TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 5

[avalonmods]

✨ Greet new players on the OOC intro while apps are processed HERE! ✨

{ QUICK NAV } Premise ⚔️️ Rules ⚔️️ FAQ ⚔️️ Taken ⚔️️ Reserves ⚔️️ Apply ⚔️️ Locations ⚔️️ Bestiary ⚔️️ Top-Levels Only ⚔️️ 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 slightly chilled 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 still chilly, but not enough that you can't manage on your own. The Lady of the Lake is swimming around under the water, but seems to be focusing on coordinating a band of chia manatees to help rescue any wayward new arrivals. Chia manatees are a special Avalonian manatee that is green in color and has what appears to be a patches of grass or other short plantlife growing on its back. While some are fully green, others sport small flower blossoms that haven't yet grown in or various types of mushrooms. If anyone tries to ask the Lady of the Lake for directions, she will direct you to Archimedes at the Rent-a-Ride. Those with animal magic may get their info from the manatees, though may notice that they're really overly friendly and have zero concept of personal boundaries. Everyone may notice they have no concept of personal space, as they will happily run right into someone's belly for a snoot squishing. 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. *Reminder: Your character's familiar may or may not be with your character in their initial plunge. If the familiar isn't partial to water, it may meet your character on the beach or sit atop their head while they swim. Or if they are, they might splash about and swim alongside your character. Familiars have different personalities and body specs and we leave those up to the players. 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 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 nip bottles. Characters can use their smartphones to connect to Camelot's internet service, avalononline (AOL), to chat with other characters, watch dumb videos, learn about the world, contact Camelot Support (they'll answer any questions they can for you, from how to use a smart phone to where to find quests and resources to learn more about your magic). Be careful if you decide to use your phones while in the caravan-- if you don't use those earbuds and start forcing everyone to listen to your nonsense, Archimedes may make you walk. C ⦿ The Red Spring The journey from the White Cliffs to the City of Camelot is a long one, and the first evening you arrive you'll end up spending at the Red Spring, a booming resort town. Because of the volume of new arrivals and vacationers, inn rooms are assigned two-to-a-room. The rooms have two twin beds, a bathroom, a mini-fridge and microwave, and a TV equipped with a couple of entertaining video games and a few free movies. If you don't want to relax in the room, try taking a dip in the spring for another chance to meet your fellow travelers. The waters have restorative properties that help horses and travelers recover quickly when drunk. It is known to relieve stress, improve energy levels, and mildly accelerate healing. It may be a little chilly when you get out though, so make sure you don't slip rushing back indoors when you get out! The springs are also home to a large training grounds just outside town limits, where there are teachers who will teach basic magic safety and help you discover what kind of magic you have together with other new arrivals. Try target practice, obstacle courses, meditation circles, and other ways to try to figure out just what you can do... if you didn't already have an accidental discovery on the ride there. The Isle of Avalon is abuzz with excitement for the upcoming Spring Equinox (though some of the more posh citizens will insist it's the Vernal Equinox, tut tut). Unlike the very specific rituals of the Winter Solstice that require much preparation, the Spring is welcomed throughout the month through a variety of small rituals to help the world along as it renews itself, growing new plants and allowing nature to make new life. A ⦿ The Lesser Banishing of Frost Fairies Throughout February, the Frost Fairies were running amok and keeping things chilly, even awarding those who gave them treats last month. These fairies create ice crystals on contact and can be spotted by the beautiful ice crystal patterns that form in their trail. They cause frost bite if you physically touch them, so capture isn't recommended. They seem to be sticking around a little too long this month, as they're normally supposed to leave at the end of February. No one seems alarmed, as it seems that this happens from time to time. It's easy enough to deal with-- and so, people throughout town are being asked to perform a ritual called the Lesser Banishing of Frost Fairies. It's perfectly safe, and lets these invisible little creatures be sent on their way until the next winter. The first step: create bait. Fill a planter with dusty miller and silver sage, with a night-blooming flower at the center. The silvery-white leaves pique the curiosity of the Frost Fairies because they look snowy, yet when they see the flower bloom, they know it cannot be. The plants won't be damaged at all in the ritual, so you'll get a moon garden out of it, which can be incidentally draw adorable little moon rabbit kits in to play inside your home while the moon is out. They're friendly, though they do tend to