April 2023 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

April 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]

worms. ★

Content Warnings: hallucinations, poison, giant worm

One minute you were a falling star, but as your body reforms you become aware of one important detail: it's friggin hot.

That's because you've landed in a desert! Yes, you have had the misfortune of landing in Cruel Summer, the hottest and arguably most dangerous part of Folkmore. Lucky you!

The first bit of good news is that you're pretty sure you can see a train station off in the distance, although it's extremely difficult to judge exactly how far off due to the flatness of the terrain. The second bit of good news is that you have awoken with either a canteen of water, or an umbrella to keep the sun off. The third bit of news - good or bad, depending - is that you've awoken near another Star Child. Whoever this is will have the opposite gift than what you received; if you have water, they have an umbrella, and if you have an umbrella they have water. Well, you know what they say: sharing is caring! Undeniably the water is a touch more important, so hopefully whoever has it isn't a colossal dick.

As you trek through the desert towards the distant structure, you will notice periodically the air off to either side of you will shimmer. You may dismiss it as merely the heat playing tricks, but if you choose to investigate you will find mundane weapons like swords, guns, shields, etc.

At some point as you walk, you will feel a tremor beneath your feet. It grows in intensity until suddenly the sand sprays everywhere as something bursts forth from the earth below!

Wavering above you is a blood red worm. It is large - end to end it runs about thirteen feet - and its segmented hide is tough enough that rocks bounce right off of it. You might have more luck with bullets or bladed edges, but it's still going to be a tough fight. It also boasts some impressive offensive tricks; its mouth is ringed with many rows of fangs, and itspits a thick yellow acid that will corrode your skin and your weapons if you're not careful. If that wasn't enough, during your fight you might here a sudden brrrrrrrrrapppp! as the creature farts lightning at you. Hilarious... until it knocks you to the ground.

You would do well to work as a team to take this monster down. You and your partner might have powers or skills that could come in handy, or maybe you're quick on the uptake when it comes to any new abilities afforded you by your new role!

If you defeat the worm in battle, a golden chest will appear. Inside of it are items from your homeworlds - these rewards are especially likely to be any weapons you owned back home.

But hey, maybe you're a lover, not a fighter. There's no judgement here in Folkmore. You can outrun the worm instead if you're both fast and clever - finding any terrain that is more rock than sand will give you a decided advantage.

Once you have either defeated or escaped the worm, you will find that you come upon a small group of tents. Under their shade are first aid supplies, and kiosks manned by fennec foxes offering water, food, and shaved ice. Nice!

so scarlet it was. ★

Content Warnings: emotional trauma, impalement

Giant death worms aren't the only danger in the desert, they're just the most obvious.

Even if you avoided the worms entirely, you still have to make it to one of the train stations in Cruel Summer. As you trek across the dunes you will gradually become aware that over the sound of wind and shifting sand you can hear someone singing. You feel an urge to follow the sound to its source.

This song could be anything - one that exists in your world or others, or just a melody spun in the air for the first time. Whatever it is, it is heart rending; tears may spring your eyes as you follow the sound, precious moisture falling to the thirsty desert ground.

The singing is coming from a cactus. It is taller than most humanoid creatures, tinted purple and pink at the tips, with abnormally long spines. Its song reminds you sharply of some deep loss from your past, and at the same time inspires a terrible compulsion to go to the cactus and sink against it.

And what a relief it is, to embrace that melody and feel the spines slide easily through your flesh to pierce your heart. You do not bleed. By some strange alchemy, your heartache drains from your body as liquid, filling the cactus and causing its flowers to bloom and its song to cease.

You could very well stay pinned there, dying a slow death of desiccation, but lucky for you Star Children are all over the place this time of the month and someone is bound to see that you need help.

Trying to pry someone off of the cactus is impossible. The key lies in the flowers - they must be removed. When they are, sweet liquid will spray from the place where it had grown, dousing the rescuing Star Child. With this impromptu shower comes psychic flashes of the painful memory that has trapped the victim.

Once all of the blooming flowers have been removed, the cactus will retract its spines and release its prisoner. There will be no physical wounds left from this encounter.

