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folkmore mod ([personal profile] folkie) wrote in [community profile] folkooc2023-04-26 09:04 pm
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April 2023 Test Drive Meme

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 OnePrompt 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.

frillyshirts: (005)

[personal profile] frillyshirts 2023-05-08 12:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It does feel wide, the gulf between them. It's the strangest feeling, remembering his last conversation with Ed just hours before, and now seeing Ed who's been gone for months and months, time all out of place and making things harder.

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. ]
fxckery: (to me; way hey)

[personal profile] fxckery 2023-05-08 08:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[Is it super rude to just arch both brows at that? Is it less rude in the context of the absolute wreck Stede appears to be in from mere moments (or, you know, probably hours) in a tiny corner (or, admittedly, a particularly deadly corner) of this place?

Maybe, but that's okay. Edward's a rude guy.
]
frillyshirts: (005)

[personal profile] frillyshirts 2023-05-08 11:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Look. LOOK. The sand worm was a one-time thing!

...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...
fxckery: (drop him to the bottom)

[personal profile] fxckery 2023-05-09 01:17 am (UTC)(link)
Some empty cabins out in Gram.

[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.
frillyshirts: (005)

[personal profile] frillyshirts 2023-05-09 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
That definitely sounds nicer than - this. [ He gestures expansively at the desert outside. Eugh. ]

There's no oversized wildlife farting fire is there?
fxckery: (whiskey gave me a broken nose)

[personal profile] fxckery 2023-05-09 09:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[Opening mouth to confirm; pausing; closing mouth to consider more fully before ultimately shrugging a bit.]

Less, at any rate.

[Good enough??]
frillyshirts: (012)

[personal profile] frillyshirts 2023-05-09 11:48 pm (UTC)(link)
That's something, I suppose.

[ 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????? ]
fxckery: (the word of command)

[personal profile] fxckery 2023-05-10 01:56 am (UTC)(link)
[This would be a good time to say "no." This could be where they draw a line in the sand and untangle what's left to be untangled and live their own lives.

But here Edward is, shrugging his way back to his feet. (It takes actual effort not to just set an elbow on Stede's shoulder like everything's fine.)
]

Come on. Bet we can catch the train.
frillyshirts: (014)

[personal profile] frillyshirts 2023-05-10 02:26 am (UTC)(link)
[ Stede is very aware that Ed could very easily tell him to fuck off - and actually mean "no really, fuck off I don't want to talk to you anymore" - so the fact that he hasn't, and doesn't seem inclined to make the attempt, is very relieving.

It means Stede has a chance! A chance to make things right! Whatever that means to Ed. But by God, he'll do it, whatever it is! So he smiles, his demeanor brightening again. ]


What's a train?
fxckery: (now it's farewell)

[personal profile] fxckery 2023-05-10 09:56 am (UTC)(link)
[This, at least, is something safe to focus on while wandering out of the deeper desert toward the station. Or easier, at any rate, than trying to patch at the ache of Stede simply existing--and, worse, perking up with that enthusiastic smile.]

It's like they've strung a bunch of carriages together, yeah? Then made it go fast as fuck. [Is that still how he thinks of the train? Yes.] Tons of shit like that here, mate. Most people think it's pretty normal.
frillyshirts: (006)

[personal profile] frillyshirts 2023-05-10 12:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Really? All strung together and no horses? Weird.

[ Stede loves weird stuff. ]
fxckery: (from old england came)

[personal profile] fxckery 2023-05-10 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, mate. [A "weird" and Edward hasn't even mentioned the Cat Bus.] This place is wild.

[And it had been wonderful to learn it together.

(Maybe it would be wonderful to learn it again.)
]
frillyshirts: (014)

[personal profile] frillyshirts 2023-05-11 01:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ Stede clearly has a similar idea, as his hopeful expression probably conveys. ]

You could show me, all the wildest parts, if you want.
fxckery: (you one and all)

[personal profile] fxckery 2023-05-11 01:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's Their Thing. It isn't even something that had only cropped up here, really; showing each other the way through their respective wildernesses is just very much Their Thing from the moment they'd met.

Ed doesn't look nearly as hopeful as Stede, and yet.
]

We'll see.

["Not no" is still a good place to start.]