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

Raidou Kuzunoha XIV | Devil Summoner | Student (new) | Blue

[capital_asset]

New Arrival

Raidou would be lying if he said it didn't feel a bit strange being on this side of the human-vampire divide. He supposes that's what happens when you spend most of your life serving one of the Courts (Gold, in his case). And if there's a part of him that wonders if he shouldn't still be serving them, he's not dumb enough to voice it.

(Assuming no one's plucked it out of his mind anyway, which is not an assumption he can or will make.)

Not that it matters; he's here now, and they've already burned his old clothes, so there's no turning back even if he wanted to, which he does not. So he's going to focus on getting his bearings, absorbing every scrap of information on this place and his new life that he can get, and hopefully be claimed by a good - or at least decent - master. And to keep himself under iron control while doing it, or at least look like he's doing that. And if a bit of wariness creeps into his gaze every now and then... well, initiates are probably expected to be a little nervous at first, aren't they? Especially if they haven't been immediately claimed...

((ooc: I'm open to him being claimed by a PC, if anyone's interested in doing that. Just ping me over at fireplacecat first?))

Autumn Nox

Once the excitement of the Beginning is over, Raidou natually gravitates towards the symposium. Granted, some of the courses are more interesting to him than others (magical bookbinding is undoubtedly useful to know for someone, but it's really not holding his attention no matter how hard he tries to focus on it), but he's always loved learning things and besides, just because it's boring doesn't mean it's not potentially useful.

Though he's not sure he likes the way some of the older vampires are observing him and the other new arrivals. It's unnerving. He's getting a lot of extra practice in schooling his expressions, at least, though he's not sure how much actual good it's doing.

Library cleanup

...Well, if nothing else, tracking down books is helping him learn his way around the castle. That's got to count for something, right?

Wildcard

Anything else!

library cleanup

[coolcustomer]

The good news is that Haru's found one of the rogue books.

The bad news: It's toward the back of a high shelf, one she can just about reach the front of on tiptoe.

She tries a few more times, but can't quite get a grip on the book - and then she sees she's not the only one tracking the books down. "Oh, excuse me! Could you give me a hand with this one?"

Maria Renard | Castlevania: Nocturne | Student | Gold

[summonbeasts]

ARRIVAL;

[Maria is divided as she stands in her new clothes, the golden tailcoat made of fabric far richer than anything she was used to. It fits her comfortably but she still can't help but fiddling with the buttons of it.

There's no turning back now. She's here just as she planned to be, she's committed to seeing the lives of her peers and friends beneath the rule of the Gold Court made better through her addition to their ranks. Enthralled they might be but if those humans in the Gold Court lands could be ruled by vampires who actually cared for them as well.

She's so inside her own head mulling over her future plans that when the group stops she manages to walk right into someone. Or close to it at least, pulling herself just short of knocking right into the poor person. She's quick to apologize though as she steps back, a fluster staining her cheeks as she glances aside.]

Forgive me, I was distracted.

AUTUMN NOX;

[In the midst of everything Maria's gone and tucked herself away in some part of the castle she hopes might keep the prying eyes away. Not that she typically cares about staring but some of the vampires here do it with a decidedly hungry intent. She can feel it keenly whenever she's glanced over and caught their gaze.

Maybe you simply stumble upon her sitting in her nook somewhere. Or maybe you're deliberately looking for wandering initiates. Whichever way it goes Maria turns a glance your way and gives a slight sigh.]

Yes I know, I should be mingling.

LIBRARY CLEAN-UP;

[She really was going to help clean up the library. She can't help that she found an intriguing book though! She has a pile of books all sorted before her and everything so obviously she found it in the midst of cleaning. And then promptly abandoned the cleaning ...]

WILDCARD;

[Feel free to hit me up for any prompts you might have in mind. PMs are open for plotting!]

Autumn Nox

[capital_asset]

[That gets her a small shrug.]

I can't really judge.

[Considering that Raidou is also trying to stay on the periphery.]

Library

[aria_ardeinae]

[ This is why Reyson is here. Most of the people who volunteer to do this do it because they are book people, and we all know what book people are like. Reyson is here because he has the ability and inclination to use his allotment of brain cells on other things.

