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

Azar | Original Character

[arsonal]

i. arrival

[Getting dumped into the water is the nicest part of this all. That's familiar. Pleasant, almost, despite the suddenness of it all. It's... swimming lessons with the Captain, diving for cargo lost at sea, falling off during storms.

It's familiar.

For a moment, Azar doesn't even bother swimming back, just letting herself float. It's chilly, though, and these weird green manatees keep bugging her. No, thanks, she can swim just fine on her own. She'll do just that, in fact.

...And maybe just shake some of the water out of her hair. That's gonna take a while to dry. So, here's a very red lady just wringing water out of her hair. She's also not... wearing a shirt. A vest, some wrapping over her chest, but that's about it in the torso department. Dripping wet and dressed like that, isn't she cold?

Though after the initial excitement of getting dumped into the water, Azar is letting the circumstances hit her. No Brassica, not even a glimpse of the familiar blue wood, the sails she looks for when trying to find home. No Captain. No...

No anything she knows. This isn't the Shining Sea and that would be bad enough, but it doesn't take long before she realizes that this isn't Faerûn. And she

she's just

she wanders back into the water, sort of vaguely, standing there. Staring off into the distance.

Well.

Glaring, really, as she tends to do.]

ii. what the fuck is a "larp"

[Knights are a bit too... eh, if you ask her. Maybe it's just the stereotype, but a certain virtuous, self righteous type of person comes to mind. No one asked her. She did not offer this opinion, in fact, but mostly stood around looking judgy until she realized that there's fights happening.

No one made it clear they're not REAL fights.

She's... currently holding a blunted sword, staring at it with a look of complete and utter disappointment.]

Pointless.

[...Literally, yeah.]

iii. this is vine

[The intricacies of magic haven't always been so easy for Azar. She had her fire magic, back home, but that wasn't like all this. It was innate. Biology, not practice, she'd always known how to do it. It seems to be gone here.

At least, that's what she assumes as she tries and fails to set the vines around her alight.]

Off.

[It's sharp, vexed, as she tries pulling the vines off by force, but they just keep coming back. She may be getting too heated. She doesn't enjoy being trapped, thanks.]

iv. wildcard

[throw whatever else you want at me i'm game]

[konpeito_aji]

[Now there's a reaction he's gone whole DAYS without! He's used to the terrified recognition of his name in his own time, but it's strangely absent of late. Not that he cares either way. He enjoys people being scared of him, and he enjoys being his old baka-dono self as it were. Or anonymous. Or people from the future telling him he succeeded (who wouldn't love that?!) - but he just slips into his standard arrogant demeanor.]

It's traditional for you to say your own name at this part.

[Look, he might kill the songbird that doesn't sing, but just don't go around telling anyone he tickled you to freedom and you can be a loyal useful vassal! PROBLEM SOLVED(? Or just beginning...)!]

[everydayeveryway]

I feel like I became the bad guy, somehow...

[Adelle sighs again. But she keeps quiet -- glancing sideways at Eustace, then she nods. She can understand that much, at least. Adelle takes a deep breath, then she stays still. That's a little hard. She's a little used to animals just taking a liking to her...

But that's not the case here. She waits, and she slowly holds her hand out for the dog to sniff.]

How did you know about the kids? Did you see some nearby?

[konpeito_aji]

[He can't help it! He instantly cracks up laughing loudly!]

[IT'S JUST SO FUNNY, ALL RIGHT!?]

[He's never going to be taken seriously like this, but whatever. Fool of Owari it is then!]

I have no idea what you mean.

[Well, he knows the words individually, but not all together.]

[He looks at the page... and gives himself an instant headache for all the word scramble. REGRETS!!!]

What kind of writing is this?!

[Ughhhhh give him a second to massage his eyes and temples. He was a poor student to begin with, but he has gone out of his way to see Roman alphabet, Arabian, Russian characters, the works. Even if he can't utilize them himself.]

All right, if I had to surmise...

We're all able to converse within the same language here, though names don't change, probably just approximate, [Like confetti -> confeito -> konpeito! (His favorite candy!)] but I've been using the... smart phone. [A little hesitant on the word, but he says it without stumble!] And the writing has been interchangeable. Nothing like that.

I guess because... [THE HAUGHTIEST ASSHOLE SMIRK EVER!!!!] Magic isn't real? Or, at least not something that can translate everywhere the same way.

II

[konpeito_aji]

[As the young woman draw her sword - (curious. VERY curious. Kunoichi are women, but they are never samurai and don't carry swords. And even European women are not sword-users to his recollection! He has to file this away for the future!) - Oda Nobunaga reflexively draws his. He's not comfortable with the magic blocking shields yet (assuming he ever can be!) and certain habits don't die!]

I don't know what strange realm from whence you hail, but it's poor manners to draw blades over a game. And I thought I had the manners of the Demon King from Hell!

