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

[ferrokinetically]

[ She watches him with a raised eyebrow and when he's finally done she shakes her head. ]

Didn't know I was putting on a show. [ But he seems like the type to have a flair for the dramatics. ] Seems more like you're the one with the showmanship.

[ Yeah, this was definitely someone that enjoyed showmanship. She couldn't say she particularly cared about cultists that attacked them, but she wouldn't step over their bodies. Seemed a tad bit too much. Now if they'd been Sentinel soldiers or Purifiers? She'd have stepped over them with glee. ]

Might as well. I'd rather not deal with round two of revenge of the farmers.

[morethanatrickster]

A demonstration, then.

[He chuckled slightly at her joke and continued on.]

Clever. And what am I to call you? I am Loki of Asgard.

[He was capable of at least feigning a sense of propriety when meeting someone new. Besides, he had nothing against this woman. She was talented to be sure, and one to watch.]

[ferrokinetically]

A warning. [ To anyone else that might show up and want to start something over an apple. ]

Does just Loki work? Loki of Asgard every time seems like a mouthful. [ She gives him a sidelong glance followed by a tiny smirk. It took her a moment to decide what to go with, eventually settling on both since he'd decided to go with an entire title. ]

Lorna Dane or Polaris.

[morethanatrickster]

Semantics. [He flashed a mischievous smile in her direction while he thought on her request. He'd never actually voluntarily been on a first name basis with a mortal, but this one was particularly impressive.]

Assuming I am the only Loki present, I suppose that will suffice.

[He raised an eyebrow at the name.] Polaris? After the Northern star as seen from Earth?

[ferrokinetically]

[ She laughed and shook her head. ] I'll keep that in mind if another shows up. Make sure to specify which I'm talking to. [ She wouldn't actually keep that in mind. Although she had heard it was possible for others to show up. Might be something she'd consider weird if this entire place didn't fit under the weird category.

A small smirk appeared for just a flash of a second at the recognition. ] You got it. [ There was more to it than that. An entire story rooted in a Complicated relationship with her father. But that wasn't a story for a stranger. ] Your title implies Loki isn't just some name you picked? [ A few people had mentioned their worlds having gods so one of them actually showing up didn't seem that farfetched. ]

[morethanatrickster]

The charming one, clearly. [And the only important one, but that went without saying.]

Prince Loki of Asgard was a title given to me by my adopted parents. I am the Rightful King of Jotunheim, though, and that I earned myself, as is the God of Mischief.

[He smiled proudly. He knew all about complicated relationships with parents. They could commiserate, really.]

[ferrokinetically]

Careful. That might switch to the egotistical one. [ She tossed him a smirk and shook her head. ]

You're actually the god then? [ Somehow it feels like a scenario where at least some respect should be offered. Too bad Lorna only believed in offering respect if someone earned it. He might have saved her with the cultists, but that wasn't enough to fawn over. ] Specifically the god of mischief? Sounds like trouble.

[morethanatrickster]

Please, everyone thinks I'm charming. Trust me. [Was that a self-deprecating joke? Possibly.]

As close as any mortal on Midgard need be concerned, yes. I am immortal, and I possess powers they can't fathom. I hail from another world apart from their own and can employ otherworldly means to travel to and from theirs. I'm also far less fragile than they are.

[He smiles at the moniker.] The God of Mischief, Chaos, Rebellion, and Stories.

[He gives a slight bow.] I am also Prince of Asgard and the Rightful King of Jotunheim, if we're sharing titles, though I expected the North Star to shine a bit brighter.

[ferrokinetically]

And we crossed the line. [ She rolled her eyes even as she listened to his explanation. He must like to hear himself talk based on how much he went on about that. ]

Three out of four of those don't sound too bad. [ Chaos was a little iffy.

She narrowed her eyes at his comment and then rolled her shoulders in a dramatic shrug. ] Good thing I wasn't trying to impress you.

[morethanatrickster]

[He grins at her accusation. He's been accused of worse by better.]

Only three of four? Which do you find less palatable I wonder?

[He chuckles, aware of her sarcasm and playing along.] Don't fret too much over it, Polaris. I'm decidedly difficult to impress.

[ferrokinetically]

Wouldn't you like to know? [ Something told her he would. So, it seemed all the more amusing to hold it back from him.

She inclines her head to one side and quirks her lips. ] Yeah? That because you're too busy impressing yourself?

[morethanatrickster]

[Instead of answering, he looks thoughtful for a moment, thinking back on the very little he knows of this green-haired woman. She didn't hesitate to go on the offensive, and the energy in her assault was very nearly unbridled in its ferocity, but only nearly. He smiled slightly.]

Your power is great and you've quite the temper. It's chaos that gives you pause, isn't it?

[And if that self-satisfied smirk didn't confirm her accusation, nothing would.] No. It's because I've seen things beyond your imagination.

[ferrokinetically]

Nice deduction skills. You should add that to your resume titles. [ She doesn't seem bothered by him figuring it out and instead just shrugs her shoulders and then shoves her hands in her pocket. ]

I'm sure you have, god of Stories. Planning on telling me about them or is that just an empty title?

[morethanatrickster]

God of Deduction? It doesn't quite have the same ring to it, does it?

[He smiled, this time more amused that arrogant.]

If you'd like me to regale you with a tale or two, we should get out of this orchard, find a place with decent mead or wine, and you should tell me what sort of story it is you'd like to hear.

[ferrokinetically]

Nerds need a god too.

[ There's a flash of a grin ]

Deal. Hope I won't be disappointed. There's a tavern we could head to.

[morethanatrickster]

I suppose they do.

[Loki was a nerd. He could stomach this.]

Brilliant. Lead the way, and I can assure you I never disappoint.

[ferrokinetically]

[ A short trip later they're at the Prancing Pony. ]

Not too impressive, but it's what's here.

[morethanatrickster]

[For just a moment, he looks around the establishment with a smile unlike the ones he's shown previously. It was nostalgic, almost, and slightly sad.]

It will do. I'll get us drinks. Why don't you find us a table and think on what sort of story you'd like to hear?

[ferrokinetically]

[ She catches a different look and arches an eyebrow before giving a quick nod and heading off to find a booth in the back. ]

Sure thing.

[morethanatrickster]

[From the way he slides through the crowd both to the bar to place and order and back to the table she's chosen with two bugs of mead, it's clear he's slid through half-drunken crowds many times.

He slides the mead he's brought for her in front of her before sliding into another chair.He smiled, taking a pull from his glass.]

Have you decided?

[ferrokinetically]

Thanks. [ She said as she took the mug from him and took a sip. ]

How about a story about where you're from.

[morethanatrickster]

Very well, a story of my homeland it shall be. Would you care for your story to be filled with political intrigue, drama, action? [He smiled slightly.] Romance?

[ferrokinetically]

[ She rolls a shoulder in a shrug then smirks. ] If it's a good story doesn't it need all of the above?

[morethanatrickster]

Too right, Lorna. [He cleared his throat and took a long pull from his drink before settling in.]

Alright, then. You're familiar with Midgard, your homeworld of Earth, yes? [With a wave of his hand, in the middle of the table, a large tree took root, with spiraling branches and roots that reached far abroad and beneath it. At the center of its trunk was a small blue ball spinning slowly, a ball which, upon closer inspection, was a miniature globe of Earth.]

It stands at the heart of Yggdrasil, the Worlds Tree. As such, it is something of a midway point for all the realms. You're familiar enough with its environs, so I won't bore you with specifics, but Midgard is a highly sought after realm, for its variety and for its central location. Midgard, after all, would be a perfectly strategic staging point for, say a conquest of all the Nine Realms.

[He waved his hand again as, as though to follow his tale, other orbs sprang to life long the length of the tree: a shining orb of brilliant golden light at its apex, a globe of pale green and one of pale blue just below it, nearly level with Midgard appeared an ice blue sphere swirling with ice crystals and snow, a brilliant place of verdant green, and then, among the roots of the tree, an inky black sphere, a crimson sphere swirling with fire, an a last shrouded in a dense fog.]

All the Realms enjoy the unification and protection of Asgard, there at the top. All Asgardians are protectors of all the Nine, and their custodians. From Asgard, all the realms were united, connected by a trans-dimensional conduit known as the Bifrost, or the Rainbow Bridge.

[Another wave of his hand and a multi-faceted ribbon of light sprang forth from the golden sphere at the top of the illusionary worlds tree, entwining with the trees branches and touching each glowing sphere as it encircled everything.]

Any questions thus far?

[ferrokinetically]

Rainbow Bridge. Of course. [ But she seems at least mildly interested. Or at least as interested as her usually sardonic looking expression will allow. He's definitely putting a lot of effort into showing off. ]

Nope, I think I'm keeping up.