April-May 2024 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

April-May 2024 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 also allowed to have in-game characters post to the TDM so long as they mark their top levels ‘Current Character.’

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]

Lost & Found . ★

Content Warnings: Forced Relocation, Forced Sharing, Potential Violence & Harm

New Star Children arrive in Wintermute. Not at the hot springs, the school, or anywhere else near civilization. They arrive in the middle of white, snowy nowhere. The good news is that Wintermute is no longer dark twenty-four seven. There is enough light to avoid crevasses, blocked up wells, and other dangerous features of the landscape. Further, no one is expected to figure out how to get out of there on their own.

Usually Thoth finds the lost travelers in the cold expanse of Wintermute. However, she's busy exploring the multiverse for new and interesting ideas for technology. Not to fret! She hasn't abandoned ye who've entered here. There's a new emergency lost and found network:

The Wandering Dog food carts are now open twenty-four seven! The dogs work in shifts, but the food remains as delicious as ever. When a Star Child gets lost in Wintermute, another Star Child will happen to be buying food from a Wandering Dog somewhere in Folkmore. One such lucky unlucky Star Child gets transported to the School of Thoth. Specifically, to where the mechanical sled dogs hang out. They receive a warm winter coat over whatever they were wearing and another one on hand for whoever they are rescuing. Then it's off across the snow! Don't worry, non-mushing experts, the dogs know what they're doing and lead the sled right to the designated lost Star Child.

The rescuee gets to lay in the sled for the ride back, wrapped up warm and cozy in their new winter coat (it may be spring, but it's always cold in Wintermute). The sled dogs bring Star Children back to the hot springs, so that they can warm up even more. Alternatively, Star Children can explore the Cutting Edge, the School of Thoth, or something else in Wintermute. However, the Star Children cannot part ways or leave Wintermute immediately.

The sled dogs, yes the whole team, will stay with the pair to enforce this. They may surround the pair like a pack, cuddle pile on top of them, or lay around the edges of a hot spring. No matter how long it takes to realize the dogs are doing this and that there's a reason for it, Star Children will eventually find instructions in one of the dogs' collars: Share something that other people have refused to listen to you about. Everyone ought to be listened to.

Only once both Star Children have shared something with each other will the dogs let them part ways and see, perhaps, the rest of Folkmore.

On the walk to Akhlut Station, Star Children will see plain weapons sticking out of the snow: swords, guns, knives. These are simple, non-magical practical weapons. Experienced Star Children may know to suspect such free offerings, but nothing immediately happens upon picking one up. However, once on the train, the train will be attacked by frost spirits. These icy spirits must either be hacked to pieces until they can no longer reform or melted with fire. Innocent passengers who didn't pick up a weapon may be forced to get involved, but the frost spirits will be most focused on those who picked up weapons.

• New Star Children arrive in remote areas of Wintermute.
• Star Children buying food from The Wandering Dog get teleported to the School of Thoth to rescue people with a team of sled dogs.
• Star Children get amazing new winter coats!
• Star Children cannot part ways until they share something others have refused to listen to! The dogs enforce this.
• Simple, non-magical weapons stick out of the snow on the way to the train station.
• Anyone who picks up one of those weapons will see their train get attacked by frost spirits.

No Dumb Ideas . ★

Content Warnings: Potential Forced Participation, Potential Harm

Thoth has been listening to any and all ideas people have had around science in the last few months. Whether they were shower thoughts or a discussion between scientific colleagues or anywhere in between, she's made her list and built every one as an experiment. On a human scale. A human test subject scale. Because every idea has merit. That's right: Thoth believes in you.

Posters saying Thoth Needs You! go up around Folkmore. They offer a reward for participating in an experiment. Simply tear off a piece of paper from the bottom of the poster, and at some point in the future, you're in. Now, there might be a little hiccup here or there. These posters are experimental too! So some Star Children who don't tear off a slip might get pulled into an experiment as well. (Who said Thirteen ought to recruit for her trials? Thoth listened… or she tried.) Oh well, at least it's all in the name of science!

Perhaps Star Children need to sing Baby It's Cold Outside to convince the other to stay (it really will be cold outside). Perhaps they have a choice of spinners, buttons, levers, or other devices to interact with. Perhaps they make their way through a maze. Perhaps they try a new contraption. Perhaps they even recognize their own idea come to life! There's a multitude of new tech to try, and it has not been safety tested.

