December 2023 & January 2024 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

December 2023 - January 2024 TDM

Introduction

Overflow TDM post found here

[ TDM Questions ★ Jump to Comments ★ Full Navigation ]
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 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]

Thirteen Knows What You Did Last Summer . ★

Content Warnings: School Detention, Time Not Passing, Forced Reflection/Confession, Potential Violence

Welcome to detention. Star Children, whether they're new arrivals to Folkmore or old hands, find themselves sitting at two person desks in a library. Perhaps there's only two Star Children, perhaps up to four or five. Regardless, each Star Child has a slip of paper in their hands which spells out why they are in detention, a secret detention slip no one else can read. Which, whew, because the reason any Star Child is in detention is for something they've never been punished for, something they might reasonably have thought they got away with, something they know was wrong.

The door to the library opens, and Kuma Lisa enters. She explains that Star Children will be in detention for four hours, and by the end of detention, they will need to reflect on what they did and express contrition. The headmistress gives no further guidance before leaving and closing the doors behind her.

Four hours is a notable chunk of time, but it's not so long, is it? Surely it's possible to wait it out without making good on the assignment… Or perhaps it's enough to write about it in one of the notebooks on the table in front of each student, without explaining it to another soul. Star Children are welcome to try whatever they want. However, they may notice an oddity with the clock. Namely, no matter how many times the second hand ticks around a circle to mark a whole minute, the minute and hour hands don't progress. It's the same minute over and over and over—

Detention is four hours, but how long four hours takes is entirely up to the Star Children in detention. Read every book in the library. Throw a dance party. Get high. Pull weapons out of the books. All matter of non-magical weapons. Nothing immediately happens upon pulling those weapons—no monsters to make detention less boring. Unless people make progress reflecting on their transgression, communicating about it with another Star Child, and showing penitence for it, time won't pass. Reality warps to stay in the same minute, minute after minute, hour after hour.

What's it going to be? Never ending detention or personal accountability?

However long it takes, it only takes four hours in the realm of Folkmore.

A word of warning to those who grabbed weapons, they will be attacked on their way home after detention. They will be attacked by creatures out of storybooks. Star Children will need to know the literary weaknesses of these creatures, good luck, or the help of someone else coming along who does know their weaknesses. At least there's some excitement in the day after four long long hours.

🦊 Star Children, new and old, in groups of 2-5 are in detention for something they did wrong & haven't been punished for.
🦊 Kuma Lisa explains detention lasts four hours, and people have to express regret for what they did by the end.
🦊 Time doesn't pass unless Star Children make progress toward that assignment.
🦊 It always takes four hours in Folkmore time.
🦊 Star Children who draw weapons from books during detention will be attacked on their way home.

To Prank or to be Pranked . ★

Content Warnings: Theft, Glitter Bombs, Minor Power Nerfing

There's a problem with the nonexistent mail delivery system in Folkmore. Gifts are being delivered to residents' addresses—their correct addresses, even if they live in the woods—but those recipients, written on a fat cream label, cannot pick them up, teleport them, or otherwise move them under their own power. These gifts sit in garish and contrasting colors that make certain to draw attention to themselves. Hello, here they are.

Anyone else can pick these packages up, from the person next door to a stranger walking by. There's so many gifts around it's easy to pick one up, remove the label, and go on one's way. Few people are home all the time, and even if they are, what are they going to do? Pick it up themselves? Ha! It's free real estate. Star Children with abilities to see inside the packages can see something they want badly within as extra motivation to go for it.

When Star Children open their ill gotten gains, these packages explode in a glitter bomb that coats everyone within a ten foot radius. This glitter is impossible to wash out, magic away, or otherwise remove for twenty-four hours. Walk, swim, fly, or otherwise go about with glittery evidence of the crime committed.

Almost always. If it were guaranteed, where would the fun be in that?

The rare fortunate criminal or the original recipient, helped by another Star Child, will receive an item from home. This may even be a weapon or magical item. Those who receive an item will stop receiving gifts on their doorstep, whether they stole the gift or received it from a package addressed to them. They can keep stealing other people's gifts, but they will only receive a glitter bomb from then on.

Mischievous Star Children can even prank each other by changing the label and redelivering packages to someone else. Should that person get help to bring the gift inside, it still isn't their gift, not really, so it too will explode in glitter.

🦊 Gifts appear outside Star Children's residences, even those without residences.
🦊 Recipients cannot pick up the gift but any other Star Child can.
🦊 Almost all stolen gifts explode in a glitter bomb that leaves glitter for 24 hours.
🦊 Star Children can receive an item from home, even a weapon or magical item.
🦊 Star Children can prank each other by changing the labels/moving the packages.

Comments

[pyrighteous]

[ A good grade in boyfriend!! Very important.

Anyway, he beams a bit and moves to sit on Flapstaff, holding a hand out to Casey. ]

Then let's go get that view.

[apuckalypse]

[Casey accepts his hand and climbs aboard, winding his arm around Hunter's waist like before. While he'd done it last time and the position hadn't felt unusual or special, it feels decidedly different, this time. Cozier. It's... really nice to hold him. (Boyfriend!)

Whoops. They haven't even gotten off the ground and he's already pink-cheeked.]

I-I'm ready!

[To be swept off his feet again, most likely.]

[pyrighteous]

[ Speaking of views, that sure is a nice one. Hunter can't help but let his gaze linger on Casey's blush. No need to hide it now! That's nice enough as it is.

He puts one hand over Casey's clasped hands and uses the other to carefully guide the staff into the air. It's a slow glide, cautiously taking both of them up over the crest of the buildings in a winding circle. ]

Hold on tight, okay?

[apuckalypse]

I won't let go!

