July 2022 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

JULY 2022 TDM

INTRODUCTION

[ TDM Questions ★ Jump to Comments ★ Full Navigation ]
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.

[ Prompt One ★ Prompt Two]

Paper Rings

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

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.

TIME OF MY LIFE

Content Warnings: Mood altering substances, optional alcohol use, optional suggestive themes.

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!

Comments

[halsband]

[He hears the light running footsteps along the riverbank, but can't be bothered to release his hold on the creature's disgusting 'flesh'; too focused on getting it to let go and maybe he's panicking about it a little. A soft thunk sounds as the rock hits Greg directly in one of his creepy rubbery eyes and half bounces off like he were actually made of rubber. Maybe he is. It's pissed him off anyway, if not exactly done much damage. What follows are indignant complaints that he'd only been asking questions, what a rude girl. The thing's distracted enough to loosen his hold and Heine takes advantage of that window, twisting around to kick at it viciously while poor Greg rubs at his wide-open eye, and when he finally tears himself away completely, Heine picks up the rock and steps back to actually get a look at who threw it.

He almost drops it the moment he does. She doesn't look the same, and he can't immediately place why, because there's a level of shock that comes with seeing someone so familiar in this weird-ass place. Like it hadn't been real to him until now, until he sees that anxious expression and the scattered berries and basket.]

Nill.

[It's not a question, there's no doubt in his mind that it's her and not some illusion or whatever else this fox world might produce. For a moment, Greg is forgotten, but the creature apparently doesn't like being ignored and starts rambling about proving love or some shit. Heine's stopped listening, putting himself between the avocado monster and Nill like she had been the one in danger. The rock feels like a ridiculous substitute for a weapon in his hand, but he clutches it tightly, ready to turn and hurl it back at the thing should it make any moves. Staring a little awkwardly at Nill, he should be able to think of something better to say, but what comes out is:]

You dropped your mushrooms.

[culver]

[Almost too late, she realizes that she's still jogging towards the pair of them, and she makes herself slow down and stop a few yards away. She doesn't know what that thing is, but if it gets too annoyed with the way Heine is kicking at it, she doesn't want to get caught in the crossfire. Eventually, he extricates himself from its hold, though it continues to grumble and yell behind him.

She stares at Heine as he stares at her, and she's at an absolute loss for what to do.

It hurts to see him, and she should have known it would. Should have prepared for it. For her, it's been years, but time doesn't seem to have touched him at all. Has he been bounced from one dimension to another like she has, or has he been in their world all along? Has time gone on there? This isn't the time for questions like that, but they run through her mind one right after the other, a flipbook of everything she's wanted to ask for so long.

Heine steps between her and the rubber creature, and something in her chest aches at the familiarity of the move.

Finally, he breaks the silence, making the rolodex of questions in her head skip and come to a stop as she jolts back to the reality in front of her. There is a very avocadoy, very angry creature going on and on about proving that they are partners or something, and Heine is standing in front of her here at the riverbank. Her head dips briefly to see that her foraging basket is indeed on the ground, the food and other little things she's gathered scattered over the grass. She latches on to it as something to focus on, and gives him a jerky nod, wings flaring out behind her briefly before she crouches to right the basket and start gathering things back into it. This is a good, grounding activity for the next few seconds as she grapples with this new reality, one where Heine is here, standing in front of her, having just escaped the clutches of some kind of rubber river monster that seems to want to marry him. Absolutely par for the course for the track her life has been on for the past four years, isn't it? One curveball after another.]

[halsband]

[He watches her movements a little too fixedly as she starts gathering her items; it slowly dawns on him why Nill looks different, and somehow that realization is harder to process than anything else.]

You're older.

[What the fuck. She'd grown up a bit somehow when Heine had seen her less than a day ago. Maybe only an hour before the fox had shown up. Is his perception of time completely off, and he's older too but just doesn't know it? It's not like he'd looked in a mirror. He doesn't think there are any gaps in what he recalls; heading down into the depths of the underground with Badou and 'Giovanni', finding what they'd came for, telling Badou to run after...

It's not entirely out of the question that he'd blacked out the last however many years, and he was a little mentally confused at the time, he will admit. But the fox is a distinct memory, leading him away from that other version of himself that remained focused on that bitch of an abomination in the laboratory. His muddled thoughts on the possibility of time displacement versus being stuck in the dark recesses of his mind are thankfully interrupted by Greg getting more insistent now that they'd stopped acknowledging him. Heine's still annoyed by the creature's increase in volume though, and whirls around to chuck the rock back at Greg's face.]

Shut up, fucker!

[After that outburst, he tries, not too successfully, for a level gaze at Nill, shoving down any lingering apprehension of how this can't be reconciled by any amount of logic he currently holds. He'll worry about that, and himself, later.]

What happened to you?

[Probably too much to get into specifics on a riverbank with a monster lurking nearby, but any explanation would be good at this point.]

[culver]

[The few seconds she spends picking mushrooms and berries out of the grass allows her brain to catch up with everything that's happened in the past couple of minutes. She can handle this. She can. She's experienced stranger things in stranger places. This is practically nothing. Just all the unasked questions, unresolved thoughts and feelings, and a quiet, empty hole in her chest from the past four years all hitting her at once. Basically a piece of cake. She tells herself this over and over for those few additional seconds of silence, a mantra to get her through the shock and misplaced hurt and every other emotion she can't yet put a name to.

