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.

serpendipity: (F1)

[personal profile] serpendipity 2023-12-25 04:47 am (UTC)(link)
[ And right there, Raphael hit the main reason why she struggled with Seduction courses. The other reasons to use the skill, she thinks of other ways to achieve anyway. Instead of enticing someone to help with a wolf problem, or to help with food, she'd do the hunting herself. She does get better well after this point, I swear. ]

Ah. Then it really is a shame... At least it's not my only Red Court class this season.

[ Eden thought very practically, and that went down to capability instead of confidence. Compared that to what was available. What was a new human supposed to be able to provide here? Even to other novices, she could logic anything she could provide as being unnecessary for everything else available. Yet she sees and says all of this with a bit of amusement, in one of those 'ah yes, of course' ways. ]

It's not that I don't see why it's a good skill to have as a vampire, or want to fail. I just don't see what I can provide that would tempt anyone.
Edited 2023-12-25 06:01 (UTC)
timidheart: _7_HR@twitter (92)

[personal profile] timidheart 2023-12-25 07:17 am (UTC)(link)
[He hardly realizes he’s done, with how careful Tighnari is. It takes him a moment, not because he’s lightheaded from blood loss or anything, but because the experience had been so pleasant he is still reeling a little.]

[He watches with some measure of awe as that silvery blood delicately drips down his palm, and he feels, with some urgency, that he cannot let it fall to waste. He reaches out, taking his hand, and very softly brings it to his mouth.]

[His brain only catches up with him a moment later, realizing with some amount of horror that he’s acted on impulse. Tighnari’s blood has spilled into his mouth, and now he has to commit. It’s done. He’s Begun. The life he used to know is truly behind him, and what’s before him now is, while shrouded in uncertainty, feels far less precarious than it did moments before.]

[The first show of any kind of confidence from Mayoi, is in the steady way he drinks, until he is told to stop.]
standingonmyneck: (no bouncy hair)

[personal profile] standingonmyneck 2023-12-25 01:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[That does at least get her to turn her head a little. As much as Daria couldn’t care less about how the students are or take her lessons, she didn’t want them to particularly FAIL if they were under her. It makes teachers look bad if they fail sure, but it took an extra care of hand to take them under more specifically.]

I see, so you actually care. Given if they care. Which is fair, why bother extra attention if they don’t give consideration to what you have to say.
veardant: (071)

[personal profile] veardant 2023-12-25 10:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[ tighnari tilts his head, curious and quizzical, one of his tall ears flicking lightly, but he soon begins to understand. ]

That's all right, I understand. Still, you didn't have to lie to me, okay? I won't judge you.

[ other vampires might, however, so he certainly understands her uncertainty, but tighnari is rather an understanding fellow. ]

But if you don't want to go, you don't have to. Is there anything else you would rather see?
veardant: (074)

[personal profile] veardant 2023-12-25 10:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ tighnari isn't sure what to expect from mayoi. he's been a bit skittish so far, so he wouldn't be surprised if he were hesitant to drink tighnari's blood, but it would seem he is pleasantly mistaken. there's a sound confidence in the way mayoi drinks from him that tighnari likes to see. perhaps he will be a little better off than tighnari thought he might be.

with a soft hum, he closes his eyes; this feeling is always very pleasant, and it's been quite some time since tighnari was last fed from. he allows himself to bask in it for a little while, but soon enough he speaks again, his voice soft. ]


All right. That should be more than enough.

[ he says, gently withdrawing his hand so he can drag a thumb over the cut. it closes immediately, without the need for his saliva; tighnari knows what he's doing when it comes to healing, and a small cut like this is simple to mend. ]

Come sit down, you might feel a little lightheaded.

[ he gestures to the squashy sofa in front of the fire. ]
unghosting: (Bleeeehhhhhhhh)

1/2

[personal profile] unghosting 2023-12-26 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
[Wow. There is no need to say the f-word at him. Geez.]
unghosting: (Sigh)

2/2

[personal profile] unghosting 2023-12-26 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
Kevin.

[She's right, though. It is going to be sensible to have allies here. Kevin is the sort of guy who would rather do as much as possible on his own, and he's still too torn from the violent loss of his old friends to be very open to new ones. But this girl has been kind to him tonight, and may well be kind to him again later, and that could be very valuable.

After a brooding pause, the swordsman fidgets uncomfortably.]


...thank you. For... [Uh.] Not being a brat. About the cloak.

[Nailed it.]
unghosting: (Sigh)

[personal profile] unghosting 2023-12-26 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
I'd hope you aren't the first to have such a thought cross your mind, but if anyone's tried to change anything before, they've obviously failed. Since that's the case, I imagine this is something that will take a lot of time and planning, hm?

