undyingcourt | Test Drive Meme

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Test Drive Meme - New Blood

DEC TEST DRIVE MEME

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.

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.

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?

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Oh, she took him seriously. Interesting, so she isn't used to jokes, noted. Well, that was interesting. He was from the north so he has no experience with the south and their directness. Still, he smiles. It was good that she didn't question motives, because Kirk's were complex and not wholly good, but that was okay, he was just trying to survive like the rest of them.]

I won't breathe a word, promise. Your secret is safe with me. Just know us blues like to joke around and have a good time, so keep an eye out.

[He felt she deserved a fair warning.]

And if you need any help with all that, I'm your guy, come to me anytime.

[He doesn't mind someone being in debt to him.]

I've learned that. I take classes with the Blue Court as well. Last season was... You could probably already imagine. Sometimes you learn through experience.

[ She shrugged haplessly, knowing that the image was probably comedic in its own. Though it was probably harder to catch or synchronize classes this and last season just for how much Eden had been trying to take. Somehow it's yet to burn her out.

Though Kirk may have heard of one of the novices being enough of a lightweight, even with the blood changes, to be a very friendly drunk in less than 5 glasses or shots. ~~It's been a benefit for her, as she was usually too drunk to be caught by the occasional jump scares.~~ ]

Just don't tease me when I don't catch on to those jokes. That doesn't mean to not make them, either. I'd never keep someone from being as funny as they want.

[It was comedic, but he doesn't laugh at her, right now at least. And now that he thinks about it, he has heard of her. He knows he's seen her before, but they just never crossed paths before now.

He can't stop the amused smile, but he holds back from teasing her, not wanting to upset her. Was it a kindness or something else it was hard to tell, but she asks not to be teased and he complies.]

Of course, of course, well, I'll keep on being funny. I don't think I have it in me to stop being myself anyway.

[That amused smile becomes something a little more flirty. What can he say, a pretty girl who's also unintentionally amusing is not something he runs across everyday. She was definitely a cute one.]

And I can't promise I won't always not tease, but I'll keep it to a minimum. But you have to promise to not get too mad when I can't stop myself from teasing you once in a while.

I can believe that!

[ Smiles are also contagious, too. They're both all grins, and this has even gotten Eden to playing with a bit of her long hair. It's towards the ends to be more subtle, especially as she keeps eye contact instead of giving the little fidget extra attention. ]

Okay. You can tease, but not the mean or cruel kind of teasing. As long as it's not that, then I promise to never be upset about it. Pouts and light objections are free though.

[ She'll even hold up a hand with her pinky out. A little childish, but she's never gotten to do the pinky promise thing before. Why not do it in a playful way? ]

Nonono, of course, completely nice teasing, I couldn't dream of being cruel to you.

[Of course he could be cruel, but he didn't see a reason to be. Afterall, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar and he was very good at being charming. And she was cute with a smile on her face, so what can he say, he has just no desire to be anything but the fun kind of teasing.]

Absolutely free, definitely pout and object all you like.

[He does pause at the pinky promise, because well.. it was a bit childish and part of him thought it was a little below him, but.. looking at her face he gives a defeated but amused smile and hooks his pinky with hers.]

Good.

[ Eden's completely elated to do something, albeit very young, that she'd never had the chance for. Not that she was completely childish, given the skills she came here with and newly found talents. She'd been told that one was never too old to indulge their inner child, as long as it didn't cause problems.

Plus, with the pinky hooked, she closed hers just long enough to impulsively lean in on the tips of her toes to give a quick peck. Not on the lips, but more at the corner and a little closer to the jaw. Jim did have quite a bit of height on her, after all, and just leaning away could get her to miss. Impulse meant not thinking that far. Either way of it ending up, Eden would release and back up a couple steps. ]

It'd be disappointing if you were the type that liked to be cruel when you were cute and charming.

[Eden was downright adorable with how she looked so happy over a simple pinky promise. He didn't think she would be that easy to make ha--

Oh and then he's getting a peck. A little off to the side and down, expected with their height difference but, he can't help the owlish blink before he just beams. Well! She was cute and bold, that's good. He likes that combination a lot.

But before he can think to kiss her back, she's taking some steps back and he just continues to beam at her. Because while the school was teaching him cruelty, he could choose who to be cruel to, like Hans, verses who he wasn't. He wasn't bound to be cruel to everyone, especially if he liked them or they were useful.]

Naw, I could never be cruel to a cute girl like you.

[ Backed up enough to regain steadiness, as she essentially bounced to get as high up as she had. The steadiness may not have been entirely physical, but even if she wanted, she couldn't exactly stay at that height easily. Not without learning masking.

Eden was certainly still close enough to poke Jim when he seems to miss the point of what she said. That, or trying to expertly avoid it. Hard to tell which... ]

I'm saying you shouldn't enjoy being cruel, just to be cruel, to anyone. It should be for a reason, even if it's to keep some people from getting too terrible in their own ways.

[ It sounded a lot more naive and innocent than she'd meant. There was more logic to it, but she didn't exactly know how much to say. Yet she wasn't exactly good at the 'stop talking' thing on her own. ]

It probably doesn't make sense if I said that if you want to be cruel, be Black Court instead of Gold, does it?

