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August-September 2025 Test Drive Meme
August-September 2025 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: Vampiric creatures, forced emotions, forced memory sharing/experience, potential physical dangers (lost, combat, drowning, etc)
New Star Children—and new Star Children only—arrive in Exile. Usually on solid ground. Usually with a sense of belonging and ease navigating within this region. If there's something particular the Star Child needs—food, clothes, shelter—something opens up and makes way. Anyone with hunting or gathering abilities may fend for themselves, a moss cloak may slough itself off a tree for a cool or cold Star Child, and a shack shudders up from the landscape when they grow weary. It's enough for anyone self-sufficient.
For those who want or need something more, they find a chittering scurry of squirrels around peat fires with tents set up. The squirrels provide nut based meals (bark substitute available), simple waterproof woolen clothes, and the use of the tents (two Star Children to a tent, no more, no less) for a small small price: a small prick of the finger and a few drops of blood. They have sharp teeth that can delicately pierce veins, for they are vampiric squirrels. It's the warmest welcome Exile has given to Star Children, not that new Star Children may know that. At least one wherein Baba Yaga—the iteration, the school, take one's pick—cannot be found.
New arrivals who wish to leave Exile and old Star Children who wish to enter Exile to greet the new arrivals shooting down over Exile face… challenges. The land does not want to let go of these newcomers. Nor does it want the old treading its paths, not even those previously welcomed in Exile. An uncomfortable mist filled with dread and rejection hugs borders. Those feelings manifest in a physical presentation of a difficult time in Star Children's lives. It's a time when Star Children had to make a choice: one that could get them exiled in some fashion.
A Star Child traveling alone will move through that memory exactly and must choose exile to pass. Those who made that choice before may have an easier time choosing it again. Or perhaps not.
Star Children who travel together or who come near each other in the wilderness face recreations that are not exactly the same. Their memories merge into one. In this shared false memory, both Star Children must choose exile to pass.
Star Children who pass find it easier to navigate Exile, whether to enter or to leave. Star Children who fail face further difficulties. Exile becomes confusingly similar in all directions. Star Children may be led to face the cunning creatures within Exile, with only basic weapons sticking from trees or held by skeletons to help them, or may be led to the Swamp of Sorrows, to drown under the weight of what bothers them. Whatever the exact challenge may be, it threatens Star Children's lives, and survival only means that: survival. They must retreat or face their memory again to move forward.
New Star Children—and new Star Children only—arrive in Exile. Usually on solid ground. Usually with a sense of belonging and ease navigating within this region. If there's something particular the Star Child needs—food, clothes, shelter—something opens up and makes way. Anyone with hunting or gathering abilities may fend for themselves, a moss cloak may slough itself off a tree for a cool or cold Star Child, and a shack shudders up from the landscape when they grow weary. It's enough for anyone self-sufficient.
For those who want or need something more, they find a chittering scurry of squirrels around peat fires with tents set up. The squirrels provide nut based meals (bark substitute available), simple waterproof woolen clothes, and the use of the tents (two Star Children to a tent, no more, no less) for a small small price: a small prick of the finger and a few drops of blood. They have sharp teeth that can delicately pierce veins, for they are vampiric squirrels. It's the warmest welcome Exile has given to Star Children, not that new Star Children may know that. At least one wherein Baba Yaga—the iteration, the school, take one's pick—cannot be found.
New arrivals who wish to leave Exile and old Star Children who wish to enter Exile to greet the new arrivals shooting down over Exile face… challenges. The land does not want to let go of these newcomers. Nor does it want the old treading its paths, not even those previously welcomed in Exile. An uncomfortable mist filled with dread and rejection hugs borders. Those feelings manifest in a physical presentation of a difficult time in Star Children's lives. It's a time when Star Children had to make a choice: one that could get them exiled in some fashion.
A Star Child traveling alone will move through that memory exactly and must choose exile to pass. Those who made that choice before may have an easier time choosing it again. Or perhaps not.
Star Children who travel together or who come near each other in the wilderness face recreations that are not exactly the same. Their memories merge into one. In this shared false memory, both Star Children must choose exile to pass.
