folkooc | February 2023 Test Drive Meme

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February 2023 Test Drive Meme

FEBRUARY 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]

SPRING BREAKS LOOSE

Content Warnings: extreme weather

the time is near

The earth is awakening.

You are aware of this fact before consciousness truly returns. One minute you were a falling star but as your body reforms you can sense the freshness of spring just around the corner. In your minds eye you can see circling birds in the sky, feel the first warm breeze of the season, and hear icicles melting into crystal puddles.

But something isn't right.

The moment you are truly awake you find yourself in what could generously be described as a shack built in the snowy wasteland of Wintermute. You and another Star Child are at least being kept warm by an electric heater, but there really isn't much in the way of amenities otherwise. More disturbingly, the entire shack has a deeply oppressive aura to it, encouraging the pair of you to leave as soon as you can.

But where can you possibly go?

Stepping outside reveals the answer, as parked not far from the shed is a dogsled, complete with warm winter gear to protect you from the cold.

The dogs themselves are the real marvels; not flesh and blood, the sled dogs are in fact automatons. The winter sun reflects off of their silver and copper bodies and the steady tick of their inner workings breaks the chilly silence. Each dog has a key sticking out of its back, turning slowly.

The oppressive sense you felt in the shack continues to grow. Your thoughts begin to turn negative: sad, paranoid, fearful. It is quite unbearable... until your eye falls on a delicate splash of purple against the snow.

Close to the dogsled, a single crocus pokes out of the ground.

The very sight of it calms you down. Picking it will make you feel happy, and you will find yourself blurting out the first pleasant memory that comes to mind.

The robodogs bark, delighted, encouraging you to climb aboard the sled and look for more of those flowers!

Every crocus you collect will make you feel positive emotions and the urge to share good personal moments with your companion. The more you find, the happier you will be... and you might get quite close to a total stranger as a result as well!

in from the snow

While you are out and about, you'll want to keep an eye on your team of dogs - they can and will lose power after a point. Your job as a good dog driver is to keep them wound up! Yes, you'll have to stop and physically wind the dogs back up when they lose steam.

You are likely to discover weapons jutting up from the snow. These are all unenchanted items, basic swords, guns, shields, etc., but the second you pull them from the snow the weather will take a turn for the worse. You may even be subject to a sudden avalanche! Hopefully you got the dogs wound up enough that they can get you out of there without any damage!

Eventually the dogs will choose to take you to Akhlut Station in Wintermute where you can catch the train somewhere a little warmer.

BUT SO DOES FEAR

Content Warnings: Fungus, spores, live burial, mental confusion and hallucinations.

putting roots in my dreamland

Willow is definitely warmer than Wintermute. The tail end of winter means that while much of the farmland is still blanketed in snow, the more wooded areas have large clear patches beneath the conifers. The ground here is damp and rich smelling. Poking out of the soil are tiny white mushrooms. These fungi glisten wetly, strangely compelling in their little rings of earth. You just want to take a closer look... maybe have a seat under the conifers and listen to the snow melt...

The mushrooms enchant anyone who gets close to them into simply staying put. They cloud the mind, leaving you in a dimly pleasant haze, while your body sinks slowly into the earth. The longer you stay, the more you sink - maybe a passerby can come and pull you out! If you don't wind up suffocated by dirt you will find that your head clears on its own once night falls. You will probably still need a hand pulling yourself out of the ground, but at least now you know what's going on.

The woods at night are not still - there are mice and owls and the usual nocturnal critters. There is also something else, something that moves slowly beneath the trees checking the mushroom traps. About eight feet tall, this lanky creature resembles a human skeleton held together by muscles and tendons of moss and fungus. Its head is a huge mushroom cap, underneath from which glitter a pair of bright blue eyes. If it finds any unfortunates stuck in the traps without anyone to help them, it will push their heads beneath the soil and hold them there until they die.

The sight of this creature inspires feelings of disorientation and hopelessness. These feelings are lessened when you are in close physical proximity with another Star Child, so it is to your advantage to stick together. The mushroom creature's objective remains the same: to feed the living earth with your body.

