avalaughs | TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ I

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TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ I

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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 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. You'll definitely see other new arrivals plopping in. If you can't swim, a red-headed woman known only as the Lady of the Lake will drag you to the shore if she doesn't spot someone else near you helping so no one ends up drowning. She's a little busy casting directive magic to make sure everyone lands safely and playing lifeguard, so if anyone attempts to talk to her, she'll tell them to head up to the Rent-a-Ride. 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 and a pair of earbuds 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 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.

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.

A ⦿ Get Fresh

Upon arrival in Camelot travelers are ushered to a large set of wash rooms where they can clean up and make themselves presentable for the Welcome Feast. They are informed that once the feast concludes there will be an announcement on where they can seek lodging and how to begin their magic studies.

B ⦿ Be Merry

After they freshen up, travelers are led into the main dining hall. The decorations range from simplistic to a little more grandiose, it is likely everyone will find something familiar. A modern mash up with a medieval flair. The jester makes his rounds, perhaps he has a joke or two to tell, go ahead, give him a listen or perhaps volunteer to participate in one of the jester's shows, like knife-throwing or hypnotism. Within the crowd of staff there are mummers, a juggler, here and there dabbled through small troupes perform mini skits, perhaps they’ll perform a well known verse from a traveler’s world or tell a tale of fancy from this realm.

C ⦿ Eat Well

A banquet is prepared with food that while all “rustic” in appearance are usually a version of modern dishes ranging from basic roast chicken and veggies to Korean-Mexican fusion and French patisserie. The drinks are much the same; while served in old fashioned goblets, they are drinks modern travelers will be familiar with.

Have a seat, meet a new neighbor, find a roommate, maybe a new or old friend? Talk to the person to your left, your right, across from you. Mingle, enjoy the food, the music, it shouldn’t be long before the information promised is provided. Till then take your fill and get to know your fellow travelers.

You've been here a few days now and have gotten a chance to settle in, find a place to stay, and Camelot's citizens have decided that you've been here long enough to start living your life again. Well, your new life.

A group of citizens have decided to give everyone their first quest.

"Hear ye, hear ye!" a man in chain mail with a tablet with his statement typed up on it declares to a crowd from atop a pedestal. There are two other citizens around him with phones to post the video to AOL later to make sure the word gets heard ye all around.

"Those with magic, we beseech thee! Findeth us a grail most holy hidden in the depths of the Brocéliande! This holy grail is known to grant thine wishes three, a most noble quest for noble souls! Great reward will come to those who find it and proclaim at least one of their wishes to find the great Excalibur for King Arthur!"

This is the first you've heard about King Arthur, and it seems curious that he hasn't yet shown his face around town. It also seems strange that this guy is speaking like he's stepped out of a bad period piece, and probably should be the clue that this is more or less an attempt to haze some of the newcomers by sending them into the forest... but no one is telling newcomers this. It's better to get them out there and start praciticing, after all.

A ⦿ Lost, and Lost, and Lost Again

The Brocéliande is well-known around Camelot for being a forest that's both bountiful and mysterious. Oddities are known to happen that may never happen again to the point that even if something weird happens and you can't prove it, most citizens will assume you're telling the truth.

Which is what makes it peculiar when you keep passing the exact same locations over and over again, as if you've been traveling in circles or reaching the end of the map in a video game and coming out the other end. You're stuck in a space loop. The only way out is to successfully find the one difference in each loop five times in a row and collect it. Maybe it's a strange frog, a crystal that wasn't there before, a small wooden step that doesn't lead anywhere, or some other singular item, you've got to find what stands out... pick the wrong item, and you'll have to start your five count over again, and again, and again...

B ⦿ Grail, and Grail, and Grail Again!?

