September 2022 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

SEPTEMBER 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]

GOLD WAS THE COLOUR

Content Warnings: mood-altering substances.

What a Wonderful Harvest

It's harvest season in Folkmore. Apples, squash, potatoes, onions, peaches, sweet corn... all manner of crops are ready to be gathered, and golden fields fall willingly before the scythe. The air has a chill to it that you can mostly ignore in the sun but runs deep when you stand in the shadows.

After arrival you will find yourself out in said fields, maybe a little disoriented but not in any danger. It's peaceful.

In the farmlands you might be able to hear music floating on the wind. Follow it, or just wander by accident, and you'll find yourself coming upon what looks like some kind of costume party: people dressed up in cloth and vegetables - mostly gourds as masks - are singing and dancing around an enormous pole surmounted by the biggest Jack-O-Lantern you've ever seen.

The pumpkin people seem shy, but they won't turn you away if you wish to join their celebration - there are other Star Children like yourself here, and you might feel a little more comfortable with them. At least you can see their real faces. You can drink some apple cider and carve some pumpkins yourself if you like, or help out by husking some corn.

At some point, you will become aware of the fact that the dancers have stopped, and the object they've been dancing around has moved. The Jack-O-Lantern is looking at you.

The pumpkin king leans down, eternally smiling.

"Trick or treat?" he asks you in a deep voice. You'll have to pick one!

"TRICK."

The partygoers all watch you carefully. The lord of the harvest appears to think for a moment, then nods his massive head. One of the veggie dancers approaches you with a tray upon which are five cups of cider.

"Pick your poison," you're told, and you can only hope it's not literal!

Four of the cups of cider will have no effect whatsoever. But the fifth?

That fifth cup of cider makes you feel more social. Less reserved. Downright friendly, even. You want to talk and joke with people even if that isn't normally something you'd do. You might even join the vegetable dancers for a spin, and drag someone else along with you! Your judgment isn't quite impaired, but your inhibitions are definitely lowered. Might be a quick way to make some new friends, though!

"TREAT."

You are offered a large basket, held so that you cannot see inside. After some fumbling, you pull something out. What is it? It's an envelope. Or a cassette tape. Or a photograph. It might be the mixed tape you created for your high school crush, the poem you wrote about your broken heart, the letter you never mailed to your estranged father. It's something personal that is connected to someone from home somehow. As you hold it in your hands, you will feel an irresistible urge to explain it to the person next to you no matter how embarrassing or painful it might be. You can only hope that they aren't a colossal dick about it.

HELL WAS THE JOURNEY

Content Warnings: aggressive dogs, decapitated spectres, potential violence.

GET AHEAD

The sun sets earlier and earlier every day, but that doesn't mean there's suddenly nothing to do! The warm lights of homes all over Folkmore welcome people inside for parties. Of course, the Spirit People of Folkmore are rarely humanoid, so you may find yourself at a dance for frogs or a cocktail party for round fuzzy critters with giant eyes. Regardless of what kind of creatures you wind up partying with, they are excellent hosts!

When food has been had and drinks are flowing, someone suggests a time honoured tradition: the telling of ghost stories.

The guests take turns, spinning tales both familiar and not. One such tale is that of the Horseman and his Hounds.

This, the storyteller insists, is a true tale, and is as follows:

Folkmore is home to many Spirit People, and many other creatures besides. While most of these wish only to live their lives, there are certain powers that Thirteen leaves to their own devices, no doubt for reasons all her own. When the autumn harvests come and the leaves burn with colour and fall to the ground, the dominant spirit of lonely places is the apparition of a figure on horseback, without a head. Some versions of the story claim the horseman's head is carried before him on the pommel of his saddle, while others say instead the spirit carries a lit Jack-O-Lantern in place of it... and wishes to find a more suitable replacement. No matter the variation, the rest of the legend is the same: in autumn, on lonely roads, unlucky travelers will hear the baying of hounds. Moments later they will see the Horseman upon his stallion, and then the unholy troop will pursue the hapless travelers across hill and valley.

Some tales are told of Star Children fighting off the spectral hounds and challenging the Horseman to a fight, with varying levels of success. All are in agreement, however, that the sure method of survival is to escape over running water. Easy enough in some parts of Folkmore... less so if you happen to be caught out in the desert of Cruel Summer.

All parties must end, and this one does too, which means you now have to make your way home. Not that you're scared or anything, but maybe it's wise to walk with someone else tonight...

Not that it matters. Ultimately you and your companion will find yourself on a lonely stretch of road somewhere, and just as you've managed to convince yourselves that nothing out of the ordinary is going to happen you hear it.

