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

Shinichi Izumi 👁️ Parasyte: the Maxim (familiar)

[kiseijuu]

ARRIVAL
CW: CHARACTER COMES WITH A PARASITIC ALIEN ENTITY LIVING IN HIS HAND / ARM

( Is this a dream...? It doesn't feel quite like that — something deeper, more true. The Fox leads him and Shinichi follows, wide-eyed, stunned. Glancing back over his shoulder every so often as though in attempt to see what it is he's leaving behind, but it's always with a staggering jolt of his heart. Looking back is... painful. Something bad happened there, just before the Fox came for him. Something horrible. His mother was....

There's an explosion of light, and for the second time in his life, Shinichi Izumi will never be the same. He's become something different.

When he opens his eyes again, they're coated in the wet gloss of tears. The young man blinks, fingertips nudging up his glasses for a moment so that he can gently press against his eyelids, brushing moisture aside. He sits there for a few strange, surreal long moments, until he begins to become uncomfortably aware of heat against his face and the sand beneath him. He stands — winces; oh, the sand's hot, and his feet are bare........ Glancing down himself reveals that he's in the same clothing he was just moments ago (or was it days, months, years?) A plain white teeshirt, a pair of comfortable pajama pants, and no socks or shoes. That's right, he was getting ready for bed, having a late-night snack. Then the phone rang. Then his mother— )

Shinichi. ( Comes a soft, tinny voice from his right hand. Emotionless as always, even-toned and feminine, gentle but robotic. The boy blinks, lifting his hand to stare down at his palm, from which a pair of lips and a single golden eye both open up from his flesh. )

Migi.... You're awake. ( Shinichi looks around the desert-like landscape before glancing back down to the alien entity that resides in his right hand. No... more than that, Migi is his right hand now. That's right. The alien took over his hand the way he was supposed to take over his brain. The way all the parasites do to humans. And his mother was.... ) My mom.... Migi—

Shinichi, look. There is someone else in our predicament.

( It's partly to distract his upset host's attention before it can go to places that Shinichi is not equipped to deal with right now, but also because Migi is genuinely concerned with their new companion. Shinichi quickly looks over to spot a person several feet away. Beside them, there's an umbrella....? )

There is water near your feet. Take it, and drink some now. Your body needs to rehydrate.

( Dumbly, still stunned, the teenager does as told, stooping to take the canteen filled with water that rests at his feet. He takes a long swallow, but there's still plenty left. That's when the person begins to stir into consciousness, and both Shinichi and the alien tense — the boy looking over in concern, eyebrows lifting, and the alien.... quietly taking hold of the canteen, fingers tightly gripping around it. Defensively. Whomever this stranger is, Migi's noticed that they don't have a canteen near them.... which means they're probably going to be getting pretty thirsty soon.

.......You might have a hard time getting some water from this one. )

WORMS
CW: BODY HORROR / TENTACLES

( Maybe you've made contact with Shinichi somewhere along the trek across the desert and the both of you have been sticking together for a bit, or maybe you're just nearby when the tremour comes. But suddenly the thing bursts from the ground, and Migi's springing into action immediately — Shinichi's right arm splitting off into thin red tentacles, bladed ends glinting in the bright desert sun.

Shinichi cries out and takes a stumbling step backwards, trying to ground himself as the alien uncoils and stretches itself outwards, tentacles whipping through the air. For now, Migi just hovers there in front of Shinichi, but he's primed to attack any moment — and the boy's turning his head to look at whomever's close by, looking panicked. Not just because of the monster lunging out of the sand, but also because of the one attached to his body. This probably isn't a great time to explain, though....! And so he's fighting through his horror, quickly calling out to you. )

Shit! S-stay behind me!

( Maybe you have some kind of ability, a means of defending yourself or fighting too, but Shinichi's first instinct is to try and keep the other person safe. )

SO SCARLET IT WAS
CW: FAMILIAL / MATERNAL LOSS

( When Shinichi hears the singing, the tears come almost immediately. Something that's needed to, bubbling upwards so fast it hurts, making his throat raw and tight. Making each breath feel like a strain. The loss is so fresh, so... impossibly fresh. Nightmarish in that freshness; he hasn't had time to understand it, grasp it, process it. His mother was there, she'd come home, but she was wrong.

(Dead, she was dead, she had to be dead, because it wasn't his mother anymore but something else inside of her. Something that killed her and took her place. She's dead and he can't accept that. It can't be real. This is just a nightmare—)

There's a strange forceful push, and then everything else comes easy. It comes fast, and it's so completely unexpected that even Migi doesn't stop it in time, the alien completely shocked. There Shinichi stands, pressed into the cactus, its spines piercing straight through his skin, his heart. The boy's head tips forwards, resting against one arm of the thing, eyelids fluttering closed as tears drip down his cheeks. There's a faint ghost of a smile on his face as he gives a quiet exhale. If he keeps his eyes closed like this, he could imagine that he's hugging his mother.

Migi, with his split-second reflexes, was at least able to stop himself from being impaled — Shinichi's right arm having quickly dodged out of the way, and now it's the only thing moving, though carefully. Slowly lifting and moving around a little, confused as the alien absorbs the situation from an eye widening up within Shinichi's palm. No logic could have led to this compulsion and the subsequent way it is affecting Shinichi's body, as though he's being... bled of moisture. Something... else is at play. Some sort of force beyond logic, the same essence that brought them to this place. Something mystical, magical, concepts that would ordinarily be both parts highly confusing and intriguing to the curious alien. But right now... the most pressing matter is his host, impaled and dying.

