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

[indigently]

[ If Alhaitham's steed is gone, it's good, then, that Kaveh still has most of the water in the flask with which he woke. His throat burns with the exertion of what they've just done, but it's nothing compared to the ugly brown-red of the color staining the other's skin. Alhaitham, who protected him, yet ended up hurt instead— Without hesitation, he produces the flask, holds it out to the man who is— was once, he supposes, if they're both here in this place— his roommate.

(He should feel relieved. He does feel relieved. But there's something unpleasantly hollow about the knowledge, too.) ]

Here, you should use this to clean it up. We're gonna have to work together to get out of this... I need you at full strength.

[ He feels bossy, overbearing, demanding results in a way he wouldn't normally allow of himself. But between being dragged to a foreign world by a mysterious fox and very early in his first day having to fend off a wenut-sized creature, he's tired and miserable— he feels as if he'll break apart if he doesn't keep moving.

And so, leaving Alhaitham to deal with cleaning his wound, Kaveh moves to investigate the chest. ]

This isn't going to try and kill me, is it? [ he mutters, half to himself. ] It seems like most things here have tried to do so, today.

[afreescribe]

[He accepts the flask with a nod, using it to wet his hand and clean out whatever remaining acid that could be on his clothing or flesh. It stings, but the water is still cool enough to get some relief. He tries not to use too much, as they'll need some water still, and... Well, it's not his water to use up, is it?

He closes the flask and walks up to Kaveh and the chest.] Anything that would kill us would have come up already. Thirteen doesn't tend to pile things that much, I think.

[And he's curious about the contents of the chest, so...]

I return post-`rona, sorry for the delay ♥

[indigently]

[ Thirteen— the fox. Right? He assumes. But he doesn't ask— He already feels overly indebted to Alhaitham even here and he's only just arrived. So he nods instead like he understands, focusing on the chest instead as he opens it. There's time to learn these things later, surely, if he's going to be stuck here for a while... ]

Mm...

[ There's some things in the chest that he recognizes— his notebook for one, and a sword he recognizes well, even if it's been some time since he held it in his own hands. No Mehrak, something that makes his shoulders visibly slump. ]

I suppose I'll need to get back in the habit of wielding this old thing myself...

Oh geeez, I'm glad you're feeling better!

[afreescribe]

Mehrak isn't in there, then? I suppose it'd be hoping for too much. [From his own glance at the chest, Alhaitham also finds some interesting items. A sword that hadn't come with him, forcing him to get one locally, a book he'd been reading and... A jacket of his. An older jacket, a bit more worn than the one he'd thrown off after the acid attack, but otherwise rather identical to it.

He chuckles a little as he sets it over his shoulders, taking the other items as well after.] Well... No reason for us to stick around too long. Walking aimlessly will get us killed, which leave us... With flight, I suppose.

[indigently]

[ He shakes his head. No Mehrak. It's disappointing to say the least, but— mm, maybe he can take a little pleasure in the fact that Alhaitham at least seems to have obtained his favorite sword, not to mention a jacket to replace the one lying on the ground with acid-eaten holes through it. ]

Yeah, you're right. [ A stranger thing has never been said, but it's the truth. With Alhaitham's vulture form and his wings, they're able to take flight over the sands. If he can remember how to fly when he's not working on instinct alone.

His wings give a tentative flutter, bringing him a foot or two into the air. ]

Okay. I think I can do this.

[afreescribe]

[He doesn't let the chuckle out, but he does shake his head in light amusement at how experimental Kaveh is suddenly treating his wings.

He steps closer to the other man.] Try not to overthink it. If it's anything like my transformation, just going for it should work better.

[And with that, he turns into a vulture and begins gaining height.]

[indigently]

[ Just going for it. It makes sense. When he tried to make them work before, he couldn't; it was only in the heat of the moment when Alhaitham needed his help that the instinct took over. Kaveh nods, and takes a breath, and tries not to think too much—

because let's be real when has he been able to stop overthinking anything

—After a failed start or two, he manages to get himself back into the air, gaining height quickly so that he can meet the other. ]

Can you talk like this? Which way do we go?

[ If he can't, Kaveh at least can follow. ]

[afreescribe]

[It's harder than he thought it'd be, coordinating both his wings and head, but he shakes his head no to indicate that he can't talk like this, and used a nod of the head to indicate where to go.

It wasn't ideal, but it would have to do for now.]

[indigently]

[ Okay, he thinks. Noted. If this is to be something they do in the future, he'll need to find some other way for Alhaitham to communicate.

(Why he's imagining them doing something like this again in the future, he doesn't know.)

He flies just above and behind the other, not wanting his larger wings to put Alhaitham off course, following in the hope that they make it to safety soon. ]

[afreescribe]

[It's a good thing they're not linked by their roles, because if they were, Kaveh would know that right now Alhaitham is playing it by ear. His route isn't planned or truly even known to him; meaning he's exploring just as he was before running into Kaveh. It's best for the two of them that that part remains hidden in Alhaitham's psyche.

Fortunately, though, it doesn't take them too long to find a small group of tents up ahead. Feeling that was the most promising lead so far, he lands a few feet away and returns to his human form.] Locals, I wager. Should be able to help us get back out of the desert.

[indigently]

[ While Kaveh doesn't understand yet the complexity offered by a link between legend and familiar— or even really that there is such a link— if he were to know what was going on in Alhaitham's mind (ironically something such a link would offer), he would argue that there are many, many more reasons against the idea. Greater reasons.

Even if there weren't, he'd argue it. Because apparently when it comes to his former roommate, that's what he does.

