TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 7

[avalonmods]

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

{ QUICK NAV } Premise ⚔️️ Rules ⚔️️ FAQ ⚔️️ Taken ⚔️️ Reserves ⚔️️ Apply ⚔️️ Locations ⚔️️ Bestiary ⚔️️ Top-Levels Only ⚔️️ A ⦿ Soaking in Your Arrival KERPLUNK, SPLASH! Regardless of what you were in the middle of, you and your familiar have been magically pulled into the world of Avalon just above the Bay's 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, helping to rescue any wayward travelers who look like they're struggling in the water. This month's helpers are giant pillow jellies, a species of jellyfish that is capable of ballooning itself at the surface to create bouncy pads for characters to hop across to the shore, should they choose or not be able to swim. They come in a variety of bioluminescent colors, but do not seem to be very talkative even to animal magic users. Those who try may find themselves being ignored, even if they hear the jellies talking amongst themselves about this and that. If anyone tries to ask the Lady of the Lake for directions, she will direct you to Archimedes at the Rent-a-Ride. The shores themselves are littered with new arrivals complaining their way up a staircase carved into the walls of the White Cliffs. There is no railing, so be careful, but if you do fall, be prepared for a mysterious sand hand to reach out of the side of the cliffs to catch you. The hand will pat you atop the head twice before retreating back into the wall. This is the Cliff Beast; despite the name, he is quite friendly. *Reminder: Your character's familiar may or may not be with your character in their initial plunge. If the familiar isn't partial to water, it may meet your character on the beach or sit atop their head while they swim. Or if they are, they might splash about and swim alongside your character. Familiars have different personalities and body specs and we leave those up to the players. B ⦿ The Caravan to Camelot Once everyone is wrangled up to the top of the White Cliffs, the handsome owner of the Rent-a-Ride, Archimedes, will distribute smart phones and a pair of special ear buds (the supplier was out of the regular ones) and tell them to "Check the Shit Box." The "Shit Box" refers to wardrobe more formally known as the Wardrobe of Finding, a hammerspace-like wardrobe that opens to each person's items and pets when the person touches the handle. It was recently enchanted by Merlin to prevent people from having to fish their waterlogged possessions and pets out of the water with them. From there, Archimedes directs everyone to settle in groups into modernized carriages pulled by horses and gives them a basic explanation of why and how they've been brought to Avalon: The rest of the universe is frozen in time and your character has been brought here by a familiar that was able to bond with them. They'll have to learn magic to help save their own world from destruction, but first they've got to get them to Camelot. It is here that you have the first opportunity to decide who they will be in their new home. You'll have about an hour to wander around here, meet and greet, and pet the horses before it's time to go. These carriages use fae technology that combats weight, so your character will be able to get in regardless of whether they're light as a feather or weigh two tons. The carts have air conditioning when it's hot, heating when it's cold, and a mystical shield to protect from bugs. There is also a mini-bar that pops out of the console with nip bottles. Characters can use their smartphones to connect to Camelot's internet service, avalononline (AOL), to chat with other characters, watch dumb videos, learn about the world, contact Camelot Support (they'll answer any questions they can for you, from how to use a smart phone to where to find quests and resources to learn more about your magic). Be careful if you decide to use your phones while in the caravan-- if you don't use those earbuds and start forcing everyone to listen to your nonsense, Archimedes may make you walk. C ⦿ The Red Spring The journey from the White Cliffs to the City of Camelot is a long one, and the first evening you arrive you'll end up spending at the Red Spring, a booming resort town. Because of the volume of new arrivals and vacationers, inn rooms are assigned two-to-a-room. The rooms have two twin beds, a bathroom, a mini-fridge and microwave, and a TV equipped with a couple of entertaining video games and a few free movies. If you don't want to relax in the room, try taking a dip in the spring for another chance to meet your fellow travelers. The waters have restorative properties that help horses and travelers recover quickly when drunk. It is known to relieve stress, improve energy levels, and mildly accelerate healing. It may be a little chilly when you get out though, so make sure you don't slip rushing back indoors when you get out! The springs are also home to a large training grounds just outside town limits, where there are teachers who will teach basic magic safety and help you discover what kind of magic you have together with other new arrivals. Try target practice, obstacle courses, meditation circles, and other ways to try to figure out just what you can do... if you didn't already have an accidental discovery on the ride there. After the new arrivals come in, they'll find that this month they came in on the middle of a rather tumultuous time... people are arguing and debating about a future decision to be made. King Arthur recently tried to negotiate with Celliwig's people to open the doors to Camelot, but they refused, and the people have been left with a decision: 1. attempt long-distance, slow wooing of Queen Elphame via the Elphame Traders of the next couple of months, 2. attempt to prove a balanced and deeper understanding of the need for both pure and impure hearts by suggesting an acceptance of trials from Celliwig, or 3. band together under Camelot's flag to invade Celliwig. Celliwig is a place of communication between Elphame and Camelot that bypasses the need for weeks of dangerous, often fatal travel, so the choice is very important in regards to how Camelot both presents itself to the fae people in the future. To that end, people with strong beliefs about particular choices have arranged gatherings