August-September 2024 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

August-September 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 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 ★ Prompt Two]

Scavengers Survive . ★

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 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.

This is Our Get Along Shirt . ★

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.

• 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.

Comments

[scalesbalance]

Arthur gives a small hum of interest when Varric describes the gods from his world. It's hard to say if gathering supplies is exactly the sort of environment to be speaking on such complex topics and yet Arthur can't help himself. He recognizes his own tendency to be chatty and it appears his company is of that variety as well-- it might not get much done but being able to hold a conversation without erring towards frustration with someone feels good.

"Yeah. I do remember hearing a lot about mages from people who say they're from Thedas-- a rebellion or something. Maybe you can fill me in on that sometime. I'm not naturally a magic user myself but I have been studying it to some success."

It's not exactly a skill given with confidence. Arthur is a fresh student and isn't afraid to admit it. He had a teacher who vanished, the Staff of Ammit is nowhere to be had, no Ammit herself... but practicing magic on his own volition appears to yield results that benefit him. He can only follow his gut here after all.

"The first thing I asked people when I got here was their relationship with faith. I thought it might be relevant to whatever brought us here. It's been a bit of a mixed bag on the response, but I still have my theories."

Putting away his Relic, Arthur looks back at Varric.

"It doesn't sound like you're much of a spiritual person yourself, would you say that's correct?"

[sayhitobianca]

It's not surprising that anyone else who ended up here from Thedas mentioned the mage rebellion. That was all pretty much anyone was talking about back home - at least before the sky ripped open and Corypheus showed his ugly face again, but even then, the mage rebellion is still included in the mix.

Having philosophical conversations like this in the middle of gathering supplies is nothing new to Varric. If anything, there's an almost comforting familiarity to it. It makes him feel like he's out in the ass-end of nowhere in Thedas, shooting the shit with Chuckles or Sparkler or Tiny while the Inquisitor climbs up a pile of rubble to collect something or other.

It's a testament to how much he's actually enjoying talking to Arthur that he considers the question, and doesn't just immediately deflect.

"I believe in the power of a good story," he says finally. "In every day people, getting up every morning to keep going the best they can. And, way more often than is convenient for the rest of us, in people who have the power to shape the world, for better or worse. Whether those people are really gods or not?"

Varric shrugs. "Only time and the stories they leave behind will tell."

Then he shoots him a little smile. "What does that say for your theory?"

your varric is so good ;; jekskf; just had to say again

[scalesbalance]

Arthur listens to Varric attentively. Usually the answer he gets are uncertain, halting and individualistic in their response. This response sounds like something from
the biography of some general that remains beloved hundreds of years after he's left this world.

It's also not the first time the other man has mentioned his responsibility to people. The words seem genuinely humbled (well, enough) for Arthur to see the honesty in them; people who genuinely care for humanity sometimes show themselves too easily.

"Well, it's another answer in the one-of-kind category. Terrible in terms of survey data but outside of that... very fulfilling."

This world is a far cry from the general lack of diversity his own world had to offer when it comes to morality. The hate and pain born of such close-mindedness is a festering wound; but that's not anything Arthur wants to talk about now. It's why he asks these questions to new faces-- to see if he can piece together some way to one day make the world truly a variety of heaven on earth.

"I'd say you're going to be one hell of a historian one day. Maybe you already are."

ahhh thank you!!! so is your arthur, I really love their dynamic!

[sayhitobianca]

Well, now.

Varric'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little flattered by that. Some of what he writes is absolute drivel, of course, but a lot of it, he's proud of. He wouldn't keep writing if he didn't feel like he had more stories to tell than he knew what to do with, and not all of them are fiction.

It's nice to get feedback like that, even if it's not about something he's actually written yet.

"My apologies to your survey data." It's a little teasing, but his smile is warm. "I'm a writer back home. Mostly fiction, but I've dabbled in historical events. You shouldn't compliment me too much, or you might find me asking for a quote like that to put on my next book."

Arthur has him curious now, though, and he gives a soft hum.

"What about you? You a spiritual person?"

Thank you n.n and same!

[scalesbalance]

"It shows," Arthur teases right back. There's a sort of lost-in-his-own-head quality that Varric possesses that speaks to someone having an active imagination. Usually the types Arthur has met have been more introverted and yet Varric is the chatty sort. Folkmore apparently has all kinds.

The term spiritual person has him waffling a bit. His faith is strong but also his undoing all at once.

"I guess. It's always interested me. I'm very compassionate."

He pauses again.

