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October 2022 Test Drive Meme
OCTOBER 2022 TDM
INTRODUCTION
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.
Content Warnings: Possible insanity via freezing. Temporary nullification of abilities.
COLD AS YOU
KEEP YOUR BRITTLE HEART WARM
COLD AS YOU
You were falling...
The world snaps into place all at once; you are laying on the ground, surrounded on all sides by towering bushes that stretch up towards a beautiful sunset sky. The bushes were clearly flowered at one point, but now the flowers have died and all that remains are browning leaves that are beginning to fall. On the chill air you can sometimes hear the sound of music, too faint to completely determine.
As you stand, you are filled with an intense desire to find someone. You might have an idea of who, but chances are you do not - you just know that somewhere ahead of you is someone that you need to reach. Whether they are friend or lover or enemy remains to be seen.
You wander the maze. If you're the impatient type and you have the ability, you might try to fly out but you will simply be vaulted right back down if you do. Something clearly expects you to play by rules which were never actually explained. As you move through the twisting passages of nature, you will notice that there is a frost creeping along the branches on either side of you. This frost brings a deep chill with it, and it encourages you to move faster, to find that nameless person now now now! If you take a very long time to wander the maze you may very well be on the verge of freezing and half mad with the desire to find someone. If you try to force your way through the bushes, the frost will crawl over your limbs and inspire both the freezing and near madness at once.
When you find your Person, the cold evaporates. The air suddenly feels merely crisp, and the leaves on the bushes seem more vibrant. The two of you now can focus on finding the way out - so much easier now - but any sense of urgency will have passed and you may just walk for hours, talking and sharing things about yourselves.
It is possible to solve the maze alone, but it is much easier (and more pleasant!) with someone else.
KEEP YOUR BRITTLE HEART WARM
When you exit the hedge maze you will find a stunning display of lights: hundreds of candles and lanterns decorate the ground and hang from trees, illuminating a clear path over a gently sloping hill. When you crest the hill you can look down and see a beautiful hot spring sprawled out below. It too is lit up by hundreds of lights, all of them glowing under the late autumn sky as it darkens towards night. There are changing rooms where you can stash your clothes (yes, there are bathing suits for the very shy) and bathing stations to ensure that you are clean before entering.
The water of the springs soothes madness and heals physical injuries or any frostbite that may have been sustained in the maze. It also relaxes you, making you perhaps more likely to open up to anybody else present.
The hot spring is staffed by many mice. They don't speak, but they squeak to one another in such a way that it sounds like they are singing - high lilting chants that seem to promise that everything will be okay. They are happy enough to band together to bring you towels or hot tea. The spring is open 24/7, always with lights to fight the cold and darkness of winter.
Content Warnings: Monster sighting, optional violence.
GLITCH
BAD OMEN
GLITCH
Folkmore has trains and of course the cat bus, but it also has roads, mostly utilized by horses and bicycles. Maybe you're looking for the convivence store, or maybe you just like walking. However it happens, you find yourself on a lonely road at dusk. It is unusually quiet, almost as if the world is holding its breath.
Suddenly you hear the sound of wings. A man-sized creature soars above you, something with huge red glowing eyes. It drops something at your feet: a walkie-talkie. The creature lands some distance away, staring at you, and a thought arises unbidden in your mind:
Help them.
The walkie crackles and you can hear someone speaking, asking if anyone is there. It is another Star Child, brought into this trial as well. They are in danger somewhere nearby; maybe stuck on the edge of a cliff, or trapped on a rope bridge - whatever it is, they need someone else to help them get to safety. If they have any powers, they have been temporarily nullified, but if the rescuer has powers they remain intact. That's where you come in! Using the walkie you must communicate with one another so that the rescuer can reach the person in trouble in time!
But what if you don't make it in time? Or decide that you're not the hero type? Well. The rescue-ee will suffer a terrible fate... for a few seconds. Then the entire world fuzzes and resets, but this time the roles have been reversed. Both parties will remember what has already happened, so if you just ran off into the woods with no intent of helping the first time you miiiight get your just desserts! This process will repeat over and over, people switching sides every time, until someone is finally rescued or the sun rises. Whichever comes first!
If you do succeed at a rescue, you will hear the rustle of huge wings once more. This time you don't see the mysterious creature, but you will find a mystery trunk. Inside you will each find some of your canon clothes and a canon item. Looks like teamwork is rewarded! Nearby, there will also be some unenchanted weapons sticking out of the ground: basic swords, guns, shields, etc.
BAD OMEN
You don't necessarily have to have completed the rescue trial to get some goodies, though! Those aforementioned weapons are scattered all over Folkmore. But if you just go to grab any of them you'd better be prepared to fight; after all, nothing comes for free!
