May 2022 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

MAY 2022 TDM

INTRODUCTION

[ TDM Questions ★ Jump to Comments ★ Full Navigation ]
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]

A PLACE IN THIS WORLD

Content Warnings: Possible insanity via cuts by thorns. Temporary nullification of abilities.

DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS

The world comes into focus in one sharp, overwhelming rush. You are laying on the ground surrounded by staggering walls of flowers of all types and colors. Their sweet scent fills the air and the sky above is clear, blue, beautiful, and endless. It would be easy to be lulled into a quiet nap in such a peaceful place. You can even hear a soft, disembodied voice singing songs from some unknown place all around you. After some time, this siren song creates an intense yearning that will eventually bring you to your feet and pull you forward. You are filled with the urge to find someone important. You may know who or you might just have some aimless, faceless person at the forefront of your mind.

All you know is that when you finally find them, you'll know. Is it love? Is it a friend you have always needed? The perfect enemy? Only time will tell, but for now, you must find them. The flower maze is dense and for now, it doesn't seem like flying out and above them is an option. If you try, you just wind up vaulted back into the maze. Nope! This trial is about using other means of exploration. Maybe you can destroy the flowers, but you will find that this flower field is apparently endless. If you get cut by thorns along the way, you will become increasingly hectic about finding this mystery person. Some have been thrown into insane desperation just looking for their People among the flowers.

But once you finally find them, you're both filled with relief and the flowers around you blossom wider. You can then treat the flower maze like a solvable puzzle and get your way out of it. However, some people spend a bit more time in the maze since once you do find your person or people, you will be stricken with the urge to talk to them, to "open up" about your yearning to find them...even if you've never met them before!

OUT OF THE WOODS

Just outside of the flower maze is a little festival set up just on the edge of Willow and partway into Epiphany! Little stalls of food and drinks have been set up - and we mean little! The good folk who set up these stalls are magical cats standing upright and wearing clothes like little people! All the stalls are cat-sized and so are the dishes and food - which means most of the people walking through will likely be quite a bit bigger! That's okay, the cat folk seem happy to serve you bigger or multiple helpings of their yummy soups and bread. None of them seem able to really communicate with the new arrivals, but that's okay, their cute meows are fun to listen to anyway.

The music is a bit more pronounced here and a handful of cat couples are dancing around. Don't be surprised if they encourage you to join in the dancing! Maybe you didn't actually find someone in the flower maze - if not, the cat folk will encourage you to dance with another new arrival to get to know them! Because apparently dancing with someone you don't know is a good formal introduction? Ah well. Sometimes it's just the idea that counts.

There will also be some supplies to help patch people up who have gotten a lot of cuts from the flower maze. Some of the bouts of insanity are probably still going a bit hectic, so you might want to lay down in the recovery area until you feel a bit more stable. Talking to people apparently helps with the stability, so maybe strike up a conversation with a fellow newbie?

ENCHANTED

Content Warnings: Optional selective amensia and/or altered sense of self, possible monster/creature violence, temporary enchantments, forced relocations.

LONG STORY SHORT

You're in a very unusual, specific outfit and in a place you might have seen once or twice in a storybook or in the imagination of your childhood. For some, you might pick up on what's happening immediately. For others, you might be so immersed in the role that you don't realize it - but you're featuring in a classic fairy tale. Maybe it's Sleeping Beauty or Little Red Riding Hood or Tale of the White Snake or The Mirror of Matsuyama. Either way, you're the main character or the main antagonist and it looks like you're going to have to play out the story with whoever you're stuck with!

The other person in the trial can either match up to the other side of the story or just arrive as themselves and have to play along. Trying to just abandon the trial is quite literally impossible! You're stuck in the weird woods or high tower and trying to "leave" just results in you going in repeated cycles until you wind up where you started. You have a role to fill and you might as well get used to playing roles in Folkmore! It's time to understand how these trials work. What lesson are you supposed to take away?

If you're grumbling about it or are left confused, don't worry! Thirteen will appear to those struggling and explain the situation: "You need to play out the story! C'mon. Everyone knows this story...Right? Well, whatever, it's obvious! If you play your part, I promise I'll give you something you want." Can you really trust a fox though? Especially the fox who brought you here? She laughs before you can really pester her for more information and vanishes in a burst of red dust. Foxes really are mischievous, aren't they...At least most fairy tales are incredibly short, basic, and straightforward so most people should be able to figure it out!

