folkooc | August 2022 Test Drive Meme

Entry tags:

*tdm

August 2022 Test Drive Meme

AUGUST 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]

Summer Is Over

Content Warnings: snakes, cultists, optional violence.

FALLING DOWN LIKE PIECES INTO PLACE

A breeze with the crisp smell of dying leaves caresses you awake. You sit up to find yourself in the middle of an apple orchard, rows spreading out in all directions. Mouth watering apples hang from the branches, and nobody will stop you from taking one. You can wander the orchard as long as you like, but eventually you will find yourself emerging into the front yard of a little farm. There’s a red barn with perfect white trim set far back, and to one side of the yard is a kiosk modeled to match the barn. This is staffed by a woman who sure looks a lot like the fox that brought you here.

On the side of the kiosk are advertised a few different items: pumpkin spice lattes, hot apple cider, cold alcoholic apple cider, and hot chocolate. The cider, you will be informed, is made on site. (But you have to be of legal age to be given that hard cider!)

There are two other things advertised: APPLE PICKING and a SCAVENGER HUNT.

“You need a buddy for those, though,” the woman running the kiosk will tell you. “Lucky for you there’s plenty of people you can pair up with.”

If you elect to try the scavenger hunt, you and your partner will be handed a piece of paper. On it reads the following:

TAKE A PICTURE OF THE FOLLOWING ON YOUR RELIC! :)

- YOU HOLDING HANDS WHILE YOU GO DOWN A PATH
- FEET WITH AUTUMN LEAVES
- SOMETHING YOU THINK IS TRULY BEAUTIFUL
- A GENUINE SMILE

“When you’re done, bring it back here and show me,” the woman instructs you. “You’ll get a prize if you do.”

It’s an easy enough list, right? Although you have to follow the instructions - you really DO have to find something you genuinely think is beautiful, and that smile can’t be forced! Those might require opening up to your partner a little bit!

If you succeed in the scavenger hunt, you will be gifted with an item from home.

Now, what if you decided to go apple picking?

You will be given a bucket. “Be careful to only pick apples from the trees in the rows,” the kiosk woman tells you with a secret smile. “You don’t want to bother the old trees off the path.”

Yeah. That sure sounds like a challenge, doesn’t it?

If you do stick to the orchard proper, you will be able to pick your fill of apples. All of them are crisp and sweet and delicious. But at some point you will see the other trees.

They’re both huge and old, standing on two sloping hills just past the orchard rows. One of them has apples red as blood, and the other apples gold as the sun. In the shade of these trees are weapons sticking half out of the earth, as if they were carelessly buried many years ago.

If you pick one of the red apples, you will find that you are suddenly besieged with huge snakes. They are as big as anacondas and an inky black that absorbs the light, with eyes the same red as the apples. They aren’t poisonous, but they bite and they crush, so you’ll have to fight them off at least long enough to run like hell!

If you pick the golden apples, a crowd of people will silently begin appearing from the orchard. They are all wearing animal masks… and they are all holding hand scythes. Uh oh. You’ll have to fight them off in order to escape! If you don’t manage that, well, in some places it’s traditional to have a big ol’ sacrificial bonfire…

All the weapons below the trees are non-enchanted items, but you may keep them.

Plaid Shirt Days and Nights

Content Warnings: Optional themes of identity and school trauma.

IMAKEOVER MAKEOVER

Thirteen believes passionately in education. There are, after all, five academies in Folkmore all catering to different types of learning. While these academies are open year round, it becomes apparent if you walk through any of the districts housing shops that back to school is definitely a thing.

A new school year represents a chance to learn more about the world, and about yourself.

Also? It’s a great time for a makeover!

Yes, step into any of the shops selling clothing and accessories anywhere in Folkmore and you will find yourself passionately invested in helping another person discover who it is they want to look like! Do they want to look cool and aloof? Warm and approachable? Are they an e-boy or a cottagcore witch? Punk or prep? You two can figure it out together!

As you shop together you will find it easier and easier to open up to one another, sharing who it is you want to be.

You’ll also be able to score a sweet outfit. Nice.

