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

now i have the 'everything is awesome' lego movie song in my head...

[perceptive]

( charles is glad that erik seems calm; a far cry from how he'd been on the beach in cuba after that encounter with shaw. he sort of desperately wants to know what happened that day, how it had all ended; if he'd managed to stop him from destroying... everything. but that conversation will just have to wait. for now, he's thankful for this present moment. for this peace between them. )

Well, I'll always find you. ( from that first night they'd met when he'd saved him to all the times charles has refused to leave erik behind or give up on him. he slides his hand up to cup the back of erik's neck briefly, brushing his thumb against his cheek, smiling up at him with great affection, before he pulls back and steps away. )

Come on. Let's find someplace where we can talk and figure out what we're going to do here. ( he studies the man's face, feeling somewhat concerned for his wellbeing. now that he's standing this close to erik, he's positive that they're from different timelines entirely. ) Have you eaten? Have you even slept? ( he breathes out a chuckle just then, looking somewhat amused. ) Relax, Erik. I'm not going to read your mind. I promise.

you’re so welcome

[metalkinetic]

[ Erik truly has no idea how he is supposed to manage this. On a good day - when he hasn’t just had his world shattered around him - he couldn’t care less if Charles peers into his mind to figure out what is going on in his head. It makes life easier at times, having his dearest friend be able to quite literally read him like a book. The fact that Charles is so far away from his own experiences makes him reticent more than anything else.

The touch startles him out of his thoughts. It’s been a long time since Charles had dared to share that easy, gently comfort of a hand on skin and he breathes in, barely leaning into the press of fingertips before Charles is back and away. He feels strangely cold, and Erik decides it’s probably best to not analyse that feeling too much.

It’s dangerous territory. ]

I hope that is true. [ He means it too. The promise of Charles being there, even in his darkest moments… Given the last few weeks it might be the thing that keeps his head above water, figuratively speaking. Shaking his head, he motions to his skull, a familiar motion. ] I don’t care if you read my mind, Charles. I just don’t think you’ll like what you’ll see.

[ But at least they can begin to walk, and Erik absolutely does not leave his sword behind. ] I’ve eaten and slept in the last twenty four hours. I even had some tea.

[perceptive]

It was 1962 for me. What year was it for you? ( they might as well start with that first. it'll be easier to read erik's mind, but he thinks that can wait for now. if erik is saying that he won't like what he sees, well, he should prepare himself for the worst then. but -- whatever it is, whatever happens for them in the future, no matter what, he's not going to abandon his friend in this new realm they're in. besides, alternate universes are apparently a thing, so who knows? what erik's experienced, what he knows, might not necessarily be what happens for charles. there are infinite timelines at play here. it's all incredibly fascinating.

besides, he'd told erik once before that he's not alone, and he never wants his dear friend to have to be alone again. it's the reason why charles brought them all to his house in the first place. together, they're a team. a family. and he wants to hold on to to that, more than anything. )

[metalkinetic]

[ 1962. Of course it was.

Erik can remember that year vividly - it had changed him that much, after all. Meeting Charles and realising he wasn’t alone, that he could be more than the monster he’d been shaped into being, that he was worth more… It had been revolutionary. It had also been one of the most exhausting, painful, grief-stricken moments of his life.

Looking at Charles he can see that he’s still optimistic, still warm and soft and gentle, and that’s never changed. What did change was how much of that he was willing to offer Erik over time and how much he would give him despite his trespasses. He can’t blame him for that.

Biting back a sigh, Erik looks over. ]

It was 1983 before I came here. A great deal has happened since Cuba, my friend.

[perceptive]

Nineteen eighty... What? ( he stops in his tracks just then, whirling around to face erik, clearly surprised, having not expected for that much of a gap in years between them. he has to take a moment to really look at the man. it's been a whole two decades since cuba. that's unbelievable. )

You've certainly aged well. ( erik doesn't look that much older than the last time he'd seen him. more frown lines perhaps. but he's still as ridiculously handsome as ever. charles can only hope that he hasn't turned into some portly old fart. god, please let that not be the case. not that he's particularly vain, but he'd like to think that he'd kept up with his early morning runs at least. )

And I don't doubt a lot has happened if it's been that long. ( he's hoping the years have been kind to erik, but judging by that earlier warning about reading his mind, he doubts it has been. and that worries him. he doesn't like that there's so much distance between them because of all that he doesn't yet know. )

