August 2022 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

AUGUST 2022 TDM

INTRODUCTION

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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. You can choose to have your TDM thread be your introduction thread upon acceptance or start fresh. Each TDM will provide a scenario for how characters arrive in-game that particular month.

Playing TDMs will allow characters to immediately obtain canon items from homes 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 allowed to have in-game characters react to TDMs via the Network or make a log with the prompts. Current players are always encouraged to tag new people on the TDM!

TDM threads can be used for spoon spending at any time by characters accepted into the game.

[ Prompt One ★ Prompt Two]

Summer Is Over

Content Warnings: snakes, cultists, optional violence.

FALLING DOWN LIKE PIECES INTO PLACE

A breeze with the crisp smell of dying leaves caresses you awake. You sit up to find yourself in the middle of an apple orchard, rows spreading out in all directions. Mouth watering apples hang from the branches, and nobody will stop you from taking one. You can wander the orchard as long as you like, but eventually you will find yourself emerging into the front yard of a little farm. There’s a red barn with perfect white trim set far back, and to one side of the yard is a kiosk modeled to match the barn. This is staffed by a woman who sure looks a lot like the fox that brought you here.

On the side of the kiosk are advertised a few different items: pumpkin spice lattes, hot apple cider, cold alcoholic apple cider, and hot chocolate. The cider, you will be informed, is made on site. (But you have to be of legal age to be given that hard cider!)

There are two other things advertised: APPLE PICKING and a SCAVENGER HUNT.

“You need a buddy for those, though,” the woman running the kiosk will tell you. “Lucky for you there’s plenty of people you can pair up with.”

If you elect to try the scavenger hunt, you and your partner will be handed a piece of paper. On it reads the following:

TAKE A PICTURE OF THE FOLLOWING ON YOUR RELIC! :)

- YOU HOLDING HANDS WHILE YOU GO DOWN A PATH
- FEET WITH AUTUMN LEAVES
- SOMETHING YOU THINK IS TRULY BEAUTIFUL
- A GENUINE SMILE

“When you’re done, bring it back here and show me,” the woman instructs you. “You’ll get a prize if you do.”

It’s an easy enough list, right? Although you have to follow the instructions - you really DO have to find something you genuinely think is beautiful, and that smile can’t be forced! Those might require opening up to your partner a little bit!

If you succeed in the scavenger hunt, you will be gifted with an item from home.


Now, what if you decided to go apple picking?

You will be given a bucket. “Be careful to only pick apples from the trees in the rows,” the kiosk woman tells you with a secret smile. “You don’t want to bother the old trees off the path.”

Yeah. That sure sounds like a challenge, doesn’t it?

If you do stick to the orchard proper, you will be able to pick your fill of apples. All of them are crisp and sweet and delicious. But at some point you will see the other trees.

They’re both huge and old, standing on two sloping hills just past the orchard rows. One of them has apples red as blood, and the other apples gold as the sun. In the shade of these trees are weapons sticking half out of the earth, as if they were carelessly buried many years ago.

If you pick one of the red apples, you will find that you are suddenly besieged with huge snakes. They are as big as anacondas and an inky black that absorbs the light, with eyes the same red as the apples. They aren’t poisonous, but they bite and they crush, so you’ll have to fight them off at least long enough to run like hell!

If you pick the golden apples, a crowd of people will silently begin appearing from the orchard. They are all wearing animal masks… and they are all holding hand scythes. Uh oh. You’ll have to fight them off in order to escape! If you don’t manage that, well, in some places it’s traditional to have a big ol’ sacrificial bonfire…

All the weapons below the trees are non-enchanted items, but you may keep them.

Plaid Shirt Days and Nights

Content Warnings: Optional themes of identity and school trauma.

IMAKEOVER MAKEOVER

Thirteen believes passionately in education. There are, after all, five academies in Folkmore all catering to different types of learning. While these academies are open year round, it becomes apparent if you walk through any of the districts housing shops that back to school is definitely a thing.

A new school year represents a chance to learn more about the world, and about yourself.

Also? It’s a great time for a makeover!

Yes, step into any of the shops selling clothing and accessories anywhere in Folkmore and you will find yourself passionately invested in helping another person discover who it is they want to look like! Do they want to look cool and aloof? Warm and approachable? Are they an e-boy or a cottagcore witch? Punk or prep? You two can figure it out together!

As you shop together you will find it easier and easier to open up to one another, sharing who it is you want to be.

You’ll also be able to score a sweet outfit. Nice.

SAVED BY THE BELL

Wander into any school in Folkmore and you will find a handmade poster instructing all new students and faculty to report to the auditorium. Normal enough, one supposes… but the moment you enter the room you will find reality swims all around you and all of a sudden you’re stuck in a school nightmare!

You know the kind. You’re late for class, no matter how fast you run. You’re in gym class, trying to climb that goddamn rope. You’re getting your books dumped. You’re naked and giving a book report.

These could be memories, but it’s just as likely that they aren’t - you and another person are just trapped in this cliche together. Whichever one of you is in the audience role could maybe help the other one out? Get them some pants or something? Yeah.