In theory.

DAYLIGHT

At least the Fox wasn't lying. When you complete the task of the story, the fairy tale world will melt into one of the settings in Folkmore and you will be brought back into the current reality. You will be left in the weird clothes, but fear not! A mystery trunk has appeared in front of you and whoever you completed the trial with. Inside the trunk, you will find some of your canon clothes and a few canon items. Nearby, there will be some weapons sticking out of the ground: basic swords, guns, shields, etc. These items might not be enchanted, but at least you have something to work with!

Better yet, you don't necessarily have to complete the Long Story Short prompt to find these trunks either! They seem to be dotted around Folkmore and you might find them just by virtue of exploration! The trunks seem to mysteriously know who is opening them so you won't find someone else's stuff by accident, but you might have to fight over who gets the sword in the stone...

A word of caution to those who grab the weapons...You will immediately be tested on how good you are with them. As soon as you have pulled them out of the ground, the ground will begin trembling and a serpent-like creature will form out of the ground. If you're in Wintermute, you have a sizeable icy creature to deal with. If you're in Cruel Summer, meet the fire-breathing snakey nightmare that's going to try and roast you alive. Don't think Epiphany or Willow will have gentler creatures! They might be covered in moss or flowers but they will hit just as hard. You have to defeat the angry creature - or try running for your life. They are relatively easy to beat and people without powers can manage if they are highly skilled or...really lucky...Or if someone far more capable finds them! Good luck. As a pro-tip, maybe don't pull weird swords out of the ground in the future.

Comments

Aloy | Horizon: Forbidden West | Legend

[tripcaster]

OUT OF THE WOODS

[ To say Aloy is a little perplexed at the scene unfolding in front of her is a massive understatement.

Cats of all sizes, all colours, all temperaments, going about their merry little lives as if a bustling crowd of feline frolics is a perfectly normal thing to stumble across.
Worse, Aloy had been promptly commandeered as a captive audience for a particularly talkative ginger tom that's been cheerfully meowing and chittering up a storm - all while Aloy politely but awkwardly sips at her tiny bowl of soup and makes agreeable noises from time to time, the perfect picture of an introvert's worst nightmare.

The tom pauses expectantly at the end (?) of his little story, prompting a hesitant response: ]

That's... something. [ MEOWWWW! cries the cat; in a suspiciously "I know, right???" tone. Cat gossip? Rumors? Giant fish tales? Who knows. ] Anything else? I'm learning so much.

[ Evidently sarcasm was a mistake, because the fuzzy little storyteller launches into another dissertation by chattering twice as fast, little paws grandly gesturing this way and that with such energy and gravitas it's plain she's going to be sitting here for A While Yet. Who knew cats could be blowhards too?
So, naturally, Aloy looks up in pleading silence at the first person that comes walking by.

Pls help. It's a catastrophe. She's so out of her depth here it's not even funny!
well maybe just a little funny... ]

LONG STORY SHORT

[ Tights and feathered cap, check. Uncomfortable gaudy doublet, check. Awkwardly bulky crossbow, check. ]

For the record, I still don't know this story! [ Aloy hollers peevishly at the bushes - presumably either at the scenery in the hopes the vanished Fox will hear (not that she'll care) or whoever it is playing the dramatic background music will calm the fuck down because it's certainly not helping the mood.

She's not even the one in the worst position here by a long shot.

Whoever her lucky partner is, they'd better have nerves of steel and worn their brown pants for extra insurance; the story they've been yeeted into is none other than William Tell, apple on head and all.
Giving her counterpart an apologetic look, Aloy tests how sharp the quarrel bolt loaded into her crossbow is (hella). Damn bro. Fox ain't playing around, is she?

SIGH. You really can't make this shit up... ]

I'm a good shot if that helps any. Sorry about this.

WILDCARD

[ Choose another prompt/YOLO it up if you want! ]

Long Story Short

[xploud]

[Everything is happening so much.

One moment he's pulling out his full Hero Costume and gear from a mysterious trunk that seem to just be lying around, and the next he's stiff-backed against a tree with an apple on his head and some broad with a crossbow aimed at him. That's not the worst part, oh no - people aiming weapons or shots at his face is normal to Katsuki. That sort of shit he can deal with without so much as batting an eye.

