TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 15

[avalonmods]

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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. It's a fast process, though they do take their time as they need to go around hitting the ice that keeps forming on the surface with their shells to keep the surface open for the falling arrivals. 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.

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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 a special feature for warm winter drinks like hot apple toddy and butter beer. 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.

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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. Newcomers get free inn rooms for their one night stay on the way to Camelot, containing two twin beds, a bathroom, a mini-fridge and microwave, and a TV equipped with a couple of entertaining video games and movies.   Don't want to relax in the room? Take a dip in the communal hot spring. The waters have restorative properties that help horses and travelers recover quickly. 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.

 

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Last month, players were invited into the fae territories in Elphame for the first time for the Winter Solstice celebrations while King Arthur and Queen Elphame enter talks regarding the next steps toward saving the multiverse. In the meantime, a special camp hosted King Arthur's knights has been created on the riverbank just inside of the Forest of the Felled to act as a midway point for travelers going between the two points.

 

A ⦿ Snow More Cold
	The Forest Camp is quite a stunning outpost for Camelot. Given the snowy, cold weather, the campsites have been built with the knowledge of some of the snowier fae in mind and have resulted in what some are referring to as "Igloo Glamping." Artfully carved out group rooms, dining halls, and storage for supplies, and more have been carved out of snow to create a surprisingly warm solution to keeping safe as a Forest halfway point. Admittedly, it's not the your standard glamp-- but there are TVs, board games, and long fur-lined beds to keep you and four other people warm cuddled up together at night! There's also a snow port-a-potty that you probably don't want to face, but sometimes we face challenges in life. There are also a number of planned activities to keep people out of trouble while they stay.
...Or if they do get themselves into trouble, they can also end up in snow jail, a special igloo built with extremely tough ice stalagmites that will be hard to break out of until authorities can come pick you up and take you back to Camelot.

 

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B ⦿ The Great Avalon Bake-Off
One of these activities is inspired by a surprising store of buried baking supplies like flour, sugar, butter, yeast, and eggs that was found in the forest. It's been there a long while, but it seems to have been protected through magical preservation, so there's really only one thing to do about it: a bake-off! It's a little tricky out in the snow, so outside of the igloos, a trench has been dug and all contestants have been given a campfire. Alchemists have helped by creating clay ovens in the snow for contestants to bake their culinary creations in. The most impressive confections (not just the top scorer) will earn a copy of (Spell) Thirst. This spell can make someone feel thirsty, even if they aren't.

 

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C ⦿ Ingredient Hunt 2022
	The real trick is finding ingredients to make your confection something to stand out and come up on top of the contest, which you may need to wander into the Forest of the Felled to look for. There are a variety of winter berries able to be found, herbs and flowers buried under the snow if you can find them, and most importantly, a couple of truffle bushes from which chocolate and vanilla truffles can be harvested. There are quite a few tasty flavors to be found throughout the forest, and since it hasn't been repopulated yet due to the harsh winter, it's relatively safe to wander around no matter who you are. If you feel like you need protection though, maybe ask around camp to find someone who can fight for you.
Just be wary as there are a few ingredients you can find in the forest that may cause a few unintended side-effects to your taste-testers: Cider Berries: These berries appear to have a fiery glow coming from within. That is because they will temporary cause anyone who consumes them to breathe fire when they exhale for about 10 minutes straight... definitely a problem when you're living in an igloo. They have a great apple-y smell though! Strangler Figs: These fig trees grow around other plants and strangling them as if they were anacondas around prey. They produce the most brilliant looking and tasting figs, even in the winter time. Unfortunately, having been in Avalon long enough, they have absorbed magic into their roots and are now able to defend their fruit by creeping up anyone who touches them and trapping them in their grip. They cannot move while you are looking at them, so don't blink and hope you can outrun them. Little Leeks: These are very, very small leaks that seem to be hanging out in small vials found about an inch beneath the surface of the snow. They all seem to have different faces painted on the front of the vials, though the vials do seem to be a part of their body. The simple faces match the effect you'll get-- a crying face will result in your character having an uncontrollable sob fest, a happy face may make it seem like nothing phases them, some angry eyebrows on a frown could result in your character wanting to fight everyone in a fit of anger, and so on. The most tragic part is that these will continue effecting you until they are fully digested-- so it could take hours to stop bawling.

