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avalaughs2020-12-31 11:53 pm
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TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 3
![]() Premise ⚔️️ Rules ⚔️️ FAQ ⚔️️ Taken ⚔️️ Reserves ⚔️️ Apply ⚔️️ Locations ⚔️️ Bestiary ⚔️️ Top-Levels Only ⚔️️ ![]() A ⦿ Soaking in Your Arrival
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
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, C ⦿ The Red Spring
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
Along the route, racers can expect to run into minor obstacles such as snow bunnies, puddles that can’t be jumped, a flock of snowbirds giving hassle, trees that upend their own roots and move to confuse the pathway. Whatever the interruption, it will come in the form of either a small creature made of magical snow or some minor hindrance to the path. Competitors will have to use magic to overcome these obstacles. Whatever your magic class, find a way. B ⦿ Sled Races
On the path, obstacles will come in the form of wholly washed out portions of the track that need to be reformed using magic to pass. Use elemental magic to flatten rocky areas or wash away debris. Larger creatures such as snow deer and moose congregate in large groups blocking the path, so an animal magic user could be useful for asking them to move... someone with cognitive magic could try their hand at a little hypnotizing a fellow newcomer with big muscles to move fallen logs for them. Healing mages could easily use buffers to support their fellow magicians with temporarily increased speed or strength. Use light magic to sneak past living obstacles, or dark users can cast a love enchantment and make a love match between two moose even though it's far from spring. There are tons more creative uses of magic to help you get through the obstacles on the sled's pathway. Find a creative way to use magic and get through the obstacle; make sure you are faster than the other guy. C ⦿ Snow Chicken
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
B ⦿ Pure of Heart
"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
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. |





Shadlin Showdown
Waltzing in here mega late, so feel free to ignore!Hijikata is pretty much in the same boat as Mukuro. He was relieved to learn that all new arrivals will have free housing in the designated hotel in Camelot, but he can already feel the pressure of needing to get financially stable within a few months at the most to move out and make space for a new batch of foreigners. Besides he'll need to buy some necessities, like cigarettes and mayonnaise. So, having had no luck finding anyone willing to partner up with him online, he likewise sets out for the Dusklight Woods alone.
He's mildly surprised to find someone else already at the edge of the forest, but despite Mukuro's preppy appearance he doesn't dismiss her as a potential ally. Practically all the women and girls he knows back home in Edo are damn fighty, so he won't underestimate her.]
Yeah. Are you on your own?
[He sees her knife, and he brings a sword to the table. Not too shabby for a start, but then who knows what's in there? As he looks towards the forest he notices the hound, but is unable to identify it as anything more as a shade in the darkness. He doesn't seem to have a familiar with him.]
Re: Shadlin Showdown
I hope you brought Starbucks :)She was rather relieved as she saw someone else wandering over, apparently also planning on tackling this by himself.]
Yeah, just me. You're the same right? Wanna work together?
[Oh, she noticed that sword - if he knew how to use it affectively, that'd definitely make him a good ally.]
Oh, I'm Junko Enoshima, by the way.
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Only off-brand! ☕☕]Toshirou Hijikata. Good to meet you.
[This isn't a bad start at all; it's definitely better to not be alone for this. He turns towards the forest again.]
I tried to do some research, but it seems like no one's really gone deep in there. It's all rumours. I guess we can only walk in and be careful. Let's hope it's not anything like that cave... did you go on that mission?
[He starts walking towards the trees already, attentive to his surroundings. He's more on edge than he'd like to be. Physical threats he's not afraid of, but he's had enough of mind tricks for a good while.]
Oh, right, and what's your magic? I've got fire.
["Only you can prevent forest fires", they say, so he hopes he won't be forced to use it.]
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That'll do for me!]Yeah, good to meet you too! And seriously... yeah, all I've heard was 'it's weird, go look around and report back'. You'd think if they wanted us to do reconnaissance that we'd have more solid orders to go on, right?
Think as long as we keep our eyes out and cover our backs we'll be good. Just gotta be careful of the terrain...
[She really wished she wasn't wearing high-heels for this - a good old pair of combat boots would serve her much better.]
Oh, the weird 'see how brave you are' cave? Yeah, that was a serious pain in the neck, wasn't it?
[For now, she'll just be following him, drawing her dagger ready. The Hellhound moved a little closer, falling into step by Mukuro's side as the entered the tree line. For a beast of it's size, it's footsteps were unnaturally quiet.]
...Fire huh? I've got Animal magic. Dunno if it'll come in handy but we'll see, right?
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[He'd probably flat-out avoid talking to livestock... but even just knowing that they have a mind would ruin his appetite. He just nods along at her comment about the cave, having no wish to discuss it further, even though he brought it up first.]
