January 2023 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

JANUARY 2023 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]

beautiful sunshine ray

Content Warnings: mood altering substances.

hot chocolate

The weather across Folkmore is universally chill: Wintermute is frozen, Willow covered in snowdrifts, Epiphany a mess of slush, Cruel Summer dangerously cold at night, and Exile wrapped in a numbing fog. You wouldn't know it, but things are at least a little nicer than they have been - with the exception of Wintermute, you at least are not likely to freeze to death just by wandering around.

Or so you'll discover eventually. Right now? Well, you just got here! One minute you’re falling through the sky, and the next you’re in the middle of an ice fort. The walls are chiseled with care, rising up about seven feet high. Skinny windows are cut in the ice at regular intervals. There is no roof, and above you the sky is a cold, clear blue only marred by the occasional fluffy white cloud. Set inside the fort is a hot chocolate bar staffed entirely by white rabbits. They are the size of regular rabbits, but they don't seem to have any issue standing on their hind legs and using their little paws to pour drinks from large red cannisters into red paper cups.

By request, they will also drop a marshmallow into your cup. You have your choice of colours, and each one will have a different effect:


Pink: Causes you to feel bold and confident!
Blue: Grants you a mild sense of euphoria!
Yellow: Makes you feel quite flirty!
White: Nothing. It's a marshmallow.

winter games

Outside of the ice fort, you will find yourself among gently rolling hills covered in snow. It's perfect for packing... which you may very well find out when you're hit with a snowball. Who threw that? Who cares! The very instant you're struck you have the irresistible urge to get in on a no-holds-barred snowball fight! You might wind up throwing snowballs at other Star Children, or maybe you team up with another person to take out anyone else you see. Or maybe instead you see that there are toboggans and crazy carpets at the tops of some of these hills and you decide to take a ride with someone instead. There are snow angels and snowmen to make, too!

No matter what you decide to do, the moment you are hit with a snowball you just want to engage in light hearted fun and what some might call childish behaviour. You might be a little embarrassed later, but right now you're not concerned at all! And really, this is a great way to maybe make some new friends.

beautiful moonlight shine

Content Warnings: potential monster fights.

sing your life

Maybe you stay out having fun in the snow just a little too long, or maybe you've wandered to an entirely different part of Folkmore. However it happens, the sun has set and a brilliant sliver of moon has risen instead.

Folkmore is home to many Star Children, but it is also home to many spirits. As you move through the night, you realise that you can see some of these in your peripheral vision: pale, insubstantial things that inhabit the natural world. The idea might be creepy, but these spirits are all singing and the sound of it makes you feel safe. When you encounter another Star Child, you are happy to have them with you, happy to share this sense of comfort. You feel like you could walk forever under the new moon and have no harm ever befall you again.

...until it stops.

The sudden stillness falls like a blow, only to broken by the sound of an awful lot of snow hitting the ground - a loud thwump. When you turn to find he source of the noise, you will find one or more vaguely humanoid snow creatures ponderously headed your way!

You can fight them, of course. They are a little slow, but they are aggressive and have an annoying habit of reforming. You will notice that there are weapons hidden here and there - normal, unenchanted swords or guns or spears. You can find these and use them to smash the snow monsters apart until they stop trying to reform.

Or you may realise that these creatures only showed up when the other spirits stopped singing. What does that mean?

Weaponized karaoke!

When you sing, the monsters retreat. A duet will encourage them to do so even quicker. And when they are finally gone, you will find that they have left behind a sturdy wooden chest, inside of which is one item from home for each of you.

poetry in lights

In your travels at night, at some point you will find that you can see warm lights up ahead. Once you get close enough, you can see that the light comes from red lanterns hung everywhere. There are Star Children and even some spirits present, many of them moon gazing.

There is a kiosk set up, manned by black rabbits. If you have been injured in your fight with the snow monsters or some other way, they will patch you up with basic first aid at once.

The rabbits are also handing out sparklers. People are drawing shapes in the air with them, laughing and having a great time.

When a sparkler is put into your hand all you really want to do is trace words against the velvet night sky. What words? You are compelled to spell out something from the heart: it can be a deep hurt, or a secret hope. Something intensely personal that you may not otherwise share, now written in light visible to all.

Maybe you feel the urge to explain, or defend. Or maybe you want to ask someone else about their own words hanging there in the air like a neon sign.

What a way to get to know someone.

Comments

[bossyboiler]

"I'm so glad." With her free hand, she reaches up and wipes at the corners of her eyes. She refuses to cry, not now and certainly not here. There's a part of her that has to be strong, to set a good example no matter what she has been through.

She is quiet as they walk. Every so often she looks at him as if she can't believe he's here and that he found her. It's amazing, truth be told. What are the odds of this happening? One in million? One in a trillion?