SAVED BY THE BELL

Wander into any school in Folkmore and you will find a handmade poster instructing all new students and faculty to report to the auditorium. Normal enough, one supposes… but the moment you enter the room you will find reality swims all around you and all of a sudden you’re stuck in a school nightmare!

You know the kind. You’re late for class, no matter how fast you run. You’re in gym class, trying to climb that goddamn rope. You’re getting your books dumped. You’re naked and giving a book report.

These could be memories, but it’s just as likely that they aren’t - you and another person are just trapped in this cliche together. Whichever one of you is in the audience role could maybe help the other one out? Get them some pants or something? Yeah.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I've been here a couple months. You get the run-down? Thirteen brought us here, she's from a planet where beings like her make planets to find their callings. But that's all the information coming from the library.

[ So the implication is that he trusts it about as far as he can throw it, is what he's saying. Or, he trusts it about as far as he used to be able to throw it, when he was small. ]

Usually the prize isn't too great, but the more we talk to each other, the more lore we get.

You didn't get rid of your spoon, did you? It works like a credit card.

[ He wouldn't be asking, but Bucky left his in a drawer. ]

A couple of months and you're already on top of things. I'm impressed.

[Especially since he'd had trouble acclimating into a life in DC. He was doing it, but very slowly. It was part of the reason that Nat was trying to get him to date someone else, instead of hanging on and mourning the loss of a future with Peggy. Not that she got very far in that either.

What he says though, she doesn't trust it either.]

Guess that means I'll have to go look into that information myself later.

[She frowns about the spoon before pulling a very decorated spoon from her jacket pocket.]

That explains this, but not how it functions like a credit card. Is that in the welcome packet they failed to give me?

Yeah, except there's no welcome packet. It's a frustrating place. I haven't even told you about the magic yet.

[ In case she missed the fact that they're surrounded by all these little forest spirits and apples that apparently cause things to attack you. ]

After this, we should get something to eat. My treat. I'll explain everything.

[ But first, he holds out his hand. ]

Let's go find a path.

Magic? Are we talking about bunny rabbits and saws or is this something else? Should we be looking for stray Asgardians?

[She's sort of cottoning onto this being waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay outside of her frame of reference. Even dealing with Loki and Thor and all the aliens during the attack on New York City is not like this. She almost prefers that. It made some sense to her.]

Yeah, I'm going to need a debriefing about what is going on.

[She considers his hand before taking it. She's kissed him and squirmed around in his lap, among other things. This is almost platonic.]

Is it safe to leave the more populated parts? I'm unarmed and not all of us are built like handsome, muscular Mack trucks.

Yeah, actually. Just stay away from the lake, and don't pick up any weapons that are sticking out of the ground.

[ Not that Natasha would, because that sounds like a dumb thing to do, but he does want to paint the full picture here. ]

The spirits here understand English, but most of them don't talk.

And I mean this kind of magic.

[ He casts Mage Hand, and has it wave at her and then pick a totally normal apple from a nearby tree, and offer it up. ]

[She just looks at Steve for a long moment, not saying anything. He might be handsome with that beard, but it seems that whatever has happened in the time since they've been apart, someone's hit him a lot in the head, affecting his intelligence.]

You do realize that I don't need a weapon to kill someone, right?

[It's not a boast. She's snapped a man's neck with her thighs before. It's not easy but it's been done.

She doesn't comment about the English remark. She speaks more than one language, and she knows he also knows some French and German from his time served in the European Theater during World War II. But that display of power is...unnerving.]

That's new. Did you get that from here or something else?

Yeah, but this place is... Let's just say I had to fight seaweed last month that would only be cut by a gold sword. Not even just a gold blade. Had to be a sword.

This place doesn't function by rules that you or I are used to, Nat.

[ Also she probably doesn't want to get her legs around the baby Kraken's neck. Or Greg's. Oof, he doesn't want to talk about that. ]

I'm learning magic, 'cause I figure it'd be useful in a place like this. But other things happened, too. I can fly, for one.

Maybe we should sit down for this?

[ And he can start at square one. But the problem is that a lot of things have happened, and he hasn't even started making sense of any of it, hence, his hands-on magic lessons. ]

Seaweed? Are you saying the seaweed was sentient?