And yes maybe he does have a book about cursed instruments stashed down the front of his robes but it is the edition that doesn't have all the good parts about the Wailing Piano of Dregoth redacted, he is not made of stone??

He clears his throat prissily at her. ]

Miss Renard. Are you helping, or not?

Arrival

[draculaintraining]

[ Soma let out a curious noise as he was almost, sort of bumped into. He glanced back, curious, only to see the young woman behind him looking away. Even though she wasn't looking at him, he offered her a faint smile. ]

It's okay. I think we're all in our own heads at the moment.

[rechtvaardig]

Distractions do have a way of interrupting things.

[The person she nearly bumps into lets out a smile, Aurinn actually surprised she managed to stop herself in time. But there's no hostility or anything rude, he simply seems to give a look of understanding. He remembers how it was when he first became a novice. He mostly hated it.]

Just arrived, I take it?

[It's a rhetorical question, of course she is. It's written all over her entire body language.]

Kotone Shiomi | Persona 3 Portable | Student (new) | Red

[seestheworld]

New Arrivals

Well, here's one new initiate who has no qualms whatsoever about her new existence. Kotone can't say as she's sorry to see her ragged old clothing go up in smoke; after all, it's taking her ragged old life with it, and she's definitely not going to miss that. She's more than a little tired of being shunted from relative to relative because they 'can't handle' her; she's ready to put roots down in one place for a while. It's not that she's expecting this place to be more or less of a refuge than the other places she's lived, but it's different and if nothing else, they can at least meet her physical needs here. She can take care of the rest.

The thralls do kind of bother her, though. That unnatural passivity is just a little unnerving.

She's one of the foundlings, of course - one of the leftovers, if you want to be uncharitable - but Kotone's not terribly fussed about that. If anything, she's probably better prepared for it than some of the other Foundlings. She is a little bit impatient to be picked by someone, though, bouncing a little on the balls of her feet a few times before catching herself. She probably shouldn't be looking too eager now, should she?

She does notice that some of the other foundlings seem a bit nervous, though, and those initiates may find themselves being treated to a bright, encouraging smile. "So what do you think of this place so far?" she asks, and if there's a little bit of an ulterior motive in the question - knowledge is power and all that - it should hopefully give them something to concentrate on that's not their nerves.

((ooc: If anyone wants their character to claim her, please let me know; otherwise, I'll just assume an NPC master.))

Autumn Nox

She's a little too keyed up right now to sit through a lot of lectures - she figures (hopes?) there'll be time enough for that later, when everything isn't so new - so Kotone opts to do some volunteer work, if they'll let her. Since she's still new herself, she's mostly restricted to things like room setup, but it's keeping her occupied and that's enough for her.

Pumpkins gone wild

What in the hell.

Wildcard

If you've got something else in mind, let me know! Either pm or the plurk link above.

pumpkins

[coolcustomer]

"...I think someone got a bit carried away."

Autumn Nox

[schrodingers_joker]

Ren isn't much better in terms of sitting through lectures, though it's more because he usually tends to get distracted during those. Yet somehow is able to keep up with studies despite that.

He decided to do some volunteer work as well, and help set up rooms. He knows he needs to be more independant since he's been disowned, and improve as a person, so this is a good first step.

As he was heading towards another room to help set up, he notices the other girl there.

"...Oh, looks like this one is already being taken care of."

He can leave if she would rather be left alone.

Arrival

[wonderland_vogue]

Ceremonies, especially this one, honest bores the ever-loving hell out of her. She's never cared for them in her twenty years of being here and she didn't care for them even when she wasn't a teacher, but that's kind of a given with how Lydia always tended to act in these situations.

Normally she'd just stay in the background, rolling her eyes at the fighting and attempts at wooing the unclaimed students from her peers, but this time she was faintly curious about one of them. The seeming eagerness for someone to go over there and pluck her for their own? It's kind of cute, if she's honest. Even if she's never taken a Novice before simply because it was in everyone's better interests if she didn't, maybe she'll change that if her curiosity is piqued just enough.

