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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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[ Casey... Huh, you know, he thinks he recalls some other person saying their name was Casey on the network the other day. Small world. Either way, he shrugs that off and, ]
Sooo, I was mostly making my way back to the train station after said displacement.
[ But she's like... clearly new. New and probably- what, maybe a few years younger than him? He'd feel bad to leave someone new even if they are enthusiastic hanging. ]
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A trial?! I have only just arrived here, and there is already a trial in which I can test my mettle? How marvelous!
[She grins, her eyes turning red for the moment.]
The train station - so you are departing? Don't you wish to test your own skills?? Or have you already emerged victorious?!
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he blinks and, ]
Ah, well, I survived getting back here. So in a sense, I suppose so...
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[She says with a proud laugh. She's sure it must have all been really tough on this Lex guy!]
During your journey, did you happen to see any area that seemed particularly fraught with danger, and in need of a Legend to dispense justice? [She is just really raring to cut loose! She wonders how those turtles manage to stumble upon criminals to fight so frequently.]
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He probably should just point her in a direction, but in spite of himself- ]
Ah, are you armed? When I arrived here, I had nothing but the clothes on my back.
[ He says. patting the shortsword at his waist in its scabbard. ]
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I am currently armed only with my own two fists! [She balls up the first to drive home the point.] But as a highly skilled warrior, they are all I need in many battles. This should suffice until I can acquire new weapons to multiply my level of efficiency! How did you acquire that blade of yours?
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[ He can't help himself, he must be cheeky because it's so absurd when you say it out loud like that. The sword itself is... clearly well made. It's probably only about 3/4 the length one would expect an arming sword to be for his build. Lightweight, most likely. The metal is odd, darker than normal steel. ]
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Her eyes turn orange and she lowers her altitude, her wins going a bit lopsided as she figures that bit out, to take a better look at that sword.]
An enchanted wedge of potato produced such fine-looking craftsmanship? Incredible! I will have to scour this world's eateries for a suitable weapon of my own! Yours looks slightly short, but effective...!
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[ ... Eateries.. he wonders if that's still open. He kind of doubts it, but he can at least point her that way- ]
The one you'd be looking for is Farm to Sky, if the headmistresses are still there. Look-
[ Okay which way is south-southeast? There. Lex turns and points - you can just barely see on the horizon - it's more clear in on cloudless days - a floating island up on the horizon, several dozen miles from here. Honestly, you can't really see it too clearly at this distance, more just the shadow and presence of it, shifting the clouds around it. ]
You can barely see it from here, but there's a floating island there.
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Yes, so long as your weapon feels right in your hands, that is what matters!
[Now she flaps her wings to ascend some more, squinting towards the distant island.]
An island in the sky. This world contains many cool things! To get all the way there - that must be the ultimate test for my newly gained wings!
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[ From other winged things. Mostly spirit-folk.
... But damn is this woman spirited. He can't help but smirk a little more. If she wasn't endearing, this voice and her loudness would be very grating ]
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[She makes that offer with a grin.]
no subject
Still, he might as well- Lex sighs, shrugs a little and then waves a hand, ]
Before that, just to save you a headache later - you got a spoon on you? and something that looks like a Nintendo DS? Before you run off to do anything might be good to make sure you've got those secured.
no subject
Ah yes! I believe that fox spoke of such objects... [She looks down and locates the spoon tucked into her belt, which she pulls out and raises triumphantly.]
Ha-ha! I have the spoon! And... the other object...? [She glances around on her person, but she doesn't locate the Relic. It seems to have fallen in all of her excited flying around, and it's resting in the sand below her.]
no subject
... There! Okay, he points it out and start to walk over ]
Thee it is!
[ Whatever color hers is, that is. ]
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[And there's her Relic! It's a black one. She looks down as he points out it, soon locating it.]
I see! I thank you for finding such an important item. It would do no good for me lost in the desert!
[Now her wings flap a little oddly as she seems to be experimenting with descending.]
no subject
- Indeed. If you are familiar with computers, one might think of that thing as similar.
no subject
That might have been more my slip-up than anything else-As they speak, she comes down closer and reaches to retrieve the Relic.]
I see! My dedication to training in the physical arts has limited my experience with such technology, but I swear to master the ways of this device...!
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Don't stress too much on that one. It's just for communication, mostly. Knowing your way around and the spoon's the bigger deal.
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True, the spoon is much more vital! It looks so simple, and yet it harnesses a great power, does it not?
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[ Or replicas therefore of, but yeah ]
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[She waves the spoon around like a sword.]
And it can even be used for summoning arts? I will have to keep that in mind! I am sure there are items that would be useful to have here with me. Does the spoon summon minions as well?
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[ And his spirits. He wills them to ignite around him. Even in this state, they won't be visible except to those who are spiritually or magically attuned
... So really your call with CJ she is a skilled martial artist and ex cultistbut if anyone can see or sense them, there's around six dozen little lesser elemental spirits flickering around him for a second. ]The trick to doing the summoning is to dip the spoon into a vessel of water and think of what you want to appear. It can get pretty big too, I know someone who summoned a house.
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Casey's eyes widen and flicker yellow as she watches the spirits appear!]
What was that around you just now? Are they your underlings?! [Her mind races with the other possibilities he brings up.] And to think that the ceremony is so simple! I have much more to consider now - and more to thank you for as well, Lex!
no subject
Hehehe, they'd resent being called that. [ Some of them, anyway ] They're spirits I've made pacts with. I have a few agreements with them I need to fulfill every few days, and I can borrow their power for it. I was able to get them restored to me through the use of the spoon. So you can get things like that too, if it's relevant.
[ A beat and, ] ... And weird things you imagine? One guy claimed to me he summoned a tree that grows food a tree absolutely should not grow.
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