![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
July 2022 Test Drive Meme
JULY 2022 TDM
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to Folkmore's monthly Test Drive Meme! Please feel free to test drive any and all characters regardless of your intent to apply or whether you have an invite or not.
All TDMs are game canon. You can choose to have your TDM thread be your introduction thread upon acceptance or start fresh. Each TDM will provide a scenario for how characters arrive in-game that particular month.
Playing TDMs will allow characters to immediately obtain canon items from homes especially weapons or other things they may have had on their person when they were pulled from their worlds! There will always be a prompt that provides some sort of "reward" to characters who complete certain tasks.
Current players are allowed to have in-game characters react to TDMs via the Network or make a log with the prompts. Current players are always encouraged to tag new people on the TDM!
TDM threads can be used for spoon spending at any time by characters accepted into the game.
Content Warnings: Unwanted romantic/sexual attention from a monster, optional sexual themes, optional monster fights, giant insects in 'accidents' prompt.
YOU'RE THE ONE I WANT
I HATE ACCIDENTS, EXCEPT...
YOU'RE THE ONE I WANT
Folkmore has many lakes and streams. You wake up suddenly beside one, the world coming into sharp focus the moment you do. It's sunny, and the sounds and sights are warmly nostalgic for the very idea of summer.
You can sit and relax a while. Maybe lounge in the shade. Let your mind drift, and relax. There's a few people around, some still sleeping and some awakening the same as you, but it's far from crowded here.
Suddenly a shadow falls over you. You turn and are greeted by a monster: it looks sort of like an avocado covered in kelp, with oversized hands and a huge mouth. It also looks like it's entirely made of rubber - even its eyes appear to be only painted on.
This monster waves its arms threateningly. “Gaaaaah!” it says. Its voice is muffled. “Gaahhhhhhhhh!”
Somehow this creature is a lot faster than it looks, and the next thing you know it has enfolded you in its embrace.
“You will be Greg’s bride!” the monster shouts, regardless of your gender identification. It looks at whoever happens to be in your general vicinity. “Who this?”
Struggling, you realise that Greg is stronger than any creature you’ve ever encountered before. You can’t seem to get it to let go of you, and it's rocking against you in such a way that it makes a sound like the soles of sneakers on a gym floor. On the plus side, it doesn’t have any genitals that you can see, so at least it’s not as bad as it could be? Still, desperate times call for desperate measures! “That’s my partner!” you claim before you can think about how stupid an idea that is.
“You bride? PROVE IT!"
Oh shit. Now you’re stuck - you and whatever innocent bystander you've dragged into this have to convince Greg that you're a couple! You could admit to something true about love or intimacy under the guise of it being about the other; Greg’s lie detecting abilities are good enough to call you out on untruths, but not good enough to know who you’re talking about.
Or you could just start making out, I guess. Whatever works.
If you're a terrible actor, Greg will abduct you and pull you beneath the water. You better hope your fake partner will try to rescue you!
If you manage to convince him that you're a couple, he will shed a tear from his unblinking eyes before either slinking away or flying into a murderous rage.
If you choose to fight Greg, either in the water or on land, you will find that he's pretty tough for a rubber monster. Any blows to his back or sides will land harmlessly, and the kelp on his body may grab whatever you hit him with. And that big goofy mouth of his hides rows of deathly sharp fangs!
However you get rid of Greg, once he's gone you will find a trunk shaped like a koi fish. Open it and you will find some canon items from home. Clothes or weapons, maybe. Lucky you!
I HATE ACCIDENTS, EXCEPT...
You don't necessarily have to complete the One I Want prompt to find these koi trunks! They seem to be dotted around Folkmore and you might find them just by virtue of exploration! The trunks seem to mysteriously know who is opening them so you won't find someone else's stuff by accident. There are also some unenchanted weapons sticking out of the ground in random places: basic swords, guns, shields, etc. They have no magic, but they're usable!
