TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 8

[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 ⚔️️ SUMMARY: 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. 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. (Though.. given how hot and muggy the weather is this first week, maybe you might want to ask him to toss you right back into the lake where the waters are still cool.) *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 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. SUMMARY: Merlin has a Plan B in case Camelot failed the trials: raise a sunken ship and offer it to the Elphame Traders on their way out in exchange for permission to travel their waters. Characters prepare for ritual magic to raise a sunken ship and travel underwater at the empty Camelot docks to gather ritual ingredients for it. After they've done all they can, Merlin sets up a little beach party with a bit of master magic for anyone who came along for the trip. After arriving, people may have heard about recent events-- the people of Camelot voted against war and to instead accept the trials of the people of Celliwig. The trials are now concluded, and a good number of people are emotionally exhausted and taking time to recover. Word from Celliwig has not yet arrived, but across multiple social media platforms, including AOL, there are clips of Merlin's cryptic addendum to Arthur's announcement along with notes that the meeting date was delayed a couple of days due to the awful weather and a need to rest after how bleak the trials were to some people. With people down and out, it won't hurt to have the new arrivals pitch in and learn a thing or two. "Lucky me, we've got a decent group. Celliwig's out of our hands now, but what isn't is a back-up plan. Vote was close enough I figured we'd have enough people to get a head start. Celliwig is closer and much less dangerous to deal with, we'd be able to communicate much faster with the faeries' queendom. They're not big on internet. Big followers of the Old Ways. T-L-D-R, we can't just text the queen and ask if drop-bys are on the table. We'd never make it past the leviathans without permission, so here's the plan: There is a... fixer-upper of a vessel sunken about a hundred yards from shore tossed out from Bermuda. We tried to build docks here forever ago, but you can guess the Bermuda triangle spitting out stuff in the lake all the time didn't go great. We just keep it up for visitors now, but there's plenty to explore in the immediate area that we can magic back into business." A ⦿ Shipwreckers He goes on to explain that the fairies value items that were once lost and refound, so step one is exploring the shipwreck with fellow magic users to find what amounts to a scavenger hunt list of items from the ship. He sets everyone off with a quick spell that essentially transforms their clothing into swimsuits that best fit their preferences and personality-- that means no one's going to get a swimsuit that makes them horribly uncomfortable, he's not harassing anyone. After that, magicians will be directed to use their magic to get down to the ship. It's not as convenient as underwater breathing and not as easily sustainable, but there's definitely different ways to go about it. Light magic users will find they can create a forcefield above the surface of the water and go under the water, though they may run out of oxygen quickly. Elemental users can find they can create a similar bubble by pushing water out of the way, though may run into the same diminishing air without a more advanced elemental user already in the game who can pull oxygen out of the water or an alchemist who can create chemical reactions to generate oxygen. Animal mages may be able to convince local lake life to help push bubbles along, and healers will be instrumental in healing oxygen deprivation if anyone stays under too long! (Note: If two characters can't create a bubble, you can put in a third NPC to do the bubble while your characters handle other roles during the search.) No matter what, make sure you bring someone who can watch your back. Rumors have it that the Fuath are harassing anything that comes near the area. Fuath are intangible spirits that may present as giant humanoids at about 8-9 feet each, but with the mane and tail of a yellow horse, with no noses and keen eyes. They hold grudges against anyone who takes advantage of their surroundings, even if not their own, and will come to attempt to throw those who try to take from the ships and flying through the air to land somewhere else in the water. Be very cautious about using names around the Fuath, as though they do not speak in human tongue, they have a particular ability to draw people and animals in using names that makes them very difficult to escape once you've been found. They've been known to turn familiars against their partners. They can be deterred, dissipated through attack to buy you time, but they'll keep coming so get in and out of the ship as fast as you can and definitely stick to more combat-heavy magics like dark and cognitive mages! *Note: These magics are all examples of ways to use primary magic, but feel free to get creative with your character's magic if you think of something else! B ⦿ Hoist the Flags Once all the ingredients are gathered, the ritual is underway! With the mementos from the ship, swim to a protective circle formed at the top of the water by Merlin that will keep the Fuath out. There, you need to take whatever item you gathered from the ship and try to find someone with a similar item. This "sister" item will allow you to pull the essence of the item up from the ship. It takes a load of people to raise a whole ship, but pouring your magic into the item and chanting the spell will cause the ship to resurface and restore itself to its original state before the crash, using residual memories from all the different items on the ship. Of course, finding a partner with a matching item while swimming around could be a challenge, especially if you don't get along-- it may take a while for everyone to get on the same page. It certainly won't clean up all the algae and kelp and wayward flopping fish, it brings the ship back to a livable state.. and a