middle of, you and your familiar have been magically pulled into the world of Avalon just above the Bay's chilly waters. After a brief plunge into the Bay, the rush of water filling your ears and soaking up into every creak and crevice of your body, you may need to cough to clear your airways when you rise above the surface. It's paralyzingly cold for a few seconds before you're approached by the Lady of the Lake beneath the water's surface. She puts a vial of a vibrant, glowing red Everwarm* potion to your character's lips. The icy water doesn't feel so icy once consumed and you'll be able to move your limbs enough to swim to shore on your own. She can't stick around to explain, she's got to get this to all the new arrivals! Many of which you'll see plopping in around you.

If you can't swim, a handful of helpful ice turtles will scoop you up from beneath and drop you off at the shore. When not helping people, the turtles are going around and hitting the ice that keeps forming on the surface with their shells to keep the surface open for the falling arrivals or pushing personal items to the beach near the new arrivals they smell like (belong to). If anyone tries to ask the Lady of the Lake for directions, she will direct you to Archimedes at the Rent-a-Ride. If anyone with Animal Magic asks the turtles, they will give the full spiel, but very slowly, and they like to get off topic and gossip about other turtles you've never heard of. The shores themselves are littered with new arrivals complaining their way up a staircase carved into the walls of the White Cliffs. There is no railing, so be careful, but if you do fall, be prepared for a mysterious sand hand to reach out of the side of the cliffs to catch you. The hand will pat you atop the head twice before retreating back into the wall. This is the Cliff Beast; despite the name, he is quite friendly.

B ⦿ The Caravan to Camelot

Once everyone is wrangled up to the top of the White Cliffs, the handsome owner of the Rent-a-Ride, Archimedes, will distribute smart phones, a pair of earbuds, and a winter cloak** to everyone before getting them settled in groups into modernized carriages pulled by horses and give them a basic explanation of why and how they've been brought to Avalon: The rest of the universe is frozen in time and your character has been brought here by a familiar that was able to bond with them. They'll have to learn magic to help save their own world from destruction, but first they've got to get them to Camelot. It is here that you have the first opportunity to decide who they will be in their new home. You'll have about an hour to wander around here, meet and greet, and pet the horses before it's time to go.

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

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

C ⦿ The Red Spring

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

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

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

Everyone needs a little fun from time to time; the locals have put together the annual Snow Games. As with all things Avalonians plan, magic plays a part in the competition. There will be three separate tiers for characters to enter. Each Tier will have its predetermined track or ring, set up and ready to go.

A ⦿ Foot Races

three-legged race

B ⦿ Sled Races

magically driven sleds

C ⦿ Snow Chicken

Snow Chicken, Magic Vs Yeti Style... This competition will differ from the previous two; it is not a race to the finish line but instead a competition to be the last team standing! Participants will pair off and one person will climb on the shoulders of the other and try to wrestle their opponents off without getting knocked off themselves. The field is full of snow, with more coming from the sky. Your opponents will be Yeti. Try to stay on, Yeti are no slouches so teams will have to work together using their magic not only to stay put but to knock your big-footed opponents to the ground.

Just... be wary, these friendly yeti are surprisingly big on hugging as a form of congratulations. It's much more challenging to escape from a yeti's embrace than it is to knock one over.

Trumpets hail an announcement by the town crier in front of the castle. More than a few people pull out their phones to record it and post it to the AOL network for all to see.

"Hear ye, hear ye! Our noblest of lords, King Arthur of Camelot, will host a tournament on this January the 20th on castle grounds. All are welcome to participate in competitions to determine those most skilled in both the physical and magical arts. In preparation for the upcoming tournament, we are sending envoys to Celliwig. In Celliwig lies the Magic Mirror of the South, gifted to Camelot by the Fae, and a means to communicate with their royal court at will. It is a vastly important task in your journey to become magicians and to show your good will toward the fairies. Parts of the mirror's frame have been damaged. We will need those brave of soul and pure of heart to retrieve the crystals needed to repair the mirror. Those interested, the party leaves at dawn."

A ⦿ Brave of Soul

The first stop on the trip to restore Celliwig's Mirror is to a cave just north of Albion's White Cliffs. No longer a part of the cliffs themselves, this outcropping goes underground and to a dank, dark cave. It is the only place which a special prismatic crystal grows. The crystal itself is hidden deep in the cave, which can only be passed by passing into a zone in which magic cannot be used. Characters will enter the cave and must face an illusion of one of their greatest fears. Those frozen in fear will pass out and wake up outside of the cave with no crystal. Those who run will find themselves turned out of the cave as well. Only those who recognize and face that fear deep in their soul will find the path forward. The fear will turn into a small light spirit, which will smile and reveal to them the crystals they seek.