enjoy pack-sized snuggles-- you may find yourself stuck with no fewer than 15 rabbits attempting to climb on you for attention and need someone's help to pull them off. You may need to get them under control before you continue with the ritual. Once you've assembled your miniature moon garden, you'll need to find a stranger to perform the ritual. You need to bring a new energy into your home in order to let the Frost Fairies know that it's time to meet something new. Take hands with the new person and dance in circles around the miniature moon garden. The plants will start to glow and the Frost Fairies will become visible-- short, fat, all-white penguin with flamingo-length legs and icicle crowns. They will immediately challenge you and your summoning partner to a duel! Though, you can pick what kind of challenge it is as their culture dictates. They're pretty overconfident, just remember not to pick something that involves touching them unless you want to end up needing a healer. B ⦿ The Language of Flowers Once the Frost Fairies are properly banished, flowers are starting to crop up all around Camelot, the Broceliande, the fields in between, and those who come back to the White Cliffs after arrival will even find the Cliff Beast in a pleasant mood from all the lovely little flowers hanging off of his clifftop. (No one's quite sure how a cliff seems happy, but that's the sense everyone gets.) Wherever you may be, there are flowers starting to crop up. Normally, this would be when people would start gathering decorations to cover the buildings and make flower altars, but a lot of the wild flowers normally accessible... well... It looks like a brood of dragons hatched a little early and, upon seeing all the flowers start to crop up, decided that these flowers are the treasures that they want to hoard. The baby dragons didn't fly too far down from their mountain, but once one of them flew past the Lands of Rot and found the fields of flowers, it got its siblings. Now there are a handful of baby dragons claiming different areas as their hoard and making it impossible to get around without being attacked by an admittedly cute fire-breathing menace. No one wants the baby dragons slain, but the baby dragons need to be brought back to their mother's cave in the Ash Mountains. The safest way is through the half-dead area between the Dusklight Woods and the Lands of Rot. The dragons will attack anyone who comes into their area but seem to be friendly toward anyone wearing a flower crown, as they seem to accept them as a part of their hoard if the flowers send the right message. Use the language of flowers to communicate with the dragons and try to get them to follow you by wearing a flower crown that matches one you offer to the dragon. A flower crown that says sympathy and sadness might not be as effective as something that says virtue and bravery. Just be careful not to woo them the wrong impression with something that says eternal love and devotion, or you might have a different kind of dragon problem... Regardless, since the dragons are guarding the flowers you need to make the crowns out of, you'll need to find a way to get past their attacks to gather flowers to begin with to find the flowers you want to make your crown with. Flower crowns need at least two types of flowers to communicate with the dragons, so it's recommended you work together with others to try to gather as many flowers as you can to find the flowers you need. Thankfully, since dragons are sacred, most of the Dusklight Woods creatures will leave you alone, so it's best to hug that side of the mixed path. You and whoever you're working with only have to worry about fighting alongside the baby dragons to fight off the Land of Rot creatures that hang around the edge: Skeleton warriors that can only be scattered but not killed, Fogueria (a lion made of fire that likes to play with its food in sadistic ways), and rattlesnakes. Once you're at the foot of the Ash Mountains, the baby dragons will fly back up to their cave on their own. With the baby dragons returned to their nest, you can head home, and the townsfolk can start decorating for the Spring Equinox. C ⦿ Spiritual Cleansing The frost is gone, the flowers are free, and rabbits are running around town like they own the place. All of the physical and symbolic spring equinox preparations are made, now it's time to look within. As the season of renewal and rebirth, a huge part of that is personal reflection and growth. As such, outdoor meditation and yoga flash parties are all the rage right now. Get caught it one and you and anyone around you will be stuck in a barrier until you complete at least 5 yoga poses and hold them for 30 seconds each. Some of them are a little challenging.. thankfully, no one is going to stop you from getting help holding them from someone else who's stuck with you. A plague of smoothie hockers has also cropped up around town, which means portable carts offering different magical smoothies is going around selling their fruity and flowery spring flavors for a refreshing boost of your spirit. No, really boost it. The magical effects are in small text underneath the flavors, so they may be easy to miss. Hibiscus-Berry: Vanity Spirit (person may become temporarily obsessed with appearance, finding cute clothes, getting their hair and nails done, needing to be their ideal of attractive) Strawberry-Rose: Romantic Spirit (flirtiness, desire to be romantic with someone) Jasmine-Peach: Friendship Spirit (go out of your way to make new friends, make grand friendship gestures to people you've already befriended or have known for five minutes and want to befriend) Lavender-Mulberry: Distrusting Spirit (paranoid, may start fights because they think someone is out to get them) Butterfly Pea-Lemon Tea: Meditative Spirit (fall asleep easily, peaceful/relaxed about alarming things, sudden penchant for Big Thoughts about the universe) Dandelion-Apple-Banana: Surivival Spirit (sudden desire to do everything yourself, whether that's hunting/gathering food, getting really into DIY projects like making your own soap or building your own chicken hutch because you're going to get your own eggs, or really wanting to live outside for a while) The effects only last for an hour or two, so it's unlikely any real damage can be done (hopefully) but it'll certainly give you a new outlook on life! Spring is in the air, the Equinox is coming, and prep is underway. But all work and no play can get a little boring, right? Avalonians have come together and set up a few activities for Adventurers. While all of these activities can be completed and enjoyed without using magic, participants will be encouraged do to so, don’t worry if it goes a little haywire. There are magical force fields around the play zones to contain any mishaps. A ⦿ Keep it Rollin' Rollin' The first area set up for fun and games is a barrel rolling contest. Participants are split into pairs to compete against each other to see who can roll their partner inside the barrel down the hill and across the finish line the fastest. Springtime is when geysers start bursting around the bottom of the hill though, so you'll have to watch out for those and any boulders to make sure your barrel doesn't burst before you reach the bottom! To make things a little more interesting, the planners had a bit of mischief with the barrels... As barrels reach a quarter of a way down the hill, the outside will burst into flames. Surprise! While they are enchanted so that the flames aren't actually hot, participants are not aware of this. Sorry, the guys running this game aren’t that big on explaining; after all, it’s just rolling a fire barrel down the hill; what’s so complicated? Fire makes it look like it's going faster and is way more exciting to watch! B ⦿ Hop Skip and a Jump Everyone loves hopscotch, right? Well, whether you do or don’t, that next zone is all about the hop, the skip, and the jump. Two hopscotch boards about the size of a basketball court each are laid out side by side for participants. The object again, to see who can complete the task that fastest. If you reach a spot with a magic symbol, you have to cast a spell at your opponent or you can't proceed. This is combat hopscotch! Of course, once more, the folks running the show forgot to mention one tiny thing, a quarter of the way into the board, random spots will drop away as you go, leaving holes in the ground! Yikes, better take that leap! Don’t worry, if you miss, the bottom of the hole is filled with marshmallow fluff in bright pink, yellow, and pastel purple. (Kind of reminds you of something, huh...?) Down in the hole are rungs and footholds to get yourself back out, but boy, will that put you behind the other guy if they didn’t fall. Well, guess victory will have to be a little sweeter than you planned! C ⦿ Gettin' Brewy With It Now, this activity probably seems a little safer. Welcome to the “Brew” tent. Participants will be given ingredients, space, and set up in pairs to brew up a tasty drink! A variety of ingredients are available and with it, participants will be taught the Recipe: Brewery. This spell can be used to accelerate brewing and distilling processes for alcoholic drinks. Of course, if someone who is too young to drink according to their world's rules, any alcohol in the drink will evaporate, so it's really only a spell that's useful for adults... but everyone can participate in making drinks. You can pick any ingredients you want, but all participants are instructed that a sprinkle of that magic at just the right time will make it perfect. When asked what the right time is, all they will be told is they’ll know when. Some may get it right, depending on instinct. Others might sprinkle too much and cause the drink to burst all over them and their partner, and their workstation or have some other silly side effect, like make them hiccup uncontrollably or catch a case of the giggles. Or maybe they cast for too long or too short a time and the drink turns sour, turns to ash, grows wings on the cup, and flies away. Brewery magic can be fickle, so there's lots that can go wrong.. but get it right, and you can have one heck of a drink to enjoy! MOD NOTES: • All test drive prompts are open to anyone in the game at any time to create your own logs with, but this post should have top-levels by potential new characters only. Current characters may reply to any threads, but should not top-level comment on this post. • If your application is accepted, you may accept TDM threads as game canon as long as both players consent. Characters may begin threading as soon as their journal is accepted to the communities. • If nothing here tickles your fancy, try one of this month's Quests for your TDM prompt. • The first "Arrival" prompts are 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