Carefully, he tries to pull Shinichi back, but it won't work. The boy remains stuck there, and when the alien senses life not far away, he's doing the only thing he knows to do. Signaling for help, lifting Shinichi's arm up into the air and giving a slow wave. Somebody please come help him, his human is in trouble.... )

---

WILDCARD / ETC

^{Feel free to hit me up at horreur or pm if you have any questions or want to do something else!}

SO SCARLET IT WAS (I LOVE Parasyte!)

[woenesday]

( In most cases Wednesday would simply pass by someone, whether they were waving for help or not. It took time away from things she could be doing that mattered to her. However, Folkmore inspired something slightly different in her than her usual outlook. It wasn't that she was inspired suddenly to be a helpful person, but she did recognize that helping others here got Lore and Lore was currency. Currency she needed a considerable amount of for the several large purchases she wished to attempt to make.

There was also the little vision she'd had earlier, that was the reason she was out in Cruel Summer in the first place. She'd seen someone unfamiliar falling into a cactus and becoming emmeshed with it. The person in her vision wasn't facing her which meant identifying them was nearly impossible. Which, of course, meant the only thing left for her to do was to investigate Cruel Summer. Eventually she spotted the figure in the distance waving at her slowly and she walked over, no expression on her face save for the slightest of side eyes. )

That's a prickly situation. ( Despite it being a sort of pun there's nothing in her tone that suggests she's joking or even attempting a joke. In fact she seems deadly serious. ) How did this happen? ( It seemed to early for a trial but it definitely didn't seem like something someone naturally stumbles into. )

oh my gosh, the cr I never knew I needed!! Wednesday just dealing with all the Sentient Hands....

[kiseijuu]

( It's just as rare that Migi would willingly ask for help from a stranger — especially one he hasn't had any chance to assess for potential threats. But this is an emergency situation, and one that's strangely out of the parasite's wheelhouse. He doesn't know how to deal with... magic, with whatever forces are at play in this bizarre new world.

So survival mode dictates that trying to get help is the best chance, here. And it isn't long before someone does come; Shinichi's hand turns towards them, the eye in the center disappearing to conceal itself, but his palm still wide open and facing her, fingers splayed out. There's an initial evaluation of the person: a female, young, calm in the face of seeing someone impaled by a spine-covered plant. Most humans would react to such a sight with fear, horror, or some kind of aversion, but she displays none of those things. ....Interesting.

He waits a moment to see if Shinichi will react to this stranger, but what comes is just a soft shift of the boy against the spines, not fighting them, and in fact pressing himself in even harder. His eyes stay closed, voice soft, tearful, and a little dazed. )

Mom.... I'm sorry.....

( ....Shinichi's unable to face reality and is in La La Land. Typical. It's up to Migi to communicate, here. He's cautious about exposing himself directly, but this situation is becoming progressively more and more dire, and so the eye reappears in his palm, along with a mouth. )

Greetings. My human host heard a song and appeared to be affected by its influence. It led him here, where he willingly stepped into the spines of this Cactaceae. Now it appears to be draining him of moisture from the inside out. He will die if he is not removed, but whatever force is at work appears to be keeping him here.

As such, I require assistance.

( He says all this very calmly and evenly, though his eye's strained wide with a sense of urgency. Of course, there's always the possibility that revealing himself so suddenly to a stranger could go very wrong, but Migi's prepared to keep the girl hostage if he must......force her to help him.

But he'll ask more politely, first. )

this one has a weird mouth clearly inferior to Thing

[woenesday]

( Truth be told if anything Wednesday was somewhat fascinated by the site of someone impaled against a cactus. There were a number of reasons for this, from the logistics of how it happened, to the morbidity of it all. Folkmore was whimsical more than morbid and it got dreadfully exhausting sometimes. A change of pace like this was something she was eager to absorb and enmesh herself with.

Perhaps she really was the direct opposite of most humans. Most should probably also have a concerned look on their face or at least the capability of recognizing when one should fake concern. Alas, Wednesday had neither of those things. So, her expression remained blank until the eye opens on the palm and a mouth forms. Even then the only real clue to how she felt about this situation was an ever so miniscule widening of her eyes. A talking hand wasn't new to her, but Thing was a singular entity. Something unique to her family as far as she knew. Thing was also unattached and he, thankfully, had no lips.

The lips were curious. She should probably find them a bit disturbing considering the general disdain people had for things that threatened to cross in to the uncanny valley. Not her though. Her interest only grew as he (it?) explained the situation. Most people should have probably focused on the information they'd just been given, like the fact that she'd just been told he'd die if she didn't get him free. Once again though, Wednesday was not most people. Instead she looked directly at the eye and asked: )

Host? What are you? A sentient parasite of some kind?

Worms

[kyley_b]

Dude, what the fuck?!

[Is that undignified screech directed at the appearance of the worm, or of the alien? Who's to say? Why not both!

Regardless, Kyle stumble-steps backwards and trips over one of his many wings. He sprawls inelegantly on the hot sand, eyes wide.

Then the worm farts. Kyle actually does cackle right before lightning crackles from the worm's ass, nearly frying him.]

Dude! Watch out!