November 2022 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

NOVEMBER 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]

BUNNY BUSINESS

You snap to awareness, ready perhaps to fight or flee, and find that you are… sitting on a couch. Huh.

Yes, you have fallen from the sky, Star Child, to wind up inside a cozy lodge There are several other couches dotting the spacious room, host largely to new arrivals like yourself. The lodge is rustic, built of wooden logs and stone, with a massive fireplace dominating one wall. Through an open archway just past the fireplace there is a mellowly lit bar serving free hot chocolate as well as spirits. The bar is tended by a tall, fluffy white creature with earmuffs on. Star Children from Earth might think it looks like a bigfoot or a yeti, but cute. The bartender speaks in a soft, low voice and can direct you to the other half of the lodge, where you can borrow winter clothes and outdoor equipment.

What sort of equipment? Skis, of course! And snowboards, and snowshoes too!

Step outside the lodge and you will discover that you are at the base of one of the mountains in Wintermute. It rises majestically, the very tip lost amongst white clouds. The snow is a perfect powder, ideal for beginners and experts alike.

There is a wooden sign near the rental area pointing the way to the Bunny Hill.

The ski hill is manned entirely by rabbits. They are mostly white and grey, but you can spot them against the snow because they are all wearing little winter coats. They will help get you into your skis or on your board or what-have-you, and they will be your silent instructors. If you don’t want to downhill ski and would rather snowshoe around, one of the bunnies will guide you to safe paths. No matter what you’re doing, the rabbits insist on pairing you with another Star Child. Bunnies believe in the buddy system! Might be a good time to get to know someone else. In fact, you’ll notice that the more you talk to someone else, the more your winter sports skills improve, and the happier you will feel.

If you go off course, whether on ski or board or shoe, having a buddy makes it far more likely that you can find your way back to the lodge safely!

GRAY NOVEMBER

Content Warnings: Monster fighting, optional violence.

ADDRESSED TO THE FIRE

Among the snow laden pines, all is not still. There is a soft chiming noise you may be able to hear, and amongst the tree branches move hundreds of tiny blue forms. These humanoid figures are no more than three inches tall, sparkling like fresh fallen snow. Wherever their feet touch frost forms, and they flit and dance overhead joyfully, occasionally causing snow to dislodge from the branches and fall to the ground below. You may be hit with a light shower of the stuff if you happen to be below, which is all in great fun… but you best be careful where you step, as a heavy load of snow can hurt you quite badly.

These little ice spirits seem friendly enough, flying down to inspect you. You might not even notice that they are herding you further into the evergreen forest, away from the sun and into the shadows. If you do notice and try to resist, they will dart lightly across any exposed skin, causing sharp stabs of cold. If they do this enough, there is a real danger of frostbite. The spirits don’t die if you squish them - they just puff into a cloud of snow, and there are so many of them that it’s unlikely you could hurt enough of them to escape.

The ice spirits lead you to a clearing before they abruptly vanish - they have done a wonderful job of disorienting you, and their icy feet have filled up your footprints so you cannot follow your own trail back. Here, it is quite dark, and trying to find your way back is nigh impossible. In the center of the clearing is a small pile of wood and kindling, just waiting for a spark. There is a a small metal box next to this and inside is a pack of matches and a note reading:

The heart, like fire, must be fed to stay alight.
Memories held dear burn brightest of all.

You will find that you can light the fire very easily, but keeping it from going out is a challenge! It keeps guttering and threatening to plunge you into the cold darkness. That is, unless you take a cue from the note and share some things about yourself with your companion. The more you share, or the more private the story, the more strongly the fire will burn. It never requires more wood - if you have a good conversation with someone it will last til morning quite easily, and keep you warm the whole time.

Once morning does arrive, you will find that somehow another box has appeared, set just to the side of the clearing. This one is a proper wooden chest, and inside you will discover some canon item from your homeworld - this can include magical objects or weapons.

A racoon in a red and yellow sweater will waddle into the clearing once you have discovered your prize and escort you safely out of the evergreen forest.

WILDEST WINTER

Okay, but maybe you hate sharing time. Maybe you’d rather take your chances with the dark woods. It’s possible to create a torch with the supplies in the clearing, or maybe you have other ways of lighting your way. Heck, maybe you just have halfway decent night vision!

As you make your way through the woods, you might notice that there are weapons half covered by snow lying about. These are all normal, unenchanted weapons - knives, swords, guns. Sweet, free swag!

But be warned: the moment you touch any of these weapons you will hear the howling of a blizzard wind. The air will turn colder still, and then out of the darkness will stalk a monstrous being roughly the size and shape of a polar bear, but haphazardly covered in ice-like spikes. These ice crystals are deadly sharp and incredibly hard, so you’ll have to aim carefully between them to pierce the monster’s flesh. It is possible to melt them if you have the means to generate enough heat.