You will also discover nearby that there is now a golden chest. Inside of it are items from your homeworlds, although none of these items are weapons.


Thankfully, you should be able to reach either Oozlum or Obambo Station without further incident. At either of these you will be able to get some water and supplies, as well as get the hell out of Cruel Summer.

Comments

Stede Bonnet | Our Flag Means Death | Legend, probably

[frillyshirts]

Arrival;

[ Well. This is a lot of sand. Like, a lot of sand, and no ocean in sight! No pirate ships, nothing! Just - sand!

Stede looks a little put out, as he attempts to dust himself off, the lush silk of his coat and the lace of his cravat don't make for very good desert gear. He does, at least, have a nice parasol to keep out of the sun, but - oh god, is that sand in his hair? Horror! ]

This wasn't what I expected when I started following that fox! I thought at least that there would be more trees.

[ He looks around himself, and spots another person. The scowl leaves his face, to be replaced by a grin. ]

Hello! Did you follow the fox too? Stede Bonnet, Gentleman Pirate, at your service!

Worms;

[ That - is one very big worm. Stede looks properly terrified at the sight, and is clearly out of his depth here, when it comes to fighting. ]

But why does it have so many teeth?

[ He screams as it spits some acid at him - but then some wings(??!!?!!!?) pop out of his back and he's able to flap out of the way, somehow. It's not graceful, and what he's doing could hardly be called flying, but it gets him out of immediate danger. ]

Fucking hell.

Tents;

[ Looking exhausted, sun- and wind-burnt, Stede finally makes it to the little grouping of tents. ]

Oh, we're saved! I thought we'd be wandering in that horrible place forever, or get eaten!

[ It's been like two hours; he's very dramatic. And still covered in too much sand. Someone please get this man some shaved ice. ]

Wildcard;

[ Hit me with anything, or PM this journal or hit me up at frodabaggins! ]

Worms

[captains_hands]

Fuck. FUck fuck fuck FUck FUCK! [he's tearing across the sand from a worm. It's too fucking hot. There's too much fucking sand. Too many fucking teeth and he thought he'd heard Stede Fucking Bonnet's Fucking Squeal and it better not have happened because this is hell enough as it is.]

[frillyshirts]

[ Oh! He hears someone! Someone may be in danger! Stede simply cannot have that - though he barely has control of these new wings he's apparently sprouted, somehow he manages to land - thud - into the sand near-ish the person who is in trouble, ready to perform a daring rescue!

And then he sees who it is. ]

Really?

[ Oh right, there's a worm. Stede screeches again as it spits, flying out of the way just in time, feathers drifting down in his wake. ]

[captains_hands]

[oh no he doesn't. Izzy may hate Stede Bonnet's stupid guts but he likes his own better. So he gathers himself and takes an almighty leap, higher than he should be able to as a human, let alone a man of an age. Yet he does leap and grabs onto Stede's calf, claws digging in, silver ears folded back, tail thrashing]

Fly higher, you fucking idiot!

[frillyshirts]

[ Stede does not like Israel Hands. Not one bit. However - he's not about to let the man drop to his certain death. Stede already has enough guilt about murder and stuff, he's not going to add to it.

That doesn't mean he isn't going to be a little bitch, though. ]

Don't tell me what to do, Iggy!

[ Nonetheless, he is, in fact, gaining altitude, as best he can (which isn't great, but he's managing, somehow, through sheer dumb luck. Emphasis on the dumb.) ]

Christ, is that lightning coming from its arse?!

[captains_hands]

Fuuck. [he would climb Stede like a tree if he thought it would help.] Well you'd better listen to me, yeah? Because I'm the only one of us keeping us fucking alive. And don't just go up, idiot! Up and away! Tack into the wind!

[frillyshirts]

What does tackle have to do with it?!

[ The wind is whistling in his ears, he's trying not to just fall out of the sky like a stone, and also keeping Izzy's weight - this idiot is firing on all three cylinders that he has right now.

He drops, then corrects himself just before another fart of lightning barely misses Izzy's feet. ]

Sorry - I mean, uh, serves you right!