The creature is not particularly tough - its flesh is soft and gives way easily. You can defeat it easily with weapons or even your fists provided you can get close enough without succumbing to the disorientation and hopeless feelings. Oh, and you may not want to hit it on the head...

The mushroom cap, when struck, showers spores everywhere. These spores burn if they land on your skin, and if they get in your eyes they cause vivid hallucinations of ghostly figures reaching for you, trying to immobilize you. These hallucinations are so real that it is likely you will act as if they are real, standing still as if you are restrained.

If you defeat the mushroom creature, it will dissolve into the ground and leave in its place a wooden chest. Inside each of you will find some canon clothes and/or an item from your homeworlds.

coast is clear

Not far from the forest treeline, a bonfire burns merrily in the center of a circle of light green tents. The tents are kept warm by portable heaters, with some containing food and drink, and others offering small packs of seeds as gifts. These seeds are for common earth flowers and vegetables. One of the tents provides first aid supplies, in case you got roughed up fighting a giant mushroom or something.

The tents are staffed by squirrels and chipmunks. Just plain old ordinary squirrels and chipmunks. They don't speak - only chitter and occasionally screech - but they will help as best as their tiny paws allow.

This is a good time to recover, and also to talk to any other Star Children you may see.

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[His smile quickly dissipates from his face when sees the abject terror coming from Raphael. It almost looks the expression Lucifer made before he killed him-- no, he's not that type of angel anymore.]

I... yes, I am. Um, Archangel Michael.

[He isn't going to take back what he said, because that would be untruthful, even if it's clear that he is the source of his fear. It's been a very long time since anyone has looked at him like that, and he briefly wonders if Gabriel or Raphael back home actually fears him in some way. It's not like you can easily wipe away the fact that you completely destroyed another archangel from existence... and without mercy.

Michael shifts uncomfortably for a second, fully feeling an old shame that really hasn't disappeared, even after thousands of years.]

I'm... I'm sorry. [He's not sure what he's apologizing for exactly, at least in this case, but he feels like that's the best thing he can say right now. His hand lowers from his chest to start fiddling with the sleeve of his coat, feeling a little lost now.]

[He isn't sure what this Michael is apologising for either, but just hearing those words from him...

The Archangel Michael he knows would never say that he was sorry. Not for anything.

Raphael holds the delicate flower still clasped in his hand up to his chest and closes his eyes for a moment. He doesn't need to breathe, but he often finds the action calming, and so he takes in a deep breath of crisp wintry air and then lets it out evenly.]

It's all right.

[It's not. It's the furthest thing from all right that it could possibly be, but--...]

You're not... the same one, are you. You don't look the same. [You don't forget the face of a brother, and certainly not the face of someone who has tormented you for hundreds of mortal years. He's shaken but not stupid and even if it doesn't make sense, he can try not to panic here.]

I don't think I've ever heard Michael apologise.

[Even he can tell that things definitely are not 'all right,' but he certainly appreciates Raphael's attempts to reassure him. Although, shouldn't he be the one to comfort him? He's not the one standing in fear, even though he can discern that the other angel is slowly recovering from his initial shock.

If his name alone caused such a reaction... what is this other version of him like? It's a strange concept to think about, but a little easier to swallow since he arrived in this world. Parallel Earths are common, it's not impossible to think that another him exists.

And he thought having two other bodies of himself was a bit too much.]

I'm quite certain that I'm not the same. I'm... not entirely your brother.

[And he can't help but wince when Raphael mentions his refusal to apologize. Other Michael must be... something. A part of him wants to admit that there's probably some similarities to him and the Michael he knows, just because of their name and standing, but comparing himself right now seems like a bad idea.

He releases his sleeve and tries to offer Raphael a smile, even if it's a little uneasy.]

I'm probably not as strong as him, for one.

[Not entirely, no... and doesn't he mean that in more than one way? Now that initial shock is wearing off and he's taking a closer look at the other angel he can see that the way he feels 'different' is not only by virtue of being from Somewhere Else but also...

Ah...

Raphael lets out a soft sound - a tense, almost-laugh of something like disbelief. It's been so long since he even had anything he would call a conversation with any of his brothers save Gabriel, and to be standing here like this now is utterly surreal.]

I, um... I'm not going to object to that. [Because, as has no doubt been made abundantly clear... Michael terrifies him.] You're also far more-- ah...

