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August-September 2024 Test Drive Meme
August-September 2024 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 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 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.
🦊 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.
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.
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 moat—Lorasses. Thou shalt not pass.
- Once the moat arrives, most cubes are in the moat. Shower to get clean afterward with beer for shampoo.
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 fight—physically, vocally, emotionally—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 apply—they must get along to get out of the shirt—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.
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 fight—physically, vocally, emotionally—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 apply—they must get along to get out of the shirt—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 “This 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.
Scavengers Survive
It's on his own list, of course - as much as he always grumbled about traipsing around in the outdoors, he knows it's a vital herb for survival. He won't admit it, but there's a bit of personal fondness associated with it now, considering how much it reminds him of Lavellan.
When he hears her talking to it, his attention focuses much more sharply on her. He hasn't seen many elves around here as it is, and that sounds exactly like something the Lavellan of his world would have said.
If he hadn't already met Trevelyan, the missing limb would throw him more. As it is, it just makes his gut clench a little - if this is an Inquisitor, that's one more world where this happened, and he hates the idea of his friend in pain.
Varric’s not confident enough to call her Inquisitor, though, so he just shoots her a little smile as he comes up next to her. ]
Where would the challenge be if all you had to do was scale up a hillside to grab it?
no subject
(Unknowing, in the moment, of the sheer quality and tendency toward many worlds walking many similar, yet separate paths; not hard for her to comprehend, but as of yet, unconfirmed.) )
Bull would suggest tossing someone at it might be effective.
( Sera being the only one likely to take him up on that, and only if it sounded amusing enough. )
Not strictly challenging, but effective.
( The cube, possibly annoyed at being temporarily ignored, bobs up and down in place with vigor. Ellana continues to ignore it for the moment. )
Varric! It's so good to see you, my friend. Have you just fallen into this place, or have you been here for a while?
no subject
Still a very large no to tossing me at it.
[ As much as he likes Tiny, a massive no thank you to the idea of being tossed at anything, whether it's over a broken bridge in the Exalted Plains or at one of those Andraste blasted cubes that seems to delight in being difficult to catch. ]
It's good to see you, too, Inquisitor. I've only just gotten here myself - too short to have much information worth giving, long enough to know that this place is going to be just like old times, wandering around trying to figure out what in the shit is going on.
no subject
( She finds herself shaking her head, laughing out in an exhalation that makes the expression short-lived. Nothing in her minds the title, not coming from him, though for a moment she's tempted to call him Viscount in return. )
The only upside I can see is we're not responsible for any world-ending events, only personal improvement projects. Thinks this counts as partial retirement?
( Ellana doesn't believe herself anything close to perfect or perfectly adjusted, and she doubts that Varric would count himself or any of those he cares about similar either. Self improvement, or self erosion she supposes, feels like a strange opportunity divorced from the reality they all came from.
Nevertheless, they're here, there's an objective, and she's in the company of a friend she trusts. Life has been worse. This, by contrast, is nice. )
Have you seen whatever the trick is to grabbing these little floating boxes? I saw some people rushing after them in the halls back in those buildings, but hadn't realized it was because the boxes were whatever we wrote on our survival lists.
no subject
[ Her summary makes him pull a little bit of a face. He's not certain he wouldn't prefer world-ending events over personal improvement projects. He likes to think he's done a very good job of ignoring those kind of personal self-reflections, and he's not really interested in changing that.
Seems like there may not be much of a choice, though. ]
As much of a retirement as either of us are likely to ever really get. Teamwork seems to do the trick; they're much easier to snatch if you're not trying to grab one by yourself.
[ There's a pause, because, well. A part of him just wants to let this be, to appreciate the company of a version of one of the few people he's ever trusted completely and not complicate things. But he'd never outright lied to the Inquisitor, and the one important thing he'd fudged the truth on - well, he'd promised he'd do better, and he meant it. He has no intention of any kind of deception with her. ]
I'm from a little behind and to the left of you, I think. We were just about to go kick Corypheus's ass for good this time, when the fox brought me here. And the Lavellan of my world was male.
no subject
No, no, Inquisitor's fine, thank you. Unless you feel moved to add on another nickname. Far be it from me to stop you, hmm?
( She shifts, letting her staff rest against her shoulder as he mentions teamwork. The base core of everything she did, in her past, present, and as dictates in her future. Hopefully with less corruption within a team, but that's neither here nor there in the moment.
It's also out of her mind when the rest of his words settle. She stills, studying his face, before she bends her neck and nods. Ellana doesn't have a great deal of experience with such possibilities, but she can stretch her mind easily enough around them, if simply for living with the horrors of the world where Corypehus won, and now existing here. )
We're a decently sized clan. Makes me wonder if I was ever part of his world, in any form, or if in either one we were unique in our birthing in the first place.
