undyingmods: (Default)
undyingmods ([personal profile] undyingmods) wrote in [community profile] undyingcourt2023-11-30 12:01 pm

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 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.

conradachenleck: (Snagglefang)

[personal profile] conradachenleck 2023-12-08 05:54 am (UTC)(link)
[Conrad just listens patiently, even if it's not the most interesting thing in the world to him. And he does appreciate the visual lesson.]

Huh, I see. That is rather interesting. I'm not totally sure what it's supposed to do, but it sounds like a worthwhile lecture. Some of the ones I read on the schedule wounded pretty, ah... questionable, to say the least.
veardant: credit: <user name=veardant> (170)

[personal profile] veardant 2023-12-08 05:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ diluc, of course, isn't the first to have had such a thought. tighnari even ventured the idea of it when they were younger, though diluc had politely declined, and tighnari had respected it. but that didn't mean that his feelings had disappeared. he was terribly fond of diluc, after all the many years between them.

at least they have this. it's enough for tighnari.

but soon enough diluc's hands are on him, on his skin, and tighnari shivers. he thinks that perhaps diluc is wearing far too much, considering how quickly tighnari is being undressed, and so he shoves that coat over diluc's shoulders and down, before qorking quickly on his shirt.

and all the while they're kissing, tighnari's ears folding back as he presses into it, seeking more closeness. ]
veardant: (036)

[personal profile] veardant 2023-12-08 05:58 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, it is. Every vampire can learn skills from other courts, but only those within their specific courts are able to perfectly master them. Blue Court is indeed the only one that can transform into night terrors.

[ tighnari nods. ]

And as a silver court vampire, I'm able to heal better than a vampire from another court.

[ as well as being a big nerd. ]
veardant: (024)

[personal profile] veardant 2023-12-08 06:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ that smile earns a nod; he's pleased to see that she's getting a little more comfortable. ]

Some classes are mandatory, others are electives, but you would do well to apply yourself to several different subjects if you're looking to expand your horizons a little bit.

[ the more she learns, the better chances she has of finding a niche for herself that she likes. ]

At least, for your first season or two. After that, once you decide which court you'd like to join, you can specialize.
conradachenleck: (Do vampires blush?)

[personal profile] conradachenleck 2023-12-08 06:04 am (UTC)(link)
[Well, he's not going to push for information, so he'll just leave it at that and nod. He'd heard some rumors, but he didn't want to get into that sort of conversation, anyway.]

I get it. That just sounds like such an unappetizing combination. I- Ooof..!

[He has to right himself as he almost trips then, taking the pile of books with him. He can't see his feet so... he really has to keep his attention on where he steps. And he can be a little clumsy, anyway. Thankfully he doesn't actually send any of the books spilling to the ground.]

Err-errm... S-sorry. I-I got it.
yesverysad: (Default)

[personal profile] yesverysad 2023-12-08 06:50 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh yes, only us," Loki says. "We have to practice somehow. It's all fine once you're on the other side of it, though. Then you know the night terrors aren't real, it's just a bunch of people you know practicing their skills on you."

It sort of ruins the fun of it to know that beforehand, though, which is why Loki likes to keep it secret.
serpendipity: (F3)

[personal profile] serpendipity 2023-12-08 06:57 am (UTC)(link)
She appreciates being let in on the secret, if only because Eden felt like she'd missed a lot from being... black out drunk. Very active and playful in most of the time, but still in that state too quickly to remember the practicing.

So of course she nods and taps where her heart would be, saying, "I won't spoil the surprise for anyone else. I'm very good at keeping secrets. My grandmother was the person people went to for medical needs, so it was very important I learned to do that."

See, she didn't even spoil a villager's secret for an example, even though no one would probably ever see them, or they'd find out.
timidheart: (08)

[personal profile] timidheart 2023-12-08 07:09 am (UTC)(link)
Eeeeeh… how can someone so bright and pure really exist…? And be here of all places…?

[She keeps saying nice things to him and it might make him evaporate. So much positivity…]

I-I suppose, yes. [She was looking for the right way to go anyway, wasn’t she? There’s no harm in helping her look, even if it makes it less scary for him too.] I think it’s this way…

[He’d scoped out the place a little already, and he feels at home in places full of labyrinthine passageways, so despite his reservations about this place, he quite liked the castle.]

Have- Ah, pardon my question if it’s inappropriate, you can ignore me entirely, but— have you come from somewhere far away…?
timidheart: interdigitate@Plurk.com (74)

[personal profile] timidheart 2023-12-08 07:21 am (UTC)(link)
[To be groomed for this all along …he can scarcely imagine it. He was happy enough that the vampires barely looked at his clan as more than an entity, so he could mostly escape their eyes until the Finding happened. To have their attention from the very start…]

…I have never been around so many strangers. The… The calculating eyes of so many while they pick us off, I-I couldn’t bear it.

