folkooc | June 2022 Test Drive Meme

Entry tags:

*tdm

June 2022 Test Drive Meme

JUNE 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]

1989

Content Warnings: Potentially traumatic memories.

GOT THIS MUSIC IN MY MIND

Consciousness returns all at once, bringing with it the sound of water, the scent of wet wood, and the feeling of warm summer air. You are laying in a lounge chair near the head of a long wooden dock, one of many scattered along a small and pebbly beach. Other people rest on some of these chairs, dozing or waking up themselves.

In front of you a lake spreads like ink as the sun sets in the distance, turning the horizon into a riot of pinks and oranges. The water is still and dark, perfect for a little swimming, even if you don't have a suit. You can wade in, or walk down the dock and dive. If you're a little worried about going alone, you could see if anybody else is willing to take the plunge with you.

At the head of the dock where it rejoins the land, someone has placed a pastel boombox. It's playing a steady stream of synth music that really goes with the whole neon sky thing happening - it's like you woke up in a vapourwave wet dream! If only you had a saxophone!

The current song fades out and the DJ speaks up. Her voice sounds an awful lot like that of the fox that brought you here.

"Our next song goes out to a very special someone--" and to your surprise she says your name. What then plays is a song that is extremely special to you, whether positive or negative. Maybe it's from your first dance. Maybe it's the song that played on the radio when you said goodbye to someone you knew you'd never see again. Whatever it is, it cuts right to the center of you - you hear every note or feel every beat.

And it follows. The song will play on loop, growing louder and louder as it does. If you try to walk away, it somehow still plays - run into the woods to escape and you will still hear it echoing through the branches. Throw the boombox in the lake and another just reappears in its place. Plug your ears and you'll just hear it in your head, over and over.

How do you get rid of an earworm? Sing it aloud? Find another song? The DJ breaks in with a clue: "What an absolute banger! You'll want to share this one, folks!"

Yes, the only way is to get this song out of your head is to tell someone else about the memory associated with the song. The second you do, the song will stop looping, both externally and mentally

I KEEP CRUISIN'

If you get sick of the lake, a short walk down a path will take you to a little park. There are food stalls set up serving tacos, smoothies, yakitori, hot dogs, ice cream, somen, shaved ice... summer fare. All of the stalls are manned by humanoids with animal heads - at first you might mistake them for masks. But no, they really are animal people: roosters, chameleons, owls, panthers. They don't speak, and they're all very laid back, serving you in their own sweet time.

There are benches you can sit on. If the sun finally sinks behind the horizon while you're here, a number of soft lights in blues, purples, and pinks will turn on and keep the place illuminated.

Good thing, too, since the centre of the space is taken up by a skatepark. A kiosk nearby is renting out rollerblades and skateboards; if you're so inclined you can show off any skills you might have. Or maybe you'll just wobble along the pavement. The animal people will encourage you to skate in pairs if you're just learning, so you might meet some new people that way.

The vibe is chill, and even if you were upset when you first arrived you will find the longer you hang out the less anxious you feel.

I STILL KNOW

Content Warnings:Stalking, horror movie type villain, optional violence, shadow monsters.

YOU SAY IT'S IN THE PAST

You've been awake for some time. Maybe you're getting something to eat, maybe you're exploring Willow and Euphoria. Whatever you're doing, some part of your body brushes up against an envelope. Really, it's like it jumps out at you. Written on the front is your name.

Inside is a piece of paper upon which is written a single statement: I know what you did last summer!

Well, that's confusing. And a little concerning, especially if you happen to have a lot of skeletons in your closet. Equally confusing is that someone nearby has found an identical letter, only addressed to them.

What's going on here? And could it have anything to do with that mysterious figure dressed like a fisherman hiding poorly behind a nearby object? Whoever that is, it seems doubtful that their intentions are friendly - you can see that in one hand they've got one hell of a big sharp hook.

The fisherman will stalk you and the other person who has received a letter, hiding quite a bit like a child; they duck behind skinny trees, crouch behind garbage bins, occasionally just place their hands in front of their already obscured face. Trying to approach the figure results in them raising their hook menacingly before running away. But they always come back. And although they may be inept, they do have a weapon. It may only be a matter of time before they catch you off guard.

You and the other letter recipient will have to work together to get out of this. The fisherman seems to think you were both in on something, so you should get to work figuring out if you have any experiences in common.

For some people this will be extremely easy. For others who may be from a different time period or planet, it may be a little more difficult. Still, there's bound to be something, whether profound or stupid. The moment you find some commonality in your past, you'll suddenly notice a box addressed to the both of you. How did it get there? Who cares!

Open in and you'll discover some canon items from home. It's especially likely that you'll find any weapons you may have owned, which is handy since the fisherman is now going to be after you in earnest!