( Her smile is small, her expression briefly tired in a soul-weary way before she seems to literally shrug it off, her staff falling toward her good hand. She catches it, then squats, settling it on the ground. )
If there's ever a time that discussing what I learn from that forward position feels worthwhile... there's no indication that what we learn here comes with us back to the rest of ourselves. Or that's what the fox told me when I asked, or close to it. But if you do feel the urge, I'm here to talk about how good it felt to finally rip Corypheus apart without him being able to jump body to survive. And anything else. If you ask.
( Her smile as she rises is sharp, her gaze flicking toward the cube. Hawke, she suspects, would understand that appeal as well. It's nothing she figures worth mentioning. Varric would already know, unless his relationship to the Hawke he knew was somehow wildly, drastically different from what she knew of her Varric's relationship with the same person.
... Goodness, were their Hawkes subtly or significantly different too? )
Was yours also first? Or was he one of the clan's hunters? Did he have better taste in lovers?
( The twitch of her lips makes it apparent the last question is something of a jest: she doesn't feel a driving need to know what her counterpart in Varric's world post-explosion found to address the loneliness their strange, isolating position brought along with it. Everyone handled such things differently. It wasn't hers to need to know.
Ellana's fingers splay out, then roll in, limbering the joints and reflexes of her hand. Preparing for motion, much more physical, much less magical. Her next words are almost an afterthought, conversational. There are discussions on discussions she won't have with Varric without him asking, but this? This just sets up a punchline if they ever do. )
For the record, I made some very interesting choices concerning Chuckles.
( All the same, as she slings off the contraption at her back to set next to her staff, she nods toward the frantically bobbing cube. )
Shall we?
no subject
[ Part of it is sentimental - he isn't going to pretend like he hadn't been worried that this was finally the thing that the Inquisitor wasn't going to walk back from. Seeing her here, knowing she came out relatively okay, eases some of that gut clenching worry he's had. The rest of it - they already have a plan, and all they'd needed before he followed the fox here was to find Corypheus. Here's to hoping their plan works out, too. ]
Of course, I'm not ruling out my chance to take you up on that later.
[ Varric is nothing if not curious, and he's certainly not going to shoot himself in the foot about it now, knowing that if he gets a few drinks in him he'll probably be eager for the story.
The only thing that really gives him any pause is her comment about Chuckles, coming right after that question about lovers. Maybe it's not his place to feel anything like protective, here, when he's not the Varric from her world, but - ]
If you have to say it like that, it sounds more to me like he's the one who made some unfortunate choices.
[ As much as he does actually like the guy, on top of considering him a friend - he must have been a complete and utter fool to have ever made her feel like she made a poor choice in him. He wants to ask if he hurt her, what he did - Varric'd like to take that back with him, if nothing else, he thinks, to be prepared for that.
But it doesn't feel like the kind of thing to ask out in the open, so instead he just gives a nod. ]
Want me to give you a boost up so you can try to grab it?
no subject
( She smiles, crooked and amused, letting all the rest roll off like water. What their future here held was to be determined, and only the immediate courses of action required addressing. Solas and his goat-headed insistence on horrific plans with margins of blind error can be addressed... another time. Several drinks in. For now, there are more immediate, less world-destroying targets for her attentions.
Which, in an exasperating but not unfamiliar way, meant dealing with strange and unpredictable magic.
Like the cube.
When the actual plant was also right there. )
If you end up having to lob me at it, I already forgive you. This time.
( She steps away from the staff she's left on the ground, rolling her shoulders. With a boost up from Varric, she should be in reach if she's quick — and the ridiculous thing doesn't try zooming off. She has force magic, cube, don't try her when she's in teamwork mode. )
no subject
He's betting they're both probably going to need some drinks for it.
So right now, he huffs out a little laugh. ]
I'll restrain myself, if only because no one tossed me over Pont Agur before it was repaired. And I saw the look on Tiny's face, he was thinking about it.
[ Or at least - he's assuming no one did in her world, anyway, though maybe she didn't stop anyone from tossing the dwarf. ]
Probably not the best time to fess up if you did let that happen.
[ It's a teasing little addition as he boosts her up, balancing her weight easily on his shoulders. Like the last time he tried this, the cube seems to be much more cooperative when they're working together - weird magic shit - and he grins when she grabs it. ]
Nice one!
no subject
Can you imagine if this is what you always had to do when foraging?
( She can't, except in the most loose, absurdist way.
In fairness, she waits until she's back on the ground, handing the cube to him in case it didn't show as filled on his list like it now does on hers: )
No dwarves thrown where I'm from either. I wouldn't even let Bull throw Sera, though I'm certain they did as much when I wasn't looking.
( She looks and sounds amused, fond of both of them. She's less fond of the list, which she picks up again once Varric accepts (or tosses, or even ignores) the cube. )
This is one headache inducing team exercise. What's next on your list?
( She shows hers, and the stated: blanket. No one wants to freeze overnight, such as it is. )