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

[da_champion]

Hawke knows she is some sort of magic user or intimately familiar with magic users. Anyone not familiar always gets the same wide eyed expression when he did the little fire trick. She doesn't even bat an eye, just seems amused by it.

"I've been told it's bad, reckless, and should be impossible." As he speaks Hawkes ticks the attributes off one at a time with his fingers. "Only one told me it's beautiful. He was biased."

Anders always loved the freedom with which Hawke wielded his magic. Unafraid of it and unknowing of his own limitations. He drinks his whiskey and pushes those bittersweet memories away.

"Magic is magic, whether taught in the Circle, by an Elvish Keeper, or the assholes in Tevinter. People make it unique. People make it dangerous." Hawke shrugs. Magic is and people ruin it. Like most things, people always ruin it.

[verbrannt]

"I see." More and more layers, interesting. "I fear I could take up hours asking you questions, yet it seems they come with many...painful memories. Thank you for answering, all the same."

She takes another sip from her cup. It's still fairly warm, surprisingly. Perhaps magic inherent to this world, or something like it.

"So what, then, do you make of this place?"

[da_champion]

"Oh, my entire life is a best selling book. You're not asking much that isn't already known to Thedas wide and far." Hawke shrugs a shoulder. They haven't touched on any of the truly painful details.

There are plenty of things he wouldn't talk to a stranger about, even a pretty one like Astrid. Hawke's an expert at telling the stories people want to here with none of the ugly truth behind them. She wants to know and he can give her the answers that will sate her curiosity without digging too deep into him.

"This place?" He takes a moment to look around. "It's a place. Perhaps a bit more free with magic and strangeness than others but I have yet to encounter anything sinister about it. If it's hiding under the surface they've hidden it well. Not sure what to make of all this talk about potential. You remember a talking fox too, right?"

[verbrannt]

Astrid shifts in her seat, trying to roll away the stiffness in her shoulders at the mention of the fox. Yet even with a mostly neutral expression, something like perturbance still shows through.

"I remember. I do not remember making an agreement upon the understanding that I would be taken from my home. I remember an overwhelming urge to say yes, even though potential is a pretty excuse for exploitation." And abuse. "By whose measure, and methods? What works for one will not work for another. If I fail, does that mean I have already achieved the highest that I can, or does it mean that my test was ineffectively conceived? If I believe I have achieved all that I can here, will I be allowed to return home?"

She takes a sip of wine, staving off the past.

[da_champion]

Oh, well isn't this all very interesting. Astrid has been a steady and focused drinking companion up until this point. She's still focused but her steadiness weakens some talking about potential. Hawke's not the brightest person in this conversation. He knows that but he's not a complete idiot either.

Something about potential bothers Astrid. Deeply given the way she speaks question after question. It is something he could poke at and dig deeper into... if he was an asshole. The dirty secrets of peoples lives don't interest him that much.

"Well, in my experience with spirits and demons they do like to play word games," Hawke says casually ignoring all those questions. They don't have real answers anyway. They'd just lead to debates that would go in circles.

"What sounds like a fairly straight forward question to us means entirely something else to a spirit. And they are very easily angered when you say no." Hawke shakes his head a little and sips his whiskey. "Although, I think we could take a fox spirit in a fight. You seem capable and I'm full of stupid luck. Perfect combination, really."

His wink is meant to be playful. Hawke has yet to see Astrid genuinely look amused or like she's enjoying herself. He's not that terrible of a drinking companion.