Test Drive Meme - New Blood

[undyingmods]

DEC TEST DRIVE MEME

WELCOME, VAMPIRES!

Welcome to the Undying Court Test Drive Meme! This post will allow players to test drive their AU characters in the setting, as well as meet fresh faces or even connect with those they have preexisting CR with. As with anything involved in the setting, this post will likely contain: violence, enthrallment, torture, and sexual content.

Regarding continuity, all TDM threads can be taken as in-game canon if desired. Please keep in mind that the game proper will begin in mid December, in the Winter Season, so Students/Novices should create their prompts under the assumption that the TDM takes place during the season prior to the one they will be apping as. This means that students planning to app as first season novices will be visiting Castle Courtsheart prior to their Beginning. In other words, if you plan to app a student as a second season, the TDM will take place during their first, and so on.

Feel free to brush up on the Premise, Vampire Powers, and head over to the FAQ/Game Info page if you have any questions!

• Make sure you are aware of the Rules when posting your top-level. (Content warnings are always welcome!)
• Please format your Top-level in this format: Character Name (AU Name if different) | Canon | Teacher/Student | Court
• As a reminder, a Test Drive sample is required in order to app.
• If you have any questions specific to the TDM, ask them in the Questions thread below!

Top-Level Directory:

Chat with NPC: Revar
Ace Attorney - Apollo Justice (Student)
Alice in the Country of Hearts - Alice Liddell (Student)
Attack On Titan - Erwin Smith (Teacher)
Baldur's Gate 3 - Astarion (Teacher)
Baldur's Gate 3 - Halsin (Teacher)
Baldur's Gate 3 - Raphael (Teacher)
Batman - Bruce Wayne (Teacher)
Bridgerton (Netflix) - Anthony Bridgerton (Student)
Castlevania - Soma Cruz (Student)
Castlevania: Nocturne - Maria Renard (Student)
Cosmo Warrior Zero - Harlock (Student)
Critical Role - Percy DeRolo (Teacher)
Daria - Daria Morgendorffer (Teacher)
Devil Summoner - Raidou Kuzunoha XIV (Student)
Dragon Age - Fenris (Teacher)
D&D: Honor Amongst Thieves - Edgin Darvis (Teacher)
D&D: Honor Amongst Thieves - Xenk Yendar (Teacher)
Ensemble STars!! - Mayoi Ayase (Student)
Fate/Zero - Kariya Matou (Kariya Makiri) (Student)
FE: Three Houses - Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd (Student)
FE: Three Houses - Hilda Goneril (Student)
FE: Three Houses - Lorenz Hellman Gloucester (Student)
FE: Three Houses - Marianne von Edmund (Student)
FE: Three Houses - Sylvain Gautier (Student)
Final Fantasy XIV - Estinien Varlineau (Teacher)
Frozen - Prince Hans (Student)
Genshin Impact - Diluc Ragnvindr (Teacher)
Genshin Impact - Tighnari (Teacher)
Hanna Is Not A Boy's Name - Conrad Achenleck (Teacher)
Hannibal (NBC) - Will Graham (Teacher)
Jujutsu Kaisen - Gojo Satoru (Teacher)
Jujutsu Kaisen - Toji Zen'in (Teacher)
Lucifer (Netflix) - Lucifer Morningstar (Teacher)
MCU - Loki Laufeyson (Teacher)
Original - Aurinn Laurentius (Student)
Original - Bellatrix Bakhar (Student)
Original - Christine Delacroix (Teacher)
Original - Hanako 'Rosalina' Nurumi (Teacher)
Original - Jisu (Eden Woods) (Student)
Original - Karma D'Auvergn (Teacher)
Our Flag Means Death - Edward Teach (Teacher)
Our Flag Means Death - Izzy Hands (Student)
Persona 3 Portable - Kotone Shiomi (Student)
Persona 5 R - Goro Akechi (Student)
Persona 5 - Haru Okumura (Student)
Persona 5 - Ren Amamiya (Student)
Pride and Prejudice - Elizabeth Bennet (Student)
Return to Labrynth - Sarah Williams (Teacher)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Snow White (Student)
Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard (Teacher)
Star Trek: AOS - James T. Kirk (Student)
Star Wars - Darth Vader (Teacher)
Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order - Trilla Suduri (Student)
The Adventure Zone: Balance - Kravitz (Teacher)
The Adventure Zone: Balance - Lydia (Teacher)
The Adventure Zone: Graduation - Fitzroy Maplecourt (Student)

