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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!
eda ¤ owl house ¤ ota
eda had hit the ground hard enough to leave a sizeable divot in the dirt, almost deep enough to swallow her whole. in just about any other situation, she would have found it impressive and admirable. well, no. that's a lie. she still thinks it to be impressive. she's fallen from the sky enough times to know a good hole when she sees one.
but this is no time for admiring holes. that could come later.
she's more concerned with the sharp tugging in her chest, an insistent need to find . . . someone. she couldn't say who, not for the life of her, but she knows that she needs to find that person and she needs to find them right now. they're nearby, she's sure of it. she's sure, she's sure, she's sure. except—
eda doesn't find anyone. not until the chill has already started racing up her limbs, the cold sinking into her very bones. it's only then, after she's dashed around the maze for far too long, that she finally runs directly into someone else. she hits them hard enough to send them both reeling. )
Is it you-?!
( she demands as she stumbles, although not entirely sure what she's asking. )
incredibly cold. she can barely feel her fingers beyond piercing pain kind of cold.
the mice squeak in protest, following after eda's heels as she proceeds to ignore every single bit of protocol or signage. what she does she need to do any of that for? what does it matter?
it doesn't.
as such, eda marches right up to one of the hot spring pools and immediately drops to the ground. she dips her hands in first, ignoring the way she's getting her sleeves wet. )
Ahhhhh. This is the life, isn't it?
( she sighs, already starting to feel better. )
CW: MOUSE EATING MENTION
not that it is anyone's business, but sometimes eda has to make concessions for the owl beast that lives within her. it's a bit of a give and take thing. a push and pull. it's nothing pretty, but it could be worse. eda has been starting to get used to it well enough.
which is really just a roundabout way to address the fact that eda had eaten one of the mice employed at the bathhouse. she thought that she could get away with it, but she'd been seen.
one of the mice squeaks furiously, hitting eda in the leg with a stick. )
What? No! How could you accuse me of such a thing?
( she lifts her hands defensively.
then gestures towards herself. )
Look at my face. Does this look like the face of someone who'd do something like that?
Cold as you
Still, he too has to follow what tells him to find another. He's trying desperately hard not to think if the other Mew Mews back home can stop Chai, Mocha, and Latte from eliminating humans, or keep Anzu away from their grips. He's not thinking about it, he's not thinking about it. Nope.
Why can't he stop thinking about it?He hopes the other person will be a way home.
And then he's crashed into, knocking him over and onto the ground. He can't decide whether to sigh or say ow. But looking up at this lady... huh. She definitely looks weird. And not RDA-genetics weird.]
Uh... Maybe? [Or maybe he should disagree. She might be accusing him of starting this mess.] I'm stuck here just as much as you.
[There, that should clarify.]
no subject
the answer is a resounding, screaming no. whoever this person is, this unfortunate individual that she just slammed into, they're not the person that she's looking for. they can't be. she can still feel the cold on her skin, the sharp tug in her chest shrieking at her to continue the search.
it's a little disorientating. her thoughts feel muddled. although, not so much that she doesn't recognise what's being said. unfortunately, what's being said means there's probably very little she can get out of this guy.
she frowns. )
Then let's get unstuck.
( she extends a hand forward, offering to help him up. maybe he can't help, but she's not going to just leave him on the ground like this. )
no subject
Thanks.
[He ponders for a minute on how real illusions are supposed to feel. If a person... he glances at Eda's features for a moment... whatever Eda may be... can feel just as real as the people back home. The sun and heat in the previous illusion sure felt real enough. So, he settles on some sort of probably. Though he's not completely sure this is an illusion yet. He's at least grateful it's not in some agonizing heat. Though the cold is certainly starting to make him shiver. He didn't come with more of a jacket than his hoodie.]
Uhm... I'm pretty sure the way out isn't the way I came from. I think I've checked every turn I could find back there.
[At least, he's assuming Eda's trying to find a way out.]
no subject
that's pretty valuable information if it's true. the cold has already permeated through her hands, leaving them aching and chilled. she doesn't have time to waste. )
I'm going to take you at your word on that.