But Alhaitham's guidance leads them true, and before long he's settling on the sand next to him. Keeping in mind the other's words from before, he's able to have them fold into nothingness behind him, and the smile on his face is bordering triumphant. ]

Did you see that? I made them disappear again, all by myself!

[afreescribe]

[Alhaitham allows himself a small smile at that.] Good. Getting the hang of it soon can only be helpful.

[He looks around the tents, taking stock of their situation.] Huh. Some of these are stands. I suppose we can get some water to cool down before going back.

[indigently]

[ Kaveh can't quite help the way he beams in response to the acknowledgement of a job well done. From his perspective, such an admission from Alhaitham is a rare thing, and he's not about to forget that any time soon. Smiling, he nods, and starts toward one of the stands before he turns back to the other, an embarrassed look on his face. ]

I'm guessing Mora doesn't work here, huh. Unless this water is cheap, I don't know if my, uh, spoon is going to help us much here.

[ Of all the times to have to ask Alhaitham for money... ]

[afreescribe]

[Right... Spoons... Kaveh wouldn't have much on him just yet.] The spoons are the currency here, but... I'll pay for it this time. We don't get much on first arrival, so I'd rather you didn't end up empty just from here.

[indigently]

[ By rights, Kaveh should say "thank you".

Instead, he scowls, and nods. Day one in this new place and he's already been rescued (for all intents and purposes) by Alhaitham, and now the other is buying him a drink. He wonders where the fox is— he wants to tell her she may as well have left him at home.

Although— if he were still at home, would his ex-friend still be here? Or—

His frown deepens into one of thought, and he tails the other to the stall. ]

What's the last thing you remember from home?

[afreescribe]

[Really, the intricacies of how them being there yet at home as well is something Alhaitham can and has think about a lot, talk about them too. But since that's not exactly where Kaveh goes, he doesn't go there, even if he does get the subtext his former roommate is throwing at him.

He pauses at the question, half unsure of how precise he should be for Kaveh's sake. He decides to just go for full honesty.] It was supposed to be my first day back as the Akademiya's scribe, after my time as Acting Grand Sage.

[indigently]

[ Kaveh's brows raise as Alhaitham explains. For his own part, he's a little beyond that— a few weeks have passed since his ex-roommate went back to his regular job, and yet there's no denying that the other was there in the house with him the entire time. That doesn't make any sense, does it...?

He frowns, shaking his head. He remembers the fox told him that he would still be home as well as here, but... ]

I can't figure it out. How this whole thing works.

[ There's a moment of silence as his frown deepens. ]

I don't like it.

[afreescribe]

[Alhaitham just sighs sympathetically at that.] Yes, the mechanics of how our presence works here and home are... A mystery. I've talked to people that have temporarily returned to their own worlds, and it's as frustrating as you likely think it is now.

[indigently]

Mm... [ Kaveh nods along, otherwise silent for a moment or two as he processes Alhaitham's words. People who have temporarily returned— honestly, the whole thing sounds like some sort of faerie tale. If it wasn't for the fact that they were living it... ]

There's more mysteries about this whole thing than I like. I'm sure you feel the same.

[ And, knowing Alhaitham, he's been digging into it, trying to find answers. But... at least for right now, Kaveh is tired, and— ]

How do we get back from here?

[afreescribe]

I do. I'll go ask where to go to get out of here and get us something to drink. [And so he heads to one of the tents, quickly speaking to the fennec fox running it and getting two containers of fresh water and information. After a quick transaction of spoons, he trots back to where Kaveh is, handing him his water.] Good news. We're near a the station. We can either fly there and get some horses to get back to civilization, or just keep flying to get out of the heat.

[indigently]

[ His eyes follow Alhaitham to the text, and then trail off to look at the area around them, looking at the foxes running the different stalls, the scattered people milling here and there, some of them looking as exhausted as he feels right now.

He's in a desert, and yet he's never felt farther away from home. He hates this, and he can't imagine it feeling better anytime soon.

It's almost a relief when Alhaitham comes back. He smiles, accepting the water with a nod and downing a few huge gulps before he considers the question. ]

What do you recommend? [ he asks, frowning slightly. ] I've never ridden a horse, but if it's far, flying may get tiring.

[afreescribe]

Well... [He's not that experienced with horses himself, so... It's hardly an ideal situation for them to get back on horse. The catbus he's heard of seems unreliable, so they'll probably walk or fly there anyway.] Let's get to the station first. We can decide how to proceed from there.

[indigently]

[ Kaveh can see the hesitation all over Alhaitham. Under any other circumstance, he'd probably snap at him, tell him not to mince his words and just say whatever's on his mind. But with everything they've been through today, he finds himself holding his tongue— not necessarily out of gratitude, but just...

A temporary peace is a good idea. ]

Right. So we fly there, right? To the station?

[ He doesn't notice the way his wings flutter on his back, as if eager to take him back into the air. ]

[afreescribe]

[It wasn't hesitation as much as he was weighting their options, is what he'd reply, since he now has to factor in Kaveh as well. But the temporary peace is appreciated, even if Alhaitham does notice it.] That's right. Shouldn't be too far that way [He points to the horizon.] So once you're through with your water we can go.

[indigently]

[ Kaveh nods, and reaches to finish off the water in his hand— most of it, anyway. Even if they're traveling to relative safety, he can't help but feel as if having a little spare on hand is a good idea. And, with barely any effort at all— but a proud smile forming on his lips soon after— his wings unfold from the air once more, fluttering in the air. ]

Alright. Ready when you are, Alhaitham.