undyingcourt | Test Drive Meme

Entry tags:

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

[ Xenk nods. He does not know. He's so bad with feelings. But he is here regardless because... well, he vanquished the pumpkins for Edgin. That seems simple. He does nice things for people sometimes? (He doesn't.)

He tilts his head, trying to picture what Edgin describes. Xenk himself hadn't had any uncertainty when he was going through his seasons, but his circumstances were unique, to say the least. ]

I imagine it must be, for those who find no comfort in structure.

I mean, I think we can all agree you're kind of unique in that regard.

[ Xenk surely you know this. Unless...? ]

[ Some people must like structure, right!!! He definitely didn't get called a thrall in his seasons because he was so stuffy or anything. That was so long ago, he can barely remember it. ]

Perhaps among your own court.

[ Nah, he's pretty weird for Gold, too. The higher ups just like him a whole lot. Then again... Xenk probably had the most trouble with Blue Court classes, let's be honest. ]

Those in Gold and Silver are predisposed to order. Barring a few outliers.

[ Edgin makes a face. Gojo is a gold teacher.... ]

Not the way you are.

[ Edgin stands up from where he'd been seated and slings his lute over his back. ]

Come on, let's go for a walk. The night is young, and it won't be that much longer before winter comes and everything is blanketed with snow. We might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

[ Gojo is an outlier that should not be counted!!! But Xenk is amenable to a walk, even if he doesn't normally care for Blue Court's... things. ]

Very well.

[ It's not the first time Xenk has been called unique. He'll take it as a compliment. If more people were like him, vampire society would be a lot better, in his opinion. He makes his same rigid, perfect stride as he walks up to Edgin's side. ]

Winter is soon to come. You must be looking forward to it.

You know...I am.

[ He heads them out towards the little lake on campus. It's not a lake so much as a really big pond, but, you know. Somewhere they can walk towards. ]

I'm from the Blue Court lands, originally. My family lived in the North, where the winters are longer.

[ It's a nice pond. It might even have some live animals in it. But it's a nice backdrop to the cool night. The nights are getting longer, after all. ]

I see.

[ Damn, Edgin has been a teacher for the last ten years and Xenk definitely didn't know this about him. He knows other things about him, sure, but not the details. ]

The winter must remind you of home?

[ It's a strange thought to consider, for Xenk. Home is... home was... Well. Home is Castle Courtsheart. It has been for a very long time. His life before was in the Gold Court's lands. It's long enough ago that he doesn't like to think on it. ]

Yeah, a little bit.

[ He hesitates as he says it. He's not supposed to think of it as home, he's not supposed to think of his human life at all. These were sentiments that were beyond vampires. And although, sure, he could one day go be in the Blue Court lands, again, it would be frowned upon to try and reinvent what he had before.

And while he could maybe get away with that with someone else, Xenk is big on rules. ]

[ Xenk hums in acknowledgement. He certainly wouldn't sympathize with Edgin's plans. He wouldn't understand them, for one. Nothing of his old life remained. Nothing worth returning to, at least.

So he just keeps it going. Edgin's feelings don't exactly surprise him. By vampire standards, they're both young. But Edgin is younger. ]

I thought perhaps you enjoyed it because your it is your Court's season. You seem fond of... revelry.

[ He says "revelry" like it's this weird, foreign topic. ]

That's nice too.

[ It's good to take the out and not say something he'll regret about his past. He scratches the back of his head absently, thinking about it. ]

Winter Sol should be exciting.

[ One day they'll talk about their feelings... they're not there yet. Plus, Xenk is... well, he's like this. Wound tighter than a noose. ]

Will you be joining with the preparations? I know how your Court's members like to outdo themselves.

Of course! But I can't ruin the surprise.

[ come on Xenk it's not winter yet. ]

[ Xenk smiles, actually. He's a fan of Court loyalty, see. ]

Of course. I would not ask you to break the rules for me.

[ honestly thank god undying!Xenk can use colloquialisms because he kills me sometimes ]

Rules are super important to you. I knew you'd understand.

[ They come to the edge of the lake and stop. The moon is nice and bright and reflecting with the stars on the lake and it's actually...really peaceful. Weird to be sharing it with Xenk, for sure. But oddly nice? ]

[ Xenk nods. Everyone knows this about him. He's very cool with it.

But also yeah, the moon looks beautiful, especially reflected on the lake. It's a peaceful sight, one that makes Xenk grateful. It's strange sharing this moment with Edgin, if he's being honest. Well, it's strange having a moment of sentimentality at all.

He finds himself speaking before he can help it. ]

We may not be able to walk in the day, but the nights can be just as beautiful.

[ It's been so long since Xenk saw the sun. His memories of his youth were largely spent training nights with his 'father.' But he remembers a little. ]

[ Edgin hasn't been a vampire as long as Xenk and, more importantly, he lived a regular human life before that. He's come to appreciate the night but he misses the day and he misses the sun, and he misses the way the sun used to filter through his window and light up his wife's face.

He might be thinking those thoughts a little too loudly. He's pretty good at shielding his mind, but Xenk is a Gold Court vampire. He could catch a glimpse of that particular image if he tried. ]

That's the only problem with the winter, really. Sometimes it's too cloudy to see the stars.

[ Out of respect, Xenk doesn't try to read other teacher's minds if he can help it. Edgin is really projecting here though, so he can't help but catch the edges of it. A woman with brown eyes and dark hair, gazing longingly at him...

Xenk looks away, casting the image from his mind. It is not his to intrude on. It isn't proper for teachers to read each other's thoughts (unless there was something to gain, which there certainly isn't here.) ]

That is true. Starry nights are the realm of summer.

[ He smirks. Obviously! Obviously. But he's not trying to make it all about him, incredibly. He really does mean to keep talking about Winter. ]

But the long nights have their appeal. And the clouds provide the cover of dark where we so thrive.

Longest nights of the year, too. Summer nights are so short!

[ It's hard to get anything done before you have to flee and hide in the dark, really. ]

It is the singular shame of Summer.

[ He's gotta give him that!!! ]

But we are fortunate that much of the castle is insulated from the outdoors.

Well, it would be a real shame to wake up too early and burn in your own bed.

[ Lots of rooms did have windows but that's what canopy beds and black out curtains are for. ]

Such incidents have only occurred very scarcely in the last few years.

[ He can't deny it either... But he sounds almost petulant about this, because. Because it's really on them at that point. It's hardly Gold Court's fault that the sun is there. ]

Anyone irresponsible enough to fall asleep without confirming their curtains cannot be expected to last long, in any case.

That's the way it always is with you, isn't it? Like culling a herd.

[ he's a farmer just let him have this metaphor. ]

[ Soft farmer boy... Xenk probably only knows culling from things like this, and not from actual farming. ]

Precisely. Only the strongest will survive the ordeals of Courtsheart.

[ He knows he's not going to get anywhere with this with Xenk Yendar of all people. ]

Yeah. That's usually what they say.

[ he sighs and runs a hand through his hair ]

I, uh, should get back. Make sure pumpkins haven't taken anything else over.

[ Xenk Yendar out here cheering for novices to get enthralled, it's the Way! ]

Indeed.

[ It's really too bad Edgin is so weird, because he'd be so attractive otherwise. ]

Very well. Do let me know if you require more assistance.

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