to draw people in to hear their perspectives on what the choice should be. A ⦿ Honey Over Vinegar A wide variety of people have sided with this group, including the Elphame Traders, as cutting Celliwig off from them would mean a much harder journey each month to the city of Camelot. (Though commerce always does find a way.) This group is hosting a Tree-Picking Tournament! Of course, the trees to be picked are out in the farmlands, and members of the lobbying group will be giving people free one-use Farm Totems to get to the tournament. The trees in this grove are a little different than normal trees, however. For one, they don't bear fruit. This is Camelot's cookie orchard, composed of special fairy tree hybrids that grow a variety of sweet treats on their branches instead of fruits. There are your usual chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies, but also little puff-like wedding cookies on bushes or checkboard cookies blossoming out of stems instead of flowers. There are even some trees that have clusters of miniature French macarons! The best part, at the end when you turn in your cookies for the count and get your participation prize (and bonus pamphlet about how slow and steady wins the race), you can totally keep and eat them, so be careful not to drop them! How you get them down from the tree is up to you, of course. Try some magic, or maybe just some regular old tree-shaking will do the trick.. just be careful you don't accidentally knock down any wasp nests. Those stings will hurt bad! B ⦿ A Balanced Approach The party of people who want to try to woo Celliwig over to smooth things over see this little political gathering with cookie-based bribery and quickly fashion their own event to make sure the fanfare isn't all for just the one idea. To gather people in to hear their side of the story, this group has decided to host a bug catching contest! Head out into those flower fields between Camelot and the Red Springs that are now thriving thanks to April's plentiful rains. Whether you use a net or figure out how to use your magic to get the bugs, it's how many you catch, not what kinds you catch that count-- so make it fast and make it plentiful! And at the end of the day, what you choose to do with your captured bugs is up to you. Crush them or free them, keep them or eat them, whatever it is you want to do... ultimately, all moral choices are valid, right? So let's go along with what Celliwig wants! Don't forget that May is the season of the frog, however, and you'll be in competition with a variety of sentient and wise members of the Frog Tribe, a group of bipedal frogs who live in the southernmost part of the lake and come up to the flowerfields to stick their tongues out for some delicious bug treats. They have no problem sticking their tongues right into your captured bug nest, hopping on heads to steal your catches, and do all kinds of crazy interferences like snipping belts and tonguing ankles to trip people. You may want someone to watch your back for this event, lest you get done in by a hopper. C ⦿ A Show of Strength The more war-hungry citizens of Camelot seek to go to war. This whole issue will be over if Celliwig itself isn't the one in charge of communication and it's just made directly between Elphame and Camelot, rather than having a mediator who refuses to mediate. They believe that a show of strength is the only way to solve this problem, and as such, they'll be demonstrating that the greatest rewards come from strength by organizing an expedition to a cave at the base of the Ash Mountains. Taking a path squarely between the Dusklight Woods and the edge of the Lands of Rot to the base of the Ash Mountains, this expedition will lead into a cave known as the Giant Cave. It's a pretty on-the-nose name, since it really is a big cave. One of the cool things about this cave is that it's filled with geodes. Those who have enough strength can use provided pickaxes and drills to dig up their own crystals and gold, both great for jewelry and enchanting. In particular, there is a large amount of: • Rose quartz: dark mages can make their love spells much more powerful and healers can use this to enhance spells that soothe anxieties and self-doubt • Amethyst: siphoners increase the potency of counter-curses and light mages will find this stone makes their hard light shields stronger than ever • Agate: strengthen cognitive abilities like post-cognition for a clearer picture of what happened by enhancing perception, and death mages will find they're able to extend their possession times by about 30 minutes by using an agate to stablize their aura • Moonstones: will increase navigation as a traveler's protection for kinetic users-- no longer will you risk tripping over a rock while going at enhanced speeds, or can be traded to fairies to potentially bring down a steep price to something more reasonable • Black tourmaline: a crystal that shields from opposition/negativity-- for technomancers and elementalists, this means that technology is more likely to side with them over another technomancer, or elementalists will find that when using opposing elements, theirs will come out stronger-- like water vs fire, electric vs rock, etc. • Hematite: can soothe blood, leaving it a good tool to enhance animal and blood magic-- animals may trust you more readily by having a calming effect on them, and blood mages may find that they heal more readily after using their abilities • Boji stone: alchemists will find that this is a good stabilizer for for particularly volatile potion combinations, and the properties of this stone leaves green mages to sense new types of plants they haven't yet encountered in passing, even if they're not looking at them It's not particularly a contest in this case-- you can keep and use what you want, and this show of strength has given you more power than ever, so why not consider the same concept for how to deal with our unneighborly neighbors in Celliwig? It may be sweaty business, but surely hitting some rocks will show you the value of strength! With the surprisingly tame day in the Giant Cave, one would think that the Ash Mountains were something of a safe place. No one really bothered the travelers, but that's because no one had been home at the time. as it turns out, the Giant Cave is home to a giant... douchebag