Star Children who pass find it easier to navigate Exile, whether to enter or to leave. Star Children who fail face further difficulties. Exile becomes confusingly similar in all directions. Star Children may be led to face the cunning creatures within Exile, with only basic weapons sticking from trees or held by skeletons to help them, or may be led to the Swamp of Sorrows, to drown under the weight of what bothers them. Whatever the exact challenge may be, it threatens Star Children's lives, and survival only means that: survival. They must retreat or face their memory again to move forward.
- New Star Children arrive in Exile! All are treated warmly (for Exile).
- Old Star Children are not teleported into Exile. All are treated coldly.
- Vampiric squirrels provide basic needs for those who need it in exchange for a little blood.
- Mist full of dread and rejection encircles Exile, and it must be traveled through to enter or to leave.
- In the mist, face a recreation (pure or mixed with someone else's) of a time Star Children had to make a choice that could result in some form of exile.
- If everyone picks exile, travel easier through Exile.
- If not everyone picks exile, face further dangers: misdirection, fights against clever creatures, the swamp of sorrows, etc
Content Warnings: Explosions, Wild Environmental Changes, Small or Large Forced Physical Changes, Potentially Permanent Changes, Forced Proximity
The cracks that wracked Folkmore have been sealed, but the Encantado remains uneasy. The river threw itself farther into Exile to avoid cracks creeping along its banks. It abandoned many gems in the river bed and flows across new ground—both to curious effects. The magic in the gems has nowhere to go. It builds and builds within until cracks begin to show. If left untended, these gems explode in a bout of chaotic magic changing the land around them and perhaps even nearby Star Children. Enjoy the new hair color, the longer hair, the brighter eyes, the galaxies of freckles, and more. They're permanent unless another Star Child can help. The new flowing magic within Exile changes the land around it. The trees grow and grow until they seem a century old or older. Their branches intertwine across the river, and their roots sing. Wood taken from them has magical properties, raw and unrefined.
Magically inclined Star Children, Star Children of great mental reasoning, or any other pertinent skill may observe these effects and determine how to address them. Whether Star Children come up with the solution on their own or get nudged along by a slight dark fox spirit, there are two primary solutions: restore the river to its original path or help it along this new one.
Star Children may work to restore the river by carrying its water from the new river banks and pouring it onto the old river bed. The water can be carried in any vessel, and it's safe so long as the water is not spilled. When water spills, it changes the environment where it hits. A small mound becomes an enormous hill. A small dip becomes a deep ravine. The trees web together. The weather stoops to head level. It's wild magic, and in its wildness: dangerous.
Star Children may work to establish the new path by carrying its gems from the old river bed to the new river stream. The gems may be carried by any means: wrap them in cloth, wear gloves, or move them with telekinesis, or any other mode preventing touch. It is safe so long as gems do not touch skin. When gems touch skin, it changes the Star Children greatly. They may turn into a tree or be made of bark. They may lose the ability to speak and instead yip like a dolphin. They may turn into water and be unable to move themselves. It's a great change, and in its greatness: dangerous.
Both tasks are easier achieved in pairs and small groups. The magic in the water, the magic in the gems, can flow into the Lore generated between Star Children. Traveling together, Star Children may see Lore as motes of light or glowing threads or flowing water. The effects of spill and touch are lessened and split but present a new element: affected Star Children must remain near each other for some hours. The greater the spill or longer and larger the touch, the more hours. Travel farther than a few feet and hit a solid wall. It's impossible to move further without magically dragging the other Star Child along.
Either or both options shall settle the wild magic into its place. Star Children cannot work at cross purposes, only determine how much one way or the other.
One time—and only one time—upon successfully bringing water or a gem to the other side, a gem will split open and reveal an item from home. It may even may even be a weapon or magical item. Oh, and it may be from one's partner's home. The magic is a bit wild.
The cracks that wracked Folkmore have been sealed, but the Encantado remains uneasy. The river threw itself farther into Exile to avoid cracks creeping along its banks. It abandoned many gems in the river bed and flows across new ground—both to curious effects. The magic in the gems has nowhere to go. It builds and builds within until cracks begin to show. If left untended, these gems explode in a bout of chaotic magic changing the land around them and perhaps even nearby Star Children. Enjoy the new hair color, the longer hair, the brighter eyes, the galaxies of freckles, and more. They're permanent unless another Star Child can help. The new flowing magic within Exile changes the land around it. The trees grow and grow until they seem a century old or older. Their branches intertwine across the river, and their roots sing. Wood taken from them has magical properties, raw and unrefined.
