undyingcourt | january tdm/event post

JANUARY TDM - WINTER DREAMS

Welcome to the Undying Court's January Test Drive Meme! This post also functions as the January Event for existing characters, and continues the Winter Season, led by the Blue Court.

New characters may handwave or backdate the previous season's arrival prompt should they wish to, but you may otherwise assume they've been here the whole time! Additionally, all TDM threads can be taken as in-game canon if desired. And remember that apps open February 3-7, with invites opening on January 28, and reserves not long after!

Note that this post will contain: violence, enthrallment, torture, slavery, horror and potentially sexual content. Dreams come in many forms, after all.

This event also features another chance for characters to submit Regains, so make sure to submit after you've posted your top-level or reply to someone else's dream. For characters both new and old, feel free to brush up on the Premise, Vampire Powers, and head over to the FAQ/Game Info page if you have any questions!

Note that this event will be occurring throughout the month of January and into February, so characters are free to forward-date as desired!
For new characters please format your Top-level in this format: Character Name | Canon | Court | Youngblood/Novice | TDM
For existing characters please format your Top-level in this format: Character Name | Court | Youngblood/Novice
If you have any questions specific to the event, ask them in the Plotting Post Q&A section!

Top-Level Directory:

ONCE UPON A DREAM

A quiet falls over the Castle as a new day begins to break. As with every morning, this is a time when vampires must retreat to avoid the rays of the sun, pulling heavy curtains around their beds and windows to block out any light. However, this particular morning is abnormally quiet as the whole of the Castle seems to fall asleep all at once, and all together. After this enchanted sleep, and for the the next thirty days, the Castle's residents will start to experience strange phenomena within their dreams.

During this period, dreams become more vivid, so realistic it feels like the dreamer is awake. Dreamers can pass into each other's dreams without meaning to. Some of these dreams are in fact memories--either those from the lives the characters have lived in the Castle and the outlying lands, or the strange memories they've begun to gain back.

But be careful! For what starts as a regular memory might start to warp into something new. If you're lucky, it'll be something positive, like a dream of a home you've always wanted. But if you're unlucky, the memory might twist and turn into a nightmare, catching you in it and turning your worst fears against you.

Each nightfall, everyone will wake and return to normal. Or at least, most people will.

[Note: Any current characters who participate in the dream event by creating a top level or tagging someone else at least once in this prompt may be rewarded with a free impactful memory, which may be used in the dreamscape. Don't forget to submit for your Regains!]

A NIGHTMARISH CURSE

It turns out that not everyone wakes up. Those who stay in nightmares for too long may find themselves cursed, and unable to wake up. At first, the curse appears no different from regular sleep. But a few hours in the victim will start screaming uncontrollably. No touch will wake them, no amount of calling their name will break the spell. After too long, the victim will start to bleed, slowly at first, and then more and more as they remain afflicted. A victim left unattended will bleed out and die.

The Council works quickly to step in. Kashire (who is looking rather frayed this season) delivers the news that there's no need to panic, but everyone will need to do their part in locating and curing victims. In fact, the youngbloods seem to be taking this as the perfect opportunity for a teaching moment, and students are expected to try and find a cure with the skills that match their Court. Novices and youngbloods alike are encouraged to try and help lift the curse from anyone they can. (Get creative! Blood heals many wounds...) Any victims that have progressed too far will need to be seen to by Revar.

The nightmare curse, however, can spread quickly. Anyone who enters the nightmare of a victim will fall victim to the curse. Additionally, any attempt to reach out to the mind of a curse victim will also spread the curse. With the combined efforts of the students and teachers, the curse can be completely put out. But it will take time and care to ensure everyone is found in time, and cured safely.

ANYWAY, WINTER GAMES!

But a few curses aren't going to stop the Blue Court from making sure everyone has a good time. The days might be short, and weighed down by the threats of nightmares, but winter has hit Castle Courtsheart in full force, and the long nights and snow-covered grounds make for an excellent backdrop to the Inter-Court Winter Games!

There isn't really a reward for the winning house besides bragging rights and maybe a trophy that doubles as a chalice, but youngbloods and novices alike are invited to join in the festivities and compete against one another in the spirit of glory and the chance to lord over your Court's superiority. Even Council members and mature vampires of each court seem to enjoy cheering on their respective teams from the stands. Everything is fine! Forget your troubles and go play in the snow.

