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June-July 2024 Test Drive Meme
June-July 2024 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 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.
🦊 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: Ghosts, Potential Violence, Potential Death
Summer has hit. It's hot, and nowhere is it hotter than Cruel Summer. Naturally, new Star Children arrive in Cruel Summer with no indication of which direction to go to escape, unless they're so lucky as to arrive near the Selkie River. The water provides a break, and a selkie skin will protect Star Children from the heat. Though beware the cruelty of leaving a selkie without their skin. Along with the heat, Star Children can hear whispers and the echoes of screams throughout Cruel Summer. There's no obvious source of the noises. Not the normal creatures. Not anything anyone can see.
Whether new or old Star Child, anyone lost, overheated, in need of a rest, or anything else will find a friendly spirit will find them in the sands, rock, or shores of Cruel Summer. They'll guide the way toward the huts found in Cruel Summer. These huts have changed; the huts are bigger and grow together, making them one interconnected twisting winding empty town. No one appears to live there. The wooden town is in disrepair, varying from building to building. Even so, they are cool inside, a welcome break from the summer heat.
No matter how one entered, even through the swinging doors to the saloon, that exit disappears behind Star Children. There's no turning back. The only way out is to explore the way through the buildings. This fact continues to be true building to building as exits continue to vanish. The abandoned town isn't as empty as it first seems. As Star Children explore the branching paths through the wooden structures, they see ghosts of spirits going through the paces of their lives. They're familiar to these spaces and interact with missing objects that sometimes shimmer in spirit energy.
Spirit Children may interrupt these routines to try to talk with the ghosts. Some ghostly spirits are friendly. They may interact with Star Children as though they're someone else, someone the spirits used to know. Others, like the bartender, may treat them like a new customer. Other ghosts are determined to stick to their routines and, should Star Children continue to interrupt, will attack those who disturb them.
These spirits may kill Star Children when they attack. Normal weapons won't hurt them. There are revolvers, shotguns, iron pokers, hunting knives, and other plain weapons around to grab in self-defense. Salt bullets and iron will dispel ghosts. These weapons may be grabbed at any time. However, doing so attracts the creatures in Cruel Summer. A blood red worm spitting yellow acid may break through the floor to eat or spray Star Children. An enormous coyote may leap through the window. Whether attracted by the use of weapons or passing by, any dangerous creature found in Cruel Summer seems agitated when they come near these structures and will attack them and anyone inside. They will focus especially on anyone with a stolen selkie skin.
Should Star Children die, whether to ghosts or creatures, they will not immediately return to life.Do not pass go. Instead they will haunt the ghost town for one week in the room where they were killed. Other Star Children may recognize them and work to snap them out of their routines. Yet nothing will free the Star Children's spirits before the week is through. At the end of the week, they'll come to, alive, in their bodies in the room they died in. Best get through and out of the ghost town before dying again!
A constant through these scenes are the spirits' spoons, visible somewhere in each scene. The ghost spoons are whole. Once free of the ghost town, Star Children may choose to travel to the Shattered Spoon Shrine in Never Fade to search for the broken fragments of any of these spoons. They are in such small pieces, however, that no Star Child may feed them enough Lore alone to bring the spirit back. Two or more Star Children may spend time in the Shrine creating and feeding Lore toward the spoons to heal them. It just may be enough to bring someone back.
Summer has hit. It's hot, and nowhere is it hotter than Cruel Summer. Naturally, new Star Children arrive in Cruel Summer with no indication of which direction to go to escape, unless they're so lucky as to arrive near the Selkie River. The water provides a break, and a selkie skin will protect Star Children from the heat. Though beware the cruelty of leaving a selkie without their skin. Along with the heat, Star Children can hear whispers and the echoes of screams throughout Cruel Summer. There's no obvious source of the noises. Not the normal creatures. Not anything anyone can see.