of a minotaur. Not a giant, despite the name. His name is Simon and he doesn't like to share, and now that a bunch of people have gone and taken his rocks (he didn't even know there were crystals inside, nor does he do anything with them). Now he has to take his revenge, regardless of not knowing who actually took the crystals that were never really his to begin with, they just happened to be in rocks near where he sleeps. A ⦿ A Stone's Throw from Revenge The minotaur is a very instinctive creature, and his instincts say that the people of Camelot, the nearest settlement, are the ones who need to be punished for this. He uses his superhuman strength to drag huge rocks and boulders all the way to the north-east edge of Camelot, seemingly for no reason, until he's got practically a wall built. At which point he starts picking them up, spinning, and then vaulting the rocks into Camelot's buildings. You may find yourself inside of one of those buildings and scrambling to check if everyone and yourself is okay, or perhaps you're rushing out to stop the minotaur from throwing another. Either way, it's a sudden attack and you're going to have to act fast. Trying to attack the minotaur will be difficult, since it has superhman strength and durability, sharp horns atop its head, and can smell you coming from a mile away. Get creative, and stop the minotaur before it's too late! B ⦿ There's Safety in Numbers Once the minotaur's attacks stop, it flees to recover its wounds, promising it will come back to destroy Camelot once and for all. It's a time for reprieve and to help clean up the damage. Use your magic to help clean up broken buildings and structures, or heal and help others who were injured in the sudden, mostly unprovoked attack. Many of the uninjured citizens will be going around town and providing drinks, towels, and cups of noodles to those who are helping out. Because of the impending threat of the minotaur's return, it's recommended that otherworlder's use the (Recipe) Buddy System spell. The way they explain it, it's a spell designed to alert your buddy if you're in danger and lasts about an hour. The way it actually works is you must be touching your buddy in any way at all times for the next hour. Unfortunately, it seems like the volunteers sharing the recipe may have missed that it was created in a kindergarten class, not for adults. C ⦿ Gross Thankfully, the Buddy System wears off before the Minotaur is back for round two. When the Minotaur returns, the castle has since gathered forces to the edge of town to defend it from another attack. It's unclear where the Minotaur went to get healed, but whoever he went to apparently had some advice, however, and the instinctive minotaur gave into a different instinct for part two of his revenge. Rather than go right back to his pile of rocks, he instead travels the day to get to the southernmost part of Camelot and barrels into town unopposed, as most of the troupes are where they had thought he would come from again. After all, minotaurs are not known to be big thinkers. Instead of violently destroying this time, however, the minotaur instead heads straight to lowertown's well-- and takes a pee in it. It turns out, not only does he have a giant-- ahem, but he is a giant dick as well. Now the entire lowertown has to be evacuated due to contaminated water up to other areas of Camelot. Many people who live there are relocated to live in extra castle rooms. After all, Minotaur Urine is known to be incredibly potent and stinky. Mages who are able to handle the smell are asked to come help perform a ritual of water purification for the lowertown's water system. This ritual involves multiple groups of people performing synchronic magic, a magic type that requires you to be in perfect sync with your partner. Draw a special ritual circle with four candles at equidistant points. Chant a spell in sync with your partner, and blow a special powder made of ground jasper, charcoal, and rosemary into the center of the circle. It will be drawn into the candles' flames and with enough people doing this, all impurities will be removed from the lowertown's water and dissipate into the atmosphere. KEY POINTS New arrivals drop into the lake and have to climb up a cliff to the Rent a Ride, where they are given their device and some headphones and can retrieve their personal materials. They travel to Camelot, which is a multiple day journey, so they stop at the Red Springs along the way and stay at an inn there. There is a vote pending for Camelot and each side of the issue is trying to engage otherworlders to their side of the vote. The slow/steady approach is hosting a cookie harvesting tournament from a grove of cookie trees, the middleground group is hosting a bug-catching contest, and the group that wants war is hosting a mining expedition. The mining expedition aggros an asshole of a minotaur, who throws rocks at Camelot. Driven away, the townspeople try to help by distributing a spell called "Buddy System" which binds two people together, not realizing it was intended for kindergarteners. (Oops.) The minotaur returns and pees in the lowertown's water, so a ritual of water purification must be performed because it's gross and stinky. The minotaur is still at large. **** The above key points are a new feature we're going to start including on TDMs and Events. Since it's new, the format is still fluid, so please let us know if you have any feedback for this section here. It should just include brief summaries of each prompt to make parsing information easier and more accessible. The original prompts should still be read and referred to for complete information and details. **** 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. • A poll will go up a little later this week regarding the mentioned voting, which should be answered ICly by each character you play. The poll will remain open through the 15th so that newly accepted characters may also vote if they choose to. •If nothing here tickles your fancy, try one of this month's Quests for your TDM prompt. • The first "Arrival" prompts are present on every TDM, but contain seasonal tweaks for flavor. All other prompts will change monthly. • Questions about this TDM's content? Comment here! If you have a question about the game at-large, please head over to the FAQ.