( she says, immediately sinking down to her knees. with one swift movement, she pulls a piece of paper with a seal written on it from her dress pocket. slamming it onto the bush, she burns the pattern from the paper onto the leaves.
just in case they get turned around. )
C'mon, let's get going then. I get the feeling that we don't want to be in one place for too long.
KEEP YOUR BRITTLE HEART WARM
she'd actually never been to one of these before, so after stowing her clothes and being walked through the whole you have to be actually clean before going into the hot spring thing, she'd chilled in the delightfully hot water, not giving a single shit about nudity.
she grinned at the woman who'd spoken to her]
I'll say. When I get home, I'm insisting that Seb find some way to make this happen somewhere in Starkhaven. Are these things a thing where you're from?
no subject
she honestly hadn't been paying enough attention to notice anyone else here. it's a little bit of a surprise to find that she had just barged on like that. good thing someone would have stopped her if it was truly a problem! )
What? Hot water? I gotta tell you, that's much a staple.
( she grins, all fang, as she lifts an arm out of the water to point. )
Are you always this forward with a lady?
no subject
Not where I'm from. Not like this at least.
[Hawke shrugs and looks unabashed]
Sure. Kirkwall hospitality. It saves time. Why, you aren't?
no subject
and that's not a compliment. her hair is frizzy and everywhere, full of leaves and sticks, and there's definitely a smear of mud across her face. she looks more like a feral woodland animal than an individual. )
Oh, me? I'm too bashful.
( she coos playfully, slowly sinking her arms back into the water.
it's immediately obvious that this is a massive lie. )
no subject
Bashful, huh? You look like a Witch of the Wilds. No offense.
[like talking to Flemeth. at least Sarajane thought she was Flemeth. she could have been far more and far less, but there was no way to know for sure.
but at the same time, she'd kept the amulet until she could return it as Flemeth wished it could be]
You Didn't See Anything
Really, what a fuss over such a little thing.
[She's chiding the mouse with a look of haughty indifference before turning to Eda.]
Don't let it get to you, dear. You won't believe some of the things I've caught my daughters eating.
[After all, the staff and the buffet are basically the same things, right?]
finally, eda's wife is here
it only takes a look before the mouse hangs its head and scurries away, clearly having decided not to fight a battle they couldn't win.
her own gaze lifts to look at the person who had so valiantly come to her defence. )
Oh, yeah? Do your daughters also double as pest control?
( because that's what this beast's diet feels like. )
she is!
In a manner of speaking. You'd think they were a giggling pack of hyenas the way they go on when they've got some vermin or another in their grasp!
[Spoken with deep, abiding affection for the trio. After all, so many little pests got into her castle, and her daughters were so diligent.]
They really are quite charming, otherwise. Now...
[She opens a small, silver case containing her cigarettes, offering one to Eda.]
...Was that an owl I just saw a moment ago?
cold as you (8
The man's shrouded, when Eda started running toward him, and he'd been too focused on staring straight ahead, fighting off the impulse to sink into the cold as the
witch hunterEmperor struggled along the pathway in the maze. He'd not intended to get down in here, and without his staff, he couldn't get out, either.Which is how Eda ends up running into him without him noticing. Sloppy, too sloppy. He'd already been on edge since arriving only a month ago. Looking every direction for magic, seeing all of it around them, and his anger at being trapped in yet another godforsaken land without anything that could be considered "normal". Then again, he probably had a pretty skewed view of "normal", but that wasn't important.
What was important was the sound of her voice, that had Belos already seething, and he twisted, pushing her off of him, whipped around, to pull himself up off the ground, seething. He knew it. He knew one of them would show themselves eventually.
His arm felt -- wrong -- and Belos struggled to keep himself together, even as he said, his tone edging towards the inhuman -- ]
You -- ?
i feel so spoiled!!!!!!!!!!!
all of the cold that had snaked its way along her limbs immediately begins to fade, vanishing entirely within mere seconds. as soon as she locks her eyes on belos—belos, BELOS, BELOS—she feels something unlock in her chest.
she would like to think that it's rage. nothing but white, hot, blinding rage. someone likes belos couldn't invoke even the slightest of non-disgusting emotion within her. not until he was permanently in the ground.
while the madness from the chill has ebbed, eda still looks wild and feral. )
YoOoouuUuuUu!
