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folkmore mod ([personal profile] folkie) wrote in [community profile] folkmeme2024-08-13 07:55 am
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August-September 2024 Test Drive Meme

August-September 2024 TDM
Introduction

[ TDM Questions β˜… Jump to Comments β˜… Full Navigation ]

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 β€˜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 a canon item from home, 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 β˜… Prompt Two]

Scavengers Survive . β˜…
Content Warnings: Potential Wilderness Survival, Potential Death

New Star Children arrive in Amrita Academy, the largest school in Folkmore. They might arrive in the medical wing, or they could arrive in areas of the school that don't look like a school at all: forests with animals to hunt or gather, including for their medicinal properties; rocky crags with climbing routes; fields full of growing grains; meadows with sheep covered in soft wool; lakes and rivers with unusual denizens. It's like a miniature of Folkmore all in one school.

A fox with a clipped ear and a few scars greets each Star Child upon arrival. She explains that while things can be summoned with Lore, the best survivors learn to scavenge and to find what they need. New Star Children haven't earned much Lore yet, so that surely applies to them double. In fact, as befits a survival school, there are items that will help Star Children survive hidden all around and immediately outside the school. Star Children are directed to make a list on their Relic of everything they think they need to survive. Once made, the list cannot be changed. They will be more likely to find those items than others (though it will not be impossible).

Race, jog, or stroll around the expansive school in search of these items: clothes, bags, first aid kits, tents, survival supplies, etc. They might be harder to find than expected as they will be miniature and in little cubes aka survival squares (a misnomer). These cubes may be tucked away above, below, beside, or inside something. They also may float against a rock face or in the air among tree branches. The most likely locations are those densest in Lore. The longer Star Children explore, the more they will realize that these cubes are best and most easily obtained by working together. In fact, they will try to dodge and avoid the grip of a Star Child more than ten feet away from any other Star Child. Perhaps that's because two Star Children interacting are creating Lore and a Lore dense location? Once two Star Children touch the cube at the same time, the cube will disappear, and the item inside will grow to full size. Congratulations on being one step closer to survival. Remember to share.

Come mid-September, few cubes will remain inside the school. Star Children will have to check the perimeter of the school to find more survival squares. That task grows exponentially harder as the cubes are in the molasses-thick moat of concentrated Lore surrounding the school. Should anyone dip their spoon in the moat, in the Lorasses if you will, they will find that it tastes sweet, a rich spicy sweetness. Amazing! Less amazing? It is impossible to get past the moat of Lorasses. No matter how strong a swimmer or oarsman, it is impossible to make headway through or atop the Lorasses. Anyone attempting to fly across the moat will find themselves slapped by a giant sticky slappy hand rising like a goliath from the depths with perfect aim. Star Children can find themselves slapped anywhere from the shore to the center of the school. Star Children are free to get creative with ways to dig the survival squares out of the Lorasses, but beware! They'll have difficulty freeing themselves on their own from the sticky substance, should they fall in.

Since Star Children are likely to find themselves in sticky situations quite literally, they may be pleased to know that Amrita Academy has showers available for use. Unfortunately, due to one student's experiment, the shampoo is all made of beer. That's right, beer. It's good for one's hair! Or so the study should demonstrate. Be sure to fill out a feedback card outside the locker rooms.

  • All new Star Children arrive in Amrita Academy.
  • Star Children are greeted by a fox who prompts them to write a list of what they need to survive. These lists cannot be changed once made.
  • Star Children search for tiny cubes with survival supplies, especially ones on their lists.
  • Star Children must work together to catch & open the cubes.
  • Come mid-September, Amrita Academy is surrounded by a Lore-rich molasses moatβ€”Lorasses. Thou shalt not pass.
  • Once the moat arrives, most cubes are in the moat. Shower to get clean afterward with beer for shampoo.
This is Our Get Along Shirt . β˜…
Content Warnings: Forced Close Contact, Coerced Behavior

It can be stressful to arrive in a new place among strangers and strange things. It can be even more stressful, sometimes, to be among people one knows. The fact remains that in Folkmore, no one is an island. The Shattered Spoon Shrine is a testament to that. Interact or perish. Those interactions usually don't even have to be positive. An emotionally charged argument generates Lore same as a touching reunion. However, Amrita's iteration has taken charge of Folkmore this month. She values cooperation and connection.

What does this mean for Star Children? It's time to get along.