Whether new or old Star Child, anyone lost, overheated, in need of a rest, or anything else will find a friendly spirit will find them in the sands, rock, or shores of Cruel Summer. They'll guide the way toward the huts found in Cruel Summer. These huts have changed; the huts are bigger and grow together, making them one interconnected twisting winding empty town. No one appears to live there. The wooden town is in disrepair, varying from building to building. Even so, they are cool inside, a welcome break from the summer heat.
No matter how one entered, even through the swinging doors to the saloon, that exit disappears behind Star Children. There's no turning back. The only way out is to explore the way through the buildings. This fact continues to be true building to building as exits continue to vanish. The abandoned town isn't as empty as it first seems. As Star Children explore the branching paths through the wooden structures, they see ghosts of spirits going through the paces of their lives. They're familiar to these spaces and interact with missing objects that sometimes shimmer in spirit energy.
Spirit Children may interrupt these routines to try to talk with the ghosts. Some ghostly spirits are friendly. They may interact with Star Children as though they're someone else, someone the spirits used to know. Others, like the bartender, may treat them like a new customer. Other ghosts are determined to stick to their routines and, should Star Children continue to interrupt, will attack those who disturb them.
These spirits may kill Star Children when they attack. Normal weapons won't hurt them. There are revolvers, shotguns, iron pokers, hunting knives, and other plain weapons around to grab in self-defense. Salt bullets and iron will dispel ghosts. These weapons may be grabbed at any time. However, doing so attracts the creatures in Cruel Summer. A blood red worm spitting yellow acid may break through the floor to eat or spray Star Children. An enormous coyote may leap through the window. Whether attracted by the use of weapons or passing by, any dangerous creature found in Cruel Summer seems agitated when they come near these structures and will attack them and anyone inside. They will focus especially on anyone with a stolen selkie skin.
Should Star Children die, whether to ghosts or creatures, they will not immediately return to life.
A constant through these scenes are the spirits' spoons, visible somewhere in each scene. The ghost spoons are whole. Once free of the ghost town, Star Children may choose to travel to the Shattered Spoon Shrine in Never Fade to search for the broken fragments of any of these spoons. They are in such small pieces, however, that no Star Child may feed them enough Lore alone to bring the spirit back. Two or more Star Children may spend time in the Shrine creating and feeding Lore toward the spoons to heal them. It just may be enough to bring someone back.
- Whispers, echoes of screams, etc become common throughout Cruel Summer
- Huts become bigger, interconnected, growing together. Anyone lost, overheated, in need of something in Cruel Summer gets a friendly spirit redirecting them to these buildings
- Buildings will still be in some state of disrepair, but like a whole twisting winding town
- Insides are a cool respite
supernatural ghost spirit air conditioning - Only way out is through, no turning back, as the exits disappear behind you
- Many are friendly, but some are not. One can attempt to talk to them, but how interactive they are varies
- Occasionally other creatures from Cruel Summer may burst in and attack
- If a Star Child dies, rather than return to life immediately, they stay a ghost for about a week, part of the tour
Content Warnings: Fire, Coerced Confessions
Fire! Fire across the realm! For the second half of June, wildfire burns everywhere. While it doesn’t hurt Star Children, it can reduce everything else to ash: homes, businesses, gardens, spirits. The local spirits will be in a panic and beg Star Children for help from small ice mice in Wintermute to fennec foxes in Cruel Summer. How can Star Children help? Confessions. Anything the person they are with doesn’t know. The more earnest and meaningful the better.
When wildfire erupts and spreads, Star Children may stand in or in front of an area they want to protect and confess something to another Star Child who happens to be nearby. Their neighbor? Their partner? A stranger lost in a new land? These confessions simply need to be something the other person doesn’t know to protect structures and spirits. Memories related to the confession will show in the fire. The fire will fuel these memories until they run out of energy, dying down to embers. At least in that place at that time.
Should something start to burn before someone confesses, multiple confessions are necessary to catch the wildfire’s attention and distract it from the fuel source it is feeding on. Two or more Star Children will need to make confessions whose memories are shared in the flames. Water powers can also help quell the flames, but confessions are necessary in the end.
