folkooc | August 2022 Test Drive Meme

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*tdm

August 2022 Test Drive Meme

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He continues to move, because while it's likely they could handle whatever the cultists may dish out, his closeness to the one he'd ended told him one thing: they weren't real. They were constructs, and while he had a considerable amount of endurance, it was not infinite.

He expects she will follow, and the idea she might not doesn't even occur to him. He takes a moment before responding again, taking in her eyes, the set of her jaw, the fierceness in her gaze and the tenacity. She really is quite a bit like Jane.

But she is not Miss Foster.]

I beg your pardon. You bear a striking resemblance to a mortal of whom my brother is overly fond.

[She jogs along after him, her talons retracting back into her fingertips with a metallic ring.]

Well, I am a mortal. But I can't say that I know any immortals are who are especially fond of me.

[Although she has met a few demi-gods. And the goddess of beauty.

But all of that was before.

This time, it's her turn to observe the stranger: Attractive, even with the silly hat. He doesn't smell Human, although he looks like one. And there's ozone lingering in the air, so it wasn't just the magic of the orchard she was picking up. No blood, as far as she can tell. Still, she must remember her manners.]

Are you injured?

[Once he could no longer sense the magical constructs behind them, he slowed to allow her to catch up. He might be thin and wiry compared to most Asgardians, but his strides were far longer than hers, and while he owed the girl nothing, her courage was worth the concern.]

Please, it will take more than a few dozen conjured guardians to harm me.

[He stopped then, just short of rapping his horns on a low-hanging branch in the orchard proper, and removed his visor. The scent of ozone she'd smelled earlier and another shimmer of greenish energy, and they were gone. He was not going to run into a tree, thank you very much.]

You are not Jane Foster, so what am I to call you?

[Conjuring magic. Interesting! It was a rare thing back home. Ariadne has only seen it a handful of times.

From very, very powerful beings.

So what does that make him? She can't say.]

Ariadne of Valeria.

[She gives him a polite curtsy, her long braid falling out of its knot at the base of her neck, tumbling down her shoulder like a rope.]

Except nobody calls me that and everyone calls me "Airy."

[A nickname that suits, her really. There a certain lightness to her, from the way she speaks to the way she moves her head. Birdlike. As if, any moment, she might spread wings and take off. As if gravity is only just barely holding her down.]

[It just so happens, Loki is a very very powerful being, at least in his own mind. That counts for something. His ego is such that it could have a sentience, really.

He smiles at her curtsy. Ah, manners. So rare these days. He even bows in response.]

Prince Loki of Asgard, though I wager my kingdom is some distance from here and you're welcome to call me 'Loki', Airy. It is a pleasure either way.

[A prince.

Well, she's glad she slipped back into formalities. Even if no one else in this strange place seems to care for the much.

There's a comfort in formality. A sense of knowing what to do with your hands and your words.]

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with "Asgard," your highness. But don't let that disappoint you. No one's ever heard of Valeria, either. They tell me that we're at the joining point between different universes, so that's common.

[A pause.]

Who is Jane Foster?

[While the heart of a peacock beat in Loki's breast, the title seemed somehow stilted and unnecessary given the circumstances and he shook his head.]

As I said, Airy, Loki will suffice.

[And she was right, there. He'd never heard of 'Valeria' and he was fairly familiar with the kingdoms of the Nine Realms. He frowned at her description of this place as a nexus of sorts, though.]

Oh, joy. I've just come from a planet with such a claim. This place isn't run by a being who calls himself The Grandmaster, by any chance?

[Ah, yes, he had mentioned Jane, hadn't he?]

Jane Foster is a human from Earth with whom my brother shared intimate relations for a time before she had the admirable tenacity to dump him.

[By the end of the brief explanation, he was smiling again. That truth was...endlessly amusing.]

[Ariadne shook her head a little. Since she was neither Human nor from Earth--nor had she ever shared intimate relations with anyone--she was decidedly not Jane Foster.

She did wonder a little at that smile. Then again, she'd seen enough brothers to know...well. That was a unique relationship.

Clasping her hands behind her back; a gesture made to make herself seem unintimidating, especially after using her talons, she tilted her head to one side. Birdlike and thoughtful.]

No Grandmaster that I'm aware of. Just the deity of this place who sometimes calls herself Thirteen. She seems...kind enough.

For a god, of course.

[Loki and Thor had a relationship more unique than most. Or, at the very least, more exaggerated due to extenuating circumstances such as immortality and super-human abilities.

He found himself watching her mannerisms as they talked, a habit he had with everyone. When one's illusions and imitations required perfection, you picked up on things. He wondered if her innocence was feigned or genuine. Either way, she was intriguing.]

Thirteen? Is the a member of a line of succession I wonder? [How curious.] You've met enough gods to compare, then?

Well...I met the goddess of beauty once.

[Not exactly the most impressive of gods, although she certainly lived up to her reputation. In every possible way.]

And an Avatar, although I know that's not quite the same.

[The man himself was sweet and kind. The god? A little bit aloof.

She shrugs.]

To be honest, most of the gods back home keep their distance, these days. With the wars going on, I think they're a little bit nervous. I can't blame them. Everyone is nervous.

Truly? She must have been jealous.