But being forced into a pair of bloomers, tights, and a fucking cravat? Absolutely HELL FUCKING NOT. He is stiff as a board, but vibrating out of sheer fury, a wild and fierce look in his eye as it twitches slightly and his palms crackle and smoke. He's barely restraining the urge to kill something, and when poor Alloy speaks, Katsuki's dam breaks and he howls back.]

JUST GET THIS SHIT OVER WITH, SO I CAN SKIN THAT GODDAMN FOX!! I'M GONNA MAKE IT A NEW FUCKING SCARF!

Ah yes, the CR I never knew I needed ty ty

[tripcaster]

[ Oh my god Bakugou PLEASE.

She instinctively flinches away from the explosive (HEH) outburst - which miraculously doesn't end with a quarrel bolt in his forehead and a traumatized Aloy, but boy oh boy was that cutting it close.
Maybe screaming at the person pointing a weapon at you is a bad idea? Just maybe? ]

Not if you keep screeching like that. [ Inside voice, sunshine. Have mercy on her poor ears. ] You realize she could probably hear you coming from miles away, right? Along with anyone else that isn't mostly deaf?

[ Aloy takes a deep, steadying breath, lifting the crossbow for a second attempt to line up the sights with the apple perched precariously on his head. ]

If I shoot you by accident because you couldn't shut up for a minute, it's your fault. Just so you know.

i've never played the games but by god i knew in my heart it'd be delightful.

[xploud]

[Bold of anyone to assume Katsuki's eyes aren't trained on that fucking weapon. He has the reflexes to dodge, or just simply blast the bolt away or in an opposite direction. But it's not needed, because he's still standing and still seething. And the volume ticks down only a smidge.

Flipping this fucking Robin Hood chick the double birdie, Katsuki grunts and straightens again. This is so fucking stupid. But the faster they get it over with, the faster he can get out this shitty outfit and flay that Fox.]

If you shoot me, just means your aim is shit, Legolas.

[And he'll haunt your sorry ass for eternity. Do you want that?? DO YOU???]

10/10 would highly recommend

[tripcaster]

The more you run your mouth, the lower I'm going to aim. But by all means... keep talking if it helps your nerves I guess.

[ Lbr a lifetime of being called "outcast" by the Nora and a "savage" by other tribes has given Aloy pretty thick skin even without factoring in ancient pop culture references. That doesn't mean she isn't going to be a little petty and visibly drop her aim by a hair or two in revenge though.

The crossbow bucks hard against her shoulder with the pulling of the trigger, firing mechanism thrusting the quarrel along the sighting groove with a hollow 'THWOCK, and...

.
..
...

Alas, the bratty blonde will survive to insult everyone for another day; an inch or so above his head, the iron dart has sunk up to the fins in the apple, possibly having clipped a couple hairs off his wild hairdo on the way.
Oops. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ]

out of the woods

[integrous]

[ Don't worry, Aloy. Clearly this girl here is your brave saviour from this awful, awful situation.

.. by which I mean Asahi mostly looks a little confused as she stumbles upon this situation. She's.. slowly getting used to the walking and talking cats around here, like they stumbled into some sort of fairytale land, but it still takes her a moment to realise just why Aloy is looking at her like that, rather than paying attention to the cat's very dramatic story.

Asahi glances back and forth for a moment, like she's trying to think of a good solution here. Any normal person might step in and drag Aloy along with them while telling some white lie, but there's no way Asahi can lie.

So she does what's clearly just the next most helpful thing - which is to stand there, shrugging as she wildly gestures and mouths 'just leave!' at Aloy.

Very helpful. Obviously. It's a small miracle that she's standing at just the right angle where the talking cat can't see her, but Aloy can. ]

[tripcaster]

[ Wow. So helpful. Groundbreaking. Aloy is forever in this good Samaritan's debt.

The deadpan stare Asahi gets in return for her sage advice probably speaks for itself - she can't just leave after graciously being fed and entertained by the locals, what if it's cultural taboo with these fuzzy little fiends? What if offending the cat chef kicks off a massive cat war or something????

But if Asahi isn't going to help, then Aloy's going to MAKE IT HER PROBLEM. No passive bystander sidelines for you! ]

You know, this story is riveting and everything - [ Aloy interjects as the ginger cat pauses to take a breath between speeches, gaze flickering between her would-be-savior and back to the inquisitive cat several times until he glances back at Asahi. ] - but don't you think it's worth having a bigger crowd to tell it to? More exciting that way.