Once July hits, the wildfires are mostly gone, only sparking up here and there on occasion. In their stead are embers. They spark in the air like fireflies and fly around Folkmore, attracted to Star Children. These embers land on Star Children and make them glow. There’s no pain. In fact, the embers provide sparks of insight into memories, situations, and other emotional dilemmas that Star Children haven’t previously understood. Talking the issue over with another Star Children provides further emotional clarity.
Spirits are welcoming to both embers and Star Children. Confessionshelp Folkmore grow as well. Gardens bloom in beautiful displays. Crops grow healthy and joyful. It’s even possible to hear humming from some of the vegetables and fruits. The land grows with the Star Children. Anyone who lacks a green thumb can work their way around that with confessions! Save that dying plant and grow those tomatoes.
One time that a Star Child confesses, either to wildfire or to embers, they will find a jeweled box shaped like a flame. The peak of the flame comes off to reveal the insides. Within, there is an item from home. It may even be a weapon or magical item. Larger more meaningful confessions are more likely to receive weapons. These items may even be larger than should fit in the box or its entrance. Whether the box should only hold a single ring or fill the palm of one’s hand, these items fit. Star Children also can keep the jeweled box, and this one item from home can be stored within the box. Other items too large to fit the box will not enter it. Only the one from the box.
Fire! Fire across the realm! For the second half of June, wildfire burns everywhere. While it doesn’t hurt Star Children, it can reduce everything else to ash: homes, businesses, gardens, spirits. The local spirits will be in a panic and beg Star Children for help from small ice mice in Wintermute to fennec foxes in Cruel Summer. How can Star Children help? Confessions. Anything the person they are with doesn’t know. The more earnest and meaningful the better.
When wildfire erupts and spreads, Star Children may stand in or in front of an area they want to protect and confess something to another Star Child who happens to be nearby. Their neighbor? Their partner? A stranger lost in a new land? These confessions simply need to be something the other person doesn’t know to protect structures and spirits. Memories related to the confession will show in the fire. The fire will fuel these memories until they run out of energy, dying down to embers. At least in that place at that time.
Should something start to burn before someone confesses, multiple confessions are necessary to catch the wildfire’s attention and distract it from the fuel source it is feeding on. Two or more Star Children will need to make confessions whose memories are shared in the flames. Water powers can also help quell the flames, but confessions are necessary in the end.
Once July hits, the wildfires are mostly gone, only sparking up here and there on occasion. In their stead are embers. They spark in the air like fireflies and fly around Folkmore, attracted to Star Children. These embers land on Star Children and make them glow. There’s no pain. In fact, the embers provide sparks of insight into memories, situations, and other emotional dilemmas that Star Children haven’t previously understood. Talking the issue over with another Star Children provides further emotional clarity.
Spirits are welcoming to both embers and Star Children. Confessions
One time that a Star Child confesses, either to wildfire or to embers, they will find a jeweled box shaped like a flame. The peak of the flame comes off to reveal the insides. Within, there is an item from home. It may even be a weapon or magical item. Larger more meaningful confessions are more likely to receive weapons. These items may even be larger than should fit in the box or its entrance. Whether the box should only hold a single ring or fill the palm of one’s hand, these items fit. Star Children also can keep the jeweled box, and this one item from home can be stored within the box. Other items too large to fit the box will not enter it. Only the one from the box.
- Last two weeks of June, wildfire burns across Folkmore. After that, they are rare.
- Confessions can protect or rescue buildings, land areas, and spirits.
- Come July, embers spark across Folkmore like fireflies. They provide insight for Star Children. Talking helps.
- Confessions help the land grow.