B ⦿ Pure of Heart

The second stop is past a shanty town and at the bridge north of it. The bridge itself is broken, only the ends in existence. The water itself is impassible, white rapids sweeping away anything that steps into it. Silver crystals are on the other side of the bridge, visible in an outcropping from where they are, but it appears there is no way around as magic does not work on the bridge. The only clue as to how to get across is a plaque in the dirt before the bridge.

"The pure of heart will form the bridge with a leap of faith."

Since everyone has gone as a group, it will be possible to see others walking over the water once one person figures it out. Though the clue may seem challenging, it is quite straight-forward. Characters who are pure of heart will find that if they believe in themselves, they will be able to step off the bridge and hardlight will form beneath their feet to allow them to step over the water. Those with ill intentions or those who are willing to harm others to get their way will slip into the rapid waters and may need to be saved by other characters. At least you're off the bridge, so magic will work to that end.

C ⦿ Celliwig, the Splendored Court

As the travelers leave the bridge, they turn toward the shanty town-- wood shacks and failing farms. Not a place anyone would want to visit. Those who try to run ahead will find that it disappears as if an illusion, and they will find nothing. Those who stick with the party will wait a fair distance away until the sun sets. Once the sun begins to fall beyond the horizon, the small town will begin to shimmer brilliant whites and colors-- a glamour hiding its true glory, a city made solely of crystals and glass: Celliwig, the Splendored Court. Though smaller than Camelot, every part of the city is beautiful and glistening. The population is small and it's very quiet and serene for a city. The people of the city don't seem keen on speaking to outsiders, and will typically scatter before anyone can really engage them. They seem humanoid in nature, but not entirely human. Even the animals around the city seem to be ethereal in nature, gliding more than walking.

The party is led to a hall at the center of the city-- the hall of mirrors. Those who have succeeded in obtaining crystals need to bring them and set them on a table placed before a mirror at the end of the hall, which appears to have a number of empty settings. It's unclear what happened to the mirror previously, but now it's necessary to restore it to garner the favor of the fae.

Once crystals have been delivered, people will be free to explore the quiet city, but it seems most of the city is closing shop while the visitors are around. There is a restaurant that will serve visitors food, though all of the dishes are of the molecular gastronomy variety. Alcoholic drinks seem to come in vapor form and flashes of light if ordered, but seem effective nonetheless. The local general store seems to be willing to sell supplies to weary travelers as well, but that's about it.

...That said the inn doesn't seem particularly keen on allowing visitors in strangely, so you're either going to be sleeping on the iridescent streets or camping just outside the city if you prefer the soft grass and the darkness of night. Just be aware, if you leave, you won't be able to get back into this mysterious city so easily.

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.
• Note that the third prompt in this TDM will have consequences on the game's progression. After the application round, a poll will be put up to see how many characters who are in the game, both new and old, are able to obtain the crystals from the Brave of Soul and Pure of Heart prompts.
• 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Hijikata's lament is immediately followed by the sandy crunch of claws on gravel and a reptilian hiss. If he already thinks this arc is a pain, just wait until he looks up.]

What, tired already?

[There Kamui sits, casually mounted atop an intense monstrosity. Hijikata may or may not recognize it as a nue. He's soaking wet beneath his parasol, but he's smiling as usual, and his free hand is affectionately tangled in his new familiar's mane.]

But we're still on the character introductions!

[This is exactly what Hijikata didn't want to see (both the mount and its rider). Not only is it Kamui aka Mister One-Man-Army with no inbuilt sense of care or caution, but his creature is just about the most terrifying thing Hijikata could have imagined. Why did he get a nue?! Why couldn't he get a kappa or an amabie or something?!]

Kamui.

[Where the hell is his crow tengu?! (He's assigned to him, right? Everyone seems to have a companion creature!) He looks around, but the winged yokai is nowhere to be seen, so he takes a deep breath, deciding to focus on the essentials to spare his mind an overload of worries.]

Look, whatever you do, be mindful of the people here and their property! Watch your strength, at least until we figure out what's going on.

[Yeah, he's just seamlessly continuing to nag him like he did during their stint in that other unlicensed crossover... because surely Kamui remembers that, right?]

