undyingcourt | january tdm/event post

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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

Ah, the finding? That's how I was brought here early in the fall, too.

[ There were a couple of different responses on how it was supposed to be interpreted. Either as a show of control and a reminder that they existed, or as a kind of tax for these being the lands in their territories. She'd wondered how he would be able to be pulled away from the mission he said to be on. The more he spoke, the easier it was to remember some things from back then. ]

I don't know, I can't see it about being good and evil, but you know I grew up in a rather unique situation. I don't see how things fall in the order of nature. I wouldn't try to change the way wolves were, even after being attacked before. Predators develop the way they are for a reason. With that and the idea that these were people that were once human, and now have to manage everything in their territories... I guess I see a different kind of balance.

Indeed. They take from villages in the surrounding area. The young or the old, none are spared.

[ His own point of view towards the Finding is obvious, when he says it like that. ]

Perhaps you have the right of it. Predators lack a conscience. A wolf hunts its prey to survive, it takes what it must. A vampire... if one is to believe they are predators, and we humans are prey, then it would indeed explain the brutality I have seen from them. The Blade teaches us that those with strength have a duty to the weak. I understand there are some who use their monstrous strength to the greater benefit... but it seems that for every kindly wolf, there are yet more slavering beasts who see us as lambs for the slaughter.

You're eligible for the lottery when you turn 16, I was told. It was the first time I'd seen one in my case. It seems to be once every some amount of years.

[ Honestly, she's not sure of the frequency, but she knew about how it was supposed to go. ]

Humans are their only prey, in that there's nothing else that handles the hunger or demand on the body for their skills and strengths. Done properly, a human doesn't have to ever die from vampires needing to feed. The amount required isn't quite that much. Unless you're put into a frenzy, of course. They do have rules, you know. It's just that people have to tell them when someone's overstepping, and apparently a lot of things just take time.

[ She was told about how petitions could take quite a while. ]

There's a set of courses about choosing the proper prey and pacing properly, actually. It's in the Black Court's roster of classes. They may call everyone that's not a vampire a lamb, but they're more wolf than starving beast.

Indeed. A family could lose their only child to such a system. It places a great burden on those who have nothing to spare.

[ That had been the problem for him. The village had none they could spare. It was cruel to force families apart. Crueler still, to turn to violence when Wyll and his fellows refused to let them take from them. Still, Wyll nods. He can see that she believes all that she says. After two seasons in the castle, perhaps one needs to accept what one is told, to remain sane. ]

Please understand, I have no interest in proving you wrong. I would much prefer the world where vampires do not kill, and feed on humans only from necessity.

[ If only that were true. Wyll's shakes his head like it hangs heavy. He would much prefer such a kind world. ]

Yet you were present at the Winter Sol, were you not? Was the display of thralls on shattered glass a necessity? Did the bloody floor fill some need, or were the wolves gathered in audience to observe and admire their flock of lambs, before digging in with fang and claw?

At the same time, they've always known the system existed. Everyone in these lands knows that Findings exist. Snakes and birds have several eggs each laying season, and plenty other animals also have several children if they're preyed upon. At least in this case it's with the idea of the taken human becoming one of them, and not automatically being taken as food.

[ Sadly, only a small portion of this was accepting and adapting to the lessons that were being taught these two seasons. It wasn't that Eden lacked empathy, not at all. It just made sense, in the way all other systems in nature had their own fallacies, and she wasn't attached to humans as something specific. Nature wasn't exactly kind. ]

Everyone in my court was anywhere between annoyed and upset, but we're the ones that take care of them. Sadly, every Court seems to be allowed to hold power over a season however they want. Even still, I don't think it's right to paint every single person of a species as anything.

[ Wyll has to smile. ]

"The neck knows the noose, yet it still breaks when it's pulled taut."

[ Alas, logic doesn't work on Wyll Guardacuervo. He is a man of emotion before logic, and compassion before reason. He looks to Eden with sorrow in his eyes. ]

I understand you believe the Silver Court to care for we lambs, just as they would have us believe that our Makers are looking out for our best interests. But one may call a wolf by any other name, yet its fangs and claws remain just as sharp, and its taste for flesh and blood no less for it.

[ Wyll, please. Your fancy talk is hard for her to follow. She's uneducated for the most part, still! If... You ignored the medical training she's gotten back in the forest. ]

And while I was attacked by a wolf not long before you showed up at the cabin, I still observed them and find value and purpose to their existence. They're also not always bloodthirsty. They hunt, but they don't do so blindly. They also seem aggressive when protecting their home and pack. Without them, there'd be way more boars and deer in the area, and as someone that forages for vegetation, I worry about that far more.

[ But he loves fancy talk, it's the best part about growing up in a cloistered life dedicated to religious servitude... Still, Wyll does not begrudge Eden her perspective, nor does he do anything but place a hand at her shoulder. ]

Eden, I know your words come only from a place of kindness, but I fear our experiences have been too different for us to reach an accord. I am glad that you have not known the cruelty vampires are capable of. But I have seen a village burned for the amusement of a single vampire. I watched my former brothers butcher one another at her command, all while that same monster laughed and compelled me to watch.

[ He looks down and away, upset clear in his recollection, before steeling himself back to a reassuring smile. ]

These scars I bear upon my face were not there when we met previously, you'll recall. And while I am aware that one rotten apple need not spoil the lot, it will take a long time indeed for this heart of mine to offer them any sort of mercy, when my brothers were afforded none of the "luxuries" I find extended towards me. It is only through the Blade's mercy that I remain here, and so long as it sees fit to my survival, then I entrust my soul to its guidance.

