TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 6

[avalonmods]

Check out the OOC intro meme for this month to say hi to new players/characters!

{ 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 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 mossatees to help rescue any wayward new arrivals. Mossatees are a special Avalonian manatee that is green in color and has what appears to be a patches of grass or other short plant life growing on its back. While some are fully green, many sport blooming flowers or fairy circles 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, a pair of earbuds, and animal-themed ponchos 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. Which given the fact that it's pouring down rain in April? Not ideal. You were only given ponchos, not rain boots. 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. Unfortunately, due to a bee infestation and massive amounts of rain, the hot springs of the Red Springs are not available this month! Instead, an underground salt cave is offered as a way to relax and unwind. Gather around in the rejuvenating, dimly lit caves and breathe in the relaxing effects of salt crystals. Feel the sand between your toes, or if you don't like sand, try one of the many pools with tiny garra rufa for a fish pedicure. Or, lie down in a recliner and stare up at the "stars"-- magic sparkles in the ceiling that move to spell out single-word concepts you may be experiencing. (Maybe you're relaxed? You might get something like "Chill." Find your relaxation buddy hot? Just be careful to look away before the stars spell "Thirsty" to the whole room.) 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. As it turns out, a mythical land that's been around for a few centuries has a few things in common with many modern worlds. It's got the internet, and games have evolved a little bit past hoop trundling and draughts. April, being the traditional month of mirth and games and lots of rain making it hard to have fun outdoors, is the time for Camelot City Gaming Convention, affectionately shortened to CameCon. Come into the large convention center located in the south part of town, get dry, and check out some of the awesome things to do. A ⦿ Couchless Co-Op Without the massive audiences required to really run MMORPGs, Avalon is much more a fan of couch co-op style gaming. Though most games are available on mobile devices throughout Avalon when they are released, there's nothing quite like coming to CameCon to utilize the gaming stages for everyone's favorite fighting games. Multiple players at a time can plug in their phones and connect their accounts to a light magic-based illusion stage (powered by multiple light mages at a time, once a year only!) roughly the size of a basketball court. Fighting games can be played tournament-style on the phone next to your opponent for some awesome trash talk during your battle. Race through space with this year's popular NASTAR Racing Game (National Association for Space Travel Auto Racing) game and fight off space pirates in an epic Mario Kart-esque racing and item battle adventure with your choice of star ship. Or plug your phone into the stage podium and get away from the humdrum fantasy life by joining in a live-movement game that combines synchronous kinetic and light magic. Move your body in the vortex illusion of your favorite rhythm dance game with a buddy! Or maybe you're more into the free-style gaming of Grand Theft Automation with both friends and strangers-- step onto the illusionary stage itself to explore crawling cityscapes and live the life of crime you always dreamed of... at least the cops won't really arrest you if you do it here. Just make sure if you use magic you remember you're on a stage and don't accidentally send some flying off at a poor convention go-er just past the illusion stage. B ⦿ Arthurian RP in your Arthurian RP None can forget one of the most important of game types: the roleplaying game. There's a huge historical set game going on right now where characters can LARP as their favorite Knight of the Round Table. There may be a couple of arguments if two Lancelots end up in the same game, but don't worry, there's a fair way of determining who gets the part for this game if you don't want to wait for the next storyline: rock-paper-scissors-magic. Instead of the traditional version of RPS, you shake your fists and open up to whatever hand-held spell you can make with your particular brand of magic. If it's something that can overcome the other kind in less than three seconds, you're the winner. (And yes, even healers can play-- some protective magic to block a dark magic pain curse is definitely going to win out, for example!) Either way, once your role is decided, put your acting skills to the test! ...and if you don't have any, well, they have costumes that will help you get into the mood with a little dress-up and props that will magically give you sword skills... though only while using the dull-edged plastic props. Or you can just sit on the sidelines and have a picnic on the concrete floor of the center with a potential new pal and watch other people play-- there's