Comments

Edelgard von Hresvelg | Fire Emblem Three Houses | Dark & Blood

[flame_emperor]

Arrival

The plunge into the water had been terrifying and bewildering in equal measure, but the balloon jellies had been quick to come to the rescue, buoying Edelgard back up to the surface. Once she'd managed to get in a few gulps of air, and take her bearings, more jellies have lined up to provide her with a walkway to shallower water, and the beach beyond.

It just seems to be taking her a great while to make the crossing. She's trying to remain as composed as she can while she makes her way from one jelly to the next, but there's still a ways to go and...she does not like to be this far out on open bodies of water. It's not well-known that the Emperor of Fódlan does not know how to swim, so she's...taking her time. Answers can come later once she's on dry land.

Caravan

At least the ride is more pleasant, once she's drier and has some of her personal effects back. Though this is hardly an opportune time to be whisked away from Fódlan. There's the rebuilding of Fhirdiad to see to, food and shelter for the people displaced by the fire, the continuing reintegration of both the former Alliance and Kingdom territories to the Empire, to say nothing of preparations being made, quietly and subtly, to bring the fight to Those Who Slither...but of course, given the situation, perhaps time is the one thing she suddenly has in abundance. But it's still frustrating.

Though perhaps not quite as immediately as frustrating as her new companion, a shaggy wolf spirit that is intent on sharing the seat with her...and to use her lap as a pillow. It's making it difficult to try to figure out the smartphone when it keeps trying to nuzzle her hands.

"Hey, please...stop it. I'm trying to work. Please..." After a moment, she finally has to give up and put the phone down so she can give the wolf some much-wanted attention with a somewhat frustrated sigh.

"There. Is this what you wanted? Fine...have it your way, then."

Rocks Are Thrown, We Might Die?

The library Edelgard has come to is a fairly large, multi-storied structure. She's hoping some research into the lore of this world's magic might help, as well as to study the history of Camelot and its legal structures, traditions, and laws. Needless to say, she's been building quite the pile of books.

There's a particular tome she's after on a higher shelf, but regrettably being as small as she is, it's just a bit out of reach. Happily, she's not the only one in the stacks so she turns to you. "Pardon me, could I beg a small—" she doesn't finish the question, as you see her eyes go wide and suddenly she's just tackling you instead with a cry of "Get down, now!"

At the far end of the aisle was a window, you see. And Edelgard could see the enormous boulder sailing through the air towards the library when she turned to look at you.