Tents

[forestwatcher]

[You know who else is really struggling in the desert heat? This guy right here. Even under the shade of the tents it looks like Tighnari is struggling with the temperature but as Stede makes his way in the forest ranger looks up from where he's handing some water to another person and then rubs the back of one wrist against his forehead.]

Over here.

[He approaches Stede with a bottle of chilled water in one hand and a small pot of something in the other. First, the water--]

This is for the dehydration.

[And then...]

And this is for the sunburn.

[frillyshirts]

[ Stede brightens considerably at the sight of someone offering aid. ]

Oh! That's just what the doctor ordered, thanks!

[ He drinks the water down all at once, he couldn't stop himself even if he wanted to. ]

Ohhhhh, that's good. I'm Stede, by the way. Stede Bonnet, at your service. I certainly owe you one, friend.

[forestwatcher]

I'm Tighnari.

[The other thing he's holding out - for the sunburn - is a pot of something that looks akin to aloe gel. Since Stede has freed up one of his hands by taking the water he drinks some more of his own and tries to bolster himself a little more against the relentless heat.]

And think nothing of it. This is a very inhospitable place to land, it wouldn't do at all to leave newcomers stranded out here.

[Especially with those... worms that he keeps hearing.]

[frillyshirts]

It was a much more harrowing experience than I was expecting when I started following that fox!

[ Stede now takes the little poultice, and applies it liberally to his reddening skin. ]

Ooh, I'm just not made for the sun. I was expecting something, I dunno. A bit more pastoral?

[forestwatcher]

This is by far not the friendliest area of Thirteen's realm.

[Though he thinks Cyno would disagree, his partner is far more used to getting about in the desert than he is. Tighnari shakes his head and retreats a little further into the cool shade of the tent, sipping at his water.]

There are more temperate areas that should be more to your taste. They certainly are more to mine. [Why is he out here, again..?]

But take your time in getting your strength back. You should be safe here.

[frillyshirts]

Well, I am from Barbados. It's the dry heat that I really can't deal with!

[ His poor skin. :( ]

But it's good to know that it's not all dangerous desert! I think that worm was farting lightning. Eugh.

tents

[fxckery]

[Honestly, this place is the absolute worst. These days, a person can't even go out to the fight pits without finding themselves within striking distance of an absolute shitshow of worm-based carnage--and what is that person supposed to do? Not join in on the acid fight? Preposterous.

Worse still, apparently this place won't even let a body rest after punching scourges of the desert. It's not at all restful to be binding up a nasty new cut on his arm and have what's presumably the auditory hallucination of a former friend come drifting into the little fox camp.

Edward's not going to give Thirteen the satisfaction. He's just going to keep his head down, finish wrapping up his most pressing wounds, and make his way back toward Oozlum.

Or maybe he's going to turn and run smack into the physical manifestation of the auditory hallucination he's trying to ignore.]

[frillyshirts]

[ One has to wonder if the physical manifestation of his (former???) friend ought to be quite so sunburned and harried-looking. Shouldn't he be perfect, golden-haired, and smiling?

He is not.

He looks rather wilted, actually, sweaty, dirty, exhausted, his hair lank against his neck, his fancy clothes just not cut out for this kind of weather (or the escape he had from a giant, lightning-farting worm). He looks, frankly, like he's about to give up on the whole endeavor - that is, until he spots - ]

Ed!

[ Stede lights up at the sight of him, clearly unexpected and very pleased, despite the state of his wardrobe. ]

Wow, fancy seeing you here! You wouldn't believe what I've just been through - a giant sand worm! I barely made it out with my skin intact!

[fxckery]

[This does look like a somewhat lazy duplication of the Gentleman Pirate. If this is the desert dragging at his memories and cobbling together a ghoul to torment him, it's doing a pretty shit job of capturing the lushness that clings to the very concept of the other man. This one's a bit too melty.

But the smile is right. That bright familiar spark is right. The tug in his gut at this cheerful voice clipping his name like it's the most natural thing in the world is right.]

Fuck off.

[The words don't have the force Edward would like them to as he takes a half-step back. Really, it almost sounds inquisitive--because if this were really Stede and if things hadn't gone sideways, this would probably have been an interesting development.]