[ Certainty fills him as he speaks of his god, the fallback that has kept him from despair. It fuels him now as well. ]

You have your views and your reasons for them, as do I have mine. Let us veer this conversation away from such dour topics, yes? I believe these Winter Games are meant to lighten our spirits.

[ There's sympathy as Wyll shares the experience, hand going up to rest on the one at her shoulder. It may have been a while since they first met, but this was obviously a very fresh wound... in a few ways. ]

I just don't want you to decide that once we're at a certain point, we're just soulless, sinful things, like that other foreign novice... Especially when I graduate before you.

[ It's sad, but ultimately she doesn't care about what that man thought. Wyll, she's met before, so his thoughts carried more weight. Sadly, the shift to games doesn't help her all that much. She wasn't just hard at work when people were at the cabin. ]

Everyone talks like it's a given to understand what's going on. People are also scooping up snow and throwing it at each other, and I just don't get it. The human stuff makes me feel like as much of an outsider that the vampire lessons do. Apparently people also give gifts before the year's end?

I would hope there's no question on the measure of our souls. To become undying may be a grievous, unnatural thing, but the Blade has no laws against such beings.

[ Likely because they don't exist where he's from, let's be honest. Though Wyll makes a face. "That other foreign novice," did she mean Enrico? Ah, Erico... he's a little more strict with the sinfulness than Wyll is, that's for sure.

Wyll shakes his head. ]

Ah, this too is somewhat different from my home, though I picked up a few tricks from the children in the village I was at, before. Just a bit of childish games, you know? Like playing amid the fountains in the summertime, snow provides a harmless bit of fun.

So you'd think it's plenty fine that the figure skating is a thing as well, right?

[ Honestly, Eden wished she knew what kind of games those were. Now, the kind of play she knew about wasn't the kind for children, and she didn't think Wyll should have to know that just yet. ]

I mean, the way I usually played was also a way of working. Which was chasing and catching smaller animals. So the throwing snow thing... Isn't part of some specific game?

Well, there's nothing obscene about it, is there? It's a display of physical prowess. The Blade favors those who train and better themselves -- it's not as though a blade is an instrument made only for killing.

[ At least not where he's from! But poor Eden, had Wyll known she was that sheltered he probably would have tried to intervene when he'd met her the first time... alas. ]

All respect to you, but it sounds like you were tricked into hunting, Eden. Playing in the snow ought to have no goal but to have fun! One throws snow around until one team cries defeat. Or till the snow melts and you run out ammunition.

It didn't look obscene...

[ Unless there was something about it that she was missing, which was also possible. ]

Well, it's wasn't exactly a trick. Old women have to teach the kids they're raising to hunt in some way. So the snow throwing is a game, and with teams. Huh...

[ Wyll shrugs. His definition of 'obscene' is maybe a little stricter than the castle in general, but the ice skaters have so far been quite tasteful. I mean, they're not wearing a ton of clothing, but it's. It could be worse. ]

It is indeed quite common to teach children proper skills as a form of play. But it should certainly not be done at the expense of playing proper games! Fighting with snowballs is a grand time. The snow doesn't hurt when you get pelted with it, so it's a harmless game that can be played by anyone.

[ They're wearing about as much as one could expect for vampires, when the cold doesn't bother them like those who were still human. However that didn't change how much they enjoyed being cozy and warm by a fireplace afterwards. There were plenty of ways to warm up. Warm up... Ah.

Was it all an excuse so everyone could warm up with one another? ]

Are you... Supposed to let yourself get hit by them? Wait, no. Someone made it sound like I wasn't supposed to when walking by...

[ That kind of thinking is where Pucci starts calling things obscene, Eden!! Don't worry though, Wyll can't read minds and even when he learns how to, he would never. He's too good. ]

It's a competition of sorts, so ideally, one tries to avoid getting pelted. But it's a simple game in the end. Having fun is more important than winners or losers.

[ Body heat sharing is a perfectly valid means of warming up, though! It'll be even faster under covers, by a fire and everything else. Nothing can possibly be obscene about practicality. ]

Though somehow anyone walking by can be a target and part of a team without realizing it. I learned that part earlier.

[ Not that she minded, given how thick the cloak was. ]

... I guess you can imagine, but there's been a lot of things I've missed and had to learn the hard way.

Yes, part of the snowball fight can be that you don't realize you're part of it...

[ Wyll laughs. It doesn't snow much where he's from, so he's got no clue about these tried and true methods. ]

So it seems. I truly had no idea your caretaker was sheltering you so gravely. Has your time at Courtsheart fared much better in comparison?

[ It seemed like it had, from the way she spoke about it, so maybe it's no surprise she likes it here... ]

[ He's not even going to be told about how sheltered- Her way of speech definitely causes troubles sometimes. Something that's not noticeable to someone visiting an apothecary and getting medicine, or a merchant talking to a supply dealer, but applying the same manner as a student to teachers... Big whoops sometimes. ]

I would've never thought I was until coming here, honestly. Who would've thought having such an open life in those woods would actually be such.

[ But there's a smile that comes on her face that's warm, and has only been seen here, with a light of excitement. ]

I've been able to try so many new things, and have a lot of different kinds of fun. Because they make you any kind of food you want, I've been able to try so may things. Oh! It turned out I picked up blades pretty quick in class, so I took a combat class this season. I've been using this practice set of swords that come in a single sheath.

[ She could keep going, but she thought that someone who follows 'The Blade' would get amusement in her learning blades. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

january tdm/event post

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