a lovely little buffet table with pastries, coffee, and juice in the corner. C ⦿ It Figures... A convention isn't a convention without a little shopping. Come check out what cool games are upcoming in the exhibit hall, buy figurines of your favorite game characters (or.. new ones you've never heard of since this is a new world, but are still cute and/or kick-ass), and most importantly, check out the cool magic you can apply to them. A spell available for purchase in the convention hall that's popular this year is Recipe: Figure Anima, which makes your figures move in place and say popular lines as if they're an actual, miniature version of the character. It's recommended you practice while you're in the convention hall though so figure experts can help if things go.. awry. People have been known to have their own emotions influence the spell, and sometimes toys have started taking on the attitude of the caster. There's nothing quite as tragic as your favorite angelic game character telling you they're gonna kick your ass because you were in a fighting mood. So OOC. Maybe you can find someone who's a little better at magic to fix the problem? Of course, when the rain breaks through and floods the exhibition room, there's a lot of mass hysteria as people scream and climb up onto tables, trying to protect their merch above all else. Hurry, help someone else up onto your table before their ent dakimakura they just purchased gets wet! Only you can save the gamers from water! ..Or that's what you thought, until a second later the electricity goes out and you're left in a total electricity blackout in the convention hall. It may be a good idea to use some magic to try to light the way and find a way out of the flooded hall... A ⦿ Keep Your Vines to Yourselves With magic blossoming left and right because of the bountiful spring equinox rituals, things have been getting a little stranger around the Broceliande. Though it's always been known for being a little odd, there is an overgrowth of prehensile, very friendly vines populating the forest now. The vines seem to have minds of their own, sometimes grabbing people, pulling them up into trees, or generally wrapping around them as if trying to get a warm hug. Ultimately, they seem relatively harmless.. except when you can't get down from them. Hopefully, you've got some kind of destructive magic that can help you fight off the overly friendly vines as you head into the forest to investigate the strange reports citizens have been making of their friends and family disappearing in the generally friendly, if odd forest when they've gone to fetch herbs or other supplies, gone on walks, or who knows what else from the forest. It seems like the best way to get the vines to let go without magic is to tickle the person the vines have captured, so you really better hope you're ticklish... and there's someone willing to really go in on it. It takes a lot of laughter to get these vines to leave you alone! B ⦿ Selfies with Selkies Those who continue on with their investigation after avoiding or escaping the vines will find a very, very large flower that seems to have taken route in a sink hole in the middle of the forest. Hundreds of vines seem to be coming from it, and it seems like this flower may be the source of all of the vines throughout the forest. It won't attack unless you attack it first and it seems to almost immediately regrow any vines that are destroyed. If the flower itself is attacked, it will rise up and attempt to eat your character with thousands of tiny shark-like teeth that lie where the pollen of its flower should be. Those who try to fight will find it seems virtually unkillable and immovable. It is neither plant nor animal and seems to have a thousand minds and souls held within it that somehow feel incomplete, so it's largely incommunicable even with cognitive or death magic. It's definitely a strange find, and it could be easy enough to assume the missing people tried aggression as their first tactic and got gobbled up... Take a trip up to the Archivist will lead them to find a book that includes information on the species: The Cereus de Anima. This giant flower rapidly grows when a seed from the Land of Rot transfers via someone's clothing to an appropriate forest environment and is known to absorb a piece of a person's essence from anyone it touches with its vines. People often seem to go missing for a short period of time when one of these appears, then come back behaving a little differently but ultimately don't seem to be in distress. No one is quite sure what the cause of this is. There doesn't seem to be any record of there being lasting damage, however questionable the plant is... The Archivist, upon seeing you researching the plant, says that he's heard some of the lake's residents just off of the Silent Shore have some experience with one. He hands you a couple baskets of some specially anti-rust enchanted parts and tells you he was supposed to deliver them to a Selkie man living in the lake for a project he's working on. You and a partner can make the delivery and ask your questions from him. The Selkie isn't going to be particularly