[It is so easy to rattle off things like this because they are thoughts Kevin has already been thinking.]
flagofbone: (A pirate's gaze to the horizon)

[personal profile] flagofbone 2023-12-26 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
Such things are never easy, or else half the landlords would've been burnt down in their manors by now.

And one can't change things unless they know exactly what they're changing.
unghosting: (Cause for concern)

[personal profile] unghosting 2023-12-26 01:36 am (UTC)(link)
[Kevin snorts a little.]

Well, we know the worst of their punishments, and that's to become a thrall. I've no intention of crossing that line.

[He scowls to himself as he rolls his shoulders. Probably he shouldn't be so open about his anti-thrall sentiments if he truly wishes to be cautious, but they have literal classes for mind-reading in this stupid place. At least if he gets in trouble for that, he gets in trouble for possessing some goddamned principles.

(Thinks the prolific serial killer.)]


...mm, but -- if I'm to be one of them...to spend all my time walking on eggshells among them, that's a sort of half thralldom, isn't that so...?
unghosting: (...lolwut)

[personal profile] unghosting 2023-12-26 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
Kevin is still young and immature enough that being called out for being a brat is a pleasing compliment. He also appreciates the blunt honesty of trying to win people over for selfish reasons. But Gojo is right on target with everything else -- moods, distrust, trauma. So instead of loosening up, Kevin gives Gojo and his grand speech a mighty squint.

It is a very impressive squint, given that he has only one eye visible.

"I am not a kitten," is his eventual solemn answer. The scruffy stray look about him ruins the effect, and will make it even funnier later when his animal form turns out to be the fluffiest white cat with the loudest thunderpurr you've ever seen.

Edited 2023-12-26 01:46 (UTC)
unghosting: (The night has been unkind)

[personal profile] unghosting 2023-12-26 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
[Kevin's been so wrapped up in his own grief and anger that this gentle comment is a much more effective chastisement than a pompous lecture could ever be. Of course he isn't the only new novice here against his will, and of course he isn't the only one struggling to find his footing. Hell, many of the youngbloods here were probably in the same boat, once upon a time. But for all that Kevin has seen that with his own eye, he's been too blinded by his own concerns to really acknowledge it.

Well, now he feels like a right prat.

This conversation won't change his behavior overnight. You don't simply get over having your life slashed to ribbons from two different directions simply because some guy reminds you that other people also have problems. But he'll start paying a little more attention. Taking note of it, if he spots other novices who seem to be struggling. For now, he doesn't really answer. Just settles himself a little further in with his nice new cloak and his jelly beans, forgotten in his hand as he stares at the pumpkin without really seeing it.]


...mm.
unghosting: (Fuck all y'all I have fabulous taste)

[personal profile] unghosting 2023-12-26 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
[Okay, but to be fair, pumpkin guts would not exactly blend in on black, either.

Kevin politely hands over not one napkin, but two. Probably this guy cannot actually see the full extent of the damage here. He is going to need two.]


You've got some in your hair.

[He says helpfully, as though he did not cause the problem in the first place. Maybe he will not admit it. Maybe it will be even funnier later if there is some sort of grand reveal of secret troublemaking. This guy hasn't done anything to make Kevin dislike him as of yet -- this is something that sometimes happens in about half a second, so that is notable actually -- so maybe there will be an opportunity for this prank to have a second life later, if he leaves it be.]

What's this about a cracked bone?
aria_ardeinae: (I know how to punch!)

[personal profile] aria_ardeinae 2023-12-26 04:47 am (UTC)(link)
Uuugh.

[ He sure does have some in his hair. He makes a face. And starts picking pumpkin guts out of there because starting from the top down is more efficient. Disgusting. He is only using his clean hand, because the other one is even more beslimed than the rest of him and also may be out of condition. ]

Vampiric strength and vampiric resilience must not always come in at the same rates. I imagine that is one of the reasons they prefer to keep the novices safely in a castle while our powers grow over the seasons.

[ He switches to desliming that hand, so he can look at the damage. It is what the common people might call a boxer's fracture, the flesh slightly deformed by the exciting new shape of the bone underneath.

He is trying not to let things bother him, these days. He averts his eyes and tries to look cool and calm and unflinchy like he deals with broken bones all the time. He's doing his best. ]


I fell off a horse once, and that was much worse.
beigeacademia: src: https://backstreets.insanejournal.com/43180.html? (Default)

[personal profile] beigeacademia 2023-12-26 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
[He watches with some consternation as Snow White fetches a broom and starts sweeping. That's not what he expected at all.

She'll figure out quickly that novices shouldn't be doing that, right?

…….

Now she's dusting??

Oh dear.

