December-January 2024-2025 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

December-January 2024-2025 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]

Murder on the Folkmore Express . ★

Content Warnings: hysical Entrapment, Fictional Crimes, Forced Engagement

Winter has come to Folkmore in full force, and with it, the desire for most to get to their destinations as fast as possible. The cold is bitter, after all, and nips at bare skin in most of the realm's regions. The public transport system becomes a safe haven for all; a perfect way to take a break in comfortable warmth as both spirits and Star Children alike travel along stretches of land. From the Cat Bus to the trains, to the submarines that lead to Tides, to even the hot air balloons which provide a beautiful sightseeing tour before touching down on Never Fade… There are more than enough public vehicles to board.

And this is exactly where newly arrived Star Children will find themselves: aboard one of the bigger public transportation methods. With a flash of light visible to all, their landing in this new realm is made known to all other passengers.

Something funny is going on, that much becomes clear within several seconds. Perhaps a nearby cat spirit will keel over dramatically in the middle of the train's aisle, pretending to have died. Perhaps a frog spirit will let out a loud croaking wail, proclaiming their precious wedding ring has been stolen just now. Or perhaps a timid little mouse will come up to Star Children, prattling on about how worried they are for their missing spouse. They are all acting, as is evident from their lack of skill in that department. They relish the opportunity to spin their little tales, their characterization often broken by mischievous smiles or hasty snickers into the palm of their paws. Once the stage is set and the story is out into the world, the spirits will look towards the nearest Star Children with clasped hands and hopeful gazes. 'Will you solve the mystery?' they seem to ask. Sometimes they'll even voice the question aloud.

One thing is for certain: Star Children have found themselves in their very own locked room whodunnit setup!

The puzzling scenarios have a wide range of possibilities. Perhaps someone vanished, with the questions being whether they've hidden themselves somewhere in the vehicle and why. Or maybe a mysterious spirit suffers from a sudden bout of amnesia. Who are they, and how did they lose their memories in the first place? Was that person lying on the floor poisoned? If so, how? What makes these mysteries extra difficult to crack is the very magic coursing through Folkmore. That heap of ash under a seat may be evidence, burnt to a crisp with fire magic. The 'dead' body may have been moved from the original crime scene through teleportation. Or the missing ring may have been enchanted to return to its original owner, which leads to the shocking reveal that the one reporting the crime was a thief all along. All cases range in difficulty level.

There is a catch. The transport will not stop until the conundrum is brought to a satisfactory conclusion. The train will pass by stations, the Cat Bus will keep sprinting, submarines will circle Tides indefinitely… And the doors will remain locked, with even teleportation powers null and void. Star Children cannot disembark until the mystery is solved. Better work together to find those clues!

• New Star Children arrive in one of Folkmore's public transport vehicles.
• Spirits will re-enact locked room mysteries for Star Children to solve.
• Cases range from murder mysteries to missing persons, to simple theft.
• The vehicle will not stop until the mystery is resolved!

The Gift Train . ★

Content Warnings: Potential Information Reveal, Item Alteration

A cheerful ding rings out from each Star Child's Relic. It's a modest grab for their attention, a sign that something lies in wait. Checking out the origin, the recipients will find that they've received a message from Jewelia, one of Thirteen's aspects. It reads as follows: "It is a time for giving and a time for sharing. A time for friendship and a time for caring. Seek out this Star Child, and exchange with them a modest gift. Should you succeed and make the trade, then watch it shift."

What follows is not a name, but a list with facts. For example, a certain Star Child's role, which region they currently live in, what color their hair is, who their best friend is… It's all trivial data which, when put together, should point the seeking Star Child towards one particular individual. That's only the first part of the challenge, of course! Should they take the next step, they must give whoever they hunted down a gift. This can range from a batch of homemade cookies to a knitted sweater, to even a neat rock they found! It doesn't matter how big or small the gift is, whether it was bought or made… The present needs to be exchanged for something else.

As soon as the objects pass hands, they will evolve. They become nicer, or bigger, or tastier. The neat rock now shimmers like it's covered in eternal glitter. The knitted sweater now has a knitted hood to pull up over one's head. The cookies may take on a cutesy shape, or become more filling, with even a single bite enough to sate for a whole evening. The plain knife found in Folkmore becomes an engraved sword. This is the true power of sharing, and of paying good will forward.

Once an exchange is complete, each Star Child’s Relic will ding another time. A new list of facts appears, and they can repeat the process again. They have the option to give a new gift to their next match, or they can re-gift the item they were just given. There's no limitations to how much a single gift can upgrade, though objects will never become enchanted. They simply become nicer.

There's one more twist to this assignment: after three successful gift exchanges, the Relic plays an additional, cheerful little chime. A little victory note, almost. When the Star Child returns to their home afterwards, they'll find a small package waiting for them on their pillow (or whatever's close enough to a bed if they don't have one). Inside is a small item from their home world. It may even be a weapon or magical item. Just another reward for rising to the challenge!

• Star Children receive a message on their Relic: a list of facts leading them to another Star Child.
• When they find this Star Child and exchange a small gift with them, the gift will evolve into something nicer.
• If a Star Child succeeds in three successful exchanges, they will find a small item from home waiting for them in their home, atop their pillow.