 

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Back in Camelot and Elphame, trouble is brewing of a different variety.

 

A ⦿ Calls You Daddy
Strange eggs with even stranger tiny legs have started wandering into the city and making their way into peoples' homes. Inn rooms, houses, apartments, tents, tree trunks, igloos, even townships have found residents waking up with a tiny little egg snuggled up to their side to keep warm in the morning.  These eggs act just like babies too-- they cry when they need to be fed (they'll roll around in the food to absorb it), are extremely picky about their food (and each egg has its own unique palette), need to be cleaned after eating, and they need to be kept warm or they will perish.
One touch of an egg to direct skin will result in a parental instinct being imprinted upon whoever touches them, so you may find yourself wanting to care for this egg as much as it wants you to care for it. Eggs come in a variety of colors and designs and will seek out at least two parents, so you may find yourself in an unlikely relationship for the next week or so until they hatch...

 

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B ⦿ Aurora Bearealis
	After about a week, the eggs all seem to be antsier than before. Many of their legs disappear and their colors start to glow gently at night, as if some kind of strange nightlight. Eventually, the top of the egg will burst open and out of it will hatch a slightly oddly shaped bear creature, which looks almost like a living teddy bear. The bears themselves have strange glowing markings that match the outside of the egg that they used to be in, and when they step out, a mysterious flow of light comes out of them- like an aurora borealis. At this point, there are two real problems that have started: Touching the aurora borealis lights will also make you glow with aurora borealis lights for 48 hours. They are bears and they act like bears and they get into everything and fight everyone like bears, except their perceived parents.

 

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C ⦿ Go on, Git. CW: Mentions of poaching, beheading in last paragraph.
	These fierce little aurora bears are causing destruction and pain in both Elphame and Camelot alike, so a decision has to be made: the bears need to be led by their parents and some fighters out to the nearest forest and set free to live in the wild, as they probably were intended to. Those in Camelot who release their bears there will find a heart-wrenching goodbye interrupted by a rather dramatic battle. The natural predator of aurora bears, the flaming lions known as Fogueria, have come out of the Land of Rot to hunt them down. I hope you brought someone with you to help save both you and your beary good friend from this flaming enemy. Fogueria cannot be defeated without using magic, so you've got your battle set out for you!
For those who have taken to Elphame, they are not faring much better. As it turns out, these little eggs have made quite the impression on some goblin poachers released from prison last month. These goblins are hunting down the newly released bears for capture to sell them as circus side-shows, food, and more to more devilish creatures. They love gold much more than they love anything else, except perhaps the fierce beast that accompanies their party to help them devour anyone who would try to stop them: a gashadokuro, a fierce skeletal demon formed of the bones of fallen travelers. It is known to bite off the heads of travelers and drinks blood. You'll have to defeat the whole party to ensure your newly released bears remain safe.

 

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• All test drive prompts are open to anyone in the game at any time to create your own logs with, as the events within are considered game canon. • This post should have top-levels by potential new characters only. Current characters may reply to any threads and may start their own logs off-post, 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 usually 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

[seasoflight]

Felih's ears droop just slightly, apologetic or perhaps sheepish, and he offers his mate a relieved smile. He doesn't know how much time has passed here, but he hopes it hasn't been too long...

And after all he has experienced in the time he was gone, seeing Hades again brings tears welling up in his eyes.

"Hades," he breathes softly, "You've no idea how glad I am to see you again..."

[emet_sulk]

He stares. And stares. And stares some more...

How...? No, when? Is this a trick of his exhausted mind? A trick by the fae? Felih is gone. Their bedroom is cold and dark and empty, filled with nothing but the echo of someone he once knew.