NEW ARRIVALS

New arrivals will be starting their first season in the winter, but they're welcomed to the castle early, under the watchful eyes of the Silver Court. Upon arrival, they will be shown to a room by a human whose eyes glow softly from within, with vacant smiles. Thralls. There, the human thralls will draw them a bath and bring them new clothes to wear to their first meeting. These are rich, expensive things made of high quality fabric. Whether it's a silk dress and a heavy velvet cowl, or a fine pants and a vest made from a brocade, the servants will provide. The new initiate's old clothes will be burned after, in a symbol of the life they are leaving behind. If they are hungry, they will be provided food. If they need anything at all, they need only ask their new servants.

Later that night they are taken to a grand hall, with high arched ceilings and candles burning in chandeliers. There are figures painted overhead, beautiful and entwined. Some have their eyes are colored to match the courts, others are gracefully placed in their death, with blood dripping from necks and wrists.

Balconies line the hall behind a forest of pillars, and vampires all watch as the group walk through (some more hungrily than others).

"Welcome to your first undying season, initiates," a pale, silver-haired vampire calls. They have silver eyes are clad in silver robes, but command the attention of everyone in attendance. They have a beauty that seems neither male nor female. They are standing at the center of a wide semi-circle of other vampires, "As the Silver Court's acting voice at this end of the Autumn season, allow me to introduce you to the Houses that will be your new homes."

The vampire, Revar, gives the newcomers an overview of all of the courts—Blue, Red, Gold, Silver, and Black—and then invites those already claimed by their Courts to join the vampires who will be their Makers.

Revar offers the Foundlings who are left a gentle, knowing smile, and then allows them to be chosen. They are like the last sheep left at the auction, and the vampires who take them may not be the enthused about it. Nevertheless, Revar waits patiently until all have found a maker.

Now that they are paired up it is expected—indeed, required—that the initiate drink from their maker. That is their Beginning. Only once they have truly begun can they can be considered novices.

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AUTUMN NOX

Silver Court is in season and for the Autumn Nox it holds a large symposium, inviting all the best vampire minds from around lands nearby and far. The whole castle is abuzz with new activity. The stables are packed full of horses, carriages litter the grounds, but somehow the castle has enough rooms to house all the new arrivals.

Novices will find that some of these vampires have not seen a human-novice in a very, very long time. These vampires might see the human-novices more like specimens, curious about their every move. They won't bite, but novices may find themselves observed as they wander the castle and its grounds.

The symposium itself is open to anyone at the castle. Scholars can present on any topic at all. Novices will find that these range from the incredibly mundane (you've always wanted to attend a history of bottom-feeding river fish, haven't you?) to the truly fascinating (new insights into how vampire hearts work) to the downright strange (the symposium has a range of lectures very close to dawn about the sharing of vampire...fluids). Seasoned novices with their own Autumn classes to attend are expected to keep up with their studies, but some teachers may let them out of a session to attend the lectures and workshops of the symposium.

The Silver Court vampires are incredibly busy between running the symposium and trying to help the new novices get settled in. They may need some volunteers to lend a hand with setting up rooms or helping scholars find their way around. In fact, volunteers might find themselves leading scholars down to the second kitchen for a bite to eat, a strong reminder that even these demure learners are still monsters who must drink blood.

PUMPKINS-GONE-WILD

The symposium isn't all that the autumn season brings. The Silver Court’s talents are on display in other ways—sometimes not in ways another had particularly hoped. An overly zealous youngblood in the Silver Court tried to grow a few extra pumpkins for the occasion and ended up with a few too many! The pumpkin vines break out of the green house and start sprouting pumpkins everywhere. These are no ordinary pumpkins, they will sprout and grow and become fully formed in the course of a night. Better keep an eye out for those vines or else your room might become full of pumpkins! Luckily, the pumpkins aren’t rotting any time soon (they’ll last until winter, or so the Silver Court vampires are saying), but it can be pretty inconvenient for them to grow everywhere. Start cutting those vines to pieces, and hope they don’t try to entangle you in the process.