Comments

[hollystrike]

[He's gonna develop a complex about all the different ways she creates a flickerflash in this place. No no, she can't teleport, it's something else entirely--

She taps him lightly on the head, just once.] Ticket for two to Gram, please!

[...well, the sudden switch from bitterly cold to pleasantly mild has got to be a little jarring. She's found a nice bench by the lakeside instead.]

[tsunergy]

[He doesn't feel the shift of location so much as the change in temperature for sure, and the feel of snow under his feet turning into soft dirt and grass. He opens his eyes.]

...huh? What!?

[DID NOT SEE THAT COMING. He almost drops his stew. (Near-tragedy, it's really good.)]

[hollystrike]

...huh. I wasn't expecting that. [Though she looks unflappable, sitting down next to him to take a sip of her cocoa before unwrapping her own food.] Apparently they took your discomfort seriously. How generous of them.

[C'mere, baked potato.]

[tsunergy]

[He blinks at their surroundings, then her, then back again. What...]

You think the dog did this?

[ D O U B T ]

[hollystrike]

Well, I certainly didn't. [Blink.] You don't perchance happen to teleport when you're terrified, do you?

[tsunergy]

[Sus?? Sus.]

Not me.

[It seems evident enough that she's not going to give him a clear answer, though, so he peers around them, brows furrowing. Not familiar at all...]

Do you know where we are now?

[hollystrike]

[Extremely sus. She will deny it to her dying breath, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.]

From a guess, I'd say Willow...? I haven't been here before, but I did hear there were lakes here. And fairies. And apparently good benches to sit on and eat stew. [She opens up her baked potato.] And a surprising lack of dog spirits.

[Probably not entirely lacking dogs, though. People have pets and familiar forms, etc etc.]

[tsunergy]

Huh... I haven't been here, myself. [It was on the list, but Wintermute took priority because snow is so rare in his region.] It does seem preferable to... well, all that.

[Mostly the dogs. The snow had been nice, for a few minutes. He takes a sip of his food, and-]

...That dog did make good stew, though.

[hollystrike]

The baked potato is terrible. [She eats it with obvious enjoyment despite this.] I shall have to remember where that stall is. If you ever want a refill, I will bravely face the dog for you.

Is Wintermute still a place you'd like to explore, or has it been ruined?

[tsunergy]

I wouldn't call it ruined. [He's not that scared of dogs. ...Or. he's not scared at all! He just doesn't like getting barked at!] It's a large region, plenty left to explore. I'll just know where to avoid going forward.

[He doesn't know it yet but he can also just chill inside Sorey's soul when they visit, soooo. Problem solved.]

[hollystrike]

Perhaps you can ask on the relics if there are particular areas to avoid. It did seem quite pretty otherwise.

[tsunergy]

[He blinks at her.]

Relic?

[Yeah he hasn't touched his yet. What are cell phones??]

[hollystrike]

[Oh dear. Fortunately, Katie is here to explain everything!]

Mystical artifacts you find buried in digsites. They resonate and you can speak through them to other people holding one.

[...yeah.]

[tsunergy]

[One day he will learn not to believe her. But that is not today.]

Really? [Oh, buddy.] That's amazing! Do you have one?

[hollystrike]

[Just have a conversation or two with Sorey, he's halfway to working it out.]

Oh, sure. Hold on. [lmao she just pulls out her relic without batting an eye.] Here you go.

[tsunergy]

[Two heads, better than one...

Immediately he scoots closer to try and peer at it, ready to be wowed.]

It's so small...

[hollystrike]

It's bigger on the inside. Like a police box. [She goes and finds a random post on the network and scrolls down with her finger.] You see? People talk to each other on here. Have you found one yet?

[tsunergy]

Police box? I'm not familiar.

[The heck is a "police" anyway.]

I don't think I've seen anything like that before. Should I have found one?

[He literally does not even have pockets so he can't check for it. Where could his spoon be...]

[hollystrike]

It's a box with police in it. And... well, you'd have to be looking for one to find one, I suppose. [That is odd, actually.] Did you meet Thirteen on the way in?

[tsunergy]

[Yeah still no clue about police, but maybe he'll circle back. Maybe he won't! whatever.]

Oh, the fox? Yes, she brought me here.

[Belatedly he's unclear exactly why he followed, but...]

[hollystrike]

Well, I imagine you'll stumble upon a relic eventually. Until then, you can always use mine if need to, I suppose. Do you know anyone else here?

[tsunergy]

Not that I know of. [Poor loser hasn't even found/noticed Sorey yet. Pity him, he'll be so embarrassed later.] I've only just arrived. ...Ah- I did meet a man on the beach, Dion.

[hollystrike]

Well, Dion is surely important in the scheme of things. [Wryly.] But nobody else from home. I see. That would make things easier to get accustomed to this place. Probably.

[tsunergy]

I'm used to traveling to new places and knowing no one. It isn't a problem for me.

[Though usually the new place is full of people he doesn't have to interact with, on account of them being unable to see or hear him. This world is very different.]

[hollystrike]

Apart from all the dogs we didn't know about.