TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ I

[avalonmods]

{ QUICK NAV } Premise ⚔️️ Rules ⚔️️ FAQ ⚔️️ Taken ⚔️️ Reserves ⚔️️ Apply ⚔️️ Locations ⚔️️ Bestiary 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.

Comments

haru | beastars | ota

[hopticulture]

caravan.
[She's dried for the most part from her impromptu swim; clothes still damp but less unbearable than before. The long arduous walk up a mountain certainly helped, and despite her utter confusion from this whole reality-bending ordeal, Haru does find some relief in having been given a smartphone for her troubles.

Even if these human animals sure are...something to stare at. Same with their horses, standing four legged on strange feet that look like overlarge toenails.

Ugh...weird.

Through all this confusion, a small white fluffball of a fairy-like creature has been following her since being dragged out of the lake, and Haru has taken absolutely no notice of the floating thing. It's landed on the top of her head, delicate and light, a cotton ball that closely resembles her own cotton tail that sticks out of the back of her skirt.

One long rabbit ear twitches a bit as the creature snuggles up atop her head, but Haru is too focused on the horses who seem to be waiting around mindlessly.]

Hello-oo? [She should know better than to brazenly approach such a large mammal, one that could crush her easily if spooked. But, here Haru is, approaching a horse that's just as white as her, waving her hand up at its face.] You're from around here, right? I still don't get what's going on.

[Someone please tell her these horses don't talk.]


red spring.
i.
[By now she's taken notice of her little traveling companion, and for the time being it remains either on or around her, fluttering like a small mote of stray fluff or sitting on her head like a tuft of fur.

Haru's kind of just accepted what's going on and her new companion in stride, that being assigned a roommate doesn't phase her. It's a lot fewer of an occupancy than compared to what she had back in Cherryton, and she has a roommate at university.

Regardless of who her roommate is and what gender they are, the small rabbit is removing the top layer of her clothes which still reek of lake water. In her bra, she flops down facefirst into her bed, being 3'5" having to literally hop up onto it.]

I'm still so cold from that lake. [She hopes she won't catch a cold...her rabbit body is so pathetic and weak it's easy to get sick if she's stuck in sodden clothes all day.

Her voice is muffled as she remains with her face pressed against the comforter.] Hopefully there's a bathtub.

ii.
[After settling in some, Haru's decided to take advantage of the Red Spring's supposed healing properties. Her Kesaran-Pasaran (who has no name of its own, but she's just going to call it 'Azami') isn't accompanying her at the moment.

So...she's alone. And in her loneliness Haru strips fully down into a one piece bathing suit borrowed from the resort. Tentatively she takes a step into the waters, gauging its temperature against her fur, before stepping all the way into the spring.

She dunks down beneath the water, coming up after a second or two. Her back is turned away, so she's unaware of whoever's also come to the spring. Quietly she preens, running her hands up along long ears to gently squeeze the water out of her fur.]


holey grail.
[She's only on this quest because she's fallen into a partnership with someone. Why they'd turn to a rabbit for help on a daring quest is anyone's guess, but they're all strangers here so she can't fault the want for companionship.

It's just too darn bad that the grail she's found is up way high in the tree tops, her eyesight too poor to make anything out beyond it being something shiny, and stuck--]

Oh...that's a wasp's nest. [Her familiar, who's halfway floated up towards the grail, does whatever the equivilent of an 'about face' is for its species upon also noticing it's a nest full of buzzing wasps.

Haru, hands on her hips and neck craned upwards to squint at the grail for another moment longer, shrugs dismissively.]

Well, we tried! Let's leave it for the bugs.


[ooc: feel free to take my toplevels and tweak them to better suit your needs, or toss a starter of your own at me! i will match styles (though not tenses because i'm perma-stuck in present tense). PM or ping my plurk (trashcats) if needed!]

caravan

[disasdeer]

[ The horses are the strangest thing, somehow, of everything he's witnessed here. His familiar has occasionally been hovering nearby, making sure he doesn't find himself in too much trouble (which given Louis, could be a task). He hears a familiar voice nearby and his ears twitch and he makes his way towards it. ]

They won't answer, I tried.

[ He says it as he approaches her, to join her in looking at the white horse. ]

I mean, I tried a few times.

[hopticulture]

[Boy oh boy does that familiar of Louis's have his work cut out for him.

Haru hears Louis's approach from behind, one ear twisting back slightly towards the noise in a subconsciously feral way. But, when she hears that the footsteps are attached to a familiar voice she never expected to hear in a place like this, she jumps a bit, turning to look up at Louis when he joins her at her side.

The horse remains unspooked, though it does flick its tail from either flies or the presence of the strange white dog hovering nearby.]