His hand starts to lift as though to reach out and touch Felih's cheek, but he jerks it back. It's cruel to offer him hope like this, he thinks angrily. Hasn't he had enough taken from him already?

"I don't know if you are some shape-shifter or illusion-weaving fae, but I'll not welcome the likes of you past this threshold," he growls out.

[seasoflight]

"Hades," Felih says pleadingly, eyes shimmering with tears. "It's me. Please... I'm sorry. How long has it been? So much time has passed in my mind, and I- I've longed to see you again. Please."

More softly, he murmurs, "I'm home, so please let me in."

[emet_sulk]

In spite of logic telling him otherwise, Hades can feel himself wavering. The temptation is too strong and he has ever been slave to sentiment - a tendency that had only grown worse in the absence of everything.

Felih will see the slow collapse of his expression, from stony frown to a more conflicted mien. But no, no he has to be certain--

"Before I do, tell me how we first met," he says tightly, fingers digging into the door frame.

[seasoflight]

Felih feels a wave of relief, and he smiles feebly.

"It was in a city called Duplicity. I stumbled upon you testing your creation magics, where you had created a beautiful pair of flying fish, and I pestered you with questions about them, about you. And you gifted them to me," Felih answers, heart swelling at the memory.

"I'm sure at the time they meant little to you, but I adored that pair. Soon our home was filled with a school of colorful little fish."

His ears perk up hopefully, just a little, as he dares to step forward and reach for his beloved.

"Please, my love," he murmurs quietly. "I'm home from my wandering, and I've many stories to tell. Won't you let me in...?"

[emet_sulk]

He closes his eyes and exhales, shoulders slumping. He steps back to allow Felih over the threshold and shuts the door behind the other man once they do.

"You're back. You're really--" His throat seizes up and he chokes up, eyes brimming with hot tears. He tries to dash them away on his sleeve but they continue to come, until he ends up falling to his knees on the floor, weeping openly.

[seasoflight]

Felih enters, relieved to have won over his lover, but the moment Hades collapses onto the floor, Felih rushes to settle beside him. He loops his arms up around his neck, hugging him tight and trying to make his way into the other man's arms and lap, purring away to try and soothe him.

"I am," he murmurs. "I'm so sorry, darling. You know I wouldn't have left without a goodbye if I had any say in it," he adds, before taking Hades' face in his hands and using his thumbs to wipe at the tears, leaning in to press their foreheads together. "But I'm here now. I'm here..."

[emet_sulk]

He leans forward and wraps his arm's tightly around Felih's sleeker frame, continuing to cry quietly into the other's shoulder. 'Don't you dare leave me again,' he wants to shout and shake them until their teeth rattle out of their skull. He cannot claw them out of the void or aetherial sea here.

"Where did you go...? I looked everywhere... There was no portal indicating your passage."

[seasoflight]

Felih holds on tight, melting into his mate's embrace, nuzzling into his hair as Hades places his head on Felih's shoulder. He even wraps his long, fluffy tail around his lover, coiling up around him as much as he can.

"My dearest," he murmurs softly. "I went back to my realm. Though I remembered naught of this place when I returned there... it seems that I have been plucked back into this realm once more," Felih says, fingers combing through Hades' hair. "I'm here. I'm still yours, darling, I still remember it all..."

[emet_sulk]

"You had best remember," he growls, voice yet unsteady through his tears. "After all those promises and the hope you foisted on me, I would never forgive you if you forgot."

And there is the morose Hades that they all know and love. Ever poor at expressing his affection except in the most irate of ways.

He squeezes Felih one last time before leaning back, cupping the other man's face between his hands. "What happened?"

[seasoflight]

Hades' growl makes Felih laugh faintly, the sound of his grumpy voice a comfort after his absence. After what Felih has experienced, hearing Hades' voice, seeing his face, being able to embrace him... it's another chance he feels incredibly grateful to have.