If you either missed the space loop or managed to get out of it, eventually you'll come to find one of... quite a few copies of a grail with holes in the side placed throughout the forest. They look like they might be good for draining noodles, but that's about it. Though they're spread out, it's entirely possible you'll find more than one, but each of them are placed in situations where it's impossible to get to by normal means. You'll have to use magic! It may be hidden in a bird's nest at the top of the tallest tree, inside of a hole in a rock with bars that prevent you from reaching in (perhaps an animal friend could reach it), inside a boiling pond, or inside the body of a bear fir... there are a load of possibilities, and now's a chance for you to try out your brand new magics! Use one of those samples, find something from the bestiary, or come up with your own adventure to get your hands on that less-than-holy grail.

C ⦿ A Quest Completeish

Or it would be, if you could ever find the guy who announced it... The AOL posts have since been deleted. You may end up spending a lot of time trying to find the guy. At this point, citizens will start telling you that you shouldn't take quests unless they're on the quest board or else you're going to get scammed... that's definitely an olden times themed noodle strainer. If that doesn't make you give up, or perhaps motivates you to find the guy to kick his ass, you'll have to head out to the farmland and chase them through a cornfield. (Be careful not to get lost, it's a maize in there.) If one of the boys are caught, they'll explain they were just testing you-- and hey, you got a free addition to your kitchen! If pressed, they'll apologize and give you a bit of money for your trouble. It's not much, but it'll get you at least a meal.

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. This is the first one, ignore this note today!
• 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.
• For the first month only, there will not be a quest board. Starting in December, quests will be posted on the 1st of each month for current players. After that point, quests may be used as TDM prompts in addition to the presented TDM prompts. A link will be provided as a bonus prompt option at the end of the post.
• The first "Arrival" prompts are present on every TDM. 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.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Sure, whatever.

[Nero doesn't look particularly enthused to have a training partner when his own attempts aren't going too well. He's focusing on raising his hand and trying to bring a small rock to him, and while it's wobbling a little, it's... otherwise not doing anything. Hell, maybe it's just the breeze taking pity on him and moving it a bit instead.

Exasperated, he turns to the demonic horse watching nearby.]

Hey, Geryon, you wanna help me out here or is this fun to watch? [The horse just snorts and flicks its flaming blue tail. Rude.]

(In Harry’s defense, he too is trying to handle kinetic magic as well. So far, he could just levitate some small stuff, but only for a short time at the moment.

He tried harder to focus on a rock the size of a pumpkin to float towards him, and when it did, it then flies straight towards him and he ducks away from it; the rock soon lands on top of a dead tree stump, crushing it down into wood chips.)

Oh, bugger me. Guess I went a little too far to make that rock fly towards me.

[Xayah's bird continues to cheep every time she feeds her and eventually flies underneath her cowl and curls up in her hair to sleep. She doesn't seem to be bothered by it.

Her eyes zero in on her when she laughs and then she shakes her head-] You didn't. The place I'm from... well. [She shows at herself and bird-like features. Ionia and Vastayan tribes are everywhere, although lately, things have been going south rapidly. Xayah's peeved that she ended up being stuck here and without Rakan.]

If that what you're used to seeing, of course, it will be shocking.

[And... Xayah's really not good at comforting people. She more like "push onwards regardless of what happens".]

It's unsettling that there are so many humans, [her eyes leave Juno to stare at the crowd as if it will suddenly break out in a battle. But nothing happens.]

[ What did that poor tv ever do to you, you strange person(?)? That's what Tsukuyo's expression seems to convey as she steps over the threshold, two-tailed cat in tow. ]

Thanks.

[ Should she even ask? She doe have much bigger things to be concerned about right now but... ]

Are ya havin' trouble with the tv or somethin'?

[ It's been a long and very difficult day. When a girl needs a smoke, a girl needs a smoke. The last thing Tsukuyo is in the mood for is some guy griping about her smoking... So what if she's kind of the one being inconsiderate here... Ahem.

The stranger is definitely getting one of her Looks. ]

Then get in another carriage.

"If you keep talking to him like that, he should be."

Xayah usually keeps her thoughts to herself, but she doesn't appreciate other creatures being hassled. Especially by humans; they take them for granted. She's a lot shorter than the guy when she steps out of the Inn, cowl pulled over her head and purple and red hair, hiding her familiar that's peeking from underneath it.