She's small, but strong, and succeeds in knocking you down just in time, using herself as a shield. The boulder crashes through the wall, smashing apart the shelves and books as it carries on its trajectory further into the building. Fortunately, you hit the ground just in time and avoided being hit.

Edelgard looks up. "Are you all right?" But now there's sounds of more devastation outside, the crash of more boulders. "Come on, we need to move." She's already on her feet. "Can you stand?" She offers a hand just in case.

Rocks Are Thrown, We Might Die?

[melonlord]

WHat is Toph doing in the library? Honestly, either she's lost or she is using the excuse of 'get a book for a friend' to go wander around places. Toph doesn't really do libraries, what with the illiteracy.

Of course, even back home, 'people sending things through the air like some kind of jerks' is a weakness of hers. Just as Toph was hearing something she couldn't place, Edelgard knocked her down, and Toph might be blind, but she sure knew what a giant boulder crashing through a building sounded like.

"Yeah. Can you find my stick?" Because while Toph's memory and sense of spatial awareness is excellent, she knows darn well the boulder just moved everything around and left rubble everywhere, and even a sighted person might want aid in balance over the rubble.

She's also ignoring the hand to get to her feet. A good thing she is trying out shoes today. Shoes are stupid and keep her from feeling the ground as well, but they also protect from broken glass.

[flame_emperor]

While Toph was probably a bad choice to ask for help (for a couple of reasons), she's at least small enough that Edelgard is able to provide adequate cover as a body shield. Once they're both on their feet, Edelgard turns to Toph.

"Right. I'll see if I can find it."

Hope the stick didn't go too far, they can't afford to linger. More boulders are being tossed through the nearby buildings. Is this Celliwig? Have things escalated that fast? They're coming too fast too be loaded into catapults...questions for later.

Fortunately the stick is lying only a few feet away, only slightly buried under a ruined shelf. She pull it out and offers it to Toph. "Here, in front of you." She says. "You're not hurt?"

[melonlord]

Toph took it. She was getting the hang of using a stick to navigate -- and, hey, it was also useful for hitting things that needed to be hit! "Nope. Just bruised. Who was that? Because it sounded like a giant rock."

caravan

[hegemonwings]

[ as byleth finishes collecting her effects from the shit box, she turns towards the path up from the cliffs, and who does she see approaching the caravans but— ]

El. [ her full attention goes to her, of course. she starts moving quickly to close the gap, eyes wide. ] Edelgard!

[flame_emperor]

There's no mistaking that shade of blue hair. As Byleth turns, Edelgard's step is already quickening, her expression hopeful. When she hears Byleth speak the name her sister gave her so long ago, she exhales in audible relief as Byleth rushes towards her.

Byleth is here. Whatever else happens now, all will be well.

"I'm here." She says with a grateful smiles as her general approaches. She takes Byleth's hand in her own, holding it tenderly in her own. "I didn't see you on the beach...I thought I'd lost you again."

[hegemonwings]

"We walk together," Byleth says gently, taking Edelgard's other hand and twining their fingers together. Sure enough, the ring that Edelgard gave her sits on Byleth's right hand, and she can feel its counterpart beneath her emperor's glove. "I thought you knew that by now. I made you a promise, and I mean to keep it."

She squeezes both of her partner's hands, before pulling her into a hug. It's a gesture that she knows Edelgard likes, after all, and she would be lying if she said she took no comfort in it. Maybe it's not proper, they aren't alone, but... she doesn't care.

ROCK AND ROLL

[konpeito_aji]

"NEVER do that again!" Nobunaga snarls, far from grateful for being rescued from the boulders. "If that rock hadn't killed you, I might have!"

Okay, the one major thing Oda Nobunaga does not appreciate about being in Camelot or Avalon is how readily people touch him! Even Hideyoshi had enough damn sense to just constantly fling himself in the way or cut down blows and all but get in Nobunaga's way, but even as the closest thing Nobunaga had to a best friend, Hideyoshi was still his vassal, and for all the smothering attention, he didn't ever touch Nobunaga! Oda mentally knows it's a double standard. He picks up his men, and dying idiots like they're bags of rice. He has no trouble putting his hands on a woman in a romantic context, but truth told, the paranoia of being assassinated even by his own family is so deeply reflexively ingrained, he tends to avoid even that kind of intimacy.

So he means it. His hands were already reflexively on gun and sword and his entire body was bristling like a cat with its fur sticking up in all directions.