friendly to fellow men, not trusting human men farther than he can throw them, but will decidedly try to seduce women as Selkie men are known to be extremely handsome and flirtatious with human women. Non-humans he will be neutral toward. It's best to go in pairs so you don't end up on a whirlwind candlelit beach picnic with a shirtless selkie in exchange for information about how to uproot a Cereus de Anima. (At the very least, the selkie will want you to take a selfie with him before you leave so that you have something to remember him by, and you'll always be welcome back if you change your mind.) Regardless of how much of a challenge it is for you to get to that point, as long as he gets the delivery from the Archivist, he'll eventually tell you and your traveling partner about how he heard that there used to be a village at the edge of the Dusklight Woods that was overrun with one of them, and that there's only one survivor who moved to in a cottage on the other side of the Pure of Heart Bridge.. Those familiar, yes, it is the old man that Morganna tried to kill and save in a quest a couple of months ago! Time to travel all the way back to the Pure of Heart bridge and make your way over to the cottage and talk to the man and it sure seems like this quest is long and tedious and you may be wondering if someone will have noticed you're gone... C ⦿ The Answer is No Back in Camelot City, it seems that anyone who's been touched by the vines has been replaced by a doppelganger in their lives. They're just barely off from the original- they have all the memories, but may be slightly more skilled at things they didn't used to be, or may seem to make less ethical choices than they might otherwise. There's just something slightly off. But when people start using AOL to contact their friends and let them know they've been gone.. well, it may seem like the jig is up, or at least in question. Those who find out they've been replaced may want to return to Camelot quickly to try to reclaim their lives. Doppelgangers will attempt to kill their original if they come into contact with them when they aren't around other people, so you may need to flee for your life if you haven't gotten good enough at magic to defend yourself yet. Around other people, the doppelgangers will do their best to try to prove themselves the real person and since they were made from the original, will have the same memories as the original character so asking questions that "only ___ would know" may not work. Eventually it will come out that the doppelgangers have occasionally wriggling vines instead of spines underneath their clothing, if you're willing to check that to see who's real, but that won't be common knowledge. What can be found out from the old man at the Pure of Heart bridge if you choose to leave your doppelganger alone is that Cereus de anima doppelgangers can only live for a month without killing their original and absorbing the rest of their essence. However, if the original plant isn't taken care of with a special venom you can only obtain from certain creatures in the Forest of the Fisher King, the problem will just keep happening over and over until the city is overrun and becomes nothing but a breeding ground for the flower and its replicas. 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. • You can have any animal-style poncho you want! They are themed, not made from actual animals. No animals have been harmed in the making of these ponchos!! • TIMELINE: The resolution to the third prompt will be in April's event! The first two prompt sets will be during the first week of the month. The doppelganger problem and obnoxious traveling and research will be occurring for the second and third weeks of the month. • People with green magic may be able to fill something off about the doppelgangers, but may not be able to identify what it is right away. Blood mages will be able to feel that their blood feels the same as the original as they are essentially copies. Cognitive people will be able to use their magic normally except for hypnotic suggestion- the doppelgangers are immune to it, so while you may be able to find other ways to out them, hypnotizing people to tell the truth won't work this time. Doppelgangers are made from the essence of the person, so they will be able to access their phones and accounts. Note that the Cereus de Anima and doppelgangers are not fairies and cannot be contracted with. If a Death Mage attempts to possess a doppelganger, it will technically come in contact with the doppelganger's vine and may end up with more than one doppelganger depending on how many times they try it. Siphon magic can be used to destroy a doppelganger easily, however, the essence that was stolen from the original's soul may be destroyed in the process so it is not recommended as the original may start to feel as though they are no longer a whole person. • 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. Make sure to read the Red Spring section on this month's even if you're normally familiar-- the springs are closed this month, check out the alternate prompts! • 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