( she hisses, harsh and guttural.
her first instinct is to lunge and she nearly does. nearly, nearly, nearly throws herself forward because she truly had no problem dismembering this monster by hand if it came to it.
but she doesn't. she doesn't imagine him to be entirely defenceless. )
Looks like you didn't make it to the human realm after all.
(´▽`ʃ💚ƪ)
Belos's lips split into a wide, almost too-feral smile. She spoke of the human realm, as if he'd already tried to get there. Perhaps he had made it, back to Gravesfield, back home, where he could bring victory of an eradicated entire people back, give them the good word, of the long-departed devils and witches. Then he would only need to deal with the Giraffe problem, and then... ]
Not yet, Edalyn. I wouldn't worry about that detail yet. Not when you're trapped here with me.
[ Without her little human companion, sister, all the little traitors and allies that had kept the Clawthorne sisters out of his hands afterward.
His hand warped, twisted. He could feel it threatening to bulge, and corrupt. He needed... a palisman to be safe, or else he was likely to... He wondered if she would attack -- but he straightened, held his increasingly twisted arm behind his back, and brushed at the front of his robes, idly. ]
You're welcome to just die here, in the cold. I'd not blame you for trying to work with me to get out of here.
[ He'd honestly rather she'd not, but he will stick it to her by pretending to take the high road.
If she attacked though... he didn't know if he could stay like this. He would need to find something to hold himself back. ]
no subject
eda cannot stop the angry, mean-spirited laughter that comes rolling out of her throat. she's furious, she's incredulous, and she can see her vision starting to fuzz at the edges. just a bit, just a bit, just enough for the beast within her to ache to wrest control from her.
it wants a fight. demands for eda to take her pound of flesh from this wretch of a human. )
Trapped here with you?
( she asks, the laughter still thick in her voice. )
You're trapped here with me, suckaaaaaaa!
( then she inhales.
slams a piece of paper to her chest.
and disappears from sight. )
no subject
Yes, of course. The witch didn't have magic anymore, did she? She didn't know anything about them, and Belos was hardly uneducated in the field. He sniffed, and gripped his hands behind him, continued to hold himself in line. Like Eda fighting with her own monstrous form, Belos felt his own form wish to shift and shape. It wanted to roar and slither across the ground, find her -- eat her --
No. No. No. There were no palismen to consume, to assist him in tightening his control. Hunter had no place to find them, and he certainly didn't want the Grimwalker near the Owl Lady. That influence was... corrupting -- corrupting -- Just like --
Breathe. His fingers dug against too-mutable flesh, dug into his arms. Breathe. He didn't need to think on such things.
Belos turned and started to walk. ]
Very well. Make your own way. I have no need to fight, if you're so cowardly to run.
[ Breathe.
Belos's arm shifted under his grip, slithered, lengthened. He could feel it dripping, dripping. ]
You didn't see anything
Which is more than he has, entirely without his staff.]
Looks like the face of a criminal to me.
[Totally does not know what the crime is, but look. She's done every crime in the book. She's definitely guilty of whatever this mouse is accusing her of.]
god forbid women do anything
eda lets out an amused cackle at the accusation. it's not unfriendly and neither is her body language. )
Takes one to know one, huh?
( the mouse continues to scold her, the stick making a soft thunk-thunk-thunk sound. it almost seems like eda doesn't notice, head tilting as she glances over him.
was he really going to still wear that mask? )
whats a little mice murder anyway
That's rich. Are you saying I'm a criminal? You do remember who I am, right?
no subject
( she clicks her tongue twice, before twirling a long finger and pointing it directly at hunter's face. )
You're a goblin's breath away from having your own wanted poster up.
( if it weren't for the fact that the day of unity was so close, she's sure they would already have been put up. )
cold as you as I am required by law
They book it as fast as they can, taking a turn around a hedge a little too fast and bumping into Eda. They stumble back half a step before realizing.]
Eda?!
no subject
when she collides with raine, she nearly can't breathe. from the cold, from the force of the impact, and — )
You!
( she repeats, but now more insistently.
her body wobbles, unsteady and partially delirious. still, her expression tightens and she moves forward. she advances upon raine as quickly as she can manage—which is still quick—to wrap her freezing arms around their shoulders. )