[Um...]

Lucid.

[He laughed... so, improvement?? Maybe? His own smile becomes slightly less strained, feeling that the air has eased slightly, at least compared to a few seconds ago. Hopefully he can help steer the conversation in order to continue improving on that.]

Lucid.

[Michael repeats slowly and almost softly, as if trying to comprehend the ramifications of having such a description given to him. Nothing good-- well, good for him, but it definitely hints to the terrible nature of this other version of him, the one that's caused such fright in Raphael. A brutal monster, it's the only way he can describe someone that's such a feared being back home.

Like the way he was before. Maybe he's not so different in some ways--]

I... I have it pretty easy. [Perhaps it's best if he talks about himself a little more, give some details about his existence.] For the past thousands of years, I've been wandering the Earth... watching the humans grow and evolve. They're a truly engaging species.

[Lucid.

He thinks that conveys as much as it needs to, and perhaps gives more of an explanation as to his initial reaction to the other angel than he would have really intended it to. Hopefully he does not need to explain further and it comes as no small relief that even if this Michael does not quite understand, he isn't pressing the issue.

Raphael still feels tense, but... the vibrating hum of anxiety is lessening, at least.

The talk of humans makes his expression soften, and sadden a little. He smiles faintly as he wonders what that might be like, barely identifying the small twinge in his chest as a pang of jealousy.]

I haven't seen any humans in a long time. [He always loved the idea of them.] I think... most of them are gone now.

Are... they dead? What happened?

[As soon as that question leaves him, Michael almost has a sinking feeling what the answer may be. Maybe there's a speck of hope in him that believes that any version of him, no matter how terrible, wouldn't go to such lengths as killing an entire species, but he can't dismiss the idea. Is this a possible outcome of him if he didn't have his soul split in the first place?

Maybe he should never combine into one being.

His eyes draw down to the flowers he's holding, letting out a slow breath, not really wanting to imagine how quiet and desolate Earth must be. At least he's not trying as hard anymore to only feel 'positive' emotions.]

I-- your Michael. He was responsible, wasn't he?

[His lips part, then press back together again. What happened is... a long story, and he isn't sure that here and now is the time to tell it. Raphael can't feel the cold, but he can feel wet and hurt and uncomfortable and right now he is all of those things, with the chill in the air prickling strangely at the deep chafing around his wrists and ankles.]

He...

[Raphael rubs his face tiredly with one hand. This is not his favourite topic.]

He is responsible for a great many things, and none of them good of late. [In a word... yes. Yes, he is responsible. A weary glance goes around where they're standing.] Do you think we might... go somewhere more comfortable? There are other places here, aren't there?

[Perhaps that's all the confirmation that he needs from Raphael. Is it cruel to ask him more about these details? He's already stressed enough and Michael can push down his own curiosity, especially if he dissolve some of the tension and anxiety that's still weighing on his shoulders.]

Yes, there's a tavern nearby. Be a good place to warm up.

[He wants to offer Raphael a hand, but there's hesitation on his end, not quite sure if the other angel is comfortable with such a gesture yet. Michael fiddles with the flowers in his hand, but takes great care not to tear off any of the petals.] I can lead you there, if you'd like.

[He still isn't sure about this, but he is trying to keep it in his mind that whoever this is, despite being an angel, this is not the Michael that he knows. The one he knows would not be able to keep up this facade of kindness or concern... he would have already snapped. Raphael has known him long enough to be able to see through his flimsy attempts at concealing the truth.]

Yes... please.

[Maybe it isn't the best idea, but he can think of few things he desires more right now than a seat and the comfort of a warm fire. He fidgets with the flower in his own hands in turn.]

I think... I would like to hear about you.

[Michael smiles just slightly when Raphael agrees to come with him. A small step, but a step nonetheless, plus they can get out of the cold that's slowly starting to affect him. He's not quite immune to the weather conditions, just a higher tolerance compared to regular humans, so the thought of sitting inside a cozy tavern with decent food and drink is definitely appealing.

As Raphael fidgets with the flower in his hand, Michael offers another one from his own small collection, and whether or not Raphael takes it, he starts leading them.]