[He gets poked and can't help but blink owlishly at her again. She was full of surprises, but he's not surprised she's too kind for a place like this. He should have guessed honestly. But he can play along with her naive notions.

He was just too good at the games of the school to not find some pleasure in being cruel to the right people.]

Of course, always for a reason. I'm not cruel without intention. And I wouldn't call Black Court cruel, they are like any of the other courts, they are all cruel in their own ways, even silver...

[He pauses, pursing his lips in thought.]

Maybe don't go in the dungeons right now.

[ It sounded like Kirk had come across the sounds of their experiments. At least Eden was hoping they were, and not simply torture for fun. ]

They all are, it's true. There's a difference between enjoyment and satisfaction from getting the pelt, meat and other valuables from something you hunt, and how some people enjoy tormenting... I don't know, lost pups.

[ This isn't working the way she meant it. It all made sense in her head. Yet in trying (and failing) to get her point across, she's starting to notice something happening here that she's normally seen from those in the Black Court. ]

This doesn't mean I need more people trying to protect me from the 'darker' aspects of the court either. I just... Look at it all differently.

You're not wrong, there is a difference, but the black court does what it does for a reason too... most of the time I assume at least. Not like the blue court that likes to torment people with night terrors just for the fun of it. If you ask me at least.

[Raised in blue court lands, he knows what it's like to be tormented by night terrors, to fear.. maybe he has taken the chance to turn it back around on people but he doesn't do it without reason. Sure, Hans is someone that annoys the snot out of him, but he wasn't outright cruel to the other man. Just picked on him a little.

He raises his hands in defeat though, giving in to what she's saying.]

I can see you are able to handle yourself, I won't try to protect you. I get your point of view, what you have to do to survive verses what you do for fun. I'm not about to go out there and kick a pup for fun, I promise you that.

There's a darkness there, in the black court, but I think it comes with all the duties they seem to have. I enjoy their classes though, even with some current struggles. It pairs well with the red court combat classes.

[ Her maker had been consistently busy between preparing and taking part in the symposium. With the second season being where black court taught shadowstepping, being behind on receiving blood from the maker was causing a few issues, and not just with that class.

Eden releases a breath though, because even if Jim wasn't fully understanding what she was saying, it was a way out. ]

Sometimes it's not your survival you have to look for... [ Oh geeze, now even she was catching that she was caught in an over-explaining loop. ] N-Next time just kiss me or do something to break me out of this. I was told last season I get caught up in explaining and talking too much.

[ This is what happens when you lived mostly isolated and was now in the middle of a busy society. Right? It had to be that. ~~But hey, there's some carte blanche permission~~ ]

[Well if he's given permission to kiss her, he will do just that, swooping in to kiss her to shut her up, but also just to kiss her, because she was even starting to overexplain her overexplaining and while adorable, he wasn't going to let her get all wound up over it.

So he just gives her a chaste kiss, lingering long enough that whatever train of thought is hopefully derailed before stepping back and standing straight again, giving her a confident smirk.]

So, do you want to see if they have some pumpkin pie in the first kitchen?

[ Ahah. She was right in thinking that would stop the loop. Not that she wanted everyone kissing her, but some people... It'd be fine to give that kind of permission. This was a good solution. Also effective, because she's let the subject end right there and has a pleased smile on her face. ]

Oh, they could have some ready. Maybe some mulled cider as well?

[ Now a new idea. ]

You have longer legs, but how good are you at avoiding growing obstacles?

[ The track record isn't great for him, but that seems to be the closest to putting forth a tiny challenge. Especially as she steps over one vine and steadily gets faster while stepping onto another to keep going further. She may not have long legs, but avoiding obstacles like roots and vines were a specialty. ]

Well, I can give it my best shot, I did complete an obstacle course while completely smashed this season.

[He's always up for a challenge and really, he's gonna try his best to beat her. So stepping on some vines, he starts to use his long legs to his advantage, moving fast. He's good about jumping over the vines he's concerned about and stepping on the ones he's not.

He grew up on a farm so he's not half bad at it with his long legs.

Ultimately, he will trip and lose, but he's gonna give his best until such time.]

[ It might have genuinely been pretty close until that last trip, honestly. They had experiences with wild obstacles (just farm vs woods), so it was down to leg length versus someone that's had to deal with wolves before taking that Black Court course. Still, she stopped a couple of steps after hearing the thud of the fall and turned around. ]

Are you okay?

[ It's no fun to leave someone behind after that. Eden may have been laughing a bit, but it was purely out of having fun during the race, and offered a hand for Kirk to get back to his feet. ]

I think we can call that one.

[At first he rolls onto his back with a groan before seeing the humor in the situation and laughing a little out of breath. Of course he absolutely wiped out towards the end, He should have guessed such a thing would happen really. It was just his luck.

When she offers a hand, he takes it, mostly lifting himself up but still using her help. He was pretty big, even if he was still a bit skinny from being a poor kid who barely ate on a good day. He was slowly bulking out, getting more healthy muscle. It helps that there is such an abundance of food here.]