But be warned: the second you take one of these weapons, you'll have to use it.
As soon as you have pulled a weapon from the ground, a high whining buzz sounds, swelling in volume as somethings come barreling out of the sky at you. They are short humanoid creatures about three feet tall with the heads and wings of cicadas. They are also wearing human clothes - what sort depends on what part of Folkmore you're in. If you're in Wintermute they might be wearing cute sweaters, but if you're in Cruel Summer they might be dressed like your suburban dad on summer vacation. How cute! Except they have very sharp talons and the sound they make can incapacitate you. Better take them down fast!
Or run even faster.
Content Warnings: Mood altering substances, optional alcohol use, optional suggestive themes.
I LIKE SHINY THINGS
IN DIRTY DREAMS
I LIKE SHINY THINGS
Summer isn't all about getting bitten by mosquitoes out at the lake, or sweating your way up a mountain in uncomfortable hiking boots. For the less outdoorsy types, there's still plenty of fun to be had... and all within walking distance of an air conditioner when the weather gets too humid. Close to Epiphany, there appears a gem of a spa, nestled comfortably by a beautiful waterfall. The lobby is spacious and cool, with a distinctly mid-century modern sensibility. The gentleman working the front desk wears a crisp suit of burnt orange with a small golden fox pin on his lapel. He is more than happy to direct you to any of the spa amenities.
There are massage tables, hot tubs, and steam rooms. You can get yourself a manicure, pedicure, or facial. There's a full salon for anything you might want to do to your hair - maybe it's time for a kicky summer 'do? Any kind of pampering you're after, you can find it here! If you need to lie down, there are even some hotel rooms on the upper levels that you can rest in.
There is also a tea room - all soft pinks and sage greens, with plush chairs in sets of two or more around small round tables. You will be seated with someone else, as the tea room is designed to encourage conversation. The waiters in this delightful space are all flamingos - they move around the room with a sort of gangly grace, carrying trays on their backs or with their beaks. Unconventional, but they seem to have no problem understanding people's orders. Speaking of, what's on the menu? Seems every kind of tea has a different effect...
Black tea hypes you UP! Who wants to stay sitting around with a bunch of birds?! Let's go party!
Green tea brings a sense of great peace and mental clarity. You will find it easy to talk about emotional subjects without being overcome with feelings.
Oolong tea calms you and relaxes you deeply. You might even find yourself nodding off!
Milk tea inspires feelings of affection - whoever you're sitting with now seems like they could be your new best friend. (Or more?)
Spending time in the tea room really does encourage you to open up to other people one way or another, and all the other spa activities tend to put people in the mood to open up a little bit.
IN DIRTY DREAMS
If you tire of such relaxing pursuits but you still don't fancy wandering off into the woods, you could always poke around behind the spa, where there is a smaller separate building. If you listen you can hear loud music playing, carried faintly on the summer wind. Some kind of party? Why not check it out? Okay, so there's a big old 'STAFF ONLY' sign on the side of the building, but you could just wander in and come up with an excuse if someone spots you. Or sneak in through the bathroom window or something if you're that worried.
Once inside it becomes apparent that this building functions as a private club for the spa staff. The interior is dark and wood paneled, lit only by some old hanging lights with warm bulbs. At the far end is a bar, and beyond that the glow of a small kitchen. A few tables are scattered along the walls, but the bulk of the long room is taken up by a dancefloor.
And boy oh boy are people getting down.
The music is so loud that you don't have to be able to hear to feel the beat - it pounds through the floorboards like a pulse. It's a compelling rhythm that urges you to join the throng. Even if you lack any and all natural grace, the urge to dance is strong enough that you can cast off your reluctance. You can even find yourself a dance partner, although you might want to keep it a little more G-rated than some of the couples around.
If you tire, you can hit the bar. The bartender isn't checking any IDs, considering they think everyone present is a staff member. Just don't blow your cover!
no subject
[ In all the commotion, she hadn't entirely clocked that it might be some kind of... What? A reward for defeating Greg? Like he's a video game boss?