[That's so far out of the realm of things she's used to dealing with that she's going to be gobsmacked for a bit.

And, excuse you, if Greg gets too handsy, she will take care of him herself. And then throw up later, because awkward.]

Yeah, I'm going to need a fully detailed explanation, because... magic is... [She stops and runs the hand not holding his over her eyes for a minute.] Start at the beginning, Steve.

Alright, here it goes.

Came here, got chased by the personified ghost of someone who was killed in Sokovia, met another version of me, got my serum stripped by a squid, and learned how to fly. Thirteen apparently is responsible for my wings.

Wait.

[ He brings them out, as well as his halo, for effect. ]

Don't laugh. Anyway, the floods started due to her casting some spell incorrectly, people got trapped in bubbles so I turned into a merman, I got kidnapped by a brainwashing shark, and after all that I thought maybe I should learn a little magic.

[ And not get totally fucked over again in the process. ]

Also, the locals are spirits, and Bucky's from 2024.

[Natasha snickers at the wings and halo. They fit. He's definitely got that Anglo-Saxon angelic look to him, even with the beard.

But as he continues to talk, she feels her smile die.]

2024? You're telling me that Hydra's most dangerous killing machine is from the future?

[She knows all about James "Bucky" Barnes, as much as she could be with his life from before he was taking in to become The Winter Soldier, but.... The thought of him being from the future leaves her feeling cold in a way that makes her want to go underground.]

No. He's not Winter Soldier anymore. He went to Wakanda and they took out his conditioning.

He's just Bucky now.

[ Sorry, he should have lead with that. Because he knows their history, but at the same time, Bucky does kinda live with Steve. ]

[She just looks at him for a long moment. He's not the lying type, so she has to trust him on that, but he does tend to be pretty optimistic, even when things are bleak.]

He might be your friend again, Steve, but I'll wait to make my own judgment. He's shot me twice. I won't give him a third time.

I know.

[ He's asking a lot of his friends, but he also knows Bucky's not a danger anymore. ]

Let's finish this scavenger hunt so we can talk.

Tell me a joke?

[She'll drop the topic about his friend, because she really has no room to talk about dangerous Russian killing machines. She's said her piece about it and moves on.]

A joke? [She raises an eyebrow in thought.] Are you sure that you're ready for Russian humor? Your delicate American sensibilities might not be ready for it.

Yeah but if I tell you a joke, you're not gonna smile.

Wait.

Do you wanna hear a construction joke?

If I tell you a joke, you're likely to cry.

[She's trying to warn him, honestly. Russian humor is not the same as Western humor.

She raises an eyebrow at his question.]

Fine. Tell me a construction joke.

I'm still working on it.

[ He cracks a smile. Yep, that's the punchline, please smile Nat that's the best material he has. ]

[Natasha looks at Steve for a minute, before her lips definitely tip up into a smile.]

That's horrible. Where did you pick that up?

[ That counts, he snaps a picture. ]

Had to make it up on the spot. I'm not a comedian, Nat.

Now we've gotta find something we agree is beautiful. Except I don't think I can just use this picture twice.

[She rolls her eyes fondly at him as she looks around.]

Don't quit your day job, Soldier. You'll never make it.

As for beautiful, is there some view you enjoy? Nature's always easy to agree on.

There's plenty around here. Actually, the leaves turning color is nice, don't you think?

[ He is maybe a little done with summer right now. ]

[She looks at the leaves on the trees. There's a part of her that will admit that she hasn't taken the time to appreciate nature. And it's a nice look, but not really her thing.]

I was hoping there would be a nice sunrise or sunset. The trees are nice, but I prefer vistas.

Well, then we'll have to wait for sunset. Though those are nice, here.

But I'm thinking we could find something a little faster than that. I've got my bike if you wanna hop on.

I can imagine.

[She's seen the sky. It's got to be amazing with either a sunrise or a sunset. She sort of feels like she's fallen into cotton candy as she looks up though.

At his other comment, she turns to him with a smirk.]

Steve Rogers, are you trying to offer me a ride on your bike? Did you really think I'd say no?

Some people don't like riding in back.

Plus. To note, it literally runs on compliments.

So please tell her she's pretty.

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