Clad in bright colors (a gold and pink corset, white leather breeches, and matching white and gold boots as she never really did dress up different for these) she makes her way over, a grin playing on her lips as is her normal and looking far too predatory.

"You seem to be quite excited to be here and yet you haven't already been pre-determined as someone's fresh meat? My goodness~" And right into the lightly prodding and teasing, if she can't take this, then she'll have a rough road ahead of her.

Marianne von Edmund | Fire Emblem (Three Houses) | Student | Blue (ish)

[hiddencrest]

New Arrivals

[ Marianne keeps her eyes out at all the brand new novices, though for the most part she's a wallflower at the festivities. She's quite shy. And though she's hopeful, perhaps, to meet new friends, she doesn't dare give up too much hope lest she ends up hurting herself.

She's very striking though, to her detriment. Blue tresses of neatly tucked hair accented by the brilliant blue of her eyes; not terribly tall but not short either. So if you happen to attempt to pull her from her place as part of the wallpaper, she will simply fluster, wringing her hands together as she inwardly begs herself to act normal. ]

O-oh, hello. Are you ... enjoying the festivities?

Autumn Nox

As the lectures take place, Marianne knows exactly which ones her family would want her to attend. As a dutiful daughter, she does indeed sign up to listen to them. However, once in a while she slips away to visit the talk of healers and do-gooders in the vampire community, to listen to talks on animals or nature and all sorts of colorful things. She always lingers at the back, sometimes merely peeking into the room. That makes it easier for her to get caught than she really realizes.

"Ah, I was just-! I got lost on my way to the lecture on ... on Night Terrors..." She sort of trails off, hoping her excuses will be acceptable.

If they are not, however, even after a couple of insistent pleas, there's something strange in a flash of those blue eyes of hers. It's something wild, something violent. "Leave me be." She snaps, suddenly less a little sheep and entirely a wolf.

Wildcard

[ Build-a-Prompt! I'm easy. I will also match brackets/prose, I don't have a preference really. ]

(I'm thinking Marianne will be in her second season or so, from a prestigious family of Blues, though she longs to become a healer and wants to defect to the Silver court. I didn't AU workshop (yet) but feel free to message me here or haurchefant if you've any desire for premeditated CR. I'd be down for someone to be her Blue Maker too or a Silver that could potentially take an interest. Otherwise having her Maker have died may be interesting too! Pretty open to everything else! )

autumn nox;

[veardant]

[ tighnari.. isn't too astonished to see marianne lurking in the background of the healing and natural sciences talks, and when he spots her again after his own presentation, he's sure to approach. she's always been an exceptional student in all of his classes, and his heart aches to see her withdraw like this, as if peeking in on these particular seminars is something she should be ashamed of.

when she deflects, he isn't surprised, despite how it weighs on his chest. ]

Ah, of course.. I'm happy to show you the way there.

[ he says with a smile, his bushy tail flicking behind him, his expression warm as he gestures for her to follow. ]

It's just this way.

!!!!! | new arrivals

[theidlemaiden]

[ No one would have been able to tell by how Hilda takes to the room with an enthusiastic brilliance that she had very nearly been turned into a thrall last season. In fact, she commands the room with all of the skills and social graces that someone might expect of a Red court hopeful.

Whether or not she is genuinely hopeful versus it simply being an attempt at self preservation remains to be seen, but no one will know that so long as she keeps her cards close to her chest. And there's nothing worse than talk of self-preservation or being stuck between a thrall and the fate as an immortal is definitely something she'd slot under topics that kill the mood of a party faster than a vampire could drain a human. Better to leave that sort of thing at the door and make the most of a party.