The creature is every bit as fast and strong as a polar bear, so you really don’t want to let it catch you! Teamwork is probably your best option to fight it - running might not be your best option in this case, although the bear might be too big to be able to climb a tree with much success. Maybe. Possibly. You sure you want to risk it?

If you defeat the ice bear, it will melt away to nothing, leaving in its place a heart-shaped box. Inside you will find a canon item. If you manage to make it to morning without killing the creature, you will escape with your life and whatever unenchanted weapon you picked up.

The sweatered racoon will appear at dawn to guide you back to the ski lodge.

Comments

Lodge

[ausgebrannt]

The growing hubbub in Wintermute has apparently been enough to draw Caleb out of the library and out to poke his nose into what he assumes is the latest influx of new arrivals. There's usually some chaos or another that accompanies, after all, some of it instructive even, so he makes his way even through the cold and snow.

The lodge door opens and the wind and scattered snow that flows in brings with it a snow leopard. The large cat shakes itself, and somewhere in the midst of the motion, the feline form gives way to the mostly-human form of Caleb Widogast. Since he arrived in Folkmore he's sported horns and a tail that make him look like a pale, freckled tiefling, but he's gotten used to them. A quick snap of his fingers and Frumpkin appears on his shoulder. Still brushing snow that hadn't shaken free with his transformation from his shoulders, he makes his way towards the bar, sliding into a seat. That's right about when he really looks at the woman at the bar and recognition hits him like the full brunt of an ambush attack. Caleb freezes, as if fight or flight are at war with each other and that's all he's left with. This lasts a long moment, awkwardly enough, and what Astrid does not know is the sudden flurry of silent communication through his connection to his bonded familiar, even if Peter is a ways away.

Thankfully the awkward frozen moment ends and the wizard shakes his stupor. It hadn't been that long since he'd seen Astrid, since he'd spoken to her for the first time in over a decade when he'd arrived in Folkmore. But that arrival had been months ago, and sometimes Exandria feels genuinely long ago and far away. The stiffness in his posture is still painfully visible, but his voice is level, gentle even, as he speaks. "Astrid?"

[verbrannt]

Even several months after that day, across nearly two decades, there's still part of her heart that lurches for him on sight and sound. It is both difficult and comforting to have him within her orbit again, as they carefully rebuild trust between them in the wake of Trent's deposition. Hurt and anger and longing are all too difficult to ignore in equal measure, so she has done her best to try to make peace with them bit by bit, in time. Her feelings, frustratingly, seem to change from day to day.

Yet it doesn't stop her from feeling some measure of genuine relief. Astrid immediately turns to Caleb's voice, but is likewise frozen for a moment as she takes him in. Her eyes linger questioningly at the horns, the smile that had begun to form fading quickly in confusion and wariness. She had just seen him the other day, and he hadn't been...this.

"Caleb," she says finally, and tries for a smile again after a breath, but doesn't quite manage. "So you are here. At least I am not alone."

[ausgebrannt]

Caleb is well aware that this place can play strange and funny tricks with time. After all, he lives with a group of people who come from an Exandria a few decades in the past. That's a topic to broach at some point, certainly, but not just yet.

He sees the way her eyes linger on the horns and despite himself he feels the start of a smile, tentative though it may be. "Ja. I am here. I have been here for months now. And these..." he reaches a hand up to tap at one of those horns, "...were part of the welcome package. There are many strange things about this place."

From around his shoulders, Frumpkin peers at Astrid for a long moment before cozying himself back into Caleb's scarf. "You have just arrived?"

[verbrannt]

Astrid can't help reaching a hand to her own forehead, fingers feeling along her forehead for horns. The trace over her scar and she frowns, wondering if she's imagining the beginning of a nub there.

She quickly pulls her hand away. Something to worry about another time.

"Yes, but-" her eyes find his again before they shift briefly to Frumpkin. A few pieces seem to click into place.

"...a few months? I saw you just a few days ago, in Rexxentrum."

[ausgebrannt]

"The Fox, the being who brins us here and controls this space, does not seem to have much respect for anything so paltry as linear time." He'd be lying if he said he didn't find that particular ability intriguing, but that is neither here nor there for this conversation. "There are others from Exandria here, most from thirty or so years in what I would consider the past. At least one other who is from several years in the future. And then many more people who are from other worlds entirely."

It's a lot. He knows that first-hand, but he also knows that when he arrived he was fortunate enough to find -- or perhaps more accurately, be found by -- Peter and Vex'ahlia who had provided him with some stability. He doesn't know if he can offer Astrid that, or if he even should, but he can offer some answers at least, for now.