[ Misery loves company. If Aloy's gonna be stuck here in unwanted conversation, so are you. ]

[integrous]

[ Asahi's jaw practically drops to the floor the moment she realises what's going on here. What's suddenly being turned around on her, even though she entirely meant her advice to the other! It makes this feel like a total act of betrayal, and the moment the cat turns its gaze back to Aloy and agrees that more company would be great, Asahi is already mouthing some frantic 'why?!'s at Aloy as she's ushered over to come sit next to the other by the cat people.

Even though Asahi now sure looks like a toddler that got dragged along to a boring supermarket by its mother as she's sitting down.

The cat starts talking again, and that's the cue Asahi takes to whisper in a hiss over at the other. ]

What was that for?!

[tripcaster]

[ The answering smile on Aloy's face verges on alarmingly smug. A quality entirely at odds with the innocent tone of her voice, like she's even slightly convincing anyone. ]

Who, me? No idea what you're talking about.

[ Huehuehuehue. ]

You could "just leave" if you don't want to listen, don't blame me.

[ SWEET, SWEET REVENGE. ]

OUT OF THE WOODS

[nastycat]

[Aloy had looked up, only to meet the gaze of another cat. A much larger cat, standing at 4'11. Izutsumi just watched. Not getting the silent pleas. Until the tomcat made a particularly loud yowl, her ears flicked back. Nose crinkling.

Then she started hissing at the guy. Her fur bristling. Shut up fucko.]

[tripcaster]

[ Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

On second thought maybe just grinning and bearing it was the lesser of two evils here. What's going on anymore? She has no idea. Who are you. What year is it. Why are random people hissing at cats.

Taking full advantage of the distraction - and not the least bit sorry to do so - has Aloy silently sitting her now empty bowl on the bench beside her and slowly, carefully, starting to back away from the impending cat fight. No idea who this newcomer is, but Aloy's definitely not getting involved when the claws and hairballs start flying. ]

[nastycat]

[Perks of being beastkin: Most normal-sized animals quickly backed up. The tom scampered. Her ears were spared from his racket.

...So had the tallman lady. But she'd left her bowl, so Izutsumi quickly padded over, grabbing it. Steali-]

Hey, it's empty. [Izutsumi... They're giving food out for free...]

[tripcaster]

[ Eyebrow raise.
This is by far the most bizarre experience she's ever had in her life. And that's saying something. ]

Well, yeah. I ate it all. [ Quelle suprise. ] If you want more, go ask for more.

[ Yeah. Go ask that ginger cat for more soup and see how that goes, kiddo. Aloy will popcorn.gif the entire time. ]

long story short

[ordinar]

[All Wilhelm did was blink, and suddenly the story shifts.

Understandably, his reaction to staring down the wrong end of a crossbow is to startle backwards. Except, he meets with the solid trunk of a tree — in fact, he whacks the back of his head against it, which sends the apple toppling to the ground. He hisses:]

Ow, fuck!

[His hands shoot up to cradle his head. His eyes land on the apple in the grass, and that's when it clicks. The apple on the head. The bow and arrow. The music. He digs through his memories, trying to dredge up what he knows about the story of William Tell. He can't remember why the guy had to shoot an apple off of his son's head, but also that detail seems insignificant in the grand scheme of things.]

Could you try a few practice shots first? Without me standing right here?

[Anxiety tightens his voice. As he moves away from the tree, he stoops to scoop up the apple. He idly plays with the stem, twisting it around, rolling the fruit in his hands.]

[tripcaster]

I'm flattered by your faith in me.

[ The dryness of her tone could make the Gobi look like a beach resort. Still, she makes a show of checking and re-checking the crossbow, laboriously cranking the launching mechanism back until it clicks into a locked position. A couple minor adjustments and they're ready to go.

So after eyeballing his height - give or take a bit - Aloy rests her cheek on the cool metal of the weapon braced on her shoulder, closing one eye to test her aim along the rudimentary iron sights. ]

This thing's pretty similar to a boltcaster, only a little lighter and not fired from the hip. [ That's not as reassuring as she intends it to be, but... ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯ sucks to suck, buddy! ] You wanna hold that up for me?