[That knight thing... does it count if he's a dark knight who embraces being a demon? Because he's not exactly self-righteous per se...]

[arsonal]

[She just stares at him, almost disinterested. Then just casually baps the sword against her own arm, to demonstrate.]

It's fake. [Something that annoys her greatly, it seems.] They gave me a fake.

Dull.

[Does she mean the sword or is she just commenting on how boring it is? The answer is yes.]

[sparkstrikes]

[Lightning doesn't win the drinking race, and neither will Zidane, with the way the other man next to her is going. He's got a belly big enough to fit a whole human if he wanted to, and so she stops just short of finishing, putting her in third behind Zidane and the winner.

Whaaatever.

The men hoot and holler, slapping his back in victory, and they don't seem to remember that the two of them are there, which opens a good opportunity for Lightning to lean over and mutter beneath all the yelling.]

You're looking for the captain too, aren't you? Haven't seen him yet, but he's bound to show up.

[raveyardpatriarch]

You know, Wei Wuxian is starting to think that maybe getting huffy about his hell hypothesis is a little hypocritical, first of all, just considering. And secondly, how did Nobunaga get that far with this kind of attitude? Heavenly standards aren't what he's been led to believe.

"...Ah, of course." It's a struggle to keep both the incredulousness and the awkward laughter in check, but what's he going to do, argue? Normally, yes, but his spirits are both literally and metaphorically dampened (or not present) and hell will still not be there tomorrow. Apparently. "I don't think this is any of the heavens either, though, so what are you here for, Your Excellency?"

[blushing_beauty]

Well I wouldn't say inconceivable! Just... surprising! Pleasantly so!

[She's more of a peace time kind of girl anyways. You'd think there wouldn't be much demand for dancers in the middle of a battlefield, but you gotta keep morale up, right?]

[raveyardpatriarch]

Wei Wuxian nods along, because that all tracks. If he felt just a little bit more ownership over this place and its concerns already, he'd probably be getting at the ceiling too. It's starting to be pretty tempting, as it is.

So's that book, actually, and that's a lot more accessible currently. He'd love to just pluck it out of her hands for inspection, but is checked by the vision of being headbutted for it like he'd trespassed into a goat's pen, and so settles for just kind of attempting to investigate it over Klaudia's shoulder. This isn't as enlightening as he'd hoped, but that's life.

"Good idea. You know, if you figure out the words thing, I bet I could add it to my Glitter Talisman." And then Wei Wuxian will have WordArt, and that's what everyone wants.

[blushing_beauty]

You're really not planning to eat me? ... You promise?

[She wasn't sure if she should trust a spider's promise on... well anything really, but she'd never met a talking spider, and it hadn't attacked her their entire time together... so maaaaybe she was jumping to conclusions.]

Umm... I don't know? I didn't know spiders could communicate with people, or would want to?

[They're pretty tiny most of the time, with tiny brains, so a big one probably would want to communicate with people? This is so much more confusing than she thought things would be! Olivia is at the very least sheathing her sword, and sitting back down... but she still looks like she's ready to jump out of the moving cart at a moment's notice.]

[konpeito_aji]

[Your face is fake.]

[....]

[Seriously, he's slipped into his worst bad habits as a child.]

Play the game, woman. Or don't. [Scoffs.] This is all superfluous from Go and Hanafuda, but even a monkey should be able to learn it.

[konpeito_aji]

Ahhhhh yes, the appropriate response to Oda Nobunaga, to be quite honest. He beams arrogantly, apparently pleased by Wei 'humoring' him!

As to answering the next question, he supposes he still can't quite blasé admit ADVENTURE! even if it's the truth! For fun? Why not?

"To expand my domain, of course!"

He doesn't intend to conquer Avalon - he has no need of it. He just means... existing here and running around like his general lunatic self will suffice!

[floatsaway]

[And fight they do! For some reason Ochako is actually pretty good at wielding her staff like an actual weapon?? Even if it is fake and very much made of plastic and fiberglass, she and Tokoyami definitely put on a good show, sharing blows left and right, though never actually striking one another too hard - this is just a performance, after all! Even so, the crowd goes wild for it, cheering and hollering all the same, though growing quiet as Ochako dramatically falls to her knees, clasping her staff.]

You are...truly mighty, Tsukuyomi-san... O-On my own, I can't beat you. [There are stifled gasps and "you can do it!" called out from the crowd, and Ochako takes in a deep breath, remembering one of her favorite magical girl animes and the tried and true trope they all seem to share in common--] But I have everyone here with me!!

[She glances at the crowd, holding her heart, and the crowd roars with cheers and applause.] Their voices! Their hopes and dreams!! I can feel our hearts all beating as one! That's why...I can't give up - I WON'T GIVE UP! EVERYONE...LET'S DO IT TOGETHER!

["YEAAAAAHHH!!!".]

