June 2023 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

June 2023 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 allowed to have in-game characters react to TDMs via the Network or make a Log with the prompts they want to participate in.

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 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 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 ]

Right Where You Left Me . ★

Content Warnings: Alternate Universe, Memory alteration/altered sense of self, Exhibition

If This Was a Movie

You forget everything the fox told you on your way over. You forget your own history. You remember a completely new one, one that matches whatever story you're now in. It could be a story from your world—a folk tale, a novel, a movie, a telenovella—or one you've never heard of. Whatever it is, this is your life now. Your memories match as though you've lived here your whole life. The tone may match your world, or it may drastically differ.

And you're not alone.

Whatever scene you're in features at least one other Star Child in the same situation you are. They might also be a new arrival, or they may be someone Thirteen has plucked up out of Folkmore and brought here to join you. Whether you've known each other your whole previous life or never met before, you know each other as the people in the story—whatever relationship that is. You don't remember being placed here. It's your life! It always has been.

The two (or more) of you pick up at whatever point in the story it is. Perhaps it'll go the same way as the original story. Perhaps not. You still are you—memories redacted—after all. This story is yours to write together!

The outfits, the setting, the NPCs (played by Spirits going along with things), etc. all perfectly match the story and adapt with you as you create your own retelling.

Big Red Button

As it turns out, you aren't only in an entertainment, you are an entertainment. Across Folkmore, large screens showing these stories appear: in every school, in public squares, before a large meadow, in the middle of the desert, you name it. It's also streaming on everyone's relics. Everyone has the chance to see your story play out.

That's not all, Star Children are your key out of the story and into Folkmore itself. Along with these screens, there are big red buttons. Digitally, a big red button appears on people's relics when they watch these stories. It's pretty simple. Someone presses the big red button and you're free! The reason doesn't matter—boredom, pity, recognition, the irresistibility of buttons. These are the only way out, so when you get out is completely up to your fellow Star Children.

Once the button is pushed, an invisible wall between your story and Folkmore falls away. With it, you regain all your memories from home and from the walk to Folkmore with the fox. All you have to do is step out of the story and into the school of Baba Yaga. The school of magic. Thirteen isn't there personally, but you may feel her spirit around you. Baba Yaga—Thirteen—is the school itself.

A small chest is also there as soon as you leave the story containing an item from your homeworld. This may even be a weapon or magical item.

Small bat spirits have a couple stations set up within the school near where Star Children exit their stories. If you're injured or need to rest, they are ready to help treat you or provide you as many pillows and blankets as you wish. If you're hungry or thirsty, the other station has food and drink for all. Steaming tea, freshly baked bread, and all sorts of warm comforting foods. You'd be forgiven for thinking it might be autumn. They want you to be at your best when you leave Baba Yaga and enter the rest of Folkmore via Exile.

No Body, No Crime . ★

Content Warnings: Optional mind/body split, Possible invasion of privacy, Possible monster/creature violence

Eyes Open

When you leave Baba Yaga, you're somewhere in Exile. Not even the Spirits or experienced Star Children can tell you where exactly you are. The school walks around on its chicken legs. Unless someone leaves at the same time as you, you'll start in different places. You'll have to find your own way out.

If you have been exiled before, you'll have an easier time navigating the land. It'll help guide you toward where you want to go. If you have never been exiled before, you'll have a harder time navigating this section of Folkmore. The trees may try to push you back. Perhaps nothing happens, exactly, but the aura is one that doesn't want you. Regardless, there's enough fog that it's difficult to see where you're going. Attention certainly seems to be on you. Are the trees watching? Is the water listening? Those are simply stories Spirits share to scare new Star Children isn't it?

Suddenly, you may appear to be in another part of Folkmore! It could be anywhere. It could be a public area, a business, someone's home… Wherever it is, if you try to touch something, you realize you cannot. Instead you pass right through solid objects. You cannot open a door, but you can walk right through it. You may surprise someone with your sudden appearance, or perhaps you reach out to people you see for help. Perhaps you simply explore this new area where you were.

Take all the time you want. Hopefully nothing bad is happening back with your body still in Exile… On second thought, perhaps you don't want to spend too long away from your body. You can use your own skills or get help returning to your body or find yourself suddenly back in it. Time to take stock and maybe find your way back to the rest of Folkmore body included.

Cowboy Like Me

On your way through Exile, you may come across weapons sticking out of the ground. Swords, axes, shields, bows, guns… All manner of non-magical weapons. They're simply there, scattered here and there, free for the taking. It looks like someone had a bad time trying to get out of Exile. Whoever the weapons belonged to, they don't need them now.

