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

vine - 1!!!

[sparkstrikes]

[Lightning had come out into the forest to (very carefully) inspect these vines herself, especially after hearing rumours of people being almost swallowed up by them and having no way of getting out. She had hoped that she wouldn't find someone, even if she kept her expectations low on that front, but what she isn't expecting is to be dragged along by a wolf into the thick of the trees until she sees a man (?) suspended in the air, hanging upside-down at the mercy of the vines.

Yep. Low expectations.

This must be his familiar. Or the other way around? Hard to tell with those ears.

She stares up, and her arms fold over her chest. For a moment, she looks like she isn't going to help at all, but her eyes say something different: they're scanning the vines for any sort of weak spot that she might be able to cut through, or somewhere she can get up high enough to do so. Which would be up in the tree they appear to be springing from.

But first...]

How'd they manage that?

[She motions with a hand, implying she means the upside-down part.]

[flamekthunder]

[Why is it always upside down... Also did these vines wrap him even tighter after he escaped the first time?? He's barely able to move his hand this time, making it difficult for him to try and cast lightning. So he's once again left to leave it to his familiar to get help, and when it finally arrives....

...He just sighs.]

It seems to be their preference.

[sparkstrikes]

[Surprise! Your familiar brought someone just as not-helpful...!

Lightning stares a little longer at the upside-down captive, and tries her best not to snort out loud, or let any hint of a smile pass through her very carefully maintained indifference, but then she withdraws her sword from behind her knees, flicking the blade out with a flourish.]

Try not to move.

[With that, she leaps up into the tree that the vines are growing around and is very careful as she slides her way along the branch he's suspended from. Even if she knew magic would be good against it, she can't use hers anyway, and starts sawing away at the vines, with only minor success. They're thick enough that the sharp edge of her sword just slides right along them.]

... The hell're these things made of?

[flamekthunder]

[Try not to move...like he can really move much to begin with. He just silently watches as she takes her sword and leaps into the tree. Although her movements are impressive and she's clearly skilled, seeing her blade do little damage is expected.]

Whatever it is, only magic seems to be effective against it. At best you'll only manage to cut through the thinner vines with your sword.

[He only knows this because he had tried his knife at them earlier with similar results.]

[sparkstrikes]

[She almost gets a "don't say magic" out before he says it, and... of course it's gotta be magic. And of all the kinds of magic she has, hers wouldn't be as effective as some of the other types, on top of her being so unpracticed with it that she'd rather not run the risk of trying.]

Well, it's either my sword or nothing. My magic's not gonna help.

[So, rather than try to saw at the vine, she tries to hack it instead, bringing her sword down as hard as she can in her position, but the only thing that does is lodge the blade into it. The vine wriggles before going still, but the scratching noise behind her makes Lightning jump, and before she can move, thick vines are already wrapping around her ankles, crawling up her legs, and wrapping around her waist.]

Get off me...!

[She struggles, kicking and punching and reaching for her sword, but nothing seems to do the trick. What it does accomplish is her toppling over, falling off the branch wrapped in vines, and—] Move! [—crashing into Eustace with all the power behind the drop.]

[flamekthunder]

[Without anything else to do, Eustace can only watch as Lightning tries to hack at the vines. Well, he can't really blame her if she really doesn't have any suitable magic, but it's clearly futile.]

You're wasting your time. Just leave and—

[He's about to tell her to just leave and either find someone else or they try to come up with another solution when he hears a sound near her. But before he can get his warning out, the vines have already wrapped around her.

HOW IS HE SUPPOSED TO MOVE HE'S STUCK THERE.

So there's basically nothing he could do but watch and brace himself as she smashes into him, grunting as the wind is momentarily knocked out of him.]

...!

[The force does snap a few of the weaker vines around him and some of the ones suspending him, but they are either replaced or happen to loop back to wrap around them instead of falling away completely. Not only that, but the force of the impact has now sent them precariously swinging in the air. 