[Though he wonders if he’s lost his chance to be chosen, now that they’re out here. Perhaps he will be simply thrown away now, weak as he is.]

All of this to fail before I have even stepped in the door… I really am a pathetic creature.
timidheart: (114)

[personal profile] timidheart 2023-12-08 07:25 am (UTC)(link)
[Ah …what a cute person. He does feel a little better now, even if he feels a little flustered by her assurance. He is not used to being told nice things.]

I see, so my horrid gaze has spared you …how wonderful.

[There is a bit of tease back in his tone. He seems to be in better spirits despite the dramatic turn of phrases he seems fond of.]

If we should survive this matter …perhaps you would gift me with your name.
veardant: (011)

[personal profile] veardant 2023-12-08 09:19 am (UTC)(link)
Well..

[ .. once she's a vampire, assuming she makes it to her becoming, her human life may fade away with time. ]

.. you potentially have a very long life ahead of you. The time you spent learning these things may one day feel like the snap of a finger. Still, if you believe it to be passion, then passion it is.

[ he smiles. ]

Besides, far be it for me to decline anyone who shares my interests. Just be sure to also keep an open mind, hmm?
veardant: (013)

[personal profile] veardant 2023-12-08 09:20 am (UTC)(link)
Don't worry, I'm taking full advantage.

[ he's just complaining at the same time. tighnari tilts his head, shelving one last book before turning away from the stacks. ]

What is it you're dreading?
veardant: (020)

[personal profile] veardant 2023-12-08 09:26 am (UTC)(link)
Fail?

[ tighnari turns to look at mayoi's profile, studying his forlorn expression. ]

What makes you think you have failed?
timidheart: interdigitate@Plurk.com (75)

[personal profile] timidheart 2023-12-08 09:58 am (UTC)(link)
[Tighnari’s question gives him pause. It’s both a little bit of surprise over not being torn down and agreed with, because he expects this, and a little embarrassment over realizing he spoke his thoughts allowed. He can no longer mumble to himself in the dark and not be overheard. There are people all around and they all have ears.]

[Some bigger than others…]


…Surely many of the vampires choosing their …f-foundlings saw us leave. I was scarcely desirable before, but now …I’m certain to be discarded, right…?

[What vampire would take on a novice that can barely stand through a ceremony without losing it?]
veardant: (002)

[personal profile] veardant 2023-12-08 10:16 am (UTC)(link)
There's no reason to be so fatalistic. That won't serve you, especially not here.

[ tighnari's voice is firm, but also kind. he's.. perhaps not what mayoi might expect of a vampire, but even after his becoming, he never truly lost his gentle heart, especially when it comes to those younger than him, and in need. ]

Nothing is yet set in stone, the choosing will go on until morning, you have plenty of time. Do you have your eyes set on any particular court?

[ perhaps this child is doomed to a life of thralldom, but.. tighnari will do what he can to prevent that. ]
beigeacademia: (I won't say I'm judging (but I am))

[personal profile] beigeacademia 2023-12-08 12:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Water breathing or a sedative?

[Elias’ lips twitch in a half-grimace as he thinks of the possible consequences of mispreparation.]

We better keep the novices away from it until they've mastered their potions, then. I don't want to pull bodies out of the local lake.

[After a pause, he adds:]

Having another sedative option would be useful, though. Are there any currently in cultivation here?
aria_ardeinae: (don't try the fish)

[personal profile] aria_ardeinae 2023-12-08 04:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Reyson glares balefully up at the insouciant witness to his disgrace. He would like it to be a majestic glare like a mighty bird of prey but the vibes are a little more like a cat who has fallen into the bath and is hiding under the bed about it. The innards of the pumpkin hang in his hair like a majestic yet gloppy tiara. There is a considerable amount on his outfit, as well. At least it sort of matches; the off-white skin of the pumpkins where it has stuck facing outwards and the gold-adjacent flesh.... No, okay. It doesn't. He prefers to wear white with gold edging and highlights, not liking how he looks in too much black. It is occurring to him now that oh there is a practical reason for the black in a situation where you might regularly get organic fluids on yourself.

He shakes out his hand, having to withdraw it from what remains of the shell, and winces. ]


I may have cracked a bone.

[ He sounds a little pleased with himself, in a stunned sort of way. He punched something so hard it exploded. It is kind of an ego boost? On one level he would have liked to not have done that, on the other... it exploded and he did it with his own power. ]

Pass me a napkin, if you would. I can't come back out like this.
naturesgifts: (4)

[personal profile] naturesgifts 2023-12-08 06:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[His frown deepens but he won't force her to stay out where he has her. If he did, he's certain he'd be using the vast majority of his medical supplies on himself. But he finds she's not going very far. He immediately shifts his hands to bracket her back to support her on her new perch.

Any other time he might hiss that they're in public. That people will see and rumors will spread. Halsin doesn't generally care about his reputation, it's already sullied. He does care about hers. He just doesn't have it in him today to scold her.