[ The apple. She means the apple. Can't test fire if she doesn't have a target! It'll be fiiiiiiiine, he won't lose a couple fingers or a hand. Just trust her, bro. ]

[ordinar]

[No, he doesn't appear to be reassured by anything she says, if his distance from the tree is any indication. He stands outside the shadow cast by its canopy, as if this marks the outer ring of a target, with the trunk as the bullseye. As if she couldn't just sling an arrow his way anyway, tree or no tree bracketing him.]

No offense, but how much faith can I have in someone I've just met?

[While she fiddles around with the crossbow, he watches with a wary eye and continues to roll the apple from hand to hand. His eyebrows jump up at her suggestion.]

No way! Can't I just set it on... [His eyes dart around, looking for something to take his place.] ...on a branch or something?

[tripcaster]

Rude.

[ WOW! See if she ever helps you again out of the goodness of her heart. >:T ]

If you want, we can do that, sure. How about...

[ She hums absently while scanning the tree for the perfect spot. Plenty of branches to choose from out in the open for an easy shot, but she has a different plan in mind if he wants his miserly faith fortified for the real deal.

Aloy points at the tree trunk, a bit above where his head would be, but well within reach. ]

There. In that knothole above the first fork, you see it?

[ A tough target to be sure, but that's kind of the point. ]

out of the woods

[taveren]

[There are talkative cats that sometimes balance on their hind legs to reach top shelves. Stray city cats that move in colonies. Cats that drink out of unattended soup bowls, and people with too much time and money on their hands who truss their precious pets into little outfits sized for dolls. But you ever see a festival hosted by clothed cats that walk two-legged, cooking and serving the soup? No?

Yeah, that's generally because most people aren't bloody mad, and Mat's loathed to think it, given he has to now include himself in that category. Talking foxes! Cats being people! Madness seems to be ladelled out with the same plentiful generosity as the food on its doll-sized serving platters, as no matter how many times he blinks while busy bystandering away, the vista of utter nonsense doesn't change.

The only thing that does make sense might be that a festival ought to have dancing, and host encouraging it is the least strange sight about all of this.]

Hey now, are you out to hold the ladies hostage to keep comers from asking for a dance? Give a guy a chance.

[So maybe that's why he has the subject of dancing on his mind when, after a bout of awkward eye contact with a girl looking cornered by a bombardment of mewled feline conversation (there always has to be someone at these functions who can't shut up, regardless of species), he's compelled by a prick of conscience to sidle closer with a smiling intervention. As smooth of one as he can keep up belatedly realizing that, actually, addressing one of these sentient... cats... is awkward enough to make him regret his choices. Light, why is this happening. Conscience is overrated. Should've moved right along, thanks.

Maybe it's the hair. Red. A sentimental color, that.

The smile holds. To punctuate the interruption, he turns it toward her and extends a hand in invitation. The easiest out there is when there's music and intelligent animals tapping on people's legs to point them at the dancing area.]

[tripcaster]

[ The polite grin the Nora hunter gives her new friend in return is admittedly a bit strained. To be honest she would much prefer to wrestle a Frostclaw with nothing but her bare hands than put herself on the dance floor willingly, but she's never been one for parties and socializing if she can help it. Suck it up and bear with it a little longer, Aloy! Freedom is so close!

Callused fingers take Mat's proffered hand without further prompting to pull herself upright. ]

How can I say no to that? [ Though in the interest of being gracious to the downcast ginger tom left sitting forlornly by himself, she adds: ] I'll just... find you later. And you can finish your story then?

[ "Mrew!"
She's no expert at cat body language or anything, but the drooping whiskers and ears perk right back up again, so she must've done something right.

For now, the mute tug she gives his arm while taking a half pace away should give voice to just how badly she wants to make this jailbreak a success; as urgently as Aloy wants to flee this place like a rabbit from a deranged Scorcher, something tells her dragging Mat by the arm for several leagues would be a poor reward for a good deed.

So she sorta just. Gives him the look. The "lets get the fuck outta dodge bro" kind of look. ]

So! Uh. Dancing. Let's go... do that.







[ She's gonna step on so many feet sorry man nothing personal ]

[taveren]

[It feels like a small age since Bel Tine, when there were festivities to partake in, and twirling his sisters through made-up steps were the most pressing matters to worry about for days of spring celebration ahead. Such a presentation has a different pull on one Mat Cauthon; he must quell homesickness for familiar faces further removed than ever.