[frillyshirts]

[ Stede has discovered that there are a myriad of situations in which Ed says "fuck off" - pinpointing the specific meaning behind this one is probably a fool's errand, so he's going to run with the one that paints him in the most flattering light - that he just doesn't believe the story Stede is telling him.

It's as if the Great Worm Escape suddenly shifted from a terrible thing that just happened to him, into a great story that he can tell Ed, just because Ed is here now. Oh sure, Stede is still a little cranky about the whole situation, but at least he has someone to bitch about it with! And in fact, the best person - because it's Ed. His co-captain and best(?????) friend(?????). ]

I know, it's hard to believe - but it happened! I saw my life flash before my eyes! I didn't expect this when I followed that fox. Did you follow a fox too? Also, apparently I have wings now?

[fxckery]

Did--?

[Well, that's weird points back against the man. That doesn't make any sense at all. That does sound a bit like what some of the others have mentioned about folks who went missing, but Edward has no time to meditate on that when there's hurt bubbling up from his gut.]

We followed that fox almost a fucking year ago. Before you--

[The dismissive wave of one arm makes him wince, but it's worth it for the dramatic flail.]

[frillyshirts]

[ Stede does, to his credit, look extremely confused by that little explanation. A year? He's known Ed for, like... a few months, tops! Of course, this also makes him a little huffy, because Ed's being pretty accusatory about something he doesn't know anything about! ]

I just got here! Less than a day! Have you been out in the sun too long? Here, I've still got that parasol around here somewhere...

arrival.

[shurajodo]

... Gentleman pirate. Right. Yeah, I followed her a while back.

( Gara dusts himself off too, looking every bit Stede's opposite in his cyberpunky get up. That, with his golden Myth horns and his claws and the slit of his pupils, makes for a very interesting picture.

He has the lower half of his face hidden by his cowl, but he pulls that down and pushes the hood back as well. In the name of even a little respite from the heat.

He lives around here, but usually spends his time indoors in the AC. This is just a nightmare. )

I'm Gara. Knowin' this place, we should get to beatin' feet even without the fuckin' weather.

[frillyshirts]

Oh, you've been here a long time?

[ Curiouser and curiouser! Stede's smile freezes on his face a little when he gets a good look at his new friend, but he's far too polite to say something like "why the fuck do you look like a demon" so he refrains. Instead, he clears his throat somewhat awkwardly, and glances around himself. ]

So we're not the only two then? There must be somewhere nicer than this to kip up!

[shurajodo]

Half a year or some, yeah. There's a fuck ton of people around, this part'a this world ain't so populated.

( He notices the awkward way he clears his throat, can't help a grin. Gara thrives on shit like that.

He motions, making to head in a vague direction towards the tents he'd come from. )

I was out this way lookin' around; heard tell of Star Children like you poppin' up. Don't want corpses in my backyard.

( Trudging through the sand in shoes like this ... )

So c'mon, there's somewhere close by to get checked out 'n chill.

[frillyshirts]

Oh, is this your land?

[ Is he a landowner, like Stede? Or some kind of mythical creature who has claimed this area? Who knows???? ]

Desert heat really isn't good for my skin, so I do appreciate the guidance!

[ Despite his strange looks, he seems helpful, so Stede is following him, letting him show the way. ]

[shurajodo]

Naw. I just live in a trailer 'round this way. Ain't nobody own land like that out here, far as I've seen.

( He squints, continuing to trudge onwards; is it the sun or the skin sentiment? Stede might've noticed most of Gara's skin, save for a sliver on his face, is colored through necrosis. A half-zombie, of sorts.

He spots the tents a little ways off and points. )

Shit's weird, but there's foxes 'n shit in there with ... shaved ice. Dunno if that kinda thing is common in Gentleman Pirate Land, but here you got shit like that for days, hah.

( Coming closer, he feels the ground rumble a bit ... )

[frillyshirts]

Oh, I love a good shave i - what the hell is that?!

[ The ground begins to rumble beneath their feet, and because it's sand, Stede is barely able to keep his balance, flailing his arms a bit as it shifts around under him.

Oh yeah, something's coming. Something big. ]

Should we run??? I think we should run!