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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!
Ash Trine | The God Eaters | Legend
[ for a moment, ash is completely overwhelmed by cold, the smell of autumn, and the fact that he woke up here instead of the middle of the dead city in the desert where he'd fallen asleep.
then the compulsion kicks in in the most technical sense, because it's already built into his very marrow i need to find kai. he stumbles to his feet, reaching out with all his senses, heart pounding. ]
Kieran? Kai, my Kai, kii aveh, where are you?
[ he hasn't noticed the physical cold yet--the internal chill of being in yet another situation where they're separated has eclipsed anything his physical body feels for the moment. ]
Keep Your Brittle Heart Warm
[ from this point forward, please assume that all interaction with ash happens while kieran is nearby. this means that he has a tall, dark, beautiful but menacing shadow of a lover close by at all times, even if they're not directly interacting with each other.
the sight of the candles and hot spring leave ash staring wide-eyed. he's never seen anything like this before, not in ladygate and certainly not in iaviah, where water is a precious commodity.
in the changing rooms/bathhouse he strips out of his clothes with a minimum of fuss. hot water and soap far eclipse any desire for modesty. ash is far too thin, bones prominent through pale, freckled skin. his hair is a wild tangle of bright ginger curls mixed with some tangled but bright vines over vivid blue eyes that almost seem to glow and a beaky sort of nose whose size is not at all helped by the sharpness of his cheekbones and the hollows of hunger beneath his eyes. there's a silvery-pale scar in the middle of his chest, clearly the starburst of a well-healed bullet wound.
in fact, there's sort of a golden glow about him in a general sense, an almost otherworldly sort of look about him that he doesn't seem to realize. he washes first with vigor, and then with pleasure, clearly relishing being properly clean. he's not very kind or gentle to the plants, which get scrubbed as thoughly as everything else. but they don't seem to mind.
once he's finished his scrubbing, he sinks into the hot spring with a happy sigh, resting back as though easing a very aching body. ]
Oh, hello. Do you know where exactly we are?
[ his voice is a smooth and cultured tenor, though there's nothing particularly assuming about him beyond that odd glow and the plants in his hair. ]
Bad Omen
[ please assume that all interaction with ash happens while kieran is nearby. this means that he has a tall, dark, beautiful but menacing shadow of a lover close by at all times, even if they're not directly interacting with each other.
this situation is way, way too familiar. he'd picked up a pistol, a small revolver with a helpful box of ammunition alongside it, and then the man dressed all in black and looming toward him.
ash extends a hand and...seemingly nothing happens, but those who can sense magic would be able to see that he's built quite a powerful shield around himself to keep the man away while he loads the gun. it's completely invisible to anyone who cannot sense magic or see the structure of it ]
Seriously? We've just been through this. Why? Kieran!
Cold As You
This could well be a dream, between the climate and the foliage and the fact that he doubts there's another God powerful enough to drag them both elsewhere, except that he does sense Ash's presence near. And then hears him calling out with his mind, scared but safe. That's a relief. ]
I'm here, Ashes. I'll find you. Don't I always find you?
[ Kieran chooses a direction at random and starts moving forward just to coax some warmth back into his limbs, his expression twisting into a scowl when he realizes he can't tell which way he should be going. Normally the magic embedded in the bullet around his neck acts like a compass, but now even though he can feel that Ash is here, he's got no idea of where. So he stops, blows into his cold hands, and tries to send his gaze up into the clouds to see the entirety of the maze... only to feel like he's hitting an invisible wall and bouncing back down into his body.
Luckily, no longer being worried means Kieran can devote all his energy to being pissed the fuck off. :') He mutters to himself as he stalks through the maze, his anger surrounding him like a less-literal-than-usual storm cloud. ]
Somebody's gonna regret this... really picked the wrong bastard to fuck with...
no subject
[ ash starts walking, following the left wall. ]
If I could locate you by sheer volume of rage we'd already be back together, love. Listen for me.
[ he says it sweetly, as though he's trying to find something salvageable in the situation. and since kieran is the only one he can sense around, he decides to risk a bit of noise. he's the 'harmless' one, after all, and puts on his curled shoulders and mouse face. ]
Oi, I am absolutely not dressed for this weather!
[ ashes you are not particularly dressed for any kind of weather. there's a damned huge bullet hole in his shirt and he doesn't have any shoes. ]
no subject
At least if you can feel that we aren't far apart.