much cooler, more explorable one. Get a quick exploration of the ship and help clean up some of the lake slime before Merlin flags over the traders. Or goof around until then, and learn a sick free spell called (Recipe) Cool Firework: create a rocket firework from your fingertips. Make sure you're aiming it into the sky when you cast this spell, or Merlin will set off a Camelot totem right beneath your feet. No sinking the ship when they just got it up. The fireworks will attract the Elphame Traders, who are leaving the day after they close up shop to head back to Elphame, before the set out to leave. Merlin negotiates offering the ship to them as an offering for Queen Elphame to give them permission to travel in the Elphame territory. At that point, the ship is pulled into the docks and Camelot citizens are ushered out for the fae traders to take over the ship. C ⦿ Beach Episode Once everything's said and done it.. really only took a couple of hours, so the whole group is done around 4pm. There's plenty of time left for dinner and a good time at the beach a short walk away from the docks and the sun doesn't go down until around 9pm. Before Merlin leaves everyone to themselves, he conjures up a buffet-style table with loads of fresh food and drink, watermelons and bats for smashing. The swimsuits provided earlier wear off at midnight, though you'll probably want to leave before then since it still gets chilly in the evening, especially if you're all wet from playing with the chest full of waterguns or the beach balls distributed around the beach. The docks are nearby, so feel free to call your friends over to come hang out with you, even if they didn't help. It's a beach party, enjoy it! SUMMARY: Unseelie faeries and unseemly humans have teamed up to kidnap a small number of otherworlders in the chaos of the trials to fight in an underground fight ring. Play as a victim or be part of the squad to put an end to it if you're more good-leaning, or villains can choose to participate as audience and pay for "gifts" to be given to their favorite fighters during matches. CW: These prompts contain kidnapping, illegal and forced fighting, and inhumane treatment of fighters. Just because people are tired doesn't mean that the world stops for them... crime certainly doesn't. Throughout the start of the month, people are going missing. Exactly what's happening.. well, finding the truth out about that is going to depend on your perspective. A ⦿ Cursed Kidnapees Kidnapping victims will find themselves suddenly blinded by a spell, and then chloroformed by a floating cloth pressed against their face. (Smart kidnappers don't touch their victims if they have magic, you know!) When they wake up, they'll find themselves in a dungeon with at least a dozen other people. There's definitely not room to lay down, and sitting down as you had been propped up immediately starts you with a potentially uncomfortable view. Don't worry, someone's peeks in from a window at the top of the room-- an extremely handsome-looking man with long, wavy hair and pupils slitted like a cat's. "Let's see.. You two, you'll be the first fight of the night. Winner gets dinner, gyahaha!" It's a fighting ring. You've been kidnapped into a fighting ring and there's no obvious escape! Fight against fellow captives and monsters for your dinner and to buy time to figure out what you're going to do... At least you start hand to hand, so there's nothing lethal... right? (See Audience for more details.) B ⦿ Audacious Audience Maybe you're a less scrupulous sort and saw an invitation to this event hidden on the dark web, or got invited by a particularly sketchy friend. Either way, you've got cage-side seats close enough to chat with either fellow audience members or interact with the cage fighters. As a bonus point, audience members can spend some of their G on betting or on purchasing "boons" for their favorite fighters, such as weapons or enhancement spells. They can also bid against other audience members for special sabotages that make it harder to fight-- foot weights, strange masks, roller skates, hinderance hexes.. get creative with it! It's the biggest fight show that you can interact with your wallet... newbies may find it's a very lucrative way to make a pretty penny very fast. (As always, remember to communicate with anyone you're helping/sabotaging so you don't go past anyone's OOC comfort level.) C ⦿ Roaring Rescuers Thankfully, the fae who want nothing more than to sow discord and the greedy humans who joined in their venture are a bit disorganized. Even the beginning-level heroes among us will be able to track them down and topple them with a little bar hopping to gather information from the locals. Eventually, one of them will give up having overheard some "scary looking fellows" talking about which of the patrons of the bar looked like they'd be good in a fight before getting extra hush-hush. Follow all the leads, and you'll find yourself at an outlying, smaller-scale castle with a dungeon tower and an underground fighting ring built beneath its floors. Sneak in and unlock individual fighter dungeon doors while the fights are providing a wealth of distraction. Maybe you'll find a grateful Fogueria who casts a temporary fire-immunity spell on you to allow you to do ride them into battle to bust up the fight going on right now. There's definitely gratitude going on, regardless of moral compass, and you may find gifts of food and drink (non-alcoholic if you're not old enough) placed at your door over the next week for your deeds. 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. • We are testing out formats for key points displays, to be voted on for player preference based on what seems to work best for the most people. The other options were used here (end of post summary format) and here (start of post preview format). The format featured on this post is the last option, which will provide small summaries under the banner of each prompt set. A poll will be put up before the next event to see which format will be used going forward, so please keep in the back of your mind which seems most comfortable/makes the content more easily accessible. •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

beach!!!

[warmasters]

[ Wow, this girl really knows how to eat. It's impressive, actually, putting away a mountain of food like it's nothing! She could give Raphael a run for his money, and that's saying something. ]

Dunno. What's a baseball, anyway? They look more like clubs to me.

[ Like, skinny, streamlined clubs, but he doubts the intention here is for people to start fighting with them. There would be much better weapons they could use for that! ]

What're they usually used for? I'm new around here.

[ Must be some kind of weird Avalon tradition... ]

[bravesteps]

You've never heard of baseball?

[ right, there's people here from.. other worlds, right? though she supposes that some of them must know about baseball, considering there are, you know, bats here. unless maybe they aren't actually baseball bats and instead just something that looks like one, and now she's definitely overthinking this and all of her assumptions about the universe in general.. ]

Oh, it's a sport. You use the bat to hit a ball, and run around bases..

[ she's not great at explaining things.. ]

It's.. well, I would say it's more fun to watch than to explain, but I've heard it's kind of boring to watch.

[warmasters]

Huh...yeah, never heard of that one. Sounds fun, though! Less the running around part, more the smashing a ball with a club part.

[ But now he's intrigued, and crossing over to pick up one of the bats, weighing it between his hands. ]

Wow, this thing is light! Waaaay lighter than the weapons I'm used to. I gotta try this out.

[ Sorry, Sumire, you're a part of this now, by granting him the knowledge that bats are used to hit things. He surveys the table of food first, because it's the closest thing with smashable items, but then his attention is drawn further down the beach, where a few people are taking turns attempting to bash in a watermelon. HE'S ENLIGHTENED... ]

— Yeah, definitely gotta try this out.

[bravesteps]

[ if only baseball were as fun as it sounds, caspar..

anyway, he sure looks right at home with that baseball bat, she's beginning to sense violence in the air!! she's already getting to her feet with her plate in her hands, because he's eyeballed the watermelons now, and she's beginning to feel pre-emptively responsible for whatever havoc he might soon be wreaking. ]

What you're.. used to?

[ how many weapons is he used to?? this place is too much. ]

[warmasters]

Yeah, y'know! Axes, mostly, but gauntlets, too. You're only as good a fighter as you are with your fists, I always say!

[ Does he always say that? Probably not, but it's true! Anyway, tucking the bat under one arm, he hefts one of the watermelons from the table into his hand, weighing it before nodding with satisfaction. ]

Yep, looks good! C'mon, you should get one to take a whack at too! I bet you pack a punch.

[ All that energy she got from her food has to go somewhere, right?? ]

[bravesteps]

[ well he's not wrong, she's definitely very good at converting food to energy, but she's not so sure it will translate into watermelon whacking!!

..but he seems so genuine and well-meaning, and she doesn't want to rain on his parade. besides, she had made a promise to herself to start living for herself, to stop hiding, which means.. getting out there and doing stuff. right? not running away from scary social situations.

sumire lifts her chin in what she hopes is a show of confidence, which she ruins immediately with her stammer. ]

O-okay.. I suppose I can give it a try.

[ standing, she dusts the sand from her butt, and reaches for a blindfold. ]

[warmasters]

[ Fortunately, that's good enough for him! Honestly, even if she refused he might've tried to just haul her to her feet anyway, but better she join in of her own volition. It's gonna be a great time! ]

Alright, that's what I like to hear!

[ At least he starts a little ways down the beach so they can set up their watermelon-smashing away from other people. He doesn't need someone getting on their case because they got hit with chunks of watermelon. Somehow, with the uncertain way she's been acting so far, he doesn't think she'd be a fan of that, either.

Once Caspar reaches a safe distance away, he plants one of the watermelons into the sand, before stepping towards Sumire to hand her the bat. ]

Ladies first!

[bravesteps]

[ wah she doesn't want to go first, she doesn't know what she's doing!! ]

O-oh, me? Sure..

[ she says with no confidence at all, but hey she agreed to doing this, so she's gonna stick it through!! he hands her the bat, and she takes it, standing still and not doing anything for a few seconds while she summons her courage to do a thing in front of people. there aren't really any eyes on them, thankfully, since everyone is busy smashing their own melons, but HE'S looking!!

sucking in a deep breath, sumire tightens her grip on the bat and gives a big swing!!!!!!!

it barely cracks the top of the melon.. ]

[warmasters]

[ He sure is looking! But not in a particularly scrutinizing manner; he just wants to see what she can do. Her effort is pretty darn respectable, all things considered! Melons aren't easy to crack, so when it starts to split with her first hit, he claps his hands to his mouth and calls out: ]

Allllllright! C'mon, hit it again! You got this!

[ DESTROY IT!!!!! ]

[bravesteps]

[ okay his energy is really contagious and inspiring!! sumire was sure she'd just made an embarrassment of herself, but he's cheering her on without cease, and she can't disappoint him!! tightening her grasp, she sets her features hard, raises the bat, and slams down hard, wailing a war cry.

it splits a little further!

so she slams the bat down again, and again, and AGAIN, watermelon juice splattering everywhere, but she's LOST IN THE VIOLENCE NOW, beating the thing into a pulp. it's a melon massacre.. ]

Yeah!

[warmasters]

[ Now that's what he likes to see! She is absolutely going to town on that thing with the type of ferocity that he knows well. Her war cry is inspired, really, and he cheers along with her, whooping as she absolutely demolishes that poor watermelon into a husk of its former self. ]

Woo-HOOOO!!! Now you've got it! I knew you had it in you!

[ He's so proud...

...but he's also ready for his turn!!! He starts to impatiently circle around her, waiting for her to relinquish the bat. Maybe he should just go get another one... ]

[bravesteps]

[ that woohoo was so powerful!! sumire looks up from her ruined watermelon with a beaming smile, pleased that she seems to have done a good job, though... the watermelon is definitely not edible, and watching the other groups, she's getting the feeling that you're only supposed to smash it a little. she's getting some side-eyes for her manic melon attack.

but he seems happy, so that's good enough for her! still catching her breath, sumire straightens up and wipes the sweat from her brow with her knuckles, before she hands the bat over to him. he seems to desire it greatly.. ]

Here, your turn!

[ a beat. ]

Sorry, I don't think I left enough for us to eat..

[warmasters]

[ Sure, eating the melon sounds nice and all, but you know what's even better? Smashing it to smithereens so no one can tell what it even was! In his humble opinion, anyway.

As she hands the bat over, he takes it gratefully, before waving a hand. ]

Nah, don't worry about it! That's what this one is for.

[ He gives the watermelon sitting on the ground next to him a kick. That is, assuming he doesn't reduce his own to a pile of melony rubble... ]

...You might want to step back.

[ ...Yeah, he's probably going to reduce it to a pile of melony rubble. ]

[bravesteps]

[ ah.. sumire will take that warning to heart. if his powerful war cry was anything to go by, his swing is likely to be just as energetic, so when he asks her to step back she is quick to nod, taking several paces back in the sand and away from her decimated melon.

the seagulls are beginning to circle hungrily.. ]

Okay! You're good to go!

[ SMASH IT!!!!! ]

[warmasters]

[ She doesn't have to tell him twice! With a wide, almost manic grin, Caspar raises the bat over his head and brings it down onto the watermelon. ]

HIYAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

[ The water cracks right in half, and he whoops in response. Caspar has a few very specific talents, and hitting things very hard is absolutely one of them.

However, he's not satisfied with just one hit, not after witnessing her carnage, so there he goes again, swinging down the bat into the melony mess at his feet. ]

HAAA!! Not so tough now, are you?!

[ He's talking to the melon, for the record... ]

[bravesteps]

[ he's really going for it!!! caspar's war cry rings in her ears and echoes down the coast of the lake, drawing plenty of attention. he has so much energy! sumire is in awe..

of course he cracks the melon open immediately, which is a little surprising, because he doesn't look particularly beefy, even if he is definitely, you know, cut. she's a little shocked. but in a good way! he's so impressive. ]

Yeah, yeah! You show it who's boss!

[ he's going a little nuts on the melon but i mean, so did she, she doesn't have any room to judge. ]

[warmasters]

[ She sure doesn't have any room to judge! Not that he would care, even if she did. He's having such a grand old time beating the crap out of this watermelon, he doesn't stop until it is well and truly unrecognizable, beaten into a literal pulp. ]

Yeah! That'll teach you!

[ Teach it what????

He looks up at Sumire again with a huge grin. ]

That was great! Weird tradition, but satisfying!

[bravesteps]

[ he sure does go to town on that melon!! beside her own obliterated melon, the sand is now very messy.. there's definitely nothing salvageable here.. ]

Well, I think we were just supposed to crack them open so that we could eat them..

[ she says, tapping her chin. ]

.. so it's kind of a shame we don't get any watermelon to eat. But it was fun!

[warmasters]

[ There sure is not anything salvagable...in fact, if someone happens upon this scene later, they're probably going to think a murder happened here, and all that's left is the grisly remains. ]

Heh, yeah, it was! Aaaand we could always get another melon. We just might have to go easy on it this time.

[ They might get some dirty looks for taking another one, but eh. Who cares? ]

[bravesteps]

Maybe! Though there's probably some at the buffet table too, and I am pretty hungry..

[ she's generally not brave enough to ask someone to hang out with her, but he seems pretty nice..!! kind of weird, but nice! and she's trying to be more assertive in general, so.. ]

Do you, um, want to go get something to eat?