[Sorry, Hijikata. Even if Kamui did remember, he would pretend he didn't just to mess with the poor man. That's life with a Yato. They can't help but milk the most disaster out of any situation.

At least he seems pleased that Hijikata knows his name. He certainly doesn't know Hijikata's.]

You sure are lively, trying to give me of all people orders. [He scoffs with a wry smirk.] Are you making fun of me? That's not very smart.

[His nue's tail lashes and bares its serpentine fangs, as if to remind Hijikata of why it's not very smart.]

[He holds up his hands in an appeasing gesture (though he is far from sure if the nue will interpret it as such).]

I'm not making fun of you, I'm just trying to keep you out of trouble.

[Well, him and the other people. Mainly the other people.]

Let's just trek up those cliffs and see if we can figure out where we are from up there, for a start.

[He really wants to add more nagging to the tune of "And don't rush or shove people", but maybe, just maybe, he ought to tune it down a little, given that Kamui could easily snap him in half if he wanted to.]

[Kamui narrows his eyes at the policeman, surveying him for some unknown sign. After a moment, he seems satisfied, and with a sigh, he leans back, pats his noble steed's mane to let it know it can stand down.]

I see. So you haven't noticed it yet.

[To pay him back for nagging, Kamui doesn't explain what he's talking about right away. Instead, he ignores Hijikata in favor of steering his familiar toward those cliffs.

Ask, Hijikata. Ask what it is you haven't noticed. Kamui dares you.]

[Hijikata briefly stays behind to survey the shore and make sure that nobody is drowning or anything, then quickly catches up and walks beside the nue (with respectful personal space in between them), trying hard to pretend that it's just like walking next to a horse or donkey. He's stubborn enough to at least make a guess rather than just asking the obvious question.]

What, that we're not in Edo anymore? Or wherever you were before getting dumped in that lake? I sure have.

[Aaw, the policeman is still trying to be helpful even now. It hurts to watch, so Kamui doesn't. He just heads out. When Hijikata's done, the guy can come find him.

Eventually, he does, and Kamui has to chuckle. It's as dry as laughter can be.]

Not that. It's my strength. [He turns, meeting Hijikata dead on with those deep blue eyes.] I can't watch it. It's already run off.

[That visibly surprises Hijikata. So this little ginger menace actually got nerfed here? Why didn't that happen on Prismatica?! It would have saved him so much trouble! He does feel an ounce of sympathy, because suddenly being bereft of the one ability that makes one's day-to-day life a breeze has to suck big time, but more than anything else he's relieved. He doesn't think for a moment that Kamui would lie about it, either. Why would he?]

Really? That's got to be tough, but...

[He glances at the nue, which seems to have been made specifically for Kamui, seeing how naturally it carries him around.]

You win some, you lose some, I guess.

[While he's at it he also looks for that trademark umbrella. Even with a regular human's strength Kamui would be able to wreak a lot of havoc with that thing.]

[Kamui is a sore loser through and through, but it's undeniable that this situation has left him with a strangely affirming sense of accomplishment. It's sort of like a medal of honor, isn't it? He was so strong that someone or something felt the need to strip him of that strength as soon as he set foot here. All Kamui has to do is defeat that someone or something, and he'll have proven that he's unstoppable.

That is an extremely tempting prospect.]

It's better than not having anything to lose in the first place.

[While Kamui smugly basks in this knowledge, Hijikata has all the time he needs to inspect that umbrella. It's of the same style as Yato parasols, built with harder materials and metal trim. The fact that Kamui, nerfed as he is, subtly switches which hand he's holding it with every so often implies that it's too heavy not to be loaded. Its owner may not be able to swing it around with as much ease as before, but it's clearly a Yato-brand weapon.

Joy.]

[That's one hell of an optimistic (if somewhat out-of-left-field) way of looking at the situation. Hijikata's outlook is more along the lines of "I guess I'll have to deal with this, so I will". As far as the umbrella goes, he tries to comfort himself with the prospect that Kamui may have a hard time finding ammunition for his weapon once he's emptied it (never mind that he's never once seen a Yato umbrella be reloaded; they just seem to keep shooting forever).]

...

[Was that remark a veiled insult? Probably. But he doesn't want to waste his energy by getting worked up over it, all the more since it really does feel like he didn't lose any of his abilities or knowledge. As they make their way up the cliffside he looks down at the other people in the same predicament as them. He sees a wild mix of different appearances and attires, which corroborates his assumption of them having been dragged into another unlicensed crossover.]