Louis?? What are you--? [She shakes her head, patting her cheeks to calm down. What's he doing here? Probably the same reason she's here.

Turning from him, she looks back at the horse.] What do you mean they won't answer?

[disasdeer]

[ He's... happy to see her. He enjoys Haru's company and something about having her around is a comfort. There's no awkwardness between them, he thinks. And though she doesn't know him as well as Legosi does, there is something nice about seeing her.

He reaches for the dog, and he approaches Louis' hand, glancing up towards him and then towards Haru. ]

They don't talk. They have four legs, too.

[ So enjoy that little factoid, Haru. ]

So you just got here, too?

[hopticulture]

[It's honestly a relief to see him, now that her surprise has worn away. Between the strange human animals, and the even stranger-looking animals that are otherwise familiar, there would be a very good chance of Haru feeling overwhelmingly alone.

Louis is familiar. And someone she cares about. It's good to see him.

But...that dog?]

I...can see the four legs. [She squints with uncertainty at the dog, attention driven away from the horse. It's a bit distressing? In an existential way.] Yeah, I'm just as new as you, I think.

If my sopping wet clothes didn't make that obvious enough

[She's not sopping wet, she's just damp and exaggerating.]

[disasdeer]

[ The dog is really cool, Haru. Really, he's the best part of this entire situation, if he were honest. He shifts his attention briefly to the creature, reaching out a hand towards it and it moves, sitting down beside him. For a bringer of death, he's a good partner. ]

You have more of a caught in the rain look, Haru. Not so much a fell in the ocean anymore. I think the walk up here helped.

[ Certainly. ]

They should consider a different location, anyway. Not the best place to suddenly appear.

[ He's not happy about it - he nearly drowned. ]

Supposedly horses like this are totally normal, too.

Holey Grail

[mithrarin]

[Why would anyone turn to a rabbit for help? Well, Falana had rabbit Warmbloods, so they're almost kin. Closer than humans, that's for sure.]

Hey, you can't give up that easily. It's a challenge, not an insurmountable obstacle!

[hopticulture]

[Okay, okay. Anthros got to stick together. But even still...

Her ear flaps as her familiar comes to land on her head. She admittedly admires her companion's dedication to this cause, even if he sounds a bit foolish to her.

It would be different were it simply high up and too far for her to reach. Stinging, easily-irate insects on the other hand...]

From all my years of gardening, I've learned to leave wasp nests well enough alone. [She gives him a sidelong glance, mouth curved into a wry smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes.] Unless you want to get stung.

[mithrarin]

[Dust squeezes Ahrah's hilt, thinking. He's tried, and he can't access the Dust Storm here, but he's still quick and strong -- and a thread keeps tickling at the back of his head, and swirling around him in unguarded moments. That magic he's supposed to learn...]

I'm willing to take them on, if you can get the whatever it is.

[hopticulture]

[she's going to give him A Look, frowning and crossing her arms.]

If the wasps aren't hurting anyone now, I'm not going to want you hurting them for no reason.

[sure, they can be nasty and sting, and often made their nests in places they shouldn't, but they're still important pollinators.]

[mithrarin]

[If they were bees maybe he wouldn't have thought about it to begin with, but--]

I don't need to hurt them. Just draw them off. I think I can blow them around a little... [He flexes his free hand, trying to judge just what limits he can reach with this magic he's supposed to use.] And dodge them, long enough for you to act.

[hopticulture]

[This...sounds like a bad idea. But Haru is honestly not trying to be difficult, just reasonable.]

I hate to say it, but it's a bit too high for me to climb, and I'm still useless with my magic. [In fact, she's still no clue how to use it.

She holds her palm out, a small hovering glowing light beginning to form about the size of her palm which, considering her size, isn't very big. But it sure is bright.]

This is all I can do.

[mithrarin]

[Dust's refusal to make eye contact comes in handy once again.]

That's... pretty impressive, actually. [It doesn't need to be big when it has such an effect.] Do... can wasps be blinded? If we can keep them away, I think I can get it down instead.

[hopticulture]

[She cups her hand over the light, making it disappear between her hands.]

I...actually, don't know. [If Legosi were here he'd probably know.] Maybe it could confuse them at least?

[If only Haru had figured out she can use her magic to make protecting barriers too. Alas...]

It's worth a shot.

[mithrarin]

[If only a lot of things. She isn't a nimbat, and even if she were, Dust doesn't have the Dust Storm to rely on any more. No augmenting balls of light for him.]

At the very least, the wasps will think of me as the threat and not you.

[hopticulture]

That really doesn't make me feel much better... [Ugh, she hates feeling burdensome. And there's always going to be that part of her that feels insulted when she feels like it's being suggested that she's weak and helpless.