A word of warning to those who grab the weapons, as soon as you do, one of the dangerous creatures in Exile will find you. These creatures don't only have sharp claws or fangs, poison or sharp senses, they are intelligent. You'll need not only the weapon(s) you grabbed but your wits to defeat them or the luck of someone else coming along to help you out.

Comments

[heypartner]

The younger man is definitely not listening. He's clearly lost in his own thoughts. That's fine. That's good even. There's a lot to take in. Cobb had been a little more angry when he arrived, not to mention freezing cold.

With time, Obi-Wan would get settled and make friends, make connections. Even though Cobb had tried to isolate himself out in the desert he had found people to get along with. And then Din had shown up and the presence of a familiar face had settled him more.

"Come on." Cobb held open the door when they reached the cantina. Folks here called it a tavern but Cobb couldn't given up the familiar term. He gestures the kid inside and then goes up to the bar. He puts his spoon down and orders two mugs of beer.

He nudges it against Obi-Wan's hand. "Hey, might want to snap out of it. The Trials are going to be a lot harsher than I am."

[hasmuchtolearn]

There’s a lot to take in, sure, but he wasn’t thinking about what Cobb thought he was. Obi-Wan’s world had just shattered, and that was before he was brought here. He steps inside in silence, and while distracted, he did notice the spoon.

When the mug touches his hand, he opens his mouth as if to say something but closes it again. Thinking better of it. It wasn’t so much Cobb that bothered him, but admitting that would just lead to questions. Questions he didn’t really want to answer.

Instead he took the mug, muttering something that sounded like a thank you. He then took a sip of the drink and then promptly choked. Coughing and sputtering on the vile liquid before shooting Cobb a look. “What in star’s name is this?!”

That snapped him out of it at least.

[heypartner]

"Beer." Cobb raises an eyebrow as he takes a sip from his drink. It's a decent beer. A little heavy on the hops but not bad. Pretty good all things considered. He reaches over and takes the beer away from the kid.

Definitely a kid even if he should really be considered a young man.

"Just ice water for this one," he says with a jerk of his chin towards Obi-Wan. The most expensive drink on Tatooine given away away like it's nothing. It still bothers Cobb how wasteful people are with water around here.

"Guess it's not to your tastes. That's fine. You can order somethin' else if you like it better. My treat." He taps a metal finger against the spoon making it ring softly. "We're makin' more credits just talkin' like this."

[hasmuchtolearn]

Obi-Wan can’t help that he grew up relatively sheltered in a temple. It would be a few years before he would develop a taste for alcohol. But there sure is an annoyed look on his face as Cobb confiscates the mug like he’s a kid and orders water for him instead.

“I’m not a youngling you know,” he says irritably. Though in all honesty he wouldn’t even know what to ask for. So with that he opens his hand and uses the Force to pull the mug back. It was a challenge now.

Though there’s then a puzzled look on his face. “Earning credits? How?”

[heypartner]

"You are probably a quarter of my age, if that." Cobb raises an eyebrow. If he hadn't seen magic in action from this world so it's not that shocking but the kid's from his galaxy.

"You're a Jedi." Because those are the only ones Cobb knows from home that are supposed to have powers like that. They're supposed to all be dead too though that turned out to be a lie.

He lets the kid have the beer. If he wants to choke it down then he can choke it down. "Interacting with people gets you credits that are stored in the spoon. They call it something else here. Lore, but it's credits."

[hasmuchtolearn]

“Really? You look good for a hundred years old,” Obi-Wan sasses back.

The observation about him being a Jedi should be an obvious one. He lives in a time where his people are still plentiful. But it’s still not uncommon for people to be surprised to see a Jedi.

And he will choke it down thank you very much. He takes a mouthful of the stuff and swallows as if to prove a point. Just ignore the shudder thar follows afterward. How do people drink this stuff? Must be an acquired taste.

“So that’s what the spoon is for.” Reaching for his belt he pulls out one of his own. Looking it over critically as if there should be something indicating how many “credits” are in it.

[heypartner]

"Try again when you can grow facial hair." If Obi-Wan wants to trade barbs they can keep going back and forth. Cobb's comfortable with that and his age. He grew old on Tatooine. That planet doesn't really let people get old.

The kid is too stubborn for his own good. He's clearly miserable drinking the beer but forcing himself to anyway for some sake of pride. Definitely needed to grow past that and be a real person.

"Yup. That's what it's for. Keep it with you on all times. And the comm they gave you. Both are useful."

[hasmuchtolearn]

Obi-Wan snorts at that. “I will. Once I officially become a knight.” Not that Cobb would know anything about that. He’s fully aware outsiders don’t understand the Jedi ways.

Stubborn is definitely a trait he has, and he’s still young and feels like he has something to prove. He will grow out of it one day, but not today. So he takes yet another swig of beer and tries not to wretch.