The Hounds.

Turn and you'll see them, dark and sleek, and beyond them their infernal master. Atop a gleaming black stallion, the Horseman is gigantic in height and muffled in a cloak.

Whether you run or stand and fight is entirely up to you. As if to make it more of a fair fight, there are weapons hidden off the road - stumble into a ditch and you might find a rifle or a sword. The Hounds have very sharp teeth but they themselves cannot be injured - if struck they simply turn to black smoke and vanish. The Horseman cannot be killed - he has no head! - but if you fight him to a standstill he will reward you with the gift of something from your homeworld. This can be a weapon or magical item.

If you manage to cross a stream or a river, the spectres will vanish with howling and laughter.

ODDS BODKINS

You're likely to be shaken up after your encounter, so it's relief when you see that there's a bonfire lit not far past the water you've crossed. Perched all around it are a bunch of different owls, many wearing hats. They all swivel their heads to look at you before they hoot and gesture for you to come near. There, set up to one side of the bonfire, is a long low table laden with drinks in many different colours and little cakes and cookies. You always thought owls ate mice, but whooo's to say? Hoo? Get it? On another low table are supplies for patching people up in case your fight with the Horseman got a little intense! The owls don't have hands, but maybe there's a kind stranger nearby who'd be willing to help you? Or maybe you just want to talk to someone who has their head on right!

Comments

[twilight_sword]

Full of? No, certainly not. This is the first time I've seen something like those.

[Is Folkmore without its dangers? No, but that wasn't the question that was asked. Dainsleif shakes his head slightly and looks into the fire rather than at the Traveller.]

But you should get yourself a sword regardless, and keep that guard of yours sharp.

[No doubt he would say similar things even if Folkmore seemed to be safe, but Dainsleif has already seen enough to know that the place may appear to be many things... but 'safe' is hardly one of them, most of the time.]

I was able to keep them at a distance without needing to touch them, but I do hope they are the only creature of its type that crops up here. I much prefer something that stays solid and dies when I snap its neck.

[descender]

[The fact Dainsleif hasn't seen these creatures before can mean several things. Just some quick guess work means either something awoken them or aggravated them. It could be a way of this world of "protecting" itself from the newcomers. Yet Kaeya has said most of them are from other worlds. The other could simply be those things come from another world or someone from another world created such a thing.

There will be more time to think about origins. Dainsleif is right, so he nods about the sword. He'd like to think with a sword he could've stood his ground or at least done enough damage to fend them off.]

Yeah, that's on my to do list. Know any place where I could get one?

[He expects nothing less than Dainsleif being able to take them on well enough to defend himself. His combat prowess is excellent and clearly something he has refined. Still, on a personal level, it's good to know that he isn't hurt or anything like that] Someone's not slacking either. If only we ran into each earlier.

[twilight_sword]

No. But you might find your own if you think to look for it.

[He had found his, and luckily too. Though he has changed weapons over the years (even with the best of care a sword will not last in battle-worthy condition for five centuries) he has had the one he currently wields for a long time, and he would have been very vexed to have to accustom himself to a new sword on top of everything else.

The comment on 'slacking', though, brings a soft huff of amusement from him. Funny. Aether might not know him very well but slacking is definitely not something he's known to do. In fact the whole concept of 'relaxing' is something he's having to get used to, if only because he has no other choice in the matter.]

It looks like you managed well enough without my help. [He replies, a tiny smile almost visible at the corner of his mouth.] As I'd expect of someone so well travelled in Teyvat.

[descender]

Is that what you did?

[Because he sounds like he speaks from experience here. He would not mind finding something new, but he's become familiar using his particular sword in Teyvat. He's mixed it up a few times, as he's someone who's had to adapt, but familiarity is best with weapons. If he is to fight with a new weapon, he'd like to practice in safer situations if he's allowed to.]

I still have my elemental abilities, but quick thinking helped the most. [He'll take what said about him as a compliment. He might know that much about him, but with their time together, Dainsleif's actions have shown his character better than words ever could.] Since you've been here, would you know how to get to a-[As he tries to remember, he pulls out something Kaeya gave him earlier.] place called Lapine? A friend of mine offered to let me stay there for the night.

[twilight_sword]

Mm.

[That's what he did. He found his own weapon relatively quickly before fending off some assailants, albeit with help, and has been carrying it with him ever since then. Though, much like Aether, he doesn't actually need a weapon to be an effective combatant. Not when he can lift his enemies from a distance and choke them out in mid-air if need be.

Aether continues, and he straightens up a little.]