Magically inclined Star Children, Star Children of great mental reasoning, or any other pertinent skill may observe these effects and determine how to address them. Whether Star Children come up with the solution on their own or get nudged along by a slight dark fox spirit, there are two primary solutions: restore the river to its original path or help it along this new one.
Star Children may work to restore the river by carrying its water from the new river banks and pouring it onto the old river bed. The water can be carried in any vessel, and it's safe so long as the water is not spilled. When water spills, it changes the environment where it hits. A small mound becomes an enormous hill. A small dip becomes a deep ravine. The trees web together. The weather stoops to head level. It's wild magic, and in its wildness: dangerous.
Star Children may work to establish the new path by carrying its gems from the old river bed to the new river stream. The gems may be carried by any means: wrap them in cloth, wear gloves, or move them with telekinesis, or any other mode preventing touch. It is safe so long as gems do not touch skin. When gems touch skin, it changes the Star Children greatly. They may turn into a tree or be made of bark. They may lose the ability to speak and instead yip like a dolphin. They may turn into water and be unable to move themselves. It's a great change, and in its greatness: dangerous.
Both tasks are easier achieved in pairs and small groups. The magic in the water, the magic in the gems, can flow into the Lore generated between Star Children. Traveling together, Star Children may see Lore as motes of light or glowing threads or flowing water. The effects of spill and touch are lessened and split but present a new element: affected Star Children must remain near each other for some hours. The greater the spill or longer and larger the touch, the more hours. Travel farther than a few feet and hit a solid wall. It's impossible to move further without magically dragging the other Star Child along.
Either or both options shall settle the wild magic into its place. Star Children cannot work at cross purposes, only determine how much one way or the other.
One time—and only one time—upon successfully bringing water or a gem to the other side, a gem will split open and reveal an item from home. It may even may even be a weapon or magical item. Oh, and it may be from one's partner's home. The magic is a bit wild.
- The Encantado River needs its magic stabilized either by restoring its path or establishing its new one (both is good).
- Gems in the riverbed explode, affecting people. Environment near the new path changes quickly.
- To restore its path, carry water from new to old without spilling.
- Spilling water causes large environmental changes.
- To establish the new path, carry gems from old to new without touching them.
- Touching gems causes large magical/physical changes to people.
- Effects are lessened when working in a group. However, messing up forces people to stay in close proximity for hours!
- After one (and only one) successful run, receive an item from home or your partner's home. It may be a weapon or magical item.
- Link your threads to impact where the Encantado winds up!
no subject
(And it could be alien contamination. Again. Just the thought of it is enough to make the SecUnit's insides twist uncomfortably, and its Performance Reliability drop.)
It responds then by sending ART a packet of data, containing all of the diagnostics it just ran. Every single one of them had come back clean. Unless ART could find something that the SecUnit had missed, there was nothing wrong with its systems.
(Well, except for the Stupid Useless Appendages. ART will also find in the packet all of the data the SecUnit has collected so far on those too. (said data has all been tagged: what the fuck))
no subject
It pings back with a confirmation that, no, it hadn't missed anything, nothing was wrong with it. And an additional packet of data noting that there are now a set of horned protrusions outside of its hub. (It is not tagged 'what the fuck,' but the sentiment is still heavily implied.)
It will be waiting for SecUnit, a hatch open for it that closes as soon as it enters, and it can almost feel ART relax a little, tiny bit.
no subject
It doesn't stop running, not until it reaches ART's location. And then it stops, suddenly and all at once.
There's ART, on a planet. Just...lying there on the ground. It's not supposed to be on a planet; it's a deep space research vessel, designed to dock with stations, not land. That's what shuttles were for. There was something deeply upsetting about seeing ART here, in a place it should never have been forced to be.
(It could see those protrusions, too. It looked like the kind of horns some fauna had on their heads. There was something upsetting about seeing that on ART too.)
Did you take damage? it asks, when it starts moving again, heading right into the hatch - but looking for any signs of damage to ART's hull as it does so.
no subject
ART is very, very aware of how wrong this is; it has never been on a planet, not really. An AI bank isn't really the same thing. It is still able to move somehow (more like a shuttle, which it does not like, most because of the implications of that means even though nothing is wrong with it). But it won't, not even after the SecUnit gets on board.