[Casey nods, obliging by squeezing Hunter a little closer, fingers laced. He didn't have his gloves or the warmers on, since they'd been spirited here magically, so Hunter's hand over his is extra welcome, nice and cozy. After a few moments of flying, he dares to rest his chin on Hunter's shoulder, peering over it to watch the view (and maybe Hunter a bit, in his peripheral).]

It's pretty here... Kuma Lisa's not so bad.

[Detention aside.]

[pyrighteous]

[ That's even better. Flying is always great, and it turns out that the only thing that could make it better is having Casey leaning against him like that. His ears go rather pink and not just from the cold air blowing past them, and the little branching horns that are perpetually sticking up out of his hair seem to twitch just a little.

True to what he'd said earlier, Hunter moves them in a slow circle, not in any particular hurry to get them back home just yet. ]

It's - it's really not. I guess we could have gone here too if we wanted.

[apuckalypse]

[Casey can't seem to stop smiling, not that he wants to. It's a slow, steady flight, leisurely enough that the scenery isn't whizzing by but rather perfect for getting a good vibe of the area, to spot landmarks and aspects of the school and its neighbourhood. He doesn't know much about this school, beyond the fact that it has a conveniently located library for them and does general education (whatever that means), but it looks modern and gleaming from the sky. Reminds him a little bit of New York, the way Satori Hills does, which makes it feel at least adjacent to home.]

I do like having free days most of the time... [He's getting more used to it, but school can sometimes still be a lot, even if it's only 3 days.] But, um. I think we can drop in and take some random open classes when we feel like it. We just need to see what's available, and what we want to learn.

[pyrighteous]

[ Three days is kind of all that Hunter can handle too at the moment. But at the mention of open classes, he can't help but brighten. ]

Peter mentioned that dancing lessons are something you can do. It sounded like fun?

[apuckalypse]

[Casey's eyes widen.]

Oh! I didn't know they'd have that... that sounds great, yeah.

[The most he's done is the gala dance and an impromptu lesson with Rue for Uncle Tello's memorial. He'd really like to learn more. (Especially if it means dancing with Hunter more, but he's biased there.]

[pyrighteous]

Then - I mean - I think it'd be fun? I'd like to try it.

[ With Casey of course is the implication there. ]

[apuckalypse]

[It takes a second for the indirect invite to sink in, and once it does, Casey brightens even further. He wasn't about to jump in on something if Hunter and Peter had planned it together, but if he's invited-]

Me too! I'd love that!

[pyrighteous]

Great! Uh -

[ The staff dips a bit as Hunter suddenly gets nervous. ]

I have no idea which kind of dance I want to try but I'm working on it!!

[apuckalypse]

[Casey's grip tightens instinctively as they dip- a bit of helpless worry, since he has no control here, but he trusts Hunter.]

Um- I only know two. Rue taught me kind of a silly dance last month, and that was fun but I don't know if I could do it with an audience. [Or a class.] Did you want to try more of what we did at the big gala, or something else?

[pyrighteous]

[ Oops, sorry Casey. Hunter quickly rights the staff again. Time to start arcing towards their apartment, however slowly. ]

I - uh - I liked the gala dancing. Yeah. I'm not sure what it's called though.

[apuckalypse]

I danced that with Mom too. [It was a weird day.] We can ask them, they knew how to do it so I'm sure they'd know what it's called.

[pyrighteous]

-- Oh yeah. I didn't even think about that.

[ Hunter brightens as they begin a slow descent back downwards. ]

Mom seems to know just about everything.

[apuckalypse]

Makes sense... they've been around waaaay way longer than any of us have been alive. More than all of us combined. The only thing they don't really know is tech, I bet.

[Thank god, there's something they can actually help with.]

[pyrighteous]

Yeah ... you've got them beat there.

[ Hunter gets nothing!! ]

[apuckalypse]

[Hmm. Boyfriend (boyfriend!!) kind of bummed by this? Is that the vibe he's getting, maybe? Time to fix it… somehow.

He scoots a little closer again, bumping his head against Hunter's.]

You've got magic they don't have. Theirs is more defense and illusion. I don't think they can shoot lightning.

[He could be wrong, but Rue isn't here to correct him, so there.]

[pyrighteous]

O-oh. I ... didn't think of that.

[ He's never seen Rue shoot lightning so that scans actually. ]

And I can teleport too.

[apuckalypse]

[Oof, sorry buddy-]

They can teleport, actually, but I think just the one time. But you can blink around more than once, right? I can't do either of those!

[Not that he knows it… yet.]

[pyrighteous]

[ YET. Soon. At least Hunter will be delighted by that instead of disappointed not to be unique.

But being able to blink IS still a charm point, so he cheers up again. ]

Well - I mean - your magic's kind of limited, yeah.

-- But blinking is its own thing! Really helps with fighting.

[apuckalypse]

[A very different kind of teleport. Hunter can probably show his stuff by helping him figure out how to deal with disorientation and such-]

I bet it does. It's really cool. …Do you think the familiar stuff counts as magic? It is kind of limited… and it's borrowed from Thirteen. I actually used to think it was useless…

[pyrighteous]

[ Hunter turns back to look at him, faintly confused. ]

Of course it does. I sure can't transform into anything cool like that. All I get are - well.

[ He gestures at his branch horns, and grimaces a bit to show his fangs. ]

[apuckalypse]

[Casey pauses at that, momentarily stunned.]

You think… the pangolin is cool?

[Genuinely has never considered this. And he thinks the horns and teeth are neat… he's putting a pin in that.]

[pyrighteous]

Of course it's cool!

[ Hunter gestures with the hand not holding onto Casey's; the staff dips a bit but not too much. ]

You can turn into an armored demon! It's amazing! And useful to go places when you're small and protected.

[ He doesn't even know Casey can do the giant version yet. ]