Regardless, he instantly moves to the hole and looks out at the devastation. "Let's go."

It was a rock, not a cannonball, nor magic, so not the fae. And unlikely to be dragons. "If it's a catapult, who's aiming it?" he looks from the boulder to the sky to try to find its origin, even as more rocks pelt the city.

He should also send a message to Mitsuhide, and the others.

[flame_emperor]

Fortunately, Edelgard is too focused on the situation to be overly annoyed at Nobunaga's snarling. She's heard worse from powerful men in her time. Though he is armed and she's not; a sword and gun are easier to carry around than a gigantic axe and shield, especially when Edelgard thought this would simply be a routine research-gathering trip, like the library in Abyss (much more useful than the sanitized, Church-approved reading materials found in the Garreg Mach library that had been uncritical and rote enough to earn Seteth's approval).

Still, for now he's at least focusing on the problem at hand. She joins Nobunaga at the hole (the other side of it from him) and surveys the city. "It would have to be a lot of catapults at the rate they're being thrown." She observes. "Surely they'd have been noticed approaching the city." Unless the guards were completely inept. She turns
away from the wall. "Regardless, we'll have to find out later. Come on, there was a stairwell back this way we can use to get down to the street." Hopefully another errant boulder hasn't smashed through the stairs.

Byleth. She needs to send a message to Byleth, make sure she's all right. Maybe try to coordinate helping civilians who might be trapped by rubble.

[konpeito_aji]

"There aren't any guards," Nobunaga noted with annoyance. Look, he's trying to fix the whole thing, but it's hard to delegate when you are also herding cats and can't just slaughter the annoying ones!

"What's wrong with the hole?" He's just climbing through. As you do. "Oh, dress right?" Tch... "Need a hand?"

rocks thrown, wacky hijinks ensue

[backstreetbard]

Dorothea, it happens, is actually fairly tall. At least, she was the tallest girl in her class--taller than some of the boys, even, and her height bolstered by her boot heels. Certainly tall enough to pluck a book off a high shelf. She looks fairly nondescript from behind, too, facing away from the Emperor as she examines the titles on an adjacent shelf, dressed in casual clothes.

Her entire body tenses in surprise when she hears that distinct voice, turning wide green eyes on Edelgard as if she's just seen a ghost.

Of course, then she's bowled over before she has a chance to react, shouting in alarm as the both of them are showered with books and chunks of splintered wood and masonry. Dorothea can feel her heart racing in her chest, and for as many questions as she has in this moment, she's not going to hesitate to take Edelgard's hand as the two of them bolt in the opposite direction of the stone-thrower.

It's only once they've reached a safe distance that Dorothea pulls Edelgard into a tight embrace. "Edie!" She sounds... miserable? On the verge of tears. "Edie, how--how are you here?" That doesn't sound foreboding at all.

[flame_emperor]

As the other woman turns and recognition kicks in, Dorothea's haunted expression is met by one of pleasant surprise in Edelgard's, though upon seeing the songstress' own look, begins to turn to confusion. But before anything else can be said, Edelgard is throwing herself onto her, trying to shield her as best she can from the destruction.

She gets them out of the library, down a street, and ducking into an entryway when Dorothea embraces her, which after a moment's surprise, Edelgard returns just as tightly. But why does her friend sound so...sad?

"Much the same way you arrived, I expect." She replies once they've pulled away. She glances out into the street. It seems clear for the moment, but they should be ready to run if the stone-thrower, whoever it is, aims this way. "Into the water off the beach. Byleth and myself." She looks back at the other woman, concerned. "Dorothea, what's wrong?" And she places a hand on Dorothea's arm, supportive, kind.

[backstreetbard]

"I'm just... glad to see you. It's been so long." And for her, it has been a long time since she and Edelgard have stood together, not separated by a field of battle. Years, in fact, and she'd thought she would never see her again. Is it wrong that she's so happy to see someone who had been a staunch and powerful enemy? Should lingering guilt and sadness be gnawing at the inside of her ribs, piercing her heart with their needle-sharp claws?

This was her friend. Wasn't she? Standing together like this, she feels like a schoolgirl again, receiving a helping hand from her former house leader. Now she wonders if Edelgard will hate her when she learns the truth.

"It's hard to explain, and we should probably keep moving." She's stalling, and she's sure it shows. "I'd hate to have a run-in with whatever kind of creature it is that can toss boulders around like pebbles."