When Star Children fightβ€”physically, vocally, emotionallyβ€”they get stuck together in a magical t-shirt. This plain white t-shirt has 'This is our get along shirt' written on it on both sides, one in each Star Child's handwriting. (If a Star Child does not have handwriting, Thirteen will invent a handwriting she feels best represents them). The shirt works exactly as written on the tin. Until the two Star Children can get along, they will be stuck together in the shirt. Getting along can look a few different ways. It could be working through the reason they were fighting. It could be cooperating to accomplish something else. It could be helping someone else together. It could be large or small. Somehow, Star Children will have to get along to accomplish something.

The shirt will disappear, leaving them standing next to each other, only to reappear duplicated in each of their hands, perfectly sized to fit each individual. Should they so choose, either can be used for a repeat performance, with both of them trapped inside again. While the same condition will applyβ€”they must get along to get out of the shirtβ€”the shirt will now make it easier for them to work it out. Note: only the two people who originally wore the shirt can put it back on. No one else can wear these shirts.

One time only, a Star Child's cooperative escape will have an additional prize: their souvenir t-shirt will be wrapped around an item from either their home universe or their partner's. That's right, getting along can get a Star Child something from another universe.

  • When Star Children get in a fight of any kind, not just physical, they get stuck together in a magical t-shirt.
  • The shirt says β€œThis is our get along shirt” front and back in characters’ own handwriting (or imagined handwriting).
  • As written on the tin, Star Children are stuck until they figure out how to get along
  • When they separate, both partners will get a copy of the t-shirt that fits them. They can choose to get back into said t-shirt together to figure out how to get along easier in the future.
  • One time only, Star Children receive an item from their home universe or their partner’s.
rosae: (πŸŽπŸπŸ’)

[personal profile] rosae 2024-09-11 02:32 pm (UTC)(link)
( Rose pulls her hands into her lap as she sits there, head tilted up to look at the girl who remains standing. She can feel her body needing to rest, a certain exhaustion weighing inwards, but it refuses to relax. Her shoulders stay drawn tense, like she's just waiting to spring up again.

She listens attentively to the younger woman, focus locked on. People showing up everywhere... It sounds very different from Trench, where newcomers always washed up on the beach. It made it easier, in ways, to look for people who were lost. If something happened to them... if they went home or died, they'd wash back up on those black sands.

So to learn that here, people could show up anywhere makes it all seem that much bigger. Rose swallows as she processes this, a certain unease building; it certainly sounds like this place isn't exactly fully safe.
)

I... ( She hesitates at the question. The last thing she wants is to let herself crumble, she needs to get back up, resume the search for her daughter, but she finds herself lowering her head for a moment, running one hand back over her face. )

I just came from another strange world. And before there... another one. ( A soft, humourless smile as she lowers her hand back down to her lap. )

You're from somewhere else, too? How long have you been here?
rosae: ( 𝑬𝑫𝑰𝑻𝑬𝑫 𝑩𝒀 𝑹𝑢𝑺𝑨𝑬 ) (Default)

[personal profile] rosae 2024-09-11 02:39 pm (UTC)(link)
( The question makes her heart hitch, and she nods, throat suddenly feeling tight. She's lost her, again. She knows back home, she's with Sharon β€” she'd seen that when the fox brought her here. But what about her daughter from Trench?

And no matter what, how can she exist without Sharon with her, someway and somehow?
)

It's... a little complicated, I suppose. ( She manages to smile a little. ) She's my daughter β€” she's nine years old. But before here... I was brought to another world, and there was a version of her there that was eighteen.

That was the last place I saw her. I was leaving that world, and then I... I came here. So I don't know for sure if she's here too, but... if there's a chance she is, I have to find her.
rosae: ( 𝑬𝑫𝑰𝑻𝑬𝑫 𝑩𝒀 𝑹𝑢𝑺𝑨𝑬 ) (Default)

[personal profile] rosae 2024-09-11 02:47 pm (UTC)(link)
( The words are an immediate relief. Safer than Trench β€” safer than other worlds. It certainly looks much less harrowing than the places she's known before here, though her heart can't truly rest until she sees Sharon before he very eyes.

But hearing that she's here is... it's everything. And even encountering someone else from Trench is an immense relief; she's so happy to see that Sansa is unharmed. She keeps her grasp entwined with the younger woman's, watching that cube float down, as though drawn right to their joined hands.
)

Trials? Is that what this is? I was told to look for these items by another fox.

