folkooc | June 2023 Test Drive Meme

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*tdm

June 2023 Test Drive Meme

June 2023 TDM

Introduction

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This Test Drive meme is open to all.
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 and work like "mini-events". For new players and characters, you can choose to have your TDM thread be your introduction thread upon acceptance or start fresh. Current players are allowed to have in-game characters react to TDMs via the Network or make a Log with the prompts they want to participate in.

TDM threads can be used for spoon spending at any time by characters accepted into the game.

Playing and interacting with the 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 always encouraged to tag new people on the TDM!

🦊 New Star Children meet the Fox still in their worlds, and she brings them into the new realm of Folkmore. As you follow her, your body begins to change and new characteristics emerge. These may stay for a while, or perhaps they will hide away after. And during all of this, the Fox explains to you where you will be going: to Folkmore.

and then... you fall like a shooting star, falling to the land in a burst of starlight.

🦊 Experienced Star Children are already familiar with this time of the month. There are shooting stars all across the sky, and some fall to the land, which means the Fox has brought new arrivals. These newly arrived Star Children will face some tests, but Thirteen wants the more seasoned residents to participate as well.

Perhaps you follow the falling stars on your own, or perhaps the Fox simply teleports you there, but it appears you too will be part of this.

[ Prompt One ★ Prompt Two ]

Right Where You Left Me . ★

Content Warnings: Alternate Universe, Memory alteration/altered sense of self, Exhibition

If This Was a Movie

You forget everything the fox told you on your way over. You forget your own history. You remember a completely new one, one that matches whatever story you're now in. It could be a story from your world—a folk tale, a novel, a movie, a telenovella—or one you've never heard of. Whatever it is, this is your life now. Your memories match as though you've lived here your whole life. The tone may match your world, or it may drastically differ.

And you're not alone.

Whatever scene you're in features at least one other Star Child in the same situation you are. They might also be a new arrival, or they may be someone Thirteen has plucked up out of Folkmore and brought here to join you. Whether you've known each other your whole previous life or never met before, you know each other as the people in the story—whatever relationship that is. You don't remember being placed here. It's your life! It always has been.

The two (or more) of you pick up at whatever point in the story it is. Perhaps it'll go the same way as the original story. Perhaps not. You still are you—memories redacted—after all. This story is yours to write together!

The outfits, the setting, the NPCs (played by Spirits going along with things), etc. all perfectly match the story and adapt with you as you create your own retelling.

Big Red Button

As it turns out, you aren't only in an entertainment, you are an entertainment. Across Folkmore, large screens showing these stories appear: in every school, in public squares, before a large meadow, in the middle of the desert, you name it. It's also streaming on everyone's relics. Everyone has the chance to see your story play out.

That's not all, Star Children are your key out of the story and into Folkmore itself. Along with these screens, there are big red buttons. Digitally, a big red button appears on people's relics when they watch these stories. It's pretty simple. Someone presses the big red button and you're free! The reason doesn't matter—boredom, pity, recognition, the irresistibility of buttons. These are the only way out, so when you get out is completely up to your fellow Star Children.

Once the button is pushed, an invisible wall between your story and Folkmore falls away. With it, you regain all your memories from home and from the walk to Folkmore with the fox. All you have to do is step out of the story and into the school of Baba Yaga. The school of magic. Thirteen isn't there personally, but you may feel her spirit around you. Baba Yaga—Thirteen—is the school itself.

A small chest is also there as soon as you leave the story containing an item from your homeworld. This may even be a weapon or magical item.

Small bat spirits have a couple stations set up within the school near where Star Children exit their stories. If you're injured or need to rest, they are ready to help treat you or provide you as many pillows and blankets as you wish. If you're hungry or thirsty, the other station has food and drink for all. Steaming tea, freshly baked bread, and all sorts of warm comforting foods. You'd be forgiven for thinking it might be autumn. They want you to be at your best when you leave Baba Yaga and enter the rest of Folkmore via Exile.

No Body, No Crime . ★

Content Warnings: Optional mind/body split, Possible invasion of privacy, Possible monster/creature violence

Eyes Open

When you leave Baba Yaga, you're somewhere in Exile. Not even the Spirits or experienced Star Children can tell you where exactly you are. The school walks around on its chicken legs. Unless someone leaves at the same time as you, you'll start in different places. You'll have to find your own way out.

If you have been exiled before, you'll have an easier time navigating the land. It'll help guide you toward where you want to go. If you have never been exiled before, you'll have a harder time navigating this section of Folkmore. The trees may try to push you back. Perhaps nothing happens, exactly, but the aura is one that doesn't want you. Regardless, there's enough fog that it's difficult to see where you're going. Attention certainly seems to be on you. Are the trees watching? Is the water listening? Those are simply stories Spirits share to scare new Star Children isn't it?

Suddenly, you may appear to be in another part of Folkmore! It could be anywhere. It could be a public area, a business, someone's home… Wherever it is, if you try to touch something, you realize you cannot. Instead you pass right through solid objects. You cannot open a door, but you can walk right through it. You may surprise someone with your sudden appearance, or perhaps you reach out to people you see for help. Perhaps you simply explore this new area where you were.