It's hard not to notice the darling blue-haired flower standing off in the corner of the room. When she does, Hilda's darkening pink eyes shine. Excusing herself from the conversation she's found herself in she weaves through the crowd, swooping up beside Marianne, her patented smile on her face. ]

Marianne, I'm so glad that you're here! You don't have to act so formal though, you know. We're friends after all! Are you enjoying the festivities?

bruce wayne | batman | teacher | black

[the_caped_crusader]

new arrivals, autumn nox, pumpkins gone wild

[ bruce visits the grand hall and symposium of the silver court, more out of respect for a court past served than obligation, of which he feels little. over time, his interest in academia waned as it leaned more naturally into the skills of subterfuge offered by the black court, trading the pomp and glamour of silver for the secrecy and danger of black. as a fledgling, his mentors found him gifted in both intellect and mastery over his own body, but the way he shifted so seamlessly with the shadows could not be overlooked by either. as he stands to witness the new progeny, he recalls his own, and fleeting memories of both darkness and blood that would shape him even now, and though those memories were long lost to him, he secreted away dreams of the screeching of bats, their glowing eyes watching him from the depths. his stoicism is something of a joke around the courts, even amongst his peers, with his penchant for a black, scalloped cape that he fashions everywhere, to the dread blade he fashioned in the shape of a bat's wings, giving birth to the somewhat disparaging sobriquet: the bat-man.

initiates will find themselves largely ignored, as if he had already ascertained their aptitude earlier and was left wanting, brusquely excusing himself for something more worth his time. others will find him more quietly invested in the speakings during the court's symposium, but only if he finds that their presentation has merit, wearing an open distaste for those that do not. he has been known to hold the silver court in high regard, and has often considered knowledge and strategy to be as important as the the teachings his own court offers. all of this is why, when the pumpkins begin to animate, that you will find bruce barking orders to new arrivals while cutting with almost surgical precision at their tendriled roots with his black blade. ]


library clean-up, unethical experiments

[ with what little more he can stomach of the absurdity of the end of the silver court's symposium, bruce is at least respectful enough to return the books he finds strewn about once everyone has absconded from the halls; no one is likely to return these now, especially with the mess of gourd entrails that now decorate a large portion of the grounds. once done, he secrets away to the basement of his own court to hopefully find more pleasure in the experiments of his own house, judging them more harshly and openly within their clandestine house now that he is once again within their walls-- the secrecy of his court is something (among many other things) that he considers of the utmost importance. it's also why he's more open with his displeasure when he finds some students sometimes openly maiming out of blood lust rather than seeking any actual learning from their bloodletting. be careful to approach, either as a teacher or a student, though the former will be afforded more respect, while the latter he may accuse of the same stupidity their initiates below are displaying in front of him. ]

wildcard

[ idk! i haven't batmanned in a while, and i thought this was too fun not to mess around with. feel free to dm me with an idea you've got, or friend and hit me up at BATGUY if you want to! plurk is public, so all are welcome. ]

Somewhere just after the arrivals thing

[wonderland_vogue]

[Too bad for Bruce that he's not the only one that excuses themselves from the whole thing as it really wasn't worth the time and effort. Though, well, perhaps Lydia's idea of why it's not worth the time is different from his, it almost certainly is given her reputation for being far more chaotic than Red has any right to be.

But for someone that wears nothing but bright colors, the fact that she can manage to sneak out of places is perhaps a little admirable. Even if she's been more invested in the blood wine in a flask she'd hidden in her corset during all of that before she could get out.]

Still playing the part of the broody Black teacher this time around or are they really not worth your time this go-around? [Says the woman that found it far more interesting to try following after him the second she got eyes on him. Or the fact that she hasn't ever bothered taking a Novice before this recent crop of newbies, either.

But she wouldn't be her if she wasn't being hypocritical.]

pumpkins

[infinitevision]

Of the various things that Satoru finds interesting, wildly overgrowing pumpkins isn't one of them. He'd briefly considered the idea that it was an assassination attempt gone wrong -- now that would be interesting! -- before discarding the idea as novel, but unrealistic. He'd hung around briefly, giving oh so helpful advice to the novices hacking away at the vines, but had swanned off an hour ago.

Realizing he'd forgotten his sunglasses, he makes his return, to find Bruce barking orders at the novices, who are moving in near military precision now as opposed to the haphazard scurrying they'd been doing earlier.

"Wow, so effective," Satoru praises, in a playful little sing-song tone that's more mocking than it is genuine. Bruce might feel the smallest of tugs at his cape; that's because Satoru's holding a corner of it away from the pumpkin vine he's got clasped in the other hand. "This was about to try to strangle you, by the way. Or maybe it just wanted to steal your cape. Not many people have capes these days, Bat-Man."

