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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.
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First, he wasn't at all embarrassed about his physique. Nor should he be, she supposed. And the fluffy things didn't hurt.
Second, he thought he was extremely funny. Maybe he even was, in certain crowds.
Third, he was probably trying to appear calmer than he actually was. Which was reasonable. Panic didn't exactly accomplish jack shit.
The only question to cross her mind--however briefly--was if his mother knew he was out.
"If it's such a great improvement," she said, "then where's the door?"
no subject
There wasn't anything helpful out there right now, in his opinion. Besides, he didn't get the feeling that the spirit that'd led him here meant for anything bad to happen. Though...just because that spirit had good intentions, didn't necessarily mean good things were going to happen in this place. But he was trying to look at the bright side.
"Maybe the doors are gone for our own good. But it does feel a little like we've been put in time out or some shit like that." Unruly children being punished, or kept tucked away for safety.
He scratched idly at his neck. "I dunno. If it comes to it, I'm sure we'll all be able to put our heads together and figure out how to get out of here."
no subject
She gave the kid another, less judgy look. "Are you new here too?" she asked. Seemed like a fair assumption. No one prepared would go wandering out into the desert alone, without a shirt.
An idiot, maybe. But the kid probably wasn't an idiot.
no subject
"Yeah. Honestly, I figured we'd end up somewhere a lot better than a desert, but I guess things could be worse." Which didn't mean they weren't still less than ideal right now, just that they weren't about to immediately keel over, at least.
"Also kinda rude that we didn't even have time to pack some shit or something. I was in the middle of things." But, well, what could he do about it now? Eventually, he'd be able to get himself set up, to have what he needed, but not yet. His pockets were empty; his green pills were gone. He couldn't just pop one and take a nap and see what he could dream for himself.
no subject
Although even as she said it, she realized it might not be comforting for everyone who found themselves in this place.
Right, so, actual comfort.
"Come on," she said, nodding her head toward a dark tunnel. "Let's see about finding you some water, huh? You're starting to look like my hair. What's your name, by the way?"
no subject
He couldn't help but laugh. "Water sounds great," he said, ready to follow along--and hopefully find water. Maybe even enough to dunk himself in. "It's Kavinsky." He rarely gave his first name, and this was no exception.
no subject
It was actually a lot more fun than her usual day-to-day, truth be told.
Something she was trying very, very hard not to think about right now.
"Where are you from, Kavinsky?"
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He wasn't quite as graceful, himself, but he definitely didn't seem too bothered by the surrounding darkness. Most of the important things he did took place under the cover of night, whether it was mundane and casual or less tasteful and with questionable legality. His kingdom was in the dark, and so he couldn't imagine being afraid of it.
"This shitty little town, Henrietta. It's in Virginia. I wasn't born there, but for some reason my mother thought it'd be a good place to move to." And maybe it had been, since it'd meant he'd met his boys--and Lynch.
Though, a bit belatedly, he realized he had no idea if everyone who was brought here was from the same place, the same sort of Earth. "What about you?"
no subject
She ran her fingertips along the side of the tunnel, feeling for cold spots. Hopefully a sign of water.
"I'm from Valeria," she replied. "Just outside of North Castle City. Haven't been there in years, though."
no subject
"Yeah, I know that feeling. I haven't been back to Jersey in years, and I'm not really sentimental about shit but...the beaches were nice." He'd had a great view of them from his childhood bedroom, but he'd sooner burn that building to the ground than ever step foot in it again.
"So, I've gotta ask. North Castle City, is it a city by a castle, or is it like a castle city?"
no subject
The tips of her fingers brushed against a chilly stone. Tranns let out a quiet 'huh' noise, and immediately stepped down with a splash.
Oh, goodie. She'd found water.
"Careful," he said, turning back to the kid. "Floor's wet."
no subject
Kavinsky visibly perked up when he heard the splash. "I'm not gonna slip." Probably. "I just wish there was enough water to dive into." And maybe stay there until he was all wrinkled from the water. He bet it'd feel good on his sun burn.
no subject
The chamber was surprisingly light for a cave. The rock itself seemed a bit luminescent, in fluctuating shades of blue and pink and purple. The water was shallow--only ankle-deep--around the periphery, but in the middle, it seemed to get deeper and, well, darker. The surface was filled with funny ripples, though. Luminous creatures that Tranns couldn't properly see were swimming in the middle.
They seemed...calm? Kind of relaxed. So maybe it was purely recreational? Hard to tell. Tranns had actually lived a few places with pools for swimming, like this.
Never in a cave, though.
