april first tfln

[folkie]

1 April Edition TFLN

Welcome to Folkmore's Texts From Last Night meme, April Fools edition! See, Thoth learned about April Fools from reading Chaucer but enjoys that it's an ongoing thing. Thoth's switched things up. Initial messages (aka top levels)—all set April 1st ICly—maaaaay go to the wrong person! So not all hell breaks loose, replies carry forward with whoever you've reached, but you might be texting your innermost intoxicated or sleep deprived secret to someone you don't even know.

If you'd like to opt out of misfires, please include this in your top level (by prompt or overall). Otherwise, enjoy indulging Thoth's amusement and building some new CR.

This meme can be used as a branch off from our Test Drive Memes and be used as game canon or just for casual fun in the setting! You do not need to be in our game or be invited to play on our TFLN. This can be a great way to meet current players for future invites, get a feel for the setting, or just have some fun.

This can be used for samples on our applications and as spoons for players accepted into the game.

TFLN Generator
(exact use is not required, you can modify them for your character, you can use other sources/random text generators/shower thoughts!)

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[uncrownedawn]

[ And Diluc, predictably, orders apple and grape juice. This he even pays for— both his and Kaeya’s drinks, by taking out his spoon. ]

Mm… well, I hope I don’t disappoint.

[ The idea of learning to shift into a dragon, he has to admit, feels rather daunting. It isn’t like using his Vision, or wielding a sword. This is something else entirely. He can’t even imagine undoing the very fibers of his being to rearrange themselves into a new shape. He knows Kaeya wants him to learn and get his footing as soon as possible so he can be safe and Diluc wants to as well, in order to assuage his fears, but he has to be realistic: shape-shifting successfully and easily does not strike him as something mastered in a day. ]

We’ll see.

[shadowsincryo]

You won’t. Today is to get used to finding the magic within it. That’s the first step and it will take time to get used to that part.

[He is a realist. And more importantly he has the ability to gauge something. As a captain and a teacher.]

Let’s go. I’ll fly us out there. [It won’t take long to get everything packed away in a basket. He can carry Diluc and the basket both.]

[uncrownedawn]

Hmm.

[ Diluc cocks an eyebrow at Kaeya mentioning flying again. ]

I am beginning to think you enjoy carting me around. Is this my comeuppance for all those times I lugged you around in our childhood?

[shadowsincryo]

[He laughs. He purchases the basket for their goods and carefully packs them away inside.] It does have that feel doesn’t it?

[Diluc did drag him places when they were kids. He was bright eyed and eager to explore with a friend. He makes sure the basket is good and securely bound before he says,] A bit. But, I think my reasons are the same as yours. I’m just enjoying having you here and showing you the wide world I’ve been exploring.

[uncrownedawn]

[ Diluc pauses in his steps at that. It’s a sweet sentiment. Sweeter words than he’s heard pass Kaeya’s lips in quite a while. And so openly sincere and honest. Kaeya really has changed. He’s grown.

He takes the basket from Kaeya, then takes his hand and guides him away from the shops so he can have more space for his shift. He’s still as ridiculously strong as ever and hardly seems to notice how heavy the basket is. ]

[shadowsincryo]

[The space is enough for his scale created form. He takes the scale out with his free hand. It is a good way to show Diluc the first glimpse of the magic within the scale.

He kisses the back of Diluc’s knuckles and lets go of his hand.] So, I don’t always have to use Dvalin as a frame to shift. I have a different frame I can use from all the memories of other lives.

I can make a smaller version on my own. But for the full size? The scale is needed.

[He takes a step back as he focuses on the magic in the scale. He lets it pour out and into him. Icy flames spill out of his mouth and flood the space. Kaeya is no where to be seen but the flames are all around Diluc. They twist into a storm of fire that goes up and up, until a massive western styled dragon body can be seen as the flames condense. He towers over head. His front paw is as large as a small building. His scales seem carved from ice. Sleek, graceful. He is built for speed and magic. His wings spread wide, refracting the light through the seemingly delicate panes of ice that shape them. His horns glow with a soft pale blue light as do the ridges of his spine and tip of his tail. Icy breath spills from his mouth in a puff of cold.

He lifts his hand and turns it, presenting it as a platform for Diluc. His voice is deeper, resonating with power.] Don’t worry, your flames can’t melt the Northern Star.

[The magic filling the air feels ancient. Unmistakably draconic but so old it feels like walking on Dragonspine. Kaeya laughs and the sound is a deep rumble. He possessively curls his vast body around Diluc.] The first step with the scale is finding the draconic magic that is so unlike ours. You let the scale be your vision.

