folkooc | February 2023 Test Drive Meme

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*tdm

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Alastor wasn't bothered by the cold, but the whole situation unnerved him enough that he felt inclined to seek the closest there was to shelter, anyway. His wings, now sporting black and purple feathers, were folded close enough to his own back to not be obtrusive, but the juxtaposition of a halo with his demonic horns was likely to draw attention to the exact thing he didn't want people asking about.

So of course he wouldn't get to be alone. He smelled Dante before he heard him, and the scent of demon blood set his feathers on edge even before he recognized the more distinctive stench of the blood of Sparda's children beneath that. He quickly scrambled to his feet, tail swishing behind him and wings flaring to help his balance, as glowing eyes obscured by tinted glass settled on none other than the master he's been avoiding for years.

He didn't quite growl, but the huff of a sigh that escaped his lips was not one pleased to see Dante. Though the top half of his face was covered by his visor, the tilt of his head nonetheless managed to convey the idea that he was rolling his eyes.

"More like the mark of someone who wouldn't know finesse if it slid itself between his ribs."

"Finesse?" Dante waggles his fingers at the guy. He can tell he's a demon - there's just something about him - but he doesn't sense that he should recognize him. Nor can he figure out why this demon has something against him. Was it a Sparda thing? it was always a Sparda thing.

"You think I don't know finesse?"

He reaches behind himself and pulls out just one of the pair of pistols, spinning it around his finger before pointing it casually at Alastor.

"How about you tell me why I don't finesse my way through you?" The demon doesn't really smell like a usual demon. He's got the scent of ozone and damp air. But that's not enough to judge he's friendly. Yet. So Dante just sticks to casually threatening until he's got evidence either way.

For once, it was not a Sparda thing.

Alastor's eyes glow brighter behind his visor as he bares his teeth in a mocking grin. In terms of raw power, he knows he's no match for Dante...but raw power isn't everything. He's far more skilled than most of the crude and short-sighted demons Dante usually fights

"You're free to try." The source of the ozone scent will become apparent as violet sparks appear in his hand. They coalesce into a bar of energy, which then solidifies into a distinctive sword pointed right at Dante's chest. "But, if you'll pardon the cliche, it's not going to go like last time. I've got a lot more tricks up my sleeve now that I've recovered."

The sword isn't the first thing he notices, that's the violet sparks. But it's certainly the most stark in how it stands out. He recognizes that sword. Dante could think that this means someone stole one of his devil arms - he certainly does think that for a second. But the first thing this demon said to him sticks out in his head as well, and brings up memories.

"...Alastor." He doesn't even bother pushing away the sword, but he does lower his pistol just slightly. "How the fuck did you crawl out of that closet?"

Pause, then a snort.

"Boy, I didn't figure you to look like such a nerd."

His tail flicks in annoyance. His sword stays level, pointed directly at Dante's chest, but he doesn't move to strike. Instead, a harsh wind blows by just outside the tent, as though the air itself is trying to smack him for that comment.

"Like I said, I've managed to recover from what they did with me on Mallet. Creating a new body for myself without you noticing was pretty easy, considering I wasn't even sure you remembered I existed."

His feathers ruffle in what manages to get through the tent door. It feels weird, kind of ticklish, and it means that he misses the point of the wind entirely.

But he probably would anyway.

"Of course I remembered you existed!" Wait, is that even true? Dante doesn't really know. But regardless, his reputation as a good devil arm master is at stake. "I was just. Letting you rest."

Uh-huh.

"What, you get me mixed up with Ifrit? I'm not the one who was doing the bare minimum so I could get back to sleep."

He slashes his blade through the air in a frustrated gesture. He'd done his best to see Dante safely through that Hellhole, constantly on the lookout for hostile emotions that indicated danger. To be given the same disrespect as that lazy chunk of brass is beyond infuriating.

"I was ready to keep going, but you...did you even notice when the power left my sword!?"

"Maybe not. It's too bad, I coulda used you where I just came from."

Dante's way of apologizing is to sidestep the entire matter and throw a compliment to Alastor's abilities. Well... it might be better than nothing?

"Especially since Vergil was there."

Boy, is he glad for the break from his brother. They haven't started to count on each others' presences now or anything. Definitely.

"Glad to hear he managed to survive Mundus' control, but that doesn't change the fact that it's your own fault I wasn't there."

It definitely doesn't hurt when he thinks about what could have been, absolutely not. It's just...annoyance that he's always stuck with red-clad morons, that's it.

"The way it looked to me, you didn't need any weapon other than Rebellion. And I don't need a master who doesn't need me."

"It probably wouldn't help if I told you all about the wide range of weapons I used on Qliphoth, huh?"

This is getting real far from an apology.

"I could totally still use you, if given the chance. But you seem to be doing just fine without me." Dante points at him, finger right in his face. "Am I wrong?"

He reflexively backhands the finger out of his face, a slight spark of static indicating his continued irritation. Then what Dante said sinks in, and his eyes go wide and pale in an expression of horror.