- Confessions reveal a jeweled box containing an item from home.
morgana | p5r | legend
( what else would you expect of a curious cat than to investigate these shrieks and whispers? there's a little black-white cat with a yellow collar doing just that, inside of the interconnected huts. one might expect a cat to spook easily, but he ignores the loud noises and hops around like he owns the place, prowling and trying to see both a higher view and an on-street view.
but what might be curious is that he has two little wings... and when a ghost mimics petting him, he actually sputters out a - )
Hey! I'm not a cat! ( after the initial annoyance, however, he seems put out. ) But you can't even hear me, huh...?
flames to embers
( now, morgana is hardly ever one to be drawn to fire. it's all smoky and gets in his face and ugh, he just isn't a fan. nothing against people who wield fire, of course, but spare him the s'mores.
but protecting places from being burned down sounds like something he should still do... so he's quite quick to scurry up to a fellow star child, fur on end, hissing at the flames. he takes a stand beside them, and he isn't intent on leaving.
granted, he may not be quick to confess first, but surely a cat would listen to whatever inane confessions people might dream up? )
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[Minato couldn't help but follow the cat with a yellow collar. Something about it rang familiar, although he couldn't place why. Unlike Morgana's wings, Minato had a more wolf-like appearance. Ears, tail, fangs, and claws. His hands were also lined with pitch black fur that faded the higher up his arms it went.
He reached out to gently scritch behind one of Morgana's ears, his other hand holding up his chin as he knelt down.]
What's a cat like you doing in a place like this?
[He also seemed wholly unperturbed at meeting a talking cat.]
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oh. ... huh! what a weird feeling, like deja vu. he's so close to baring his little teeth and complaining that if he really heard him he just said he wasn't a cat so why is he... ooh actually that feels good. his hind leg kicks a little. )
Mrwwwww - ( he'd been itching behind his ear for sooo long - focus! )
I'm not a cat. I am Morgana. And obviously, I'm following those creepy noises!
What are you doing here? ( his eyes focus on those ears and tail. ) Is your nose any good?
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Heard there were some new Star Children about. Came to help.
[He blinked and tilted his head at the question. Huh, just how good was his nose? He never really tested it, just knew it was better than normal because of his Familiar status.]
Better than a normal human, I guess? What are we sniffing out?
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Ghost Tours
But as she comes trotting up, she sees the ghost trying to pet the.. well the winged cat. That immediately makes her wonder: are they a cat or a legend? She's really confused now because she's never seen a winged cat before. Her own partially incorporeal wings fluff a little, shedding faint light.]
But you look like a cat... are you a familiar? Are you stuck in cat form? [She gently tries to shoo the ghost away while she asks.]
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morgana realizes he actually didn't mind the petting that much. just like a cat to be indecisive about everything. )
No, I'm not a familiar! I am Morgana! Just because I look like a cat doesn't mean I actually am one.
( what was he if he wasn't a cat? jury's out on that. )
Wait - you have wings, too! Did you always have those?
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But then she pauses from that realization at the question and shakes her head, eyes a confused greenish-yellow at the moment because... well she's having a conversation with a not-cat that isn't a familiar either.]
I didn't, I got them when I arrived here, how about you? Did you also get your wings when you came here? You might be a legend too, just like me.
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wanna be firefighters? >:)
Damnit. Come on, man, think…!
[His face scrunches up, as if that'll somehow help. Seems Ryuji hasn't noticed the familiar cat-not-cat at his side just yet…]
yessssss :D
( morgana can't help but get in a snide comment, as usual. )
I think the fire'll get us both before you manage. I'll go first! I...
( ...
silence. )
Uhhh... aw, c'mon, there's gotta be something...
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ghost tours
If you're not a cat, are you a familiar too?
[...He does have wings, though. Cue Casey being very confused.]
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( said with a haughty little flick of his tail. )
But besides that! What's going on with these ghosts? I'm pretty sure most of the time, they're invisible to the naked eye, so why're they just wandering around here?
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Morgana.
[Are all of Amamiya's annoying friends going to follow after them here? Wasn't Sakamoto enough of a test of his patience?
Unlike Ryuji's more major physical changes, Akechi is only slightly changed, much like Morgana and his wings. For him, it's only a shiny halo floating over his head, but one that is constantly bleeding, dripping illusionary blood around his shoulders. The teen hardly seems bothered.]
I didn't think cats and foxes got along.
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Hah! Shows what you know! I get along great with everyone.
