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 - Variations Underlined}

[It is Yasuho's second season at the Castle. While Gold is Greatness, she hasn't felt especially great. Her Maker has been merciful- it helps that despite her mood, she's still done well with the courts as she studied- but she does not feel 'great'. Truthfully, she hasn't felt 'great' since the batch of foundlings arrived at the end of November, a familiar face among them.

It is with such a mood that the young novice goes to sleep that evening, and it is perhaps because of that mood that her dreams lead her to a scene from when she was much, much, much smaller.

Back when she showed 'potential', perhaps.

It is Late.

A young Yasuho should not be out this late at night. Not even in Gold territory, where in theory there are no 'true monsters' who would roam the streets- let alone the streets of a city. The little girl is alone though, which really won't do. Her 'friends' have left her behind to skip home, and she herself now sits on a swing.

Alone.

At least until a figure- unidentifiable, cloaked in the gold of summer- steps forward.

Perhaps with someone else. Someone who wasn't actually there.

Someone who's wandered into this dream unexpected.

Yasuho dreams. ....but not all dreams are pleasant.

It is Day. The sun shines brilliantly. Yasuho wears not the garb of a woman growing used to the privledges of being a castle novice, but instead the gown of a maiden coming of age, ready to be courted. She seems nervous. But she seems happy- she leaves her house to greet a young man with a bit of a gap in his teeth, and a smile is on her face.]

Josuke! I was waiting- it feels like we haven't talked in ages...I know it's only been a few days, but even so...

[He seems to reciprocate. His smile is as wide and warm as she remembers.

And then the clouds begin to roll in. And the smile seems...fake.

Because this is a nightmare.]

...Josuke?

[And Yasuho has been avoiding Josuke since the minute he arrived for a reason, a reason that now colors every memory she has.]

{A NIGHTMARISH CURSE - Prompts in Underline}

[She's screaming- but perhaps that's no surprise if anyone saw the earlier nightmares. It doesn't take much for things to descend into a curse after all, and soon enough that means she's stuck the way many others are; screaming, hands digging into the covers of the bed, eyes screwed shut so tightly they might bleed.

They do, in fact, after a point- tears of blood from the eyes, even if just a trickle.

(Maybe there's something to be said about true love's kiss? Or maybe just a kiss. Anything to stop the bleeding.)

Awake, and she's not exactly keen on seeing anyone. Well, not seeing anyone awake at least, but even then she'd rather not. Experiencing a nightmare's curse is a fantastic inspiration to try and get rid of it before it plagues anyone else too heavily, so she can be found mostly in her room; at a desk, notes and books around her, the woman huffing and scowling at what she has.

Come in unnanounced, and one might hear her mutter-]

And of course I can't try entering their mind, I'll just get cursed again...

[This is exhausting!]

{THE WINTER GAMES}

[But enough about dreams, and nightmares, and things! Once curses are settled and out of the way, everyone is too focused on sports to even think about what just happened- actually, plenty were more focused on sports before dreams were resolved, but in Yasuho's case she won't be caught dead or undead near the events until then.

The thing is though, she wasn't exactly a sporty sort to begin with- she was definitely one of those 'avoid as many physically oriented classes as possible' sorts for her first season, and it's showing even now. Take a look over her shoulder in the stands. Are those...

Notes?? She's Gold not Silver isn't she?!]

january tdm/event post

Yasuho Hirose | JJBA-Part 8 | Gold Court | Novice | TDM