She takes Edelgard's hand again without reservation, leading her several blocks farther until the sounds of destruction have faded completely. "There. We should be safe now. And we should talk. We have a lot of catching up to do."

Arrival

[forgeabettertomorrow]

As has become habit, Darin was making his way down to the Bay with fishing gear and tackle box in-hand. He'd arrived here a few months ago and, since then, he'd come to actually enjoy coming back here. It was serene and the tall cliffs reminded him of his bayside hometown.

After picking a spot on some rocks, Darin idly casts a line while he relaxes and watches the water.

Imagine his surprise when he sees someone hopping across inflatable jellyfish making their way to the shore.

Since this seemed to be the point of arrival for newcomers in Avalon, Darin made a habit of bringing some towels and supplies whenever he came out. You'd never know who washed up, after all.

When Edelgard finally makes landfall, Darin gives her a one-man standing ovation from atop his perch.

"You know, I gotta say, there were a few points there where I thought you were gonna take a dive. Great job!"

[flame_emperor]

Edelgard breathes a sigh of relief when she finally hops off the last jellyfish and touches solid land, but a sudden clapping puts her on high alert. Whirling around, she instinctively reaches behind her back for the blue-hilted dagger she keeps tucked in a sheath there, hidden by her cape for the most part. But when she finds the source of the clapping, she begins to relax, dropping her hand with the dagger...but not putting it away.

"I thought the same." She replies, somewhat guardedly. "Were...you waiting for me?" She asks. To find herself in this strange place and someone on the shore when she arrives, doesn't seem like a mere coincidence to her. "What is this place?"

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Darin pats the air, trying to ease the obvious tension in the air.

"Not you specifically. But enough people get dumped here that, honestly? I'm kinda used to being an unofficial greeter."

He jumps down from the rock to land upon the shore and strides over, though keeps a respectful distance.

"Name's Darin Altway, Master Blacksmith. And you're in a place called Avalon. And before you ask, no, I didn't bring you here. I was dumped here just like you a few months back."

arrival

[leicesters]

Claude's been lying low around Camelot as of late, but when he heard new arrivals were starting to arrive in the bay, he realised it was as good an excuse as any to stretch his legs and take a trip out of the city in a way unlikely to invite danger. Even if he didn't see anyone he knew, he was forever curious about the kinds of people who were brought here.

So when he spots a certain Emperor hopping from jellyfish to jellyfish, he's in part surprised, and yet after spending time with Dimitri here, not shocked at all. It seemed almost inevitable this would happen. Still, he resists the temptation to call out to her. He doesn't want to distract her when she looks so focused on keeping her footing, after all.

...He restrains himself most of the way, anyway. When she's practically at the shallows he finally makes his presence known: "You're almost there, Edelgard! Just watch out for any giant tidal waves behind you!"

There aren't any, of course, but he can't resist.

[flame_emperor]

Edelgard is so focused on reaching the shore and an acceptable amount of water that when that familiar voice calls out just as she has steeled herself to step onto the next jellyfish (so close now!) that she stumbles and has to bite back a curse. However, she manages to steady herself, and after a moment to quickly catch herself, she stands upright (the jellyfish have waited this long after all, they're clearly not going anywhere), and focuses on the man on the beach. Yes, that is undeniably the man known as Claude von Riegan...in Fódlan, at least.

"Claude. What an unexpected encounter." She calls back, once again the picture of calm and comportment. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm sure I'll be fine. So, this is where you ended up is it?" Wherever "here" is; Edelgard had figured he'd head for Almyra given his scheme during the Battle of Derdriu, but accounting for what she's read of Fódlan's neighbour and oftentime enemy, this doesn't seem like that country.

After a moment, she steps off the jellyfish into the water; it sloshes about her knees, but as she's already still fairly damp from her landing, it makes little difference, and she begins to make her way to the shore. The jellyfish begin to sink back beneath the waves, apparently having sensed their help is no longer needed.

[leicesters]

For all his teasing, he'd been ready to step in and help if she did lose her footing, but it seems like she manages to make it safely onto dry land. Some things never change, it seems, and getting a rise out of her is as easy as it ever was. It's a bittersweet feeling, given all that's happened between them.

Still, her reaction is both surprised to see him here in an unfamiliar land and not... and she's not hostile. He's still sizing her up when he laughs and offers a smile. "It seems that way. Although when you put it like that, it almost sounds like you were following me. I'm flattered, really!"