After discovering what you have in common, it's possible that when you next see the fisherman they will be revealed to be someone from one of your stories. For example, if you both spent a year in Mathletes, the fisherman can be revealed as that nerdy kid you totally beat at the regional championships. Or maybe the fisherman's face remains obscured.

Regardless of who lurks behind that dirty raincoat and hat, you have to deal with him! This can be accomplished in a few ways: by revealing his identity if he has one, by knocking him out and turning him over to a couple of bumbling cops who seem to exist solely for this little drama, or by killing him.

Harsh.

If you find a commonality and receive a weapon from home, it will work flawlessly. One hit and that fisherman goes down! At least it wasn't hard!

But what if you just cannot or will not find common ground with someone?

Well. You still have to take care of the fisherman, but it's going to take a while. He's very stubborn and just doesn't seem to stay dead or injured for very long. It will take at least three attempts to keep him down long enough that you can turn him over to the police or throw him in the lake or whatever it is you choose to do.

IT'S ALL GOOD

If you had not previously received an item from home, with the disposal of the fisherman you will now discover the box addressed to you and your companion. Inside you will find some canon clothes and items for each of you, although they will not be weapons. As it turns out, you do not need to have completed the you say it's in the past prompt in order to find one of these boxes as they are dotted around Folkmore and may be found simply by wandering around. It's most likely that you'll have found yourself in Epiphany or Willow, which means that you'll also be able to find yourself things to eat and drink with ease. Euphoria especially might be the place for a pick-me-up since the convenience store has slushies! Awesome!

Less common that the addressed boxes, and more likely to be in the rural areas, are unenchanted weapons sticking out of the ground. Swords, guns, shields, maybe some nunchuks... They're not magical, but they're useable. After all you've been through you might want to pick one of these up. But be warned: the second you take one of these weapons, you'll have to use it.

From the shadows cast on the ground, inky black heads suddenly rise. Just heads. On insanely long necks that twist and turn as the heads come for you, gnashing teeth as dark as night. They’re pretty easy to defeat - cut off the head, or destroy the shadows they originate from. You can also run away, but you better be fast! That’ll teach you to assume you can get anything for free!

If you did encounter the fisherman or one of those nasty snake creatures, you may be a little worse for wear. Never fear - wander around a little bit and you'll encounter some more of those mysterious animal-headed people, who will point you towards a first-aid station. You can be patched up there by a woman with the head of a fennec fox. She manages to look unamused, somehow. Still, you can hang out in the recovery area as long as you need to. It's likely that you'll find yourself resting near other people, and you won't be told to shush if you strike up a conversation.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Planet?" Eloise asks, looking up sharply. She inevitably gets Tinya in her line of sight again and promptly looks away. "What do you mean? Is this not Earth? Are you from some planet other than Earth?"

Eloise knows of a few planets, but she did not know that people lived on them.

"Yes, planet," Tinya replies cheerfully. And she is doing her best to stay in water up to her shoulders, but that's not always possible. There's always someone swimming past her, or paddling out on a surfboard.

And if Eloise looked closely, she'd notice that some of those passing Tinya were actually passing through her. "I honestly don't know if this is Earth or not. I'm from Bgztl. But the star patterns don't seem right for it to be Earth."

By her time, it was more of a matter of which planets hadn't been inhabited or colonized.

Eloise furrows her brow. "That is... not one that I have heard of." Or can pronounce. "I know of the moon and Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. There are planets that are further?"

Ones that they cannot see from Earth, apparently.

"Well, not planets but moons. Saturn and Jupiter in particular have moons large enough to be shared by entire planets. Titan is its most favorite, though, everyone there can read minds. Which is creepy more times than I think of it."

She's from the 31st century by Earth's awareness, she didn't want to upset anyone. But the truth was the truth.

"How interesting," Eloise says. "I have read that other planets have moons, as Earth does, though admittedly I do not know much about it." Most of the reading that she does is literature, though she will sometimes read books about science and history in order to gain more knowledge.

She looks out at the lapping water, then down as the waves start to touch the toes of her shoes. "It is not the year 1813, is it?" The dawning realization that she is in another place and time entirely is a bit unsettling.

Tinya grinned and giggled playfully. "Well, if you ever want to find out more, ask me and I'll tell you as much as you like! I had to be familiar with foreign planets to be a Traveler! But I never minded the study, it was fun!" Cultures, histories, areas where they could find commonalities and what to do about the differences.

"Um. Well. I don't know? I assume this place is roughly the same as the 21st century in terms of technology, but I never thought to ask for a year!" A major blunder, really, she's horrified with herself that she didn't think of it earlier.

