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Entry tags:
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!
no subject
I did, yes. ( having an appendage he can move is ... brand new, and slightly strange. but ever the nature lover, he finds that he quite likes it. ) I was guided here by the fox whose fur burned so brightly like an autumn hearth. She smelled like all of the seasons and the stars simultaneously ... what a fascinating creature. As a wanderer, I simply could not resist following her.
How long have you been here for? ( it relaxes him to hear that another has been here for a while, removing some of his concerns for danger. )
no subject
Until recently. Nice to see other nations represented. [His tail is so long he could drape it over his shoulder like a furry ruff.
He should do that sometime. He grins at the idea.]
It hasn’t been too bad. A bit invasive but that’s all.
no subject
Invasive? In what way might that entail?
no subject
Nothing here suggests that Thirteen’s intentions are not what they say they are. Everything seems about us working through and getting to our full potential.
no subject
I suppose that exposing matters we may not feel inclined to share otherwise may assist in achieving that. Whatever our "full potential" looks like, and what it may be exactly ... ( as for himself, though ... well, Kazuha always kept his past behind him - but never far out of sight. he always kept one foot in front of the other, moving forward, not letting the storms of days long gone chase him any which way. if the natural world has plans for him here, he would do his best to listen to it. )
I recall my conversation with the fox vividly on my walk to this place. If what you have experienced over the past few months is in line with the words of the creature who walks with the scents of the seasons in her pawprints, can anyone who arrives expect just as they were told?
no subject
[Kaeya says as he closes his eye again. He is at risk of dozing off. It’s fine.]
I’m more inclined to trust they have good intentions. I have yet to be disproven on that. Even if sometimes I have to pin down someone who has been messed with to help them.
[Specific but damn true. Just not the whole story.]
no subject
Apologies. I will refrain from asking further questions if the subject matter is too distressing to talk about ... ( Kazuha didn't have blind faith when arriving here - he doesn't generally, really. but trusting a being made of the elements was one that came naturally to him. yet he can't help but wonder ... )
Do the good experiences of this place outweigh the bad? If the latter is indeed necessary for personal growth.
no subject
…I should give introductions. [He stands and takes a smooth bow, eye flashing with inner fire.] Calvary Captain Kaeya Alberich of Mondstadt.
To explain further, there are sometimes mental effects to things that happen here. We help each other survive and even thrive.
no subject
I am Kaedehara Kazuha. But, please, just "Kazuha" is fine. ( that smile sits pleasantly on his lips, while he thinks about Mondstadt. )
While I do spend most of my time wandering, I have fond memories of visiting Mondstadt ... it is a truly beautiful place. I had the chance to visit Angel's Share, which was a very pleasant establishment. ( ... from what he can remember. he'll spare the detail that he got drunk and fell asleep. )
no subject
[He tries not to preen like a pleased peacock. Diluc is brilliant and showing off his boyfriend a little is not normally something he would do. Talk about him all the time? Yes.
It’s like Diluc’s name can’t stop coloring things. He flicks an ear. Better to change the subject.] You have fox attributes…I’m thinking you’re likely a familiar. Have you…shifted for the first time yet?
no subject
Ah, yes. ( he chuckles softly, reaching out of the water to run his hands down his smooth, white ears. it's very easy to forget they're there. )
I have not. But I can imagine it is an amazing experience. The thought of being a creature of the earth with four legs and the ability to roam wherever I please... it excites me greatly. ( oh, look at that. his tail is wagging! ) Heheh, as one may tell. ( he notices Kaeya's are canine, but not quite vulpine like his. ) Have you shifted? What creature do you take the form of?
no subject
He lays down on the warm stone with a pleased sigh.] Over time, a familiar’s power seems to grow.
I can become more things since then. Including ancient spirits.
no subject
O-Oh! Wow!
( that's just ... gorgeous. whoa!! he's beautiful. a gorgeous blue wolf with a pelt like starlight. as if the very elements themselves have shifted him into a form that not only reflects his exterior, but his interior as well. to say that Kazuha is more than a little excited is a vast understatement. )
You ... that's ...! Incredible! I wonder if I can perhaps try the same thing ... ( then he notices the other thing Kaeya says. ) Ancient spirits?
no subject
The size of a building, the dragon opens his mouth. Before he becomes the massive but smaller wolf of the north. The cold spreads from him before Kaeya is himself again, adjusting his towel. He slips back into the water.
And doesn’t say anything about the small amount of power earned from the trial. But in his hand is a pair of hair sticks. He winds his hair around them and secures his hair at the back of his head.]
I’ve seen them both before. I imagine any other ancient animal spirit I see, I could change into.
1/?? dfndfgjkfgf
2/??
( he actually exclaims! a rarity for Kazuha!! )
3/done
That's just...! I hardly even know what to say. I have never seen such an ability with my bare eyes before. ( he's seen sword art practised more times than he's blinked in his life, but transforming into parts of nature like that? really hits hard for him as far as his interests go. ) And to think that it is not even the limit of those powers ... how incredible.
no subject
It shouldn’t be possible a person can house two elements. But I now can wield ice and hydro. The later is a trickle now, but they told me with study it will grow in power. So I’m back in school.
Quite the novel experience. This hydro magic doesn’t follow any laws I know.
no subject
... Two elements. ( the tinge of pain he feels in his chest comes from a memory, a lived experience he had, where he protected the traveller from the Raiden Shogun by temporarily harnessing the use of Electro. the Electro Vision that died along with his beloved friend. )
...
( but, he can't let the past follow him. not now, not here. he shakes himself off a bit, yet his ears remain sad. )
I was once granted temporary use of Electro alongside my Anemo. Yet, it was short-lived. To properly wield two of the elements ... even I can't comprehend what that must be like. ( it's probably too big a step for him. regardless, he's very impressed with Kaeya's growth and abilities. he can't help but question if processing his grief is part of the reason why he is here, too. back in Teyvat, he was certainly trying his best, but his fox ears speak volumes. ) You have already accomplished so much here, and in such a short space of time. I admire that.
no subject
[His eye flashes with interest. This man used two elements at once. How…? Something to listen for more of in the future.] But, It might do you good to check out the schools as well. Who knows what you could accomplish with a little study. Hm?
no subject
So I see ... ( much to look forward to, then. ) The past is written as-is, and it cannot hurt me once than it already did. ( ... perhaps they're meditating words to soothe himself. he's experienced nightmares of his friend's execution again, but re-living it? that is not something he has considered before.
his ears now lay completely flat against his hair. )
It may be worth an investment of my time once I see what there is to offer. ( a good incentive to try think of other things ... )
no subject
We should go for drinks some time. I know a few good places. Alcohol and not.
no subject
... I do enjoy a nice glass of wine. I'd gladly take you up on that offer.