August 2022 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

AUGUST 2022 TDM

INTRODUCTION

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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.

Comments

[jetpacking]

I prefer the term classics, thanks.

[Sam flashes an amused grin, there and then gone.

For a moment he looks from Natasha's rifle to his sword and has a moment of sheer unadulterated weapon envy. But he'll stick by his first choice for the time being.]

Eh, I mean it got rough, but she made out in the end. Rescued by a prince, happily ever after. But I get it. Who really wants to be kissed by someone who's okay kissing random corpses in the woods. [His grin resurfaces.] Prefer the gold one then?

[expionage]

Relics are worth more, Mr Classic.

[She answers his smile with one of her own as she adjust her hold on the rifle. It turns a bit teasing as she recognizes the look on his face. Yeah, she's got the bigger gun, but that's okay. He'll do just fine with that overlarge dagger. So long as he doesn't stab himself.

She looks around a bit more and finds a set of Marakov pistols. She considers switching just to them and giving him the AK, but something tells her that having a variety of weapons is probably for the best. She tosses one over to him and shoves the other one in the back of her jeans.]

There are no princes here now, Sam. We'll have to rescue ourselves from this curse. [She flashes him another smile.] Who doesn't prefer gold?

[jetpacking]

To museums, sure. Classics still get to be on the road though.

[He catches the gun, taking a moment to look it over and check to be sure it's loaded. Great, works for him. He'll mimic Natasha, tucking it in his waistband at his back and coming to stand beside her.]

All right. Moment of truth.

[He reaches up to pick one of the gold apples, holding it out to Natasha with a flourish. Well, nothing exploded immediately, so there's that. No alarms are going of. Maybe it's fine.

It's absolutely not. That'll be obvious near immediately.]

[expionage]

Hm, I think I'm going to have to agree to disagree. I'd rather be put up on a pedestal and admired. There's less of a chance at getting shot.

[She gives him a brief smile as he catches the handgun before letting it drop as he picks up the apple. Nat's attention is on the area around them and that's why she's not at all surprised to see that they're now surrounded.]

You know, it doesn't even need to be magic that summoned them. I also seem to remember a story about a golden apple. It started a war.

[jetpacking]

[Sam opens his mouth to retort back about pedestals and bullets before, well, he notices they've got company.

Well shit. Maybe they should've listened to the warnings after all. He does however pause to look at Natasha with a flat, unimpressed expression.]

You couldn't have mentioned that thirty seconds ago?

[He turns to see just how outnumbered they are. Well, been worse before. They can handle this.]

[expionage]

[Vantage points, Sam.

She looks around and looks for one, actually, while holding the Kalash in her hands and adjusting her stance to ready herself to use it.]

It's a pretty famous story, I thought. You know, Troy and all of that.

[One of the mask-wearing enemies steps closer to them. Natasha doesn't really give a thought to the scythes. After fighting flying space aliens, this almost seems normal.]

It looks like they're serious. Hope your dance card is open for multiple partners.

[jetpacking]

I wasn't exactly considering Greek mythology in the middle of an apple orchard.

[Sam informs her, but he's holding the sword up as the scythe-wielding folks come closer. Hey, at least they don't have guns. Or magic. Or murder robots. At least, not that he's seen yet anyway.]

Yeah, ready to dance the night away if I have to.

[But first he raises his voice.] Hey. You don't want to do this. Put down the weapons and back off. We don't want to fight you, but we will if you make us.

[He'd really rather not. Talking their way out of this would be much much better. But he has a sense that this won't be so easy.]

[expionage]

Well, that's going to be a problem now, isn't it?

[Because, uh, hey, this is a bit weird, even for her. She'd much rather have Hydra assassins, thanks, than a reenactment of the Bolsheviks taking out the Romanovs. She's not even related to them, okay?

When he talks about being ready to dance the night away, she looks over at him with a smirk.]

I'll keep that in mind.

[She's pretty sure they're not going to listen to him, especially when one raises the scythe threatening. She shoots at the ground by that particular person's feet.]

That's your only warning.

[jetpacking]

Well, it's not boring.

[That's his bright side. That's what he's got right now.

There's a moment where he hopes the warning shot will be enough. That maybe seeing that they're armed and serious will be enough.

It clearly is not. Several of the scythe-wielding mask-wearing welcoming committee rush forward at once. One slashes at Sam and he brings the sword up to block it before taking a swipe at his assailant.]

...should've apparently practiced with sword and the shield.

[That's his luck is what that is.]

[expionage]

I really think the knight motif works better for Steve, but I suppose you could pull it off.

[She doesn't hesitate and shoots the one that is coming at her straight in the head, moving onto the next with the efficiency she's known for. Sadly, it doesn't appear that the bullets are doing much damage, because she's still got three mask-wearing maniacs coming after her.]

Hey, Sam, shooting them doesn't appear to be working. How are you going with the stabbing bit?