As soon as you have pulled a weapon out of the ground, a tall, man in a black suit and hat will appear from seemingly nowhere and attack you. He has no weapons but he is extremely strong. He's also just really creepy - his face looks like it might be fake, somehow. The only way he can be killed is with a wound to the heart - any other supposedly mortal injury will result in another man in black appearing. It is possible for someone with no combat training to beat these creatures, but they really might appreciate a little help from someone with more experience!
The good news is that they won't mess up your clothes any, as none of these creatures bleed. Because that is totally normal.
Good luck!
cold as you
Of course, that isn't to say she's beyond irritation. And seeing as she grew up in the rainforest of Deleo, far away from kingdoms with winters...well. She doesn't much care for the cold. And it happens that she was wandering in her leathers, without anything to cover her head, and certainly without a coat.
Rubbing her hands together, she winds her way through the maze, certain she'll find the way out, but rather wishing it's sooner than later. The intense need to find...someone is to be expected, she supposes. Alastrians are pack animals, social creatures. She's always done fine on her own, but never exactly enjoyed it.
Something else that Thirteen has helped her to realize.
Turning corner after corner is getting her nowhere. So her heart leaps up in excitement when she picks out the sound of another person's heartbeat, followed almost immediately by some remark about...fornication?
Well, no matter.]
Hello!
[She has a gentle voice. Bright as a bell.]
Yes! I'm here! I've been...walking about for a bit.
[It's a little embarrassing to be a spy who's gotten lost...]
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[Jaskier has no idea! He's a bard, not a physician.]
[Regardless, there's hope now. Or some close approximation to it because while her lovely voice is most certainly welcome to wandering about this increasingly frozen maze all by his lonesome, she doesn't really sound as though she knows the way forward any better than he does at present.]
[...Which when he thinks about it, that does make a lot of sense. She is, after all, answering him and if she knew the correct path out, that likely wouldn't happen. Still, Jaskier's not the sort to give into such thoughts. Especially since two minds are objectively more than one. That counts for something.]
Really? [he says with a teasing grin she cannot see but he hopes she senses all the same.] Well, I'm completely lost and turned around at this point. So, I'd say you're certainly faring far better than me!
[Jaskier looks in the direction he thought he heard the voice coming from and begins to walk again, trying to see if he can navigate himself closer. Perhaps he might even be fortunate enough to find her directly!]
I, ah, don't suppose you could be convinced to share your keen sense of direction with me, could you?
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[Nevertheless, she feels a strange certainty as she follows the sound of his voices. The proper turns are practically instinctive. She barely hesitates.
It feels good. It feels...right.
Anyway, Ariadne knows better than to question her instincts. They serve her well. Especially here.]
I think I may have lost my sense of direction. Although...
[She takes a final turn and spots him. Even before he says anything, she just knows it's him. The voice. The person she's been trying to find...
And there's something about him that's strangely and aggressively comforting. It's not just that he has a handsome countenance--although she's not complaining--but the way he's dressed, the way he carries himself.
It reminds her of home. That's what it is. He looks like someone she could have encountered walking through the palaces of Valeria.
Which is a rare and wonderful thing to find here. She lets out the tiniest sound of delighted surprise.]
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[But even if he does end up letting that moment go on a touch too long than he perhaps ought to have, Jaskier shakes himself from his reverie to smile warmly at her.]
Ah! There she is! [By his tone, one would think they had known each other for years, not mere moments by voice alone at first. Especially when he throws his arms out wide for a theatrical effect.] My savior!
[But even as the chill in the air begins to recede, Jaskier certainly hasn't yet adjusted to this warmer temperature. He brings his arms back in, folding them tight against his chest as vibrancy and life seems to return.]
You are a most welcomed sight, my lady. I must say, if I am to freeze to death in this place then I am glad to have been graced by your company before the end.
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No lady, good sir. And I don't know about a "savior," but I'm glad we were able to find each other, at least.
[Straightening out, she walks over to him, folding her hands behind her back, her messenger bag thumping against her hip.
And she can't help but examine--and admire--him as she gets closer. His build is fine enough. And his scent his Human. At least, she thinks. It's harder to catch scents correctly in the cold but...no. Definitely Human.
A bit of a dramatic one too. Perhaps a player? Gods, she always loved seeing the players when they came to court.]
I've never seen you before. Are you one of Thirteen's new arrivals?
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One of Thirteen?
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[Ariadne's reverence is unapologetic. Gods and goddesses have always been matter of fact for her. As much a part of life as the grass or stones or weeping willows.
But there's admiration there too. She genuinely...likes Thirteen.]
She's the one who brings people here.