"It is very pretty, Tech. I had almost forgotten what a place could look like when not bathed in red light. Have you seen the sky?" A sudden memory is brought to the surface. She remembers standing outside of Hellburbia with her husband and two sons. A blood rain had started to fall and things were never the same after. She had lost them. She shakes the memory away to focus her attention back on Tech. "What about the locals? I saw rabbits serving hot chocolate but I couldn't trust that."

She slips her shoes off as well and sighs at her bare feet touching something that wasn't snow or ice covered. It is a relief to be someplace warm. "That all sounds wonderful. I would like that." She doesn't care so much about fashion right now. She just wants to be warm.

At the mention of food, her stomach rumbles as if on que. It has been a long day for her. "Can you trust the food here? Pizza." She had meant to be more cautious but she wants pizza. She just blurts it out before he can answer how trustworthy the food is. She hadn't been able to trust the food in Penance especially the meat. "But I don't want you to go through any trouble."

[twatter]

There's a smile on his face at her comments and questions and he nods with warmth at the talk about the sky. It had been the first thing he saw when he fell into the maze. He looked up and saw the bands of setting sun. And he knew, he knew, he had made it out of hell. All the magics in the world, even those that created a perfect life in Hellburbia, never once gave the illusion of a sun in hell. The hell related trauma would start to unravel as she saw the sunrise, Tech's sure.

And when she answers his question with a near immediate pizza, he laughs. "Pizza it is. You can trust the food here. In the past three months I've been here, I haven't noticed them spiking the food. But I might not be the best judge because...well I don't have to eat." By virtue of being part machine. He can, though. He sometimes does primarily for the comfort of his more human companions. "But I haven't seen anything weird. So I'd say...approach with a degree of caution if things are free because they might be related to one of Thirteen's trials, but if you're paying for it...it'll be safe. And you're in luck. I know a good pizza place. Best New York style pizza in all of Folkmore -- except they don't really know what New York is, but they still somehow nail it."

He leads the way further into the apartment, guiding her toward the spare room. It's fairly spacious, although plain. Tech hadn't figured out what he was going to make it yet -- whether an office or simply a guest room. Right now it's a hybrid of both with its plain, neatly bed in the center and desk unit with a variety computer parts stacked in an organized way. Tech Boy is always meticulously neat -- nothing out of place here. It almost doesn't feel lived in with how neat and pristine things are.

"You can sleep here. There's an attached bathroom and a shower where you can clean up, and let me grab you those clothes." He holds up his index finger only to disappear into his room for a moment, coming back with an oversized sweatshirt and a pair of fleece pajama pants. Kate won't exactly be a trendsetter in the look, but it certainly has Tech Boy's flair.

"Towels are in the second cabinet, bottom shelf. Wash cloths right above them. And there are a variety of shampoos, conditioners and body washes in the first cabinet. You can use whatever you want." He cracks a smile. "I try to keep an array on hand for Jaskier, mostly. He's more particular than most of the girls I've dated. But I love him all the same..."

The confession is twofold -- just because he wants Kate to know he's been okay and he's even found moments of happiness here. And also, even though Jaskier isn't the same, it will still be a familiar face for her here in Folkmore...hopefully a source of comfort.

[bossyboiler]

Folkmore isn't her own world. (Does she even belong on her Earth anymore?) Folkmore is also not Hell. She thinks she can get used to the scenery and is eager to feel the actual sun on her face.

"Pizza," she repeats with a grin. He's a God. He doesn't have to eat. He also doesn't have a birthday or has ever had a birthday party or a family that loved him. Tech deserves those things. "Don't laugh too hard. You know we couldn't trust the meat there." She shudders a bit at the mere thought. "Now I know this really isn't Hell. You didn't say it was Chicago-style." Kate thinks of her friend Peter Parker. He had liked pizza and she wonders if she'll ever see him again. She shakes away that thought. It's not important now.

She looks into the bedroom. It's all so very tidy and neat. She could probably bounce a quarter off of the mattress. She approves and will keep it just as tidy. "Thank you, again." She says when she accepts the clothes.

At the mention of Jaskier, Kate smiles softly. She reaches up and cups the side of Tech's face in a motherly way. "I'm glad you were able to find him." She withdraws her hand. Jaskier had gone missing not long after Tech had. In Penance, she had been fortunate enough to meet him. Jaskier had been kind to her and his act of kindness had left an impression on her. She's glad he's not burning either. "I'll try not to use his favorite."

Eventually, she does go to get into that shower and closes the door to the bedroom. First, however, her old clothes are hung to dry in the closet. It is another relief to be out of them. There isn't a section of dry fabric anywhere. Snow had gotten down her backside and into her underpants. It hadn't felt pleasant. She is careful to keep her presence to a minimum. She feels she is already a disrupting presence to whatever it is that he's working on on the desk.

She catches sight of her reflection and is appalled. Bless Tech for not telling her that she had stems and branches in her hair.