"That sounds pretty douchey. I used to track down artifacts across my world-- it led me to some dealings with gods. They told me they could each improve the world-- set it on the right path. I believed them. Their methods and mine might have been a little heavy-handed in hindsight."

As the people from his world like to remind him, plenty of people are dead now. Arthur still can't bring himself to be too torn up about it-- not when they were harboring some kind of evil intent.

"I still think I can help fix it somehow-- just not really to what degree."

He shrugs.

"The best we can do is try."

[sayhitobianca]

Varric grins at the teasing, pleased. He's got plenty of friends who aren't really the teasing type, of course, but he always appreciates it when he's able to get a response like that.

There's a little bit of a look when Arthur says what it sounds like - he doesn't say 'you said it, not me,' but the raised eyebrow kind of says it for him.

Still, other than that, he just listens. As much as he likes telling stories, he likes hearing people tell theirs just as much, and -

Oh, that hits close to home, in more ways than one. Chasing around artifacts, gods believing they knew what was best for the world, heavy-handed methods, yeah. Maybe the trappings of their worlds are different, but it sounds like some things stay the same.

If Varric’s honest - with what Arthur's telling him, he's not sure he could say what side of things Varric himself would've been on. Maybe he'd have agreed with Arthur's methods, but maybe they were something closer to what Blondie's had been. Does he want to know for sure? Well, yeah, kind of.

But it also kind of seems like, to Varric, maybe what Arthur needs isn't gods whispering to him about what kind of path the world needs to be on. Maybe he needs a friend.

"None of those gods are here now, are they? Because it sounds to me like you could use some space from them, maybe figure out what feels right to you, and not to them."

[scalesbalance]

It's an interesting position, not necessarily granting permission to ignore the will of the divine, but to act so capable without their aid at all. Varric's tenacity shines through like a beacon. It's too early to say if that confidence is well-founded or if the dwarf is just foolhardy, but their conversations have been too pleasant for Arthur to consider Varric anything but capable for the time being.

"Maybe you're right," the stance is genuinely considered even if part of him feels revolted by the idea.

"Anyway, they're certainly not going to help us get what we need. Work is for mere mortals after all."

No amount of praying or acts of devotion have reaped any sort of reward. On Arthur's part it certainly isn't for a lack of trying. But trusting himself? That's something he hasn't done in an eternity.

Arthur's thumb taps on his closed Relic thoughtfully for a moment. His list is finalized mostly and yet there is the question of if he has planned enough. The Disciples of Ammit was very collaborative but was built over years. Here? Trusting people hasn't been too fruitful of a task. Perhaps if there was ever a time to take the plunge it's now.

Arthur extends his relic towards Varric. The list is open and, by proxy, all aspects of communication and personal notes scrawled in the margins of the list. From a distance the handwritten notes aren't easy to read but if Varric chooses to take the relic the list and notes will become legible.

"Do you mind checking my list over? I think a second set of eyes always helps."

[sayhitobianca]

The consideration is, honestly, the best that Varric had been hoping for. He's no stranger to interacting with people who hold deep seated beliefs, often different to the ones Varric himself has, and he knows it can take work to find some common ground. The fact that Arthur's even willing to think about it means a lot.

And it means he's not going to push it any further, so he just gives a little snort at his follow up comment. "You're telling me."

Still, he's a little surprised when Arthur holds out his Relic.

At home, Varric guards his notes tenaciously. It's not just outlines for his books or notes on some future story - it's the notes he takes on everything, on everyone. Most of his world is written down in one more or another.

It's hardly the same. Varric hasn't been here nearly long enough to have notes on anything except the fox who'd led him here (cryptic, otherworldly, who is she to say what are the best and worst parts of anyone, were those feathers, is this what dreaming's like?) and his multitude of survival lists. For all he knows, Arthur doesn't actually consider sharing his own notes an act of any kind of significance. He won't read too much into it.

But it still feels like a tentative line of trust has been established as he takes Arthur's Relic, and offers his own out in exchange.

"Gladly. Would you mind doing the same for mine?"

Even as he asks, his gaze is already dropping to Arthur's list, reading over everything noted on it.

[scalesbalance]

Arthur hands over the relic without hesitation. After a couple of months here he finds there isn't much that he intends to hide here-- nothing he's ashamed of. This place makes him ask the same existential questions that have plagued him for years and yet every day someone new seems to open up his world a little more.

He scrolls past a post to get back down to the list before letting the device go. It's not exactly hidden from Varric's eyes but it is generally dismissed in lieu of more relevant information at hand.