Lapine? Yes, I know the way. [There's a pause, as though he's wondering if he should say something else, then he goes on.] Your friend, would that happen to be... Kaeya? Or perhaps the Ragnvindr boy?

[descender]

[He briefly nods, wondering how Dainsleif knows about them, but then it hits hom not long after that kind of what he did back in Teyvat. He seemed extremely aware of the goings on and Aether doubts he would be slacking off here. He doesn't know how much they know about each other or interactions, but he sees no harm. Diluc and Kaeya are his friends and Dainsleif is a good person from what he's experienced.]

I met Kaeya earlier, and I heard through him Master Diluc is here too. [They technically both his friends.] Now there's at least five us here. I met with a friend from Sumeru before running into you. [He doesn't mind revealing that to Dainsleif.] It could be one big coincidence, but the Fox picked us all.

[twilight_sword]

I don't believe in coincidences.

[For the 'why' of so many people from Teyvat suddenly arriving here, he doesn't have an answer... but nor dores he believe in coincidences. There's bound to be a reason that Thirteen has turned her attention to Teyvat, he just doesn't know what it is yet.

As for Kaeya... he keeps his silence about the young man's concerns about him being here and the conversations they had had. He doesn't know yet just how much Kaeya might have told Aether about his heritage, even if he trusts him as a friend.]

But Sumeru, you said? Hm. I haven't been there in a long time. At least not more than passingly.

[descender]

[It's good to know Dainsleif agrees with him. Aether knows how knowledgeable, intelligent, and insightful he can be. The Abyss Order and the Fatui might now be here, but that doesn't mean everything will be all right or peaceful.]

In this case I don't, but we need more information. [And how he or they will get it is another question that cannot be answered right now.]

He's a mentor to another new friend of mine. [It does catch his interest that Dainsleif was there, but that's to be expected.] You trekking through Sumeru's jungle, you must have stuck out there. [Technically Dainsleif sticks out almost anywhere in Teyvat, though.] I've run into some Abyss mages, but only the low ranking ones. Then huge ruin guards, bigger than I've ever seen, but they aren't active.

[twilight_sword]

[He's just listening along until Aether mentions huge ruin guards. He knows about those, what they're now called, and also what they were called back then...]

Mechanical Guardians. [Dainsleif says thoughtfully. Halting the plan to retrieve the eye of the first field tiller had been one thing but damn, if the Abyss Order ever got their hands on one of those things and managed to get it working again.

As far as he knows they are all entirely nonfunctional, abandoned by their crews.]

Not many of those were made, comparatively speaking. Just constructing them was a massive undertaking.

[descender]

[He gives a nod, remembering Dainsleif would know about such things. So far he hasn't explored them too much, but seeing them from a distance is plenty enough. He could ask more about them, but now's not the time. It's not like he could use anything he's told at the moment anyway.]

I can imagine. [It gives insight into what the people of Khaenri'ah were capable of. Now those large guardians look like they are resting, slowly being lost and entangled in the jungles of Sumeru.] I've seen some Akademiya scholars interested in them, but it's hard to ignore something like that.

Hopefully they aren't getting in over their heads or trying to activate them. [Because he has a feeling that means he'll get involved knowing his track record with these things.]

[twilight_sword]

They would be better served by staying far away from them. [Dainsleif replies with a sigh. He knows very well the driven and boundless curiosity of Sumeru scholars, and that their insistence on prodding around in Khaenri'ahn technology could very well one day cause disaster.]

But the Kshahrewar Darshan rarely know when to leave well enough alone when it comes to the relics of Khaenri'ah. When they sealed the cores of the ruin machines that spilled out of the desert following the Cataclysm it was only a matter of time before they grew too curious to leave them where they lay.

[So long ago... Records still exist of the destruction that mishandling the cores of those massive ruin machines could cause, but the real memory of them had been forgotten. Perhaps they would have to experience it again for another five hundred years of peace for those ancient instruments of war.

Dainsleif pushes one hand through his hair tiredly and shakes his head.]

Back then, they called Khaenri'ah 'Dahri'. I believe one of the other Darshans still uses the word.

[And perhaps, if Aether has explored enough, that sounds a little familiar]

[descender]

[He quietly and insentiently listens to him. He's been trying to find more information on Khaenri'ah, but it's proven rather difficult. So having any information shared with him feels important. In a way, he hopes to gain insight and clarity into what his sister might know that he doesn't. He knows one day he'll find out, once he finishes his journey across Teyvat, but there is part of him that wants to at least glimpse some fragment of insight to reassure him.]