You're older.

Nill's hand freezes just centimeters away from a morel, and she looks up at him, a little bit of guilt in her eyes. Of course he'd noticed, he'd have to be blind not to (though she knows that wouldn't be a real detriment for some people). A part of her hates not being the same as he left her, and that's a can of worms she isn't even close to ready to touch. She quickly goes through her mental catalogue of all the things that have changed about her over these long years, and yes, ageing does come out near the top of the list. But there are still a lot of other things: the space travel, the powers, the knives, the sign language, the trying-a-cigarette-once-when-she-thought-she-was-going-to-die (he's going to kill Badou). Still, yeah, she's older. Enough for it to matter to a lot of people, for a lot of reasons.

Before she can nod again, he assaults the rubbery monster behind him (honestly, poor Greg; it isn't his fault this is all happening when he was just trying to get hitched). By the time Heine looks back at her, she's stood, abandoning the rest of her foraged goods on the ground, and wipes her hands on her shorts, telling herself it's to get residual dirt off them, but really doing it because her palms feel sweaty and clammy. God, nobody told her it would be this hard to see him again. To see anyone from her world, really. The only familiar face she's seen over the years for any amount of time had been Badou's, and they were separated two years ago. That was basically another life.

She holds up four fingers, surprised by how steady her hand is.

Will he know? Will he remember how she told him the years when they first met? She thinks so. She doesn't even try to sign, knowing that he won't understand any of the gestures. But that's okay. For now, this will have to be enough. Considering their current circumstances, it's all she can offer.]

[halsband]

[As she wipes her hands, Greg's started lamenting about the fact they're clearly involved somehow, dismissing him so blatantly, will he ever find a bride? It's ridiculous and casts a strangeness over this whole thing that lends more unreality to a situation that should be impossible. It's surreal, but sharp at the same time, and Heine feels like he's both participating and watching it all from somewhere else. He waits for any cues or signs, though he's not as adept at reading all the subtleties in her body language as he'd like to be. The fingers though, that's straightforward, and the gesture brings him an instant flashback of that hotel room, when he'd been so lost about why he needed to save her, and then he'd... that part's unimportant and not worth reflecting on right now.]

You've been here for four years?

[His voice is calmer than he feels. He can't delude himself for even a moment that she might mean four months. It's a very long time, and any number of things could have happened to her. Even if he sees so much of the girl he'd just left in her, there are changes too. More of them now that he's allowed himself to truly see her as she is, right here. The person she is now, shaped by experiences he wasn't there for. It's a weird thought to have, but it's the prominent one. That he should have been there.]

... and you're okay?

[There's a harshness to that question, but not directed at Nill. It's for anyone who had potentially harmed her, people he may have to track down and kill later.]

[culver]

[Briefly, she notes the change in Greg's whining, and a part of her is relieved that it seems like he's going to finally move on to... honestly, just about anywhere else. If someone had asked her ten minutes ago to describe how she thought she might one day be reunited with friends from her own world, this is not even close to how she would have pictured it. The rubber avocado crying in the background really distracts from the importance the moment should have, and she's really doing her best to just ignore him. It's difficult, but she's trying.

Where she's been for four years is a whole other conversation that will require a lot of time to tell, and a lot of text messages. But for now, his assumption serves; he has a grasp on exactly how long it's been since she's seen him. That's the crux of his question, she's answered it, and they can move on for now. Her hand lowers back to her side.

From anyone else, that tone of voice might have made her flinch. She's come so far these past years, and no longer jumps at every raised voice or loud noise, but there are still moments when she feels fourteen again, terrified of everyone and everything around her. But in the face of Heine's acerbic attitude, she stands still, a slight rustle of her wings her only tell.

Because no, she isn't really okay. She hasn't been okay in a long time. But she doesn't have the words for that now, to explain to him what pieces of her are steadfast and what pieces are just barely hanging on. So for a few brief moments, she takes stock of herself, her place here, and everything about herself in this exact moment. Everything else gets shoved aside for later. She's always been so good at compartmentalizing.

A nod, and a gentle exhale. Sure, right now she's okay. More okay than last week, last month, last year when she was so, so certain she'd never see him again. A lot of that uneasiness seems to fall away thanks to just his presence, even if she still holds a small kernel of fear inside (he could disappear in a second, not a word, and she'd have to pick herself back up once again). But yes, right now, she's okay. She has to be.

Jeeze, Greg sure isn't. He's wailing now, and her gaze flicks over Heine's shoulder for a second to look at the poor avocadoy mess, and she cringes a little. She makes a little "come on" gesture to Heine, taking one step back and hoping he'll follow suit. This will all be a whole lot less awkward if they aren't witnessing the rubber man's heartbreak in real time.]

[halsband]

[He doesn't like that little shift of her wings, and though Heine can't be sure it isn't solely attributed to the way he'd spoken, he'll try to catch himself next time. He'll fail and he knows it, but there's something to be said about making an effort or some shit.

It takes Nill too long to decide if she's okay, how to respond, and that bothers him too. She looks fine, right now, and that's what he has to go with; her confirmation and that noticeable release of tension in her breathing. It was too complicated a question to address while the avocado thing cries somewhere behind him; and he spares one disgruntled glance at it before nodding to Nill. They can continue this somewhere else, hopefully devoid of weird distractions; but he has doubts as they walk away, leaving Greg to his dramatics.]