"The last time I saw you was also in Rexxentrum, not long before I found myself here."

[verbrannt]

For several moments she is silent, her gaze fixated downward toward the rim of her glass without seeing it as all of this new information settles in. The ability to bend time and space has long been coveted and attempted by mages throughout the history of Exandria. And yet this creature, that chooses to hold itself in the form of a mere fox, has done all of this and more. A being from outside their world, their realm, and of all the people in Exandria itself, across its entire history, why did it appear to her? Was it attracted to power? Could that mean, then...

Astrid physically shakes that thought away before it has the chance to fully form. She cautiously looks back to Caleb -- the name has become easier over the past many months, a necessary boundary on the past.

"...and Wulf?" she asks softly. Though she is certain he would have included him in the list of others here from Exandria, she needs to hear it to be sure.

[ausgebrannt]

A faint shake of his head, barely a movement at all. "No, I have not seen him. You are the first person I know personally who has arrived here." Though he has discovered that he and the members of Vox Machina do have a friend or two in common with the Mighty Nein.

Caleb watches her cautiously, and that tension still hasn't bled its way out of his posture yet. There is a conversation going on silently in the background of his mind, and something said must have worked because he does ever so slightly seem to relax where he sits. He holds a hand up to signal the bartender creature to order a drink for himself.

"You should know, this place can be dangerous. The Fox likes to test us, and is not afraid to put us through pain to do it. All in the name of achieving some promised full potential." Does that sound familiar, Astrid? Because it feels and has felt as familiar as hell to Caleb since he arrived, and he trusts none of it. "Other times her methods are kinder. But she is powerful, and capable of stripping us of our magic if and when she chooses."

[verbrannt]

Disappointment is perhaps the first clear emotion that shows through in her expression. Her brows knit together, frown deepening on her face almost to a grimace. Perhaps he may come, in time. Something tells her that even if she were to send him a message, it wouldn't reach. Astrid smothers a small spiraling voice of despair - what if he never shows?

It hasn't escaped her notice how tightly strung he has been since first approaching her. While she would not yet categorize even their most recent interactions as easy, Caleb hasn't been this wary of her since bringing down their old teacher. A theory forms in her mind, even as he seems to ease enough to settle into the seat next to her.

But at his warning, her expression hardens, a deep and bitter cold sharpening her eyes as a painfully familiar rage flares to life again. She's spent her whole life containing and leashing her emotions, turning them to her own purpose. But under the right circumstances, this one breaks free.

The audacity of this creature, to pull her here for further trials. To take away at a whim what she has achieved through sacrifices of soul and blood and life.

No.

"Well," she says finally, a humorless smile briefly quirks at the corner of her lips as she straightens in her chair. "Then perhaps this Fox has made a mistake. I have achieved what I wanted. Any further potential there is to cultivate in myself will be because it is what I wish."

[ausgebrannt]

There's no missing that change in Astrid, like a cold front sweeping in and changing the very air around them. He knows that anger. Hell, he's had to contend with his own over the years, even if so much of his is interwoven in a complex plait with fear and guilt.

He watches, silent though without a shred of judgment on his face, until she speaks. The words draw a lift of his eyebrows before he nods. "Perhaps she has. But regardless, we are here, and in too many ways, we are at her mercy. It is... something I am trying to understand."

By that he means diving into any and all histories and stories he can, ferreting out the way magic does and doesn't work in this place. Chasing rumors, never content to leave a thread unfollowed.

When his drink is delivered, he offers thanks and wraps his fingers around it, though doesn't lift it from the bar just yet. "I led with dangers and caution because I believe they are important, but this place is not a bad place." Unconsciously, he finds himself twisting at the simple gold band around one ring finger as he speaks the world. "There are good people here, worth getting to know. There is a life to be lived here."

[verbrannt]

There's much left to be desired in his response. Tension still rings in her, but gradually the sudden storm calms to a simmer. Her gaze shifts to the ring, but notices more the absence of another she last knew to be in his possession. It could mean nothing. Or it could mean many things.

Astrid leans away, putting distance between them as she watches him warily. It feels as though she is missing so many pieces, failing to understand what she could possibly gain here that she has not already achieved or suffered already. Her hands curl into fists, holding onto her growing confusion and frustration.

"A place with good people suffering together does not make it good. We both know that."

She pauses, still looking at him carefully. "How long have you been here?"

sorry life went nuts, your astrid is great btw I hope you app her :)

[ausgebrannt]

"We do. But we also both know that things are not so black and white as some would have us believe. There are those who would choose to be this place rather than their own worlds. There are those who have no option of return. It is complicated, and at the very least, it is not all terrible. I do not trust the Fox, but she needs us, I think. We are encouraged to generate lore by interacting with each other."