[damn_kitsune]

Mitsuhide watched the girl closely. It looked like she had an aversion to being touched. It makes him wonder what would have happened to her to be like that. Several ideas came to mind, none of them pleasant. So he makes a mental note not to tease her about the tickling in particular.

"I'll be quick about it." And he reaches up to start tickling her. His hands move from place to place to find the best ticklish spot. Once the vines start to loosen he makes sure that he catches her and sets her down on her feet.

[enchantressofore]

Adela couldn't help the high-pitched noise at the touch, flinching and starting to laugh before too long. When it eased and she was on her feet again, she couldn't help breathing out hard, relieved that it was over. It actually took her a little bit to let go, shaky, but she was bringing herself to relax.

She... Should say something, shouldn't she? He was nothing but helpful, though he had tried to be a little secretive about it at first -- likely a lark on his part, but ultimately...

"... Thank you, for helping me," Her words were soft, a little embarrassed, but she could at least say that much while she knelt down to grab her sword once again. She felt too vulnerable without it, especially recently, so having that on her was at least comforting.

"I must ask, how did you even know that was how the vines released the people they held?"

[rediscovering]

"I know, Aang — and... if something happens, I'll never turn against you, just know that," he promises, eyes fixed on the floor between his feet beneath a tightly knotted brow. It's still telling that the words 'if something happens' left his mouth, even while he's trying to defend her being 'changed' and all. He can't promise he won't defend Azula 'if something happens,' the same way he wouldn't promise Azula that he won't 'abandon' her for Iroh. But he knows he can promise that he won't betray Aang, whatever finding that middleground will entail. He has to.

"It's just— Someone needs to be there for her, Aang," he continues after a beat, and looks up with a soft sigh. "She needs me. She's all alone without me here. And I think that'd be worse for everyone — but especially for her..."

[wukuiyuxin]

The finality in Wei Ying's reply does not escape his notice, like a door being shut in front of him. And that is a feeling whose bitter familiarity should have no place in this reunion. Are there still things Wei Ying can't or won't share with him? But then, why should that have changed since they parted? How would he have earned it? Or perhaps it was a foolish question. Perhaps it was foolish not to expect a lie.

But these thoughts are interrupted by Wei Ying rushing forward to sit with him, close enough to touch if he just reached out. Though before he has a chance to come to terms with that thought and the sudden racing of his heart, he has his question turned on him. How to put into words the past 16 years, the intractable void in them as well as the people and the duty he has filled them with? Words have often seemed too small to express what he's feeling, especially where Wei Ying is concerned, and it's no less impossible now. While he is struggling with all that, Lan Wangji can do nothing but stare at him.

Of course that only lasts a moment before Wei Ying has arrived at a new thought and was he ever able to keep up with this? The stars in the ceiling, having been an excitable and unintelligible spectacle up until now, finally settle into fond even as there's a slight crease of annoyance between his brows while he recalls his arrival in this world. He looks down at his instrument and brushes his palms over the strings gently before settling his hands in his lap. "Only Wangji," he confirms and it's clear he'd rather the familiar and reliable any day.

That moment of worry, of hurt, is still there, but he suddenly realizes he wants nothing more than to listen to Wei Ying talk and that would be enough for now, or possibly ever. So he looks back up at him. "This is a strange place, isn't it?"

[gbeat]

Hibiki, meanwhile, engages in Rocky-style training montages. Which she's ATTEMPTING here, but without enough participants is lacking a bit.

She's also jumping ahead and working on her SECONDARY magic before mastering the first, but she's got a good reason. Really! She needs to be able to take hits as well as dodge them and be able to punch back.

Still, the response causes her to brighten a bit. "Well, it doesn't have to be anything TOO dangerous!"

...even if she is willing to train with live fire situatoins, let's just ignore that. Even Hibiki recognizes it's not normal.

"You were using water before, right?"

[gbeat]

Hibiki winces back as Chris snaps, and she rubs her head. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Miku'd probably give me That Look if she heard me say it, anyway..."

She leans in and looks at the jewel, though. "Uh, that's... a problem. Usually, even when we get sent somewhere, they still work."

Or even adapt to the environment at hand.

"That's going to be a problem..."

It must especially be one for Chris, Hibiki thinks, but DEFINITELY is at least not going to voice out loud, given Hibiki immediately thinks about the silver-haired girl's performance in their field training exercises when not using her Symphogear. She blinks and looks back up at Chris.

"So, what can you do here, then?"

[gbeat]

Hibiki reaches up and scratches the side of her head. "No, it's not the same, but... Well, we're used to dealing with weird things by now, at least!"

A light bulb goes off in her head. "Oh! That means you have magic too, right??"

[imperfectmacarons]

[Yukari raises an eyebrow and looks up, before chuckling.

Oh, that's right. Sometimes one needs to be a bit more direct, don't they.]

Well, be that as it may - whatever I wish to do is a bit irrelevant here, isn't it?

[shiliu]

"If you'd like to attempt it, that's fine with me."