( Once the cube is close enough that they could both touch it, Rose gently reaches with both of their hands to find it β€” and amazingly, there it stays. )
rosae: ( 𝑬𝑫𝑰𝑻𝑬𝑫 𝑩𝒀 𝑹𝑢𝑺𝑨𝑬 ) (Default)

[personal profile] rosae 2024-09-11 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
( A year. She must be like Rose, then β€” brought to this place, not a native to it. A year is.... a long time to imagine being in some foreign world, but it wouldn't be her first time; Trench was her home for nearly that long.

(To think of it as home is a strange concept, one she had never really entertained while she was there, but more some deep-down knowledge that she didn't question at all. It was home because Sharon was with her. Anywhere would be. And to be without her... Her heart could never be at home without her daughter.)

She tries to push through the persistent ache in her chest, to concentrate on this new stranger, learn what she might be able to from her.
)

I think so β€” I was told to list items I needed to survive, and go looking for them. But so far, all I've found is... that.

( She looks upwards at the thing again, trying to stave the frustration; it's slowing her down. She could be spending this time searching for Sharon. Instead, she's playing treasure hunt for something that clearly won't allow itself to be snagged by either woman. )

It seems more like a cruel trick to me. Is she... that Fox, always like this?
yesverysad: (loki021)

[personal profile] yesverysad 2024-09-11 03:32 pm (UTC)(link)
"I think I can manage to keep that." If not, this situation gets even more awkward but Loki doesn't want to think about that. He keeps a strong hold on the other man and eventually gets out of the sticky molasses, collapsing on the ground.

"Your eyes are safe," Loki says, a little out of breath. "I only lost the trousers, not the rest."

Loki tries to magic the molasses away and fails. "This...is not coming off."
rosae: ( 𝑬𝑫𝑰𝑻𝑬𝑫 𝑩𝒀 𝑹𝑢𝑺𝑨𝑬 ) (Default)

[personal profile] rosae 2024-09-11 03:44 pm (UTC)(link)
( Serial number? It might not be exactly what you're thinking, Rose... )

Were you military, before here?

I'm not injured, just a little shaken up. Amrita Hospital though, got it. Maybe I can find some kind of a map around here.


( All of this is immensely helpful information; now she can start trying to find her way around. )

No cultists. Already it sounds like a dream in comparison.

( She manages a little smile, even if unseen. She is so tired of cultists. )

Star children... are there a lot of people like us here? This is the norm?
yesverysad: (loki068)

[personal profile] yesverysad 2024-09-11 04:37 pm (UTC)(link)
"Loki," he offers in exchange. "And no, I'm not injured." He tries magic to get the stickiness off him and it...simply does not work.

"My magic doesn't clear this away. It's obvious they have some other way I intend to get clean from this nonsense."
yesverysad: (loki071)

[personal profile] yesverysad 2024-09-11 04:40 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm not the best at teaching but you...visualize it first," Loki says, trying to explain how he does such a thing. He never imagined doing that to Steve Rogers but there's a first time for everything.

"Every little fiber, every little strand. Then you start thinking about it unraveling just as if you were able to do it with your own hands. Does that make sense?"
unphase: (in your eyes I saw the future)

[personal profile] unphase 2024-09-11 05:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[Tinya has to stifle a sob as well, but it's one of joy and happiness for her dear friend]

That's wonderful! So did Sharon!
Myself as well, but that's not important.
I'm so glad you're here, Sharon's going to be so happy to see you again!
Especially since both of you remember Trench.


[Trench was a bond that couldn't be broken amongst those who'd been there. it was often nightmarish in its own ways, but. well, she'd call it survivable, but she'd died there twice]
donetodeath: (An American in Paris)

(CW: accidental self-deletion implied)

[personal profile] donetodeath 2024-09-11 05:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"Really? Because I'm--I'm so confused," she admitted, looking down at her lap. She was trying to not acknowledge her new wing arms, but she could still see them out of the corners of her eyes and they were terrifying. What did it mean about what she'd done and everything she'd thought she saw?

And there was the worry that Lily or Tomas would follow her here. She didn't know what she'd do if they did. Lily was an enigma, one which had fascinated and frightened Nina in equal measures and Tomas...she could still hear him asking what she did over and over again as the lights blinded her.

Nina looks startled at the other young woman's kindness and even more so after being told they were beautiful. "...you think so? Really?" All she'd ever wanted to be was perfect and beauty was part of that. "May I, ah. Ask how you've been changed?" She didn't want to offend, but she felt like she had to know. To know she wasn't alone.
wewearpink: (you know that I adore you)

[personal profile] wewearpink 2024-09-11 06:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Lila can't help being exuberant. She'd tried to repress it back home after being hailed as the one who could solve the Really Quite Serious trouble everyone was in, act dignified and somber, but that just wasn't her. It was far easier to slip back into the role of the talkative gadfly she'd been at her core.

