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

"Out because of the 'pure of heart' aspect, or because of the faith?"

It's a legitimate question, okay. Baldr himself isn't entirely sure that he's pure enough of heart to make it across, but he's thinking he's going to go ahead and try anyway. He's never been very good at not doing things that are probably a risky idea in multiple ways, so why start now?

Unless, of course, this stranger wants to go ahead and give it a try first, but that doesn't seem likely at this point. Well, if worse comes to worst, then at least maybe he's got someone to pull him out?

"Definitely the 'pure of heart' aspect," he replies with a small shrug, clearly unbothered by the fact that he can be kind of a selfish asshole sometimes. He's too willing to stab people to get what he wants, there's no way Zelgadis is pure enough of heart for this goofy test.

"Unless this place has a different definition of what it means to be pure of heart, I suppose? Can't imagine why it would, but then nothing else here makes sense. Maybe I'm over thinking it..."

He is most definitely over thinking it.

"That's an interesting point," he muses. "If there is some sort of specific criteria as to what constitutes being 'pure of heart,' then there must also be some way to determine what it is. Other than simply attempting to cross, that is."

Well, now Baldr is overthinking this too, so Zelgadis is in good company. Probably. At least in the sense that neither one of them is going to be attempting to cross the bridge any time soon.

"Hmm. What if..." okay now shit's about to go off the rails, buckle up. "If you think about the definition of 'purity', it simply means that something is uncontaminated. Perhaps your heart is purely good. What if your heart is purely evil? Or purely something else? Think about it, why else would such a seemingly important location be protected by a simple riddle? There has to be more to it than meets the eye."

Yeah no it's sit around and think too hard time. There is such a thing as being too smart for your own good.

"Or perhaps the 'pure of heart' part is meant to be a distraction from the true criteria, which is having faith. Could it be that having faith is what makes you pure of heart?" There are so many variables to account for here, this is getting wild. "But you're right in that it seems far too straightforward. If it were just a matter of wanting to judge character, they could have done so without the riddle."

He kneels down to take a closer look at the plaque, poking at it as if searching for some sort of switch or lever, some sort of hidden secret. There's got to be something more to this than just a plaque with a riddle engraved on it...

"But then the question becomes 'faith in what?' Faith in oneself? Faith in magic? Faith in a higher power? There are too many variable in play here."

Either way, all this standing around and chatting isn't getting them any closer to the other side of this invisobridge. The plague itself doesn't seem to hold any more information, so Zelgadis steps up to the water's edge.

"Perhaps the best way to figure it out is too try crossing and see what happens."

"Please allow me to go first."

Baldr doesn't even have to think before he speaks. If they're both wrong in their assessment of how this works, this could be dangerous, and the last thing he wants is for this other man to end up falling into the rushing waters. If he falls in, well... it's hard to be afraid of dying when you've already experienced it twice, and if it happens again, it isn't like he's really supposed to be alive anyway.

Straightening up, he too steps forward, looking across at the other side, then down to the river below, at last turning back to Zelgadis with a smile. "Can I trust you to grab me if I start to fall?"

Zelgadis supposes that it doesn't really matter which of them goes first, so he steps aside with a nod and puts himself in a good position to grab this guy if he falls.

"Ready when you are."

Even with his strength reduced to that of a normal human here, he's pretty confident that he'll be able to pull this guy back if he has to.

"Thank you." He nods his appreciation, turning his attention back to the invisible bridge.

For all that he seems perfectly calm about this, Baldr still finds himself taking a deep breath before he lifts his foot and takes a step out onto what looks like thin air. A part of him is expecting to fall, thinking that he isn't pure of heart enough after all... but as his foot comes down, he finds that there's something solid enough beneath it, and he almost stumbles forward in surprise. With a triumphant laugh, he straightens back up, flashing a smile at Zelgadis.

"It would seem their criteria must not be very strict after all..."

Zelgadis flinches forward slightly when his new bridge buddy steps forward, but it pretty quick to relax once he realizes that he's not plunging into the water below.

"Ah, perhaps I was overcomplicating things. Well good, it looks like this is going to be easier than I expected."

So he says, but then he too steps out onto the bridge. Instead of stepping onto something solid, he plunges straight down into the water below. Kersploosh.