Heh. He loves that nickname. It's so... vampire-ish.

Kravitz | The Adventure Zone: Balance | Teacher | Red

[hellsangel]

Arrival - For new students!

Kravitz watches the new arrivals, but he’s seldom been known to sponsor a student - he’s calmer than most in the Red Court, though some (read: Lydia) know that he fits in just fine with just a streak of mayhem. However, he’s more than happy to approach any who have been chosen already, if only to ask, “Do you happen to play an instrument?” Looks like the school’s conductor is poaching orchestra members!

Autumn Nox - OTA

Despite not being the ruling court, Kravitz is teaching a class - on music theory and its recent evolution through the art of symphony! It’s actually less dry than it sounds, as he demonstrates with his cello at each step along the journey. All are welcome to watch, and approach afterwards; this is actually an advertisement for his classes!

Pumpkins Gone Wild - OTA

[Kravitz stalks through the halls, annoyed. The pumpkins ruined his office, creeping through the window and soiling several documents. There is only one solution: Herbicide.

Fortunately, his weapon of choice, the warscythe, is uniquely qualified to slice and dice. The normally-sedate musician shows a side more in line with his heavy weapons class, anger in his red eyes as he takes out any vines he sees!]

Library Clean Up - OTA

Kravitz is a long-time truant when it comes to library books; there are several in his office that need to be returned, but the door is locked! They can be seen through his window, though… He’s nowhere to be seen. Yet.

Unethical Experiments - OTA

[An interesting change of pace, when Kravitz is guarding the basement, is that he chooses to drown out the screams. He has a cello, tuned, cradled against him, and is playing a classic piece, older than most students, with an original twist and enough volume to drown out even the most agonized yells.

He only stops if a student approaches the door, changing to plucking so they might hear the pain, and shaking his head.]

It’s not for you. Wait a while.

Pumpkins oops

[wonderland_vogue]

[Good grief, is he really getting this upset over vines? Just deal with the ones in your way and move on like the rest of them, Kravitz.

Though it is quite an amusing thing to watch and follow. Though at a safe distance by using the whole inner beast shenanigans for the margay and being able to follow through the banisters like it's absolutely nothing.

Perhaps he'll notice her, perhaps he won't. But either way, she's just more keen to see just how far he's going to go with all of this.]

Autumn Nox

[notimefordreams]

Sarah definitely sticks around for the talk. While she herself has little musical skill you can't argue how important music and symphonies are. A theatre performance isn't quite complete without a good musical score as well.

She does help herd some of the students by the end, teacher duties and all. Once that's done though she does approach Kravitz with a bright smile. They might not be close but she naturally knows of Kravitz given they're both Red Court and teachers to boot.

"It's always a pleasure to hear you play."

Josuke "Gappy" Higashikata | JJBA: JoJolion | Student | Silver

[four_balls]

Arrivals

[To say Gappy is out of his element is understating the entire situation. For the most part he'd been raised by a particularly oddly influential family in Gold Court lands that excelled in... fruits... and had done a fairly good job of helping where he could and not getting in the way. What with the whole amnesia thing and all, it was something he kind of had to figure out. But it didn't matter as now he was here and oddly compliant to the bathing, the clothes burning, and everything else. Which is precisely why he's just in some rather plain version of the nice clothing. It's your gothic medieval version of slacks and a shirt, really.

He looks far more like a wide-eyed curious child than the adult he technically was at nineteen, but he'd always been a little... odd... to put it mildly. Which is precisely why he's turning his oddly vertically split blue and purple eyed attention towards the person closest to him, not at all trying to be quiet or subtle.]

Do you think this will take long? I don't know if I can stay still for too long when I could be looking around! [... Somehow this is an adult.]

Autumn Nox

[While he's still considered brand new, it doesn't keep him from wanting to investigate the talks that are going on. Especially since he's got a list of the ones that are supposed to be today and is humming to himself.]

Hmm... Do I go to the lecture on vampire anatomy and how it's different between Courts? [what] ooooor there's one about how vampire blood effects insects... [Please someone put this absolute nerd out of his misery.]