Take all the time you want. Hopefully nothing bad is happening back with your body still in Exile… On second thought, perhaps you don't want to spend too long away from your body. You can use your own skills or get help returning to your body or find yourself suddenly back in it. Time to take stock and maybe find your way back to the rest of Folkmore body included.

Cowboy Like Me

On your way through Exile, you may come across weapons sticking out of the ground. Swords, axes, shields, bows, guns… All manner of non-magical weapons. They're simply there, scattered here and there, free for the taking. It looks like someone had a bad time trying to get out of Exile. Whoever the weapons belonged to, they don't need them now.

A word of warning to those who grab the weapons, as soon as you do, one of the dangerous creatures in Exile will find you. These creatures don't only have sharp claws or fangs, poison or sharp senses, they are intelligent. You'll need not only the weapon(s) you grabbed but your wits to defeat them or the luck of someone else coming along to help you out.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The wings would be more useful than a color wheel, whatever that means.

[ he says bluntly. And so, he looks at at all the potential paths available to them, ignoring what was overgrown makes it slightly easier. and still, the tension is frustrating.

he hated it so much. ]

Pick a direction, then, Captain.

[He takes a westerly route between trees that open up into a beaten dirt path. Kaeya unbuckles his sword and holds it out to Diluc.]

If we do run into trouble. This is better in your hands. I won’t need it.

[Diluc not catching his meaning isn’t anything new. He spaces out a little to focus on the noises of the forest. And an idea pops up. He grins.] Do you want to get out of here faster or at this pace?

Keep your sword.

[ he doesn't need the favors, and swords feel too light to him at this point. it'd truly be best if it stayed in Kaeya's hands. ]

And... What's your idea?

[He slides his sword back into his belt. His grin grows. A glint dances in his eye. He has a plan.

And Diluc probably won’t find it as funny as he does.] You were raised to be a Calvary Captain. I happen to be able to be a horse. Or a unicorn. Take your pick.

This area accepts me and won’t slow me down. It has to let you out easily if you’re on my back.

I'm sorry, what?

[ no, seriously. what. this time, his eyes flash a light blue, but he isn't doing very much to hide his confusion. ]

[In a blink, a pale blue unicorn built like a war horse leans down and tilts his head so the icy horn on his forehead can tuck a bit of hair behind Diluc’s ear.

His mane and tail look made of water and ice. The air turns colder around him as he taps his icy hooves against the ground.] Familiars, like me, change shape as we want. What do you say, Master Diluc?

Think you can ride me?

[ the look he gives him is utterly flat-- though the color of his eyes doesn't change as quickly this time. but he closes them, and pinches the bridge of his nose.

more questions. and he has the distinct feeling Kaeya is doing this on purpose, for the reaction.

and yet, finally deadpans on him, ]

Fine. But if this keeps up, I'm getting a saddle for you.

[Giving Diluc a headache is frankly, better than questions about things he doesn’t want to talk about. He’ll feel a little guilt later.

He tosses his head. His mane falls like a regular mane. Thank all the gods that his eyepatch is still on. He steps closer and his sides shake with laughter.]

Do you doubt my skills, Diluc? I’m quite experienced. But if you must. Saddle only. Bits are uncomfortable.

[ he exhales and shakes his head, the light blue of his eyes fading back into their natural red. of course, of course something this ridiculous would come from Kaeya.

And yet...

he approaches him, still clearly unsure about how to approach this specific situation. knowing it's Kaeya doesn't make it easier-- because whether or not he's joking about treating him like a horse, Diluc knows he isn't. ]

I doubt a lot of things about this situation, but not your skills.

[His laughter dies. His face softens. He looks up at the top of the trees. Tonight is going to be one of those nights. Where he runs through the trees on four paws and thinks nothing at all.] At least you trust those.

…I’ll never hurt you intentionally. You know that, right? [He damn well hopes he knows. If not, he can at least tell him.]

[ he freezes, his hand on Kaeya's neck. And yet, those words hit different. It's impossible to see his eyes at the moment, but he seems to be considering those words.

but you will avoid me. so, does it make much difference? ]

In the ways we understand hurt, yes. I know that.

[ and then he climbs onto him, the moment passing. but he doesn't feel like elaborating at the moment. ]

[He flinches. He’s been around Diluc with his walls down for too long that some things are easier to read from him. He caught on to what Diluc meant. It makes a decision for him. He had been planning a different direction, an older one. Well, plans can change. He says nothing and turns, trotting north west.

He lets Diluc adjust as he picks up speed at a reasonable pace. From on top of Kaeya’s back it is easy to see the forest is bending out of his way. It moves to allow him passage. As if he is part of it. Why that is? He doesn’t say.]

[ Diluc has wondered, but he doesn't want to speak. Not until they are out of the forest. However long that takes, his mood for conversation is gone. And questions can be saved.

Once the ground turns from swamp and forest into solid, grassy knolls, that's when he speaks. ]

Stop, this is far enough.