Not everyone had a Harrowing which was both so notable it had to be recorded and so weird she was told to never speak of it again. Which had been annoying, it was hilarious! And the looks on everyone's faces, especially the Templars. Any occasion she could tweak the nose of a Templar, she'd taken.

Probably why she'd leaned so heavily on Leliana and Josephine's advice over Cullen's.

Harvest festivals~~ They were probably on the verge of one now. Or on the verge of more stupid Thirteen games. Or both?

And at her name, Lila's smile only goes wider and she nods enthusiastically. "That's me! Been here ages, it's frustrating, when did you come from? Have you had any luck finding Solas?" She needed to know the latter in particular. She'd sworn to find him and she didn't want to go back on her word. At the same time, it seemed nearly hopeless given that Solas apparently had agents everywhere.

Maybe Leliana could swing that and increase her web of spies when she wasn't busy doing Divine-y things?
fistofvengeance: (Stare)

[personal profile] fistofvengeance 2024-09-11 06:43 pm (UTC)(link)
The answer to the question is complicated for several reasons, but that doesn't mean he'll avoid it. He just needs to boil it down into the most relevant facts somehow. Tricky assignment, especially for someone who's not the best with words, but he tries anyway.

"Nah. I've got a home waitin' for me. Or at least, I did when I first got here," he says. "Time keeps movin' back home while we're here, so I dunno what it's like now, but... Part of us stays behind when we follow the Fox. So technically I guess you could say I never left home. We're meant to rejoin that part of ourselves, but it's not really our decision when to do that."
magike: (Default)

[personal profile] magike 2024-09-11 07:27 pm (UTC)(link)
That's likely the intention.

( given that this realm was now filled by people who had been brought here it was either intentional that it felt different or this realm really just was that different to each of theirs. or at least those of the people she'd spoken to )

This place is filled with magic, some of it different to the magic I'm already familiar with. ( and much allowing her own to work as intended ) Did you know of magic before?
reloves: (β™₯ wink at your sweetheart)

[personal profile] reloves 2024-09-11 07:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Oh, it's.. kind of like receiving a letter? Maybe this person has never communicated in this sort of way before, huh. It's kind of a novel idea to Minako, especially with how long it's been since she was back in the 90s and without communication devices like these.. ]

Don't worry, Mickey! You don't have to write all formally to me. You can only write what you want to say, it's fine!

I don't think I've seen a lot of talking animals here though. I know a talking bird, but he's definitely not a duck. I'm sorry to say this, but.. it's possible that your friends might not be here.
[ It's often the case, after all. It took a literal year for some of Minako's friends to shpw up in this place, and she knows others don't have anyone at all from home here whatsoever. ]
velocityraptor: Credit recadreuse (Hawks 21)

[personal profile] velocityraptor 2024-09-11 08:07 pm (UTC)(link)
"Busy." Hawks answers. He hasn't removed his gloves, he never does in view of others and he continues to chow down hungrily.

"I was working on more than one thing at once so with multiple jobs in the air, didn't give me enough time to sit and grab a meal. I live on coffee though."

He doesn't sleep much.
velocityraptor: Credit recadreuse (pic#17383431)

[personal profile] velocityraptor 2024-09-11 08:09 pm (UTC)(link)
"Sure, sure." Hawks smiles, he has no idea about the state of the showers, but at that, he dusts himself on.

"In the school right? See you later!"

He waves a little bit as he turns to go inside. Whether he finds Izuku or not he'll be getting the lorasses out of his wings.
velocityraptor: Credit recadreuse (Hawks 22)

[personal profile] velocityraptor 2024-09-11 08:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"Good." Hawks says easily, because he doesn't want him to be hurt.

"There is, there's a communal shower inside that you can use."
velocityraptor: (pic#17389677)

[personal profile] velocityraptor 2024-09-11 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He didn't mean to hit a sore point, Hawks was only trying to help, but he knows as much as anyone that some people have sore points that can't be easily seen. ]

I see... I definitely haven't seen any children younger than their teenage years. I'd be happy to circle around again and do my best.
souris_keteer: (Mikkel)

[personal profile] souris_keteer 2024-09-11 08:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He doesn't? He's rather relieved - it does feel better to 'talk normally'!

But... if talking animals weren't here, what else would there be? What did that make her? It seems rather rude to ask, even if he's so very very very curious... ]


Thanks for letting me know, Miss Goddessoflove.