Pumpkins-gone-wild

[Most people know how to avoid vines and pumpkins. Most people know better than to get involved with something that has clearly been modified. Most people wouldn't end up somehow tangled in vines to where they're basically confined to being pressed against a wall.

Josuke is not most people.]

Heeeeeey, can I get a little help here? Didn't really mean to get here. [How did he even do this?]

Library clean up

[It's not like he has anything better to do currently, so why not try to help out where he can? Which is why he's found himself trying his best to get a book back from a particularly ancient looking vampire that's here for the whole symposium thing.]

You can't just take books from the library without checking them out, because then how are they going to know who has the book and when they took it out? [This bean pole of a man does not look intimidating in the slightest and it seems the vampire agrees as he seems to be entirely ignoring Josuke.]

Heeeeeello? [Maybe this isn't going quite as expected.]

Wildcard

[Feel free to just meet this idiot wandering around the Castle and grounds because, well, he certainly is bad at staying still if he doesn't have to.]

(Also, uh, feel free to hit me up at rustedpoetry if you have any questions or want to chat about a maker or something~)

Arrivals for the goober

[serpendipity]

[ Ceremonies certainly were as drawn out as she'd heard. Grandmother had always done something similar, but it was neither so ostentatious or long. Her joints ached too much for pomp and frills, as she'd call it. Still, the teen looked back down and over to the one claiming they couldn't keep still.

Was she in any place to judge when all her own focus was on the hall itself? While listening earlier, at this point she was putting her attention to the details. Literally.

So she nudges to get his attention. Then points to the ceiling with its high arches and fancy art. ]

If you need to look around, look up. There's a lot being... Shown, I guess, more than told.

Bellatrix Bakhar | Original Character | Student | Gold

[firehuntress]

I. New Arrivals

[Thralls had always made Bellatrix feel uncomfortable but she had learned to hide the way her heart ached towards them. No one could know her family, or the vampire's lapdogs, as many people ignorantly called them, weren't the perfect servants they pretended to be and she hid her concern behind indifference as she was dressed in a white silk dress with golden embroidery to represent the court that chose her.

Bellatrix had been preparing for this day most of her life. The Bakhar family dedicated themselves to the vampires of the gold court and she had been trained to be chosen from a very young age. It wasn't a question of if she would be chosen, but when and she carried herself with the confidence she had earned through years of hard work and dedication. She wanted everyone to notice her. She would need connections for her family's secret plan to protect humanity from within the vampire's ranks.

Of course there was only so much she could prepare for. The strong metallic taste of blood caught her off guard and her eyes narrowed slightly as she silently finished her glass. She hid a faint sigh behind her cup. Thank goodness that's over and she left her maker's side to mingle with the other guests, both students and teachers alike.]


II. Autumn Nox

[As a new arrival Bellatrix didn't have any classes until winter. After mentally preparing herself for the difficult task before her all this free time was going to drive her crazy. She needed to do something so she decided to check out the silver court symposium. She shouldn't neglect any of the courts after all and she looked over the schedule with a curious hum.]

Which one are you interested in?


III. Pumpkins Gone Wild

[Bellatrix would have some choice words for whoever was behind this pumpkin infestation. She had to escape her room first. She could only open the door a crack and she blindly cut at the vines with a small dagger. This would be a lot easier if she could see what she was doing. She had an idea when she heard footsteps outside her door.]

Excuse me! Could you be my eyes for a moment?

[She wasn't a damsel in distress who needed saving. She could save herself as long as she knew where to cut.]


IV. Library Clean Up

[Bellatrix loved heights so she could understand why someone would want to read in a tree. What she couldn't understand was how someone could just leave the book there. She wasn't dressed for climbing but she wasn't going to be defeated by a tree either. Luckily the tree in question leaned against a building and she used the roof as a shortcut. She would often climb out of her window at night to view the stars and she gracefully balanced on the edge of the roof as she reached for the closest branch with a quiet mutter.]

Honestly, you would think scholars would take better care of their books


V. Unethical Experiments

[Bellatrix was exploring when she was drawn in by the faint sounds of voices. The inhuman screams of the thralls pierced through Bellatrix's heart. She shouldn't have come here. Her conscience was screaming at her to stop this torture somehow but she couldn't. She might ruin everything if she showed her true colors here, but how was she supposed to sit back and do nothing when someone was suffering like this? No amount of preparation had prepared her for something this cruel and she clutched her arm tightly as she froze with indecision.]