Her bird-like yellow eyes fall onto the cigarette and she has to hold back the urge to grab it. She doesn't know what the thing he's smoking is or whether it's bad or good for him, she doesn't care, but it smells SO bad and it's ruining the precious air.

Edited 2020-11-03 12:16 (UTC)

"I'm not polite." She was raised to BE polite but what her parents aimed for, it missed the target by a long shot. (There are also other factors but-). She doesn't let go of the glass but doesn't engage in tug-o-war either because she doesn't want to spill the food.

[ The blonde turns her attention from the strange fuming feline beside her to look at the man addressing her... whilst she picks up a few notes of baby shark through his headphones.

Good grief.

Tsukuyo doesn't know who or what "Bella" is and why this guy is calling her that but with everything that has gone on today it's going to be difficult to turn down a drink. Even if she wants to keep a clear head... One can't hurt, right?

~~don't do it~~ ]

Alright.

Bird person indeed. She stares at him and then at the bottle, gaze switching undecided, especially when he breaks out into the polite mannerisms. "Well, you know, some people get off on torture." And although the place did nothing to hurt them (yet), it's of human nature so she's wary of it on instinct.

Nevertheless, she opens her drink and downs half of it in one go, making it hard to call her "a lady". Her bird familiar gives him a happy cheep in greeting, the complete opposite of her personality.

"I wonder how we're going to pay for this," Xayah says, twirling the liquid in her bottle. It's not bad, but there has to be some kind of catch.

As much as I'd love to, the rest are full.

[With the window pulled all the way down, he rests his arms against the carriage door and sticks his head out the window. Sweet, sweet fresh air... Even if it smells like horses out here.]

Geryon, you gonna give me a ride? [He's presumably addressing his familiar, but it doesn't so much as materialise to acknowledge him. He tuts and buries his face in his arms.] Yeah, didn't think so. Asshole.

"No one's perfect, but we can always improve."

For example, Dust has a fierce sweet tooth. And a competitive nature. And doesn't back down from challenges.

(He also has a sword, but ignore that. Actual weaponry would not come out in pursuit of sweets.)

“Jeez, tough crowd. Although, it wouldn’t be the first time someone’s tried to kill me.”

“Heya, kid. I tend to eat my feelings. I’m having a lot of them right now, so, I’m eating a lot to compensate.”

Beetlejuice shook himself like a dog, dislodging some pond scum.

01. arrival / bay

(plunging into the bay unexpectedly, it's like– getting shoved, into a lake. ellie half expects to see somebody laughing at her when she surfaces, smug in the wake of his own shit joke, but it's just her. her, and something large that thrashes up from the depths right in front of her and makes her curse. it's not an infected- thank fuck- but something otherworldly, sleek, full of spines, golden eyed? as if she's sticking around to find out.

she's not sure how her lazy, sunlit memory turned into this, of all things, and why she can't wake up even though she's realised she's dreaming. at least the shore is good, and solid beneath of her feet. ellie squints back out across the bay, wiping the water out of her eyes with the back of her hand. the swim was so cold her skin stings.

... that thing is following her. ellie can feel it staring at her from the bay as it swims. it's a little ungainly in the water. its progress is slow. she watches it for a long moment, perturbed, and then turns on her heel to put as much distance between her and it as possible. as she's moving, her hand reflexively drifts toward the back pocket of her jeans where she palms the handle of her switchblade. it's all she has on her. her pack is gone.

first person she sees is getting accosted, she needs a lot more info. besides, if this is her shit dream then they have to answer her, right. she's gonna grab them, point out the steadily approaching familiar, now slowly starting to emerge from the bay, completely bedraggled.)

What is that? It's following me.