Elias dislikes scolding novices when there's no clear wrongdoing. They're undergoing a difficult transitional period, it brings him no joy to make it harder for them. But eventually when it's clear Snow White won't stop on her own, Elias reluctantly stands up and looks to see her about to ask him for more work.]


You've certainly chosen some unusual tasks. Cleaning is beneath you now, dear. [He takes the duster or cloth she had been using to clean with.] If anything, a future vampire’s work would be supervising the thralls while they clean. Is that something you want to try?

Or we can find you something else to do otherwise.

[While he makes it clear the power dynamics behind Snow White’s new reality, he also offers her an out if she's not ready.]
onebadapple: (Truly the fairest)

[personal profile] onebadapple 2023-12-26 05:43 am (UTC)(link)
Oh! I'm so sorry. [Snow White's cheeks go red with embarrassment as she looks at all she had done. Had she done a poor job of it? But no, that wasn't it.

'Cleaning is beneath you now, dear.' She lets go of the cloth without a fight and wonders at the idea of how, with her new life, it is the job of the Thralls to ensure everything is spic and span. It was the life she would have led if Grimhilde had not stepped in, she supposed.
]

I... see. I'm sorry for getting in the way, then. I just didn't think anyone is above hard work, whatever that work looks like. [She offered softly. It didn't sit right, ordering someone around when she had two perfectly good hands.

But he said she could try something else.
] I think it may be best I try something else... for now... Or, I could leave if I've been trouble?
timidheart: _7_HR@twitter (53)

[personal profile] timidheart 2023-12-26 06:06 am (UTC)(link)
...Is it...?

[He hadn't considered that. He's lived his entire life in a sense of walking on eggshells. He's only ever known the severity of being quiet and keeping ones head down. To him, that was just survival, but...]

[But the idea that the one thing he thought he was fighting to avoid was already something his foot was partially in the door of...ah. It does not sit well with him, actually.]


...You may be right. I ...I have only ever known such. I suppose I never realized.
ladyofloss: (29)

[personal profile] ladyofloss 2023-12-26 07:06 am (UTC)(link)
[She waits for a long moment before she gives him a nod, along with a faint smile that almost radiates approval.]

If you want to excel, then you will— so long as you're willing to do what it takes.

[It's more difficult here than most places, but ambition is absolutely something to be admired.]

That's going to mean having to make difficult decisions down the line. If you keep your goal in mind, I believe you'll do well for yourself.
ladyofloss: (50)

[personal profile] ladyofloss 2023-12-26 07:06 am (UTC)(link)
[Even if it were a dig, she doesn't seem particularly bothered. She's always appreciated that this particular teacher speaks his mind rather freely.]

Given that I'll be starting my fourth season soon, I don't know that there's much humanity left.

[If there is, she doesn't think she'll miss it.]

Torture is a rather complex art, but some of us have taken to it more readily than others.
ladyofloss: (53)

[personal profile] ladyofloss 2023-12-26 08:00 am (UTC)(link)
[She lifts her chin to peer over the crowd at the display from the shadows, then gives a shake of her head.]

It seems a terrible waste. There might be some use in knowing exactly how much the body can withstand, but it does feel excessive. It lacks purpose and clarity.

[Pain should always have both. She looks back at him, managing a small smile when she notes his approval.]

Did you doubt for a single moment that I was paying attention in your class?
subigito: (88)

[personal profile] subigito 2023-12-26 04:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He can hear the way she doesn't mind in her tone and that finally gets his interest. He'd been the same way, eager to become a vampire, and eager to leave being human behind forever. ]

Are you excited, for your Becoming?

[ For dying. Undying. ]
subigito: (132)

[personal profile] subigito 2023-12-26 07:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Even after all the time that has passed, Raphael's words still send a chill down his spine. He's not sure if he parses it as excited or anxious, so he decides maybe it's a little bit of both.

Astarion gives Raphael the red pieces, and takes the black for himself. He's got a set a pieces in every house color so he goes with these. ]


Take the first move, then.
trettende: (2154864_042)

[personal profile] trettende 2023-12-26 08:40 pm (UTC)(link)
You have a point there.

[ Insolence is no doubt a quick way to get you killed, especially as a thrall. That's the same thing, right? ]

My name is Hans. [ He bows his head, always polite. ] Hans Westergaard, actually, but something tells me names won't matter as much here.
onebadapple: (The little things to bring us joy)

[personal profile] onebadapple 2023-12-26 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh! What a lovely name you have! It's very nice to meet you, Hans. [Snow doesn't seem to realize he's nobility, then again, so is she, she just doesn't bother, either.] And if your name matters to you, then it matters!
trettende: (2154864_018)

[personal profile] trettende 2023-12-26 10:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Hans nods. He'll do whatever it takes, there's no question there. ]

I'll do that. I know it won't be easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is.