The grapes, meanwhile, are rapidly growing larger and taking on a rich golden hue, putting substantial weight on the man's outstretched arms and body. His strength must be not bad, Gu Yun thinks to himself, plucking one of the grapes and eating it. He shakes his head.

"Not quite there yet, stay put a few more minutes. Are you a new arrival?"

He might as well make conversation while waiting for the grapes to ripen.

[flamekthunder]

[If Eustace ever hears the truth he'll be very very not happy. But for now he's oblivious and just continues to enjoy the headpats...

...

Until suddenly he's no longer a puppy and pops back out back to normal. Now Colette doesn't have her hand on the head of a puppy, but a full grown adult man who is sprawled on the ground next to her.

...

Well there are worst ways. And he still has the fluffy ears??]

[ferrytale]

Inefficient. Therefore, it's unneeded.

[ that was one reason he'd elected to reach out on the network earlier at all. at the very least, it's something to counteract the idleness.

ledo considers the offer briefly before there's the sound of him fumbling around with the device for a moment or two. ]

Set visual. Hmm? Chamber, resp— oh? [ he — probably accidentally — locates the button that turns the camera on because when it turns on, he's holding it much too close to make out more than his face. things work entirely on voice commands only where he's from! now that he knows there are buttons, it makes a bit more sense. ]

Do you... know where this is?

[ now that the feed is working, he tries to hold the phone so the buildings around him are more visible. he hasn't gone too far from wherever the new arrivals had been dropped off, actually, having simply wandered off by himself to try and get his bearings. ]

[flamekthunder]

[No worries, the moment he's set down, although what he says might be momentarily be confused.]

Get on my back.

[Eustace concentrates all of his energy into one transformation. He's already had some practice in transforming into various sized dogs and wolves, and he already knows the more energy and focus he uses, the bigger the more concentrated the size. It won't last long, but it should last enough.

So in the next instant, a large wolf just large enough for Cloud to ride on appears with a look that clearly says Get on now or I will grab and drag you out.]

[flamekthunder]

[....Eustace just kind of looks at him.]

Are you sure it's "asking" and not manipulating you in a way to make you give it treats when it wants?

[Just, you know. Checking.]

[flamekthunder]

[Just. Quiet, somewhat strained voice.]

...Trying...

[He has a puppy in his lap he has a puppy in his lap he has a puppy in his lap.

Puppypuppypuppypuppy—

His fingers actually tremble a little in that strange joy of this feeling of the small creature in his lap, twitching as he hesitates on holding it. But when he senses and even hears that little cry of unease, he immediately mentally shakes his head.

Come on, Eustace! Just because this is the first time in Bahamut knows how long, he can't scare the little guy!

So he takes a deep breath, calms himself, and slowly, very slowly starts to stroke its back as a soft smile forms.]

[divinereaper]

[ Naoto could only stare. Poor sap was now feeling like an understatement.

Watching him fiddle with the phone made him internally cringe. Yeah, that was going to need work. He sighs. At least his actions made it a lot easier to figure out what he had to teach him.

And now that he knows where he is, that'll make things a lot simpler. ]

I do! I'll be there in a bit! Please don't wander too far from there, I don't want to play needle in a haystack.

[ Though honestly, once he gets a feeling for his blood that won't be much of a problem. Blood magic was a lot more useful than it was back home! ]

[divinereaper]

[ Naoto takes a moment to process his statement. It would line up with literally everything its ever done. ]

Shit, you may be right. I can't speak animal, so that... yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Wow. I feel like an idiot.

[ He sighs heavily, knowing he's been played like a fiddle. ] Ugh, sometimes I think I would've done better with animal magic.

[flapsin]

[There are many reasons to be a hero. To stand up against injustice, to protect what's important, for fame and glory. Darkwing chooses all of the above! Being a nerd and an actor, he knows a lot about thinking on his feet, improvising and coming up with the best quips that he can. That's one way to get himself into people's heads - and to get some good publicity! ...And to let them know that they're safe, that's also important!

He just has to back his words up with actions. And he does his best to do so!
His magic is still new to him, but at least generating lights seems to be one of the more basic elements of light magic. Still, between the light generation and helping people to carry merch, he is definitely starting to feel tired. Darkwing Duck just doesn't go down easily. He's ready to keep himself going as long as he has to, until everyone is safe!