02. caravans / network

(she's seen these phone things before, mostly broken and discarded in decaying houses, never working. only ever in movies, or books; the older survivors in jackson spoke about them wistfully, on occasion. so it's strange that somebody would just hand one out to her along a winding line of other people, right? it's like they've got mountains of them out the back somewhere.

ellie's unfamiliar, but she's also a teenager, so she figures it all out pretty quick. seems like she can post to this... networking system anonymously?

it would be a shame, if somebody were to use that power for evil, rather than good.)

fell asleep on my phone just now. i downloaded a nap

03. red spring / training grounds

(oh, magic. okay, now we're talking.

it's like a video game, it's like being in– street fighter, or tekken; it's like being angel knives. how it's all happening to her ellie has no clue but she isn't questioning it, because somehow she's landed herself in a place that lets her move things with her fucking mind if she thinks about it hard enough. she's working on a set of brightly coloured cones, concentrating and knocking them over onto their sides one by one.

nothing hugely impressive from the outside looking in, though the toppling of the final cone produces an enthusiastic shout, and both fists shooting into the air. the ichneumon that arrived with ellie is lounging at the sidelines, grooming the last of the bay water out of her quills. they aren't on speaking terms yet. ellie's not addressing her when she turns on the spot, arms still raised, and says, breathless with triumph:)

Did you see that?

Arrival

One moment, Cor was heading back to the nearest haven as night was falling, much earlier than he first planned. With the nights getting longer and longer, he was racking his head over what must be done to help protect any and all civilians until his young king returns--

And then the next moment? He found himself suddenly dropped into a lake, somewhere that is truly foreign to him. Coming up for breath, he swims to shore the best he could while also keeping a tight grip on his katana. It's not until the Lady of the Lake help gently push him up onto the shore itself that he realizes that there's another being washing up alongside him.

A being that looks like a leopard with really long whiskers, if said leopard was the size of a large dog.

Cor startles for a moment, and scrambles away with his blade drawn towards it. But then he acts like it's...talking to him, and he slowly lowers his weapon while still looking warily at the creature. Should he sense someone else approaching them, he will only give them a glance before responding. "You might wanna stay back a bit - at least until we've talked about a few things."

The Red Inn

Alright...so, this world needs help getting the magic necessary to save the entire gods-damned universe from whatever time magic shenanigans is happening. Brilliant...as if Cor doesn't already have a crisis back home to worry about. But despite his misgivings, he's not the type to deny a genuine plea for help - especially when they're willing to help them with a new smartphone and magic training.

For the moment, though, his focus is on settling into his room at this inn. His companion is sprawled out at the foot of one bed, purr-growling contently despite the scowl on her human's face. Upon hearing the door opening behind him, though, Cor quickly glances over his shoulder at the new person entering. "Hope you don't mind dealing with a huge roommate for the night," he quips, jerking a thumb towards his familiar.

Welcome Feast

Well...this is something Cor is used to dealing with, having spent most of his life hanging around the royal Lucian court. Granted, there were rarely any themed parties that were this rustic, but he can't deny how well-fed he and his fellow newcomers are being right now. He's slowly working his way thru each and every table, taking little samples of nearly everything. For any dishes he doesn't recognize, he simply looks over to the nearest person as he points to it. "Don't suppose you recognize what this is?"

Wildcard!

((OOC: Wanna tag Cor but the above prompts aren't working for you? Feel free to create your own based on the other prompts! I will be a little slow due to work, but will respond back as soon as I'm able to!)

"I believe that is quiche, only served in a clay baking tray," a voice answers from behind as Ignis finally gets his wits about him to enter the crowd and mingle around. At first, he wasn't sure if the person standing by the table is Marshal himself, but upon further investigation, his assumption proved to be true.

He has a plate with food himself but doesn't appear to be paying attention to the dumplings he piled onto it. "Marshal," he nods, looking genuinely surprised, but also somewhat relieved.

Bless this good-hearted blonde for taking care of the cute animal first. Cor feels some measure of tension ease at the sight of Prompto cuddling the chocobo chick to his chest...just a little bit.

"At ease, Prompto," he simply states as he carefully sheathes his now-dry blade. "It's safe to say that this has been a crazy day so far." To be fair, it probably has been a crazy year in the worst way possible for their people. He then glares at the couerl, who is sitting on her haunches looking at Prompto in that "what did I do" manner than one of Monica's cats would do when caught doing 'cat crimes', as she had put it. "Just give him some space and stop scaring the hell out of them."