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[Well. The idea that this truly was all a dream was beginning to dwindle and fade the longer this all went on. Much as Jaskier wanted to cling to it, there was far more intense than any dream he's ever had. And not to say that his dreams couldn't become a bit...imaginative, it wasn't like this. Even with his head full of fanciful notions about what it will be like to follow a witcher around, he doesn't think he'd get this inventive.]
Well, I suppose I am then... [he says as the notion this is real all starts to settle in. What sets much quicker is the realization that with his words, that could cause some sort of strange reverence out of her with the way she speaks of this Thirteen. Jaskier's quick to hold out a hand in a placating manner to prevent any excitement at that very vague confirmation. He finds himself a bit surprised he doesn't find it to be quite as cold as it was before.] But I am but a humble bard. Brilliant, of course, and exceptionally talented. I can promise you that I am absolutely meant to be the greatest there ever was. But I am only a bard nonetheless.
[Privately he's praying to whatever gods might be listening that he's managed to avoid this getting any stranger than it already is.]
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He's a bard!
She claps her hands together, letting out a delighted laugh, gray eyes getting round and bright as silver coins in a fountain.]
Oh! How wonderful!
[She may be a full grown woman, but she says it with all of the delight of a child receiving a birthday present.]
It's been ages since I've met a bard. A real one, anyway. They have these electronic boxes here that make music, but it isn't the same. Not at all!
I actually teach music at one of the local schools here. Mostly piano. Everyone is utterly obsessed with the piano.
[All the while, the winds seem to be shifting. The cold has diminished. Her breath isn't coming out in clouds any more.
...strange.]
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[He's not entirely full of it when he says that he's brilliant or exceptionally talented. Much as his professors would never have likely assumed as much of him based upon his schoolwork (or lack thereof as the case happens to be), they begrudgingly have to accept that fact about Jaskier now that he managed to graduate despite his poor demonstration as a student. And with his youthful optimism, Jaskier ignores whatever insecurities might linger as he's beginning to make a name for himself and simply throws himself into it as deeply as he can. And he believes, gods does he ever believe, that he may have finally found his true start with Geralt of Rivia. As cantankerous as the man might be, there's an endless font of inspiration to be found there. Jaskier can sense it easily with the subtle contradictions that seem to exist between rumor and reality.]
[But even with all that self-confidence and that brushing aside insecurities, Jaskier's yet heard anyone pay such mind to his profession. He hasn't yet experienced any specific sort of praise like that from anyone. Even those wooed by his songs aren't immediately excited by the simple fact he is a bard.]
[If anything, Jaskier's experience this early in his career has been a bit of the opposite wherein he's tolerated and whatever gigs he seems to manage to secure for himself seem to born out of pity that some little lordling will likely starve to death and thus his lord father will subsequently have a conniption. Better to let the boy have his turn at it and then pray he makes enough coin to move on soon enough.]
[Jaskier lights up almost near as much as she does even if he has no idea what an 'electronic box' or 'piano' are.]
Really? I happen to favor the lute! [His hand instinctively begins to reach for the aforementioned instrument, but as he grabs at it and feels nothing but air he remembers he's without its weight. Jaskier's hand awkwardly comes to rest at his hip as he recovers and tries to play it off. There's a mixture of embarrassment for forgetting it isn't there, but also a tinge of longing at it as well. He'd only just received the thing—and as a replacement for the one that was destroyed—but Jaskier had really taken to it! It had an excellent story behind it after all and what could a bard love better than that for his instrument? But it's perhaps for the best it's not here. Gods only know what the temperatures would be doing to its tuning. In continuing to recover from reaching for the absent lute, he quickly continues as a means of distraction,] How fortuitous is it then that our paths should cross? Well, I have some criticisms about the exact location in which we found one another, but never let it be said that I lack appreciation for any of my fellow musicians.
[Except that it probably should be said. To say that Jaskier is incapable of forming rivalries with others would be a complete falsehood. But she is not merely beautiful, but also quite kind and has shown an interest in him as far as his music is concerned. It's more than a little difficult for Jaskier to feel threatened by that. Especially when she's chosen teaching as her profession.]
[Although.]
Tell me, do you compose your own songs as well as teach our aspiring fellows?
[The question still comes with enthusiasm, but it is still important to field one's potential competition!]
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Still, there's nothing worse in the world--perhaps the multiverse--than pity. So there will be none of that.
Instead, she clings onto his enthusiasm.
This was most definitely not what she was expecting when she woke up in a topiary maze. But perhaps it's a gift of some kind. Thirteen repaying her for the faith and devotion she's demonstrated as of late. This man, this stranger, there's something about him. What it is, she can't say for sure. She simply feels it.
At his question, she laughs, shrugging up one shoulder.]
I've never really tried to compose before, sir. Although I suppose I did make up a prayer to Thirteen, recently. Mostly because I was desperately afraid.
