avalaughs | TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 15

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TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 15

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arrival banner

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.

ice turtle

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.

B ⦿ The Caravan to Camelot

person riding horseback and looking at phone

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.

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.

hot springs covered in steam

Frosty Forest Glamp

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

igloo interior w/ 5way bed

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.

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.

honey walnut fig cake

C ⦿ Ingredient Hunt 2022

a very small plant

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.

They Grow Up So Fast

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...

B ⦿ Aurora Bearealis

teddy bear emerging from egg

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.

C ⦿ Go on, Git.
CW: Mentions of poaching, beheading in last paragraph.

a gashadokuro skeleton monster

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.

• 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.
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•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.
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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ like i said, serious spoilers for fgo jp and lostbelt 6 in particular. i'm into fate/, but i don't really play fgo anymore and i haven't watched much of part 2's story or events outside of lb6, so i don't know as much as i might about fgo-specific things. ]

arrival

[ the last thing that she remembered was burning. fading. she had used all of the magic that formed her very body and channeled it into one final, magnificent blaze of magecraft so that cernunnos might fall.

the sudden shock of falling towards a wintry lake was an adjustment, to put it mildly. ]

Eh—ehhhh?! [ splash. her eyes widened in shock and confusion at the cold, even as the lady of the lake approached and put the potion to her lips. something about her was... familiar, artoria thought, but nothing about this made sense—

more importantly, she kicked her way up to the surface, feeling her hat and ribbon utterly sodden and hanging heavy. great. at least the cold fades. ]

Ritsuka?! Mash...? [ she seems almost panicked, disoriented, as she scans the faces that seem to be surfacing around her. this can't be britain.

eventually, though, she gets to shore, and tries to take stock of her situation. there seem to be some people coming towards the lake, or surfacing around her—humans, mostly... she thinks, anyway. it's hard to tell, right now. she supposes some of them could be fairies, but even so... ]

Excuse me! [ she finally pipes up, whether someone seems newly arrived or as if they came from further inland. ] Do you know where we are?

[ hey, it's worth a shot. ]

training grounds

[ the ride from the lake to the red springs had felt... honestly, fucking absurd to artoria. hearing about king arthur, avalon, camelot, merlin, the fairies—and a world that was the result of an aberration in realities? too much was similar and entirely different all at once. why bring her here? perhaps if she had her power, she might be of use, but what could she possibly do as she was?

at least she could still use her catalysts. she surveyed the training grounds with her staff back in hand, two short swords strapped to her waist. finally, she gets over her nerves and waves someone down who doesn't seem particularly busy. ]

Hello! Would you go a round with me? This kinetic magecraft is hard to get used to... [ she trails off with an awkward chuckle, glancing away. ]

round of avalon

[ wildcard! you know what to do. i already play one saberface here, so this is just a voicetest, but get at me. ]

Edited 2022-01-08 23:55 (UTC)

[ The band of poachers were on the run. Their attempt to snatch up a pack of the newly hatched bears (which was still just a strange thing to think) had been largely unsuccessful, but they managed to grab at least one... unfortunately for them, it was one of the ones a certain dire wolf had decided to take under her care, earning both Stoirm's ire and the dogged determination of her paired companion...

The chase had taken them well past the Elphame snowdrifts, heading into thicker, colder woods. Artoria had no doubt simply been minding her own business, exploring even, when the pack ran across her, their beastly gashadokuro not able to outrun the impending arrival of Stoirm and her rider. The girl was a perfect opportunity, they thought. ]

"Grab the girly!" [ One of the goblins shouted, another doing just that, using the element of surprise they still had to secure her with one of their nets, a knife quickly coming to Artoria's throat.

A horrible situation to wind up in, really. ]

"Don't come any closer! We got a hostage, now!"

[ One of them shouted, spat really, into the darkened path they had been running down. The gashadokuro had slid to a halt as well, turning to face down their pursuer... A pursuer that cast off its own light, cutting through the dark, as it came closer... ]

Edited 2022-01-09 00:33 (UTC)

[ really, she'd just been out for a hike. it was nice to see a landscape without mors, even if there were other dangerous creatures besides in this avalon.

then she was in the wrong place at the wrong moment, and almost squawked in surprise as the goblins snagged her. that surprise quickly gave way to indignation, even with the knife there, as she began flailing in resistance. it wasn't as if they were threatening her to do what they wanted—it was already more than obvious she was leverage, and her own behavior mattered little. they gained nothing by hurting her, so— ]

Hey! Let me go, you bastards! Leave me out of this! [ she flailed as well as she could with her arms bound at her side, face a mask of fury. her hands were free, even if her arms were held in place, so she managed to rotate chastiefol to bash it into one of their heads while knocking the one with the knife away with a burst of kinetic force. still, she wasn't exactly in an advantaged position here. her attention turned to the approaching rider, though she still couldn't quite make anything out, but... that lance looked almost like... ]

"Crikey, she's a spitfire!" [ Artoria's willfulness definitely caught the goblins off guard, having kind of hoped she was as maidenly as she appeared, but instead they'd just found the rock that was going between them and the quickly approaching hard space. The gashadokuro, massive as it was, didn't really seem to know what to do as Artoria knocked about a few of its masters, but its attention was on something far more dangerous in a moment, anyways.

That light brightened, and fast, flashing like the wrath of heaven itself as Stoirm and her rider crashed into the giant skele-beast, sending it crashing to the ground below. The rider leapt from the wolf, landing on her feet with shield and lance ready.

The goblin with the knife managed to scramble back to his feet, once more trying to get control over Artoria, probably nicking her in the process. ]

"Stay back! Stay back! Let us leave with the bear and the girly lives!"