[uncrownedawn]

[ Diluc never having been much of a fan of Dragonspine excursions, he shivers as the dragon magic turns the air cold and he pulls his coat around himself tightly with his free hand. He scoffs a little in response to Kaeya’s words, but he doesn’t protest how his dragon form curls around him, much like Kaeya’s lupine tail does when they’re close. He can feel the bit of possessiveness and he has to admit — at least privately to himself — that he finds something comforting about it.

He carefully steps up onto the dragon’s palm. ]

A bit dramatic, don’t you think? Even basic pyro energy can’t melt everything on Dragonspine.

[shadowsincryo]

Yours is anything but basic. [The hand closes around him. He arranges his clawed fingers like a safety cage. His wings open wide and he takes to the sky. The world flashes by.

He holds his hand close to his scaled chest and climbs higher. He doesn’t need to be too high. Their destination isn’t too terribly far. He wings his way towards the forest. He glides on his large wings with a hum and looks down at Diluc.]

And if I wasn’t dramatic you would think I was sick. [He circles a large clearing and descends. His landing is perfect with only a slight bump. He lowers his hand and opens it.]

[uncrownedawn]

[ Diluc is familiar with this particular mode of transportation when it comes to traveling by dragon, so he is a little nervous about the smaller space. He can lean over and see the ground far below like this which is definitely different. Like gliding from the tallest cliffs in Liyue but not in control of the destination or movement. He hangs on tightly to the basket to keep it from rolling away and thinks about how Kaeya praises his pyro energy, resisting the impulse to deny it. Best to just take the compliment, lest Kaeya double down by drowning him in more.

Once they land, he sighs with relief and hops down from Kaeya’s large dragon hand. ]

That’s true. If you were less dramatic, I’d consider your heart wasn’t in it.

[ He looks up at the massive ice dragon. Did he call himself the North Star earlier? Well, Diluc doesn’t know about stars, but the sunlight gleaming off his icy scales like this makes him look as though he’s made of crystal. It’s beautiful, the lightplay and shadows. ]

How long did it take you to master this transformation?

[shadowsincryo]

…to master using the scale took months. This form is from my memories of another life. [He looks up at the sky. His brow furrows. He nods and reverts, once again a man. He tucks the scale into his inner coat pocket.]

It took him three years after he hatched to be able to freely shift. [Hatched. The other him was born a dragon. It can be pretty confusing having memories of being other than human. He walks over to a fallen log and sits down on it.]

Some of my forms are from those other lives. And some are from home. I avoid being a crystal fly but I can do it.

[uncrownedawn]

[ Diluc hums thoughtfully, quietly before he follows Kaeya to the log. ]

Th is is the second time you have mentioned “other lives”. I still don’t quite understand what that means.

[shadowsincryo]

One of the trials the Fox put us through exposed us to countless possible lives. Other versions of us. [Kaeya says as leans back on the log. It is an old sturdy thing that will handle their weight.]

We woke up in different realities with a history to match it. …reality is made of countless threads each created from a series of decisions of the inhabitants of that timeline. It’s like a bunch of chess matches all occurring at once of the same game. Or the same pieces, those are the ones where the people are the same but the history is different from other threads.

Mind you I didn’t see this until I lived the life of a seer. And at the end when the fox briefly linked us to all the other versions of ourselves. After that…it was hard to feel grounded in this reality for a while.

Sometimes I feel thousands of years old and yet young at the same time. I lose myself a lot less. It helps in the thread I was born in I was not born a seer. That messes you up, Diluc. More than you would think it would.

[He stares straight ahead. He shakes his head once.] The memories of those other selves have faded a bit with time but they’re all there.

[uncrownedawn]

[ The explanation makes Diluc frown and furrow his brow. The more he hears, the more he hates that damned Fox. He doesn’t speak as Kaeya goes on though, not even when it’s hard for him. Now he begins to see more clearly the other reasons Kaeya looks so tired here sometimes instead of his usual sparkling self. What did he see…? What sort of lives did he find himself inside? Does he mourn the loss of any of them still?

It’s one of those conversations that leave Diluc with more questions than answers— questions he doesn’t know how to ask or know if it’s truly okay to ask. He knows Kaeya well enough to know that Kaeya would find it difficult to place a boundary with him and he doesn’t want to force him into more uncomfortable positions. And yet he can’t stop wondering…

Diluc chews on his lower lip as he also looks away. No, it is best not to ask the hard questions. If Kaeya remembers another version of him, surely he would miss that version and Diluc doesn’t want to compete with himself from another life. He might not be able to compare with a him who isn’t so emotionally damaged. Best not to make him think of any of it. ]

So… one of them was a dragon. And he hatched from an egg. And that’s him grown up. Hm.

[ He distracts himself from the questions swirling in his mind by opening the basket and beginning to set up their little picnic. ]

Does that mean if I try to use the scale, I’ll turn into a red version of Dvalin? I haven’t seen any other dragons in person.