"Sorry. I hadn't started it exactly prepared for a proof-reading but we've talked about the, uh, theological aspects of this. Taking a step back might be the advice I've been waiting for."

He steadies Varric's Relic before taking a look over the other man's list himself. By the time he's skimming Arthur considers something the new arrival might need to be made aware of.

"If you have any particularly sensitive memories I'd build in something to protect yourself. I've never experienced them myself but others here have talked about things like memory swaps or ghosts from their past appearing. Not frequent, but it's happened enough."

(( no pressure to make a list for Varric for the thread or anything! This idea was just in my head and I ended up doing more with it than I thought sfsdmkmf; ))

[sayhitobianca]

Oh, buddy.

Varric’s a nosy guy - too much for his own good, sometimes - so of course he can't help but skim over what's there, even if it's not immediately relevant.

In Varric's experience, it's always relevant in one way or another, even just as something tucked away to be part of a story later.

But that? Yeah, that's right along the lines of what he'd been thinking when Arthur mentioned dealings with gods who tried to set him on the right path. Nothing good ever comes from shit like that, except being left with a whole lot of mess and something much more powerful than you who's either abandoned you or won't leave you alone.

It should probably be a sign that he should wash his hands of this before it's too late, but - well. He's kind of already a little bit attached to the guy, it seems.

So he shoots him a little smile. "I got plenty of it to go around, so you better be careful. Talk like that and you're going to be stuck with me and getting more of it."

His own list has a few notes added to it - notably, are there even Deep Roads here? Eh, with my luck, probably, better be safe and note to self: research - but otherwise, it's a fairly standard, if extensive, list of supplies.

The most significant items on there are simply a name - Bianca - and things such as elfroot, deathroot, precision tools (mine), and a vast number of things like hard tack, dried nug meat, and healing potions that make it obvious he's from a world with more magic than technology.

"Thanks for the heads up." His tone is genuine, despite the grimace that accompanies it. Yeah, that's definitely not the kind of thing he wants to encounter, so he appreciates the warning. "Sounds like this place has a lot to look forward to."

(( oh man that post is so perfect, I love it. also sorry Arthur but you're stuck with Varric now ))

[scalesbalance]

The smile catches Arthur by surprise, a flash of kindness that he feels he probably doesn't quite deserve. He recognizes stubbornness in himself and isn't sure if this place, or any, could really change his deep-seeded experience at this point. Frankly the longer he's here the more he realizes he's tired. Varric seems to have a natural zest and curiousity: Arthur hopes this place doesn't squash any of it.

"I could probably stand to listen a little more than talking. This place is supposed to be introspective-- to get you to be the best version of yourself. I'm not sure if I buy into it completely, but that's the lore."

Maybe the warning will help, maybe it won't. Everyone seems to have a different experience and yet the Trials make their intentions know quite clearly. The grimace has been noticed but Arthur supposes one thing should be addressed at a time; he has plenty of questions after reading over Varric's list and its annotations. Perhaps Bianca would be the best place to start as it stands out in such a stark contrast to everything else the other man has asked for.

"Bianca-- is that a person or something else?"

(( He could use a friend tbh! Varric you've got yourself another dedicated reader. ))

[sayhitobianca]

"So I've heard. Makes me wonder how they know what the best version of ourselves is supposed to be, but maybe that's something we get to decide for ourselves."

He doesn't think he buys into it, either, but that's the thing about lore - it's never really all true, but it's never all lie, either. He wouldn't be surprised if Thirteen did have some kind of measure or test for what their potential was supposed to be, and they were stuck here until they figured it out.

It'd be just his luck, after all, it fits in way too close to some other shit he's experienced.

Regardless, Arthur makes him curious, and he enjoys talking with the guy, which is an easy recipe for Varric to get himself involved in his life.

The mention of Bianca makes his smile widen.

"Bianca is my beauty of a crossbow. She's one of a kind, but unfortunately the fox didn't see fit to let her come along when she was guiding me here."

[scalesbalance]

He's not sure what the best version of anyone is or who can define that anymore. Once, fairly recently, he would have been able to give a solid answer. These days? His mind has been opened to more possibilities than he knew were possible.

But the question regarding Bianca gets Varric to smile and that is reassuring. It's nice to ask a question that doesn't solicit some negative response. Instead it's something that seems to open more doors, excitement even, to talk about something.

"A crossbow with a name. Amazing."

It's not a weapon normally used in the world he's from. This is something right out of a fantastical novel.

"So if I ever need a sniper you're the man to call?"

He's teasing...but in Folkmore you just never know.