Alright. Let me have a look then. ( he takes a step closer to erik, lifting a hand up to his temple. ) I don't want you walking on eggshells around me for the rest of our time here. ( they might as well get this bit over with. it'll just be a quick read, like ripping off a bandaid. it'll be fine. and perhaps it's not even as awful as what erik's making him think. )

[metalkinetic]

It has been quite some time, Charles, even if I have aged well. There’s a lot for you to learn. [ Erik almost wants to deny his entry, wants to make sure that Charles doesn’t see everything that’s going to happen - because it might destroy him. It might be enough to leave him in tears, but at least Erik will be here to offer him some kind of comfort. He can be there to show him the good and the bad, and maybe that’ll be enough.

Maybe. Erik isn’t sure Charles will want to be around him once they’re done.

Instinct has Erik reaching out, hand on Charles’ arm and he goes over the last two decades of his laugh, a play by play of all the horrors.

Cuba, and all that happened after. The president. Prison. Being released. The promise of the two of them in the future working together. The president, again. All the feelings that came hand in hand with that - Erik’s desperation on the plane to be alongside Charles but not being able to resolve their differences.

Falling away from one another again - and then trying it Charles’ way, living as a human. His wife and his daughter, the sheer depth of his love for them, and the grief he felt and still feels at their loss. Apocalypse coming and taking advantage of that loss, the camp, Egypt, choosing Charles over anything, any power, that Apocalypse and his ilk could’ve given him, and then returning to the house to rebuild it

The sheer burning hope inside of him that what they lost might be rebuilt. That the friendship he had with Charles, deep and intense and wonderful, might once again be present in his life and heart.

A tear is there, on Erik’s face, but he pulls it back. He can’t cry, not when he had to be the crutch for Charles who will see himself through Erik’s eyes and wonder. Will know just what horrors and joys await them both, together and apart. ]

pikachu tears everywhere

[perceptive]

( nothing could've prepared him for what he's seeing through erik's mind. so much indeed has happened. so much loss. so much pain. all the frustration and anger. feelings of abandonment, betrayal and loneliness. but then through it all, at the end of it, there's hope still, and it's what charles holds onto despite all that he's just seen and felt. )

Erik... ( there are tears in his eyes as he looks at the man standing in front of him, tall and proud, despite having been broken time and time again, and charles feels so much for him. ) I am so sorry for your loss. ( that needs to be said, first and foremost. erik had found a family of his own again, only to lose them once more. ) I truly wish I could've been there for you, my friend.

( they'd fought so much through the years. their disagreements and differences constantly pulling them apart. it had all started with that day on the beach in cuba. charles had come from that point in time, struggling with erik, trying to make him understand, desperately wanting to pull him back from the darkness. it seems he'd arrived into folkmore right before he'd been paralyzed by the bullet. knowing what will happen doesn't make him angry. it just makes him sad.

charles closes his eyes for a brief moment, and he sucks in a deep breath then, trying to calm his mind. he doesn't to bother to wipe the tears off his cheeks. instead he places his hand over erik's on his arm, and he's not pulling away from him, he's grasping hold of his hand in a firm grip. ) I don't hate you, Erik. I could never hate you. ( the man's been through enough, and though he wishes they had been able to work together instead of against each other, it's too late to change what's happened. all they have is the present now and he doesn't want there to be any animosity between them. )

we’re so sorry charles

[metalkinetic]

[ It’s not an easy story to tell or to relieve, and Erik can only imagine how it must be for a telepath. Charles has always felt things so deeply, so intensely, that this could have been something that broke him entirely. True to form, however, his empathy wins over any scrap of selfishness that might be there and Erik almost laughs. If he didn’t hurt so deeply he might have.

It’s not the first time he’s heard Charles offer him sympathy - but this time he doesn’t see it as the pity his past self would have. This time he is more able and willing to accept it, more able to take it at face value. He trusts Charles enough to know that it comes from a place of genuine concern and warmth. Real friendship.

The fact that after everything Charles can find it in him to forgive and welcome Erik is a marvel. ]

You’ve said that already. [ Trying to be funny probably won’t work right now. Not when he can feel the warmth of his dearest friend’s hands. ] You will be there for me, in your own way. Who do you think I thought of when I started my family? Who’s peace was I hoping to obtain? You’ll always be with me, Charles.