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LIBRARY CLEAN-UP

Meanwhile, with all the scholars in town are making a mess of the library, much to the Silver Court vampire’s dismay. Books are being checked out and not checked back in, passed around from scholar to scholar. You might find those lost books just about anywhere. Who was reading in a tree? Anyone who collects the books and returns them to the library is sure to get a little bit of favor with the librarians, and it’s never a bad thing to have a bit of an in with a Court. If you’re worried about failing Silver Court, it’s time to get searching! Although how you’re going to convince a 300 year old vampire that time is not fake and that deadlines are real (and in fact were two days ago) is anyone’s guess.

UNETHICAL EXPRIMENTS

[CW: Torture, experiments]

Those who venture towards the basement might hear something a little different than normal. The thralls who spend their time down there are normally quiet, commanded to keep silent and pleasant for the vampires they serve. But with the arrival of the new scholars comes disquieting, inhuman screams from the darker reaches of the basement. Novices trying to catch a glimpse will be chased away, but teachers might be invited to watch as these vampires experiment on one another, all in the name of science. What’s a little torture, when you’re undying?

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Thanks for joining us for our first TDM! For any questions regarding the TDM prompts, please comment in the thread below. For general game questions, please check the FAQ/Game Info. Remember that the game proper will begin mid December, in the Winter Season, so Students/Novices should create their prompts under the assumption that the TDM takes place during the season prior to the one they will be apping as.

Comments

[enchantibiotic]

If the growth eases up. There is no telling how long this will last. Such a thing must be studied.

[ Christine is neither a beacon of positivity nor a negative force. She is simply a realist. ]

I am not sure what consequences there will be for the students. That's beyond a youngblood such as myself, but I would hope that they do, in fact, take a great deal away from this situation.

hans pls

[devilyoudo]

[ Kiss-ass or not, Raphael is pleased to get the interest. And to have an excuse to talk more. ]

Such a loaded question. They all have their charm points. I am a fan of the terza rima scheme, it's ... playful. But clever.

Are you familiar with it?

[infinitevision]

"Giving the Silver Court nerd an academic thrill by introducing a new study topic for them seems like a great idea for them and a bad idea for me," Satoru ponders. "Hmm. Probably not."

(It's not actually a bad idea for him. He would lose nothing. Other than his cool points!!!)

He leans over to study her, looming, a silver of gold visible from behind his sunglasses. "Oh, you're new!" he enthuses. "You have that freshly arrived smell; they always use the same herbs in the bath they scrub you down with. Ahh, fond memories. Did you find your room yet? If not," his voice lowers conspiratorially, stage whispering, "I can give you secret inside tips on finding the best ones."

[devilyoudo]

[ Listen, it shows character if you work for it! Or something like that. Though he can't help the wry smirk he gets as his gaze settles upon Daria in her little reading corner. ]

Exquisite.

[ He presses a hand to his chest, really giving a performance on that one word before he steps a little closer to her. ]

Do you not agree?

[unghosting]

[Kevin does jump skittishly at the abrupt arrival, but recovers with remarkable grace, considering the state of his nerves. Stalling with a jelly bean, he pauses to consider whether he might like to throw any of the faculty he's met thus far under the vampire bus.




...nah, he's not been here long enough yet to feel quite comfy using anyone else's name in his silliness. He will own this one, and see what happens.]

It is of my own devising. Independent study, you know.

[He munches another jelly bean unrepentantly.]

[infinitevision]

Satoru goes to grin at the funny joke, and the expression abruptly falters when he realizes she's being serious. He levels a baffled stare at her over the rim of his sunglasses.

"Plants and animals are the only think you can think of using a knife on?" he drawls. "I mean, discarding the fact that a knife isn't even the best tool for pruning-- my child. My oblivious little Silver Court baby. This castle has a basement for torture, and classes on how to more effectively stab people, and you've never used it for more than harvesting."

He pauses, and then laughs, obviously delighted.

"That's adorable," he says breezily. "That knife was meant for far bloodier errands than you know."