What kind of sports do vampires play? Feel free to get creative, but here are some examples:

Thrall-Curling: Since vampiric strength proves to be a little too much for this sport otherwise, teams of novices (or youngbloods) of the same Court can team up to gently compel their thralls to play the thrilling sport of curling. Coax that stone across the ice with care, and take out the opposing team! Or, well, the thralls will do that, assuming they're guided well. Try not to break them. (The thralls, that is.)

Figure skating: Practicing your pirouettes? For a vampire, a quadruple-axel is hardly worth breaking a sweat over. Favored for its beauty and almost seductive grace, the figure skating competition will be scored and judged by a multi-court panel. Participants might get extra points for incorporating bladework and masking into their sets, so these performances are sure to wow the judges.

Ice Hockey: Yes, the high-contact sport transcends time and space, but vampires don't need silly things like helmets or padded safety gear. Don your court's colors and hit the ice to toss the puck around and score as many points against the opposing team as you can before the time runs out. Violence is encouraged! Everyone likes to see a bit of blood on the ice this time of year. (Shadowstepping is considered cheating, but only if you get caught.)

And more! Snowball fighting may not be a sport, but there's no better time to enjoy the outdoors and stretch those growing fangs and muscles than the dead of winter. So whether you're cheering on your Court or watching from the sidelines, there's something here for everyone. Just because the castle is full of the the undead doesn't mean they can't have a little winter fun.

CLASS NOTES

Other notable happenings for the early winter season include:

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and maybe it's time to find or make gifts for that special blood claim in your life. This season blood jewelry is the hot ticket item. These are pieces made from precious metal and glass, which hold the blood of a vampire in them. Carry a lover's blood to show how much you love them, or carry your own to force down the throat of your enemies so you can influence them.

Whispers around school start to say that Black Court lost a novice this month. Not murder this time! He simply unmade himself trying to mistwalk. Eh, these things happen.

As a result of a tie in last month's pumpkin carving contest, members of the Black and Red Courts will find small packages outside their doors. They are gifted silver letter openers, with the handle inlaid with pumpkins and leaves, and a note from Revar with a little drawing of a pumpkin and their signature. How nice!

Lady Whisperfangs is quiet for now, but her time is yet to come... This month's check-in will have a field to submit gossip about your characters! Vampires do so love their drama.

Once again, characters are free to talk to the NPCs as well: Revar & Kashire. For any questions regarding this month's prompts, please comment in the Plotting Post. For general game questions, please check the FAQ/Game Info. In the meantime, remember to submit your Regains for this month's free reward, and keep an eye out for our AC Check-in next week, starting on January 25-31.

The new year has brought us plenty of thirsty vampires, so we're glad you're here to share them with you!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Once Upon A Dream
((content: gore, cannibalism is opt-in))

You know who’s having a lovely dream? This guy! It takes place in a dark, shrouded forest, which would be very safe to walk in even if it were not the dead of night. The crazed howls of interesting beasts, the scent of fresh grass and fresh blood, it’s a marvelously stimulating experience. as if something had been hunted and killed after a good chase.

Laios is in the form of a great white wolf, which is recognizable as his animal form to those who are aware of him. There are other, even more fantastical animals around. Deer with twisting, thorny antlers that move and flex. Wolves with the heads of rabbits and rabbits with the heads of wolves. Unusually sized mushrooms running along on lil’ mushroom feet. He salivates. He hasn’t tasted anything that wasn’t primarily blood in so long.

Winter Games

Sports are all well and good, Laios likes going out on the ice and snapping legs in half as much as the next guy! But he has this project he’s become absorbed in and has been spending so much free time on it. He’s even missed a few classes, which is bad for a student and worse for a teacher, which he is. You hired him, Revar. This is on you. What he is doing is making an elaborate snow fort on the lawn, brick by brick. Maybe he’s almost done, though?

“You know, I’ve never seen a snow fort with a second floor. I wonder why nobody’s tried it before.”

Nope. Oh, now he's making a very detailed gargoyle.

Classes!
((content: snakes))

Keeping the exact structure vague because otherwise I’d need four sub prompts on this one, but it is a certainty that a class Laios teaches will involve animal handling at some point, and this month he has a seasonal treat!

“Snakes get energy from their environment, so they won’t move around in cold months like this. So even novices can handle them safely!”

He cheerfully flips open a basket, which contains what could be a pile of reddish rope, if one were optimistic.

“This is a scarlet diamond viper! The venom has a lot of interesting effects on blood itself, and causes short-term paralysis in even mature vampires! Depending on the dose, even a full grown cow can bleed internally until it dies! Novices are somewhere in between, I guess…”

Laios has a bright and completely sincere big ol grin plastered on his face. He thinks snakes are cool, everyone else probably does too, right? He raises the subject up with a firm grip behind her diamond-shaped head.