So now they are stuck together in a position that's probably worse than before. And he is just staring down at her with cold, narrowed eyes.

He's not saying it.

But his look is definitely reflecting how he's thinking she's something like an idiot right now.]

[sparkstrikes]

[If she weren't completely wrapped up from chest to toes, she might have tried to reach over to punch him for that look, but instead, she's stuck... hanging upside-down, having just had him crash back into her. The two of them swing back and forth in an uncomfortable dance for a while before they lose velocity.

So instead, she wriggles aggressively so that she spins around—albeit very slowly in this position—until she's facing him.]

Shut up.

[It's all she says at first as she starts to observe the pickle they're now both in for a moment, and she's already spinning away, so... time to wriggle back again with a few angry grunts.]

I don't hear you making any suggestions.

[this is??? your fault? lightning????]

[flamekthunder]

[Eustace just continues to give her that hard stare, one that darkens a bit at her words.]

I told you that your sword would be ineffective and you went up there like an reckless idiot and lost your sword.

[He may not have been able to see everything, but he can definitely see the blade stuck up there. But all that swinging has reoriented him and now that she's facing him...

Hm.]

Just don't move.

[And lightning starts to crackle around his fingertips—that are aimed directly at her.]

[sparkstrikes]

[The sound of crackling makes Lightning do the exact opposite of not moving. Her eyes dart to his fingers, and then back up at him, and if she could scowl any deeper, she would. She swings her head to the left, away from what she expects the magic's trajectory to be, and in turn, shakes the branch they're hanging from when she sways from side to side.]

Watch where you're pointing that!

[She doesn't trust the magic here! Even less when it comes from someone who she's never met before, and who managed to get himself stuck in a tree in the first place!!!]

[flamekthunder]

[He definitely didn't expect her to follow his orders&mdsah;honestly he doesn't fault her for it. But he just ignores her protests, his eyes flicking up (or down, technically) at the branch. And then without another word a surge of electricity flies out from his fingertips, the lightning bolt just missing Lightning's face as it strikes the branch and surrounding vines.

There's a CRACK. Before she can protest he fires another one, this time aiming at her sword. It hits, and acting as a conductor it spreads further along the branch, causing the affected vines to writhe. Although the charge also goes downward toward them, the vines themselves are poor conductors and with the thickness and bundling of the vines, it doesn't travel far. At most they might feel some residual electric tingling from the burst of electricity in the air.

There's another loud CRACK and SNAP as the weakened branch suddenly bends downward. Three guesses as to what happens next.]

[sparkstrikes]

[Lightning's entire body reacts and she squirms when the magic hits the vines, and then again when she hears the crack. Of course, her wiggling isn't going to help because now she looks like a rabid butterfly trying to escape its cocoon, so what happens next is either:

1. The branch breaks.
2. The branch breaks.
3. The branch breaks.

There's another loud SNAP and she feels herself drop with only a glimpse at Eustace before she closes her eyes and braces herself for the impact. It takes the branch down along with the two of them, leaves and splinters of wood spraying everywhere. Her sword lands several feet away—not that she can grab it because she's still wrapped up tight, but at least it's down!?

And when she eats dirt (literally), she pauses to cough it out of her lungs before she cranes her neck to search for Eustace.]

[flamekthunder]

[Having known this was going to happen, Eustace just braces himself for the fall. As they plummet, the vines loosen a little around him, allowing him to at least adjust his position if only a little. Also makes sure he doesn't fall right on his head. Doesn't make the landing any less painful, and there's a loud grunt and sharp intake of breath after the wind is knocked out of him. But that only lasts for a moment before he's already working to roll over and push himself up on one arm. There's another cough from inhaling the dust and dirt before he looks over at her.]

Can you move?

[Not even a how do you do or check if she's fine—well he knows she's alive and technically that's one way to ask about her condition. Mostly he's passing the questions because he knows they can't dawdle around. Those vines will likely start moving again and he's already trying to brush and push off the now loosened vines.]