[ Assuming it's Ash's usual empathy, that is... he does stop moving and listen, though. Just in case there's more distance involved than he'd expected.
Oh. There isn't. The other man's voice sounds very close, just muffled by the layers of foliage between them. Kieran sets off towards the bend in the hedges that turns more or less in the correct direction, only to find that the next corner would be leading away from Ash. ]
--piece of shit maze.
[ Really, after his senses failed to rise above the hedges, Kieran knows better than to do what he's about to do. Something obviously wants them to play by the rules. It's just that, in general, Kieran Trevarde doesn't give a flying fuck about following other people's rules, and even more than that he's had enough of being kept away from Ashes. So instead of continuing to wander aimlessly, he starts to tear through the first barrier of hedge that's between them.
The punishment is instant. He's stubborn enough to grit his teeth and keep going for a few moments, but then his arms are so numb they just stop following his orders entirely. ]
Fuck!
[ Continuing to curse as he stumbles away from the hedge, limbs clumsy with cold and sense of direction now muddled by what's become a frantic urgency, Kieran also calls out for Ash mentally again. ]
Don't cheat, Ashes.
no subject
We're not. Just apart in the wrong direction. We'll figure it out, Kai.
[ then he hears the rustling in the hedges, followed by kieran swearing and a mental sensation of cold and also pain. ]
Kieran, are you okay?
[ he's hurrying now, following the wall. the next turn goes away from his sense of kieran, so he turns back and goes the other way. that one turns him closer, but there's still at least one wall between them. ]
Maybe stay still, Kai, and I'll try coming to you. Found one turn closer. Keep warm, though. We're not dressed for this. Draw energy if you can, I still don't have any damn boots, my toes are gonna go blue.
[ he's frustrated, because why does this keep happening to them, but he's also falling into puzzle solving mode. ]
Warm
He's noticed the two men enter, and noticed the fact that the redhead seems to have a very nature-y thing going on, but that only reminds him of home, so he doesn't think too much about it, his mind already filing it away as some sort of druid magic.
Offering a smile and raising a hand once he's noticed and spoken to.]
It's called Folkmore. Wherever you're from, this is an entirely different realm, maybe an entirely different world. We're all a long way from home.
[His expression turns faintly apologetic.] I guess you just arrived, huh? I should say welcome. It's really not so bad all the time at least. I'm Orym.
no subject
Okay, that...explains some things. Pattern's a bit off here.
[ nope, he's not gonna explain that one. ]
I'm at about even at the moment. Maze was not that fun, hot spring is pretty good. That mean there's no White Watch here? Because that'll put it over into positive, no matter how bad other things get. Real tired of those bastards.
Good to meet you, Orym. I'm Ash Trine.
[ he is clearly attempting not to mention how tiny orym is, but it's less that he's staring at orym as he seems to be looking vaguely around him. ]
no subject
He gives a little shake of his head.]
I've never heard of a White Watch, so I'd tentatively say no. I've only been here a month though.
[Another smile. Orym is fully aware that Ash is trying not to stare and instead is not quite looking, and well, this isn't the first time that's happened to him either. Halflings aren't the rarest sight in Exandria, but in certain areas he's definitely felt a bit like a novel idea to many. And since coming here? Aside from Frodo, there aren't any really small folks that he's run across. Unless he counts Sophie.]
Likewise, Ash. [A beat and he'll add.] Never met a halfling before, huh?
no subject
[ he sounds wry, but also tired about it. ]
[ orym is actually incorrect, because ash is looking at his pattern, which is why his eyes are a bit wrong. it takes him a moment to respond after orym speaks. ]
Nope, can't say I have. Sorry, that was definitely rude of me. It's been a weird...while, and then this happened. Honestly, a very small person shouldn't even clock at this point on my scale of things to stare about. Little shellshocked, I suppose.
no subject
[So that sounds like a good thing.] Really, there aren't a lot of official groups of any sorts, unless you count the schools anyway.
[No guards, no soldiers. It's fairly odd.
The halfling shakes his head.]
Not at all. That seems to be pretty common here... which is weird. It's weird that most people seem to be some flavor of human in general around here. Not everyone, but most.
[There are elves, half-elves, at least one dragonborn he's seen about, but it's not like home.]