He has multiple theories on this, the current prevailing one is that this lore she wants them to generate sustains her. They're magic food. It's not a comforting thought. Most of Calebs thoughts aren't, so that's perfectly in line.

"Almost half a year? Time feels strange here sometimes, but yes. Since summer."

no worries, & thank u! I think I will - I've really enjoyed the TDM so far <3

[verbrannt]

Half a year. Much can change in that time...another lesson they've both well learned. There are many more questions buzzing in her mind to ask. Things she wants to be sure about yet also isn't ready to have them confirmed. She acutely misses Wulf's steady presence. So often, just knowing he is there helps to settle her racing thoughts.

But he isn't here. He might be months away, if he ever shows.

"I see." Astrid loosens her grip, fingers flexing slowly, and resists the urge to sigh.

"And what do you wish?" She asks quietly, after a moment. "If indeed I am here to stay, as it seems?"

yay! :)

[ausgebrannt]

What does he wish? There's a long list, if ever there was one. But Caleb only shakes his head at the question. "For my own part, I am living a life here, even if there are unfinished matters back in Exandria that weigh heavily on me." Trent Ikithon being first and foremost among those things.

A sip of his drink as he lets his thoughts coalesce into something more able to be communicated than the hurricane they so often are. Astrid being here is unexpected, and it has thrown him. There's so much complicated between them. He still cares about her, about the girl he'd known those many years ago. He can't pretend he's not frightened too, in a way, of who and what she has become. But they had started, perhaps, making inroads.

"If you are to stay, I would have you be safe. Death is impermanent here, but that makes it no more pleasant to go through." There's an undercurrent of speaking from experience on that point. He tips his cup, gaze focused on the movement of the liquid inside rather than on Astrid. "And I would share what I have learned with you, and the suspicions and theories I have put together." Astrid has a sharp -- lethally sharp, if he's being honest -- mind, after all. His eyes flicker back towards her, the faintest note of amusement in his voice as he adds, "I am sure you would have opinions."

<3

[verbrannt]

The fear of death had long ago passed from her mind. Astrid has felt its pain acutely in many ways, and some pain terrible enough to wish for it. As it is, she has her doubts of what this place could do to her that is anything worse than what she has already endured. That won't reduce the sting of whatever this Fox intends to put her through, but at the very least she will not spend time worrying over it. She'll just be angry.

But even so, she can't deny the little tug in her stomach at these small admissions. His eyes seem brighter when Caleb finally meets her gaze again, and not for the first and never for the last time, her mind superimposes the memory of a younger face there. The time in the Blooming Grove had already given her ample time to catalog all of the differences and similarities between the man in front of her and the boy she remembers. Each time she thinks she's sorted out her feelings on them, she finds she still isn't quite there yet.

There's a welcome familiarity here, at least, one they had already carefully latched on to back home. Perhaps this did not have to be so different.

Astrid lifts her chin, her expression softening for the first time, approaching a smile. One eyebrow lifts briefly as she nods, lifting her own cup for a sip.

"I'm sure that I will. And...I would like that," she adds carefully.

[ausgebrannt]

The worst of it for Caleb has been splashing memories that still tear at wounds, unhealed despite years and years, out into the open for anyone to see. But Caleb has his issues, and he's at least self-aware enough to recognize them. The fact that this place continues forcing him into them is something he does not appreciate at all. Even having his magic stripped away and being physically torn to pieces had not felt so invasive.

There will be time for those thoughts later. Astrid is capable -- goodness knows that -- and formidable. She will manage this place.

Caleb's expression finally melts into an actual smile now, and he nods. "Good, yes. Very good. I would too." It's a relief somehow, that they both seem willing to return to this (for him) very new and tentative path with Astrid.

"You'll need to find a place to stay. There are many that are available and waiting for us to move into. One of the other many strange things about this place. I could help, if you like."

[verbrannt]

The smile softens her more, though she doesn't quite return one of her own just yet. There are still too many things rattling around in her head right now. But it is a good sign; whatever Caleb has already been through in this place, it hasn't completely set them back, at least.

Astrid sips her drink to gather her thoughts. 'A place to stay' sounded so...permanent. The idea rankles, like an uncomfortable scraping of nails at the back of her neck. Yet if this is all to be believed, she may very well be here for some time, and just because she doesn't like the thought of it doesn't mean she should be stubbornly uncomfortable for even a short duration. Besides which - she felt she could trust Caleb enough to help her find a place suitably easy to ward and defend.

"Yes, I think I would like that, too. But not just yet. I think I would like to...get my bearings, a little more.