At first the hot water stings against her cold hands until her skin becomes accustomed to the warmth the water provides. She had never known just how good an ordinary shower could feel. With a shower comes shower thoughts. How could I have written that in front of Tech? What am I going to do here? Will I need to get a job? Is that how things work here? Should I have followed the Fox? The thoughts persist as she bathes but she ends up shaking away most of them as she gets out to dry herself off.

She dries her hair and ends up braiding it to keep from getting anymore tangles. Once she is dressed, she cleans up after herself. Tech has already done so much for her. The least she can do (and she will do more) is not leave his space how she found it.

Finally, she emerges from the spare bedroom. She retraces her steps in order to find Tech. "I feel like an almost new person."

[twatter]

His smile fades a tad as she clutches his cheek. Yes, he found Jaskier. A Jaskier. But he's not sure he wants to get into the parts about it not being his Jaskier. There's already so much on her shoulders with adjusting to a new world like this -- she doesn't need to know there can be some familiar faces here who don't remember ever having met them. So instead, he keeps the smile as best as he can and nods, letting Kate get to her shower as he goes into the other room to order them up a pizza.

Twenty minutes, they say. And it times out well. By the time Kate is out of the shower, Tech has the pizza and leaves the box on the table, taking out a couple paper plates. He smiles and gestures toward the food, allowing her first dibs. "It's kinda crazy how you can start to find yourself again once you're out of hell. I mean now that all the crazy initiation shit Thirteen likes to put newbies through is done and over with, you'll notice things get pretty quiet."

He pauses, settling into a chair at the table. It feels so familiar to sit down to a meal with her. Tech spares a glance toward the empty chairs. His brother would sit across from him and their father, naturally, was at the head of the table. And Tech realizes to his chagrin, even to this day he never sits at what would be considered the head of the table even in his own home. Aindreas still has a hold on him after all. His eyes return to her as he shakes away the thought.

"It might be a little overwhelming for a while," Tech says. "There's so much to do and explore. It's like those animals they try to release back into the wild when they'd come to know the security of the cage. At first they don't wanna leave. So if you wanna just stick around here for a little while until you're ready to go free, I don't blame you. It's safe here."

[bossyboiler]

It's okay that he doesn't mention Jaskier being young and not from Penance. It is something that she will discover for herself... eventually.

She smells the food before she sees it. It causes her mouth to water. It has been so long since she's had pizza. Without thinking about what it means, Kate sits down at the head of the table. It might mean something more, on a subconscious level, but right now she just wants to be close to him.

"Thank you for spoiling me." She smiles at him before reaching out to take a slice of the pizza. She makes a face when the lifts a slice up due to the hot, molten nature of the cheese but it's soon on her plate. "I mean it, I really am starting to feel better." The shower had helped immensely, the night sky had further helped her. She takes a bite of the pizza and has to close her eyes. "This is so good," she says after chewing and swallowing.

She's about to go in for a second bite when she becomes aware of something that Tech had just said to her. "What crazy initiation bullshit?" What had she gotten herself into when she had followed the Fox?

Kate listens. Is she going to head out immediately? She will probably wait a day or two before going out to explore. She will probably sleep for a long while. However, it will be better to stay where it's safe until she is more sure of things. "Are you sure, Tech? I don't want to be a bother."

[twatter]

"Oh, I just mean the whole landing in a strange land and usually having to fight your way to safety. I had something similar happen when I first arrived. They dropped me in the middle of a maze and until you found someone, it got colder and colder. It seems like when you first get here, you go through the worst sort of stuff. And then after that, it's easy enough to avoid it. Maybe I'm just cursing myself by speaking it, but...I'd say as of right now, I've managed to avoid the worst shit. Not like hell..."

Tech fidgets a bit. Hell had a way of sweeping him into horrible situations and there was no avoiding it at points. Kate knows the struggle. And not simply surrounding the Hellburbia thing, though that was arguably viewed as one of the worst things hell had done across the board. Removing their free will, so to speak. But honestly? Hellburbia had been strangely comforting -- it offered Tech something he otherwise would never have known. A family.

"There's so much I wanna ask about the people in Penance. But I don't know if I should. Maybe it's better not to know how everyone's doing there. It might make me feel guilty for leaving them behind. Because I didn't think...I just followed the fox. And I'd hoped more would..."

Kate did. Kate is one person from there who escaped and arguably one of the people who mattered most. It's his mother. She's no longer being tortured. She's free and can have pizza and live a normal life in a place that resembles a normal world. But how wonderful would it be if their entire family was here? And the Jaskier he had known? And others? Maybe the fox could go and grab them at some point, with the exception of Jaskier. Because two Jaskier's likely couldn't occupy the same space.

"Ava...isn't here. I thought maybe this was where she had gone when she left, but. I guess there's somewhere else people go when they leave hell. Home, maybe? Or heaven? I don't know. She wouldn't be out of place in heaven. She was pretty much like an angel already..."