Not that he is, she's just full of self-loathing and depersonalization.]

I think I'm able to direct light towards the hive. Just let me know when you're ready.

[mithrarin]

[Dust would prefer himself to be the target in any circumstance. That's just how he is.]

All right. Let's see here.

[Dust grits his teeth, shuts his eyes (not that anyone can tell), and does his best to reach for the power he shouldn't have and does, instead of the one he should and doesn't. His clothing slowly ripples, as if caught from below by a breeze.]

Okay. I'm ready.

red spring - i

[birdflipping]

[Today is weird, and talking rabbits are also pretty weird, but Nero has long since learned to take these things in his stride. So he doesn't mind sharing a room with said rabbit when it comes to finding somewhere to crash for the night, stripping off his sword and revolver along with his jacket when they get into the room.

He doesn't expect her to just straight up undress, and he politely puts a hand over his eyes as she faceplants onto the bed. Ugh, how does he always get into these situations.]

... I'll go check. [She'll hear the sound of him crossing the room and opening the door to the bathroom.] Yeah, there's a bath and a shower.

[hopticulture]

[Sorry Nero. It's not that Haru is completely without shame, but she's at a point in her life and her journey that she just doesn't care.

She's still laying facedown in bed, though her ears do swivel a bit in a rabbit's natural inclination to follow noise and movement.]

Mm...good. [Sitting up, and not doing much about her half-undressed state, she looks over at Nero and the aforementioned bathroom.] Mind if I use it first? Us rabbits have a bad habit of getting sick and dying easily.

[birdflipping]

Do me a favour and don't die. I don't wanna have to explain why I had to scrape dead rabbit off the bed.

[She is joking about that part, right? She's not actually going to get sick...? Moving quickly on from that alarming piece of information instead of thinking about it too hard, he steps away from the bathroom and back over to his own bed.]

Go ahead. Towels are already in there.

[hopticulture]

[She's serious & joking is what she is!! Hopping off her bed, she stretches a bit, heading towards the bathroom.

A stray puff of white seems to fall from her head, but instead of floating to the ground like an errant fuzzball of fur, it moves towards the bed instead as though it has a mind of its own (which it does). In its absence, Haru scratches behind her ear.]

Any not dying is a favour to me and to no one else, but I can't make any promises. [At least, not to people who don't matter to her!

Luckily, she won't further her state of undress until she's in the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.]

Thanks!

[And with that, there's the sound of the bath being turned on, running water, and she's probably going to be in there for about 10 minutes or so.]

[birdflipping]

No worries. Take as long as you want.

[Still lowkey worried but not going to say anything, he'll let her go on ahead to the bathroom. In the meantime he'll take off his hooded jacket and threadbare sweater and hang them up, since they still smell faintly of sea water. Gross. His sword and double-barrel revolver are left at the foot of the bed, mostly out of sight but in easy reach should he need them.

Not much he can do about his jeans and t-shirt just short of copying Haru and stripping almost entirely, but he's not about to go that far. Instead, he squints at the little puffball she left behind...

...and pokes it. You know, just to check it's alive and not a ball of fluff.]

holey grail

[imaglyphwitch]

"Pfft, what? It's just a tree and some wasps! We climb the tree, get rid of the wasps, we get the grail. Hail the conquering heroes."

Luz gave a sweeping bow, then a wink.

"Fear not fair Maiden-bunny! I got you!"

With that, Luz is already climbing up the tree, eager to prove herself.

[hopticulture]

"...Maiden-bunny?" Said more to herself than at Luz, even if this strange girl doesn't even give Haru the time to roll that phrase over in her head. "H-hey! Wait!"

She moves forward but the human, in an...expectedly primate-like action (because hey, to her anthropomorphic sensibilities, that's what humans remind her of) her partner in this unfortunate journey is already climbing up the tree at a distance that's a bit out of her reach.

So Haru is just left standing at its base. She cups her hands around her mouth to shout up:

"How exactly do you plan on getting rid of the wasps without them stinging you?"

[imaglyphwitch]

[OOC: Not getting in the game but I DO at least want to finish my threads!]

Right, the easy part was climbing up the tree, even if it did take some effort and Luz was pretty sweaty and dirty once she was up there. Hard part were these wasps. She could attempt to throw the nest, sure, but chances are they would come after her pretty quick. She didn't even know if this place had, like, GPS detecting wasps or something. So she was going to have to use what she had.

Concentrating quietly, she shielded all around the wasps' nest and made a grab for the grail, fumbling for it and missing a moment before it was finally in her grasp.

"I got i-ahhh!"

It would have helped to keep her footing, so. Have the gangly teenager come tumbling down the tree.