[It seemed to please her, though. After she whispered that prayer, Thirteen sent a creature to rescue Varen, when he was about to fall into a pit. And again, when Ariadne and Lorna were nearly lit on fire. She sang the song and they both made it through without so much as a singe.]
Mostly, I just sing the songs my father came up with. He was a fine musician.
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Well then, I suppose I had best not rest on my laurels even in the absence of my lute, hm? [he says with a playful wink.] Such talent running in a family puts you at quite the advantage even after all my years of schooling.
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Sadly, Ariadne's deft ability with music does not translate to her ability to understand figures of speech.
They're kind of her greatest weakness.]
I'm not sure now is the time to rest at all, sir.
[A pause.]
Um...what should I call you?
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Oh, forgive me! It would appear when faced with such a vision as yourself all my manners have fled. I am Jaskier.
It is so wonderful that we've had the opportunity to meet...
[Jaskier trails off intentionally, creating space for her to supply her own name in return.]
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[A nickname that suits her. There's a lightness, an airiness to her countenance. And it's more than her voice, more than her disposition. It's the way she moves too. As though gravity is just barely holding onto her. It's as though, any moment, she might spread wings and fly away like some kind of bird.
Which, of course, is a possibility. Although she's already tried that to get out of the maze and it didn't work.
At any rate, she reaches forward, putting a hand on his arm.]
And I can assure you, I'm not a vision of any sort. I'm perfectly real. Although...
[She sucks in air between her teeth.]
Visions have been known to happen here. It's one of the ways that Thirteen likes to test us.
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Then perhaps we ought to take your advice not to rest here and begin to find the way out, [he says with a tone that settles far closer to playful than anything particularly serious. Yet despite the way he regards the notion of a test without the sort of attention it likely merits, Jaskier still places a reassuring hand over hers on his arm as he glances at their options.] The way I came certainly isn't it and neither is yours, so that narrows it down a bit.
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Probably not important. People have the odd habit of laughing around Ariadne almost all the time. Especially Lorna, for some reason. She's not going to let it bother her. At least, not right now.
So she turns to look the way neither of them arrived.]
I suppose it's a start. Someone once told me the trick to these sorts of mazes was to always keep one hand on the wall. And eventually, you'll--
[She puts her hand on the hedge and is surprised when it shakes a bit of water free. Her entire hand is slick.]
Is it...warmer than before?
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[Jaskier's not going to question it all that much in the end given that he has significantly fewer complaints with something above freezing like before. He looks to Ariadne.]
But probably best also not taken for granted. [He nods his head in the direction that seems available to them both.] Shall we?
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[And with a somewhat carefree smile, she turns around, trotting out a few paces in front of him, her long braid swishing behind her like a happy puppy's tail.
She's not carefree, of course. She's quite careful, actually.
But in Ariadne's experience, it does no good to alarm someone you're trying to protect.
Anyway, with Thirteen, there could be monsters waiting at the end of the maze. Or there could be a ballroom and swirling silks. Only one way to find out.]
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So, how long have you been her exactly? Not the maze, I mean... [He gestures with a hand to their surroundings, but clearly means beyond this maze. He just lacks a succinct term for it.] Well, you know what I mean.
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[Not "about." Exactly. She's very precise when it comes to keeping track of these sorts of things.]
Before that, I was in the North Palace of Valeria.
[There's a slightly hopeful tone. Maybe he'll recognize it. Maybe he'll be the first person she's encountered from her world. The odds are probably against it, but she can't help but fish. A little bit.]
I'm apprenticed to the court translator of Princess Amanda Harkin.
[A name that is known throughout the realm. If he doesn't know her, he's not from her world at all.]
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That sounds quite the honor. You must have worked quite hard to secure that apprenticeship.
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Ariadne's still getting used to the idea of not having to lie. And she's started to get more open about what she is, who she is.
But, in her experience, people don't like spies or thieves. Even less than Alastrians, apparently. So that part has remained her secret.]
Well, I was born with a gift for language. I can speak all thirty-five languages in the realm. Thirty-six, if you count Hand Speak. Also, I can read and write in both Common and Elvish.
[That last part is a point of particular pride, setting her apart from her brothers and sisters.
Still, she doesn't speak out of pride. Mostly matter-of-fact. She isn't the type to boast.]
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Other than her very, very lively companion, of course.]
Music and language are more or less the same, if you think about it. It's just a matter of patterns. Sounds that convey meaning. And sometimes emotion.
[Wisely, she decides to face forward again, stopping herself from walking into a hedge. Which would be any number of levels of embarrassing. As it is, she has to stop short, trying to make it as casual as possible, before taking a turn.]
In a way, it's sort of sad that this place translates everything for us. You should hear some of the languages I know in their natural state. They're a bit like singing.
Then again, I think it's probably lucky we all understand one another.
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