The couerl does so, but not without acting like it's full-on pouting as she flops near the older man, back turned to the younger man.

[There were a lot of people mingling around, trying out the training halls and magic they have received. It is easy to lose a track of people as you move around, trying to get a hold of everything. After all, when you get plucked from your world and thrown somewhere entirely new, everything is weird and suspicious.

But that voice Ignis can recognize anywhere, whether he's awake or asleep. He's been looking around to see if Noctis arrived here as well since yesterday but to no avail. Now that he's found him, he can't tell if it is a good thing or no. Being stuck here won't be pleasant, but then again being alone back home would be dangerous.]

I'll take it from here, [Ignis comes up from behind the guy that Noctis was talking to, taps his shoulder to get the guy's attention, and then watches him leave.] It's unbecoming of the Prince to pick on people less than his caliber. I'll gladly spar with you. [There's a twitch of a smile on his face, mixed with a smirk.]

[with the exception of being kidnapped by the lion yakuza, Haru's life has been pretty ordinary, so she's going to assume that this is just some lazy kid and not someone who's been on wild and daring adventures.]

Well, it's going to fail you if this is a roundabout way of trying to get me to carry you.

[she only clocks in at around 3'5" which is probably taller than him but...look, she has weak noodly rabbit arms.]

Cor hears that familiar voice, and he keeps his own relief limited to the half-smile on his face as he turns around completely to face Ignis directly. "Ignis...it's good to see you again. Have you run into Prompto yet? He's around here as well..."

And yet, there's a nagging concern about the still-lack of royal presence. Ignis is rarely away from Noctis for long, these days. And it's really concerning that they all seem to be here without their young king...

Harry just stands there, looking rather befuddled as Beetlejuice shakes off the pond muck like a wild animal slowly killing its prey. There are no words to describe the scene in motion.

“Gee, that is really interesting,” he flatly speaks up.

[ noctis has a brief flicker of confusion before the voice alerts, and his expression changes to one of relief. he's even more surprised to see ignis with his sight; last he had seen him, he was still adjusting to the loss of it.

but then, as easy as if ignis had been alongside him the whole time, noctis scoffs a little bit. ]

Is it picking on people when I don't know what I'm going to do? [ he retorts, a small smile on his face. ] It's good to see you, Iggy. I must have missed you earlier.

The thing he doesn't expect to hear, upon peeking his head into this room, is the loud growl of a coeurl. Reflexes have him freezing, in case he's wandered into one of their traps, Carbuncle giving a curious chirp from his shoulder as he stops.

His hand is still on the door handle as Cor looks over his shoulder and speaks, and that commands his attention instantly as well. Considering he's the only other person in here and he's not freaking out, the coeurl must be his familiar. So, Noctis focuses on him instead; even if it's not a friendly coeurl, you can't really be any safer than with Cor.

"Marshal?" He asks, expression confused. "You're here too?" That's not a bad thing - if anything, it's a comfort. Cor has never needed magic to be a terrifying force.

Edited 2020-11-03 17:39 (UTC)

“Hey, it was either eat food until I pass out, or kill people until they caught me.”

He shrugged, eating a fleck of algae. “I think this was the more socially acceptable choice.”

[ Naoto perked up from watching the little kitsune in his lap, wondering if he should even say anything. Then came the comment about magic. While his own world had magic, it was more or less unattainable, so actually having it felt... strange. ]

I feel like there's only one way to find out, and that's actually trying it out. [ The words came out quicker than Naoto could stop himself. ]

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Page 14 of 65

TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ I

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red spring

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offering her booze in an enclosed space... does he want to die (again)............

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Re: CW for super gross/body horror.

Hello, living teenager

ellie williams, tlou 2

Cor Leonis - Final Fantasy XV

Feast bcs Ignis and food lolol

Re: yoooo happy to see him!

( training grounds )

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Excellent combo. As always XD

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yells more!

red inn!

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Caravan Ride