And to think, Baldr was just starting to believe that he wasn't going to come out of this soaking wet...

"Hold on!"

His immediate thought is to go to the edge of the bridge and try to reach his arm out to grab Zelgadis, but there's just one little problem with that idea: he can't see just where the edge of the bridge is. And so diving in it will be, the chill of the water shocking him for a moment before he surfaces and looks around for the other man.

Sorry, Baldr, Zel is going to feel super bad about this as soon as he's done drowning. And being swept away by the rapids. That's also a fun thing that's happening right now.

Eventually Zelgadis manages to resurface, gasping for breath as he tries to gain some control over himself. He quickly realizes that Baldr is no longer on the bridge though, which can only mean one thing.

"Did you jump in!? Why did you jump in!?" I dunno idiot maybe to SAVE YOU?

He'll answer that question once he isn't busy trying to stay afloat (and very much regretting his hair, it's like an anchor trying to pull him down); fortunately, Zelgadis yelling at him like that lets him know exactly where he is in the water, and he strikes out in that direction, doing his best to swim towards him.

It's not easy with how rough the water is, but at last he's close enough that he thinks he should be able to reach him if he stretches his arm out, so he's going to give that a try...

One pro to no longer being on the bridge is that magic works, but unfortunately Zel's magic here still isn't nearly as impressive as it was back home. While he's thrashing about in the water trying to keep his head up, he panic casts what he hopes will be something simple that will slow him down. What he does instead is create a big block of ice that he smacks into face first, effectively knocking himself unconscious. Nice one.

The good news is that it does indeed slow him down? So Baldr should have no trouble catching him.

That sure is... one way of handling things, but to Zel's credit, it does in fact slow him down enough to allow Baldr to get a hold on his cape (after a brief moment of panic when Zelgadis sinks under the water for a few seconds). That accomplished, he starts swimming again, Zelgadis in tow, this time heading for the opposite shore.

The river is wider than it looks from up on the bridge-- by the time he finally reaches solid ground, Baldr's lungs are burning and his limbs feel not unlike that block of ice that Zelgadis summoned. It's a struggle to get him up out of the water, but he manages, and then after ensuring that he is in fact still alive, Baldr plops down beside him to catch his breath and wait for him to awaken.

Well. At least the day probably can't get much worse than this? He hopes.

Edited (I can spell I swear) 2021-01-16 05:27 (UTC)

Well, Zelgadis could just not wake up, that would probably be how this could get worse.

But nah, it's fine. It doesn't take him too long to come around. As soon as he does, he sits up way too fast and just makes himself dizzy, but at least he's not unconscious right? Aside from some water in his lungs that he's taking a moment to hack up, a few cuts and abrasions on his face from colliding with the ice block, and maybe a concussion, Zel's totally fine.

Except not really, he's just going to lay on his back again and continue trying to catch his breath.

"What... what happened?"

"You fell in." Stating the obvious, perhaps, but he might as well, since that was a pretty hard knock to the face that Zel took there. "As I didn't know whether you could swim or not, I jumped in after you."

He's certainly breathing easier on his end now that he's sure that Zelgadis is (mostly) all right, at least. Sitting back a bit, he reaches around to grab his ponytail and start wringing it out so that it's a little less heavy, keeping an eye on the other man just to make sure that he really isn't injured in any way. "You're all right, I hope? Considering what just happened..."

Oh yeah, Zel had smacked his head pretty good, and thanks to this place being bullshit, he no longer benefits from being part golem. He's just as squishy as all the regular humans now. Super cool.

"Right, right, I fell through the bridge."

The bridge that only activates for those who are pure of heart, which means that Zelgadis totally had the right idea at first.

"Ah, it's just as I thought, then. I'm a terrible person."

He doesn't necessarily sound disappointed by this, like it's something he already knows and this is just just reaffirms his beliefs. It's fine, this is fine. "Anyway, I think I'm okay. My face is half numb, but that's probably normal?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 3

Pure of Heart

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good lord i made so many typos in that phone tag ;A; this is what I get for tagging at work

it just goes to show how often I phone tag that I didn't even notice half of them, haha

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ZEL NO...

that's what happens when you're a douchebag

now I am incredibly sad these two did not meet in the Slayers collab Baldr's canon just had haha

Ah tragic!

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