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April 2023 Test Drive Meme
April 2023 TDM
Introduction
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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[ Stede says it almost wistfully, not because it was a long time ago - again, like, three days! But because he's already nostalgic for it - for them, before Jack showed up and Ed got all... weird, and left. ]
So, okay, we both remember that, at least.
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[Edward does bullshit people, of course. It's part of brand maintenance. This? This is his dead serious face.]
And for-- what, two, three months? We lived here in a cabin you filled with-- every fuckin' throw pillow you could find.
[It had been nice. It feels like a million years ago, and there's a good deal of hurt welling between those moments and this one, but it's hard to forget how nice it had been.]
Then you left me here, Bonnet.
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He can't come up with anything. Because - well, that's not how it went! ]
I'm... I'm sorry, Ed. I wish I could remember that.
[ He actually does. That sounds nicer than everything that went down with Calico bloody Jack. Well, apart from the bit where he apparently left Ed here, all by himself - no, not by himself, worse - with Izzy! ]
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Edward's breath comes in an unhappy huff, barely hidden by his next swig of water.]
Fuck me, I guess. [Time now to lean back in his seat, giving his knee a proper stretch.] You met Jack?
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And the throw pillows seem like a great idea, actually.
He winces a little at the mention of Jack, again. Can't stop the distaste from crossing his features (as if he could prevent any emotion from crossing his features - we all know he's an open book). ]
Yeah. And any friend of yours is a friend of mine! But -
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[This might be something to be angry about. It's certainly something the feels like a dangerous prickling at the back of his skull, the way a good deal of the trials living in this place have been.
Then again, maybe it's just the weirdness of having (apparently) not lived the same amount of their intertwined lives.]
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[ He looks a little put out, and worried, because he does remember what he said, and what happened after. ]
I just - didn't really like how you were around him. That's all. It didn't - feel like the Ed that I knew.
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Knew me better here. [But, you know.] Guess you don't remember that.
[The gulf feels impossibly wide.]
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I - I'd like to. Know you better, that is. I don't remember being here before, but I'm here now. So, there's that.
[ Right? So it'll be okay, right??? ]
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[But, Edward's own thoughts nag, he'll leave again. That's what the frantic doppelganger they'd fought way back when had been so keen to tell him, wasn't it? That Stede would leave. That the gulf would simply always be there.
Edward takes another swig of his water and allows himself to slump more.] That enough?
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[ So, yeah, he's more than okay with that! His face brightens, then falls a little, concerned - worried - afraid. ]
We - are still co-captains, right?
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But if he closes his eyes, Edward can see the scars of the bonfire on the lawn and the gaping emptiness of the cabin.]
Of what, mate?
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[ There's no Revenge here, true. No dastardly deeds to commit on the high seas, because there are no high seas to commit them on. But - does that really matter? ]
Of whatever we want?
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You think you know what I want?
[Extracting himself from "we" feels a bit harsh, but Edward's always been fairly good at breathing through that.]
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Time to finish the bottle, although water doesn't help the way rum probably would have.]
We were. [Here, yes, but also... before, maybe. In the tangled mess of coming crashing into each other's lives in the first place.] Bit different when we can't even agree on what happened yesterday, though.
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[ Stede is confused, and upset, and doesn't know how to deal with any of these feelings right now. He doesn't understand why Ed is being like this!
Except if he's telling the truth. And he's been here for months and months...
And he's moved on.
Of course he has. Why wouldn't he? Stede apparently vanished without a trace or a word, what else was he supposed to do? Stede can't help but feel like it's not fair, though, since he doesn't even remember the supposed abandonment. ]
Right, I suppose it is. You've had months and months to be here, and - and meet other people, and here I come - messing things up, like always.
[ If there's one constant in the universe, it's that Stede Bonnet is a royal fuckup. ]
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[Weird. It looks like his impulse to tut at Stede's self-criticism is still intact.
Not entirely, though. All that follows the word is a sigh, free hand reaching up to scrub at one eye before he slumps further back into his seat. It would be so much easier to just be furious, the way he'd been when wrecking everything they'd built up together--but it's all just a bit less anger and a bit more the sensation of bleeding, seeing the hurt and confusion radiating off Stede.
Where would they have gone if they'd both just stuck it out in home waters? Where would they be if they'd both been here, growing together? Where the hell would they go now?]
Let's just-- find you somewhere to stay.
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He stands, letting himself bristle a little. ]
Don't put yourself out for me, I can take care of myself!
[ If Ed can be mulish, well, so can he. ]
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Maybe, but that's okay. Edward's a rude guy.]
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...still, though, it's true enough that Stede went running after a magical fox without having any kind of plan or idea of what would happen after, so now he's here and with very little idea of what he ought to do next.
His ego may be bruised, but his nose is sunburnt and that's really the most pressing issue right now. Well, and where he's going to sleep tonight. He deflates slightly at Ed's raised eyebrows and sighs. ]
If there's a local inn you could recommend...
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[It's a terrible suggestion, really. Or, well, it's a fantastic suggestion, because Edward can remember the way Stede's eyes had lit up when they'd first found... well. The one Edward lived in now with Izzy. But maybe being neighbors is a pretty terrible suggestion.]
Nice lakes and all. Not quite as rough as out here.
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There's no oversized wildlife farting fire is there?
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Less, at any rate.
[Good enough??]
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[ He dusts himself off a bit - ineffectually, as the sand is everywhere at this point, it's honestly kind of ridiculous, but he's trying to be on his dignity. What little dignity he has, given the circumstances. Given everything Ed has told him. ]
Lead the way?
[ Please????? ]
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