I'll tell you anything that you want to know. [It's an offer that he hasn't made to anyone before, especially not here, but this is a unique situation. Plus, he's still happy that another archangel is here with him, even if there's a deep trauma weighing on his shoulders. Maybe it's his duty as a not!Brother to help him in some way? Least he can do is reassure him that he won't go on a murderous rampage.]

But um, I guess I should say this now. I'm not... fully myself, if that makes sense. My soul was splintered into three parts long ago. [He throws a slightly self-depreciating smile at him.] I am quite sure I'm the least impressive one.

[Raphael does take the flower, adding it to the one he's already gently holding in his hand, and he falls into step beside the other. It's a small battle, at first, to not walk half a step behind, but he reminds himself once again that whoever this Michael is, he is not the same one who has done so many awful things in Raphael's own world.

The offer of information is slightly overwhelming. Though he has never been afraid of asking questions, he doesn't even know what he should ask. Where would he even begin? Luckily for him Michael says something that draws his attention entirely and he finds himself looking the other angel up and down.]

... You have a soul...

[Ah... so that's what it is.]

How curious. I hadn't even thought to look.

[Raphael himself... does not have one. Not even the faintest whiff of one.]

[Michael nearly stumbles over his feet when he hears Raphael's comment, but he manages to keep his footing, just so that he can send the other angel a surprised expression. He knows that it's not a jab towards him, as genuine curiosity laces his words.]

Do... you not have one?

[He's unable to stop the shock from reaching his eyes, his face expressive about knowing this tidbit about angels from Raphael's world. So, none of them have souls? Just created bodies from their Father? That's completely possible, but none of them have that bit of them missing.]

...Do none of you have one?

[He shakes his head. Not ever having had a soul to begin with he doesn't miss it or even consider it to be 'missing' at all.]

Only the humans have souls.

[And that had been a part of Lucifer's original problem with them... and something that troubles Raphael greatly with both Heaven and Hell being in such turmoil. He isn't even sure where their souls go when they die anymore, nor why he cares except that he definitely does.]

The Host was made with one purpose - to carry out His Will. We have no souls, and we weren't created with free will. [Clearly, though... free will is something that Raphael currently possesses.]

None of us.

[Only humans, huh... it's a strange thought. He knows that Father always thought them to be special, but it seems even more extreme in Raphael's version of Earth.]

Father created us to carry out his Will as well, but... he still gave a piece of himself, his power, to all of us.

[Honestly, Michael never thought about the implications of not having a soul, other than the fact that animals and other creatures don't have one. Raphael seems to be just like the other angels he talked to, with emotions and fear and everything, and he hasn't noticed anything too odd other than the the fact that he felt a little strange. However, everyone's felt strange to Michael since coming here, so he placed little importance on that.]

...But you're like me. [In the good way, really!] I mean, being able to make your choices, right?

[He glances Michael's way as they walk. He's still trying to figure out how he feels about this, to... separate this person from the version of him that he knows and that has caused him so much pain.

It's difficult - of course it is - but aside from sharing a name this Michael does not seem anything like the one he knows. He doesn't look the same, or act the same... and nor does he feel the same.]

I wasn't always this way. [Raphael murmurs in reply.] It was something that started not long before the war with Lucifer. He wasn't the first to start asking questions... he was simply the first to try to do something about it. We didn't all adjust well to being able to make our own decisions.

[It takes a lot of self-discipline not to stumble or flinch when Lucifer is brought up, an old shame and guilt rearing its ugly head as he remembers his brother's fate. A terrible death that he executed, without mercy. He's not sure if he'll ever forget that moment, and maybe he shouldn't.]

If I'm to understand... you didn't start with free will, but you and all of the other angels eventually did? [He wonders how the angels in his world would react if such a change happened. Well, it happened to him, and Michael likes to think he's handled it quite nicely. He was sort of the Worst before the splitting of his soul, so maybe the others would be okay too.

He smiles a little at him, in a manner that hopefully comes off as both supportive and comforting.]

...Well, despite all that, do you like it? Being able to make your own decisions? It's a bit confusing at first.