I guess the people in charge here aren't used to organising reconnaissance missions.
[Maybe that can be a career opportunity for him, after all planning operations and giving orders is his bread and butter back home. But he won't get his hopes up too high. It's damn dark between the trees, but at least it's not eerily quiet: there are sounds of nocturnal animals, rustling and chirping and the call of an owl. He stops to look back at where they came from.]
Do you think we need markers to find our way back? Or will your familiar get us out if we get lost?
[For all he knows dogs have a good orientation sense, even if this one probably isn't a normal dog. It really is quiet, like it's part of the night.]
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[There was a laugh there, but it was a little forced - more so from social awkwardness than anything else.]
I know, right? At least we'd have been given a focus like routes or certain key targets, or- Like, come on, focus, tempo, engagement criteria, disengagement criteria, displacement criteria and bypass criteria. It's not that hard to give a proper brief.
[Because there's nothing weird about a Fashion Deva reeling all that off from memory, right?
Still, his words caught her attention, and she drew her knife.]
...Pretty sure she can get us out, but no harm in marking the trees with this as we go, right? You don't think we're gonna get, like, cursed or whatever do you?
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C-cursed? Do you think there's... forest spirits in here or something?
[Sorry, Mukuro, you landed yourself a samurai with a fear of ghosts. Yep. He won't flinch away from any beast or villain, but once those incorporeal, spooky ghouls come into play he can be counted out. So it's really unfortunate that right as she steps up to mark the bark he spots a pair of glowing eyes watching intently from deeper in the forest.]
Junko!
[She probably saw them at the same time as he did, but he still darts forward and protectively puts an arm in front of her, even though he's feeling about ready to pee himself. It may be a ghost, but it doesn't have to be, and he'd put the name of the Shinsengumi to shame if he abandoned a young girl in a haunted English forest! His other hand is on his sword hilt, ready to draw it at the slightest provocation.]
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[Crap! She tensed up, words cutting off as she saw the glowing eyes. And she didn't miss that fear in her companion's voice either. This wasn't looking good-
For now, she instinctively took a step back, abandoning her efforts to mark the tree in order to bring her knife up in a defensive stance. Not a movement she had to even think about, with how naturally combat came to her. In turn, her familiar moved quietly behind and to the side of her, still hidden by the treeline, but ready to help if it came to a fight.
Although Hijikata had moved between her and the glowing eyes, arm outstretched to shield her, it definitely looked like he was the one more frightened by the situation.
...
Come to think of it, she should probably play the part shouldn't she? She overplays it a bit - and perhaps that would only make him more nervous.]
W-what the Hell is that?? You saw that too right??
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Yeah!!
[At least whatever it is doesn't seem intent on approaching them... for now. He cautiously takes a step backwards, never taking his eyes of those glowing ones. As they stare at the unknown entity three more pairs of eyes appear in the darkness, close to the first one.]
Okay, we're outnumbered. Run!!
[He's just going to disgracefully book it out of here at full speed (though, to his credit, he'll look back to make sure she doesn't break a heel or something). Here's hoping that those creatures, whatever they are, won't cut off their path... and that Mukuro will actually come with him. If she stays behind to face those things he'll have to make a tough choice.]
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[Wow. He really was running out at full pelt wasn't he? That was impressive for all the wrong reasons.
Ergh, if only she was wearing her combat boots! There was no way she could outrun them if she just bolted the way he did. So she settled for a more tactical retreat- darting out of the open and using the trees to give her better cover, moving like one were trying to get out the way of enemy fire.
Her practiced movement patterns really, really didn't match the panicked tone of voice she used, but hopefully Hijikata was too frightened to notice.
Whatever these things were, Mukuro somehow couldn't get a gauge on anything about them. The glowing eyes were clear enough- but the size of those things? The distance away? She just couldn't figure it out.
The Hellhound with her growled at the creatures, its fur bristling up with embers to at least try and shield its mistress.
Hopefully these three wouldn't get too lost as they tried to flee the scene- but after a certain point, all the trees looked remarkably similar, didn't they?]
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Junko?
[He can hear her, he thinks - unless it's something else running through the trees not too far away. That thought sends a chill down his spine, and he summons a flame in his open palm to at least have some light to illuminate his immediate surroundings and to serve as a beacon so she can find him. He slowly turns around in a circle, but there are no glowing eyes anymore... at least not right now.]
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[Oh- yeah, she spotted that flame not too far ahead of her! That gave Mukuro a chance to try and get back to him.]
I'm closing in on your location now, okay?? Hold tight.