[ The rider's helmet had come loose in the process, getting knocked aside when she landed, and she reached with her shield arm to cast it off. ]

Knaves, the lot of you! You take an innocent creature, and now you resort to this?!

No shit! You messed with the wrong fairy this time!

[ but then...

then artoria froze, as the rider charged and removed her helmet. the lance had been familiar, but this... what kind of a joke was this...? she hardly even registered the scratch of the blade against her neck—if anything, the fact she didn't react to the iron at all drew more of her attention than the cut.

finally, her voice small, near-disbelieving: ]

Gareth?

[ But not so small that it didn't reach Gareth's ears. The collision of ideas, stimuli, in her mind gave Gareth almost immediate pause. That was her king's face, but that voice... the way she said her name, it...

It couldn't be processed near in the amount of time she needed, as Gareth was soon swat like a gnat by the recovered bone-giant, colliding with Stoirm and sliding into a tree with a sick thud that nearly cracked the damn thing in half. ]

"Well... that takes care of that, I suppose." [ The goblin chuffed, tightening his hold on Artoria. ]

"Get this one under control, and we got TWO prizes to sell!"

[ no.

not again. she was supposed to be the savior, but she hadn't saved anyone. britain would not be saved, it would only meet its end as it was supposed to. the only consolation was that it would not be by the fairies' own accumulated sins come back to roost. that things would simply be set right.

gareth had died once while she had been absent, suspecting nothing. she couldn't—not after her, knocknarea, everyone—

there was a sickening crunch of bone behind artoria as she slammed a burst of localized force into that goblin's face, breaking his nose and worse besides. the net exploded off of her in another burst. her attacker fell, dazed, before artoria drew carnwennan from its sheath behind her waist and slashed at one of the others coming to try to salvage their catch with a cry of blind fury, sinking the blade into his gut and wrenching upwards on the way out. ]

Stay away! Gareth, get up—! [ she only made it as far as she did with the support of countless others. even with all of her power, if she had been alone, it was meaningless. but now? even less than she had been when she left tintagel? what was she meant to do alone?

still, she sent a thin wave of force shearing halfway through the vertebrae of the gashadokuro's neck as she moved closer to gareth to try to regroup. ]

Gareth, come on...!

[ Not a one of the goblins had expected any of that. Artoria had clocked their leader so hard he probably was never getting up. Ever. And the blade had made short work of another, leaving him in the dirt to bleed out. One would have thought the rest would have wised up to take their losses, abandon the bear AND the girl, and just continue running away, but...

Really all they saw were two less heads to share the loot with. Because they were idiots. The Gashadokuro's head had gotten knocked a little loose, but it didn't need much time to regroup itself, the rest of the poachers drawing their knives and their nets, snarling and crying out as they started to bare down on the pair of them. Much more ready this time, they threw up some wards to keep Artoria's magic from doing any worse than it had already...

Stoirm, for her part, was the first to recover, hearty as she was, but had just as much concern for Gareth, whining and nuzzling at the girl, trying to help Artoria revive her. ]

[ they never learn. artoria drew the large, almost staff-like sword on her back. marmyadose wasn't a mystic code that she recognized as her own, but it had still felt... familiar. the name of it had come to her, half-remembered from those dreams of the distant star.

she shook gareth's shoulder, eyes frantic, before settling to glare at the others. caerwennan and spumador emerged from the sheaths at her hips on their own, floating in the air beside her— ]

Fine. Let's go, if that's how you want it! [ —and the two blades surged forward. wards or no, if she wasn't directly attacking them with her magic, but using it to boost physical attacks... she swung marmyadose in a long arc, nearly with her entire weight behind it, almost as if a hammer toss. it was crude, but it worked. the heavy blade damn near bisected two of them, while caerwennan and spumador both wove through the goblins' guard and found their targets. two more fell. ]

Just leave— [ another down. ] us— [ another. ] alone! [ another. ]

Edited 2022-01-09 02:35 (UTC)

[ The goblins, armed with just knives and nets, didn't have much they could do against those flying blades, and scattered as soon as it became apparent how outmatched they were, tossing back smoke potions to finally cover their escape...

... Or so it seemed at first, but the demonic bone monster cut through the magic fog to try and land a surprise blow on Artoria instead, roaring as it did so. Stoirm, sensing the motion before it could be seen, was quick to try and block the attack, snarling, but just missed it going past her and right towards the girl. ]

[ finally. she took a second to breathe, eyes still wide with fury, but then—

stoirm jumping at the attack did enough to alert her, at least. artoria whirled around towards the gashadokuro, still in a bloodied rage, and slammed marmyadose's tip blade-down into the earth. a counteracting push held back the monster's own attack, while the action brought down another slicing "blade" of force which speared its way down through the thing's head, its neck, the unnatural sternum forming the center of its torso, and finally struck home on the ground. ]

Edited 2022-01-09 02:49 (UTC)

[ And just to make certain it stayed down, Stoirm let out a piercing howl, summoning a blast of lightning to strike and scatter the ivory remains of the ugly thing, the crashing boom of the blast like the final beat of a war drum, signaling the end of the battle...

... One that Gareth was finally deciding to rejoin, the sound of that lightning strike jolting her out of her daze with a heavy gasp. ]

W-what just happened?! Is everyone alright?! Where is the enemy! [ She was clumsily reaching for her lance again, trying to rejoin a fight that was already pretty clearly won... ]

artoria caster | fate/grand order | kinetic & alchemy | super super super lostbelt 6 spoilers

arrival

training grounds

round of avalon

wildcard

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and some violence cws i guess

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training grounds

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training grounds - not quite caught up with lb6 but am fine with spoilers

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