[Oh, Raphael does not much like to bring Lucifer up either... though Lucifer had never treated him so cruelly as Michael had. There was more of a sadness about naming him than any anger, and Raphael had always had such a tragically soft spot for his wayward brother.

The question posed is a difficult one to answer and the response doesn't come immediately. Raphael frowns at the ground in front of their feet.]

I was happier before, but... I also didn't really understand what happiness was. Being able to think for myself has brought me little but trouble. [He shakes his head, still with that softly troubled frown. His attention strays to one of his wrist, the shackle-marks on it, and he rubs his thumb across it distractedly.]

But still, I don't think that I would want to go back to how I was before. How we were before. These were... lessons that we needed to learn. Even if some of us learned them poorly.

[Though he's walking with many thoughts of his own roaming his mind, he doesn't miss the way that Raphael looks over to his wrist. He catches a glimpse of the marks on there and Michael swallows tightly, not wanting to ask where he got such an injury. He already has a feeling anyway. It sort of feels like if anything bad has happened in his brother's world, it's because of him-- a version of him.

Instead, he continues to smile, even if it's a little more fragile compared to earlier. Not quite less sincere, but just pained thinking about what Raphael has been through.]

Seems like it's been nothing but pain for you. [He folds his arms, almost stopping for a moment as he thinks about this for a bit longer.]

You're away from Earth now. Maybe you can finally enjoy the free will that's been granted to you.

[He only nods. It hasn't been easy, that's for sure... and through the long stretches of time between events he has been relatively content. It was only when things began to happen that challenged the status quo that he so often found himself on the opposing side without ever truly defecting, and what had happened to him in the end...

Well, it seemed like a natural conclusion, given everything else.]

Enjoy it?

[A small frown furrows his brow as the mulls the idea over.]

I've never really been given much opportunity to... aside from my painting.

You paint? [His eyes light up with both interest and excitement, his eyes almost shining.] That's really neat, actually! I haven't taken up that skill myself, but nothing is really holding you back here.

[Mostly he doesn't have the patience to paint.]

What I enjoy the most is trying out different types of food and just walking around. It's a new world to explore and there's something exciting about that, even if it's a little scary at times. [He admits that last bit with a small laugh, but there's an open honesty to him as they near the tavern.]

Don't know what's really around the corner here, unlike Earth. I thought I was pretty strong back home, but there are humans with powers and non-humans too. They've been nice though.

[He's still holding the flowers that Michael gave to him, twiddling them back and forth in his hand as they walk and as he listens to the gentle enthusiasm of the being walking along beside him. Now that he knows more about what this Michael is the feeling that he had been getting from him makes complete sense, not quite a sensation of being 'less' as much as it is of something being missing.

An angel, and yet not quite. Strange.

Having a new world to explore does sound like a nice thing. A new world and the freedom to explore it, to potentially discover new things... it's hard to think of a downside when it's compared to the situation he came out of.]

Creativity was how I first expressed my free will. Michael never approved of it... but it wasn't explicitly against the rules. [He looks wry, just for a moment.] ... I'm still not sure how I ended up here. Thirteen must be powerful indeed...

Powerful enough to bring angels here and change our very being to some degree.

[He wants to make a statement that this other version of him sounds dull, but it's more than that, far more painful. Perhaps a joke at this time isn't appropriate, so Michael only sends Raphael that patient and accepting smile. He's never been entirely good at comforting others anyway, having need to distance himself from humans. Oh, he can have a coffee with them or go out dancing, but when it comes to really knowing another person and just being there for them, that hasn't been him.

Hard to get attached to humans when the other parts of your soul have to both greet them in death and judge them.]

I was thinking of starting a bakery here. Maybe we can combine our creative interests and do something together. [Angels should stick together??]

[It's the change that unsettles him the most, he thinks. Being altered when he has been the same, down to the last atom, from the moment that he was created. It is a difficult thing to get his head around (though meeting Michael - this Michael - has certainly taken his mind off it for a while).

He isn't expecting what the other angel says next at all and looks at him with a clear expression of surprise, evidently struck into silence by the suggestion. Raphael frowns in confusion.]

A bakery..?

[And then he laughs. It's soft, a little whuff of a sound, but he definitely laughs.]

I've never cooked anything before.

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February 2023 Test Drive Meme

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