“Who wants to milk her? Don't be shy!“

Edited (oops top line) 2024-01-20 20:22 (UTC)

He couldn't help but snicker as a fe other people in class shy away, though he can't blame them, venomous vipers aren't something to mess with. But it's a pretty serpent.

"So what's the purpose of... 'milking' a snake?" Aside from the obvious of getting venom for nefarious purposes later.

It's very floppy and lethargic right now. There's a subtle yellow and black pattern going down the spine.

"It's all for the venom. Snakes use it in the wild to incapacitate or kill prey, or for self defense, but as thinking creatures, we can refine it and use it for other things. Like antivenom. Here, hold her right behind the head like this. Nice firm grip, not too tight or she'll wriggle. Keep your arm steady, like a tree branch."

Speaking up means you get to hold the snake, as a treat! Laios wishes he was also a student again so he could take his own class. Maybe once someone invents time travel.

Antivenom? He stands up, as he approaches - being quite gentle as he takes a firm hand to the viper. Harlock admired the subtle pattern down it's back.

"Huh, for some reason I thought snakes might be slimy, but she isn't..."

This is some good snake-handling and appreciation. It's moments like these that really make Laios feel good about teaching instead of holing up in an isolated cabin with a bunch of test subjects. Sharing knowledge with others is the way to go!

"Slimy? Frogs have a slime coating, because they're so delicate. But snakes have built-in armor to protect them. They're both cold-blooded ambush predators, though! I've heard they taste the same, but as a full vampire, I can't confirm that for certain."

He has his theories on what this particular breed of snake might taste like but if he starts on that topic it will make him melancholy.

He makes a bit of a face at the idea of eating frogs and snakes. For someone of his background, that seems like a meal of last resort, when nothing else could be caught.

"It's just they looked so shiny when I've seen them sunbathing, they just seem to look slimy."

Laios would kill to be able to eat a frog again. An anything again. He would also like to see animals in the sun without bursting into flame but if wishes were horses he'd have a lot of free horses and no way to eat them.

"All the wet parts are on the inside of the snake. Like the venom! They have special glands to hold it in, and they inject it through the hollow centers of their fangs. Completely different from vampires; we have solid fangs and chemical spit!"

He lightly entrances the snake so it hisses, mouth open.

"If you look closely, the fangs are translucent, you can see right through them!"

Kevin is actually sort of behaving this semester, more or less, in his way. Which is to say that he shows up for his classes, because if he is going to fail out over something it should be something good and not something dumb like absences, and mostly he does not provoke scary people. All the same, Kevins gonna Kevin, and he, too, is avoiding the games. Much though a swordsman can certainly see the appeal of beating up all one's fellow students with a big stick on purpose, he is historically Bad At Teamwork™ and does not consider this a character flaw, and is much happier introverting about on his own. He's got a whole two and a half people in this castle that he likes or something, and this is completely satisfactory and he does not have to do teams about it.

But when he comes across somebody making something weird smack in the middle of the courtyard, of course he cannot resist sliding over to see how he might reduce the situation to chaos and shenanigans.

"Perhaps, if you were to have floorboards of a proper thick ice, it'd be strong enough to hold a second floor." This is his helpful contribution to the matter, since his guess as to why snow forts don't have second floors is that when you walk on snow you fucking fall in it. "You could build a whole ice castle if you went about it right, I bet."

Now to see if this guy will do anything funny with this notion. Kevin waits patiently.

Oh, that's an interesting suggestion. Laios pictures it, a massive sparkling lair, the sun glinting off it with horrifying menace...

"Ice? It's heavier than wood, but it'll melt, so there's nothing to clean up. Boards rather than one solid piece, so if it cracks, it won't take out the whole floor... I think you use a saw to cut ice, traditionally. That's pretty close to wood, when you think about it. All right; I'll try anything once!"

You offered a suggestion, buddy, you're now part of this.

"I could probably cut ice faster if I set my sword on fire. Do you think that sounds practical?"

It's important to float ideas by other people in the project in case they see something that you do not. This is something that is especially important if the idea involves fire. Laios doesn't mind going for a boring yet practical option, but also... he likes setting his sword on fire. It is a neat trick he figured out in the laboratory one day.

january tdm/event post

Laios Touden | Dungeon Meshi | Silver | Youngblood | TDM

Classes

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Winter games

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