I wonder if Shue*sha and Banda* Namco will sue these people this time. But they always get around it with that time freeze stuff, don't they.

[Oh, Hijikata. Sweetie. It wasn't a veiled insult. It was just an insult.]

Hmmm, what for? [Kamui sneers.] There's no way those lazy amateurs on the other side of the screen have any money to give. That's the whole reason they use us in their pathetic fantasies.

[He rolls his neck, snickers as his nue puffs its chest out indignantly.]

Well, I don't mind though. So long as I get to tear One P*ece into ten pieces!

Hey!! If you want the One P*ece at least keep it whole!

[Whatever it really is. Kamui qualifies as a pirate, at least! Before Hijikata can chime in on the topic of the penniless puppeteers behind the scenes, though, he sees a person a good bit up ahead of them lose their footing, flail briefly and go flying over the cliff's edge.]

!!!

[He sprints towards the scene (despite obviously not being able to make it there in time), but luckily his fear was unnecessary. A large hand emerges out of the cliff face below and catches the falling person in its palm, then patiently waits for them to recover from the scare and scamper back onto the pathway. Even if Kamui's nue kept its moderate pace, Hijikata will still be standing there and staring at the hand as is retreats back into the solid rock below.]

Wow!!

[Meanwhile, Kamui doesn't even blink as the stranger trips over the edge. He sighs when Hijikata takes off, turns down to share a knowing look with his nue.

"Yeah, I know" his salty eye roll says. "This is why you're allowed to bite him whenever you feel like it."

By the time Kamui and his familiar catch up to Hijikata, the large hand has almost completely receded. All he sees are the finger tips melding back into the rock. Still, he has to whistle at the sight.]

Does that happen every time?

[...He kinda wants to jump down and find out.]

Beats me.

[This is just... okay. Alright. Not only is there a lady handing out free potions in the lake, but the cliff is alive and can generate limbs at will. Where the hell did they end up here?]

Let's move on. Watch your step, though.

[He should tell that to the nue, but it has tiger feet, and cats don't misstep, right?]

["Beats me," Hijikata says like that's all there is to it. The guy doesn't even crack a wry joke to make the transition more palatable! He just expects Kamui to accept that something strange has happened without question. Expecting Kamui to accept anything, let alone something he doesn't like, is a dangerous game to play.

Thus, Kamui tells himself, it's totally Hijikata's fault that Kamui immediately shoves him off the ledge. He smiles wide as the poor officer loses his balance.]

I think I'll watch yours instead.

[He screams all the way down-- or, well, half the way down, because that's where the giant hand shoots out of the cliffside to catch him. Despite having watched the previous person go through the exact same ordeal Hijikata needs a moment before he clumsily sits up on the sandy surface, blinks and shakily gets to his feet before stepping off the massive palm and back onto the trail. The hand turns around, pats him on the head twice with enormous sandy fingers, and retreats back into the wall again.

He looks up to where he can see a beast's vaguely monkey-like visage and a boy's smiling face observing his near-death experience like they're bird-watching, and his blood immediately runs hot. He start marching up the winding path, then gradually breaks into a run, weaving around other new arrivals as he storms towards his targets.]

KAMUUUIII!!

[Now that Kamui has a front row seat to the emergence of this fascinating earthen hand, he can't help but express his excitement. While Hijikata screams, he giggles, high-pitched and happy. A hand that big must belong to something positively enormous, and the thought of meeting its owner one day makes his dunk in the lake entirely worth it. Not even the fact that Hijikata survives his fall can dampen Kamui's rising enjoyment.

With Hijikata howling his name for all to hear, the hyped up Yato rolls into a handstand on his nue's head before leaping off, cackling as he gestures for the familiar to follow him.

The chase is on!]

[It's on indeed!! Hijikata sees the two take off and increases his speed (catching up with a Yato and a nue will be impossible for his human legs, but damn him if he won't try!). He angrily stampedes past spooked strangers, making a "great" first impression on them in the process... maybe he'll be able to maintain a bull-like reputation without even trying.]

I'll dismember you, you little shit!!

[If nothing else they'll both be warmed up and somewhat less drenched by the time they make it to the top of the cliff, so it wasn't a total loss, even if he'll be hard-pressed to see it that way in his anger.]

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TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 3

soaking in your arrival;

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