I think I've seen and heard that word before. [He's explored some parts of the ruins, but nothing deep enough just yet. He knows several commissions involving such things, and his own curiosity has tempted him to follow up on them.] It's hard not to be curious about ruins like those with how big they are.

[Which leaves the question why such big ruin guards are in Sumeru of all places. Maybe they're in the other regions of Teyvat, but to speculate such a thing is for another time.]

When I'm back in Teyvat and Sumeru, I'll remember your words.

[Because it's not an if but when he'll return back there. He has to. His journey is not yet complete.]

[twilight_sword]

Hmn. That remains to be seen.

[Who knows what happens when they leave? And who knows if the Fox's words can be trusted even if she tells them? Dainsleif would not put much faith in anything that she said, even knowing that his own prejudices against beings like her are colouring his perceptions.]

But I think that you come to such conclusions yourself, without any need for input from me.

[If he sees those things up close... Surely he would understand. They are weapons of mass destruction built for a single purpose.]

You already understand that Khaenri'ah must be left to rest.

[descender]

[Through his time with Dainsleif and his ongoing journey through Sumeru, he's seen more evidence that reviving something will not truly bring back a memory. He's been told earlier by him, but with everything in context, and with the more he learns about Teyvat, his words ring truer than ever. He's been plenty curious about Khaenri'ah himself, but never at the expense of hurting people. Once his sister would have agreed with that... right? But now it pains him to think she somehow believes the ends justify the means.

He makes sure to look Dainsleif in the eyes, nodding to confirm his statement.]

Yes. I've seen and learned it even more through my journey. It might be easier for me to say since I don't have the same attachment and feelings for Khaenri'ah as my sister does, but my word doesn't mean less because of it.

[He puts a hand over his heart to reaffirming his words now and the words he said to Dainsleif before.]

[twilight_sword]

[' I don't have the same attachment and feelings for Khaenri'ah as my sister does'.

The twitch in Dainsleif's expression is incredibly visible. He grimaces and utterly misses Aether's earnest gesture as he looks away from him instead and into the fire burning beside them, then he faintly shakes his head before the other man can question his reaction.]

You know as well as I that your sister's feelings for Khaenri'ah have no place in today's world or the future of Teyvat. [Yet, he knows that those feelings are shared by so many who still survive and would have been supported before the Cataclysm.] Comparing the weight of your word against hers would be like comparing ice and fire.

[descender]

[It's not a friendly or easy topic to talk about, but brushing it off or disregarding it would be rude. Dainsleif's feelings are legitimate, especially since he has insight into the bond has... had with his sister. Before Teyvat, they had different preferences, but with major things, they always agreed and understood each other's point of view. If he did not form the friendships and attachments he has in Tevyat, the thought of joining his sister would not be out of the picture.

It feels a bit like picking between the new relationships he's made and her. There are no winners, but he knows what is right.]

I'll let my actions prove it since words won't be enough. [He will complete the journey, he will see what his sister has seen, and he'll find a way to back to her not just physically, but emotionally. Dainsleif must have tried, and that didn't work, but he cannot give up on her and on them. It's more about their relationship, but about Teyvat and all of this world.] I have friends and people I care about in Teyvat, so our desires are just as strong there even if we are not aligned. That gives me the best chance at stopping her, because I know her heart and her strength better than anyone.

[twilight_sword]

[Dainsleif nods. When they had spoken of it in the Chasm he had expected that Aether's actions would need to be the proof of his intent. Without that, he's just giving a speech and Dainsleif knows very well that words can be entirely empty.

But he is willing to give Aether that chance. A chance to prove that when the time comes he will make the right decision about which side he's going to stand on.]

Maybe you do. [He murmurs.] I thought that once, too.

[They had been so close. He still aches for the loss of that friendship and how it had ended. What she is now.] But don't forget, hearts can change... and the two of you have been apart for a long time. She is no longer the person that you knew.

[descender]

[He's assumed Dainsleif felt that way once, but him hearing that, it does hit him differently. If the roles were reversed, he wonders how confident his sister would be with this all. For him, he's had to build up the confidence because he knows he has those who support him now.]

I know she's different now, but now I have friends, and I have you with this. [She once had him by her side. To make this simply about winning versus defeating would oversimply the issue.] With all of us, we'll find a way. We have to.

[She walks a lonely path than anything they've known together. For Aether, that is the only advantage he has right now. He's been her light for so long, and her staying in this darkness, he knows something changed her. He'll find out one day, but with his friends, he won't let his heart change like hers.] I'll find a way to understand her. That's what my journey in Teyvat is now.