He melts into his beloved's embrace, and when Hades takes his face into his hands, he leans forward and tries to silently beg a kiss off of him, ears low and pinned back as his eyes shimmer with an ache and sorrow yet unnamed.

"It's so much, my love... I... I thought I had lost you..."

[emet_sulk]

He indulges the wordless request, kissing Felih deeply and pulling the other man close as he runs his fingers through their long, silky hair. Gods, how he has missed them.

"Tell me," he murmurs against Felih's lips. "I am dead even in your world, aren't I? There was never any other way..."

[seasoflight]

Felih presses into that long kiss desperately, shivering as his mate's fingers comb through his hair. He holds on tighter still, making himself more comfortable in Hades' lap.

"I... you didn't give me much choice, did you...?" he whispers, tears spilling over as a wry smile wobbles on his lips. "I mourned you so, darling. Even without my memories of us... would you believe that I came to love you all over again? Twice, even," he laughs feebly against his beloved's mouth before taking another kiss, needing the grounding touch once more.

"The first on the First, as Emet-Selch accompanied us... seeking something of me I suppose I couldn't deliver. Even so, you indulged my insatiable curiosities," he murmured, "Just like you did in Duplicity. Patiently so, though you feigned it was an annoyance. Showing us kindness and offering your hand to us, despite our wariness. The others may have been loath to trust you, but I wanted to. Twelve, I wanted to..."

Another kiss. "And then... we met again, in another time, another place, though... I doubt you remember it."

[emet_sulk]

His fingers still briefly as he frowns. "Elsewhere? Where else have we met besides the First?"

He's dead. How could they possibly have met anywhere after that? Unless...

His frown deepens. "Did you journey into the aetherial sea?"

[seasoflight]

"I... well, I did, but that wasn't it," Felih murmurs softly, swallowing hard and hesitating.

"Would you believe me, if I said we met once, in Elpis?"

[emet_sulk]

Hades continues to frown. His gaze turns inwards as he attempts to think back on long-buried memories. But even though he remembers Elpis - those beautiful yet isolated floating isles - he's already shaking his head.

"Don't be ridiculous. Even putting aside that it would not be you I recall, I would remember someone with the colour of Azem's soul."

[seasoflight]

Felih tugs him down into another kiss, trying to get his fill while he can. He knows that in his own world, he could never do this again.

"Kairos made you forget," Felih murmurs against his lips as they part. "Leaving you broke my heart..."

[emet_sulk]

"Kairos? Kairos--"

It's been a long, long time. He had since put that incident out of his mind. Whatever he had been made to forget, it couldn't possibly be that important, he had thought.

"...Then how is it that you remember?"

[seasoflight]

"To be fair to Hermes," Felih says with a weak laugh, "he tried very, very hard to trap us all there to forget. You and Hythlodaeus created an opening for Venat and I to escape Kairos' influence before we were caught in its spell. Though I wish you could've made it out with us..."

He nuzzles against Hades' shoulder, still holding on tight to him. He's perfectly content to remain attached to his mate for the foreseeable future.

[emet_sulk]

He absently strokes Felih's head, thoughts churning uncomfortably. He wants to continue denying it. He doesn't want to believe Fandaniel - Hermes - would be so foolish as to desire their world's end. The man's fractured reincarnations had always been a little unsettled, but so had everyone else's. A product of mortal life, he had assumed.

And so, although it may not be what Felih wishes to hear, he mutters, "I need...some time. You are welcome to your old room, but I need-- please."

[seasoflight]

Felih's ears droop when Hades says it, heart sinking. Still, he knows by now when to heed his mate or when to be stubborn- and today is a day to heed him.

"Alright," he murmurs quietly, already feeling painfully lonely even while in Hades' arms. To finally be with him again, and yet...

"...I love you, dearest," he mumbles quietly, nuzzling along Hades' jaw. If nothing else, he wants to reassure his mate that this much is still true: his heart still holds Hades as a precious treasure.