[ Sentimental in his old age, perhaps. Not so old to be too far from Charles, but with the clarity of hindsight to guide him. Maybe that’ll be enough for them to live in peace here.

What makes Erik ache, however, is the promise of never hating him. Things would be easier if he did, if Charles loathed him for the rest of his life, but he can’t help but be glad he doesn’t. He clings to that, because Erik needs him. He can’t be without him, and that has shown. They’re supposed to work together, even if they’re far apart. The emotions of it all must be blinding to Charles who surely has a tether with Erik’s own mind.

Sighing, he turns his fingers to grip Charles’ hand carefully. ]

I wouldn’t blame you if you did. I’ve stolen a great deal from you over the years.

(╥﹏╥)

[perceptive]

( when erik mentions that he'd had him in mind when he'd tried to seek peace by starting a family of his own, charles gives him a bit of a smile, brushing the tears off his own cheek. he feels so much for him. he's proud of erik. of all that he'd tried to do for himself, even after all the mistakes they'd made. the two of them. they'd abandoned each other, but they also keep finding their way back to each other somehow. it's not the future he wants for either of them, what with all the terrible things that have happened, but he's accepting of it. )

Considering you did draw the line at letting me be sacrificed to a false god, I'm going to have to give you a pass on that. ( it's his turn to try to be funny, but he does mean it. charles reaches out to pat erik on the shoulder once, twice. he knows what erik's feeling; what he's thinking: that he needs him, that they both need each other. he sighs, and decides on a whim to just pull him into a hug, a little hesitant at first, now knowing if erik will accept it, but he wraps his arm around the older man and pulls him in close anyways, simply looking to offer him some comfort, some reassurance that they will be alright. )

I am truly sorry for all the pain you've been through, and for any pain I might have caused you, Erik. I think... ( he bites down on his bottom lip, worrying at it as he tries to come up with the right words to say to him. ) I'm just glad that, despite our differences, no matter what, in the end, you always seem to come through for me, for us, and I'm thankful for that.

[metalkinetic]

[ It has been a long, painful journey for Erik Lehnsherr. Erik knows it himself: the rest of the world cannot and will not forgive him for his choices, but he never cared about that. He never cared about anything save protecting his people and ensuring their survival, their right to exist. He would have sacrificed himself far sooner if he had thought for a moment that it would make a difference, but he had tried. It has to be enough for him.

The hug isn't what he expected to happen, but he doesn't protest. The last time he and Charles had been close enough for anything like this he had still felt the weight of the entire world pressing down on his shoulders, and he's barely recovered from it all now. It's easy, then, to rest his chin on top of Charles' head, to wrap his own arms around his dearest friend and lean into him, to seek his comfort. A Charles that doesn't have his own grief and burdens on his shoulders, a Charles who still loves and accepts him as he is.

A Charles he doesn't deserve. ] To be fair, Charles, I was hardly in the best frame of mind when he took me.

[ And considering where Apocalypse took him mere days after the death of his wife and daughter... Erik was hardly in any frame of mind. He's glad Raven got through to him, he's glad he had his memories of Charles, pressing at the back of his mind, to pull him out of that pit. Otherwise he would have made the worst mistake of his life thus far. Sighing, softly, his fingers brush absently against the small of Charles' back, just enjoying the embrace.

It's nice. ] I make the right choices, in the end. I hope that only continues to be true.

[perceptive]

( he nods when erik mentions that he wasn't exactly thinking straight then. the mutant, apocalypse, had taken advantage of erik's grief, his pain, his anger. charles wished he could have protected him from that. how frustratingly stupid it was that they always seemed to be apart, separated, never together when they should have been. he's half-convinced if they hadn't been constantly at odds with each other they would have succeeded in creating a safe community for mutants to better understand themselves and learn about their abilities while being able to co-exist peacefully with the humans. despite what he'd seen of the future, charles still believes and hopes for a far better one for them all someday. )

We are going to have to learn to tolerate each other and work out our differences while we're here, my friend. I'm afraid this place isn't big enough for one of your dramatic exits. ( he lets out a soft chuckle then, giving Erik one final hug before releasing his hold on him and stepping back. )

I don't know about you, but I am in need of a few drinks. I mean, I am going to be bald and stuck in a wheelchair someday. ( which is really quite unfortunate. ) If I wasn't in a partying mood before, I certainly am now. ( he smiles though. he's joking. well, not about the drinks. he points them to a restaurant by the corner that's got a bar. time to get sloshed. )