“All right,” he says and then puts the spoon away. Some good things to know at least. “Is there anything else around other than this… establishment?”

[heypartner]

Cobb only knows the stories of Jedi and who knows how true they are. Like any former slave he does believe the one about the slave racing in the Boonta Eve Classic and winning to get his freedom. That one is practically sacred to his people.

He pulls out his Relic, opens the map, and slides it over to Obi-Wan. "You can look through that. There's plenty out there to see and do. And housing is open to folks. Just pick where you want to live."

It's a relatively peaceful place in between the Trials but that makes Cobb unsettled. He doesn't like the lie. "Plenty of places you can find to keep yourself busy."

[hasmuchtolearn]

Ah yes, that’s a story he only just lived. Granted he’d been stuck on a ship while all of that was going on, but he was there.

Ah a map, that will come in handy. The Padawan browsing through it as he idly sips at the beer. Starting to get used to the bitter taste as it was starting to creep into his senses and cloud his judgement a little.

“Oh good, I’m going to need to keep busy. When I’m not meditating anyway.”

Qui-Gon would want him to keep up with his meditations.

[heypartner]

There's nothing in the Relic Cobb cares to hide from the kid. He sits back and lets him browse through the features to his heart's content.

"That's the comm device here," he explains. "There's a whole network where folks talk about what's going on and their homes. A few schools local to this place are scattered around. Combat school's near where I live."

Out in the desert where Cobb is most comfortable. It's not hot enough some days but he's adjusting to the change of having one sun. "And some folks teach things from their galaxies here and there. You already got Jedi powers but they've got magic of their own here you could learn if you were inclined."

Cobb touches none of it.

[hasmuchtolearn]

Listening to Cobb makes him frown, as if he touched on something that really annoyed him. "The Force isn't magic," he says, trying and failing not to sound indignant. Why do people always think that? "It's not something that can be taught if you don't already have it."

He sighs though as he continues to look through the device. Obi-Wan is pretty savvy with tech so it was pretty easy to figure out. "I would rather stick with what I know." Learning other forms of "magic" seemed weird to him. It might come in handy, sure, but it just seemed like a betrayal to everything he had been taught already. But then maybe if he learned more about it he would think differently.

[heypartner]

"Might as well be to those of us who can't use it," Cobb says with a simple shrug.

Obi-Wan can call it whatever he wants but that'll never change the truth of what he just said. Only the Jedi can use it. The rest of the poor bastards in the galaxy that can't don't get any insight to it. It might as well be magic.

"Your choice but the fox will sometimes change you for Trials so you might not get one eventually." Which is the main reason Cobb does not like the fox. There's no choice and he hates that.

[hasmuchtolearn]

He has a point, but that doesn’t mean he likes it. Calling it magic was just so crude and ignorant. Maybe if people actual took the time to understand it and his people then they might have more respect. Just like how Cobb demands it for the people of Tatooine.

He chews on all of that, and the comments about the Fox. Still slurping away at the beer until it’s gone. Which makes him frown and push the mug away.

“Does anyone ever leave? I want to go back. I need to go back.”

[heypartner]

Star, that made Obi-Wan sound so young. He takes the empty mug and nudges it towards the bartender. Cobb gives a little shake of his head at the silent question of a refill. The kid didn't need any more.

"Yeah, folks leave. They come and go." Cobb feels restless thinking about how long he's been here. "But according to the fox there's a version of you still there. You haven't disappeared."

That's another thing that chafes at Cobb. A false version of himself is walking around protecting his people. Making choices without Cobb knowing what they are. They should be his choices but how the hell would he know? It bothers him deeply.

"I can't tell you when you'll go back. That's up to the fox."

[hasmuchtolearn]

By this point Obi-Wan is looking positively miserable now that everything is beginning to sink in. He felt so small and helpless. Stuck in a world he didn’t belong in with no way out except at the discretion of a fuzzy animal.

“She told me that,” Obi-Wan says, but that clearly doesn’t satisfy him. Just because things were going on without him didn’t mean he didn’t want to be there.

With a sigh, the young man rests his elbows on the table and laces his fingers together in front of his face. Brows furrowed in worry and anguish. Trying very hard to keep it together. His eyes then slide to the mug that Cobb pushed away. "I want more of that," he said to the guy behind the counter. "What did you call it? Beer?" People like to drink alcohol for a reason, and he knew full well it would dull his sense. That might be what he needed right now. The stuff was disgusting but it could be worth it.

[heypartner]

When the bartender glances his way Cobb shrugs, left shoulder rising higher than the right. He won't stop the kid from drinking by choice and he has the spoons to spare. The bartender puts another mug in front of Obi-Wan a few seconds later.