"I do enjoy learning," Eloise admits. "Mostly I do so by reading, though reading is also a good way to travel to a different place or time." She had never actually wanted to travel to a different place or time. Books had been sufficient.

"21st century," she says with a sense of wonder. "That seems... it is hard to imagine what the world would be like in such a time."

Like this, apparently.

"Oh sweet Mistress, isn't it the best?! There's always something new to learn, so it never gets boring! And I like reading, though most people just watch the holos. But the Travelers' caste believes that certain things can only really sink in if they're read." It seemed to work, even though she's still unsure about what to do in certain situations. Her natural effervescence has so far seen her through, but she wonders what will happen when it doesn't.

"I wouldn't know! It's actually the thirty-first century I left when I arrived here. By Terran standards, anyway. It's nice there, there are so many people to meet and planets to go to! I love it!"

She wonders how it was to be planetbound one's whole life. She honestly doesn't like the thought of it, that was the main reason she did what was necessary to keep herself out of the Ruling caste.

"Holos?" There is so much here that she doesn't know, and she feels like a small child again. Perhaps there is a library somewhere so that she might be able to learn about what life is like here.

"Oh, well, holograms? Moving pictures? They're how we take our photography pictures, watch our entertainment, and listen to our music. At least when I'm from. But here's nowhere near as advanced." In a rush, "not that that's a bad thing! It's just different."

And there's a library. She's perused it on many occasions herself, not being of human stock. It's actually good. Really good.

"Pictures can move?" Eloise asks, brow furrowed in confusion. "I presume you mean on their own?"

In her mind, she sees the portraits back home getting off the wall and hopping around the room. She supposes that would be entertaining.

"Yeah! Movies! Earth ones are great, there are so many subjects to choose from, it's like an endless supply of riches!" Far better than the strictly pro-caste equivalents on Bgztl. Even the reigns of her however many times grandmothers weren't permitted for fear of upsetting the balance and returning the planet to the monarchy.

"If you want, I can get out of the water and show you a few clips? It'll be fun!"

Eloise is confused about how Tinya can show her a movie. She looks around, wondering if there are any paintings or portraits around here.

"Yes, I think I would like to see that," she replies.

No need to worry, Tinya knows exactly how. And it's the beach, of course there won't be any paintings or portraits there!

"Wonderful! Let me get out of the water and I'll get dressed," and she begins to walk to the shore, still in her yellow polka dot bikini, but once she reaches the shore she throws on a blue kimono-like cover-up from a pile of blankets and a basket, then retrieves her device. "It's better with a wall to use as a screen, but!" And she cues up "Casablanca."

Not that she would admit it out loud, but Eloise is glad when Tinya puts on the cover up. Now she can actually look at her without having to try to avoid her near nudity.

Eloise squints at the object in the other girl's hand. "What is that?" Then it starts making noise and pictures start moving across the face of it. She takes a surprised step back. "A magic box?"

Tinya tends to take things like bikinis as a given. She was overjoyed to find them here, her mother had disapproved of such things and she's stuck at the age of wanting to be her mother's opposite. All the while not acknowledging how much they actually have in common.

It's a---I'm not sure they have a name? So I just call it a device. And it's not magic, at least I don't think so? The line between science and magic here is...kind of wobbly. And it shifts. This is 'Casablanca,' a Terran movie and it's really good."

((OOC: do you need/want an invite? feel free to PM this account if you do!))

Eloise stares at it with curiosity and amazement. She leans down to look at the box from another angle. "It's so small... how do the pictures get inside?" It's very confusing to Eloise. The top of it appears to be made out of glass, like a window, but the box can't possibly have room for the pictures inside of it. And how are they moving??

[ ooc: I've got one, thank you! Planning to reserve once it's open. ]

"It's--well, probably some kind of mixture of technology and magic. Those seem to be the two things this world runs on, so if I can't figure it out from one angle, I try to do it from the other. Though, my world doesn't have magic! So there's only so much I can do there! And it's, um, it's recorded on another device called a camera? One that can record movement and sound, not just a picture. It really is amazing, isn't it?"

((OOC: awesome, glad to hear it! and looking forward to you joining us!))

"It is..." Eloise agrees. To her, it's magic. She has no other way to explain it. She has seen very well done portraits before, but never images rendered so clearly. It's almost perfect, except that the people are shown in shades of gray instead of real life color.

"It's such a wonderful way of telling a story. Not just pictures, but gestures and expressions and voices," she says, a bit dreamily. They didn't really have movies on her home planet.

They used to, when her foremothers reigned, but they were overthrown and the caste system was put into place. They saw no need for stories or films other than ones which helped guide you into place in a caste and, once there, to make you the best you could be.

And people wondered why Tinya fled the first chance she got.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

June 2022 Test Drive Meme

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject