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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.
A
With a sigh, she finally pulled her attention away from the torn hem of her dress and noticed a man standing nearby, gripping a rock tightly in his hand. He had the look of someone who’d wandered away from a hospital bed, pale and disoriented. "Oh dear," Rose muttered. She was no stranger to lost souls; when she wasn’t busy running the Oh Deer Diner, she spent her time caring for the elderly at Valhalla Nursing Home in Bright Falls. Whether physically or mentally lost, patients were part of her world.
"Are you lost? Do you need me to take you back to the hospital?" she asked, though she didn’t give him much time to respond. Her eyes fell to his bare, battered feet, and a wave of concern washed over her. Without thinking, she moved closer, her worry for him outweighed any caution.
"Your feet must be killing you! We need to take care of them before we do anything else."
cw: mentions of stalking
The former FBI agent was wary of people by nature. Most were just looking out for themselves. There was nothing wrong with that, he did the same thing, but it meant they weren't the kind of people that were good for him to interact with. But there was something, a note he could hear in her voice as she spoke to him, an emotion that reminded him of his former 'North Star' Julie. Compassion, a trait he didn't possess but could at least see in others. Julie had been able to show it even to him, which spoke volumes about her kind nature, and why he'd become obsessed with her. He'd hoped by stalking her that eventually he could learn to be more like her, though it hadn't quite worked out that way.
"I've had way worse," Dex said regarding his feet. That didn't mean Rose wasn't right. They were pretty bruised and scraped up by now after walking for so long. He didn't drop the stone but the tight grip he had on it began to relax.
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When Dex made his remark, Rose’s expression shifted into subtle disappointment. She planted her hands firmly on her hips. "That's nothing to brag about, mister. We need to get them taken care of." Her tone was warm, but with a hint of chiding, like a mother gently scolding a child. It didn’t seem to faze her that this man was a stranger or that he gripped that rock like he might use it as a weapon. To Rose Marigold, he was just another part of the unfolding story, someone Alan sent her to help. He might not be Saga, the hero of the story, but he must be important!
"Go on, take a seat," she instructed, already untying the bow of her apron. His feet needed to be wrapped and padded before they got any worse. Sure, it pained her a little to think of tearing up her apron (she’d tucked away more than a few good tips in those folds) but it was a small price to pay. Some sacrifices were worth making.
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It made her approach work well. "Yes, ma'am," he said, much more subservient than most people would have ever seen the cold-blooded killer.
Dex began to relax a little more as he sat down on a boulder nearby and let her minister to his poor feet, though he still held onto the rock, more as a form of security than anything else. Anyone who was willing to tear up their own clothes to help a stranger registered as a good person in his mind. "Thanks for helping," he told her. Poorly socialized as he was, Dex figured he should at least know the name of the woman helping. "What's your name?"
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“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s what anybody would do!” she chirped, though it wasn’t true. Most people wouldn’t go out of their way like this, but Rose lived in her own world. If she met someone who wouldn’t help, well, she’d just have to change their mind! She worked with quick, practiced hands, her touch both gentle and firm. It was clear she’d done this sort of thing before. As she wrapped his feet, she glanced up, flashing a bright, toothy smile. Her eyes seemed to twinkle, and in that moment, she appeared to glow from within, a light that hinted at her Legend status.
"My name's Rose Marigold, so pretty I got named after two flowers." She joked so easily. That was a common one in the diner, though it usually only got a polite chuckle (not that it bothered her any). "And you are?"
Even as she asked, Rose couldn’t help but wonder what role he played in Alan’s story. She could recognize a damaged soul when she saw one, his battered feet were just the surface. But there was also strength in him, a quiet capability. Something severe. Someone like that could be invaluable in the fight against the Darkness.
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Dex had sharp eyes after spending half his life as a sniper and he saw that glow. For a moment, he wondered if he was going crazy and his hallucinations had started to become visual as well as auditory. But after following a talking fox here, he also wasn't about to question anything he saw with his own two eyes for very long.
There was a soft snort of amusement from Dex when she mentioned her name. That joke was corny but it seemed to suit Rose's personality. She had the same kind of energy surrounding her like that a Golden Retriever had. Then he introduced himself. "Benjamin Poindexter. But everyone calls me Dex."
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Benjamin Poindexter. Now that was a name straight out of a book if Rose had ever heard one. "Dex! Oh, you’re definitely a Dex, I can tell!" Rose could not tell but she's never been entirely grounded in reality. Some called her a space case, a little odd or the town weirdo, but her heart was always in the right place.
After carefully padding and wrapping his feet with strips of her torn apron, she gave his toes a playful little fwap before standing up. With a bright smile, she extended her hand to help him to his feet.
"Did you follow the strange little fox, too?" she asked, her tone light as if she were asking about the weather, her mind already skipping ahead to whatever peculiar little adventure lay ahead
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"Yeah. It was either that or stay in a ruined life." He didn't elaborate on what he meant by that. Even though it was a short story that could be summed up as 'A piece of shit gangster deliberately destroyed my life so I'd become his personal attack dog and it worked really well because I'm nuts', that definitely wasn't something he was about to tell people right off the bat. "Figured following the fox was a better option." He glanced around them and the bizarre situation they had found themselves in. "Though I'm still not sure I didn't die on the operating table and this is all in my head in the last few seconds of my life." Then again, Dex was also half-convinced he'd woken up during that hellish back surgery, which he knew had to be impossible.
He took a few experimental steps and noted how well she'd bandaged his feet. "So what are you in your off time? An Army medic?" A small, dry joke but he was impressed a waitress would be able to make such an efficient job of it with nothing more than some improvised bandages.
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“Oh, you’re not dead! I’d know. I’m not dead, after all,” she said, her voice carrying an odd certainty. Alan was going to save everyone, save Bright Falls. She couldn't be dead.
“Army medic?” she chuckled, clearly delighted by his assumption, though perhaps not realizing he might have been joking. “Oh, no, I’ve never even left Bright Falls! I work part-time at the nursing home. It’s a small town, and we’re short on doctors, so I’ve learned what I can!” Her voice bubbled with that unmistakable sweetness she was known for, almost too sweet, like the kind of innocence that might make some suspicious. But Rose was genuine, even if her bright exterior masked something darker lurking beneath.
She leaned in close. "You would be amazed at what kind of trouble our seniors can get into. Gotta be prepared!"
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The fact Rose was from a small town did not surprise Dex one bit. It would have been a weird attitude to encounter on the New York City streets but if she was from the middle of nowhere and had never left it, small wonder she had such an upbeat and rather innocent personality. It was sickeningly sweet, like biting into a candy that was 100% pure sugar.
What did surprise him was hearing she’d had to help take care of multiple seniors with injuries at her job. Huh. That sounded a bit strange. “Those octogenarians must be getting up to some pretty weird shit if you keep having to patch them up.”
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"Some of our seniors are former rockstars," she said with a bright smile. "I’m afraid a few of them just don’t know when to hang up the leathers." She spoke with such warmth, as though all the mischief they caused was just part of the charm of working with the elderly. Sure, Mandy May wasn’t disappearing into the creek like Tor had, but that woman managed to stir up more trouble than most would ever guess. If Rose didn’t keep a close eye on her, she’d knit until her fingers were raw!
"Why, just the other day, Tor wrecked his entire bedroom," she added, her tone still light, almost amused. "You’d be surprised by the strength some of them still have!" She didn’t blame Tor, though. He wasn’t acting on his own; he was likely being manipulated—probably by Cynthia, who had tragically become a Taken. Rose had always liked Cynthia. It was a shame.
"Honestly," Rose continued, her eyes twinkling, "I hope I get into as much trouble when I’m their age. Most of the time, I think it’s a good sign. Means they’re still young at heart."
In Rose’s world, just living to that age was already a victory. Anything beyond that was a bonus.
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“Thanks for helping me out with my feet,” he told Rose in a sincere manner. Dex knew after a lifetime of serving with a squad or team that you had to trust the people around you sometimes, even if it was only just a little bit.
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"You’re welcome!" she chirped, resisting the urge to tell him that anyone would have done the same—because she already knew how he’d react to that. Instead, she added with a playful glint in her eye, "Maybe next time I need help, you’ll be the one to find me!" The idea of him returning the favor pleased her. Like it could be fate.
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“Maybe,” he said evenly. If he couldn’t be the hero, did that mean he was destined to become the villain?
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"We should find you a proper pair of shoes," she decided with a hint of finality. The survival cubes, while important, could wait. The apron wraps were only a temporary fix, and she wasn’t about to let him risk an infection if she could help it. Shoes came first.
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“Let’s do that,” he agreed. He needed to get his feet taken care of and fast. His time in the Army had always emphasized the importance of taking care of them.