Nothing will explode. Probably. Maybe. Okay, some experiments are definitely going to have explosions. How about pressing that button anyway and finding out if it's this one?

Once Star Children survive the experiment—and they will, Thoth may be a loose cannon of a scientist, but she's ensured that much—they will emerge from one of the School of Thoth's laboratories. Togo, the grey wolf mascot, waits on the other side with an item for each test subject: an item from home. This may even be a weapon or magical item.

No one is left to the cold to fend for themselves. One of the nearby classrooms has been set up as a first aid center. Dog spirits of all sizes, from the smallest Maltipoo spirit to the largest Great Dane spirit, staff a healing clinic and will treat any injuries Star Children received in the experiments (or already sported). They offer hot lemonade—lemon juice, molasses, and hot water—to everyone to warm their soul. Injured Star Children can find a corner to rest by themselves or company with which to discuss their experiments.

• Thoth has built experiments to bring Star Children’s ideas to life.
• Pick a paper tab off a Thoth Needs You! poster to participate. Or don’t. A mishap may bring Star Children there regardless.
• Do science! Be a human experiment! Maybe experience explosions!
• Togo, the Thoth mascot, will have an item from home for every Star Child who participates.
• Dog spirits man (dog?) a first aid center in a nearby classroom.

Comments

Lost & Found

[tooawesome]

One of the dogs, a non-pivotal one, looks different from the others. Out of puppyhood but very much still young, she has black curly hair and may be flying over the snow more than actively contributing to pulling the sled. Yet same as the mechanical sled dogs, she runs gleefully wherever the other dogs go. She nearly stumbles to a halt when the sled stops near someone in a suit.

While the sled dogs are ready to keep going, Alluka speaks aloud (as a dog), "Wow, I'm a bit tired. I'm just... going to... lie down a moment. I'll help you in one moment."

The black cocker spaniel curls up on the snow, where she transforms back into a five foot tall girl in a winter coat. A very tired tuckered out almost-fourteen year old.

[betteroffred]

There's no person on the sled. Quattro isn't going to question his good luck too much, at least until a tiny dog that looks very out of place speaks up.

And then curls up and turns into a child.

Quattro stares for several seconds, as there's no sense of danger even if something does feel extremely odd. This isn't the strangest thing that's ever happened to him, but it's a solid close second after the trip here in the first place.

"They look like they can pull the sled without you, why don't you lie down on it? I can help you, if you want," Quattro says, deciding that his best bet at the moment is to simply go along with this for now.

[tooawesome]

"The spirits said I could stand at the back of the sled and ride, but I wanted to run with them," Alluka explains sleepily. She reaches up toward the nice person offering to help her. She knows it's her job to help him, and she will. Sitting up simply feels like a lot a lot of effort.

"You're lost, right? Once we're both on the sled, they'll take us back."

See. Helpful.

[betteroffred]

The gesture of reaching to be picked up seems to be universal, at least. "My name is Quattro, and I am in fact very lost," He says as he picks up the girl. Quattro settles her on the sled and puts the extra coat on top of her. He'll be fine in his pilot suit for now.

"I'm glad they know the way, I'd hate to get us even more lost." It's not his best attempt at light-hearted humor, but he is trying. "It must snow a lot here if there are dog sleds."

[tooawesome]

It would be so easy to settle against him instead of the sled, but if Alluka does that it will take even longer to make him un-lost. So she only settles her head against his shoulder for the length of time it takes him to set her on the sled. The sled is cozy too, but a person is always better than no person. "I'm Alluka, and I've been here over nine months. It'll be my birthday this month."

She opens her eyes a little so she can see Quattro. It's not a very flattering view, the bottom of someone's chin, but it makes her feel good to see the person she's helping. "We're in Wintermute. It's always snowy here. It's no longer dark all the time now. Other than that, you have to go to another region to see real seasons."

Alluka smiles at him.

[betteroffred]

"It's nice to meet you, miss Alluka, and happy early birthday," Quattro says. Nine months can sometimes feel like a very long time. He can't help but wonder how quickly he'll find time passing here. He assumes that 'dark all the time' has to do with this place being close to one pole or the other and thus having longer days or nights accordingly.

"I see. It was about to be spring where I came from, is that true here as well?" Quattro has spent enough time on Earth to see seasons come and go, but never in places that had much of a dramatic change between seasons except the amount of rain that falls.