( the mask of confidence gives way to - )
Why are you bleeding?!
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ghost tours
Would you prefer I not hear you? [Viv is glad to be out of the desert, but she isn't particularly a fan of ghosts. Tangling with necromancy more than once was good enough for her. So far, ghosts have been giving the seven foot tall orc woman some space at least.]
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Uh -
( you know what, that's a good question. )
Deeeeepends... do you like cats?
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ghost tours
Morgana! [ He pushes through a small crowd to see... A ghost trying to pet his friend. Okay, that's. Honestly kind of what Morgana deserves some days.
Ren notices the wings instantly, but takes his school bag off his shoulder and holds it out and open first before calling attention to how weird this place could be. ] Wanna go for a ride?
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Ren!
( and morgana would know that voice anywhere. he doesn't waste a moment to scamper over with all the grace and eagerness of a cat greeting their person home. not that he's a cat.
and whump, he takes a leap into that open bag without a care. ) You know it!
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ghost tours!
[ A question from one not!cat to another. Kyubey's aware most felines aren't able to communicate -- at least not within his universe's version of Earth. But this very much isn't his universe. And from the looks of it, Morgana isn't a normal feline. Kyubey can hear him just fine!
The incubator hops down from the makeshift table he'd been perched on, shaking out his fur as he approaches. It's a nice change of pace to not have to look up at someone he's talking to. ]
They seem to be able to hear just fine. One of the humans tried talking to a spirit in a different area. The spirit heard him, but didn't like what he said and a fight broke out. It didn't go too well for the human, but it appears to be going much better for you!
the way i screamed KYUBEY???
Most humans can't hear me, they just hear meowing. Their cognition of me being able to talk needs to change before they can understand me, and that's pretty hard to do.
( the idea of fighting in this form, though... )
Ugh, I guess I have to act like a cat here. There's no way I can fight like this.
Can they hear you just fine?
;x I couldn't resist since they're dub voice twins.
no no i ADORE it!! black cat of hope and white mascot of nope
LOL the literal reverse shoulder angel and devil in cute fluffy forms
kyubey: look at what i can do [stands on tail] p5 ren: what does that— mona: no no he has a point
XDD
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Flames to Embers || Hope one more is okay!
Then she yelps when something scurries up to her, looking like a cat-- wait was that Mona-senpai?!]
M-morgana-senpai?
[She pauses before shaking her head and looking up at the fire again.]
We need to stop the fire! These are people's homes. I-- But how?
of course!! 💕
( he jumps a little back when a beam almost falls on his paw, instead pressing his side against sumire's leg and giving a little hiss to the flames. )
Like—I actually really like thunderstorms, but I act scared so Ren lets me stay in his lap!
( the fires do seem to ebb when he's honest like that, and there are a few memories to illustrate that point of his. )
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flames to embers
Unfortunately it's almost equally troublesome to avoid the wildfires, given how wide-spread they are. Especially when he's still trying to find the best place to stay.
He sighs. ]
A regular cat would run away.
[ But since the creature is sticking close enough to him, and Cale knows its sense of smell must be more sensitive than a human's, he creates a weak whirlwind around the both of them with a flick of his finger and The Sound of the Wind. Even if it doesn't help much with the heat, it should keep the smoke away. ]
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Thank goodness! ( he practically croaks like a frog. ) And I'm not a cat, that's why I didn't run away!
( not that he doesn't have all the drawbacks of a cat in a fire. )
Thanks for the help, but - aren't you gonna stay to push the fires back?
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ghost tours
And yet she's not focused on them anymore. Because the moment she notices the little creature talk, she's letting out a gasp. Not even a surprised gasp like you might expect from most people witnessing a talking cat, but instead a gasp of half-surprise, half-delight.
Enough delight for her to kneel down next to the cat, smiling at him. ]
Wait, you're a talking cat! [ .. Minako, he literally just said he's not a cat-- ] Do you know Artemis?!
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Artemis? I can't say I do, but I can keep an eye out! Who are they?
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