[serpendipity]

[ She nods to the advice, choosing to believe it. Really, deciding that it'll be in time that she'll know how they would know better. ]

In that case, who am I to argue with your experiences? I'm glad to have asked and gotten your insight.

[ Thus begins a lack of fear for the people in the Black Court. Maybe a bit for what they do (and that's more of a maybe than her demeanor presents,) but not the people themselves. It's about long enough for Eden to look back and see a couple more Foundlings get picked up and brought to their respective sections. ]

Looks like I should get back into place.

[devilyoudo]

[ Raphael is rather familiar with the Gold Court and all its pomp. He appreciates some of it, other parts not as much. But the show of respect certainly adds points toward his favor. He smiles. ]

Sylvain. [ He repeats the name, as if to commit it to memory or try it out for size on his tongue. Then he gives a nod of his head in acknowledgment. ]

I cannot speak for all of the teachers of the Red Court— though I am Master to several — but I like to be selective, yes. Seduction, weaponry, they are arts. They must be treated with care. Dedication.

cw: graphic violence \o/

[this_ismydesign]

[ The game was over. But, unlike when his lectures ended and Will reverted to his shy withdrawn self, his monster was still riding the high of blood, screams and pain. He'd learn to feed before he came down to a sessions like this. It helped him control the desire to strip off his clothes and roll around in the blood that had been spilled.

A strange urge, when one realized that through all the violence, Will hadn't so much as a spec of blood on any part of his body. Even his hands were wrapped in gloves, which he was stripping off when Ed entered the room.

Upstairs, in Castle Courtsheart proper, Will walked around with hunched shoulders, head down, and at best a mumbled response to a passing greeting. Now he lifted his eyes directly to Ed's face, holding the older vampire's gaze without flinching. He wore his confidence like a cloak, and while he didn't smile, his air of self-satisfaction might as well have been a beaming grin.

Will recognized Ed in much the same way that Ed recognized Will. A fellow teacher, Will's memory quickly supplies that the other vampire is from the Blue Court. ]

Too much paperwork. [ He said with a flick of his hand in the unconscious vampire's direction. ] They thought they were further along in their training. They were mistaken. They wanted me to remove a limb, but that could possibly kill them and I'm not in the mood to play politics if that happened.

[ No real concern about, you know, someone's death. Just the paperwork and ass kissing that would result. Picking up the bloodied blade, Will grabbed a soft cloth to clean off the worst of the sticky ichor smeared along the blade. ]

You look too tidy to be a participant tonight. Keeping the young ones in line, or just down here to observe?

[infinitevision]

"It is a shame this symposium doesn't revolve around me," Satoru agrees solemnly, and from his tone, it's difficult to tell if he's joking or being serious. "My classes are so much more interesting. And they have way more exciting titles."

He's never interacted much with Tighnari, but it's no real fault of the Silver Court teacher: Satoru just doesn't pay much attention to people outside of his very narrow scope of interest. They all sort of blur together in one of big blog of 'not badass enough'. He vaguely likes Tighnari, though, as much as he can ever have vague well regard for someone -- mostly because of the fox bits, since Satoru's shapeshifted form is similar. Fox buddies!

"You can't tell me that--" Satoru pauses, shuffling his own papers as he finds the lecture premise again, "--The Effects of Fluoroantimonic Acid on The Vampiric Heart has any scientific use other than how far it can be used in a torture dungeon," he says, an amused little smile curling at the edge of his lips.

(Look, he can acknowledge that even The Habits of Local Toads has a lot of scientific merit about the impact and habits of local ecology. But c'mon.)

[serpendipity]

We'll know when they start to bear fruit.

[ Being a realist is clearly welcome around Eden. She can agree and think on it positively on her own. Plus, she was right; regardless, this had to be studied in some fashion. ]

I don't think there's any way that they don't take a lot from this. I just hope they take whatever happens in stride and keep fine tuning their research and experiments. Maybe we'll get giant pineberries in the spring.

[this_ismydesign]

"Hunting is an unpredictable art," Will said with a small nod. "We might be the predators, but the dance is dictated by the prey. You have to be prepared to match their lead."

Sometimes that meant beguiling, and coaxing. Sometimes it meant hiding in the shadows and pouncing.