[arsonal]

...

[She tilts her head slightly at the words, mostly uncaring. But her eye is drawn to the weapon he drew.]

...Is yours real or not?

[commediadellanime]

[He wasn't expecting that from Zhongli, and there's a clear moment where he blinks in surprise before laughing.]

Oh, wow, I wasn't expecting you to be so bold!

[Or to even know what public indecency is... Though Childe has definitely already been quite indecent.]

Well, there are other ways to test it... If you want me to help you out!

[Like, you know. Murder. Murder is a test.]

B

[konpeito_aji]

[He really REALLY wanted to play Go! This is not Go. This is not Hanafuda, mahjong, or anything Oda Nobunaga could associate with being a game!]

I'm Oda Nobunaga. [He bows reflexively -- and suddenly his hand is taken?! He's usually the bold one! It's flustering to suddenly have those tables turned so utterly on him! Usually everyone is a bit too terrified of him for such things. Although... hadn't Mai done the same thing to drag him out of a burning building? Are women always grabbing hands in the future?!]

Yes... I can dance. [He can. He's famous (NOT THAT HE KNOWS IT!!!!) for his performance of the Atsumori (song not play), though in general lords aren't exactly supposed to go around performing anything in his time. Part of what earned Nobunaga the Fool of Owari title as a child.]

[Mostly he just looks kind of shell-shocked stunned for now.]

[commediadellanime]

Ooooh, an investigation.

[He doesn't sound all that bothered about holding her up.

He raises an eyebrow at her, bemused.]

I don't think I'm in a position to choose which way you do anything! So either is fine by me.

[He is, at least, quick to laugh so... That's... Good?]

[konpeito_aji]

[He glances between her blade and his own.]

["Why don't you find out?"]

[No no, he just lectured her on drawing her blade!] Your blade is not truly a blade, just part of the... game?

[PRESS X TO DOUBT!]

[No, but genuinely he doesn't know how that works. Wait. Yes he does!]

[And he laughs loud and hard.] Like children? [Okay, ODA grew up with REAL guns and swords, but he knows peasant children would play with sticks and call it swords!]

[He re-sheathes his (yes, real) blade (next to his equally real and loaded gun - because screw gun safety) and laughs again, shaking his head.]

My apologies. [A formal bow.] I had only intended to watch until I knew enough of the game to best it. [Not that he was offering Mai that chance when he made her play Go with him, but whatever. Double standards.]

I suppose the fake swords are summoned to--

[Oh no! Now he has a Merlin hat and cape and staff.] I'm not playing yet, damn it! I refuse!

[This is his own fault for calling it easy!]

[konpeito_aji]

Then you bear more imagination than too many people I've met.

[He means that as a compliment. Sort of.]

[commediadellanime]

Well, yes. It tried to fight me first, you see.

[Not that he wouldn't have instigated himself...

He nudges the body with his foot, tilting his head.]

It seems it wanted to replace me, but we can't have that! And I don't think I'm the only one who's been dealing with this little... Issue.

[So he's sure he won't get in any trouble for committing murder in the middle of Camelot.]

[commediadellanime]

[Oh? What's this? Do we have a tsundere on our hands?]

You might say it's nothing, but I still appreciate it, sir!

[Because yes he has to draw attention to that.

He nods, eyes going bright.]

Seems I have to bleed a bit for the magic I got saddled with - and I gotta say, I wasn't expecting that. Good thing we've got people like you around, huh?

[Magic is super real!!]

[darkestbefore]

It was. Luckily I was practicing that this morning and not fire, else we might be having a very different conversation right now...

[ Her tone is rueful as he steps out of line and approaches her. But she's quick to nod at his question. ]

One of the strains of it, at least. When I arrived here, they told me I had elemental magic - not something I'd ever tried much of before. [ That, and the expertise in enchantment magic she'd had in the last city she'd been in had suddenly become completely nonexistent, much to her dismay. ] To be honest, I'm still very much figuring it out as I go, as well.

[commediadellanime]

[It's your lucky day, Benny. Not that Childe is really all that put out by his new friends holding him close - it's mostly just annoying he has to rely on other people to get down, because he didn't get a primer on "what to do if vines grab you" before heading into the forest.]

Made some new friends! Might want to be careful about any vines you see moving around, though.

[Childe is so close to going stir crazy, so it's... It's probably for the best he's unarmed. (For now.)]

[commediadellanime]

[Childe glances up at the boy in the tree, an easy grin on his face.]

Here at the training grounds but don't want to train?

[He spins one of the blades lazily, cocking his head.]

And it seems I've got no choice but to bleed if I want to perfect this magic - though maybe I could have gone a bit gentler on myself!

[Hah! As if that's ever going to happen - as long as he's alive, he'll be pushing his limits, and he knows one cut that's not even hitting anything major won't be what ends him.]