VI. Wildcard

[Feel free to surprise me with your own prompt! You can also plot with me on plurk Nicholaj, Discord@2thNicholaj, or PM, whichever is easier for you.

Bellatrix has an info page on her journal here if you want to know more about her and her AU backstory can be found here. She already has a maker but I would love any other connections with her fellow students and teachers. Enjoy!]

V. Unethical Experiments

[karmichealing]

[Stepping from the shadows, Karma now stands in front of Bellatrix. A tall willowy figure that is only distinguishable as femme presenting due to her chest. Even then, there was something unearthly about her manner and her silvery eyes as she looks at Bellatrix. She was a silver teacher and she doesn't shy away from how her fangs glint in the light as she smirks at the student.]

Little ones aren't meant to be here. Go on.. run back now.

((ooc: Karma is she/they so feel free to us either pronouns))

Karma D'Auvergn || Original || Teacher || Silver

[karmichealing]

[OOC: Prose or Bracket Welcome. Karma uses She/They pronouns, so feel free to use either. This is Karma's Human Form.]

I. Autumn Nox - Silver Classes (closed to teachers and students of the autumn season)

This was only a class for first seasons, so Karma D'Auvergn was going easy on her students for once, standing at the front of the classroom while they read through their books about basic potion making and herbal remedies that work on humans.

Saliva did a lot, but thralls needed to be cared for properly. Disease was such a human thing. Gross.

While quiet reading time is taking place, Karma sits with her legs crossed on the desk, her outfit something a little more akin to something a red would wear if it weren't for the fact it was silver in color, matching her eerily silver eyes. When approached with a question, she will look up at the student.

"Yes, little one?"

If a teacher approaches her, she will give them a bored look, "I miss my fourth season class."

II. Library Clean-Up

[Karma had been organizing the lecture hall for the next presenter only to find that a number of people left books everywhere... what a disgraceful way to treat a perfectly good tome. Irritated, they gather the books all up at the center desk in a organized stack. Might as well make the librarian's job easier. But the stack was big, far too big for their thin, willowy arms. (7 str)

So, when someone comes by the hall, they look to them with a beatific smile that would put a Red to shame.]

Could you be a dear and help me with these? I can hardly carry them all on my own.

III. Unethical Experiments (cw: Torture, Experiments, mention of unethical and awful medical practices)

Stepping out of the room, Karma has a towel and is wiping her hands off of inhuman silver blood that she has no desire to taste. Ugh, who knows where those scholars have been. But it was fun to make them bleed as she explored a new healing technique she was hoping would take off. Of course it would only work on humans, but she really thinks the practice of lobotomies could make a difference.

Looking up from her task of cleaning herself off, she sees she's not alone. "Come to enjoy the show?"

IV. Wildcard

(Hit me up! Either in PM or ZodiacRockstar)

unethical experiments (blanket warning for the same cws as the toplevel)

[beigeacademia]

[Elias, who had been leaning against the wall outside the informally-named “experimentation hall”, startles to attention at the sound of the door swinging open. In the past Karma’s beauty and senior position would make him shy with nervousness; but today he has a job to do that has little allowance for tomfoolery. Wordlessly, he looks at the bloodied towel in his senior’s hands and fetches a clean one from the pushcart next to him, offering it out to her while stretching his free hand out to take the soiled towel.]

I'm on standby for healing in case the guest scholars become too… indisposed.

[He's not all too comfortable with the screams, but he’s trying to take it in stride.]

How are things inside, Lady D’Auvergn?

Soma Cruz | Castlevania | Student | Silver

[draculaintraining]

[ Arrival ]
[ Soma was a ball of nervous energy, struggling not to shift back and forth on his feet as he listened to the Silver Court vampire explain what the different courts were. He wished they would finish up already; the sooner he got a Maker, the sooner he had access to the castle library. ]

[ Once the vampire finishes speaking, Soma realized a problem: the vampire that found him invited him to the castle, but said nothing about Making him. Fighting down panic, he made his way through the crowd, trying to see if he could find them, and only half paying attention to the people he's stumbling into in the process. ]

S-sorry.