[impostorsyndrome]

Right. I did see that, now that you mention it. But I'm pretty sure the rabbit part was a surprise.

[Kadoc does know his mythology well, and that is not helping him come up with an explanation for this. Sometimes shit just happens, even in Camelot! He holds the rabbit in his hands for a moment and then, realizing he has no idea what to do with it from here, tries just setting it on the ground in the alley. That doesn't feel right, but they only have so many hands between them . . . well, for now at least, this first one is just sitting there grooming itself at Touya's feet.]

Actually, if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you told me a little about how it went. . . . The obvious aside. I've been trying to decide whether to participate myself.

[He plucks another bunny off Touya as he says this and considers it. Maybe he was correct to avoid taking part.]

[goodboybaddog]

[Setting the rabbits down on the ground sounds like a good enough idea for now. Surely they came from somewhere around here. Right?! Touya is going to follow suit, at any rate.]

It was just planting some things, at first. Actually... The next part was supposed to involve help from a stranger.

[He decides to stop short before inviting Kadoc to do it with him. Maybe Kadoc wants a more experienced partner!]

[impostorsyndrome]

What kind of help?

[It's rabbit-piling time! The rabbits don't seem inclined to leave . . . putting them on the ground just results in them staying there, lingering around their feet. Leaving an alleyway full of rabbits is going to be awkward, but what other options are there? For now, just getting them all off of Touya is the important thing.

Kadoc is half just making conversation, but he is curious, too. It benefits him to see the frost fairies banished as early this month as possible, so that he doesn't have to deal with footprints in the snow if he takes on any smuggling jobs in the coming week or two, ahem. So being the stranger that helps out with this isn't a bad outcome.

Unless the ritual, like, really really sucks.]

[goodboybaddog]

Holding hands and dancing in a circle.

[He's not particularly embarrassed by the idea, but he has some concept of how ridiculous it sounds. Out of curiosity to gauge what might be "normal" in a place like this, he quietly observes what Kadoc's reaction is to this elaboration.]

[impostorsyndrome]

Heh.

[It's not exactly funny, per se, but the dry little laugh skips out of his throat anyway. Not dark, but not with much humor in it either. Kadoc shakes his head with just a ghost of a smile.]

Seriously . . . again? We had to do something like that not long after I arrived. What is it with this place and making us all into dancers? . . . But it could be worse. At least this isn't unexpected.

[goodboybaddog]

[Huh. Touya is relieved if dancing is a valuable skill here, since he at least has some experience there. But this clearly is not the right audience for that thought, and he keeps it to himself, offering a more neutral response.]

Dancing in a circle isn't very complex choreography. I think it should be fine.

[impostorsyndrome]

Yeah. The first time around was pretty twisted in comparison. Doing mystery shots with a stranger in a smoky tent kind of twisted.

[And now that he says that aloud . . . well, he'd participated in that, hadn't he? It'd be pretty foolish to jump on that one and turn this down, especially when he has a vested interest in getting this snow gone. Kadoc lets out a little sigh under his breath as he removes another rabbit, holding this one up to look at it. Fat little guy!]

. . . So if you need a hand with this one and you don't mind mine, I'll help you out. It seems simple enough. Maybe it just seems that way, but we won't know until we try.

[goodboybaddog]

...I'm a minor, so if that's how some of these go, I guess I should help out where I can all the more.

[He will otherwise not comment on how shady that may or may not be. He wants to give the situation the benefit of the doubt, but the person who actually experienced it is the one calling it twisted... Yeah, good thing he doesn't have to make this his business.]

It would be a great help, if you don't mind. You've already helped me this much.

[He is down to a manageable enough level of rabbits that he is just petting one now.]

[impostorsyndrome]

[Yeah, admittedly, Kadoc is still just holding the one he had in his hands last, petting it. Rabbits are so soft . . . the others are still just hanging out around them on the ground, too. This is possibly the cutest moment two people have ever shared in an alleyway.]

I don't mind. As far as I'm concerned, you already did the hard part dealing with these little guys . . . so I'm just mooching off your effort. I'd like to see the snow gone myself.

[goodboybaddog]

You helped me with these, too.

[But even though he does feel genuinely like he's being given too much credit, he's not that invested in fighting his stance. What is more interesting is listening to what Kadoc has to say otherwise. He tilts his head at that last comment, curious.]

Do you not like snow very much?

[impostorsyndrome]

[Reflexively, he smiles, as if at a private joke, and it doesn't slip away entirely. He's going to live out the entire rest of his life with some strong feelings on snow, huh?]

It's not exactly that. I won't deny that I've had enough of it recently to last me a lifetime, though. I wouldn't mind seeing a nice, warm spring for once. But in this case, it's just logistics. I have some traveling to do through the countryside later this month, and I'd rather it not be a snowy mess by the time I do.