"You can't trust everything the fox says." He's not sure that needs to be said out loud and he's careful about it. Lots of the spirit folk like their fox. Plenty of people brought here liked the fox too. Cobb is cautious about where and when he bad mouths the fox.

"This place likes its illusions and tricks so I'd be cautious acceptin' everythin' you hear as truth." He raises his glass in a toast. "Even from me. Usually honest with most folks but I can be wrong."

[hasmuchtolearn]

Once the mug is put in front of him, Obi-Wan takes it in his hands and stares at it with grim determination. Distracted only by what Cobb says. A frown coming to his face though his eyes stay on the beer. The man had a point. There really was no reason to trust the fox. For all he knew everything she told him was a lie. She hadn't exactly earned any reason for him to trust her.

"Being wrong and actively deceiving people is different," Obi-Wan points out. If Cobb told him something, but believed it, and it ended up being wrong, he could forgive that. But if the man is outright lying to him, that's whole other thing. He didn't sense any deception from him though.

Going back to the beer, the young Jedi steeled himself then raised the mug and began to drink. And drink. And drink. Emptying the mug quicker that he really should have. The padawan looking a little green around the gills as he swallowed and put down the empty mug, somehow managing not to throw up.

"Another one," he said to the bartender, clearly intending to get himself completely plastered.

[heypartner]

Cobb sips his drink slowly. He debates with himself for a second about stopping Obi-Wan before he can drink himself into unconsciousness but, eh, he's old enough to drink and everyone's got to get shitfaced at some point.

"The people here are good," Cobb says, moving away from the fox and dangerous talk. "Have yet to meet someone not willin' to help out. That's especially important durin' the Trials."

Might as well keep talking about the world they've been dragged into while Obi-Wan drinks. He's going to have to decide what to do when the kid either gets sick or passes out but they'll cross that dune when they get there.

[hasmuchtolearn]

When the next mug is passed to him, Obi-Wan takes it then looks at Cobb as he changes the subject. Not that it really matters to him at the moment.

“Well that’s encouraging. So long as there aren’t any horny Sith Lords then it’s all fine for me.”

That… didn’t come out quite right. But who cares, Obi-Wan doesn’t. All he wants right now is to drink all those cares away. Thus he starts to guzzle down his third mug, though he does take it a little slower this time.

[heypartner]

Cobb raises an eyebrow. "Horny like I'm horny?"

He raps a metal knuckle against one of his horns. It's still a strange sensation because it vibrates into his skull but he's had them long enough that it doesn't set his teeth on edge anymore.

"Or you mean somethin' else that young men often are?" Obi-Wan made it too easy for that one but he is a little curious. "Because plenty of people around here got horns but I don't think they're Sith Lords."

[hasmuchtolearn]

He has to squint at Cobb for a moment when asked to clarify and then he just blinks and blushes a little bit. Clearing his throat and trying to hide any embarrassment. “Oh I meant like those,” he points at Cobb’s head. That’s definitely what he meant.

He will just go back to drinking his beer thanks and try to forget that blunder. Though it’s probably the beer that caused it in the first place. Oh well.

“Sith Lord is the important part,” he then says. Because plenty of people have horns in their galaxy too. “Did you know they have dual bladed lightsabers? Who even uses that? Double the blades, twice the stabbing I suppose.”

[heypartner]

"I only know of two Sith Lords," Cobb says with a shrug. "One of them was runnin' the Empire and the other did all the killin' for him."

Any knowledge outside of that? Cobb knew nothing. Jedi. Sith. All that was legend and story. He heard old timers talking about those things but until a Mandalorian walked into his town and a Jedi destroyed the Death Star it was all stories.

"What year do you come from?" He's suddenly very curious. The way Obi-Wan talks of Jedi and Sith is different from how anyone talks about them back home.

[hasmuchtolearn]

“Empire? What are you talking about?” This said as Obi-Wan came up for air from his mug. “Nobody has seen a Sith Lord in… well… a really long time. Not even Master Yoda has faced one. We thought they were extinct.”

The question about what year it was cause the young Jedi to give Cobb a weird look. What he gave was a year in whatever way the republic measured years, which would amount to 32 BBY.

[heypartner]

The year didn't register. He never learned anything about the details of the Republic except a few stories and that it existed and failed during the Clone Wars. They didn't teach slaves history.

"Huh." Cobb assumes it must be a Jedi way of telling time. "The Empire doesn't matter much anymore but it was led by Darth Vader and Palpatine. Who, if you can believe the news from the New Republic, was a Sith. Dead now though, both of 'em."

What little bit of the Empire remains didn't seem dangerous but Cobb had a gut feeling they weren't done. They definitely weren't done with the Outer Rim given the way those bastards lingered.