"Wait, the Qliphoth?! Someone actually re-planted that thing?"

"Sure did. Had to take the entire thing down, and take care of who was behind it, too. That's a complicated matter, though."

Dante doesn't even mind that his finger has been backhanded. He gives Alastor a look that could be taken as kind from anyone else, but from him it's almost mocking.

"Wishing you were there now? Or just scared stiff at the idea of it?"

He doesn't need to ask for details. It was a long time ago, but a demon's memory doesn't fade as quickly as a mortal's does. He can vividly recall the swarms of demonic insects, entire human towns turned to dust as the vile tree's roots dug into any living thing they could find. The terror in the air any time he ventured into the human world, and the glee with which his fellow demons had flocked to it in vain hopes of beating the tree's planter to its fruit.

He shakes his head to clear the memory. His sword vanishes in a flash of light as he lets go of it in order to cross his arms and glare at Dante. What right does this idiot have to be giving him such a condescending look...

"Sounds like you handled it, so I don't see how it's my problem either way."

"it just woulda been more fun with you around, pretty sure. Hey, maybe I even wouldn't have ended up in a coma."

Okay, that is his apology. Throwing out a moment of weakness of his own, laying it bare in front of someone who has a beef with him. That's more of an apology than he gives most people. Dante reaches out and pats Alastor's shoulder.

His impulse is to shove Dante's hand away, but...that is pretty close to an admission of regret for his neglect. Still, he isn't going to forgive that easily, and just shrugs.

"Maybe. I sure would've been eager to stop a repeat of Mundus, but would you have really wanted to take me along with a body of my own? I'd have figured you wouldn't want the risk of me trying to take the tree for myself."

"It's pretty clear you're on the human side now, right? Plus, if you tried to take the tree, I'd have the fun of taking you down."

He clamps that hand down on Alastor's shoulder now, holding it in a grip.

"Maybe I'm just assuming, but you seem alright. Plus, we had all those great times together!"

Sure, those times that started with Dante being impaled?

"I'm on my own side." Right? So what if he's gotten attached to a few stupid humans? That doesn't make him soft or anything. "Buuuuut I can't deny that I've always found humans more agreeable company than other devils. Just treating them like food is a waste."

Now he does shove Dante's hand away. His tail flicks again.

"Not that I'm agreeing about those good times. I seem to recall you wielding me with all the grace of a toddler with a toy sword."

"Hey! I did just fine!" Dante is bristling, and it shows. "Besides, I've gotten way better since then. I've got years of experience now."

A muscle in his cheek twitches, just a little.

"Want me to prove it?"

"Please, I'd have had bruises if metal showed stress. I'm not a claymore. But if you're offering to show me you deserve nice swords now..."

His grin is less mocking this time, but has a feral edge to it. His sword appears again, polished blade glinting in the light of the electricity crackling around it.

"Might wanna step outside, unless you don't mind wrecking this nice little tent."

"Sounds like fun."

He summons Devil Sword Dante as he steps out of the tent, resting it against his shoulder as he waits for Alastor to follow. He keeps his full attention on the other, ready to fight back the moment there's an attack. Dante is fully expecting a strike from behind, and he's ready for it.

He'll be surprised, then, when Alastor doesn't go for the sneak attack. Ominous, dark clouds gather overhead, rumbling with thunder, but the devil himself follows with his blade at his side.

"That's new. Went and forged yourself a proper personal Arm, huh? Let's see if it's taught you anything about how to handle them!"

It's not until they're clear of the tent and he's sure Dante's ready that he moves to strike, opening with a thrusting lunge...right at the other's rib cage.

Huh. The fact that Alastor waited is a surprise - but not enough of a surprise for Dante to be taken off guard. His instincts are too well honed for that. He quickly scoots to the left, then brings his Devil Sword around, swinging it at the other's neck. It's a dirty move but he trusts the other's abilities enough to know that it's not going to land.

"Don't take it easy on me. I'm not going to do the same for you."

He ducks and rolls under the swing. As his hand plants on the ground, a wave of electricity sweeps out over the snowy battlefield, only passing as Alastor springs to his feet. He turns with inhuman speed, snapping his sword like the handle of a whip, the tail made of a band of purple lightning.

"Of course not, I'd be insulted if you did."

The electricity startles him and leaves his feathers and hair poofed. He... doesn't appreciate that. With his healing abilities, it's not gonna do much more to Dante than that unless directly applied. But the fact he's startled means he almost misses the next move, and it's just in the nick of time that he brings his sword back up and blocks the move.

Of course, the inhuman speed didn't help with that.

"Good one! But can you keep it going?"

The whip is sustained energy, crackling against the Devil Sword Dante. While keeping it up means he has one hand occupied, it's far from a stalemate.

"I can keep going for a long time if I feel like it. Not that I'm sure you'll get to see."

A ball of lightning forms in his free hand, and he flings it at Dante, aiming around his guard.

Coast is Clear

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