avalonmods (
avalonmods) wrote in
avalaughs2021-04-30 11:10 pm
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TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 7
✨ Greet new players on the OOC intro while apps are processed HERE! ✨
![]() Premise ⚔️️ Rules ⚔️️ FAQ ⚔️️ Taken ⚔️️ Reserves ⚔️️ Apply ⚔️️ Locations ⚔️️ Bestiary ⚔️️ Top-Levels Only ⚔️️ ![]() A ⦿ Soaking in Your Arrival
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
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, C ⦿ The Red Spring
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
B ⦿ A Balanced Approach
C ⦿ A Show of Strength
• 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 ![]() 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
B ⦿ There's Safety in Numbers
C ⦿ Gross
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.
**** 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. |





no subject
Whatever, his parents were definitely not overbearing. They didn't straight up throw him to the wolves, but Nobunaga wasn't exactly an easy to manage child either, running off to play with guns and such. And his retainers... it's a long story.
So they both have issues. Maybe it's a gun thing.
"You can always find your own way with them. Everyone's different after all."
no subject
"What makes you this Demon King of Japan?" he looked human enough but she supposed he could have been a demi-human beneath that outfit of his.
1/4
AS FOR DEMON KING--
You asked the right question! In a way, it's an absurd little test. Only some very very few eccentric, and learned types get the connotations, and all of it is about how other people choose to react. Because those who DO know the full connotations; usually make snap judgements. And it's not that it's NOT meant to cause that; it is! But at the same time, the people who don't intrigue him more. And the people who think it's literal, or even funnier; intimidating make him laugh. A lot.
But you'd be amazed how many people just don't ask! Even knowing he's from a different world than them, and that it could mean anything.
Still, he rubs his left hand on the back of his neck, his right hand still resting across his hip near the gun and sword.
He wants to give the question the respect it deserves instead of a nonsense blow-off answer he would usually entertain someone who hadn't purposely climbed cliffs instead of stairs, and hadn't had the brains enough to ask the right sort of questions! So while he answers, "You become the Demon King by defeating all the idiot demons," it's clear he's going to extrapolate further than that, because that would itself normally be more of a game, more a test to see what kind of idiot he was dealing with! -- Something he didn't need here, because she wasn't one! (A rare thing indeed!)
2/4
And then a beat, "At least in my timeline. There are other versions of Japan, and people from them, and it's complicated. There's other versions of me too." Does that mean he has to defeat himself someday too? Probably! But not today
Satan!"But in my timeline... there never were any."
3/4 CW: Sengoku Era Japan stuff VIOLENT (not super graphic, just dark!)
Yeah. THIS IS GOING TO GET MORE STUPID SOMEHOW.
"They were monks, and lords, and bandits. Natural disasters, and weather phenomenon, and superstitions that certain people: I'm going to call demons, attributed all those things to being... demons. Say a lord was robbing his own people, stealing their ore and selling it on the black market to an enemy. He might employ mercenaries or ninja and bandits to set fires in the middle of the night, claim the ore was stolen by spirits, demons and so it wasn't his fault." He really had the worst love-hate relationship with Japan. Proud as the dickens of its future, hated to pieces its well... Demons. And being trapped there.
Nobunaga spread his hands with a shrug. "After all, if the ore was spirited away by a demon, what could the lord do, right? People couldn't expect him to expel a demon now, could they?"
There was a very cruel smirk at that, years of clearly seething fighting behind it, Nobunaga's carnelian red eyes burned with a fiery intensity despite how cold they seemed.
He didn't really want to explain how fucked up Japan was to an outsider who hadn't, and mostly likely wouldn't see it for themselves though. It was different with Luis Frois and others who were there in person, if anything, helping Nobunaga see it through their eyes. Or better still, see the potential it still had.
"Which would force me to expose and defeat them and deal with meting out their consequences."
Did he come across as an idiot? He's not saying he's not. But it takes a Demon King to scare all the lesser demons into submission. "That would mean executing them, usually. Becoming the worst demon of Hell so that the other idiot demons continued to have clear warning of the consequence of failure."
There's more!
"Monks and priests might say demons and gods or other spirits were angered, and that's why the crops were bad, or the typhoon destroyed the watch tower. Sometimes they'd even hire bandits, promise to take care of the bandits for the villagers in exchange for a greater fee, and force the villages to continue their racquet. Sacrifice their children. Either as offerings, or as servants to join their monk sect. Again, it would just mean a much bigger demon had to defeat a lesser one and absorb his power, always becoming ever worse; the true demon king."