[shadowsincryo]

I don’t know. The scale doesn’t operate by that kind of rule. It is a focus for power. You accept the draconic power and weave your own into it.

[He takes the scale back out and turns it in his fingers.] It operates differently for different people. Familiars don’t have a commonality in their shifts either. We are all on personal journeys to find what does.

In short, focus on weaving the magics within and what comes of it might not be Dvalin. I don’t always become the Northern Star. I can choose other shifts from the scale. But I’m most comfortable with that one.

I have another from that life I could take but it isn’t mine.

[uncrownedawn]

[ Diluc hums thoughtfully as he finishes setting their picnic out. He sits on the blanket that came with the basket, leaning back against the log and still turning what Kaeya has shared with him over in his mind. ]

I’ve been… practicing, I suppose you could call it. I still find it difficult to imagine myself in any other body besides this one. Still no wings.

[shadowsincryo]

[He slips down to sit on the blanket. He lays the scale down before him. He wraps his hand around it. He nods.]

What works for your manifestations might not be the same as mine.

[He reaches for Diluc’s hand and lays the golden dragon scale into it.]

…lay out what your concerns are for me. About doing this or the wings. Whichever you like.

[His voice is soft but it is his relaxed business voice. He has slid into teacher today.]

We’ll figure this out.

[uncrownedawn]

[ Diluc takes the scale from Kaeya and sighs, looking down at it. He can sense the subtle shift in the other man’s tone and attitude, furrowing his brow and looking at the scale. He holds it up to the sunlight. ]

They aren’t concerns… so much as I just… find it difficult to imagine.

[ He chuckles softly, wryly. ]

Perhaps it has been too long since I went gliding.

[shadowsincryo]

Prehaps. Or this is all very far outside of our usual. [The scale catches the light. The metallic sheen of the scale is quite like holding a shell to the sky.

Kaeya watches him.] When I first shifted. It was a strange new world. It reminded me of you leading me down to the stream for the first time. Remember that?

[uncrownedawn]

[ The mention of the memory makes Diluc lower the scale and look back at Kaeya for a moment in surprise. He almost… didn’t expect the other man to have that memory still. ]

…You acted as though you had never seen running water before. You were fascinated by everything. You loved the calla lilies.

[shadowsincryo]

And now you know why. [It was new. All of it was new. Streams running freely where he could see. A wide open sky that isn’t dangerous.] I remember all of it.

I caught on to Teyvatian fast because I was taught to write and speak it from the moment I could speak. Father must have been planning to put me in Mond long before I was born.

[uncrownedawn]

[ Much like that time on Golden Apple Archipelago, Diluc finds great comfort in the confirmation that their shared childhood of memories is still held sacred by Kaeya too. ”I remember all of it” has an unexpectedly highly emotional impact on Diluc; his heart swells and he has to look away from Kaeya before he gets too embarrassingly emotional. But his fingers inch towards Kaeya’s hand on the blanket. ]

I’m… glad he did. I mean— If you were going to be put anywhere, I’m glad it was with us.

[shadowsincryo]

[He gently covers Diluc’s hand with his.] Me too. Now, back to the scale. For you, it’s about finding the magic and how it responds to you.

That’s first. Each time you try, I’ll show you one of my go-to shifts. I have several so test and feel out the scale as you please.

[uncrownedawn]

[ Diluc should be focusing on trying to use the scale, but instead he’s looking down at their touching hands. He swallows thickly and turns his hand so he can wind their fingers together, bringing Kaeya’s hand to his lips to sweetly, slowly kiss his fingertips. ]

How about we eat first, then get to work? I just want to spend some… good alone time with you.

[ Which is Diluc’s awkward, shy way of saying he wants to celebrate their first kiss and just bask a little in Kaeya’s company. ]

[shadowsincryo]

I would never say no to that. [His face is red. The easy way Diluc turns on the affection while they’re alone is undoing him. He leans into him.

His tail curls around him and he kisses Diluc’s cheek.] We can eat in a moment. I like this moment with you.

[uncrownedawn]

[ Diluc was fine until that kiss to the cheek, the gesture unexpected despite being gently affectionate himself. He flushes a bright red, his heart beating fast in response to Kaeya’s sudden turn from his focused, determined teacher to his adorable, loving date. Diluc takes a moment to fight through his little bout of shyness. Kaeya might think it’s easy for him, but the truth is, he feels awkward and out of his depth, largely driven forward by his attraction to Kaeya and Kaeya subtly leading him. He puts an arm around his shoulders, welcoming him close, his hand going to rub one of his ears. ]

I can see that. You’re smiling.

[ He glances at Kaeya’s handsome face, the glow in his cheeks making him even more beautiful. Diluc feels so helplessly overwhelmed. He raises his hand and hesitates a little before he finds the courage to run Kaeya’s long sleek ponytail through his fingers. ]

You’ve grown out your so much.