Comments

[pursuitofcappiness]

Oh, that's great.

If you have any questions about this place by the way, I'd be happy to answer them. Either for you or your friend.

[ It's the least he can do. ]

[joidevivre]

Perhaps you know him? He goes by K. And [she hesitates briefly] has this place been known to perform physical transformations? Outside of what's apparent? [she gestures towards her glowing wings and halo]

[pursuitofcappiness]

I haven't met him, but I'll look out for him.

And - yes, it happens sometimes. I turned into a merman last month.

It's all pretty... strange.

[joidevivre]

You should! He's wonderful! [and yes, she looks more than a little love-struck]

A...merman? But those are make-believe. Aren't they?

Is it always?

[pursuitofcappiness]

Yes, and, well, I thought a lot of things were make-believe, but they're not here.

[ He smiles at Joi. ]

Maybe I could meet you and your fella sometime, you could come out to dinner with me and mine.

You - um, eat, right?

[ He doesn't want to offend her. ]

[joidevivre]

It seems like I'll have a lot to get used to!

[but she smiles back and looks excited at the idea]

I'd love that! A real dinner out with a new friend and his love, and me with mine!

We do. I'd imagine there are many more options other than instant noodles?

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ His brain breaks a tiny bit when she says love, but then she moves on and he swiftly moves on as well. ]

Oh yes, there's lots to eat here. We're not the greatest of cooks, but we're trying. What do you and K like? I bet I could work something out.

[joidevivre]

[she knew she loved K, even when she was a hologram. a programmed companion. but perhaps it's possible to transcend one's programming and feel for real]

Hmm. K ate a lot of instant noodles. There wasn't much else available. Though, I liked giving him the illusion of steak and french fries, even though both were impossible.

[pursuitofcappiness]

I'm pretty good with steak. French fries.. I'll try.

[ He hasn't deep-fried anything in his life, but he'll make the attempt. ]

[joidevivre]

That sounds wonderful! But you're hosting, one should bring a gift to the host. Do they have wine here?

[pursuitofcappiness]

Oh, sure. Not in this store, but trust me, my cooking's not good enough to pair with wine.

[ Though all they have at home is boxed wine that gives Tony a headache, so... maybe a bottle would be nice. ]

[joidevivre]

[hopefully] Surely there's something I can bring? A dessert, maybe?

[pursuitofcappiness]

Dessert might be nice.

[joidevivre]

All right! Do they have, ah, cookbooks for such things? Before I could have downloaded thousands of recipes, but it seems that's no longer an option.

[pursuitofcappiness]

Oh, yes! There's a lot of them on the device.

[ He takes his out to show her. ]

There's games on here, too.

[joidevivre]

Really? [she asks, sounding thrilled. perhaps no longer having an infinite amount of information stored in her coding won't hinder her too much?.

and she watches eagerly]

And they're all...free? To anyone?

[pursuitofcappiness]

Oh yes, it's like a library.

[ He looks confused. ]

Did you have to pay to download information, before?

[joidevivre]

Public libraries are virtually unheard of where I'm from.

I didn't, but the one who owned my license did. I couldn't actually make anything, being a hologram, but I could project the images of things.

[pursuitofcappiness]

That sounds really restrictive. I don't think there's anything like that here.

Why aren't there any libraries where you're from?

[joidevivre]

"I'm so glad to hear that, I can't even put it into words. I hope this will be a real home for K and me." She looks infinitely hopeful and happy. She can be with K, really be with him here. It thrills her from her head to her toes.

"Books were often fragile and hard to come by. Most things were electronic, including books. That helped when I needed to find things to refer to, but that didn't mean I actually understood the comparisons I was making. I do now." And she remembers K's love for The Velveteen Rabbit. After all, wasn't that what they both were? Someone loved enough to become real.

[pursuitofcappiness]

Oh, that sounds like such a sad existence. "Maybe you could ask Thirteen to let you and K stay," he suggests. Because it seems like it'd be best for them to start over here, apparently. He's still on the fence about that himself, but he has been entertaining it lately, now that it seems like most of his team might just show up.

[joidevivre]

Looking back on it, it was. But K had always seen beyond her programming and treated her like a woman, a companion, the closest thing to being a wife as she could be. "That's what I want, for us to stay for a long, long time. Especially now." Now that she's not ones and zeros, she's a Replicant, same as K. But like him, she transcended her programming.

[pursuitofcappiness]

"That you're not an AI anymore?" He never thought about asking Vision how he felt. "I've only seen that happen once, and it took a pretty long time. But... he's really happy now, at home."

"How long have you and K known each other?"

[joidevivre]

"Yes. I can have my own feelings, but I know down to the bottom of my--my soul, I suppose. I know that I love K and that I won't stop loving him. I'm very hopeful that this will be the fresh start we both deserve."

"I've known him for what feels like ages and not at all. Have you ever known someone who feels that way?"

[pursuitofcappiness]

"Not really," he confesses. "But that sounds really special, what you've got with K." He'd like to have that, someday. "Are you looking for someplace new to live? Or are you gonna move into his place?"