Eyes that never could decide if they were blue, green or grey, settled for a long ninety seconds on Conrad's face, before Will looked back down at his papers.

"You like to gently request, from a cooperative thrall." His words start out as a statement, but at the very end he remembers to change his tone to that of a question. For the sake of politeness.

[standingonmyneck]

Uh, sure. As long as I can sit here when I’m not in class.

[Daria was as blunt as ever as she turned the page, turning to a spare apple she brought with her.

Crunching on it loudly with her fangs, long used to them by now.]

I have shelter and so do they, what they do with it isn’t up to me to decide.

[infinitevision]

"I'm just worried about what might happen if the novice that gets this room is such a horndog that their squeaking mattress keeps the whole hall awake at night," Satoru says cheerfully. "I only want the best for our novices! Really! And sleep deprivation is no joke!"

Finally, he gets off the bed, absently waving at the thrall in a silent okay you can do your job now. Xenk's oh-so-subtle dig has his feathers remaining unruffled, except for an amused smile curling at the edges of his lips.

Xenk's hilarious. He probably doesn't think he is, but he is.

His next move is to examine the chest of drawers, pulling each drawer out and examining its empty innards with a serious frown, as if this warrants real study. "You might be right about not killing them before they even take any classes," he adds thoughtfully, a rare concession. "I was thinking I might go extra hard on my students this coming season. I think my goal might be: a student cries, or a student loses a limb, and only then will it be considered a successful day of classes. What do you think?"

[this_ismydesign]

Eden had no way of knowing that nothing he did was personal. He'd try to hand anyone off to someone else, if given the opportunity. No doubt, given a bit more time, she'd hear all the rumors about the twitchy, awkward instructor from the Black Court. He was used to the whispers and found them a useful tool for keeping people at a safe distance.

"I teach a few courses, for the Black Court," he responded as they walked. Then, remembering that he'd promised to try and avoid offending everyone tonight, he added. "I'm giving a couple of lectures at the symposium later."

He had genuinely intended the comment to be polite and encouraging give and take conversation. Except. Wait. Whoops. She would be deemed to novice for his lectures, errrrrrr ... "Boring stuff really. You'd probably find the lectures from the Silver Court to be more informative."

She seemed kind. Yes, alright she was hiding something, which was right up the Blue Court's alley, but the over all impression he was getting from her was one of kindness, gentleness even. Silver Court material to the bone; in his opinion.

i can't believe you're in here playing jenga

[philancer]

[ Sylvain just stares at him for a moment, because this... wasn't what he'd expected to find when the Silver Court vampire had sent him out to retrieve a stack of books.

He squints at the vampire. And then the tower of books. Before just rolling his eyes towards the ceiling. This is what he gets for trying to be helpful. ]

Yeah, I don't think that's gonna happen. The vampire in charge of the library? He's about one more missing book from going berserk. I didn't even know Silver Court vampires could do that. He's very Not Happy right now and I don't think going back and asking him for more books is going to improve his temperament.

[serpendipity]

There's a difference between what I think a knife could be used for, and what I think I'd end up needing it for. It's just all I've had most of the time, aside from a hand hoe.

[ Let's at least get that part clear! She knew what blades could be used for; was actually doing quite well in her Blades class. Though she'd yet to come across the basement to discover the torture, she's already seen what could be done in her local villages. ]

Besides. If it was meant for bloodier things, then who would be dumb enough to leave it with a child?

[ She says it with a rolled shrug of a shoulder and one of those 'so there' faces, as if using his own words of calling her a baby before. Eden isn't really that subtle, having already been known as that classically and painfully direct type from the Red Court's lands. Why leave a dagger with an infant if that's what it was meant for, when leaving both in some isolated woods? This seemed like a good chance (for some reason) to try stepping out of her comfort zone... Though she already didn't like it. ]

gambling

[infinitevision]

Satoru doesn't show up every time Anthony's gambling ring holds an event, but he's there often enough that he's a familiar face. It's not proper form for a Gold Court teacher to attend such things, and that's exactly why he's here. Also, currency can be useful!