Yeah, that's your win. I almost had you there, but that one's my loss.

[He groans but there's an amused huff behind it.]

Once you're better at minding your feet, you'll start winning, probably.

[ As in, she believed it was a 'when' and not 'if.' There was a slight advantage with all of the vines, but that was temporary. Unless her own speed picked up significantly more, or if Jim getting to a bulkier weight slowed him down, she was happy enough admitting that. While there was genuine muscle from handling wildlife and carrying it back to the cabin back home, there was still catching up to reach a healthier kind of skinny on her own part as well.

With a gentle bump of her shoulder against his side before taking a more leisurely pace to finish their way to the kitchens. ]

It might come down to who learns shadowstepping faster.

[ Which she was behind on practicing, if only because her maker was so busy with preparing and participating in the symposium that she was behind on receiving his blood compared to other courts' students in the same season. It was a similar case with all of the other abilities they were supposed to learn this season. That doesn't stop her from keeping a smile on her face. ]

Sometimes I still forget that there's enough food to indulge yourself whenever the feeling hits, and that you can fill your stomach every time. Is that silly?

[He bumps her back casually, with a huff of amusement.]

Next time all when all these pumpkins aren't in the way, I'll totally win.

[But he says it as if it's a joke at himself, he doesn't seem to mind making fun of himself in a way. Sure, it's probably true, but he's not really minding poking fun at himself, especially if it gets a pretty girl to laugh.

He whistles, impressed.]

You taking Black Court classes too? Yeah, I suppose so.

[In honestly, even the most skilled people can die shadowstepping wrong, so he's not actually gonna use it casually like that, since he's not really got a death wish, but he's not about to say that to her. She might take it as him trying to protect her and honestly, she can handle herself, she's shown that much to be true.]

Not at all... I used to scrape by on whatever I could find, now I can have as much of whatever I want.. feels like some kind of surreal dream most days.

I'm taking as many classes in different courts as I can. Did last season as well. I take the silver classes that I can go easy in, so it's not too much of a load.

[ Taking it last season was probably the only way she'd be allowed to go to a black court class this one, but she liked trying for variety. ~~Unsurprisingly, she did not excel in gold court classes.~~ ]

It feels exactly that way. Aside from exactly what we needed to survive, the rest of what I hunted and foraged would go to being sold. A lot of things could be used as medical ingredients or supplies and my grandmother was the only one that was significantly skilled for a couple of towns, so we needed to keep a lot of reserve for those times.

[ Yet those were still fond times. Probably because she missed that grannie. ]

Wow, what season are you on? I'm only in my first, started in autumn.

[Maybe that's why he hasn't seen her much, was she a season ahead of him? Shadowstepping wasn't even in the curriculum until you were in your second season. Even then most people died in that class. Not that it deterred Jim from trying, he wanted to excel in everything, and he would.

He had a goal, a plan in mind, he just needed the right people backing him up and power to make it happen.]

Yeah, life wasn't exactly easy before coming here, even then I'm glad to have made it here.. not ideal but it was better than the life I was leading.

[Probably would have ended up dead after a while.]

Aren't we pretty my in-between seasons at this point? I wouldn't consider tests classes... Autumn seems pretty much over at this point.

[ In other words, she considered the first season finished, even while not quite being there. The subjects she was experienced in, such as the silver classes, she already requested to take any necessary exams after the symposium.

Humming in thought, Eden opened the door to the kitchens so they could both go in. ]

Were you part of the lottery as well?

True. I can see what you mean. I'm just taking it one season at a time I guess.

[He catches the door and heads in after her. Maybe he wasn't in as much of a rush as she was, as much as he had plans, he also knew that they couldn't happen any sooner than he was ready for them, so he would take his time in being ready.

Already Kirk was excelling in everything during his Autumn courses. He just needed to keep the momentum.]

Ah, no. I was lucky enough to get into a bar fight in front of the right vampire. He saw something in me I guess, so he offered to be my maker and here I am. Guessing you were?

[Already in the kitchen a couple Thralls on standby greet them kindly, asking what they can get for them.]

Ah, so it really can end up happening just like that. I was wondering.

[ She paused to ask if there was any pumpkin pie around, just because it had been the curiosity earlier. Either someone else was asking for some to be made, or they were being instructed to do something with the gourds- they were apparently just cooling off. Well, she was fine with waiting for a bit. It would be a treat she'd never had before. ]

It was my first time ever seeing, much less being a part of one. I don't know how often they were done, but I made trips to the two towns at least once a week without seeing it before. So I was a little confused as to what was going on at first.

[Kirk is delighted to hear there will be pumpkin pie ready soon. For the moment he just asks for an apple to stem the tide of his hunger while they wait. The thrall gives him a smile as they always do before fetching him one.

Still creeps him out a little.]

I guess if you live outside of town and are young enough it's easy to miss, I saw it all the time, the Blue Court liked to make a whole show of it. Seems you were the lucky? one. Not to presume how you feel about it, I know it can be a mixed bag of love and hate for the whole thing.

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