Nothing about this wrong step into a strange world is half so predictable as all that. She's certainly no average village girl in a homespun dress with flowers in her hair, looking for a partner; he could tell that at a hundred paces. Under normal circumstances, he'd have more flourish for any girl who agreed to take his hand, being one to enjoy a dance or two or several, but as it is, she pulls free, surreptitiously tugging with as much antsy energy as he feels, and if she's just as lost and ready to bolt for the hills, he doesn't blame her one bit.

Except--oh. Of all the things he expected since waking up, almost feeling bad for making a cat--a bloody cat--wilt like he just stole his betrothed wasn't one of them. Holding tight to his mild smile, he manages a mock-gentlemanly nod of thanks for the cat man... and saves the release of low, disbelieving laughter for after he's met the girl's eye and retreated a distance with her.]

Well, that was a first for me.

[tripcaster]

That makes the two of us. What are these things anyway?

[ By which she means the cats. Obviously. For whatever reason felids aren't plentiful around Mother's Embrace, or any of the lands stretching west for that matter... something to do with ARTEMIS' reseeding the wilds with life must've gone wrong or directed the subfunction to other continents. Who knows?

At any rate it's hardly a topic to get into at the moment. ]

You couldn't have come through at a better time. [ Aloy grins, sheepishly. ] I almost started to worry I'd take root then and there if I was stuck for much longer, so... thanks for the save.

[ Aaaaaand letting go of his hand rather hurriedly once the realization sinks in. No need to go yanking him around over hill and dale, right? ]

LONG STORY SHORT

[phantomthot]

[for what it's worth, Tinya doesn't look even the slightest bit worried. Travelling wasn't just about having the skill to navigate between dimensions at a moment's notice, it took the courage to have to face entire alien civilizations with little more than a "because I said so, that's why."

being fifteen, she ascended the ranks of the Traveler's caste faster than anyone else, was trusted with a mission of vital importance to a system they'd never travelled to before.

there, had she wanted to, she could have slipped between dimensions and galaxies until she found the one of her birth.

here, at least she can still become intangible in an instant. so she sounds completely unconcerned as she calls back] Then you won't have to be sorry, right?

[tripcaster]

I sure hope not. There's enough to regret already with these clothes being what they are.

[ That's the spirit! Tinya kind of reminds Aloy of an old friend from the Lodge, actually, which is already a point in her favour to begin with. Talanah would undoubtedly be egging Aloy on were she here right now.

With the ghostly voice of the Sunhawk giving a running commentary of friendly jeering in her head, she exhales slowly, letting her finger tighten on the crossbow trigger by fractions until she feels the telltale resistance of the firing pin giving way --

All the tension in the ancient weapon leaves the crossbow string thrumming like a harp as the bolt bursts from the sighting groove, zipping through the air into the apple with a wet splattering noise and a shower of fruit juice.

Tah-dah! Thank you, thank you, no need for applause. She'll be here all week. ]

[phantomthot]

Yeah, what kinds of clothes are these? They're not cute at all!

[Tinya was prone to egging people on if only because people on Bgztl were awfully stiff and stuck in their ways. she was really happy they'd assigned her to the most risky mission which had come about in generations, she wanted to see what was out there.

and she stands perfectly still, but still smiling. she was the co-star for this story, nothing could happen to the co-star!

but now she had apple juice in her hair. ick. but hey, could be worse?

she ducked out from under the apple and applauded with a wide grin] That was wonderful! Have you done that a lot? At least some, you seemed so confident!

[tripcaster]

Cute. Right.

[ Bruh what.
To Aloy, coming from a time and a culture where your clothing is either a declaration of rank or the only thing between you and a Bristleback saw or a Ravager cannon, having cute clothes is an alien concept. What exactly does one do to make clothes cute? Add more fur linings? Use a specific kind of paint, or leather?

She's just gonna mentally gloss it over and call it a day. ]

Not exactly... [ Aloy waggles the crossbow experimentally a couple times. ] It's similar to a weapon of Oseram make though, so it's not too difficult once you get used to it's weight. Want to give it a try?

[ They were given an extra bolt after all! Might as well let her partner have a shot just for funsies. ]