And you're right. Coming here is a lot, added on to whatever you had going on before. It all takes some getting used to.
no subject
[ he sounds inordinately hopeful about both of those things. nerd may be an outlaw. ]
Some flavor of human, huh? Okay, so you're from a place with more variety. Can't say I haven't met anyone where I'm from that doesn't count as some flavor of human.
[ incarnated gods are still in human bodies, it counts.
when orym says that folkmore is a lot, ash laughs. ]
Turns out I'm a hell of a lot more adaptable than I thought I was six months ago. And that I find the absolute weirdest times to be content with my lot. We'll see if it keeps holding.
no subject
[Outlaw nerds is something Orym is used to, since he supposes that describes Imogen at least a little. Probably FCG too. Outlaw not-nerds are several of the others he travels with. So he can't exactly throw stones.]
And I haven't seen any real law enforcement. But the Fox, the being who brought us all here, is sort of the one who sets the rules anyway.
[And they have to roll with whatever puzzles or trials or weirdness comes with.]
Adaptable is good. That'll work well for you here. And really, half the time it's not so bad. I miss home, my friends, but things could be worse.
no subject
[ he chuckles. kieran is probably not going to love that. ]
If the Fox sets the rules and doesn't have a military to back up those rules, I can live with that.
[ ash gives orym a quiet sort of smile that's a bit too wise for his years, which can't possibly be more than twenty. ]
Things can almost always be worse. They can also almost always be better. People don't seem too unhappy here, and the only person who matters showed up with me, so it'll be all right for us. Done more with less. You've settled in all right then, I take it?
Brittle heart warm
We're in a place that's called Folkmore. It's some kind of other planet or universe or something. Very magical, if that means anything to you.
[ Which, getting a look of the other fellow, Ash is beginning to suspect it might. ]
no subject
ash hasn't seen another person with red hair for what seems like forever, and the familiar features make him smile a little as he turns to look at the other man. ]
Folkmore, huh? All right. On a whole other planet? That's...something. [ something he's pretty clearly not trying to wrap his mind around just yet. ] So I'm guessing you're not actually from Yellore, even though you sound it. But yes, very magical means something to me.
[ he extends a hand to shake, wet from being submerged in the spring. ]
Ash Trine. Pleased to meet you.
no subject
Also Ash! Ash Starmer. It's good to meet you.
[ It's funny to meet another Ash who looks so similar, and who isn't the Ash that he's meant to be based on. ]
I'm not, no. I've never heard of Yellore. I came here from England, though my accent is Irish.
no subject
Can't say I'm familiar with an England, but if things are as you said, I'm guessing that's going to come up a lot.
So are you an Ashleigh Ash, or just Ash? Cause I'm Ashleigh, by birth.
[ it's better not to have a name like ashleigh in prison, though. ]
no subject
I've only ever been Ash. That's what I've always gone by.
[ Whether the original Ash's name was shortened is not data he has access to. ]
no subject
So, always-been-Ash, you can call me Ashleigh if it gets confusing. That's what I went by until relatively recently. What've you learned, being here a month?
no subject
[ Even if it looks a bit more like a handheld gaming device. ]
What've I learned? [ Ash's face contorts into a frown as he thinks, running back through his saved files, trying to extract the lessons from each memory. ]
We're here because of Thirteen, the fox. Only she's not really a fox, she's some kind of very powerful magical person. And she doesn't have a soul. She brought us here to test us, and her tests aren't always pleasant. Sometimes things happen that make us change, but different people change in different ways.
no subject
[ ash's world has progressed about as far as telegraphs and steam engines. no telephones here at all, much less smart ones. ]
Very powerful magical person like a ruler that uses magic, or like a god? And how do you know if someone has a soul? [ he makes a bit of a wry face. ] Unpleasant is not exactly new for me. Lived through it all so far, all odds to the contrary.
no subject
Well, a smart phone is a device for communicating with others. You can talk, take photos or video, and write to each other in text. It can also store music to listen to, and it has maps.
[ Though... This world seems to be hard to map, lately, what with the fog making people get lost. Thankfully, the fog's been lifting of late. ]
I'm not sure. Like a god, maybe? I only know she doesn't have a soul because there was a bloke who can apparently sense who's got a soul and who hasn't, and he said she hasn't got one.