[tooawesome]

The dogs run along, and part of Alluka wishes she were running with them. She wouldn't have any breath left over to talk with Quattro, however, so she's content to snuggle under the warm winter quilt and let her tired limbs rest. "Thank you. I'm happy to come rescue you, Quattro. Anytime!"

She's not surprised time might be a little different for Quattro. It'd be funnier if it were always the same for everyone. Thirteen wouldn't limit herself like that. "It's been spring for a month already," Alluka says, "I was lucky. It was summer when I came from and summer here when I arrived."

Her stomach growls, and Alluka finds her spoon. "Are you hungry? I can summon some food for us."

[betteroffred]

As far as rescues go, Quattro has to give her points for promptness and effectiveness, but he hopes he won't need to be rescued again. Surely he's met his quota for a few years now.

"That's very kind of you, but I'm not hungry," Quattro says, curious about how she's going to use her spoon to summon food. The basic laws of reality are very different here in ways that will take some getting used to, even for him.

[tooawesome]

Alluka nods. He wasn't the one getting food when he was whisked away somewhere new then. It's okay, though, because Alluka always carries her spoon and at least a little water on her. She pulls her knees up to create a little area safe from the wind, almost a cave with the winter coat atop her. She pours a tiny amount of water into the cap and holds the water bottle between her legs so she doesn't spill more on her. Then she holds her spoon above it and summons...

A plate of onigiri. A bowl might have been better, but Alluka didn't think of that. "I could make these at home, but... a sled isn't the best place to make food." Also she might need a meal before she has the energy to make a meal. It shouldn't work that way.

[betteroffred]

Watching a bottle cap of water turn into a plate of food is quite a spectacle. That would certainly solve a lot of problems where he's from.

"I'm sure the ones you make at home are excellent," Quattro says. He can't remember the last time he had a home cooked meal.

[tooawesome]

Alluka bites half the onigiri immediately and chews, mouth too full to say anything. These onirigi are perfectly shaped and yum yum yummy. They taste the same as onigiri that people make, but it is different, somehow. She prefers homemade ones. It's still very good. She's very hungry.

"I've gotten very good at it," Alluka says with confidence, once her mouth isn't full. "They started out lopsided and funny shaped, but I've done it a lot. It's fun to make a lot and share them." People always need food. It's one of the givens in the world, along with needing somewhere to sleep. And clothes.

"What are you good at?"

[betteroffred]

"Even cooking takes practice. I'm a pilot, so I'm pretty good at flying. I'm not decent at fencing or horseback riding either," Quattro says. He has very high standards of what has to be achieved to be 'good' at something, standards that a normal person would probably find absurd.

"I've done a lot of things over the years that I'm merely 'okay' at."

[tooawesome]

"Thankfully we eat every day, so there's plenty of practice to get," Alluka muses. She considers what he talks about. They sound very cultured. Maybe something a bit fancy. Except he only calls himself good at flying. It makes her want to go horseback riding with him. To see for herself.

"Oh, yes," Alluka agrees, "Me too. Plus, I'm pretty sure I'm only okay at some of my subjects at school. That's okay. I don't have to be the best at math."

[betteroffred]

"I've never looked at it like that. Stopping to eat three meals a day is a little inconvenient, but you do have plenty of chances to practice making food," Quattro says, considering the fact that eating every day does indeed mean people get to practice making food every day.

"I did quite well in school, but I'm sure many of my classmates went on to study things far beyond what I know. As long as you know what you need, we don't all need to be scholars, after all. But math is a lot like cooking. It takes practice."

[tooawesome]

Alluka beams up at Quattro. Nanika doesn't have time to make all three meals a day for them. Plus she likes making food best when it's shared with other people. Desserts are like that. They're to be shared. They're joy. "There are opportunities everywhere."

No one has drowned out her optimism.

She sighs. "It's so disconnected from anything. All numbers. No people. I prefer things with people involved like literature or even history. Though history is a little weird here since there's so many histories from all the worlds, not one big history everyone shares. It makes it interesting though, to see what's different and how things went differently in various worlds!" Alluka gets more enthusiastic again. "I can't do that with my world's history. It seems different from everyone else's, but comparing the similar worlds is really really interesting. You get to see how things could have gone differently!"