[He smiles slightly. It was a compliment, though not precisely a flirt, a means to charm the girl because charming people was second nature for the silver-tongued prince of Asgard.]

An 'Avatar'? In general, I know the meaning of the term, but I get the impression you mean something in particular.

[He nodded.]

Making war in the defense of the Realms is second nature to Asgard. Why is yours so nerve-racking?

Jealous of what?

[She looks genuinely perplexed by the statement. After all, what on earth would a goddess be jealous of?

What in the sky?

What in the multiverse?

Well. She shakes it off anyway, clearing her throat.]

There's a warlord. He calls himself the "Red Dragon." He's not an actual dragon, you see. But I suppose he finds the name intimidating. And he's quite dangerous. He's been swallowing up kingdom after kingdom since before I was born. And the story goes that he has a way to kill even a god.

Compliments are lost on you, aren't they?

[It wasn't spoken maliciously, but more playfully, as though an attempt were being made to get his point across, but that was as far as he would take it. If she still missed his point, then that was that.]

And has he? Killed a god, that is?

[This could, indeed, be relevant information, after all.]

[Ariadne's cheeks flush a little purple. No, compliments aren't something she's used to.

And she's only too happy to let it go without comment because...yeah.

Clearing her throat, she nods slightly.]

He claims to have killed several. No witnesses, but the Goddess of Beauty did say that she couldn't communicate with the gods in question.

[Oh now there is a bit of knowledge he'll be happy to save for later. He isn't the God of Mischief for nothing.]

Troubling. [He smirks playfully.] Perhaps they've all taken the opportunity to go on holiday.

It's hard to have a holiday without worshippers.

[Which is the closest she'll get to complaining about the fact that most of her gods haven't bothered to do anything to save the countless lives being swept away in the Red Dragon's rampage of terror and conquest.

It's not for her to question the gods.

Maybe. She's less and less sure of it, sometimes.]

Is it? I should think they'd exist whether the mortals were about to shower them with praise or not.

[Granted, Asgardians existed as the stewards of the Nine Realms without need for the worship of others. They simply were, and the mortals of Midgard were as they were.]

[She frowns a little, more thoughtful than argumentative.]

I'm not sure.

I mean, if there are no mortals, then there can be no gambling, so can a goddess of luck exist?

Or, if there are no mortals, then there can be no sailing, so can a god of sailing still exist?

Of course they can. [And then he smiled, and it was a knowing grin.] Think for a moment that gods do not exist because mortals have need of them, but that mortals attribute certain prominent character traits to their gods, and so, long before mortals threw bones and made wagers on how they fell, there existed a goddess who was damned lucky.

Or, [And he raised a finger.] Imagine, for instance, there was a young godling who was very good at mischievous pranks, magical ones even, and so he earned the moniker the God of Mischief.

I've never thought of it that way...

[Ariadne nips her lower lip.]

But that makes it sound almost like mortals created the gods, instead of the other way around.

In a sense. The gods existed long before the mortals did, and they lived their lives without concern for mortal affairs. Legend holds that Odin created Midgard from the body of a fallen Frost Giant and from his innards sprang forth all the multitude of life on Earth, the Realm of Mortals.

A sweepingly epic story, and one I've always been fond of. Do I believe the All-Father capable of such marvels? Perhaps, though I doubt it was something so miraculous. I wager mortals came to be much the same as anyone else: by being born, and their lives are finite, and over generations, they change.

And then, they wonder. "Where have we come from?" "Why are we here?" And that is how they weave their stories about, well, us.

[He smiles, spreading his arms wide, demonstratively.]

Well-met, by the way. I am Loki, Prince of Asgard, Odinson, God of Mischief, Chaos, Destruction, Rebellion, and Stories. You may call me Loki, of course, for convenience. [He returned his arms to his sides, still smiling.] I realize I'd introduced myself earlier, but it seemed only fitting to complete the tale.

[Well, that's a lot to take in at once. Ariadne keeps her face placid as an idol, although her thoughts reel in about a thousand directions, all at once.

It's different from meeting the goddess of beauty. She's never cared much about beauty, one way or another.

But stories....

Instinct kicks in quickly and she curtsies again, this time deeper, keeping her head bowed, her braid falling down to pool on the ground, eyes carefully averted.]

Forgive my questions. I didn't mean to be so forward.

You're missing my point, Airy. [He smiles, and there's something actually fond in the expression. He appreciates her sense of propriety, as a Prince if nothing else.]

In my reality, gods are not divine beings who created universes. We are simply...people, like you. We have faults and make our mistakes, and live saddled with the titles others have placed upon us. Surely you can commiserate with that.

[She stands up straight again, pulling her braid back over her shoulder. It's an unconscious gesture of comfort. Something she does when she's feeling a bit overwhelmed. Not scared. Ariadne doesn't like being scared. 'Overwhelmed' is a nicer word.]

I think I understand what you're saying. It's just...in my reality...gods really did create the universe.

Or, at least, that's what they said.

Ah, and there is the key, isn't it? "That's what they said." We are notorious for making mortals believe we've far more capable than we are.

[He grinned, holding up a hand to still any response she may have been mustering.]

We are capable of quite a bit, it's true, but greater powers than us created the universe.

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