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never mind that they were just looked at and nothing actually happened.]Okay! I think we lost them, but... we lost the way too! Or at least I did!
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Usually when she got stared at like that it meant she messed up her makeup.]Seriously, what the hell were those things?? It was like there were all these eyes just staring out at us!
[Finally jogging over to meet him, and looking around...if only she'd actually made those marks on the way in!]
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Continued from above (to avoid pagestretching!)
[Ugh, everything he says is neither here nor there!! He'll have to at least halfway explain himself now, even if he leaves out the whole Prismatica part. It wouldn't be fair to say vague things like that and leave her with that. Besides it'll distract him from the creepy situation they're in, maybe.]
I'm from the 1860's. You're probably from the 21st century, so let's just say it was a different time.
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[It made some degree of sense, but she was curious on what sort of 'war' he really meant.
Then he mentioned the time he was from and her eyes grew wide.]
Wait, what?? I'm- I'm like from 2012. That's so weird... how's that even possible??
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[Poor Mukuro, she doesn't know half of it yet. He continues, staying alert to their surroundings as they continue to follow the hellhound.]
Don't worry, I know my way around 21st century technology and whatnot. We had an alien invasion, so we're pretty much up to date with you guys.
[He decides to tell her about his homeworld's Amanto War rather than the various battles over Prismatica, that ought to be slightly less confusing.]
There was an actual proper war when the Amanto first arrived on Earth, but I was still a kid then, and we weren't really on the frontlines in the countryside where I grew up. After we humans lost the war there's been peace, officially, but we in the Shinsengumi keep fighting the anti-foreigner faction who want to drive the Amanto back out.
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[She too was keeping her eyes out - at the very least, the trees were starting to thin out. That was a good sign!]
The Shinsengumi being your unit, right?
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[He doesn't need to tell her that he's the vice-commander; those numbers already sound braggartly enough. It's not like his position has any weight here, anyway. He just wanted to clarify. He feels watched again... honestly, he doesn't really want to look behind him, but he dares to venture a glance, and sure enough, there they are again, the staring eyes in the darkness. He lowers his voice.]
Don't turn around, but they're back.
[He somehow manages to say that relatively calmly, but it's taking all his strength to not break into a stampede. What the hell do those creatures want from them?! Are they going to eat them? Ugh, no, why did he think that?!]
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[Mukuro would definitely be impressed if she knew he was the vice-commander to a unit like that. It reminded her of Fenrir a bit- still, she didn't have much time to think when he gave the alert.
Those creatures were back.
Mukuro tensed up at that, focusing on listening out for movement rather than turning around now. Dammit. She thought once they'd cleared the dense part of the woodland, they'd be in the clear.]
...I'm guessing they want to make sure we leave.
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[Another backwards glance confirms that at least they're not pursuing them. Now he, too, notices the trees gradually giving way to the open area; that's a relief. He ardently hopes that it's the end of the forest and not just a big clearing.]
Whoever investigates next, they should come in the daylight.
[To be fair, apparently the creatures only come out at night, but they have to be hiding somewhere during the daytime, right? He feels like the people of Avalon would have a better shot trying to find their nests or caves than stumbling around in the darkness under their watch.]
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[Mukuro's Hellhound wandered out ahead of them, taking a sniff at the air before she turned back and nudged her head in the direction of the open area.]
...Let's go. I think we're nearly out of their engagement range.
[Putting a bit more speed into her step, she headed out after her familiar, breathing a sigh of relief as she saw the stars open up above them. Once she turned back around, she found that the two of them were standing on the path the entire time- how had she not noticed that??]
What- we...you're just seeing this too, right? Something in that place was definitely messing with me.
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[He looks back into the forest, lifting his flame high to cast a light. Everything now looks normal and unassuming, and the eyes are gone, along with the oppressive feeling of being observed.]
Okay, yeah, we're done here. Let's get back to civilisation.
[He's so over this creepy place!! He dismisses the flame and briskly strides ahead until he remembers Mukuro's heels and slows down to wait for her. If he familiar allows it he'll pat her on the head and quietly address her, too.]
Thanks for leading the way. I really didn't want to spend the whole night in there.
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[Whilst Mukuro was venting, the Hellhound lowered her head and allowed him to pet her, tail wagging in appreciation at the compliment.
She was a good girl!]
... Right, I'm gonna get back and get a bath. See you around, yeah? Thanks for backing me up back there.
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[He doesn't want to walk back alone after this!! She has some guts to want to part ways just outside the forest!]
You're also staying at the hotel, right?
[It's actually quite a long way home, but if they're together it won't be as scary, even if each of them just ruminates about the events of the night and their overall situation.]