[ People get an apology, but it's only a half hearted attempt at one. ]

[ Autumn Nox ]
[ Soma is of course interested in the symposium, but he's been keeping focus on his studies -- being first season and all, he felt it was more important. But then there popped up a topic on vampire dreams that started just as one of his classes ended, and there was no way in hell he was missing that. ]

[ So, naturally, Soma was sent running through the castle, trying to get to the lecture before it got too far in. He's not really focusing on anything other than the path ahead, so it's probably no surprise when he collides headlong into someone. ]

[ Library Clean-up ]
[ Soma isn't helping with the clean up... in fact, he can be found at one of the library's tables, surrounded by books and pouring over one. He's been at the same stack in between classes, filling out a notebook, and looking a little stressed over the information he's reading. ]

[ Wildcard ]
[ Feel free to poke him! You can contact me at SkylaDoragono to plot. ]

Spends the whole test drive yelling at nerds in the library

[aria_ardeinae]

[ That guy has been here practically all day. Reyson hasn't seen him helping out once, and this vexes him. He flips Soma's book closed to get his attention because he has run dry of giving a fuck and is saving his ability to be polite for the many people in this castle who could turn him inside out. ]

If you're going to use the resources here, you're going to help get us in order. I don't care if you didn't make the mess in the first place, I don't care if you have homework, this library is going to be spotless by the end of this symposium if I have to burn the castle to the ground and sweep up the ashes to do it!

[ He intended to go for calm and stern. That is not what that was. He is not going to admit that he is trying to be calm, because that would be showing weakness. ]

Trilla Suduri | Jedi Fallen Order | Student

[inquisitorium]

Pumpkins Gone Wild

[ This is emphatically not the experience Trilla had anticipated when she came to the castle. She can be found cursing inventively under her breath while hacking away at pumpkin vines with a small dagger that feels wildly unsuited to the task and her own hands. She'd rather something more efficient, but this is what she's been permitted to procure and keep on her person as a first-season novice, so it will have to do.

Still, after some time of being unable to make her way through a particularly tough knot of vines that's blocking her way back to her own room, she starts ripping at them with her hands with a ferocity that's perhaps unbecoming of a young lady of the Courts. She can't find it in herself to care, since it's wildly more satisfying, but feel free to disapprove if you'd like her sharp tongue turned upon you instead. Or perhaps you'd like to offer her your assistance? ]

Library Cleanup

[ This time, Trilla can be found muttering under her breath about the sheer disrespect for knowledge that's being shown here. While she doesn't intend to join Silver, she had wanted to read up on the history of her preferred court -- Black -- only to find that the best volumes on the subject had been checked back in but never actually shelved again. She can be found amongst the stacks, perusing every shelf carefully in case it's been simply placed incorrectly, and occasionally stopping to yank a book out of an unsuspecting fellow novice's hand should it vaguely resemble one of those she seeks.

She's in quite the temper by the time she actually finds one such volume and parks herself in the nearest, plushest chair with a small huff before she begins to leaf through its pages, pausing to dart a wary glance at anyone who may be watching. Perhaps she ought to make her exit before anyone else decides to come looking for her hard-won reading material? ]

Wildcard

[ Got an idea? Hit me with it or ping me at speaksincolor ]

wildcard - unethical experiments.

[rebuilder]

[ Something in the air feels wrong, and Cal means to find out what it is. It's the voices. He creeps near the basement door when he hears it; the screaming. It's awful and sends a thrill of fear down his spin. What could possibly be making that kind of noise? What are they doing down there to the thralls that could produce that kind of sound?

Before he's caught, he scurries away from the closed door, noise still ringing in his ears. What's he planning to do? On his own? Likely, not much. But maybe someone else knows what's going on. Cal is attempting to not look too suspect, like he hasn't just been wandering in places he's not supposed to be when he comes across another student. ]

Hey you, over here.

[ He beckons Trilla from around a corner, out of breath, a little wild eyed and nervous. ]