He hopes it's clear he's only scratching the surface. That it's just this is how much he will tell someone who isn't there to see it for themselves. Because otherwise it's not fair, they have no real means of getting even the context. And again, he wouldn't even bother with this much for most people, because he'd assume it would sail broadly over their heads or so far to the left it was fine to just leave it as meaningless or whatever they made up for themselves that they decided on their own definition, instead of someone else's. But that was the trick, she wasn't asking his definition, she was asking the others', the context.
4/4
"In Buddhism, they follow Buddha," Derp derp. "He ascended through various levels, and didn't need to defeat the demons, they just cowered from his holiness, and he kept ascending, becoming more and more holy." Nobunaga wonders what would happen if he met Buddha for real. Would he punch him? Get along????? WHO KNOWS? "But the Demon King of 6th heaven knew he couldn't stop Buddha, so he urged him to ascend as quickly as possible and leave the Demon King to his domain so he didn't weaken in power." LISTEN, he knows you will NEVER get how funny this is, but it's fucking hilarious for him!!! It's a kind of you-had-to-live-it-for-decades thing. "The Demon King of Sixth Heaven wants to corrupt everyone to a life of worldly decadence. Things like... enjoying life." See this asshole smirk? Honestly, he's having a blast!
"Like candy!" He loves candy. Fight him. "The monks and priests will always say you can't continue to ascend if you enjoy candy. In fact, if you ascend completely you won't need food, but it takes a long time to get there." His eyeroll made it clear how much it bothered him, and he didn't believe it at all. "So you should probably just give your food to the monks and let them give it to the demons who enjoy that stuff, and then maybe the demons will leave you alone, see?" Catch onto how that racquet worked yet? And maybe why he'd call himself or other hedonistic bastards demons?
Another snort. "I said it sarcastically to one of my more religious enemies, when we were still in negotiations. That I was the Demon King of 6th Heaven. I didn't actually think it would turn into propaganda, but..." He spread his hands and shrugged. "At that point, I went with it. It's not incorrect for those idiots who believe that shit." A head tilt. "Oh, and Uesagi Kenshin. He's another extremely troublesome warlord. His whole childhood he was told he was the reincarnation of Buddha's war side: Bishamonten. So I don't know how much he believes he's the God of War or not, but certainly, that's the propaganda around him." Another shrug and a small smirk. "That's fine isn't it? Befitting the Demon King to have the God of War as an enemy."
Even if he barely remembers Kenshin is technically alive-ish somewhere in his time, being... annoying. He's pretty sure Uesagi is more annoying to those around him than Oda is to even the Oda forces. And truly, that's saying something.
Nobunaga stretches -- and starts walking. Wow! He hasn't spoken that much at once in...... Forever! He blames her being a gunner, and a certain asshole god of war (not Kenshin!) for constantly talking smack about how Nobunaga doesn't know war at all. (Like, sure whatever dude!)
"Come on, the Shit Box usually has stuff from home in it, might have something you want. It's over here."
no subject
His unexpected information drop left her quiet in thought while he spoke. Then when he gestured her get to follow, the gunner actually did. Which in itself was unheard of. He was intriging.
"I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised to hear that the human race is the same regardless of where we're from," Elza offered while she followed Nobunaga.
She gazed ahead in the direction they were going and gave a little shrug as she let the previous roof drop. "I've got all that I need on me."
Sturm and Mond. No other items was important to her.
no subject
A quiet hum in acknowledgement of her words. "You might find something you simply didn't know you wanted then," a smug grin. "That was actually where my falcon, Haguro was. Apparently Mitsuhide's fox was in the box too, surprisingly enough. Magic..." A headshake and a scoffing laugh. "I still can't wrap my head around it!"
no subject
As Nobunaga spoke of items people had found in this 'Shit Box', the gunner was trying to picture just what this particular box looked like to hold such things. Although if magic was involved, it could just look like a crate on the ground.
"There is much of it where I am from," Elza said after he finished his scoffed laugh. "It has its uses at times but often causes more trouble than what it's worth."
no subject
"That's been my experience with it so far, but at least it's always entertaining."
Sorry for the delay. Been dealing with sicknesses this week
"Oh I've no doubt," She murmured in reply. "As I'm certain that you've had some of your own." He did mention coming from a world that didn't have it. Would it become an addiction to those who'd never used it.