Hazel was never much of a gamer. She was lucky if she could win at solitaire. ]
Caleb. I'm Hazel. Nice to meet you. Sorry about the Hansel thing... I sort of panicked.
[ Introductions out of the way, she steps forward, not really caring all that much about the wet, sandy ground, and kneels in front of the chest, carefully lifting it open as though this might be another trap...
...But no trap springs, and instead there's stuff inside! Stuff that she recognizes! ]
Oh, heck yeah, my clothes!
[ It's probably worth noting that she arrived wearing a very dramatic gown, and the well-worn college sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers that she pulls out of the chest are a very welcome sight. She pulls the sweatshirt on immediately, not even caring that it's too hot out to be wearing a sweatshirt. She also withdraws from the chest a few assorted crystals, which she sticks into the pocket of her hoodie, and a polished piece of wood that looks like it might have once been a staff, but the majority of it has been burnt away. ]
no subject
[He watches her look through the chest. After the way he arrived, he has an idea of what she'll find inside.]
Familiar things?
[He stands back.] I found similar, when I first arrived, after I survived one of our illustrious host's tests.
no subject
[ She turns the burnt wood over in her fingers a bit longer, before that too gets shoved into the hoodie pocket, and she closes the chest, apparently finding nothing else inside of note. ]
Yeah. It's stuff I had back home. Some of it I haven't seen in a while. It's... nice to have it again.
[ Though she isn't sure what use the burnt remains of her staff is going to be to her now. ]
no subject
[Which is appropriate for this place.
Caleb watches her with the burnt out staff, curious but not asking.]
I'm glad you've found it then. For me it was my spell book. She seems to choose significant things for us to find.
no subject
[ Attention fully caught, Hazel turns to look up at Caleb, eyes alight with curiosity of her own. ]
Are you a... Geez, I don't even know what the right word would be. Do you do magic?
no subject
[He pulls back one side of his coat to reveal a book in a holster strapped to his side.]
Is magic common where you are from? I've met so many who come from worlds without it.
no subject
[ Her only exposure to magic users had been through women or nonbinary people. Leonore, her mentor, referred to themself as either a witch or a sorcerer, interchangeably, but tended to downplay the need for any kind of terminology, especially when it was only just the two of them practicing. ]
It's not really common, no. Most people don't believe it exists, outside of fantasy novels or anything like that.
no subject
[Caleb deflates a little.] That I have heard too. But at least it seems to exist in your world, even if secretly.
[Seriously. The study have magic has been so much of his life, it makes him a bit sad. How would he have coped in such worlds?]
no subject
That's... so many different kinds of magic. I wouldn't even know where to start classifying myself. What's the difference between all of those?
[ Maybe she's a little too interested to talk shop with someone who knows magic better than she does, but... She hasn't really had any opportunity to talk to anyone about anything in months. ]
Sorry... It's just. [ A deep breath, a shake of her head. ] I sort of stumbled on magic accidentally, and ended up in way over my head so much faster than I was ready for.
no subject
[But now he is the curious one.] Magic can be a dangerous thing to stumble in unawares. Are you all right?
no subject
I guess that makes me... some kind of mix between a wizard and a warlock.
[ She and Natura made a pact, that's for sure. But she wouldn't call Natura her patron. Not when she only has control of her own body one night per month.
Is she all right? ]
Yeah, I'm... [ Sigh. ] No. Not really.
[ But something occurs to her, and she looks up, past Caleb, past the tree line, to the sky. ]
Do you know what phase the moon is in right now?
no subject
[Caleb notes. But more important is that answer, the one she hesitated to give.]
Many of us aren't. Do you need help?
[Especially help of a magical nature, that's something Caleb could offer. The next question catches him by surprise.] Waxing. We're a week before full moon yet.