[He comes to a slow stop. The forest around them are the woods he knows best. Lapine. His ears prick up. He can faintly hear the sounds of the village a ways off. He waits until Diluc is off his back to return to human, ears still set low.

His mood is terrible and he can’t pretend otherwise. And no matter how comforting being a creature is. Some decision has been made inside his head. He waits, eye on Diluc. There is something wolf-like about his complete focus on Diluc alone.]

Edited 2023-06-30 17:05 (UTC)

... What did you mean that that place "accepts" you?

[ he can feel Kaeya's attention on him, but he lets that fade to the background for now. it's not the first time he's noticed it. but now, he wants to ask the questions that he assumes won't cause Kaeya to run away.

things he's half admitted to, that Diluc assumes he wants him to ask more. When he looks at him, his face is drawn blank. ]

It’s in the name. [He says as he straightens up and looks towards Exile.]

Folkmore likes to shove our flaws, regrets, and all the things that supposedly are holding us back, right in our faces.

Exile is a land that accepts the lost, the forsaken, and the children of those cursed by the gods. Exiles. [He turns back to him as he sets his hands on his hips.] Being a descendant of clan Alberich fits the requirements. I don’t live there.

But sometimes I go there to think.

...

You know that Mond accepts you, don't you?

[ he says simply, a tacit admission of his guilt in their fight. his overreaction. one of many he's tried to give to Kaeya, and maybe the one he hopes he'll take. this time, there are gold flecks in his eyes, but he turns away.

this time, towards the sound of life. And he instinctively starts that way. ]

I do. [He follows him, walking at his side. He closes his eyes for a moment. He hasn’t said anything to anyone after Dainsleif confirmed his suspicions.

There are letters under the floorboards to someone who doesn’t remember the things spoken of in those letters. And the decision in them is something he has decided to reverse course on.] I don’t know if that will change if the truth comes out. I’m a descendant of the Abyss Order’s founder.

I found out here. A week or so ago? [He doesn’t look at him. He doesn’t want to see his expression. It’s hard enough to say the words. He can hear the rain in the back of his mind. He trusts Diluc.

That won’t happen again. Besides, he had been asking for it saying it when he said it back then.] I doubt that is what Exile is basing it on. Probably just from being Khaenri’ahn.

[ he stops, and then looks at him, the gold flecks are still there. but it isn't revulsion or anger that he responds with. just stillness. he isn't the same boy he was at 18, that much is certain.

but, he had sensed a bit of unease back home. Kaeya would never have admitted it to him, though, and so he didn't ask. He took his mask at face value, but that begs the question of why he admitted it here.

kaeya doesn't trust him, he knows that much. has accepted it, even as his anger fades away. ]

You've spent longer in Mond than Khaenri'ah. You're more dedicated to her than almost any knight. I doubt Barbatos wouldn't count you as one of his, regardless of your heritage.

[ why are you telling me this. it can't be searching for comfort. ]

[He stops walking. It’s exactly the answer he expected to hear. It makes his reversed decision easier. It still feels like he is shoving open a heavy door to say,] I have never blamed you for what you did that night.

I told you terrible things at the worst possible time. A scar is a small price to pay for keeping secrets. If I had to do it over I’d have waited a little bit. But I’d have still told you. I owed it to you.

[He starts walking. No going back now. He finds he doesn’t regret it.]

[ his mind screeches to a halt, and he instinctively reaches out to grab Kaeya's wrist ]

Wait.

[ don't keep walking. ]

[He stops. His ear flicks and he does the brave thing. He looks back at him.] Yes?

[ his eyes are more solidly gold this time, but the way his eyebrows knit together betrays the confusion.

and yet, he doesn't let go of his wrist. ]

I--

[ he hesitates, and realizes that Kaeya's giving him the opportunity to say what he wanted to say. he isn't running, even without the interference of adelinde. ]

Even so, I'm sorry. And I'm sorry for implying I didn't trust you earlier.

[He doesn’t stop his tail from wagging. Let it do what it damn well pleases. He’s mindful of the claws on his fingers as he pats the hand on his wrist.

He has the urge to say he has nothing to forgive. He swallows it. He’s learned better than that.] You’re forgiven. …The thing I have to get over is I’m the only one that remembers.

[Might as well admit that too. Since he decided not to run. Not to hide. Not to avoid. The deeply personal things will stay locked up. But the other bits? They’re fine.]

So. I’m offering you a choice. Do you want to see where you lived? Or is that too much.

[ there's still something he's avoiding saying, but given everything else, Diluc will take what he can get. That Kaeya isn't trying to dance out of his reach. That he isn't trying to remove his hand... Diluc instead lets go, and huffs. the gold in his eyes doesn't quite fade this time, but intermingles with his natural red.

And he offers a small smile, ]

That's fine. Please show me.

[ the boundaries between them have changed, and perhaps he will ask for clarity later. after all, he doesn't expect Kaeya to willingly take to being by his side at all times again. but, it's enough for now that he isn't avoiding him. ]

Edited 2023-06-30 19:10 (UTC)

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