As Uravity checks in with him, he offers a weak smile.]

Heroically, that's how I'm holding up! [He manages to declare that proudly. Then he goes on a bit more honestly and meekly] Just feeling a teeny bit tired. But in the end, it's all a bit of 'light' exercise. And we just have to keep going a little more... we're almost done! [Determined, he splashes through the water to guide the last congoers out!]

[rotacalamitas]

["You have the worst luck." Story of his life right there.

Bennett waits patiently when Childe tells him to hold still, it's not like he can exactly go anywhere when his legs are being restrained like that. His options were limited.

Childe's aim strikes true, though, slicing through the vines and releasing Bennett! ...Straight to the ground. He lands on his back with a thud, but at least nothing is broken.]

Oof!

[He's quick to get up though, a fall's nothing compared to the stuff he's been through, but he seems pretty disappointed, hanging his head.]

Man... I tried to help you out, but you ended up needing to help me instead.

[feralhumanity]

[Enchanted... oh dear. Nanaki lets out a soft sigh, though he doesn't huff or ridicule Geralt any. It just means he has some explaining to do.]

Well, this is a little different from enchanted glass. It's technology. It's called a smart phone, and you can use it to do many things; talk to people over long distances, look up information, and yes, access your money. Though, if imagining it like a piece of enchanted glass makes it easier to understand, you can think of it that way.

I have devices like this in my own world, so it's less of a surprise for me. But it might take some time getting used to how they function. They're not so complicated once you get used to them.

[flamekthunder]

[It was a 50/50 chance, and looks like his suspicions were right.

But there's a very small pause as he looks over at the two familiars playing.]

...I can use animal magic, but I don't know if it would work on familiars not my own.

[He's never really tried, and even with his own familiar it can be kind of finicky—thought that's less him not understanding and more of his world deliberately not always being clear and just vague to mess with him.

...Really his wolf might be more of a fox...]

[sulit]

"How gracious, thank you. I shall never need to hunt for a stick myself again~"

Klaudia takes the sword with both hands and much fanfare on her side, despite his disregard for caution. She will treat this like her own precious heirloom and handle it with all the dignity and care that it deserves. Right up until she's forced to use it to draw lines in the sand--because that's what it was being offered for, after all.

It takes her another minute of drawing and double-checking her notes and making corrections before she hands the sword back to Wei Wuxian.

"Alright, be careful. I haven't done this one before." And that's about the only warning she gives before crouching down and touching the edge of the circle she's made.

Magic flashes brightly long the lines for a moment before the sand heaves and pulls in from the sides. A lone column of glass gradually rises up, hollow on the inside with thick walls and not quite circular or square in circumference, but somewhere in the middle. The top is not quite flat, either, and a little slanted, but it should do well enough to stand on. The structure stops at about five feet tall, having consumed most of the sand within the circle and also some outside of it.

Rising to her feet, Klaudia gives the column a look over, then puts both hands on the edge of it and pushes. It doesn't move, so it seems stable... Enough so that she grins at the accomplishment and whispers a quiet "Cool."

[blackabyss]

[[OoC: Continued over here!]]

[angelolatry]

Oh, a birthday! That's pretty special! I mean....mine were always church celebrations, but. I bet a princess would have a huge celebration and all.

[So being hired for something like that is probably a big deal? Right? As far as she could guess anyway. Colette isn't so used to the idea of royalty exactly at least outside of stories perhaps.]

Commotion? Oh no. Your performance -- ?

[It was interrupted? Ruined? So sad!]

[tantailizing]

Church celebration? I wouldn't know what that's like. But yeah, the kingdom treats her birthday almost like a festival.

[But that was Alexandria. The Regent had never had a huge party like it, buuut... well, there are reasons.]

It's fine... We made it up to her at her next birthday and actually got to finish the show.

[There's more to it, but he's not saying.]

So what's Iselia like?

[arsonal]

[She blinks as he does that, just following the action. Maybe leaning back a bit. She's more impressed than she looks, but, well, Azar never looks impressed by anything. The bar is low.

Well. She'll just go ahead and catch her sword when he cuts it loose.]

...Good job.

[This is high praise.]