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

[good_ideas]

[He believed her? He wasn't supposed to believe her! And not only that he was trying to be nice to her and to be supportive for some reason? Shiho looks away as he squats down, her terror replaced for the moment with embarrassment.

Like this she can't continue to be mean to him, then she'd be a bully! So for once, she's actually docile though she still doesn't look at him.]

...It's Shiho.

[vrepit_no]

[His smile brightens a touch, genuinely pleased that she's shared her name with him. He hasn't moved to pull his arm away, and still doesn't, letting her hold onto it as long as she wants to.]

It's good to meet you, Shiho. Are you hurt at all?

[good_ideas]

[Someone save her from kind people, please.

If the ghost cat wasn't still there, she probably would have already let go.]

I... guess it's nice to meet you too.

And do I look hurt? What would I even be hurt by?

[vrepit_no]

[Too late, kiddo, you're stuck with him now. He's going to say hi every time he sees you now.

He half shrugs, never losing his smile.]

I just arrived, so I'm not sure what sorts of things are around here. If you were hurt, we'd want to get you to a doctor as quickly as possible. Since you're not... Do you know your enthusiastic visitor?

[good_ideas]

[So he's also new. Shiho can't help but feel like she should help him too now.

Damn it, she's supposed to be the cruel and cute one, how dare he wear her down with kindness.]

Well, I also just arrived right now, too. And I... don't. I just know it's some kind of monster back home.

[And because she really isn't as bad as she'd like everyone around her to believe, she looks at him this time:]

You're... not hurt either, right?

[vrepit_no]

[He huffs half a chuckle and shakes his head.]

No more than usual. Don't worry about me. I want to see if our friend here can talk, okay? Maybe we can figure out what's going on. You okay with that?

[good_ideas]

What do you mean "no more than usual", that's not a yes. [She may be tsundere, but she's had practice being around people who try to downplay their injuries, okay. Her hand goes to his arm before she realizes that.... she can't read him?

Puzzled, she pulls her hand away to look at it even as the nekomata is looking between the two of them finally opening its cat mouth to talk:]

What's going on is that I'm her familiar.

[vrepit_no]

[Shiro doesn't actually answer so much as crinkle his nose playfully so that the ugly scar across it wrinkles up, and tilts his head slightly toward the empty sleeve of his shirt on the right side of his body. That usually is enough for people and he doesn't have to get into the chronic pain aspects.

The nekomata is a surprise, though, and he automatically tries to press Shiho a little further behind him. But almost as soon as he does, he's relaxing again.]

Oh! A familiar? Like a spirit companion - okay, cool. What's your name, miss kitty?

[good_ideas]

[Shiho frowns at him (but really at herself) before letting it drop. At least he's not bleeding.

The nekotama though takes the opportunity to look towards its master with a tilt of its head as if to say: go on, you pick.

Which is just putting Shiho on the spot and though she's good at thinking under pressure she's also not very good at naming things. That's never been her job.]

...T-Tama? [Possibly the most generic cat name she's ever heard but she stands by it and the nekotama doesn't seem to have noticed it's just received a very generic name.]

[vrepit_no]

[Sorry, Shiho - he's just Like This. His injuries are nothing to worry about! Honest! (He is a liar about that.) But there's no sign of active bleeding or bruising, so he's probably doing pretty well right now.]

[Shiro's smile brightens some twenty watts.]

Tama! That's cute! It's good to meet you, Tama! So you're Miss Shiho's familiar, hm? Can you tell us a little bit about what that means?

[He hasn't met his yet, so at the moment he's mostly thinking of spellcasters and magical girls, and those familiars serve wildly varying purposes.]

[good_ideas]

[Too late, Shiho is already worried. She won't say anything as of yet but she's definitely going to be carefully watching.

Damn it, there goes her image as the Cruel but Cute one.

Tama, blissfully unaware of Shiho's worries blinks up at Shiro, tail held high in happiness. Someone thinks she's cute! Flattery clearly works just as well on Tama as it does on Shiho because the nekotama decides to be helpful.]

It means that through me, Shiho will be able to use magic. But you have a familiar too, everyone here can use magic now.

[Shiho doesn't look too sure about this.] Magic? Wait, what about.... what about powers we might have had before this?

[The reply is a nonchalant:]They're gone.

[vrepit_no]

[Shiro blinks, startled, still stuck back on that first revelation.]

Wait. What? I have a familiar? I can use magic?

[Bwuh?? But he's already tried and it didn't work! Wait. Keep processing. Hm. He frowns thoughtfully.]

So whatever we might have had before, we don't have that anymore, but we have access to magic from this place?

[good_ideas]

[Thankfully he didn't ask what kind of power Shiho had before this. She's not entirely certain herself what she feels about not having her psychometry. On the one hand she'd suspected it because nothing had happened when she touched his arm. On the other hand, she'd always had psychometry and not having it was simultaneously a relief and a worry.

Tama though is currently focused on answering Shiro's question, though keeps giving Shiho glances from time to time. After all, it can feel her worry.]

That is correct. And you do have a familiar, they should be around here somewhere. Try calling them.

[With that said, it walks close to put a paw on Shiho's leg which makes her jump before she tries to fix her own expression, reaching a hand out to pet the nekotama's head in order to distract herself.]

...Why do we have magic though?

[vrepit_no]

[How does he call a familiar that he didn't even know he had? Is there a protocol for this?
Is it an internal kind of calling or a vocal... He'll figure it out later.]

[Shiro's smile warms considerably when Shiho at least makes an attempt to bond with the little cat creature. He'd squeeze her hand, but she's kind of holding his forearm.]

That's a good question. How did we get magic, and why?

[good_ideas]

[Thank goodness he wasn't holding her hand otherwise he'd be dealing with a very embarrassed psychometer.

For now though, she's still leaning against his arm for support as she moves to carefully scratch the cat creature's chin.]

Yeah, why give us magic and not just... the powers we had before?

[Giving it some thought (and also raising its head for more scritches), the nekotama answers:] Because we'll be restoring magic to Avalon, of course.

[vrepit_no]

[Hey, he doesn't mind. He's good at being a steady support. One of his favorite things to do, actually.]

If Avalon is the island, and magic is scarce, why give it to us instead of the land?

[good_ideas]

Because it doesn't work like that. We're going to help King Arthur save this world and all of the worlds in this multiverse.

[At this point, the nekotama seems to be sure that Shiho has already accepted it and moves in to bump its head into her hand as she gives it scratches behind its ear.]

....What do you mean save all of the worlds? What happened?!

[And then very simply, gently rubbing a paw against its face, it answers:] They ended. All except for this one.

[vrepit_no]

[Shiro stiffens. Alarm focuses his attention sharply onto the little cat.]

Define "ended", please.

[His voice has hardened into his commander tone, and distantly he regrets sharpening in front of Shiho, but he has to know this. What does 'ended' mean in this context?]