She turned back to the kid, giving him an awkward shrug.
no subject
He considered the ankle deep water for a moment, then his shoes. The shoes themselves were whatever; he didn't doubt he could get another pair of sneakers. The issue was, did he want them to get wet and have to walk around in squishy sneakers for who knew how long? The answer was, of course, absolutely not.
"What d'you think those things in the water are?" he asked, stooping to start getting his shoes off. "Some kind of fish? Hopefully not something that wants to commit murder."
no subject
Either way, she decided to risk taking off her own boots.
It would be a slow process, since they laced all the way up to her knees.
"So tell me about Jersey," she said, as she started the tedious work of it. "Never heard of it before."
no subject
After he got his sneakers off, he tied the laces together to sling them over his shoulder. A decision he immediately sort of regretted; he'd forgotten about his sunburn. Either way though, after stuffing his socks into a sneaker, he was free to dip his feet into the water, cautiously watching the maybe-fish that were deeper in.
"Yeah, I've got the feeling we're from different places." And he wasn't sure how that worked, but he wasn't about to try and twist his brain around to understand right now. "New Jersey's a state, in America. It's...alright. I liked it better than Virginia, but that's mostly 'cause Henrietta's a trash fire." Getting out of Jersey had been good only because it'd put some space between him and his father's influence. "Jersey's along the coast, and my family's got a house on the beach. Used to be able to see the waves from my bedroom window."
no subject
Tongue jutting out slightly between her teeth, she started to write in looping script, along the side of her elbow:
Waves from the bedroom window
Maybe it was the start of something. A poem? Or a story. Either way, she didn't want to lose the image.
"Sounds kind of nice," she said, as if this were the most normal thing in the world(s) to do in the middle of a conversation. "Peaceful."
no subject
"What'cha writing?" He couldn't fathom what he'd said that would have been important enough to write down--or to inspire something.
"Yeah, it was nice. I spent a lot of time on the beach, or in my room." When he hadn't been out in the city, being away from home as much as possible when his father was there. "It was nice having space to just, I dunno, breathe."
no subject
She tucked away her pen and went back to work on the laces of her boot.
Someone really needed to invent a more efficient way of doing this.
"I get wanting space," she muttered. "Not sure anyone who takes the Fox up on her offer doesn't get that."
no subject
Quiet for a moment, he rolled up the bottoms of his pants a bit, so they wouldn't get soaked, and tried to pretend he wasn't eyeing her boots and contemplating how much of a pain in the ass they must be to get in and out of every day. They looked cool, though.
"Yeah. I thought-" He shrugged. "I haven't gotten a whole lot of space since we moved. I figured this would be interesting and shit." And he'd have a chance to exist without hearing his mother scream at him.
no subject
"Interesting," she said, nodding in agreement.
And then she started working on the other boot.
"Although, right now, I'm leaning a little more toward 'and shit.' Because, seriously, what the hell is this shit?" She made a vague gesture all around them. "And what's it got to do with our 'potential?'"
no subject
"Yeah. New experiences, a chance to broaden our horizons." Among other things.
He couldn't help but laugh. "I have no idea. Unless it's some cut-throat bullshit like 'survival of the fittest'." Which would be really fucking cruel, but maybe not too surprising.
And then, because he couldn't stop himself, he added, "I feel like I need to introduce you to boots with zippers. That's gotta be a pain in the ass, getting those laced and unlaced every time."
no subject
Actually, it was fucking brilliant.
"That sounds amazing," she said, tossing her boots over her shoulders and wading into the water. It felt really, really great right now, after all of the desert heat. "But I feel like you might need to back up for me about 'survival of the fittest.' Because that sounds fucking awful."
no subject
"It really is. If this place has like, clothes shops somewhere, I bet they've got all kinds of cool shit." And he wasn't particularly into fashion, but even he would want to check shit out. Lowkey, of course, without letting on that he was interested.
He sucked in a breath. "I mean, when people try to apply it to other people, it pretty much is. It's a Darwin thing, about nature. The individuals of a species that have traits that help them survive are the fittest. Nature can be brutal, so yeah, it's hard to survive if there's weaknesses. But then some people think you've gotta be cold and ready to step on others or you're weak. And that's-" Obviously, it wasn't the same. People weren't struggling against nature every day, waiting to be taken down by a lion if they had a broken leg or something. "-it's fucked. Hopefully, it's not the kind of shit that's expected of us for our potential."
no subject
She could speak from a lot of experience there. Both about people who suffered that malady, and some of her own stumbles and falls along the path to becoming the person she was lately.
Tranns had been a lot of people over the years, to be honest. She was just starting to get comfortable with this version, give or take a shitty ex and an even shittier war.
"I doubt they're going to have us walking all over each other to survive," she said. "But I've been wrong before. The Fox could be lying. Who knows?"
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