[That is all true without being the whole story. But who needs the whole story, anyway? Only a self-sabotaging weirdo would launch into the specifics of their planned illicit smuggling run.]

We don't get vehicles here to make travel as easy as I'd like.

[goodboybaddog]

...That does sound incredibly inconvenient.

[He has no reason to consider travel, as new as he is, but laying it out like that makes it sound like a nightmarish prospect. In the modern world, living in an urban metropolis, the weather doesn't have to affect his daily life very much. But if he had to travel somewhere far away without being able to just buy a train ticket? Yeesh.

There is no reason for him to go beyond that to suspect any illicit motivations.]

It's strange that there isn't a transportation network when they have things like cellphones.

[Though he doesn't have a firm grasp of what this world is like as a whole, he does at least have one of those.]

[impostorsyndrome]

There's a lot that's strange about this place.

[To say the least. Kadoc looks down at the bunny in his hands, which he's still holding and petting . . . he didn't even mean to be doing that. But it's so soft! And then down even further, to the large handful of rabbits hanging out at their feet, grooming. One is flopped on its side.]

. . . But I'm sure you're picking up on that already. I'm still new here myself, so something manages to confuse the hell out of me every day.

[goodboybaddog]

[He crouches down, to directly deposit his rabbit on the ground. But he looks up at Kadoc before too long, not wanting to distract himself from the conversation by admiring the rabbits.]

How new?

[impostorsyndrome]

[He sets down his own rabbit, taking the cue that rabbit time . . . is over. It's no longer rabbit time. But he surprises himself a little with how reluctant he is to let it go. Maybe . . . he could keep a rabbit. Are these even the kind of rabbits you can keep?!]

Just about a month. It's gone by pretty quickly. There's nothing to do, but there's everything to do. I don't know a better way to describe the feeling of being here.

[goodboybaddog]

[Let the rabbit corrupt you into being a rabbit owner. You know you want it.

Touya appreciates how soft and cute they are, but he is a little too new to even consider keeping a brand new pet. If he wants companionship, he already has a magical familiar. He straightens back up to standing.]

I think I can understand what you mean. I can't do all of the things I would be doing at home, but there doesn't seem to be a shortage of new things to do. As long as you're willing to do something a little... strange.

[That's why I'm here performing a ritual I only barely understand, he thinks.]

[impostorsyndrome]

[He's going to emotionally bond with this one if he keeps holding it! He does keep it in his peripheral vision after he sets it down. Just because.]

There's not a lot here to do that isn't strange. At the same time, people find ways to make things like home in ways that surprise me. They've got some dedication. I went to a concert a couple weeks ago set up by some of the guys here. . . . Never thought I'd be listening to J-rock in Camelot, when I considered my life trajectory.

[goodboybaddog]

...There was a concert?

[He asks it as a normal followup question, but there is a light of obvious interest that starts burning in his eyes. That's not even his genre, but he'd be excited to go to any live musical event in a place like this.]

I just missed it, I guess.

[impostorsyndrome]

Yeah. But I'm pretty sure it's the kinda thing they'll do again. The lineup was pretty passionate . . . I was surprised just how many musical acts we've got in this place. And I doubt they're the types to be satisfied after a single performance.

[Kadoc, too, loosens up a little with just the slightest undercurrent of excitement on this topic. He may not be a performer himself, but the concert had been the first modern music he'd heard in a long time. It'd been something simple in a complicated situation. They'd better do it again.]

It really helps this place feel a little less like a fever dream. . . . Or maybe it makes it feel more like one, with how out of place it is in the setting, but even my mind wouldn't come up with that.

[goodboybaddog]

[He nods along, listening, and he will definitely file those thoughts away for later, but his follow-up is more direct than philosophical.]

Where did they perform? Is there a venue?

[impostorsyndrome]

Yeah, there's a theater. I guess our hosts here are happy to let us make use of whatever venues we need as long as we go through the process.

[He falls silent for a beat. . . . Then he wordlessly bends down, picks up the rabbit he'd been bonding with for a while, and tucks it in his arm.]

I think we're done here. If you wanna try the rest of the ritual now, we can head to your place.

[goodboybaddog]

[He might have continued down that road, but any further plans are only half-formed, and this is more immediately distracting. So he nods, allowing the conversation to change.

He doesn't even comment on the rabbit. It's unclear if he even noticed it. (He did.)]

All right. I'm just staying in the inn that was set up for me when I first arrived.