Where would it even go?
It's not paralyzed by indecision, or fear, or wondering what happened to their humans if it is here, or anything like that. Certainly not. But it is just going to be quiet for a minute after SecUnit is safely inside.
no subject
Then it heads immediately for ART's comfiest chair on the lounge, curls up on top of it, and starts playing an episode of Worldhoppers on the display screen. Probably it should actually start trying to figure out whatever the hell has happened to them, but right now it just really wants something to help it calm down.
Several minutes in, it asks: Did you see the Weird Talking Fauna too?
no subject
I did. It's quiet for a beat, before adding. I do not have an explanation for it. It did not match any lifeform I know of.
no subject
The only talking fauna I've ever heard of exst in media. Really unrealistic media, it says. It runs a quick program to tag a few examples, and send them ART's way.
no subject
Physically it appears to be a creature called a fox, it says, because it has to prove it knows something about the situation they're in, However, that is where the comparisons end.
Though, the SecUnit bringing up talking fauna in media has it searching through what less-educational archives it has now, too. To give it ideas, it hopes.
no subject
(In the SecUnit's experience, everything with sharp teeth uses them to bite humans.)
It starts building a profile of the Weird Talking Fauna. In addition to information like "fox" and "human-biting teeth", it also starts detailing ways in which it potentially might neutralise the Weird Talking Fauna. Only that part's not going so well, because it doesn't really have enough data to figure out how to do that yet.
no subject
Unfortunately, ART has been unable to help with that. After a moment, it asks, Are your energy weapons still functional?
It is, unfortunately, asking for a reason.
no subject
It also shifts on the chair, because it turns out that the Stupid Useless Appendages making sitting rather more uncomfortable. It has to twist around, so that it's sitting lengthways rather than normally, letting the appendages hang over the side.
no subject
It lets them watch their show quietly for a minute before it finally brings up part of why it's so very unhappy. My weapons systems appear to have been removed.
No blasting the fox. Trust it, it tried.
no subject
Removed? it says, panic bleeding in the feed. How the fuck did your weapons system get removed?
no subject
no subject
This doesn't make any fucking sense! it says. None of this should be even possible.
no subject
It's quiet for a moment, before it adds a few things to the SecUnit's document; namely folkloric or oral traditions (that have obviously been translated into text for it), stories that center around foxes, with some notes indicating common traits: tricksters, clever, not necessarily evil but definitely not good in the way simplistic moral stories tend to lay out their characters.
no subject
There's a lot of matches. In fact, there's a 73% chance that there's a connection between these stories and the Weird Talking Fauna. Which is...unsettling.
For a few long seconds, the SecUnit does the construct equivalent of staring blankly in the feed.
So what the fuck do we do now?
no subject
Surveying the area and understanding where we are would be the recommended start, but as previously stated neither of us appear to have any drones. Which means they are going to have to actually do it themselves.
no subject
Unless, of course, ART could get up off the fucking ground.
Can you launch?
no subject
And before the SecUnit can (rightfully) ask what the fuck it means by that, it does 'launch,' which is to start it starts up and moves... more like a shuttle than a spaceship. It is abundantly clear that even though this is better than nothing, and it has its exterior cameras still, ART is very grumpy about this additional limitation.
no subject
Well...at least you're not stuck on the ground, it says.
Small mercies.
Then, after a moment, it pings ART - and sends through a map. There's location marker in the place called 'Exile'.
Local feed says we're here.
no subject
We should avoid the location marked Baba Yaga. It'll drop the relevant information on why that name is concerning in the feed; it seems it will be having through its folkloric knowledge in this ridiculous place. I will take us in the direction of Agronia Academy for now.
no subject
Of course you want to go there, it says, making the equivalent of a snort in the feed. Trust ART to want to make a beeline to the educational resources.
no subject
It is the closest major location visible on the map and appears to have enough area surrounding it to make maneuvering straightforward. It is defending its choice and refuses to admit to any bias. I am open to suggestions if you disapprove.
Suggestions that might be ignored, but, you know.
no subject
Of course it is, it says. But it also doesn't actually have any other suggestions - honestly, anyone other than 'Exile' sounds good right now - and it doesn't mind ART picking somewhere it actually wants to go to.
We can go look at the educational materials. I don’t mind.