He always ducks out before the sexual debauchery begins if the majority of the crowd are students. Plenty of the teachers don't mind a little power imbalance flavor to their fuckery, but meh, it's not his scene. Still, strip poker is hilarious, and Satoru's sunglasses are currently perched on someone else's head, his kimono is missing its obi, and he's got no less than three pairs of boxers and panties slung around his wrist like prizes.

"Haaah? What do you mean I can't play a straight flush in this round?" he asks Anthony, affronted. "I always used to be able to! Since when did that change?"

He first learned this game a little over twenty years ago. It's gone through countless changes, but some things always stayed the same. Until now, apparently.

"Ugh, fine, then I don't call, and I'll take two cards," he amends, idly shuffling through his hand. "By the way, does your maker know you do this? That's not a blackmail threat, that's just me gleefully imagining the look on Xenk's face when he realizes his novice is promoting underground orgies."

[beigeacademia]

[Some faint, filament-thin vestige of survival instinct from his human days tells Elias he shouldn't be talking to the Black Court vampires willy-nilly, but also like, there's another part of him that's also going “fuck it we ball”. He's tipsy from blood wine at this point; the initiation of new novices is one of the few days he indulges.]

Sadist, [replies the… bespectacled Silver Court guy, which is probably not much of a punch. In fact, he's not saying it with judgement, he's saying it like one would casually call a friend “cringe”.] If you break them they make for poor food.

[He looks mildly affronted by the idea, but after a moment of thought, adds:]

But what're you betting?

[unshod]

[Part of him should have expected her to get all up in arms about this, he's not surprised by it but he hadn't exactly expected it either. So he blinks a couple times before choosing to be blunt with her. He's positive she won't want to be in his courses.]

Perhaps, but you do not seem the sort who would wish to kill others. Am I wrong? Do you wish to learn to hunt people down and kill them? To kill or be killed?

[His voice is gravely serious as he looks her dead in the eyes with his soulless black ones, inhuman and pitch. She belonged in a court like silver, not black. There was no doubt in him that she would sooner get herself killed in his classes than pass them.]

[serpendipity]

"I'll keep an eye out for both," she said quite promptly. While Will was very correct in his assessment, Eden was someone who didn't shy or get pulled down by any parts in life. "Regardless of where I go, I'll continue to try and take as many classes I can in different courts. So I might see you both during the symposium and in the coming seasons."

So with what Revar had said about the Black Court, Eden doubted that the lectures would be that boring. Though she was also ambitious in how much she wanted to attend. So there was probably one question to figure out how good they would be. "Do you like teaching and giving lectures?"

[playing_hearts]

Wh-who said I was flustered?

[She is though. But despite her grumbling she is glad that he is giving up the book with a minimum of fuss.]

Thank you. Better get this back to the library then.

[She turns to leave but then a thought occurs to her and she turns back with a smile that is obviously forced and a tone that is very carefully polite.]

Oh, um, would you mind if I asked for your name, Sir?

[So she knows which teacher's classes to never, ever take.]

Library

[kindaruledatit]

[Truthfully, is ANYONE here to clean? Wendy can't fathom it. Not when there's so much... nothing to be doing.]

Hey.

[Leaning over, uncaringly peering over Daria's shoulder.]

What'cha reading?

[captains_hands]

[he shivers at the nuzzle, breath indrawn, waiting. 'Tear me apart', he wants to say. 'Rip my heart from my chest. Don't need the fucking thing anyway'. Instead with some disappointment he finds himself being pushed away and down- and it's not until Ed's lovely wrist is in front of his face, blood welling in a precious sapphire drop which he laps up reverently, before slipping his mouth over the wound like he's done this a thousand times-- and he has, in a manner of speaking, pulling it into his mouth, greedily, happily, finally-- fucking finally]

[playing_hearts]

[The reaction is immediate, given without thought.]

N-No! Of course not....

[Oh....

So that's what he meant. No, Alice is not suited to killing. Life is precious and violence should always be a last resort. She knew... knew it was different here and once again feels the creeping sense of despair that she'd felt when she arrived rising up inside her. She must seem so naive to the people here, people who have already accepted the reality of their situation.

Ugh, I'm so stupid. I really need to get it together...]

Sorry. You're right. I wouldn't.... be very good at that.