Instead there's a low sigh and a softening of the tightness at his eyes. She's more a comfort than he wants to admit. It's quite the weapon against him and she is ruthless with it.]


Thank you, Lydia. I hope it doesn't come to that. I don't have an ointment strong enough for the flaying you'd give. I'm not quite prepared for a full evisceration.

[His eyes flick back towards the doors down.] For as long as they need me. Their words. [Definitely an experiment then, on the nurse. Some mental trial to test his focus and professional pride against his less than monstrous compassion.] The Elder will come up and tell me when I can go. The only other way is if an emergency happens and I'm needed elsewhere.
karmichealing: (Amused)

[personal profile] karmichealing 2023-12-08 06:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh! Are you okay? It's fine, the stack is rather large.

[She reaches out a hand as if to steady him but doesn't touch. Yet. She would need to gauge how he is with touch before doing something so casual.]

Oh, I am sure it's quite unappetizing. No matter, sometimes you have to do things you rather not for one's health, don't you agree?

[She leads them around a corner, checking to make sure he's not about to bump into anyone as they do. Luckily the way is clear.]

Almost there. Now tell me.. how have your classes been? Anything interesting?
prizedstallion: (Well there's always that yeah)

[personal profile] prizedstallion 2023-12-08 06:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[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.
naturesgifts: (1)

[personal profile] naturesgifts 2023-12-08 06:53 pm (UTC)(link)
He knows those colors. Every member of his storied extended family bares them in some way. He's the only one who doesn't. He doesn't hold that against this man. The Blue just wasn't for him.

"Of course." He relaxes a little more with the door shut. He even goes to grab his own chair to drag around the side of the desk to the other side. It's not just so he's not just looming. It's also to show that he's in this student's side. He's not someone who separates himself from those who wish guidance.

"Feeding. Yes. A difficult topic, considering how the kitchens run and the ethics of feeding off the Thralls." He pauses to consider the man.

"That's what bothers you? The ethical ramifications of the act? Taking the lifeblood of someone who can't choose it for themselves? Do you worry that doing so will somehow make you into a bad person?"

He's not going to just give up his sources of food. His friends in the Black already do enough for him. He doesn't want them further implicated.

"Before I tell you my methods, I want to ask you one thing. Are wolves bad because they pull down moose. Surely the moose didn't consent to being dinner. So are the wolves bad for doing what is in their nature to do to live?"
prizedstallion: (All Spoken Smirk)

[personal profile] prizedstallion 2023-12-08 06:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oh and Kirk is very willing to be taken advantage of. He would welcome some private lessons from Xenk anytime. How could he not, the man was gorgeous. And scary as hell, which just makes the whole thing more exciting.

But when Xenk starts listing his accomplishments, he can't help the way his eyebrows go up, smiling all the while. It seems that Xenk has been keeping tabs on him. That was curious.
]

Keeping an eye on me, huh? Glad to know I've caught your eye, because here I thought getting your attention was an impossible task.

[Does that smile turn into a smirk? Absolutely.]

I have my reasons for wanting to impress you, sir. [Kirk very clearly doesn't think about them, for the first time putting up a wall around his thoughts as he's learned to do this autumn.]
unshod: (pouty)

[personal profile] unshod 2023-12-08 07:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Indeed.

[Fenris has to agree, he might not like to agree with Xenk but he knows it's best to in this case when he does genuinely agree with the man.

He doesn't like it though.
]

With the great influx of novices we are about to have, it's prudent to weed out those who are not suited.
unshod: (tumblr_p1gie5tFqp1swv88yo2_r1_1280 by ot)

[personal profile] unshod 2023-12-08 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[Fenris doesn't want to mention how the blue court is rather cruel to thralls, it would show his sympathies, which he's not supposed to have, but that was fine. He can complain about how they are drunk frat boys.]

Winter. Blue Court is always so... loud and intoxicated during their season. I find it trying at the best of times.
naturesgifts: (1)

[personal profile] naturesgifts 2023-12-08 07:10 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oh does that get a rise out of Halsin. He's strangely very protective of those who reside at the castle. He's almost like a giant papa bear about the whole thing. And while it's hard to get his ire up, he's already been pushed simply by having to sit here and listen to the terrible sounds.

Silver eyes narrow, fangs bare. His hand balls tightly around the handle of the medical kit at his side. For the briefest moments, the nausea of what's going down below has faded.]


I won't have that. Natural selection. Survival of the fittest. That can wait. It's my duty to make certain we all make it to Elder status. I wasn't made nurse because I look good in a lab coat. Don't insult my skills. Thirty seconds more or an hour. It wouldn't matter. They'll all walk out of there.

I just...[He finally gets a reign on his temper.] The further away I am, the longer they suffer until I can get to them. I don't want them to suffer more than necessary.