[ ... he has a good feeling that's not her real name, but hasn't quite grasped what usernames are yet either. ]

I'll still keep an eye out for them anyway. We're never apart for too long. And if what that fox was saying was right, why, they'll want them even more than me! My friends are super amazing and legendary in their own right! Goofy's full of great ideas, and Donald's super brave, and Pluto's the most loyal pup you'll ever meet!
culver: goodjobself @ dw (tik tok)

[personal profile] culver 2024-09-11 11:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Not so bad is about as glowing of a compliment as she'd get out of a guy like this, Nill thinks. And he isn't the first person she's met who appreciates that she's mute. She gives him another deadpan look, and pauses for just long enough where it's clear that she's considering whether or not to acquiesce.

But in the end, Nill is trying to finish this task just like everyone else, and she fishes a piece of paper from one of her overalls pockets and holds it out towards him. The handwriting is neat and precise, and several items are already checked off. Cloak isn't on it, of course, but she doesn't seem inclined to give up the one they'd found first, especially since they've found a second one now.

Nill makes a gesture with her free hand, indicating that she wants to see his list, too.
demonicbeauty: (Flowers)

[personal profile] demonicbeauty 2024-09-12 12:49 am (UTC)(link)
The downside of trying to live an open life was that when people asked Ariadne questions about herself, she felt obligated to answer them. Even while every fiber of her being screamed at her to change the subject.

It was a balance she was still working to achieve.

But Nina had asked. So Ariadne scooted back a few inches, before opening up her own wings.

Like Nina's, they were black, although they came out of her back, rather than along her harms. The way the light caught them, they reflected rainbows, like an oil spill. Even this close, it was hard to tell if they were made of feathers or scales. Kind of both, really. Alastrians were a mutt race, if the Human scientists were to be believed.

And Ariadne had no reason not to believe them. They were much smarter than she was.

"Thirteen gave me wings too," she said.
goongal: (skeptical)

[personal profile] goongal 2024-09-12 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
[She does pause for a moment and considers him, suspiciously.]

What are you going on about? [She was ready to show off, but somehow that cube isn't getting close... maybe she should at least hear him out.]
rosae: (πŸπŸπŸ’)

[personal profile] rosae 2024-09-12 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
( Just like the younger woman, Rose tries to keep herself together, even as those tears find escape down her cheeks and neck, cold and wet against her skin. She sniffles, giving a soft, breathy sound, wavering between a smile and a frown, some impossible mixture of joy and ache. It's hard not to crumble when she's suddenly overwhelmed with her feelings β€” her last memory before here was saying goodbye to her daughter, and now... waking up in this place, fearing that she might have truly lost her again...

But she hasn't, she's here, although Rose can't truly rest until Sharon's physically in her grasp. She's nodding quickly, wiping the sleeve of her cardigan against her face.
)

I'm safe β€” I woke up here not long ago. In a medical facility β€” part of some kind of school?

( By now, she's wandered out into the wooded area of the survival-oriented academy to embark on that quest from the fox, and while she's managed to find a few of the items on that list, can't say that her heart's been in it at all. All she could think about was Sharon. )

There are woods here. I'm in thereβ€” but I can leave. I'll come find you.

( She can see a glimpse of that soft light behind Sharon as her daughter moves from what appears to be a home β€” bright, warm. Still, her heart pounds with adrenaline. )

Are you safe?
goongal: (summer gremlin)

[personal profile] goongal 2024-09-12 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
Very well, Mickey! I am currently trying to seek out some camping equipment, and I was on my way to check the depths of the forest! We could even find animals to hunt their for food!
Edited 2024-09-12 01:32 (UTC)
sayhitobianca: (laugh)

[personal profile] sayhitobianca 2024-09-12 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
Varric's probably not the best person to ask about dwarven culture, considering how far removed he is from a lot of it, but he doesn't mind giving it a go. Or at least until that last description, which startles a laugh out of him, eyebrows shooting up as he chuckles. "Let orphaned women clean their houses? Most dwarves are involved with lyrium mining, somehow, and we do love a good drinking song, so I was with you up until there. Where did that come from?"

A different world is where it came from, of course, but it sounds like it's got a story behind it.

He's quiet as Arthur muses to himself on his additions, though he takes note of them. The items with names don't surprise him, even if he doesn't recognize them - most of the weapons and armor the Inquisitor outfitted his crew with were named after one thing or another. And he's hardly one to talk, considering his own crossbow, which is both named and on the list.

Still, he's curious.

"Gods or prominent historical figures?"