Caravan

[caringheart]

After Thomas has had the opportunity to dry off and get used to the fairly consistent buzzing around his head, and the pressure of his familiar as she settled on his shoulder, his thoughts turn primarily towards finding shelter. At the urging of the locals, he's quick to head up towards the caravan and slip quietly into one that seems to have an open seat.

He smiles at the display of the woman and her obvious familiar, looking over at his own with some fondness. Nodding silently, encouraged by his new friend, he speaks up.

"They have a way of worming into our hearts rather quickly, don't they?"

[flame_emperor]

Edelgard looks up from giving the wolf some much-needed attention, and laughs a little. "I admit I wasn't sure about this one at first, but...she's growing on me." Truth be told, Edelgard's always been more of a cat person, and often enjoyed sneaking treats to the many strays that inhabited Garreg Mach. But there is something comfortingly familiar about this wolf spirit. Especially the way she turns approvingly to her side as Edelgard's fingers work the area directly behind her ear with a satisfied "whoomph", one leg kicking slightly.

"She was waiting for me after I made it to shore. Quite patiently, I might add." It had taken Edelgard some time to make her way across the bridge of jellyfish. Large bodies of water weren't her thing, if you will. "Yours is quite lovely, however. Was it the same for you?"

rocks fall!! with a bit of wildcard, let me know if this works!

[areadbhoar]

Edelgard isn't the only one who has visited the library today to look into Camelot's political history. It's not the first time Dimitri has done so, but today he's specifically looking for any information on Cellwig he can find. Of course, those intentions go right out the window when he hears a familiar voice nearby, attention snapping away from his open book in a heart's beat.

Was that...?

Not even a moment passes before Dimitri replaces the book on the shelf, stepping swiftly around the lines of shelves, his breath tight in his chest. This eventuality had crossed his mind before, with more and more of those from Fodlan arriving with each month. There was always a chance she would be among them. No matter how he might have thought to respond, no matter how he might have envisioned a moment just like this, it does not prepare him for the real thing.

Because just around the next shelf he finds Edelgard. His eyes wide with disbelief, he murmurs, "El?" And then, with more certainty, "Edelgard?"

Lacking any situational awareness at the moment, he sure does not notice the boulder that's about to slam into the building...

s'good!

[flame_emperor]

She misses the whispered nickname, but when he speaks her full name, Edelgard's head snaps up. She turns, and barely has time to register that it both is and isn't the Dimitri she knew (he is marred in a way the Tempest King of Faerghus never was), before her gaze is pulled behind him to the boulder sailing through the air. She doesn't have time to verbalize a warning.

The tackle is instinctual, throwing herself into Dimitri and tackling him to the ground, just before the boulder shatters the wall, and the aisle they had both been standing in moments before. That said, she wastes no time getting off him once the dust has settled.

"Apologies. I didn't time to be polite." She tells him. Story of her life, really.

Rocks thrown, everybody lives

[sereneadherent]

If Marianne wants to learn more about her new home for the duration of this multiverse crisis, she figures she has two choices: she can reach out to the native residents and start asking questions, or she can do independent research on her own. Her lack of confidence and the sort of easy charisma people like Claude seem to possess make the first option practically a non-starter, so she finds herself in the library pouring over books. The quiet environment suits her, and she can take things at her own pace here.

Marianne doesn't realize she isn't alone until she hears a familiar voice cry out, and she doesn't even fully recognize the voice until she's already been tackled to the ground. She finds herself pinned under Edelgard, the Flame Emperor, a woman whose capital the Alliance is about to invade. And yet, she just saved Marianne's life without a second thought.

"E-Edelgard? What are you doing here?"

There are other questions she wants to ask, but her thought process is interrupted by a loud crash from outside. It isn't safe to stay here. Marianne accepts the hand Edelgard offers and gets to her feet.

"You're right. We should go."

[flame_emperor]

[Quick question, are you okay with the idea of a CF!Marianne in Edelgard's world?]

Edelgard has little time to process that it's Marianne before shielding her from the falling debris the boulder creates in its wake.

Once she's helped the other woman to her feet, Edelgard shakes her head. "We can talk later, once we're out of harm's way." She assures Marianne quickly, and is pleased to find the Edmund heir agrees. "Come on, the stairs are back this way." She leads Marianne quickly, keeping hold of her hand so they don't get separated. "It's likely to be chaotic on the streets. Stay close, Marianne."