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June 2022 Test Drive Meme
JUNE 2022 TDM
INTRODUCTION
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.
Content Warnings: Potentially traumatic memories.
GOT THIS MUSIC IN MY MIND
I KEEP CRUISIN'
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.
Content Warnings:Stalking, horror movie type villain, optional violence, shadow monsters.
YOU SAY IT'S IN THE PAST
IT'S ALL GOOD
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.
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[Yasha is a good soul, but Caleb gets the intimidation factor.]
But none of us are exactly the most economically minded. [Caleb sees money only in terms of what it can be turned into for spell components.]
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[Or making them burst into tears. It's a thing.]
And if I didn't take charge of our funds, we'd all be poor. Percy thinks money is useless, but he grew up with it! Grog can't count to ten! My brother and Keyleth would have us take jobs that pay a pittance because "it's the right thing to do". I just don't want to starve or go without potions!
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[The finger wrapping or the subtle terrorizing. Caleb can picture both vividly.
But he listens in amusement as she gets something off her chest that has clearly been building up for a while.]
Growing up with money can... skew someone's concept of it. [He and Jester had butted heads over that particular issue fairly significantly early on.]
You have very pragmatic concerns. Starving is far from pleasant, and so is going without potions. Or a safe place to sleep.
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Honestly, Percy's the least of my issues. He's just taken to giving me all of his gold right away and only asks for some when he needs something for his guns. Taryon is so much worse because he has no concept of what it's like for anyone who doesn't have money and I spent a while wanting to strangle him. But Pike, she gives all of her gold away as charity, which is all well and good for a cleric, but it doesn't pay for a stay in an inn! And I cannot tell you how many gems that came up missing when we traveled with Tiberius; hundreds and hundreds of gold just gone. And Scanlan.... Scanlan gambles, whores and goes out drinking.
[She groans again.]
I feel like I'm the only one who remembers what it was like when we had no money to stay in inns or to buy a lot of food in town.
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[He didn't want to strangle Jester, exactly, more like shake her until some sense rattled itself loose. But that was a long time ago, and he's come to know that Jester's life has had its own loneliness and challenges.
He listens with growing amusement as Vex continues on.]
Your friends sound like a very entertaining lot. [And a bit infuriating, but he understands that too.] That sort of lesson is one that should not be forgotten. I spent my share of time sleeping in streets and wondering where my next meal would come from. It's a hard way to live.
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Entertaining. Infuriating. I think it's all the same, honestly. Vax and I left with so little money when we started out on our own that there was a time I had to decide if we could buy herbs and potions or a night's stay at an inn with decent food. And that was only when we could find enough work in towns. I know it's been years since then and we're now practically famous and infamous all over Tal'dorei, but that doesn't mean I want to waste money!
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[Were. And any mention of his childhood tends to make him more unsettled than normal, and this is no exception.]
These days, my friends and I have begun to make a bit of a name for ourselves. We seldom need to make the choice between necessities. But you're right, it's no reason to waste what you do have.
[Now he is curious.] So, famous and infamous is it?
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[She isn't even kidding. Fuck the elves.]
Oh, yes, we're called Vox Machina. Spent some time on the Council of Tal'dorei in Emon where we have a keep gifted by the former sovereign, but now we're mostly in Whitestone far to the north beyond the Alabaster Sierras.
[You want to know about Tal'dorie? Vex is your lady. As well as a baroness.]
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[He will keep that in mind. The elf he knows best lately can indeed be a dick, but seems to genuinely be working on it. But that's just an Essek thing, not really an elf thing.
But now that is very interesting. Council of Tal'dorei in particular catches his attention.] We met a woman from the Tal'dorei Council, I wonder if you know her as well. A Lady Allura, the Master of Arcana. She has been very helpful to us recently.
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[Vex liked her a whole of a lot more when she heard that she and Kima were part of the group that sealed Thordak in the Fire Elemental Plane as well.]
Of course, I do miss Gilmore. Not him flirting with Vax all the time, but his wonderful smile and ability to haggle like a true merchant. Instead of crying like me wanting my gold's worth was stealing food from a baby's mouth.
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[She put the Empire head honcho in his place quite well, and Caleb has to admit that was enjoyable. Politics are a miserable mess, but the Nein have certainly found themselves neck deep in manufactured strife and war.]
I think I should ask you for pointers about haggling. [Mostly Caleb grumps and then blows all his money on paper and ink anyway.]
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Now that things have calmed down, she and the others left of the original council are creating one for all of Tal'dorei, not just Emon, and Vox Machina has a spot there.
[She frowns as she thinks things through.] I'm not sure how often we will be able to help, since I also now sit on the Chamber of Whitestone and have duties there and the rest of my group all have other things we still need to do.
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[Caleb remarks. Council of Tal'dorei. Chamber of Whitestone. It's an impressive resume to say the very least. Something about the way that Vex carries herself though, it seems appropriate.]
You seem to carry a great many responsibilities. Duties like that are all well, but their weight can add up.
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[They have contacts on Wildemount and Marquet, but they don't need to be famous there. Vex is pleased with where they are.]
They do add up, but it is what it is. It's not like we can refuse who we are. I only see problems stemming from that.
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[Fame means he could easily be found and he has always done his best not to be found by certain people. Not that it worked, but he'd tried, and he has no real desire to change that.]
We cannot. I have learned that too, recently. Running from responsibility will eventually catch up to you.
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[She winks at him, hiding the hurt that fame won't give her what she wanted as a wounded little girl, but that is a topic for another time.]
I'm glad that you've also come to the conclusion that running gets you nowhere fast, but there's nothing wrong with retreating to gather more resources.
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Retreat can be the exact right choice. Charging into any battle unprepared tends to end very poorly. I admit I am likely one of the more cautious of my group of friends. But they are very brave, and I am not.
[And he will call it bravery and not foolishness, though there is some of that as well.]
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You make them sound like my friends, but you're much kinder than I am. Sometimes, Vox Machina does some very stupid things that backfire spectacularly on us, but we're resourceful enough to find a way out of it.
[She just hopes there isn't a day when that's not the case. They've all lost so much already and there's always the chance that they could lose more ahead.]
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[Save for a time or two. Mollymauk would not have died otherwise. But, then again, he thinks back to the empty grave. He isn't even sure what to think of that just yet either.]
I think, perhaps, I would like your friends.
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I think I would like your friends a well, but it is lucky for you that my brother is here and you will get to meet him.
[Hi, you've been adopted. Don't bother contacting any authorities. It won't do you any good. You belong to Vex now.]