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

[suetekh]

[Most would notice that small detail on Horus but Set isn't known to notice details. He's too stuck and lost in his thoughts, trying to figure all of this out. He's surprised for a moment because that is a good question.]

I am surprised by that. [Says Set who was obviously not surprised at all. He frowns and looks away.] But his mother was my lord sister, Isis was always strong. Her magic has always rivaled Thoth's and I have none of my own in that world...It doesn't seem surprising that she would have been capable of aiding her son like that. [It isn't entirely wrong but it's a very weak explanation.]

But Horus invaded and then what? There has to be more than he just didn't kill me! Why wouldn't he? [Who doesn't take revenge on the person that killed their father? That doesn't make sense.]

[hor]

Horus himself [ he's going to continually forget to refer to himself as Lord Horus, oops ] is definitely strong enough to take you down, and to my understanding has on multiple occasions. I spoke to him once and he said that he didn't believe you were the villain you set out to be. And also that you were extremely attractive, which is why I couldn't help myself when we first met. He was definitely right about that, I could die happy burying my face in that chest of yours.

[ A beat. ]

I think he intends to make you his consort.

[ Might as well just dig it in. There's no answer that's going to satisfy Set, anyway. Horus already knows that. ]

[suetekh]

[That is a whole lot of comments that Set wasn't expecting. Set's mind whirls as he tries to go through each thing, the gears in his mind going crazy because how is he supposed to react to any of that? It surprises him that Horus thinks he's not a villain at all most of all and as for the other things...?]

Are you playing a trick on me? The brat doesn't know anything. He wasn't even born when Osiris died, he was only a small light in his mother's belly. What does he know about what happened and what didn't? [Even Isis didn't know but now he wishes he could know what Isis told him. Maybe he should have told her more, come up with some lie...]

No, I don't believe any of this. [That's what he finally comes up with.] Do you think I would believe such lies? His consort? That can't be true. [His eyes narrow, suspicious.] And I don't see why you would want to try to trick me with such an unbelievable story either. What are you hoping to gain in doing this?

[hor]

[ They're getting into familiar territory already. He's getting worked up about his existence and he doesn't even know he's talking to him. ]

Unless I were Lord Horus, I would have no way of knowing what he does or does not know. But I will say that he is known for keeping his thoughts to himself until he chooses to act on them. It's part of what makes him such an excellent strategist, apart from Neith being the one to train him.

[ Not calling her Master Neith feels like it's going to come back to bite him one day, even if there's absolutely no way she could find out he's being impudent. ]

I've no reason to trick you. You shouldn't assume people are because they tell you something you don't want to hear.

[suetekh]

[If Neith was training Horus then he should have had all the tools to overtake Set. It seemed the only thing Horus was lacking was the conviction. Not the enemy? Everybody else had had no trouble believing in Set's story except for the one person he did.

Maybe he was here to convince Anubis so he could convince Horus? Maybe this was why he had come here at all.

He sends a glare to Horus, scowling.]

I'm the king and responsible for the previous king's death. You have every reason to kill me. You haven't explained why you even support me. What reason would you have to support me?

[hor]

[ He's so passionate about this, and for a second when Set says "you have" he thinks he's been outed, but he's just really passionately trying to sell himself as a bad guy. It's cute, and he already knows Set is going to deny what he says, so he turns and takes a couple of steps away to give him space to dodge in the event of a violent reaction to this being laid out. ]

You've taken care of the kingdom and its people for 18 years. You haven't brought the kingdom to war or set out to conquer other lands, despite being a war god. From what I hear of Osiris, he was a benevolent man who treated everyone with love and compassion, but none so much as his brother and that brother seemed to love him more than he cared for anyone else, even his own wife. You gave Isis the opportunity to escape with her son, and given thousands of chances to slay him or charge him with treason, you never did. But more than that...

[ He'll have to apologize to Anubis for using such a line later. But he lowers his lids halfway, serious and distant at the same time in his best impression of his serious friend. No, he has no such power. This is a complete lie, but Horus sometimes thought it may be why Anubis always looked so distant. It must be tiring. ]

I don't know your secrets, but I did say I was a protector of lost souls and the hopeless. You think I don't know when I see one?

[suetekh]

[There's a lot to take away from Horus' words and Set doesn't like how they grip his heart, his soul, and leaves him breathless. It's obvious for a short moment, by the surprised look on his face. Right now, he's only just become king. There's still a lot to learn about not betraying any emotion. He hasn't quite gotten that good yet.

Still, he is very good at playing the villain.] You sound like an idiot. Your judgment is wrong. The only reason my lord sister--Isis, got away from me was because she tricked me. It wasn't something I offered her but something she took. I didn't even know she was pregnant. If I had then I would have stopped Horus. I have no magic, it's something everybody knows. I wouldn't have been able to track them. That would have been impossible.

[He's not wrong but Set also has no idea what Isis had said. Set had not told her anything, he'd been told by Thoth that nobody would believe him. That was probably true. Nobody had any reason to believe Thoth had wanted to kill Osiris. But maybe by not telling her anything, it had only led Isis to her own suspicions.]

My soul is fine. [It's at this point that his ka comes, the set animal that behaves too much like a dog for his liking, whining as he looks to Horus for some kind of attention.] Ignore that thing. [But his ka only whines louder, not liking to be called that.]

[hor]

Perhaps there is something shared between Lady Isis and her son that they haven't shared with us, then.

[ Horus, impudent as ever, doesn't think twice about disobeying Set even though he's pretending to be someone else right now. In fact, provided the animal doesn't seem upset by it, he's going to scoop it right up into his arms and smirk at it. ]

Aren't you the cutest? Has Set been mean to you? He should be kinder to such a rare creature.

[ Be kinder to himself, really. ]

[suetekh]

[There is something very annoying about this 'Anubis'. Disobeying him like this and he must know, Set is sure, just what that animal is. It's even more offensive that his ka doesn't mind it at all, happy for the positive reinforcement for once.]

I'm not mean to it. It's just annoying and needy. Hardly 'cute'.

[His ka nuzzles its head up against Horus in response and if looks could kill, the look that Set is shooting it would absolutely kill it.]

Are you always this shameless, Anubis? Too much like your mother, then.

[hor]

[ Oh no, Horus is pretty sure he loves this creature. It may not be seen as a good symbol among people but that doesn't matter to him. If looks could kill, then the smile on Horus's face could certainly save a life as Set's set nuzzles him. ]

There's no shame in showing affection to someone who deserves it. Shameless would mean I should be. Calling your likeness annoying, needy, and shameful to like doesn't seem like commentary on me.

[suetekh]

[There's something very uncomfortable about this to Set. From how his ka nuzzles up to Horus to how Horus talks about this, not faltering once.]

You sound like a person who knows nothing about me or you're an idiot that doesn't know sense. You won't last long for here. There are plenty of things here that like to fool you.

[Says the guy that's gotten fooled more than once since he's arrived here...says the guy who Horus is fooling right now.]

[hor]

You don't need to worry about me. I'm much stronger than I look. Now, show me the way to where we're staying.

[ 'U' HE CAN STAY WITH SET Y/Y??? ]

[suetekh]

[This person has been nothing but confusing. The look on Set's face says as such as he stares at him.]

It is a room only meant for one person.

[Said in a tone like obviously, they are not staying together. Why would they?]

[hor]

[ It's an expression Horus is used to. It's Fine. ]

What a small room. I'll move in next door, then. It is better to watch each others' backs.

[ He'll work his way into Set's room. ]

[suetekh]

[When Horus puts it like that? It does make sense. They are from the same world and he is 'Anubis' king. Why shouldn't they work together? He'll buy it.

And not think there's any ulterior motive.]

The rooms are tiny and the bed is...weird. Everything is weird here. It isn't like home. I can't help you, either, because I don't understand any of it. But when it comes to magic then I'll help you train. Our world depends on it.

[hor]

[ Aww, poor Set. He's been here all alone and lost without a braincell in the world... well, it's okay. ]

I'll see to figuring out the parts that don't make sense. You're going to teach me magic?

[ Must. Contain. Excitement!! SET IS GONNA TEACH HIM. Thank you for your identity, Anubis!! ]

[suetekh]

If we share one, I'll teach you what I know. Or you can practice with me. It only makes sense we should help our world together.

[Set has absolutely no idea how excited Horus is. It only makes sense they train together if they are from the same world? They're here for the same world and reason.]

[hor]

[ HE HOPES THEY SHARE. He even looks excited about it. ]

What magic do you have?

[ It can't be too challenging if even Set can do this kind of magic, though. ]

[suetekh]

[The shade...even though it is very true.]

Healing and green. [He wonders how the other will take this because it isn't like they're fitting magics for him at all. He's sure anybody would agree with this and admitting it to people who don't know him (or know of him) is easier than this.]

[hor]

[ He has to hold in his initial reaction to that, because he wants to roll his eyes because it's obvious those were misplaced from his father. He can't react how he wants to, so after a brief pause that can easily be construed as considering his word's for Set's sake... ]

That sounds more like your brother than you. How nice you have a way to connect to him.

[suetekh]

[Set doesn't think anything suspicious of how Horus reacts. To him, it just seems like they don't agree it fits him either.]

I know, the magics chosen for me here are not fitting for me. I didn't choose them. They chose me for some reason.

[hor]

Irony, maybe. Perhaps I'll have the same and you can teach me, though. I wouldn't mind some late nights being tutored by you.

[ Teach him, sensei.]